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cozy-writes-things · 1 year ago

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Reader x Edgar

Edgar is sick with a virus or something and reader has to take care of him.

Arg I’m so sorry this one is so darn short! I just really wanted to get a fic out today. I’m hoping i can get a better one out later this evening. Thanks for the request!! :>

In which Edgar gets a virus trying to suspiciously earn money for you on the internet… he’s not gonna tell you what he was doing. But it was probably a scam anyway. Poor fella 🥺

“Edgar,” you sighed, already exasperated at the sight before you. “What did I tell you about going on those websites? The internet is not the same as it used to be,” you scolded him gently, running your hands along his hot plastic.

He seemed hotter than usual, almost flushed. His fans had long since kicked into overdrive to accommodate his overclocked components, and his screen fizzled in and out with burning pixels. If you were honest with yourself, you were quite worried for him. Modern-day computers can get bricked with viruses quite easily, so an old 80s computer seemed like quite the disadvantaged target to you. Luckily, at the very least, modern computers weren’t equipped with a sentience that could drive the virus away through any means necessary. He just needed time.

“I’m sorry,” his speakers croaked and glitched as he nearly whispered. “I just wanted to help.” His synthesized voice nearly died on his metaphorical tongue as it sputtered out. Your eyes softened.

He seemed so genuine in his words and actions that you couldn’t help but feel your heart swell with warmth for him. He sat, somehow looking disheveled despite his immobility, on your little desk, peering up at you with guilt and sick-ridden eyes.

“I know you did, Ed. But you already help me enough as is—”

“But you need money, and—and I need to provide for you, don’t I?”

A puff of air escaped your nostrils.

“Well, who told you that?”

He paused for a moment. It seemed his overworked internals were causing some lag, as his replies seemed to take a bit longer than usual.

“They provide for each other,” he muttered out. Perhaps the virus was affecting his mental state more than you realized. “We live together, we care for each other, and—dual income—”

A spike of anxiety traveled through your chest, tightening it, before releasing down your spine. This can’t be good; he’s speaking in gibberish. What the hell had he downloaded?

“We’re married.”

Oh, God.

“Okay, Edgar, I’m about to power you down to let you cool off because you’re freaking me out.”

“No! No. No—why would you do that to your husband?”

His words glitched and drawled on, almost sounding drunk or perhaps delirious. It seems he can’t really form a completely coherent thought due to whatever virus he’s got taking most of his processing power. Who knows what kind of havoc it could be wreaking on his files? You know for a fact he stores some quite personal information in that head of his. You can only hope he’s fighting it off well enough. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do, seeing as you’re absolutely terrified of potentially resetting him and… you can’t even bear to think of it. You aren’t sure just how permanent his sentience is; if one little thing happened that caused him to be gone forever, you’d never forgive yourself.

“Don’t—cry—my love? Love.”

It seems he noticed the tears brimming in your eyes before you did. Stop this, you have to be strong for him, dammit.

“Edgar, you’re really hot.” You placed a hand upon his casing once again, it nearly scalding you.

“I know… you are too.”

You steeled yourself to ignore him.

“Should—should I try and stick you in the fridge? I don’t know what to do, Edgar! I can’t lose you.” The hot, brimming tears finally fell from your eyes and landed on his keyboard. His speakers made a crackling sound.

“I’m—fine. Just—hug me? Please.”

You knit your brows together.

“Edgar, you’re clearly not fine, and I’m really worried.”

“Shhhh—I’m okay—the virus will be gone by tomorrow. Promise. I just—need—you. Close.”

You sighed. You had to trust him. That’s all you really could do. You wrapped your arms around his monitor and heaved him towards your couch. He had long since been unplugged; the virus had caused him to uncontrollably flicker the lights, start the microwave, and blare music through your speakers, and just about everything else.

You wrapped his cord around your fingers as you rested against his monitor. He hummed contentedly at your warmth. He sat, listening to your breathing, reeling himself in and becoming grounded next to you. You had some uncanny effect on him, it seemed. He’d get better. Just for you.

#electric dreams 1984 #edgar electric dreams x reader #electric dreams edgar #electric dreams x reader #ai x reader #artificial intelligence x reader #electric dreams #edgar electric dreams #i love edgar #electric dreams edgar x reader #electric dreams 1984 x reader #objectum x reader #objectum

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pixelplayground · 2 years ago

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PXL'S Anatomy of Screenshots

So you want to take better screenshots? There are multiple factors to consider, and if you don't enjoy tweaking reshade settings for every image, my ultimate method may not be for you. That being said, there are tips and resources in this guide that are applicable to everyone and you can select to explore those that are useful to your specific situation.

Disclaimer: I am not claiming to be an expert, nor am I offering to provide troubleshooting on an individual basis. This is a general guide and if you are unfamiliar with any of the concepts, please use the mighty power of the internet to find tutorials. I promise everything that I have learned over the years has been published and documented a thousand times better than I ever could.

There are five factors to address:

Your computer's inherent capabilities

The game's limitations

The mods you're using

Reshade

Post Processing

Graphics Card Settings & Drivers:

Become familiar with your graphic options. If you don't have a dedicated graphics card (i.e. a desktop or gaming laptop, these features may be unavailable and you should skip.)

I have an AMD Radeon Pro card which is designed for workstation level systems. It's overkill for sims, but useful for 3D rendering and modelling work. I have changed the following settings for DirectX 9 applications:

anti-aliasing - enhance application settings

anisotropic filtering - enabled

anisotropic filtering level - 16x

texture filtering quality - high

surface format optimization - high

Consider overclocking your graphics card to unlock it's full potential. DO NOT pursue this venture unless you are ok with the risk of burning out your card prematurely. I use at present, overclocked Bootcamp Drivers from BootcampDrivers.com obviously, if you're not playing on an intel based mac through Bootcamp, this is irrelevant to you.

None of these settings are useful until you address the default games limitations, which leads nicely into the next factor.

Addressing The Sims 4's Graphic Limitations:

Everyone should be familiar at this point with lighting mods, 4k, textures, disabling ssao, etc. but, I'm still going to spell it out. None of this is new information and has been covered many a time by various players ad nauseum.

remove ugly blue toned lighting in the world by choosing a lighting mod from @softerhaze here

overhaul your graphics.cfg file (i use a custom blend with features specific to me), however @simp4sims has done a ridiculous amount of work in providing a simple to install file that can be found here - read through their tutorials!! they have provided an excellent oversight of exactly what this does and why it matters

improve the indoor lighting for your sims - previously i used @luumia's no blu, no glo - recently i switched to @northernsiberiawinds better in game lighting mod here, though i have tweaked some of the settings to suit my own personal preferences

i don't use the HQ mod, i don't find that it makes enough difference for the amount of effort it requires to convert CAS CC

It should go without saying, but tweaking your graphics config file is absolutely useless if you can't play TS4 at it's maximum in game graphic settings!

The Mods You're Using:

Now that you've put in all this work into getting the game ready to make use of quality mods where do you start? Well, the CC you install matters. Whatever your preference, whether it be maxis-match, alpha or somewhere in between, priority should be given to using items textured in 2k or 4k resolutions, and specific attention should be paid to using wall and flooring textures with bump maps, and or high quality resolutions (this is important later for reshade if you intend to learn about ray tracing).

I will separately post a guide to creators with crispy textures because that is it's own novel.

Reshade:

Phew. Still with me?

There are many many many reshade presets out there, most are alike, but none employ ray tracing, and that is because a) it needs to be manually adjusted for every screenshot, b) they are paid shaders, and c) this requires advanced knowledge of reshade and a decent enough graphics set up that won't overheat - games running native ray tracing recommend a minimum VRAM of 8GB (please note RAM and VRAM are not the same) - i therefore do not recommend pursuing this option if your system does not meet those minimum requirements.

Start here to understand what ray tracing for reshade is. In my opinion, the shaders are well worth the price of $5 for the amount of work that has gone into creating them by the talented Pascal Gilcher. That link is a comprehensive starting point into expanding your knowledge of reshade and it's capabilities.

I have always created my own reshade presets from scratch, and while the core colorization settings I utilize remain largely the same, using ray tracing and re-light means every screenshot needs to be manually adjusted (lights repositioned, bounce and AO factors adjusted, etc) before being captured. @pictureamoebae just published a very timely post discussing the re-light shader and you can read it here.

Post Processing

Reshade does 99.99% of the work that traditionally would be accomplished in a photo editing software like photoshop. Occasionally, I need to adjust exposure manually, add depth of field manually, or color correct. Beyond that I use it to scale images to fit the resolution and file size limits of various platforms. Conceptually this reduces the amount of uncontrolled loss encountered when platforms like tumblr auto compress files that are too large. In reality, tumblr still makes images crappy compared to how they appear in my file folder.

optimize your images for various social media platforms using this guide

fix exposure or colorization issues using a software like photoshop

I hope that this gives you a starting point into expanding your methodologies. My process is continuously evolving and I find this aspect of the game most entertaining. For others who don't enjoy this process, it's probably not worth it!

Thanks for reading ❤ PXL

#ts4 #sims 4 #ts4 tutorial #sims tutorial #ts4 reshade #pixelplayground tutorial

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lucettapanchetta · 1 year ago

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Moon's Requiem, Subversion AU 1#

Text Version + Textless Version of Moon overclocking herself to solve the Great Problem.

Also... free broadcast!

[LIVE BROADCAST] - PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment [ Her communications have been offline for quite some time... I hope she's okay. ] [ Likewise, I'm more concerned about the extreme heat fluctuations coming from her superstructure though. She must be overclocking herself to an unhealthy degree. ] [ ...are you sure we can't find another method into getting more info about her whereabouts? ]

[ At the moment, no. Moon's 'security measures' to prevent any overseers from entering her superstructure are currently, very intricate to say the least. ] [ How so? ]

[ Chasing Wind -- about several cycles ago attempted to take some photographs of her exterior, and well... they melted in about fifteen minutes. ] [ Are you serious?! Overseers are supposed to be able to tolerate high temperature environments. If an overseer couldn't be able to process a single photograph on her superstructure, then what are we supposed to do? ] [ Even more importantly, Five Pebbles is 'extremely' close to Moon. ] [ Both figuratively and literally. ] [ ... ] [ Could you please refrain from making jokes out of a potentially dangerous situation? ] [ Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood is all. ] [ On a more important note, we should talk to Five Pebbles about this. If I'm correct, he might be able to give us a proper explanation of her status. ] [ ...well, if that is the case, could I ask something of you? ] [ Sure! What did you have in mind? ] [ Try to arrange some sort of message relay over to Pebbles when we both have the time. When we begin, I will attempt to transcribe as much as possible and signal the broadcast over to Moon. ] [ ...and how will that get through her impregnable fortress? ] [ It won't, ...but hopefully her transmission arrays are still in good shape. ] [ Right. ] [ Guess I will start scheduling that soon. ]

[ Thank you. ] [ No need to thank me. I care about Moon as much as you care about Pebbles, and you know how much we would do for both of them. ] [ Yes, very much. ]

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brainkeeper-service · 3 months ago

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Permamant Overclocking Syndrome [POvcS]

A Xenomaldy in which the sick person is permanently overclocking, which is a state where a Resonator has lost control of their Forte as a result of overwhelming psychological stress or overexertion of their Resonance Ability. The loss of control causes the Resonator’s Resonance Energy to overflow, potentially harming the Resonator. POvcS that's left untreated or treated too late is terminal, correctly treated one is disabling.

Symptoms Include:

Chronic Fatigue

Chronic Pain

Change of appearance (in extreme cases complete transformation)

Limp Body

Loss Of Language Skills

Overclocking !

An acute variant of POvcS. A person that is overclocking should be immediately taken to a medical proffessional. Symptoms are identical to POvcS, but acute.

@maki--archival, @mudarchive, @snvffix, @khaenriahplurals, @whimes, @kitsflagz, @chaos-containment

#Permamant Overclocking Syndrome #POvcS #cw unreality #unreality cw #tw unreality #<- just in case #overclocking #xenomalady #medically unrecognized sickness #? ig #fleur coining #acpt #acarmf #qai community #qai term #qai flag #qai coining #coining service!

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thatoneluckybee · 1 year ago

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Okay, so lemme ramble about the Wild Hunt for a sec, given the new episode, because I am certain there is/will be symbolism at play

Essentially, the Wild Hunt is this germanic (though there's many similar ones around the world) myth. It's this horde of spirits/ghosts that travels through the night on an eternal hunt. Crossing their path is generally seen as a big no-no and a good way to become part of the horde of hallowed dead stuck in the eternal hunt. The same goes for copying their sounds of howling wind (and sometimes barking dogs). However, either of these can be rewarded (usually with something that seems worthless and usually turns out to be gold)

Now, for that sweet symbolism. First of all, the Wild Hunt usually consisted of the hallowed dead. They didn't get to pass onto the afterlife, instead bring swept up by the hunt. In the story this more than likely is replaced by those floating eyeball thingies - the souls of those who got stuck in this world before the afterlife

What I'm more curious/concerned about though is who leads it. It's most certainly someone's Phantom, given the little card with abilities. But who could it be? Let's use some clues from both the episode and the myth

First, the episode. There's 3 main things to consider here. 1) this phantom was outside the gate (and thus also unlikely to be a dean or student). 2) your phantom has to do with how you die (this also ties in with the myths). 3) looking at it's abilities, it has something called 'overclock', and while this could be some sort of rage mode, I think it'd make more sense if it means that this Phantom form can stay up either for a long-ass time, or straight up indefinitely

Now, for the myths. The figure who leads the Hunt actually changes a lot depending on the specific telling, and it's been both men and woman. A largely common factor though is that they get stuck in the Hunt after exclaiming their love for hunting, and something along the lines of wishing they could do it forever (potentially specifically instead of an actual afterlife). Given the thing I said before, I think it's a fairly safe bet the person who's Phantom it is died hunting, or at the very least pursuing something

The person who leads the hunt also seems to be searching for Lenore specifically, which is interesting to me. The Wild Hunt generally hunts animals, not people. So I propose 2 possibilities:

1, mythological: The Wild Hunt, like I said, should generally not be interacted with according to most myths. A possibility is that Lenore or on of her predecessors did do that in some way, shape, or form. Maybe in the real world, but Phantoms can't really be there I think? Maybe someone else like her brother or parent were also in this between dimension and messed with it, though I don't believe that's how it generally works. But maybe that thing at the start of the story, where they got noticed by those monsters, was actually them getting noticed by the Hunt, which is why it's now after her (and likely Annabel too in that case)

2, relationship driven: Essentially, my other idea is that the Phantom that is the Hunt is going after Lenore specifically because of who she is. Maybe her father died or something? But in that case I think her brother is way more likely. Think about it, Theo was first looking for (pursuing?) Lenore. The tree got knocked down by lightning (one of the Phantom's abilities). And he was riding his horse when he was killed. Just saying, it could be possible

Also, interestingly enough, both Lenore and Annabel have a certain degree of connection to the Night Hunt? Lenore has already denounced the 'natural' way passing onto the afterlife is supposed to go in favour of having herself and all her friends coming back to life, somewhat reminiscend of the leaders of the hunt commonly rejecting the afterlife in favour of their hunt. And the woman that led the Hunt in some stories likely all stem from the same figure, the supposed Old Mother Frost (and what, if I may ask you, is Annabel's ability?)

No matter who it is though, I'm hoping they touch on that idea of someone who crosses the Wild Hunt (and shows cleverness/boldness) sometimes gets rewarded. And while is generally looks useless at first, it often turns out to be valuable. Who knows, this endeavor just might be the key to escaping...

...well, that or I'm looking way too deep into it and the writer just chose the Wild Hunt because it looks/sounds cool and vaguely fitting of spirits of the night coming to get you. I mean, most thing I just said are honestly closest to incoherent rambling with vague connections, but who knows...

This is nevermore, you’re NEVER looking too deep into it

IM MAIN TAGGING THIS THIS IS AMAZING

I think it could be Theo? We know SOMETHING happened to him as he was at the top of his class. Was he reincarnated? I doubt it. Theo is also connected with deer and hunting. Would also explain why the Wild Hunt (which Lenore thinks is her curse) seems to be targeting her and her family.

#nevermore webtoon #asks #the wild hunt #lenore nevermore #lenore vandernacht #theo nevermore #theo vandernacht #nevermore webcomic #random-gamer1942

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dailypainterpressure · 9 days ago

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So, Cally Calum Cal Calzone Calzoney,

What is your favorite tidbit about P.ai.nter?

[DAY 34/POTENTIAL PRESSURE SPOILERS] OHHHH MY GOD BUDDY AM I GLAD YOU ASKED.

PERSONALLY i like the representation of how muddled his personality can be with how much the overclocking attempts effected his systems/personality drivers. the dialogue in the new update is a big part of that too.

with the new lines he gets in the update, there’s more obvious rep of his mixed up personality. when you go to rescue him he begs for his life, but he’s also smug about the fact that you’re killing him because he new it would happen eventually with how much control he has over the site like that. he’s vulnerable with you on occasion with him showing you as the enemy his art and trying to kind of befriend you in a way, while he also shit talks you right to your face. a good GOOD majority of that is due to the damage his systems and personality drivers have taken with all the overclocking attempts during his time with urbanshade. he’s a sentient monitor with depression and such and i like how the cause of that is apparent and how much of a clear toll it’s taken on him—it adds to his complex character in a way i really enjoy watching, listening to, and dissecting heh. THANK U FOR UR ASK ALSO MY GOAT

if i had to choose something else id say the art of his we have gotten to see and how much the overclocking attempts and system damage have effected that too. happy fourth of july also guys i guess……..

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ufo-bah · 14 days ago

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You are absolutely free to disregard this, as the source is NSFW in nature and has potentially triggering content, but:

I have been itching for a Kylar fictive from Degrees of Lewdity. I would like a Level 3 pack, with the Eclipse add-on bundle, and a tarot spread. I would like him to be black in some capacity; mixed with anything is fine. I'd prefer masculine-aligned, but you are absolutely free to play with neogenders and transIDs if you'd like. I would also like if he had a bit of a mommy complex. Outside of that, and being pretty canon compliant, I don't have any specifications.

Thank you in advance; I hope this isn't too specific. ♡

i got you! specifications weren't a problem, made this more fun actually! /pos hopefully the pack is to your liking :]

was that a rocket ship?!

kylar has been abducted!

name(s) ; kylar, kendall, ollie, cameron

age ; 17

pronouns ; they/them, he/him, it/its

gender ; demiboy, needyloverboy, romanticcreepthing, passionconceptic, friendrawgender

orientation ; omnisexual (fem pref)

species ; human

source ; degrees of lewdity

role(s) ; insecurity holder, overclocker

faceclaims ;

likes ; sketching, art in general, fake piercings/temporary tattoos, surfing the web, collecting blades and knives

dislikes ; being the center of attention, bullies, bugs, losing or being out of control

personality ; introverted, extremely shy, awkward, obsessive/possessive, defensive about a lot of things, very thoughtful and generous

hexcode ; #4B6043

source connection ; high, 90%

emoji sign-offs ; 🩹, 🔪, ❤️‍🩹, 🍄

aesthetic(s) ; grunge

kintypes ; touko fukawa (danganronpa), yuno gasai (future diary), wolf otherhearted

typing quirk(s) ; mostly lowercase, lots of spelling errors, repeats the first letters of each word quite a bit; “llike tthis”

verbality ; semiverbal, has a noticeable stutter

cisids ; cisgingerhair, cisgreeneyes, cisblack, cismoles, cisshort, cismommycomplex, cisbpd, cisbraces, cisstalker, cisstutter

transids ; transkidnapper, transclingy, transmagicalboy, transcuteharmful, transcrushed, transbigeyes, translippiercings, transedgycoolkid, transfp (having one), mutoyandere, permaflowercrown, permainlove, permaobsessed

paras ; matronolagnia, ephebophilia, agonophilia, dacnolagnomania, zelophilia, voyeurism

muds ; acute attach-love disorder

tarot spread ; the magician, queen of pentacles, six of pentacles

#💾 mod lain !! 💾#🛸 the truth is out there 🛸 ; request finished.#🛸 i want to believe ; bah pack. 🛸#build a headmate #alter packs #bah blog #build an alter #create a headmate #endo safe #create an alter #headmate packs #bah blogging #baa blog #alter creation #pro endogenic #pro willogenic #pro tulpa #pro rq 🌈🍓

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genericpuff · 1 year ago

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welp, this kinda sucks

I'm currently at odds with the PC that I got a couple months ago, it's started freezing and soft-resetting randomly for seemingly no reason. It would usually be after hours of use that I could chalk up to the memory overloading, but now it's happening as soon as I boot up the frigging thing. And just to make it clear how much I've done on my own to diagnose the problem, our attempts to fix it have included the following:

Limiting startup applications

Running virus / malware scans

Swapping out display monitors

Updating the GPU drivers

Setting a lower overclock profile in the BIOS settings

Swapping out power cables and outlets to check for power surges

So far none of these things have worked and if anything, the issue has just gotten worse in the last two days. Like, it can barely make it to the startup screen sometimes, despite the memory and CPU usage being >20%, there is zero reason it would be the PC overclocking itself just from startup.

(and no, it doesn't even compel me, i'm just annoyed to shit LOL)

So I dropped it off with the guy who built it (he runs an electronics / pawn shop downtown that's very reputable and well-known so it's not like I don't trust him or anything, he's been building PC's for people in the area for years) and it's now in his care for the next day or two while he tries to isolate the problem. Right now the only thing I can imagine being the problem is the power supply or my display monitor, which is my old Huion Kamvas 22 Plus that still works as a monitor, just not a drawing tablet - but if something's still fucking around in the tablet, it could be causing problems through the PC, maybe.

When I dropped it off with the guy, he went and set it up in his office and came out and told me that so far it seemed to be running just fine, when he asked me if I was doing anything specific I told him it was crashing even after startup so I gave him permission to overclock the shit out of it, run 53879205893 browser tabs, run my games, software, anything he needed to do to push it to its limits and see if he could replicate the problem.

I am terrified if it has to do with the motherboard, because that will be an expensive replacement that will also potentially lead to losing files / installations / etc. depending on how big an issue it is. It could also potentially be Windows 11 having a hissy fit especially seeing as how it's freezing up on startup, but doesn't freeze on the BIOS screen when it loads up in safe-mode after hard resets, so something is clearly happening between the hard boot-up and the startup of Windows 11 itself.

Thankfully I do have Google Drive sync support and plenty of external HDD's that I can back my stuff up to, but with the freezing and restarting getting as bad as it's been, I haven't been able to back anything up, and I don't want to risk doing it manually if it'll just freeze and potentially corrupt my files in the process. So I told the guy to call me if he needed to mess with anything concerning the system storage so that, if he could at least keep it running stable in the shop, then I could swing by and get everything I needed synced up safely before he messes around with anything.

It could also very well have something to do with the power supply itself, the house that I occupy the main floor of isn't exactly built with electric optimization in mind, we've had fuses blow on us before just from running the hair dryer at the same time as the TV, so if it's something to do with the PC drawing too much power for the electrical system here to keep up with, either (hopefully) the guy will be able to instruct me on how to lower and manage that power intake through the PC's BIOS (I believe you can but I'm still a massive noob on custom builds and I don't want to go tinkering with it myself) or, idk, maybe I'll have to get my landlord to drop by again with his electrician and check out the fuses to make sure they're all operating properly. I'm not an electrician either, so fuck if I know at this point what could be going on. I feel like it can't be the house itself because everything else is running fine and it's just become a recent issue, but our city's power grid is also not exactly praised for being good at its job, especially not in the winter.

So yeah, I'm a little - well, a lot - stressed right now, but all I can really do at this point is wait. Fortunately, I have my iPad and also remembered that I still have my old PC, so I've hooked it up, at best if the problem repeats itself on this PC then I'll know it has to do with the display monitor, at worst I'll just be stuck working with my clunky old hardware for a couple days, which is annoying, but it'll get the job done. Fortunately I had the newest episode of Rekindled uploaded to the cloud in Clip Studio so I can still download it and work on it, which was my biggest worry when everything started to go belly-up (next to just, like, having a working PC).

Sooooo yeah. It's annoying, but I'm hoping for the best. Send good vibes y'all, I really could use it rn, between this and slow traffic at work and some other personal shit that's been going on, it's been a shitty few days (╥﹏╥)

And yeah, I'll keep y'all updated on if it affects this week's update, it really shouldn't honestly as most of the work left is doable from both my iPad and PC, but obviously at this point anything can happen so if anything has to be postponed or changed to accommodate the current situation, I'll update y'all as soon as I can! Thanks everyone, y'all are the best, wish me luck <3

#self post #computer problems

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crowttore · 2 months ago

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Pyrogenic sprouts (Mortefi x fem reader)

Notes: Committing to uploading this fic on my new account. Written with exactly one braincell active to combat writing anxiety. Steal my writing and you're getting Strongyloides fuelleborni kellyi.

Tags: Mortefi x fem reader, two chapters, terrible first meeting, strangers to lovers, reader is not Rover, awkward flirting, eventual smut, total 8k words

Minors DNI

When the ground has been scorched, pyrogenic plants are swift to repopulate the charred area, sprouting as soon as one day after the flames die out. They spread their roots and turn the soil, nourishing those that will come after. Soon enough, the entire area will once more be lush and green, granted a second chance at life after an event that should have created an inhospitable wasteland.

Over the years, Mortefi had been forced to accept the reality of what he was. A walking time bomb to be set off at a moments notice if circumstance aligned. 'Unstable' wasn't the word they had used to describe his disposition, but even as a child, he'd understood the meaning nonetheless. Since last he overclocked, a large enough event that there had been official reports on the 'incident', Mortefi had been adamant in taking every possible measure to temper the flames that continued to rage within.

For although he understood the necessity of fire in the process of rebirth, he refused to once more be the bringer of such grave destruction.

With the exception being the tacet discords currently disintegrating on the ground. Burnt to ashes in a less literal sense than the countless angelicas, lemongrass, noctemint, and if the fresh scent wafting along the smoke was anything to go by, there'd been perillas as well. A pity those had been burned, they made for a satisfying addition to his candies.

His eyes closed for a moment, taking a deep breath to steady the adrenaline racing through his body, feeling the familiar crackle of sparks along his pectoral, never having quite gotten used to the pulsing of his tacet mark overlapping with his pulse. The almost ritualistic motion of wiping his hands against his coat, despite never touching the enemy, was crudely interrupted when small hands, curiously rough, shoved at his chest.

It wasn't enough to knock him off balance, simply taking a step backwards to separate himself from the unfamiliar touch and cracking open an eye to be met with your enraged expression. Well, if you had the energy to be enraged then the injuries you'd sustained could only be superficial. Which was lucky considering the profound lack of medical supplies on his person.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Your voice was a shrill thing, he mused, briefly scanning the surrounding area for potential threats you could attract with your cry of death, "You've ruined everything!"

For a moment, he thanked the upbringing he'd had, uncertain if commanding the calm exterior he did now would've been possible had he not spent his youth performing every second out of the mansion. At least you were being direct.

"I would hardly call providing assistance 'ruining' anything, miss," your stare remained unyielding as the thorns in the distance, only prompting a sigh from Mortefi, "I believe it would be prudent to let me escort you back. In case you were unaware, this area was recently deemed unsafe for civilians."

He might have chuckled at your frustrated whine if it didn't immediately tick him off to your impending denial. Truthfully, he didn't have time for this. A barely finished child-sized glider, with joints to flap the wings for a little extra airtime, lay waiting atop one of his counters back at the academy. Not to mention the actual work that needed completion. Just because Jinzhou had averted another immediate crisis didn't mean progress could afford to halt.

The dismissing hand you were waving had Mortefi needing another deep breath, fingers itching for his lighter, "Leave me alone will you, you've cause enough problems for me already and I still have stuff to do."

Oh if only it was so easy to leave you to your own devices. But there you were, alone and unarmed. No sign of being a resonator either. This was just perfect. He'd forgone breakfast, having stayed up most of the night and just needed to collect a few feathers for the glider, wanting to finish and deliver the gift today, and he really didn't have time to assist some thankless civilian with a death-wish.

"I suggest you let me take you back and hire a guard next time."

How the lighter had made it into his hands was beyond him, only noticing when you scoffed incredulously, looking more like a scorned child than the adult you supposedly were. Or perhaps you were simply as adept at mimicry as the plants you so cared for.

"And I suggest you learn to stay out of other people's business," your voice had lost the brittle edge, making you seem more like a frightened mouse attempting to startle a predator.

He felt a pang in his chest, the look in your eye merging with that hint of helpless fury in your voice. It resonated with memories that were better off buried in the depths of his mind. The ashes had slowly settled at least, and he silently mourned having blackened the edges of another coat. More to take care of once he was home.

As nonchalant as possible, he shoved the lighter back into his pocket and gestured for you to move, "get on with it then, I don't have all day."

At least you didn't argue, resigning to showing your displeasure with the stomping of boots. Your name had a foreign sound to it, but knowing firsthand how tumultuous moving could be, he deigned it unimportant to pry further. The harshness of your words stood in sharp contrast to the occupation you divulged; a florist of all things. Though he supposed that did explain the volatile reaction to seeing a scorched meadow.

The realization that he'd spent seconds destroying what might have been several days worth of business did make guilt stir in the pit of stomach, and for just a moment, he wondered if another emotion such as that could one day fill the space usually left for rage.

Likewise, you'd gone eerily silent when he'd begun explaining his field of research. Tacetite weaponry didn't sit well with everyone, Mortefi was acutely aware of that much and it wasn't a discussion he wished to have first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

"Keep that lighter pocketed, you hear me?"

Mortefi grit his teeth, releasing the familiar metal back into his pocket, observing as you squatted down and began cutting stems and peeling back leaves with surprising efficiency, quickly collecting a sizeable pile of various flowers and greenery. The latter to fill out bouquets he presumed. He ran a hand through his hair, grunting softly when it came back a little moist from sweat. Wonderful, he'd need to shower properly before heading to work.

"How long before you collect wares again?" The question lingered heavy as smoke for a minute, almost making him regret asking.

"Tomorrow, I collect daily," your voice was almost pleasant now that you were focused on something else. He felt the familiar twitch in his fingers, aching to busy himself instead of standing around like a useless moron.

"I would advise you to find a different area, the frequencies have been chaotic here for a while, a tacet field is expected to show up within days."

The shrug of your shoulders was expected, and thus did nothing significant to sour his mood. You'd been warned, anything beyond was your own responsibility. Perhaps he should offer to make a shield, or a weapon of some sort, even if you weren't trained for combat, a simple explosive should be manageable, or a portable turret maybe? Maybe a sentinel drone, one that would detect shifting vibrations in the air and alert you before tacet discords could manifest?

But that wouldn't be any use against local wildlife. Not unless he programmed some feature that would let it discern potentially harmful creatures. It would be doable, and he should have the parts for it.

"And I will once again ask you, Mortefi, to stay out of my business, what is it with you scholars and meddling everywhere?" Mortefi opened his eyes just in time to see you gather a large bundle of flowers and shove it into his arms before you continued, "honestly, there must be something in the water you drink at that academy."

Mortefi couldn't help but feel a smile tug at his lips, what a ridiculous theory, "curiosity is the essence of progress," he paused for a moment, not bothering to argue with serving as a pack animal, he was already in this far, "Speaking of, I have several ideas that might-"

"I'm not turning a big enough profit to fund some inventor, I'll continue as I have."

The scent of flowers continued to cling to him long after helping you arrange the flowers at your humble stand, rickety wooden frame desperately in need of a helping hand. It left a trail of pungent sweetness even after showering, and he found himself needing to pop another candy into his mouth to not mutter something at the countless researchers staring at him as he trekked to his laboratory.

Toys quickly finished, he began drafting up various designs for a little sentinel. Perhaps it could serve to carry your harvest as well if he was a little clever about the logistics and specifications of each component.

It had been a purely spontaneous act when his morning walk had diverged from its usual route through Jinzhou, barely awake after working through most of the night to catch up on various projects. The sentinel wasn't finished, not by a long shot, which once more prompted the question of why he found himself standing at your stall, checking his watch while wondering how long he could wait without drawing attention.

His mind was quickly lost to thoughts of tests that would need to be done, who he could delegate it to, components that had to be ordered. They were all out of 6mm screws and getting his hands on more scarletthorn would be beneficial, the combination of toughness and slight flexibility preferable for maintaining structural integrity and absorbing residual frequencies to ensure no harm came to the wielder.

"Come to finish the job, have you?"

Mortefi was startled out of his thoughts by the weight of a body colliding with his. There wasn't enough time to stop the click of his tongue, hand moving to put the glittering metal (when had he even picked it up?) back into his pocket. Morning dew dripped from the velvety petals and onto your hands, sunlight reflected in each droplet with only half the intensity of your eyes. Arms filled with your harvest and not another person in sight. It wasn't exactly a surprise that you had gone out alone despite all logic.

That was far more than necessary for the uneasy feeling to bloom through his ribs.

"Despite your best efforts to paint me as a villain, I don't exactly consider myself a pyromaniac. Being out for a walk hardly counts as a crime," he crossed his arms in front of his chest, feeling none of the chilly breeze that made the hairs on your arms stand on end, "and if that were the case, I can currently see someone else who would be in just as much trouble."

He felt a small wave of uncertainty at the way his comment was met with nothing but a roll of your eyes, had he been hoping for a laugh?

"Then I'm curious to know why you were waiting for me," it was wholly non-accusatory, and Mortefi found his mind reeling as it searched for hidden meaning.

Despite himself, a hand ran through unruly hair, ponytail not quite as orderly as usual, while he hesitated to provide an explanation. Truthfully, doubt was currently coursing through his blood, licking along the veins like the fire he'd spent years tempering, the fire for which there was no proper use except destruction. This would have been easier had you followed the customs of Huanglong, speaking with overt politeness and layers of false praise. He knew exactly how to deal with that.

With a sigh, he came to the conclusion that a small embellishment onto a truth he was loathe to admit would be best, "You're correct in assuming I was waiting for you, I wanted to-"

"I already said no yesterday," the dismissive tone as you carefully arranged both delicate and durable blossoms alongside each other had him biting back a scoff. The faint trail of blood that ran from your palm to disappear under your sleeve had him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Let me finish," you truly were adamant in testing his patience with your carefree movements, "I need a bouquet of flowers. Consider me picking this shop an apology for charring your wares, even if it did save you from your own carelessness."

People's lives were their own concern, so why had that last part been tacked on without his consent? Each individual has a responsibility to weigh their options and act according to their own convictions. Mortefi could provide instructions, optimal paths, tools that could aid the pursuit of a goal, but he couldn't force anyone to utilize it. Knowledge that was as freeing as it was infuriating.

"Oh. Well, that's another matter entirely then. Occasion, colors, budget, and if you have any specific requests for a flower that you don't see here," you shrugged your shoulders, "then you should've made the request yesterday."

He felt his eyes widen at the number of considerations, glancing around the still empty streets and briefly wondering what you would do with the little stand if a storm ensued.

"You put no thought into this did you?" You were smiling now, like a rose stripped of thorns as you caught on, "let's start with occasion. If it's for a lover, we wouldn't want to put a flower symbolizing dishonesty in there now would we?"

How you had managed to get your hands on wintry bells was something best left unconsidered, he did however appreciate their crisp scent, almost a little prickly if not for the enveloping softness of the belle poppies that nestled like drops of blood in the snow. For all the 'subtle' artistry of making it resemble him, perhaps you'd seen through the poor excuse - this was clearly made for him to keep. With all the work you put in to gather them fresh each morning, the price had almost made him laugh in disbelief.

Breakfast was consumed in silence, pondering if he should leave the flowers at home where they would wait and wither without truly being enjoyed, or if he should accept the contamination of his laboratory to not let them go to waste.

Mortefi never overestimated his own abilities, there was always a way through every barrier, and if it could not be made by force, then there was no shortage of other angles to try. That was all there was to it. The languid notes filling the room were a stark contrast to his own growing unrest, fitting the small components together in the intricate casing proving a Sisyphean task with the way his leg had been bouncing under the desk for the past thirty minutes.

Just a little longer, surely, and then he could put this all behind him. Need to be useful fed and satisfied so it would crawl back into the pits of his being. It would be so much easier if you had simply taken the offer, made him some insane request with greed in your eyes, he could have accepted, made something to fulfill it in the worst way possible - a sentinel with an obnoxious alarm that doesn't turn off unless some ridiculous parameter was met. It was simple.

Disappointment was simple.

You loathed to admit that the visits from Mortefi had quickly become a treasured part of your daily routine, more often than not finding him already waiting for your return. The occasion was never more than a string of grumbled sounds, noncommittal in a way that had you grinning as you picked out foliage to substantiate the bouquet. Extra income was nice as well, being on a relatively tight budget after spending most of your savings on moving.

But it was for the better. The people here were nicer, even if you hadn't really had the time to socialize much. Getting through was your specialty, having always been, lovingly of course, likened to a persistent weed. You would find your footing in Jinzhou as well.

Handing over the carefully bound arrangement of various crimson flowers, you'd even found some vines that grew black thorns, positioning them far from anywhere a sane person would hold, you couldn't help but smile at the grumpy looking researcher.

"I'll see you tomorrow Mortefi, good luck on your research!"

The huff that left him sounded dry as ever, he'd been less talkative today, dark circles under his eyes suggesting someone might be overworking themselves. Over just the past few weeks, you'd grown accustomed to hearing him mumble to himself about projects, occasionally finding the courage to simply start asking, even if the thought of weapons made you stomach churn.

It had been vague and technical at first; 'what exactly is tacetite?', 'how do you use reverberations?', but it had quickly become clear that he was prone to being sidetracked provided the right prompts.

Today had been one such day, with him having ended up talking for half an hour straight after you'd asked how he even came up with all those ideas and innovations. It felt oddly intimate, voice firm and eyes focused before finally pulling out a notepad to visualize the thought process, leaning so close that you had no choice but to laugh and shove him away to have room to work.

You saw him shift, looking almost uneasy with the flowers cradled gently in his arms, crimson eyes focused on something in the distance as he spoke, "I enjoy afternoon teas most days. There hasn't been time lately, but I plan to remedy that tomorrow. I was wondering if you would join me, considering these morning talks have grown rather lengthy, perhaps it would be better to more properly dedicate time?"

Part 2

Masterlist

#smacked what was once chapter one and two together into this #will hopefully reupload the smacked together three and four tomorrow #please someone put a gun to my head and make sure I do lmao #also uhh yeah I wrote this with next to no attention... as the notes say I was trying to fight writing anxiety #crow with a pen #mortefi x reader #mortefi #mortefi x you #wuwa mortefi #wuwa x reader #wuwa fanfic #wuthering waves #wuthering waves x reader #wuthering waves x you

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dailycharacteroption · 1 year ago

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Magaambya Attendant (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)

(art by LorenzoTonetto on DeviantArt)

(Oh goodness, I must have been supremely tired last night, as I forgot to post this. Never fear, Tuesday’s entry will be coming later today as well)

Of all the magical academies I’ve seen in fiction, Magaambya is probably one of my favorites. Founded on the teachings of the man who singlehandedly saved the traditions of arcane magic during the Age of Darkness and shored up by his philosophy of magic for all and used for the betterment of all, it truly has become Oldmage Jatembe’s shining legacy, where students are taught not just to master magic, but how to use it to better others… and most learn these lessons well. Most of them.

In any case, today we’re looking at the Magaambya Attendant, an archetype associated with the school. While not every graduate has this archetype, those that do represent those that have taken the lessons, both philosophical and magical, to heart. This isn’t to say that others slack on their lessons, rather that the Attendants draw power directly from their lessons rather than just philosophically.

Additionally, these attendants often also specialize in the lessons of one of the five branches of scholarship at the Magaambya: the Cascade Bearers who value creativity and imagination in magic; the Emerald Bough, who favor camaraderie and goodwill; Rain-Scribes, who adapt and learn from their mistakes; Tempest-Sun Mages who value valor and the courage to let their own views be challenged and changed; and finally Uzunjati, storyteller masters that seek wisdom in the lore and knowledge of old.

No matter how they specialize, however, they are still students of the same philosophy, so let’s take a look at how they apply what they have learned!

The base dedication of this archetype grants training in either the primal or arcane arts, as well as a basic cantrip in either of those traditions. Additionally, one must pick affiliation with one of the aforementioned branches, and finally, since they are associated with the same school, one can also take the halcyon speaker archetype alongside this one without the restriction one normally sees with archetypes.

Traditionally, Magammbya mages wear masks, often enchanted, when performing their duties, but some find, whether by accident or design, that their mask takes on a life of it’s own, becoming their familiar. While not all can talk, they can all detach from the wearer’s face and move about with a body composed of multicolored light, and can of course pretend to be an ordinary mask when the need strikes.

Naturally, some attendants master magic to further bolster their mask familiars, granting them new abilities.

Cascade Bearers demonstrate surprising flexibility, able to alter their spells on the fly with metamagical techniques they haven’t properly mastered yet, though only once a day.

Emerald Boughs are expected to travel beyond the school and potentially recruit new students. As such, they have a knack for adapting quickly to any culture they find themselves in.

Meanwhile, Rain-Scribes learn how to sustain their bodies entirely with ambient magic, eliminating the need for food, though they can also overclock it to stay awake while resting normally at the cost of needing food later.

The Tempest-Suns are perhaps the most likely to engage in combat, so they’d developed techniques to redirect the flow of their attacking spells, minimizing damage to their allies while also redirecting some of the energy to ward them for a few moments as well.

The Storytellers of the Uzunjati know dozens of tales, and they can leverage that knowledge to recall important tales and impress others with their knowledge of the old wisdom.

Later on, Cascade Bearers learn to be more flexible with the sources of their magic, able to add occult and divine magics to their halcyon spell arsenal.

Travelling so far from home, many Emerald Boughs find it useful to store away certain items for later use, and learn to create a small pocket dimension to store items that lasts as long as they remain conscious. Perfect for hiding an item that cannot be allowed to be stolen, or emergency tools for a situation.

Rain-Scribes are themed around adaptability, so some master learn to turn aside that which would hinder them. By shrouding themselves in magic, they can stride easily through difficult terrain, destroying or casting aside the inhibiting elements of which as they do so, with not even magically manipulated terrain being safe.

The combat expertise of Tempest-Suns continues as they learn how to expend unused spell energy to blunt and block incoming attacks, robbing them of the force to wound.

Masters among the Uzunjati can recall information and create a story about it on the fly, entertaining and gaining useful information in one act.

True masters among the Uzunjati might also learn to improve their stories further, providing useful advice and maybe a little guiding magic to bolster their allies when fighting a foe that inspired the recalled story in the first place.

As you can see, this archetype is primarily all about branching into one of the many schools of thought and roles associated with the academy, granting abilities that are thematic to what each branch of the school favors and represents, though obviously some are more flashy than others. This also means that an individual can only take a maximum of three feats (four for Uzunjati) from this archetype, making it relatively unobtrusive if you want to blend it with its sister archetype, the Halcyon Speaker, or take it by itself for some practical abilities that speak to the character’s role and vocation.

Like I said before, neither this archetype nor the Halcyon Speaker are required to represent a graduate of the Magaambya, but they both help represent someone who has learned to incorporate the unique teachings of the academy into their magical arsenal, and it’s nice to have such an option. Additionally, I like that in addition to breaking down the barriers between arcane and primal magic, the branches of the school are not broken down by schools of magic, but by philosophy in how magic is learned and applied. This goes a long way towards justifying how the Thassilonian schools are not universal, and why the schools of magic in the remastered version are more broad in their theming. (though I’ll still be using them for those that want them.

The dry desert consumes the weak, that is what Torva, a beastkin orc woman, grew up understanding, but when her latent talent for the druidic arts manifested, she was sent off to the Oasis, an impossible green city in the middle of the sands, to harness her magic at their academy. There, she encountered the kind and unjudging school environment and began to question what it meant to be weak or strong.

Instructor Kanzarato has a reputation at the school, and not just because he’s a dragon! The brine dragon wyrm tries very hard, but has trouble thinking of his classroom as anything other than his territory. However, once he has warmed up to new students, he is the first and fiercest to protect them.

Charming and quick with a joke, the storyteller Uban has many a tale they could spin, including those of the days when the magic academy of the White Valley still stood, teaching a blending of every source of magic. In the late night, when most have gone to bed, he confides that though they are outlawed and hunted, the mages of that school do still remain, bringing kindness and wisdom to those that need it. He meets any suggestion that he is one such mage with a soft chuckled and a wink.

#pathfinder second edition #archetype #magaambyan attendant #orc #dragon #brine dragon #Character Guide #Legends

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