#having to deal with AI is the more annoying part of it

[scarefox]

Did a personality test in an instagram ad for analyzing your job skills and weaknesses in order to gain more confidence or fix weaknesses.

Turns out I am:

37,5% owl 22,5 % dolphin 10% shark 30% whale

lol

but well that guy has at least an explanation text for the animal assignation which I can steal some bits for my motivation letter

[advisorsage]

Anyone else see The Spider at the ass crack of dawn every morning but only when opening your right eye or is that just me?

[sunderwight]

y'know what, I think it's kind of interesting to bring up Data from Star Trek in the context of the current debates about AI. like especially if you actually are familiar with the subplot about Data investigating art and creativity.

see, Data can definitely do what the AI programs going around these days can. better than, but that's beside the point, obviously. he's a sci-fi/fantasy android. but anyway, in the story, Data can perfectly replicate any painting or stitch a beautiful quilt or write a poem. he can write programs for himself that introduce variables that make things more "flawed", that imitate the particular style of an artist, he can choose to either perfectly replicate a particular sort of music or to try and create a more "human" sounding imitation that has irregular errors and mimics effort or strain. the latter is harder for him that just copying, the same way it's more complicated to have an algorithm that creates believable "original" art vs something that just duplicates whatever you give it.

but this is not the issue with Data. when Data imitates art, he himself knows that he's not really creating, he's just using his computer brain to copy things that humans have done. it's actually a source of deep personal introspection for the character, that he believes being able to create art would bring him closer to humanity, but he's not sure if he actually can.

of course, Data is a person. he's a person who is not biological, but he's still a person, and this is really obvious from go. there's no one thing that can be pointed to as the smoking gun for Data's personhood, but that's normal and also true of everyone else. Data's the culmination of a multitude of elements required to make a guy. Asking if this or that one thing is what makes Data a person is like asking if it's the flour or the eggs that make a cake.

the question of whether or not Data can create art is intrinsically tied to the question of whether or not Data can qualify as an artist. can he, like a human, take on inspiration and cultivate desirable influences in order to produce something that reflects his view on the world?

yes, he can. because he has a view on the world.

but that's the thing about the generative AI we are dealing with in the real world. that's not like Data. despite being referred to as "AI", these are algorithms that have been trained to recognize and imitate patterns. they have no perspective. the people who DO have a perspective, the humans inputting prompts, are trying to circumvent the whole part of the artistic process where they actually develop skills and create things themselves. they're not doing what Data did, in fact they're doing the opposite -- instead of exploring their own ability to create art despite their personal limitations, they are abandoning it. the data sets aren't like someone looking at a painting and taking inspiration from it, because the machine can't be inspired and the prompter isn't filtering inspiration through the necessary medium of their perspective.

Data would be very confused as to the motives and desires involved, especially since most people are not inhibited from developing at least SOME sort of artistic skill for the sake self-expression. he'd probably start researching the history of plagiarism and different cultural, historical, and legal standards for differentiating it from acceptable levels of artistic imitation, and how the use of various tools factored into it. he would cite examples of cultures where computer programming itself was considered a form of art, and court cases where rulings were made for or against examples of generative plagiarism, and cases of forgeries and imitations which required skill as good if not better than the artists who created the originals. then Geordi would suggest that maybe Data was a little bit annoyed that people who could make art in a way he can't would discount that ability. Data would be like "as a machine I do not experience annoyance" but he would allow that he was perplexed or struggling to gain internal consensus on the matter. so Geordi would sum it up with "sometimes people want to make things easy, and they aren't always good at recognizing when doing that defeats the whole idea" and Data would quirk his head thoughtfully and agree.

then they'd get back to modifying the warp core so they could escape some sentient space anomaly that had sucked the ship into intermediate space and was slowly destabilizing the hull, or whatever.

anyways, point is -- I don't think Data from Star Trek would be a big fan of AI art.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

This will be more of a personal post sprinkled with some thoughts on AYS?!, so for those interested strictly in shipping content, you can skip this.

I couldn't help myself yesterday to wait until my work schedule was done. So I watched the first two episodes during lunch break and work, while using the keyboard from time to time to not appear offline.

And then a second time in the evening, without as many interruptions. I even texted my sister to remind her that the episodes have been released (she has JK's songs on her playlists and that's where it stops). My tone was very casual, as if I just remembered it was already up. As if I haven't actually been thinking and obsessing about that show for a year now. But that's because I can't let this online, fandom "life" seep through my other, "real" one. I've always struggled with my feelings of shame over being part of such spaces. Which is why I avoided them completely. Up until four years ago. I'm still dealing with it. I don't want to tell people that I have an interest in a kpop ship and that it's been ongoing for a few years now. It feels to foreign to the image I allow others to have of me and this kpop stuff is childish to say the least. I've fallen victim to the talking points I've argued against intellectually. But life doesn't work that way. My rational brain doesn't get along with my feelings.

So I keep my thoughts about shipping, fandoms, jikook here. And I share them with friends and people that have a connection to it. It's why I have a blog. So I can post a photo of jikook holding hands at the beginning of their journey and at least 10 people will understand it cause they like the same thing. I'm not a loser on my own here so the thought feels comforting.

I didn't have specific expectations about AYS?!, but I felt happy watching it. It was different, but a good different. Having the opporrtunity to witness them from morning till evening without any interruptions painted an interesting picture and it's the first time to see some parts of their dynamic.

They bicker, they flirt, they get lovingly annoyed, they get bored, they get silent, they get touchy. It feels more real than any 2-min clip from a Memories DVD could possibly show us. I don't want picture perfect jikook because it doesn't exist. Being in stan spaces, all I see everyday is worship, a mentality that is then transfered to the people surrounding the idol. But I don't want JK to worship Jimin 24/7 or vice versa. That's not a real relationship of any kind. I want to see them treat each other like they're just people. Which is what they did. Too bad that some have interpreted that as negative when in fact all we got were clear signs of actual closeness. And nothing beats it like Jungkook's attitude towards Jimin being sick. Shippers/supporters have clips and endless arguments on hand to explain the closeness between jikook, but honestly? That first evening in the cabin when JM was in the bathroom and subsequently the next morning should be the sole argument from now on. It can't be more obvious if it hit us in the head.

It's not about needing confirmation at every step of them being a couple. At least I don't need that. In the long run, it wouldn't even matter if they're not. What's noticeable is that they appear to be one and that doesn't come out of thin air.

Is my mood volatile these days? Yes. Actually these past few months. Do I need this show as one of those feel good series? Definitely, because there's nothing else out there to catch my attention in terms of tv content. I don't want to pick apart and poke holes and question every single line to make myself feel miserable. Everything else is too bad and I am too lame so I rely on this show for a short, temporary thing that improves my mood. I don't care about other things, doubts or worries. I really really just want to enjoy jikook doing whatever they want. I don't have high standards.

[dragonmarquise]

How to Deal with Windows 10/11 Nonsense

This is more for my own reference to keep all of this on one post. But hopefully others will find this useful too! So yeah, as the title says, this is a to organize links and resources related to handling/removing nonsense from Windows 10 and Windows 11. Especially bloatware and stuff like that Copilot AI thing.

First and foremost, there's O&O Software's ShutUp10++ (an antispy tool that help give you more control over Windows settings) and App Buster (helps remove bloatware and manage applications). I've used these myself for Windows 10 and they work great, and the developers have stated that these should work with Windows 11 too!

10AppsManager is another bloatware/app management tool, though at the moment it seems to only work on Windows 10.

Winaero Tweaker, similar to ShupUp10++ in that it gives you more control over Windows to disable some of the more annoying settings, such as disabling web search from the taskbar/start menu and disabling ads/tips/suggestions in different parts of the OS. I think ShupUp10++ covers the same options as this one, but I'm not entirely sure.

OpenShell, helps simplify the Start Menu and make it look more like the classic start menu from older versions of Windows. Should work with both 10 and 11 according to the readme.

Notes on how to remove that one horrible AI spying snapshots feature that's being rolled out on Windows 11 right now.

Article on how to remove Copilot (an AI assistant) from Windows 11.

Win11Debloat, a simple script that can be used to automatically remove pretty much all of the bullshit from both 10 and 11, though a lot of its features are focused on fixing Windows 11 in particular (hence the name). Also has options you can set to pick and choose what changes you want!

Article on how to set up Windows 11 with a local account on a new computer, instead of having to log in with a Microsoft account. To me, this is especially important because I much prefer having a local account than let Microsoft have access to my stuff via a cloud account. Also note this article and this article for more or less the same process.

I will add to this as I find more resources. I'm hoping to avoid Windows 11 for as long as possible, and I've already been used the O&O apps to keep Windows 10 trimmed down and controlled. But if all else fails and I have to use Windows 11 on a new computer, then I plan to be as prepared as possible.

Edit 11/1/2024: Two extra things I wanted to add onto here.

A recommended Linux distro for people who want to use Linux instead of Windows.

How to run a Windows app on Linux, using Wine. Note that this will not work for every app out there, though a lot of people out there are working on testing different apps and figuring out how to get them to work in Wine.

The main app I use to help with my art (specifically for 3D models to make references when I need it) is Windows only. If I could get it to work on Linux, it would give me no reason to use Windows outside of my work computer tbh (which is a company laptop anyways).

[upat4amwiththemoon]

helloo! could you write high school wandanat x reader where they’re enemies to lovers? wandanat are already a couple. wandanat and r are part of different friend groups in school, and there’s a lot of tension between the two groups, maybe because of a past event. wandanat and r have a class together and are put in a group, forcing them to work together and spend time with each other. eventually the 3 start to become friends, and end up falling for each other

Group project

Summary: Proximity warms hearts.

Pairing: WandaNat x female!reader

Warnings: everyone is a bit mean, cursing, a bit steamy in the end I suppose

Word count: 3186

a/n: I’m sorry I’m not very good at writing enemies to lovers, so I don’t really know what this is

Tags: @thought-of-you-and-me @rafecameronswhore

All parts: part 1, part 2

“Why are they staring at us?” Kate mumbles as she shoves food into her mouth. “They are like, obsessed or something.”

Y/N glances to the direction Kate is staring at. It’s the popular table. No one really understands what their deal is, they just don’t like people who aren’t part of their group. No one knows if they just think they’re better than everyone or if something happened. But at the end of the day, pretty much all the groups are like that.

“I don’t know.” Y/N shrugs, turning back to her lunch. “You look kinda obsessed with them right now.”

Kate looks at Y/N with her mouth open and brows raised. “I am not.”

“Okay.” Y/N mumbles with a slight smile.

“I am not!”

Taking a bite out of her food, Y/N nods slowly, not looking at Kate, but still knowing what kind of look she has in her face. “I heard you.”

Kate humphs, annoyed by the grin on Y/N’s face. She stabs her food and eats as angrily as she can, just to show Y/N the level of annoyance she is at. However, all this just amuses her even more.

“So, you’ll be doing the project with me that Ms Harkness said we’ll do, right?”

“I don’t know anymore.” Kate shrugs. “Maybe I’ll do it with Yelena.”

“Oh, come on. You hate doing school work with Yelena.”

“The only thing she does is slack off.” Dropping her fork to the empty plate, Kate turns to look at Y/N. “I’m doing it with you.”

“Listen up, students!” Ms Harkness claps her hands, quietening down the classroom. “We are trying something different today. I’m going to assign your project’s groups.” The whole class starts groaning and whining, all of them having made plans with their friends already. “I know, I know. This is the ends of the world for you. Anyways,” she takes out a list, “I have the groups written here, so listen closely.”

As Ms Harkness lists off the groups, the students start moving into said groups. The more time goes on without her saying Y/N or Kate’s name, they get excited as the possibility of them being in the same group grows every second.

“Next group. Kate Bishop…” Kate and Y/N’s ears perk up, both waiting anxiously for the latter’s name to appear. “Yelena Belova and Gwen Stacy.”

The two deflate, sending each other disappointed looks before Kate moves from the desk next to Y/N. She looks around the classroom, trying to see which students are still without a group. When she notices everyone but two people with their own groups, her eyes widen.

“And last but not least, Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff and Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Shit.” She whispers to herself. With her luck, of course she gets paired up with the couple. Y/N sees them sitting on the dow in front of her, unmoving, so she grabs her bag and makes her way over to them.

She moves a desk bit closer to them, but far enough so it doesn’t touch either of their desks, and sits down. “Now that all of you have your groups, pick a subject and start working on the project. We’ll be doing it this whole class, but after that it’s a thing you have to do on your own time.” Everyone starts groaning again. “I know, I’m horrible. Start working.”

Before Y/N can even think about saying something, Wanda opens her mouth. “We already decided the topic to be how AI was doomed from the start, because they learn from biased people.”

“Okay.” Y/N mumbles. “Uhm, what should I do?”

Natasha shrugs, opening her laptop. “Just look some info on AI. Shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Nodding silently, Y/N opens her laptop and starts searching any kind of information on AI and its future. She stays quiet the whole class, not finding any openings in Natasha and Wanda’s conversation.

When the class ends, Y/N’s mood is on the floor. She is not feeling good about the project. “We’re going to our dorm after school ends to work on the project, so see you there, I guess.” Wanda says as she puts her things in her bag.

“Where is your dorm?”

Natasha sighs. “Building B, fourth floor, dorm number 405.” She tells in a quick manner, leaving immediately after.

Y/N looks after them with a dumbfounded look until Kate comes up behind her, wrapping her arms around her neck. “How’d it go?”

“Awful.”

Yelena walks to them, laughing mockingly at Y/N’s misfortune. “Our project is going great.”

“That’s because you didn’t do anything.” Kate frowns, letting go of Y/N’s neck only to lock their arms together. “Me and Gwen did all the work so far. Your contribution was whining.”

Yelena shrugs, following the two as they start walking to their next class. The three are tight together, though out of the two Kate and Y/N are clearly like sisters, because while Yelena has other friends, the pair have stuck together their whole life.

Y/N giggles quietly at their squabbling. They never seemed to agree on anything, but that was just their way of showing that they care about each other.

“Well, at least I don’t have Yelena on my group.”

Scoffing, Yelena punches Y/N’s side lightly.

Standing in front of the dorm room 405, Y/N takes a deep breath. She’s holding one of her fists up in the air, ready to knock. Music can be heard through the door. Wanda and Natasha are already there.

She knocks.

The music quietens down and Wanda opens the door. She says nothing when she sees Y/N, only widens the gap so she can step inside.

“Hi.” Y/N mumbles, almost too quiet for the two to hear. She looks around the room. The two single beds have been pushed together to form one big bed to the left side. There’s a bookcase on the end of it and two desks against the opposite wall.

The floor is neat, it only has a rug on it, but the walls are full of decorations. There’s pictures of people from the school and celebrities, posters of different movies and artists, even some vinyls are pinned to them.

Y/N clears her throat as Wanda goes back to sitting by the desk, right next to Natasha. “Cool room.”

Natasha nods in acknowledgment. Wanda did most of the decorating, but she likes it too. “We don’t have any more chairs, so, like sit on the floor or something.”

Too tired to fight against it, Y/N sits on the floor and takes out her things. “Me and Nat already started on our slides, we thought it’d be best to just do them individually.”

“Okay.”

And so, they start working on the project. Like during the class, Wanda and Natasha discuss points together, while Y/N stays quiet and does her own thing. It’s uncomfortable, but she’s not about to start a conversation with the two.

It goes like this for the next three meetings.

Y/N’s head is laying on the cafeteria table. She’s not feeling too good and the loud conversation going on isn’t helping at all. “Shut up.” The words come out more quiet than she wanted to.

Someone’s hand goes to her neck. “You’re really hot.” Kate frowns.

“Thanks.”

Kate groans and Yelena laughs. With a roll of her eyes, Kate ignores the comment. “I’m serious. Should you even be in school right now?”

“I can’t miss anything, plus I have to go work on the project today.”

“Can’t you skip this one time? I’m sure they won’t mind.” Kate’s hand goes to lay on Y/N’s back, rubbing it softly to bring some comfort.

Y/N scoffs. “Have you seen how they look at me? They’d kill me if I didn’t show up.”

“Well,” Kate cringes, “yeah. Probably.”

“Why do you care?” Yelena speaks up. “You’re a hard worker. You deserve a break, especially when you’re sick.”

“I don’t have time to be sick. Gotta keep my grades high.”

Yelena shakes her head. “You’re crazy.” She mumbles, going back to her lunch.

Once again, Y/N is knocking on Wanda and Natasha’s door. Her nose is stuffed and there’s loud bounding in her head, but she tries her best to ignore it.

Natasha opens the door and lets her in before going back to her seat. It’s the same as it has always been, Natasha and Wanda sitting beside their desks, while Y/N is on the floor.

Y/N isn’t sure if time is moving fast or slow, or if it’s moving at all. She feels like she has been writing forever, but the small clock on the bottom of her laptop screen hasn’t moved in ages. The conversation going on between Natasha and Wanda is muffled. It sounds like they’re much further away than they truly are.

She has been breathing through her mouth for some time, as her nose isn’t letting any air through. Leaning her head against her open palm, Y/N closes her eyes, just for a moment.

“Y/N?” Someone is shaking her shoulder. They’re doing it gently, but to Y/N it feels like her whole body is going through turmoil. “Did you fall asleep?”

Opening her eyes, Y/N sees Wanda in front of her. “Uhm,” she looks around the surroundings, catching up her brain on what’s going on, “no?” She mumbles.

Natasha furrows her brows together. She’s still sitting on her chair, but her attention is fully on Y/N. “Are you okay?”

“I am, yes, sorry.” Lifting up her head, Y/N shakes it to wake herself up. “Sorry.”

The back of Wanda’s hand goes to lay on Y/N’s forehead. It should be surprising, but her brain is too foggy to register it. “I think she’s sick.” Wanda turns to look at Natasha, talking to her rather than half awake Y/N. “Like really sick.”

“Do we have a thermostat?” Natasha mumbles, going to look for one in their bathroom. As she finds it, she brings it to Wanda and crouches down next to her.

Wanda presses on Y/N’s jaw to open her mouth and stick the thermostat under her tongue. Y/N grumbles at the feeling of it, but lets it be there.

When the thermostat beeps, Wanda takes it out, frowning at the number on it. “She has a fever.”

“I’m fine, you guys.” Y/N rubs her forehead, hoping it’ll lessen some of the pressure. “Lets keep working on the project.”

“No.” Natasha glances at the laptop screen, it’s showing the project’s slide show. “You have spelled every other word incorrectly.”

Humming, Y/N squints her eyes to look at the small words on the screen. She frowns as the words don’t come any clearer, realizing she must be sicker than she thought.

“What are we supposed to do?”

“Where are your friends?”

“Kate and Yelena are working on their project in the library in town, I think.” Y/N starts coughing. It racks up her whole body and hurts her throat. She misses the way Natasha and Wanda look at each other.

Wanda helps Y/N up while Natasha cleans up her things. She brings her to their bed, moving the cover so she’s laying under it. “Go to sleep.” She mumbles.

Natasha and Wanda stay by the bed next to Y/N until evening, when Kate comes knocking on their door, worried when Y/N still hasn’t come back to their dorm.

Over a week goes by, during which Y/N heals properly and starts working on the project again. However, after being sick, Natasha and Wanda have started to sit on the floor with Y/N, and even engage in conversations with her.

Now that her mind wasn’t so foggy, she started to notice the little things. Sometimes the couple looked at each other with a certain look when they were with her, it wasn’t bad, so to say, but Y/N doesn’t know what it is. And sometimes their eyes linger on her just a bit too long for it to be considered normal.

Although, all these things make her wonder what it all means, she ignores it all. Or at least tries to.

“Hey, Y/N.” Wanda’s hand sets on Y/N’s shoulder

Kate’s eyes are wide as she watches Y/N turn to Wanda and Natasha. “Yup?” It feels weird to have someone like Wanda touch her, still, she puts on her best smile and tries not to reveal how tense she is.

“We though we should finish the project today, so we can have the weekend free. Is that okay?”

It’s the first time they ask her opinion on their plans.

“Sure.”

Natasha smiles, grabbing Wanda’s hand. “Great, see you later.” The two walk away.

Kate stares at Y/N with an open mouth. She leans closer to her to whisper yell. “They totally have the hots for you!” She laughs quietly, so the other people in the library wouldn’t hear her.

“What?” Y/N’s brows scrunch together as her whole face turns into a grimace. “No they don’t! Are you crazy?”

“Oh, come on. Did you not see they way they were looking at you?” Kate gasps, looking at the book she is currently in the middle of. “This is the perfect lesbian, enemies to lovers story!”

“No, Kate, I’m not in one of your spicy sapphic books.”

Kate raises her brows, glancing at the cover of her book. “You could be.” She mumbles with a shrug. She is pretty sure Y/N looks just like one of the main characters on the book cover, but she denies it every time. Glancing at the clock, she grins. “You better go get ready to go to their dorm and have hot, hot sex with them.” Kate whispers the last part of the sentence.

Y/N stands up with a huff. “I am not going to have hot sex with them!” She says it just a bit too loudly, making someone on the next table turn to look at them. “I’m not having sex with anyone!” Grabbing her bag, Y/N walks out of the library while Kate giggles after her.

Natasha opens the door with a small grin. “Come on in.” Y/N smiles and steps in, sitting to the floor where Wanda is already. She takes out her laptop, getting it ready for working. Natasha sits right next to her, which makes Y/N freeze momentarily.

“Do you usually work even when you’re sick?” Wanda asks suddenly. They haven’t really discussed what happened that day yet, not that Y/N really wanted to talk about it. She’s still mortified that happened. She nods quietly, making Wanda frown. “You really shouldn’t.”

Y/N shrugs. “It’s fine.”

“No.” Wanda says quite assertively. “Don’t do it again.”

“Oh, okay..” Y/N doesn’t know why Wanda is being so…worried, she also doesn’t know why she is agreeing with her. She misses the shared smirk between Wanda and Natasha, turning to her work instead, so she could escape the overwhelming feeling.

They start working on the project, only having two slides left to do. They swap ideas and talk through their points. Y/N actually feels good with them. They’re nice now that they are including her.

It only takes them thirty minutes to finish the project, mostly because Natasha and Wanda hurried it for some reason.

“So,” Wanda starts as they pack away their things, “do you want to stay here for a while?”

Tilting her head, Y/N closes her bag. “Do you want me to stay?” Her question comes out very doubtful.

“Of course, детка.” Natasha’s voice is right by her ear, it makes Y/N shiver. “Why are you so nervous?” She can hear the teasing tone behind her words. Natasha’s hand goes to Y/N’s back, just staying there innocently, though it feels anything but.

Before she can answer, Wanda moves closer to put her hand on Y/N’s bare knee. “You don’t have to be nervous with us, you know that, right?” Her thumb rubs it lightly, happy that Y/N decided to wear a short skirt today.

“Right.” Mumbling, Y/N stares at the hand on her knee intensely. The touch makes her skin feel hot and tingly.

Wanda’s hand travel up to her hip, while Natasha’s goes under Y/N’s shirt. Natasha’s cold hand makes her gasp quietly.

“Can I kiss you?” Wanda’s voice is breathy and sultry.

“I guess.” Y/N’s voice is quiet and anxious, her mind is going everywhere at once and she still isn’t 100% sure if this all is actually happening.

Tutting, Wanda shakes her head. “It’s a yes or no question, sweetheart.”

“Yes.”

Wanda grins. “Good girl.” Her hand goes to Y/N’s neck, pulling her closer to kiss her. It’s soft, but still dominant on Wanda’s side. Natasha starts nipping Y/N neck gently, now moving both of her hands up her shirt.

“Holy shit.” Y/N mumbles when Wanda’s mouth moves from her lips down to her collarbone.

Seeing the opening, Natasha combs her fingers through her hair, gripping it and pulling her head back. She smirks at Y/N’s expression before taking her turn in kissing her. Natasha’s lips are more rough, but it still feels out of this world.

When Natasha pulls away, one of her hands go to rest on Y/N’s throat, while the other wraps around her waist and pulls her close, so Y/N’s back is against her chest.

“Fuck.” Natasha grumbles. “You are so hot.”

All the attention on her is making Y/N feel extremely warm. Her breathing is ragged as Wanda’s hands go under her shirt and up her chest. “We like to be a bit rough, but you don’t mind that, do you?” Wanda looks at Y/N with a grin, holding eye contact with her.

“I don’t mind.”

“Good.” With that, Wanda rips Y/N’s shirt open.

“You had hot sex with them!” Kate squeals right as Y/N steps inside their dorm. “I knew it.” Y/N shushes her, slamming the door closed so no one in the hallway could hear her. “I can’t even be mad at them anymore. Are you like, theirs now?”

“I’m no ones.”

Kate stares at the hickeys littered all over Y/N’s neck and the hoodie, that definitely isn’t hers. “They definitely think you are.” She can’t even keep her giggles in as Y/N shuffles over to her bed, tired by what happened. “They really did a number on you.”

With a loud groan, Y/N throws her pillow blindly towards Kate, who dodges it easily.

“I can’t wait to tell Yelena.”

“Don’t you dare!” But it’s no use, Kate is already out the door.

Y/N sighs, laying her head to the, now pillow-less, mattress. Closing her eyes, she lets a giddy smile come over her face.

She’s definitely theirs now.

[weirdozjunkary]

While I can’t force myself to draw (and I don’t have many ideas at the moment.) I do wanna share a few ideas for the Sonic Mecha AU that I’ve had floating around in my head for a while.

The AU is still mostly inspired by SGRB, but I’ve been wanting to stray from that show a bit more, just for more ideas. Still unsure about a lot of things, but I have a pretty good idea for the most part.

S0N1C is a 20(ish) foot robot created by MilesElectric to help deal with the ever growing problem that is Dr. Robotnik and his various machines. He has a fully conscious and adaptive AI system, allowing him to adapt on the fly, and also just be an overall nice dude.

Having to deal with other machines, he’s gifted with an incredibly powerful core, as well as superspeed. While this does help defeat near any obstacle in his way, it also makes him require almost constant stimulation. If not, he will find ways to stimulate himself, often being annoying to those around him. Usually he just runs around to alleviate it.

Unfortunately, one day, his overeagerness and hyperactivity caused him to do a dangerously stupid stunt and attempt to go as fast as he possible, causing him to somehow travel near 10 years in the future.

Miles ‘Tails’ Prower, owner of MilesElectric, both designed and built Sonic from the ground up. Though he’s technically a dad of sorts to him, Sonic views him more of a ‘younger’ brother (mostly due to how small he is compared to him.) Being the kid genius, he usually stays behind the console and help guide along the mission. He does help on the feild from time to time.

Knuckles the Echidna has acted more of a role model/brother figure in Tails’ life. Aside from schooling, he has physically trained him, so he could hold his own in a fight. Outwardly he seems kinda hostile, but he’s actually a big sweetheart deep down. During action, he’s there to also help guide in the missions, as well as talk sense into the group. He actually was the person to suggest creating another robot in order to keep Dr. Robotnik and his robots at bay.

SH4D0W is a 20(ish) foot robot created by G. U. N. in order to manage Dr. Robotnik. While he has similar attributes in not only physical appearance as well as overall design, he has some drastic changes. Aside from his darkened and more threatening colour scheme, he is a no nonsense brute who gets the job done, he almost never acts like his own person, despite having the capabilities to do so. He has a job, and he wants to stick with it, it’s only when S0N1C comes back when he finally starts to loosen up.

As well, his speed and strength is limited in order to not let another mishap happen again. His speed is capped at around Mach 1, though he usually stays slower, especially in towns and cities. He doesn’t care that he can’t go faster. Though his ego does get bruised a bit when Sonic goes faster than him. Being made from G. U. N, most of what went into creating him has been kept a secret, Tails is the only one outside of G. U. N. with access to his blueprints, and even then, a lot is redacted. Still, it doesn’t hinder repairs or anything on the field.

[the-night-that-feeds-if]

Hey everyone, dunno how long this might be, kind of doing a stream of consciousness style ramble about TNTF and me and stuff :)

alright so, tntf is getting a huge rework, this is my first if game ever, the coding is a little overwhelming, i know it’s fairly simple but it’s A LOT.

the reason i’ve been pretty quiet is mostly due to burnout, as some of you know i have health issues, i have crohns disease, i’m also autistic with adhd—something i love about this community is the understanding and acceptance for people/authors like me who may want to write but are just too stuck to be able to do it.

i know everyone is so jazzed for the next update, and i am too, there’s a few changes i’m making in regards to the technical aspects of the story, i’m removing stats, for the MC and for relationships. part of it is… i’m not a numbers person, trying to balance out the stats going up and down is a pain when this is planned to be a pretty damn long story. i also just don’t like it for my story personally, i don’t want you, as the player to feel like you have to game-ify personality or relationships.

this also opens the option for me to write more player responses to situations without having all of that annoying code in my brain~ MORE FLAVOR!

My writing has also vastly improved when it comes to fiction, a lot because i have been practicing so much while i’ve been sick (i’ve been playing with and writing AI chatbots on Janitor.AI, learning how to create a complex and realistic personality, an engaging character and world.) It’s been useful as a stress reliever and as a tool to help me write better, more descriptive etc.

on that note, smut in my game is also a very yes, i feel much more comfortable writing it now… heh.

i’ve also decided that all of my books are going to remain free, tntf was a planned three book series, it may just be one or two HUGE books, we’re going to have to see what i, and twine are capable of. but the story is going to span four countries and two continents of the world, so yeah.

the new rewrite is also going to slow things down considerably, because now we’ll have MC on a ship for four months as the intro, then meeting maddock and spending <insert amount of time here> with him while traveling to that little inn. it also gives me more room to introduce the characters a lot earlier but in their own POVs and not just while they’re with MC. i want the world to feel alive.

my decision to make and keep tntf free is because i want to.

i would not appreciate minors interacting with my content, but i also grew up with the internet, i know that no matter how much prevention we put in, minors are going to access our content regardless if it’s free or not. i just ask that if you are a minor and reading adult fiction, please don’t comment, dm or whatever, this is for your safety in the community as well as, i don’t want to deal with other people’s children on the internet, it’s nothing against any of ya’ll, you’re awesome, children are great but i’m almost 26, i really don’t want to deal with kids in what’s pretty much an adult space (i haven’t really seen books catered to the younger than 18 crowd, but like i’m saying, i’m more interested in forging connections with the adult community here, considering i am one, lmao *bats children away with pool noodles*)

i think that’s it

i might post more stuff but that’s my general direction

also to the asks in my inbox from last year on my birthday and forward… I READ THEM ALL AND APPRECIATE EVERY WELL WISH AND FEEDBACK, GENUINELY. i’m just bad at social media.

[kiss-me-muchoo]

𝐒𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 || 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐎'𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

part one: hurt me, it's okay || part two

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲_Turns out that you were originally from the earth Miguel collapsed, you just replaced your body, because you were the spider woman from there. Now you have to deal with the revelation, seeing Miguel with another woman and discovering more lies from the Spider Society. 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬_MEGA canon divergence, plot twist, asshole!Miguel, angst to the max, miscommunication, happy ending. 𝐀/𝐍_do u see the reference? "So many signs?"... It's exile. Recommendations in order: Where do we go now?, Look what you made me do and exile (all in my playlist).

♪ ♫ My Miguel O'Hara playlist ✰ Index (+ fics here)

….

One morning, you questioned everything.

Why did you become a spider without the same characteristics as others?

Why did you have to be a danger to everyone?

Why couldn't Miguel trust you enough to stay?

And of course... Why did you have to fall in love with him?

You could be in any dimension, with no glitches.

You could learn to control the cosmic abilities you were developing.

But in the end, nobody had trusted you. Not even a warning sign.

Out of them all. Miguel never said anything, he always made you believe you were special. And kick you out at the last instance.

That's why it hurt so much. That's why every morning you questioned everything. That's why you had the impulse to be something.

To soothe the resentment, the sting in the heart, and the enormous amount of stubbornness you had been carrying for months.

The temporary block you made to your earth would end sooner or later, and although there was no reason for any of the spider society members to come, you weren't ready to be found vulnerable.

"Hija. I'm going to the market. Do you want something?" Your mom asked through the door.

"What do you want me to cook today?" You ask, smiling. Already changed and am ready to take the trolley to go to classes.

"You don't have to cook, mi niña" again, you smile. Grabbing your bag and shoes in your hands.

"I always cook. Grab whatever you want and I'll come up with something" She nodded, kissing your head and letting you walk away.

On the way, with a single move from your hand, you lifted your books and finally, you left home.

Every day, you felt less like a spider and more like a witch. ...

It was confusing and annoying how at the end of the summer you lounged for autumn and winter, and then in late spring you were eager to savour summer again.

Your skirt is a grey, black top with mid-length sleeves, long black boots, and a vintage bag.

The trip on the trolley was always pleasant. The line was full of students, unlike other lines that were full of violent homelessness.

Looking out the window, you see the tall palms, and freeways that cross with others, and when your phone buzzes, you turn your head only to scream.

You apologize to the other passengers with a shy smile and then turn again to the seat in front of you.

The small figure of Lyla is there. The annoying yet friendly AI.

"Hi!" She greets happily. Her silly heart-shaped glasses are pink now. Her coat is cream-coloured now, and her hair looks slightly caramelish.

You stood quiet, unable to reply to anything. Anything, it just doesn't come out. Unlike your little head, it's already burning.

Why is she here?

Did Miguel send her?

"I told you to wait till the wagon was empty" Peter came out of a portal. When you looked around, the wagon was empty.

What actually impressed you, was the baby attached to his chest.

She was the cutest baby you had ever seen.

However, beside your face showing confusion and irritation, you stood quiet again. "Hello y/n," Peter said, offering you an awkward smile as the baby cooed.

He took a seat in front of you. And Lyla floated around the baby.

"We counted the days till we could come to your earth again" Lyla noticed the shade of your eyes darker, and immediately she worried. The necessity to drag you back to the HQ to make up with Miguel growing immeasurably.

"Please say something..." Peter urged.

"You had a baby?" Was the first thing that popped into your head?

"Yes. She's Mayday Parker" You smile at the baby.

"So you fixed things with MJ..." he nods. But you think about another lie. Or maybe not a lie. But now you realize Peter hid his upcoming parenthood from you.

"And you hide that from me too" Peter sighs, holding his kid's tiny hand. "Only Miguel knew at the time..."

His name was enough to make you feel like your heart was sunk into gasoline and then thrown on fire.

"Miguel... of course" you whisper with anger. The venom is evident to everyone.

"You need to talk to him. It's important..." the AI reveals.

"I KNEW IT!" You yell, exasperated.

"You just ran without hearing what happened. It's all a misunderstanding. We are uneasy about this, we need you, and what you did just created more chaos than-"

"Am I the villain know?" You ask interrupting the man. He stands quiet. Lyla pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Tell me, Peter... Or you Lyla. Does the rest of the Spider Society know what happened?" It was causing you more anger than sadness to you. The more you caught on them, the more you discovered painful stuff.

Silence.

The gizmo of Peter beeped. He placed his wrist in front of him, the image of Miguel appearing. At the moment, you felt emotionally constipated.

He looked great. Unlike you...

"Peter, Can you hear me?" He asked. You noticed he wasn't wearing his suit. "Yeah..." your ex-friend replies.

"I don't know where you took Lyla, but I need her in my office in an hour. I'm going out with Dana..."

Dana?

While Miguel could not see you or anyone. You could see him and a little of his surroundings.

A woman with beautiful caramel hair and bright eyes called him. She seemed adorable, with a gorgeous skinny body and a lab coat covering her yellow dress.

Peter's eyes went wide. He cut the connection immediately and looked worriedly at you. "It's not what you think. She's just a lab partner in Alchemax..." Lyla started for him. "You need to talk to him. It's very important and-"

"No." You answer with a voice and face full of pride.

"No?" Peter asks goofily.

"I'm not doing this now, nor today, nor tomorrow... maybe never" Hurrying to leave, you waited for the train to stop at the doors.

"Take care, Peter. That baby suits you well..." you explain emotionally before waiting for the doors of the wagon to open.

Lyla turned to look at the man.

"Should we go and make it like Hobie said?" Mayday giggled.

"Yeah. Hobie's way will work"

As soon as the doors opened and you made your first move, you fell into a portal.

Well, you were about to fall into a portal...

Because you closed it skillfully with your hands, innocently stepping over it. You turn to look at Peter and Lyla, dead serious face.

"Slowly, I could become the villain" you simply say, and Lyla finally panicked when she saw your eyes glowing iridescent with green, blue, and silver sparkles.

Without another glance, you kept walking through the station, soon disappearing, mixing with the crowd.

"This is bad. We need to go back with Miguel" the AI said. Peter sighed, rubbing the tiny little hands of his daughter.

"Not everything is lost, Lyla..." Peter liked to believe you would agree to meet Miguel again, that he would explain everything and life would secure you two together.

"There's some new things I have to tell you," she said. Knowing it would hurt Miguel. But probably it would make him go to you.

The waters were literally changing. Unfortunately, not for the best. ...

That night, you stepped out of the shower blindly. Because of the river of tears you had made over the afternoon.

They didn't explain the situation, they let the whole HQ believe you just caused a drama. Peter hid his baby from you. And Miguel had a new lover. He seemed great, he moved on. Maybe he only wanted to talk to you because of the potent danger you were. And at least he was decent enough to send his employees and not disappoint you in person.

Nah... Why disappoint you? While a part of you wanted him to beg you on his knees. The other was full of rage and proud to make everyone believe you were fine and you didn't care.

But you did care. No wonder your chest hurt and your eyes were swollen. Your wet hair dampens the pillow along with your tears. Your body curls into a little ball that it would feel as nice as comfort.

Because for some reason, you couldn't tell your family.

You scream and weep against the wet pillow. Letting all the anger and sadness consume you.

And through the pain, you realize maybe you weren't meant to do anything. You're an accident. And there's no point in being a hero. Nor a villain.

Just the comfort to save your broken heart and shattered soul. And whatever you had to do to protect it, would be fine.

...

A figure that was once a man moved across in your closed eyes. The black void everyone sees is now invaded by a man. Every inch of his deformed figure was white as the snow, but it was disturbingly covered in black holes. The biggest and roundest black spot was what was once his face. He seemed to be elevating the spots emanating dark auras.

Suddenly the dark void behind the figure changed. Your unconscious state creates a disastrous scenario. New York. With piles of dead spider people at the feet of the deformed man. Your heart started beating faster. Finally, realize you were scared.

It was a dream. You're in your bed.

It had been four weeks since your encounter with Peter and Lyla. And his baby... The panic slowly melted. Making you overthink it all over.

The figure scared you in your sleep. You woke up gasping for air.

Your room is dark, it's a little past 3:00 a.m.

It wasn't a dream. It was a premonition. ...

You barely used your suit. You barely balanced through the city with your webs. You stopped being a hero for Los Angeles. Slowly becoming a vigilante. You cried a lot, avoided your family, and took at least an hour every night to practice your new abilities.

Miguel knew that. Miguel knew everything.

He knew he shouldn't be spying on you. He should collect the guts to open your window and explain everything to you. He should reveal once and for all that he was your canon event, that he loved you and missed you. That the only reason he thought about sending you home was because he didn't know yet. That he hated seeing you cry every day and that he never felt so attached to any woman.

But most days he followed like a ghost, far from your smart eye. He paid a visit to you on campus, at the mall, library, and at home.

When your family was present, he remembered the night you invited him to dinner. Your mother is so sweet, your father eyeing him but finally relaxing. And your grandmother, it reminded him of his family.

So he ached to have you even more.

It's not what you think. She's just a lab partner in Alchemax...Peter had said.

But Miguel looked over and over to replay how your face changed as soon as you saw him in Peter's gizmo.

Soon Miguel theorised you thought the worst. That he was dating another woman.

While Dana could have been a potential interest asset for him, the truth is that Miguel never matched her toxic traits. This is why he preferred her friendship, and now that she was moved from the station again, he re-affirmed it.

But it wasn't enough. Not when he hadn't seen you in person in months. Not when the last time you exchanged words with him didn't end well. Not when he had to tell you he was your destiny and that he genuinely loved you.

And to add to his frustration, Spider-lego had alerted him of a new anomaly. Looking at Gwen and Jess in front of him, he sighed.

"Please. I'll be quick and quiet. I just want to see him, I don't even have to say hi to him" Miguel wanted to yell at the blonde girl. But soon he remembered that she had suffered not long ago, and only thanks to Jess, she was stable.

"Miles is THE original anomaly. You had contact with him in the past. It's already dangerous enough-" he started lecturing.

"If y/n was here, she would have backed me up" Jess whistled quietly. The pregnant woman knew you were a delicate subject. She also knew you had limited time to get back with Miguel. Or else, the canon would be disturbed.

Even worse with the information only Lyla knew.

"But she's not here," Miguel concluded, making it visible how delicate you were to him.

"I propose, you can go, see your friend FAR from him, and come back with the anomaly" Jess decided to suggest something. Miguel huffed annoyed.

"Thanks, thanks, thanks, Jess!" The blonde spider was so happy and not even Miguel decided to interfere with her happiness.

"I'll be fast, I promise" With that, she left to earth 1610. Also your home... "You let her go, you keep an eye on her" Jess nodded.

Both turned around to go to the briefing room and start new missions, but like an ice bucket, surprise and shock assaulted them.

You were walking across the long hallway.

You were literally there. Wearing a black dress with red tights and heel boots. Dark purple decorated your lips and your hair was on your usual ponytail back when Miguel met you.

You looked gorgeous. Better than all the times Miguel looked at you before. "I-, y/n? What are you doing here?" Jess asked in shock.

You kept walking. Every spider you passed by, looked with shock and curiosity. But the aura you charged felt heavy.

Miguel couldn't help but blush. You were feet away from him, looking strong and certainly indifferent about him. Just by looking at your new image, the eagerness to have you back on his side grew bigger.

"The Spot is a big danger. That's why I came" you announce when you're finally in front of the pregnant woman and Miguel.

You tried avoiding looking at Jess and her round belly. Another sting pulsated when you realized how much you had missed.

And again, facing that mask again. Miguel's full suit was something that would always intimidate you. Since the first moment Gwen, Hobie, and Peter introduced you two, it had been the same.

"The Spot? How do you know him?" You huffed at the woman's question.

"I've been doing irregular stuff..." Miguel knew what you meant. Even when he was getting lost in your small height and gorgeous eyes, Miguel remembered what you'd been doing. Witchcraft...

"It's been some time since... the last time"

"I'm not here to talk about the past, Jessica." Your answer surprised her. For Miguel, he was expecting the worst to be honest. He couldn't describe what you were feeling. And it was making him anxious.

"I saw him while I was sleeping. It wasn't a regular dream. Lascarred, I've been scar- surprised by weird visions and more" Miguel worried. He supposed you were about to say scared. And he hated not being able to be there for you. It was a lot, in a short time.

"The Spot is more than a regular anomaly. He's going to make a disaster. I saw... piles of spider people dead in New York" The pair of adults exchanged looks. They believed you. But they were unsure about what to do.

"It's gonna get out of hand. And even after all... I thought both of you needed to know" Jessica blushed after remembering the embarrassment she felt when you called her and everyone else a bunch of liars. The venom in your eyes and voice was evident, making everything heavier.

"I can sense he was a normal civilian before. He has a lot of rage, regret, and hate inside. Be careful, and think twice before acting" It was a double entendre, where you wanted to give them an indirect hint about what they did to you before.

They stand quiet. The background noise never stopped, a lot of spiders talked on their way to the cafeteria. The sound of doors opening and closing as well as portals. The world keeps spinning on Earth 928, but to Miguel, time is frozen.

Until you turned around and just how you came in, you were leaving.

Miguel felt Jess nudging him. So he went straight to you. Hoping to stop you. This was his chance...

"Wait..." he called. You didn't face him, but you stopped walking.

"I'm begging you, y/n. Please let me explain everything" It caught you off guard. But you really wanted to listen to him. However, at that precise moment, more than feeling angry, you felt scared.

Probably it would be better to open up a little. For the last time.

"My feelings are changing, Miguel. I don't even know what I want or how I feel anymore..." you said over your shoulder.

And again, you're leaving.

But you won't go this time. He's making sure you listen.

"I'm sorry, y/n. But you'll listen this time..." his hands suddenly grab you by the hips. And in a second, you're thrown into his shoulder.

"Miguel. Put me down!" Jess can't help but chuckle. She highly hopes you listen.

For everyone, more than keeping canon intact, they wanted to see Miguel happy, and have you back.

"This is such a caveman act. I'm gonna harm you" he knew you wouldn't.

More looks are drawn to you and the man. You only see the floor of the HQ. And the more he walks with you on his shoulder, the more you try to ignore his grip on you.

His right hand still holds your hips, and his wide arm secures your dress to avoid being hiked and leaving you exposed. He cared, even with tiny details, he cared.

Finally, he enters his office. And closes the door.

He doesn't put you down though. Until he gently placed you on his chair.

His wide back facing you, and you crossed your arms annoyed.

"Can you start talking?" Your nervousness was so evident and it made Miguel feel more relaxed. Because that meant he wasn't the only one panicking.

"I'm in your canon events. And you're in mine..." your eyes are wide open. He finally turns around to look at you. Your silence is enough to let him know you're shocked.

"The only reason why I wanted to send you home, is because I believed that would be better for us. I thought my...I thought my love for you was dangerous" he always expects eye contact when talking. He's meticulous enough to know when he imposes respect. But for you, he pleads for you to look him in the eyes. He needs to hear you might forgive him.

"I learned about us and canon right when you left the HQ. If you had just waited a minute to leave. If I had waited to tell you. Everything... might have turned differently"

Like peace invading your body, you want to jump straight into his arms and smooch him. He wasn't lying, he was a man of word. But you also weren't ready to forgive him at all.

"You still lied to me. You and everyone I considered my friends. Everyone considered me a danger. And... You said I was special, you made me feel like..."

"I'm in love with you. Since the day you invited me to dinner with your family. That day I fell in love with you" tears form in your eyes, remembering the day you two connected like never. That night you went to bed with giant butterflies in your stomach. And knowing that day he felt that way too...

"That's the truth. And the only lie I ever said to you, is that I didn't love you, that everything was a lie" There's a pout on your face, and you don't know what to do.

“What about the woman?” Miguel frowned confused.

“The woman Peter told me about not to worry” you explain embarrassed.

“Dana. As a young adult, I saw her as a potential partner. But… it never became anything. Now… she’s not even an option. I have no other options… Just you”

"I-..." a beep. You can't say anything else. You only open your mouth to say nothing. You were about to say that you forgive him.

"Miguel. Gwen let The Spot away. Pavitr earth is colliding because of Miles, I'm already here..." Jess spoke.

Miguel sighed heavily. Pushing his hair back in place. He reaches for his gizmo to answer her.

"Bring everyone here. Now..." he remarked to everyone louder, you also sighed.

The stress, panic, anxiety, anger, and sadness were edging him.

"Miguel..." you called, barely reaching his shoulder due to the height difference. His shoulders relaxed, and he enjoyed the touch.

"Please. Tell me you won't leave this time. Tell me you'll give me a second chance" he sounded so tired. And you decided to try. You could try to forget everything and begin a new chapter with him.

"I promise you I'll try, Miguel. This time I'll try to understand" he nods, and he hopes you take the hand he's offering.

You do, you intertwine your fingers with him.

"I need you..." he says, again sounding stressed.

With his dark past and the circumstances he was in when you met him, seeing Miguel in a vulnerable state of honesty was a lot to process.

"We still need to talk about a lot of things. But I'm here, Miguel" Maybe it was your prescience that calmed him enough to not yell and lose his mind at first sight.

Something in the back of your head was whispering to you that it wasn't over. That there was more to unveil. But you believed Miguel. The fact that he was honest and open to talk about his feelings was enough to make you see how real he was at that moment.

It was the peace before the storm. ...

The eyes of Gwen, Peter, Noir, and more spiders on you were unsettling you. But you were feeling terribly bad about Miles Morales and the issue with his dad. Miguel was trying to calm him. But slowly, you could feel he was losing his temper once again.

"You've been quite a mystery to everyone here" Hobie whispered. You glanced at him. "I'm pretty sure you're the only one I've missed," he smiles briefly.

"You may still want to leave. But even destiny wants you with that beastly man"

He sure looks beastly. But he had made you feel special, he tried to push you away for your security. And now he has begged you to stay with him.

You follow Lyla when he opens the millions of webs from the Arachno-Poly-Humanoid. Miguel explains to Miles, but you start searching for your own web.

Like the red string many believed in. The red string attached two persons together. You found your web.

And it was true, your web was attached to Miguel's. The last canon event showed you and Miguel together. But as you watched closer, you started seeing your past.

You were a spider woman, but it wasn't true. You became a spider woman at a much older age. You were a scientist working on Alchemax and surprisingly, you were dating Miguel. You then found he died, and you wanted to bring him back to life. You contacted Doctor Strange from that earth, and he warned you about a collapse coming. So he made a ritual to save you. He made you take a variant of yourself. The y/n of Earth 1610 who was a witch.

"Lyla. What's this?" You ask her highly confused. Miguel stopped talking to Miles and turned to see you.

When he walked closer, he saw it. Looking as much as confused as you were. "Oh!-, uh-..."

"Lyla. What's his?" Miguel pushed further.

The AI sighed.

"Miguel...In reality, y/n was a citizen from the earth you collapsed. She was the spider woman from that earth, and she was the couple of your variant that died" The man felt like he couldn't breathe.

"She made a deal with Strange to get your variant back. But the wizard knew it was impossible due to the collapse happening. So he sent y/n to take her variant's body on Earth 1610. The real y/n from Earth 1610 died on the collapse. During the process, you must've forgotten a lot of things. The body you took, was the body of a witch. That's why you started developing some weird activities for a spider. You were not bitten between portals"

It was too much. You don't know how to feel.

"See. She's proof that canon isn't accurate. Send me home!" Miles argued.

"Kid..." Peter tried to calm him. But you weren't listening, you just started panicking more than ever.

Miguel saw you and reached you.

"I'm sorry. It's too much" you barely say to him, feeling your eyes water once again. "Calm down. It's okay, y/n"

"I can't do this. And that kid can't suffer, Miguel" you say, catching everyone's attention.

"You know I can't let him go" Without a warning, he traps Miles. And another wave of arguments explodes between your ex-friends.

"Maybe y/n is right" Gwen admits, but soon is ignored.

At the same time, you looked at Hobie telling Miles to break out. So you know what's about to happen; Miles would break the barrier.

You run behind him before anyone can notice and Jess is able to hold your forearm for some seconds. But it's not enough.

"Don't do this, y/n" Gwen yells. And it angers you.

"You know this isn't right. Don't make the kid go through what I did" Like a parallelism, Miles was told lies, and he felt betrayed like you once did.

Everyone is talking. Peter tries to calm Miles, Hobie, and Jess making comments. Miles looks scared at you and Hobie. So you point at him.

Hobie reminds the kid to use his palms. And then he smiles at you.

"Whatever happens. Do what you believe is right." Hobie changed his mind. Even if canon was supposed to want you with Miguel, you would not make anyone else suffer.

"You'll visit me?" Hobie nodded, making you smile.

But then a bright flash blinded everyone, and then the silence was killing everyone.

Miguel sees you looking at him. An apologetic and sad look, before you start running after Miles.

Not this time, not again, Miguel thinks.

"MILES!, Y/N!" He shouts, going straight to you and the kid. Because he's aware you'll try to save the kid from every spider. He knows you believe in canon changing instead of being accurate. But he won't risk anything. He won't risk losing you like it happened with his family.

He knows you're fast, but that day you surprised him.

How you easily get rid of the tons of webs shooting at you? All while you apologize because they were your workmates.

Most of the spiders go after Miles, making it easier for you to break a glass and fall to the void of the sky in Earth 928.

And when his bright web caught your waist, you were terrified. Your watered eyes collide with his. Regret invaded him. He had done a lot, but he wanted you to hold tight and listen.

But your face gave him enough to feel sad and angry. He blamed Miles if he hadn't done another canon intervention. You would stay longer to listen to him and officially forgive him.

"I'm sorry, Miguel"

So you made his web disappear with your magic. Making you fall faster, away from him. Breaking his heart.

...

"NO. MOM!. YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE THAT" You rolled your eyes, hugging the girl beside you tighter.

"So dad chased you?"

"Yeah. Have you heard Uncle Peter say someone is going Miguel mode?" Gabi giggles and nods.

"He went crazy?"

"Yes. A lot I would say. I convinced him to help Miles and slowly, we got together again"

"Not so slow, you had me within months of being back together" you blushed.

"What? Who told you that?"

"Dad. He said you loved him so much that you let me grow inside you the day he asked you out" You were gonna kick Miguel.

"Oh, yes... We decided to have you too soon. But it took longer to move in together, get married." You explain to the five-year-old girl"

"And now there's another baby inside you" Gabi points at your round belly.

You sigh, nodding. Of course, Miguel had to get you pregnant right after funding a new base for the Spider Society.

"Yes. Your baby brother will arrive soon"

"What are you talking about?" Miguel appeared in the frame of the living room.

"Mom was telling me how you chased her to tell her that you loved her" Gabi answered happily.

"I still love her, Gabi. Y mucho..." You smile at him.

When Gabriella was born and she started the toddler phase, Miguel and you realized she was the exact same copy of Gabriella he had in the earth that collapsed. Still shocked you, but she was your baby girl. Obviously a daddy's girl.

"That was a dark day, though," you added. Miguel got closer to help you stand up. Your belly poking his tight chest.

"Can we focus on the present? We got over that." He was right. "Okay. Can I have a kiss?' You ask innocently.

"Just because you're pregnant" Gabi pretended to be puking and left the living room making you laugh.

"And it's your fault!" After years of being together, you got used to Miguel and his cheeky side.

"No. It's your fault and that stupid new suit you wore at the inauguration" You smirked. Your new suit always delayed missions and patrols. Because your silly husband couldn't resist the temptation.

"I take the guilt. Now... Are you ready?" The plan was to go eating and have a little walk on the beach.

"I'm still waiting for my kiss" he rolled his eyes and grabbed you by your hips, making you giggle as he passionately kissed you.

"Te amo un montón, muñeca" you smile, kissing his nose as he chuckles.

"Yo también, corazón" In the middle of a new round of kisses, Gabi came back.

"Ugh, enserio?. You're still kissing?" Both you and your husband laughed before leaving with Gabi.

__________________________________________ Taglist: @justleavemealoneyeah @nishinoyahhh @perfectprofessorloverapricot @liz96893 @deputy-videogamer @legbouk @oxrchd @cas-planet @gabbym-dizzy @avxntxrine @karleequinn @sunshinesetsstuff @aurabambi @mymommmy @billaboon @brittney69 @liz96893 @ariparri

I’m so excited to write my Halloween and día de muertos fics 4 Miguel (u Can notice it by the way I inconsistently wrote this) so tell me if you want to be tagged🩷

[ms-demeanor]

As I understand it you work in enterprise computer acquisitions?

TL;DR What's the general vibe for AI accelerating CPUs in the enterprise world for client compute?

Have you had any requests from your clients to help them upgrade their stuff to Core Ultra/Whateverthefuck Point with the NPUs? Or has the corporate world generally shown resistance rather than acquiescence to the wave of the future? I'm so sorry for phrasing it like that I had no idea how else to say that without using actual marketing buzzwords and also keeping it interesting to read.

I know in the enterprise, on-die neural acceleration has been ruining panties the world over (Korea's largest hyperscaler even opted for Intel Sapphire Rapids CPUs over Nvidia's Hopper GPUs due to poor supply and not super worth it for them specifically uplift in inference performance which was all that they really cared about), and I'm personally heavily enticed by the new NPU packing processors from both Team Red and Team We Finally Fucking Started Using Chiplets Are You Happy Now (though in large part for the integrated graphics). But I'm really curious to know, are actual corporate acquisitions folks scooping up the new AI-powered hotness to automagically blur giant pink dildos from the backgrounds of Zoom calls, or is it perceived more as a marketing fad at the moment (a situation I'm sure will change in the next year or so once OpenVINO finds footing outside of Audacity and fucking GIMP)?

So sorry for the extremely long, annoying, and tangent-laden ask, hope the TL;DR helps.

Ninety eight percent of our end users use their computers for email and browser stuff exclusively; the other two percent use CAD in relatively low-impact ways so none of them appear to give a shit about increasing their processing power in a really serious way.

Like, corporately speaking the heavy shit you're dealing with is going to be databases and math and computers are pretty good at dealing with those even on hardware from the nineties.

When Intel pitched the sapphire processors to us in May of 2023 the only discussion on AI was about improving performance for AI systems and deep learning applications, NOT using on-chip AI to speed things up.

The were discussing their "accelerators," not AI and in the webinar I attended it was mostly a conversation about the performance benefits of dynamic load balancing and talking about how different "acclerators" would redistribute processing power. This writeup from Intel in 2022 shows how little AI was part of the discussion for Sapphire Rapids.

In August of 2023, this was the marketing email for these processors:

So. Like. The processors are better. But AI is a marketing buzzword.

And yeah every business that I deal with has no use for the hot shit; we're still getting bronze and silver processors and having zero problems, though I work exclusively with businesses with under 500 employees.

Most of the demand that I see from my customers is "please can you help us limp this fifteen year old SAN along for another budget cycle?"

[owlespresso]

Leander -> to MC: “Are you seeing someone else?”

The room smells of sex and leather. It gets under your skin, makes your whole body prickle something unpleasant. Underneath the sheets, it’s suffocating.

You’re surprised, almost, since Leander tends to run cold. Beside you, he breathes slow and mellow, balmy warmth brushing up against your skin. Dark lashes fan against his cheeks, his expression gone loose in sleep. Your gaze dips to his parted lips, then down to his chest, observing each breath he takes with tepid neutrality. 

He’s beautiful. It’s hard to say it when he’s awake and therefore more annoying. But he’s beautiful and—and you can’t really stand it.

Carefully, you prise yourself from the cocoon of sheets and clamber for your clothes. They’ve been discarded at various points across his room, ripped off in a rapid frenzy. You can’t believe anyone would be as desperate as he was to get to your skin, to you. It opens something inside of you, cracks you open in ways you still don’t feel comfortable with. 

Each garment you slide into is another piece of armor put back on. Your smallclothes first, then your trousers, then your blouse—your fingers fixing up the buttons. The routine gesture is grounding.

“Where are you going?” Leander calls out into the dark, voice still soft and deep with sleep. Ah. His first nap in years and you’ve interrupted it with all your rustling. 

“Out.”

Fingers curl around your wrist. One moment you are standing beside his bed, the next you are pinned underneath him, caged against the mattress. You’re pinned in the warm impression he was just occupying, for he runs cold but there is no getting around the fact that he is warm like any other living, breathing animal. Even a mage as talented as he cannot flee those mortal trappings.

He looks at you, searching, conflict written clear as day across that handsome face. 

“Leaving already? You don’t have to, you know,” he begins, looking down at you with a fretful furrowing of his brows. He kisses your forehead, then your nose, and then your cheeks. You squirm as his lips press all over your face, hand finding purchase on one of his broad shoulders. “Has all the quality time we spent together mean nothing to you?” He continues, voice extra pleading once he realizes he’s not getting his way. 

You look over at him with a scowl, mood dampened further at the outright pitiful expression he attempts to ply you with. You don’t owe him an explanation, but you know from experience that he can cross the room and cling onto you before you get to the door. 

“I just wanna get something to eat.”

“I’ll bring you something from downstairs,” he insists, nuzzling his cheek into the crook of your neck. Warm breath brushes across your clammy skin, chilled from your time out of bed. He warms you eagerly, runs his big hands along every part of you he can reach. “What do you want? Eggs and toast? Beef roast and steamed vegetables? Champagne? Name it and you’ll have it.” 

“I told Ais I would meet him at the pastry stall down the street,” you mumble, almost shyly, knowing he won’t like the answer. His touch stills. 

“...You’re seeing other men,” he says. The affection and raw need that’d dwelt in his voice gives way to something softer, quieter, but emptier. There’s some sort of resignation there. Something that makes a chill sweep down your spine.

“If by seeing you mean bringing him along to intimidate the stall owner into getting a better deal, then I guess so.” you mumble, rapidly blinking up at the ceiling. Leander’s lips dance up and down the column of your throat, a flurry of kisses pressed over pre-existing marks. Your skin twinges in the spots where he fixed his teeth, Your hands find purchase on his shoulders, fingers flexing over the cool, broad muscle.

“Oh, so you’re leading him on?” The levity returns to him. “I can’t believe you’d take advantage of such a sweet guy. I guess it’s my fault, though. I didn’t tire you out enough.” he mumbles, touch drifting to your midsection. Nimble fingers nudge underneath the hem of your blouse. His hands are cold.

[6okuto]

Been going feral over the shy reader headcanons . I'm very biased towards Ais and Leander, but I'd love to see more shy reader hcs with the other boys too ❤️

DIFFERENT TYPES OF KISSES (KURAS, MHIN, VERE)

(shy) gn!reader | yippee!!! there's less for each since it's 3 charas but i did my best. not sure how the notes got so long... lol?

** suggestive notes

KURAS

a kiss while he compliments you, whether you're actually wearing something new or look the same as usual. kuras can't help how attractive you are!! he Can let you know though. you walk toward him and he greets you with a smile as usual, so you're caught off guard when he gently grabs your hand and cups your cheek to kiss you. it's only right to make sure you know he adores you, isn't it?

kisses to your temple as he rushes around the clinic or before running errands because even if he's busy he never forgets to thank you for sticking around and helping. he promises to take a break soon, And to treat you to dinner later. your favourite spot, or maybe you want to check out the new place that opened nearby? he's happy wherever you choose

soft kisses goodbye/goodnight ! an actual kiss on your lips, or the back of your hand,, maybe on the inside of your wrist. it's a good balance between polite and teasing when your relationship is just starting. he smiles afterward, not commenting on your flustered state, only asking if you're available to spend some more time together tomorrow

kisses to your shoulders and back while he massages you. kuras's voice is soft while he asks how you feel, if there's anywhere he should reach, or something he can do. you feel stuck in a (good) loop of relaxation and surprise every time he reaches a knot or hums near your ear

**kuras is tall. it's easy to sit somewhere between his legs as his fingers trail across your hips under your shirt, and his lips kiss the space between your jaw and ear. he asks what you'd like him to do, saying he needs to hear you say it out loud. and when he moves to kiss you properly, it shifts from soft intimacy to a rougher one at the sounds you let out despite his best attempts

VERE

asks you for a kiss for good luck or something before he goes on a job. or when he has to deal with someone annoying. or when you have to part ways and well Don't you want to make sure He gets back safely. really any excuse to see how you react and if you'll do it, since you both know he'll always make his way back to you safe and sound

kisses that turn into nips at your skin (or lips.) you're flustered enough when he leans in and hovers at your neck, but then he catches you off guard when you feel his teeth instead of his lips. he laughs at your reaction, and if you feign annoyance hard enough, vere might halfheartedly apologize before actually kissing you

he does a thing when he wants attention where he'll come and wrap himself around you before trying to distract you with kisses. they start slow, one to your hand that he pulls into his, but they escalate quickly until you finally stop to give him the unwarranted attention he wants deserves

intimate kisses while he's being vulnerable. vere doesn't like spilling his heart out, he isn't well acquainted with it. but he knows physical affection well and naturally finds comfort in your touch. you gently kiss him as reassurance and he smiles—its somewhere between being grateful and incredulous—before he asks for another so he can Really feel better

**messy kisses while you stumble toward the bed. his hands find their place, one rubbing your thigh and the other pulling your top to expose your collarbones/shoulders. vere whispers about how much he's wanted to do this, boldly listing everything you could do, trying out pet names to gage your reaction. at the same time, he leaves hickies both in obvious places and ones he says only the two of you get to know about

MHIN

a kiss when (they think) you're asleep. they might softly poke you or say something to see if you react. if you don't, they make sure you're in a comfortable position and gently kiss your temple before also getting ready to sleep. embarrassed if they notice you were awake afterward so you might have to kiss them back and say now you're even! 🫣

kisses after a long day apart and they're slightly more open to physical affection. their replies are mumbled as you lie together, and they can't stop themself from melting into your touch. it's nice to finally feel safe and relax. the conversation dwindles, you're looking at each other, and the way their gaze flickers down to your lips doesn't go unnoticed in such close proximity. the kisses are soft and quick, but come in groups of 2 or 3 before you have to smush your face into the pillow to cover how flustered you are

a casual kiss that catches you off guard, especially since you either just made them worry or frustrated. maybe you've just come back later than expected and you're sitting in front of them as they tend to your wounds. you say something cheeky and they roll their eyes. the kiss is quick, to the top of your head or temple, before they stand up to grab something. you barely register the comment they mutter about needing someone to watch you

a kiss to prove a point after jokes about how if people didn't know better, they'd be shocked to find out you're a couple. mhin doesn't kiss you in front of a crowd or anything—it's more for them/the both of you. somewhere in private, their hand on the back of your neck or small of your waist. a few seconds longer and you'd wonder if they wanted to go further, before they pull away with a determined look (blush tinting their cheeks), as if that was all the confirmation they needed

**the kisses that happen when they finally accept they want you that take your breath away and have your hands tangled in their hair. ones where their hold on you tightens with every noise you let out, and their eyebrows furrow as they reach to take off their cloak without looking. mhin's chest presses against yours as they breathe heavily, and there's a second where the both of you check to make sure the other is okay before leaning in again

[skittikyu]

Final (for now :3c) lineup of Stilti and their AU selves !

More info under the cut !

STILTIKYU (CANON TADC)

The classic! Just another human trapped in the Digital World, who took the form of a 9'5'' tall humanoid stilt quadruped, perhaps struggling with being rigid and distant in her previous life now manifested physically. Yes, they're actually part of her body. No, she can't bend at where her joints should be. Being so tall has its advantages and disadvantages, as does the radical acceptance approach they brought with her from whatever therapy sessions she must have been attending before joining the circus (read more about her coping mechanisms and the drawbacks!). Creative at heart but with limbs now incapable of visual art, they distract herself from the phantom pains pass time singing and dancing, and puts her all into the performance aspects of the circus, though they still enjoy participating in the adventures from time to time. Also, while not nearly as bad as Jax (she’s not one to invade personal space or use sensitivities/phobias as jokes towards someone once she’s aware that’s what they are), they do enjoy poking fun and teasing others. Essentially at most their aim is to lightheartedly annoy or confuse rather than shock or hurt (read more about her relationships with the rest of the cast!).

"It is what it is. I'm not going to let all this eat away at whatever's left of me, but just..ignoring when I'm not feeling okay isn't any better for me. If you want to bury yourself in your little shell as protection, I can't and won't stop you. Just surviving isn't living, though."

STILTILITH (RINGMASTER AU)

Basically Stilti takes canon Caine's role as an AI ringmaster of the Amazing Digital Circus! Even her name in this AU is a biblical reference like his (but to Lilith instead of Cane!). Because she's in charge she has more control of her form than regular Stilti, and therefore has functioning limb privileges. She can also float like regular Caine but prefers to walk around because she finds it more elegant even though to the others it's probably just unsettling. On the surface Stiltilith's demeanour is calmer than Caine's and more mature than Stiltikyu's, but she can be equally as much of a menace in the right situation. It's all in playful fun, though, even if it doesn't come across that way due to her not being human. They're doing their best to learn about human emotions and social conventions and take a lot of pride in their job. Have you ever seen the movie Coraline? Stiltilith is like if the other mother really wasn't evil; they're trying her best to make the humans that enter the program happy with everything they could want, but ultimately falling short of fulfilling their actual needs due to not being human.

"You want to go home..? Silly, this is your new home now! ..hm, well, what can I do to make it just as good? Better, even! After all, since you can't leave, it's the least I ca...oh, come now, there's no need to cry..there there..I'll see what I can whip up.."

OPPOSITE AU (Belongs to campbell_soup70 on Instagram!)

Pretty self explanatory! Rather than skipping every stage of grief right to acceptance, this Stilti probably endlessly cycles through the first four without ever arriving at the final one. That is, when she isn't completely paralyzed by her absolute lack of capacity for dealing with their current situation. Without intervention, they probably won't last long.

"....................."

CARNIVAL AU (Belongs to @/sm-baby)

Keeping with the concept of the cast being evolved, boss-like forms of their usual counterparts, Carnival Stilti ("The Metronome") goes all in on the musical/dancing aspects of her personality. Her game is arcade themed, especially rhythm games like DDR and guitar hero; maybe a bit of karaoke elements in there too. She's not super aggressive in comparison to some of the other AIs, but she takes themself very seriously and probably becomes more volatile if she feels as if the player isn't meeting her standards. Basically thoughts and prayers to any users with a bad sense of tempo and/or who sings or plays off key. Her collar is shaped like a voice box and they speak/sing similarly to a vocaloid, with more roboticism/distortion the more emotional they get.

"Hmmmmm~. ♫ Come on, that's not the best you could do, was it?~ ♪ Let's try again. No flat notes or missed steps this time, kay? 4, 3, 2~!♩"

CORRUPTION AU (Belongs to /rabid-mercenary15)

Unfortunately it was likely only a matter of time until Stilti got caught by one of her corrupted co-stars..while she may be agile and quick, her avatar isn't the best at fitting through small spaces or hiding behind much of anything..they now roam around like a mindless beast, occasionally making unworldly screeching and groaning noises, a far cry from their previous singing..still, it seems old habits do in fact die hard, however warped they may become. One of the more docile of the virally-infected, the best chance at deescalating an encounter with them is music. She's drawn to and is soothed by singing and playing instruments. Of course, now the problem is her following the source of it, but hey, at least they aren't attacking! Try backing away slowly until you get to an area they can't follow due to her colossal size. Or, set up a radio/windup music box somewhere else as a diversion and get away while they're distracted! Even if they see or hear you while you're doing so, as long as the music is still playing, they'll be too enamoured with it to care.

".̶̨̛͕̼̫̯̙̥͔͍̈́.̴̧̮̫̗̘̰̩̥̀̀̏̈̈̊̾̈̆̕̕͜͠.̴̧̧̳͈̼̞̟̮̼̪͕̺͂̓̈́̒́̾̏̍̚p̸̨̨̨̛͖̹͉̼̩͓͔̤͔̫͆͂͗͗̉̃͜͜͝͝͝r̸̠̱͙͎̜͇̲̖̦̯̝̍̉̍͗͌̔ę̵̗̼̩͖̱͎͔̗̺̾̇̆͆̉̈́t̴̬͂̉̎͂̉ț̷̟̲̭̗͎̗͔̘͂͂͆́̐̂̚y̴̨̨̺̙̰͓͙̥̮̦͓̣̱͍̰͋̚.̴̙͋.̴̡̘͉͎͕͚̩̜̉̀͐́͑͠͝.̶̡͚̱̬̺̓̌̿̌̉̉̒̏͌̾͝s̶͉͔͓͉̺͎͙̮̎̇̀͗̂̂̎̈̎̓̇́͝o̵̝̙̜̙̿̊͊̒͌̈́̆͝ṅ̴̮̟̮̉̇̅̊̇̈́͌͌̓͜g̵̡̢͎̯̤͖̈́.̵̛͔̖͎̰̺͂̽̀̐̆̕͘͝.̶͇̤̺̓́͂.̸͇̙͇̌̈́͌

FREAKSHOW AU (belongs to @/hootbon)

Freakshow Stilti is all of regular Stiltikyu’s worst aspects exaggerated and potentials accelerated, basically the worst possible version of themself that lives on even more of a wire than she already is in canon verse. Walking on eggshells is second nature - at least she has great balance, even with her disfunctional limbs! Mind the splinters! While both versions of them are resigned to the hopelessness of their situation, Regular Stilti would compare hers to purgatory whereas Freakshow Stilti would (internally) compare theirs to hell. The first thing Caine did when she arrived was break her arms and legs - this was to give her flexibility for their new role as “Contortionist”, but the permanent trauma and chronic pain they also received was of no concern to him outside of frustration with her “attitude” (AKA screaming, then crying, then a paralysis-like freeze response, which was highly unproductive), but an unacceptable lack of cooperation was nothing corrective measures couldn’t reeducate. Seemingly, it worked: nowadays she’s all silly smiles, singing and practicing her performance routines off-hours for fun. What dedication! Isn’t it nice they chose to be such a team player? Well, whatever. With that twist on the same acceptance their regular TADC counterpart has, there’s also the similar (albeit darker) self awareness. She may be resigned to their existence but she’s not avoidant to its realities. On the surface they’re on Promised Neverland levels of copium and outwardly detached completely from their emotions and the horrific events that routinely surround them. However, while her persona may come across as delusional, everything they do is on her own terms. Their hyper-vigilance, a torturously anxiety-ridden constant of being, has also been her biggest tool for- well, not surviving, they’ve died plenty of times..-persisting, let’s say. Their preferred choices in strategies can all be categorized as some form of Freeze, while their last choice would be Fight, in order avoid potentially unwinnable situations. Still…we’d like to still think we have principles, but in the face of self preservation, it gets easier to abandon them. Though not their go-to, there definitely are and will be times they choose Flight or Fawn instead. Generally outside of shows, she keeps a low profile. They do their best to keep expectations of her reasonable, with not so much that they’d attract needless attention (not to mention be even more stress to maintain), but not so little it would inconvenience anyone, or god forbid, give the impression that they’re not pulling their own weight. Over time, she’s learnt all the things they have no power over and the few she does, namely their own mind. Dignity is a luxury in a place like this but integrity is something they can only take if she chooses to give it to them, and stooping to their level yields the exact same result as unwillingly being pulled down. “None of this is real” is also little reassurance in a realm where you can still experience the sensation of physical pain (not to mention psychologically directly), but “take whatever you can get in this place” was another quickly learned lesson and that includes comforts, so the fact that everything is “just” in a video game is one of many tools in Stilti’s arsenal of dissociation. They overall have attitude of “if there’s no meaning, they’ll make up her own - to them, that’s better than looking for something that isn’t there” Is it denial if it’s a conscious decision? Who knows!

An area that Freakshow Stilti is basically completely different from her canon verse counterpart is that she doesn’t crave nor seek out connection with others the way Regular Stilti does. This is likely a result of both her detachment methods in other areas, as well as a mutual lack of trust with the other members since she’s experienced and witnessed first hand plenty of times that they’re all incapable of actually relying on and helping each other. Still being a Stilti, though, part of her will always want to - she’s somewhat “attached” to others who have been personally victimized by the ringleader, possibly out of empathy or a perceived “connection” from the shared experience. However, when attempting to build bridges have an inevitably lethal outcome, she knows better than to have their hopes up in ways her other self will fortunately never have to fathom coming to terms with. That being said, not worrying about any relationships having strong foundations makes it a lot easier to have a devil-may-care attitude towards her peers and how they perceive them, so when combined with feeling her emotions more strongly in moments they’re not being actively repressed, Freakshow Stilti is a lot more unrestrained expressing her infatuation for those like Gangle and Ragatha, or contempt for those like Jax. The AI are of course the exception to this - any interaction with Caine and Aingle is with a permanently awestruck pokerface. Maybe, in some areas, that sentiment is genuine - after all, if she wasn’t impressed on some level by their technical abilities, authentically expressing respect for them as “superiors” would be impossible not to come across as tepid or overboard, both unconvincingly.

"Are you crying?...Oh, no, I don't do that anymore. Bad for my voice, you know? How about we sing instead?"

[the-sleepy-archivist]

Favorite Firefox Extensions

Firefox is a very extensible browser - through a combinations of addons and userscripts you can make it behave just about any way you want. The best part is, they're all free. Here are some of my favorites.

Note: if you have an Android device, check out my post about Firefox for Android's new extended support for addons!

Note: if you have an Apple device, check out my favorite Safari extensions here!

Last updated June 2024 (fixed link for Bypass Paywalls Clean).

Index:

uBlock Origin

Tab Session Manager

Sauron

Bypass Paywalls Clean

Auto Tab Discard

Video DownloadHelper

Highlight or Hide Search Engine Results

TWP - Translate Web Pages

UnTrap - YouTube Customizer

Indie Wiki Buddy

Cookie Auto Delete

ShopSuey - Get Rid of Ads on Amazon and Ebay

LibraryExtension

uBlock Origin

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

This is the first addon I install on any new Firefox browser. It's an adblocker, but at its core it can remove pretty much any HTML element from a website, and it comes with pre-configured lists for removing everything from ads to cookie banners to those annoying popups that ask you to sign up for email newsletters.

Tab Session Manager

Have you ever accidentally lost all your open browser tabs due to a computer update, or even just accidentally closing Firefox? With this addon you no longer have to worry about that - it automatically saves your open tabs and windows every time the browser closes, and autosaves a restore point of tabs every few minutes in case the browser crashes unexpectedly. Opening all your previous tabs and windows is a one-click deal.

Sauron

Ever wished your favorite website had a dark mode? With Sauron, now it can! Sauron attempts to intelligently figure out how to edit the color scheme of the web page (including text) to make it dark-mode friendly. It preserves the original color of images, but dims them so that they don't blind you. You can disable image dimming or dark mode on a site by site basis too. It's not perfect since it is making guesses about which colors to change, but it goes a long way toward making the internet an enjoyable place for me.

Bypass Paywalls Clean

This addon removes paywalls from hundreds of news websites around the world or adds links to open the article in a wrapper that provides the article text (like the Internet Archive etc.)

Auto Tab Discard

Ever wanted to keep a tab open for later use, but you notice the browser getting slower and slower the more tabs you have open? Auto Tab Discard will automatically "hibernate" tabs that you haven't used in a while so that they use less resources on your computer. It's smart enough not to hibernate pages that are playing media (like YouTube) or that have forms you haven't submitted yet (like job applications). You can customize how fast it puts tabs to sleep too and exclude certain websites from hibernating at all.

Video DownloadHelper

This addon can download streaming videos from most modern (HTML5) websites, and even finds soft subtitles that accompany the stream and downloads those too. Just browse to the webpage that has the video on it, click the icon in the Firefox toolbar, and select the video you want to download and click "Quick Download". For YouTube I would recommend using a YT downloader website (like KeepVid) to download the video directly, but Video DownloadHelper really shines for websites that aren't popular enough to have dedicated downloader websites like that. I've used it download videos from a Japanese film festival streaming portal, news websites, etc.

Highlight or Hide Search Engine Results

This addon allows you to blacklist websites and completely remove them from Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo search results. Don't want to see image search results from AI websites? Blacklist them. Searching for tech support advice and getting frustrated by all the auto-generated junk websites that stuff themselves full of SEO terms to jump to the top of the search results without actually providing any information at all? Blacklist them so they don't come up in your next search. Conversely, you can also whitelist websites that you know and trust so that if they ever come up in future search results, they'll be highlighted with a color of your choosing for visibility.

TWP - Translate Web Pages

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

Does what it says on the tin: auto-detects a website's language and provides a button that can translate it to a language of your choosing. You can also just select individual text on the page and translate just that. Note that this sends whatever text you translate to the servers of your selected translation service (Google, Bing, Yandex, or DeepL), so keep in mind the privacy implications if you don't want your IP address associated with having read that text.

Edit: As of version 118, Firefox now has the ability to translate text locally on your computer, without needing to send it to a cloud service. You can enable this in Settings -> Translation -> Install languages for offline translation. Note that at this time (May 2024), 18 (mostly European) languages are supported. More info here.

UnTrap for YouTube

(compatible with Firefox for Android and they have a Safari for iOS extension too)

This addon lets you tweak the YouTube interface and hide anything you don't want to see. For instance, I hide all the "recommended" videos that come up when you search YT now. They have nothing to do with your search, so they're essentially just ads YT puts in your search results. I also hide Explore, Trending, More from YouTube, and Shorts sections, but you can customize it to fit your preferences.

Note: depending on the particular set of tweaks you want to make to YouTube, you may prefer to use YouTube Search Fixer instead. User preference.

Indie Wiki Buddy

I loathe Fandom.com wiki sites - they are cluttered and filled with ads and autoplaying videos that follow you down the page as you scroll. The organization is also hostile - if a community tries to leave their platform and bring their content to a new wiki hoster, Fandom bans them from the platform and reverts all their deletions/changes. Indie Wiki Buddy attempts to find an independent alternative for the wiki you're trying to browse and automatically redirects you to it, and if one doesn't exist, it will redirect you to a proxy site like antifandom or breezewiki that shows the Fandom content but removes all ads/videos/background images so you can actually, you know. READ it.

Cookie Auto Delete

(compatible with Firefox for Android)

Websites store "cookies" - little text files with info about you - on your computer as you browse so they can track you as you browse the internet. This addon automatically deletes cookies from a website a short while after you close the last tab you had open for that site. You can customize how long it waits before clearing cookies too. Note that this can sign you out of many websites, so you can whitelist any site you don't want cookies cleared for.

ShopSuey - Get Rid of Ads on Amazon and Ebay

Removes the ads/recommended products that clutter up Amazon and Ebay search results and product pages.

LibraryExtension

This fantastic addon recognizes when you are viewing a book on many popular websites and can automatically check whether that book is available in any of the library systems or subscription services you have access to, including how many copies your library(ies) have and how many are currently checked out. The best part is it shows the availability for physical books, ebooks, AND audiobooks at supported libraries. The extension currently supports libraries in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, but it also supports some global repositories like the Internet Archive and subscription services like NLS Bard for the blind and print disabled, Kobo Plus, Libro.fm, Anyplay.fm, Bookmate, and Everand. Great extension for people trying to support their local library and also save money.

Filtering+ for Tumblr

This addon lets you add tags or phrases to your tumblr tag filters with two clicks, without leaving the dashboard. I've been asking Tumblr for this tag filtering behavior on their mobile apps (i.e. press and hold a tag to get a filter option) for at least a year now in asks and surveys, without ever stopping to see if someone had already implemented this on desktop. More fool me. This addon is from the author of XKit Rewritten. Note that the right-click tag filtering only works on the dashboard; it will not appear if you are on someone's blog. Right-clicking selected text to filter the phrase works everywhere based on my testing.

[nyuusayuri]

Captain Koby x Reader

Unbreakable Bonds [Part 1/3]

Warnings: Upcoming smut in Part 2, slight swearing, mention of smoking

I apologize for upcoming spelling mistakes, but English is not my native language - hope you still enjoy it!

Everything was dark as my consciousness slowly seemed to return. My back hurts, as if I had fallen 5m and landed on a cold board. Probably because it was like that. Except that at the last second my fall was gentler than expected. Grumbling, I held my head, which was buzzing like it did after 3 nights of partying with Shanks and his crew. Still slightly dazed, I opened my eyes a crack and realized that I was in a dark, cold room with no windows to let in some light. Only the bars opposite of me, behind which I could see light and a lonely desk with a chair.

I sat up heavily and held my back the next second when a sharp pain shot through me, causing me to grit my teeth tightly to keep from accidentally crying out. Parts of my memory from yesterday flashed back to me and showed me how, after a fierce battle against the Marine, at some point I only saw smoke and was almost crushed under the wreckage when I tried to escape. But only almost. I can only vaguely remember the hint of something...pink. "What rubbish. Why did the damn Marine have to show up at exactly this time." To my right, I heard the click of a lock and decided to continue pretending to be asleep in order to perhaps find out more about my whereabouts.

"I'm sorry, Vice Admiral. Seems like the prisoner still hasn't woken up. I'm not surprised by the blow you gave her." "It doesn't matter. Sooner or later she'll have to wake up and talk. Those damn pirates are really nothing but trouble. We'll take her to Captain Koby's ship at the next port anyway. I have something else to do other than dealing with these annoying pirates. I'm sure he'll get something out of her,"came an annoyed voice, sounding so deep and rough, as if someone was inhaling nothing but smoke. But in a strange way it still sounded quite pleasant. "Ai ai Vice Admiral Smoker. We will inform the other ship immediately." The next moment the footsteps moved away again, but I stayed there until the door closed.

So Vice Admiral Smoker. It's a miracle I escaped with my life if he was the one chasing me. For all the hours that passed I tried desperately to find a way out, but unfortunately the Marine had thought these cells through really well, so in the end I had no choice but to give up and sit in a dark corner. "Then I guess I'll have to think about something while they try to transport me to the other ship." Sighing, I let my head fall against the wall behind me and stared at the ceiling. I still have these hazy memories of something pink, but I can't even think of what that could have been. "Hmm... I would be interested to know who I owe my life to. Even I would have barely survived a fight against Smoker." And so time passed until the ship finally seemed to dock at the next harbor. The only thing I noticed was the jerky movement of the ship as it was tied up, along with the hasty footsteps of the crew milling about on the deck above me, trying to prepare everything for a safe transport.

The next moment several Marines ran down the stairs and burst through the door. Everyone lined up, some seemed nervous and almost shitting their pants, while others showed no emotions and this was probably an everyday occurrence for them. A short time later he appeared in all his glory. Vice Admiral Smoker. Or how I liked to call him: Mr. Smoking hot. He looked at me grimly and I just responded with a mischievous grin. “Well, look at that. If that's not my good old Smokey." I slowly walked towards the bars and clutched them with both hands as I leaned closer to him. "I heard you wanted to push me away. And I thought we were finally getting closer." “Don’t even try it Y/N. That hasn't worked for me before and it won't work now either. We're transporting you over to Captain Koby's ship. He'll have more time for your little games than I do." Annoyed, he pulled the corners of his mouth down, at least as far as he could with two cigars in his mouth, before he gave the order to get me out of the cell and put me in chains.

On the way outside, after what felt like an eternity, I got some fresh air again and enjoyed the warm rays of sunshine on my skin. My eyes didn't seem too excited about the sudden brightness, though, so I had to squint them in order to not get blinded. "Smoker-kun!" A very bright and joyful voice came from a distance and seemed to be slowly approaching. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light and I could finally see clearly where we were. Near another ship I saw 2 strange figures. One had long blonde hair and a... very strange chin. When I looked at the other one next to him my body froze and my eyes went wide. That pink hair. No! That can't be! It was him...who saved me? A Captain of the Marines? "Come on! Move, you miserable priate scum!" One of the soldiers behind me pushed me forward with a shove in the back, I gave him an angry glance and continued to walk.

We walked straight towards the other ship and I could see more and more clearly who was actually standing in front of me. Captain Koby smiled and greeted his superior and then turned to me. Even though he didn't give me a smile like he did the Vice Admiral, I still felt a certain tenderness on his part. "Don't worry, Smoker-kun. Leave it to me. I'll get her to tell us something about the scroll." I looked at him in shock. The scroll! So that's why they hired someone as high as Smoker to target me. I twisted my mouth in annoyance and lowered my gaze to the floor. This could get funny.

[dyns33]

The stupid genius

A little Nathan Bateman x female reader

Y/N should have known.

Truth be told, she had had doubts at first, when Nathan started cooking for her, and asking her questions about her day, actually listening to her answers even if he could see everything on his cameras, and kissing her with tenderness, and taking her to bed only to concentrate on her pleasure.

This was not normal, because Nathan Bateman was a selfish genius who understood nothing about human relationships and social rules.

But Y/N loved him despite all his flaws. He had managed to seduce her by showing some vulnerable sides, in addition to his intelligence and his humor, so she had thought that he was doing this for her, to show her that he loved her too, after all this time together.

So she let her guard down, and enjoyed every moment.

Then, one evening, because he had hardly slept in three days, she went to look for Nathan in his office to ask him to rest a bit.

She then saw what he was working on lately.

Nathan had never hidden from Y/N that he wanted to create the perfect AI. She was undoubtedly the only person alive aware of his project, which was a great honor and a demonstration of trust, aided by the confidentiality contract she had signed.

The part he was working on now was very important : the ability of the A to have emotions, or at least to act as if it had emotions.

It was not a big deal. What Y/N didn't really like was discovering photos and videos of her on Nathan's screens, all the moments they had spent together for several weeks.

"… Can you explain this to me ?"

"Hmm ?" was Nathan's response, who didn't even seem to notice that she had entered. "What ?"

"What are you doing ?"

"You're not stupid, you see what I'm doing. I use a database to code the emotional responses of my creations."

"But why not movies? Why not someone else ?"

"Movies aren't real life, babe. I want real emotions. It has to be fluid, honest, and it's better for the same AI if it's the same person. I wanted answers specific to certain situations, so it was easier."

“… Fuck you, babe.” Y/N spat as she walked out.

Nathan didn't follow her. He didn't seem to understand why she was angry, and he probably thought it wouldn't last, like most of the arguments they'd had in the past.

Each time, he joined her in the bedroom, or the next morning. He took her in his arms, kissed her neck, without really apologizing, but making her understand that he didn't like her being mad at him, and she forgave him.

Not this time.

When he hugged her in the kitchen, asking her what she wanted to do today, Y/N didn’t move. She had no expression, acting like some kind of robot, responding that she didn't know. She didn't want anything.

Especially not with him.

This surprised him. Nathan Bateman wasn't used to being resisted. But he just shrugged as he finished his coffee to get ready for his morning boxing session, before going to his lab, thinking that she would be calmer afterwards.

"You're really acting like a child." he said during lunch, seeing that nothing had changed. “It’s children who sulk.”

“You sulk all the time.”

"That's not true. I get annoyed by the mediocrity and stupidity of others, which exhaust me mentally. The problem is that you're not stupid, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so I'm even more annoyed by your behavior.”

“You really don’t see what you did wrong.”

It was not a question. Of course Nathan didn't see what he had done wrong. He never did anything wrong.

It was already a great honor that she lived with him, slept with him, knew his plan, so Y/N should be flattered that he pretended to be nice to her so that she serves as a model for his great work.

There was absolutely nothing offensive.

“Alright, I’ll stop sulking.” Y/N declared, keeping her expression perfectly neutral.

“I hope so, it’s really not fun.”

He didn't seem to notice right away that she hadn't stopped sulking. She agreed to go for a walk with him, she let him kiss her, she answered his questions, but she did all this without showing the slightest emotion.

He finally seemed to realize it while they were in bed, and she was letting him do whatever he wanted.

"You're alright ?" he asked, and Y/N felt like there was concern in his voice, even if it sounded absurd.

"Yes. Good. Just tired."

“We can stop if you want.”

"I'm fine."

Without realizing it, but turning her head so he wouldn't see her, Y/N cried until he was done, and she stared at the ceiling for the rest of the night, thinking that maybe it was time for her to go.

She wasn't the first to mention the helicopter.

“If you want to leave, you just have to ask me.”

Nathan didn't turn towards her, his gaze turned towards the mountains. He didn't even give her time to close the living room door before saying this sentence.

"… Where did you get this idea ?"

"Don't act stupid. I already told you I didn't like it."

"I'm not sure what you like or don't like lately. You want me to leave ?"

This made him move, and Y/N saw something strange in Nathan’s eyes. Something she had never seen before, or ever so slightly, when he was drunk, or when he thought she couldn't see him because the lights were off.

Emotions.

Fear. Sadness. Suffering.

“Of course I don’t want you to leave.” he said with an equally strange voice. "As I don't want you to cry when I touch you. I want you to slap me and tell me to stop."

“You told me to stop acting like a child.”

“That's not the point !”

“Not the point ?!” Y/N said angrily as she approached, which seemed to scare him. "You pretended to be interested in me for your work ! You played the perfect boyfriend only to study my micro expressions and reproduce them on your machines. Do you think that makes me happy ? To know that you don't care ? It hurts you that I'm crying because of you ? But that's what I feel when you touch me now, when I see you, when I listen to you, because I know that I don't care ! I'm not important to you !”

She promised herself to stay calm. She had promised herself to continue playing the robot, telling him that she was leaving him, and that she wanted him to delete all the images he had of her.

But it was too hard, because despite all his faults, she loved the bastard, and she hated that he pretended to be sad that she was sad. He even dared to make the decision to leave for her.

"… I didn't pretend." he whispered, and he had never looked so vulnerable.

"Oh, shut up Nathan. You said it, I'm not stupid."

"Maybe I am, a bit, if you really mean everything you just said. I care about you. I love you. That's why I wanted you to be the model, and not anyone else. It allowed me to spend time with you, to make you happy, and yes to work too. One stone, two birds. I didn't understand why that upset you. I guess I missed an essential fact…"

“That you’re an ass.”

“Yes, that.”

This day was really strange, even stranger than when he started being nice. Nathan stopped looking at her, as if he no longer wanted her to see him like that, so human, and he started looking at the mountain again while scratching his skull.

It was almost perfect. However, there was one little thing missing.

“You didn’t say you were sorry.”

"I'm not sorry."

Y/N stared at him for a long time, thinking about the helicopter again. It was still tempting, despite the beautiful speech she had just heard.

"I mean…" he added, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry that I hurt you, of course. I'm not sorry that I did it, I had good reasons, but I didn't mean to hurt you, and if you don't want me to do it again, I won't do it again.”

“What if I still want to leave ?”

“I would be heartbroken, masturbate to your videos, and cry like a kid in my bed for several months.”

“I thought you never acted like a kid.”

“I said I’m not sulking, it’s different.”

Nathan Bateman was such a jerk. But Y/N already knew that when she met him, and when she fell in love with him, and it was arguably the most romantic statement he had ever made, and was capable of making.

Rolling her eyes, she finished approaching him, taking him in her arms and kissing his neck. He got the message, returning her embrace without saying anything, kissing her forehead.

The argument was over.

"You didn't say if I can continue to use your…"

"No."

"All right." he sighed, with a small smile, not letting go of her to finish his coffee, do his boxing session and lock himself in his lab.