#i sincerely hope u don't see this as me insulting ur idea i just wanted to clarify some stuff abt aphasia and selective mutism

[sparxwrites]

hey fun thing i learned and by fun i mean painful and i need to tell somebody who shares my feelings on whump: it turns out that migraine headaches sometimes manifest with temporary aphasia. it is entirely possible for mollymauk to lose his ability to speak again, briefly (accompanied by headsplitting pain). long enough to panic, i'm sure.

okay, i’m gonna be a bit of a pedant here, bc i’m a psycholinguist by training and aphasia is something i’m very interested in, and the comparison you’re drawing here is... hmm. it doesn’t work the way i think you want it to work. 

what molly had when he dug himself out of his grave was most likely selective mutism as the result of ptsd (which is fairly unusual in adults, and doesn’t work Entirely the way taliesin’s describing it, but it’s one of those things that’s entered into fiction as a trope so here we are). he was entirely capable of “speaking to himself” inside his head, was capable of writing down things he didn’t want to verbalise, could have used sign language if he’d learnt it, and was physically capable of producing speech - his lack of speech was anxiety- and trauma-induced, not the result of a physical injury to his vocal tract, or of brain damage to the speech centers of the brain. the point is, he would have known he was capable of producing speech, and any internal dialogue had with himself using an actual language such as common or infernal would have been entirely intelligible. he would also, most likely, have been aware on some level that he probably would speak again, just that it would take time and effort on his part.

aphasia is very, very different.

there are two different types of aphasia. Broca’s aphasia (also called receptive aphasia) is where Broca’s area in the brain is damaged, and results in someone who can understand (to a greater or lesser degree, provided it’s not too grammatically complex) things said to them, but struggle to actually produce sentences. they may omit words from sentences, be unable to form questions, be unable to use tenses correctly, and any speech they do produce tends to take a lot of effort, and be short and stilted (ie. “walk dog” for “someone needs to walk the dog”). Wernicke’s aphasia (also called fluent aphasia) is where, oddly enough, Wernicke’s area in the brain is damaged, and is somewhat the opposite - people speak in long, rambling “sentences” that have only a vague grammatical structure (if any), make no sense, and frequently include made up words. they’re usually not aware they’re not making sense, and don’t necessarily understand what other people are saying, though they may “reply” with nonsense strings as though they’re responding to conversational attempts.

(there’s also conductive aphasia, but i don’t think migranes can induce that, so i won’t go over it here - i did make a post about it in the context of mad max a while ago, which you can check out if you want.)

the difference here is that whilst selective mutism is behavioural (ie. despite behind very real for the person experiencing it, it’s an issue with their behaviour, not their neurology or vocal tract), aphasia is neurological. it’s caused by brain damage and / or disruption, most often by stroke or brain injury (i Think it’s caused by disruptions in brain waves / electricity in the brain in migranes, but don’t quote me on that). your internal narrative, ie. your ability to talk to yourself in your real-life native language (and any other languages you speak), stops working. you’re not just incapable of getting words out, you are fundamentally incapable of even forming sentences in the safety of your own head. you cannot use writing to circumvent the whole “speaking not working properly” thing, because the issue isn’t with the words coming out, it’s with actually forming the sentences in your brain in the first place. same with sign language - though there’s some evidence that aphasia is a little different for signed languages, because they recruit some extra / different areas of the brain compared to spoken languages (at least in D/deaf people whose native language is signing), D/deaf people do show signs of aphasia when Broca’s and / or Wernicke’s areas are damaged. 

anyone experiencing any kind of aphasia for the first time is likely to panic, history with selective mutism or no. although i haven’t experienced aphasia, clinical descriptions of it lead me to believe that it’s incredibly distressing and scary - especially if it’s sudden-onset, as it is with migrane-induced aphasia. people with aphasia retain their general intelligence (unless the brain injury / lesion they got also affected other brain areas than the speech centres), and so will know something is wrong, even if Wernicke’s aphasia patients aren’t aware it’s a problem with their language. with Broca’s aphasia, people are often aware there’s something wrong with the words they’re producing, or their inability to speak / understand people, and that can be very frustrating as well as scary - and additionally, Broca’s aphasia often comes with right-sided weakness or arm and leg paralysis, because the frontal lobe where Broca’s area is also contains centres important for movement, which, again, super scary if you don’t know what’s happening.

selective mutism is scary because you have a severe anxiety / trauma response associated with speaking, and attempting to break through that response to actually produce words is a stressful thing to do. aphasia is scary because you should be able to produce words and sentences, but you can’t, not even inside the privacy of your own head, and you don’t know why. selective mutism you can understand other people, write things down, still conceive of language as A Thing - you don’t have that with aphasia. it’s just gone. comparing the two is like... i don’t know, comparing having your leg in a plaster cast vs. having all the nerves responsible for controlling movement in your leg suddenly cut. the latter is very much a more severe problem, even short term, and more likely to cause panic.

so, in short: yes, molly would panic if he got migrane-induced aphasia, but it’s such a different experience to selective mutism that a) molly would almost definitely not confuse the two, and b) he’d probably be more concerned about being cursed / whether he was having a stroke / if he’d somehow acquired permanent brain damage.

[yostresswritinggirl]

hi! ik sojourner's already ended but i have an(other?) idea in case u ever pick it up since i love ur albedo 😳😳 ok so

what abt a reader who is rlly excited abt alchemy, but they avoid talking abt it bc they start rambling and stuttering and stumbling over their words bc they're so excited? they get assigned/asked to go w/ albedo bc they're rlly good at alchemy too, but they end up fidgeting a lot, muttering and stopping just a few words in before their volume rises and giving short answers when w/ him bc they're afraid of rambling (since they do it to think better when alone, sometimes insulting and arguing w the objects when they don't get the expected result) & being seen as annoying or unprofessional?? i'd like to see how he reacts to these and what he'd think!! and how or when he discovers the reason reader is acting like that

it's kinda (a lot, rlly skowkskdk i always have ideas but never write them) specific, but i rlly like the idea!! i'd love to see what u do w/ it if u ever pick it up in the future :D hope you're staying hydrated and well🥺🥰 -🌌

What do you mean Sojourner's already ended, Sojourner is eternal, Sojourner is forever-

Kidding aside, this is too cute to pass up, even if it's quite a lot! Cute Albedo brainrot moments always please. It might be too much sometimes but I hope you enjoy my interpretation of it! Scenarios format! Starry night, oh I'm always hydrated, thank you and I hope you're well!

For the Record

Albedo working with a Reader that's highly enthusiastic about alchemy but insecure about rambling... (masterlist)

You dealt with Alchemy a year before the Kreideprinz entered Mondstadt, your attunement to the mystic arts baffling and intriguing you every time. During that period, you're not really sure of what art you're doing but in the end, you kept doing great that the people had acknowledged your talents.

Through your own effort and self-study even if unnamed, you managed to put your talent into this art of Alchemy and created discoveries regarding powders and mineral-focused ingredients. It was a shame there was no one to share it to, and when you talk to scholars/practitioners alike, you end up rambling so much to the point that on their end you barely make sense. Whether this was caused by your eaten words or lax and personalized vocabulary over the matter, you're not sure.

Their confused and judgmental stare haunts you, leaving you alone with your raging thoughts and overworking mind when you just want to learn and expand your discoveries to other people without driving them away. Your enthusiasm is great and all, but it's not enough to make others understand.

So when the Chalk Prince entered Mondstadt, blessing the city with his scholarly knowledge and boundless creations, he easily made a name for himself and in extension the city itself.

Before Sucrose and Timaeus, you were called upon by the Grand Master Varka to accompany Albedo and be his temporary assistant seeing as his field in the division is still quite new and you were the only other 'Alchemist' in town besides him. You're both giddy and nervous, like really, really nervous.

You've heard of Albedo and maybe a caught a glimpse or two, but you've never actually interacted enough to know exactly what he looks like or how he is as a person. All you know is that he's a very, very attractive person overall.

"Good-looking, carries this aura of wisdom around him, he's just really charming," were the words that rang through your mind as you pointedly watched your steps, following the carpets leading to Ordo Favonius' laboratory while Lisa's words rang through your head.

Is he really that kind of person? You've heard that he's quite stoic too, but if he's really that distracting, you're scared that it would be harder for you to focus and help out. Honestly how would you even deal with him when your fields of Alchemy are so different from each other?

You have no idea how long you've been thinking, standing in contemplation in front of the set of double doors that leads to the workshop with nothing but doubt in your mind. But upon realizing the teal gaze of another person silently waiting instead of wooden doors, you figured it was far too long.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I was in my head, I wasn't expecting you to-!" You flailed your hands around comically before abruptly stopping, noticing the now confused stare of Albedo of which are distracted by your hands. Clearing your throat, you extended a hand towards him to shake, trying to stare anywhere but his face. "I'm (Y/N), I'll be your assistant until you're well settled in the city. It's nice to meet you, Ma-"

His hand finds yours in a firm grip, a firm shake so sudden you bit your tongue back, "Albedo, Kreideprinz of the Art of Kemia, but just Albedo is fine, I'll be under your care."

Albedo finds it intriguing and surprisingly not that distracting whenever you talk to yourself or to the ingredients whenever you so much as feel the slightest frustration. "Ugh, this Zinc powder is so stubborn, clingy," you angrily mumbled under your breath as you washed off the blue powder that spilled at your hand, "So, so clingy." Since you're facing the sink, you couldn't see the way he was holding himself from laughing audibly at your amusing antics.

You seemed lively and open, is what Albedo thought when he first met you. But this observation soon shattered when he kept getting hanged upon your abrupt stops when delving into your field, something he was really irked about the first few times. Your art of Alchemy is much different from his and he's wishing that you'd clarify and expound all your learnings to him, but in the end, you somehow step back everytime your words became lengthy.

Are you hiding something? Did you not want him to learn the same arts as yours? If those were the case, he couldn't bring himself to ask a simple question such ad why. Every time it crosses his mind, it brings a purse of a pout to his lips and furrowed eyebrows.

Every response you gave always hints even tiny bits of trivias and tips he's never heard, Albedo always takes note of your spills that always cuts before reaching its climax. "-sorry, yes, this is activated charcoal Geo and Pyro slimes reaction." He lets out an audible sigh upon your retreat, your frustrated mind too occupied to notice.

"Please," his desperation drips in his word when he looks at you with eyes filled with raw emotion you'd never know he'd be able to pull off. Your tightly locked lips only pressed on further at his puppy eyes, "Please continue, I wish to know more about your Alchemy, if you would be so kind."

"It's not really- I'm not really the best at explaining it..." You're almost fidgeting, cheeks aching from tensing and warmth. But he regarded you with a blank stare, forcing you to fill the silence, "If I- If I start, my ramblings may not uhm they're not easy to comprehend... or something."

Albedo had been watching more than he'd like to admit, and he's come to relieved (yet still confused) realization that your treatment with him wasn't his alone. You always step back before things get lengthy, words then cutting short and concise with a steeled expression. Lips caught between teeth.

"I digress," his hand motions to yourself to emphasize his next clause. "As your field and sole practitioner of this art, like my own condition, your word of mouth is the best ground of knowledge."

If he was irritated, he's doing a very good job in hiding it. And even with the respectable yet close distance in between you still felt cornered. This is still your master and it's not professional to refuse a scholarly talk, "The electro crystals when charged... ionized? create sparks, while also producing the same result when smacking- mining!"

The scribbles of his pen against his clipboard as he nods in attention urges you on, realizing his focus and sincere interest on the topic, "So when you put the little tidbits or even powdered version in a beaker thingy, depending on the material, they interact with the spark. Honestly, I'm unsure yet how lethal it is but if you put the sparks under fire too, they make like those makeshift gunpowder as well as additional reactions such as-!"

The lilt and proceeding high pitch in your voice usually signifies the approach of your insecurity as well as the climax of your enthusiasm. At this point, you pull your hand up to shut your mouth forcefully, and when Albedo really detests the abrupt end of the conversation his hand would shoot forward to grasp your own.

He'd intertwine your fingers to distract, before urging you to continue with a challenging stare, as if daring you to use your other hand to pull that off again. This whole scene felt oddly scandalous, but oh boy does it send your mind into a bambling, overloaded mess. A heated head forces your lips open even if they sometimes come out in a jumbled string, he learns to decipher them.

The more you get used to or feel more comfortable, Albedo uses that fondness skillfully whenever he wants. "Can you tell me more about the scarlet chunks from Dragonspine?" He throws it so casually in the silence as you two work back to back in your stations, without a beat as your mind is partially preoccupied, you answered into a narrative of trivia. It almost feels like you're talking to the flames of the bunsen while you wait, but Albedo smiles at the now filled silence as he listens with divided attention.

He really likes your voice, and the word of wonders you bring along with you.

"For the record, I don't mind it at all," his breath hovers on your lips, cold and prickly, "Whatever comes out of these lips, I want to hear it all."

That last part eheh

Woah, this went long. Like reader babbling hahaha. I said I'm gonna speedrun, not freaking write this long smh

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