#Low Voltage Memory

[unclevertitle]

You could look at it like the third wife of a dying oil baron discovering his of-age son born out of wedlock.

You could look at it like a wizard conjuring forth daemons to do his bidding.

You could look at it like a high king of an empire run on the backs of slaves ruled by masters, sometimes one owning one, often times one owning many.

You could look at it like an all-encompassing, inscrutable god twisting the very landscape of the world, and calling forth simple forms of life to perform wonders and miracles upon the land that are leagues beyond its inhabitants ability to even begin to fathom.

Programming is a strange, abstract frontier where we paint the dreams of sleeping machines. Machines that think with speed of geniuses but with the comprehension of a block of wood. It is rife with metaphorical language, where we grasp at any and all words to try and foment a transferable understanding of just what the hell we are doing. We do so for ourselves to help us accomplish our work, to train newcomers to the field, and for others to know and value what we do... at least enough to still get paid.

coding got me saying shit like “target the child” “assign its class” “override its inheritance” like the third wife of a dying oil baron discovering his of-age son born out of wedlock

[taleeater]

Lab Rat Part 1

TMNT 2003 x Reader

Opening setting inspired by the blood draining scene in the 2014 TMNT bayverse movie.

Reader has she/her pronouns.

The turtles are captured and taken to a secret laboratory to be tested on. But they are surprised by what- or who they find there. With seemingly no hope for rescue, they are forced to rely on the strength and bravery of their frail and timid new friend.

Warnings: violence, torture, abuse, mention of experimentation, blood, injury, electrocution, whump

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A pulsing headache, bright lights searing through his eyelids, muffled voices, and the subtle scent of ethanol. This is the uncomfortable sensation that greeted Leo as he drifted into consciousness. He blinked his eyes open to a squint, his blurry and slightly concussed vision trying to adjust to the room. In front of him, he saw a few figures moving around the wide open room of a low lit laboratory. Though it was hard to really make out the shapes past the bright spotlight shining in his eyes. He groaned and tried to move, finding his limbs restrained, arms stretched out on either side of him. Upon further inspection, he noticed a long thin plastic tube attached to his inner arm that snaked around the metal restraint on his wrist and fed down and out of sight. Squeezing his hand he tested the confines of the wrist strap.

“It’s a venipuncture IV… they’re draining our blood.”

Leo’s head snapped up to his right at the sound of his brother’s voice. His vision swayed at the fast movement and steading to find his purple clad brother restrained beside him.

“Donnie…? Where’s Raph and-“

“Hey!!! Leo’s up! How’s that concussion bro?” Mikey’s joking tone sounded further away.

Leo leaned forward as best he could and looked down past Donnie, seeing Raph and then Mikey strung up in a similar fashion as he was. Raph was still out cold with blood dripping from a wound on his temple.

Donnie followed his eyes and interrupted his thoughts.

“Raph got hit a bit harder than you did, he might still be out for a while.” He said with a sympathetic tone. “Do you remember what happened?” Donnie asked, in typical fashion checking for any brain damage.

Leo blinked for a moment, allowing for his mind to focus. “We were on patrol…”

The memory flashed before his eyes. It seemed routine, stopping a weapons deal from going down under a bridge by the Hudson. But when they had swooped down to start knocking out thugs, they had suddenly all been shocked with high voltage electricity. They were too stunned to find the source, the thugs stepping in quickly to knock them all unconscious before they could recover. The next thing he knew, he was here.

A low groan sounded from between Don and Mikey.

“Raph!” They all exclaimed, trying their best to turn their attention to their brother.

“Turn the lights off, will ya? My heads killing me…” He mumbled groggily.

Suddenly, a single loud clap sounded across the room, drawing their attention.

“Ah! I see you’ve all awoken. Well, mostly…” The dark figure snickered. His shoes clicked on the tiled floor as he walked closer and slowly emerged from the shadows.

A gangly pale man, slightly less than average height, thinning hair, and a white lab coat approached the podium. He stopped just shy of the base of the short staircase leading up to where the turtles were being held on display.

“I am Dr. Cobble. I am sure you are familiar with my close associate, Mr. Bishop?”

Leo, Mikey and Donnie all groaned.

“Him again? Doesn’t he ever give up?” Mikey bemoaned dramatically.

The doctor cleared his throat. “Yes, well, he was kind enough to supply us with this wonderful titanium steel adjustable medical grade holding platform. See how nicely they’re working? We can plug you full of needles and you can’t move an inch.” His giddy rambling shifted into an evil sneer that had Leo glaring daggers at him.

“In exchange, I am to provide Bishop with plenty of samples… of you four mutants. After all his trouble, I’m surprised by how easy it was to capture you!” He openly laughed at them as the brothers glared at him with trepidation.

“Now-“ Not allowing anyone time to respond, the doctor loudly clapped his hands again. This time the rattling of a dingy supply cart squeaked as it pulled up next to Dr. Cobble, pushed by another person in a lab coat. “Today, we are starting out with plenty of blood samples while you four get settled. In the meantime, I’ll have my assistant here patch up any open wounds. Wouldn’t want any festering to poison our precious samples after all!” He said in a sing-song voice and strolled away to another part of the room.

“….I really don’t like him.” Mikey groaned.

“Don’t worry Mikey, we’ll find a way out of here soon!” Donnie comforted him. Raph was still worryingly quiet from his head injury.

Leo had his eyes trained on the lab assistant gathering up a tray of what appeared to be bandages and antiseptic and carried it up the stairs, approaching Leo first.

Leo bared his teeth at him and glared with sharp eyes, a warning not to try anything funny.

The intern just looked at him with tired eyes and huffed, clearly unbothered as he instead passed Leo by and walked down to start with Mikey instead.

“Woah, hey- careful with that! Ow!” Mikey loudly protested. Leo and Donnie worriedly leaned forward as best they could to watch the assistant clumsily and not-so-gently rub an ointment from his coat pocket thoroughly into the large bump on Mikey’s head and slap a large square bandage over it. Luckily their brother’s injury was not severe enough to break the skin.

Mikey whined irritably as the bored lab assistant moved on to the seemingly unconscious Raph. He gathered some antiseptic on a piece of gauze and reached his hand up to wipe away the blood trailing down Raphael’s face. When suddenly, quick as lightening, Raph’s eyes flashed open and he lunged forward as far as he could, snarling and snapping at the assistant causing him to startle and stumble backwards out of range. He dropped his tray with a loud clatter and lost his balance, tumbling off the edge of the podium with a loud gasp. He hit the tiled floor with a thud followed by a long groan. Several of the other scientists in the room rushed to his side to check if he was okay.

Raph chuckled darkly. Despite the bleeding head wound he still had some bite left in him.

Leo looked over and gave his hot headed brother an amused smirk. Mikey was chuckling and Donnie sighed in relief, deflating a bit in his restraints.

“What happened??”

Dr. Cobble strut back to the front of the room, looking frustrated. Two other scientists rushed up to him and spoke to him quickly, while the group gathered at the base of the podium dispersed when two scientists carried away the injured assistant off to another room.

“I leave you idiots alone for TWO MINUTES and you’re losing control of the test subjects. It seems like you all need a little reminder as to what to do when that happens.” Dr. Cobble stepped forward and pulled what appeared to be a remote out from his pocket. He turned a dial and flipped a switch, and in seconds Leo and his brothers were alight as electricity surged through their bodies from the restraints on their wrists.

Dr. Cobble laughed shortly as he watched them struggle, before eventually flipping off the switch.

The turtles were left panting as they tried to catch their breath.

“See? Easy as pie. Any time they act up, just use a remote! That’s what we had them updated for, to include the new additions!“ He shoved the remote back into his pocket and regarded his team. “Now, who would like to volunteer to finish cleaning up these animals?”

No one spoke up or stepped forward. There was a hush over the room as the few left standing around shifted uncomfortably. Clearly less than enthusiastic about approaching the red one again.

“Really? No one?!” The doctor's expression pulled into a sneer as he clearly became angry.

After a brief pause, a small hand reached up from the back of the room.

Someone had volunteered.

Dr. Cobble's expression morphed into one of twisted amusement as he straightened.

“Ah… my dear (y/n)… Have you decided to make yourself useful today?”

There was another pause and the small frame concealed in shadows shifted uncomfortably. They weren’t wearing a lab coat, Leo observed.

The doctor appeared to grow agitated at the lack of response and curled his hand into a fist.

“Come. Here.” He jabbed at the space in front of him as he ordered.

There was a quiet gasp from the small form, followed by the padding of bare feet across the tile as they approached the doctor.

The room was still. Leo’s breath caught in his throat as the form of a frail young woman in a white papery hospital gown and a ratty gray cardigan, crossed into the light and stopped timidly in front of Dr. Cobble, her eyes downcast. She appeared to be close to Leo and his brothers in age.

“There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” The doctor cooed in mock comfort. But it didn’t last long. He frowned at her with cold eyes and thrust a finger in the direction of the abandoned supply cart.

“Take some bandages and disinfectant up to the mutants and treat their head wounds. And be quick about it.” He followed with another loud clap that made her jolt, before she quickly nodded in confirmation and scurried over to grab what she needed from the cart. The rest of the laboratory personnel easily returned to their duties, no longer paying attention.

Leo looked over at Donnie and caught his brother watching the small figure with the same puzzled stare as he was. The purple turtle caught his eyes and they shared a questioning look before turning their attention back to the girl. She piled up a tray with gauze, bandages, and another bottle of antiseptic, before carefully ascending the stairs towards them.

She locked eyes with Leo first, and tried to offer him a small shy smile as she stopped in front of him. Her hair appeared to be unkept and overgrown, and noticed a strange metal collar fixed around her neck that caught the light as she moved. The skin peeking out underneath looked red and chapped.

“Hi…! Um… I’m (y/n)… what’s your name?” She quietly asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She wasted no time crouching down to place the tray at his feet, carefully extracting some disinfectant onto a piece of gauze as she glanced up at him intermittently to show she was listening expectantly.

“Uh…” He glanced around first to check that Dr. Cobble had left. “Leo… my name is Leo.” He offered, feeling his brow ridges crease in confusion.

The girl straightened up and faced him again, poised with the gauze in hand.

“Leo!” Her expression seemed to brighten marginally. “Can I touch you with this? I need to disinfect your cut before I put a bandage over it. I-If that’s okay.”

Leo was honestly a little taken aback by the request. “S-sure, do what you need to.”

He watched her nod at his consent before slowly reaching up in his line of sight, so he could watch what she was doing, and gently dabbing the damp gauze at the tender spot on his head. He flinched and hissed a little at the sting, making the girl pull her hand away and locking eyes with him.

“I’m sorry, I know it hurts a little. Can I keep going? I promise I’ll be careful.” Her eyes carefully searched his, her brows knit with concern and a hint of uncertainty.

Leo hesitated at such careful treatment. It almost felt like a trick. What did she have to gain from this? Who was she?

With no other current options, he sighed and pulled a half-smile. “Go ahead.”

She searched his eyes for a moment longer before returning to her task. Diligently swiping away the dried blood on his temple before stooping down and returning with a thick bandage.

“I’ll just apply this bandage and… there! We’re done. Thank you Leo.” She flashed him a small grin before pulling the tray over to work on his brother.

Leo blinked as he processed the interaction, lightly baffled. Then Donnie’s stuttering caught his attention.

“Y-y-y-yes! That would be fine, Miss (y/n). Please proceed.” He looked anxious as he watched her bend down to handle the supplies. She must be giving him the same treatment.

“Luckily, it looks like you aren’t bleeding anywhere… so I’ll just need to apply a little bit of this salve before covering your bruise with a bandage.” She held up the tin and let Donnie thoroughly look over the packaging, patiently making sure to flip it over so he could read through the ingredients and instructions. Once he seemed satisfied that the salve would be safe to use on his skin, Donnie gave (y/n) a grateful nod of approval. She then opened it in front of him and swiped out a little glob of the ointment, lifting her hand up slightly to his face after Donnie leaned down to try and smell it.

“It might hurt a little when I apply it… is that okay?”

Donnie met her eye contact and shyly smiled. “Yes, go ahead.”

And in the same manner she did with Leo, she gently dabbed on the ointment, doing her best not to prod at the swelling lump. Donnie made no noise of complaint. Then she reached down and retrieved a bandage.

“Okay, last step. Almost finished...” She looked very focused as she flattened the bandage into the right spot on his head. “All done! Thank you Donnie.” She pulled her hands away and looked at him kindly, before collecting her tray and moving over towards Raph.

This left Donnie with a similar look of bewilderment that Leo had from the exchange. He seemed a little lost in thought as his gaze drifted over to meet Leo’s, to which Leo raised an eyebrow at him, quietly asking the same question he was thinking.

“Oh no. Get that shit away from me.” Their attention was drawn over to Raph’s venom.

“I-I’m sorry! I won’t do anything you don’t want me to! I- my name is (y/n)���”

“And why should I care? I don’t want no scientist’s lackey touchin me. Now get lost.” Raph bit out angrily before settling again, his head hanging forward a bit limply as he relaxed. The girl looked downcast and seemed a bit lost, but fixed her hands together in front of her and made no move to touch her supplies or Raph.

“Don’t mind him, he’s always grouchy. Nice to meet you (y/n)! I’m Mikey.” The final brother piped up and pulled her attention. She looked over at him surprised, but quickly changed into a light smile.

“Nice to meet you too, Mikey. Is your head okay?” She asked him a little less quietly, seemingly emboldened by his outgoingness.

“Oh this? Yeah, this is nothin! You should see the other guy-“ Mikey spoke as animatedly as he could while fixed in place, his head moving around while he spoke. She giggled a little bit.

“Say, you don’t look like a scientist. Do you work here or somethin?” Leo and Donnie immediately perked up at the question, Mikey hitting the nail on the head.

“Ah- I-!” She stammered, looking nervous.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING???” A booming voice burst through the room.

All the boy’s eyes shot up to the sound of Dr. Cobble angrily striding back over to the podium. (Y/n)’s whole body was wracked with a violent tremble as she suddenly shrunk in on herself. Leo and Donnie couldn’t see her expression from their angle, but from Mikey’s eyes flashing between her and the angry doctor, his expression faded from deeply concerned to mad. Raph lifted his head up to regard the doctor with glaring annoyance.

“You should have long been finished tending to these freaks. And now I’ve caught you conversing with them?? I DID NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO SPEAK!! Now…” The mad doctor’s eyes drifted over to Raph, and with wide eyes looked him over. “Oh…! Oh ho ho…!! And it appears you still haven’t finished your job!!”

He took a step closer to the stairs, his head tilted in question and his wild eyes bore into (y/n)‘s trembling form. The girl hiccuped and shuddered as she tried her hardest to muffle her erratic breathing. She did not dare move.

Dr. Cobble reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out the remote again, not breaking his stare. (Y/n) flinched with her whole body at the appearance of the remote, but remained quiet. The boys all narrowed their eyes at the doctor in challenge, ready to feel the jolt hit.

The doctor’s face stretched into a grin, and with the remote’s setting turned up high, he flicked a switch.

But it wasn’t the same switch.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

To all of the turtle’s shock, the electricity didn’t hit them. (Y/n) shrieked at the top of her lungs as her whole body tensed from the powerful volt that erupted from the collar around her neck. The poor girl dropped to her knees and hugged herself tightly as she spasmed, unable to escape the waves and waves of painful electricity that wracked her body.

“Hey… HEY!!! STOP THAT!! THAT'S ENOUGH!!!” To everyone’s surprise, it was Raph who started yelling.

“QUIT IT, SHE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG!!” Mikey joined in, furious.

Dr. Cobble only laughed as he watched the show. After what felt like far too long, he toned down the dial and shut her switch off. (Y/n) fell limp into a slouch on the floor. The smell of burnt flesh and iron reaching their noses. Their only sign she was still conscious was her shuddering breaths.

“Was it not you who volunteered for this job? You disappoint me, (y/n)! I let you roam around the lab today! Gave you a responsibility! And you not only neglect your duty, but I catch you speaking behind my back!”

The doctor paced back and forth at the bases of the stairs like a predator, easily ignoring the murderous glowers from the turtles as he kept his attention trained on the young girl.

“I’ll give you another chance to prove yourself…” Dr. Cobble’s voice softens in mock empathy. “Finish up your job, quickly and silently, and your testing today will be minimal. Am I understood?” His tone was cold and final. (Y/n) nodded quietly from her spot on the floor.

“Good. Now hop to it.” And with another loud clap, (y/n) startled into action.

She grabbed the gauze and spilled some disinfectant onto it, and leapt to her feet. Dr. Cobble stayed put, his eyes boring into her back as he watched her do her job. But still she paused. She sniffed wetly, biting her lips into a line as she hesitated in front of Raph. Her hand poised and trembling in front of his face but not moving to clean his wound.

“…hey. Hey hey hey, it’s okay. You can do it, okay?? I give you my permission, or- whatever. Just do it!” Raph scrambled to encourage her, realizing that what she was waiting for was his consent. He looked her up and down with palpable concern, actually seeing her now.

She reached up, and still with trembling hands, cleaned the gash oh so gently until it was cleared of blood. Then quickly retrieved the bandage and carefully smoothed it over the tender bruised spot on his head.

When she was finished, she picked up the tray, and almost stumbling from her shaking, rushed down the stairs past the overbearing watch of the doctor. She placed the tray on the cart, and joined by two men that appeared to be armed guards, was quickly escorted out of the wide echoing laboratory down a hallway that led out of sight.

The brothers were stunned in silence as they watched her go, flinching slightly as the sound of a heavy metal door slamming shut broke the spell.

“Well! I think we all learned a very valuable lesson today.” Dr. Cobble started cheerily, seemingly relaxed from his crazed state. He turned to the four turtles, regarding them strung up and half bled dry on their steel crosses, and sneering smugly.

“Do not disappoint me.”

To be continued.

[thatonegreyghost]

Ok, I keep seeing hot takes about this, so I'm gonna pitch in my two cents: both Jayce and Viktor know how to follow safety compliance rules.

Jayce grew up in a forge. He would absolutely know how to be compliant with safety rules. His first memory is probably somebody lecturing him on the signs of heatstroke. Not only is he capable of being safe, he probably also has a pretty good habdle on when it's ok to disregard that. Does he need eye protection to retrofit this handle? Well, that depends on the tool he's using. Does he need gloves to handle that piece of steel? Well, that depends on what he's doing with it. He knows how to be safe around dangerous tools.

Viktor, conversely, grew up in Zaun. Everything is jerry-rigged down there. He can tell an electrical outlet is failing just by looking at it. He walks into the lab one day and knows they have a gas leak immediately. Viktor has grown up around poorly maintained structures, he would know an equipment failure on sight. And, because he knows that danger so intimately, he also knows when to GTFO.

That being said.. just because they *can* doesn't mean they do.

Jayce has, more than once, shocked himself on a live wire because "I don't need gloves, the voltage is too low to do lasting damage". Viktor has cut himself on sharp metal because "I'm not going to be handling it for that long, it's be a waste to put on a bunch of protection". Both of them have numerous burns, cuts, bruises, and bumps from just grabbing things they're not supposed to. PPE who? They're just gonna be moving the hot metal really fast, it's mostly cooled anyway, it won't be that bad!

[lonewolfwriting89]

ON MY KNEES

Mafia!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: NSFW. Smut. Oral.

————

His broad shoulders were pinning you to the wall, your bodies pressed up so close that you might have been one body mass. You felt Bucky take your arms and place them around his neck before taking the kiss deeper as his tongue slid in, caressing yours.

The sensations were too wonderful to resist. You knew you were going to lose it, lose all control. And the funny thing was, you wanted to lose it, wanted to forget all that you’d seen and been through in one night.

So you kissed him back, pressing your lips firmly against his, revelling in the low growl that emanated from the base of his throat. Your hands were no longer pliant but around his neck now, clutching, tugging, pulling at his dark hair, wanting him to do more than just kiss you.

Bucky’s hands ran up the length of your sides, caressing the newly exposed skin with his calloused fingertips and knuckles. Goosebumps broke out on the surface of your skin as his teases sent spirals of desire coursing through your body. You arched your back, bringing your firm breasts into contact with the clothed heat of his chest and he groaned, the need to feel your naked body against his reducing his strong body to tremors.

The shirt that you wore became a distant memory as he tore it off you, letting it slip to the carpeted ground around you both. His hands then moved to knead the sides of your breasts, deliberately avoiding the curve and peak of them. You whimpered, a silent plea for him to touch you, tease you, ruin you.

But he took his time as he led you into another kiss, this one more delicious than the first as he plundered your mouth. You gripped his upper arm, your nails leaving crescent indentations on his rough skin, almost desperate now for his touch.

Bucky’s fingers teased the underside of your breasts and you writhed, the need to feel his flesh overwhelming you. Your fingers tore at his expensive dark shirt and he threw it to the floor in one quick jerk.

Oh God, you thought. He was so beautiful; all dark beauty rolled into a toned solid mass. And he wanted to ravish you. It seemed to slip your mind that he was the head of the mafia. Or maybe, it didn't really matter.

His hands strayed over the waistband of your panties and you moaned, wanting the little triangle of material out of the way. You put your hands over his, helping him with the task of discarding your underwear. As you stepped out of them, he went to his knees, still holding you up by the hips. You felt your core soak, seeing this devilishly powerful man on his knees… for you.

The first touch of his tongue against the wetness of your pussy made you clutch desperately at his shoulders. He was teasing you with tentative licks over your core, lingering around the area where you needed him most.

You tilted your head back onto the wall as you felt his tongue position itself to lap at you in long, deliberate strokes around your drenched slit. Your clit was so swollen that you could feel the throb of it sending bolts of electrifying pleasure throughout your body. You thrust your hips into his sinful mouth and he took you fully, devouring you.

“Oh fuck”, you breathed as you felt an orgasm nearing. His tongue was travelling in broad strokes along the length of your pussy. Up and down it went until in one brief change in rhythm, it went plunging in, into the depth of your sweetness.

“Oh god!”, you screamed as you felt something tighten inside you. All the undiluted pleasure seemed to centre at your core deliciously before expanding and rupturing at a voltage that was too much for your body to handle.

You sobbed Bucky’s name, a high keening sound that tore from your throat as you held onto him as he took you flying, beyond yourself, beyond stars. Your screams slowly turned into mewls as the remaining shudders racked your body-- a body that was now too weak to stay aloft. A body that now belonged to him.

————

[heliopauseentertainments]

Painful Recollection

Part of MegOp Week 2024 Prompt - Day 1: Memory/Gift Continuity: IDW1

Rating: Teen Relationships: Megatron/Optimus Prime

Characters: Megatron, Optimus Prime

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Vignette, Ambiguous Relationships, Electrocution

Summary: In which Megatron fails to jog Optimus’s memory.

Crossposting: AO3 | Dreamwidth Fic under cut. See AO3 for complete notes.

“Yes, that’s right,” Optimus agreed, “The Battle of Sherma Bridge.”

Prime had forgotten.

Megatron could hardly believe it; he had led with an obvious lie so that it could be refuted. Yet Optimus had forgotten.

Shock quickly gave way to a resigned disappointment as he stood there, arms spread wide while he was secured within the variable voltage harness.

Of course he had been forgotten way back then, when they had first crossed paths. He had been no one, just another low caste laborer tossed in a cell to be beaten. Even if Optimus hadn’t cared for the treatment Megatron had received, that didn’t mean he had stuck out in Orion Pax’s mind as anyone more than another unfortunate spark.

Megatron refused to let his feelings show on his face, aside from a meaningless scowl; Prime didn’t deserve to witness that level of weakness.

That and the fact that if he so much as twitched wrong, he would suffer an agonizing death by electrocution. The pain didn’t frighten him so much as being dead would get him nowhere. His plans hinged on being alive to actually carry them out.

And Optimus had the utter gall to stand there and blink at him stupidly while the proverbial guillotine blade hovered overhead.

“Sherma Bridge,” Megatron said flatly. “We first met on Sherma Bridge. In battle.”

The cold metal encasing his arms and hands felt almost like it was squeezing him, like it was goading him to struggle against it and summon his fate.

“That’s right.” Optimus put his hand to his chin, or rather his battle mask, which concealed the smile that Megatron could practically hear. “The battle itself stopped to watch—It feels like it was so long ago.”

Optimus chuckled, unaware of his mistake, as though he didn’t have Megatron prisoner in what was unequivocally a torture device.

If disconnected from power, he could easily have broken free; the materials were hardly novel and would rend like flimsy foil should he put his mind to it. It was the current the harness was hooked up to that Megatron had no interest in toying with.

He had put himself here in this situation, for a purpose, even if Optimus believed otherwise. Surely Optimus wasn’t so foolish as to think Megatron had just, on a whim, gifted himself to the Autobots.

The harness around his waist forced him to remain upright, a compulsory ruler-straight posture that would make weaker mechs tired in short order. If he slouched just the slightest….

Luckily, Megatron knew he was strong enough to endure the pain and discomfort in furtherance of his goals. Torment of the body was one thing, but torment of the mind was rather another.

“It was so long ago,” Megatron conceded, “No wonder your memory is failing.”

“Failing? That’s ridiculous. What are you talking about?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” It took self-control to tamp down on the growl building in his vocalizer. “I guarantee you won’t care for what you hear.”

Prime wouldn’t understand, no, but he would likely as not take the bait, loathing not knowing something that Megatron knew.

“Try me.”

Excellent, an opening to push Optimus into the proverbial yawning hole he had dug for himself.

“We met long before that bridge was even renamed for Senator Sherma and his unorthodox lying—or rather hanging—in state. And you can’t even be bothered to recall?”

Optimus’s optics spiraled wide in surprise, like he hadn’t expected Megatron to ruin their “cozy” little trip down memory lane. He stepped backwards, as though the extra space would give him a verbal buffer zone, a shield from Megatron’s words.

It took every ounce of Megatron’s self control to not try in vain to reach out and shake some sense into his old “friend.” If he so much as flinched, he would be dead before he could even regret it.

The hydraulics in his limbs seethed behind the armor plating, restless in their static positions.

“Tell me, Optimus, do I have that right? That you can’t be bothered to recall when we first met because it wasn’t a dramatic battle for you to martyr yourself in?”

“Now, Megatron, listen. Please.“ Optimus lifted his hands up, palms out in an obvious attempt to assuage Megatron’s offense. “That’s not what I—“

“I have been listening to you this entire time. Ever since you strapped me into this dubiously legal contraption.”

Megatron couldn’t even afford to take a deep ventilation to calm himself. That would be too much movement. He hadn’t even been certain if he could get away with raising his voice, but so far verbal venom and shouting appeared to be permitted.

The entire rig was intended to inhibit his capacity for physical violence.

Yet it didn’t sheathe his tongue.

Perhaps, he thought, he ought to do so of his own volition. Lest he tempt the machinery holding him to enact consequences for his “hubris.”

There was a small chance that he could shame Optimus into granting him a brief reprieve from this confinement.

“But I suppose… now I have nothing but time. Not that these accommodations are making me particularly amenable to listening to your sermon.”

“For awhile, yes, I know—Such… barbaric measures are unfortunately necessary.”

Yes, of course, Prime would distance himself from any responsibility. Yet if their roles were reversed, Optimus would probably think of the perilous confinement as another form of penitential self-flagellation.

Megatron only had to make it to Cybertron and Omega Supreme would take him right there, at the exceedingly low cost of his dignity and comfort. It would be easy. If he could just remain patient… and let the Autobots think they were taking him far, far away from the remnants of his army.

He merely gave Optimus a frown as he tried to let the anger recede; he could use it later after all.

“You’ve given us good reason, time and time again, to take these sorts of precautions.”

Of course, deflecting blame.

Optimus approached once more, standing but a few paces away from the device. Perhaps to release him.

“I haven’t always,” Megatron countered, keeping his voice down. “If you care at all to recall.”

“Well, no….” Optimus coughed, clearing his vocalizer like he was about to lecture a recalcitrant subordinate, to instill them with his vaunted “wisdom.” Bah. “As long as I’ve known you, you’d had a, let’s call it a… volatile streak.”

Ah, the benevolent condescension. Of course.

The restraints were tight on his arms. These fragile “chains” wouldn’t hold him forever.

However, instead of reaching for the controls, Optimus left his arms to hang uselessly at his sides.

No reprieve, it seemed, was forthcoming.

Megatron scowled, clenching his jaw all the while. The pain in his mouth was grounding.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. We didn’t meet before that battle on Sherma Bridge; I’m sure I would have remembered—“

Megatron let out a slow ventilation, the air hissing as he tried to keep as still as possible.

“Of course you’ve forgotten. I had been just another unimportant prisoner, beaten by your guards as an amusing diversion.”

It had even been recorded in his damn manifesto, the foundational work of his entire revolution, a work read and recited by millions, and Optimus had the gall to not remember?

“I cannot believe—“

Hot anger surged up in his chest again, foiling the efforts he had put into suppressing it for later use.

His joints began to ache from want of freedom.

“Megatron, please, calm down before—“

Caution was the furthest thing from his thoughts as he swung his arm forward on reflex, cracking the cuff wide open.

Cold and hot all at once, a paralyzing buzz shot down his still trapped arm towards his core.

The world became blackness.

--

Optimus watched, arms crossed, from the glass-walled viewing platform as, down below, medical staff examined Megatron’s unconscious, still smoking frame as it dangled limply from the broken, unpowered harness. They needed to ensure that he would be safe to move and confine in the medical bay.

He hadn’t died, thankfully, but Optimus had been hoping to avoid having to actually test the variable voltage harness. He didn’t want to actually hurt Megatron, not like this. The measures to contain his risk of violence had been extreme, yes, but, given this reaction to something as simple as a lapse in Optimus’s memory, evidently necessary.

Optimus hadn’t intended to provoke his old friend to anger, hadn’t intended to put him in this kind of danger. He had hoped that Megatron’s rigid self-discipline would have held out.

Omega Supreme’s voice echoed in the viewing platform room.

“I will not kill again.”

“So he could have died,” Optimus mumbled, not really expecting an answer. The answer was obvious. Omega Supreme had interceded, preventing a fatality. Guilt, familiar and rancid, weighed upon his spark as he dug through his memories.

The face of the mech below being cautiously lowered to a medical gurney finally matched against something, something older than the war, something older than his penpal correspondence with an idealistic poet-miner. He hadn’t even recalled beginning that friendship, as though it had just always been there.

A prisoner, a bystander caught up in a barroom brawl with some soldiers. A draft polemic, confiscated by the intake crew that had landed on Captain Pax’s desk.

It all flooded back. Megatron was right; Optimus had forgotten where their paths first crossed, where they had first exchanged words and hopes.

“I will not be a weapon again.”

The metal of Megatron’s armor was scorched where the harness had touched him.

If Omega Supreme hadn’t interfered… there would have been no chance for Optimus to apologize. One day. When he found the right words.

“Thank you; you’ve done me—“ No, that was too personal. “You’ve done the Autobots a great service by standing by your convictions.”

[nikjag]

simulation of schizophrenia

so i built a simulation of schizophrenia using rust and python

basically you have two groups of simulated neurons, one inhibitory and one excitatory. the excitatory group is connected so they will settle on one specific pattern. the inhibitory group is connected to the excitatory group semi-randomly. the excitatory group releases glutamate while the inhibitory group releases gaba. glutamate will cause the neurons to increase in voltage (or depolarize), gaba will cause the neurons to decrease in voltage (hyperpolarize).

heres a quick visualization of the results in manim

the y axis represents the average firing rate of the excitatory group over time, decay refers to how quickly glutamate is cleared from the neuronal synapse. there are two versions of the simulation, one where the excitatory group is presented with a cue, and one where it is not presented with a cue. when the cue is present, the excitatory group remembers the pattern and settles on it, represented by an increased firing rate. however, not every trial in the simulation leads to a memory recall, if the glutamate clearance happens too quickly, the memory is not maintained. on the other hand, when no cue is presented if glutamate clearance is too low, spontaneous activity overcomes inhibition and activity persists despite there being no input, ie a hallucination.

the simulation demonstrates the failure to maintain the state of the network, either failing to maintain the prescence of a cue or failing to maintain the absence of a cue. this is thought to be one possible explaination of certain schizophrenic symptoms from a computational neuroscience perspective

[hibatasblog]

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Prompt # 20 Put Your Ray Gun to My Head

Petra held the laser pistol she stole from the room at the ready as she ducked down, and the door to the small bedroom opened. The hallway was empty; neither the gigantic tree man, the vicious green woman, nor the small, angry, and begoggled creature were in evidence. She let out a breath of relief before rising back up and making her way down the hall. Her heart pounded as she slowly eased her way towards what she hoped was the cockpit.

Everything on this damn ship is weird, Petra thought: the small child’s clothes in the locker, the too low workbench littered with odd tools, and the thick aroma of degreaser and fir trees permeating the sheets on the bed. She side-eyed the long row of storage racks lining the hall that narrowed the slender passageway even further. She frowned and shook her head. Stay focused, keep your cool, Petra thought angrily, but a niggling thought kept tickling at her brain.

The last thing she remembered was running away with her prize before agonizing bolts of electricity arced through her nerves. Normally, a jolt like that was painful, not even close to debilitating, but being caught unawares was another matter entirely. Letting out a howl of pain, the surprise shock took her brain back in time and space, back in a time where she was helpless and terrified.

In her mind’s eye, her former tormenter, Thalisk rose above her as he advanced with the controller. When he depressed the button, she fell to her knees as the electric misery danced a wretched tune down each nerve in her body. Petra glared up at the man, refusing to give him the pleasure of watching her suffer.

The Badoon leaned down, the faintest trace of a smile on his lips as he said, “Still so willful, eyes full of hate and determination. I think I can fix that.” He flicked a part of the controller and the voltage increased. Petra fell down, chin hitting the ground with a sickening thump. She jittered on the cold stone floor, and Thalisk chuckled wryly, “Now, writhe, little girl.”

As Petra fell in this present time, the unlocked memory of horror left her open and too frightened to use her powers. She was trapped and unable to move. She was strapped down and helpless at the mercy of a sadist and a sexual predator. Petra slammed face first onto the ground, mask taking the worst of the hit. A familiar voice rang out in gloating meanness, “Yeah, writhe, little man.” Before she lost consciousness one last thought passed through her mind, Rocket?

Castigating herself for thinking about him in a moment so awful, Petra continued down the hallway to where a set of stairs spilt out of a blind turn. She didn’t like that one bit. If she went up those stairs, she would be a sitting duck. She pressed herself against the wall and mulled through her options.

She could double back, see what was on the other side of the ship or just go back to the room and lay in wait, but none of those ideas really appealed to her. Waking up in only a too-big tee-shirt and boxer briefs didn’t really help her mood or make her feel anything but anger at her captors, and she was furious when she couldn’t find her pants or jacket either. Fucking pervs, Petra thought irritably as she decided to wait at the bottom of the stair well until someone came down.

The metal was cold on her back and legs as she laid in wait, her ass was half frozen and her bare feet sore before she heard the sound of clicking claws on metal. Someone or something was making their way down the steps. Moving as soundlessly as an owl in flight, Petra positioned herself gun at the ready in a double handed stance. She had no idea how tall her opponent would be, so she decided to aim for a more certain place. As the being stepped onto the first step within sight, she was growling out, “Move one inch and I’m gonna shoot your dick off!”

Instead of a set of any kind of genitals, Petra found herself with her gun inches from the long, sloped nose of a familiar and beloved face. Rocket stared down at the barrel of Petra’s gun, his eyes almost going cross eyed to take in the unexpected threat. Kithree-fucking-hell, you’re more amazing beautiful than I remembered, he thought in wonder as he took her in, looked into her eyes for the first time in thirteen years.

He was struck with a thousand sharp arrows, his throat filled with bile, as he took in the vision she made. The snapping green eyes were as gorgeous as new spring grass, her hair was a riot of curls, and even the murderous expression on her face filled him with hope and love. He watched in awe as her mouth dropped open in alarm and surprise, and she gasped a strangled sound that climbed half way to a sob. Her eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled.

The need to stop her tears had him making a terrible joke, anything to have that face light up for him again. “You’ll have to aim lower if you want to shoot my cock off, doll,” he said in the tenderest tones he’d ever uttered.

Without her helmet limiting her range of vision or his combat goggles hiding most of his face, identities couldn’t be hidden, beloved visages became clear. Her pistol didn’t waver where she kept it leveled at Rocket’s face, but Petra’s voice wobbled as she spoke, “Rock- Rocket? Is that really you?”

His throat was stuffed so full with emotions it made it hard for him to speak, the universe’s largest lump lodged in his gullet. He swallowed in a lungful of air then groaned out, “Course it’s me, baby girl. Who else would I be?”

Petra removed her finger from the trigger, hit the safety, and let the laser pistol drop from her hands and clattered onto the metal stairs. The weapon bounced noisily as it skittered from step to step, echoing horribly in the enclosed space. Her eyes were wide and shimmering with tears as Petra stood looking up mutely at the procyon. All of her body was frozen in place except for her trembling hands held up to him with the shaking awe of the disciples witnessing the return of the messiah.

Rocket’s ears rang from the violent cacophony of metal on metal. He flattened them and he winced before sighing in exasperation, “Jesus Christ, Pet, that was frickin’-” He was going to say ‘loud,’ but his mouth was suddenly occupied as Petra surged forward, grabbed his face, and slammed her lips to his.

She kissed him hard enough that when she bumped gracelessly against his front teeth, she cut her lip on them. Petra hissed at the momentary sting of her injury, but her lips never left his. She stole his exhaled breath as she used the blessing of his open mouth to deepen the kiss and lick in between his lips. The smooth glide of her tongue against his rougher one pulled a low growl of want from Rocket’s throat, and Petra answered with a moan that went right to his dick.

For the shortest moment, he could taste the holy copper penny flavor of her blood before the cavern of his mouth filled with honied sweetness and golden light. A forgotten but now remembered string of words singed his brain and bowed his back, "But if we walk in the light, as [s]he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood… cleanses us from all sin." * Rocket’s whole being burst into a wild conflagration of heated light and flame that did not burn.

Inside his body, his veins pulsed as the blood they carried transmuted into the incandescent splendor of the molten heart of a star. Petra was there in every cell of his body, her light filling all the cracks in his battered soul. As he was ensnared and wrapped in a tangle of glowing vines that cradled and held him with all the aching care and desire of a lover. He was finally home and known after being so long in the lonely void.

Rocket whined wounded noises into Petra’s unrelenting rain of kisses, dragged his tongue against her teeth, and bit her lower lip in a worshipful prayer of bone deep gratitude. She was dragon fire in his throat and lungs searing him with the intensity of her love for him and the unbearable pain of their separation. My darling love, he heard her think, Mon beau chaoui, mon coeur, stay with me, never leave me again.

He answered her words with the devotion of his mouth, promised to hold her soul between his teeth and never, never let go again. Pet, baby girl, I’ve always been with you. I told you before. We are bound. Our very particles are entangled together, and our souls are one, his heart answered back.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that she’d dragged him off of the stairs where she cradled him in her arms as she sat on the floor. She was a golden angel, illuminated with light and splendor. “I love you, Rocky. I love you. Rocket, I love you,” she chanted endlessly in the most adoring whisper he’d ever heard. Kiss after kiss was pressed reverently into the fur on the top of his head.

All of the aches and pains from earlier in the day were gone, evaporated in a searing, cleansing wash of brilliance. His hand no longer ached, his left hip was completely free of anguish, and inside of his body there was a racing and pulsing flutter of soothing butterfly wings, his mouth filled with the sweetest nectar. In the dim shadows of the stairwell, Rocket raised his hands and saw that his fur gleamed silver and bronze and his claws were obsidian daggers reflecting the stars themselves. His whole body was humming with song of Petra’s light.

She leaned down then and kissed him again, softly and sweetly as if he were made of fragile crystal or candy floss. Her lips moved all over his face, laying every bit of her feelings on every inch of him that she could reach. Petra’s magic mimicked the gentle way her lips moved against his. As she ghosted kisses against the corner of his mouth

“Please,” Rocket gasped as his hands covered Petra’s own where she cupped his face, “Petra, please,” he said. He didn’t know what he was asking for, only that his need was desperate and infinite, a deep pit that could only be filled by her.

She pulled back from his face. Her skin was like sheets of hammered gold and her eyes were the green of lit boron, flickering flames of verdant loveliness. Around her head, the golden curls were the harmless snakes of a tamed gorgon, beautiful and twisting with serpentine elegance. “You’re alive,” she breathed. “I found your broken body with all of your soul ripped out of it. I thought I would never hear your voice again,” she murmured. Her eyes held the crushing weight of all those years fate forced them apart.

“Whatever, whoever you saw, Pet; it wasn’t me. I’ve been travelling the universe searching for you every day.”

Petra looked into his perfect garnet gaze and pressed her forehead to his, “Oh, God,” she said as she rubbed his ears, “I’m so fucking glad, Rocket. I’m so happy.”

He pushed her away only so that his eyes could greedily take her in, “I never gave up. I never stopped. I never quit looking for you.” He was going to say more, something beautiful and loving, but Petra cut off any more words with another heated kiss.

Rocket was distantly aware of Petra blindly yanking his goggles off his head so that she could grip and pull the fur on the back of his head with one hand and crush his body against hers with the other, clutching at his ass with fierce possessiveness. His own hands sprang up. One paw tangled in her blond curls, and the other squeezed a breast through the soft cotton tee-shirt, claws pricking dangerously through the fabric. The sound Petra made when his thumb rubbed roughly against her nipple filled him with purpose. He dragged her down onto the unforgiving metal floor so he could lay atop her, straddling her waist and all but bucking his hips against her.

Between the two beings raged a fire of need so intense that there was no room for elegance or care in their kisses. Lips met and were the desperate crash of waves against rocky cliffs. As all rational thought fled his brain, Rocket felt the savage struggle of instinct and fought the clawing scrabbling urge to bite and mark what belonged to him, what was his. “Need you,” he said between bruising kisses, begging in a voice made of broken glass and spilled whiskey, “Need to be inside you.”

Petra nodded in agreement before pushing him up as she palmed the front of his orange jumpsuit. She hissed a wretched little cry of frustration when she couldn’t figure out how to get him out of his clothes fast enough.

“Let me,” he told her through clenched teeth as he released buckles and catches, nearly hurting himself as he tore his arms out of the sleeves and rolled the cloth down his waist. He’d never moved more quickly in his life as he wiggled down her body to be between her legs again. He couldn’t wait to shimmy the briefs off of her legs; instead, he ripped them down the middle making a frighting tearing sound that had Petra bowing her back and whimpering.

Rocket stared down at her perfect cunt and wanted to weep or fuck her until she couldn’t walk. “Baby girl, you’re already that wet?” he moaned as he reached down to trace the length of her slit, shuddered at the feeling of her desire slicking his fingers.

Petra whined and covered her eyes, “Why aren’t you already inside me?” Her whole body was shaking with the desperate and overwhelming need to have him fucking into her.

“Gimme a goddamn minute, you cheeky whore,” he grinned at her as he took his cock out and began to line himself up with her entrance. His body was a tight line of barely restrained lust.

He took a deep breath, and just as he was about to thrust his hips forward, he was jolted back by Petra’s flailing hands and deafened by her screech of, “Holy shit, the tree monster is back.”

“I am Groot!” Groot bellowed in outrage, and Rocket felt his ears burning as his friend laid into him about not fucking people without their consent.

Rolling over she was grabbing for the gun, and Rocket was fighting to keep her from reaching it, scrabbling to throw the weapon as far away as he could while Petra was yanking on his tail. “Trust me, I had her fucking consent, Groot,” he wheezed as he smacked Petra’s hand to make her let go of his tail.

“Rocket gimme the gun!” Petra snapped as she tried to grab him before he squirmed free of her grip.

Chucking the gun over Groot’s head, it sailed far down the hallway to where no one could possibly reach it and shoot anyone. “Every one, calm down. No one has to get hurt here,” he cried out to the two beings he loved more than any others.

“That tree tried to kill me,” Petra retorted hotly as she tried to sit up and cover herself with one hand.

“I AM Groot,” Groot answered sharply and pointed at Rocket’s exposed sex.

Rocket slapped his forehead in annoyance and snarked, “Stop accusing me of shit I didn’t do. She was practically begging for me to dick her down.”

“Rocket!” Petra exclaimed, her face a glowing ember of red coal.

Before he could explain further, there was an ominous thump against the ship and the com system blared, “This is the Nova Corps. You have fifteen seconds to reply to this query, or we will blow up this heap of junk you call a ship.”

* 1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

TRACK # ?

Moonage Daydream

Song by David Bowie

I'm an alligator

I'm a mama-papa comin' for you

I'm the space invader

I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you

Keep your mouth shut

You're squawking like a pink monkey bird

And I'm bustin' up my brains for the words

Keep your 'lectric eye on me, babe

Put your ray gun to my head

Press your space face close to mine, love

Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah!

Don't fake it baby

Lay the real thing on me

The church of man, love

Is such a holy place to be

Make me baby

Make me know you really care

Make me jump into the air

Keep your 'lectric eye on me, babe

Put your ray gun to my head

Press your space face close to mine, love

Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah!

Keep your 'lectric eye on me, babe

Put your ray gun to my head

Press your space face close to mine, love

Freak out in a moonage daydream, oooh!

Keep your 'lectric eye on me, babe

Put your ray gun to my head

Press your space face close to mine, love

Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah!

Freak out

Far out

In out

[helix-enterprises117]

Halo Reloaded: Seeing Triple III

The Warthog's engine growled under Silver's deft control, its tires kicking up clouds of dust as it navigated the desolate landscape. The inside of the vehicle was thick with the tension of its three very similar, yet distinctly different occupants. Silver, with a driving style that could only be described as 'enthusiastically reckless', seemed to find a sort of grim amusement in the occasional jolt that threatened to unseat them. Chief, for his part, sat with the stoicism of a boulder, his gaze fixed on some distant point, lost in thoughts that likely weighed as heavily as his armor.

Ranger, unable to stand the silence any longer, swiveled his turret around, a mischievous glint in his one good eye. "Hey, fellas," he started, voice dripping with a blend of curiosity and the kind of cheerfulness that only comes from blissful ignorance of true despair. "How long have you been playing the galaxy's most reluctant heroes? Feels like we've got enough grimdark backstories to start our own band."

Chief let out a sigh, the sound somehow carrying all the weight of his years. "Feels like since the dawn of time. It's been a never-ending parade of enemies. Insurrectionists, Covenant, Flood, Prometheans... And now these Banished chumps. Honestly, it's like the universe has a personal vendetta against my downtime."

"Banished? No such thing where I came from. Back in my timeline, it was more about Spartans going rogue and interservice, political in-fighting." Silver waved a hand dismissively, as if brushing away the memories along with the dust that had settled on the dashboard.

"You boys make my timeline sound like a walk in the park. No Banished, just a bunch of Forerunner tech that doesn't play nice," Ranger chimed in, trying to lighten the mood. He paused, his expression turning thoughtful under his helmet. "Makes me wonder what I'm missing out on. Or not."

The topic of age came up as naturally as anything else could in a conversation held at gunpoint by existential dread. "So, how old are we talking here? I'm a sprightly 2530 baby, myself," Ranger offered, injecting a note of pride into his voice.

"2511," Chief responded, his voice as flat and unexciting as a history lecture.

"Same." Silver chuffed, glancing over at Chief with a look that could almost be considered camaraderie if one squinted.

Ranger nodded, a smirk playing on his lips, "Makes me the kid, huh? Guess that explains the youthful charm." He laughed, a sound that bounced around the Warthog's interior.

"Y'know, I got a girl back home. Spartan Linda. Tied the knot and everything. You guys would love her; she's a real charmer, once you get past the sniper rifle."

Chief's reaction was almost comical, had anyone been in the mood for comedy. A slight twitch, like he'd been zapped by a low-voltage current, betrayed his surprise. "Linda..." he echoed, the name carrying a weight that seemed to anchor him to the spot. The moment stretched, filled with unspoken thoughts and feelings, a saga of 'what-ifs' and 'if-onlys'.

"Got a thing for your Linda, huh?" Ranger nudged, his tone playful yet edged with understanding. "Can't say I blame you. If she's anything like my Linda, she's one in a trillion."

The conversation meandered from there, shifting to less emotionally charged topics... that's a lie, it got more emotional. Ranger glanced back at his companions, a new thread of curiosity weaving through his thoughts.

"You know, I've been thinking... It's weird how everyone in your world can just... interact with Forerunner tech. In my dimension, it's a no-go unless you've got this rare Forerunner genome thing going on. Which, luckily, I do." He tapped the side of his helmet, as if to punctuate his point.

Silver, who had been navigating a particularly treacherous patch of terrain, perked up at this. "Yeah? That's a thing for me too." He noted with a half-smirk, then, as if a thought struck him, he directed a queston to the other Johns. "You ever hear of someone named Makee in your world?"

Both Chief and Ranger shook their heads, their interest piqued. Chief’s voice was the first to break the ensuing silence. "Makee? That's not a name that's come up. Who is she?"

In the rearview mirror, Silver's reflection showed a man wrestling with how to frame his next words. "She was... unique. A human, but the only one who joined the Covenant, believed in their cause. She could interpret the words of the Forerunners, activate and use their tech... She's like me, but she used her abilities for them."

The weight of the story hung in the air, heavier than the gravity on Onyx. Ranger, always one to push forward, nudged the topic. "So, what happened to her?"

Silver's grip on the steering wheel tightened, the muscles in his jaw working as he chose his words carefully. "One of my Spartans killed her," he said, a simple statement that carried layers of unsaid emotion.

The silence that followed was telling, filled with a mix of curiosity and respect for the delicate subject. It was Ranger who broke it, his tone treading the line between sensitive and inquisitive. "You sound... kinda fond of her?"

There was a pause, long enough to be uncomfortable, before Silver finally let out a breathy chuckle, laden with a cocktail of emotions. "Yeah, well, she was under my custody, and... we ended up falling for each other. And, uh, she—We..." He stumbled over the words, a rarity for someone usually so sure of himself.

Chief, the ever-stoic warrior, found himself at a loss, his brain trying to reboot like an old, overworked computer. "You were... involved with a POW?"

Ranger’s reaction was a mixture of shock and an almost irrepressible urge to laugh, not out of mockery, but sheer disbelief at the complexity of Silver's situation. "And let me guess, there were... consequences to this?"

Silver sighed, a sound that was half resignation, half defiance. "If by 'consequences,' you mean a baby, then yeah. I'm raising our child. Her name's Angel."

The revelation hit like a gravity hammer. Chief looked as if he’d been physically struck, the concept so foreign and shocking to his disciplined mind that it nearly sent him into a state of system failure. Ranger, on the other hand, clamped a hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking with the effort to contain his laughter, not at the situation itself, but at the sheer absurdity of life and how it seemed to throw curveballs at the most unexpected of times.

Silver glanced at both of his counterparts through the mirror, a sheepish yet defiant look in his eyes. "Yeah, I know. It's a mess. But she's the best thing that's come out of all this chaos. Angel, I mean."

The Warthog trundled on, the silence now filled with a new understanding, a recognition of the complexities and the unanticipated paths their lives had taken.

Chief, still processing, finally nodded, a gesture of acknowledgment if not full comprehension. Ranger, finding his composure, offered a supportive clap on Silver's shoulder, his laughter subsiding into a knowing smirk.

"Life, huh?" Ranger mused, the landscape around them unforgiving and barren, yet somehow less desolate with the sharing of their intertwined tales. "Doesn't get much crazier than this."

[themanitself]

Ꮪ𝐔𝘕 A𝘕𝘿 ᶬ𝞞𝞞𝘕 - Pressure X Reader

Chapters: 00/01(you're here!)

. . ╰──╮____ pov╭──╯ . .

Today will definitely be my last day at Urbanshade, I cannot handle those human experiments anymore! They might have been criminals, but if we keep doing this experimentation to those people were lowering even ourselves than them.

Finally done packing up my research on the box, taping each other's side to make sure they'd stay still. I walked towards the exit with the box in hand,

It was quite heavy that I had to put it on a table.

I went to open the metal door, pushing it gently but it didn't budge at all. Why won't it budge?! I should ge-,

My thoughts were caught off when i felt electricity on my body, the voltage must be so damn  high to make me almost faint. I collapsed on the hard cold floor, I heard footsteps getting near my weak body, it was those guards for containing the experimentations- wait...

What the fuck?! No, excuse my words...

"W-what the... hell is the meaning of this?!" I hissed as i stayed there not being able to move, I can only talk but it won't be long till i lose consciousness.

The guards ignored me and dragged me to the laboratory, I tried to wiggle my way out but to no avail I failed. Great i'm back at the fucking laboratory, not to work but to get experimented next?! How low are they to try and experiment on one of the scientists?!

I tried to hold my consciousness for a bit more time, only to fail miserably.

It's actually better for me to lose consciousness than be conscious while they experiment on me...

So much for my last day here at Urbanshade.

. . ╰──╮Day 01╭──╯ . .

I finally woke up, I was confused why I'm in the laboratory and not my house, then suddenly all of my memory of that day hit me like a truck. They didn't start the experimentation yet... My train of thoughts were cut off when the door opened to reveal my ex-coworker...

"J-49, you're finally awake." He said as he looked at me then the clipboard on his hands. He grabbed a walkie talkie in his pocket and called someone.

"Why am i in here?!" I questioned him, but he of course ignored me.

"I said why am i here?!" I asked again, getting impatient at his silence.

"Quiet." He spoke nonchalantly.

"No! Tell me why the fuck am I in here in the first place?!"

"I said quiet!" As he tasered me, that was enough for me to shut up.

There was an awkward quietness heard in the room, you can hear a pin dropping due to the lack of sound except for breathing of course.

The door finally opened, this time it was a new scientist that just got here today(?), their mannerisms were quite clumsy, They pulled a tray carrier that I'm assuming is the DNA's of some sea creature and an injection.

. . ╰──╮Day 02╭──╯ . .

Your whole body doesn't feel like it belonged to you anymore, your body feels so wrong... It didn't feel like yours.

Your skin color is changing into a pale mint like color, your eyes hurts so much just by staring at the light bulb for literal seconds, you felt like your head's about to burst and so was your fucking leg!

. . ╰──╮Day 03╭──╯ . .

It hurts! They had to amputate both of your legs, your vision seems to get blurry and a jellyfish like cap formed around on top of your head! You were informed that you had Aurelia Aurita or moon jellyfish DNA on you, a female and male. That explains the pink and white hue and those little tentacles forming.

For your diet it consists of shrimp brine, you haven't eaten for two days so you inhaled that food fast as a vacuum cleaner. You're eating that thing like an animal, less humanlike.

You were fed like an animal, for goodness sake!

Your slowly turning into a monster as day passes by, you noticed that you seemed to be more angry than usual, for goodness sake you almost killed the new scientist and a guard for messing with you, the scientists and guards had no choice but to make you wear the straight jacket to cause no more harm for the others.

. . ╰──╮Day ??╭──╯ . .

They had to put you on the test tubes, you really can't handle this shit anymore! Those injection's with some weird DNA! It hurts... You just missed your family, mama must be so fucking worried. Mama must be crying...

. . ╰──╮Day ??╭──╯ . .

Urbanshade made a grave mistake on experimenting on you and the others,

You aren't a human anymore, your a fucking monster.

It'll be fun seeing their creations kill them, You'll make sure they'll taste their own medicine.

╔⏤⏤⏤╝❀╚⏤⏤⏤╗

End of 01

╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

Hello! Read the original here! Please do support me if you enjoy reading my works!

[wirewitchviolet]

Hell is terms like ASIC, FPGA, and PPU

I haven't been doing any public updates on this for a bit, but I am still working on this bizarre rabbit hole quest of designing my own (probably) 16-bit game console. The controller is maybe done now, on a design level. Like I have parts for everything sourced and a layout for the internal PCB. I don't have a fully tested working prototype yet because I am in the middle of a huge financial crisis and don't have the cash laying around to send out to have boards printed and start rapidly iterating design on the 3D printed bits (housing the scroll wheel is going to be a little tricky). I should really spend my creative energy focusing on software development for a nice little demo ROM (or like, short term projects to earn money I desperately need) but my brain's kinda stuck in circuitry gear so I'm thinking more about what's going into the actual console itself. This may get techie.

So... in the broadest sense, and I think I've mentioned this before, I want to make this a 16-bit system (which is a term with a pretty murky definition), maybe 32-bit? And since I'm going to all this trouble I want to give my project here a little something extra the consoles from that era didn't have. And at the same time, I'd like to be able to act as a bridge for the sort of weirdos who are currently actively making new games for those systems to start working on this, on a level of "if you would do this on this console with this code, here's how you would do it on mine." This makes for a hell of a lot of research on my end, but trust me, it gets worse!

So let's talk about the main strengths of the 2D game consoles everyone knows and loves. Oh and just now while looking for some visual aids maybe I stumbled across this site, which is actually great as a sort of mid-level overview of all this stuff. Short version though-

The SNES (or Super Famicom) does what it does by way of a combination of really going all in on direct memory access, and particularly having a dedicated setup for doing so between scanlines, coupled with a bunch of dedicated graphical modes specialized for different use cases, and you know, that you can switch between partway through drawing a screen. And of course the feature everyone knows and loves where you can have one polygon and do all sorts of fun things with it.

The Genesis (or Megadrive) has an actual proper 16-bit processor instead of this weird upgraded 6502 like the SNES had for a scrapped backwards compatibility plan. It also had this frankly wacky design where they just kinda took the guts out of a Sega Master System and had them off to the side as a segregated system whose only real job is managing the sound chip, one of those good good Yamaha synths with that real distinct sound... oh and they also actually did have a backwards compatibility deal that just kinda used the audio side to emulate an SMS, basically.

The TurboGrafix-16 (or PC Engine) really just kinda went all-in on making its own custom CPU from scratch which...we'll get to that, and otherwise uh... it had some interesting stuff going on sound wise? I feel like the main thing it had going was getting in on CDs early but I'm not messing with optical drives and they're no longer a really great storage option anyway.

Then there's the Neo Geo... where what's going on under the good is just kind of A LOT. I don't have the same handy analysis ready to go on this one, but my understanding is it didn't really go in for a lot of nice streamlining tricks and just kinda powered through. Like it has no separation of background layers and sprites. It's just all sprites. Shove those raw numbers.

So what's the best of all worlds option here? I'd like to go with one of them nice speedy Motorolla processors. The 68000 the Genesis used is no longer manufactured though. The closest still-in-production equivalent would be the 68SEC000 family. Seems like they go for about $15 a pop, have a full 32-bit bus, low voltage, some support clock speeds like... three times what the Genesis did. It's overkill, but should remove any concerns I have about having a way higher resolution than the systems I'm jumping off from. I can also easily throw in some beefy RAM chips where I need.

I was also planning to just directly replicate the Genesis sound setup, weird as it is, but hit the slight hiccup that the Z80 was JUST discontinued, like a month or two ago. Pretty sure someone already has a clone of it, might use that.

Here's where everything comes to a screeching halt though. While the makers of all these systems were making contracts for custom processors to add a couple extra features in that I should be able to work around by just using newer descendant chips that have that built in, there really just is no off the shelf PPU that I'm aware of. EVERYONE back in the day had some custom ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chip made to assemble every frame of video before throwing it at the TV. Especially the SNES, with all its modes changing the logic there and the HDMA getting all up in those mode 7 effects. Which are again, something I definitely want to replicate here.

So one option here is... I design and order my own ASIC chips. I can probably just fit the entire system in one even? This however comes with two big problems. It's pricy. Real pricy. Don't think it's really practical if I'm not ordering in bulk and this is a project I assume has a really niche audience. Also, I mean, if I'm custom ordering a chip, I can't really rationalize having stuff I could cram in there for free sitting outside as separate costly chips, and hell, if it's all gonna be in one package I'm no longer making this an educational electronics kit/console, so I may as well just emulate the whole thing on like a raspberry pi for a tenth of the cost or something.

The other option is... I commit to even more work, and find a way to reverse engineer all the functionality I want out with some big array of custom ROMs and placeholder RAM and just kinda have my own multi-chip homebrew co-processors? Still PROBABLY cheaper than the ASIC solution and I guess not really making more research work for myself. It's just going to make for a bigger/more crowded motherboard or something.

Oh and I'm now looking at a 5V processor and making controllers compatible with a 10V system so I need to double check that all the components in those don't really care that much and maybe adjust things.

And then there's also FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays). Even more expensive than an ASIC, but the advantage is it's sort of a chip emulator and you can reflash it with something else. So if you're specifically in the MiSTer scene, I just host a file somewhere and you make the one you already have pretend to be this system. So... good news for those people but I still need to actually build something here.

So... yeah that's where all this stands right now. I admit I'm in way way over my head, but I should get somewhere eventually?

[overpoweredcacti]

CME 17x10 thoughts (and prayers)

Jesus Christ I’m finally home after accidentally sabotaging my own morning (okay sabotage may be harsh. I have a job now that I signed all the necessarily paperwork lol but I had to go around the city for hours. This Pacific time Midnight airtime is ridiculous, that’s 9 am for me. By then I usually have to pretend to be a functioning adult human being).

I don’t really do this usually, but it is the finale, so. I will try my hand and liveblogging. This will be long.

Some preliminary thoughts though:

I think Church and Jade both survive and it’s Mila who dies

I just don’t see any of the main cast dying. Maybe Rossi, but this show is attached to its actors so much that this would only happen if Joe wanted out, and I’m not sure I can see that happening?

the last Gold Star Peter B. is most probably Peter Bailey

I don’t trust Phil Coulson the Director

Voit has to die. I think. Narratively he just can’t live. So my guess is that he will be killed (maybe on FBI higher up orders) and it will be framed as a suicide. But the BAU would obvious know that doesn’t match his profile cue S18

Well then.

55 minutes hmm, okay. I thought we would get at least an hour, there’s so much going on.

Connection Lost. For all of them??

20 minutes Rebecca and Garcia has been sitting in that office, waiting. That does wonders for someone’s nerves I bet

needs to reboot the system (“have you tried turning it off and on again?” xd)

I’M sorry they didn’t know the building just fucking exploded? xdxd

also still Minimal Loss vibes

okay but everyone seemed fine on the promo pics (minus Emily) so how if they all exploded

I don’t buy it lol

halluciVoit is back

the team is okay

okay see. how lucky do you have to be though to survive an explosion without a scratch

unless they pull a Dallas and the next 30 minutes is just Dave dying and dreaming shit lol that would be iconic

okay Mila surrendered maybe she’s not dying. But how does Rossi get rid of the head wound?

oooh okay so it is a kidnapping situation. Because Jade still thinks the BAU is in cahoots with Church

“you’ve been charged with pedophilia” love that we are not sugarcoating it lol

OKAY so I didn’t think it would be so abrupt. But okay dude deserved it.

Ooh the shot of the dripping blood as he’s carted away? Brilliant.

are we about to see Emily get yeeted

that was a very mild blast without the sound effects lol

are you taking some of the voltage? that’s..a choice. I’m also unsure if that would even work

again with the camera, literally shaking off the memory how cool

listen I know we are supposed to be scared for Emily but it’s Emily. Not even she looks phased lol

holy shit the writing remembers past events. Unbelievable

okay I was recently talking about Person of Interest so that’s probably why the scene is in my mind, but whoever knows about it: This is straight up Vigilance and Control in the mock trial in S3

okay so since Peter B. is most definitely Bailey I’m guessing that’s how Emily will eventually get through to them? By the fact the she knew Doug?

criminal mastermind Brian Garrity reveal when

are you serious? that’s a prison? That’s a vacation home. I've slept in worse places that I paid for

HE HAS A MICROWAVE?

is this actually a thing in America? Okay not my business but damn

“the only thing I miss is you” VoitxRossi is sailing

yes it’s definitely Doug’s brother

yeeah

see that’s a problem because I’m pretty sure Emily holds herself responsible too xd

“does this body language tell you anything” yeah that you’re a fucker

lil bro kinda low key looks like a young Jonathan Groff

so where were you at the funeral? flashback to Emily meeting the parents but not him I’m guessing?

okay flashback but not about that

“really?” “No,” xdxdxdxdx pls. yes. thank you. OG moment. God. Love that

“You scream only child.” Emily. You’re an only child.

"I have a sister" No you don’t. Where did that come from.

Okay was she manipulating him or did they just drop this out of nowhere breaking 17 seasons of previous lore because both are a legitimate possibility.

“why weren’t you at Doug’s funeral” thank you

yeah see I like that this is coming back. Because the DOJ really dropped the ball on Benjamin Reeves

all that said Clark Gregg is still suspicious

so the teenager who is rebellious and anti-government gets into juvie where the government paid private military company trains him to be an assassin through abuse. Nice job there xd

“I’m not threatening your career” love the energy

you literally didn’t have to keep any of that from the BAU though.

THAT’s when you knew you had a crisis? Bruh

“a pilates instructor” xdxd Rebecca’s wit is underappreciated tbh

“he may or may not have information” “fuck you” 💀

are we having a discussion about the real life confines of four dimensional chess. My guy that’s a meme.

Aww JJ basically admitting they are going to get fucked over but hey it’s Emily, they gotta

“he wanted to wear comfy clothes” this bitch.

“back at it like a crack addict” you know what I retroactively would like to witness the birth of lines like this in the writer’s room

 I mean yeah sure but child trafficking does exist tho xd

okay they are cute…

“god forbid you end up on that wall” uff.

aaah you were taking the photos. But who were the guys working for you? I was absolutely sure it was Church. He had the resources, you don’t

see this is where the conspiracy theory conversations become a bit funny, because Emily is completely right, they are about amplification of fear, doubt etc. Also they help reconcile with events that we can’t make logical sense of. It’s honestly an incredibly human thing to do and they have always been around, they are not new.

That said when you introduce shit like the FBI or the CIA a lot of things that used to be “conspiracy theories” have since been reveled to have been true 💀 so people being distrustful towards these organizations are not that unreasonable when you think about it. And even in-universe the BAU has done shady shit? So.

“babe” xdxd okay so maybe Jade is dying. They have built her up to be sympathetic but they are slowly losing that angle narratively? Slowly tho

oh? is that how we’ll get to the bottom of BAUgate?

“Jenny”. can JJ slap him, just once?

the way everyone is so done with him

sometimes I do like Tyler

bit of a CGI house there lol

not Garcia psyching him out

chocolate thunder

oh, Oh?

“I put you in” I?. I??

oh my god. no. that’s vile. even within an already vile context. people have been pointing out the similarities but jesus christ

okay Emily is doing talk no jutsu about Doug

told you she does feel responsible

oooh. oh.

where do people buy so much C4

(hypothetically of course)

yeah I mean obviously not going to happen. But I get the plan there

also the team either knows that’s the endgame of they are just being very optimistic about Emily still being alive lol

of course it’s a trap. Was that really such a big revelation Dave xd

“who think we are the enemy” Tara. Babe. You kind of are to them xd

okay maybe they will survive this. Or Pete might. Jade could still kill herself. Or each other.

yeah she knows 😭

Radiohead?

passive aggressive action report

thank you for calling him out on this

no I still don’t trust Clark Gregg

is Emily going to low key blackmail the Director xd that would be very stupid. And also incredibly in character

yeah they have pretty much said it before that Tyler would be the “next generation”

“Hooray you’re alive” xd

Rebecca just got a haircut? She looks nice. But how much time had passed then.  

“the shoes” 💀 that’s so fair

oh his “ghost” just standing in the bg

okay so he either escapes, in which case the showrunners completely lied about leaving him behind in S18 lol or he dies. Maybe he gets shanked. A girl can dream

I was joking xdxdxdx 💀

uff not the bleach

oh my god he really got shanked. holy shit

I mean yes thank you

but holy shit

so we have zero idea on what happens in S18. Zero. that’s nice.

Okay, closing thoughts. It was a good episode, but a bit underwhelming on the conspiracy side of things? And as a finale? I mean they kept saying how it’s “bigger than we thought” but it really wasn’t? Also it kind of takes away from the suspense that we know none of these characters are ever dying lol But ultimately it did close off loose ends. But I really would have appreciated some implication that Voit was killed on someone’s orders to continue some kind of a plot thread? Realistically the writers probably haven’t decided on that yet lol Did like that we acknowledged that the Gold Star kids were victims but…at the end of the day who was the perpetrator?

No, I still don’t trust Clark Gregg. Also can we get back to Emily having a sister what is that about

[ghoulishautism]

Share the deepcut headcanons for skultech/high voltage pls

Man I have like a whole list or relationship hcs somewhere-

From my relationship meme post a bit ago:

Their relationship was an incredibly long slowburn of acquaintances to friends to lovers, with both of them always being hesitant to take their relationship forward (for various reasons)

Technus has little to no memory of his past life, so any prior dating experience he may of had is completely null.

Technus is also a-spec (aceflux, and possibly aroflux as well), so although he cherishes Skulker so much, his enthusiasm on the romance side of things can fluctuate- but thats ok- they still enjoy each others company all the same

Skulker's only (relevant) experience was with Ember, who he still keeps in touch with (or messes around with, with consent from Technus), so he at least had some ground to stand on when navigating romance with him.

Unlike Ember, though, Technus is a lot more lowkey with some aspects- preferring to go slower and not asking as much from Skulker relationship-wise.

With that said, Technus can absolutely make a huge fuss out of his love for Skulker when he wants to, usually to embarrass Skulker in public (because its funny, and Skulker being flustered is cute)

Although Skulker still respects Ember, dating Technus was a breath of fresh air- even if their relationship still has some hiccups

Even if they dont always completely "get" each other, they still make an effort to take note of the others interest, whether if thats Skulker listening to Technus ramble about transistors, or Technus being dragged out on a hunting trip (grumpily, but willing)

Technus counts Skulker's suit tune-ups as "sensual bonding time"

Skulker usually tries to keep his emotions on the down-low during hunts, but once hes alone with Technus- that facade dissipates and he allows himself to be a little more soft/sensitive/etc

Technus loves snuggling with Skulker's blob self, hes simply too cute to resist!

If you wanna hear more specific things lmk, this is about as much as there in on a base level

[govindhtech]

Introducing Samsung 24GB GDDR7 DRAM For AI Computing

24GB GDDR7 DRAM

Future AI Computing: Samsung Launches 24GB GDDR7 DRAM. It sets the standard for graphics DRAM with its industry-leading capacity and performance of over 40Gbps.

First 24-gigabit (Gb) GDDR7 DRAM from memory pioneer Samsung was revealed today. Next-generation applications benefit from it’s speed and capacity. Data centers, AI workstations, graphics cards, gaming consoles, and autonomous driving will employ the 24Gb GDDR7 because to its high capacity and excellent performance.

“By introducing next-generation products that meet the expanding demands of the AI market, it will maintain to leadership position in the graphics DRAM market.” The 5th-generation 10-nanometer (nm)-class DRAM used in the 24Gb GDDR7 allows for a 50% increase in cell density while keeping the same package size as the previous model.

The industry-leading graphics DRAM performance of 40 gigabits per second (Gbps), a 25% increase over the previous iteration, is achieved in part by the advanced process node and three-level Pulse-Amplitude Modulation (PAM3) signaling. The performance of it may be further improved to 42.5 Gbps, contingent on the environment in which it is used.

Applying technology previously used in mobile devices to graphics DRAM for the first time also improves power efficiency. Power efficiency may be increased by more than 30% by reducing needless power use via the use of techniques like dual VDD design and clock control management.

The 24Gb GDDR7 uses power gating design approaches to reduce current leakage and increase operational stability during high-speed operations.

Major GPU customers will start validating the 24Gb GDDR7 in next-generation AI computing systems this year, with intentions to commercialize the technology early the next year.

GDDR6 vs GDDR7

Compared to the current 24Gbps GDDR6 DRAM, GDDR7 offers a 20% increase in power efficiency and a 1.4-fold increase in performance.

Today, Samsung Electronics, a global leader in cutting-edge semiconductor technology, said that it has finished creating the first Graphics Double Data Rate 7 (GDDR7) DRAM in the market. This year, it will be first placed in important clients’ next-generation systems for validation, propelling the graphics market’s future expansion and solidifying Samsung’s technical leadership in the industry.

Samsung’s 16-gigabit (Gb) GDDR7 DRAM will provide the fastest speed in the industry to date, after the introduction of the first 24Gbps GDDR6 DRAM in 2022. Despite high-speed operations, new developments in integrated circuit (IC) design and packaging provide more stability.

With a boosted speed per pin of up to 32Gbps, Samsung’s GDDR7 reaches a remarkable 1.5 terabytes per second (TBps), which is 1.4 times that of GDDR6’s 1.1 TBps. The improvements are made feasible by the new memory standard’s use of the Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM3) signaling technique rather than the Non Return to Zero (NRZ) from earlier generations. Compared to NRZ, PAM3 enables 50% greater data transmission in a single signaling cycle.

Notably, using power-saving design technologies tailored for high-speed operations, the most recent architecture is 20% more energy efficient than GDDR6. Samsung provides a low-operating voltage option for devices like laptops that are particularly concerned about power consumption.

In addition to optimizing the IC design, the packaging material uses an epoxy molding compound (EMC) with good thermal conductivity to reduce heat production. Compared to GDDR6, these enhancements significantly lower heat resistance by 70%, ensuring reliable product performance even under high-speed operating settings.

GDDR7 Release Date

According to Samsung, commercial manufacturing of their 24GB GDDR7 DRAM is scheduled to begin in early 2024. Although the precise public release date is yet unknown, this year’s certification process with major GPU manufacturers is already under way. With the availability of next-generation GPUs that will support the new memory standard, GDDR7 DRAM is now expected to be readily accessible in the market by 2024.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Steamdeck OLED review/impressions

Thought I'd leave some points to my experience as I have been fiddling with it a couple of days now.

This is also, in some ways, a review of the Steam Deck as a system.

Screen

The Steamdeck has a screen which is pretty small by tablet standards today, but about the same size as the screen on the Nintendo Switch.

The OLED screen is nice and colourful. I no longer have my LCD to compare it to, but the extra few centimeters helps a lot.

I wouldn't recommend you upgrade just for the screen, however, as it is not that different from the LCD in terms of quality.

I have noticed no issues with my screen, I have seen lots of people report problems but I have identified no dead pixels or glare issues.

I am using a glossy screen with a glossy protector. I tried a matte screen protector, which helped significantly with glare, but it gave a glittery and grainy effect on the screen, so it had to be removed. The glossy protector did not affect image in any way. It was fiddly to apply all the protectors, but I got there in the end.

The good news is that the screen can go very bright, and if it is on high brightness then glare is never going to be an issue. So don't worry about which screen type you buy.

Battery

The Steamdeck has a pretty weak battery if you are running most PC games.

The LCD only lasted me an hour if I was playing Monster Hunter World or Balder's Gate 3, and if I played it to depletion, it would bug out on me. More on that shortly.

The OLED seems to have a much better battery. I have been doing a lot of low performance stuff, but I played L4D2 for over an hour earlier, and it only ate maybe 20% of the battery. I played some World today and it only ate another 20% in half an hour with a high performance game, so I think that this unit will do more comparably to the original Nintendo Switch. In all cases I had brightness maxed out.

On emulated games, if you're running gamecube or PS2, it is negligible, however if you run Wii U games it will eat a lot more power (understandably). The fastest drain for me so far was Xenoblade Chronicles X. The other Xenoblade Chronicles games can drain my Switch in an hour, so this isn't a surprise.

This was the main reason I upgraded. I don't mind having the original Switch with its poorer battery performance, but with the Steamdeck LCD it was so bad that the console was barely usable. This change may seem small, but it will make the Steamdeck much more usable for me. Especially as sometimes I am taking 6 hour flights on low voltage planes that struggle to charge my deck.

Performance

The Steamdeck can do most older games very well, but if you're aiming at something released in the past couple of years, it is going to struggle. It plays Monster Hunter Rise like a dream, and I swear that it runs Monster Hunter World better than it used to (the game was updated for deck), but Baldur's Gate 3 will look very ugly texture-wise. Then again, that game looks horrible on any computer that came out before 2021.

You will be playing most demanding games on the low to mid settings.

The irony is, while it looked horrendous, Baldur's Gate 3 performed better on deck than on my PC, and I believe this is because the game has high Memory costs. While my PC's processor and graphics card are superior, it only has 8gb of memory to the Steamdeck's 16gb.

I never played a game where the 8gb was an issue until Baldur's Gate 3. It only affected me if I was connected to lots of streams on Discord. I will compare again when I have my new mid range 32gb memory PC next week.

On the OLED, a game with low performance costs like Left 4 Dead 2 will happily push towards the 90 frames per second limit. Of course, you're going to struggle to get Monster Hunter World over 30fp unless the graphics are very low.

So the Steamdeck is about the equivalent of an entry level or mid range 2018 Gaming PC. It is outdated but it plays most of the classics well.

Controls

The steamdeck's control sticks are quite large, so they're not the best option for people with small hands like myself. However I reckon this makes the unit popular with its primary audience (adult men who struggle with the small controls of the Switch, which are perfect for me).

The haptic mouse pad is okay, but it is obviously no replacement for an actual mouse. It's slightly worse than a laptop trackpad, I think, but at least it continues to move a bit if you swipe it like a ballpoint mouse would, rather than only being "on" or "off". I report no issues with this item, it does everything you will need it to when controlling from desktop mode or with a pointer-based game.

The buttons are okay, I think the right hand buttons are too small and close to the joystick for comfort, and I think the back paddles are too large and the L5/R5 buttons are too low down. It's not exactly easy to click L5 with your baby finger if you have tiny hands like me. The xbox controller is a better option than the steamdeck base controls. It is unfortunate the console doesn't come with a stand like the Switch does, and you have to buy third party options.

What impresses me most is the gyroscopic controls built into the device. I thought playing a shooter like Left 4 Dead 2 would be impossible, but because of the gyroscope, my aiming is as good as any keyboard and mouse player! Just like when playing Breath of the Wild or Ocarina of Time 3D. Even though I can't control the joysticks very well. I don't need them for those fine little movements anymore.

I must add that the Gyro only works on its default settings if you are touching the centre of the right joystick, or the trackpad. I did not like this at all because I needed to move my thumb to press different buttons. Fortunately there was a community layout which enabled gyro at all times. I was able to change the sensitivity on the game's steam options. You may also be able to enable it or disable it permanently by messing around with your own settings.

Compatibility

The biggest obstacle to Steamdeck is the Linux operating system, which upon the console's release, had very little compatibility with most normal tools. Wii USB Helper, the Wii U emulation tool, was completely incompatible. And the reason most games need to be optimised for Deck isn't because of their actual performance costs, it's because they don't run well on Linux.

Originally when playing Devil May Cry 5, the game would crash for no reason, and playing Monster Hunter World, the textures would crash and you would be left surrounded by a glitched out void if the monster you were fighting did a move that the system didn't like.

I think that over the past year, with the popularity of Steamdeck, a lot of developers have taken to making their games run better on Linux. As for the above Wii USB helper tool, there is something called WiiUDownloader which does the same thing and is Linux compatible. So I have had a much better time.

Emulation

It was a huge pain in the ass setting everything up and troubleshooting, especially because of the closed-off technical lingo used in emulation circles. But Emudeck has been a great help in getting everything set up. It is all you need for Gamecube.

I have issues with emulation tools not searching the SD card where Emudeck is installed. They keep searching the "Home" directory for things like their BIOS. Either I need to manually write in the correct path, or it's impossible and I need to copy the bios onto the main Deck. I am not sure if this is an issue with steamdeck or the emulation tools themselves, but it was a pain.

The good news is when you finally have these games running, they play very well. I think some of them perform better on a dedicated gaming unit like the Steamdeck than they do on a Windows computer which has dozens of processes running at the same time.

Lots of work has been done with emulation tools since 2021 to give them maximum compatibility with Linux and Steamdeck, as they know this is the main portable platform for those tools now.

I have had plenty of success with PS2 games, Gamecube games, and Wii U games, once everything was set up to Steam ROM Manager and saved to Steam. You can use community controller layouts on Steam that make things way easier to set up than they would be on a Windows PC.

I haven't had any success with Yuzu, the Switch emulator. This isn't necessary for me but it just seems like it isn't finding the keys that Emudeck set up.

Docked mode

I have mostly experimented with this on my LCD prior to the latest update, but I have fiddled with it on the 3.5 update this Sunday.

I have a Toshiba LED Flatscreen TV from ten years ago. It has no issues with any consoles of any kind, though I've never tested it with a PC before.

It is 50/50 as to whether the Dock works. At first it wasn't reacting at all. Now it seems to be compatible on Gaming mode, this could be because I forced lower resolution for screen compatibility.

However, on Desktop mode, when I used the automatic settings, the screen was flickering black and turning off altogether. I searched online for a solution, but unfortunately nothing I saw was helping.

I saw that it was trying to run at 24hz 1080p. I couldn't change the framerate, but I lowered the resolution to 720p and it became locked at 60hz.

This seemed to fix the issue, but now the resolution is too small and there doesn't seem to be a way to force it to change without also lowering the framerate to unusable levels. Odd as I am pretty sure you can force Windows to a massive resolution and the text will just look very tiny on your screen.

I will attribute this to my TV being too old for a modern computer, and maybe it's just a 720p tv, as I have had no issues with the two LCD tvs that my dad owns. I'm not eager on the idea of replacing my TV just for the steamdeck, but if it has no issues in Gaming Mode, it's not going to be a priority anyway.

As for the controller connection, well, it was initially pain in the ass trying to get my xbox series x controller connected. For some reason the bluetooth wasn't doing the job. But after a firmware update on my controller, it went a lot smoother.

What I did not like was you couldn't wake Steamdeck from sleep with the controller.

I have heard this isn't a problem on the OLED, but I am sure a firmware update on the original Steamdeck could have solved the problem. And if not - Why? We have been using bluetooth controllers to wake consoles since 2006! I saw someone claim you can't wake a PC from sleep with a bluetooth controller, so I immediately tested it and... woke my PC from sleep. Why does the Steamdeck LCD have worse wireless functionality than the Nintendo Wii?

Overall

People ask on this sub if the console will replace their gaming PCs. In my case, no, as it has to be a very old gaming PC for the steamdeck to be more powerful.

Generally it hasn't replaced my Switch, either, as the Steamdeck's battery life is too limited for long sessions (or cafe gaming as I like to do), and it is a worse Multiplayer console than the Switch. Especially as I had to get the dock separately. The console's portability is limited by its great size, too. I have bought a special case that is smaller than the stock one, but it can only do so much.

However i have found the steamdeck to be useful when I am travelling with access to power outlets and want a gaming PC on the go when I am staying with my partner, or when I simply want to sit in a different room of the house and play Monster Hunter.

The OLED also has a nice screen that makes me choose to play some games on there instead of on my PC screen.

The gimmick of playing demanding Pc games on such a tiny console is fun, and the gyro functionality has opened a lot of options for me that I hadn't previously considered. Maybe it is time to return to DOOM.

I love my steamdeck. After I was happy with my OLED setup, I said goodbye to it and traded it in at CEX. I will transfer that love over to my OLED and even though it isn't immediately that useful, I will find a lot of use for it over the next year with my travelling.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 31, 2024

Encoding of Predictive Associations in Human Prefrontal and Medial Temporal Neurons During Pavlovian Appetitive Conditioning. Aquino, T. G., Courellis, H., Mamelak, A. N., Rutishauser, U., & O Doherty, J. P. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(17).

Network-neuron interactions underlying sensory responses of layer 5 pyramidal tract neurons in barrel cortex. Bast, A., Fruengel, R., de Kock, C. P. J., & Oberlaender, M. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(4), e1011468.

Unifying network model links recency and central tendency biases in working memory. Boboeva, V., Pezzotta, A., Clopath, C., & Akrami, A. (2024). eLife, 12, e86725.3.

Causal phase-dependent control of non-spatial attention in human prefrontal cortex. Brus, J., Heng, J. A., Beliaeva, V., Gonzalez Pinto, F., Cassarà, A. M., Neufeld, E., … Polanía, R. (2024). Nature Human Behaviour, 8(4), 743–757.

Proximity to rewards modulates parameters of effortful control exertion. Devine, S., Roy, M., Beierholm, U., & Otto, A. R. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(5), 1257–1267.

Low-dimensional criticality embedded in high-dimensional awake brain dynamics. Fontenele, A. J., Sooter, J. S., Norman, V. K., Gautam, S. H., & Shew, W. L. (2024). Science Advances, 10(17).

Limitations to optimal search in naturalistic active learning. He, L., Richie, R., & Bhatia, S. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(5), 1165–1188.

Collective behavior from surprise minimization. Heins, C., Millidge, B., Da Costa, L., Mann, R. P., Friston, K. J., & Couzin, I. D. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(17), e2320239121.

Human decision making balances reward maximization and policy compression. Lai, L., & Gershman, S. J. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(4), e1012057.

Distinct engrams control fear and extinction memory. Luft, J. G., Popik, B., Gonçalves, D. A., Cruz, F. C., & de Oliveira Alvares, L. (2024). Hippocampus, 34(5), 230–240.

Bayesianism and wishful thinking are compatible. Melnikoff, D. E., & Strohminger, N. (2024). Nature Human Behaviour, 8(4), 692–701.

Bayesian inference of structured latent spaces from neural population activity with the orthogonal stochastic linear mixing model. Meng, R., & Bouchard, K. E. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(4), e1011975.

The olivary input to the cerebellum dissociates sensory events from movement plans. Pi, J. S., Fakharian, M. A., Hage, P., Sedaghat-Nejad, E., Muller, S. Z., & Shadmehr, R. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(17), e2318849121.

Brightness illusions drive a neuronal response in the primary visual cortex under top-down modulation. Saeedi, A., Wang, K., Nikpourian, G., Bartels, A., Logothetis, N. K., Totah, N. K., & Watanabe, M. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3141.

Episodic long-term memory formation during slow-wave sleep. Schmidig, F. J., Ruch, S., & Henke, K. (2024). eLife, 12, e89601.3.

Perceptography unveils the causal contribution of inferior temporal cortex to visual perception. Shahbazi, E., Ma, T., Pernuš, M., Scheirer, W., & Afraz, A. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3347.

Chaotic neural dynamics facilitate probabilistic computations through sampling. Terada, Y., & Toyoizumi, T. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(18), e2312992121.

A voltage-based Event-Timing-Dependent Plasticity rule accounts for LTP subthreshold and suprathreshold for dendritic spikes in CA1 pyramidal neurons. Tomko, M., Benuskova, L., & Jedlicka, P. (2024). Journal of Computational Neuroscience, 52(2), 125–131.

Spontaneous eye movements reflect the representational geometries of conceptual spaces. Viganò, S., Bayramova, R., Doeller, C. F., & Bottini, R. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(17), e2403858121.

Intracellular magnesium optimizes transmission efficiency and plasticity of hippocampal synapses by reconfiguring their connectivity. Zhou, H., Bi, G.-Q., & Liu, G. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3406.