#like. i have a wired controller. i have a wired controller i can use perfectly fine. but it doesnr rumvle which genuinely bothers me

[venomgender]

>buys switch pro controller for the rumble controls

>it doesn't rumble

[lynaferns]

I think that people complaining about Moon not getting many voice lines aren't seeing that that's actually part of his personality.

(I would have liked to hear more voice lines from him too but look at it this way)

He isn't very chatty in the first place, half his voice lines are laughters and when he does talk is in a very simple and rhyme-y way. I see this as: he just wants to have his message across and have fun in everything he does (why talk lot when few words do job) and honestly, if he feels he doesn't need to talk he perfectly can say nothing. We give Sun the trophy to the more expressive movements and motion but I think Moon deserves that too, he's very expressive through movement too, and dramatic! With all the jumps and little dances, the contortion and the fact that he never needed to do that swimming movement to control the wire, we literally see Sun and Eclipse use it just fine without doing weird movements to get to where they want to in Ruin, which means, once again, that Moon just does it for fun.

(it's funny because in fanfic typically you see Moon having perfect control of the wire and Sun struggling to use it. While the dlc could indicate that Sun is the one who has perfect control of the wire and Moon doesn't so he learned to do that swimming motion to make it work, idk, I would like to see this take used on a fic)

Sun on the other hand got MANY voice lines, not because they are giving him more attention than Moon but because he's the chatter box of the two, he cannot stay quiet and you see him, even if he has to deal with toddlers, using as much vocabulary as he can (the dude even goes French for a moment)

So yeah, those are my thoughts on it.

[prettymfwrites]

CaitVi Streamer Headcanons pt. 2

Streamer CaitVi x female reader

Uses they/them pronouns though

Summary: More moments of our favorite streamers and their muffin

(Sorry for any mistakes! )

What I pictured you to look like:

Feel free to imagine whatever though!

---

Award Ceremony Night

The award ceremony was a dazzling time. glittering chandeliers, the hum of chatter, and a red carpet teeming with streamers and influencers. I lingered near the bar, cradling a drink in my hand, feeling slightly out of place amid the extravagance. But then I saw them.

Caitlyn walked with effortless grace, her navy dress shimmering under the lights. Her confidence was magnetic, every tilt of her head and flick of her wrist commanding attention. Beside her, Vi exuded a rugged charm in a perfectly tailored suit, her short pink hair slicked back. She carried herself with a swagger that screamed, I know I look good.

They were breathtaking, and I couldn’t help but stare.

Caitlyn’s sharp blue eyes found mine first. A soft smile tugged at her lips, and she raised a brow as if to say, Caught you staring, darling. She winked, and my heart skipped a beat.

Moments later, Vi turned her head, following Caitlyn’s gaze. Her smirk widened as she locked eyes with me. She gave me a mock salute, her playful expression making me feel like I was the only person in the room.

They approached me like magnets, Caitlyn sliding her arm lightly around my waist while Vi draped an arm casually over my shoulder.

"You clean up well, love," Caitlyn murmured, her voice low and warm.

Vi grinned, leaning in closer. "Not bad, huh? Though I think you could’ve coordinated with us. Navy would’ve looked killer on you."

I laughed, realizing her gaze was stuck on my chest, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. "I didn’t realize there was a dress code. But by the way you're staring I can tell you don't mind."

Caitlyn leaned in slightly chuckling, her lips brushing against my temple. "Don’t listen to her. You look perfect."

Vi tilted her head, feigning hurt. "Hey, I just said they looked killer. Stop trying to one-up me, cupcake."

"Then stop making it so easy," Caitlyn quipped back with a smirk.

The night was filled with moments like these—stolen glances, light touches, and the unmistakable tension between the three of us. At one point, as they both received an award for "Best Co-Stream of the Year," they pulled me into their celebratory hug, Caitlyn pressing a kiss to my cheek while Vi’s lips brushed my temple.

"I don’t know if I should feel lucky or overwhelmed," I teased as we walked back to our table.

Caitlyn’s hand lingered on mine. "Hopefully both," she replied, her eyes sparkling.

---

Streamer Rivalry

Sitting in Caitlyn’s streaming room felt oddly intimidating. Her setup was pristine, every wire and light perfectly in place, a sharp contrast to the chaos that was Vi’s usual domain.

"Ready to destroy Vi?" Caitlyn asked, handing me a controller as her chat flooded with excitement.

"Ready to try," I replied nervously, adjusting my headset.

The game loaded, and almost immediately, Vi’s voice cut through the headphones.

"Hey, babe," she said, her tone dripping with mock confidence. "You sure you wanna team up with Cait? She’s all strategy, no bite."

I laughed, and Caitlyn shot me a playful glare. "Don’t listen to her. Stick with me, and I’ll have you wiping the floor with her in no time."

True to her word, Caitlyn’s instructions were impeccable. She leaned in close, her voice soft in my ear as she guided me through the game. Her hand occasionally brushed against mine, her proximity making it incredibly hard to concentrate.

"Focus, love," she murmured, her lips dangerously close to my cheek.

By some miracle or Caitlyn’s genius—we won. Vi groaned loudly in defeat, her voice crackling through the headset.

"Betrayed by my own favorite person? This is a dark day," Vi lamented dramatically.

"Maybe you should stop underestimating me," Caitlyn replied smoothly, her fingers grazing mine as she leaned back with a victorious smile.

"Rematch," Vi demanded.

"Only if you behave," Caitlyn shot back, her hand resting casually on my knee under the desk.

---

Jealousy Prank

The prank started innocently enough. Chat had been egging me on for weeks to mess with Caitlyn and Vi, and I couldn’t resist.

"So, y/n," Vi said during a group stream, her voice teasing. "What’s got you smiling like that? You’ve been suspiciously giggly today."

"Oh, nothing," I replied, glancing at chat for backup. "Just... someone I’ve been talking to. They’re really sweet."

Caitlyn’s brows lifted ever so slightly, though her calm expression didn’t falter. "Oh? Anyone we know?"

"Probably not," I said with a shrug, pretending to check my phone.

Vi narrowed her eyes at the screen. "What do you mean probably not? Who is this mystery person?!"

The chat exploded with laughter and emojis as I dodged their questions, making the two of them squirm.

The final straw came when I pretended to take a call mid-stream. "Hey," I said softly, turning slightly away from the camera. "Yeah, I miss you too. Maybe later?"

Caitlyn’s lips pressed into a thin line as she leaned back in her chair. Vi was less subtle, throwing her arms up. "Okay, what the hell is going on here?"

I burst out laughing, and chat lost it with me. "Relax, you two. It’s a prank. Chat’s been in on it the whole time."

Caitlyn exhaled, shaking her head with a smile. "You’re insufferable."

Vi pointed at the camera, glaring playfully. "Chat, you’re all grounded. And you’re not getting away with this."

---

A Quiet Moment

After the stream ended, Caitlyn lingered behind, her touch light on my shoulder as we tidied up.

"You’re really enjoying being the center of attention, aren’t you?" she teased, her voice low.

"Maybe a little," I admitted, grinning.

The door opened, and Vi walked in, leaning against the frame. "Am I interrupting something, or can I join?"

Caitlyn sighed but didn’t let go of me. "You never don’t interrupt."

Vi stepped closer, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me gently toward her. "Hey, I don’t hear y/n complaining."

I laughed nervously as Caitlyn’s hand slid down to my other hip, her eyes locking with Vi’s in a silent challenge.

"Should we give them something to complain about?" Caitlyn murmured, her lips brushing lightly against the corner of my mouth.

Before I could answer, Vi’s hand tilted my chin toward her, and her lips met mine in a kiss that was both playful and surprisingly soft. When she pulled back, Caitlyn claimed her turn, her kiss slower, more deliberate, leaving me breathless.

"You two are impossible," I whispered, my voice shaky.

Vi smirked, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. "You love it."

Caitlyn’s lips quirked into a smile as she leaned her forehead against mine. "Admit it, y/n. You wouldn’t have us any other way."

And they weren’t wrong.

---

Having insane writers block 😔

Send requests!

[oozedninjas]

How do you think the 07 boys would react if the reader died? Like in an accident or killed by shredder or sm? just food for thoughts

They say there are five stages of grief...

Leonardo will blame himself for it no matter how you die. Did you get sick? He's a ninja. He should have noticed the symptoms as soon as they appeared! Did the Shredder kill you? God, that's his worst nightmare. Because it not only means he failed as a partner, but he also failed as the leader of the team you belonged to. He couldn't protect you, and he can never forgive himself for that.

Denial

There must be some way to rebound it. His mind flashes from here to there, and Leo considers possibilities that in a normal situation would seem delusional. Could Donatello build a time machine? There must be some way to reverse it. There must be. It can't be that you're just... gone.

2. Anger

It's a sheer tough situation because even though he would want to fight recklessly, with no regard for himself, Leo has to be strong for others and continue playing his role as leader and older brother. So he bottles up his feelings; buries them deep until they slowly rot inside him.

When he faces the Shredder again, he notices that there is something different, and for the first time in decades, Shredder fears he may not win. I think Leo would also become rougher with low-ranked criminals, hitting harder than necessary. The terrifying part? It's always perfectly calculated.

Also, his brothers resent his anger during training because he becomes tougher and more demanding. However, it's only because Leo can't afford to lose anyone else. He wouldn't be able to bear it.

3. Bargaining

He should at least be able to compensate your family. Friends. Anyone who loved you as much as he did. Thinking about doing things for people who were close to you brings him a kind of comfort that appeases his anger. It's a way of trying to regain a sense of control over the situation and find a way to cope with his pain.

4. Depression

He'll never again feel the tender caress of your fingertips over his shell, the warmth of your lips pressed against his own, or the sweet melody of your laughter echoing through the lair. The realization grips his heart with an ironclad vice, suffusing his spirit. It's a devastating blow that rends his very soul asunder.

5. Acceptance

But you wouldn't want him to be sad forever. No, in fact, Leo is sure you'd be insisting that he needs to move on. It was okay to feel, to be upset and cry along the way, but it was time to get up. Master Splinter plays a very important role in how Leo slowly recovers himself. One step at a time.

Donatello: It depends on how you die, but I believe what could drive him insane is if he loses you slowly due to an illness. That would be his personal hell because no matter how hard he tries to change things, researching new methods, creating medications, even biotechnology... nothing seems to yield results. Isn't he supposed to be a genius? What's the point of intellect if it can't use it to save you?!

Denial

"With this cryogenic capsule, I can keep her body intact a little longer," he tells your loved ones, who stare at him, paralyzed by the desperation in his eyes. "I can fix this. I can- I just need more time." But a person is not a machine, and your loved ones did not allow him to experiment.

A machine! That's it! Donatello made a copy of your memory and some parts of your consciousness before your departure; perhaps he could put that into a robot and somehow... maybe with enough effort and the right wires...

2. Anger

It worked, and yet it failed miserably. This thing in front of him looked like you, sounded like you, shared some memories, and yet, it felt utterly empty. How could he insult your memory out of his own desperation?

Donatello smashed his Bo staff into the control center, piercing it completely. He trembled a little as he continued to hold it, buried in the circuits. That night there was a blackout in the lair, and all that could be heard from the lab was the grinding of teeth.

3. Bargaining

It happened to you, but perhaps with all the research and testing, Donatello could prevent someone else from going through the same thing. So, he decided to sell his investigation, using a pseudonym and a couple of computer skills made it no problem to do it all from the lair. For him, it's like gradually adapting to the reality of his loss through these small actions.

4. Depression

To think that a robot could replace you. What the hell was he thinking? Your scent, the softness of your skin, the beautiful way you looked at him when discussing a new discovery, that could never be replicated. The lab, like his heart, felt terribly empty. It was a feeling as suffocating as it was overwhelming: knowing that you would never be there again, that he couldn't see or hear you anymore. Suddenly, he can't breathe.

Burying himself in his work keeps his mind occupied. He doesn't need sleep; he needs to progress with the research. Donatello escapes from every little space that could allow you to somehow appear in his mind.

5. Acceptance

April helped a lot in this part, as she was the one who started bringing you into the conversation with positive things, and Don has small spaces to feel shared nostalgia. April feels the same loss; she understands, and that is extremely comforting.

Over time, the feeling of emptiness left by your memory transitions to a bittersweet sensation, and gradually he allows himself to move forward, remembering you with a smile, with a fondness that embraces him from the bottom of his heart. Donatello learned that every minute counts, and for that reason, he now makes space to spend more time with the people he loves, and who love him in return.

[yellowballoondogs]

Giving the x-men disabilities so they can suffer like me

I just think it’s cool how much people can relate to the x-men in marginalized groups no matter the group. Just like how they’re all gay, POC, religious minorities, etc.

Cyclops- Scott Summers

C’mon this is the most autistic man to ever autism

He’s got model plane sets and shit around his otherwise empty and perfectly cleaned room with the sheet corners tucked in and everything

He stopped stimming because of O’Diamonds and Sinisters abuse but started again when he got more comfortable with the o5 team. He definitely does flappy hands

He probably hyper fixated on an obscure engineering subject

photophobia- light sensitivity

Idk if it’s cannon or not but it would make sense with his brain damage and all (plus I have it and I’m projecting) it’s also an autism symptom so double whammy- his glasses will help

Migrainous stroke- basically stroke with migraines. It ties into brain damage and photophobia with migraines which would make so much sense. Frequent strokes too? Fuck yeah let’s highlight how his childhood trauma and overwhelming power effect him- how mutant powers aren’t always good.

He should have really shitty vision- canonically colorblind- wears glasses all the time so low light, his eyes basically fucking glow. This man cannot see for shit

“cut the red wire cyclops!” “They’re all red!”

Storm- Ororo Monroe

She’s canonically claustrophobic but it’s really only used as a once in awhile plot device

I think it should tie into anxiety a lot more

Ororo is the kind of person who uses a planner to manage every aspect of her day so she’s never caught of guard

She’s got only one timer set up to take her meds instead of 10 like the rest of us (she’s simply better)

She would have actual panic attacks that don’t end the second she’s out of a confined space. Full run-

For her a panic attack would cause a lot of derealization. She doesn’t feel like she’s in her body, she feels out of control, like she can’t breathe, dizzy, both hot and cold at the same time.

Nightcrawler-Kurt Wagner

syndactyly- fusion of fingers or toes. This is basically cannon. He’s got 2 big fingers and toes so like no explanation really needed. He’s got it even if it’s for different reasons.

This greatly effects his ability to do certain things- our boy can’t use a controller can he? How’s he meant to play Mario cart with the rest of the team ):

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome- bendy bones and stretchy skin that causes lots of joint pain

He canonical has bendy bones so like this is also half canon. Plus I’m giving my blorbo chronic pain to project.

Pretty sure there’s a Spider-Man with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome too so that’s very slay.

Rouge- Anne-Marie

Hear me out- HPV It’s the whole- “I can’t touch anyone” thing

She was born with it

It causes a lot of pain for her but she hides it around people she’s not comfortable with (so really just unmasking in front of remy and her family)

Also stds just need to be a lot more normalized. And her having to be so weird about people with it fits so much with the whole “ew mutants” thing

Xavier

Yeah yeah he’s a paraplegic

They should be better about it though. No more of this curing him so often he’s like the one famous character wheelchair bound people get

Stop making him so weak, he runs a school to learn how to kick ass, man can probably box, who needs legs. They always just make him useless once someone kicks over his chair or something

Chronic migraines again

Listen hearing all those thoughts all the time can’t be all sunshine’s and rainbows. Make him suffer (this goes for all telepaths)

Gambit- Remy Lebeau

He canonically has brain damage (via lebeatomy) (haha get it)

He’s getting hit with migraines too. Making all these losers suffer

He probably also has very bad vision because of his eyes- probably not very good with light just like cyclops (likely worse)

I’m going to give him the worlds worst period cramps via dysmenorrhea. Yeah he’s trans to me I’m a romy t4t Reuther

Rapid fire listings let’s go!

Jubilee canonically has Dyscalculia- like dyslexia for numbers

Wolverine canonically has memory issues and ptsd

Magneto canonically has ptsd

Legion canonically has multiple personality disorder or DID- dissociative identity disorder. It’s not always portrayed the best but rep is rep

Angel canonically has hollow bones- I’m gonna gc him with osteoporosis

Headcanoning Madelyn Pryor with post partum depression

Scarlet witch gets head cannoned half of all the mental disorders- depression, psychosis, ptsd, and anything you wanna give her. Girl needs a staff of therapists, psychologists, and a cocktail of pills

Quicksilver gets headcannoned with ADHD. Boring I know but I’ve got it and it fits him so projection time

Let marrow have ptsd. Girl witnessed a genocide of her people and her moms death as a child. Why do they skim over that? Girl is suffering

Pyro canonically had the legacy virus which was like a big euphemism for AIDs so he gets that. Plus he also gets hit with the autism beam

Toad is autistic. No further questions

Jean grey gets the psychic migraines but I’m also giving her autism cause her relationship with Scott is nowhere near neurotypical. The biggest disability marvel gave her was liking wolverine though. He canonically smells like shit and is an asshole. I love him.

Kitty pryde gets type 1 diabetes- I cannot explain why it fits her it just does

Cable gets lupus cause he canonically had a fantasy space tech autoimmune disease so let’s just make it more realistic

Daken gets lactose intolerance (he’s fine because he doesn’t really actually eat dairy)

Iceman gets lactose intolerance (he’s not fine because he loves all things dairy)

Dust gets celiac disease

[monsterfuckerconfessions]

Hello, robot and machine enjoyers out there. I'm a big tech guy and a huge sucker for computer things, but some of the things are so incredibly hot for me and I'd like to share it with you. I hope that I'm not alone in this and someone else can understand what I mean.

1) Radio robots. If you ever tried to touch a radio antenna, you know that the signal will get stronger. It's because your body becomes a part of the antenna. Imagine fucking a robot with a radio signal, and when you touch its antenna, you can hear it more clearly, its feeling go through your whole body and interfere with it. Having the one whole signal with it. My god it's so hot.

2) Room-sized supercomputers. They are so complex, can count routs for space rockets and meteors, they have an incredible power. But at the same time they are so vulnerable. You can always see their inner parts, incredible amounts of wires and controls. Only a few people can be trusted to work with it. It's perfectly tweaked, no mistakes, the true perfection, but still so sensitive and big. You have to be so gentle and look for the perfect conditions for it to work. I want a supercomputer to trust me, I want it to try understanding human emotions and empathy.

3) Old tech in general. I'm fascinated by old computers in the 90s and 00s. Big computers with convex screens, old phones with full keyboards and weird shapes, very specific tech that nowadays no one uses. But I need them. I want it to work to its fullest, I want it to feel needed. They can do so much, a lot of lab equipment still runs on old computers. They're individuals, they have its own personality.

4) Transparent case. Do you remember old tech with colorful transparent designs? It was peak. I want it back on new tech and robots so bad. I want to see its innards, I want to know what it actually is. Seeing the work and processing in general, seeing something inserted like a usb cord or a memory card and how all the contacts are interacting with each other. Even more old analog stuff, with gears and cogs, seeing its perfect movement through the casing. Or a whole visible car engine?? Come on!!

.

[eiralunaire]

second part of Damian going to Spain by Reader.

Reader nodded, knowing that arguing with Damian in the middle of a battle would be pointless. They both positioned themselves, synchronized as if they had trained together for years. As the metahuman launched lightning bolts in all directions, their skills complemented each other perfectly. Damian moved with almost superhuman precision, blocking attacks with a speed that made it seem like he was anticipating every move. Reader, for his part, remained in control, scanning the terrain and looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

The enemy, a man with a slender figure and skin covered in flickering electric lines, seemed to be having fun with the intensity of the confrontation. Each time he launched a bolt of lightning, he did so with a twisted smile, as if he enjoyed the chaos he was causing.

“You like the show, huh?” Damian muttered disdainfully.

“Oh, yes,” the metahuman replied in a raspy voice. “But it’s going to get even better.”

With a shout, the man raised both arms, summoning a thunderstorm directly over the plaza. Lightning began to fall, hitting the ground with a deafening roar. The lights in the surrounding buildings flickered and then went out completely, plunging the area into intermittent darkness that was only broken by flashes of lightning.

Reader knew they had to act fast. Every time the enemy used their power, the energy in the air grew denser, and the battlefield more dangerous. She looked at Damian, knowing they needed a strategy.

“He’s using electricity to feed himself,” she said, trying to raise her voice above the noise. “If we keep defending ourselves, he’ll only gain more power.”

Damian nodded, his mind working at full speed.

“We need to cut off his access to the source. We need a counterattack that will throw him off balance.”

“I can distract him,” she replied. “But I need you to find a way to nullify his power.” Maybe something to insulate him.

Damian frowned, assessing the surroundings. In the distance, he saw some fallen electrical poles and exposed wires. He knew it was a risk, but they could be used to create an overload or short circuit that would neutralize the source of the enemy's power.

"I have it. But I'll need time," he said, his voice firm.

Reader nodded, clenching her jaw as she prepared. With incredible agility, she leapt forward, dodging a bolt of lightning that passed inches from her head. The metahuman watched her, amused.

"You want to play with electricity again?" he laughed, launching a new blast at her.

Reader responded with quick movements, showing off his dexterity. He leapt through the rubble, moving back and forth, expending his energy as he avoided the attacks. Sweat beaded on his brow, but his focus was absolute. While keeping him busy, Damian ran to the area where the electrical wires hung dangerously close to the ground.

With surgical precision, he began to manipulate the wires, making sure the flow of energy was redirected. He knew they didn’t have much time before the enemy realized what they were doing, but there was no room for error. Sparks flew around them, but his focus never wavered.

Finally, Damian connected the wires, creating a closed loop that began to overload the system. Around the plaza, the remaining lights began to flicker, and the metahuman’s lightning became erratic. He didn’t seem to understand what was happening, until it was too late.

“Now!” Damian shouted.

Reader, taking advantage of the distraction, launched a precise blow towards the metahuman, straight to his torso, causing him to retreat. The enemy staggered, surprised by the force of the attack and by the overload that was beginning to affect his control over electricity.

With a final spark of energy, the metahuman fell to the ground, unable to continue. The lightning dissipated in the air, and the square fell into an almost sepulchral silence, only interrupted by the crackling of the damaged cables.

Damian approached Reader, both breathing heavily after the intense battle. For a moment, they looked into each other's eyes, the weight of worry, tension, and relief in the air. Damian extended a hand towards her.

—Good job.

Reader took her hand, feeling the warmth of her skin despite the coldness of the night. There was something in the way their fingers intertwined that gave him a feeling of security, that, despite everything, they had emerged victorious once again.

“Thank you,” she said, with a tired smile.

Damian watched her for a moment, still holding her hand.

“You shouldn’t have come alone.”

“I wasn’t alone, there was a team,” Reader replied, though she knew he didn’t mean that. “I can take care of myself, Damian. You know that.”

“I know,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I like it.”

The intensity in his words made Reader’s heart race. She knew how protective he could be, but she also knew that deep down, that concern came from a deeper place. A place Damian allowed few people to enter.

“I’m fine,” she assured, lightly squeezing his hand. “I’m fine because you’re here.”

Damian looked into her eyes for a moment, his expression softening. Then, he nodded, letting out a soft sigh.

“Come on. It’s time to go.”

They both turned towards the plaza, where the support team was beginning to arrive to secure the area and neutralize the fallen metahuman. Although the battle was over, there was much to do, but the most important thing was that they were together.

As they walked towards Damian's jet, the sky was beginning to lighten with the first signs of dawn. Reader felt the tiredness build up in his body, but he didn't care. He knew that, despite the dangers, they would always have each other.

And for Damian, that was the only thing that mattered.

[eightyonekilograms]

I went to the Apple Store yesterday to try the scripted demo of their VR headset. My overall impression is that it's the best possible execution of what might be a fundamentally flawed idea.

The passthrough video is pretty incredible. It's somewhat dimmer than reality, and the color accuracy is just OK, but it's more than good enough to feel like you're looking through clear displays at the real world. I'm told the passthrough on the Quest 3 is even better, but haven't tried that and can't comment. One thing is that there is a weird motion blur effect when you turn your head, I'm not sure if that's a display tech limitation or introduced deliberately by the software as a workaround for a different display tech limitation.

The resolution is 4K per eye, which, as mentioned, is more than enough for a powerful sense of presence in the real world. One of the nifty bits of the demo was when you turn the dial to tune out the world and suddenly you're sitting by a mountain lake, and the feeling of actually being there is overwhelming. The dystopian implications of needing a VR headset to sit at a mountain lake aside, it would be cool to have one just to have your office be anywhere you can imagine. Not $3500-before-tax cool, but cool.

Wow sports leagues are going to love this thing. I don't give a shit about sports and even I was thinking, "If the NBA put a stereoscopic camera courtside and sold you games for $50 a pop, I'd absolutely buy that"

But 4K per eye is not enough to do work, not even close. The experience of using normal computer-y applications on this was not unlike plugging your laptop in to a TV that's at the normal TV distance. You can do it, it works, but it's not anyone's preferred way of working. Text is amazingly legible, but only at sizes that are equivalent to having a single webpage take up your entire 4K monitor at normal monitor distance.

It is not particularly comfortable. Part of this might be that the store demo makes you use the "catcher's mitt" strap, which only goes around the back of your head and so gravity has to be countered only by the pressure of the thing against your face. Reviewers have said that if you use the other band that goes over your head the situation is better, but still.

A lot of early comments were making fun of Apple for having the battery be an external thing you put in your pocket and attach with a wire, but I think that's just fine: we all walk around with giant batteries in our pockets anyway, and anything you can do to have less weight on your head is a Good Thing. But then Apple took all those weight savings and spent them on making the stupid thing out of metal and glass instead of polycarbonate. It's nuts! It's like if you made a car that was 500kg lighter because you invented magical tech for keeping the engine somewhere else, and then went "great! with all the weight savings now we can build the body out of lead". Apple, you don't need to fear plastic. Plastic is good! Plastic built modern civilization.

You control it with a combination of eye tracking and pinch gestures. This is the main piece of evidence of my "best version of a bad idea" thesis: it works really, really well; so well that I can tell this is probably an evolutionary dead end. It's just fine— miraculous, even— for dragging windows around and doing the basic stuff the in-store demo has you do. It's amazing that you can more or less have your hands anywhere, including on your lap, and the recognition works perfectly (by contrast with the HoloLens I tried 5 or so years ago where the gesture recognition was total crap). But it's immediately obvious that you can never do serious manipulation of your computing environment with this.

The takeaway is that it's incredible for passive consumption of specifically-made media, assuming that ever exists at scale. But it will be a long time before we're gogged in like Hiro Protagonist to do our office jobs this way.

[onejellyfishplease]

BEHOLD! my new TMNT iteration!

tmnt: Strained Eyes

In this iteration, much like rottmnt, all of the turtles have super powers. however, there is a little catch. while the rottmnt turtle's powers suit their soul, Strained Eye's turtles... don't.

(please ignore the fact that Mikey doesnt really look like a spotted pond turtle, i came up with the design first and had to find a turtle species second)

So! Mikeys powers basically allow him to cause every thing he touches to rot/decompose/desintergrate. he does have some control, but not reliably.

And though he is a good cook, there is a 50/50 chance that you will end up eating mouldy/rotten food. but all the other times it will be delicious.

he (obviously) has insecurities about touch, he is very aware that he could very easily kill someone with just one touch.

he can also grow mushrooms on command -he can also grow them on his shell which freaks out his brothers a lot.

also hes not actually blind in one eye! its mostly just cosmetic.

Up next we have Donnie! compared to Mieky hes a very brightly coloured boy!

his power is illusions! they can be incredibly lifelike. the problem is, These illusions can be permanent if Donnie doesnt dispel them, and sometimes are summoned only by his subconscious. So Donnie can struggle with figuring out if something is real or not.

The only senses his illusions cannot mimic are touch and smell (and taste) so he is usually extremely tactile, holding onto his brothers to assure himself that theyre real and not just a projection of his mind. he covers a lot of stuff in his lab (and his brothers) with strong smelling perfumes as well.

application wise- he uses his powers in tandem with his machines to make incredibly realistic looking androids. example: robot cat that looks like real cat. robot dragon that looks like REAL dragon, etc etc. he can also use them to appear human and turn invisible. (he can expand this to all his brothers) but he still hasnt gotten down the art of human expressions, so when ever he appears human he looks quite uncanny when he talks.

It's Leo!!

now Leo is ~battery powered~ his powers basically allow him to absorb energy straight from the source, such as absorbing the electricity off of an electric wire, or even sucking the energy from a person. or eating batteries.

an unfortunate side affect (depending on how you look at it) is that Leo doesnt need to sleep. ever. as long as he keeps absorbing energy then he's completely fine! and the more electricity/energy he absorbs the faster/stronger he gets! he also thinks faster! coming up with excellent strategies on the fly!

however- the same is true of the other way around, when Leo runs out of energy (which he does often- hes VERY bad at judging how much he has left) he will start to get more lethargic, his cognitive funtions will slow down and his short term memory will start to degrade.

If he completly runs out of energy his heart stops and he dies.

but dont worry! you just need to zap him with more energy and hell get right back up again (Donnie has a defibrillator just for Leo). though its best not to leave him in that state for long. because like that he is still functionally a dead body.

And finally we have Raph!

Raph breaths fire. a very simple power, in fact he can even hold his breath for hours apon end and his skin is extremely tough! theres basically no side effects too!

Hes so lucky compared to his brothers, having a power that suits him perfectly and doesnt mess him up in the head.

because of this, Raph has kinda moulded himself into the hyper aggressive mom friend, making sure they dont all run themselves into the ground because of the drawbacks to their powers.

he still has anger issues too <3

[conundrumsofphilosophy]

hi!! how do you think each merc would react if they got stuck on an elevator? maybe reader could be there too and started panicking, how would they deal with it? ^^

ANON I LOVE THIS. this is such a fun prompt im obsessed. sorry this took literally months . college is hard

scout

- he's immediately mad. kicking the wall and repeatedly pushing buttons

- ends up pacing and freaking anyone else in the elevator out

- when he starts yelling for help it's over

- if you start panicking it'll just make him panic because he doesn't know what to do to help you, he just gets louder

soldier

- slamming on the doors with his entire body weight. does NOT realize the doors will open to an elevator shaft and not a safe floor

- SCREAMING for help. he's not panicked really just very impatient. it's very un-american to get trapped in an elevator.

- if he's in there too long he'll wear himself out and sit on the floor and pout for a while. sad sad puppy dog man

- if you're freaking out he'll just yell in your face which will not help but he is yelling reassuring things. he just has zero volume control.

pyro

- definitely just saying what the hell over and over again. not yelling just muttering to themself and being mostly unintelligible

- kicks the door a little bit but doesn't get overly violent

- mostly just dismayed at the situation. will sit down and fiddle with whatever they have on them, tinker with whatever weapons anyone has. patient

- will sit there in silence with you and help you breathe deep if you're panicking. mutters kind things which you can't understand but he's trying

engineer

- pops open the panel immediately and starts fiddling with wires and trying to fix it himself. not at all worried that he might break it worse

- throws stuff if he can't get it working again. very much with the dangits and dammits and dagnabbits

- starts yelling for help but gets bored of it pretty quick and just huffs and puffs

- if you're freaked out he'll calm himself down though. he'd hate to be part of the reason you're freaking out

demo

- he doesn't even notice at first. he's just drinking and smiling.

- once he realizes it's been a loooong time in the elevator. he'll sort of just poke at some buttons, kick at the door a little bit. surprisingly nonchalant about it

- if he's drunk enough he'll start to prepare to blow the door open you gotta make him not do that. because it would most certainly not help

- if you're freaking out he'll stare at you for a while before he even says anything because he doesn't know what would help. he isn't helpful at all

heavy

- so normal about. he is chilling. if someone else has an idea that requires brute force he will contribute but won't initiate it himself he's perfectly content to just wait it out

- i like to think he brings a little paperback with him all the time and he will just sit down and read

- might even fall asleep. his snoring would make anyone else in the elevator want to die though

- probably the best person to have with you if you're freaking out he can provide anything you need. need to be grounded? bone crushing hug. need reassuring words? might be a little broken in english but he's got em.

medic

- gone into hysterics i think. especially if there are more than three people in the elevator he needs out right now

- snaps at anyone that tries to get him to help with anything he's like. sitting in the corner rocking back and forth

- he's literally completely 100% normal the second you get out it's like nothing happened

- he's not helping you if you're freaking out unless staring at you menacingly is helping

sniper

- doesn't care literally whatsoever he's used to being in enclosed spaces for hours at a time

- you better believe he's pissing in jars if he has them.

- will help with the Escape Plan if he deems it smart enough

- if you're freaking out he'll just sit there but he thinks it's helping

spy

- soooooo frustrated there are much better things he'd rather be doing than being trapped with You People

- filling the elevator with cigarette smoke much to the chagrin of everyone in it. he does not care whatsoever

- gets bored quickly and will sit and flip his knife endlessly while still chainsmoking

- if you're freaking out he'll probably just say something he thinks is kind but just makes you feel worse

[salaimoi]

first story from my new, ongoing series: talk to me nice. feel free to leave any constructive criticism! (I can handle it, unlike Gojo)

"Look, I didn't ask for your stupid advice, so don't pretend like you know everything."

Gojo hissed at you, nearly popping a vein from how smug you were being right now.

The only thing you suggested was that he stop dressing like somebody’s grandpa all the time – he had a physique carved by the gods themselves, why not put it to use? Such a waste, honestly.

"Mm~ whatever. So sassy," you replied, followed by an eye roll violent enough to nearly cause your eyes to fall clean off your skull. “Ever heard of constructive criticism?”

"Yeah, yeah. You know, instead of just giving me advice all the time, why don't you compliment me for once? You know, say something nice about me — it's not that hard. "

"Me? Compliment you? Gojo please. Unless you wire me every single yen in your bank account, you won't hear a single praise come out of this mouth.”

Even though he himself felt very frustrated right now, he couldn't stop himself from enjoying the banter – so much so that he would begin to grin as he tried to control himself from bursting out laughing. You were playing a dangerous game here because he could actually make this deal happen, and you were perfectly aware of that — but despite that, you were still trying to push his buttons and he’d make you eat your words because of it.

"You know what, I think I will actually do just that. So let me ask you, what happens when I send over every yen in my bank account, will you genuinely compliment yours truly?" he smirks in that usual arrogant manner, growing more and more interested by the second. "I better get my money’s worth, you know."

Still thinking he was bluffing, you replied, "Obviously. But you only get one compliment."

"Humm~ fine, and it better be the most heart shattering compliment in the history of compliments — soul crushing even. Now, I'll go ahead and transfer you the money," he paused for a moment before remembering something rather important. 

"I need your bank account number to wire the money."

"W-wait … you're not serious are you?”

"Why would I lie? I’m serious about this and you'll also be serious about your part, got it? So I need that bank account number now."

"Are you insane!? I was only kidding, genius!"

"Maybe I am, but I'm doing this because I really want your compliment. So don't try to discourage me because for every minute we spend arguing here, I'm losing my patience.”

And it wasn’t like he needed your flattery; he just wanted to hear you sing his praises as a contrast to your usual behavior. You were always so cold and apathetic around him, but he knew that wasn’t the real you — and he took it upon himself to reveal the side you buried under that stoic facade. 

“So just tell me your bank account number and I'm going to transfer the money to your account right now — the full 59 billion."

Your body froze in utter shock as you realized he was dead serious. Straightening yourself on the mattress, your mouth hung wide open — staring at him in disbelief. The realization of it all was enough to cause one of your eyes to twitch in perplexity.

"Gojo you must've lost your mind if you think I'm gonna accept that,” you scoffed at how insufferable he really was, but secretly loving every second of it. "Who in their right mind would spend ¥59 billion on one compliment?"

"Only people who can afford it, of course,” he smirks cynically, tossing his phone up into the air just for it to land right back onto his palm. “If you ask me, ¥59 billion is too small a price for a compliment directly out of that pretty mouth of yours.” 

“You’re insufferable. For fucks sake, you should have a mental disorder named after you.”

“But you can't actually deny that I'm pretty charming, can you? You might not show a hint of  affection, but I think it's pretty obvious that you like my insufferable attitude. Or are you gonna deny that you don't?"

He unlocked his phone, opening the banking app and going into the transfer section.

You didn’t hesitate to smack the phone out of his hand, causing it to fall down on the bed. 

"Satoru, are you even listening to me!!??"

"Heh~ you're actually quite impressive when you finally get serious. You were really quick there with that tiny hand of yours.”

“This tiny hand of mine will be enclosing around your neck until you’re out of oxygen if you continue to act like an unsupervised child with access to money.”

His expression was thoughtful for a few seconds before he pointed at you, flashing his pearly whites.

"You know, you're actually pretty attractive when you get all aggressive like that. It really looks cute on you. I don't know if I can actually handle someone who's this much of a pain in the ass but still has a cute side to her."

He chortles, leaning back on the headboard before continuing, "See? That’s how you compliment someone, wasn’t that hard now was it? Now you do it.”

Your eyes narrow, two fingers rubbing at your temples as you contemplate the situation.

"You know what. Fine. If you want to recklessly spend your money like this, I'll give you what you want. No comment until I see that money in my bank account, though."

This reply made him burst out laughing, his grin becoming a bit bigger and he began to speak with a playful tone.

"Alright, if you say so. But just remember, it'll be too late to back out after I've already sent the money…”

[One new notification: direct deposit from Gojo Satoru received. New balance: ¥59,000,000,000.024.]

"..."

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

"...you have nice eyes?"

"..."

"..."

“I want a refund right this instant, y/n.”

[good-beanswrites]

My thoughts on how the Milgram mv machine works based on the evidence we have:

(I know there’s been discussion about where exactly the interrogations take place, but wherever they are,) the prisoners are made to sit in a specific chair near the wall that houses the machine.

It’s ordinarily hidden, but the wall panels shift aside to reveal it when the mechanical sounds play in the dramas. As well as the walls moving, the chair transforms to restrain the prisoner and attach whatever it takes to access their brain. The fact that none of the more frightened prisoners try to run or break it makes it seem like they physically cannot. This is why Fuuta sounds so panicked, and why Amane is suddenly helpless in front of Es in their T1 vds.

(My mind conjures very classic sci-fi mad scientist machines with wires, pipes, lights, nodes, needles, etc, but I’d love to hear how other people visualize it.)

In some vds (maybe all? I’d need to check,) you can hear Es take some steps right before their iconic line -- it would make sense that for safety reasons, the power mechanism is placed across the room. Once again it could be anything, but the sound effect makes me think of one of those giant wall-mounted levers you have to pull down.

The voice dramas don’t really provide the type of crime details that an actual interrogation would reveal, and it’s odd that they’re placed before the extraction rather than after Es gets to see the new details. This leads me to believe the machine functions with priming. All Es needs to do is get them talking about their murder, so it’s on their mind.

The video produced is much like a (non-lucid) dream. Even if the prisoners figure out that this is how it works, they can’t control it just by thinking really hard about something else. The murders produce the strongest emotional affect, and that’s what it picks up on. If someone else used the machine, it would default to whatever gave them the strongest emotional reaction in the ~15 minutes beforehand, hence why Es’ video focuses on their daunting task ahead. (The Undercover theory is still a bit loose, though, given the private shots that Es wouldn't have known about). It’s why the videos are usually closely linked to the vd topics/beats. I also like to think that the reason their prisoner colors appear so much is because they’re looking at those colors on their uniform 24/7.

The bell rings to inform Es that it’s the optimal time to use the machine -- the prisoner has been thinking about things for long enough that the video will be about their crime, and if the conversation lasts much longer they’ll start thinking of other things. It’s at a different time for each prisoner because it’s based on the specific conversation. I guess Jackalope is listening in to the interrogation, timing it perfectly. (The only one that kind of messes with this theory is Yonah, because they just keep talking afterwards lol, but it could just show that the interrogation is still in Es’ control.)

Their “Sing your sins” is the final priming nudge to get them to think of their actions as a sin, revealing their guilt.

Once activated, the prisoner enters a sort of trance/sleeping state. It’s very much like REM sleep, with the machine forcibly activating neurons and recording the output. The prisoners have asked Es what they saw, meaning they don’t remember the mvs. I like to think the prisoners do experience the mv in real time, acting as the major version of themself that appears, but can’t remember it afterwards. It’s when you experience a dream, but as soon as you wake up you’re just left with fleeting emotions and memories right on the tip of your tongue.

The video plays immediately upon extraction -- whether on a huge projection or little screen depends on which room it’s in. It simultaneously saves the memory so that Es can rewatch it later (on those old TVs in the jailbreak mix). The machine downloads the song and video together, but requires special parts to retrieve them. The technology is pretty new and fragile, so if one is broken, there might be a delay between when Es can hear the extracted song and see it with the video. (That’s my justification for Kotoko’s delays -- after 9 prisoners the parts wear out, or maybe Mikoto himself overheats it with his complex situation.)

Based on the lack of conversation we get afterwards, I picture Es leaving before the prisoner wakes from the trance. The machine adjusts their brain back to normal before they awaken, restraints freed and able to return to the rest of the prison.

It’s very much like a dream, so it’s not harmful despite the amnesia/head injuries the prisoners have. It does, however, exhaust them. Brain activity alone takes a lot of energy, so forced brain activity with added emotional strain would cause them to feel pretty drained the rest of the day.

[angelofchaos001]

Meet the Rivulet! (Splitmind AU)

Reblogs > Likes (Reblogging helps out a lot, even if it doesn't seem like much!)

It's Ruffles time!

Lore under cut, includes pre and post Scugerator

Quick tidbit about her design, is that as I draw more designs, I slowly make these slugcats less cat-like and just go more and more nuts, with the Splitmind AU being very different. Rivulet isn't even furred, but instead has placoid scales and has a more sharkskin feel to her.

Also, something you'll see with more of the AU is that scugerators will have their left eye black with a pupil colored like the iterator inside the scug. The only time this changes is when the iterator takes temporary control (whether willingly or through force), where both eyes become reflective of the iterator.

Moots, Interested, or Ones who I think will be interested

@doodlebug091

@keeper-of-magic

@angeliteonfridgeduty

@stupidscav

@batnip

@riverripplespeaks

@cherry-b0mber

@luxdraconia

@voldkat

@lunas-sketchbook

Pre - Moon

Before Moon placed her consciousness in the paws of a slugcat, Rivulet was just an aquatic beast that lived in Shoreline, mostly near the seafloor of the ocean and only coming up every so often to sunbathe or hunt if her normal prey was scarce. (Splitmind Rivulet has true gills, so she can live underwater. She also still has lungs, don't worry, evolution didn't screw her over too bad)

Rivulet lived a solitary lifestyle, only coming into contact with one other slugcat in their life, who simply came and went. At some point, she did visit the local iterator before their collapse, and was given the Mark of Communication before going back to the life she usually lived.

After the iterator collapsed, Rivulet started collecting some of the scraps that washed into the sea, such as pearls, bits of metal and wiring, and even a rarefaction cell (and a lot more damaged cells too). Eventually, she saw another slugcat traveling to the iterator, and out of curiosity, she followed them to watch as they brought the lifeless puppet back to life. After the other slugcat left, Rivulet dropped down to listen to Moon's stories, and would even stay in the chamber when the rains came since she could still breathe.

Post - Moon

After several cycles of living with the iterator, Rivulet saw another slugcat enter the chamber. After initially being hostile towards them, Moon wanted to investigate after the slugcat drew a pearl from a pouch and handed it to her before speaking to both of them, despite marks not being two-way communication. The creature explained that it was an iterator inside of the slugcat's mind, and it hoped this could be a convoluted way to ascend themselves by binding their own minds to another, more feral creature. The pearl contained the instructions on how to do such.

Without lingering for much longer to answer any questions, the creature then gave a suggestion that, normally, it would prefer to genetically engineer the perfect host for such a task, but in Moon's condition, it could be less stressful on her fragile systems to use what was on-hand.

After reading the pearl, Moon asked Rivulet if this was something she was okay with: An iterator in her mind. Rivulet agreed, having grown fond of Moon's presence, and wanted the best for her. Moon went ahead with the process, transferring her mind to Rivulet's.

With a newfound consciousness alongside her own, Rivulet originally wanted to try ascending straight away, but Moon encouraged her to spend some time exploring and showing her things she'd never seen before. Rivulet began doing just that, and Moon offered insight into things that Rivulet didn't understand. The two meshed perfectly, and in the end, the choice Rivulet made was one she never regretted.

Rivulet also met some of the other scugerators on her travels, namely, a feisty and explosive slugcat that had the same telltale eye, but refused to open up on who or why. The slugcat, Artificer, had two missions: Kill the scavenger cheiftain, and then ascend. Rivulet wanted to help, at least with the ascension, and accompanied Artificer on parts of her journey until finally taking her to the new place the scavengers had set up, Bitter Aerie in the remnants of Moon's structure.

After Artificer had done what she wanted, Rivulet took her to meet echo after echo, though both the echoes and Moon told Rivulet that something was wrong with Artificer, as a carnal desire bound her to this world. Despite this, Rivulet still guided Artificer through the world until they'd reached Subterranean, where the guardians (obviously) attempted to attack Artificer. With Rivulet's speed and a bit of trickery, she was able to sneak Artificer past them and eventually, to the void sea.

Riv watched Artificer go, but shortly after could see the golden shimmers in the water and almost saw the red slugcat being fragmented. Confused and worried, especially after seeing what looked like the slugcat trying to claw her way back to the surface, Rivulet dove in to save her. Despite the pain of the void fluid starting to dissolve her body, Rivulet managed to grab Artificer and pull them both out before either could echo/ascend.

After this, Artificer said she was going to 'make things right', and after the two sheltered together, disappeared into the world. In attempts to find her lost friend, Rivulet found a trio of slugcats that didn't have the telltale eye and instead, seemed like just that: Slugcats. As she talked to them and got to know the three, a pair of siblings and the third being like an adoptive one, she became friends with them as well and tries to visit them as often as she can, since she still roams the world looking for Artificer.

[none-shall-caricature-me]

What exactly is Albert's plan ? Why is there a picture of him and Monsieur M together ? Why does Albert seem to dislike M in it ? How are TWDAK and VTSOM lores linked ? What is the deep, thematic significance behind Albert's views on Vincent ? What exactly are the dream eaters ? Buckle up, this will be a multi - part analysis and we'll have to go in a sequence of steps.

Ok, recap of the basics first. Albert's dream therapy ability is basically some neuroscience - based technology that allows him to hijack people's brains for a while - that is how he is able to communicate with total strangers and influence his office environment, affect a monstrous appearance, give jumpscares and control his victims' fates in their dreams. It explains the bizarre, nightmarish feel of TWDAK.

Then what do the dream eaters do ? How are they made ? Let's go step - by - step into my explanation :

Albert very deliberately administers nightmares to his dream therapy candidates to select an 'army' for his grand plan to revive G2 district. Those who succumb to fear in the nightmare and blindly obey all his instructions perfectly as self - preservation essentially give up control of their fate. They let him decide their fate in their dream.

Now, dreams reflect a person's personality too - they are our memories and neural connections rehashed and mix - and - matched. Albert taps into a person's psychological wiring and instincts through the therapy.

Which means that the 'patients' who obey him out of pure fear are likely to be paranoid and passive when faced with unfamiliar dangers. Therefore, he can easily manipulate and control them using their fear. This could explain the dream eaters' lifeless, gloomy appearance and perpetual silence - it's like they're frozen in a constant state of fear. It's why they're perfect soldiers for his army- they won't rebel, and they are willing to 'eat' victims and follow orders to save their own selves.

You can't control a nightmare. Like any dream, it is formed by your random memories and instincts, random brain connections firing and combining. It's a situation where you're helpless to your psyche, to your subconscious. In Albert's therapy, it's a situation where you're helpless to HIM. How you react depends on your long - honed psyche, who you are deep down.

Think about your nightmares. To give my own example, I've had nightmares about being eaten alive by cannibals, being bombed, being unloved and alone, serial killers, my family and myself becoming evil and harming one another, etc. In some I remember fighting back. In others I was powerless and gave up.

Those like Taylor, who fight back despite being stuck in a horrifying situation they can't understand, show that they have a strong, hopeful outlook somewhere. They use logic as best as they can to do whatever they can. That's why they'll contribute to a G2 that has many pioneering, exceptional citizens.

Why do the dream eaters 'eat' victims ? Why are they 'hungry' ? Why do they need to 'eat' at all ? What happens to a victim who gets 'eaten' ? This is very meta - I think, since in the game everyone you get eaten Taylor urges you to try again and the game loops back, those who get 'eaten' get stuck in the nightmare. They're stuck until they either obey and become Albert's army members, or rebel and get spared. The purpose of dream eaters is to ensure the candidate can't escape till they prove their worth either way. That is Albert's plan for G2 - use the dream eaters to test people's worth, make them either useful to him as testers for other candidates, or leave the 'exceptional' ones be to hopefully improve G2.

What else do the dream eaters do besides acting as a test for candidates' worth ? Is it possible that Albert can do some Inception - style shit, influencing powerful people's decisions by implanting ideas into their psyche ? Is that how he plans to change G2 ?

Remember VTSOM ? Monsieur M's plan is to replace the 'inferior' human species with the much faster, smarter, stronger, modifiable cyborgs. That's his idea of improving life forms and the world. Whereas Albert's idea of improving G2 district is NOT by rejecting humanity but by finding and embracing its exceptional side. He taps into people's subconscious to find the brave, the fearless, those who can retain sense and logic under extreme stress. And that's why Albert dislikes M. M rejects humans totally, deriding them at many points in VTSOM. But Albert sees that humans can be pretty awesome, or atleast useful.

Now, the link between Albert and Vincent. Albert says that Vincent had great potential, but he saw him let it go to waste. Keep in mind the points above, and now remember - Vincent used to be someone who would rebel against society, accept loneliness because he wouldn't compromise on his principles and beliefs. He used to be brave. But then, he grew tired of loneliness. Which is all well and understandable to Albert, except that then Vincent, in his desire to belong and to be accepted at Myers, became a total slave to them. He committed atrocities he didn't want to commit, abandoned his principles and vision for change, because he was deathly scared of ending up alone and unsupported. He could've changed things, he had the aptitude and the attitude, but then he became just another brick in the wall of corporate selfishness. Another pawn for everything wrong with society. That's what Albert means when he says that Vincent wasted his potential. He gave into fear and lost himself. He had not a flight, not a fight, but a 'freeze' reaction to the threat of ostracision - blindly obey the very shady Monsieur M, hoping M would spare him because he licked his boots.

THIS IS MY ORIGINAL ANALYSIS / THEORY. DO NOT DARE TO COPY, REUPLOAD OR REPOST. REBLOGS ARE WELCOME.

[takami-takami]

tw: discussions of mental illness. sort of hurt/comfort. birds do tend to like mirrors. minors dni.

It's grown impossible to parse through. And it has grown.

Like a slithering entanglement of biomechanical wiring, your neurons weave amongst themselves a tale decades in the making. They interlock in knots— tied rather permanently in place, to your scoff of annoyed dissatisfaction. 

It's quite the clever survival strategy, you admit; that the undesirables nestle their feedings, latched so deeply into your natural fibers, so melted and molded under the midday sun that they become entirely, parasitically unremovable. 

Performing surgery would be dangerous, you surmise— not that your warnings, uttered through gritted gates of teeth, could ever discourage Keigo from trying.

"Need someone barking in my fucking ear," you mutter, flicking a stray piece of wood from between your teeth. 

"What you need is to get some damn rest," Keigo argues gently, speaking like a human. He wraps you in a cocoon of comforters using his rather human-looking hands. "Seriously."

"I'm tired of resting," you grumble. "All I do is rest and rot in this fucking bed."

"That's not what I meant." 

A single finger thunks once against your noggin. 

"Here," he clarifies.

You huff a pout.

Your body grips your knees on his mattress, entangled by crisp and clean sheets that you pray your undesirable fibers aren't infecting. A deep hope blossoms and sprouts, bursting forth a desperate wish that you do not spread and infect these rather perfect linen sheets. 

Keigo washes them every night, whether you're home or not.

"You say that like it's easy," you counter, eyes narrowing.

"I say it like it's possible," he corrects; and you wish, arms crossed like an insufferable child, that you had married someone a little less persuasive.

You're aware, at least cognitively, that Keigo is far from clean, himself. You know exactly what he would say should you ask him.

But at least Keigo is the pretty kind.

That familiar feeling begins to encroach your mind, nestling deep amongst your fibers. 

And you begin another sentence, knowing perfectly well you have zero intention of finishing it. Keigo knows you seldom speak of any of it in name, instead opting for half-baked analogies like "barks" or "wood" or "teeth".

Still, you allow your tongue to curl around the parts of the sentence that are easy: filler words, carefully plucked connective phrases apart from undesirables and their attached hosts— narrative words. 

"I wish I could— it, you know?" You wave your hand in a dismissive swirl. "The whole thing. You get it, right?"

Keigo's lips are tight when he enwraps you from behind like a backpack, allowing his dirt to meld into yours. 

You don't see his undesirables, of course. He smells like shampoo and soap. He probably bathed himself the second he got home from work.

"Yeah," Keigo sighs, nestling into your neck. "I know." A kiss stings against your skin. "I'm just waitin' for you to let me in again. Any day now," he teases. 

You huff again, dramatic; but at least this time, it's with a smile.

"I can be patient, dove. I promise," he reminds you, just like he always does. After a pause, he speaks once more.

"Want me to hold you?"

"Please," you beg. What starts as a wail from the pit your chest fizzles when it exits your lips, reduced to something meek. 

You think you're being cryptic, Keigo assesses. He nods to himself outside your field of vision.

You think you're in complete control of your infection, of what Keigo does or does not see. 

It's sweet. He kisses your skin once more, if only to satiate the swell blooming in his chest. 

He'll pretend he doesn't see you until you're comfortable again.

[mosquito-queen]

the first thing she notices after pushing open the door to her apartment is a breeze. and with it, a fresh layer of annoyance is tacked onto the already simmering anger. yelena is going to drive the electricity bill through the roof - why can’t she just use the door? she has a key for christ’s sake. a key!

the thought of the key makes kate grind her teeth, leaves an ache in her chest, makes her confuse anger and hurt. yelena has a fucking key.

kate steps into the apartment, drops her bag and does a scan for the familiar blonde. she still hasn’t decided how she’s going to approach this conversation, still doesn’t know how to make sense of her own emotions and much less yelena’s, doesn’t know the right words to make sense for either of them. maybe she shouldn’t have it.

claws skittering on the hardwood interrupt her thoughts. lucky is beelining from the end of the hall towards kate, and on his heels comes yelena’s voice, strained, “kate bishop, where is the -“

but kate is stepping into the bathroom doorway, holding up a new bag of gauze. she almost forgets to be angry.

because yelena is in the middle of mediocre surgery: she’s standing barefoot on the bath mat, leaning against the sink counter with her shirt off, and pulling a surgical wire through her skin just above her hip. there are bloody handprints on the porcelain, bandage wrappers littering the floor, and she’s got a split eyebrow that would fare better with some of those stitches instead of butterfly bandages. kate’s frown deepens when she spies the bottles: an open whiskey on the closed toilet lid and the other a beer on the sink ledge with condensation forming a sheen of water speckled with blood. the beer is an ice pack and the other is nursed as tylenol. ridiculous woman.

“ah, yes,” yelena motions between the stitching and bag, “can you?”

“hello to you too,” kate mutters, opening the gauze pack.

kate hasn’t seen yelena in nearly a week. well, yelena hasn’t seen her in nearly a week. she’s shown up to the apartment in worse states, but this one is confusing. yelena had been perfectly fine last night. in a dress. no scratches. perfectly fine with jewelry and her hair up and her eyes had been glittering at someone that wasn’t kate. she had been fine last night.

the humiliation and anger rise with bile in the back of kate’s mouth. why is she so incredibly angry? it isn’t like they’re formally dating. she swallows hard and washes her hands quickly in the sink before taking over, shooing away yelena’s hands from the wounds after yelena finishes the last stitch.

kate starts dressing it. she has gotten remarkably better at playing doctor since noticing yelena does a shit job patching herself up - not because she can’t, but because she doesn’t care enough.

but kate is still mad at her.

yelena lounges her weight against the sink, completely gives up control to kate’s hands. trusts her without meaning to, or understanding why, or even being aware of it. she mistakes the reason for the quiet and the way kate still hasn’t made eye contact, “i will clean up.”

kate blurts: “you know, i saw you.” she swipes the antiseptic a little too harshly and yelena flinches, “last night,” she moves to inspect the rest of yelena’s wounds, planning on returning to the cut on her hip after it’s settled a bit longer, “with him.”

“what?” yelena frowns, and kate is roughly tilting her head to fix the poorly applied bandages along her jaw. yelena’s eyes dart, try to find kate’s, but there’s no luck.

instead, kate grinds out: “at the restaurant. i saw you kiss him.”

but yelena is only half listening. she’s too hung up on the way that everything feels wrong in this room, she’s too caught up in the intensity at which kate is refusing to look her in the eyes. she’s unable to understand why it bothers her so much that kate won’t look. why isn’t she looking? kate is always looking at her.

she’s always looking at her in a way that makes yelena’s heart rate pick up, in a way that makes her palms sweaty, in a way that makes it an easy choice to seek out kate’s bed after a mission. she’s done this a million times now, hasn’t she? where she’s come home - home? - in the dead of night, or lazy afternoons, or right before the birds start to sing (kate hates when it’s in the morning), and kate sits her on the sink or the toilet or the edge of the bath and tends her wounds. and she looks at yelena like she’s trying to make a wish.

and it feels like, fuck it feels like… it feels like more than just patching wounds. kate has gotten remarkably better. and that’s how it always goes. except right now. instead, kate’s fingers are tight under her jaw and she isn’t being careful or soft or even looking at her. god, why does it bother her so much?

“kate, look at me.” yelena is pulling her face away from the archer’s grip, leaning off the counter and standing on her own, and kate instinctually takes a step back. she obeys, looks yelena in the eye, looks at her in way that makes yelena’s mouth go dry. and she barely makes out: “why are you angry with me?”

and it’s the wrong thing to say.

and yelena wishes she never asked kate to look at her.

because the fury boring down on her makes yelena’s insides balk. because she never wants to be looked at like that - like she’s committed the most painful atrocity against the one person her mind always drifts towards. she doesn’t have too much time to reflect on why it hurts so much for kate to look at her like that.

because kate is spluttering, throwing her hands up, “of course i am angry! what did you think was going to happen? i saw you kiss him! and i thought -“

it suddenly becomes stupid, too vulnerable, too much. kate trails off, covering her face with her hands, groaning, “oh god.”

but it’s too late: “what? what did you think?”

“yelena. what in the - what? don’t you - aren’t we…?” she trails off, gesturing between the two of them. gesturing to the past months of yelena using kate’s apartment like her own home, of yelena waking up with nightmares until kate invites her into her bed, of yelena keeping the fridge stocked, of kate patching up yelena in the bathroom and being close enough that they share the same breath, of kate braiding yelena’s hair, of them spending until the break of dawn talking and talking and talking…

and yelena could resolve this. she could easily say: it was a job, and the fresh smattering of hurt was the end result, and that kate should see the other guy. or what was left of him.

but instead, yelena is growing cold and turns her back on kate so she can face the mirror and identify the next section of bodily pain to address. now it’s her turn not to look at kate. she feels something clench in her chest, wants to soothe the fear welling inside, a fear she does not want to address, “i do not know what you are insinuating, kate bishop. spit it out.”

it’s cruel and they both know it. they both know yelena is on the brink of running, and maybe that’s why kate is standing in the door frame with her eyes locked on yelena’s reflection in the mirror: “you treat me like you’re in love with me, but you’re out there kissing him.”

love?

yelena white knuckles the counter top, that frenzied panic tearing up through her heart and lungs and clawing its way up her throat. no. she just… no, kate’s just confused. yelena doesn’t… she can’t do that. right? only the version before the red room had capacity for that. she’s not formed any connection with anyone after the red room in the same way she felt so deeply as a child. a weapon cannot…

love?

she grew up in a way that controlled for that, that didn’t make space for that, that never intended for her to have access to human emotions. instead, everything became a transaction. what was love but another word for manipulate? and yet… what else was it when she felt compelled to be close to kate, and to protect her, and to memorize her overly complicated pizza order just in case she had a bad day? oh fuck. why did it hurt so much when kate wouldn’t look at her? why did she want her hands to be the ones to fix her?

love.

she’s focusing on the wrong thing again. because yelena’s idea of love was defined by whatever disney movies she had watched in ohio. it had never crossed her mind of what love actually looked like in the real world. she had no idea where to even go with this conversation that would be remotely helpful. so yelena leans into the only thing she does know and that she is remarkably good at: pushing people away.

so yelena says into the mirror, “n-no. why would you? that’s not anything i wanted you to think.”

a small part of kate wants desperately for yelena to mean she didn’t want kate to think she had been willingly kissing someone else. a small part of her wants to think that yelena is absolutely in love with her but too pigheaded to admit it. but, that part is small and the rest of kate knows that her face is red hot and her hands are clenched, and she wants to break that stupid fucking mirror, “then what do you want? why are you always here? in my bed, in my personal space, in my fucking clothes. why do you always come back here? just stay gone then, just go. we don’t have to play nice just because we’re hawkeye and black widow.”

for a moment, everything inside of yelena stops.

because for some reason, she had never factored into the equation the possibility of kate being the one wanting to leave. and it feels like an explosion. she whips around so she can face kate, sweat beading around her collarbone and hip aching, she’s steadying herself with a hand gripping the counter and bowl of the sink, and the change in position brings her back to the present. the sheer amount of emotion raging through her body is too overwhelming and she shouts, “i do not know what i want!”

how could she know? natasha was the only person that ever asked her and the only thing she got out of that revelation was fanny. and the way it connects back to natasha makes yelena angrier and she smashes the beer bottle on the floor, “i don’t know what i want! but i know it isn’t that,” it comes out broken at the end, with a hiccup, with a heartbreak, and the exertion from the day and the sudden burst of emotions has her sliding down the the sink, butting the back of head into the cabinet doors when she settles at the bottom in the stick of beer and glass, “it sure as fuck is not that.”

and kate is silent in the doorway, waving lucky off from where he’s standing worried at the mouth of the hallway. she turns her attention back to yelena, looking at this girl turned killer-weapon turned human and she knows there is no way the universes could ever make her walk away from yelena. she knows she would tear herself apart to bring yelena back every single time. she thinks she’s known it since the beginning.

kate hadn’t known what was different about yelena when they met the first night on the roof. she hadn't released the arrow because yelena was not actively striking her - not because she had an overwhelming sense to obey. certainly not because the sight of yelena’s face knocked the air out of her lungs.

it was still different when they fought after that. because kate knew she was good, she had plenty medals to prove it, but she wasn’t win-against-a-black-widow-good. yelena held back her punches. but it was just because eleanor was paying yelena. it was just because her mom said not to hurt her. right?

it was different when kate asked to get drinks and yelena said yes. yelena said yes and it made her heart flip, erupted butterflies and her head felt fuzzy. her head always felt fuzzy when yelena was around. but it was better not to think about it.

and then yelena kept coming around. of course with gaps and no contact and so much reactivity. but yelena kept coming around. and she had flowers waiting for kate the first time kate went to visit her mother in prison, and she took lucky on walks until kate stopped being so fucking scared that kingpin would be just around the corner, and she had her own drawer in the dresser and a toothbrush and brought fanny around (who was a much better guard dog than lucky), and yelena was just so fucking sweet.

so excuse kate for thinking yelena belova had feelings for her. excuse her for thinking yelena was fully aware of what messages were being sent, excuse her for thinking.

except kate was still thinking.

yelena can feel kate looking at her. looking at her in a way that seems like judgment will be weighed. yelena knows she’ll never get into heaven. but, kate exhales and is picking her way through the glass, unfazed, jaw set. like a righteous angel. she crouches down to yelena’s eye level, her hands gripping the sides of her bruised up face, and using the pressure to force yelena to look at her.

this time yelena says: “i killed that man.”

there is still a brilliant anger in kate’s eyes, and it cloaks the desire, so yelena is caught off guard when kate presses her mouth into hers. when kate destroys her with the softest kiss. maybe she would never get into heaven, but this was surely a heavenly way to die.

yelena never had any intent to fall in love. with anyone. ever. she certainly had no intent to fall in love with kate bishop. and yet it seems like her heart never got the memo. it’s hammering now in her chest like a freight train. and then kate pulls back for a moment.

“is this what you want?”

oh. a sharp inhale: “yes.”

and then kate kisses her harder.