#i would make super cool cybernetic prosthetics for anyone who needs / wants them & make them widely and easily available!

[sage-nebula]

I love technology so, so, so much, and I think it's so, so, so important.

I think that, in the age of the climate crisis and of Tech Bros™ being Like That, there can sometimes be this thought that technology is a bad thing. That our desire to keep innovating is destroying the planet, destroying humanity, destroying life. And to some degree I can understand that. Vehicles that run on oil add to the pollution in the air. Factories, too, add to pollution. As much as clean energy sources are readily available, governments and corporations all around the world refuse to use those energy sources because big oil lobbyists don't want to lose out on their revenue. It can be easy to think technology is the problem.

But I really don't see it that way. I can't see it that way, because I look at all we can accomplish with technology—and all that we have accomplished with it—and I think it's just amazing.

I've made lifelong friends thanks to the internet. Thanks to computers that allowed me to connect with people all around the world, I've made friends who have helped me through some truly dark periods in my life. I was able to use email to get in touch with my father so that he could help me escape my abusive biological mother.

Technological innovation has made it possible for so many lives to be saved through modern medicine. Pacemakers can keep people's hearts beating regularly. Ventilators can breathe for them. On a less drastic scale, other medical devices can greatly improve someone's quality of life, whether it's through prosthetics or other mobility aids, including electric scooters and wheelchairs.

Screen readers help vision-impaired people browse the internet. Cochlear implants and other hearing aids help hard of hearing or Deaf people interact with the speaking world around them, too.

Cars and airplanes can help people reach family members or friends so, so many miles away from them. If you have family in another country and you need to get to them quickly because of an emergency, you can do so.

Of course, nothing is perfect. Technology is expensive. We live in a capitalist hellscape, so even when there are medical innovations that could save someone's life, they can't always afford it. (At least in the States; other countries have the grace of standardized health care.) And again, there is a huge problem with vehicles and factories that continue to use energy sources that cause pollution. These are problems that we need to find a way to tackle head on, though it's extremely difficult when you're just one person facing an entire industry that lobbies the government.

But technology itself is not to blame here. Technology enriches and saves lives. And I imagine it will only continue to do so. Yeah, there are definitely things being developed that aren't so great. Robot dogs used by police are one of them. Facial recognition software and virtual assistants that record your every word to harvest your data and turn you into a product are another. But I think of a world where technology can make it even easier for us to be brought together—where life can be made easier for those who need it to be. If we could get to a stage where things were automated so that we could live our lives for the purpose of thriving rather than just surviving, if we could find a way to advance medical science so that those of us who have lungs that were ruined by parents smoking cigarettes around us in enclosed spaces for years and years could be given a way to breathe more easily . . .

I live my whole life surrounded by tech. I've worked in tech support for going on fourteen years, I'm constantly on my computer or phone or playing video games when at home. So obviously, I'm biased. But I just think that scientific and technological innovation has done so many insanely wonderful things, and will continue to do even more. The problem is not with machines or technology, but rather with the fuel sources used to run them—and, more to the point, the industries and governments that refuse to make the switch to clean energy even when the option is right there, ready to go whenever.

[anakinskywallcrawler-blog]

The Scar || Anakin Skywalker x Reader || Pt. 2 of ?

Fandom: Star Wars

Character: Anakin Skywalker

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x Reader

Note: I need constant reasurrance… 😂 Keep letting me know if you want more.

==

The cockpit of the Twilight was actually decently larger than you thought. You couldn’t help but give the little ship credit.

“All settled?” Anakin asked without turning in his Pilot’s seat. Jedi senses and all.

“Yes, thank you.” You said sitting down in the spare chair. The bright flashing from hyper space was almost hypnotizing.

You weren’t looking at the flashing lights though, you were watching the profile of Anakin’s face.

His hair looked so fluffy and it was light and shiny, people always made him sound so dark and bruting. You admit that you believed the rumors sometimes, it’s not like you got to see him often enough to know they were false. You watched him poke the tip of his tongue out to wet his lips. His focus looked unbreakable, maybe hyperspace was hypnotizing…

You were pulled from your thoughts when R2-D2 came over with a series of beeps. Anakin came back to conciousness and turned in his seat to face R2 who had parked himself between your chairs. You quickly looked away from the Jedi hoping he hadn’t seen you staring.

“What is it, Artoo?” He asked the droid. There was a series of chirpy beats and Anakin nodded.

“Good work, buddy.” He said and to your astonishment patted the droids head. You had never seen a droid of so much conciousness and never seen anyone, let alone a Jedi treat their droid so… Friendly. You had to admit, it made you smile.

“How can you understand him?” You asked nodding to the droid.

“It’s just Binary.” Anakin shrugged leaning forward to flick a few switches. “I’ve always had a thing with machinery. I knew Binary before I knew how to read.” He said you smiled, fascinated.

“Did you really?” You asked shifting in your own chair to face the Jedi.

“Yep, my mother didn’t really have time to teach me after all and I had no schooling.”

“Well, she did an amazing job with whatever time she did have.” You said he smiled but it was a sad smile.

“She didn’t get enough.” He said “We didn’t get enough.” Your heart sank.

“Is she…?” You didn’t want to say it. Anakin didn’t either. He nodded.

“Yes.” He said quietly.

“I’m sorry, Anakin. That’s terrible.” You said not able to fight the compulsion to reach out and touch his arm. His right arm. It felt unbelievably solid underneath the glove. Then suddenly you remembered another rumor you had heard about the Hero With No Fear.

“It’s Cybernetic.” He said turning his head to address you. He turned his arm under your hand and flexed his own fingers into a fist and stretched them again. “Durasteel.” He said “I made it myself.” He flexed it again. “The upgrades at least. I like to tinker.” He said. You had never met a Jedi that was so open.

“Can you…” You hesitated again. You weren’t sure how far you could go before Anakin shut the Jedi doors and locked them for good. He had turned to look back into the flashing hypnosis of hyperspace.

“Feel?” He asked without looking back at you.

“Yeah.” You said “Is it like a regular arm?”

“Yes. I can feel your hand right now.” You removed it quickly. He smirked, even chuffing a small laugh.

“It’s alright,” He said “I don’t mind.”

“Can you show me?” You asked before quickly sputtering out a quick “Wait, I’m sorry, no. That was rude.” You said. He really laughed this time. A small one but still, a laugh. You liked when he laughed, it transformed his whole face, made his eyes squint like a cat’s.

“No, it’s fine.” He said reaching for the fingers of the glove covering the cybernetic limb. You reached out stopping the hand, it was noticibly more tender than the other, obviously due to the flesh and muscle.

“If you don’t want to…”

“Its not something I’m ashamed of.” He said “I’m quite proud of it, actually. It’s some of my best work.” With a quick pull, the glove was gone and he pulled up the sleeve of his robe, the dark durasteel of his prosthetic limb glinted in the light coming through the window.

“Wow.” You said in amazement. He held it out towards you. You glanced at him before filling extended your hands towards it to touch the cool steel. As you examined the details on the prosthetic, like the gold fingertips and metal work that replicated the muscle of his opposite flesh arm.

“The fingertips are electro-static, they simulate a sort of sense of touch, the data is collected here,” he pointed to a spot on his wrist “And then transferred through here on these sensory impulse lines…” You sat still and listened to every word, occasionally looking up to examine his face, he sometimes did the same catching your eyes, holding them briefly.

“So it sort of gives you super strength?” You asked fascinated.

“Sort of, it’s stronger than the average human limb. It’s probably closer to the strength of a Wookie.” He said

“Wow, that’s so cool.” You still held the arm in your hands carefully maneuvering it making sure you didn’t put Anakin in an awkward position. You watched as he moved it to allow you different views, there were metal junctions that replicated tendons and other parts that would be in a normal arm.

“That’s remarkable.” You said.

“You understand all that tech stuff?” He asked

“Some of it. My brother was like you.” You said “He taught me a lot of stuff. And as for the parts of the arm.. well, my parents are in the medical field so that’s all they talk about.” You said

“What’s your brother like?” Anakin asked

“He is.. was… My favourite person in the word.” You said dropping your gaze from his. “He was my best friend, he always knew how to make me laugh or keep me smiling…”

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly. “That must be hard.”

“Well, it’s definitely part of the reason why I took the position on Coruscant. I could get away from it all.” You said.

“How long ago.. did it happen?” He asked

“About five years ago.” You said he nodded his own eyes lowering slightly.

“I lost my mom three years ago.” He said

“Were you there? On Tatooine when it happened?” You asked he shook his head.

“No. Were you on Corellia?” He asked you shook your own head.

“I was off world at the time.” You reflected. You were both silent for a few moments as you reflected on your losses before R2 was back beeping at Anakin.

“Oh, Really?” He asked the droid “Go ahead and put him through.” Anakin said he gently pulled his arm away from your hands and quickly slipped the leather glove over the beautiful limb.

Seconds later you were looking upon the handsome face of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“Hello, Anakin.” Obi-Wan said with a level of fondness that brought a small smile to your lips.

“Master.” Anakin said in greeting as he leaned forwards, his fingers drifting over controls.

“How are things going?”

“Fine, Master. Senator Y/L/N is here with me.” He said

“Oh, hello Senator.” Obi-Wan said.

“Hello, Master Kenobi.” You said politely. You noticed suddenly that you had been stroking R2-D2’s head like you would a pet. Anakin was watching with a small smile, he gave R2 a pat himself.

“We’re almost at Corellia, we should be there in around four hours.” Anakin said

You had already burned two hours? That was not possible. Then you realized that Anakin might have been exaggerating a tiny bit to please his former teacher.

“Three, actually, Master Kenobi. We’re making good time with Master Skywalker’s piloting.” You said seeing Anakin’s head whip to you. You winked at him.

“I’ll let you gentlemen talk, excuse me.” You said getting to your feet.

“Good day, Senator.” Obi-Wan said.

“Good day.” You said turning on your heels and strutting out of the cockpit smiling to yourself.

You didn’t see Anakin watching after you. Nor did you see the small smile he was harboring or how he bit onto his lower lip and hid his mouth behind his index finger before he turned to face Obi-Wan.

When you got to your bunk you sat on the bed. Your mood was crushed when you remembered that Anakin was in fact a Jedi.

What were you doing getting all cozy and sharing with him like that? It wouldn’t go anywhere. He was a Jedi! A handsome Jedi at that, a smart Jedi! Way out of your league you thought bitterly.

“I will not fall in love with you, Anakin Skywalker.” You said sharply. “I forbid it.”

TAG LIST

@the-home-for-whores | @queenylime | @vixrobs98

[system-architect]

50 Q for Vax... please, I need it

OH BOY vax... i’ve been rping him a lot lately but he still remains a bit of an enigma!! lets see..

Personal

1)      Age? 23! he acts older than his age i think

2)      Gender? like all my other ocs bc i’m very self indulgent, he is a trans guy!

3)      Romantic/Sexual Orientation? vax can think boys are cute, but he’s never been a very romantically active person. he doesn’t lack a capacity for affection, he’s just always... busy with other stuff? it’s not something he thinks about often. if he’s buzzy around someone it’s probably bc he adores their cybernetics/etc work

4)      Height? probably smth like 3′9″

5)      Race? asura (+ cyborg??)

6)      What do they look like? (i.e, hair color, eye color, etc). i’m gonna link The Vax Draw, i’m undecided about whether his hair is naturally full black or if the white stripes are weird pigment loss... PS he has a ton of moles all over, not just on his face :D

7)      Any disabilities? hokay this is a Vax Secret but he has some sort of muscular and/or skeletal disorder i need to research into/get specifics on but the general idea is that he can get very weak and achey and have trouble moving sometimes! he deals with this via another Vax Secret i might talk about sometime

8)      Is there a meaning to their name? in asuran ?? idk i dont think their names have meanings, but irl its a shortened asurafied version of ‘vaccine’ bc i thought it sounded cool

9)      What makes them, them? Odd Question but he’s very shaped by his childhood experiences studying his father’s work and looking up to his dad and he’s very defined by his innate drive to bulldoze towards goals he has and wants to research... he’s a very stubborn and determined person who’s very much an agent For Himself

10)   What do they want to be when they grow up/what do they want to do with their lives? he is Growed Up but he really wants to keep chasing revolutions in prosthetics/augments/cybernetics.. he wants to help people in ways they couldn’t otherwise be helped (atypical inquest huh)

Family

11)   Do they have parents? What are they like and how do they act with their child(ren)? yes one parent, a single dad! ppl who’ve been watchin my hell rp server stuff will know his name is akka and he’s one of the top prosthetics smiths in the industry and was very private about his work but had a very cutting edge philosophy towards artificial parts and lead some really revolutionary work... dr. akka is a very kind and patient man with a good soul who is a tad weary from the world but he loved his son very much! he and vax had a great bond and vax was always eager to learn about his dad’s life work and his dad was always eager to teach him.. akka is an overall pretty amazing man, it’s a shame he joined the inquest for some reason and now we don’t know his current whereabouts......

12)   Do they have siblings? How do they interact with them? If not, do they wish they had siblings? he technically has a sibling! maybe more? but he’s never met them... vax is perfectly pleased with being an only child, we’ll have to see how he reacts if he ever meets this one. it’s actually a character y’all are already familiar with.......

13)   Extended family? Do they see them often? nope and nope

14)   Do they like where they live? (Is it a safe place?) vax essentially lives out of his workshop within the sigma-5 prime division laboratory space which is Not a safe place no....... but he loves it... he technically has an apartment somewhere in soren draa that is as much of a junk pile as his workshop whoops (vax is very much a ‘i know where everything is in this chaos. don’t move it’ person...)

15)   Where do they live? Are they wealthy? Poor? Middle-Class? i semi-answered this above but he has enough funding via the inquest to do his research projects as well as have a place for himself! i wouldn’t call him upper class probably just kinda middle ish, he keeps himself afloat alright

16)   Do they have a lot of expectations/pressure on them from family to do great? despite vax’s attachment to akka’s work and vice versa, akka is a very chill guy who never expected vax to live up to it or anything like that.. he just thought it was great vax had the interest in it

17)   Do they have pets? alas, no.... if he did i could see him owning smth more atypical like a ferret and fuck i kinda like that idea now i’ll have to meditate on it

18)   Who do they look up to the most/are the closest to in their family? take one guess

19)   This there anything special about their family? his dad being a renowned prosthetics doctors is pretty special yeah

20)   Do they wish they lived in a different family/household? absolutely not

Friends

21)   Best Friend(s)? alas vax is... very very much a lone wolf! this section is gonna be hard to answer and i’m probably gonna have to cross out some stuff because vax purposefully doesn’t really get close to anyone and he’s exceedingly unperturbed about this.. i meant it when i said he’s very self-driven! he’s not ultra egotistic and he doesn’t hate other people, nor is he unempathetic (i’d say he has a good degree of empathy actually), he’s just kind of... uninterested? he won’t hate you or be nasty to you for no reason, he’s just not interested in befriending/being around you as an aspect of his life

22)   Who was their first friend? probably some of the other progeny tried to befriend him in precollege he he was Smart which is Cool but they quickly learned that vax’s idea of friendship is he will give you a quick synopsis of what he’s currently on and then go silent as he continues to work on it

23)   What is their friend group like? there are a lot of inquest underlings who try to suck up to him because he’s their boss and also a shining star virtuoso with his work................. vax remains oblivious and unpeturbed

24)   Do they have a love/hate relationship with any of them? yes. specifically plex. who is his best tech ops drone but plex is a... sort of pushy person wrt trying to Befriend vax and he has a very obvious crush on vax and vax is mostly oblivious to it but sometimes feels weird about plex’s sudden ‘random’ bursts of being super buddy-buddy with him. in plex’s defense a bit, plex doesn’t know how to interact with people either

25)   Do they consider any of their friends to be like siblings?

26)   Have they ever hurt a friend or lost one? he’s probably unintentionally driven off people by coming across as super cold... i think he feels bad if he accidentally upsets people with his demeanor but he’s not quite sure what to do about it bc he doesn’t really want to upset people but he also doesn’t want to force himself to be MegaFriendly anyway esp considering his trials with social interaction are kind of a hardwired brain thing (he’s got like... vague assorted ADHD-autistic spectrum traits)

27)   Do they have a crush on any of their friends?

28)   Do they share classes with good friends?

29)   Whom do they go to the most when they need a shoulder to cry on? vax internalizes all his problems and works through them privately khgjdf he’s a weird mixture of stable and mature but sometimes unhealthy

30)   What would this person do without their friends in their lives? [img of vax doing vague shrugging motions here] as aloof as he is he probably at the very least appreciates that other people have interest in his work! so would be a bit sad if he didn’t have that

School

31)   What grade are they in? If they aren’t in school, how come? he has graduated college! he was top of the class his year at dynamics

32)   Do/Did they like their teachers? Was there a good one? Bad one? i’m sure he’s had a Variety of teachers but most of his teachers probably liked him a good bit since he’s smart and yknow, Asura Be Like That... i’m sure he’s conversely had a few who butted heads with him over his philosophy on cybernetics because he has a much more open ended approach that’s a bit focused on the idea that prosthetics are body parts and people with prosthetics are Whole People not People With Additional Bits Slapped On/In and he’s very ginger with prosthetics/augments he handles and treats them like they’re the same as fleshy body parts and deserve the same delicate care despite being metal, and overall he has more of a focus on the actual people he’s working with i think, and i can see some more hardass/uptight teachers in particular not liking this because it’s kinda unasuran to more traditionalist types to have such a.. humane view on work rather than being enthused solely with your numbers and research results

33)   Do/Did they listen to their teachers or are/where they goofing off a lot? vax is very headstrong and if you have useful advice then its useful advice but if you dont then fuck off and let him do his work how he’s determined to do it... he doesn’t goof off but he has no respect for authority if authority gives bad commentary

34)   Are/Where they a good student grade wise? top marks except for in classes where he was abrasive with the teachers who’s work ethics clashed with his but what can you do

35)   Do/Did they need extra help? nope... he probably ended up tutoring a few people actually (which probably was due to a nudge from a teacher and not.. vax’s sole volition of wanting to tutor people)

36)   What is/was their school like?

37)   Do/Did they have bullies in school? i’m sure he Didn’t Get Along With some others bc he’s Weird

38)   Have they ever gotten into a fight at school? yes he’s absolutely metaphorically gone for someone’s throat because they had the audacity to challenge him on something that they were both wrong about and not as passionate about as him

39)   Have they ever done something stupid/embarrassing at school? i’m sure he has but i can’t rlly think of anything (boring answer srry)

40)   How far do they plan to go with school? If they dropped out, do they want to go back?

Other

41)   Are they dating anyone? Do they want to date? Are the married? Divorced? i already kinda answered this but he’s not partic romantically involved... however i think if he found someone he was In Sync With and who understood his mannerisms then he’d be very content with them... i think he would need a stable easygoing relationship based on shared interests and just casually fitting together and supporting each other rather than anything passionately heated or overly focused on traditional displays of affection

42)   What is their favorite hobby? Do they keep it a secret? he’s a big nerd who collects various prosthetics/augment models and he absolutely doesn’t keep it a secret...................... 75% of the RP i’m in with him rn has been him geeking out over augs. the other 25% was me describing the facility.

43)   If they could have one thing in life, what would it be? i think he’s more overall focused on the idea of a continuous stream of improvement over a few static goals? he’s constantly laying out new traintracks in front of himself to steam ahead on... he’d like to be happy and successful at what he does, ultimately, and really attain super advanced inventions

44)   Do they work? If so, what is it? If not, are they looking for one or even want one? despite everything i’ve said here about him being a good empathetic guy, he is Inquest........ the inquest funds his research he does at their labs and they pay him for being the sigma-five supervisor

45)   Do they use social media? i can’t see him using social media much tbh... he might be into podcasts and asuran youtube a bit

46)   Have they ever been in the hospital? due to his strength issues and some stuff that happened as a very small child he has been quite a bit yes

47)   Do they believe in the supernatural, that there is more than the eye can see? this is a weird question in the context of gw2 which has canon ghosts whoops.. im gonna interpret it as ‘are they superstitious’... vax isnt superstitious and i think he’d be very brave facing questionably supernatural forces but in a sort of logical way uh... he would Not be the first to die in a horror movie.... he’s a skeptic of non-scientific magic things with i think some lingering internal paranoia.. he’s a very logical person

48)   What do they do when they get angry, stressed, or upset? broods in private probably....... depending on what he’s heated about he might go sit by himself for awhile or he’s gonna take his anger out while working on a project

49)   Would they consider themselves as a good person, bad person, or morally grey? i think he tries to be a good person but he’s skeptical of that Status a lot and worries over it a good bit... again, typical inquest!

50)   Does this OC have any part of you in them? (I.e, personality traits, similar background, etc) all of my ocs have parts of me in them to some degree, i think vax carries some things related to my disabilities, interpersonal and moralistic struggles, and the nerdy passion over my special interests