#lessons from building artificial brains

[balkanradfem]

To make a pond + Earthworks!

I've been enamored by the idea that I could build my own pond in the future, but when I started looking into it (typing 'how to build a pond into youtube'), all people did was put a big plastic tarp into a landscape and add water inside. That wasn't what I wanted. I wasn't about to bring a plastic tarp in my environment, and it was obvious that once the tarp gets damaged and punctured, the water would drain into the soil and the pond would be no more. That's no fun.

Unable to immediately find a better way, I turned to my own brain to figure this out. There were natural ponds in the world, and somehow they didn't need a tarp to hold all that water in. Artificial lakes existed, and for sure there weren't any tarps holding the water in. Rivers don't drain easily, and they usually have a lot of sand on the bottom – but sand is a very drainable material, so that's probably not it.

I stumbled upon an interesting piece of information when I was learning about rocks. By some definitions, ice is also a type of rock, so there was a lesson on icebergs. I found out there that sometimes icebergs split apart and travel in the water, and when a huge chonk ends up in a non-icy landscape, it eventually melts and it turns into a lake. There were pictures of lakes that looked like they had no business being in that landscape, but were there because an iceberg had melted there. The water didn't drain or ran off, why? I assumed it was because the iceberg was so heavy it compacted the soil underneath, and the compacted clay was enough to hold the water in.

So I started playing with the idea that if I locate a soil with high percentage of clay, and then dig a pond, and then line the bottom with the highest-density clay I can find, and then I redirect all water from the landscape to go towards that pond, maybe I could make a little pond in there. Possibly it would dry out during the summer but for the rest of year, having a natural pond would be very nice. I wasn't sure if this logic would hold but then I also couldn't see why not. Clay doesn't drain easily and there's lots of it deep underground. I would grab a shovel and try.

I got an additional piece of information reading a book about collecting and filtering rainwater to make it drinkable; the book recommended before you do anything about this, you need to learn about 'Earthworks', a system of modifying the earth's surface to keep as much water in as possible, and to redirect it to where you want it. I immediately liked this, because I had already planned to do that, but I was interested in tried and true methods. So I looked it up, and one of the first videos I've found, was of people deciding to make a natural pond in the forest. They found the most dense clay-rich ground, dug to see if it was super dense and non-draining deep in. Then they created a dam to stop water from flowing past the pond, and redirected all rainwater that would fall into the forest, towards the pond. And it worked. It filled out within a month or two. It wasn't draining away.

I felt so vindicated, the logic I had put together in my head was real and I could see how other people did it in real life! And I learned about berms and swales; they're methods of making your ground uneven, so it could take in and hold more rainwater. Berms are little hills you make that have good drainage, and swales are shallow canals you make inbetween the hills; they hold the rainwater, stop it from flowing away from your property, and redirect it to where you want it to, for instance to irrigate a garden, fill a pond, or to water a big tree you want to grow.

The methods of keeping rainwater from evaporating are currently relevant, because the climate is getting unstable, and rain is no longer as consistent as it has been in the past. I've noticed that we now get tons of rain in the spring, winter and fall, but next to none in the summer, creating a drought. The forests and the animals feel it too; they struggle to survive the summer, and a lot of plants and animals die from lack of hydration, which they didn't need to deal with beforehand. There's also less ground covered by old resilient trees and foliage that keeps the water in the landscape; clean cutting forests means dry ground, water evaporating, streams and canals drying up, trees drying up because of no water supply.

The people who were building a pond in the forest were not doing it for fun and giggles; they noticed the natural streams of the forests have dried up as a result of cut areas and lack of consistent rain. The forest was in danger of drying up. So by building a system of swales (or trenches) to redirect rainwater, and ponds to store it, they've managed to revitalize parts of the forest. The forest around the pond was visibly greener within months, wildlife was multiplying around the pond where it could get water, new flowers and native plants were flourishing next to the pond.

Slightly modifying the landscape to keep water in is something people do to prevent the spread of deserts; digging half-moon shaped holes in the ground to hold water has enabled trees to grow even in the driest, sun-heated areas. I've been fascinated by the methods of growing trees in the desert! And right now we need to make sure other livable  green areas don't start turning into deserts, because the climate is threatening it, and the animals are unlikely to survive it all on their own.

And if you build a little pond, you're gonna have more birds in your backyard. There's gonna be little frogs and turtles and tiny critters coming to drink from your pond. Maybe a little lizard or a snake. You're gonna be able to plant flowers around it, your trees will be happy, and if you want a great big willow, she's going to enjoy that water too, and purify it with her roots. I'm still putting it together in my brain if I could make a little swampy area and plant rice in it, that would be the ultimate success.

[mrfartpowered]

you don’t hate Howard, you hate fatphobic tropes

Here at Mr Fart Powered Dot Com, I’m a long-time hater of the “fat best friend” trope and a long-time lover of jerkass characters, so I think I’m uniquely qualified to comment on this LOL

The biggest critiques I see of Howard are as follows: he’s gross, he’s stupid, he’s selfish, he’s lazy. Below the cut, I deconstruct each of these four criticisms not as faults of Howard, but faults of the writing, largely as a result of fatphobia.

These are all traits associated with the fat idiot trope, popularized by Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin. Think about any other character who possess all of the above characteristics. Far more often than not, they’re a fat character. Plenty of non-fat characters possess any of those traits individually — selfishness, stupidity, laziness, and grossness are not exclusive to fat characters. Nor do they inherently make a character 'bad,' irredeemable, or otherwise unlikeable! But all too often, especially in dated media, we see this flimsy, weak writing apply to the fat villain...or the fat comic relief...or the fat best friend.

Howard falls victim to these ugly, annoying 'fat guy' tropes whenever the writing is in need of a cheap laugh, or when they need to make Randy look extra good. Howard does have unique, interesting traits, but they are painfully underutilized in exchange for role fulfillment as the comic relief.

Stupidity

Contrary to what the show wants us to believe, Howard is not a complete idiot. His intelligence may not be of the academic variety (and even this is debatable), but I would argue he is more clever than Randy. Of the two of them, Howard's got more common sense. Randy misinterprets almost every lesson the Nomicon gives him, while H quickly understands each riddle he gets the chance to know about. (See “a ninja’s choice must be chosen by his own choosing,” “don’t go in someone else’s house,” “when facing an unfamiliar foe, seek an unlikely ally.”)

You could argue against this point in Shloomp! There It Is, where he literally gets to see the lesson as it is presented in the nomicon and doesn’t get it. But I’d argue that this was  purposeful mischaracterization in order to further the plot, a point which will unfortunately recur in this essay. The writers care more about Howard as a tool than as a character, but instead of using the capabilities they build within him, they default to stereotypes.

Where conventional academics are concerned, we have one concrete example of his abilities: Howard is incredible at chess. It’s the iconic nerd game; it requires strategy, careful thinking, and the ability to predict your opponent’s moves. Who cares that he doesn't know the pieces' names? Who cares that he doesn’t abide by typical strategies? He can kick artificially-intelligent ass at the game, not to mention follow someone else's plays the way most people follow a football game.

And he's got street smarts that save Randy's ass on multiple occasions. He's more sociable, a better liar, and a quick thinker in stressful situations. Much of this particular point is pulled from @cunningweiner ‘s brain, who pointed out that Howard is really well-received by crowds (Heidi’s MeCast, the talent show, the Tummynator). Another interesting instance of this is Howard’s time as the Ninja — both the fake monster drill ninja, and the actual Ninja. He may not have accomplished his duties as a hero, but the onlookers Absolutely Ate Up his crowd work. He’s not the most physically willing guy around, but he knows how to appeal to an audience. His major flaw in remaining a well-liked public figure is that his ego gets real damn big, real damn fast. But he’s 15! If you blame a teenager for having empathy and esteem issues, I don’t know what to tell you.

Despite his emotional immaturity, Howard is wise beyond his years as a businessman. Before we move forward, I need to tell you: look at this section purely from a business standpoint. You have to forget morals, you have to forget standards, this is Disney XD meta and we are analyzing a man named Weiner, okay?

Okay. Howard embarks on a total of three business endeavors throughout this show, and each one is highly successful. Ninja Agent, weapon reseller, and McFist-o-plex manager. He embodied “work smarter, not harder” every time. Being an agent takes social skill and smooth talking, and clearly he appealed to a wide range of clients (not to mention earned their trust! What would you say if someone called you up and said “yeah, I manage Superman. Want him to appear in a commercial for you?”). Being a manager requires delegation skills and good memory. Reselling Ninja weapons is honestly just genius and I can’t believe he’s the first guy to do it.

Everyone around Howard, and Big H himself, views him as a dumbass. But time and time again, the episodes show us his mental capabilities! Imagine how much fun the writers could’ve had if they’d leaned on a lazy genius trope instead of a fat idiot.

Grossness

I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t think of a single thin character who relies on gross-out humor. Take, for example, Total Drama, a franchise with a bodily diverse cast and a heavy emphasis on gross-out humor. I mean, there’s an entire episode in the original season where every single character pukes onscreen. TD overall utilizes irreverent humor, but while grossness is a major player, it is not the only source of comedy.

And then you’ve got Owen, the only fat character in the original cast. His whole shtick is being fat, greedy, and nasty. Other characters will fart and burp and overeat — all things that Owen does frequently — but they also have other gags. Maybe they’re bitchy, or they’re geeky, or they’re a literal convict. Owen does not enjoy the luxury of character depth. He is only good for grossing out the audience. (Side tangent: Owen has notably made me laugh out loud a handful of times over the course of the four seasons he featured in. But guess what! Every single one of those laughs was begotten from a rare moment when, instead of farting or burping or eating something he shouldn’t, the writers stepped outside the ‘Owen zone’ and gave him a joke unrelated to his fatness. Fatphobic humor is truly a plague.)

I know I’m being a bit heavy-handed, but I want to emphasize how similar that is to RC9GN! Randy does schnasty shit too sometimes, but he gets to be funny in other ways. Grossness is Howard’s primary mode of comedy. During my first watch-through of the show, I remember being outraged at Howard’s tendency to eat Randy’s food, which, of course, was followed by digestion noises or farts. I was too angry to write down which episodes, but I counted four separate instances where they used that exact convention specifically to get Randy angry at Howard, thus catalyzing the episode’s storyline. (At some point I will have to go back and fact-check that, but we’re 900 words deep at this point and this has been in my drafts for over a month, so we move forward for now okay!!)

 We do get to see flashes of other humor from Howard, especially into Season 2! His cleverness and apathy make for hilarious setups. But even these instances are undercut by something foul. An example that comes to mind is Fear Factor, a perfectly fine episode — one that I love quite a lot — except for the very last gag. Really? Howard gets to be normal-funny the entire episode, until the last minute? The idea that his biggest fear is running out of food literally only works because he is fat. Had this joke been given to any other character, it probably wouldn’t have even made it to storyboards. Even worse, if Howard had not been fat, this joke would never have been conceptualized in the first place. It is almost as if the writers are trying to hit a quota of gross-out jokes for Howard. At a certain point, my anger morphed to pure disappointment. That’s how disheartening it is to see.

Selfishness

Okay, Howard Weinerman is selfish. I'll give you that. But just because he's self-centered does not make him a bad person. May I bring to mind Gumball Watterson, Marcy Wu, Louise Belcher? All are textbook examples of selfish characters, and frequently act in their own best interest, but are ultimately good people. I mention them as proof that characters can have negative defining traits without sacrificing the audience’s sympathy. 

Here's where I really get frustrated with RC9GN’s writing... They want to portray Howard as a jerk with a heart of gold — such as in Debbie Meddle — but they always undercut his few selfless moments with a gross-out gag, or a rude offhand comment, usually directed at Randy. Sometimes, Randy will reciprocate, in which case I give it a pass. There, the grossness or general assholery showcases their friendship, instead of putting Howard down for a stale laugh. 

But like I said, that’s the ‘sometimes.’ The ‘often’ is every time we see him almost embody the ‘heart of gold’ part of his attempted archetype, only to be thrown out the window for a lame gag. A specific example is in “Bro Money Bro Problems,” where Howard has cash to spare for once. He immediately opts to spend it on Randy!….until Randy shloomps into the nomicon, then comes out to find that Howard spent everything he had on the Food Hole’s dinner menu. Sure, this was used to set the rest of the episode in motion. They run out of money, but they need more, so they go out and sell ninja weapons. But here’s the thing: for the rest of the episode, Howard spends his money on both him and Randy, rather than just himself, effectively making that dinner menu joke inconsistent with his characterization.

“Well how else would they set the episode in motion?” They could spend it all on arcade games. Or they spend it all at the boardwalk both times. OR, they are just excitable teenagers who realize, hey, this shit is lucrative! Let’s go get rich! Boom. Fixed your episode, fixed your Howard, fixed your fatphobia.

Laziness

Over and over again, the show tries to tell us that Howard is a lazy piece of shit. Other characters regard him as such, and honestly, so does Howard himself. But I would argue that he is no lazier than your average teenager — not to mention, no lazier than Randy! The difference is that for Howard, the writers intertwine his laziness with his alleged stupidity. They try to convince the audience that Howard is too stupid to care what’s going on.

However, this trait is unique from the other three, because I think this one manages to give him depth. Or at least, in my heart of hearts, it has the potential to do so. This characteristic lends to Howard’s most clever jokes, I think, because ultimately:

Howard is capable, but apathetic.

From the earliest episodes, it is established that he aims for minimum effort, maximum benefit. There’s the bit where Randy asks Howard to come up with the plan for once, and they both laugh at the idea of Howard doing the heavy lifting. Or even all the way into “Mort-al Kombat,” he says people are ‘really handing him the answers today’ when Randy puts in the work to get Howard ungrounded.

But just because Howard prefers not to do any work, doesn’t mean he won’t! And when he does put in effort, the results show that he is damn good at what he does. His time as Le Beret more than proves this point: from his ability to work under the radar, to the plans he forms, to the knowledge he has about Mort’s job & McFist Industries that allows him to get all the cool equipment he uses. We also see his skills and capability in “Debbie Meddle” (the ninja dummy), “Viva El Nomicon” (learning Spanish quickly), “Secret Stache” (commitment to the bit), “The Ninja Identity/Supremacy,” and more.

He very much operates under the mindset of ‘work smarter, not harder.’ He’ll get the job done if he has to. He’ll excel at the job if it benefits him. This is a really interesting character mechanic that would have been so much fun to explore. Like I said so many times above, though, the writers most often choose to undercut his abilities in favor of comedic expense.

Conclusion

Howard, in comparison to Randy, is obviously a lot harder to root for. Overall, Randy is a more conventional character with conventional flaws. Like most duos in media, the sidekick juxtaposes the hero — I would even argue that Howard, in some ways, is Randy in reverse. Randy is highly moral, but still has a lot of learning to do skill-wise; Howard is already extremely capable, but also very amoral. Because of this, the narrative places Randy at a higher value than Howard — which, yknow, fair enough! He is the protag, and that’s a great setup for a protagonist. But simply by virtue of being fat, Howard is not treated with the same level of respect as other sidekick/best friend characters.

For all his quirks and flaws, Howard is not a supremely unique character. His basic core aligns with so many other characters. But because the writers lean on his fatness, instead of leaning into his potential and his complexities, it is much harder to root for him — and it strips him of originality. I love this show with all my heart, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t mind the way it treated Howard. He had so much potential, even as the show was airing, and I will forever be upset that the crew squandered it on fatphobic tropes.

[mariacallous]

The day is slowly turning into night, and the American special operators are growing concerned. They are deployed to a densely populated urban center in a politically volatile region, and local activity has grown increasingly frenetic in recent days, the roads and markets overflowing with more than the normal bustle of city life. Intelligence suggests the threat level in the city is high, but the specifics are vague, and the team needs to maintain a low profile—a firefight could bring known hostile elements down upon them. To assess potential threats, the Americans decide to take a more cautious approach. Eschewing conspicuous tactical gear in favor of blending in with potential crowds, an operator steps out into the neighborhood's main thoroughfare to see what he can see.

With a click of a button, the operator sees … everything. A complex suite of sensors affixed to his head-up display start vacuuming up information from the world around him. Body language, heart rates, facial expressions, and even ambient snatches of conversation in local dialects are rapidly collected and routed through his backpack supercomputers for processing with the help of an onboard artificial intelligence engine. The information is instantly analyzed, streamlined, and regurgitated back into the head-up display. The assessment from the operators’ tactical AI sidekick comes back clear: There are a series of seasonal events coming into town, and most passersby are excited and exuberant, presenting a minimal threat to the team. Crisis averted—for now.

This is one of many potential scenarios repeatedly presented by Defense Department officials in recent years when discussing the future of US special operations forces, those elite troops tasked with facing the world’s most complex threats head-on as the “tip of the spear” of the US military. Both defense officials and science-fiction scribes may have envisioned a future of warfare shaped by brain implants and performing enhancing drugs, or a suit of powered armor straight out of Starship Troopers, but according to US Special Operations Command, the next generation of armed conflict will be fought (and, hopefully, won) with a relatively simple concept: the “hyper enabled operator.”

More Brains, Less Brawn

First introduced to the public in 2019 in an essay by officials from SOCOM’s Joint Acquisition Task Force (JATF) for Small Wars Journal, the hyper-enabled operator (HEO) concept is the successor program to the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS) effort that, initiated in 2013, sought to outfit US special operations forces with a so-called “Iron Man” suit. Inspired by the 2012 death of a Navy SEAL during a hostage rescue operation in Afghanistan, TALOS was intended to improve operators’ survivability in combat by making them virtually resistant to small-arms fire through additional layers of sophisticated armor, the latest installment of the Pentagon’s decades-long effort to build a powered exoskeleton for infantry troops. While the TALOS effort was declared dead in 2019 due to challenges integrating its disparate systems into one cohesive unit, the lessons learned from the program gave rise to the HEO as a natural successor.

The core objective of the HEO concept is straightforward: to give warfighters “cognitive overmatch” on the battlefield, or “the ability to dominate the situation by making informed decisions faster than the opponent,” as SOCOM officials put it. Rather than bestowing US special operations forces with physical advantages through next-generation body armor and exotic weaponry, the future operator will head into battle with technologies designed to boost their situational awareness and relevant decisionmaking to superior levels compared to the adversary. Former fighter pilot and Air Force colonel John Boyd proposed the “OODA loop” (observe, orient, decide, act) as the core military decisionmaking model of the 21st century; the HEO concept seeks to use technology to “tighten” that loop so far that operators are quite literally making smarter and faster decisions than the enemy.

“The goal of HEO,” as SOCOM officials put it in 2019, “is to get the right information to the right person at the right time.”

To achieve this goal, the HEO concept calls for swapping the powered armor at the heart of the TALOS effort for sophisticated communications equipment and a robust sensor suite built on advanced computing architecture, allowing the operator to vacuum up relevant data and distill it into actionable information through a simple interface like a head-up display—and do so “at the edge,” in places where traditional communications networks may not be available. If TALOS was envisioned as an “Iron Man'' suit, as I previously observed, then HEO is essentially Jarvis, Tony Stark’s built-in AI assistant that’s constantly feeding him information through his helmet’s head-up display.

“[JATF] is targeting technologies to deliver cognitive overmatch to SOF operators working at the edge in austere and contested environments in coordination with and working through partners and allies,” SOCOM spokesperson James O. Gregory tells WIRED, invoking a general description of the program from the command’s website. “Such technologies will enable tactical teams of SOF operators to intuitively use information made available by next-generation sensors, networks, computing, and communication systems to rapidly build situation awareness. It will also help make timely, well-informed decisions, and take actions inside an adversary's ability to react.”

Enter the Gray Zone

So what does the HEO actually look like today, five years after its introduction into the US military’s tactical lexicon? Given the sensitive (and somewhat notional) nature of the effort, details remain scarce, and SOCOM officials have remained relatively tight-lipped about its progress. But according to SOCOM’s Gregory, the scenario and concept the HEO seeks to address has “evolved” from what officials previously described to reporters at the program’s inception. Indeed, rather than augmenting warfighters deployed to active combat zones, SOCOM officials envision something more like a casually dressed operator vacuuming up information on a busy urban avenue through a Google Glass-like eyepiece and sizing up the situation—in other words, more James Bond than Tony Stark. “The operational environment for the JATF’s current efforts is in the competition phase of warfare, in permissive or semi-permissive locations,” Gregory says. (A permissive environment is generally defined as an operational environment where US forces have the backing of a host country’s security apparatus, according to the US Army, while a “semi-permissive” environment is potentially hostile and local support is often not reliable.) No longer just another tool for a kinetic assault, the HEO will help elite troops operating in the “gray zone” between peace and conflict.

A SOCOM broad agency announcement—a general request for research and development proposals from the defense industry—published in 2020 and updated as recently as November 2023 details the JATF’s push for advanced technologies designed to boost situational awareness. Those technologies include: intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities “without substantial manning or networking resources” (the aforementioned “at the edge”); sophisticated sensors capable of “iris, facial, anatomical measures, gestures, gait, heartbeat, electromagnetic signals, deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA], and microbiome recognition”; low-visibility communications systems; and “data visualizations” that “permit [operators] to receive and intuitively understand networked information from communication, computing, and sensor systems,” among others. In short, the HEO envisions systems that enable the constant, real-time collection and distillation of data into actionable intel that could potentially mean the difference between life and death in an uncertain situation.

Edge Case

Envisioning a suite of aspirational capabilities is one thing; actually building them is another thing entirely. In terms of developing new products, Gregory says that the HEO effort has remained focused on three major experimental technology areas for the last several years: sensing and edge computing, architecture and analysis, and language translation.

“Sensing and edge computing” generally refers to the collection and processing of data from a variety of sources, but it also refers to the specialized computing power that operators need not only to function “at the edge,” but to actually run the AI-enabled software that will form the foundation of the HEO.

“Emerging technologies and solutions in artificial intelligence/machine learning require specialized ‘compute’ hardware, as traditional CPU-based devices are insufficient,” Gregory says. “We aim to feature a manpack device with a graphics processing unit, neural processing engine, and/or tensor processing unit capabilities. This will provide the necessary platform to leverage advanced technologies like language translation and other solutions at the edge, even when disconnected from the cloud.”

That computing power forms the basis for the “architecture and analysis” element focused on the rapid assessment and presentation of data to operators in the field. Gregory tells WIRED that, to support this element, the command has developed “a flexible [system] architecture that fuses data from various sources and media types” into an easily digestible format for operators to assess and act upon.

As for language translation, that’s self-explanatory. SOCOM believes that “prior to any hostilities ever occurring, clear communication can greatly enhance development of our long-term relationships,” Gregory says. “Voice-to-voice translation enables operators to communicate more effectively than relying on often scarce interpreters in the field. Even though many SOF personnel are multilingual, they are frequently deployed to regions with different languages or dialects.”

In line with these experimental technology areas, SOCOM has reportedly concentrated on six immediate lines of product development, per C4ISRNet: the “operator-worn kit” that includes both sensors and onboard computer processing power; application development resources; a unique, mission-agnostic system architecture; the “human-machine interface” that’s generally envisioned as a digital head-up display; a product called “information realization” that likely involves the clear presentation of data; and beyond-line-of-sight (BLoS) communications designed to keep troops in contact with their commanders (and each other) in satellite-denied environments.

According to Gregory, the command has gradually rolled out a handful of fresh capabilities from the HEO effort in recent years. In 2021, SOCOM announced that two products—a BLoS communications system and an unspecified “integrated situational awareness tool”—were transitioning into official programs of record, as Janes reported at the time. Gregory confirmed to WIRED that the BLoS system consists of “a steerable gimble antenna system that enhances the functionality” of the command’s SOF deployable nodes, a family of advanced satellite communications systems. The spokesperson also confirmed that the situational awareness tool, known as SEEKER, is an app that “enables advisers to build advanced situational awareness, thereby allowing them to select actions with an eye toward the broader situation rather than just the immediately apparent problem.” It’s unclear if the latter is related to the “automate the analyst” effort the command kicked off in 2020 to provide operators with an autonomous AI assistant.

Then there’s the “visual environment translation” system that’s designed to convert foreign language inputs into clear English in real time. Known overarchingly as the Versatile Intelligent Translation Assistant (VITA), the system encompasses both a visual environment translation effort and voice-to-voice translation capabilities and is “the most mature” of the JATF’s experimental technology areas, according to SOCOM. VITA is essentially “a voice-to-voice translation engine that functions offline on GPU-enabled devices,” Gregory says, small enough to be carried in the field on a laptop-tethered smartphone or wearable device and “engage in effective conversations where it was previously impossible.” And not only has VITA successfully demonstrated Russian, Chinese Mandarin, and Ukrainian language translation capabilities during testing, but the system has even been deployed to two undisclosed theaters of operations already.

“The visual translation component enhances situational awareness by translating video images, such as street signs, graffiti, and other written texts, in real time,” Gregory says. “Operators can use their phone cameras to scan their surroundings and understand foreign languages instantly.”

VITA provides US special operations forces with “a high-quality translation capability that is not reliant on the cloud or local interpreters, thus significantly reducing risk and logistical costs while increasing operational range and effectiveness for USSOF and our partners,” Gregory says. “The JATF is currently working with industry partners to reduce the size of the hardware and transition it into a SOF Program Executive Office for eventual fielding.” (And that language translation may not be restricted to a mobile device for long: According to SOCOM’s fiscal year 2025 budget request published in March, the command is still plowing ahead with head-mounted sensors and an augmented-reality HUD to present these functions right before operators’ eyes.)

Field Work

To US military planners, the HEO concept is promising: According to one Army assessment, the successful adoption of the system could potentially increase operator survivability far beyond that provided by the additional body armor of the TALOS program. But like other potentially revolutionary technology ventures, there’s certainly the possibility that HEO could end up a science fiction dream that collapses under the weight of its own technical complexity. And there’s no guarantee that operators will embrace the new technology seamlessly in the first place: Although VITA has shown operational promise, it’s unclear if other HEO products will prove intuitive enough to actually augment operators in the field rather than burden them with some complicated newfangled system. As Heinlein put it so aptly in Starship Troopers: “If you load a mud foot down with a lot of gadgets that he has to watch, somebody a lot more simply equipped—say with a stone ax—will sneak up and bash his head in while he is trying to read a vernier.” Perhaps, like TALOS, the promise of a tactical AI assistant like Tony Stark’s Jarvis sidekick may prove simply too ambitious for military engineers to realize in a fully formed product. But even if the HEO effort ends up only fielding, say, the VITA language translation tool, it will still represent a major boost in capabilities for US special operators deployed abroad. The day is slowly turning into night, but American commandos own the night and, with the help of the HEO, will do so well into the next conflict.

[realityhop]

"All animal brains pay attention to things in their physical environment that are relevant to their well-being and survival and ignore the other stuff. But humans don’t just select stuff from the physical world to create our niche. We add to the world by collectively imposing new functions, and we live by them. Social reality is human niche construction. Social reality is an incredible gift. You can simply make stuff up, like a meme or a tradition or a law, and if other people treat it as real, it becomes real. Our social world is a buffer we build around the physical world. The author Lynda Barry writes, “We don’t create a fantasy world to escape reality. We create it to be able to stay.” Social reality can also be a huge liability. It’s so powerful that it can alter the speed and course of our genetic evolution. … This sort of artificial selection happens in every society where wealth, social class, or war empowers one group over another—it changes the odds that certain people will reproduce with each other, or at all." — Lisa Feldman Barrett, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain (2020)

[xaltius]

Can AI Truly Develop a Memory That Adapts Like Ours?

Human memory is a marvel. It’s not just a hard drive where information is stored; it’s a dynamic, living system that constantly adapts. We forget what's irrelevant, reinforce what's important, connect new ideas to old ones, and retrieve information based on context and emotion. This incredible flexibility allows us to learn from experience, grow, and navigate a complex, ever-changing world.

But as Artificial Intelligence rapidly advances, particularly with the rise of powerful Large Language Models (LLMs), a profound question emerges: Can AI truly develop a memory that adapts like ours? Or will its "memory" always be a fundamentally different, and perhaps more rigid, construct?

The Marvel of Human Adaptive Memory

Before we dive into AI, let's briefly appreciate what makes human memory so uniquely adaptive:

Active Forgetting: We don't remember everything. Our brains actively prune less relevant information, making room for new and more critical knowledge. This isn't a bug; it's a feature that prevents overload.

Reinforcement & Decay: Memories strengthen with use and emotional significance, while unused ones fade. This is how skills become second nature and important lessons stick.

Associative Learning: New information isn't stored in isolation. It's linked to existing knowledge, forming a vast, interconnected web. This allows for flexible retrieval and creative problem-solving.

Contextual Recall: We recall memories based on our current environment, goals, or even emotional state, enabling highly relevant responses.

Generalization & Specialization: We learn broad patterns (generalization) and then refine them with specific details or exceptions (specialization).

How AI "Memory" Works Today (and its Limitations)

Current AI models, especially LLMs, have impressive abilities to recall and generate information. However, their "memory" mechanisms are different from ours:

Context Window (Short-Term Memory): When you interact with an LLM, its immediate "memory" is typically confined to the current conversation's context window (e.g., Claude 4's 200K tokens). Once the conversation ends or the context window fills, the older parts are "forgotten" unless explicitly saved or managed externally.

Fine-Tuning (Long-Term, Static Learning): To teach an LLM new, persistent knowledge or behaviors, it must be "fine-tuned" on specific datasets. This is like a complete retraining session, not an adaptive, real-time learning process. It's costly and not continuous.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG): Many modern AI applications use RAG, where the LLM queries an external database of information (e.g., your company's documents) to retrieve relevant facts before generating a response. This extends knowledge beyond the training data but isn't adaptive learning; it's smart retrieval.

Knowledge vs. Experience: LLMs learn from vast datasets of recorded information, not from "lived" experiences in the world. They lack the sensorimotor feedback, emotional context, and physical interaction that shape human adaptive memory.

Catastrophic Forgetting: A major challenge in continual learning, where teaching an AI new information causes it to forget previously learned knowledge.

The Quest for Adaptive AI Memory: Research Directions

The limitations of current AI memory are well-recognized, and researchers are actively working on solutions:

Continual Learning / Lifelong Learning: Developing AI architectures that can learn sequentially from new data streams without forgetting old knowledge, much like humans do throughout their lives.

External Memory Systems & Knowledge Graphs: Building sophisticated external memory banks that AIs can dynamically read from and write to, allowing for persistent and scalable knowledge accumulation. Think of it as a super-smart, editable database for AI.

Neuro-Symbolic AI: Combining the pattern recognition power of deep learning with the structured knowledge representation of symbolic AI. This could lead to more robust, interpretable, and adaptable memory systems.

"Forgetting" Mechanisms in AI: Paradoxically, building AI that knows what to forget is crucial. Researchers are exploring ways to implement controlled decay or pruning of irrelevant or outdated information to improve efficiency and relevance.

Memory for Autonomous Agents: For AI agents performing long-running, multi-step tasks, truly adaptive memory is critical. Recent advancements, like Claude 4's "memory files" and extended thinking, are steps in this direction, allowing agents to retain context and learn from past interactions over hours or even days.

Advanced RAG Integration: Making RAG systems more intelligent – not just retrieving but also updating and reasoning over the knowledge store based on new interactions or data.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

The journey to truly adaptive AI memory is fraught with challenges:

Scalability: How do you efficiently manage and retrieve information from a dynamically growing, interconnected memory that could be vast?

Bias Reinforcement: If an AI's memory adapts based on interactions, it could inadvertently amplify existing biases in data or user behavior.

Privacy & Control: Who owns or controls the "memories" of an AI? What are the implications for personal data stored within such systems?

Interpretability: Understanding why an AI remembers or forgets certain pieces of information, especially in critical applications, becomes complex.

Defining "Conscious" Memory: As AI memory becomes more sophisticated, it blurs lines into philosophical debates about consciousness and sentience.

The Future Outlook

Will AI memory ever be exactly like ours, complete with subjective experience, emotion, and subconscious associations? Probably not, and perhaps it doesn't need to be. The goal is to develop functionally adaptive memory that enables AI to:

Learn continuously: Adapt to new information and experiences in real-time.

Retain relevance: Prioritize and prune knowledge effectively.

Deepen understanding: Form rich, interconnected knowledge structures.

Operate autonomously: Perform complex, long-running tasks with persistent context.

Recent advancements in models like Claude 4, with its "memory files" and extended reasoning, are exciting steps in this direction, demonstrating that AI is indeed learning to remember and adapt in increasingly sophisticated ways. The quest for truly adaptive AI memory is one of the most fascinating and impactful frontiers in AI research, promising a future where AI systems can truly grow and evolve alongside us.

[marketingprofitmedia]

AI MiniCourse Review – Start Your Own Course-Selling Business in Multiple Niches

Welcome to my AI MiniCourse Review. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized numerous industries, and online education is no exception. AI-powered tools have made it easier than ever to create high-quality digital courses without extensive expertise or technical skills. Enter AI MiniCourse, a cutting-edge platform designed to help users create, sell, and profit from AI-generated micro-courses in just minutes.

In this comprehensive AI MiniCourse review, we will discuss how this innovative platform works, its key features, benefits, pricing, upgrades, and potential drawbacks. By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear understanding of whether AI MiniCourse is the right tool for your e-learning business.

What Is AI MiniCourse?

AI MiniCourse is an AI-powered platform that simplifies the process of creating, selling, and profiting from micro-courses. Micro-courses are short, focused online courses that deliver specific knowledge or skills in a concise format. These courses are perfect for today’s learners who prefer bite-sized, actionable content over lengthy, time-consuming courses.

With the AI MiniCourse, you can leverage the power of AI to generate course content, design engaging slides, and even create sales pages—all in a matter of minutes. The platform is designed for anyone who wants to tap into the lucrative online education market without the hassle of traditional course creation.

AI MiniCourse Review: Overview of Product

Product Creator: Loveneet Rajora

Product: AI MiniCourse

Launch Date: 2025-Mar-13

Launch Time: 11:00 EDT

Front-End Price: $14.97 One-Time Payment! (Limited-Time Access)

Official Site: Click Here To Visit Official Salespage

Product Type: Tools and Software

Support: Effective and Friendly Response

Recommended: Highly Recommended

Bonuses: YES, Huge Bonuses

Skill Level Required: All Levels

Discount Coupon: Use Code “MINICOURSE” for $3 Off or code “MINIMAXAI” for 30% Off Full Funnel)

Refund: YES, 30 Days Money-Back Guarantee

AI MiniCourse Review: About Authors

Loveneet Rajora is the amazing brain behind this idea. He developed new AI technology that changes how we use courses, voice over, audio files, Course App, podcasts, Audiobook, Ebook, and Flipbook strategies. His idea for AI MiniCourse is to simplify the capturing and use of AI-Powered App for individuals and organizations. His dedication to excellence and pushing AI limitations make Loveneet a digital marketing and software development expert.

He also owns a number of well-known products, including FoodAI Studio, Procut AI, ProBook AI, VoxCraftAI Studio, CourseAI Studio, TubeBlog AI, AISonic Studio, ProClip AI Studio, AILogo Studio, VidProAI Studio, IntelliVid AI Studio, CaptivateAI Studio, Vidgram Studio, and many more.

AI MiniCourse Review: Key Features of AI MiniCourse

✍1-Click AI Knowledge Generator – Monetize In Seconds

Instantly turn any topic into a micro-course, playbook, or digital product without creating content yourself. AI builds everything for you, so you start selling immediately.

✍AI Creates Engaging Video & Voiceover Content

No need to record videos or hire voice actors. AI generates professional video lessons and human-like voiceovers, making your micro-courses engaging and high-converting.

✍AI-Generated Playbooks & Digital Templates

Not just micro-courses AI creates ready-to-sell playbooks, cheat sheets, and digital templates. These high-value digital assets sell like hotcakes without extra work.

✍AI-Powered Sales Page Builder – Done For You

AI auto-generates high-converting sales pages, complete with persuasive copy, professional branding, and checkout integration so you sell effortlessly.

✍Instant Monetization – AI Handles Everything!

AI finds the best way to monetize your content coaching upsells, digital downloads, recurring memberships, and even affiliate links, so you maximize every sale.

✍Viral Content Distribution – AI Markets For You

AI automatically repurposes your micro-course into blog posts, YouTube scripts, tweet threads, and social media carousels driving traffic on autopilot.

✍AI Suggests & Inserts Affiliate Links For Passive Income

AI finds high-paying affiliate programs related to your content and automatically inserts them so you earn commissions without extra effort.

✍AI-Powered Subscription Model – Build Recurring Revenue

Want stable, predictable income? AI helps you turn micro-trainings into monthly membership offers, stacking passive income over time.

✍Multi-Language AI Translation – Sell Globally

AI translates your micro-courses, playbooks, and training materials into multiple languages so you can tap into a worldwide audience instantly.

✍AI-Powered Instructor Avatars – Teach Without Showing Your Face

AI generates lifelike avatars with lip-syncing voiceovers, so you can create professional video courses without ever being on camera.

✍AI-Generated Quizzes & Engagement Tools

AI auto-creates quizzes, flashcards, and interactive elements boosting engagement and making micro-courses more valuable to buyers.

✍AI Finds & Attracts High-Paying Clients For You

Forget paid ads and cold outreach AI scans the web, identifies people looking for knowledge in your niche, and connects them with your micro-courses automatically.

✍100% Hands-Free Passive Income

Set it up once, and AI keeps creating, marketing, and selling for you turning your expertise into a 24/7 money-making machine.

✍AI Knowledge Marketplace – Sell Inside The Platform

List your micro-trainings inside an AI-powered Udemy for experts, where buyers are already looking for digital knowledge products.

✍Real-Time Earnings Dashboard – Track Everything

See exactly how much you’re earning, track course sales, and monitor your recurring revenue all inside one powerful AI dashboard.

✍No Ads, No Cold Outreach – AI Brings Buyers To You

AI automatically generates leads, markets your content, and attracts buyers so you can sell without spending a dime on ads.

✍No Tech Skills Needed – AI Does It All

You don’t need to record, write, or build anything manually AI generates everything with zero learning curve.

✍Commercial License – Sell Unlimited Micro-Courses & Keep 100% Profit

Unlike other platforms that take a cut, you keep every dollar you make. Sell as many micro-trainings as you want and scale without limits.

✍30-Day Money-Back Guarantee – Zero Risk

Try it for 30 days, and if you’re not blown away, you get every penny back no questions asked. The only way to lose is by missing out.

AI MiniCourse Review: How Does It Work?

All It Takes Is Just 3-Simple Steps To Turn Your Expertise, Ideas, And Thougts Into A Hands-Free ”Knowledge ATM” Create, Sell & Monetize AI-Generated Micro-Trainings In Just Seconds & Keep 100% Of The Profit

Step #1: Unlock AI MiniCourse

Click any button on this page and get instant access to your AI-powered knowledge monetization system (limited spots available).

Step #2: AI Instantly Builds & Packages Your Digital Product

Enter a topic, upload notes, or let AI generate a micro-course, playbook, or digital asset in seconds. Complete with sales pages and marketing tools.

Step #3: AI Sells & Monetizes It For You

AI attracts buyers, sets up recurring revenue, and even inserts affiliate offers. So you make money without lifting a finger!

AI MiniCourse Review: Benefits of AI MiniCourse

Turn Your Expertise Into Instant Income – No more wasting months on full courses, start selling micro-trainings today

Sell In Any Niche, To Any Market – Perfect for coaches, consultants, agencies, influencers & entrepreneurs.

Automated Sales & Marketing – AI builds high-converting sales pages, lead magnets & viral content for you

Built-In Recurring Revenue Model – Sell micro-trainings as memberships & stack passive income effortlessly

Your Knowledge, Your Brand – Sell under your name, build authority & grow a loyal customer base

Sell & Keep 100% Of The Profits – Comes with a full commercial license, so you can create & sell unlimited micro-trainings without restrictions.

Works For Anyone, In Any Niche – Whether you’re a coach, agency, entrepreneur, or complete beginner, AI makes knowledge monetization effortless

No Subscriptions, No API Costs, No Hidden Fees

AI Does 99% Of The Work – No content creation, no tech skills, just enter your topic & let AI build everything.

Instant Digital Product Empire – AI generates micro-courses, playbooks & templates you can sell forever!

No Ads, No Cold Outreach – AI attracts buyers & monetizes your knowledge without spending a dime on ads

AI-Powered Affiliate Monetization – AI finds & inserts high-paying affiliate deals to maximize profits.

First-To-Market AI Knowledge Monetization – No competition, no barriers, just plug in & start profiting.

Risk-Free Money-Back Guarantee – Try it with zero risk if you don’t love it, you don’t pay.

The First Of Its Kind Nothing Else Like It – No other tool does everything for you from creation to marketing to sales AI handles it all!

AI MiniCourse Review: Who Should Use It?

Coaches & Consultants

Influencers & Course Creators

Product Creators

Agencies & Service Providers

eCom & Affiliate Marketers

Local Business Owners

Authors & Thought Leaders

And Many Others

AI MiniCourse Review: OTO’s And Pricing

Add My Bundle Coupon Code “MINIMAXAI″ – For 30% Off Any Funnel OTO Below

Front End Price: AI MiniCourse ($14)

OTO1: AI MiniCourse PRO ($67)

OTO2: AI MiniCourse UnLiMITEd ($97)

OTO3: AI Course Marketplace ($97)

OTO4: AI Certification Suite ($77)

OTO5: Reseller License ($197)

OTO6: AI MiniCourse Agency License ($297)

OTO7: AI MiniCourse White-Label ($497)

AI MiniCourse Review: Money Back Guarantee

Try Our 30 Days Iron Clad Money Back Guarantee

AI MiniCourse stands apart from other “trash” or untested apps since we understand its entire capability. You will definitely fall in love with the impressive capabilities of AI MiniCourse which you receive today. AI MiniCourse provides all customers with a total money-back guarantee.

We will give you a full refund of your payment while you try AI MiniCourse during the upcoming 30 days unless technological issues obstruct its expected performance. Our system handles all requests for help after customers outline their technical problems correctly. Period.

AI MiniCourse Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

Fast and Efficient: Create courses in minutes.

Affordable: No need to hire expensive professionals.

Easy to Use: Beginner-friendly interface.

Versatile: Suitable for various industries and niches.

Automated Marketing: Built-in tools to promote your courses.

Cloud-Based: No need for technical hosting.

Update: Regularly updated and Secure.

Cons:

Requires a one-time Price.

Requires stable internet connection.

Nothing wrong with it, it works perfectly!

My Own Customized Exclusive VIP Bonus Bundle

***How To Claim These Bonuses***

Step #1:

Complete your purchase of the AI MiniCourse: My Special Unique Bonus Bundle will be visible on your access page as an Affiliate Bonus Button on WarriorPlus immediately after purchase. And before ending my honest AI MiniCourse Review, I told you that I would give you my very own unique PFTSES formula for Free.

Step #2:

Send the proof of purchase to my e-mail “support@marketingprofitmedia.com” (Then I’ll manually Deliver it for you in 24 HOURS).

AI MiniCourse Free Premium Bonuses

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Q. Do I need any experience to get started?

None, all you need is just an internet connection. And you’re good to go.

Q. Is there any monthly cost?

Depends, If you act now, NONE. But if you wait, you might end up paying $997/mo It’s up to you..

Q. How long does it take to make money?

Our average member made their first sale the same day they got access to AI MiniCourse.

Q. Do I need to purchase anything else for it to work?

Nop, AI MiniCourse is the complete thing. You get everything you need to make it work. Nothing is left behind.

Q. What if I failed?

While that is unlikely, we removed all the risk for you. If you tried AI MiniCourse and failed, we will refund you every cent you paid And send you $300 on top of that just to apologize for wasting your time.

Q. How can I get started?

Awesome, I like your excitement, All you have to do is click any of the buy buttons on the page, and secure your copy of AI MiniCourse at a one-time fee.

Final Verdict: Is the AI MiniCourse Worth It?

AI MiniCourse is a transformative tool for individuals seeking to venture into the online education sector. Its AI-powered features, user-friendly interface, and comprehensive tools make it an excellent choice for creating, selling, and profiting from micro-courses. While it may not replace the need for human creativity entirely, it significantly reduces the time, effort, and cost involved in course creation.

If you’re an entrepreneur, educator, or content creator looking to capitalize on the growing demand for online learning, the AI MiniCourse is definitely worth considering. Its ability to generate high-quality content and automate marketing processes makes it a valuable asset for building a successful online education business.

🚀 Don’t miss out guys and start your journey with AI MiniCourse today!

>>> Click Here to Visit AI MiniCourse and Get Access Now <<<

Check Out My Previous Reviews: AI Toker Review, AI Money Printer Review, Human AI Force Review, OneAI Freedom Review, GameSpark AI Review.

Thank for reading my honest “AI MiniCourse Review” till the end. Hope it will help you to make purchase decision perfectly.

[akhoyee]

 Apple Needs a Wake-Up Call: Is the Tech Giant Rotting from the Core?

Apple, the company that once convinced us that talking animated poop emojis were the pinnacle of human achievement, seems to have misplaced its innovation mojo. Remember when unveiling a new Apple product felt like Christmas morning? Well, with the iPhone 16, it feels more like getting socks—practical but not exactly thrilling.

iPhone 16: The Sequel No One Asked For

The iPhone 16 dropped like a new season of a show that's gone on for too long. Sure, there are minor tweaks, but it's mostly a rerun with better lighting. It's as if Apple's idea of innovation is rearranging the app icons and calling it a day. At this rate, they're risking a Nokia-style plot twist—remember when Nokia was the king of phones until they weren't?

Siri, Wake Up!

While other tech giants are creating AI that can compose symphonies and predict the weather on Mars, Siri is still struggling to understand reminders set for "tomorrow morning." Apple's AI game is starting to look like that one friend who shows up late and still asks what's for dinner.

Borrowing Brains: The OpenAI Experiment That Wasn't

In a plot twist worthy of a tech soap opera, whispers in the tech grapevine suggest that Apple flirted with the idea of teaming up with OpenAI to sprinkle some artificial intelligence fairy dust on their products. They teased us with exciting features that could read our minds, predict our lunch cravings, and maybe even fold our laundry. But alas, like a magician's trick gone wrong, these features vanished into thin air. It's as if Apple borrowed the neighbor's flashy sports car for a spin around the block, only to return it and hop back on their trusty old bicycle.

Vision Pro: The Hype That Hyped Off

The Vision Pro was supposed to be Apple's next big thing—a device so revolutionary that social media couldn't stop buzzing about it. Remember the avalanche of memes, hashtags, and enthusiastic unboxing videos? Yeah, neither do we. The hype disappeared faster than a donut at a police convention. It's reminiscent of that "Simpsons" episode where Bart becomes famous for saying "I didn't do it," and then everyone gets over it overnight. The Vision Pro's moment in the spotlight was about as fleeting as a Snapchat message, leaving us all wondering if we collectively hallucinated the whole thing.

iPad and MacBooks: The Great Vanishing Act

iPad sales are doing the limbo, and rumors suggest some MacBooks might go the way of the dodo. Perhaps Apple's strategy is minimalism—if they sell fewer products, they have fewer things to innovate. It's a bold move, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off.

The Apple Car: Running on Fumes and Flat Tires

The much-hyped Apple Car seems to have crashed before even leaving the factory floor. Maybe they couldn't figure out how to make wheels with rounded corners without infringing on their own patents. Or perhaps they tried to install a home button on the steering wheel and the whole project imploded. Rumor has it the prototype is so dead, even the GPS can't find it. It's like they set out to build the future of transportation but ended up creating an expensive paperweight on wheels. If this keeps up, the only ride Apple will be offering is a trip down memory lane to when they actually innovated. Looks like the Apple Car is following Nokia's roadmap—straight to the tech graveyard.

Sitting on a Mountain of Cash (Literally?)

Apple's cash reserves are so vast, they probably have Scrooge McDuck on retainer for swimming lessons. Yet, instead of funding the next big thing, they're treating it like an emergency fund for when they accidentally drop their AirPods in the toilet.

Time for Tim to Take a (Permanent) Vacation?

Tim Cook has been at the helm, steering the ship steadily into the sea of sameness. Maybe it's time for someone who can find the map to Innovation Island. No offense, Tim, but if Apple were a sitcom, we're ready for the spin-off. Hopefully, they won't cast someone who thinks the key to success is bringing back the Snake game—no offense, Nokia.

The Road Ahead: Less Map, More Compass

Apple needs more than a minor course correction; it needs a whole new GPS. Perhaps investing that giant pile of cash into groundbreaking tech—or even a really good sandwich—would reignite the spark. After all, even a wormy Apple can make good compost.

Conclusion: An Apple a Day Keeps the Fans Away?

If Apple doesn't pull off a technological magic trick soon, we might all start dusting off our old Nokias—not because we miss the indestructible bricks, but because at least they knew when to bow out before becoming a punchline. It's high time for Apple to remember that they're not just any fruit in the tech basket—they're supposed to be the forbidden one that offers knowledge and, dare we say, excitement. Otherwise, they might just end up like, well, Nokia—a nostalgic relic we bring up when discussing epic Downfall 

[styrishai295]

Mastering Machine Learning and Deep Learning: Your Guide to Courses, Tutorials, and Projects

Machine learning and deep learning have become pivotal technologies in today’s digital era, powering advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). As a beginner or enthusiast eager to dive into these fields, it’s crucial to have the right resources that cater to both your foundational understanding and practical application. From machine learning tutorials for beginners to hands-onmachine learning projects, these resources help you build confidence and expertise.

Why Learn Machine Learning and Deep Learning?

Machine learning (ML) is a subset of AI that involves the development of algorithms enabling systems to learn from data, recognize patterns, and make decisions with minimal human intervention. Deep learning (DL) is a branch of machine learning that uses neural networks to mimic the workings of the human brain. Both these fields are applied across industries, from healthcare and finance to entertainment and autonomous vehicles. Learning these technologies gives you an edge in the ever-evolving job market.

For those just starting out, machine learning courses for beginners provide a structured pathway to grasp the basic concepts of data manipulation, model building, and algorithm selection. These courses typically cover regression, classification, decision trees, and clustering, setting the foundation for more advanced techniques like neural networks in deep learning.

Choosing a Deep Learning Course Online

With numerous online platforms offering deep learning courses, it can be challenging to select the best option for your learning needs. A high-quality course should:

Offer practical, project-based learning.

Be taught by experienced professionals with in-depth knowledge of the field.

Cover key topics such as neural networks, convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and recurrent neural networks (RNNs).

Include assignments and quizzes to assess your understanding.

Enrolling in a deep learning course online can greatly accelerate your skills in working with complex datasets, image recognition, natural language processing (NLP), and more. These courses are ideal for those with a good understanding of basic programming and machine learning concepts who want to take their expertise to the next level.

Essential Machine Learning Tutorials

If you’re looking for a self-paced introduction to machine learning, machine learning tutorials are an excellent option. Tutorials break down complex topics into easy-to-follow lessons, often accompanied by coding examples.

The most effective tutorials cover:

Supervised and unsupervised learning techniques.

How to work with datasets using Python libraries like Pandas, Scikit-learn, and TensorFlow.

Building and evaluating models using real-world data.

Machine learning tutorials are perfect for beginners who want to get hands-on without committing to a full-fledged course. They allow you to learn at your own pace and experiment with various tools and techniques. As you go through the tutorials, you’ll often come across examples that are directly applicable to real-life scenarios.

Practical Machine Learning Projects

One of the best ways to solidify your understanding of machine learning is by working on machine learning projects. Projects give you practical experience in applying theoretical knowledge to real-world problems. Beginner-friendly projects might involve creating models for predicting house prices, customer churn, or stock market trends.

As you advance, more complex projects, like building recommendation systems, chatbots, and fraud detection models, will sharpen your skills. Working on these machine learning projects also helps you build a portfolio, which can be invaluable when applying for jobs or showcasing your capabilities to potential employers.

When selecting machine learning projects, focus on:

Data collection and cleaning.

Model building, training, and evaluation.

Using different algorithms to optimize your models.

Tips for Success in Machine Learning and Deep Learning

While diving into machine learning and deep learning can feel overwhelming, keeping a few tips in mind can ease the process and ensure success:

Start small: Don’t try to master everything at once. Begin with simple algorithms and move to advanced concepts like deep learning gradually.

Learn Python: Python is the most widely used language in the field of machine learning. Familiarizing yourself with Python libraries like NumPy, TensorFlow, and Keras is essential for success.

Join a community: Surround yourself with others who are also learning machine learning. Online forums, coding communities, and study groups can provide support, motivation, and answers to questions.

Focus on practical learning: Theory is important, but practical application is where the magic happens. Make sure to supplement your learning with hands-on projects and coding exercises.

Final Thoughts on Your Learning Journey

The future of AI and machine learning is incredibly promising, and learning these technologies will undoubtedly open up numerous career opportunities. Whether you're taking a deep learning course online, working through machine learning tutorials, or building exciting machine learning projects, consistency and persistence are key.

Take it one step at a time, and don't hesitate to revisit fundamental concepts as you progress. Each project you complete and each tutorial you follow will bring you closer to mastering the intricacies of machine learning and deep learning, giving you the tools you need to thrive in this ever-expanding field.

By starting with a solid machine learning course for beginners and progressing through practical projects, you will develop a deep understanding of this exciting area of technology, opening up a wealth of opportunities in data science, artificial intelligence, and beyond.

[jcmarchi]

Intel Develops Largest Neuromorphic System for Eco-Friendly AI Advancements

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/intel-develops-largest-neuromorphic-system-for-eco-friendly-ai-advancements/

Intel Develops Largest Neuromorphic System for Eco-Friendly AI Advancements

Intel has recently announced the creation of Hala Point, the world’s largest neuromorphic system, marking a significant step towards more sustainable and efficient artificial intelligence. Deployed initially at Sandia National Laboratories, Hala Point uses Intel’s advanced Loihi 2 processor and builds on the success of its predecessor, Pohoiki Springs, by offering substantial improvements in architecture. This enhancement boosts neuron capacity by more than tenfold and performance by up to twelve times.

“The computing cost of today’s AI models is rising at unsustainable rates. The industry needs fundamentally new approaches capable of scaling. For that reason, we developed Hala Point, which combines deep learning efficiency with novel brain-inspired learning and optimization capabilities. We hope that research with Hala Point will advance the efficiency and adaptability of large-scale AI technology,” said Mike Davies, director of the Neuromorphic Computing Lab at Intel Labs.

Hala Point distinguishes itself by being the first large-scale neuromorphic system capable of demonstrating state-of-the-art computational efficiencies on mainstream AI workloads. It can support up to 20 quadrillion operations per second, or 20 petaops, and offers unprecedented efficiency exceeding 15 trillion 8-bit operations per second per watt (TOPS/W) when executing conventional deep neural networks.

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories will use Hala Point for advanced brain-scale computing research, focusing on scientific computing problems across various domains such as device physics, computer architecture, and informatics. “Working with Hala Point improves our Sandia team’s capability to solve computational and scientific modeling problems. Conducting research with a system of this size will allow us to keep pace with AI’s evolution in fields ranging from commercial to defense to basic science,” stated Craig Vineyard, Hala Point team lead at Sandia National Laboratories.

While Hala Point remains a research prototype, Intel envisions its lessons will significantly enhance future commercial systems’ capabilities, notably enabling large language models to learn continuously from new data and reducing the training burden of AI deployments.

The drive for increasingly large deep learning models has exposed significant sustainability challenges within AI, necessitating innovation at the fundamental levels of hardware architecture. Neuromorphic computing, inspired by neuroscience, integrates memory and computing within a highly parallel framework to minimize data movement. This approach has demonstrated remarkable gains in efficiency, speed, and adaptability, as evidenced by Loihi 2’s performance at this month’s International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP).

Hala Point integrates 1,152 Loihi 2 processors and supports up to 1.15 billion neurons and 128 billion synapses, distributed over 140,544 neuromorphic processing cores, within a six-rack-unit data center chassis. Its massively parallelized fabric offers significant memory bandwidth and communication speeds, providing a robust foundation for bio-inspired spiking neural network models.

Intel’s ongoing development of neuromorphic systems like Hala Point aims to address power and latency constraints that currently limit the real-world deployment of AI. With the continued collaboration of the Intel Neuromorphic Research Community (INRC), Intel is committed to advancing this brain-inspired technology from research prototypes to commercial products.

[woefully-undercaffeinated]

There are a bunch of nuances that need to be added here:

Freud’s theories of the “unconscious mind” developed in the context of a man who grew up as a Chasidic Jew in the late 19th Century in Austria; as such he would have received many strong and sometimes conflicting messages about what was Not Permitted, especially surrounding sex and social interaction. His theory of a mind divided between bodily urges and societal rules, with conscious thought acting as a mediator between the two, is less about a universal human condition than it is about a boy who grew up being told that fundamentally human urges were fundamentally evil. 

There really isn’t a clear dividing line between ‘conscious’ and ‘unconscious’ thought, especially the way it’s portrayed in popular media. We like to think of our minds as a single self-contained train of thought, but we’re more like a cloud of small processes which form into a single gestalt being. At any given moment, the majority of your brain isn’t actively engaged in evaluating the world, but rather a vast multitude of simple systems are silently listening to your sensory input and waiting to hear something relevant to them. 

There’s a massive range of different ways the human brain can function. Some people are barely aware of their own thought process while others are able to break down their cognition down to the smallest “subroutine” and explain their mental process in detail. Pretty much any blanket statement about how the human mind works is going to be at least partially incorrect or oversimplified.

There are natural emergent effects of the nervous system which aren’t exactly thoughts, but have an impact on our cognition, such as neural oscillations (a.k.a. “brain waves”) and seizure activity. These emergent effects aren’t discrete phenomena but rather the result of individual reactions occurring in sequence (i.e. it takes 560 milliseconds for a stimulus at one end of a ganglion to reach the other end and be fed back to the beginning, resulting in a ~30 Hz “wave”); however, they can effect the surrounding neurons and influence them to fire in a similar sequence. These aren’t thoughts, conscious or unconscious, but they can trigger cognition or behavior that wouldn’t otherwise happen (the most common example being dreams), and it isn’t uncommon to see people misattribute these effects to something in their own mind. 

For the most part, our knowledge of how other peoples’ minds work depends on people’s self-report of their own thoughts and feelings. The problem is that we tend to be unreliable narrators of our own thought processes, both to ourselves and to the world. That means that what we may label as an “unconscious thought” was actually just “a thought I had and was aware of, but which I didn’t want to admit to.” On the other hand, our memories of our thought processes tend to be post-hoc reconstructions of our reasoning, rather than a true log of our chain of thought in the moment, which will often leave out thought a great deal of the decision process that happened in the moment.

So... yeah. Both the psychologist and the philosopher are wrong. The kitten is probably the closest to the truth. Especially if you slogged your way through that entire rant, in which case your brain probably does feel a bit like a scrambled egg.  

 At some point in the near future when I’m done moving, I’ll try to dig out my old schematics for artificial neurons, so that anyone interested can build and experiment with artificial brains. They also make nice Christmas ornaments or refrigerator decorations. 

For those interested, some recommended reading:

On Intelligence: How a New Understanding of the Brain Will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines 

A Symphony in the Brain: The Evolution of the New Brain Wave Biofeedback

The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind

awesome news, everyone!!

[yostresswritinggirl]

Scara, puppet reader, and Albedo forming a trio of artificial life abandoned by their creators lol.

But a friendship between Tighnari and puppet reader would be lovely. Think of all the botany lessons Tighnari teaches them when they ask for help. Puppet reader taking notes and he lends them books is a very nice thing. Tighnari could try using gold paint to see how kintsugi would look on him first even if the potential pain of tattooing scares him off. At this rate, who else is gonna get struck by lightning from an Inazuman immortal??? And live with scars? Tighnari and puppet reader forming a support group.

Video montage of Scara personally going out of his way to forage for the ring materials himself cause he’s a dedicated husband like that. He has to make sure the qualities are up to his standards.

I honestly have to resist the urge to make more jokes because of how Scara and puppet reader are related. It’s just too easy to comment on how Scara really is keeping things in the family or how you can tell they come from rather aristocratic backgrounds because of how cousin marriages are so prevalent in those circles (really fascinating to read about actually! There’s a bunch of cultural and time era related reasons for it. Actually, the world building in Genshin would be so interesting if we knew more about stuff like this. My anthropology loving brain would go haywire. Like it’s unfortunate for Scara but I can imagine before the wedding (and this wedding pic) when he has the first drawing of them, someone might ask who it is and the first time Scara says his family, he learns real quick to say puppet reader is *his* because that person asked if puppet reader was single and willing to mingle. That person got the chance to mingle with Scara’s rage. How dare they covet the waifu of his laifu? The sheath to his sword - omg the Aranara banging pots and pans because if they can’t get sleep (do they sleep??) because of Scara and puppet reader then Scara and puppet reader won’t get sleep because of them!

Bloom anon

THE FACT THAT 70% OF THIS POST IS IN STRIKE THROUGH HAHAHAHA HO BOY

To start, still a huge advocator of Scarabedo, but also now that they're free from the Fatui, puppet reader would definitely be in need of a new 'doctor' for when they do need maintenance. Cue Albedo, master of artificial life

And yes that's exactly what I was thinking, getting botany lessons from Tighnari and visiting your wip garden whenever he patrols the area, that is the most supportive friend ever. And maybe not paint because well he's gonna have a hard time reaching those back areas no matter how dexterous he is (hey you don't gotta do Tomo like that sksksksksks technically Traveler is part of that support group, while Kazuha and Thoma are honorable mentions)

ACTUALLY THIS REMINDS ME can Scara even harvest ores since he's a catalyst hahaha please please can his burst do that, hoyoverse please make this canon

Aaaand here's the first cousin discussion, don't read if uncomfy: You and your out of pocket jokes again bloom ahahhaha but honestly, this is kind of one of the reasons why reader is Makoto's creation and not Ei's sksksks I knew of the law and made precautions for over thinkers. But also must point out that they're not really biological beings in the first place, their creators are gods even, oh wait mythology incest oh no-

One good thing about this tho that they wouldn't have to worry about offspring complications brought about by inbreeding since they're not capable of conception! And the hilarious implications of "yeah they're family-family, no you can't date them, they're mine did you not hear me"

Sheath to his sword GDI BLOOM AHAHAHAHA DON'T DO EM DIRTY LIKE THAT, YOU'RE MAKING ME THINK THINGS TOO NOOOO

[mypersonmyg]

The Misery Chick | MYG

thank you to my favorite @kimtaehyunq for the wonderful banner, ily you talented cutie <3

pairing: Yoongi x reader

genre: fluff, a lil tiny bit of angst, college au

wc: 5.2k (issa short one)

warnings: language

summary: maybe yoongi has a fat crush on you OR he notices, that’s all

a/n: happy birthday to the one and only min yoongi! i am so so fond of him and i couldn’t not write something for him, so I hope you enjoy :D and as always feel free to send in drabble requests for the fic and blah blah blah...

honorary tag: @gukssunshine​

masterlist

To wonder about the quickened stride of the beating appendage in Yoongi’s chest, would be to question the routine catch of gaze to the lone figure at the far end of the classroom, dwarfed by cuddled fabric, consumed with the rapid turn of the lengthy page. His arm rests atop the desk’s surface, supporting the chin that minutely dips with your every flicker of expression, the parting of your lips in gasp mimed by his own. His eyes are glazed under bright light, lids threatening to blink, the passage of time too fast, but oh so slow. 

Yoongi’s knowledge is second hand, rumblings of your demeanor spread through the vine of dialogue that floats coincidentally through his ears to connect with the edges of his brain, chewed and regurgitated without second thought. He holds his refusal to high regard, refusal to believe that you’re nothing more than a student, disgruntled by circumstance. It’s not simple attraction that guides his mind to the eye of logic, the region of reason, though it was the peak of initial interest.

He notices, and that’s all. 

He notices the round of your puffed cheeks that follows a particularly surprising piece of narrative. He notices the seat left empty between you and the wall, open but not a forced invitation, and he notices the way your posture straightens when someone grazes a hair too close. He notices the deflation of your shoulders when you’re left without pair during lessons framed with the inopportunity of interaction forced to simulate the false reality of reality itself. He notices the things others are blind to in their half squint, though the picture is still blurred like the edges of a polaroid. 

The numbness of his wrist, angled by the rest of his chin, draws him from captivation despite motivation to outlast the congregation huddle before you, their fronts focused toward him, his view obscured by obligation of association. His lips form the curvature of amiability necessary for pleasantry, neck craning to the defense of blue jeans offending his locked gaze.

“Can you stop staring so hard? She’s gonna eat you alive,” Hoseok’s finger nudges at the round of Yoongi’s jaw, urging his attention completely away from his person of interest. 

“Fuck off, you don’t even know her.” 

“Neither do you, despite your dedication to staring holes into her side every chance you get. They don’t call her ‘the misery chick’ for nothing, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile.” The jab rubs the wrong direction, Yoongi’s hand landing with a thud to the thick of Hoseok’s skull. “Come on, it’s a joke.”

“Maybe to you, and to everyone else, but she is a person. You guys just don’t look beyond what you wanna see because then she’s more than just a good laugh.” Every utterance of the moniker draws is lips to a downward twitch, fists balling in the pocket of his hoodie or scraping at the fabric of stressed jeans. It’s knowing that if he’s heard it you have ten fold, the thought harboring the wish that he could fold you inward, close to the beat of his chest to shield from the displeasure of words half baked with stupidity and the ignorance of hilarity. 

“Well not everyone wants to see her between the sheets.”

Interruption of the education saves Hoseok from the verbal spar pending within the fire engulfing Yoongi’s pupils. A place of love harbors the words of war, he knows this, knows that Hoseok’s plan is to rile to the point of action, but he’s driven to the brink of insanity by twisted words of encouragement. The kindest person on the planet playing into the stereo of broken records hurled toward the edges of your delicate framing, . 

Yoongi’s hands curl around his pen, ballpoint and already dancing the page, jotting words flown from one canal to the other and back to the atmospheric toxins of brains shorting caffeine. His sleeves are suddenly burning, neck itching with the heat of nerves crawling outward from within the confines of his collar. He glances toward Hoseok staring absently at Yoongi’s decorative scrawl, raising a brow to colliding gazes.

“Is it hot?” Yoongi puckers in mumble, swiping at the skin kissing the fringe sweeping his eyeline. Hoseok’s head careens in the negative, averting gaze to the front of the room, professor droning about the coming assignment, a project that Yoongi barely catches wind of. 

The plague responsible for his discomfort of familiarity is comfort enough to stop the distant tremble of shoulders keen to the stare that meets his eyes from the room’s opposing side. He jolts, or rather the calm of his heart picks back to pace, when his eyes meet irises reflective of his own.  They’re gone as soon as he finds them, but he’s confident that the cool of his neck is confirmation that sanity isn’t all lost. 

“Dude, could you take your notes? I’m gonna need those later,” Hoseok nudges at his forearm, limp from distraction. Yoongi hurries to scribble missed lecture, patient for a lull in speech to make room for declaration. 

“She was looking at me.” 

“What?” 

“Y/n, she was looking at me. I saw her...I felt her.” 

“Maybe she was just staring off into space because this class is a snooze-fest.” Hoseok speaks through the timing of yawn, perfectly punctuating his point. “She probably doesn’t even know you exist. Though, I guess everyone knows you exist, so maybe she just doesn’t care.” 

The words aren’t false, Yoongi’s following his beyond the definition of quaint, his celebrity following him from the rush of the court to the thrill of the keys. He’s hard pressed for a moment of peace, but he often finds it here, lost in you. 

“I’m serious.”

Yoongi sighs an audible defeat, Hoseok’s dropped lids and the rest of his chin atop folded arms a clear sign that his mind is beyond the classroom and beyond Yoongi’s own romantic woes. The end of the lecture appears miles from the start, the wave of dismissal a spell releasing its hold on the shackles chaining the  ghoulish appearance of sleepless students. 

Yoongi has worked himself to the brink of decision by the end of the lecture, sure enough that his stride to your desk will prove a build in the shy tint of his cheeks when he musters a faint ‘hello’. The pan of his half thought out plan doesn’t sort as well as he hoped, the rush of legs scurrying for the door tripping him up in his rush to the chair where you patiently filed notebook to bag. 

His vision is blurred by the passage of sweaters and hoodies, emblems emblazoned on sleeves and beanies sagging from the tips of bedhead. Hoseok follows after his stride in a confused wake from the desk that housed his sleepy head for the last seventy minutes, stumbling along with the drag of feet on tile. 

When destination is met, your chair is neatly housed, your figure nowhere to be found, Yoongi paces back, his sizable sneaker just scuffing the metal recline of an adjacent chair. 

“What are you doing?” Hoseok clutches the muscled fabric of Yoongi’s shoulder, stopping near disaster following the weighted displacement of the two. 

“Nothing, let's get lunch.”

The passage of days are a haze in the midst of the craze of midterms and Yoongi’s attempt to find reason to believe your glance was more than a passing innocence. The press of his back to his mattress, sheets freshly laundered, linens, scented of the artificial makings of fresh lilac courtesy of Jeongguk, are used to his mid-day collapse for a pre-study snooze. He’s swallowed whole beneath the dense of his comforter, fingers curling into the soft material, lips emitting a sigh of satisfaction. 

The buds in his ears are a dull hum, white noise to saturate the crevices of his brain still vibrating from the surge of knowledge consumed at the twice rapid pace of the semester’s schedule. His lids are aflutter, pupils rolling to the dark precipice, the unconscious already tugging at the bits of his subconscious manifested to snooze.  

The muscles of his pillowy cheeks fight upward against the smush to the firm cushioning of his mattress, arms cuddled around the decorative cushion of deep blue. A pitched giggle echoes in the receptors of his brain, bouncing against the walls, a comforting sound. It’s foreign though, the melodic stutter, yet it engulfs his chest with the warmth of affection, his stomach turning with nerves of the giddy sort. 

He teeters on the edge of more, features dancing between streams, a waterfall blur. Yoongi aches for the reach, his physical and metaphorical being extending from the depths of his full size bed, yearning for the exploration of the four walls and beyond. He can swear his fingers graze the soft of skin, the trace of lip curved in sensuality just visible through sleepy haze. The giggles grow in volume, almost as if guided toward his hasty reach. 

“Jeongguk, shut up!” Yoongi falls forward, just catching onto the ledge of his dresser, quick reflexes doing wonders for his physical well being, but the skip in his mental and the stop of his heart are undeniable. 

He's heard the voice a handful of times, an arm eagerly shooting to respond to a professor’s quarry, the hidden mumblings that he swears he’s the only one to pick up on, his smirk almost never enough to stop impending chuckle.

It’s you. 

He knows, but can’t quite grasp that just beyond the barrier of belief, past the door sealed to keep from disturbance you’re somewhere laughing with Jeongguk. He listens for a moment, unmoving, to attempt a deciphering of your intentions, but laughter has turned to the inaudible mumblings from the room across the hall.  He’s silent in his trek to the door, pulling it on rusted hinges, cringing with every scrape of copper and wood. 

He slips down the hall on tiptoe, unsure if you’re attune to the other members of the house, but not ready to face you if Jeongguk’s door swings back to reveal the occupants of the small cubical. Yoongi makes way to the kitchen, surprised to find the rest of his roommates crowded into the sizable space, each occupied with their own endeavor of strewn textbooks and half frozen toaster strudel. 

“Well well look who’s awake,” Jimin sneers playfully in Yoongi’s direction, drawing attention from the rest of the room. 

“Bet I can guess why,” Taehyung snickers, glances exchanged with a conspiratorial air, the shift of Yoongi’s feet not unnoticed by his personal tormentors. “We told Jeongguk he might wanna keep it down, we know how you like your rest.” 

“Jeongguk didn’t wake me,” Not the correct turn of phrase, realized just moments late, the flicker of pupils raising with the feigned ah ha! Yoongi side steps them all, settling on the sphere of orange grabbing his interest from the bowl on the table, plopping into the nearest chair. 

“Oh he didn’t? Well what other reason could you possibly have to forgo your pre-study nap, hmmm?” Jin pokes at the slightly greened peel of Yoongi’s fruit, hand smacked away with haste. He withdraws to card through his hair, lengthening by the day, framing his face with more beauty than should be allowed by the ethereal senior. 

“I was hungry, s’all.” He tosses scraps with each peel of fruitful flesh, eagerly sliding bits of tangerine past his puckered lips. Anything to keep his mind from the fresh dose of giggles eating at his brain like a love bitten parasite. “Who—umm, who does Jeongguk have over.” 

“Oh, Kookie has a friend over? We had no idea,” Namjoon hums, glasses perched to the bridge of his nose, arms eaten by the sleeves of his hoodie. 

“Maybe you recognize their voice? I mean, you’re the only one close enough to hear it.” Hoseok’s grin is shit eating, half hidden behind the length of his hand, fingers curling in position at the tip of his chin. 

“Oh, oh! I think I recall him saying something about a...Y/—hmmm was it…” Taehyung fakes stumbles over the name, tips of his fingers tracing the glass of his crumbed plate. 

“Y/n.” Yoongi speaks through teeth clenched, his cheeks rosy from snatched sleep and the scrutiny he’s placed himself under, the heat of a lamp concentrated in the five pairs of eyes trained on his every movement for their amusement. 

“So you do know her, why don’t you go say hi?” Jin pats him with vigour, the sound of an echoed frame permeating the air of what Yoongi has affectionately titled, friendly toxicity. Those same muffled voices grow with the trek down the stairs, threatening to give way with each step. Yoongi lifts his eyes from his half eaten fruit for the first time since he sat down, daring them to say a word out of turn with a single look. 

“It’s pretty quiet considering seven guys live here,” Your voice is audible from the front door, Yoongi’s grip tightening, juice spilling down the crevices of his hand, soiling his shirt sleeve, palms already sticky from the stress. “I have one roommate and, as you’ve seen, she can be loud enough for the both of us.” 

“I’m just as surprised as you are actually. I know Yoongi is probably asleep,” Yoongi sinks into his chair, knowing glances threatening to drop him straight through the wooden surface. “The rest are probably out.” 

“Yoongi?” Your voice strays a bit, Yoongi’s lip twitching, unsure what to think of the sudden strain in pitch. 

“Yeah, do you know him?” 

“Oh, um...kinda? Not really, we share a class together, but we’ve never talked. I’m pretty sure he’d think he’s too cool for me anyways. You know, ‘misery chick’ and all.” Yoongi levels a stare at Hoseok whose arms lift in readied defense, though his own face conjures frown at your words. Your attention clearly never spotting the longing with which he’s leveled you for the past few months. 

“You’re not the ‘misery chick’,” Jeongguk’s voice holds firm reassurance, something Yoongi wishes he could give you, but he’s glued, too curious for the thought of impromptu interruption. “People are just jerks. Besides, Yoongi-hyung isn’t like that at all. He likes to pretend he doesn’t know how cool people think he is.” 

“Guess I’ll just have to take your word for it. I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow, Koo.” 

The door closes, Jeongguk just as soon rounding into the kitchen, tracks dead when there are six pairs of eyes trained on his figure. “Wha—have you all been here the whole time?” 

He only takes pause momentarily, his stride leading to the fridge, a juice box of all things pulled from metal confines. The naked eye would never guess the soft interior of Jeongguk, his features contrasting with the boots swallowing his feet and the tattoos eating his arm, tracing his digits. But he’s the walking embodiment of the careful youth painting each man posted in the room, a piece of him nursed by a piece of them with each day passing. 

“Yeah, we’re just hangin’ around, Jeonggukie.” Hoseok shrugs, ruffling the base of Jeongguk’s wild curls. 

“Well you’re doing it pretty quietly, Y/n thought it was weird.” 

“Are you guys dating?” Jimin’s question is thrown with abandon, eyes trained on Jeongguk with absolute focus, Yoongi sending a glare toward the silver haired fiend. 

“No.” Jeongguk pays little mind to the question, too busy squeezing every last drop from the box clutched in his fist, doe eyes glistening with concentration. “We met last semester in lit and she’s really cool so we started hanging out. You guys should meet her sometime, she doesn’t have a lot of friends because of this dumb rumor that she’s ‘the misery chick’ which is ridiculous because she’s one of the nicest people I’ve met here.” 

“Yeah, you can bring her over any time.” Namjoon encourages, book lowered to the table, face scrunching in mental agony when he realizes the corner of his novel is soaked with the spill of orange juice. 

“She said she knows you from class Yoongi, but she doesn’t think you’d like her. I think you would though! Maybe you should try to talk to her next class.” 

“Yeah,” Yoongi readily agrees, new found vigor in his speech. “Maybe…” 

Over the next several weeks, Yoongi is sure that coincidence isn’t what found his stare locked to yours, Jeongguk’s overheard conversation clearly leaving your interest peaked about Yoongi who was forced to make his own gazes less frequent for fear of being caught. His first sighting after he floated the walls of his home like a ghost in haunt was next lecture. 

The nerves that ate at his skin the first instance of your curious scan was turned bearable by the itching of excitement to his every nerve, skin alight with the tango of possibility traversing his very being. His attention was wayward, standing at the head of the class, scooping the pages required for lecture from the overflowing desk, a minute ‘excuse me’ cutting through the thick of his cogged brain. 

“Yes?” Was his response, regurgitated dumbly despite the forming line waiting for him to budge to his waiting seat. 

“Uh...could I get by...papers.” He smiles, unintentional, but the effect is the duck of your head, refusal to meet his eyes under such a heated gaze. He’s left to stare a moment longer before the snag of his sleeve, Hoseok forcing him away, calming the mob of students too impatient to momentarily still for the fruition of his romantic interest. 

Lately, your exit from class seems somehow quicker than usual, the practiced haste too much for him to master, another obstacle to his formal introduction. Though it seems your professor can read the tension that hovers the expanse of the classroom, a thread itching to be linked by two lovers, one unknowing of the delicate pull she has on her soul suitor. 

“Okay!” The professor stands at the front of the room, barely holding the attention of the class, barely holding Yoongi’s attention until he speaks once more. “Instead of a formal midterm, I want you all to complete a joint essay, yes you heard me correctly! I want you to pair up and write an essay on the topic of your choosing—as long as that topic is related to the course.” 

Yoongi perks up, ignoring the telltale that Hoseok hopes to grab him as soon as the class is dismissed because Yoongi has a plan of his own. 

“Of course I won’t force you to choose a partner, I know some of you prefer to work alone. But no more than two people to a group. Now I can see that you’re all on the edge of your seats, but I’m feeling generous today, so you’re dismissed, but your pages are due on my desk beginning of class Monday!” The final words of the professor send the class into frenzy, those who were paying attention quick to grab hold of their half and those who weren’t suddenly catching up and scrambling for someone who’ll make do.

“Hey, we’re partners, right?” Hoseok looks at Yoongi hopeful, but Yoongi already has his sights set on you, watching everyone link up, resigned to working solo. 

“Nah, I’ve got another partner in mind if that’s okay with you.” Hoseok catches the drift rather quickly, wide smile forgoing slight disappointment at his loss of the sure A on his midterm. 

“Go for it,” Hoseok gives a light shove forward, much appreciated by Yoongi whose heart threatens to burst from his chest, sure that the nerves are painted on his face like a slice of Van Gogh. He’s just in time, your hands shoved into your pockets, ready to leave the suffocation of a space smothered in unwelcome. 

“Hey.” Yoongi can see the uncertainty, your eyes glancing to either side to ensure that he is certainly addressing you. 

“Hey…” 

“So, this midterm thing is kinda weird, right?” He can already see the snicker on Hoseok’s face, though his friend is posted at the door opposite him. Your own lips quirk, his only thought of coherency aimed at how cute the action is. You rock on your heels, he notes your style isn’t far off from the bones of Jeongguk, hoodie black and heavy boots ready to stomp through endless waves of the nauseating sea of university. 

“Yeah...I guess it’s a little unconventional. But great for people who get test anxiety,” You humor him, hands withdrawing from jeaned confines to gesture wildly to the room void of anyone but the three remaining vessels, two of which are engaged in unlikely exchange. “Did you need something?” 

“Huh?” 

“Sorry! I don’t mean to be rude, but I have a class to get to and I have a thing about being late. I figure there’s a reason you’re talking to me seeing as we’ve never actually talked before…” You catch yourself in ramble, tripping over phrases whilst Yoongi watches without missing a beat. 

He’s incredibly taken with the way the words flow without pretense, a nice change to the closed off demeanor people falsely associate with you. He would listen for a lifetime to the things you have to say, hopefully with the clasp of finger and longing glances. Your intent is nonsense, nerves eating away at the buds of your tongue. To him it’s a poetry specially curated, a tickle to his throat bringing forth the soft laughter that halts your speech. 

“I’m sorry, you go ahead I’m just...nervous.” 

“No no, don’t apologize, I like listening to you,” He coos when you smile, quick to recover before your eyes, wide and attentive find his own once more, now notably softer, safer. “I love your smile too…” 

“You’re not so bad yourself…” Soft spoken and not altogether sure is the way you speak, your class long forgotten, a blip in rear view shadowed by the shining beacon before you. “So…?”

“Right, right...I was just wondering if you’d maybe wanna work together?” Despite compliments and hinted flirtation you’re taken aback by the offer, your eyes skirting Yoongi completely, raising question to the figure station by the exit. Hoseok offers you a smile you can’t help but return his thumbs raising in the affirmative. 

“He’s all yours,” Hoseok assures, taking his leave prematurely, Yoongi still waiting for confirmation. 

“No pressure, just thought I’d ask. I think we’d work well together,” And I wanna know you, he withholds for fear of frightening you more so than the sudden acknowledgement already has.

“Well I don’t know about that, but yeah I’d love to if you’re sure.” 

“I’m positive. Wanna meet at my place after school?” 

“Sounds good.” You pull your phone swiping at the screen before passing it over. “Just text me when you’re free.” 

“I’ll text the address,” He knows it’s unnecessary, just taking precautions to shield from the admission of his eavesdrop the last time you occupied the residence. You wait until you’re once again clutching the spherical confines of your devices, checking and double checking that all digits are present, not unfamiliar with the harsh reality of falsehood buried beneath genuine interest.

“Oh, I actually know where you live. My friend Jeongguk is one of your roommates, so I know my way.” 

“Well I’m sorry we’ve missed each other, that it took me so long to say hello.” Yoongi’s legs lead him half a step closer, an accidentally purposeful close of the gap between, your eyes avoid the bottom half of his face, focusing instead on the bill of his cap and the dark hair tickling the edges. 

“Guess you’ll just have to make up for it somehow.” 

“Guess I will.” 

Your visits to Yoongi are routine over the next week, the laughter filling the hectic halls caused by him rather than his roommates. He’s seen more of you in a week than he could’ve hoped in a lifetime, even more confused about the way you’ve been outcast by a majority of your major. He’s awed by your lack of reaction to the judgement of peers, often citing it as a joke, sarcasm lacing the words. 

It’s the day before assignment is due, you’re perched at Yoongi’s desk, he’s laying on his bed, tossing his basketball in mock free throw simultaneously with his toss of ideas while your fingers type vigorously in final draft. 

This particular evening leaves you alone with Yoongi, the other members of the house trying and failing to convince you to join for their weekly outing to the nearest bar where they would no doubt drink their weight to poorly prepare for the week to come. Yoongi was swift to opt out, much preferring your company to the stench of stale beer and jokes poorly executed by Jin after he downs his fifth shot. 

You were insistent that he let you handle the rest of the paper, just pages standing between you and your final product, but he’s too fond of the way your post-its decorate the shelf over his desk, different colored notes for every paragraph, the ink of your pens highlighting each point in magenta saturation. He’s obsessed with the way you hunch to close to the pages of your textbook while scolding him for getting too close to the screen of his laptop in the next breath. 

He can’t help the thought of what could be, close calls and a hair’s breadth stepping between you all week. It’s the price of seven roommates and a lock loosened with the jiggle of a handle. The hesitancy that still fills your pupils despite the easy way his words lace with genuine interest. 

Yoongi remembered what it was like to notice, deciding that it’s much better to experience you. The moment is delicate, your soft suggestions and argumentative replies tossed with a hint of tease lacing the bite of your tone. He doesn’t try to hide the smile that breaks the mold of his face, lips dampened by the press of gums prominent from healthy reach. 

“Can I ask you a question?” He raises, your fingers slowing against the keyboard, chair swiveling to offer full attention. “Does it bother you...the whole ‘misery chick’ thing?” 

He’s not sure what possesses it, but he is sure that knowing will make things easier, break a barrier that to him doesn’t exist. He knows your breath is baited, knows you’ve been waiting for the pull of the rug, so he offers a tug, a comforting teasing sort of thing to ease your mind and close the gap of misunderstanding that he could never blame you for. 

“Can I ask you a question? Do you believe the whole ‘misery chick’ thing?” You counter, scooting along hardwood until your knees are pressed to his mattress, sinking into the cushioned flesh as far as it allows. Your stare is careful, not expectant of the negative or offended by the positive. “It’s okay if you do, just don’t lie about it.” 

There's a sadness in your delivery and Yoongi notes it immediately. Your attempt to hide the twitch of your lip and the anxious fold of your hands in your lap don’t escape him. Your tone is even, your eyes much the same and he wonders how anyone could ever believe it, he’s grateful that he never did. 

“Not for a second.” He responds almost immediately, waiting for any lingering doubt on your end. It never comes.

“Good.” Is your reply, just as even as the question itself. Your shoulders relax, posture not as stiff as before. “It does bother me, not as much as it used to, but it does. It bothers me that they don’t like that I’m not like them. I don’t mean that in the whole ‘I’m not like other girls’ way, but I’m just not Cathy college, you know? I don’t get excited about parties and drinking, I don’t need to go out all the time to have fun, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you if you do, but I don’t and because I’m not like everyone else I have to be ‘the misery chick’.

He’s sure you don’t realize it, but Yoongi see’s the build of tears in your eyes, unshed but there and it breaks him. Breaks him that something so trivial could be the defining factor of someone’s experience, that you can hide it so well at the cost of your own happiness.

“I mean, it’s college, you’d think that people have better things to do than come up with reasons to ridicule someone, but I guess I have too much faith.” You finish, glancing up to find Yoongi all ears, lips etched in frown. “Sorry, you didn’t ask for all of that.” 

“People suck.” Is all he says, hand extending toward you, inviting you to join him on his island, silent but sure. You crawl the length of the mattress, your back pressing the headboard, fingers laced with his own, warm and sweaty from nerves, yours or his neither of you are sure. 

“People do suck.” 

“I know what’ll make you feel better.” He offers, thumb running along the jagged edges of your knuckle, skin kissing skin. You lift your head, half leaning on his shoulder so your eyes meet, a reflection of picture perfect, a record in perfect sync. 

“Yeah?” 

“You should go out with me.” Yoongi doesn’t expect a snort, but the response is exactly what he receives your head averting to conceal your laughter, hands shielding your face from the expanse of an ego deflated by the graze of your accidental needle. “Why are you laughing?” 

“No I’m not—I just—you’ve been looking at me like I’m completely insane all semester! I didn’t think you liked me, I thought you were looking right through me...I kinda thought you were just coming to class high every day.” 

“I don’t even smoke, those were not the eyes of a stoner, they were the eyes of a man who’s very fond of you.” Yoongi defends his position, his usually dormant stare now bugged to exaggeration, unavailable for serious consideration. 

“My mistake, though I don’t know whether to be weirded out or completely flattered.” 

“You better be so flattered that I can see hearts in your eyes because you were pretty quick to agree to be my partner for this project!” Yoongi keeps the charade, glad to lighten the tension and draw from the heaviness of the previous conversation. It’s not a chapter that’s closed, but the beginning is the build and he’s planning an entire novel with you, so he figures his time isn’t limited by the tick of a clock nearing the midnight hour. 

“I heard I’ve got a sure ‘A’  and I’d be an idiot to pass that up.” 

“You could get a passing grade in your sleep, you can’t fool me. But you can go on a date with me.”

“So you, cool guy Min Yoongi, want to go on a date with me, ‘the misery chick’?” You gasp, hand clutched to your chest, Yoongi’s hand catching hold and bringing it to his own, to the beat of his heart, the bass begging for a melody that only you can satisfy. 

“More than anything.” 

“Well when you put it that way I have no choice but to say yes, but to be clear, I’ve definitely seen you looking at Hoseok with that same look in your eyes so you might wanna sort some stuff out first—”

[sneezyminniejo]

hey! can i request a taehyung snz fic where he has a really sensitive nose and even the smallest things can set him off into a desperate rapid fit? one day the members bought some strongly scented candles without knowing that his nose was sensitive and they set him off into a massive fit, the members are his caretakers! i’d really appreciate it :)

Here it is, hope you enjoy

Bothersome Candles and Caretaking

The members of BTS have been together for years. Even though they’ve lived together for almost a decade, there were still some things they didn’t know about each other. One such thing is that Taehyung has a very sensitive nose.

Sure , the other members know that he’s one of the sneezier members in the group, but they didn’t know that strong scents or a simple brush of a feather could throw him into a fairly intense fit.

It just never came up with the other members. Jungkook made it very clear when he moved in that he hates strong scents and made it even more clear the one time Yoongi came back to the dorm smelling like a bonfire after hanging out with some friends. The maknae pretty much refused to be in the same room as the older until he showered, so the others agreed to avoid any strong scents to please their maknae and to keep peace in the dorm. Taehyung actually hadn’t been present for that incident because he was with some school mates working on a class project.

However, that was early on in trainee days. It was a wonder that there hadn’t even been a small incident to set Taehyung off, but there's a first time for everything.

The seven members of BTS were enjoying a day off after their manager took the keys to their studios to make sure they didn’t work. Taehyung decided to venture to the Han river to take some pictures, while the others decided to do some shopping. It was the middle of the week, so there weren’t many people around, allowing Taehyung to fully take in the surrounding nature.

Taehyung decided to turn around and head back to the dorm when his camera ran out of battery. He hummed happily to himself, excited to show the pictures to everyone else after he loaded them onto his computer.

When Taehyung first entered the dorm, he didn’t really notice anything. However, as soon as he closed the door, his nose was overcome with an intense prickle. He did his best to hold it back, but ultimately failed, as he doubled over with a very loud double.

“HEH-ISHH, HIH-STIESSH” Taehyung sniffled a bit confusedly as he tried to figure out where those sneezes came from.

Everyone else was seated in the living room watching tv when Taehyung had unintentionally made his presence known. “Bless you Tae.” Namjoon said as soon as he fully entered the room. “Tha-thanks, hyu- Hih-itschh hyung” Taehyung sat down next to Jungkook and tried to ignore the still present iitch in his sinuses, still not really knowing why he was suddenly so sneezy.

The other members looked at the second youngest with mild concern on their faces, but Taehyung ignored it. Before one of the others could speak, Taehyungg asked, “So how was your shopping trip?” Taehyung sniffled again before leaning over and grabbing some tissues from the box on the coffee table and blowing his nose.

Jimin was the one to answer Taehyung’s question first. “It went really well actually. Hyungs bought new clothes and found some new headphones and some other things. I bought a lego set to bui-” “Hih-tschhhh” Taehyung motioned for Jimin to continue as he blew his nose again.

“Anyway I found a lego set to build and Jungkookie found a couple of scented candles that he doesn’t find repulsive, so we bought him a couple of those.”

Taehyung’s felt the itch in his sinuses increase as Jimin and Jungkook told him all about the candle they had found. He was glad that Jungkook had found candles that didn’t bother his sensitive sense of smell, but unfortunately for Taehyung, he was extremely sensitive to the concentrated scents in the candle regardless of the scent.

His sensitivity was so bad that the candles didn’t necessarily even need to be lit, that is if there were enough of them. Jungkook then excitedly pulled the five he had purchased out of the shopping bag that was lying at his feet and gestured to the far corner of the room where one of the candles sat lit with a tine flame flickering ever so slightly.

Taehyung really didn’t want to disappoint Jungkook, so he decided to try to will his body to cooperate into not becoming a sneezy sniffly mess for as long as possible and not concern everybody too much. Unfortunately for Taehyung, his nose was not going to do what his brain wanted, and he wound up pitching forward in another double. This time the tickle had excalted so quickly that he hadn’t had time to cover.

Before he could lift his head up, Taehyung felt someone press tissues to his face. “Blow” He recognized Yoongi’s voice and immediately complied, although he took the tissues from his hyung first. He didn’t really want to blow his nose into his hyung’s hand if he could avoid it.

As soon as he lifted his head up, he was met with five pairs of concerned eyes and a hand on his forehead. “Tae-ah” Yoongi said softly, “Are you feeling okay? You don’t feel like you have a fever, but you are incredibly sneezy today even for you.”

Taehyung really didn’t feel like telling the truth about why he was so sneezy, so he just muttered something about how he must have caught a cold. The others nodded, but some of his hyungs looked like they didn’t fully believe him.

By the time Seokjin got up to make lunch, Taehyung's condition hadn't improved any. In fact, it might have deteriorated a bit. Jungkook however, was still really excited about his new scented candles.

He was so excited that, almost as if he were four, he shoved one of the unlit candles in Taehyung's face so he could smell it. Jungkook was so fast that Taehyung didn't have any time to decline or protest. The next thing Taehyung knows is he's taking in a whiff of concentrated artificial cherry blossoms. Taehyung, not wanting to sneeze all over his only dongsaeng, quickly pushed him hard to get him out of the way.

Jungkook was pushed off the couch and he landed hard on his buttocks. Namjoon was going to lecture Taehyung about his behavior, but what occurred next stunned everyone.

"Heh-ugh, ischh, heh-stishhh, heh-istiew, heh-istchhh, HIH-TIEW, HIH-NXTSHH, HEH-STISHHH, HEH-ISTIEW, HUH-UGHIEW!!” Taehyung’s ears and cheeks turned bright red as he held his hand over his dripping nose. Hoseok plucked several tissues from the box and handed them to Taehyung. Hoseok gave the younger a look as he cleaned himself up.

“Taehyung,” Hoseok was using his no nonsense voice when he was backing up Namjoon with various decisions. “Based on that display I don’t think you’re really sick, are you?” Taehyung shook his head as he sneezed another two times into the pile of tissues in his hand. He grabbed some more tissues and blew his nose rather productively, then started speaking.

“Hobi-hyung is right, I’m not sick. It’s the c-ca-candles itschhh.” Right after Taehyung said that, Jimin got up and blew out the lit candle that was on the opposite end of the room, while Jungkook immediately gathered up the candles in front of him and moved them to his room. Seokjin returned to the living room balancing a tray with seven bowls of soup and saw the guilty expressions on five of his dongsaengs. “What happened? He asked as he handed out the bowls.

“Taehyung here apparently neglected to tell us that he’s allergic to scented candles.” Yoongi said with slight annoyance laced in his voice. Seokjin just stared blankly for a moment. “How did we not know this? We’ve lived together for like a decade.” Taehyung sighed and sniffled before answering.

“It’s not so much an allergy as it is that my nose is extremely sensitive to scents and other things.” Taehyung paused to sneeze a quick double into his fist. “I have the same reaction to strong perfumes and laundry detergent. I’d also have a similar reaction if you tried to tickle my nose with a feather.” Jungkook returned a couple moments later, still looking extremely guilty.

“That still doesn’t explain why we never knew this Tae.” Taehyung grinned a little at the statement. “Well Jungkookie generally hates strong scents. Since we had collectively decided to only use scents that don’t bother him, it never came up, because the scents that didn’t bother him also didn’t bother me. At least not until now.”

Jungkook still looked a bit guilty and apologized to his hyung, who just assured him that he did nothing wrong as he didn’t know. The seven members ate in relative silence aside from the occasional sniffling or sneezing from Taehyung. Once they were all done eating, Taehyung stood up and moved to start collecting the dishes as it was his turn to clean them.

Namjoon placed his hand on the younger and gently pushed him back down. “Tae-ah, you are going to go straight to the couch and relax for the night.” Taehyung began to protest but was quickly interrupted by Yoongi.

“Tae, you may not be sick, but all of the sneezing you’ve done today must have exhausted you. I know that it’s your turn to do the dishes, but let hyungs take care of you so you can recover more easily.” Taehyung sighed and went to the living room, not having enough energy to fight Yoongi on this.

A little while after getting comfy on the couch, Hoseok came in with two mugs of hot cocoa and handed one to Taehyung. “Jungkook is setting up the humidifier in your room and Jimin is putting more pillows on your bed so you can sleep in more of an incline.” Taehyung hummed in acknowledgement before sipping at his beverage. “Namjoon is also pushing your vocal lessons and recording to the end of the week, so your voice can recover from all the scream sneezes you’ve been doing today.”

Taehyung couldn’t help but chuckle at the new bit of information. He settled further into his spot on the couch and waited for the others to arrive before starting a movie. Taehyung took a couple of pictures of the mugs of hot cocoa and the movie, then posted them to twitter with the caption ‘Movie night with hyungs and Jungkookie’. He then settled into whoever sat beside him and eventually drifted off with the movie playing in the background.

[worldwidemochiguy]

Toy Box (Yandere! Taehyung)

➵ You’re Taehyung’s perfect little doll, so when you aren’t so perfect, pretending you don’t like his hugs and kisses, pretending you don’t like him, Taehyung teaches you a little lesson using his other, different toys.

➵ Warnings: Hard yandere, reader is threatened with a gun, reader is threatened with a knife, non-consensual body modification (nothing major im just tagging to be safe), objectification, drugging.

➵ Word Count: 2.3K

➵ a/n: my first commission!! thank you so much to anon who requested clingy hard yandere taehyung or jimin (of course my gremlin brain said both, but since you said ‘or’ i decided to go on the safe side and just pick one lmao), i hope you like it!! if anyone would like to donate to a blm cause, my post outlining the details about commissioning is here!!

➵ Masterlist

It felt like you had been doused in honey.

There was this thick, sticky sweetness that clung to your limbs as you tried (and failed) to roll over. An uncomfortable warmth blanketed your senses as you attempted to shake your mind out of the fuzzy state it had sunken into. You had little success.

Gradually, you became aware of the warm puffs brushing the shell of your ear. A hard body pressed against your back, arms wound tightly around your midsection like manacles. You would push them off, but your arms were buried in honey. You could almost detect it on your tongue, and it tasted like last night’s dinner with a hint of something else, something chemical hidden underneath.

A whine trickled past your slack lips when you realised that he had drugged you. He could’ve done- could still do anything to you, and you would be powerless to stop him. Watching through a sickly-sweet haze as he played with you like a toy.

The helpless noise which escaped from you must have reached the ears of your captor, as he grumbled and shifted behind you, arm tightening, verging on painful. Not that you could object, of course.

“You’re awake?” His deep voice was huskier in the early-morning air, pausing after as if he expected a response. He seemed to remember your predicament a moment later, and chuckled. “I suppose I shouldn’t wait for an answer.”

You felt the pressure of his fingertips on your chin, pushing lightly. Your vision swam as he tilted your head over to face him, your eyes scrambling to take in new information and feed it to your cotton-wreathed brain. His eyes darted over your face, cataloguing the unfocused eyes, drooping lids and slack jaw. But he didn’t look worried. No, he looked pleased.

“Good morning, baby.” He smirked, planting a kiss on your forehead. His smile widened as he realised you were no longer able to wriggle away — as you tended to do — and this seemed to prompt him to kiss you again, and then again, and soon he was decorating every available piece of skin with his lips, trailing them down to your jaw and neck.

“This is nice,” He murmured against your skin, “I like it when you don’t make a fuss. Just lying there prettily and letting me take care of you. You’re such a good girl for me, right?”

Not like I have a choice, you tried to reply, but all you could make out was an unintelligible series of mumbles and whines. However, Taehyung could apparently still sense the disobedience in your tone, and he straightened up.

You were glad he had created some distance between the two of you, until you noticed the flicker of malice in his eyes. Recognised it, from hours of pain and brief reprieves of solitude. The fear — which had been suppressed to a whisper by the drug weighing down your muscles — started to build into a clamour in your still fuzzy-head.

Taehyung reached over to grab something from the bedside table, and you tried in vain to tilt your head to the side so you could see what it was. Your efforts ended up ultimately pointless, as Taehyung was quick to press the gun to your forehead, enabling you to see it clearly and unambiguously.

The click as Taehyung removed the safety was jarring against your skull, drowning out the terrified whimper that slipped past your lips.

“Another good thing about this,” Taehyung said conversationally, “-is that you can’t even try and fight back. Of course-” Taehyung broke off with a smirk, “-of course, fighting back is pointless anyway, since you know you could never win. But like this…”

Taehyung dug the muzzle into your forehead, the cold metal grazing painfully against your skin. “It illustrates your helplessness in a much more tangible way.”

Tears spilled down your cheeks as you fixed your wide eyes on Taehyung, conscious that this could be the last sight you ever see. Mangled pleas and apologies dribbled down your chin, making your gut clench with humiliation as you couldn’t even summon the effort to move your tongue properly.

Taehyung must’ve found this amusing, an adoring coo building in his throat as he watched you beg for your life.

“So pretty, baby girl.” He praised you, dragging the gun down to wipe away your tears. He pulled the metal away from your face and you couldn’t hold your sob of relief.

You watched in confusion as he ran his tongue along the barrel, his face warping into an expression of twisted pleasure as he tasted the physical evidence of your misery. He noticed your face and chuckled, placing the gun on the pillow beside your head.

“I wanted to see if your tears tasted as sweet as every other part of you does.” He explained, tilting his head as he ran his tongue over his lips, “They didn’t, but…” He paused thoughtfully, before a wolfish grin took over his face. “Maybe I should taste them from the source.”

He leaned in, and began lapping at your cheeks. You don’t know why this made you cry even harder. Perhaps it was the terrifying knowledge that he could do whatever he wanted with your body, and you had no choice but to lie there and take it. Perhaps it was the utter humiliation of being trapped, powerless underneath him. Perhaps it was despair — physical affection which you would usually welcome being warped into something cruel and animalistic and punishing.

Whatever it was, Taehyung was certainly enjoying it. He laughed, one hand trailing greedily along your side, coming down to scoop under your waist and lift your torso up to press against his. His other hand was braced in a fist beside your head as he leaned in and tasted your skin like a man starved. His teeth grazed along your cheekbone and you wondered, for one horrifying second, if he would take a bite out of you.

The thought made you hiccup mid-sob, and Taehyung pulled away.

“So upset, baby.” He cooed understandingly, “Are you scared? You don’t want me put a bullet in your pretty little head?”

You shook your head as vigorously as you could manage, resulting in a small jerk from side-to-side. Taehyung cooed again at your efforts, placing the gun back on the side table, much to your relief. The feeling was short-lived, however, as his hand returned clutching a knife.

“Would you like me to use this instead, angel?” He asked, and the terror you were so pumped up on crashed over you in another exhausting wave. It felt like the more you panicked, the less control you had over your body. You were helpless as Taehyung trailed the edge of the blade gently along your neck.

“You see, a gun is quick. Just one trigger-pull, and that’s it. With this, I can take my time. I could go on for hours.” The knife dug in slightly at your collarbone, just hard enough to break the skin. You mewled in pain. Taehyung drew his face in close to it, watching, enamoured, as a bead of blood welled up and trickled into the hollow at the base of your throat. His tongue darted out to taste it.

“Maybe I could carve my name in right here, show you who really owns your body.” He mused, trailing a finger along your now-bloody collarbone. “Or maybe I could write it on your wrist, hmm?” His hand wormed down to grab your forearm and present it to you, smiling viciously. His teeth were stained with red.

His smile dimmed artificially when he noticed your tear-streaked cheeks and desperate expression, trying your best to form the word ‘no’.

“Oh, you don’t want me to do that?” He asked, eyes widening as you shook your head. His expression darkened imperceptibly, even as his eyes remained innocent and large. “Well, why should I do what you want? You don’t do what I want, do you baby? All I ask is that you be pretty and relax when I hold you, like a good doll should, but you can’t even do that unless I drug you first.”

“Why shouldn’t I just-” He dug his knife in slightly at your wrist, and you whimpered as blood welled beneath the skin and ran down your arm, warm and thick. “-just carve my name into your pretty skin? You belong to me anyway, maybe this will finally make you accept it.”

You writhed, desperately trying to knock the blade away from your arm. Of course, it was useless, Taehyung had more than enough strength to hold you down and do whatever he wanted. You realised, with a cold fist of terror clenching in your abdomen, that what he said was true. No matter how much you tried to deny it, Taehyung effectively owned you.

Your captor’s eyes flashed with intrigue as he watched your subdued hysteria. If this was how you reacted at the simple prospect of a little scratch… how would you react to something more… permanent?

Taehyung lifted the blade from your skin, pausing to — of course — run his tongue along the bloodied edge. The possibility of cutting himself didn’t seem to bother him as he tasted your blood, groaning around the drops of ruby red trickling down his throat. It was nauseating to watch.

He receded to a crouch at the foot of the bed, and your discomfort grew, ratcheting up abruptly as he picked up your foot and placed the knife on the underside of your ankle.

“Do you know what this is?” He asked gently, his tone completely at odds with his actions, pinching your skin harshly between thumb and forefinger. He didn’t wait for an answer. He didn’t care in the slightest what you had to say.

“This is your Achilles Tendon. Just one little severed nerve, and-” He dug his nail in, laughing as you whimpered. “-you’ll never walk again. You’ll just lie here in this bed, pretty and perfect. All mine to hold and cherish and look after. If you want to go anywhere, I’ll have to carry you. But, you wouldn’t want to go anywhere, right? You have everything you need right here.”

“T-Taehyung,” You managed to gasp, your heart thrumming in your chest like a hummingbird trapped in the cage of your fatigued limbs. You could barely muster the energy to produce the pretty birdsong you knew he was waiting to hear. “Please… duh…don’t.”

“Don’t?” Taehyung repeated curiously, before deliberately digging the knife in. You felt the tendon bend underneath your skin, weakened under pressure. It was only so long before it snapped. “You don’t want me to cut it? Why?”

“H-Hurts,” You sobbed, because it was true. It would hurt if Taehyung cut you. It would hurt if you couldn’t walk without assistance. It would hurt to lose your last remaining vestiges of hope that you might somehow eventually escape this hell. But you knew that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“Oh, baby,” Taehyung cooed, crawling forwards to plant a kiss on your forehead. Normally, you would flinch away from his lips, but the rush of relief that came when Taehyung drew his knife away from your ankle had you almost sighing into the affection. You felt his lips curve into a smile against your forehead.

Ah. There you go. That’s what he wants.

“I don’t know,” He mused indecisively as he wrapped his arms around your prone form and laid back on the mattress, tugging you onto his chest. Even though he was pretending to deliberate, he had already placed the bloody knife back on the bedside table. You were so relieved, you didn’t even cringe as he tucked your face into his shoulder.

“I suppose I don’t have to cut it… I wouldn’t want to give my baby any ugly scars, would I?”

“No.” You mumbled quietly, fervently.

“But… can I trust you to be a good girl? To let me take care of you the way I know you need to be taken care of?”

“Yes.” You lied.

Taehyung’s large hands stroked up and down your back, one travelling to the base of your spine and resting there possessively, the other coming up to cradle the back of your head. Your neck was still quite weak from the drugs, and he had to hold your head to stop it lolling from side to side.

“See? This is all I wanted.” Taehyung breathed triumphantly, taking in your forcibly relaxed, placid expression. “I just want to hold you. To- to-” He flushed, and you almost started laughing at him, “-snuggle with you, without you pretending you don’t like it and ruining everything. Okay? That’s the only reason why I used the knife and… everything else. You know I’d never hurt you, baby.”

And as twisted as it was, you knew he was telling the truth. Taehyung never wanted to hurt you. He just wanted to keep you clutched in his possessive little fists like a child with their favourite toy. Arms always wrapped tight around you like he was scared someone would snatch you up during playtime.

He nuzzled into the top of your head, evidently deciding it was time to fall asleep, and you had no choice but to follow, allowing the drug to overcome you and tug your eyes shut. His hands kept caressing over the centre of your back, right where the pull-string would be on one of those old wind-up dolls. Yank the string as hard as you want — dolls can’t feel pain! — and listen to it speak to you.

I love you so much!

I love you so much!

I love you!

I love you!

[m2jay]

True Self [Genos x OC]

Ch. 2 | ~To Avail~ (pt. 2)

She was stunned and looked at Genos with a “what the hell just happened” kind of look. “So.. How old are you then?” Miyu asked him with a weirded out expression.

He rested his elbow onto the table as he pointed his finger up and said, “Oh, I’m 25. I started my own training routine 3 years ago back when I was 22 and didn’t stop it despite the difficulties--.” he realized he had begun monologuing.  Saitama’s eyes and eyebrows slightly twitched as he was disgusted by his realization. “And you?”

Miyu giggled then took a deep breath and spoke calmly. “I’m Miyu, 18 years old, and I ran away from home because I wanted to avoid an arranged marriage.” She noticed the boys looked unimpressed or couldn’t care less. It internally annoyed her since she felt like she was getting judged, but she couldn’t quite tell. 

“That’s lame.” Saitama commented bluntly.

“What is?” she asked as she lowered a brow. 

“Just say no.” 

Miyu stuttered in disbelief. “I-If it was that easy then I wouldn’t have been here!” she sputtered.

He shooed her away and pointed at the closest door near the entrance. “You should go wash up right now.” 

She looked at the direction he was pointing at and nodded. As she walked up to her luggage, she rummaged through it to find her towel. A sense of relief filled her since she was finally able to take a proper shower after so long. She was able to adjust the water’s temperature and use proper shampoo and conditioner to clean her hair. The forest’s scent was no longer on her. 

On the outside, Miyu seemed to be taking a long time from the boys’ perspective. Saitama complained since he wanted to use the bathroom already. Genos would occasionally look at the door and think that she would come out, only to just see the door remain closed. The two of them waited with their varied levels of patience.

When Miyu finally came out, Saitama hurriedly rushed into the bathroom. She placed her hand on her cheek and looked at the ground, realizing that she had been in there longer than she had thought. She rubbed her hair a bit more with her towel then placed it over her shoulders as her hair air-dried. Miyu walked back to the door to apologize, “Sorry!”

“You should!” Saitama said through the door. 

Genos walked up to the door and asked, “Should we discuss rent?” 

Her eyes widened as she started to lightly pull down on her cheeks. “Oh my gosh, I just realized I spent the night here..” she shrieked. “I’m only off for a week. I get back to work straight away after that. I can pay you guys better then.!” 

“Actually.” a flush from the bathroom was heard, along with the sink water. Saitama then opened the door and walked past the cyborg and girl to get back to his living room. “You have good coupons. Usually, Genos does all the household work. Maybe that kind of stuff could be your job.”

Miyu clasped her hands together. “Really? Surely there’s more.?” she asked.

“I mean-” he turned on the tv and began to watch. “The groceries sure are something too.” 

“I won’t disappoint then.” she affirmed. Miyu began to slowly unpack, but it didn’t take long since she didn’t have much. She had a few clothes, a pair of red glasses, comb, hairbrush, hair ties, toothbrush, toothpaste, pens and pencils, and many journals.

“Why do you have more journals than clothes?” Genos asked curiously. 

She organized her stuff a bit to fit neatly in the apartment. “Well, I write in my free time.” 

“We should head out and go get your own f-” Genos stopped mid-sentence as he sensed another figure coming their way. “Get back!” he told Miyu since he knew she couldn’t defend herself. “Object coming near slowly.” he had his hand out, ready to blast.

Miyu looked at him, thinking he was dramatic. From behind, she heard Saitama walk towards them. The two made eye contact and she gave him an expression and mouthed, “What’s happening?” to which he waved off.

Saitama patted Genos from behind, indirectly telling him that it was okay. The blonde cyborg lowered his hand down and refrained from further alertness as he sensed the figure get closer. Saitama then opened the door to see King with his console in his hands. 

King looked down at Saitama and greeted both him and Genos. He noticed Miyu behind them. He waved at her, to which she reciprocated. “Saitama, I brought the gaming console you wanted to borrow since you said--”

Saitama quickly cut him off. “Ah! King! Yes! One of your unexpected visits, as usual.” he fanned out his hand and welcomed him into the living room. The man never told Genos that he had been going off to play games during his free time and had instead been telling the cyborg that he had been doing important things.

Genos looked at his master and pointed at the door with his thumb. “We’re heading off.” he told him as he walked out the door.

“Bye!” Miyu bowed and waved at the two before closing the door and following Genos.

Both King and Saitama waved and began setting up the game console. They looked at each other for a bit as they didn’t know what to talk about first; the game, that Genos doesn’t know about Saitama slacking off, or the elephant in the room. Their game was soon booted up and the two began mashing buttons to fight. 

“So, who is she?” King started off with.

Saitama focused on the game as King beat his character up with multiple combos. “She’s this udon worker that Genos knows.” His thumbs were rapidly shifting as he desperately maneuvered around King’s character to avoid any further hits. “Gah!” he exclaimed out of slight frustration.

“What business does she have here?” he asked. 

“Doesn’t have a place to go to.” Saitama’s game character died in the first round and he slammed the controller to the ground but not hard enough to break the floor. “Urgh!” He then tried composing himself. “She’s also Genos’ other teacher, in a way.” he added. 

“Teacher?” he casually asked as he pressed buttons with ease. “What does she teach him then?”

“For the past weeks, Genos has been seeing her for manga lessons.”

“Manga lessons?” King chuckled. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“Genos assumed I gained strength from my mangas.” Saitama said with an annoyed tone.

King nodded since that explanation made more sense. “Now that adds up.” In the game, he was cornered with a sliver of health left. He kept blocking as he was attacked with multiple spam attacks. “He doesn’t seem like he’d just read manga on his own. But why is he learning from that girl and not you?” When he found an opening to attack, he pushed Saitama’s character and struck.

“You-!” Saitama continued to mash his buttons furiously. “Because he read all of my shounen ones and started reading some of my shoujos. After that, I basically told him he needed to learn how to live like his age. It became this task for him to somehow become stronger.” 

“Do you think it’s possible for him to get stronger?”

Saitama died in the game, once again, but he didn’t fuss about it that time as King’s question had caught him off guard. “He lacks power. All his strength depends on his mechanics. No matter how much training I make him do, it won’t make him physically stronger.”

As Genos and Miyu were walking, they’d occasionally run into more mutant bugs. The association soon gave Genos a call to inform him that all of them were to be considered as monsters. He understood and incinerated any that he sensed or came near. 

Miyu looked at him from time to time as she thought about his mechanics. He functioned differently since he was a cyborg, so it amused her. “Hey.. what parts of you are human?” she asked him. 

He looked at her and said, “It’s just my brain. Doctor Kuseno made me this way to appear more human. The skin you see on my face is just artificial skin.”

“I really need to thank you for taking me in, so thank you.” she said gratefully with a smile. “You’ve done a lot for me, and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to repay you.” 

“I’m learning from you, and it’s been a difficult process. You have my utmost respect.” 

“Even so,” her eyes softened. “It is a bit much.”

He shrugged and crossed his arms. “Things don’t always go as planned, like your job. I didn’t see any reason as to why it was such a bad thing that I brought you to Master Saitama’s place although I can see why to an extent after what you taught me. It can be a big misunderstanding.” 

She nodded. “Yes, it really can be. “

It didn’t take too long for them to get out of the ghost town and get back to where most people roamed around. There were no more ruins of buildings and nothing but the clean city, for the most part. They walked through the markets to find suitable futons that would fit in the apartment and came to Miyu’s liking. 

Around them were others that sometimes stared or whispered among themselves. Miyu took notice of the people around them and felt self-conscious, asking Genos if they could leave the area as soon as possible. He assured her that there were no threats around them, but that wasn’t her concern. After they made their purchase, the two headed home until Miyu got side-tracked.

“Genos! Could we try that?” she asked excitedly as she pointed at an ice cream parlor. 

He turned his head to look. “Right now? But we have to take this back.” he referred to the futon that he was carrying.

“But there’s nothing wrong with getting side-tracked.” Miyu pouted with disappointment. 

Genos stopped walking as he sensed something scurrying around. “Don’t move.” he told her, which she listened to. 

“Help! HELP!” voices cried out from behind them. 

The two of them looked behind them to see people screaming and running in terror. The buildings around slowly formed cracks. Luckily, the buildings didn’t collapse yet, but they looked severely damaged. Genos quickly told Miyu to run to a safe direction with the futon and that he’d find her later. She nodded and ran off.

The cyborg ran into the direction of the chaos. He used his sensors to track down his enemy and found a giant cockroach. He attempted to incinerate it, but it didn’t seem to work. “You’re a menace to most here!” he shouted at it. 

It scurried around and spread fumes, making others around sick. The monster lunged at Genos with its legs and tried scratching him with them but failed. Frantically moving around, it flipped over to try to crush Genos, only to break the asphalt. 

Genos pushed it down further by hitting it hard with his elbow. He jumped up and spinned with speed thanks to the boosters at his shoulder blades. It allowed him to attack the monster with more force. He noticed that his opponent had kept running through the shadows to avoid the light. He then yelled, “Lightning eye!” and his yellow irises began to glow brighter and brighter until it flashed a bright light at the cockroach.

It didn’t anticipate his move and saw the light head on. It became blinded from his eyes and struggled to maneuver around.

“Dual Blade Rush!” he shouted as blades came out of his arms. Genos slashed its head off, but the body still moved. “Machine gun blow!” he continued to fight and delivered a barrage of punches at a blinding speed until it didn’t move. From where its head was cut, he began to incinerate it from the inside then out.

From a distance, Miyu saw the whole thing and was proud but concerned. If Genos had to deal with such things all the time, then it’s no wonder why he was like that. As his mentor with manga and such, she felt like she had to take her part more seriously and be more responsible about it. Looking up, she saw Genos running to her after most thanked him for his help. 

“Are you alright?” he asked as he took the futon from her hands. 

She sighed and shook her head. “This isn’t normal..” 

“Hm?”

Miyu grabbed him by the wrist and tried dragging him, which didn’t work since he weighed a ton. She persisted to keep walking despite her efforts not working. “You need to have fun!”

He began walking to help her out to save her the trouble. Genos looked at her hand on his wrist and asked, “What do you mean?” 

“Gotta act our age, right?” she said with confidence as she looked back at him. “Don’t think too much about the futon. Let’s go around like yesterday but actually do something rather than a tour!”  

“So how are we going to have fun?” he asked.

Miyu contemplated for a bit on how she was gonna word things. “Fun isn’t just something that you do that’s described. Something fun can bring you this feeling of enjoyment, excitement, you might say. Whatever’s done may not be considered fun based on preferences, and you can’t just always determine it based on how you see it. You should try it at least.”

Genos took a mental note on every word Miyu said. “Won’t this delay my goal?” he questioned.

“About the cyborg that destroyed your hometown?” she shook her head. “Not at all. There’s sure to be days where you don’t fight, right? Those days off of yours could be put into training, but you do that all the time! Even when you’re with me for our manga sessions, you’re mainly there for learning. You should at least enjoy what you’re reading too. The plot! It’s fun to get into stories.” she pointed out.

“Go on?”

“There won’t always be some sort of goal. Last night, you said you can count me as a reliable friend? Well.. I-I..” she sputtered. “I will be that! You can always look to both Saitama and I for guidance as advisers, but I will always promise to be your friend first.!”

Genos nodded firmly as he was determined to understand every concept she was teaching him. They soon stopped as they came to a stop at an arcade. He watched her grip slowly come off of him as she gestured to him to enter. He looked inside as the building was a bit dark. All the games mainly lit up the place whether it was an arcade game or a claw machine. 

Miyu went up to the front counter and paid for two gaming cards. She gave the other to Genos and they walked around. There were many people inside with different age groups. It didn’t matter how old you were since everyone was able to find something that they were bound to enjoy. After walking around for a bit, she found one of those games that tested your strength and suggested Genos to give it a try.

Genos insisted it wasn’t a good idea since he’d probably break the machine, but she insisted to try either way and swiped his card. He gave it a swift jab without using his full force and punched the small bag. It immediately went up along with the numbers on the screen. He watched the screen stop at the number 999 and turned to Miyu. “And this determines my strength?” he asked.

She made a face and did a so-so motion with her hand. “Eh, kinda? Not really? I mean-..” she awkwardly laughed. “Normally, yes, but you’re a special case. Since you’re stronger than most people, I bet it would’ve excelled those numbers by a lot!” she assured him.

“That’s an obvious statement, but how will it tell me what I’m lacking?” he wondered.

“Genos,” she presented the game with her hand. “These games don’t really give you information like that. They just calculate your strength and its programmed capacity is 999. Who knows, technology is always advancing. Maybe some invention will one day give you an analysis for that kind of thing.” she told him on a positive note as she gestured to him to follow her around more. “You could try other games with that card. How about a fighting game?” she asked.

“I need to fight someone in here?” he questioned in shock. “That would not be a fair fight.”

She squinted her eyes at him and made a face. “What? No-” Miyu laughed for a second. “Haha, I need to teach you a lot. This is all still a lesson, but don’t fully think that way.” she told him. “Anyways, they’ll either involve joysticks, controllers, or guns.” she explained.

“Guns?”

“They’re just the controllers, don’t worry. They’re not real.” she assured him. “I can even play with you one some too!” 

His tone changed a bit and sounded more interested. “Can you now?”

Miyu nodded and pointed at a game from across the room. “Let’s try that one over there!” she suggested as she jogged up to it happily. 

He followed and looked at the machine. Genos noticed there were two sets of joysticks and buttons. “I assume you’ll use the other pair?” he asked her as he swiped his card.

She swiped her card and explained the controls on how to move his character. She taught him that the joystick was for movement and buttons were the attack moves and blocks. “Each character has their own attack style and strength level. Also, blocks will always work in this game as long as you’re facing the right direction. It doesn’t matter how strong your character is.” 

“So these are what Master Saitama cannot beat King on.” Genos commented randomly.

“The guy that was over earlier?” she asked as the game started. 

“Yes, he is ranked 7 within the S-Class heroes and is known as the strongest man on earth to many that follow the Hero Association. However, as much as I do respect his strength, I know that title doesn’t belong to him.” he explained.

“Because of your master, Saitama, huh?” she checked.

“Yes, you are correct.” he confirmed.

The two focused on their game as they continued talking. Genos’ character died in the 1st round as he was still getting used to the controls. Miyu gave him a tip on not to spam attacks unless he had a thought out attack combo at a good time. He listened and beat her on their 2nd round. When it came to the last round of their game, their conversation became more choppy since they were focused on beating each other. It didn’t take too long for the game to end as it ended in a draw due to them doing their special attacks at the same time. 

Miyu then suggested they try shooting and racing games. Genos agreed and followed her around as she chose the games. When they came across the racing game, Genos would exclaim about how objects being thrown shouldn’t be involved since racing is about speed. He went on about how purposely bumping into each other’s carts and using items wasn’t a true race, which made Miyu laugh because it was just a game, and he was taking it too literally.

After trying racing games, Miyu made Genos try a shooting game next. They picked up the gun controllers and started shooting at zombies. She often reminded him that he couldn’t depend on his sensors to find out where they were going to come from and that he just had to pay attention. He listened and began moving his gun to face multiple directions to not miss a single shot. A few had caught him off guard since there’d be some that would pop out of the side of the screen out of nowhere randomly. 

“Do you want to try a claw machine game?” she asked him then warned, “They’re kinda rigged though.”

“If it’s rigged, then why would people waste their time on it.?”

Miyu shrugged and answered, “Though it’s rigged, it’s kinda a chance thing.”

Genos declined the offer and asked if she wanted to continue. He was surprised to hear that she wanted him to choose, and he didn’t know how to react or respond. He peered from one of the corners of the wall to take a look outside and saw that it was still bright. “Do people usually stay in here all day?” hr questioned curiously.

She shook her head. “No, unless you’re a no life here, then yeah.” 

“No life?” 

Miyu assured him he wasn’t a no life and that he had better things to do than spend his days at arcades for many hours. “Do you want to use your points from games to get something in exchange?” she suggested. 

Genos lifted his card up and looked at it for a bit. “I don’t see why I would want anything.” 

She sighed. “Well, there’s bound to be something that you might really want one day.”

“One day.” he nodded. “I’ll tell you if so.”

“That’s great.” she smiled happily. Miyu felt like she was making some progress with him finding things to enjoy. “We can head back to the apartment for your manga session if there’s nothing else that’s coming to your mind.”

“That sounds ideal.” 

 As the two of them walked back, they continued to talk about other things whether it were about the Hero Association, Saitama, the arcade, or manga. Miyu slowly started to open up more as they talked. She went on about how she gets lost in the mangas that she reads and has a habit of re reading some because she liked them so much. Genos couldn’t relate, but he did his best to understand her point of view. 

“Master Saitama seems to be really interested in the Sakura Hime series.” Genos commented as they crossed through into the ghost town of City Z. “The fighting styles are very unique. I haven’t encountered anyone like them, but I’m confident in taking them on in a fight if that were to happen. The only person I can think of that is similar, but not really, would be Sonic.” 

Miyu held in her laughter and snickered, “Pfft.. Sonic.? Is he fast?” she asked him sarcastically.

“He’s very fast.” Genos informed her with caution. “When I first met him, it was difficult for my sensors to track his movements. He’s dangerous,” he turned his head to see her covering her mouth and quietly laughing. “Why’re you laughing?”

“Nothing, nothing.!” she giggled. “Did he wear blue?” she went on and burst into laughter.

He thought for a moment and said, “I believe he just had blue eyes. He was a ninja.” 

With one slow nod, she listened. “How long ago did you fight him?”

“It’s been quite a long while.. I’m not sure when the next time we’ll see him again. He has something against Master Saitama. “

They soon arrived at the apartment. Genos informed Miyu that King still appeared to be there since he sensed two figures inside. From the outside, they can hear Saitama’s frustration over losing and King slightly mocking him. They awkwardly entered and minded their own business. 

As Genos entered the living room while Miyu prepared dinner, he placed her futon at the side where theirs were stacked and began reading patiently. King leaned back and asked Genos about how his studies and training were going. He told him that they were going fine thanks to some help.As they had their small talk, Saitama trained in the game, hoping to improve himself and one day finally beat King in a match.

“I hear Saitama has told you to read manga.” King brought up as he sat at the table. 

Genos carefully placed the manga down to give him his proper attention. “Yes, it’s been going well thanks to some help.” he referred to both his master and new friend. 

“I see you have brought a new futon. You two took a while to get one.” he pointed out. “Did you guys run into some trouble?” 

The blonde cyborg recalled the events regarding the cockroach that was in the city not too long ago. He expressed some concern over the cities as the rise of these monsters kept coming. “I’m speculating there’s some ties with the once House of Evolution from before, but Master Saitama and I had already gone before. He defeated its strongest hybrid, but the similarities are uncanny.” 

“I’m heading to the Hero Association--” King was then interrupted by Saitama’s eagerness.

“I believe I can defeat you know!” Saitama exclaimed confidently as he gritted his teeth from stress. 

“Maybe next time, Saitama. You can borrow the console. I’ll be taking my leave to avoid overdoing my stay.” he insisted. 

“Wait!” Miyu called out to him in the kitchen. She peered from the kitchen’s door to look at the three. “You should stay for dinner.” she insisted. “We have more than enough food for 3.” her voice slowly faded as she felt like she was crossing some line, but she wanted to make the effort to get to know those around her new roommates.

Saitama agreed with her as he passed the controller to King. “Yeah! Do that!” 

King rolled his eyes at Saitama’s antics and took the controller from his hands to quickly beat him in a match. “I’ll stay then.” he told them with gratitude. He then turned to Saitama with a plain expression. “You need more practice.” he teased. 

Soon after, Miyu walked back and forth from the kitchen to the living room nervously. She didn’t want to spill the food she made, so she held one bowl at a time. Placing each bowl down carefully, her fingers trembled as the heat  from them was somewhat getting to her. Back at the kitchen, she would quickly flail her hand for some wind to cool it off. As she brought the last bowl, they all thanked her for the food and began eating. 

“This tastes good, Miyu.” Saitama complimented her. “I never had hitsumabushi like this before.” 

She thanked him for his compliment and explained, “I thought it would be nice to eat it to avoid summer heat weariness.”

Saitama looked up at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face and replied, “Oh, that doesn’t really affect me.”

“Oh..” she laughed awkwardly. “Haha.. I see..”

“I can see why they hired you at that udon shop.” he added on. 

Her eyes widened in surprise from King’s comment. She quickly swallowed the food in her mouth to avoid talking with her mouth full and asked, “You know I work there?”

He nodded in response. “Yes, Saitama was talking about it a while ago.” King turned to Genos and asked, “Do you think the food is good, Genos?”

“Doctor Kuseno gave me the functions of being able to eat, but I am unable to taste anything.” he explained. 

Miyu gave him a soft smile but was internally a bit disappointed that her cyborg friend couldn’t taste the flavors. “That’s okay.” she assured him. “At least it helps with biofuel.”

“It always does, thank you.” Genos told her.

When they were done, King escorted himself out and thanked them all for having him over. They all said their goodbyes for the night and got ready to go to bed. Miyu insisted on using the bathroom last to avoid any further waiting for Saitama. As Saitama was in the bathroom, Genos arranged the futons around the table while Miyu cleaned the dishes. 

Saitama slept by the patio door, as usual. Genos moved his futon closer to his as he placed Miyu’s futon where his used to be. After a while, the three soon went to bed, accepting their new routine. They all weren’t sure how things were gonna go, but there was a sense of comfort. It didn’t take too long for them to go to sleep, and Miyu’s week of break soon went by quickly.

[shazrolane]

Teacher Life

1) Every hour in the classroom takes about 3 hours of planning. 

2) Up to about 70% of information is lost in the first 15 minutes, if it is not reinforced. That same information needs to be reinforced again within 24 hours. Again within a week. Again within a month, if there is any chance of it sticking around long term. Information needs to pass through your brain a minimum of 7 times to make it last for a short term, at least 30 times for long term memory.

3) When stressed, and seriously who isn’t stressed right now, it’s incredibly difficult to concentrate. Hell, I can’t concentrate enough to finish a chapter in a fan fic right now, and that’s something I like. Students can’t concentrate long term right now, especially for a subject they don’t like and don’t see a need for

4) Many students have been conditioned to memorize the right answer, which leads to many of them googling for the right answer to the question in front of them, instead of learning the concept that can be generalized to many situations. I’m not blaming them, but I am stating that this is true, now more than I’ve experienced in my decades of teaching. 

So what does that mean?

I’m making a nearpod to explain how to take Cornell notes (see #2 above, because Cornell notes make information go through your brain at least 4-5 times and they stimulate the 24 hour review process). Because of #4, I’ll have to make my students show me their notes. Easy enough for in person students, I’ll have to make certain I require virtual students to show me their notes at the end of every note taking session. Also because of #4 and #3, students are FAR less likely to do this if it’s not connected to a grade, so I’ll have to figure out a way to grade these without it artificially inflating grades. 

I use nearpod because I can build in activities to reinforce ideas within that 15 minute time limit.  Every concept has to broken down into easy to understand, concise nuggets of information, with illustrations and graphics to assist my students who are still learning English or who struggle with written words.  Then I have to devise an activity that will allow them to practice the information. I need to estimate how long it will take to complete each activity so that I can again reinforce the information within 15 minutes while still allowing high acheiving and gifted students to not waste their time, waiting for others to catch up.

Students hear concepts as I read it outloud and explain, they read and copy as they take notes, then they practice this information immediately and again later in the lesson. Then they have some independent practice which I need to review as they do it, in order to catch mistakes and misconceptions as they arise. I need to develop different levels of activities to accomodate students with learning disabilities, those who are learning in a different language, as well as those gifted students who DON’T need the repetition but who DO need enrichment. 

Each nearpod starts with a check in on their mental/emotional health, and then a short video that showcases people who look like my students (primarily POC) doing good things and being acknowledged for it. This gives me time to do attendance and check over their responses on the mental/emotional health to determine who I need to check in on, who’s going to struggle today, and who I might need to refer to a counselor or social worker. 

Next I need to have a warm up that reviews what we did in class yesterday (that 24 hour review again). I usually add in a few call backs to things we did earlier in the class, so that doesn’t get forgotten. 

Remember #3? New concepts need to connect to concepts you already know, or you won’t understand/remember them. It’s like hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree - if there’s no tree, the ornaments crash to the ground. If a student is from a culturally Muslim country, talking about Christmas is meaningless to them. I need to find a way to connect these concepts to as many of my students as possible, so the concepts need to be relevant. Since I don’t know the backgrounds of all of my students, I need to build that relevance into my lesson and build the framework from the ground up. 

I need to schedule and write a quiz within the week, as well as a way for students to practice the information in the quiz, to hit that 7 days reinforcement target. 

It’s best to write the test first and then design lessons to make certain that all information on the test is adequately and appropriately addressed in the class, so I need to continually refer back to the test and the study guide while designing the lesson. 

The lesson needs to end with a closing that summarizes the information and makes students review or process or reflect on what they learned today. 

Then I need to make certain that I have something to grade, and try to make it easy to grade. If I can grade each assignment in 1 minute, it will take 1.5 hours to grade every assignment. Very few assignments worth doing can be graded in 1 minute.  Those hours spent grading are NOT part of the 3 hours of lesson design mentioned in #1.

Meanwhile, parents ask their students, “What did you do in class today?”  

“Copied some notes. Did a worksheet.”      

And people are spitting in rage that teachers are lazy, not doing their jobs, and don’t deserve paychecks.  There’s a parents’ group in my school district that is fighting to take away masks and doxxing teachers because we need to “start” earning our paychecks. 

PS we are currently hybrid - I’m teaching virtual as well as face to face right now. So everything I just wrote about above?  Now I need to go through and figure out ways for all of it to be done on paper as well.