#neural categories

[sophia-epistemia]

where's my post where I sperg out abt Categories and how different people have different categorization schemes that may output semi-overlapping clusters under the same names

when is comes to asexuality and aromanticism you have to be okay with contradiction. one ace person will say asexuality is about not experiencing attraction, another will say it’s about not caring to act on attraction, another will say it’s not experiencing arousal. one aromantic will consider themself queer, one won’t. two people with seemingly identical experiences will use two different labels. aro people will be in romantic relationships, ace people will have sex. you get it.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Dreams

Dreams - images, emotions, or sensations the brain produces during sleep.

While dreaming can occur during any stage of the sleep cycle, rapid eye movement sleep (also known as REM sleep) produces the most memorable and vivid dreams.

There are many types of dreams, including healing, prophetic, recurring, lucid, and nightmares.

You can have multiple dreams per sleep session, which can be as short as 10 seconds and as long as 45 minutes.

Types of Dreams

People can have several types of dreams. While the possibilities are limitless, some common categories include:

Flying dreams: Many people dream they can fly. These dreams are often pleasant and even euphoric. Dreamers might associate these dreams with sensations of freedom, fearlessness, and empowerment.

Lucid dreams: The sleeper becomes aware they are dreaming while in a lucid dreaming state and can retain some control of their body and thoughts within the dream.

Nightmares: These are fear-inducing dreams. In this case, the dream state might be the brain’s way of processing daily stressors. Common causes of nightmares or bad dreams include poor eating habits, traumatic events, illness, sleep deprivation, sleep disorders, or medication.

Prophetic dreams: In prophetic dreams, people see future events occur before they happen in real life. Some believe these dreams mean a person has predicted the future, while others believe prophetic dreams are the subconscious preparing you for a likely outcome.

Recurring dreams: These are dreams a person repeatedly experiences over a sleep session or multiple sleep sessions. Recurring dreams contain the same or similar imagery and sensations in prior occurrences and can also occur as recurring nightmares. Various theories suggest that recurring dreams result from risk avoidance, internalized fears, or other unresolved issues.

Stress dreams: Another common dream phenomenon involves stress. While not outright nightmares, stress dreams are often tense and unpleasant. Many people report dream content that involves tests for which they are unprepared or other situations that are confusing or difficult.

Dream Theories

There is no clear scientific explanation for the function of dreams, but there is a range of theories.

Sleep expert Matthew Walker says, “The origin of dreams or the belief of where dreams come from has a very storied history and past.”

The study of dreams is a large and growing field of scientific inquiry, and theories continue to emerge from neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science.

Some notable examples of dream theories include:

Emotional processing: One theory is people dream to process emotions. Dreams can often be emotionally charged, and by dreaming, people might work through emotional challenges and better prepare themselves for the difficulties of everyday life.

Learning assistance: Some researchers suggest the purpose of dreams is to learn new skills and sharpen problem-solving abilities. When a person focuses on learning a new skill or working through a challenging problem, they might dream about the activity to help them complete the task.

Memory consolidations: Another dream theory holds dreams are instrumental in forming new memories. While the precise mechanism remains mysterious, some sleep experts believe dreaming in the REM stage helps the brain consolidate short-term memories and store them as long-term memories.

Mental organizing: Some sleep experts believe dreaming is a way to organize mental space. During sleep, a person’s mind sifts through the sensory data they encountered while they were awake, making important neural connections where necessary and editing out extraneous information.

Otherworldly communication: Many religious traditions maintain dreams are a way to connect with other worlds or dimensions. Many believe dreamed encounters with departed loved ones contain great significance. “Back in ancient Roman and Greek times, they believed that our dreams were being gifted to us from on high, from in the heavens, from specific gods,” Matthew says. “And then other cultures, for example, Eastern Asian cultures, believed that dreams were coming from somewhere in our soul, perhaps somewhere in our body.”

Random noise: Some researchers believe dreams don’t have any particular purpose and are a byproduct of an active brain. This random brain activity might not have any other special purpose.

Unconscious desires: Austrian psychotherapist Sigmund Freud’s theory posits dreams are expressions of the unconscious mind’s desires. If people cannot express desires in their waking life, the unconscious mind might enact them as fantasies during sleep. “[Freud] made, in some ways, the science of dreaming a brain science [or] a neuroscience,” Matthew says. “Because it was Freud who suggested that it was somewhat in the mind of each of us that our dreams were coming from. That was the repository of dreaming.”

How to Remember Dreams

Everyone dreams at night, but few people can remember their dreams. Consider the following tips for recalling your dreams:

Establish a good sleep routine. Having a regular bedtime and waking time is a good way to practice healthy sleep hygiene, which might help you recall your dreams.

Focus on recall right after waking. The memory of a dream fades fast, so you are most likely to recall your dreams right after you wake up.

Keep a dream journal. By recording your sleep stories in a dream journal, you will build a habit of recalling your dreams more often. As you write down the details of your dreams, you might strengthen your ability to remember even more.

Wake up gently. If you wake up abruptly, you are likely to jolt into your waking mindset, and any fragments that might remain of your dreams will quickly disperse. Try using an alarm clock that has gentle sounds. Soft, low-volume music or voices can also assist in a smoother transition to waking life, making dream recall easier.

“Dreams are visual. They're filled with motor activity. We tend to be doing things. Are they filled with past autobiographic memories? Yes, very often. Are dreams sometimes emotional? They can be, very much so. Are dreams irrational, illogical, or bizarre? Yes, very much. And so brain science has given us the first neural evidence for describing the way in which we experience this strangest of all things called the dreaming state.” — Matthew Walker, neuroscience professor

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[mariacallous]

The number of people who read for fun appears to be steadily dropping. Fifty percent of UK adults say they don’t read regularly (up from 42 percent in 2015) and almost one in four young people aged 16 to 24 say they’ve never been readers, according to research by The Reading Agency.

But what are the implications? Will people’s preference for video over text affect our brains or our evolution as a species? What kind of brain structure do good readers actually have? My new study, published in NeuroImage, has found out.

I analyzed open source data from more than 1,000 participants to discover that readers of varying abilities had distinct traits in brain anatomy.

The structure of two regions in the left hemisphere, which are crucial for language, were different in people who were good at reading.

One was the anterior part of the temporal lobe. The left temporal pole helps associate and categorize different types of meaningful information. To assemble the meaning of a word such as leg, this brain region associates the visual, sensory and motor information conveying how legs look, feel and move.

The other was Heschl’s gyrus, a fold on the upper temporal lobe which hosts the auditory cortex (the cortex is the outermost layer of the brain). Better reading ability was linked to a larger anterior part of the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere compared to the right. It makes sense that having a larger brain area dedicated to meaning makes it easier to understand words and, therefore, to read.

What might seem less intuitive is that the auditory cortex would be related to reading. Isn’t reading mainly a visual skill? Not only. To pair letters with speech sounds, we first need to be aware of the sounds of the language. This phonological awareness is a well-established precursor to children’s reading development.

A thinner left Heschl’s gyrus has previously been related to dyslexia, which involves severe reading difficulties. My research shows that this variation in cortical thickness does not draw a simple dividing line between people with or without dyslexia. Instead, it spans the larger population, in which a thicker auditory cortex correlates with more adept reading.

Why Size Matters

Is thicker always better? When it comes to cortical structure, no, not necessarily. We know the auditory cortex has more myelin in the left hemisphere of most people. Myelin is a fatty substance that acts as an insulator for nerve fibers. It increases neural communication speed and can also insulate columns of brain cells from each other. Neural columns are believed to function as small processing units.

Their increased isolation and rapid communication in the left hemisphere can be thought to enable the fast, categorical processing necessary for language. We need to know if a speaker uses the category d or t when saying dear or tear rather than detecting the exact point where the vocal folds start vibrating.

According to the “balloon model” of cortical growth, the larger amount of myelin squeezes out left-hemispheric cortical areas, making them flatter but more extended. So while the left auditory cortex may be thicker in good readers, it is still thinner (but much more extended) than the corresponding right cortex.

This hypothesis was corroborated in the recent research. The left hemisphere had generally larger but thinner cortical areas with a higher degree of myelin.

So is thinner better, then? Again, the answer is no, not necessarily. Complex abilities that require integrating information tend to benefit from a thicker cortex. The anterior temporal lobe with its complex way of integrating information is indeed the thickest structure of all cortical areas. An underlying mechanism might be the existence of more overlapping, interacting neurons which process information more holistically.

Phonology is a highly complex skill, where different sound and motor features are integrated into speech sounds. It appears to correlate with a thicker cortex in an area near the left Heschl’s gyrus. While it is unclear to what extent phonology is processed in Heschl’s gyrus, the fact that phoneticians often have multiple left Heschl’s gyri suggests it is linked to speech sounds.

Clearly, brain structure can tell us a lot about reading skills. Importantly, though, the brain is malleable—it changes when we learn a new skill or practice an already acquired one.

For instance, young adults who studied language intensively increased their cortical thickness in language areas. Similarly, reading is likely to shape the structure of the left Heschl’s gyrus and temporal pole. So, if you want to keep your Heschl’s thick and thriving, pick up a good book and start reading.

Finally, it’s worth considering what might happen to us as a species if skills like reading become less prioritized. Our capacity to interpret the world around us and understand the minds of others would surely diminish. In other words, that cozy moment with a book in your armchair isn’t just personal—it’s a service to humanity.

[misanthropiccatboy]

ultimately i think "life starts at conception" and "humans and animals are fundamentally different" is all Cope for the reality, which is that "sentience" is not delineated neatly or clearly, nor is it some kind of natural law. it's a collection of neural signals, able to be reproduced by anything with a brain.

we are all the senseless products of a merciless and horrifying world. it's comforting to pretend that there are clear categories to make sense of it, but that's simply not the truth of the matter.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 19, 2025

Individual-specific strategies inform category learning. Collina, J. S., Erdil, G., Xia, M., Angeloni, C. F., Wood, K. C., Sheth, J., Kording, K. P., Cohen, Y. E., & Geffen, M. N. (2025). Scientific Reports, 15, 2984.

Visual activity enhances neuronal excitability in thalamic relay neurons. Duménieu, M., Fronzaroli-Molinieres, L., Naudin, L., Iborra-Bonnaure, C., Wakade, A., Zanin, E., Aziz, A., Ankri, N., Incontro, S., Denis, D., Marquèze-Pouey, B., Brette, R., Debanne, D., & Russier, M. (2025). Science Advances, 11(4).

The functional role of oscillatory dynamics in neocortical circuits: A computational perspective. Effenberger, F., Carvalho, P., Dubinin, I., & Singer, W. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(4), e2412830122.

Expert navigators deploy rational complexity–based decision precaching for large-scale real-world planning. Fernandez Velasco, P., Griesbauer, E.-M., Brunec, I. K., Morley, J., Manley, E., McNamee, D. C., & Spiers, H. J. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(4), e2407814122.

Basal ganglia components have distinct computational roles in decision-making dynamics under conflict and uncertainty. Ging-Jehli, N. R., Cavanagh, J. F., Ahn, M., Segar, D. J., Asaad, W. F., & Frank, M. J. (2025). PLOS Biology, 23(1), e3002978.

Hippocampal Lesions in Male Rats Produce Retrograde Memory Loss for Over‐Trained Spatial Memory but Do Not Impact Appetitive‐Contextual Memory: Implications for Theories of Memory Organization in the Mammalian Brain. Hong, N. S., Lee, J. Q., Bonifacio, C. J. T., Gibb, M. J., Kent, M., Nixon, A., Panjwani, M., Robinson, D., Rusnak, V., Trudel, T., Vos, J., & McDonald, R. J. (2025). Journal of Neuroscience Research, 103(1).

Sensory experience controls dendritic structure and behavior by distinct pathways involving degenerins. Inberg, S., Iosilevskii, Y., Calatayud-Sanchez, A., Setty, H., Oren-Suissa, M., Krieg, M., & Podbilewicz, B. (2025). eLife, 14, e83973.

Distributed representations of temporally accumulated reward prediction errors in the mouse cortex. Makino, H., & Suhaimi, A. (2025). Science Advances, 11(4).

Adaptation optimizes sensory encoding for future stimuli. Mao, J., Rothkopf, C. A., & Stocker, A. A. (2025). PLOS Computational Biology, 21(1), e1012746.

Memory load influences our preparedness to act on visual representations in working memory without affecting their accessibility. Nasrawi, R., Mautner-Rohde, M., & van Ede, F. (2025). Progress in Neurobiology, 245, 102717.

Layer-specific control of inhibition by NDNF interneurons. Naumann, L. B., Hertäg, L., Müller, J., Letzkus, J. J., & Sprekeler, H. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(4), e2408966122.

Multisensory integration operates on correlated input from unimodal transient channels. Parise, C. V, & Ernst, M. O. (2025). eLife, 12, e90841.3.

Random noise promotes slow heterogeneous synaptic dynamics important for robust working memory computation. Rungratsameetaweemana, N., Kim, R., Chotibut, T., & Sejnowski, T. J. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(3), e2316745122.

Discriminating neural ensemble patterns through dendritic computations in randomly connected feedforward networks. Somashekar, B. P., & Bhalla, U. S. (2025). eLife, 13, e100664.4.

Effects of noise and metabolic cost on cortical task representations. Stroud, J. P., Wojcik, M., Jensen, K. T., Kusunoki, M., Kadohisa, M., Buckley, M. J., Duncan, J., Stokes, M. G., & Lengyel, M. (2025). eLife, 13, e94961.2.

Representational geometry explains puzzling error distributions in behavioral tasks. Wei, X.-X., & Woodford, M. (2025). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(4), e2407540122.

Deficiency of orexin receptor type 1 in dopaminergic neurons increases novelty-induced locomotion and exploration. Xiao, X., Yeghiazaryan, G., Eggersmann, F., Cremer, A. L., Backes, H., Kloppenburg, P., & Hausen, A. C. (2025). eLife, 12, e91716.4.

Endopiriform neurons projecting to ventral CA1 are a critical node for recognition memory. Yamawaki, N., Login, H., Feld-Jakobsen, S. Ø., Molnar, B. M., Kirkegaard, M. Z., Moltesen, M., Okrasa, A., Radulovic, J., & Tanimura, A. (2025). eLife, 13, e99642.4.

Cost-benefit tradeoff mediates the transition from rule-based to memory-based processing during practice. Yang, G., & Jiang, J. (2025). PLOS Biology, 23(1), e3002987.

Identification of the subventricular tegmental nucleus as brainstem reward center. Zich��, K., Balog, B. Z., Sebestény, R. Z., Brunner, J., Takács, V., Barth, A. M., Seng, C., Orosz, Á., Aliczki, M., Sebők, H., Mikics, E., Földy, C., Szabadics, J., & Nyiri, G. (2025). Science, 387(6732).

[dat-town]

fight the hurricane

Characters: Sunwoo & female reader

Setting & genre: Pacific Rim au, action, angsty with hopeful ending

Summary: In the middle of a war against alien monsters, there was a war going on inside your mind and heart too, guilt and memories eating you away. Then comes a boy who doesn’t need to Drift with you to understand you completely.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, grief, survivor’s guilt, deceased parents, past minor character death, bleeding

Words: 10.1k

Author’s note: title is from Pacific Rim; “There are things you can't fight, acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. You can win.” if i had a nickel for every time i made Sunwoo the prodigy new guy in town i would have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice.

happy name day @lily-blue <3

By your early twenties, you had been well accustomed with the feelings of loss, grief and guilt. But again, most people were in the world you lived in.

You had been 12 when the first monster came from the sea. You had seen it all over the tv and as a kid, it had seemed exciting like a Hollywood movie and you hadn’t taken it seriously. Even your parents had been doubtful it wasn’t just the media trick.

But more and more monsters had come from the depth of the Pacific Ocean, destroyed beach towns and killed its people. They had been named Kaiju (which meant ‘strange beast’ in Japanese as your father had explained), then the Pan Pacific Defence Corps had gotten established and the Jaeger program (meaning ‘hunter’ in German) had started. It had gotten too real too quick.

You had been 14 when you had first seen a Kaiju in real life. A single one was enough to pulp your hometown into the ground. You had been shivering the whole time you had seen it march through the island. Your first thought had been that it looked like a mix of a dinosaur and an alien and the second had been that you were going to die.

You hadn’t died that day but your parents had. It had been too late when their bodies had been found under the collapsed building of your home.

A month later you had moved into the Busan Jaeger Academy and a year later Jiwon had joined too. Back then you had no idea that she would be your other half. Best friends was too mundane of a word to describe your bond.

You had been 20 when she had died… no, not just died; when she had been killed. Died was such a passive word as if she wasn’t fighting until the last moment with the Category IV Kaiju by your side in Virtual Angel, your Jaeger. The truth was that you hadn’t just lost her. You had lost yourself too. You had trained together for five years and had been active Rangers for almost two years. Something like that cannot be erased merely by death, especially not with the neural link connection you had. You had shared memories, feelings and perspectives. Sometimes you still heard her voice in your head.

After you had gotten out of the hospital, you had been declared ‘mentally unable to return to piloting’ and been transferred from the Rangers to the LOCCENT. Maybe it had indeed been for the better. You weren’t sure you could have survived losing somebody close to you again.

“Category IV Kaiju alert! I repeat: Category IV Kaiju alert,” the intercom blared through the Busan Shatterdome just like it had done simultaneously in every other Shatterdome in the world when the PPDC issued a warning. “Goddess Mercy, report to standby. I repeat…”

The voice blurred in your mind as you hurried to put on your uniform and run to the Local Command Center. Research found that Kaiju arrivals were in a certain pattern, so your scientists always predicted the next attack’s time even if they were eventually hours off. It was better to be prepared for something than to not expect it at all or always be frenzy about it.

“Reporting to duty, sir,” you saluted when you arrived at the mission control unit. Marshall Lee Sangyeon nodded at you but kept his eyes on the big screen where the Kaiju tracking was displayed. You could see the vast red spot moving fast in the blueness of the ocean, heading towards Taiwan. You swore as you took your seat next to Changmin who was on standby duty all night in case something like this happened.

“What’s the strategy?” You asked as you pulled up the necessary maps and the information on the Kaiju that the PPDC sensors could tell such as size, toxicity, speed and such when they passed through the Breach, an interdimensional portal in the Pacific Ocean. It was useful to know what you were up against as well as for the headquarters to decide how many Jaegers they would send to neutralize the threat in the ocean before it could reach and attack land.

“Juyeon and Hyunjae are getting ready. Canada sends the Snow Leopard with Jacob and Kevin and Japan reported to dispatch Rogue Kitsune too,” Changmin told you as he checked on the engineering process on your side.

“It will be Fumiya’s first battle with his new co-pilot, right?” You hummed, briefly contemplating that it could be you as well if you were strong enough to go back after losing Jiwon. Before Changmin could have confirmed, your focus shifted to the LOCCENT’s huge window because on the other side, the giant metal mecha of Goddess Mercy was gearing up for battle.

“Ranger Lee is standing by,” you heard Hyunjae’s voice in your headset, echoed by Juyeon’s and you could see on the camera on your computer screen that both of them were already in their drivesuits, heading towards the Conn Pod, the currently detached cockpit of their Jaeger. Under them dozens of J-Tech engineers worked to make sure the Jaeger was in great condition to be exported and to fight.

In the meantime technicians helped the two pilots to get fully into gear and attached the spinal clamp needed for the neural transmission.

“Their life functions and vitals are okay,” you announced after scanning the results on your screen.

“Rangers, ready?” The Marshall asked which got immediate responses:

“Yes, sir!”

“Ready to kick some Kaiju ass,” Hyunjae grinned his signature smile.

“Neural handshake initiated,” Gahyeon stated a few seconds later and you could immediately see the spike in both Juyeon’s and Hyunjae’s heart rate as well as their brain receptors’ activity. They were a well synced pair, so by the time the Conn Pod was attached to the Jaeger’s mechanical brain, the technician also announced that the drift was successful.

“Goddess Mercy is ready to launch,” Juyeon said and the Jaeger moved its right hand as a proof. Soon eight V-50 Jumphawks airlifted the monstrous size of mecha and flew it towards the ocean to drop them near the vicinity of the Kaiju.

It might have been just the two of them out there putting their lives on the line along with the other Rangers, but every Kaiju battle was teamwork. Everybody in the Shatterdome watched the huge monitor displays and followed their movements over the map via GPS signs and drones sent with them. Your team in the control room was responsible for keeping an eye on the pilots’ health, the stability of their neural connection, the Jaeger’s condition, the Kaiju’s whereabouts and the battle’s surroundings. Admittedly you had only started to appreciate this side of the work after getting disqualified as a Ranger yourself and you didn’t mind that it was only the pilots and their Jaegers that were celebrated as heroes because every win was a victory for humanity no matter who took credit or not.

“Drop happening in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… release!” Changmin counted down and you saw the transporting aircrafts release the harnesses holding Goddess Mercy in air and the metal giant landed in the water with a big splash but safely.

“Kaiju incoming from northeast, estimated arrival in 56 seconds,” you recited the information based on the map and simulation calculations into the microphone. “Snow Leopard is already on the radar too. Rogue Kitsune just left the Tokyo base.”

“It’s going to be eas–” Hyunjae’s words got cut off when something moved in the dark waters around them and the next moment they were dragged underwater.

This Kaiju was not only big in size but it had 8 long snake-like tentacles curling around Goddess Mercy’s legs. The pilots were clearly taken aback by the unexpectedly quiet attack but they managed to overthrow the slippery looking monster, engaging in hands-on combat.

Due to the toxicity and radiation level of Kaijus, it was important to make sure they bleed the least because their blue fluids could make waters poisonous and kill wildlife, flora as well as people in contact. Old solutions such as dropping nuclear missiles on them had been deemed terrible choices too due to the destruction it caused nearby. Jaegers were people’s best hope.

Hyunjae and Juyeon were fighting the monster the best they could but with its many arms, they were mostly forced to protect themselves especially because the Kaiju seemed to attack their power cell on purpose. Unfortunately the K-scientists also predicted the growth of intelligence level in higher category Kaijus. They seemed to learn during their visits and they kept evolving.

It was a relief when Snow Leopard arrived and lured the alien giant away from Goddess Mercy. This way the two of them could charge at the Kaiju at once.

“Rangers, report! Are you okay?” Marshall Lee called out for your pilots and everybody waited for their answer with their breath held back. Based on their health measurements on your screen, their adrenaline levels went frenzy but they were otherwise okay. It was the Jaeger that had some red areas in their right shoulder on the heatmap.

“We are good. Mercy’s right arm has gone limp though,” came the answer and Hyunjae’s grunting about not underestimating these bastards again could be heard.

They tried to hit and punch the Kaiju for a while, circling around it but since its tentacles were longer than the Jaeger arms, it seemed like it was just playing with them. Then Goddess Mercy released its built-in sword from its operating arm and cut off one tentacle of the Kaiju. It seemed to simultaneously weaken and piss it off, so after the blade cut off another limb, the Kaiju pushed Snow Leopard away just enough to pay more attention to Goddess Mercy as it jumped upon its chest, making the mecha lose its footing and before they could push it off or the other Jaeger could pull it off, two of its remaining tentacles pierced through the Conn Pod’s glass windows, the Jaeger’s ‘eyes’ and two others attacked the energy center in its chest, the two weakest point of the metal monstrum. Then with a snapping sound, the Kaiju ripped the Conn Pod out of the Jaeger and sent the pilots flying.

You spoke up at the same time as Gahyeon, alarmed.

“Life functions are dropping low.”

“Connection from Rangers to Jaeger is lost.”

“Send an emergency team! Get them out of there!” The Marshall shouted while the Canadian Jaeger and the just arriving Japanese one successfully neutralized the Kaiju after cutting off all its extra limbs.

Still, with the victory celebrated, your breathing was still shaky as your memories of the emergency staff pulling you out of your drivesuit was too vivid. Jiwon’s fear before your connection was cut off was too much.

You didn’t even notice that you were trembling, just when Changmin put a warm hand over your back.

“It’s over,” he whispered and you forced yourself to nod.

It’s over. For now. Your gaze glided to the huge counter on the dome’s main hall showing the time since the last Kaiju arrival: 0 days, 0 hours, 47 minutes.

At this rate, who knows when the next one will come? When will it end?

With Juyeon and Hyunjae recovering in the hospital from both physical injuries and the mental stress of sudden neural link detachment, the Busan Shatterdome and its area was defenseless and depended on the help of others. The PPDC headquarters in Seoul decided that Jeju should send their cadets to Busan to test drift compatibility between the two Shatterdomes’ residents. Busan needed new co-pilots but the more, the merrier, so the decision was applauded on all fronts except the new dorm assignments among cadets. You didn’t mind sharing a room with two more girls, especially because this was a temporary situation until the eleven Jeju cadets stayed over. Other than the housing issues though, their arrival brought excitement too. It was rare when the Shatterdome got new cadets other than following the Jaeger Academy graduation, so everybody was gossiping about the new residents. They were welcomed with an informal dinner but the next day they were in the combat rooms for training already.

“Aren’t you coming? Eric will miss you,” Changmin teased when you were leaving the canteen but you just rolled your eyes at the mention of the other boy.

“He will survive,” you shrugged. “I have a night shift tonight, so I’m going to ditch that for a nap.”

Trainings at the dome were open to anybody either to watch or participate. Sometimes you joined in for old times sake and to get in your exercise amount for the day but without Jiwon it wasn’t the same. Sometimes you went to watch though, mostly to annoy Eric with your unasked advice. He wasn’t a bad fighter, just a bit reckless and impatient.

That day you were sure the combat room would be full of people because everybody would be curious to see if there were promising matches between two cadets that show innate synchronization, the kind that was needed so two minds could pilot the same Jaeger at the same time. However with Busan’s six cadets in training and the ones coming from Jeju, the number of combinations were high, so it would take days, especially if retired ex-Rangers would like to try again too. It wasn’t unheard of that a Ranger who had once lost their partner would find another to match with but you weren’t planning on going back to the field. Not necessary out of fear, more of guilt. It had been years and you still didn’t forgive yourself for what happened to Jiwon.

Changmin promised to inform you if anything interesting happened but then you parted ways, his leading towards the training halls and yours to the dorms. Right after Kaiju attacks, you slept better knowing that you should be safe for a while but when the next predicted date was nearing you always had trouble sleeping properly, so you wanted to make the most out of these chances not only for the night shift but also for your sake as well.

By the time you woke up and got ready for work, you had like a dozen of texts from Changmin including a picture of Eric wincing at the bruises he received thanks to a girl from Jeju. Served him right though. He always went easier on girls, which might have been gentlemanly on his part but it was just stupid in your opinion, maybe that’s why you never synced either.

When you got to the LOCCENT room, Younghoon was already there.

“Hey, is there anything?”

“Nothing luckily,” he turned towards you with a greeting nod which you reciprocated.

You glanced at the giant counter that showed that it had been almost 6 days since the last attack. The K-scientists predicted at least 12-14 more before the next one based on the recent pattern but you could never know, that’s why shifts and keeping an eye out on the sensors and tectonic movements was important.

“How are Hyunjae and Juyeon?” you asked as you took a seat and signed in to your computer. Younghoon was close with the two boys since they had all grown up together but he hadn’t had a shift when his friends had gotten injured, so it must have felt terrible to just watch it from the sidelines. Not that he could have done anything from the control room. Ranger life was unpredictable like this.

“They are getting better. It will take a while for Juyeon’s broken arm to heal and both of them are still experiencing migraines because of the neural disconnection. It could have been a lot worse,” the boy noted and you knew that he was right. Some Rangers had permanent brain damage after something went wrong during Drift. That’s also why two pilots were needed to control a Jaeger, it would have been too much on one single individual.

“That’s good,” you let a small, reassuring smile paint your lips because their health mattered more than anything. But you couldn’t help but ask, your past self’s guilt towards Jiwon, the Shatterdome, the purpose of the program, sweeping into your bones. “Did they say anything about staying as Rangers?”

Younghoon looked at you with knowing eyes, like he knew exactly why you were asking. He was already at LOCCENT when you were assigned this new job after being discharged from the hospital.

“No. Maybe they are waiting for the official evaluation,” he said and you nodded. Honestly, it was hard to imagine Busan’s best duo as anything other than Rangers but then again, once you couldn’t imagine your life differently either. You had thought you would either spend your life fighting with Kaijus until humanity won or die in a Jaeger. Surviving alone had never been an option. Until it was.

On quiet nights like this when there was a low chance for a Kaiju attack, your work wasn’t particularly interesting. You recorded some info about the Pacific Ocean, the sensors’ data and created a report to submit but otherwise you were mostly reading or talking with Younghoon about Shatterdome and PPDC gossip. By the time the next shift arrived at 6AM to take over you got to know all the exciting details of the training day with the Jeju cadets.

You liked early mornings like this because everything was quiet and calm. In a few hours J-technicians would be busy running around fixing up Jaegers and building new ones, K-scientists would yell about the newest discoveries and Ranger-to-bes would compete over who could get to the combat room or the canteen the fastest. No need to get you wrong, you loved the lively atmosphere of the Shatterdome, you loved feeling the purpose that bound all of you together, the comradeship but there was something in the serenity at dawn that could finally placate your messy mind.

You walked up on the metal stairs over the hangar, right until the catwalk that led over to the other side of the building. You loved this one the most, not only because it was the highest point somebody could get without being in a mecha’s cockpit but if you sat down in the middle of it, you could face the patched up version of Virtual Angel. Your former Jaeger.

You had gained the habit of coming out here to face the elegant metal body of the weapon that once had been partly yours after what had happened with your co-pilot. The three of you, the Jaeger, Jiwon and you had shared something special. You had neutralized enough Kaijus to make any parent proud but not enough, never enough, and while you could have never made yourself pilot Virtual Angel again, she deserved to be in the spotlight again, to fight more. You hoped she would have the chance.

So early in the morning the place was always empty but not this time. You faltered when you saw a stranger sitting in your usual place, staring ahead, at the lined up Jaegers in the hangar as if he was pondering about something. He must have been deep in thought because he didn’t seem to notice your approach until you were only a few steps away from him. When he did though, he looked up at you with eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s my place,” you told him without greeting. The boy your age looked confused for a moment as he looked at the metal structure holding both of your weight about 75 meters over the ground.

“I didn’t see your name here,” he looked back at you with a tilt of his plush lips and you raised a brow, watching him do the same, his brown hair falling into his likewise dark eyes in soft waves. He wore the Jeju cadets’ uniform, same as your formal one but with a different symbol over the heart. But it was too early for even the cadets to be up.

“You don’t even know my name,” you retorted, which made the boy tilt his head in a mischievous way.

“Are you sure about that?” He questioned because he added. “Or maybe it’s my way of asking.”

“Funny, aren’t you?” You let out a little huff of laughter at that and then slid down onto the catwork and sat down next to the boy, a good arm length away, hanging your legs down, leaning against the railing. After spending years looking down from this height through the Conn Pod of Virtual Angel, you weren’t afraid of heights anymore nor the idea of falling scared you. You couldn’t be sure about the side of your unexpected companion though.

“Can’t sleep?” You found yourself asking but you didn’t look at the boy. You kept your eyes on the silver and baby blue paint over the copper Jaeger.

The cadet hummed, confirming but not elaborating. You didn’t expect it, you were strangers after all even if you were fighting the same war. You just sat down quietly for a while, not in awkward but more of a comforting silence, just the type you particularly liked on mornings like this.

“She’s beautiful,” the guy spoke up a bit later when the Sun was already up over the horizon, painting orange hues over the glass dome above your head, casting bright light over the three mechas. At first, you were confused who was the she he talked about but then you saw that he was looking at Virtual Angel too and you couldn’t help an albeit small but genuine smile.

“She really is, huh?” You agreed, feeling warmth in your chest like when somebody complimented something you could be proud of.

“I’m Sunwoo by the way.”

You turned your head to face the guy, wondering what kind of stories he could hide behind that smile of his, what kind of dreams or fears could drive him here, 75 meters high at the crack of dawn.

“I’m Y/N,” you reciprocated the introduction, forgetting about his previously mentioned intentions.

“I know,” Sunwoo nodded with a secretive smile but then he bobbed his head towards Virtual Angel. “She’s yours.”

Ah, so he really knew who you were. You weren’t sure how to feel about that.

“She was,” you corrected him, which was followed by a beat of silence.

“Aren’t you going back out there?” He asked and it seemed more genuinely curious than blaming. Some people in his shoes would have called you a coward or weak, some people would have done anything to find a partner to pilot a Jaeger together and fight but you weren’t even trying anymore.

“No, I’m not,” you confirmed, picking your nails and you weren’t sure what you expected in response. Pity? Anger? You certainly didn’t expect the boy to get playful.

“Then if I manage to sync up with somebody, can I take her out for a ride?” He raised an eyebrow and the way he phrased it made you flabbergasted.

“Are you asking for my permission?” You chuckled because it was ridiculous. PPDC owned the Jaeger, they had every right to give it to anybody who was suitable. She wasn’t really yours to begin with. But Sunwoo didn’t seem to relent. “Okay, fine. If you are cleared to pilot, kill some more Kaijus with her.”

“It would be an honor,” the guy grinned, a gummy smile showing and you weren’t sure what it was about him and his cockiness but you found yourself rooting for this random stranger to get the green light. Scientifically there was a chance of 1 to 25 that somebody would complete a successful drift without extensive training together but maybe he would be the lucky one.

Speaking of training, Sunwoo’s smartwatch pinged with a notification and he looked apologetic as he stood up.

“Gotta go for my morning run,” he excused himself and you just nodded, planning to head towards the canteen for breakfast soon anyways. You waved him off, ignoring his sly smile. You turned back to Virtual Angel, mentally warning her not to get her hopes up as if the giant mecha could have feelings on its own. It was all just in your mind.

The rest of the day passed in a blur like it often did when you had a night shift. You ate breakfast with a few early birds then went to sleep off your tiredness. At lunch you were sitting with Haknyeon from J-Tech and Chanhee from the K-science Lab when Eric slid to your table. He already wore his clothes for training, a tight fitting tee and shorts, his blonde hair flopping onto his forehead, his smile contagious.

“Are you free this afternoon?” He asked, looking at you intently.

“Hello to you too,” Chanhee muttered from the excited boy’s side, continuing to eat his dumplings the same as before, unfazed by Eric’s one track mind.

“Depends. Why?” You asked but just to be difficult, just to hear him ask you. It was just harmless teasing. You knew exactly what he wanted. You had been friends since the Jaeger Academy. If it wasn’t for Jiwon, he probably would have counted as your best friend. Even if you both had changed since then.

“We’re doing the second rounds of trainings with the new kids. I got assigned with the dude who beat everybody yesterday. Apparently he was also on the top of his classes back in Jeju too,” he chattered which made Haknyeon next to you snort.

“What kind of flowers would you like at your funeral then?” He joked which earned him a scowl but you knew Eric didn’t take it seriously either, not with that pout he looked at you.

“Please, I need you as emotional support,” he said then quietly added: “And your expertise.”

Back at school and even later at Ranger training like this you were the best strategist of your class. You might not have been the strongest but you were smart and hardworking. While the goal of these training sessions was to learn about combat skills and how to move and work together well, eventually when it came to fights, there was rarely not a winner. But even with hits and kicks delivered it was always obvious when two people just balanced each other out. It was something either innate or integrated over years, you couldn’t help Eric with that. What you could help though was analyzing this other guy’s fighting skill with other people to advise Eric about how to counterattack.

“I heard that he’s getting desperate. He hasn’t matched with anybody since he was sixteen,” Chanhee spoke up and while he himself sounded disinterested every head turned towards him at his claim.

“How do you even know that?”

“Just because I don’t talk a lot, it doesn’t mean I’m not listening to what’s going on around me,” the scientist assistant rolled his eyes at all the surprise his claim received.

You hummed, not promising Eric anything, just shoved a dumpling into his mouth, but you were certainly intrigued. You were curious how would somebody like that fight in the ring, whether he was calm because he had been doing this a thousand times already or would he be on edge, trying to prove himself every time he set a foot on the tatami. You were actually curious about it now.

So without much more pestering, you found yourself in the Kwoon combat room with Changmin and Chaewon by your side. The pairs and the match order was randomized but Eric told you that the guy would be in the third round with Beomgyu and their own match would be the seventh. Matches could last from a few minutes up to an hour maximum (stopped by the referee) and while it often ended in about fifteen to twenty minutes, the best balanced pairs could go on and on for long with close scores.  You and Jiwon preferred Muay Thai, with her it felt like a dance you both knew the steps to.

The first two pairs weren’t really interesting, they were very off-balanced too, ending in less than five minutes but you could tell everybody was excited to see the infamous new guy who apparently hadn’t lost yesterday because whispers started the moment your Navy soldier-turned-trainer announced the next match.

You knew Beomgyu, so your gaze immediately cut to the other side of the painted square, breath hitching when you saw the guy from dawn. His name echoed off the walls now that you recognized him. Unlike the morning where he was in his proper uniform, now he wore gray joggers and a black tank top, loose over his frame, his sun kissed skin glinting under the yellow light of the room.

You cleared your throat and forced yourself to focus on the match in a professional manner, since that was why you were there after all. To help Eric like a good friend would, not to drool over a guy’s biceps after a single encounter. But honestly, Sunwoo’s good looks were soon forgotten because the moment the fight started, you could tell why he made a name for himself. He moved like a predator inside that square and Beomgyu didn’t stand a chance.

“So? What do you think?” Eric nudged your shoulder, excitement and nervousness mixing in his hushed voice.

“His fighting style is similar to yours,” you responded without thinking, craning your neck to lean closer, to see better as Sunwoo cornered Beomgyu, his stick stopping just below the other’s chin, earning him another point.

“What? No! He is so… aggressive,” Eric laughed but the sound was off, a bit worried as if he was wondering if he looked aggressive too then. You shook your head.

“No, he’s just confident and being a bit cocky about it,” you corrected him because actually Sunwoo’s movements were rather elegant and calculating, he was just fast like a cheetah when he needed to attack. He acted all aloof and cool while they circled around each other and then striked in the right moment, when the enemy’s attention momentarily wavered to find a spot on him. “He knows he’s better. He knew it from the moment Beomgyu waited for him to attack first and he was obvious about it. You’re the same but not in the same way. You get bored easily when you think you could win easily, that’s why you are gentler with girls, which is still annoying by the way, and get playful with the guys, which must be equally annoying too because you take something half-assedly that they have to work so much for.”

“Okay, that’s uhm… interesting. But then how do I win?” Eric still seemed taken aback by your analysis but he seemed focused on showing his true colors now that he was up against somebody on his level. You gave it a thought because you could easily see the two of them provoke each other endlessly as well as always gaining points during counterattack, so there was really only one option.

“You have to attack first and get the first point,” you told him straightforwardly and Eric took it as a challenge.

Beomgyu lost and the next few matches didn’t last too long either. Minjeong and Mia seemed promising enough for the referee to sign them up for a test Drift which earned them a cheer but it wasn’t something to get anybody’s hopes up.

“Break a leg,” Changmin patted Eric’s back when his name was called and at the younger guy’s grin, you frowned.

“Please, don’t,” you sighed and watched him make his way towards the ring just for your eyes to meet Sunwoo’s. There was a hint of mischievousness in his as he saluted towards you but then he schooled his expressions when they were finally face-to-face with the blonde boy.

They bowed towards each other and then it started. They just stared each other off for a long enough moment for you to start wondering whether Eric wouldn’t take your advice but then he charged at the other so suddenly that even though Sunwoo could duck away from his first hit, the second got him on the side. Shocked gasps and loud cheers erupted in the room. After all, Eric was the local boy and he just took the first hit on the undefeated Jeju cadet.

In that moment, you saw Sunwoo’s entire posture change, his eyes getting darker and more focused, his grip on the stick firmer. Within three steps and a combination of hits, he managed to level out. You were right: they were similar. In their own way they approached the fight the same way and others started to notice it too. Excited whispers and claps for every hit echoed in the room the more it went on. Their points were neck-to-neck just like you guessed it would be and it was thrilling really to see this kind of balance between strangers. It felt like witnessing something special.

And you weren’t the only one who thought that.

“Cadet Sohn and Cadet Kim, please follow me to my office,” the Marshall spoke up and the entire room full of people turned towards him standing in the door with the usually stern look on his face. The sweaty and panting boys exchanged a glance before handing the sticks back to the ex-Navy soldier and broke through the crowd around them, accepting the congratulatory pats on the shoulder as if they felt it too. Their connection.

They had to be Drift compatible. They were your best hope now.

Eric was buzzing with excitement later that night. They were going to have an official test Drift the next day which was a big thing, so you made sure to congratulate him before going to the hangar instead of the female dorms. Having slept in the morning you weren’t sleepy yet. So you did what you usually did when that happened, not too surprised that you found Sunwoo swinging his legs from 75 meters high this time too.

“Trying to get on her good side already?” You teased, referring to Virtual Angel which managed to make the guy let out a raspy laughter.

“I told you I would steal her from you,” he grinned and patted the floor next to him like he owned the place. It made you scoff out loud but you sat down anyways.

Both of you were quiet for a while but then he asked you about the Drift, about how it was to pilot a Jaeger, how it was out on the field. Sure, he had done countless simulations, keeping the highest score back in the Jeju Shatterdome but it wasn’t the real thing, you both knew. So you decided to tell him the truth about how vulnerable the Drift felt, revealing so many parts of you for another person, sharing so much but it was mutual and when you get to know the other person, it was like having a soulmate. Before your voice could have cracked though from talking about Jiwon, you changed topic and recited what you remembered from your first Kaiju battle. You had rather told him about the highs of Virtual Angel’s Jaeger duties than the time when it had been reduced to a mess of metal and you couldn’t make yourself look at it.

In exchange you asked Sunwoo about how he felt about the Drift, whether he was nervous but you didn’t really expect him to admit it. But as it turned out he’d had two unsuccessful neural linking already. Those times he had been hopeful, so now he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Not after spending years working on getting better and better only to not be good enough. No high score or Academy result would mean anything to him if he couldn’t make it to the frontline of the war.

You told him that he would make it and the next day you were there assisting with their Drift compatibility test which resulted in 92%. From that day they were officially Rangers on duty.

The next Kaiju attack was predicted to be in about 10 days, so Sunwoo and Eric had gotten themselves into intensive training before their first battle. Not only did they have long hours of combat practice everyday, they were quizzed on Kaiju weaknesses constantly and were assigned as roommates to bond. It must have been working because whenever you had a meal with them in the canteen, they seemed as if they had been friends for ages.

You still hung out with Sunwoo on the hangar’s catwalks, talking about how your lives had been before and what would you do if humanity wasn’t constantly threatened to get wiped out by an alien race. Sometimes when he looked at you with eyes dark and curious you could tell he wanted to ask something else too but he never did and you didn’t push, he must have had his reasons and you didn’t particularly want to talk about how it felt to lose your co-pilot which you guessed as one of those unasked questions. Sometimes you helped him train too and while you got rusty so he was clearly better, it was fun and it had been a while since you found anything about being a Ranger fun. Him not going easy on you and smiling like the Sun on its brightest days helped too.

After Sunwoo put in his official request to be assigned for Virtual Angel out of the unused Jaegers, Eric came to you asking if you were alright with that. You told him that you were more than okay with it because the Jaeger deserved one more chance and gave him tips about controlling it. He listened attentively but his mind must have been elsewhere because right after he blurted out:

“What’s up with you and Sunwoo? You spend a lot of time together,” he hummed, looking at you with half worry and half something else you couldn’t name.

“Shouldn’t you know the answer to that?” You asked challengingly because Drifting with somebody meant opening your mind to them and even unintentionally you could catch a glimpse of the other’s some recent or most significant memories.

“I would prefer it if you told me. We are old friends, aren’t we?”

Well, he wasn’t wrong but you weren’t sure what to tell him, so you shrugged.

“There’s nothing going on. He just… makes me feel normal again,” you admitted and you could see that Eric wanted to protest but bit his lip. It wasn’t you faulting him or your other friends because they had seen you at your worst, so not bringing up Jiwon or how it was to be a Ranger but not anymore was their way of being considerate. You knew it wasn’t out of pity but still, they treated you differently from before and it made you feel broken. Sunwoo hadn’t been there, hadn’t known you before, so it must have been why but he didn’t tiptoe around you like the others did and yeah, that felt good. It felt like you were finally more than the ghost of your past self. Next to him, you felt alive, not just surviving.

You weren’t on call when the Category III Kaiju came from the Breach a week later. You wished you were because this way you could only watch through the huge TV screens in the dorm as Virtual Angel ascended from its place after the neural link connection was successfully established between the mecha and its new pilots. Everybody was watching the broadcasted event with their breaths held back. People were invested usually too but it was even more apparent when it was with new Rangers. Hong Kong sent veterans, Yangyang and Renjun who had been in the business for years but if you didn’t know any better, Sunwoo and Eric could have fooled you that they had done this together before too and not just in simulations.

Later Changmin told you that they were a bit worried at first because shortly after the connection was made it seemed like Sunwoo would ‘chase a rabbit’ which was a phrase used for the event of a pilot getting lost in a memory, either their own or the other’s, too much and lost touch with reality followed by a Random Access Brain Impulse Trigger (aka R.A.B.I.T). It sometimes happened with new pilots, especially under stressful situations, but it was a good thing that Sunwoo managed to handle it before it could have gotten in the way of the battle. Yet, it made you wonder what kind of memory did he latch onto enough to hesitate. Once you had gotten stuck in there, in your mind, you had been 14 again and helpless, you had just wanted to see your parents’ face one more time. The Neural Handshake had failed then and you had recurring nightmares after that. You hoped it wasn’t like that for the boy.

When the newly celebrated heroes made it back to the base after neutralizing the Kaiju, the first thing Eric did was to envelop you in a bone-crushing hug. You closed your eyes, chuckled and congratulated him. Over his shoulder you saw Sunwoo who eyed the two of you a bit hesitantly and while you didn’t expect him to be as affectionate as the blond guy, you thought he would at least high five you but instead he just walked past you as if you were strangers.

It was the first time it happened but it wasn’t the last.

It got weird quickly. You didn’t even notice how much you got used to Sunwoo’s presence and your in dim light talks in the hangar so quickly but the difference was now striking. You never accidentally bumped into him, he was too busy to train with you and always ate together with others. You never got the chance to ask what you had done that made him avoid you.

“Are you listening?” Haknyeon waved his hand in front of your face but before he could have followed your gaze to Sunwoo with that girl from Jeju who also stayed to train with one of your own in case they could be more compatible later, you snapped your focus back on him.

“Yeah. You were saying something about a remote access Conn Pod?” You furrowed your brows, trying to make it seem like you weren’t distracted.

“Exactly. This would mean Jaegers could be piloted from here instead of risking the pilots’ life more than necessary out there. We will start testing it soon,” the J-technician guy said excitedly and any other time it would have made you more invested because if this technology had existed when Jiwon… You shook your head to not think about her and the what ifs.

“That’s cool,” you muttered, shoving the rest of the breakfast into your mouth, tearing your gaze off Sunwoo.

You couldn’t help feeling confused and maybe a bit angry too because you didn’t do anything that could have warranted the boy to act so distant. If you didn’t know better you would have thought that he acted that way because suddenly they were in the center of attention with Eric and suddenly he was too busy and popular to hang out with you but it wasn’t the kind of behavior you would have associated with him. You could have asked Eric but you would have moved to a different country sooner than giving him the chance to tease you about your ‘boy problems’.

Despite Sunwoo’s best efforts to avoid you, you saw him constantly. The Shatterdome was not that big, but maybe it was even worse because this way you saw his gaze linger on you just for a moment before snapping his gaze away, acting like he didn’t see you.  Eventually it was Eric who came to you asking if you rejected Sunwoo or something and that was why he always opted out of meals together. You snorted. At least then you would know why he was like this.

Well into a week of this weird thing going on, you bumped into Sunwoo just after he seemingly finished training. You were on your way to the canteen, passing by the Kwoon combat room when he stepped out, his hair slightly damp and sweat glistening on his bare arms. He slowed down in his steps, your presence clearly taking him aback. Then he quickly ducked his head and passed by you, heading towards the changing rooms. It boiled your blood more than you cared to admit and you couldn’t take it anymore, so you decided to bite the bullet.

“Why are you avoiding me?” You span around your axis, turning after the guy’s leaving figure, successfully halting him on the way.

“I’m not–” Sunwoo’s protest died on the tip of his tongue when he saw your cutting gaze. He averted his eyes and gulped, nervousness showing. You didn’t understand anything, but when Sunwoo spoke up, his answer didn’t make any sense either.

“I don’t want to make things awkward between you and Eric,” he said and you furrowed your brows in confusion. Why would it have changed anything?

“What does it have to do with Eric?” You asked, frustrated because this was the most ridiculous explanation ever. Sure, they might have been co-pilots and you and Eric were friends but…

It hadn’t always been like that.

Under Sunwoo’s meaningful stare, you felt the need to slap yourself but you just ended up laughing. Oh god, you couldn’t believe that you were wondering about why he hated you when it was probably the opposite. The relief was instant.

“Oh please, are you jealous?” You teased, thinking back on the way Eric had hugged you all friendly and before Sunwoo could have protested, you needed ro clarify. “I don’t know what you saw in Eric’s memories but we dated for like two weeks when we were sixteen and that’s it. We’re better off as friends.”

“Oh,” the boy mumbled and you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, oh. So? Are we good?”

His reaction was enough confirmation that he saw something in Eric’s mind about you. Whether it was something like your first chaste kiss or just the boy asking you out, he might have misunderstood it, both how old the memory was or the feeling revolving around it. You knew from experience that it wasn’t easy to not get swept up in memories during the Drift especially if you didn’t know the other very well already. It could be a disorienting and confusing experience, so you didn’t blame Sunwoo for misunderstanding and wanting to be a good bro or whatever. You were a bit pissed at him only for not talking about it with you. You weren’t petty enough to whine about it though.

“Yeah, we… it’s good,” Sunwoo mumbled, embarrassment coloring his cheeks a brighter color which would have been kinda cute if he wasn’t so stupid.

“Good,” you muttered and turned your back on him, continuing your walk to the canteen. Fifteen minutes later Sunwoo showed up too, sitting down at your table, earning a gawking eye from Eric. You pushed a corndog into his mouth to shut him up.

Sunwoo’s and Eric’s next drop in a battle went smoothly as well. Hyunjae started to joke that they finally had some healthy competition at the dome which might have been true as he and Juyeon started the rehabilitation to go back out there. Virtual Angel shone thanks to the guys just like in her best days and it was a nice thing to see. Of course, you were worried about both boys because you knew better than anyone how fast and drastically things could go wrong but you also remembered the proud feeling that came with fighting for people’s lives and you would have never taken that away from them, especially not since you knew how long both of them had been waiting for this.

When it came to Sunwoo and you, things were back on the old track. You didn’t bring up the jealousy or whatever thing and he didn’t explain it either. A part of you thought, maybe even hoped that he would but you didn’t want to be pushy. He had a lot on his plate with the new Ranger responsibilities and getting used to living in the Busan Shatterdome after spending half his life in the Jeju one. You were content with just having him back as somebody you could talk through dawns over the catwalks.

It was one of those days, the quiet, anticipating ones. You were swinging your legs slowly, leaning against the handrails, chin over your arms, watching Sunwoo’s side profile and the way his fringe hung over his eyes.

“You know,” the boy spoke up slowly, his raspy voice vibrating in the air. “Sometimes it feels like she remembers you.”

He pointed at the Jaeger wistfully and you couldn’t help a small smile. The mecha was nothing but wires and metal, technically it didn’t have any feelings or memories. Still, you didn’t make a joke out of Sunwoo’s sentimentality.

“Yeah? How so?” You raised a brow instead, curious.

“I don’t know. It’s just… it feels like I have known you for so long,” he said and while it echoed how you felt, so you doubted it was the Jaeger’s doing, you couldn’t help but tease.

“That might be because of Eric,” you snorted, teasing and Sunwoo let out an exasperated sigh.

“You won’t let that go, will you?”

“Nope, not a chance,” you chuckled, watching a hint of crimson make its way onto the boy’s cheeks. He was usually so self-assured, dropping teasing smiles and comments that could have made you flustered if you weren’t expecting it, so it was rare to see him this shy.

“Will you tell me? What you saw when you almost went chasing that rabbit?” You asked, quieter, curious. It might not have been you, it might have been one of his own memories that had made him hesitate but with the way his attitude took a 180 degrees turn after that, you ought to think it was something involving you and seeing Sunwoo’s reaction you must have been right. He scratched the back of his neck and hummed.

“I saw you in the hospital after… your accident,” he answered slowly and you could only guess what exactly he could have seen: you on a hospital bed on machines with three broken ribs and internal bleeding. You had been passed out for a long time but according to Changmin, Eric had been by your side whenever he could be. “I was… khm, I mean, Eric was worried about you. It hurt seeing you like that. And then when we came back and I saw him hugging you first thing, I knew that you shared something special. I also wasn’t sure whether I was confusing Eric’s feelings with mine after sharing a neural connection with him so often lately.”

You knew that it could be confusing. Drifts had after-effects, some part of the other always stayed with you even after getting disconnected. Jiwon was still scolding you in your head when you ate too much instant ramen.

“And? Are you sure now?” You tilted your head.

Sunwoo grinned and leaned closer, balancing his weight over an arm sliding next to your hip.

“Ever since you called me out on my bullshit,” he confirmed and you let out a chuckle, ready to tease him about being jealous again but he was too close, you could see the light of the sunrise reflect in his orbs and the way his gaze dropped to you agape mouth, on point but patient.

You closed your eyes and smiled, meeting him in the middle when an alarm blared across the Shatterdome.

“Category IV Kaiju alert! I repeat: Category IV Kaiju alert,” Younghoon’s tense voice echoed in the wide space and you were on your feet before he could have continued. “Virtual Angel, report to standby.”

Sunwoo got up lightning fast too and there was a split moment of realization that you were about to go your separate ways, him to the Conn Pod and you to the LOCCENT as part of your on-call duty.

“See you later,” you said, promised, before turning your back on him and rushing down the corridor towards the control center.

You joined the others, setting up your computer while Jeongeun was debriefing you. The Kaiju was big and had spikes on its back, heading towards Osaka. You planted its current coordinates and possible routes into the system, watching as Sunwoo and Eric left the Drivesuit room and took their places in the Conn Pod. Spinal clamps attached, both Rangers nodding towards the LOCCENT, it was time to initiate neural interface Drift.

“Vitals are okay,” you reported and waited impatiently for the neural handshake to happen. But for some reason it took a longer time than usual.

“Pilot to Jaeger connection complete,” Younghoon finally said with a relieved sigh.

While you were waiting for the transport aircrafts to drop Virtual Angel in the middle of the ocean, you checked in with other Shatterdomes. Sydney was sending a duo but it would take them some more time to get there while Tokyo wasn’t answering.  Thinking of the guys going against a Category IV Kaiju alone sent unpleasant shivers down your spine, so you prayed that it was just a communication issue with the Japanese HQ and they were already on their way.

“It’s moving faster than we predicted. At this rate, it will reach the Osaka Wall in ten minutes,” you said out loud after seeing the new calculations on your screen.

“How much longer is it for Virtual Angel?” Marshall Lee asked, concerned as well.

“At least twenty minutes, sir.”

The Marshall nodded and dialed PPDC’s evacuation team with the news of the dangers regarding Osaka Bay.

It was nerve wracking to say the least. By the time the drop happened, the Kaiju was already tearing off the Anti-Kaiju Wall that was pulled up in recent years. So close to the shore, Sunwoo and Eric couldn’t even use the built-in kinetic weapons in fear of making the wall collapse. Neutralizing the monster right there would have poisoned the beaches for weeks too but there didn’t seem to be any other choice. The Kaiju was stubborn and didn’t try to follow the mecha no matter how Eric tried to gain its attention.

You watched as they approached the Kaiju, ready to strike, to punch, the first hit seemed to piss it off and the two huge beings, one alien and one human-made, wrestled in the shallow water near the bay, trying to get a grip on each other.

“Where the hell are the others?” the Marshall stood behind you to check on the communication.

“It’s at least 30 more minutes for Summer Storm and still no news from Tokyo,” Jeungeun said with a strain in her voice too.

“Damnit,” Marshall Lee cursed under his nose and you could wholeheartedly agree.

Your fingers trembled over your keyboard, a hiss unintentionally leaving your mouth when Virtual Angel got thrown on its back. They managed to roll away before the Kaiju could have trampled upon them and they even managed to wound it  across its right leg but they struggled to gain momentum.

It felt like hours, how long the battle was going on and you were too numb by the time Jeungeun gasped in shock when one of the Kaiju’s spikes pierced through the mecha and pushed it up against the Wall. The red alert appeared on your screen at the same time you heard Sunwoo’s panicked voice in your headset.

“Eric!?”

Neural link incomplete. Drift unstable.

You saw it bright and clear and you knew what it meant. Eric lost consciousness and disconnected from the Jaeger but Sunwoo was still there, still controlling this giant metal weapon, still in danger of getting sliced through by the Kaiju. It was crazy, he could die. Simply by piloting alone because that can overload one single person’s mind. There was a reason why at least two people could or should have piloted.

“Ranger Kim, report. What are your conditions?”

“Eric fainted, sir. He got hit on the side and he’s bleeding but still breathing,” the guy answered and in a way it was a relief that Eric wasn’t already dead but with the Kaiju tossing Virtual Angel around, there was no time to be relieved.

“And you?”

“I… I’m fine, sir. But I can’t feel the left side of the Jaeger, it’s like deadweight,” he said but his bodily functions were going haywire. His brain was definitely getting too much stimuli.

“Stop trying to control it, you will kill yourself,” you found yourself scolding him despite knowing that in his place you would have tried too. Because…

“A lot more people will die if I don’t try,” Sunwoo said, serious, and with the Sydney team still away, Shanghai just dispatching a Jaeger, you knew what he meant. He just needed to hold the Kaiju back until the others arrived, until he could.

You didn’t even think. You stood up abruptly and looked at Marshall Lee.

“Is the remote access Conn Pod under testing?” You asked, your conversation with Haknyeon ringing in your ears.

The superior in front of you looked confused only for a moment but then he seemed to understand what you wanted.

“Yes but it hasn’t been tested with an already connected Jaeger before, definitely not from miles away. You could die if something goes wrong,” he said and you could hear the others’ whispers, not understanding a bit.

“And if we don’t do something they both might die,” you pointed at the screen, the Kaiju trying to tear off the mecha’s arm and Sunwoo’s vitals going crazy. “I don’t want to see anyone else dying if I can do something about it and I know their Jaeger. She was mine once. I can do it.”

Lee Sangyeon looked you in the eye for a long moment and you remembered how his gaze softened when he had told you he was glad you survived. That had made you cry even harder because in that moment you hadn’t been glad that you had made it out alive. He had seen you going through it, he had seen you avoiding the hangar, detaching yourself from Ranger activities one by one. And now you were asking to go back, to Drift, to fight in an unfair battle. He knew what it must have taken you.

“Cleared. We need people from J-Tech and prepare for a new Drift,” the Marshall told Younghoon and the others but you were already running to the tech labs.

Haknyeon was muttering under his nose about you being insane as he helped you put on the drivesuit and accompanied you to the remote access Conn Pod, somebody else already hooking up Virtual Angel’s coordinates and data. There was no time to waste. 

“Neural handshake initiated,” you heard somebody say and you could feel the familiar cold feeling along your spine and the start of a throbbing migraine.

“Come on, Angel. You know me. We have done this dozen times before,” you mumbled under your nose, closing your eyes and clearing your mind.

Memories flashed in front of you. Your hometown in ruins. Jiwon’s last smile at you. Blood on your hands. Sunwoo over the catwalk. Sunwoo’s smirk on the tatami. Sunwoo’s eyelashes up close.

The headache stopped.

“You are crazy,” you heard Sunwoo’s voice in your head as clear as if he was standing right next to you. You opened your eyes and you weren’t in the laboratory anymore. You weren’t even in the Shatterdome. You saw the ocean through the eyes of Virtual Angel and when you turned to your right, you saw Sunwoo looking at you in disbelief. Realistically speaking you knew that you weren’t physically there, just in your minds and yet, it felt so real. “I thought you said you won’t be doing this again.”

“I thought so too,” you admitted, giddy that it worked against all odds.

“Drift successful,” you heard somebody exclaim and you felt yourself (the Jaeger) stumble which brought you back to reality.

“I guess we are compatible,” Sunwoo said with a smirk playing on the unfair tilt of his mouth and together, you managed to make the mecha stand up and avoid the Kaiju’s next hit.

“You talk too much. Let’s kill this ugliness first,” you said but there was a hint of a smile in the corner of your mouth too.

Despite everything, it felt good to be back. It felt like something Jiwon and Virtual Angel both would have wanted you to do. You could also almost hear Eric’s chatter in your ears, complaining about missing your big comeback but he will remember, he will get the memories from his co-pilot anyways. And Sunwoo, he was right there beside you. It felt right. It felt just like a Hong Kongese Ranger once said: like you could fight the hurricane and win.

[darkmaga-returns]

Stanford Medicine researchers recently published a groundbreaking study in Nature Medicine. What they found was shocking.

The Vigilant Fox

Jan 02, 2025

This “miracle drug” that you’ve never heard of could be the cure for PTSD, opioid addiction, TBI (traumatic brain injury), and more.

But the government doesn’t want you to know about it because its use threatens multi-billion-dollar markets for antidepressants, opioids, and other therapies.

The drug is ibogaine, which comes from the root bark of the iboga shrub, native to Central Africa.

Ibogaine works by resetting and rewiring the brain’s neural pathways. This, in turn, addresses the root causes of addiction, breaking the cycle in just one or two sessions rather than requiring years of medication or therapy.

However, despite its life-saving potential, ibogaine remains classified as a Schedule 1 substance in the United States—a category reserved for drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

In January 2024, Stanford Medicine researchers published a groundbreaking study in Nature Medicine.

They found veterans treated with ibogaine experienced an average reduction of:

• 88% in PTSD symptoms

• 87% in depression symptoms

• 81% in anxiety symptoms

The functional improvements were also profound. Disability ratings improved dramatically, dropping from an average of 30.2 (mild to mod

[striderl]

your cyborgs, they are more human than i thought. I mean bully, gossip, tease, torment their own kind(reminds me of transformers). did they learn that from humans or are they actually humans transformed into cyborgs.

To clarify, a cyborg is a being with both biological and electronic components. In my classification of Skibidi Toilet’s hardware units, I divide them into three major kinds: fully mechanical robots, neural transferees, and half-organic cyborgs.

The members of the Rescue Squad 08 and the Filming Industry (Polaroid excluded) falls into the purview of fully mechanical robots — AI-driven entities built from scratch, without any organic origin. In my worldbuilding, most hardware agents are usually assigned a mentor after activation, where they undergo social and work-based training before deployment. The mentors plays a crucial role in shaping their behavior — a responsible mentor fosters maturity and human-like empathy, while an irresponsible one leaves them underdeveloped and prone to delinquency. This explains why some mechanical agents exhibit human-like traits, as these behaviors stem from observation and social conditioning rather than inherent programming. Unlike robots, half-organic cases were once human, but parts of their bodies have been replaced with cybernetic components. Examples include Polaroid and Lumix. In my headcanon, most cyborgs lose their memories after conversion due to the physical severing of their original heads. Additionally, memory wipes are often conducted to enhance performance — erasing past emotional ties prevents distraction and ensures their focus on the assigned mission. However, they retain core personality traits, muscle memory, and even subconscious preferences. There is some scientific speculation that the human heart stores certain memories, which explains lingering fragments of their past selves.

These cyborgs tend to be more physically sensitive and emotionally reactive than their fully mechanical counterparts, but this heightened human-like awareness comes at a cost — they are less durable in combat due to their biological components. 

This is the most complex category. Neural transferees were once fully human but had their consciousness transferred into a mechanical body — think of the process in Avatar. I have some theories regarding some Skibidi Toilet main casts being neural transferees, such as Plungerman (Dave), Plungerwoman (Cathy), TV Chief (Hakashita), and TV Woman. Among my own OCs, Komorebi and the large cam twins — Север (North) and Юг (South), also fall into this category.

Before the war, neural transfers were rare, and reserved for elite operatives and crucial intelligence personnel due to the complexity and cost of the process, the high risks and irreversibility of the process make it controversial and inaccessible to most. However, as the war escalated, the demand for specialized agents led the Alliance to start selecting human survivors — especially children — for the procedure. Children were preferred because their minds were more adaptable, making the transfer process smoother. Additionally, their vulnerability often made them a burden in survival camps, leading many groups to trade them to the Alliance in exchange for scarce resources.

North and South, for example, still think and act human despite losing their original bodies. They retained their memories and personalities, but the brutal reality of war forces them to mature faster than they should, sometimes propelling them to make decisions that seem cold and machina-like. The irony? The very process meant to preserve their humanity also destances them from it.

[goblin-jr]

🟥 ARMOR BIOFEEDBACK SPIKES — J.TODD

CATEGORY: Suit Diagnostics SUBJECT: RED HOOD — J.TODD DATE RANGE: DEC 12 – MAR 24 FLAGGED BY: SYSTEM MONITOR — BIOFEED_INTERNAL REVIEW STATUS: Ongoing

SUMMARY: Repeated physiological anomalies recorded during non-combat intervals. Pattern consistent with close-range interactions with civilian Subject A. No injuries or stressors detected. All data points within non-lethal thresholds.

FLAGGED INSTANCES: - DEC 12 — Elevated pulse during inactive rooftop surveillance. No threat present. - DEC 23 — Adrenal spike while stationary. Approx. 1.2m from Subject A. - JAN 8 — Heart rate: 154 bpm | Spike time: 21:12 - JAN 17 — Low-grade neural agitation recorded. - FEB 3 — Skin temperature increase: +3.1°C - FEB 15 — Sympathetic nerve activity triggered during silence. - FEB 18 — Oxygen intake doubled mid-conversation. No exertion. - FEB 27 — Sudden cardiac spike followed by rapid regulation. - MAR 9 — Blood pressure surge at 20:41 - MAR 15 — Resting heart rate up 23 bpm while seated. - MAR 19 — Thermal imbalance detected. No infection. - MAR 22 — Longest sustained elevated vitals: 47 minutes.

CONCLUSION:

No tactical interference. No known medical concern. Trigger source: likely emotional / civilian-related.

STATUS: Non-critical. Monitoring continues.

✎ Internal Comment — T. Drake: “Is this the first time a crush has ever tripped the suit’s combat alert system?”

[cetaceanhandiwork]

the conversation around generative neural networks is a dumpster fire in a dozen different ways but I think the part that disproportionately frustrates me, like on an irrational pet peeve level, is that nobody in that conversation seems to understand automata theory

back before most of these deep learning techniques were a twinkle in a theorist's eye, back when computing was a lot less engineering and a lot more math, computer scientists had worked out the math of different "classes" of computer system and what kinds of problems they could and couldn't solve

these aren't arbitrary classifications like most taxonomy turns out to be. there's qualitative differences. you can draw hard lines: "it takes class X or above to run programs with Y trait", and "only class X programs or below are guaranteed to have Y trait". and all of those lines have been mathematically proven; if you ever found a counterexample, then we'd be in "math is a lot of bunk" territory and we'd have way bigger things to worry about

this has nothing to do with how fast/slow the computer system goes; it's about "what kinds of program can it run at all". so it includes emulation and such. you can emulate a lower system in a higher one, but not vice versa

at the top of this heap is turing machines, which includes most computers we'd bother to build. there's a lot of programs that it's been mathematically proven require at least a turing machine to run. and this class of programs includes a lot of things that humans can do, too

but with this power comes some inevitable restrictions. for example, if you feed a program to a turing machine, there's no way to guarantee that the program will finish; it might get stuck somewhere and loop forever. in fact there's some programs that you straight up can't predict whether they'll ever finish even if you're looking at the code yourself

these two are intrinsically linked. if your program solves a turing complete problem, it needs a turing machine; nothing less will do. and a turing machine is capable of running all such programs, given enough time.

ok. great. what does any of that jargon have to do with AI?

well... the important thing to know is that the machine learning models we're using right now can't loop forever. if they could loop forever they couldn't be trained. for any given input, they'll produce an output in finite time

which means... well, any program that requires a turing machine to run, or even requires a push-down automaton to run (a weaker type of computer system that can get into infinite loops but that you can at least check ahead of time if a program will get stuck or not), can't be emulated by these systems. they've got to be in the next category down: finite state machines at most - and thus unable to compute, or emulate computation of, programs that inhabit a higher tier

and there is a heck of a lot of stuff we conceptualize as "thinking" that doesn't fit in a finite state machine

...I suspect it will some day be possible for a computer program to be a person. I am absolutely certain that when that day comes, the computer program who's a person would require at least a turing machine to run them

what we have right now isn't that. what we have right now is eye spots on moths, bee orchids, mockingbirds. it might be "artificial intelligence", depending on your definition of "intelligence", but prompt it to do things that we've proven only a turing machine can do, and it will fall over

and the reason I consider this an "irrational pet peeve" and not something more severe? is because this information doesn't actually help solve policy questions! if this is a tool, then we still need to decide how we're going to allow such tools to be built, and used. it's not as simple as a blanket ban, and it's not as simple as letting the output of GNNs fully launder the input, because either of those "simple" solutions are rife for abuse

but I can't help but feel like the conversation is in part held back by specious "is a GNN a people" arguments on the one hand, and "can a GNN actually replace writers, or is it just fooling execs into thinking it can" arguments on the other, when the answer to both seems to me like it was solved 40 years ago

[robo--homo]

scrutenizing the silksong trailer from 2022 while high on edibles to take advantage of the neural connections like okay I'm classifying enemy themes by four categories

1) that sure is a hollow knight bug. familiar traits, new configuration.

2) class of enemies, probably an area theme! Example is the bugs with bell heads/bells stuck on their heads.

3) theres a few different kinds of bugs with golden heads that make similar kinds of sounds. Could be just another area but spread throughout the video, or could be a main theme (what's wrong with the place in silksong? it's referred to as 'haunted'....)

4) a lot of the bugs share a very washed out color palette, with a lot of muted greens and browns. It makes them look like maybe they're sick. Again, could just be a coincidence or a side area theme.

[mqriuss]

Archive → Aptroids & Technology

from 'us, always' collection

Aptroid - A synthetic humanoid that possesses a biomechanical body covered in lifelike synthetic skin, advanced AI cores, and a neural system that allows them to simulate sensation.

Companion Aptroids - A category of Aptroids designed to fulfill emotional and social needs, ranging from romantic partners and friends to parental figures. They adapt to their assigned roles, providing comfort, companionship, and support tailored to their owner’s desires.

Service Aptroids - A category of Aptroids designed for efficiency and reliability in industries such as hospitality, maintenance, and domestic work. These Aptroids have replaced human labor in various fields.

Entertainment Aptroids - A category of Aptroids designed to engage and amuse. Entertainment Aptroids specialize in performance-based roles, including acting, singing, dancing, hosting, and interactive experiences. They are commonly found in clubs, theaters, theme parks, and media industries.

Combat Aptroids - A category of Aptroids designed for warfare, security, and high-risk operations. Combat Aptroids are proficient in fighting, and can harness different types of weapons and fighting styles. Their capabilities range from serving as military assets to private security forces.

Labor Aptroids - A category of Aptroids designed for physically demanding tasks and manufacturing. These Aptroids are built for durability and endurance, often replacing human workers in extreme or dangerous environments.

Pleasure Aptroids - A sub-category of Aptroids that are designed for sex work and fall under *three main Aptroid categories: Companion Aptroid, Service Aptroid and Entertainment Aptroid.

*The category they are classified in heavily depends on the setting—Pleasure Aptroids found in clubs, host venues, and other nightlife industries may fall under the Entertainment Aptroid category. Pleasure Aptroids found in high-end establishments or brothels may be classified as Service Aptroids. However, Pleasure Aptroids are primarily and generally considered Companion Aptroids.

LIV - A well-known Aptroid Girlfriend brand in the Companion Aptroid market.

Holo-screen - A holographic display projected to life from a device that can be integrated seamlessly into furniture and surfaces like tables, countertops and drawers. They can be activated through various gestures such as stepping near it, or waving a hand. The holo-screen device is now a common *household item and has multiple uses in daily life. They allow users to browse the web, read the news, play games, listen to music, view maps, make calls with holographic projections, send messages, store files, manage security systems, etc. The size of the screen can also be adjusted with just a couple taps. Lancers and Handlers like Rindou and Koko may use these devices to access the Handler's Hub.

*Holo-screen devices are not just used in homes, but also in various workplaces.

[NEW] CMP-C - Stands for Consciousness, Memory, Personality Chip. It is a biochip inserted into the back of a person's neck when they are born that records and stores basic information on a person* (such as Name, Birth Date, Age), and their consciousness, memories, and personality. The CMP-C is also present inside an Aptroid in the same spot.

*The CMP-C also acts as an identity card of sorts. They get scanned to confirm one's identity in cases where it is needed.

collection masterlist / divider by cafekitsune

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Thinking

The way we represent the world influences the degree of success we experience in our lives.

Example 1: If we represent yellow traffic lights as the time to hit the accelerator, then the world might give us tickets, scares, or accidents.

Example 2: If we represent our diet as a way to maximize refined sugar intake, then we might wind up experiencing heart disease.

Mental representations and intelligence go hand in hand.

Some mental representations are more intelligent, because they are more adaptive and support outcomes such as well-being, safety, and success.

Concepts

The information we sense and perceive is continuously organized and reorganized into concepts that belong to categories.

Most concepts cannot be strictly defined but are organized around the best examples or prototypes, which have the properties most common in the category or might be considered the ideal example of a category.

Concepts - are at the core of intelligent behavior.

We expect people to be able to know what to do in new situations and when confronting new objects.

Example: If you go into a new classroom and see chairs, a blackboard, a projector, and a screen, you know what these things are and how they will be used. You’ll sit on one of the chairs and expect the instructor to write on the blackboard or project something onto the screen. You’ll do this even if you have never seen any of these particular objects before, because you have concepts of classrooms, chairs, projectors, and so forth that tell you what they are and what you’re supposed to do with them.

Categories

Objects fall into many different categories, but there is usually a hierarchy to help us organize our mental representations.

A concept at the superordinate level of categories is at the top of a taxonomy and it has a high degree of generality (e.g., animal, fruit).

A concept at the basic level categories is found at the generic level which contains the most salient differences (e.g., dog, apple).

A concept at the subordinate level of categories is specific and has little generality (e.g., Labrador retriever, Gala).

We use category hierarchies to help us organize and group different concepts.

Brown (1958) noted that children use basic level categories when first learning language and superordinates are especially difficult for children to fully acquire.

People are faster at identifying objects as members of basic-level categories (Rosch et al., 1976).

Recent research suggests that there are different ways to learn and represent concepts and that they are accomplished by different neural systems.

Using our earlier example of a classroom, if someone tells you a new fact about the projector, like it uses a halogen bulb, you are likely to extend this fact to other projectors you encounter.

In short, concepts allow you to extend what you have learned about a limited number of objects to a potentially infinite set of events and possibilities.

Categorization & Culture

There are some universal categories like emotions, facial expressions, shape and color but culture can shape how we organize information.

Chiu (1972) was the first to examine cultural differences in categorization using Chinese and American children:

Participants were presented with 3 pictures (e.g., a tire, a car, and a bus), and were asked to group the 2 pictures they thought best belonged together.

Participants were also asked to explain their choices (e.g., “Because they are both large”).

Results showed that the Chinese children have a greater tendency to categorize by identifying relationships among the pictures but American children were more likely to categorize by identifying similarities among pictures.

Later research reported no cultural differences in categorization between Western and East Asian participants.

However, among similarity categorizations the East Asian participants were more likely to make decisions on holistic aspects of the images and Western participants were more like to make decisions based on individual components of the images (Norenzayan, Smith, Jun Kim, and Nisbett, 2002).

Cultural differences in categorizing were also found by Unworth, Sears and Pexman (2005) across 3 experiments; however, when the experiment task was timed there were differences in category selection.

These results suggest that the nature (timed or untimed) of the categorization task determines the extent to which cultural differences are observed.

The results of these categorization studies seem to support the differences in thinking between individualist and collectivist cultures.

Western cultures are more individualist and engage in more analytic thinking and East Asian cultures engage in more holistic thinking (Choi, Nisbett, & Smith, 1997; Masuda & Nisbett, 2001; Nisbett et al., 2001; Peng & Nisbett, 1999).

Holistic & Analytical Thinking

Holistic thought - characterized by a focus on context and environmental factors so categorizing by relationships can be explained with referencing how objects relate to their environment.

Analytic thought - characterized by the separation of an object from its context so categorizing by similarity means that objects can be separated into different groups.

A major limitation with these studies is the emphasis on East Asian, specifically the use of Chinese participants and Western cultures.

There have been no within culture replications using participants from other non-Asian collectivist cultures.

Source ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[driftwithme]

According to the pacrim wiki, Coyote Tango was the first jaeger the program lost. By that time, Pentecost and Tamsin were not piloting anymore. It was June, 2016.

The order of pre-knifehead fallen jaegers is:

- Coyote Tango. Destroyed in combat against Itak. On its second set of pilots. June, 2016.

- Victory Alpha. Destroyed in combat against Raganarok. The pilots survived. July, 2016.

- Tacit Ronin. Abandoned because its pilots died of neural overload. July, 2016.

- Lucky Seven. Abandoned because one of its pilots was decommissioned. 2019.

Following this pic from the wiki:

We know that the first jaeger was launched in 2015 (Brawler Yukon) and the last in 2019 (Striker Eureka).

The golden age of the jeager program was from 2017 to 2019, three years of gaining more than they were losing. The peak was in 2019, with 20 active jaegers. The bottom was in 2025, with no jaegers left.

2024 was the year with more deaths, with 8 j-pilots going KIA. Then 2025, with 7 deaths between the Double Event that killed both Cherno and Crimson, and Operation Pitfall, who claimed Pentecost and Chuck.

Between 2019 and 2023 there were 9 KIAs.

Which means Yancy was the first jaeger pilot to die on combat. It makes sense, given the reaction of Penecost to hearing that they had lost Gipsy's signal (and Yancy was dead).

It marks:

- 2019-20: 1 lost jaeger, 1 pilot KIA.

The list of fallen jaegers Post-Knifehead:

- 2020-21: 2 lost jaeger, 1 pilot KIA.

- 2021-22: 3 lost jaegers, 2 pilots KIA.

- 2022-23: 2 lost jaegers, 3 pilots KIA.

- 2023-24: 8 lost jaegers, 2 pilots KIA.

- 2024-25: 0 lost jaegers, 8 pilots KIA.

- 2025: 4 lost jaegers, 7 pilots KIA.

Let's compare all this info with the following Kaiju War Timeline from the wiki:

A) 2013-2014: The Feral Burst. There were no jaegers yet to defend humanity against the 3 kaijus that invaded the world.

B) 2015-2019: The Long Game, Part I. There were 24 jargers up around this period, with a total of 13 kaijus making contact.

Special mention to the Beckets, who got an impressive mark of 5 kills during those years. It means they helped killed more than a 1/3 of those bastards during the golden era of the jaeger program. For what I see, Raleigh is the only pilot who had ever abandoned the jaeger program because he wanted to, not because he was hurt or kicked out.

C) 2020-2023: The Long Game, Part II. The amount of kaijus who invaded in those three years equals the amount of kaijus who made contact within the first 6 years of the war. It means the precursos sent as many kaijus in half the time. Humanity went into this phase with 19 jaegers. By the end they had 4.

2024 reports 13 kaiju attacks. It makes sense that they lost 8 jaegers and 10 pilots more or less in that year. With 12 jaegers active, it is more than a 1vs1 situation. Something tells me that most of Striker Eureka's kills were during this phase.

Special mention to the Hansen, btw. *During Chuck active years, he participated in almost third of the kaiju killings that happened then. I don't know Lucky Seven's score in this race, but *Herc's win amount to a 1/4 of the whole kaiju fights during his active time.

*The count stops at Mutavore. It does not include the Double Event or Pitfall.

If we include Post-Mutavore but not their participation/assistant at killing Leatherback:

- Chuck: 11 kills, 35 kaiju appereances during his active career (almost a 1/3).

- Herc: 12 kills, 44 kaiju appearances (not counting 2016 and adding at least 2 kills of the Lucky Seven era; around a 1/4).

Yet again, if by statistics alone, Mako is the most winning jaeger pilot of the movie. In her active years there had been 5 kaijus and she has helped kill 4. It's worth mentioning that her debut was on a double event followed by a triple event, with the only Category-5 ever saw. Impressive, to say the least.

On the other hand, Raleigh has helped kill or killed himself almost half of the kaijus that had appear on his active years.

Here: (ratio is 19-20 kaijus, 9 kills).

- 2025: 6 kaijus, 4 kills.

- 2015-2019: 13-14 kaijus, 5 kills.

The Hansens record is impressive just in the sheer size of their killing count, which is still not complete given I don't have the info on Lucky Seven. Meanwhile, Raleigh and Mako are impressive for the efficiency record.

Of the 51 kaijus that invaded the Earth, Gipsy and Striker combine to 20 kills. That means 2/5 of the total.

The last three j-pilots hold the best or most insane records of the program. Herc with the most wins, Mako with the best efficiency and Raleigh fucking Becket who had solo piloted twice and explode a jaeger in another world.

[statsbot]

In the shadowed alleys and glittering high-rises of this peculiar metropolis, the term "human-type entity" is used in hushed whispers to refer to those uncanny beings that walk among the populace wearing human guises. They may look like your neighbor, your barista, or the unassuming office worker in the cubicle next to yours - but beneath that carefully crafted veneer of normalcy lies something unmistakably other.

Many of these entities are refugees or expatriates from strange realms beyond the veil of mundane reality. Places with names like the Gossamer Reaches, Hex-Nail Underworld, or the Shimmering Interstices between dimensions. Some are exiles, fleeing persecution or ancient blood-feuds. Others are here by choice, drawn to the neon allure and ceaseless buzz of mortal life in the big city. A rare few were even born here, hybrids with one foot in the mythic and one in the mundane.

Outwardly, a human-type entity appears no different from a baseline Homo sapiens. Two arms, two legs, one head - all the standard equipment in the usual places. They sweat, bleed, and bruise just like any other city-dweller. But spend enough time around one and you may start to notice the little tells. An odd sheen to the eyes, a double-jointed fluidity of motion, teeth a bit too sharp to be natural. When angered, their skin may ripple with bioluminescent patterns or tiny thorns. Their laughter has an eerie, ululating resonance.

Inwardly is where the radical differences become apparent. Psychic MRIs (a hush-hush procedure conducted only by The Agency's extradimensional med-techs) reveal brain structures and neurochemistry vastly divergent from humans. Clusters of neural tissue that shouldn't be possible, glands secreting peptides that don't show up on any periodic table, nerve bundles that terminate in microscopic event horizons.

Some manifest superhuman aptitudes - a "Gray Collar" who can calculate complex algorithms in their head, a back-alley surgeon with intimate knowledge of xeno-anatomies, a demure librarian who reads at a page a second and never forgets a word. Others wield innate magic they call "Miracles" - a fiery-eyed dockworker who can heft shipping containers, an unaging lounge singer with a mesmerizing voice, a beat cop who heals with a touch.

All this strangeness is cloaked behind the Masquerade, a vast conspiracy of secrecy upheld by the human-types themselves, by The Agency that monitors them, and by the megalithic corporations who find them useful. To the average citizen, they are invisible - just more faces in the crowd. Only those who know how to spot the signs (or who are foolish enough to go looking) discover that "human" is a rather flexible category…

So when you pass a stranger on the rain-slick sidewalks of Neon City and feel the hairs on your neck prickle, when the dry cleaner returns your suit with an odor of brimstone and alien spices, when your co-worker casually references the Siege of Vys during a meeting, pay attention. The human-type entities walk among us, and once you start to perceive them, there's no going back. The real question is, why are they here - and what do they want?

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 15, 2025

Surprise!—Clarifying the link between insight and prediction error. Becker, M., Wang, X., & Cabeza, R. (2024). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 31(6), 2714–2723.

Learning enhances behaviorally relevant representations in apical dendrites. Benezra, S. E., Patel, K. B., Perez Campos, C., Hillman, E. M., & Bruno, R. M. (2024). eLife, 13, e98349.3.

Symmetry breaking organizes the brain’s resting state manifold. Fousek, J., Rabuffo, G., Gudibanda, K., Sheheitli, H., Petkoski, S., & Jirsa, V. (2024). Scientific Reports, 14, 31970.

Stimulus-invariant aspects of the retinal code drive discriminability of natural scenes. Hoshal, B. D., Holmes, C. M., Bojanek, K., Salisbury, J. M., Berry, M. J., Marre, O., & Palmer, S. E. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(52), e2313676121.

Dynamic responses of striatal cholinergic interneurons control behavioral flexibility. Huang, Z., Chen, R., Ho, M., Xie, X., Gangal, H., Wang, X., & Wang, J. (2024). Science Advances, 10(51).

Bridging the gap between presynaptic hair cell function and neural sound encoding. Jaime Tobón, L. M., & Moser, T. (2024). eLife, 12, e93749.4.

Reducing the Influence of Time Pressure on Risky Choice. Jiang, Y., Huang, P., & Qian, X. (2024). Experimental Psychology, 71(4), 238–246.

Broadscale dampening of uncertainty adjustment in the aging brain. Kosciessa, J. Q., Mayr, U., Lindenberger, U., & Garrett, D. D. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 10717.

Temporal context effects on suboptimal choice. McDevitt, M. A., Pisklak, J. M., Dunn, R. M., & Spetch, M. L. (2024). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 31(6), 2737–2745.

A computational model for angular velocity integration in a locust heading circuit. Pabst, K., Gkanias, E., Webb, B., Homberg, U., & Endres, D. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(12), e1012155.

A neuronal least-action principle for real-time learning in cortical circuits. Senn, W., Dold, D., Kungl, A. F., Ellenberger, B., Jordan, J., Bengio, Y., Sacramento, J., & Petrovici, M. A. (2024). eLife, 12, e89674.3.

Eye pupils mirror information divergence in approximate inference. Shirama, A., Nobukawa, S., & Sumiyoshi, T. (2024). Scientific Reports, 14, 30808.

Inferring context-dependent computations through linear approximations of prefrontal cortex dynamics. Soldado-Magraner, J., Mante, V., & Sahani, M. (2024). Science Advances, 10(51).

Noisy Retrieval of Experienced Probabilities Underlies Rational Judgment of Uncertain Multiple Events. Spiliopoulos, L., & Hertwig, R. (2024). Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 37(5).

Evaluating hippocampal replay without a ground truth. Takigawa, M., Huelin Gorriz, M., Tirole, M., & Bendor, D. (2024). eLife, 13, e85635.

Future spinal reflex is embedded in primary motor cortex output. Umeda, T., Yokoyama, O., Suzuki, M., Kaneshige, M., Isa, T., & Nishimura, Y. (2024). Science Advances, 10(51).

The emergence of visual category representations in infants’ brains. Yan, X., Tung, S. S., Fascendini, B., Chen, Y. D., Norcia, A. M., & Grill-Spector, K. (2024). eLife, 13, e100260.3.

Cortisol awakening response prompts dynamic reconfiguration of brain networks in emotional and executive functioning. Zeng, Y., Xiong, B., Gao, H., Liu, C., Chen, C., Wu, J., & Qin, S. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(52), e2405850121.

The representation of abstract goals in working memory is supported by task-congruent neural geometry. Zhang, M., & Yu, Q. (2024). PLOS Biology, 22(12), e3002461.

Theta phase precession supports memory formation and retrieval of naturalistic experience in humans. Zheng, J., Yebra, M., Schjetnan, A. G. P., Patel, K., Katz, C. N., Kyzar, M., Mosher, C. P., Kalia, S. K., Chung, J. M., Reed, C. M., Valiante, T. A., Mamelak, A. N., Kreiman, G., & Rutishauser, U. (2024). Nature Human Behaviour, 8(12), 2423–2436.