#coquettesinclair

i think he would literally just be like "hey, what are positive reinforcements for you?" and then literally reward/punish them like they're an algorithm and not really a person. cut out the middleman of silly things like "overly-abundant lingual placations" and "social engineering in an attempt to garner a one-sided lovebombing relationship relative to interests". he's not fretting about reciprocation or communication too deeply. he'd probably drop a lot of his persona around them because there's no point, depending on the type and severity and the level of friendship that is shared.

probably likes to talk about deeper aspects of humanity he finds confusing with them. (issue: he's a know-it-all hotheaded egomaniac who is snobby & pompous) yes, he knows why people are programmed with disgust, but isn't it annoying? why must he fret in the trenches of 'reciprocal social warmth' so that his plan - benevolent in its' leanings (absolutely not) - may progress? why can his intention, the bigger picture, never serve as enough for most of this useless, ungrateful population?

he has to stem his brutal honesty when others speak. people twine their words around common idioms and metaphors, dancing around truths that mean nothing to him just to spare their own hide. it's difficult for him not to spring into a lecture when his scientists do something wrong that he could never. he has no empathy to spare for failure to incubate limited, unstable samples. must he do everything - must he teach everyone everything every time, or will they find insult in that, too? and doesn't his little friend find it difficult to participate in this annoying "dance"? it's draining.

i think he'd express less of his anger towards them specifically because, if their ASPD is severe, they're likely not even doing things to intentionally seek it (unless they're acting directly, inescapably incompetent - but he won't pull out the big book of ad homs; why do it if it is to no effect? he almost wishes they'd respond to his prodding so he'd have something to use, so used to the mask that going without feels itself a breed of foreign.) he automatically views them without the same level of malice as long as they don't harbor thrill-seeking in destruction or passive, extreme homicidality like Marcus.

he'd likely spring into deeply philosophical or scientific topics with them with very little to buffer between it, nixing the small talk that people are used to because it isn't optimal - ever the optimizer, to the point of mania - the kind of man who rounds a corner, spots them, and immediately breaks out into whatever problem he's run into with his own research with no buffer. hello, rubber ducky! of course, he expects the same from them, but he'll mind a lot less if they drudge through small talk, safety in the knowledge they find it as useless as he does when they're both public-facing. (the truth is that wesker does not mind the small talk when it's all about him, but...)

do they not feel an irk when they must relax their tension manually? do they find it difficult to pull the proper degree of smile that a situation demands - never too much, never too little? he will flat-out ask if he can imitate if they're really that good or find it easy - while he can certainly do it, he doesn't invest as much of himself as he reasonably should as a bioweapons manufacturer and continually sits on the splitting, guillotine's edge of the necessary imitation. he'll also learn the tics that represent the sign that their irritation is peeking through when they're with others and act as their wingman, swooping in to pull them away with the expectation they'd do the same for him.

probably keeps them around for Excella's invasions of personal space like they're a beacon of safety.

they talk about how natural he was afterwards - where he can improve, what was perfect, where irritation bubbled into the periphery. they will likely have picked up on the fact that he bathes in positive reinforcement and preens to it. honestly, they could probably defang him and have him under them if they play their cards right.

he'd definitely probe on how deeply it effects them - neurology intrigues him and is a cog in the grand machine of his research, and to learn about the finer parts is useful, especially if he might want to induce it in people who carry uroboros (what grand, irredeemably unreachable goals - to invade the brain will only result in severe irreversible cannibal disease). he would definitely seek the physical representations that underpin it, and would feel great interest in the difference between someone who was born with ASPD vs someone who developed it.

blue umbrella already knew how to make weapons out of the thick dough of the humanity they're initially presented with. he needs to know how to do it at the genetic level.

willing to experiment with eachothers lack of:

"did you hear about [x]? do you want to see the raw footage?"

"at what age did you realize you felt a separation?"

"have you had an f-MRI before?" ... "what about an EEG?"

definitely puts his hands on their shoulders, waist, or grabs their wrist occasionally in interactions, examining their face for the telltale signs of flush. display it, do it. give him something to work with, please.

treats them clinically, in an almost insulting way, simply the way he treats others stripped bare. over time, as the fascination pours and froths over, it becomes playful and natural.

as he gets to befriend them more closely he'd be willing to be indebted to them to provide them with what pushes their own personal goals forward. unfortunately, i think he'd always have a degree of his own personal separation because they're an uncontrollable variable who knows enough of his depth that they could fuck him over. he will always strive to put out the ward that that goes against their finer sensibilities.

i think he'd fear that being too truthful with them, especially about his own goals, would make for another birkin. at the same time, there's a draw to someone so similar or even worse than he is, especially if he can use them as a nearly-consensual canvas without much prodding.

if he can talk with them about topics that usually evoke disgust in others, this will be the ultimate springboard into the breaking dam of friendship into a warped intimacy.

kinda nsfw:

he'd definitely enjoy getting reactions out of them to an unhealthy level that becomes near-exponential as his interest breaks the dam - if they're a sadomasochist, they're in for a fucking ride.

C.A.A.T (Corporate Automated Attorney T)

@coquettesinclair

Image credit: @/coquettesinclair

Here's Corporate Automated Attorney (or CAAT for short.) Why does he have cat ears? Because the acronym was very obvious. No human being would defend Mann Co. in court of law, so CAAT was created. CAAT serves as Mann Co's contract attorney, public relations, defense attorney, and prosecuting attorney. He doesn't win all of his cases, but there's no problem a merc can't solve.

CAAT is closest with Bidwell and Mr. Reddy. He doesn't get to interact with the mercs very much, but he does talk with Miss Pauling a lot.

I made CAAT because I thought the idea of an attorney for MANN CO was funny. And I made him a catboy because it is also funny.

The Jack of All Trades, Wolfgang Stahl (+ "Bluey")

@mickmundane

Image credit: @/mickmundane

You know him, you love him--it's everybody's favorite everyman, the one-of-a-kind Wolfgang Stahl! This Jack of All Trades hails from the great state of Arizona, but don't get it twisted--he's no Phonecian. A veteran of war and a helping hand, this middle-aged man has climbed mountains great and small for work, and it seemed to him like TFI would be the next best place to be!

At least, that's one half of the story.

Was his life stolen from him, or did a twisted reflection follow him down from that lonely mountain peak? What happens to the parts of yourself that you ignore, run from, and leave behind? The anger and grief that you sowed--not for the world, but for yourself--will come back to haunt you, face-to-face. It's only a matter of time.