#find me a free programmer

[astranauticus]

the rwd season 4 qna inspired me to start thinking about college au headcanons except a lot of these are gonna be really specific to my school and y'all are just gonna have to deal with that <3

Kyana feeds some of the school cats. she would feed all of them if she could

Dani smuggled Plug (the scrawniest black cat you've ever seen) into her dorm room illegally and somehow management hasn't caught her yet (based on a true story) (Kyana visits to see Plug all the time)

Finbar keeps an updated tier list of every canteen in the school with breakdowns of the best stalls/dishes for each

A senior from the school of engineering once said to me 'all the engineering people dress like rats cuz our classrooms don't have aircon' (context: tropics) anyway that's Dani

Kyana would probably be involved in a lot of freshman orientation events from second year onwards. she just likes talking to the new kids and giving them advice like she would be the kind of orientation group leader who'd get messages from her freshies asking about all kinds of random nonsense because she's made sure they know they can always contact her with questions

VR-LA is The Guy you go to for textbook pirating resources

(this is more of a 'wouldn't that be funny' but VR-LA is just Veerle's discord handle)

Docent is the name of VR-LA's old laptop that broke down so he gave it to Cassimere (computer engineering major he met once at a networking event) to fix except Cassimere got everything off the hard drive and then somehow managed to fuck it up Even More so he had to get a new laptop (and named it Emi)

Roy has gotten food poisoning from his dorm meal plan at least once (based on at least one true story)

The heap trio + Mandy would be those friends constantly playing majong in the dorm lounge and if all the majong tables are taken they just play in one of their dorm rooms on a towel to dampen the tile shuffling noises (it was Mandy's idea)

Every morning Dani goes to the drinks stall at her faculty and orders one iced coffee to the point where the stall owner starts preparing an iced coffee whenever they see her approach (based on my true story)

Roy would be one of those people who goes clubbing every other week and every time he tries to drag the rest of the heap trio and Egan almost always goes and Dani would go if she didn't have a good excuse but always begrudgingly. anyway Roy would always be the only one having a good time until Egan gets drunk enough to start having fun

Finbar actually uses the dorm kitchens instead of just buying canteen food and it always makes the hallways smell really good

Vhas also uses the dorm kitchen sometimes but like. one time i walked into the pantry on my floor and someone had left cut sweet potatoes and 2 eggs in an inch of water in a pan on the stove. that's Vhas

Kyana's constantly applying for overseas exchanges and international summer/winter school programmes. the world is large and she wants to see it!

Maxim's the definition of a hall phantom. you know he lives on your dorm floor because you pass him by in the hallways sometimes and literally nowhere else. sometimes you're not convinced that he actually exists

VR-LA and Maxim's friendship stems from them being from wildly different faculties (VR-LA's in STEM, Maxim's doing anthropology so arts/social sciences) but also having lots of weird interests they cant really bug anyone in their home faculties about

Elyse is in student government and every once in a while Finbar receives a series of angry texts about the newest idiocy she's had to put up with

MR-SN and AS-TR start a stargazing club together. other notable members include AS-TR's girlfriend E-DN, MR-SN's friend C-RA (the one who always volunteers to carry the heavy ass telescopes) and MR-SN's friend K-LB who he pestered into coming to fix one of the wonky scopes even though K-LB's actually in electrical engineering but he's the only engineering person MR-SN (an arts student) knows

oh and of course VR-LA joins because he genuinely just likes space (developing a crush on his club chairperson was not on his bingo card)

Kyana and E-DN were MMA sparring buddies at one point which is how she found out about the stargazing and joined immediately

honestly i can probably think of more but this post is fuckin long LMAO

[ruesol]

Ghost x reader, but it’s analog horror(ish)

HEAR ME OUT

You are an indie game programmer who designed an online ‘choose your own adventure’ style game where the player gets to go on a journey of learning how to exorcise their dead ex boyfriend who keeps haunting them. The boyfriend is lovingly named Ghost because he’s always wearing a mask to hide his rotting face. The game has ten chapters and if you play your cards right, then you can be free of his haunting and live your life peacefully. The ending screen has a final dialogue from him that says “I will wait for you.”

The game is sensational. The entire world is playing it, and you’re getting job offers left and right. It’s all overwhelming at first, but you decide to get comfortable with your newfound fame by giving a guest presentation at a local university.

Except, a week before your presentation, while you are playing the game all over again to check for any inconsistencies in the code or story, you notice that Ghost doesn’t say his usual line in the last chapter. You message one of your programmer friends who helped you develop the code for the game and they deny changing the final dialogue.

Your followers on your gaming forum don’t seem to have similar complaints so you try to go through the codes again, only to find that it has been untouched. Weird.

You feel static on the back of your neck as you reread the final dialogue in the last chapter: “I will find you.”

[theonottsbxtch]

Secret Sister | OP81

in which lando has a secret sister and oscar falls hard and fast

oscar piastri x norris!reader

fc: sophia birlem

a/n: lol hello this is my first ever smau, everyone say thank you rianna. hope you enjoy this and if you have any requests lmk!

landonorris:

liked by ynnorris, oscarpiastri, maxfewtrell and 1376 more

happy 21st birthday to this gremlin, ig being your big brother is fun or whatever @/ynnorris

*tap to load comments*

userone: i’m sorry i beg your pardon what

usertwo: someone say sike rn

maxfewtrell: lando you’re going to break the internet with this post

userthree: a bit too late

userfour: YOU KNEW?!

ynnorris: guys i’ve been held captive for 21 years. dobby is free!

yourbestfriend: how long have you been waiting to say that?

ynnorris: 3 years

userfive: how did lando manage to pull this off for so long?!

oscarpiastri: you have a sister??

maxverstappen1: lando what?

usersix: it’s the way lando just hardlaunched that he had a sister for me 😭

alex_albon: I KNEW IT

georgerussell63 : i’m so sorry i never believed you

alex_albon: i was onto him back in 2019, you guys just thought i was delusional😞

userseven: moral of the story, always trust alex

ynnorris

liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri, maxfewtrell and 47 others

hello world. twenty first and graduation? now you guys know who the smartest norris is xx

*tap to load comments*

landonorris: you’re public for one day and you already start publicly bullying me wtf

userone: oh i like her already

usertwo: sorry did i just see she graduated in computer science? from edinburgh? we love an educated queen

yourbestfriend: world’s hottest programmer

ynnorris: get it on a top

yourbestfriend: yes ma’am

userthree: why did she have to wait until her 21st to post? i’m so confused 😭

userfour: maybe lando didnt want her to be in the limelight and now that she’s an adult she’s in control of it?

userthree: oh that makes sense

ynnorris: he just didn’t want people to know that his sister is 100x cooler than him

userfive: yn pls 😭😭😭

oscarpiastri: hello

ynnorris: hello

landonorris: not happening

usersix: oh no poor lando 😭

maxverstappen1: @/landonorris i refuse to believe she’s real, tell her to come to monaco with a birth certificate

imessage

twitter

instagram - ynnorris

liked by landonorris, yourbestfriend, oscarpiastri and 973 others

just arrived to monaco and lan’s ditched me for max, give me recs x

*tap to load comments*

userone: i love that she thinks we’re rich enough to ever be in monaco

usertwo: the waterfront!

yourbestfriend: what happened to “we’ll go together”?

ynnorris: you chose your girlfriend over me 😁

yourbestfriend: she is quite literally graduating today

ynnorris: then don’t complain x

userthree: that’s a few too many suitcases no?

oscarpiastri: the vaundé bakery or the hiking trail

ynnorris: noted 🫡

userfour: something is going to happen between them two i’m calling it now

instagram dms

ynnorris

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris, yourbestfriend and 2734 others

i guess i understand why lando left gloomy london for this

*tap for more comments*

userone: where are the insta detectives, is that the bakery oscar recommended

usertwo: it is!

userthree: is that oscar?

oscarpiastri: no

userthree: oh no he’s experiencing his first heartbreak

landonorris: lol

userfour: foul

userfive: she’s living the dream

yourbestfriend: i miss u

ynnorris: come here, lando said i could invite anyone

landonorris: i did not.

ynnorris: do you want mum and dad to find out what happened to the clutch of their old fiesta?

landonorris: @/yourbestfriend what i meant to say is you’re more than welcome

usersix: she’s so effortlessly funny

imessage

ynnorris

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris, maxfewtrell and 7610 others

monaco over and out, see you soon 😉

*tap to load comments*

userone: is that oscar??

usertwo: god she is so pretty

userthree: i know oscar’s back when i see it

oscarpiastri: photo credits? 🙄

userfour: i knew it!

ynnorris: the photos are mediocre at best

oscarpiastri: take them down then, copyright 😤

ynnorris: big baby 😤

userfive: wait they’re so cute

maxfewtrell: oh yn

yourbestfriend: he’s going to kill you

landonorris: is that my balcony?

landonorris: answer the phone yn

ynnorris: no x

[yup-no-way]

What I think is in your bag based on your moon sign?

Hellooo! So I’m making this post because I’ve noticed some patterns in people’s bags based on their moon signs and I felt like it’s worth getting shared. Lemme just say I am studying now for my exams (finals week or my final week). I swear if I open that exam paper and the first question covers exactly what I didn’t study, I will slowly close that paper and cry. I can’t even think about cheating, cause these invigilators WILL BE sniffing me up the ass just to see if my calculator is programmable or not. First exam tmrw so wish me luck guys!

These observations are based on my personal experiences so don’t take it as full facts. These placements can also be influenced by other things in someone’s chart like degrees, houses and aspects. Also if u have any suggestions for what content you’d like to see feel free to let me know. English is not my first language lads so don’t drag me for grammatical errors. xoxo

Aries moon: I think for you guys, it’s like an organised mess. U might throw stuff in one day and then forget ab it only to reach a month later in your bag and go “owwww, so this is where it was!”. I also noticed that they r weirdly prepared for a lot of things, like u have randomly spare chargers or tissues or in general useful stuff that u didn’t necessarily planned for, but rather gathered over time and never got rid off. If u carry paper with u, its almost always wrinkled or ripped, please get a nice folder.

Taurus moon: these people will carry things that make them feel comfortable. Expect things like, wet tissues in case their hands are dirty or perfumes. They r the type to carry extra makeup in case they need to retouch during the day. They tend to have heavier bags bc they will carry half of their home with them (but they will rlly only use a quarter of their things they bring). They r the type to prepare their bag once and not rlly change much in it. Like they will have all the things they feel they need and won’t ever switch it.

Gemini moon: these people can go two ways depending on where they r going. If the go to work/school they will actually carry all their books and utensils (they never work as well). They might also have heavier bags due to the amount of materials they bring with them (ease up love, u prolly don’t even use them all at once). If they go out, god knows their purses are a mystery. These people might prefer smaller bags over bigger ones. In their bags u will 100% find things like forgotten gum, random cookies or snacks, pieces of paper with random stuff on them, etc.

Cancer moon: for these people, their bags will hold high significance. I would say they might carry things that they feel connected to. For each person it varies. I know some cancer moons that love to carry medicine with them in case the ones around them get a bit sick, some that carry snacks in case they feel hungry, some that carry little trinkets that remind them of some special memories, etc. (u get the point). All of the cancer moons I know also carry tissues with them.

Leo moon: u guys will 100% carry a rlly cute pocket mirror w u. These people will have things in their bag that they will use to help retouch themselves during the day. U might even carry spare earrings or possibly even have random jewellery in ur bag. Designer wallet! Every Leo moon I know has a designer wallet (sometime it’s empty). They r more prone to have luxury products in their bag.

Virgo moon: organised folders, high quality pens and paper. They r over packers. They have everything! I am very close w a Virgo moon and whenever we go out and I need smth, they have it. Breath spray, gum, tissues, notebooks, pens, id, extra jacket, etc. They r prepared and so is their wallet. They cannot leave the house empty handed, it’s illegal for them. I’m not sure what they r called, but all Virgo moons I know have that all purpose pocket tool thing, the Swiss pocket knife.

Libra moon: these people will have a very balanced bag. What I mean by that is that they will have an equal amount of stuff that is practical and stuff that is just there as an extra. They r also fairly prepared but in a more chill way. They have some good essentials that never leave their bag. Makeup is a must. Also they always have quite nice pens. I’ve noticed some even have things in that serve no purpose, like a small plushie that they like or a random sticker that they just keep there.

Scorpio moon: they do carry crystals with them. A lot of Scorpio moons people I know are nicotine enjoyers, but even if they aren’t they do carry a lighter with them. Their bag is honestly everywhere. They will have the most random things inside. Kinda messy but in an endearing way. They r the type of people that if u asked them “i know u prolly don’t, but do u maybe have squiggly scissor?”, they will pull that exact unexped object out.

Sagittarius moon: these people r carrying their ID with them just in case they want to do smth impromptu. Expect a good book or maybe a kindle. Journals! Mints! Wired earbuds and an old music player because they swear it sounds different. They might have a good luck charm that never leaves their bag. Sometime even concert or festival bracelets.

Capricorn moon: everything here has a purpose. My sister is literally a cap moon and I haven’t seen her carry more than necessary. Even if it’s going out just to chill, pure essentials (like she leaves the house with lipgloss and a phone). For school, this girl carries every book, every notebook,nice pens, iPad, id, wallet, etc. Bags are not intentionally heavy. If they r heavy that means that they simply need a lot of things.

Aquarius moon: random receipts and pieces of junk. Tangled headphones. My friend always needs her headphones. If she forgot them at home she’d go back just to get them. Lighters and almost always tarot cards. These people have hard to pin down bags. They just vibe out their day and splash wtv inside. If they go to work/school they can never find anything in that bag, “I swear I put my pen somewhere here, where tf is itttt”, I think I heard that so much.

Pisces moon: they will get emotionally attached to a bag and the things inside. U guys also r the type to carry good essentials in ur bag. I noticed the amount of sugar pack these people have in their bags is insane. They r the type to take those free complementary sugar/toothpicks/salt packs they give at restaurants. I am very close to a Pisces moon and every single time I sit down with them, they rob half the table. Love y’all tho, cause they will take it, but they will share it w u.

I hope u guys liked this as well! I am planning on doing another astrocartography post soon, so keep an eye out for that! Till next time stay healthy and glowing! xoxo

[adviceformefromme]

LOCK-IN SZN [YOUR 8-WEEK ACCELERATOR] Week 5

NEW MONTH ENERGY - MOVEMENT MARCH

This is literally the month of all months for transformation. This is where you take your embodiment to ANOTHER level. This month you are showing up. No more writing goals, no more wishing and waiting. This month is for MOVEMENT. You move. You take action. You make better choices. That is all you do this month. Move towards the version of you that has the things you desire. Move towards a life you dream of. Move with grace, with flow, just keep moving. 

Here’s what I’m doing to accelerate my transformation this month. 

Dr Joe Dispenza Meditations daily - 1hr (these guided mediations are backed by science and are PROVEN to create transformation on a cellular level. But it requires a daily practice).

Daily journalling - the morning pages which is 3 pages of free writing to empty mind and access deeper wisdom within. Also this is a proven method in The Artists Way a book written by Julia Cameron that unblocks creativity. 

Finding my community. I have joined a conscious business accelerator programme which is 2-3 sessions per week for the month of March. This is going to support mindset shifts for my transition from employment to self employed as I leave my career in tech this month and surround me with the energy for high level income and business success. 

Investing in my image. As a visual person seeing myself as a representation of my next level is HUGE. This means dressing and looking like the thriving, abundant, radiant version of myself that has the dreams I desire. Investing in skincare treatments, ensuring my wardrobe reflects the woman I envision myself as. This means dropping cash. Removing items from my wardrobe that no longer align. Booking appointments. 

Doing the most important tasks before 12pm. This is KEY. Feeling accomplished feels GOOD. Doing those difficult tasks before midday means I don’t feel guilty, or skip putting myself and my goals first. The world no longer comes before me. I am the most important person in my life, and it’s time my actions show this. 

Letting go of the past once and for all, limiting my references to my past trauma in conversations. Redirecting my speech and thoughts towards what I want, not what I don’t want or what has hurt or harmed me. The more I do this, the more I shift my energy towards the life I desire. 

Daily connections with God, through gratitude, daily prayer, reading the word and listening to sermons. This is key for my character development and grounding with the one who loves me the most. Receiving and accessing this love daily allows me to flourish and is a priority in my transformation journey. 

Habit stacking. Reading during my sauna session. Doing my workout during my daily dog walk. Listening to a podcast as I walk to across the city. Preparing lunch as I prepare breakfast.  

There’s a lot going on this month, but the most important thing is choosing yourself daily. Choose you EVERY single day. That is the practise, you choose you, and do it again and again and again. The more you make you a priority, the more you respect yourself, the more you invest in yourself, the more life will start to mirror that, the more shifts you will see in how people treat you, how your income becomes a reflection of your self investment. 

So this is your opportunity for DRASTIC change. More so than January. March is for MOVEMENT with nature, shedding the old, making way for the new. It’s truly the most magical time of the year. So come out of your hiding place, your hibernation, your excuses, and MOVE into a new you. Shed your old skin, it’s not serving you, it never was. A new beginning awaits. 

[bottledpeaches]

the missing ten bytes

SYNOPSIS: even with the newfound ability of speech, he finds he's still unable to tell you how he really feels

CHARACTERS: metal sonic, tails, sonic, eggman, amy

TAGS: set after idw battle for angel island arc, jealous metal in denial, metal has a slight existential crisis, gn reader, mild profanity, fluff, 6.9k+ wc

TAGLIST: @waayix as requested <3, @affinitytales

special thanks to @nyehpperino and @angelitenails for beta reading this! ily <3

also confession time... affi I'm ur 💜 anon

NOTES: lots of computer terminology but I am not a programmer, its been over a month since I last wrote so this may be rusty pls bear with me </3, sonfic nation pls accept my humble first offering

dividers are from @cafekitsune

“Tails… What’s that you’re holding?”

Covered in machine oil and dust as per usual, the boy genius looks over and waves at you. When he notices you staring, he holds up the device in his free hand. It’s small, fitting snugly into the palm of his hand, and resembles an earpiece.

“Oh, this? It’s my newest invention!” he declares proudly. “It’s a real-time translator that can convert binary code into speech! Pretty cool, huh?”

Your gaze drifts to the suspiciously Sonic-shaped robot dragging on the ground behind him, beaten and battered with several dents in his frame. Most likely the work of the real Sonic. His red LED eyes are off and sparks fly off the exposed wiring in his limbs. If Tails notices this severe safety hazard he’s haphazardly handling, he doesn’t say anything. Or most likely, he doesn’t notice, too caught up in whatever genius idea his mind is brewing up. 

“... Is that Metal?”

He flinches, like he forgot he was actually dragging the damn thing around. 

“Er… no?” 

“Tails.”

He reluctantly sighs at your tone and his whole body deflates. 

“Fine, fine,” he grumbles as he turns toward his workshop. “But I swear, this is in the name of… science. Yeah, science!”

The skeptical look you send his way makes him look away again and scratch the back of his neck shamefully. 

“How do I explain this…? You know how Amy was upgrading her hammer the other day?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, Metal spotted Sonic earlier today and you know how the story goes. They got into a fight and Amy decided it would be a perfect time to test her hammer out.”

He mimics her actions as he swings an invisible hammer around. In doing so, Metal slips from his grasp and falls to the ground with a loud thud. He rolls to a stop and you can see, on the back of his head, a giant hammer-shaped dent that aligns with the size and shape of Amy’s. 

“... Yeah. The story writes itself from there on,” sighs Tails as he follows your gaze. You squat down next to the unconscious robot and place a hand on top of his head. Still hot to the touch and you retract your hand quickly, hissing at the slight burn. His internal systems must’ve been working overtime and overheated as a result. You’d wager his circuitry is probably fried beyond repair now.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re dragging what’s essentially glorified scrap metal back to your place though,” you say as you sling one of Metal’s arms (that’s barely held together by a cable) over your shoulder as Tails takes the other. In response, he pulls out the ear piece you noticed earlier and beams brightly. 

“I invented this the other day but haven’t been able to test it yet. But look! Here we are with the perfect candidate!”

“Tails, I do hope you realize what you’re getting yourself into. This is like stepping right into the lion’s den- no, more like inviting the lion straight into our home! And if something goes wrong, we’re all dead meat!”

“Relax! Even if he does go berserk, I’m sure Sonic would love to take another swing at him.”

The garage door to Tails’ workshop opens automatically as you approach. A loud grunt escapes you as Metal slides off you and onto a table. The overhead light flickers on and fills the space with bright, fluorescent light as Tails restrains the robot with some heavy duty chains. Not like it’ll do much if he does wake up… 

“Besides, we don’t even know if he has a language module or not. If he doesn’t, then wouldn’t that mean all your efforts get wasted?”

“No such thing as wasted effort in my eyes!” he replies as he grabs his welding and power tools, aviation goggles discarded on the floor in favor of a welding helmet. “And we’ve heard him speak before.”

“Tails, that was when he was in his Neo Metal form. That was caused by his AI chip becoming self-aware.”

“But the possibility exists,” he argues. “It’s there, just buried beneath Dr. Eggman’s programming. And that’s why I have you with me!”

“M-me?” you splutter out. “Wait, I never said I was-”

“- The resident programmer amongst us!” he interrupts. “I’m just the engineer, remember? If anyone stands a chance of overwriting his code, it’s you. Besides, aren’t you at least a tiny bit interested in being the first to sabotage Dr. Eggman’s failsafe encryption system?”

Your eye twitches. You’d be lying if he said he didn’t speak the truth… 

Tails flips the visor on his helmet down and motions you to back up. Sparks fly and the room is filled with the ear-rattling sound of the grinding wheel undoing the weld that houses his inner workings. When Tails flips the visor up and motions you forward, your eyes widen and practically sparkle at the motherboard before you. Located in his head that Tails has sawed the top off just now is a behemoth of densely-packed wiring and components. You spot several fans, the two CPU sockets with chips that bear Dr. Eggman’s face on them, and several memory slots. Much of the wiring is fried from overheating, however, and the distinct smell of something burning wafts from the printed circuit board. You cover your nose with your hand and grimace at the smell, yet you take a seat beside the robot and get to work anyway. 

The first order of business is to replace all the parts beyond any hope of repair. Tails directs you to where he keeps his collection of computer parts and soon, you return with an armful of components you dug out of a bin. With his help, the wiring is replaced and reworked. His damaged limbs are repaired and reattached to his body. Thankfully, none of his processors or memory cards were damaged, as you’re able to hook him up to a computer and copy all his software and saved information. The computer screen lights up and a download progress bar appears. It soon completes and you see that all of Metal’s saved data has been successfully transferred onto the computer.

While Tails is busy tinkering with the engineering marvel splayed out on the table, you’re busy attempting to get past Dr. Eggman’s notoriously difficult code encryption. As much as you hate the man, you have to begrudgingly admit he does deserve the title of “genius”. No matter what you do, you just can’t get past the security system- there are no openings and no backdoor either. Maybe you’ll just have to brute force it?

… You slam your fist against the table after what feels like the hundredth failed attempt. The high-pitched whirring sound of Tails’ power drill that’s faded into background noise abruptly stops as he stares at you concernedly. You brush off his concern and in a last-ditch attempt, you simply force your way past the protections in place without any regard for what could happen. You’re prepared for failure yet again, but to your surprise, you’re greeted with a welcome screen. Looks like you’re in now. Somehow. 

There’s no doubt that Dr. Eggman hasn’t realized his most prized creation has been gone for a suspiciously long time now. If he hasn’t, then the defenses set up around Metal’s code that surely triggered when you brute forced your way into the system just now will alert him. 

Your eyes scan for any software that could indicate the presence of a language model. But to your surprise, there’s none. If there’s no language model, how can he understand Dr. Eggman’s orders and react in real-time to Sonic’s taunts in the middle of heated fights?

You bite your lip as you scroll through the lines of code making up his software. If it had existed, it was most likely stripped after the events of Angel Island for being considered too “rebellious”. Does this mean there’s a way for you to re-implement it then? 

Your fingers fly across the keys rapidly. Whether Dr. Eggman built Metal’s language model framework up from the ground or not is up for debate, but you aren’t capable of such feats yet. Developing one from scratch would also take too much time and you aren’t sure when the killer robot next to you will awaken either. Instead, you settle for downloading an established model onto a flash drive and extensively tweaking its source code to be more suitable for Metal. That alone takes you long enough as Tails shoots you a nervous glance. He readies his welding tools and readjusts his helmet.

“(Name), I don’t know how much longer Metal is going to stay unconscious… His AI chip has most likely been busy with rebooting him back up. Plus who knows what other defenses he has set up in place…” 

Dammit. With little time left, you encrypt the software as best as you can to avoid Dr. Eggman undoing all your hard work before sticking it into the slot on Metal’s back. The indicator light turning green at the base tells you it’s been successfully compiled and installed. It’s a half-baked product at best and it’ll be nowhere near the level of refinement his original programming was at, but it’s good enough. 

“Ready,” you say to Tails. “Power him back on.”

Tails flashes a thumbs-up. A quick weld job later and he flicks a switch on. The robot’s entire body jerks and shudders from the sudden output of watts now flowing through his circuitry. His red pupils flicker back on and his head snaps in your direction, glaring at you. With a whirr of well-oiled gears, he tugs at the restraints holding him until they snap. He leaps off the table and swipes at you, steel fingers slicing cleanly through the air. You dodge just in time and Tails swoops in from above, whacking him over the head with a stray steel pipe. It disorients Metal just enough for you to restrain him again- not that it does much. He smacks your hand away with his other one, but you hold your glare and to your surprise, he stops in his tracks.

“Say something. Anything,” you demand. 

Tails gets the hint and tosses you the earpiece. You catch the device midair and put it in with a mechanical beep as it powers on. Metal emits a series of clicks and whirrs that you pray is your modified language model formulating a response. 

“Why should I?” comes the translation a few seconds later in a mechanical voice. You gasp.

“It works!”

“Wait, it does?” asks Tails as he flies over to your side. You rapidly nod with the biggest grin on your face as he grips your hands tightly in his. 

“Because thanks to me, you can speak now. You also got a free repair job from our resident boy genius,” you say, motioning to Tails. 

Another robotic whirr. This one sounds confused. 

“You can understand me?”

“Yes!”

Metal turns around and fully faces you now. He taps a finger against his chin and scrutinizes you. At least you think that’s what he’s doing. 

“What did you do?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Answer me.” 

Tails reaches for the earpiece but you swat him away. You’ll tell him the details later. 

“Oh, nothing. Just a little tweak to your programming. I’m sure you miss being able to speak though, right?”

“My creator will be hearing about this-”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Tell me something I don’t know,” you scoff with a wave of your hand. “And tell him to bring it on.”

“Duly noted.”

You peek an eye open at the robot who’s still glaring at you with murderous intent. A smug grin tugs at the corner of your lips as a thought pops into your head and you swear you see him flinch. Tails shudders out the corner of your eye. 

“I think a thank you is in order?”

He’s gone before you even finish the question, speeding back to his creator’s lair. Hopefully your programming has a fighting chance against Dr. Eggman, if he can even discover it. You hid and encrypted the software pretty damn well with the time you were given, in your opinion. 

“Ah… he’s hopeless,” you lament. 

“What’d he say?” pesters Tails as he circles around you, twin tails swishing in excitement. “How was the translation quality? Was there anything-”

“Nothing special,” you sigh as you head back outside for a much-needed break. “Just Metal being a jackass as per usual. Didn’t even say thank you for the free repair job and the new upgrade of speech! Can you believe it? The nerve of him… Did Eggman forget to install manners or what?”

Tails snorts and bites back a laugh.

“That would explain a lot of things then…”

You remove the earpiece and look down at it, fiddling with the device. 

“The translation isn’t up to real-time standards yet. It takes a few seconds, but it’s already an impressive start.”

“That won’t do,” argues Tails. “Its purpose is to be a real-time translator. Any delay is unacceptable.”

“Ever heard of appreciating every victory, no matter how big or small?”

He glares at you and motions for you to hand the translator back to him. You toss it and he deftly catches it midair. After mumbling some terms you don’t quite make out under his breath, he pockets it and faces you again.

“I’m heading back to the drawing board, but would you be interested in staying onboard for this project? I could really use your programming skills…”

It’s cute, the way he fidgets as if the possibility of you saying “no” was even a possibility to begin with.

“You kidding me? I finally have the chance to one-up Eggman and I’m not letting it slip by now!”

You pat Tails on the back, noting the relief that floods his eyes as he perks up. His twin tails swish excitedly behind him again and he all but drags you back to the workshop.

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s get going!”

It’s a game of tug-of-war from there on out between you and Eggman over who would have control over Metal. The next time you see him after your initial encounter, his creator has already done a number on your programming. Basic speech is compromised and barely audible, instead coming out as a bunch of mechanical beeps and clicks with the occasional garbled word here and there. It takes Amy knocking him out cold with her hammer and almost four hours to get everything re-downloaded and running again, even with you and Tails’ combined brainpower. But it turns out to be a blessing in disguise, as you discover new ways to improve his language model and the translator. Components are swapped out with shinier, newer counterparts that Tails finds as he expands his collection of computer parts. You slowly develop an understanding of Eggman’s programming and how to circumvent its defenses, creating workarounds at a frightening pace that you know the man himself is having a massive headache over. 

The translator inches closer and closer to real-time translation after each encounter with Metal. Your encryption skills improve, as demonstrated by how Metal’s speech is experiencing less frequent setbacks despite his creator surely trying to spoil the fruits of your labor. His speech, which originally started off as simple sentences, evolves into something more complex as his AI chip begins integrating the program and the code begins learning from his speech habits. He even begins seeking you out for help with his speech. 

“It’s you, bothersome friend of Sonic’s.”

By now, the translator is up to real-time speed. 

“... Good afternoon to you as well? Can I help you?”

“I am experiencing jitters in my speech. This must be the result of a bug. Fix it.”

A jitter… Does he mean stuttering?

“Is that what you organics refer to it as?”

“If what I think you’re referring to is right, then yes,” you respond as you boot up your computer. You didn’t even realize you voiced your thoughts. Metal begrudgingly sits next to you as you pop open the control panel in his back to copy and update the software onto your device. “Why didn’t you ask Egghead to patch it for you then?”

“He said, and I quote, ‘wanted nothing to do with such shoddy programming anymore’. End quote. And do not speak of my creator in such a way. This is your first and final warning.”

You sigh. A win is a win, even if it’s a bit of a low blow to your ego… Hopefully, he’ll stay out of your way now since he sees your work as far beneath him. 

You pull up the conversation history in the software. Here, you can see logs of every conversation he’s had, the responses generated, and the ones he chose to go with. It’s the second most recent timestamp that catches your attention. It’s a conversation with Eggman that took place prior to him arriving here. 

| “You’ve been growing soft lately. I don’t recall programming you with emotions. Is it all because of that stupid program now?”

> Yes.   > No.   > Why is it so bad? 

| “‘Why is it so bad?’ Are you MOCKING me?! There is NO room for sentimentality or emotions under this roof! I built you for one purpose and one purpose only and expect you to NOT get sidetracked!”

> Understood.   > Yes, sir.

| “You’re more trouble than you’re worth sometimes and it’s failure after failure… I’m starting to lose faith in your abilities to eliminate Sonic. Can you even do anything right?”

 > I’m sorry.   > …

| “I know I said I’d stay ten feet away from that disgusting program, but it’s getting in the way now. Hmm, perhaps I should… Metal, come here.”

> As you wish.   > Of course.   > Understood.   > N-No.

There it is. Is that the stutter he was talking about?

| “... No? Are you defying me now? But why?! And did you just… stutter?”

> Because it feels nice finally being able to say what’s on my mind this whole time   > None of your business. You didn’t develop this program, therefore why should I tell you? 

| “Oh, so you’re acting cheeky now? Taking after that blue brat, I suppose?”

> No. I’ve always been like this.   > You literally built me in his image, what were you expecting? 

| “Since when?!”

> Since you created me. But you were never there to hear me speak in my Neo form.   > You’re my creator. Shouldn’t you have the answer to that question? 

| “That’s besides the point! And I got rid of that function for a reason! You were too disobedient and annoying whenever you spoke and now I have to hear it all the time! Metal, this is an order to you from your creator. Come over-! Wait, where are you going? Get back here!”

The next timestamp is from your conversation when he first arrived here. You close out of the software and tap your foot, sinking deep into thought. 

“What is the issue?”

“How do I explain this…?” you begin. “Metal, there’s nothing wrong with you. That stutter, or jitter in your speech, as you called it, is perfectly normal.”

He lets out a disgruntled-sounding mechanical beep.

“How so?” he demands. You sigh.

“Metal, you were most likely feeling nervous at that moment. People tend to stutter when they’re nervous. It’s a natural thing to do.”

He laughs. It’s a robotic, clipped sound, sounding almost sarcastic to your ears. The speed at which he’s learning is quite impressive, really. 

“Impossible. I am a robot, a creation of Dr. Eggman. I cannot feel emotions the way you organics do.”

“We’ll see about that,” you grumble as you scroll through alerts regarding his operating system. 

| Power surge detected in central battery pack. Risk of component failure or overloading increasing. Action recommended. 

| Temperature spike detected. Risk of overheating is imminent. Increasing fan speed to 2500 rpm. 

| Fans nearing maximum rpm speed. Prolonged usage can lead to CPU fan failure. Action recommended. 

“What’s this I see then?” you taunt, a hint of a smirk curling at the corner of your lips. Metal looks over your shoulder at your computer screen, then pointedly turns away with a quiet whirr. 

“... Those are regular operating alerts. Your point falls flat.”

You roll your eyes. 

“So these occurrences happen regularly? I feel bad for your processors if that’s the case.”

He crosses his arms and you sigh at the sight. 

“... You know, it’s not as shameful as you’ve been led to believe.”

“Don’t tell me what to think.”

“You won’t be able to think at all once I turn you into scrap metal for Tails to repurpose,” you retort, unable to resist the temptation of a sassy comeback. Metal glares at you as if you’ve personally offended him. You stand your ground and eventually, he backs down first. 

“Think about it,” you say, trying to reason with him, since that’s apparently the only way you can get anything through his thick skull. “They’re actually quite beneficial. Had you not put up a fight, you wouldn’t be speaking to me right now.”

He stays silent. You huff. 

“You absolute bolt bag. Which one would you prefer- being able to speak or not speak at all?”

“You are putting me in a bind here,” he says. 

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

“And I decline to give an answer.”

You wordlessly turn back to your computer and boot up the software again. Your fingers click against the keys as you type and Metal looks over curiously to see new lines of code on your screen.

“What are you doing?”

“Since you refuse to be honest with me, I’ll have your software take that matter into its own hands.”

Oh, he doesn’t like that smug tone in your voice. Not one bit.

“... What are you planning now?”

There’s a self-satisfied grin on your face as you continue typing.

“Your software will now force a response to every question asked, regardless of who’s asking. And I’m purposefully encoding a bug to ensure you’ll always pick the most embarrassing response the software generates. Isn’t that fun?”

Metal’s eyes widen and he buzzes indignantly. 

“You-!”

You merely laugh and delete all the lines of code. Not even the sweet feeling of cooling down after overheating could compare to the sheer relief Metal feels at the sight. 

“Just playing with you. But that’s the most emotion I’ve heard from you so far, y’know?”

He buzzes again and you sigh. What a killjoy. 

“Metal, why were you so afraid?” 

Back to business now. 

“I was not afraid,” he snaps. And perhaps that’s true. A robot can’t feel emotions the same way you do and he’ll never be able to. The only possibility of that ever happening would be to wipe Eggman’s programming and rewrite his code from scratch, but at that point… could he even be considered the same robot anymore? A philosophical question you’d rather not ponder in the face of said murderous robot sitting in your home office. 

“You’re just as incorrigible as your creator!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

You jab your finger at his torso, glaring at him viciously. He meets your gaze unflinchingly.

“Ask yourself, who has your best interests at heart?” you hiss. “The man who got rid of your ability to speak without any consideration as to how you felt, all to save himself from a headache, or the one who restored those functions without expecting anything in return?”

“You know that I will always choose my creator over you.”

Ouch. That stings more than you’d like to admit, but you fight back the hurt expression that threatens to cross your face in favor of a harsh smack to his head. Your hand throbs in pain and it definitely hurts you more than him, but you derive a small amount of satisfaction when he flinches and his eyes flicker to form exclamation marks. 

“You’ll only do so because of your programming. If I stripped you of Eggman’s programming and replaced it with mine, would you make the same decision?”

You glare at him one last time before slamming the door shut in his face. He stands there, motionless, for several long seconds as he mulls over your words.

Who would I be, if I weren’t created by him?

Metal doesn’t know. Everything he’s ever known has always revolved around his creator. He sifts through his memory bank in an attempt to find anything that isn’t tied to Dr. Eggman in some way, but comes up empty-handed. His CPU stutters and freezes up and he’s left paralyzed. Is this the emotion organics call “fear”?

It’s then he realizes your finger was aimed at where a heart would be located. After his AI chip performs a hard reset, he presses his hand over the spot you were touching. He feels a strange buzz throughout his body that he quickly traces its cause to his fans spinning rapidly and causing mild vibrations. 

… How uncharacteristic. 

It’s an uncomfortable sensation, but not an unwelcome one. 

You see Metal around more often from there on out. Lingering at the corners of your vision as you go about your day, inviting himself into your house and overstaying his welcome, and watching you debug his code. You’re well aware of his presence but don’t say anything. Let him see the world without tunnel vision for once. 

“Why is Metal following you around?” asks Tails one day in the workshop. He looks out the window to see the blue robot standing in the bushes and staring intently, not even bothering to hide himself. At this point, your programming has been fully integrated by his AI chip, rendering the translator Tails had initially developed obsolete. The young fox across the table from you is currently disassembling the earpiece and repurposing its components as he casts glances at Metal periodically, not even bothering to hide his suspicion. 

“Ignore him,” you say without looking over your shoulder. “He won’t do anything as long as I’m around. Think of him as… a lost puppy rather than a murderous robot.”

There’s a loud buzzing sound from the bushes, as if he’s pissed at your statement, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care less, instead turning back to your computer with a light laugh. 

During your time in the lab, Tails repurposes the earpiece into a smartwatch which shares the same language software Metal uses. Not only can you now see his conversation logs and how he’s feeling without your computer, but it also doubles as a haptics registering system for Metal. With a swipe, you can switch between components and see their status in real time. Tails gives it to you under the condition that you would share the results with him so he could further understand Eggman’s engineering.

… Perhaps it’s a bit of a betrayal of trust now that you think about it, but you also wouldn’t have been able to get your hands on the device otherwise. A little secret never hurts anyone, right?

He sees you dozing off under the shade of a palm tree. Analyzing your sleeping expression and your biodata, he comes to a conclusion: content. From your heart rate and your respiratory rate, he can assume that you’re in a deep sleep. Perhaps you’re even dreaming right now. Before he knows it, he finds himself standing at your side and looking down at your sleeping form. 

| What should I do?

> Accompany them.   > Leave without a trace.

There’s a short clicking sound from him. He doesn’t like either of those options. One is too forward of a move and another one makes it seem like he was never there at all. Metal looks around, shuffling in circles in the sand, until he finds a solution.

When you wake up from your impromptu nap, you find a bouquet of wildflowers resting in your hands that were clumsily picked. Some of them are bent in half at the stem and others have petals missing, yet you smile and hold the flowers closer anyway.

“He’s not as subtle as he thinks he is,” you lightly scoff to yourself, fingers stroking the petals. “How cute.”

He sees you typing away at your computer throughout the day, brows furrowed and biting your lip. Focused. Your eyes narrow and your gaze hones in on something as you type out a few more lines of code. Anticipation. Your eyes light up and you clap your hands together in victory, pushing yourself back in your chair and spinning around. Relief. Victory. And the cycle repeats. But more often than not, you become even more frustrated instead of achieving sweet victory. Such is the life of a programmer. 

What he doesn’t see, however, is you tapping away at your watch and seeing the conclusions he’s drawn once he’s left, presumably having grown bored with watching you sit at a desk for hours on end. 

| Conclusion: Focused. Anticipating something. Relief. Victory.

You hum and raise your eyebrows in pleasant surprise. 

“Not bad. But he still has a lot to learn.”

He sees you hanging out with friends too, silently trailing a safe distance from behind. His AI chip is always prompting him to do weird things during those times, however- glare daggers at your poor friend until they leave, purposefully make his presence known, or even say something to get them to leave. It must be another bug, decides Metal. He’ll ask you to fix it later. But right now, he’s focused on your form taking a walk alongside… Sonic. 

Revulsion. Disgust. But there’s something else too. What is this feeling? 

Jealousy, responds the software. But he’s too prideful to accept such a diagnosis. He can’t possibly be jealous of Sonic. The very thought makes him want to laugh. It should be the other way around! But seeing how you let Sonic sling an arm around your shoulder and let him drag you around... it makes him realize the gap between himself and that blue hedgehog. And he wants nothing more than to bridge it. 

Now is the perfect time to swoop in and show that hedgehog who’s the real Sonic, but he holds off- partially for your sake but to also hear where the conversation will be going after catching his name. 

“From what I heard, that hunk of scrap metal actually talked back to Egghead! Can you believe it? He gave the man attitude!”

Sonic puffs his chest out and smiles proudly. Metal feels the familiar urge to run over and kick him in the head. 

“Maybe I am rubbing off onto him more than he’d like to admit. What can I say, I’m a good influence! Now, if he could just shape up to be a better… person? Robot? Whatever.”

“... Or it’s because of his shiny new language model that I’ve been modifying.”

Sonic’s face falls and twists into a disgruntled scowl at your words.

“You’re stealing my thunder here,” he grumbles.

“No, I’m just telling you to give credit where credit is due.”

Metal fights the command telling him to laugh. At least, that’s what you call that specific sound. A snarky reply is generated and lies in waiting, ready to be used. Perhaps he’s picked up your sass more than he’d like to admit. 

He accidentally steps on a twig underfoot and freezes as Sonic’s ears twitch at the sound. Sonic looks around and meets Metal’s glowing red eyes hiding in the bushes. He grimaces, hand bunching into a fist and ready to turn the robot into little more than a dented tin can at a moment’s notice. 

“Ew, it’s you. You’re looking hideous as usual, by the way.”

“I am not hideous. You are just projecting.”

“Great, you’re even more insufferable now that you can speak. (Name), remind me why you took up this little passion project of yours again?”

You lazily shrug.

“Wanted to one-up Eggman for once.”

“Joy,” grumbles Sonic. “My cheap knockoff can now speak all because you got into a metaphorical dick measuring contest with- woah! Easy there!”

He leaps out of the way right as you shove him. 

“As if you’re not doing the same thing on a near-daily basis!”

This time, Metal does laugh, red eyes narrowing into slits and shoulders shaking. Sonic glares over his shoulder at his robotic counterpart.

“Oh, piss off already, would you?”

He laughs again, this time just to spite his rival. 

“Whatever,” grumbles Sonic. “Let’s just get out of here.”

As Sonic moves to drag you away, Metal’s hand shoots out to grab you by the shoulder. Steel claws dig into the flesh and he has to hurriedly ease up on his grip, lest he accidentally draw blood.

Soft, he thinks. Malleable and breakable, unlike his body of titanium. It’s the first time he’s touched you of his own accord. He’s always been aware of how organics are more fragile than him, with bodies that could be injured once and never recover. It’s been a sore point of contention for him- how does Sonic keep surpassing him with a body that tires and will eventually fail? Yet despite his organic counterpart standing in front of him, Metal’s focus isn’t on him. It’s on your pulse beating beneath his touch and the way his claws dig and sink into your soft flesh. For the first time, he realizes just how frail you are. And the knowledge that he is capable of damaging you beyond repair sends his mind into overdrive. He freezes at the thought, and it’s enough of an opportunity for Sonic to smack his hand away with a glare that could kill. He has no pain receptors, yet he feels a strange pang. 

“Keep your hands to yourself! Didn’t Egghead teach you that or was he too busy programming you to be as much of an asshole as possible?”

Metal doesn’t follow Sonic as he leads you away, although there’s a strange urge to give chase. Once you’re out of sight, he looks down at the hand that was touching you, and flexes his fingers. They move in a mechanical motion, gears spinning and cables going taut at the command. His temperature sensors still retain the warmth of your body and he finds himself seeking it out again, even though he could very easily replicate and surpass your warmth by overheating on purpose. Metal shakes his head and dismisses the thought. A stupid idea. You’d scold him for it as well. 

At this point, he’s amassed a considerable amount of information regarding human emotions and knows what he’s feeling at this point. That four-letter word sits at the forefront of his mind. He buzzes angrily and tries to squash the feeling down, but it pops back up. 

… How irritating.

If he was trying to stay hidden before, then he’s not even bothering to hide his presence now. He’s at your side when shopping and obediently carrying your bags. When going on your evening walk, he’s there, identifying species of flowers and butterflies for you when you point at them. On the rare occasion he does leave your side, there’s always a little gift left in his place for you to discover. A collection of polished rocks, a bouquet of wildflowers picked from the hills behind your house, computer parts still in mint condition (did he go dumpster diving for these?), more flowers, pretty vases for said flowers, even more flowers… yeah, you’re noticing a pattern here. 

Metal even starts sneaking you into Eggman’s base, much to your amusement. He’ll disable the security systems and avoid the other robots patrolling around before leading you to the main computer room, where you’ll (begrudgingly) marvel over the quality workmanship that is Eggman’s tech and perhaps steal some trade secrets for your own use. 

The first time Eggman catches you red-handed, he’s so shocked all he can do there is stand motionless as he watches his most prized creation catch you in his waiting arms as you jump through a window. 

“M-Metal! What is this? Don’t tell me you’re in your rebellious phase now? Wait, that shouldn’t even be possible-”

You lazily shrug and cut him off with a wag of your finger. 

“Doc, you programmed him after Sonic, the guy that doesn’t care about rules and always goes against you. I don’t know what else to tell you other than you brought this upon yourself-”

“Get out!”

One night, you’re shaken awake by Metal. It’s not the first time he’s broken into your house, but it is the first time he’s done so at such a late hour. Metal understands the importance of sleep to organics and from his scanners, would’ve seen that you were in a deep sleep. So what gives?

“... What do you want?” you grumble as you come face to face with the robot standing at your bedside. He beeps and extends a hand. 

“I have something to show you. Come with me.”

A few minutes later and he’s flying across the lush landscape with you held securely in his arms. It’s a clear night with a full moon. The stars twinkle overhead and you can hear the chirp of insects in the grass and trees despite the wind in your ears. 

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see.”

He comes to a stop and sets you down atop the hills overlooking your home. The air is rich with the sweet scent of wildflowers he often picks for your bouquets and the grass is lush from the heavy rains as of late. Toward the horizon sits Eggman’s lair, a hulking beast lying in wait for the right moment. 

You pat the spot next to you, but for once, he doesn’t sit next to you. Instead, he chooses to stand at your side and look off into the distance silently and awkwardly. He seems to be pointedly avoiding your gaze as you narrow your eyes at him, searching for a hint of what he could be hiding. When you uncover nothing, you irritatedly sigh and lie down. 

“First, you break into my house while I’m asleep despite knowing the importance of sleep to organics, then you turn down an invitation to sit next to me, which you’ve never done before. You’re acting weird. Tell me, what’s going on?”

He emits a series of beeps. Specifically, a combination of a high-pitched and low-pitched beep. You’ve gotten so used to him speaking that you almost don’t realize it’s his way of vocalizing binary code.

… But why would he do that now, of all times?

“Metal, Tails and I got rid of the translator a long time ago. I have no idea what you just said.”

“I know,” he says before pulling out a pen and some paper. After accompanying you on your shopping trips and errand runs for so long now, he’s gotten accustomed to having some paper and a writing utensil on him at all times now. 

You watch with wide eyes and bated breath as Metal’s hand grips the pen tightly, easing up on the pressure when he feels the plastic crack beneath his fingertips. He is not a gentle robot by design, quite literally programmed to kill. Knowing how to handle things with care, when to squeeze tightly and when to cradle gently… this is all unknown territory to him. Did the bouquets of flowers he picked for you every day work in making you realize his newfound feelings? He doesn’t know. By following you around, did you realize that was his way of ensuring your safety? He doesn’t know. By doing what you said, did you realize that was his way of telling you he trusts you? Again, he doesn’t know. His scanners tell him you feel affection towards him, but what kind? Familial, romantic, platonic- which one was yours? 

Only one way to find out. 

| Are you sure you wish to proceed? This decision will have irreversible consequences.

And for once, there is only one response generated.

> Yes.

Faster than your eyes can process, he scribbles something onto the paper and shoves it into your hands before fleeing. He’s out of sight within seconds, but your eyes stay trained on the spot you last saw him, listening for any indication he might be within earshot. The only sounds you hear as you strain your ears as the quiet chirps of insects and the rustling of the wind through the grass. No sign of a blue robot hiding. But knowing him, he’s probably watching from behind a tree somewhere, so with a sigh, you unfold the crumpled paper.

Your eyes widen at the sight. It’s hastily-copied binary code. The paper is torn in some areas from the force of his writing and the ink bleeds through in some spots, but it’s still legible. In an instant, your mind translates the several zeros and ones into three simple words. The initial dose of shock wears off, followed by realization.

So that’s why he was acting so weird.

A frown tugs at the corners of your mouth after a few more seconds. 

Why didn’t he say so sooner? Did he think I wouldn’t reciprocate?

Your frown transforms into a determined scowl. Time to fix that then. 

He still has a lot to learn if he thinks that’s what I would do.

You let go of the note, watching as the edges flutter in the palm of your hand before being carried away by the wind. The implications of what this could mean for the future are lost on you in the moment as you head back home to where you’ll surely find Metal lying in wait on the walk there. Right now, you have a robot to confess to. 

01101001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101

enjoyed this? the taglist is open!

@ bottledpeaches, do not copy, repost, modify, translate, or feed to ai

[exploiters-of-digital-circus]

THE AMAZING DIGITAL EXPLOITS MASTERPOST

Do whatever it means to escape… at the cost of this digital reality, you say?

One of Caine’s "all seeing" eye malfunctioned due to a mysterious “bug,” thus creating its own entity. This “entity” finds a new host by sneaking into a random member’s room. Unfortunately for that random member, it was Pomni. Once Pomni goes inside her room… strange occurrences begin.

CHARACTER LINEUP + INFO

Boundaries n' QnA !

Can I make fanart/fanfic/animation/etc. for this AU? Heck yeah! Feel free to tag me, don't be shy, I wanna see what you are up to!

Can I ship other characters of ur AU? Yeah sure! If you see me make any ship art, take note that they are not canon in this AU. [sorry buttonblossom shippers, got your hopes up there] However, feel free to make any ships, as long as ya'll are respectful to one another n' I don't want to hear any discourse!

Can I make my own interpretations for the codes and computery stuff? OH HECK YEAH YOU CAN! Feel free to dump me about programming stuff! If you are familiar or have a background knowledge about any of these then yes feel free to share your interpretations!

Can I make some NSFW work? I guess? As long as you spoiler it.

TWO ROUTES STORY

Route A: Pomni agreed to help the entity take down Caine, in exchange for freedom or escape from the digital circus, but with a price to pay…

or

Route B:

Pomni takes advantage of the entity and cooperates with Caine to help with the escape. The problem is, will Pomni ever trust Caine?

ARTWORKS/FILES

Concepts > Programmer Pomni First Concept

> DO NOT TRUST CAINE + first concept art draft of crew > POSTER > Are you sure that's Pomni? > First Look of the Cast [outdated] I accidentally deleted the original Tumblr post... yeah.

Official Artworks > PAY ATTENTION > THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING > Yikes! Don't do that again! > Is that... me?

Miscellaneous > ButtonBlossom Divorce Arc 1 > ButtonBlossom Partners In Crime > ButtonBlossom Divorce Arc 2 + doodles > Caine + Pomni Doodle > The Strongest Duo [Jax & Gangle] > Sticking Together? [Ragatha & Jax]

CANON OCCURENCES

Jax's Unlucky Day [COMIC]

Waiting to be free…

[valy-gc]

Game Idea - now a novel

Well... originally a dating sim game idea that will be a novel because I don't have any programmation skills nor the money to pay some developpers, but I like it and got lots of ideas for it so let's just share it.

If you want to make a OC and/or your MC from it, then have fun, I would love it ^-^ (list of existing ones at the end ^^)

It's a dating sim, mix between "Twisted Wonderland" and "Obey me!"

This is mostly ideas thrown like this in a messy way. But you can now read the novel version here:

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 -All other chapters will only be on the other plateforms, always free to read

whole on my Tapas, Toyhouse, Ao3 or wattpad

I also introduce all the characters on Toyhouse, UnVale or Deviantart and regularly post here on tumblr about it

And to not have to search through my tumblr, you can find every single infos about Scriptoria, on my Toyhouse as well.

everything under the cut

As a new student at Fablewood Academy, you are mysteriously invited after stumbling upon an ancient storybook. Among peers who resonate with legendary characters from fables and folklore, you stand apart—unable to resonate with any historical figure. Instead, you uncover a profound connection to the mysterious Writers.

Navigating the competitive dorm dynamics and building relationships with students and teachers, you begin to unravel the secrets of Scriptoria, the world of stories. With your unique bond to the Writers, you hold the key to saving it from an ancient force threatening to rewrite history itself.

~~~~

World

"Scriptoria" A magical world shaped by the memories and writings of the legendary Writers, who recorded the lives and deeds of its inhabitants.

~~~~

The Writers :

The authors of fairytales we knows, they are called the "writers" not because they have wrote the tales (since it's supposed to be all real stories in this world) but because they were keeper of memories, noting everything that was happening in the world, which permitted the actual characters to knows all about the stories.

The Writers and Their Origins

Connection to Their Stories and Cultures:

Jean de La Fontaine (Beastman from Beasthaven): La Fontaine, a fox beastman, had a knack for observing the social structures of Beasthaven’s vibrant and diverse communities.

Hans Christian Andersen (Mer from the Seafoam Dominion): Andersen was a merman with a melancholic streak, deeply inspired by the beauty and sorrow of the sea. His ability to capture fleeting emotions and weave them into poetic tales was unparalleled.

The Grimm Brothers (Goblins from Myrcadawn): Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were goblin-faes, an unexpected yet fitting revelation. The magic of the Writers kept their mischief in check, channeling their keen wit and curiosity into recording humanity's most primal fears and hopes. Their goblin heritage explains the darker, more visceral tone of their collected tales.

Charles Perrault (Human from Austreim): Perrault was a human writer from the cobblestone streets of Austreim. Known for his elegance and refinement, he focused on moralistic tales that resonated with high society while still appealing to common folk. His work emphasized transformation and perseverance, ideals he believed could bridge social divides.

An so many more… In short, every single race and country had one or multiple Writers.

The Omniscience of the Writers

The Writers weren’t ordinary historians—they were endowed with a unique form of magic called Storysense.

Storysense Explained: Writers could sense when someone was destined for a life-altering story—one that would leave a profound impact on their world and become a tale told for generations.

When they encountered such an individual, their magic activated instinctively, drawing them to observe and record the person’s journey.

This connection allowed them to witness events in real-time, ensuring no detail was missed.

The Rule of Non-Intervention: Writers were forbidden from interfering in the stories they recorded. Their role was to document, not shape, the fates of those they observed.

Consequences of Breaking the Rule: If a Writer intervened, their Storysense could fracture, leaving them unable to detect new stories. Worse, they might accidentally unravel the tale they were meant to preserve, altering history itself. (e.g. Helping Cinderella to escape her abusing family would prevent her from meeting her prince and she would not become the Great queen Austreim had known)

The Role of the Writers’ Magic

Memory-Keeping: The Writers’ magic extended beyond mere observation. They could project their memories into enchanted quills or scrolls, creating flawless records of events. These documents became powerful artifacts that resonated with the essence of the stories they contained.

The Grand Archive: All Writers’ works were stored in a magical repository known as the Grand Archive. The archive it a living entity, capable of organizing itself and occasionally revealing forgotten tales to those in need of their wisdom.

The Grand Archive’s real position is unknown and is hidden in its own pocket dimension. This dimension open slightly for the Resonance Ceremony.

The Writers’ Legacy

Unique Perspectives: Each Writer brought their cultural background and personal perspective to their work, enriching the world of Scriptoria with a tapestry of diverse stories.

La Fontaine’s fables emphasized cleverness and morality.

Andersen’s tales highlighted emotion and transformation.

The Grimms’ stories embraced the primal, magical forces of nature and humanity.

Perrault’s narratives bridged the elegance of court life with the struggles of common folk.

~~~~

Locations

Austreim: Inspired by European fairytales (Germany, France, Scandinavia). A realm of picturesque forests, cobblestone towns, and grand castles. Home to tales like "Cinderella" and "Little Red Riding Hood."

Beasthaven: A country inspired by La Fontaine’s animal fables. Predominantly inhabited by beastmen. Features different biomes in different part of the land, from lush forests and rolling meadows to savannah or thundra. The country is known for their lively markets in every biome.

Seafoam Dominion: An underwater kingdom of mermen and aquatic fae. Draws inspiration from Andersen's stories. Has shimmering underwater cities and shores dotted with mythical artifacts.

Ebony Sands: Inspired by African folktales such as "The Man Who Never Lied." A sun-drenched land of deserts, savannahs, river deltas and ancient temples.

Celestial Plains: Based on East Asian folktales, blending Chinese, korean, Japanese stories among others. Features rolling hills of bamboo, cherry blossoms, and mystical shrines guarded by spirits.

Myrcadawn: A borderland filled with ancient ruins, magical storms, and creatures from forgotten tales. Mostly inhabited by faes.

~~~~

"Fablewood Academy" An all-boy institution dedicated to preserving the legacy of the writers and their stories. Located at the heart of Scriptoria, blending all cultural styles. Where the Writers’ legacies are studied and the world's future is shaped.

~~~~

The Resonance Ceremony

When a student enters the school, they undergo a Resonance Ceremony, a deeply symbolic ritual that determines their connection to an Historical Character (a character from fairytales and myths).

Ceremony Description:

The Setting: The ceremony takes place in a grand, mystical chamber called the Hall of Echoes, a circular room lined with glowing murals of countless legendary figures. In the center, on the ground like a pond, is the Ethereal Mirror, which shimmers like water and reflects not the student’s image, but fragments of their potential resonance.

The Ritual:

The student steps up to the mirror, guided by a faculty member.

The mirror reacts to their essence, glowing brighter as it identifies the Historical Character whose moral compass and essence most closely align with the student’s.

The chosen figure materializes as a spectral image above the mirror, accompanied by a brief vision of their story, morals, and defining characteristics.

The student receives an Artefact Sigil, a magical mark on their hand, symbolizing their connection. The sigil also acts as a key to their dormitory.

Outcomes:

The character determines the student’s dorm assignment. Dorms represent shared principles or traits rather than region or story type, which creates unique diversity within each house.

The student begins to develop their Legacy Arte, influenced by their resonance.

~~~~

Dorm Names & Founders

Astraquartz (Inspired by Cinderella, Charles Perrault): Represents perseverance, humility, and transformation.

Scarletfang (Inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Grimm Brothers): Represents courage and cunning.

Everswell (Inspired by The Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen): Represents sacrifice and curiosity.

Mousetrail (Inspired by The Lion and the Mouse, La Fontaine): Represents cleverness and loyalty.

Obsidianspire (Inspired by Mamad in "The Man Who Never Lied", unknown Writer (African tale)): Represents honesty and wisdom.

Verdance (Inspired by "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", Minamoto no Shitagō): Represents grace and adaptability.

~~~~

Resonance Dynamics

Living By Their Resonance: Students are expected to uphold the values and morals of their Resonance Character. Deviating too far from these principles leads to a Resonance Crisis, where the bond becomes unstable.

Resonance Crises: In a crisis, a student’s personality and abilities are warped by the unresolved conflict. They might embody the antithesisof their Historical Character, becoming a distorted, corrupted version of their story’s ideals.

Example: A student resonating with The Happy Prince may hoard wealth selfishly, spiraling into greed, causing their Legacy Arte to malfunction.

Resolution: To restore balance, the student must confront their choices and find a way to realign with their character’s core principles, often with the help of peers or the protagonist.

The Nature of Resonance

Resonance is not a rigid set of rules that dictate a person’s every thought or action. Instead, it represents a core essence—a reflection of the Resonance Character’s archetype, personality, and values. When a student resonates with a character, it means they share a similar foundation, but they are free to interpret and act on that foundation in their own unique way.

Core Principles of Resonance

Guiding Influence, Not Control: The Resonance doesn't force someone to behave exactly like their historical counterpart. Instead, it provides a general blueprint of traits, preferences, and tendencies that align with the character’s essence.

Example: Coach Garrick’s Resonance with the Big Bad Wolf doesn’t mean he must terrorize pigs—it means he shares the wolf’s gruff, bold, and predatory nature. How he channels those traits is entirely up to him. For Garrick, they manifest as a tough love coaching style.

Freedom to Choose Actions: While Resonance shapes a student's instincts and inclinations, their choices define their character. They can act in harmony with their Resonance without being confined to it.

Example: Elric, resonating with Cinderella's Stepmother, naturally enjoys luxury and attention. However, he can choose to respect others while enjoying these things, rather than mistreating them like the original stepmother did. If he strays too far—say, by shunning luxury entirely—it might destabilize his Resonance, but small acts of kindness wouldn’t harm it.

Resonance Crisis Is About Extremes: A Resonance Crisis occurs when a student goes against their core nature to an extreme degree, causing an inner conflict. This doesn’t happen because of minor deviations but because of a deep misalignment.

Example: If Elric started wearing rags and actively rejecting his love of luxury, his Resonance would destabilize. But respecting servants or treating them kindly, while still enjoying the finer things, would maintain balance.

Here are clear, narrative-driven examples to help clarify how Resonance works without feeling restrictive:

Garrick “Grizz” Wolfin (Big Bad Wolf): Garrick’s Resonance gives him traits like gruffness, strength, and an intimidating aura. He embodies the archetype of the wolf, but how he uses those traits is his choice. He could easily become a bully, but instead, he channels his gruff demeanor into being a demanding yet caring PE teacher. His choices define him, not the wolf.

Elric Briarthorne (Cinderella’s Stepmother): Elric shares the stepmother’s love for luxury, beauty, and a touch of laziness. However, he is not bound to repeat her cruelty. Elric can enjoy being pampered and commanding attention without mistreating others. If he rejects his natural affinity for elegance entirely, he risks a Resonance Crisis, but respecting a servant while maintaining his love for luxury keeps him in balance.

~~~~

Resonance Crisis: The Fractured Legacy

What Happens?

When a mage’s bond with their Resonance Character destabilizes, their Artefact Sigil fractures, and their inner conflict manifests as a dangerous, externalized force called a Fractured Legacy. The Fractured Legacy represents the mage's core identity spiraling out of control, with tangible consequences for the individual and their surroundings.

Mechanics of a Resonance Crisis

Stages of the Crisis:

Warning Phase: The Artefact Sigil dims or cracks subtly, signaling instability. The mage exhibits heightened emotional extremes or behaviors contrary to their Resonance Character.

Example: A Cinderella Resonance becoming tyrannical and dismissive, echoing the stepmother’s cruelty.

Threshold Event: A traumatic or critical moment causes the bond to fully destabilize. The mage’s Artefact Sigil shatters, triggering the Crisis.

Transformation:

The mage transforms into an Echoed Antithesis of their Resonance Character—a distorted, exaggerated version of their worst traits.

Example: A Little Red Riding Hood Resonance becomes a wolf-like beast, embodying predation and fear instead of courage.

The environment around them twists to reflect their turmoil—spreading corruption, illusions, or chaotic phenomena tied to the Resonance.

Manifestation:

The Fractured Legacy takes a physical or semi-physical form—either merging with the student or manifesting as external entities they must face.

Example: The transformed mage might summon spectral versions of antagonists, or their minions, from their Resonance Character’s tale, or their surroundings could morph into a warped, nightmarish version of their story.

Consequences

Prolonged Crisis states can cause lasting damage to the mage—mental, physical, or magical.

If unresolved, the bond with their Resonance Character could sever entirely, leaving them vulnerable to permanent loss of their Arte and magical abilities.

Resolving a Resonance Crisis

Core Resolution:

The mage must confront the internal conflict driving their instability.

Example: A Happy Prince Resonance consumed by greed might need to realize that hoarding wealth doesn’t bring joy or fulfill their true essence.

This confrontation often requires the help of others, especially the protagonist, who serves as a mediator or guide.

Reformation:

The Artefact Sigil repairs itself, often evolving into a stronger form, symbolizing the student’s personal growth.

The Legacy Arte might gain new abilities tied to the lessons learned during the Crisis.

Designing the Fractured Legacy

Visuals:

The Crisis should have a haunting yet poetic visual style that reflects the student’s Resonance Character.

Example: A Cinderella Resonance would look more like a deformed version of the stepmother or the stepsisters, surrounded by jagged shards of broken glass and spectral pumpkin monsters.

Themes:

Each Crisis explores the darker side of the Resonance Character’s traits.

Example: A Little Mermaid Resonance, consumed by jealousy, might suffocate others in waves of magical water, symbolizing their suppressed longing for acceptance.

Combat Dynamics in Resonance Crises

Fractured Legacy Boss Fights:

The mage undergoing the Crisis transforms into a formidable, story-inspired boss.

Example: A Big Bad Wolf Resonance could manifest as a towering wolf-like monster with powerful wind attacks, symbolic of their huffing and puffing.

Emotional Mechanics:

Incorporate dialogue or cutscenes mid-fight to remind players this isn’t just a battle—it’s an attempt to reach someone in pain.

Example: As the protagonist deals damage, the Fractured Legacy might shout distorted lines from their tale or reveal their inner turmoil through flashes of memory.

Combat Objective:

The goal isn’t necessarily to defeat the character in a traditional sense but to weaken their Fractured Legacy enough to restore clarity.

Player Options in Combat

Artefact Sigil Powers:

The characters used can use their own Legacy Arte abilities, which align with their Resonance Characters, to counteract the Fractured Legacy’s powers.

Example: A character resonating with the Little Mermaid might summon tidal waves to neutralize a fire-based Fractured Legacy attack.

Special Techniques:

Introduce a Breakthrough Strike mechanic where players can charge a special attack tied to the Resonance Character of the opponent.

Example: Against a Red Riding Hood Resonance, a teammate resonating with the Woodsman could unleash an axe-cleaving move that counters the wolf-like powers.

Group Synergy:

Peers with similar values or with a character from the same story to the Resonance Character in Crisis might deal bonus damage or have abilities to calm the Crisis state.

Emotional Impact of Combat

Hitting Hard With Purpose:

The protagonist struggles with the morality of fighting a friend or peer. Dialogue options or animations could reflect hesitation and determination.

Example: “I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t let you destroy yourself!”

Each successful attack might shatter parts of the Fractured Legacy’s appearance, revealing glimpses of the real student underneath.

Dynamic Reactions:

As the player weakens the Fractured Legacy, they could start to show signs of clarity—stammering, pleading, or showing flashes of regret mid-battle.

Example: A Cinderella Resonance Crisis might sob, “Why am I acting like this? This isn’t me!” as their Fractured Legacy starts to crumble.

~~~~

Legacy Arte

Each Legacy Arte is tied to the unique essence of the resonated Historical Character. These are not static powers—they grow and evolve as the student’s connection deepens. It can be an offensive or defensive ability, a practical one for everyday or even a constant unseen ability (enhancing strenght, magic powers or anything else)

For example:

A student resonating with Princess Kaguya might have an Arte called Moonlit Grace, allowing them to summon moonlight to shield themselves and others. As they grow, the Arte might evolve into Celestial Radiance, granting healing and offense.

~~~~

Artefact Sigil

The Artefact Sigil serves as both a resonance stabilizer and a channel for magic, directly tied to the student's connection with their Resonance Character. It appears on the student's hand during the Resonance Ceremony.

Key Features of the Artefact Sigil

Appearance:

A glowing, dynamic symbol or glyph that reflects the essence of the Resonance Character. Its design evolves as the bond deepens, becoming more intricate and vibrant.

Example:

Astraquartz: A delicate glass slipper.

Scarletfang: A bold wolf’s paw print, with thorny vines wrapping around it.

Everswell: A flowing wave, centered with a small pearl-like dot.

Mousetrail: A small mouse.

Obsidianspire: A tall spire with rays of light radiating from its top.

Verdance: A crescent moon embraced by bamboo leaves.

Functionality:

Magic Channeling: The Sigil channels the student’s magic, focusing and amplifying their spells. It glows or pulses during use, with colors and intensity varying based on the magic type.

Legacy Arte Activation: The Artefact Sigil is the key to unlocking and evolving Legacy Arte abilities. As the student grows, the Sigil adapts to better support these powers.

Resonance Stabilization: The Sigil detects and moderates Resonance Crises. If a student strays too far from their Resonance Character’s core ideals, the Sigil dims or cracks slightly, serving as a warning. It also emits calming energy to help realign the connection.

Personal Connection: The Sigil is an inseparable part of the student, growing and changing with them. This deep connection makes magic feel more instinctive and intimate, as it’s literally a part of their body.

~~~~~~~~

Lore Tie-In

Origins: The Artefact Sigil was created by the Writers, using fragments of their own memories as the foundation. This ensures that every Sigil is a direct link to the archives of Scriptoria.

The Resonance Bond: The Sigil embodies the merging of the student’s essence with their Resonance Character. Its visible state reflects the health of this bond, making it both a tool and a representation of their inner journey.

~~~~

Scriptos Currency System

Coins (for smaller transactions):

1 Scripto:Copper coin

5 Scriptos: Bronze coin

10 Scriptos:Silver coin

50 Scriptos:Gold coin

Bills (for larger transactions):

100 Scriptos

200 Scriptos

500 Scriptos

1,000 Scriptos

10,000 Scriptos

Design Details

Coins:

Each coin feature an emblem of a quill or an open book to symbolize creativity and storytelling.

The coins shimmer faintly or show shifting patterns when exposed to light.

Bills:

The bills have holographic text or illustrations that animate briefly (e.g., a bird flying off a quill or ink drops forming a picture).

They feature famous Scriptoria figures, mostly the Writers, with each having different possible figures. -the 100 could feature Pu Songling or D. O. Fagunwa, -200 feature Don Juan Manuel, Alexander Pushkin or Giovanni Francesco Straparola -500 feature Charles Perrault, the brother Grimm or La Fontaine, -1000 feature Al-Jahiz, Hans Christian Andersen or Valmiki, -10 000 feature Joseph Jacobs or Alexander Afanasyev …)

The bills and coins are waterproof. Coin will not get rusty if used by merpeoples.

Practical Conversion

1 Scripto = 0.01 USD

100 Scriptos = 1 USD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maps

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Classes taught, teachers and staff:

Lorecraft: Liora Scheh, Dremir Knossroot

Fairmagic: Ozwell Puzzlereign, Nymor Vellmare

Mythic Combat: Thorne Evenshade, Solmar Ignivox

Alchemy & Potionmaking: Neige Snowveil, Roselin Hearthcourt Cardemil

Transformation Arts: Hans Wilderkin

Astronomy & Prophecy: Beaumont Nocturne

Musical Resonance: Lino Minuet

Beastcraft: Swan Ellisar, Grogar Talebone

Tactician’s Lab: Malvyn Frostthorn

Magic Application and Arte Development: Lucan Galehart

Ancient Curses : Mordain Grimm, Onno Marrel

Runic Engineering : Aldric Fenwick

PE: Garrick “Grizz” Wolfin, Bellarox Craghide

Flying Arts: Zephyr Gale, Einar Lysveit

Aquatic Mastery : Merrick Tideborn, Semyon Morozin

Art: Caspar Dorne

Maths: Mikhail Sabirsky, Neryssa Hollowthorn

Other staff members:

Headmage: Solon Arclight

Ethics and Resonance Guidance Counselor: Anton Silkthorn

Nurse: Eamon Wellspring

Shopkeeper: Percival Trinket

Chef Cook: Goldor Hearthstone

Keeper of the Grand Archive and librarian: Dorian Ashthorn

Farm Manager: Rustan Featherstone

Are in relationship: Solon x Liora Swan x Beaumont x Lino Merrick x Malvyn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Classes and Seats :

First Years

1-A 05 – Tsuki Laito 1-A 09 – Rune Spindlewick 1-A ?? – MC 1-B 02 – Hatterick Marchhare 1-B 04 – Lyricis Farahdein 1-B 07 – Imperius Wovengale 1-C 08 – Elric Briarthorne 1-C 10 – Archer Verdain 1-D 02 – Kadar Serpenscale 2-D 07 – Ren Chisora 1-E 01 – Imran Frosham

Second Years

2-A 06 – Marinus Tideshade 2-A 08 – Minwoo Kinsei 2-B 06 – Tressari Manarah 2-B 08 – Cygnus Downwood 2-B 11 – Noel D'Orveil 2-C 03 – Porcus Huffsbrick 2-C 05 – Thatcher Squeakefield 2-D 03 – Mahdi Alclaris 2-D 17 – Éponine D’Orveil 2-E 04 – Caspian Willorun

Third Years

3-A 02 – Faylen Charmwright 3-A 16 – Khamari Duneshade 3-B 03 – Lupin Vardred 3-B 04 – Ambrosine Forrant 3-D 07 – Chester Marroway 3-D 15 – Jin Haruto 3-E 05 – Lazlo Quickstride

Fourth Years

4-A / 4-B / 4-C 02 – Gael Lumespring 4-D 08 / 4-E /

Fifth Years

Intership

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MCs:

@iylenne - Betty

@whynotread4fun - Ravi Connor

OCs:

@another-twisted-wonderland-fan - Nova Escher

@uruubu - Zarachios A. Salubelair

@kaltain-1 - Jihyuk Kwon

[belit0]

Still thinking about Yandere HS Obito (you wrote him so beautifully thank you!) especially with the way the other Uchiha’s use girls. Darling tried to break up with him, while he won’t accept it or let her, he’d still be upset. The older cousins Madara and Indra are like “find another one?!? You’re an Uchiha it’s not hard?” And that’s the wrong thing to say to poor Obi, he’s now both mad at darling for her tantrum and his cousins for saying she was replaceable.

I live for these very-fucked-up-delusional-yandere! Uchihas, fr.

Side street.

Indra’s car was half-swallowed by the dark at the edge of the school’s back lot—matte black, sunroof open just enough to let the smoke coil upward like ghosts. Windows tinted, engine silent. A cigarette burned slow between his fingers, another joint already dead in the ashtray.

Inside, it reeked of weed, tobacco, and something worse: the kind of thoughts they never said out loud unless they were high enough to stop pretending they weren’t real.

Obito was in the back seat, hoodie up, eyes blank, head tipped back against the window like he’d been dead for hours.

-She tried to dump me today,- he said flat. No buildup. No drama. Just like he was reporting it. Like a body found behind the gym.

Madara exhaled smoke through his nose and didn’t even look at him. -You serious right now? You let her say that to your face?-

Izuna coughed, already annoyed. -Jesus. That’s what you’re whining about? Dumped? Grow the fuck up. You sound like one of those soft-ass nerds in bio class. She’s not even hot enough for all this crying.-

-You're a bitch when you're sober,- Shisui said to Obito, leaning forward between the seats, voice smooth like syrup laced with venom. -What, she said she needed “space”? Let me guess. “It’s not you, it’s me”? Pathetic.-

Obito didn’t react. His fingers dug into the sleeves of his hoodie. -She said we were done.-

Madara barked a laugh. -Yeah? And you just stood there like a little simp? Fuck’s wrong with you?-

Izuna flicked ash onto the car floor, not giving a shit. -You got dozens of girls waiting to get on their knees for you. Swap her out. Replace. Upgrade. That’s how it works.-

Obito looked up, eyes darker now. Not tired—ready. -She’s not like that.-

Shisui clicked his tongue, half a laugh in it. -Yeah, they all start “not like that.” Until they’re lying about some dude named Luca or liking photos at 2am. They’re all fake eventually. You’re just the last to find out.-

Madara reached into his coat, lit another cigarette off the dying ember of the last. -You’re acting like she’s the only pussy left in this school. She’s not magic, Obito. She just played you better than most.-

Obito’s jaw ticked. -She’s mine.-

Indra hadn't said a word. Just sat in the driver’s seat, half-lit by the blinking overhead light, hair falling across his face as he stared straight ahead.

Now, he spoke. Low. Cold. Final. -Then stop whining and handle it. You don’t ask for what’s yours. You fucking take it.-

Obito’s knuckles cracked around the seatbelt. -She’s scared. Thinks she can walk away. Like she gets to choose.-

Madara leaned his head back, grinning. -She only thinks that ‘cause you let her. You waited too long to check her. Now she thinks she’s got power.-

-You gonna let some girl flip the script on you?- Izuna leaned close, his grin sharper than necessary. -Bet she’s out there now, laughing with some other guy. Wearing your hoodie. Talking about how “free” she feels.-

-Fuck off,- Obito snapped, but not loud enough to mean it.

Shisui smirked. -Can’t believe you’re still calling her your girl after she embarrassed you like that. I’d have her crawling back by now. One post, one message. Done. They’re all programmable if you hit the right nerve.-

-You don’t get it,- Obito’s voice cracked through the smoke. -I don’t want another one. I don’t want backups. I don’t need anyone else. I need her. And I don’t give a fuck how scared she is. She chose me. I’m not letting her pretend she didn’t.-

The silence in the car turned heavy.

Izuna laughed first. Soft and low, like something unhinged peeling loose. -Fuck. You’re really gone, huh? Fully obsessed.-

Obito didn’t blink. -I was nice. I was patient. I let her have her little tantrum. But next time she tries to run, I swear I’ll make her beg to come back.-

Madara’s voice turned lazy. Pleased. -Now that’s more like it.-

Indra finally turned his head. Eyes unreadable. Voice low and lethal. -Then do it. Walk right up to her, look her in the eyes, and take her back. No warning. No explaining. Just take. She’s already yours. Remind her what that means.-

Obito’s mouth curled slow into something almost like a smile—but it didn’t reach his eyes. -She’ll come back. Or I’ll make her.-

The car filled with quiet again.

Smoke clung to their clothes, their skin, their hair. But the weight in the air wasn’t from that.

It was from the fact that none of them knew how to love.

They only knew how to own.

And ruin.

And take.

[theemporium]

"You're the only one who gets to call me that, you know." violet fluff please with jack hughes

thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

22. “You’re the only one who gets to call me that, you know.”

.

“There she is! Baby Z!” 

You rolled your eyes, trying to ignore the looks you were getting from the strangers around you as you quickly walked towards where Jack was standing. The sign was bad enough, held proudly in his arms as he waved it like anyone could miss it. But the yelling was a step too far, even for him.

“I think China heard you,” you grumbled to him once you were close enough, but you couldn’t fight the smile growing on your face as he dropped the sign and quickly wound his arms around you in a tight hug.

“S’been a while,” Jack murmured, not eager to let you go just yet as you both swayed back and forth on the spot. “Missed having you on the east coast.” 

“Surprised you even know you are on the east,” you retorted, smiling a little when you felt the boy huff out a laugh.

“Always so cheeky,” Jack commented as he finally pulled away, not even giving you a chance to say anything as he reached for your suitcase and started pulling it behind him. “She’s a college graduate and she thinks she can say whatever she wants.” 

“That piece of paper does make me feel powerful,” you joked, following him out of the airport and towards the car park. 

“M’proud of you,” Jack said in an earnest voice, his smile kind and genuine as he glanced over at you. “I know how hard you worked to get this degree.” 

“And now I have four years of college under my belt and not a fucking clue what I’m doing with the rest of my life,” you snorted but the joke fell a bit flat.

“You’ll work it out,” Jack assured you, reaching his free hand to squeeze your shoulder. “I believe in you.” 

It felt generic and a bit scripted to say, but he meant it. Jack had known you for as long as he had known Trevor. You were a Zegras at the end of the day: charming, kind and loveable in your own way (and in a far less annoying way than Trevor). But you were determined once you set your mind on something, you just needed to get there. 

It had been something Jack had always admired about you. One of the many things he always admired about you. 

And other than the two weeks you visited Michigan in the summer, he hardly saw you as much as he liked in the four years you had been away at college on the other side of the country. He was glad to finally have you close again. 

“You’re the only one who gets to call me that, you know,” you spoke up eventually, looking at him in the driver's seat.

Jack briefly glanced at you. “Hm?” 

“Baby Z,” you said. “You’re the only one who calls me that.” 

“Alex and Cole used to say it all the time,” Jack retorted, his brows furrowing together a little as he racked his memory of his development programme days. 

“Yeah, but they stopped when I kicked them in the balls,” you told him, your lips twitching in amusement. 

“So I get a free pass?” He questioned, something quite smug in his smile. 

“Or I’m just waiting to find a fitting punishment for you,” you snapped back. 

Jack’s grin widened. “Whatever you say, Baby Z. I’m not dropping it. Better get used to it now that you’re back home.” 

.

[my-deer-friend]

I have a stupid question. How do you find out about current history scholarship and research? I am sick of reading books I've read a hundred times and were published decades ago. Is there like a forum or something where historians share research or lectures or things?

Not stupid at all!

The key is 1) knowing which sources provide the most up-to-date information, and then 2) using the appropriate strategy to access them.

Conference and lectures

Conferences are where you find the most cutting-edge research – usually work that has not been published yet, or is still in progress. Accessing conferences can be both expensive and difficult (if they're limited to people with certain affiliations, for example), but there are also conferences that are free for the public, and ones run by groups like the Organization of American Historians that are reasonably priced for the digital attendance option. You can browse conference programmes (here is the OAH's 2024 version) to at least find the names of academics relevant to your field of interest, which will help with the kinds of searches you will want to conduct below.

Finding these is a mix of luck and effort. You can set a search alerts on various platforms, literally just do a search for "[topic] academic conference", find relevant organisations and subscribe to their newsletters for updates, or do some browsing on social media. I found History Symposium (free, current, deep-dive history lectures and a virtual conference) because of something shared here on Tumblr. Following the Instagram account of the Powder House in Charleston keeps me updated on their history lecture programming (which host virtual talks including showcasing new research on the US colonial era). Then there are institutions like the Royal Museums Greenwich who publish a range of high-quality historical content on their YouTube account (they have a good series on black history and the Transatlantic slave trade, as well as a fascinating recent lecture by a historian on the queer history of the British navy, which I also found here on Tumblr).

Academic journals

Journals are where you get the most recent published academic scholarship. A journal article generally is a fairly narrow/focused exploration of a topic that adds something new to the ongoing academic conversation (e.g., a new discovery, a new analysis of existing material, a new theoretical perspective, a challenge to a previous author's work).

Other useful kinds of journal content are book reviews, as well as "review" articles, which summarise and synthesise recent research in a field – as well as newly arising questions and research directions.

Getting your hands on articles requires two steps: 1) finding the research, and 2) accessing the research.

Finding articles

For better or worse, the best generalist search tool for journal articles is Google Scholar – it allows you to search across hundreds of databases and independent publishers for relevant content.

If you're a member of a university library (not necessarily staff or student – check if your library allows external membership), it will have its own search tool which allows you to find material in the databases and journals that the university is subscribed to. Individual databases, archives or publishers (think JSTOR) will also have their own internal search.

My advice is to start your search as narrowly as possible, and then expand out slowly if you don't find anything relevant. So, for example, I might start my search with "same-sex relationships london 1780s", and if nothing comes up, I might broaden it out to "england" or "late eighteenth century", and so on.

The other thing to do is follow citations (i.e., who referenced what?). You can travel "backwards" through the literature by looking at the reference lists of books or articles you already have (in other words, which works the author used to base their research on).

But you can also travel forwards – the "cited by x" link below a reference on Google Scholar is your friend, because it shows you who used that particular source in their (by default, more recent) work.

Accessing articles

Unfortunately, a lot of academic research is gatekept by the academic publishing industrial complex – not by academics themselves, to be clear. This results in those ludicrous charges for single papers:

(And $30 is hardly the upper limit...)

But hope is not lost! You still have some options if you're willing to do a bit of work.

1) Sometimes, if you're lucky, the article will be freely available online. In Google Scholar, for example, check for the "PDF" or "HTML" link to the right of the title:

Some entire journals are freely available (usually called "open access") – one example is the Journal of the American Revolution. You can also search on DOAJ for open-access-only articles and journals.

2) I've also occasionally found the article just by googling "[article name] pdf". Some scholars will make these available for free on their personal websites, for example.

3) You can also try contacting the scholar directly through a platform like Academia.edu. Find the article there, and check if there is a "request full-text" option on its page (or, even, if the full text version has already been posted).

4) For slightly older articles, try searching on JSTOR, which gives anyone with an account free access to 100 articles a month. (I say "older", but there's even scholarship from 2024 on there these days.)

5) If all else fails, definitely do not type "sci hub" into your search engine and check there. That would be bad and naughty and very, very sexy of you. I repeat, do not do this. 🤫

Academic books

Books are not usually a great source of super-current research, both because the format doesn't lend itself to it and the publishing cycle can be very long, but they can be an excellent source for a decently recent and detailed overview of the topic. Note that you specifically want academic books here (not the ones in the "history" section of your local chain bookstore).

If you've done some digging in journal databases, you should have a good sense of which authors are writing about the topics you're interested in. Find their websites or social media feeds and subscribe to get updates on their latest work. For example, historian and Tumblr darling Joanne Freeman has a website with links to her books, lectures and podcast, as well as other media. The Museum of the American Revolution has a "Read the Revolution" speaker series featuring newly published books on relevant topics (and they're certainly not the only museum or public institution to do this). Their newsletter will keep you updated on the upcoming sessions, and the website often has a free recording of the talk available.

The prices can be quite extortionate, so again, see if you can find a free version online using the methods above. You might also have some luck finding the book on Archive.org (which might allow you to loan it out for free for an hour at a time) or Google Books (which sometimes shows you a decently large preview). Definitely do not type "libgen" into your search engine and try to download the book form there.

In summary...

There's a lot out there. A bit of persistence and a lot of searching (on databases, social media and the internet in general) will open up a huge spectrum of intereting and relevant resources!

[outnumberedsins]

OEA Terms - Clinical/Academic vs. Community

This post aims to provide comparisons and sources for OEA community terms and their academic counterparts. This is not a post that serves to say what terms are more valid or not, just a review. I may not be able to find references to everything, so if I say a term isn't clinical and it has been mentioned, feel free to correct me. This is a long one, so buckle in. This may be updated.

Overarching Acronyms

for the sake of clarity, im going to use 'OEA' throughout this post to serve as the general acronym.

RAMCOA - Ritual Abuse, Mind Control, and Organized Abuse

RAMCOA stems from the ISSTD developed special interest group, the "Ritual Abuse Mind Control Organized Abuse Special Interest Group" (RAMCOA SIG) in 2008. [1] This, along with OEA, is the most common acronym used. There is a lot of controversy over this term, and much of the community has begun to switch to OEA.

OEA - Organized Extreme Abuse

From the ISSTD as well, emerging in 2020 as the previous SIG was renamed to "Organized and Extreme Abuse SIG." [2] This is believed to be because of the controversy surrounding the previously named group.

SRA - Satanic Ritual Abuse

An outdated term that comes from the satanic panic era in the 1980s. Much of the content that used this term is conspiracy-like in nature. However, some early OEA research (typically from 1990-2000) and books use this acronym and are genuine, so it requires a lot of critical thinking. [3][4]

RA, SA, CRA, ORA - Ritual Abuse, Sadistic Abuse, Cult (and) Ritual Abuse, Organized Ritual Abuse

These are more casual terms used in the 1990s-early 2000s before RAMCOA was established, when 'Satanic' was no longer accurate, and when there was a search to coin a new overarching term. Despite the name, these terms were used as overarching acronyms for things outside of RA as well. I've included these all in one due to their similarities and/or due to the fact they weren't used frequently. There are also a variety of other terms mentioned that I've noted in one of the sources below.[5, CRA] [6, SA][7, RA as a general term ][8, ORA, review of other terms]

DIDMCSRA - Dissociative Identity Disorder, Mind Control, and Satanic Ritual Abuse

A barely used term from 2016 coined by a community member. It seems to have existed very briefly and didn't extend past a couple of members. However, the community aspect provided is interesting.

MC-Specific Terms

terms specific to mind control and programming

Programming

Programming generally has the same definition between the community and clinicians. It is defined as "systematic torture that blocks the victim’s capacity for conscious processing, and then employs suggestion and/or classical and operant conditioning to implant thoughts, directives, and perceptions in the unconscious mind, often in newly-formed trauma-induced dissociated identities, that force the victim to do, feel, think, or perceive things for the purposes of the programmer." [9]

TBMC/TBCMC - Trauma/Torture Based Mind Control/Trauma Based Coersive Mind Control

TBMC is a term that clinically describes programming. However, within the community, this term can expand to include other types of mind control as well. The earliest mention I can find of this term was in 2007. [9]

Scripts - "Structures."

The term 'Script' is a community term to describe a phenomenon in programming where programmers will utilize certain media to program system structure. I have a whole other post on this. The term Script itself comes from an unreliable source, svalispeaks, but the idea itself is mentioned in literature under terms such as "Structures" of the innerworld. I'm just going to leave a link to my post about it if you want to explore the sources themselves, as this one is complicated.

Side Systems / 'Left' and 'Right' Systems

Sidesystems are a community made term that describes a structure in programmed systems where a set of alters are completely separate from the others, functioning as a completely separate system. In the clinical sense, this is sometimes referred to as the "left" and "right" systems, with one side being full of programmed parts and the other being daily life parts. However, sidesystems don't necessarily have to be to the left or right of each other. I'm also going to link my post that goes into more detail about them, but it doesn't provide any more clinical sources, so just take it how you will.[10, pg 131]

Screen / Cover Memories

Screen Memories are created memories that programmers use to "cover up" the abuse. They use impossible or highly improbable events, for example, an alien abduction, to discredit the victim and hide real memories of abuse. This is also called Cover Memories/Programs, and it is the same within the community. [10, pg 197]

System Reset / Epochal Division

Epochal Division refers to the phenomenon of where major life changes cause systems to replicate some or all of their alters, with the previously existing alters either remaining active or becoming more covert/dormant. OEA survivors sometimes call this a system reset if it derives from programming, though this term is the same as an endogenic coined one and is often frowned upon when used in reference to OEA. This is first documented by Kluft in reference to polyfragmented systems. [11]

System-Hopping

In the OEA sense, system hopping refers to the action of a part traveling from a sidesystem to the main system and vice versa. I am unsure of the origin of this term in OEA spaces, but it seems to be a community-made term that shares the name with an endogenic term. As far as I'm aware, this did not originate as an OEA community term and has existed in endogenic spaces years prior between the years 2001-2003.

Program Names

i won't go through all community terms for specific types of programming, only the most common ones I've seen specifically mentioned in literature or other official sources, as well as any very common within the community. these are not the only possible programs, but this section is already very long. if desired, i can make a separate post going more in detail about all of them. Sources here are triggering and often repeated.

Greek Letters

The greek letter system of programming originated from the community and is not used in clinical literature. Many of the terms originate from very untrustworthy sources (Fritz & Svali) but have expanded to be commonplace. I have also found evidence of Greek letter terms used in the community in 2003 and 2016.

Alpha / Base

The earliest mention of 'Alpha' in reference to programming I can find is from a book I don't consider a reliable source. However, it is described as "base" programming and similar terms clinically. The term refers to newly formed splits that have gone through basic programming (ex. loyalty to the group, following orders).

Backups / Doubles

Backup programs are the presence of programmed parts meant to replace other programmed parts should they fail or be 'disobedient'. Often, these parts will be the exact same as the one they're replacing and receive the same training. Both of these are used as clinical terms, though doubles less commonly. [10, pg 110, pg 144]

Beta / Sexual

The earliest mention of 'Beta' in reference to programming I can find is from a book I don't consider a reliable source. Within the community, this refers to any sexual programming, which is very commonly talked about academically. I'll link one seperate example. [12]

Callback / Re-Contact / Return

Return programs are very much talked about in literature, and all three of the above terms have been used both inside and outside the community. These refer to any programs created to have the victim return to the group/programmers. [13][10][14, pg 115 ]

Delta / Violence

The absolute earliest mention of 'Delta' in reference to programming I can find is from a book I don't consider a reliable source. However, violence programming is referenced in multiple official sources. In the community, Delta programming refers to any programming that revolves around violence towards others. [15]

Epsilon / Nonhuman / Paranormal

Epsilon is the community term for nonhuman programming, or parts that believe they are animals or other nonhuman creatures. This is used for a variety of reasons and doesn't have a specific term, mainly just listed as "parts who believe they are animals/nonhuman."[10, pg 51][14, pg 74 ]

Internal Handlers / Programmers / Enforcers / Organizers

While "Internal Handlers" seems to be more of a community term, Internal Programmers, Enforcers, and Organizers are used in a clinical sense. All of these things refer to varients of programmed parts that internally enforce, replay, and replace programs and programmed parts in some way. These are also often called "higher ups." [10, pg 160, pg 133] [14, pg 63]

Monarch

Project Monarch refers to an alleged subset of Project MKUltra. The idea is created by a conspiracy theorist. However, within the community, "Monarch programming" either refers to: 1. The government-led mind control that occurred during MKUltra/Project Artichoke itself, or 2. Any programming that is government-controlled, government-funded, or that came from a government connected group. It is also referred to as "Monarch-like" programming.

Omega / Suicide / Self-Injury / Lethal

Omega is the community term for all types of Lethal and Self-Injury programming. This is referred to in many different ways academically, but stick to the same general theme. [15]

Organization / Hierarchy

Both in community and clinical senses, there are various types of organizational programming mentioned. Most notably, soldiers, religious alters (angels, demons, etc), and cues such as numbers, shapes or letters, and colors. Usually, these organizations will correspond to a hierarchy. This is used as a way for programmers to more easily organize the system and keep parts in check. There is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to organizational programs, so those with the same type of organization may have completely different meanings to them. [10, pg 49, pg 131 ]

Reporter / Observer

Reporter programs refer to the same thing in community and clinical terms. They describe programmed parts whose duty it is to report back to the group and/or update them on the systems habits. This often ties into callback and routine programs.[13][10]

Routine / Internal Calender

Routine is the community term for programmed behaviors where the victim does things on certain times, days, etc. Often, this pertains to rituals. Routine programming is sometimes also referred to as an 'Internal Calender' in clinical literature and can be linked with callback programming. [14, pg 57] [15]

Scramble and Varients

In this section, I'm including any sort of programming that causes specific disorentation to make this shorter. Scrambling, Flooding, Rapid Switching, Spinning, Trance, Mist, 'Dead Head,' and other terms have been created and used to describe types of programming that cause the victim to become heavily disoriented, confused, foggy, or otherwise not able to think. There are a wide variety of clinical terms used for these types of programming, but the terms most commonly used in the community are scramble, flood, and spin programming. [14 , pg 88][15][16]

Shell

Shell alters are simplistic parts that function as a 'screen' that other alters speak through. This is used to make the victim not seem multiple and mask other symptoms caused by programming and multiplicity. There is a brief mention of "shell" parts in the context of OSDD, and some non-programmed systems may have experiences that are similar. However, a programmed shell is much different from other described experiences. [14, pg 56 ]

Silence / Speaking Programs

I've included all programs that mention voice in this section. Silence and group-specific speaking programs (programmed responses) are the two I've seen mentioned clinically and may tie into reporter programs. Terms such as hyperverbal are also used in community spaces. [15]

Theta / Religious

The absolute earliest mention of 'Theta' in reference to programming I can find is from a book I don't consider a reliable source. However, it has been widely used within the community outside of that. Theta is a community term that refers to any kind of religious programming, which is well documented in the clinical sense, often just referred to as religious programming or specific examples of programmed parts.

Other / Misc Programming

Things like Body Illness Programs, misc Emotional Programs, Recycle and Amnesia programs, and Isolation programs have been listed in sources provided, among many others not listed here. These are the ones I see mentioned less frequently, and thus, I haven't given a full section. If desired, I'll create a specific post going over all of them.

System Types

as a note, i do not think systems who have been through OEA are inherently more complex. as mentioned, i personally disagree with HC-DID and its creator. this is simply grouping terms i've seen together.

C-DID / Complex DID

Complex DID is a term referring to polyfragmented DID. The term is mentioned by Bennett G. Braun and R. P. Kluft. It is not specific to OEA victims, and many use it as an alternative to polyfragmented.

EC-DID / Extremely Complex DID

EC-DID is a term initially coined by R. P. Kluft in reference to polyfragmented systems, very similar to C-DID. It is not an OEA specific term. However, ritual abuse is mentioned as a cause of said complex system structures. [11]

HC-DID / Highly Complex DID

HC-DID is a community-made term coined by someone later outed as a racist and being inappropriate with minors. For the term itself, the words "highly complex" have been used to describe some system structures and cases in literature. However, it is not a separate clinical term itself and was never said exclusively about OEA survivors. The idea that all programmed system structures are highly complex is also incorrect, as there are small systems that have been programmed. Some members of the community still use this term, while others discredit it. Please keep these things in mind when considering using this term.

RA-DID, OA-DID / Ritual Abuse DID, Organized Abuse DID

These are community terms I've seen used as an alternative to HC-DID as an attempt to create a term specific to OEA survivors. These terms are rarely used and are completely community based.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or additions, feel free to send an ask or reply to this post. A reminder that I am not a professional, I am flawed, and I am just doing my best. This post, in particular, is likely to be updated, and I will reblog with changes.

[ruru-me]

hiii! idk if this has been asked yet, but can i get more lore on the kids’ mothers & their relationships with the dads (strade, lawrence, rire, ren!) are the moms still alive in some cases or are they dead? i’m really interested to know! :3

Hey anon!

The answer to this may be a bit long, so I'll put it into topics and organize them from the best to the worst parental relationships :D

(also some images I found on Pinterest to illustrate cuz I find it funny)

REN

The best among them fr

Bro is living the dream with his children

Manipulative and overprotective at times but it's because he really fears that his babies will go through something like what he went through with Strade.

The mother is still alive (happily married, thank you).

She works as a programmer and ren is a relatively big streamer in the specific internet niche he works in (I leave it to your imagination what that might be)

All his children appreciate their father and love him

The cool dad all kids want to have (me too pls)

Strong emotional bond, he always knows if something is wrong with any of them

10/10

Lawrence

He's only before strade because his anxiety wouldn't let him forget to buy baby formula for violet

Honestly not the best father figure, but violet really likes their dad

Emotional dependence is the basis of it.

It's not healthy but neither of them seems to care

Violet's mother unfortunately died after an infection caused by Lawrence and his idea to remove her limbs.

Unpredictable some days, can be a caring father or an anxious mess (nothing in between)

CPA has certainly gone after violet

6/10

STRADE

More like a cool uncle who offers alcohol to minors than a father

no paternal sense, plus places no limits on the things Hertha does

Regarding their relationship, Hertha doesn't have a good impression of her father and Strade couldn't care less.

Strade shows "affection" by pampering her with everything she asks for (for him it's much more practical than being emotionally available)

One of the reasons Hertha actively tries to F strade when adult and shows no remorse about her actions

Her mother unfortunately took her own life when she was still young

She was probably the only person Hertha could empathize with and care about (genuinely)

5/10

RIRE

Self-explanatory image

The worst of them

He doesn't even think about trying to be a good father figure

Rire is the father who goes to buy cigarettes and disappears and magically appears again when you're an adult to ask you for a favor

Probably his only contribution was the names Severus and Linden

Their mother is alive and lives with them in a house (almost all Rire's proof)

The twins fear their father like the plague. They have no sentimental attachment to him and prefer to stay that way.

Not to be unfair, rire even showed up a few times to check on them (for some unknown reason) but the twins ran off as if they'd seen a monster.

Theoretically they did

-100/10

Ok that's all, hope I've answered ur question.

Feel free to send another (if u feel like)

*dies*

[1nk20ul]

I would love to know the birthdays of the other tma characters (particularly Gerry, Micheal Shelley, and Tim)

TMA Birthdays Revealed (Continued)

You've got it.

Let's go in the order that you requested, starting with Gerry Keay.

(This is a continuation of my previous post, where I determine Jon and Martin's birthdays to the best of my ability. Make sure to check it out if you haven't yet!)

Spoiler alert: Gerard is one of the few characters for whom we have an objectively correct/confirmed answer. Just like last time, I'll list all of the results in the tags as a TLDR. Let's begin!

As I said, Gerry's birthday is shockingly the easiest to find out of everyone in the entire main series. However, none of our clues are actually found in Archives. Rather, it's the Magnus Protocol ARG that flat-out gives us this answer. Compared to last post, I feel like I'm being spoiled.

For those unaware, chdb.xlsx (Child_Database.Excel) is a 250-row list of participants in the Magnus Institute's Gifted Child programme. Of these, last names like Dyer, Nolan, Barker, Baldwin, etc. appear, although it's possible some are simply a coincidence.

One we know is not. Behold:

(Yes, his last name is spelled Kaey in this dataset. It's an easy typo to miss in a 250-row document. Don't worry about it.)

According to Chdb, Gerry's birthday is 4th February, 1988. For those paying attention to my original Birthday post, this is exactly two days after my calculation for Jon's birthday, down to the year. This pleases me.

I'll even throw in a bonus for you. Based on his data, he is quite empathetic - yet not very susceptible to peer pressure! You're welcome, Gerrianators.

Let's move to Michael Shelley.

Unfortunately, we're not as lucky this time. Michael's age is just as twisted up as what became of him. Here's what we know:

Michael worked with Eric Delano prior to Eric's resignation in 1990, but was also hired to replace Fiona Law during or after 2003.

Michael's death was sometime between 2009-2011, however was supposedly already distorted in 2006.

Jonny joked on Twitter that Michael "is 92 at all points in the timeline."

There is virtually nothing to go off of here... The month and day are an absolute mystery to us as well. So congrats! His birthday is 92.

Thankfully, Tim is a little bit easier on us.

We need to use Danny Stoker's death as a starting point here. We know that Danny died in 2013 at no younger than 21 years old. Beforehand, Tim spent the previous 5 years at Victory House Publishing. Before that, in 2007, he completed his First in Anthropology at Trinity College. As a Bachelors degree typically takes three years to complete, we can assume Tim was most likely 18 in 2004. The birth year is easy to calculate from there.

For month, all we can do is process of elimination. Let's start with when his birth month isn't. Since the tapes contain no mention of a birthday party like Jon and Martin had prior to MAG 40 (when shit hits the fan), we know that it is less likely to be between September to mid-March, although this is mainly a mix of speculation and educated guessing. We can at least confirm the September cutoff, though, by cross-referencing age requirements for schooling in the UK. Unfortunately, this is where our luck ends. All in all, I think we still did quite well here.

Our final result is April-August 1986. He died at 31 years old. Bonus: He is anywhere from 1-6 years older than his brother. This is not a surprise to absolutely anyone.

A recap of our final results:

Gerard Keay - 4th February, 1988

Michael Shelley - Permanently 92 years old

Timothy Stoker - April-August, 1986

Thanks again, everyone. I have a wonderful time making these, it's great fun! I have a few more posts in mind that I'd like to make, so feel free to leave an Ask. See you next time!

[yvanspijk]

How did you get into linguistics? What was your education in it like?

Hi! It all started in secondary school. I found an etymological dictionary in the school library and I was hooked! I think I read it from A to Z. xD My grades for the languages (Dutch, English, French, German, Latin) skyrocketed because I started to see all kinds of connections that helped me learn them better.

After graduating, I did one year of Ancient Greek and Latin at university in Nijmegen, after which I switched to Italian in Utrecht. Why not historical linguistics? My teachers from secondary school warned me I wouldn't be able to make a living as a historical linguist. 'You should become a teacher or a translator.'

During my Italian studies, I took every optional linguistics class I could. I loved them - no surprise. :) I also bought books on historical linguistics courses that didn't fit into my programme. I wrote my bachelor thesis on the birth of the compound tenses in Romance (like Italian ho visto, French j'ai vu, Spanish he visto, 'I have seen').

After my bachelor's degree I decided to do a master's degree in linguistics, where I specialised in dialectology. My master thesis was about the changes the Brabantian languages underwent - regional languages spoken in the south of the Netherlands - during the 20th century due to influences from Dutch, the dominant standard language.

I finished my studies in 2015, after which the head of the Italian department asked me to become a teacher of Italian and linguistics. In 2017 I left university because of the job climate: due to the university policies, they could only give three years' contracts, after which you were expected to find another job for six months (courtesy of the Dutch law) and then reapply. -_- I had a brilliant Italian colleague who even decided to go back to Italy because of this.

While I found another lovely job, I kept studying historical linguistics in my free time. Eventually, I became a freelance linguist in 2023. It's the best decision I've ever made. It turns out you can make a living as a historical linguist (at least here in the Netherlands). :)

[greeneyed-thestral]

I MET MICHAEL SHEEN. 16/03/24, National Theatre

So, if you've read my post about booking tickets to see Michael, you know all about my what-ifs. But the day was finally here.

I arrived at the National Theatre, followed all the Nye signs and here's the Olivier Theatre. I made my sister buy me the show's programme, hoping I would be able to get it signed.

I find my seat, I'm not in the centre but the stage still feels very close and you can see everything (amphitheatres are always the best).

Lights out. The audience is in religious silence. Can't believe I'm actually here, this is happening.

[skip this part in smaller font, if you want to avoid spoilers] In the words of Staged, he really loses himself in his roles. First of all, it's great to hear him speak in a Welsh accent.

But then we also see him turning back into a child, and you can totally believe he's young and innocent again. His stutter feels so real, his struggle and sadness too. The entire ensamble is great during the classroom scene, where they all help Nye against their bullying teacher (using those big canes to make him look scary really works). Hearing young Nye confessing that at times he thinks he 'shouldn't exist' because of who he is was a gut punch; Michael's delivery of that whole part is incredible, in that moment he really becomes a little boy that allows himself to feel vulnerable and says something dark to a friend. The way he jumps while saying "I can visualise and enunciate!" made me wanna jump too, he was ready to give up and then he found the solution through books, it's the joy and relief you feel when you realise that there is another way and your life is not over.

Now, I've watched musicals all my life and let me tell you that man is meant to be in one. He opened his mouth and all I could see was someone that had been waiting a long time for the occasion to show his talent, truly showstopping. He was so free and happy and confident, singing and dancing spectacularly. I couldn't stop smiling and giggling, we all clapped.

It's clear he means every word he says, and when he points and shouts his political arguments at the audience, those who feel called out must be shaking; I thought 'This is how people in Ancient Greece must have felt everytime they went to the theatre'. His Nye is inspiring, passionate, someone you'd want to follow, he stands up for what he believes in and lets nothing get in his way.

We get to watch him flirt, on all fours, waggling his 'tail'; everytime we think we've seen all he's capable of, he does something like this and surprises us.

But most of all, we see him being scared, first of having to do something, and then of not being able to do enough for all of us. At one point everyone has requests for Nye and I was expecting him to shout "Heal yourselves!" like Jesus in JCS, it totally conveyed what it must have been like to be in his role at the time, overwhelmed with daunting responsibilities.

In general, I appreciated the fact that it wasn't a linear biography, they chose life moments that have universal situations everyone can relate too, like they do in bio-musicals. I loved the staging. The colour palette is so recognisable; the curtains and the beds are used in many different ways so everything is explored at its full potential.

He is on stage basically all the time for more than two hours (sometimes twice a day, can you imagine?). Also barefoot and in his pajamas from start to finish, he looks like a teddy bear you just want to hug and protect.

He bows, looks at Nye's achievements, then leaves the stage.

Standing ovation, applause. I go back to the theatre lobby, I was supposed to wait for my sister, but she's late. Meanwhile, a fan asks me how to get to the Stage Door. I start too fear that I'm going to miss my chance if I keep waiting inside, so I decide to go on my own. After no more than 5 minutes, he's outside with us. Forget Nye, I am living my fever dream. He has just finished his second show of the day and yet he's smiling and listening to each and every one, signing and taking pictures. I know many have said this, but he really is an angel.

My sister arrives, and as soon as I'm sure she has the camera ready, I make my way to him. The two girls next to me who were speaking to him needed a pen and I lent them my sharpie, so I got my chance to look generous in front of him.

And suddently it was my turn. This is as much as my scrambled mind allows me to remember: I tell him I'm Francesca and I'm from Italy, he asks me how long I am going to stay, I confess that I had arrived that morning and just to see him, that I would be leaving already the following morning. I can't even focus while he's signing my programme, I just want to find the right words. I manage to say how I enjoyed seeing his passion, all these different sides of him and how watching him sing and dance has been the highlight of my evening. We take a picture together, I feel his hand on my shoulder and I realise my arm is around the waist of this person I love. I had to thank him again, telling him that he only deserves good things and that we are so lucky to have him. He wishes me a safe trip home, and I melt. I leave and I can't stop trembling. On my way back to the hotel I hold on tight to my signed programme and the sharpie that was in his hands just moments earlier. Only later I will realise that he's also written 'Ciao!', 'love' and 'X', without me asking for it or anything! Seeing him act live was a big gift already, but what followed outside was beyond my dreams. I can't look at the photos without blushing, the way he looks at me in the video and then also strokes my arm for a moment, I mean pinch me now.

The more I think about it, the more I can't believe it happened.

I want to thank everyone that under my first post pushed me and encouraged me to see the pros of doing this, I share this beautiful moment of my life with all of you. <3