#you have to hope that you prepared for every single eventuality and taught the robot common sense

[happypeachsludgeflower]

I’m not really one to enjoy proving other people wrong. Simply knowing they’re wrong and I could is usually enough for me, (i.e. my dad’s insistence that Spock and Kirk are straight when we ALL know they’re not),

but last night I was given the immense satisfaction of explaining to my step father why his opinion was wrong is such detailed that the Asshole Who Knows Everything actually said, “You’re right.”

I shall be lording it over him for the rest of existence.

essay in the tags

[skylanders-after-the-end]

Royal Showdown

The sun was burning down onto the bright yellow sand of the desert. A seemingly endless landscape with no sign of life. In the middle of it was a shimmering golden tank, rolling across the countless layers of sand, boarded by Sprocket. The Skylander has been travelling on the large island for hours looking for the Golden Queen. According to her tracking device, the villain was supposed to be nearby, yet there was nothing other than sand far and wide. After she passed another sandy hill, Sprocket looked through the periscope of her tank and spotted a blurry object in the distance. She thought that it was a mirage at first, but upon closer inspection, the engineer’s mouth formed a wide grin. It was a palace made of pure gold, similar to Golden Queen’s original home in the Golden Desert.

The Skylander drove up to the stairs leading to the glorious entrance. In the cool safety of the building’s large shadow, Sprocket jumped out of her tank and made it disappear. She observed the giant gate decorated with all kinds of ancient symbols and statues that Sprocket has never seen before. “This is it.” The goldling said to herself before putting her goggles on top of her striking red hair and entering the abandoned residence.

The Golden Queen has taken her rightful place on the throne inside the ancient palace. With a greedy smile, she slid her nails across a technological device which, even though it was highly advanced, was eons old. Almost manically she was tapping onto the screen, making a bright sound with each contact. The queen was certain that this would be her key to success, this would finally make her the sole ruler of the Skylands.

Suddenly the goldling heard something in the distance. An echoing explosion, and then another one. The tall woman arose from her chair and summoned two Arkeyan guards. “Go see what’s going on there!” The queen yelled and the robots followed her order.

When the guards reached the hall outside of the throne room, Golden Queen could see one of them being destroyed by bullets. Shockingly, the other one had a mine tossed towards him before exploding into pieces. Surprised and enraged, the queen grabbed her staff and prepared to face her enemy. What she didn’t expect is to see Sprocket walk through the entrance leading to the throne room. The queen gave the intruder a bewildered look before pointing her staff at her. “It’s you! That foolish Skylander that resisted my powers!”

“Still Sprocket to you.” The engineer replied sassily as she gripped her wrench tightly. “You may have tricked us last time, but you can’t hide from me!”

“I was never trying to hide.” Golden Queen laughed. “I was just biding my time until I found another way to destroy you Skylanders and claim all the gold for myself, and now I finally have!”

As much as Sprocket just wanted to beat the greedy woman down with her wrench, that was not the reason she journeyed here all on her own. “Listen Golden Queen, I didn’t come here to fight.”

The queen snickered. “For once a smart decision.”

Sprocket ignored her comment and went on. “Back on the abandoned island, you weren’t able to turn me into a golden statue. From what I’ve heard, that’s never occurred before.”

The Golden Queen’s confident smile melted into a frown. “Why are you asking me this? I know just as much as you do, it’s impossible!” She proceeded to aim a golden ray at Sprocket which once again showed no effect, much to the queen’s dismay.

The Skylander observed her hands and sighed with relief when she saw that she wasn’t frozen. “I tried to find an explanation, but nothing made sense! Perhaps because of that clone you created I somehow became immune, or maybe even my tech. I just-”

“It doesn’t matter!” Golden Queen shouted as her body emitted a bright light, indicating her rage. “I don’t need my powers to defeat some dirty engineer!” After a few moments of tension which the two enemies spent staring at each other with spite, the queen put another sinister smile on. “In fact, I will defeat you with your own weapons!”

Upon those words, the ruler grabbed the device which she was holding earlier and pressed a button. Behind her throne, the large stone wall parted in the middle and revealed an entire army of ancient Arkeyan Conquertrons standing tidily in rows, waiting patiently for their moment to conquer, as their name suggests. Sprocket tumbled into a state of shock. “My family just so happened to have made a deal with the Arkeyans eons ago, granting us hundreds of their Conquertrons. Now that I have finally discovered them, I will use them to obliterate you Skylanders once and for all!”

Sprocket was expecting to find an answer to her question when she came here, not that Golden Queen had the power to destroy every island in the Skylands if she desired. “No, this can’t be…”

“It certainly can.” The goldling kept her shimmering jewel eyes on Sprocket before deciding to unveil another shocking revelation. Only this time it was personal. “I’m sure you’re dying to know how I was able to fix and reactivate those machines. That’s because I received help from someone you might be familiar with.”

Before Sprocket could even begin to wonder who she was talking about, the queen pressed another button which created a hole in the ground near her out of which a figure emerged. The Tech Skylander had to take a close look. She didn’t want to believe her eyes at first, but her goggles never lied. “Uncle?”

The long lost goldling’s head turned into every direction before he finally laid eyes on his beloved niece. “Sprocket? What are you doing here!?”

The engineer moved her goggles onto her head as her eyes began to tear up, while her uncle Oscar was rather shocked to see her there. “What a heartwarming reunion.” Golden Queen interrupted the moment with another wicked laugh before grabbing the goldling next to her. “Kaos thought that he could get away with kidnapping one of the Skylands’ brightest minds, but I taught him better. Your uncle has been my prisoner ever since! My undead minions have always kept watch over him and eventually brought him here. He’s working for me, which includes the reanimation of the Arkeyans.”

“I had no choice Sprocket! She knew who I was, if I refused her orders, she would have hunted you down!” Oscar desperately explained the twisted situation, hoping that his niece could forgive him for aiding the queen.

“None of this is your fault, uncle.” Sprocket didn’t care about what he was forced to do, her anger was only directed at Golden Queen. “I’m just glad I finally found you.” Through the single tear escaping her eye, Sprocket was able to give her family member a smile.

“Enough of this!” Golden Queen’s patience was wearing thin. “Now that my army is set up and ready to attack, I have no use for either of you.” She grinned as her eyes slowly went from Sprocket to Oscar. “At least this time you’ll get to say goodbye.”

Golden Queen raised her hand and charged up another golden blast before she shot it at the engineer, creating a cloud of sparkling dust around him. “No!” Sprocket shouted and stepped forward as she watched the scene in horror. In the moment of the queen’s apparent triumph, something that no one expected occurred. The sparkling cloud vanished, and Oscar was perfectly fine!

“What!?” Golden Queen was glowing again as she stared at yet another failed attempt to freeze her victim. She couldn’t explain it to herself.

Sprocket’s horrified frown soon shifted into a bright smile when she realized that her uncle managed to resist the queen’s powers as well.

“It can’t be! This is impossible!” Golden Queen’s eyes shot between Sprocket and her uncle. What made them immune to her godly powers? Then she remembered something, and the answer struck her like a lightning bolt. “Unless…”

Sprocket stopped her flash of happiness when she spotted the look on the bewildered goldling’s face. Did she finally have the answer she was looking for? “Unless what?”

Golden Queen inhaled and stared at Sprocket. She threw her a look of blank shock and disgust. “There were some who were also able to resist my powers, a long time ago.” Golden Queen had to take another breath before finally revealing the truth. “While my parents turned into solid gold with a single touch, my siblings were immune to those powers. That’s why I had to banish them instead.”

Sprocket’s eyes went from Golden Queen to her uncle, and it didn’t take them long to figure out what that meant. “Wait, does that mean we’re your siblings’-”

“Descendants.” Golden Queen finished the sentence. “We share the same bloodline.” With utter disgust, the queen turned her sight back to Oscar. “And that means you will steal the throne from me, and my precious gold!” She grabbed her relative by the collar of his shirt and tossed him into the pit in front of the platform she was standing on, letting him fall down into the dark depths of the palace.

“Uncle!” Sprocket hurried to the edge of the pit as her uncle’s scream still echoed through the room, but Oscar was gone.

“I won’t let my family take away what’s rightfully mine.” Sprocket lifted her head to give the enraged queen a death glare. “You will not defeat me. Ever!”

And with that, Golden Queen slammed her staff onto the rocks beneath her feet which caused the floor underneath Sprocket to split apart and send her falling down the pit as well. The Skylander screamed as she fell deeper and deeper, until there was nothing left but darkness.

It was all black. Nothing to hear and nothing to see. Slowly a voice grew increasingly louder until the words became clear enough to understand. “Sprocket! Sprocket, wake up!” The Tech Skylander came back to her senses and opened her eyes. Her uncle Oscar’s worried face above her turned into a relieved smile. “Oh, thank the Ancients you’re alright.”

Sprocket pushed her upper body up and observed her surroundings. They were sitting in a pit flooded with sand and tall stone walls wherever she turned. Then she looked back at her uncle and lit up with joy. “Uncle!” She threw her arms around him before the man returned a warm embrace. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Me too kid, me too.” The engineers held onto each other for what felt like an eternity before separating with a smile. “Just look at you! You’re a grown woman!” Oscar had to comment on his niece’s new look. “And I see that you were able to escape the prison you called home.” The last time he saw her she still had long hair and wore tight dresses in favor of her mother.

“Heh, I sure did.” Sprocket completely forgot that her uncle doesn’t even know of her role as a Skylander yet. It made her feel some kind of sadness. She would’ve loved to share every little detail with him throughout her journey. “After the grand raid years ago it all went downhill. They couldn’t afford the luxurious lifestyle anymore and the town was ruined. Many people left, they practically fled. Even mother saw no reason for me to stay there, so she let me go. Of course, she would have preferred for me to get married to a wealthy lord and become a loyal housewife, but she finally accepts me the way I am and supports my dreams.”

Oscar only smiled lightly, but it was a proud smile. “I never thought I’d see the day where she changes for the better.”

There were hundreds of things Sprocket wanted to talk about, but she had to focus on what was going on right now. She turned her head around looking for an exit, but they were trapped. “We have to find a way out of here.” The Tech Skylander got on her feet and started to move all the golden junk out of the way in hopes of finding something that could help them.

“Sprocket, why did you come here?” Oscar lifted himself up as well and questioned his niece while she inspected a bunch of mechanical pieces. “You know how dangerous the Golden Queen is.”

“Well, she’s certainly less dangerous to us than anyone else.” Sprocket reminded her uncle of the fact that they were related to the queen which made them immune to her powers. “Can you believe that we’re members of the royal goldling family?” She stopped her search to give her companion a jarring look. “And I thought being a high-class goldling was bad!”

Oscar giggled. “I’m sure at least your mother will be thrilled to find out.”

The two goldlings laughed before they both continued to look for a way out. Besides some objects turned golden like pots, shackles and even some chompies, there wasn’t much for the inventors to work with. Suddenly, Sprocket noticed a shimmering light in the corner of her eye and turned her head to see a sparkling red jewel buried in the sand. “Hey, what’s that over there?”

The goldlings approached the mysterious object and removed some of the sand around it, just to see that the jewel was attached to some red and golden metal. “Wait, could it be?” Oscar recognized the shape and colors. However, the look on his face indicated that it wasn’t a good thing.

“Stand back.” Sprocket advised her uncle before she placed a mine into the sand nearby and moved away as it exploded, setting the object underneath partially free. After seeing what it was, the Skylander was in awe. “No way!”

The engineers were looking at the head of an Arkeyan Conquertron. It must have fallen down here eons ago and be forgotten. While her uncle had a bad feeling about this, Sprocket was certain that this was their way out.

“I can fix it! Then we can use it to get out of here!” The Tech Skylander didn’t hesitate and used her mechanical skills on the giant robot.

Oscar watched as his eager niece removed some metal plates to get a look at the machinery inside and do everything in her power to reactivate it. As happy as he was to see her living her dreams, he couldn’t let her engage with such a deadly weapon. “Sprocket, we should think about this.”

“Don’t worry uncle, I’ll have this rusty robot working in no time!” The engineer proceeded to remove a few bolts with her wrench and fiddle with some cables and gears.

“No Sprocket, listen. I’ve spent years fixing such machines for the queen, even those Arkeyans recently. If there’s anything I found out about them, is that they’re programmed to destroy, nothing else.” Sprocket slowed her work down while her uncle was explaining his worries, but nevertheless kept going. “We’ll find another way out, but please don’t activate that thing. Who knows what it will do once it awakes?”

Sprocket stopped typing in codes and reconnecting cables from another open part of the Conquertron. She turned her head to her uncle with a doubtful look. “But I can do this! I’ll just reprogram it so it does what we want it to. You have to trust me!”

“I trust you Sprocket but you’re meddling with things you don’t understand!” Oscar watched in fear as his niece returned to her work on the Arkeyan. “I can’t let you do this!”

Sprocket stopped again, only this time she didn’t look at her uncle. “You sound just like her.” Oscar had a worried look on his face before the goldling turned around with rage. “I’m sick of being told what I can’t do!”

Oscar carefully reached out to the angered Skylander. “Sprocket-”

“No, I’m going to fox this!” Filled with new determination, the Skylander got back to work. “Just because every other Arkeyan behaved like that doesn’t mean that this one has to be the same!” With an even quicker pace than before, she went on by dismantling the Conquertron and using her wrench and the energy stored in her left glove to get it working again. “I am going to show you that it can break free and it can be different, no matter what anyone says!” Oscar looked up in surprise when his niece suddenly began glowing in an orange hue. “I will prove that I’m not worthless! I can be whoever I want to be, and I can achieve whatever I set my mind to!”

Oscar had to take some steps back and cover his eyes while Sprocket was fully engulfed in a bright light and began to transform. The light ceased, and Sprocket reappeared with a new look. Her armor has changed from the royal blues to golden orange colors with gears around her wrists and an improved gas bottle on her back. Her wrench gained a striped pattern and golden bolts at the end, making it even more efficient than before. Her golden skin was now a shimmering platinum and she sported goggles with a dashed pattern on them.

While Oscar still had to process his niece’s unexpected transformation, she didn’t even bother to look at herself and instead went on with fixing the Arkeyan. Suddenly, as she was using her new wrench and powered up glove, the robot finally moved. Sprocket took that as a sign and directed the energy source on her glove at the machine. It unleashed a white beam of energy that surged through the bolts and gears of the Conquertron. The entire ground was trembling. The goldlings observed as the Arkeyan rose from the sand and stood in front of them in all its glory, breaking some pieces of the pit in the process. Sprocket wasn’t done however. Changing the beam from a white to an orange color, the Arkeyan began to transform as well. The red metal parts changed their shapes and turned into blue colors instead, only keeping the head red. The entire body was shifting and turning, resulting in an entirely new kind of Arkeyan, one that Sprocket created.

When she was done, the Tech Skylander turned around to face her uncle with a smile until she realized that she has changed as well. Before she could take a proper look at herself, the goldling glowed once more and returned to her regular appearance. “What was that?”

“I’m not sure.” Oscar approached his niece while keeping his eyes on the brand new Arkeyan in front of them and putting his arm around its owner. “But whatever it was, it’s gonna get us out of here.”

Golden Queen was reveling in her triumph. With pride and newfound greed, she looked over her army of Arkeyan Conquertrons. “Today, the Skylands will fall under my power at last!” She let out a manic laugh that echoed throughout the entire palace as the lifeless machines stood there, obediently waiting for an order.

That moment was interrupted by an earthquake which grew stronger with each second. Golden Queen turned around with fury as Sprocket’s Arkeyan burst through the ground in front of her throne. Using the jet engines it possessed on its feet, the Skylander was able to reach new heights and cause more destruction than ever before. “It’s over Golden Queen, give up or we will make you!”

The goldling queen was glowing in a radiant light. “Never! I will not be defeated by some peasants! I will have all the gold in the Skylands!”

Golden Queen ran towards her army of Arkeyans, when suddenly an energy blast was shot from behind her and blew up dozens of the robots. The queen watched in horror as Sprocket destroyed one row after the other, causing the palace to crumble down as well. All until there was nothing left that the Golden Queen could use.

“I tried to warn you, maybe now you’ll finally know when you’ve lost.” Even though the villainess has done terrible things and was too far gone to be redeemed, Sprocket and Oscar decided to spare her and instead leave the palace.

As the goldlings were about to exit, Golden Queen used the arm of one of the destroyed Conquertrons and turned it into liquid gold. She coated her right arm with it, making it grow drastically. After the modified Arkeyan blasted a hole through the ceiling and was about to fly off, Golden Queen used her enlarged arm to grab its leg. She dug her razor-sharp nails into the metal and attempted to drag the Skylander and her uncle down, but they wouldn’t let her win that easily. Sprocket pointed the robot’s arm at the queen and used a laser to cut her enormous arm off. As the goldling shrieked in pain and grabbed what was left of her limb, she gave the Skylander one last spiteful glare before they left through the ceiling and made the entire palace collapse.

Once outside, the Arkeyan turned around so that the engineers could take a look at the ruins. No sign of the Golden Queen nor her Conquertrons, she was finally defeated.

“She had it coming.” Oscar commented and gave his niece a smile, reassuring her that she did what had to be done.

“We can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.” Sprocket added and sighed.

As they were observing the ruins, both goldlings noticed a strange light in the distance. Sprocket decided to get closer and what they saw left them speechless. It was a brown orb in the midst of the ruins, yet it wasn’t buried underneath the debris. Instead the rocks nearby were orbiting it. Neither of them knew what that was, but they knew that they couldn’t just leave it there. Sprocket extended the Arkeyan’s arm and grabbed the mystical object. She enclosed it inside a containment capsule and stored it safely. After taking another look at the destroyed building, the goldlings finally left.

Moments after their departure, another bright light shined through the debris. Suddenly Golden Queen’s shortened arm emerged out of the rocks. Using her ancient powers, she was able to regrow the rest of her arm and smash her hand onto a broken stone. She then pulled her upper body out. Her crown has fallen off her head and strands of her straight golden hair covered part of her face. Never before has she been this furious. “This is not over, Sprocket!”

[thedevillord-writes]

Pandora - Ignorance

"Ignorance is always afraid of change"

-Jawaharlal Nehru

Smoothing out her hair before tying a ponytail, making sure there was no crease on her blouse, and one final spritz of her perfume.

Yumi never thought she would find work so soon after graduation. She knew so many seniors who struggled to find a job, settling for one eventually that matched none of their criteria. Those with whom she graduated too, there was a handful still struggling. She was lucky to come across the employment ad. She applied for it and many others, not carrying high hopes of getting any of them. And just as she expected, all of them came back a rejection. All but one.

Ichinomiya Group

When she saw the two words printed on the envelope, Yumi prepared herself for yet another rejection. This was an exclusive company, many wanted in but many were rejected. Yumi was neither special nor did she have connections, why would she be chosen? Her interview did not go as well as she hoped for it to be either. She went through it like they taught in school, giving robotic and generic answers. She kicked herself in the heel as soon as she left the building, cursing her mind for going blank throughout the interview. Then, there was a miracle.

Somehow, for some reason, she was hired.

The letter was a notice for her to start work next week. She could barely sleep that night, reeling in the high from how unbelievably lucky she was. She spent the next week shopping for new clothes, looking up anything available on the Tres Spades hotel and Ichinomiya Group. She even looked up Youtube videos on how to be a good secretary. She knew going in she was just a replacement for six months but she wanted to do well no matter how short the employment was. She was confident she would do well too. Until she met her.

Matsuoka Haruka. The Wonder Woman, the Golden Secretary. That was what they called her.

Yumi had seen her on the news many times, and she was always by Eisuke's side. She was most definitely a woman to admire. Rumour had it that Eisuke was difficult to work with, hiring and firing secretaries during his earlier years like he was changing clothes. All but Haruka failed. It got Yumi wondering what was so special about her that Eisuke kept her around and was unwilling to let her go.

In the short week she worked with Haruka, Yumi understood why. The Tres Spades hotel became one of Japan's top hotels, if not the best, and Eisuke trusted Haruka solely to help him operate his sole success thus far. Ichinomiya Group was definitely one of the most influential companies around and Haruka was put in a position where she was practically running the company. If Yumi was put under so much pressure, she would have collapsed on day one. But Haruka did not.

Every single problem that came at her, she would calmly solve. And with a smile too.

"Penny for your thought?" Haruka hummed, putting a cup of tea in front of Yumi. "It's chamomile, it should help you relax a little. I know how hard it is working for Mr. Ichinomiya."

There was always that person in class, the perfect student. The one who would hand in the best assignments, get the best grades, had the best looks. The one person whom everyone secretly hated because they wanted to be like them but could not. Haruka was that person. But she could not hate Haruka. Not when she would greet her with a smile always, checking to make sure that she was not too stressed. Haruka was perfect in every way that Yumi was frustrated she was not.

"Do you ever worry that I might replace you completely?" Yumi asked.

"I'm sorry?" Haruka tilted her head slightly, a confused look on her face. It was a rather rude question, Yumi would admit, but she was curious. This was almost anyone's dream job. It paid well and the boss was good looking, one of the most powerful men in Japan. If Yumi had to leave the job for as long as Haruka wanted to, she would be worried.

"Are you not worried at all?"

"Do you think you can replace me?" Haruka asked. Yumi did not. She knew she did not have the skills nor the charisma to ever fully replace Haruka. It was just bizarre how confident someone was in themselves as Haruka was. "If I lose my job, then I lose it," she said. "If you can replace me, that means you are good enough to. And if Mr. Ichinomiya does not need me around, he would not keep me around."

And if there was anything more bizarre than Haruka's confidence in herself, it was the relationship between her and Eisuke.

On the surface, they looked just like an ordinary pair of boss and secretary. Haruka picked up calls, set up meetings, and handed documents for him to sign. Eisuke was a businessman relying on a capable secretary. Though, even Yumi who only worked with them for two weeks could tell that there was something more than a work relationship going on between them. The only people who did not seem to know, however, were Eisuke and Haruka themselves.

Some would argue that it was simply they had spent such a long time by each other's side, they were bond to be close in one way or another. Yumi disagreed though. The interactions between them, the things they would do for each other, Yumi would never have done for her brothers nor her close friends. Neither would they for her. Or at least, not to their extent.

It seemed innocent enough to have the secretary picking out the peas one by one because her boss did not like them, but it made no sense for the boss himself to pick out the peppers for his secretary. Eisuke was significantly taller than Haruka was, even with heels on, and had much longer legs. Yet, he would walk in smaller strides so it would not be a hassle for her to keep up. Whenever Haruka was struggling to walk because of her (ridiculously high) heels, Eisuke would offer his arm subconsciously. Her boyfriend would have just told Yumi to take the heels off.

"Miss Matsuoka, do you believe in soulmates?"

"I believe in the idea of soulmates. I don't think that anyone in this world is made specifically to compliment another." You and Mr. Ichinomiya, Yumi thought but she kept her lips sealed. "I think it's just comforting for us to know that there is someone out there who is perfect for us. No one wants to spend their life thinking that there is nobody out there who would understand why they are the way they are."

"Do you think you've found your soulmate?"

"I don't think so. Even though Mr. Baba tells me everyday that I'm his soulmate," Haruka laughed.

"Don't you want to fall in love with the perfect person to fall in love with?"

Yumi's question seemed to have struck something within Haruka as her expression fell. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she stared blankly at the keys. "Is there really such a thing as the perfect person to fall in love with?" Haruka asked. "You think they are perfect but that isn't always the case, is it? Their bad sides start to come out but you still try to convince yourself that they are still the same person you fell in love with. Even when they fall out of love with you, you still try to keep the illusion. All you end up with is hurting yourself and your family."

"Miss Matsuoka?"

It was an innocent question. Or so Yumi thought. The way Haruka reacted was a little scary, to be honest. As she spoke, her hands scrunched up into fists and she was clutching them so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her eyes started reddening and tears were swelling. Her tone of voice changed too. It was not her usual bright and polite tone but rather, it was full of anger and resentment.

"Miss Matsuoka?"

"I'm sorry," Haruka smiled, snapping out of the little unusual moment. "I've been meaning to tell you this but please, just call me Haruka. There's no need to be so formal with me, we're colleagues and friends."

"Are you okay, Haruka-san?"

"Perfectly fine. Let's get on with work."

Yumi hated the days when Haruka were not there. From what she heard (from Baba), Haruka used to come to work at the early hours but since Yumi started working, she would start late in the day and leave early too. While they were all too scared to tell Eisuke to his face, everyone thought Haruka made the right decision and it was about time she got some rest. Yumi, on the other hand, got a taste of what her life would be like once Haruka went on that leave instead.

When Haruka called in to say that she would come in to work later than usual that day, Yumi prepared herself for the worst when she broke the news to Eisuke. Irritation was obviously visible on his face though it was surprising to see Eisuke keeping it in this time. He did not say a word but simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"Take lunch off. You don't have to come with for the meeting."

"But Haru-"

"Am I your boss or is Haruka?"

"I understand, Mr. Ichinomiya."

If Haruka was here, she would have taken Yumi out for lunch and treated her to something good. With her only lunch buddy not around, Yumi looked at her phone with a sigh. After seeing what a relationship could be like, she really did not want to call him out but having lunch by herself seemed a little pathetic.

Kenta was not a bad man. He was not the perfect man, he was average. They met back in university where Yumi studied Mass Communications while Kenta was in Computer Science. Yumi found him adorable during the group speed dating event she was forced to join. He was awkward and he talked about a lot of things that Yumi did not understand. But he was the only guy who did not try to lay a hand on her and offered to walk her home because it was late (he paid for her taxi instead when Yumi refused). Two weeks later, they started dating.

Nothing was wrong with their relationship at all, Yumi was happy with it. But if there was something she had to complain about, it was the fact that Kenta was not romantic. Every Valentine's was the same. Every birthday was the same. Everyday was the same. It was as if they skipped right past the honeymoon period that one was supposed to have and became an old couple.

"What do you want to eat?" Kenta asked, walking by her side.

"Whatever, I suppose." We'll just end up eating ramen anyway, Yumi thought.

"How about ramen? I know a place around here."

Letting out a sigh, Yumi turned to look at Kenta when she spotted Haruka across the street. "Haruka-san?" Pushing Kenta to the side for a clearer view, Yumi frowned when she saw a man next to Haruka. He was tall and good looking. Really good looking. She did not recognise his face from Haruka's file which meant he was not a business associate of Eisuke's. Was he a friend of hers?

Although she wanted to follow after, the restaurant they went into was too high end for Yumi to afford. After lunch with Kenta, Yumi went back to the hotel alone. All the way back, she was bumping into people and streetlights, too deep in her thoughts to even apologise. Could it be that she was wrong about Haruka and Eisuke? There was no denying their chemistry but was it possible that she read too much into it? She was pulled back to reality when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Miss Miyazawa?" Kenzaki greeted her with a smile before presenting her with a bouquet. "Could you please pass this onto Miss Matsuoka? This came just a moment ago but I don't think I'd get to see her today to give it to her."

"Yeah, sure," Yumi nodded, taking the bouquet.

Heading up to the penthouse, Yumi was curious to know who would send such a big bouquet to Haruka. It was no surprise that a woman like Haruka had admirers; this was not the first time Yumi received flowers on her behalf after all. But it was always roses before. Roses of different colours but roses nonetheless. It was as if men knew no other flowers but the rose itself. Even so, Yumi was a little jealous. Kenta would only get her a single rose for Valentine's.

This bouquet, however, was very different.

Whoever it was sent Haruka pure white peonies. With her mother being a florist, Yumi grew up learning the meaning of flowers. She spent way too many of her summers arranging bouquets to know when a boyfriend wanted to apologise to a girlfriend for something stupid they did. White, however, was not the colour most people would go for, especially not for an apology. It mostly meant humility but it could also stand for regret.

"Oh my, our Yumi-chan is popular. And here I am, thinking that I could have a chance with you."

Taking the liberty of arranging the flowers in a vase for Haruka, Yumi was deep in thoughts when she was interrupted. Baba came into the pantry, twirling his hat on his finger. Haruka had warned her about the other residents in the penthouse on her first day and Yumi assured her that she would be able to handle them. Baba left the strongest impression of them all, mainly because he introduced himself rather flamboyantly and ended their first meeting with a kiss on the hand. She had seen how Baba would flirt with Haruka too, and how she would evade his advances effortlessly. That was the attitude Yumi decided to adopt too.

"It's for Haruka-san," Yumi explained.

"Ah...well, Haruka has always been popular," Baba smiled, walking up to Yumi to take a better look at the arrangement. "Oh? It's peony?"

"Is that strange?"

"Hm...not so much," Baba shrugged. "But it looks like the Boss might have a rival."

If she was being honest, Yumi was surprised. She thought the other men were just as dense as her boss was when it came to the relationship between Haruka and Eisuke. They always acted nonchalant to the very obvious chemistry and tension between the two.

When he caught Yumi's eyes, Baba chuckled. "Did you think we wouldn't know?" he hummed, leaning in to sniff the flowers as he looked to Yumi. "I think Haruka and the Boss are the only two people in the world who doesn't know," he grinned. "Although they are both smart people, they can be quite dense in this department." Yumi would have to agree with Baba; they were dense.

"Ah...it's just so frustrating watching them."

"Who knows? I think it's fun," Baba smiled.

[vex-bittys]

How (Not) to Date: An Underswap Story

Congratulations to first place raffle winner undertale-writing-challenges who requested a swapcest first date (and maybe a kiss). When it comes to expressing his feelings for his brother, Blueberry is a bit less than magnificent...

Contains: SFW, fontcest/swapcest (kissing, nonsexual), a very awkward Blueberry, a pun-loving Papy

“I really like you, Papy,” Blue whispered in an uncharacteristically quiet and solemn tone. His bony brow furrowed in concentration, and he stared at the toes of his boots, breathing in shallow little gasps. Why were the words so hard to say out loud? He’d been thinking them for years!

“I really like you, Papy,” the Echo Flower repeated. The other Echo Flowers took up the phrase, and soon an army of glowing blue blossoms declared their almost-love for Blue’s little brother. The words hadn’t come out right when he said them; hearing the endless repetition of the Echo Flowers only confirmed it.

Eventually the whispered confessions faded away.. Blue cleared his proverbial throat nervously and tried again. “I like you, Papy, but not as a brother. I mean, I like you as a brother too, but also not as a brother… CHEESE AND CRACKERS! WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT?”

“CHEESE AND CRACKERS!” mocked the Echo Flowers.

Blue’s cheeks puffed in frustration. He knew it made him look childish, but he couldn’t help himself. Listening to the Echo Flowers whisper his botched lines endlessly through this small cave in Waterfall only made him more determined to find the exact right words. The Magnificent Sans never gave up!

Though he spent several more hours in the softly lit, peaceful surroundings uttering one heartfelt declaration after another, Blue never found the perfect words. With a sigh of defeat, the would-be Royal Guard trudged back home to spend another evening with the object of his affections, who was totally oblivious to his romantic attraction. Maybe if Papy wasn’t so busy being impossibly lazy, he’d realize that his brother had fallen in love with him. It would make everything so much easier.

Blue opened the door of their house in Snowdin to find Papy sprawled out on the sofa in his shorts and a black tank top, a honey bear tipped onto its side dripping the sticky substance onto the fabric of his shirt. He still had his shoes on, resting on the arm of the sofa! Unbelievable! Blue crept over to his brother’s side stealthily. Papyrus had fallen asleep mid-snack. How typical of the lazybones!

Blue couldn’t hold back an indulgent smile. Sometimes Papyrus suffered from insomnia due to nightmares, but when he slept serenely like this he resembled a handsome angel. Blue used his thumb and forefinger to gingerly pluck the sticky honey bottle from his brother’s evenly rising and falling chest. He carried it into the kitchen to rinse off the grimy residue coating the bottle.

Once the honey bear had had its bath and been placed back on the table where Papy could easily find it again, Blue began to make dinner. The smell of freshly cooked food finally roused the lanky skeleton from his slumber, and he stumbled into the kitchen to greet his hard-working brother by placing a chaste kiss on the top of the shorter skeleton’s skull. Blue hoped Papy didn’t notice the blush blazing on his cheekbones from the simple, carefree act.

“aww, honey, it was sweet of you to wash Mr. Bear for me,” drawled Papyrus, taking a seat at the table and immediately lifting the bottle of sticky sweetness to his mouth. Blue supposed the honey was an improvement over his brother's usual cigarette habit, and the horrible puns made it easy to suppress the squeal of joy from being referred to as honey.

“I MADE MY FAMOUS TACOS FOR DINNER!” Blue proclaimed proudly, placing two plates of tacos onto the table before settling himself into the chair across from his brother. His socket twitched as he watched the taller skeleton squirt honey liberally onto the savory meal.

Papyrus took huge bites of the crunchy tacos, chewing loudly with a charming smile on his face. Chopped (by punching, as Alphys had taught him!) toppings and honey-soaked taco shell fragments flew everywhere. No wonder Papyrus was so slim, even for a skeleton- none of the food stayed in his mouth! Blue almost choked on a bite of his own taco while trying not to giggle at the spectacle of his brother eating dinner.

“taco bout delicious,” Papyrus joked, swallowing his last bite and licking the remaining morsels from around his mouth. “thanks for dinner, lil bro.” The tall skeleton winked.

“LIL BRO?” shouted an indignant Blue, throwing his arms up in the air dramatically. “I’M OLDER THAN YOU, AND YOU KNOW IT!” Sometimes Blue (correctly) suspected that Papyrus said things just to see him (over)react. If confronted, Blue might’ve even admitted to putting on a bit of a show anytime his brother teased him.

“no need to be short-tempered, Sans,” Papy said with a grin. Blue screeched. “you may be older, but that doesn’t mean you’re not little.” With those words, Papy picked him up, just lifted him easily out of his chair as if he were a babybones, and spun him around.

“PUT ME DOWN!” demanded Blue with a yelp, playfully battering at Papy’s ribcage with his undeniably small fists.

“never,” Papyrus laughed.

“THE MAGNIFICENT SANS WILL NOT STAND FOR SUCH INFANTILE BEHAVIOR!”

“it’s a good thing i’m carrying you then.”

“PA-PY-RUS!”

How could his brother manage to be so infuriating yet so endearing at the same time?

The Magnificent Sans prided himself on his strategic prowess, especially when it came to complex puzzles, but every great puzzle solver knows that two heads are better than one when it comes to searching for an elusive solution to a particularly difficult problem. Alphys and Undyne were dating; maybe he could ask Alphys to give him some pointers on breaking the ice!

Blue soon discovered that battle training wasn’t exactly the best place to be distracted by thoughts of potential future romance because Alphys’s heavy tail had just whacked him soundly in the ribs for the third time in a row. He grunted at the bruising impact, and Alphys immediately became apologetic.

“Sans, I’m so sorry! I thought for sure you’d block that time! Are you alright?” she sounded worried. Alphys always avoided hard hits during their training due to Blue’s single HP. She wanted to train him for combat, not dust him!

“I’M FINE!” Sans wheezed cheerfully.

“You’re daydreaming,” accused Alphys gently. Blue ducked his head sheepishly.

“CAN I ASK YOU FOR SOME DATING ADVICE, ALPHYS?” Blue blurted out.

“Finally gonna make a move on Papyrus, eh?” Alphys replied with a grin.

“IS IT THAT OBVIOUS?” Blue groaned.

“To everyone but him,” laughed Alphys before sobering again. She leveled a steady gaze at her student. “What do you need to know?”

“HOW?”

Alphys waited a moment before prodding him for more information. “How…?”

“JUST HOW! HOW DO YOU DATE?” Blue hated how desperate he sounded.

“Dating is like fighting! You have to be assertive! Sweep that punk off his feet and tell him how you feel! Crush him with romance!” Alphys got a bit carried away and suplexed a large boulder into gravel to demonstrate. Blue got swept up in her passionate (and somewhat aggressive) energy.

“I’M THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, AND I’M GOING TO CAPTURE MY BROTHER’S HEART!”

Capturing anything, much less the elusive love of your unsuspecting sibling, required preparation, so that night, Blue had called and made a reservation at the NTT resort’s upscale bistro. The date was set, giving Blue a hard deadline for confessing his true intentions. Unfortunately, the courage Blue needed to force the simple words out of his mouth had never manifested. Instead, Blue now stood outside the NTT resort with Papyrus, planning to have a nice sit-down dinner… for no particular reason.

“we can sit down at home, or better yet, at Muffet’s,” Papy had unhelpfully pointed out.

“MUFFET’S FOOD IS GREASY! I WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE NICE! BESIDES, I MADE RESERVATIONS,” protested Blue.

“and i’m sure it has nothing to do with your crush on a certain robot DJ,” Papy teased.

“I DON’T HAVE A CRUSH ON NAPSTATON, PAPY!” Blue huffed before quietly adding, “I like someone else.” Papyrus quirked a brow, but he let the subject drop.

“y’know, Blue, i know a shortcut for-”

“NO, PAPY. WE’RE WALKING IN THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR LIKE RESPECTABLE MONSTERS. NO SHORTCUTS!”

Blue grabbed Papyrus’ hand to lead him into the restaurant and instantly regretted it. What if Papy thought holding hands was weird? He couldn’t just let go of his brother’s hand though; that would be too suspicious! How long could you comfortably hold hands with your brother before it turned from normal to awkward? Could Papyrus feel his metacarpals sweating? Blue was blowing the date already, and he hadn’t even told Papy it was a date yet!

The lanky skeleton didn’t pull his hand away from his brother’s as they entered the bistro, and Blue didn’t want to be rude by letting go first. They ended up strolling to their table hand-in-hand and standing next next to it for just a few seconds too long before they both simultaneously released their grips, allowing their hands to drop limply to their sides. Blue sank gratefully into his seat. Food! Food would help ease the tension!

With a nervous giggle, Blue scanned the menu. For a short, disorienting moment, he thought the words were written in some strange language until Papy took the laminated page from him and turned it right side up. Blue flushed brightly in embarrassment. In an attempt to evade his brother’s concerned gaze, Blue swept the room with a hasty glance only to realize that he and Papy were severely underdressed for the atmosphere.

The Magnificent Sans had taken a proverbial page from his brother’s book for once and dressed casually for the date-that-only-he-was-aware-of. He’d worn sneakers in lieu of his usual boots, paired with basketball shorts and a top that said “Cool Dude” and had shoulder pads in the shape of soccer balls. His brother wore his (probably dirty) orange hoodie and cargo pants that hadn’t made the last round of laundry. Everyone else in the establishment sported dress clothes in fashionable cuts and colors. He groaned in agony over his socially unacceptable attire.

“something wrong?” Papyrus asked innocently.

“WE’RE UNDERDRESSED!” complained Blue.

“coulda sworn i put on pants before we left.” Papyrus chuckled, making a show of checking his clothing for any missing articles. “yup, all here!”

Blue could feel hot tears welling in his sockets as the date careened past the point of being salvageable. Papy tried to laugh it off at first, but the night just got worse as it progressed. Blue dropped his silverware onto the floor, knocked over the glass of fancy wine he’d ordered, and even spilled dessert all over his shirt. Papyrus watched the disaster unfold without even making another joke about it.

The most anticipated part of the foray into how not to date was paying the bill and leaving, but even that didn’t go as planned. Blue had forgotten to grab his wallet from his usual outfit, and Papyrus ended up paying for the expensive food that Blue had insisted they order.  

Once they were outside, Blue began to apologize in earnest. He’d ruined everything! Papy deserved a better boyfriend than the not-so-Magnificent Sans. Tears streamed down his round cheeks as he babbled.

“I’M SO SORRY PAPYRUS. THIS WAS SUCH A STUPID IDEA-”

“nah. it was a great first date.”

“WHAT?”

“i’m not as oblivious as you think i am,” Papyrus said with a wink.

“HOW DID YOU KNOW I-” Blue never got to finish his question because the taller skeleton leaned in quickly and clacked their mouths together. He didn’t pull away afterwards though. He lingered, letting their breath mingle. Blue grabbed his brother’s hoodie and pulled him into a deeper kiss.

How didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was Papy’s mouth pressed against his and the honey-sweet taste of his brother’s tongue.

INDEX

[vitaevandal]

Brave New World

Category: Fan Fiction Fandom: Divergent Pairing: Eric/OFC Rating: PG-13 (language), eventually M Genres: Drama, romance, humor, angst, slow burn, some fluff Disclaimer: This a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line.

A/N: This is based on a request from and discussions with @frecklefaceb and @clublulu333. It was requested as a one-shot but I had an idea that a one-shot wouldn’t do justice, so this is shaping up to be a longer fic. Here goes.

Summary: When disaster strikes the City and leaves it in ruins, Eric, one of the few survivors, must evacuate Dauntless. He finds himself in the unknown world beyond the wall, which seems to have suffered the same fate. unsure of what has become of the City he called home. Everything Eric knows has been stripped away, and he is forced to forge surprising new relationships. Will Eric ever make it back home to Dauntless? Is there even a home to go back to?

Chapter 1 - Good Morning Sunshine

It had been two days, and Eric still wasn’t accustomed to being woken by harsh sunlight bleeding through his eyelids. He’d tried closing the blinds to darken the room, but he discovered that leaving the windows open to let in a breeze was the only way to alleviate the infernal morning heat. Beads of sweat had already formed on his face, as the temperature was drastically lower at night, requiring a layer of blankets that ended up suffocating him as the sun rose and began roasting him in the bedroom like a turkey in an oven. Not that he’d ever seen a turkey in person, Dauntless wasn’t exactly overrun by wildlife, but he’d learned about the absurd custom of Thanksgiving during his days in Erudite and seen enough pictures of the deformed birds to wonder why anyone would want to eat something that looked like it had a ballsack hanging off of its face. For the first time he realized how much he’d taken the climate-controlled caverns of Dauntless for granted.

But at least the walls of the still unfamiliar home provided some shade and insulation. When he first stepped out of the pod, he felt nearly blinded by what seemed like death rays from the sky. Following immediately was the dry, sweltering heat that literally took his breath away. Disorientation had taken hold of him as he had cracked his eyes open to slits, slowly adjusting to the brightness. The vast expanse of hard-packed, cracked earth and sparse dottings of queer plant life told him he had landed somewhere out west, according to his geography lessons. Everything looked...dead. As dead as he knew almost every living thing in his former home most likely was.

He turned slowly and was surprised to find himself facing a small collection of five closely set houses, all bland and identical save for their color. A subdivision, he believed this was called, though why anyone would choose this fucking wasteland as home baffled him. Every single one of them looked deserted, windows dark, vehicles absent from driveways, not a soul in sight. He supposed they could be holed up inside, but he thought it more likely that the occupants had had enough warning of the impending disaster to pack up their necessities and attempt to flee to safety. He wished Dauntless had had that much of a warning, though he wasn’t sure even that would’ve changed the outcome.

***

The blaring of the alarm was almost, but not quite, enough to drown out the panicked screams throughout the compound. He heard the distant thumps and crashes of various structures crumbling in the distance, getting closer by the second as he stood in the control room. The outer walls and ceilings, closest to the surface, were the first to go; everything else was falling like dominos in their wake. He was trying to assess the magnitude of the situation through the camera feeds, but they disappeared almost before he could catch a glimpse as they too fell victim to the destruction. Though he didn’t need to see to know it was pure chaos.

Of course there were disaster plans in place, but they encompassed things like earthquakes and attacks from the factionless; nothing like what was happening now. As drills had taught them, people scrambled to get inside doorways and to the armory, where the construction was more fortified, but even those were collapsing under the force of this unknown attack. Those that kept their cool and followed the action plan were ironically the first to go, having gathered in clusters to the supposedly more stable areas and subsequently buried en masse. Eric watched the rest of his faction scurry around in mindless terror like headless chickens, many of them flocking to the Pit seeking safety in numbers, and he had time to think, “So much for being brave and prepared.” He sneered in disgust, thinking that if these people were what his beloved faction were made up of, perhaps they deserved to die. He thought he chose only the best of the best for Dauntless, but clearly when the going really got tough, very few measured up.

Eric had the invaluable talent of keeping his cool in even the most calamitous of situations, an essential quality to being an effective Leader, so while he certainly didn’t lack the courage to run headlong into the melee and attempt to rescue his moronic faction members, logic always prevailed for him, and not only were there protocols in place he was trained to follow, he recognized immediately that any rescue attempts were futile. He had to put the faction at large first even if it cost lives. The sacrifice of the few for the survival of the many, unfortunately.

And so, the faction leaders and their lieutenants were the priority. If the City were to fall, the most qualified should be the ones to survive in order to rebuild. Therefore, these chosen few were the only ones aware of the outside world beyond the City walls, and provided the means to escape to it in the event of the annihilation of the City. He fled to the appointed evacuation point, knowing that despite its reinforcements even that would only hold for minutes, and stepped into his assigned pod. He didn’t know the science behind it, that was Erudite’s department - was it some kind of teleportation device, or form of air travel? - but he didn’t have time to question whether he would survive the journey. Nor would he have any way of knowing if the other faction leaders had escaped. There was no deliberation really - to remain here was certain death.

The moment he stepped inside, the steel door shut forcefully behind him. A female robotic voice intoned, “Evacuation initiated,” he felt a gentle lurch as the pod ascended through the pneumatic chamber, and the last Eric knew was total darkness.

***

Eric climbed out of bed and donned the same clothes he’d been wearing since his arrival in this hellhole: fitted black t-shirt, black cargo pants, and black combat boots. His nose immediately wrinkled at the distinct odor emanating from his unwashed clothes and sweat-grimed body, but thus far he had come across no clothes in the closets that would fit his large frame, so he was stuck with what he had. He trudged wearily downstairs, his desire for coffee so strong it was practically an ache, and began to consider his plan of action for the day.

He had spent the first day scouring the houses for any necessary supplies he could immediately think of: food, clothing, weapons, and, since he had quickly ascertained that the electricity and plumbing were no longer functioning, bottled water and batteries. He collected his findings in the center house he had chosen at random to take up residence in, knowing he would think of more potentially useful items but would make a list later; for the time being he was still slightly overwhelmed by shock. Today he thought he might try the remaining vehicles in the garages to see if any of them were running, hoping to further explore the surrounding terrain. But what if he couldn’t find the keys? Could he hotwire a car? The garage doors operated on electricity; could he figure out how to open them manually? There had always been generators in Dauntless. Eric was an intelligent guy, but it’s not like they taught Survival Skills for the Apocalypse in school. He took a deep breath and said to himself, “One step at a time.”

Eric jumped as he suddenly heard the sound of rustling coming from what he thought was the kitchen. He pulled his gun from his holster and descended the stairs carefully; bursting into the kitchen, he drew his gun, and yelled, “Don’t move!”

The sight of the girl standing in front of the open cabinet actually at first almost made him laugh. She wore an oversized, obnoxiously flowery sundress, floppy straw hat, and yellow galoshes, and a white stripe ran down the length of her nose. She looked like a drunken Amity refugee. “Who the fuck are you?” he demanded.

For a moment she continued to rummage through the cabinet’s contents, seemingly unconcerned with the gun pointed at her head. Then she turned to face Eric and briefly eyed him up and down, taking in his attire and piercings. She snorted and said, “The end of the world hits and you decided to raid Hot Topic? Great, I’m sure you’ll be loads of help.”

Eric strode forward and grabbed her by the arm. “What do you think you’re doing?”

She had resumed her inventory of the cabinets, replying, “I’m checking the empty houses for supplies, what does it look like I’m doing?”

His mouth had fallen slightly open at her brazenness. “Well obviously this house isn’t fucking empty, so stop going through my shit!”

She turned to him again, hands on her hips, and retorted, “Technically this isn’t your shit, it belonged to the person that used to live here, so as far as I’m concerned it’s fair game.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart,” he snarled. “More like every man for himself. I don’t care where you go, just get the fuck out of this house.”

She sighed, wriggling out of his grasp. “I don’t know how long you’ve been around here, but I’ve been out here for almost a week, and near as I can tell, we’re the only two living people for miles. Hell, we’re the last two living people on the planet for all I know. So either we work together, or we die.”

She grabbed his hand and shook it enthusiastically. “I’m Madeline, but I go by Maddy. Welcome to the neighborhood.” She smiled brightly. “I’m sure we’ll be the best of friends!”

Eric groaned and began to wonder if he wouldn’t be better off dead after all.

[clothestop]

Hi, I'm not sure if this will be weird to ask but i've read that you have a math degree and knows how to code so i hope you can give me some advice regarding my career choice. If that's okay. Tbh i'm still not sure if i should take up computer science or pure mathematics. Math is my favorite subject in school and the more i study college-level theoretical math, the more i realize that i would want to do this professionally.

But i also considered computer science because i’m weighing the employability of both majors and i know that i could get a more stable job with comp sci. I’m so confused i’m sorry if my ask doesn’t make much sense but i have so many questions. May i ask what age did you start coding? And like my dilemma, i’m wondering why you went with pure mathematics and didn’t take up computer science. What put you off? Also, how did you start coding/ what made you start learning how to code? Did you take up comp sci classes? I’m a 17 yr old girl heading to university next fall but i just started learning how to code last year so i feel a bit left out. I’m really enjoying it so far but thinking of a possible career with it, i’m also scared as a woc in that kind of field. This may sound silly but like what the tumblr saying goes: i don’t want to be a sell out while i work for something i love. Lastly, i know that even if i’m still a beginner and there are a lot more things that i could learn in university. But in the meantime to prepare for that, what advice can you give to someone like me who is a beginner (words of encouragement, pros and cons, skills to develop etc etc)? Btw i’ve read that you lived in Southeast asian countries and i’m from SE asia currently living in the US so i relate to what i’ve been reading in your blog. Thank you for reading and sorry for

Hello there! No worries, I didn’t think that your ask is weird. And ofc, I’m more than glad to give you my advice :)

Well, I started with basic coding at around 12 or 11, eventually studied it extensively and moved to more complicated programming languages when I was 15 or 16—but I was already in uni during that time (uhm, yes I was younger than most of my peers). I play games a lot, and when I was younger, I dreamt of developing my own video game or website. And as a kid, you wouldn’t be surprised that I even thought of using my knowledge of coding with making cool stuffs™ like robots haha. To be honest, I wasn’t “put off” of taking up Computer Science; it’s just that my head had always been gravitating towards Pure Mathematics ever since. However, I admit that I did fancy taking up that degree because I was opting for another major that would *complement* my Pure Mathematics track, since my mum initially wanted me to have a degree that is “lucrative” to her standards. Basically, even if I didn’t end up pursuing Computer Science, we met at a compromise with me double majoring in Pure Mathematics and an applied maths major which relies on heavy programming as well. Despite being good at maths in school, programming was unarguably one of the most difficult things that I’ve studied. Not to mention that at the beginning, I was self-taught. After uni, I became more serious with my self-study, and even took up few short courses in Computer Sciences just because I’m really interested with it. Never considered to pursue it professionally, though.

If you look at the macro statistics of how students perform in different subjects, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and China (particularly Shanghai) has always ranked really high in maths and sciences. Yet, until recently, most of the technological breakthroughs are happening in the West.. Or perhaps, most technological advancements that happened in Asia (mind you, not only in East Asian and Southeast Asian countries) weren’t relatively discussed and/or recognized in a global scale during the past few years. Furthermore, living in Caucasian-dominated countries, I know that minorities would always have to go through the eye of a needle to have our voices heard and our efforts recognized and properly credited; otherwise the achievements we had produced would never see the light of day, or worse, People in the Position of Power™ would take credit for what we worked hard for. (Disclaimer: I don’t live in the US)

Additionally, two years ago, reports disclosed by large tech companies like Google and Facebook show that females make up less than 20% of technical employees. Unfortunately this figure drops to single digits for the larger tech community. But you shouldn’t be fazed with these facts. Yes, this is a sad reality but we can do something to change the system. At present, females working in most industries (not just in tech companies. Believe me *sighs*) should work twice as hard as a man to get to the same place, and it was made into a norm that we should just be prepared to do that. Thus, at least eventually in the tech sector, the more girls who learn how to code, the less unequal it would get. If you think about it, apps and websites like Instagram and Facebook (and uh well, Tumblr) have a wide female user base. And I truly believe that women need to be part of the voice in creating this technology to serve the users more effectively.

Yes I’m Southeast Asian as well currently living in a Caucasian-dominated country (again, not the US). But I lived in different Asian countries, so I also understand how tech startups in these regions lament the lack of local talent. Universities produce graduates who are well-versed in computer science, yet the latter go after paths that only require an understanding of programming languages suited for banking and finance. Conversely, startups use something much different and more modern—something that tech companies want to see more of. Moreover, a few years ago, tech giants like Microsoft, Facebook, and SAP appealed to the European Union education ministers to tackle skills gap in information and communications technology, saying that an estimated 900,000 jobs in Europe would be left unfilled by 2020 if not addressed. The UK has since implemented computing into the national curriculum. Again, Tumblr Politics™ could make an asinine analogy of this to Destroy Capitalism™, but the reality dictates that we need this to achieve growth in the foreseeable future. (Another disclaimer: I’m very much against classism and capitalism, but I can be level-headed as well to understand the global economic and political atmosphere that we live in. Less whining, more tangible actions to abolish these systems.)

Correct me if I’m wrong (this could easily be googled), but from what I’ve read, the average salary for a good fresh graduate programmer in the Silicon Valley is around 100,000 USD. So you can verify that this is indeed an in-demand job. But I definitely agree with your outlook as well. I quit my last job despite the high pay, advantageous position, connections and opportunities in the corporate ladder™ because I lost my passion and felt like I no longer learn something of value from it. I felt like I was just a small cog of a devious capitalistic machine, operating at an auto-pilot, and can never make an actual difference to society (contrary, I felt like I was actually working against it D:). BUT! Please. Please. Please. Never fully absorb everything you read in this hellsite as a clear reflection of how the world works. Always take everything you read with a grain of salt, because despite of the positive things we could see and the amazing people we could meet here, Tumblr is a very, very problematique™ place to take inspiration from. Of course I’m not generalizing, but sadly, some people here (despite their charisma and very persuasive convictions) proclaim revolutionary™ ideologies that only promote hateful agendas. Thus, even though I would always believe that money should never supersede passion, I also understand that the system is working against us and that it wouldn’t be as easy as we imagine it to be. So, I always seek to find balance in every decision that I make. It would also help to have a concrete plan of how you would like to see yourself in a few years (I know it sounds cliché, but I promise it’ll help), and to choose to work for a company that you know would create progressive measures to aid society as a whole, and would promote sustainable growth for the planet and the human race. Sorry if that sounds so cheesy and pretentious, but I mean it. I would like to think that that wouldn’t make us corporate sellouts™, rather, we are dreamers trying to survive and thrive in this very demanding society. [Hmm. To be honest I think corporate sellouts are the ones who exploit the society, and trample over others just to achieve their goals. Soulless creatures, I tellss ya. But yeah, maybe tumblr SJW vocabulary made another revolutionary™ breakthrough.]

That said, I know that you are already in the right track. And even though you seem to be in a dilemma, I could see that you’re geared towards computer science already :) Both maths and programming are your passions, and I’m glad that you discovered that at an early age. Don’t be afraid to take the leap. And if later on you realize that perhaps the degree you pursued wasn’t where your heart is, I can only assure you that you are not the first and last person who would feel this way—and that’s perfectly okay. Lots of people end up in jobs that are radically different from what they took up in uni, and they excel and feel really satisfied in those fields. And there are others who eventually go back to school to fulfill the academic approach that they had missed. Whatever happens, don’t be afraid to troubleshoot and start again. Don’t think that you had a late start on coding. I’m in my late 20s and I know that I still have a lot more to learn—not just with programming—and that really excites me. Remember, formal education isn’t the only place where we could learn and harness our skills. We’re so lucky to have lived in this digital age where everything could be presented to us with just a click or a tap of a button, so we should take advantage of that.

My last advice to you is to master BOTH the technical and creative skills needed in this science, both of which are essential to be a good programmer—bridging the technical side of coding with the creativity to solve problems. I know I still have a long way to go, but somehow, I think I could consider myself as someone who already has a good foundation and an in-depth knowledge of programming. This skill is something that does not only aid me in my career, but it also helps me with problem solving and thinking about issues structurally. With coding, I can solve problems and think of multiple solutions for the same problem, and can see the pros and cons for each solution. Further, I’m able to challenge my own assumptions in all of these solutions. However, like I’ve said, I don’t think that programming is something that I could do professionally. Despite excelling in the technical side of it, I believe that in this industry, the creative ability of a programmer is the one that is highly sought after. I totally concur that one should never underestimate how HARD programming is, and I guess that’s the beauty and challenge of this discipline. I know that I have the dedication and patience for this skill, but even if I master the complexities and technical skills needed in programming, admittedly, I still lack the creative elegance that I see in a professional programmer. But I hope that you could find the equilibrium in these factors and excel on them.

It will never be my intention to discourage you, on the contrary, I hope that with these information, you could objectively weigh the reality of the field that you would get yourself into. Which is why I’m glad that you did your research because it shows how serious and passionate you are to take time in educating yourself with these details. More importantly, I hope that you could talk to someone you look up to and trust in real life, because choosing a career is a serious life-changing decision. But feel free to DM me if you want to add or discuss something else :)

Thank you for your question, gotshineboc. I really hope that this could help you out. Very best of luck!