yogen | APRIL EVENT LOG/TDM

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The opening ceremony starts at 8, with students and staff moving to the auditorium to sit with their homeroom class, calling characters out by name and dragging them over to their seat— physically if need be, and they're much stronger than they look. Much like the graduation ceremony, characters are not forced to come to the entrance ceremony, but the moment they take a seat, they find that they can neither speak nor get up again until the ceremony is over.

A teacher stands behind the podium on stage. Characters may recognize pieces of the speech from the previous year. He takes the time to welcome Yogen High's new students first, followed by acknowledging the transfer, returning, and repeat students. As he goes on, the teacher encourages students to instead focus on their own personal growth, and developing strong bonds that will allow them to reach their goals. He sighs as he explains that the Principal and Vice Principal are currently not available before he reminds students that violence is strictly prohibited and that there will be strict consequences for anyone who is caught engaging in misconduct.

The teacher concludes by noting that teachers will inform them of any important announcements. He wishes everybody a fulfilling school year, and reminds them that they have the power to shape the future. The ceremony concludes in a little under an hour, and the spell binding the students to their seats is broken, allowing everybody to rise and leave.

School lets out for the rest of the day with classes starting the next morning, and while many students take the opportunity to leave, some linger around the school.

08:00 04/06-04/09

Classes resume as usual, and it's the same old routine, with gossip and rumors spreading about, and students growing excited over new club advertisements, and fortune telling ads in addition to upcoming events. In an effort to encourage students to form lasting relationships, the school has set up events for the first week with plans for smaller events throughout the month. The PDA logs have been wiped clean with the start of the year, and all messages from before 04/05 are gone.

✽ Tuesday, 04/06 will be a simple Welcome Back. The day will be dedicated to giving important announcements, including the events for the rest of the week, introducing students to clubs, etc. There will be a potluck with various sweets and snack items, along with time dedicated to getting-to-know you style games and other such activities.
✽ Wednesday, 04/07 will feature the beginning of a Team Building Scavenger Hunt! There are no items to be found, but instead students are given a list of tasks to complete and turn into their homeroom teacher. Examples include introducing yourself to a new student, doing something nice for another student, being asked to identify a specific student who fits a certain criteria, anything that can be used to encourage interactions.
✽ Thursday, 04/08 will feature karaoke night in the music room. There is a karaoke machine set up along with a screen set up, along with some CDs with all the greatest hits of the 90ws. There is a decorative backdrop set up along with party decorations. There are inflatable music notes, cut out notes, microphones, record albums, and instruments taped along the wall, and a box full of props for students to use if they so choose.
✽ Friday, 04/09 will feature a game night held in class 1-B. Desks have been pushed together to form tables and covered in cloths, and various board and card games have been set out for students. There is a TV with an N64 and Playstation set out along with various games.

Outside of classes, the days wear on, and students come in with bruises and scraped knees and elbows and bloody noses. They smear blood on the walls and drip it onto the floor, splatter it onto the mirror without meaning to, bringing along with it a sense of vertigo. Characters looking in the mirror may find that they catch sight of something. It's there reflected in the mirror, a shadowy and dark figure in the edge of their vision, but it the moment they look away it disappears, leaving behind only a chill in the air. The mirror room is almost unbearably cold.

04/10-04/30

Characters who look in mirrors will see the shadowy figure reflected in it growing closer to them. It's an odd sight to be sure, and the cold air it brings with clings to the skin, but even as they draw close they seem to do no harm. It's only once they're right behind a character that they'll begin to notice it - the cold that clings to them no matter how warm the room, the faint tingling of their skin, the sleepiness that settles in, and the whispers in their ear.

It's faint at first, barely noticeable if not for its persistence, but over time those whispers will grow louder; the coolness on their skin will turn into a cold that chills them down to the bone, and the unrested feeling becomes a constant fatigue and lethargy. The words and tone vary, as do the voices, but each and every one eats into the character. They might speak of a character's insecurities or guilt, or they might leave them with a sinking loneliness, or perhaps they promise the warmth and companionship that a character desires, or any other number of matters that so often tug at the mind.

The figures can be viewed through mirrors. Those with supernatural sight or an adderstone will similarly be able to see them following characters, latching onto them. Items that ward off the supernatural may help, but the only way to truly ward them off is with bonds formed in the school. The figures seem to be warded off by the presence of another person. The cold disappears with the slightest touch, the whispering stops during conversation, and for that time they're given a brief reprieve. But they often seem to come back the moment a person passes by a mirror once more.

OOC

✽ The school will be hosting various smaller team building exercise throughout the month which can range from exercises to group projects. There are examples here, so feel free to pick what works best for your goals.
✽ The shadowy figures will appear more frequently where there is blood, fresh or otherwise.
✽ Characters who are isolated will find that they are more susceptible to being followed by the figures, and it may take longer interactions to dispel them completely.
✽ Items from the student shop that ward off supernatural creatures will aide in keeping the shadows from getting too close at first, but their effectiveness will wear off the longer a character is followed. They seem to be most effective when used in conjunction with interactions with others, and especially others who have similar items (i.e. a character with a silver cross and a character with a gold chain.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The passive aggressive behavior isn't missed, and Ranger is somewhere between finding it favorable and wanting to yank his head off and throw it in the washing machine for a few cycles. He prefers this in the end, as he thinks he might not be able to keep himself from ripping his eyes out and smashing them beneath his heel should he start to stare. He doesn't, though, and so he nods in acknowledgment instead. That timeframe strikes him as reasonable, assuming there's no major issues.

He wonders if Komaeda will leave before then. He doesn't do well with staying in one place, and routine maintenance such as this is a tedious affair at the best of times. Aside from present company, he doubts anyone would want to hang around for the entire thing. That's fine though. He's done more than he needed to just by coming with to start. He spares his partner a glance before returning his attention to Midori. ]

No, I took care of everything before coming here.

[ Though even if there was, it would have to wait now. This is more important. ]

Excuse me.

[ he requests komaeda's attention for a moment where eyes should meet, but with the ultimate too busy watching ranger's every movement while trying to understand the methods behind what should be done. he's been there once during the first time the other's code was modified, and he can guess this will follow the same pattern as last time. he keeps his mouth shut, lips pursed into a straight line. ]

If you don't mind, can you close the curtain of the cot with you inside.

[ a weird request, especially with how his eyes look to the fabric, and he reaches out to grab it— feeling the texture, and seeing how thick it happens to be. if placed in his view, he doubts he can see what happens outside of it, and so he figures there's something he's not meant to see. he reaches out with his prosthetic, patting at ranger's arm to tell him that he'll come back out soon after.

the boy's smart, he'll give ranger that, but the sickly appearance, the thin hair that shouldn't be on a living human, and even the paleness of his eyes... possibly suffering a disease easily distinguished given a few tests, or just by asking. it's practically a miracle that he's even alive because each wheeze between his breathing could draw midori's attention, but he focuses on more important matters.

one hand gestures to the laptop on the table with various screen visible, the one's that'll check and look over ranger's code first, but there's a box for something more precise, tedious and manual. ]

Thank you. [ to komaeda, then midori returns his attention to ranger. ] I have so much to tell you about, you don't mind a bit of chit-chat during the procedure, do you?

[ at this point, ranger will know that he should connect himself, unless he wants midori to. it's why he decided to keep komaeda's prying eyes from prying. ]

[ The frown that pulls at his lips upon hearing Midori's request is hidden by the colorful ice cream cone that Ranger holds up, and he just barely manages to bite back his rebuke. There's no other option but to accept it, as one way or another it'll be taken as both a weakness and a threat if he chooses to stomp down on such a minute and reasonable issue. No, he chooses his battles more carefully than that, and so he lets that little pat of his arm be enough to reassure him and responds with a nod.

Maybe it's better though. As he thought, just that little bit of attention being given to his frail and sickly partner is enough to make him sick to his stomach. The grip on his cards tightens just a tad before he forces it to relax once more, and he likewise forces his attention back to the bigger issue at hand. He observes the contents of the screen and, satisfied to find that it's nothing out of the ordinary, pulls one glove off to make it that little bit easier when he reaches back with the cord in hand to flip the latch hidden there and plug himself in. ]

Sure, I don't mind... Ahaha, sounds like you've been busy.

[ They both have been, as one would expect. ]

[ the ice cream cone, the he's not too fond, but also he's not trying to show nary an emotion at the ordeal. midori nods accepting his fate as he turns away from facing the doll, he reaches for a compact case, then opens it to pull out a set of glasses for him to put on. he doesn't need them, but he does find himself to be quite cute, and fit the role of someone who is about to work on a meticulous projects than he needs two more set of eyes.

once ranger plugs himself in, the laptop registers him accordingly with his name, vitals, and energy that pops up on the screen to tell him how well the individual is running. it's always so exciting to see important code in front of him, a creation that's brought up as a brand new life unlike the others within asunaro; ranger being their greatest achievement, he does believe he should keep it that way. remove any nasty bugs that he finds, and look at how the dna of his code is standing.

he hasn't clicked on it yet, but he eases the other in with a bit of small talk. ]

Well, how was your birthday? You thought I forgot, didn't you!

[ his fingers tap along the keys as he pulls up another box, this one having a password set up— he's just getting everything open to go through one by one. ]

[ His birthday...? Ranger blinks, staring as though he'd been presented with a foreign concept, before shaking his head. The date he was turned online can't be called a true birthday here, as it's out of sync with his online time, but he understands the concept well enough to know that a human wouldn't apply the same value. Although if he were to go off of that arbitrary metric, he would choose a different day.

He watches the screen, eyes occasionally flicking to Midori. ]

There's a time discrepancy, so I haven't been online for four years yet.

[ More fortunately, he has gained enough flexibility on these matters to continue, ]

It was a nice day.

How old was I in the 2000s...

[ midori dwells on the idea, playing with it while knowing ranger hasn't been brought into existence yet at this time. as for others, it must be difficult knowing their one age here, and another there, but wouldn't it be cute to say that they're their younger age? ]

But yes, yes... but we must adjust to thrive.

[ the screen is painted in various blue screens with white text, fingers typing in numbers and codes, and there's a sincere smile on his face as he looks at the base of the code, as beautiful as it, asunaro's work is always praise worthy.

the start appears to be put together skillfully, and it reminds him of the softest quilt that he would cuddle under its warmth. ]

That's nice, it must have went better than mine, but the greatest gift I gained that day was yooooou! ♡

[ It's a beautiful, tightly written code that anyone would struggle to find fault with save those are who so full of themselves that they've lost all capacity to recognize talent. Ranger waits for him to reach the part that was so obviously not written by one of theirs, and he can hear the comments already... Though as imperfect as it might be, that code is still far less ugly than the empty gap that had preceded it.

He blinks at the comment about him being a gift. He supposes that would've been an exciting day for those who worked on the project even with those flaws he was created with. ]

Oh, yeah. How many people came around asking about "your" birthday? Hope you at least got a cake out of that whole mess.

...

[ how many came around? what if he was honest and said maybe one or two, the counselor seemed to have remember, but everyone else doesn't seem so excited about aging another year! ranger was far too busy on the exact day, but made it on the next or something that we said. with a raised hand, midori waves it off. ]

I'm a little tooooo old to be celebrating! I stopped around twenty four.

[ now if it's thrown for him then he doesn't reject it, but it is easy to forget when the day comes when someone like him is just too busy. that said hand pushes up his glasses as his other scrolls down to read the information on the screen. fingers away from the frame, midori reaches for a cup of hot cocoa that's filled to the brim, and a swirl of white cream on top that's dashed with sprinkles, and the ruby red cherry on a throne. with a small sip, the sweet substance rolls down his throat, and the mug clacks against the table as he scrolls down further until there's an abrupt stop. ]

Now... what is...

[ it's a quick scroll up, copy pasting the data and code into another box, and going back to the first to compare codes with the base that he has— ]

...

[ he does well in keeping his expression blank enough, neither proud or disgusted, it's a look that he gives when he's judging the work before him. asunaro has a way that they deal with code that makes every ai, doll or whatever else that they do special, there's a signature in their work, this sort of love if midori could say. where there's a signature everywhere within the code, he's found a certain area that's too spotty to be a love letter, but the dated attempt to send letters through carrier pigeon when everything's a simple click away.

there's no love in this.

it reads like pain, a struggle, and therefore the editor has no idea how asunaro affiliates work their code, oh... ]

Is she legally blind?

[ He tilts his head, not quite understanding the concept of celebrating, nor why one would start or finish at a specific age. It's a concept that's coded into him, but he doesn't have the social finesse that one learns by experiencing it every year. It's no different than holidays for him, every one of which is a new experience despite knowing the traditions well enough. For Hiyori, he supposes there was no reason to after he "died."

He watches as he finds it, reaching over and plucking the cherry off the top, pinching the step between his fingertips and pulling it away. He's picked up more human mannerisms since coming here, and it truly is nearly impossible to distinguish him from one now. Midori's reaction is roughly in line with what he'd expect upon seeing such a shoddy code; Ranger might have touched it up himself, as he certainly has the capacity to do so, if not for the difficulty that any unexpected errors would present.

He flicks the cherry stem into the trash before pointing at a few lines of the code, then another set in answer. If he hasn't already done so, he'll no doubt notice the small differences between the pair - one has just that little bit more finesse to it. Ranger holds up two fingers after. Midori can gather the rest from there without even looking at the changelog. ]

... Well, it has potential.

[ With ASUNARO's guiding hand, their work could certainly become something far more beautiful, like the ugly duckling that becomes a beautiful swan in the end. It's what he'd thought at the start, and Ranger maintains that belief. ]

It works, Ranger, but by far it isn't what you want to run off of.

[ it's far too frail, and it's easy to spot against such a frescoed masterpiece, and what he sees now is... the lines of a child's doodle, but it's true they can become an artist after years of training and putting in effort. he thinks that they should set down coding and try something else, but truthfully no one gives a child a steel wrench and tells them to go out and work; they wouldn't know what to work on. he's sure a hand from asunaro (ranger) was involved to get anyone this far. ]

You simply had no choice all because I woke up late... and from you reacted when I appeared, our coworkers hadn't appeared either. No need to cry over spilled milk, I'm here now... I'll remedy everything.

[ human beings can live off scraps, but the visible pain that shows when he looks at the piece of code causes midori so much grief. he even forces a small sob, a boo hoo hoo, and a hand wiping under one eye as if a tear came from seeing such work; it does burn in some way. ]

This will not do... all it takes is for someone to know the difference, and edit what's already been edited... there's no security walls on this part either! [ he huffs, shaking his head. ] If this is breached then that means so much will collapse... everyone knows to place new code under a lock if it won't match with the old! Ah... children these days, they need an adult to guide their hand properly...

[ no freakanisms intended, and now that he thinks about it. ]

I'm going to need more caffeine. [ to sit here and get through this. his hand raises from the mouse, and fingers are quick to tap among the keyboard, soft little clicks that's music to his ears as he keeps jade eyes on the screen. his thumb presses against the space bar, and his fingers spread out to cover other parts of the main letters of keys he needs to press that in time after clicks here and there, he's managed to type up a code far superior to the one that's already inserted. he sets both the old code up against his newly formed one, checking the difference, but he's added much more compared to the segment he's looking at. ]

I'll set this to the side... It says this code has been here since...

[ the way i'd have to find your old thread, but imagine that he says it aloud. ]

[ Ranger nods in agreement. It's not what he wants to run off of. It's far too messy, and not at all like the delicate and precise work that had been done for his creation, but at the end of the day he was the only one here and it's been able to get the job done. No issues have arisen this far, and Midori will do a good enough job of patching it up that he he doesn't feel any need to worry about any complications moving forward. It's a bit odd having someone fuss over him so these days, even a tough nostalgic.

Either way, he seems to content to let Midori get all of the complaints, concerns, and dramatics all out of his system without offering any further disagreement. It's all true enough. The possibility of complications arising at a later date from the newly added code were high enough that he'd flagged it as a risk, and with him having lacked proper maintenance for months, it is something of a relief to listen to somebody go over every little detail in such a precise manner. ]

Right, I'm the only one of us that's shown up since the start of the school year... It's not up to our standards, but beggars can't be choosers.

[ He lets out a little sigh. It's not like he's ungrateful, but if one of them had shown up sooner, it certainly would have been different. He leans forward a little more to see what Midori is working on, holding up the open-mouthed grin card as he does so. It's been there for several months now, and it doesn't seem that there's been any real issues - a hiccup here and there, as always happens with new codes, but nothing his system can't easily repair and rewrite on the fly.

Then the new code is... ]

Your code? Ah, it's a lot more detailed.

[ Not quite the same, but similar enough that he can recognize it as an adapted version of it. It's a sketch that will be transformed into a priceless piece of art, but nothing out of the ordinary by their standards. It's arelief to see after all this time. ]

[ with their conversation about code, and who has been here to even work on him allows midori to actually take in the craftsmanship of the piece that needs to work on. not unlike harp strings, even piece has a date of when it was set into place, and he can see it within the code that needs to be tinkered with. if there's any nicks, or parts starting to come undone at the edges, it's up to him to ensure that the part is replaced, or mended so that it doesn't break down. that way, once taken care of, this code can play a beautiful melody, and ranger can work perfectly, in harmony with the other instruments walking about.

now this part of the code isn't a perfect string, but it stands out against the others— any cloudy or darker strings are meant to be checked in harp language all the while ranger looks over the version he's made already. ]

The old code has two thought processes, if I were to pull them apart...

[ he has to understand what a person was thinking first when they were building their code, and breaking it apart on his laptop is the next best thing. he knows that himeko inaba was one, but when he smacks a few pieces to the side, the make-up of the style starts to become familiar to him. it's like two minds laced together comfortably, a mutual understanding of what they wanted to go for. ]

Himeko... and... [ midori's eyes light up (literally), a soft green until they die down to their normal, jarring jade as he almost seems a tad impressed, so that's why this all feels a little familiar. ] That is my fault, because I teased, the conversation managed to move without learning who the other student was to work on your code.

[ the foundation is how midori used to work, and only so many people would know that, and as it grows, the walls are all probably from both freelance work, and what inaba knew in terms of coding that are put together. now that he's able to see it for what it truly is, and he doesn't stop nitpicking, but he'll nod as far as acknowledgement. he's learning even after all that time apart, but his little stunt before his death was only a start. ]

What a lucky first joint project between Himeko and Shin! Ah...

[ his name rolls off midori's tongue in an awkward place, ] But he must like being called "Sou" here, hm?

[ he knows himself that ranger doesn't care, and will refer to them as their dead names, the ones that they can no longer relive due to necessary changes between them both all for the sake of the game.

well, he might as well ask because this is important, and with a wide smile: ]

So! [ expectant! ] What did they both think of your code?

[ positive things, he's sure. getting the chance to touch it, it honestly must have made their heart's skip! ]

[ It comes as no surprise when Midori catches onto who the other player was, and it goes without saying that without Shin's assistance she would have struggled to learn it properly. Komaeda has a greater advantage than either of them both due to his experience and his good luck in being taught by Ranger. He has no death game to prepare for, no need to adjust his position, and can only benefit from the other knowing more about him.

It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, one in which they'll never get again due to the measures he's put into place to ensure it's not necessary for him, and a dream come true for anyone who cares about such matters. ]

Right. He's still using that name.

[ Or rather he's still using the name that he'd taken to try and make himself into what he saw as a more confident and able person, and maybe now it could be said to be an attempt at living as someone separate from that ideal too. But Hiyori is the way he is due to a lifetime of cultivating a specific personality, one that no other can replicate. The opposite might be said of Ranger, who continues to reject a name which would denote him as the perfect creation ASUNARO had dreamed of. It hardly matters in this place where names are easily discerned and bear no weight to anyone other than the person.

He searches his memories for the reactions he'd been offered. His memories from that time are scattered. There's gaps in time, and some of the data was corrupt in places. He's able to pull that one up though, and it's relatively in tact. ]

Well, Shin reacted the way anyone would. Harai, Namida, and Gashu do flawless work... Ahaha, well, until he realized it was incomplete anyway. It was sorta like looking at a priceless painting that somebody punched a hole through.

[ It's a breathtaking experience, life changing even, until they see the damage wrought and their heart shatters and their stomach falls through. Just as his code would astound anyone who takes pride in such work, it would be physically painful to see an incomplete project. ]

As for the other one...

[ He flips to the ice cream cone, frowning behind it. He would praise her work for what it is, but there's a definitely displeasure as he amends his assessment, ]

Kids these days are so arrogant. No eye for quality at all. I think "bloated" was the word she used.

No, no, no...

[ dramatically, almost cartoonish, midori's head drops down at what's said going from pleased to absolutely stunned that an important project was marked off as bloated. is that how eyes see a work that had so much time and effort placed into, especially when this is the ultimate project of asunaro next to the majority game next. asunaro's namesake feeds into everything that was rio ranger — laizer — whoever he was meant to be at that time. though midori had his own plans, their own time and patience mixed with days bygone is what led to their success, and discoveries. even he knew that though he did nothing to stop what prattle came in their decision with removing or forcing more emotions than another.

off in the side, midori played with the idea of love with maple as his subject.

that means to hear that a code that took years to work on was bloated when it was only missing an important piece truly downs midori's spirits— he thinks... he might cry. it's offensive to his company and to him who is part of the company. as someone raised to be part of asunaro's objective, there's just this nagging sensation at the back of his head that rubs him the wrong way; but there's no need to cry over spilled milk with a child who possibly lacks the qualifications to be let in. ]

That's to be expected of Shin, [ he's right, there's no need to correct shin, and should be obvious. ] but she couldn't see the value? ...He at least told her how prized it is, right?

[ right? like he's begging for shin to do so, though that time has passed, and if he was working on it too... then he can't expect much when shin's the type to get annoyed if his focus is split on something important. him and midori are alike in that regard, considering he too has to think and hates to be bothered when doing so.

his head snaps back into place, up and proper to stare at ranger. ]

Ah... that girl. Her name is quite cute, but a group of people under her reign... [ he's silent as he turns his attention to the data before their expertise was needed. ] "Nero fiddled while Rome burned."

[ but inaba is no nero claudius caesar augustus germanicus. ]

I... am so saddened, but Shin's keen eye for detail has cheered me up some. [ sometimes a quiver in his voice too make midori happy, but there's no need to say that. ] His every input was given much thought, but I couldn't leave this in long term and sleep peacefully at night.

[ even more because inaba looked down upon their code, and he contemplates even keeping her next to theirs. ]

[ It's a ridiculous, exaggerated gesture, but it does well enough in representing Ranger's thoughts on the matter. There's not a single person in that facility who isn't brilliant, there isn't a single line of code that is wasted on any creation of theirs. Hiyori's works are no different. Maple has her quirks, but they're all deliberate and written to perfection. AIs with infinite potential, AIs with a heart, programs that can qualify as human.

He shakes his head. ]

He was too worried about what he was doing.

[ There's no surprise in that. It's easy to get caught up in what one is doing, and humans don't have the ability to split their attention the way that an AI does. Ranger has no such restrictions. ]

I dunno that it would've made much of a difference. It's a kid comparing their scribbles to the Mona Lisa and claiming to be the better artist. That potential of hers is wasted as she is now.

[ It really is a shame. If taken under ASUNARO's wing, those scribbles might become a brilliant art, but they have no need for those who look down on such achievements. But he supposes it to be well enough that at least one of them could appreciate the creation that they were offering additions to. He catches onto those considerations, but he doesn't offer an opinion one way or another. There's no need to leave it, and upgrading and rewriting code is the industry standard, but it's not uncommon for creators to want to simply patch things up and otherwise leave well enough alone.

He trusts his coworker's judgment. ]

... Well, it's not like she'll be working with it again, so it doesn't really matter if she appreciates it. Anyway, it's pretty obvious who wrote what, right? This line isn't bad... This one's pretty messy though...

[ He'll tap the screen at one line, then another. ]

When she grows up, I'm sure she'll become a fine lady.

[ she won't have midori's interest, but maybe it's best that way... he can hope for her future, wondering if she'll be able to remain in society that way, or pushed out due to her rough attitude. like a porcupine with spikes that dig into the flesh of a human that wishes to offer kindness, but perhaps she's never known it? no, that can't be considering her actions about only a special person can call her by her first— she knows what kindness is, but doesn't dare give it.

how awful, and yet that must be how she protects herself. that or a durian, despite the sickly smell that wafts from it after breaking the prickly, outer skin, it's meant to be savory, sweet, and creamy, and he believes she has it in her to be so. ]

That line has had years of thought placed into it, I'm surprised it connected so well here. [ he leans in too, pointing at the one ranger has specified. ] For the second, if it was altered like this...

[ a few taps of keys until he reverses the code, removes a few added inputs, and closes the code earlier than what was shown. ] There would have been no need to drag it out, you'll have your own mood swing simulator if left like this.

[ nothing like maple's, but her set up was designed for a purpose, but if ranger had kept this, then it would eat and tear at itself. ]

Are you attached to the base of their code? I could keep it the same, but you'll feel tight in some places. Hmmm...!! Like a Gastric Bypass.

[ but for feelings, because he'll have to get used to exposing them slowly. it's not a step by step, but he'll be adjusting where things felt a bit shaky? he doesn't want ranger on a rocky foundation. ]

[ His nose wrinkles at the mention of mood swings. It had been difficult enough to adjust to the change in his code, and the erratic moods that adjusting to such a sudden change had been quite enough for him. But the fact that it's unpleasant to think of doesn't make it any less true, and he supposes that the way it was written influenced his adjustment as much as anything. It's nonetheless preferable to what he had heard of his own end. ]

It's just code.

[ Every piece of him is code, just letters and numbers pieced together in just the right way to replicate all those features and behaviors allow a person to be called a "human," but one can't grow emotionally attached to chars and syntax any more than they can neurons and chemicals. If the human brain could be rewired to work more efficiently with such ease, Ranger is certain that anyone would do so.

...

There's no reason anyone should be attached to him. ]

It's basically a beginner's project, and it had to be thrown together pretty quickly, so it's bound to be scrapped and redone at some point or another.

[ It's not an insult, but a certain kind of respect, as any programmer worth their salt would go back to inspect, review, and rewrite such a piece after some time had passed. ]

Yeppers...! Just code. Then we can work properly.

[ for someone with emotions, who knew if maybe he had grown attached. it's all up to midori now, so he holds no attachment to the set up that's presented to him. personally, he wants to remove it entirely, and ensure that a more safer option is input instead. coding is an art in itself, and some are able to become the mona lisa if adjusted and taken care of much like asunaro when building up ranger from when he was a small div. those characters didn't mean much at the time, because anyone could have come to the same format, but years and years went by until something greater was formed.

midori looks up at ranger, a brief pause in his actions, and he accepts it pretty well. ]

They should have a copy. [ all people do when it comes to their projects, and though loathe he is to say it when he doesn't want them holding onto anything. ] I'll remove it.

[ if needed, he can give them it back for them to work on at a later date.

as emotions go, he'll be gentle with the coding, and make it more than just a gastric bypass, and create a skeleton that can be used to move around with. it'll be his new bones, and his skin will have to adjust to it which sounds appropriately fun for what asunaro is all about. ]

For a perfect edit... I need to see the moment that you came here.

[ he scrolls down a few years, checking the coding and... there's quite the negative upbeats there. ]

Your entrance wasn't too pretty either, I see.

[ ... ]

[ If they were more amenable, Ranger would suggest that he teach them the process of writing it, but he suspects neither would have any interest. It's enough to make a copy. Their hard work isn't undone, nor their efforts erased, but used as the foundation for something better. If he were more tactful and emotional, he might think to suggest that all parties involved should want what's best for him.

He's relatively quiet, accepting what's said in the same way a patient might listen to a doctor's assessment. He'll be given a new, tighter code, something that will run more fluid and fill in some of the gaps that are always left on the first round of attempts. It's like being given a new lease on life once more, just as he had been multiple times since arrival. How fortunate Ranger is, then, to have retained himself throughout all this.

He places his free hand on his knee, tapping it with his index finger. ]

Nope, wasn't meant to just get dropped in a place like this with no oversight... You looking over everything?

[ There's plenty to find in his logs, including a few things he's certain that his coworker won't care for. ]

Everything would be a pretty big project, and that would span a few days.

[ maybe a week if he wants to do it how he likes, meticulously picking at code to reshape certain areas that stand out, or trim what's already frail so that it seems to collapse by the lightest touch. but with enough firmware and adblockers, a few more protective coding actingbas the skin then it'll be fine.

ah, even a cute game comes to mind as he thinks on it. ]

I want to see how the beginning went, that led to this, and I'll fix the margins that lead into the rest.

[ so from ranger's entrance to when shin and inaba did his code which isn't too big of a gap. he surmises that ranger acquired that information early in when arriving to yogen, especially with how this big turning point was during november.

he shouldn't leave everything unchecked, but he is identifying the problems in his emotions first and foremost. ]

I want the water to run down a stream with few rocks, or like a waterfall... that's how fluid your code will be once I fix their work.

[ you can't fix art, but he can take what was placed and paint over it with new colors that pop and stand out, emotions are just the same that deserve a bit of liveliness. ]

Do you see anything interesting with the beginning of your code?

[ the parts that reject searching for pathways that didn't exist. ]

[ ...

If he's not attached to the code that's been added since then, he is nonetheless designed to be object to changes to what constitutes as his core. No small amount of effort was put into his creation, and he's ever protective of that. That is likely not his intention, no more than it would be Ranger's intention to muck around with Maple's code, but some part of him prickles nonetheless. But it's difficult for him to refuse the offer, as there are simply parts that were modified bgefore his creation that will need to be tweaked one more in order to run seamlessly.

He sighs. ]

I an tell you which likes need to be retooled.

[ Those words are cool, but not entirely dismissive. He blows out a sigh before rattling off lines of code, followed by relevant log entries - what didn't connect properly, what timestamps should be relevant, and so on and so forth. It should be easy to see the steady progression from his arrival here. Connections and favorable experiences changed his calculus, pulled on things that weren't meant to be pulled upon, and over time that built up until some forbidden knowledge hit his system.

Forbidden knowledge, then the forbidden fruit, because he was never meant to know what he could have been any more than he was intended to love.

His summary stops just before summary. ]

... That should be about it... There's been her minor issues, but my system has remained otherwise stable. Everything has operated within normal parameters; no anomalies detected past that date, no changes recorded...

[ In other words, don't pry. Unfortunately though, he can't say there was no manual input past that point though, not when Komaeda manually shut him down in February. What had happened after that? He's not sure, but he trusts that there was no possibility of him waking up.

...

He really didn't want to die. ]

I see... during this timeframe, you were trying to pull on emotions not yet inserted.

[ the more positive ones which he points at as they converse, showing them to ranger as he makes a note of them down a sheet of paper close by. as they're listed one by one, he makes a guess of what positive emotion it might have been that got rejected, and how long the feelings extended in one spot for how many minutes. it's something he'd need to register anyway in order to get an idea of how often they came when he didn't know what they were, and then how often he connected to them once he was fixed— did it come freely, was it smooth, perhaps there were a few kinks... he has to check. ]

You must have seen good things during then! It's a great thing to know that it wasn't taken from you completely...

[ positive emotions, though, that's the delusions someone who doesn't understand would speak. he knows it's because since it couldn't pull on negative then what was it meant to pull at? the code would pull at what it should, and grasp at something that it can't, but if they wanted to add a kinder narrative then they can say it wasn't all taken from him. it would be sweet, cotton candy soft, but the downside of confection like that is condensation is enough to make it disappear just like that... the idea doesn't hold up for so long. ]

But...! But...! Would you like to tell me the first time you found yourself pulling at code not there, or tell me what manual inputs that you've had done?

[ that's important in hearing what else has been done to ranger, and it would be sloppy if midori hadn't noticed it. though, he's typed up a good amount on the side of the code he's tinkering around with in his efforts to try and match what's already there. he's got a good amount already done as he pulls away from his keyboard to grab the beverage he's already made a dent in. reaching for the knob on a drawer, he pulls it open so that a rolled napkin is pulled out for him to set on the table. unfurling it, a plastic spoon is tucked away inside for him to hand over to ranger. ]

These are important inquiries to ensure you're taken care of properly. I won't get upset.

[ he won't get upset. he won't get upset. ]

[ It wouldn't been wrong to say that it wasn't completely taken away from him, but perhaps it would have been less cruel if it were. There would be no need for his system to pull and pull, no constant reminder of how empty he was, no need to differentiate himself from humans. He frowns a little behind the ice cream cone as Hiyori questions him, trying to decide what he's looking for. ]

The first time? That would be around the time of my arrival. Sara used the name "Laizer," and she made it sound like I was supposed to be a different person.

[ He'll give a timestamp and exact amount of time after his arrival that they spoke, followed by a summary of the changes that were made in order to patch his code before completing it.

The reported changes end in late December. If Midori cares enough to dig through every line and change in his log, however, he'll certainly notice one tucked away in February 2000. A manual shutdown carried out by an "Authorized User," though no name is attached, a term reserved for a scarce few.

It's not as though a shutdown is an automatic death for a doll, no more than a coma is for a human, but the fact that he needs to be manually booted up once more makes it a vulnerable position for them.

Is he hiding it? Not quite. It's more likely that he doesn't think that it warrants mention, given that it has no bearing on how his code functions. He answers questions precisely, even a bit too literally at times, skipping over irrelevant data. ]

That would be concerning.

[ being told a different name but having no recollection of it, and whether sara had told ranger the lore behind it or not, that does make things awkward. on the day of midori's arrival, he said the same name as well, but the doll took it in stride to correct him with the ranger name, and so that's a telltale sign that it doesn't bother him emotionally anymore. he's attached to the name he knew himself as. ]

Miss Sara does have a habit of ensuring names get around! "Kuro", yours, mine...

[ though, that was a callout made by shin, but same difference.

he doesn't linger on it though as he's too interested in the data that had tried to be swept under the rug, a february log that doesn't seem familiar or spoken about. at first, it raises a brow, but then as he places the spoon and drink in front of ranger for him to partake in; midori gasps— shocked, actually. audible enough that he should have caught himself, imperfect in personality, but that shred of disbelief and concern that would be imaginable with the finding that he's stumbled upon.

just what is this! ]

Authorized user? What authorized user! You said Harai-chan and Namida-chan never...!!

[ this is so much to take in! clears his throat, whoopsie. ] ...

[ he looks left. ]

...

[ he looks right. ]

...

[ he looks to the cot where i forgot komaeda was sitting, but it's fine, he'll dementia out midori's shortcomings. he goes to stand up, but the table stops him as he hits his knees against the underside which brings him back to sitting down — the table shaking the drink and other little accessories, but nothing falls.

...

...

how unflattering. ]

[ That's right, Sara had chosen a name for him to use during the Death Game as well. It's a shame. He should have chosen a cute name for himself the way that the other two did, then they could have matched. There's no helping it in this place though, where what name he used during the game is moot. Hiyori is Hiyori, and so long as they're outside of the game he can use no other name, just as he won't let anyone else keep it. Ranger has decided on this and so there's no other option as far as he's concerned. He doesn't like the idea of somebody else naming him like he's a pet.

Ranger twirls the spoon in his hand as he watches before taking a spoonful of the drink placed in front of him. It's sweeter than he would like, but everything that his colleague has is, and he can't quite repress the little snicker as he watches the undignified display of shock and confusion. It's too serious for that, but it's always a treat to see that perfect face of his fall - it's like a little reminder that he's still human, and it's a sight reserved for those who know him best.

He takes another spoonful as he thinks on how to answer that question. No matter how he does, Hiyori will probably be annoying about it. ]

Sheesh... Calm down, you're gonna hurt yourself.

[ Well, he won't, but he'll probably knock something over. ]

Anyway, they haven't been here. It happened during a school trip... It looks like there was a timer, ahaha, since they just up and killed everyone at the end. Can't say I expected that part.

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