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interrobang

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interrobang

universe mechanics pt 1

about functions

about protectors

about supervisors

universe mechanics pt 2

where do they all come from?

interrobang characters

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about interrobang: it is the universe that me and zac created. it originated as a sanders sides roleplay (started back in august 2020, jesus), and still has roots in that, but has expanded into something largely seperate apart from the idea of funny little guys in your head representing stuff. except now it's a dystopian society of little guys doing full fledged jobs.

so everyone in our world, real human world on earth, has little guys in their head that perform functions central to their person. these functions vary wildly, from representing emotions (think inside out) or mental health issues, religion or ideology, interests, and more. it depends on the person and how their mind is sort of.. organized, you know? the quantity of facets/functions/sides/whatever also varies.

anyways, so you have the little guys that represent aspects of a person's character and identity. cool. they live in sort of... a not-quite-real space in the mind of their "host" (not to be confused with a host in systems/plural folks, the functions aren't alters) which, again, depends on the person. some have a house, others just wilderness, an apartment building, whatever makes most sense. generally each mindscape will have a "sandbox" of sorts where ideas can be made and stuff (not always strictly run by a creative or imaginative aspect).

the sandbox is generally some kind of extra world with varying levels of fantasy that they can use to explore ideas, imagination, and abstract concepts. someone who is, say, artistically inclided, might have an imaginative facet that interacts with the sandbox the most in a sort of fantasy worldbuilding type way to brainstorm new ideas, or might have functions that represent emotions that interact with it more (like someone who primarily makes art to vent feelings), or even an acedemics/logic based side might use the space, think architects or mathmaticians with all their weird abstract numbers and problems. whatever works best.

someone's facets and such may change over time as they grow. generally children have more simplistic functions that represent basic ideas or emotions, straightforward stuff. there is no real set list of functions. it's whatever. as they develop and have more complex personalities, these functions might either change for a side, or the side themself will "fade" (essentially die, but its a specific process) and be replaced by the new one. an example of this would be, say "feelings" as a function splitting into more specific emotions, or shifting into a more nuanced view of emotions and which ways that affects other parts of the host. "feelings" turning into "justice" or "ethics" or a more specific quality of those feelings like "ardor" or "apathy".

sides can't die from physical attack, if their body dies then they simply wake up in whatever they consider their space (typically a bedroom) with body intact other than a new scar and some missing memories from the last hour or so. fading really the only way a side can truly die, which is when they are seperated from their function and end up disappearing as a result (since they only exist because of the host, regardless of the rest). this is usually a slow process, and quite a bit unpleasant. sides can also force this as a sort of suicide, but it's very difficult to do and most don't even know it's possible.

generally what functions a host has as sides is regulated by the mindscape itself, which, although not sentient, changes things in order to maintain a sort of homeostasis and congruence with the host and the facets. what if this goes wrong, or the sides need more specific help?

that's where protectors come in. protectors take care of a given mindscape, like how a principality angel is sort of in charge of a certain area. unlike the sides they have no particular link to the host, but rather help oversee the aspects and take care of them, make sure things run smoothly with a keener and faster eye than the mindscape itself can provide. they also have two distinct differences from sides: they can compel, as in, force information or actions out of someone (if they aren't strong enough to resist it), and two, they eat memories.

since protectors aren't really a 'species' of any sort, just rather a role that a whole lot of different people and monsters and animals play, those are also the only two unifying factors. different protectors might have different diets, a preference in a certain kind of memory or emotion attached to that memory. stories and general knowledge acts as a... less efficient substitute. protectors can survive on stories alone, but they need to have a lot more of them.

ideally, protectors don't just indiscriminately take memories, as that will obviously cause damage to the sides and the mindscape, but have a little bit of both. it's a cooperative deal. sides sometimes have things they don't need to remember or want to remember, or things they're willing to let protectors take, and otherwise stories work inbetween. this also means that being literate is incredibly incredibly important for a protector's wellbeing, or otherwise having some way of getting access to a lot of information.

when memories are eaten they don't go away, but rather stay in the mind of the protector in a more... second-hand fashion. therefore, these memories can start to hurt the protector over time because it muddles their own knowledge of themself and what's important. also, sometimes they need help sorting things out, or a little bit more power to get things done.

there are supervisors of the protectors, who handle a few cases of protector and mindscape and are meant to make sure the protectors do their job well. these guys can compel more effectively than protectors and also have the ability to sometimes pick up on knowledge and information just by nature of wanting it hard enough. they're not omniscient by any means, it acts more as a... really intuitive gut instinct. they also feed on memories, and can help sort things out so that protectors don't get overwhelmed with too many. these guys have a much better tolerance for memories, and a better... how should i phrase this. they're better at digesting them? as in, the memories don't affect them as much and they're generally more filling. these guys have a better ability to comparmentalize or even just let memories they ate go away, and so the higher overall stability allows them to keep a closer eye on more things without being overwhelmed.

unfortunately for everyone involved, supervisors and protectors are little shits and often take way more memories than they need to, which leads to a lot of fighting in general. the facets in mindscapes are largely unaffected by this, though sometimes it may hurt their protector (which makes things a bit rocky for them) or means they switch supervisors a few times throughout the host's lifetime. supervisors and protectors do die, and in terms of literal time they have a lifespan of a couple hundred years at most. however, that is not how they classify age.

age is less of a marker of time existing and more a marker of how much memories and knowledge you hold. it adds up. if, say, an irresponsible protector just completely takes all of someone's memories (which is referred to as wiping), they basically get the entire age of that person and the amount of time's worth of memories they had added to them. a higher age generally means more experience, but moreso it's used as a signifier of power and a way to get others to leave you alone (it's a bit intimidating). for protectors, it's also a pretty good indicator of how stable they're going to be, as too many memories that aren't theirs really starts to mess with their heads.

supervisors and protectors don't always take those strict roles, though. there are supervisors that serve to help other ones out with managing their cases and settling custody disputes of mindscapes/protectors (generally protectors are paired up with supervisors). these are referred to as head supervisors. there might be supervisors that specialize in certain areas. an example of this is Scarlet, a supervisor who helps in the safe and comfortable passing of mindscapes with hosts who are dying, or unstable mindscapes that are going to need to completely reset with new sides and such. a home and hospice supervisor, essentially. some play rather mundane jobs (which isn't viewed as 'lesser', if anything they're more respected for not going the easy route) like helping to maintain the office.

the office is the colliqual term for the dimension that supervisors and protectors exist in. it's the same one that mindscapes do, but they're disconnected. the human world can affect the office and mindscapes, but the office cant really affect the human world. if things got so bad that it started to make the human world go down hill, the sides, protectors, and supervisors would stop being able to function right and likely die. so, it's in their best interest that things run as smooth as can be managed.
the office does look... a bit like an office? if you squint. there is the main area, which is essentially an endless looping space of furniture and papers and whatever the supervisors and protectors need. in this space are sort of waypoints, hard set locations. like the library, which helps manage old information and stories, or domains, which are areas specially controlled by someone. usually by a supervisor, in rare cases a protector.

the laws of biology and general space physics don't really... apply, in the dimension of the office and mindscapes. teleporting is an ability that even sides have, either randomly or to specific locations they can remember (but not to certain people). pretty much anything can be summoned, and physical forms can kind of just be whatever. sides look human and mostly similar to their host in terms of race/gender/age/general features, but the specifics differ. such rules don't apply to protectors and supervisors, which can be whatever the fuck they want. there is a bit of a size limit (nothing bigger than like, an elephant), but thats about the only limit.

protectors and supervisors generally start with a form and then can either keep it or change it with enough time and effort. this is incredibly normal, and an expected part of growing up. some use labels like transgender when they change that, but it's more of a personal preference thing and phsyical descriptors don't hold the same weight. looking totally human is actually a bit more unsettling than being a monster, because... well, why would you? why would you let yourself be so vulnerable? what are you hiding? but yeah, that's about it. discrimination based on appearance isn't a thing, at least not beyond everyone collectively trying to intimidate eachother since every supervisor and protector are essentially both predator and prey. there are disabled supervisors who still scare the hell out of people just as well as the rest, and they are fucking awesome. why would someone be disabled when they could literally be anything? i say why the fuck not, i'm disabled and my friends are and it's cool to see my guys represent that. so they can be and they're awesome as hell for it.

you may be wondering how supervisors and protectors come to exist, since they don't have a strict connection to people that makes them appear like sides do. now, there are two ways someone can become part of the office. one is that a side is turned into a protector (sides cannot immediately become supervisors) and stops performing their function as a part of their host to work in the office. this isn't very common, only happening in edge cases. the most common way is this:

because memories are what makes up a protector/supervisor's entire being, with nothing physical to tie them down, reproduction doesn't work in a strictly asexual or sexual way. rather, if memories or knowledge is left lying around in some physical way, and there's a lot of them close together, as long as they are left alone for long enough there's a chance that a protector will emerge, a sum of those memories and knowledge put together into something conscious. this is easiest if there's a lot of closely related information together that would make a more cohesive base for an identity, so it's most often to happen in archives/filing spaces or libraries. the protectors don't have the literal memories that made them up, but rather those memories act as a blueprint for the protector's intital demeanour, appearance, and identity. in this way, it is technically possible to deliberately 'reproduce' sexually or asexually if one were to intentionally put away a bunch of memories together from one or more people. this doesn't have the same genetic/social link that normal reproduction has, and it isn't a common practice.

in a similar fashion, romantic and sexual relationships don't carry the same weight on a cultural scale. that doesn't stop folks from dating or getting it on, but on a societal level the focus is more on having fun, eating food (memories), and not getting wiped by some dumbass. friends and relationships are an added bonus.
having connections like that is beneficial, though. one is more likely to get a more powerful postition in charge of more people if one has backup of sorts. folks aren't really looking to have to deal with fighting with a bunch of supervisors or protectors, so if someone has a lot of relationships that would make them a hard target they are safer. even if otherwise someone would have picked them off a long time ago.

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interrobang characters

now, i do have some limitations on what i can and cannot say, as this is an ongoing story and i'd hate to spoil anything for my writing partner, but i am more than happy to talk about what is already established and isn't something i'm saving for later. if there isn't a hyperlink on their name i haven't gotten to writing about them, yet.
also, due to the nature of this originally starting out as a sanders sides roleplay, they are present in certain character's stories. neither zac or i created logan, janus, remus, virgil, roman, or patton.

LIAM'S PROTECTORS
timmy - protector - he/him
amira - protector - they/them
oisin - protector - he/she
sweeney - protector - they/them
morgan - protector - she/they
jamie - protector - it/its
nedia - protector - she/her
caled - protector - he/him
pipper - protector - she/her

MAIN SUPERVISORS
liam - supervisor - he/him
charlie - head supervisor - he/she/they/etc.
beckett - supervisor - he/it
scarlet - hospice supervisor - she/her
x - supervisor - she/her
imp - assistant supervisor - it/its
lewis - maintenence supervisor - he/him
ruth - supervisor - she/her
andy - supervisor - he/him

OTHER PROTECTORS
sail - protector - she/her
gale - protector - she/her
zia - protector - ze/zim
mi - protector - she/her
bunny - protector- he/him

OTHER SUPERVISORS
eden - supervisor - he/him
helena - supervisor - she/her
kevin - mediation & maintenance supervisor - he/him

ARCHIVES
farren - head archivist - he/she
silver - assistant archivist - she/her

ruth

this is the story of a young girl. ruth was a supervisor. she wasn't a supervisor for long, really, she wasn't much of anything.
she came about the usual way: ambitious and bright eyed. she loved all things bugs. she brushed along a few different paths, all just as fleeting and shortlived as the life cycle of flies. she worked maintenance, running errands for anyone who would give her a chance. but it was hard, you see, always being under someone else's control. no one does well under a microscope, least of all an ant.
what she noticed, though, is the freedom supervisors had. they were safe. she saw how they could make their own rules, protect themselves. she decided that she wanted that, too. this was not an uncommon dream. but ruth was resourceful. while running her errands she started to take notes, write down names and sneak some slips of paper with good info to just the right people. she was building her chrysalis. some bribes and trades later she had a foot in the door, paperwork filed with a long list of reccomendations, a request to get access to that coveted role.

the head supervisor never held particular interest in making sure to dot all "i"s and cross all "t"s, and when she saw the face of an old woman and a long resume of experience, he didn't bother to check if the experience was real or what, exactly, her age was. sometimes people can't help but make false assumptions. and so ruth blossomed, paper wings unfurling and ready to fly.

even so, the magnifier wasn't gone just yet. poor, desperate ruth never bothered to learn about the danger supervisors experience, a constant bribe on their head from someone or other. no, she wasn't yet free, she needed resources. she needed protection. she used her tried and true strategy of dressing up paperwork and had some success. she had two strong protectors, both over twice her age, who bickered and were at eachothers throats every chance they got. she had no real authority over them, no. both of them saw her for what she was, treated her as a bid for freedom just as she treated them as theirs. they knew she couldn't stop them, so why bother listening? she just wanted to hide, somewhere damp and dark with the comfort of the bottom of a rock. not yet. she was so, so close.

someone needs to hold a magnifying glass, tilt the light just so as it refracts and focuses. and that someone went by the name william trianle. now, he has his own story, and he is truly a kind man, but that is not where he comes to play in this narrative. no, here he is jealous. he is jealous because one of her protectors is amira, a clever little bird who used to be good friends with him. furthermore, amira's mindscape was having trouble, their negligence (another story) catching up to them and coming to a head. ruth didn't know what to do, and really even if she tried she couldn't make them do anything.

trianle wanted his friend, his protector, back. he wanted their mindscape under his custody. he didn't know ruth's situation, that she needed these resources to survive. she was getting desperate. she needed to make a bid to get him away, to get him to stop trying to take what little she had. she wasn't a stranger to doing bad things to survive, and in the office it was often par for the course. so she wiped amira. not entirely, no, but enough to take their bond to william away. she hoped that would be enough. it wasn't enough. if anything it made him more insistant. so she tried to leverage him. it worked before, no? she took what he had as defense and stole it with the knowledge she gained from amira, tried to use it as a bargaining chip.
instead, he focused the magnifying glass just so, and in his utter rage they fought and she died. immolated under the light. no one really missed her. she never did much. but that is her story.

charlie and liam

liam started out working in a section of the memory archives, where he met charlie - his assistant at the time, after he accidentally scared off his first one by talking too firmly. they soon became incredibly close, and by the time they get considered to leave the archives they were both painfully in love.

through a mix of methodical work ethic and making sure quite a few people owed him favors, liam was very quickly offered an upgrade from archivist to head supervisor. he would have taken the role gladly, if not for the fact he thought that charlie was interested in one of the other head supervisors and wanted to give them a better shot at getting to know her. so, charlie ended up getting a role that he was frankly woefully unprepared for, and liam became a regular old supervisor.

around this point they lost contact with each other for a long time other than letters and such, because charlie had no idea where liam was located, and liam was so caught up in his work he never got a chance to let them know (and didn't want to rekindle the feelings for them he had worked so hard to ignore). what did end up happening, instead of trying to find his partner, liam started taking in some kids (protectors, facets, whoever) and teaching them the ropes. skip a couple decades and he has a lovely little family going with his funky little kids, and he has a pretty good schtick.

through (kidnapping) coming across one of these kids charlie gets back into contact with liam, who in turn regretfully lets them stay - those feelings from the archives sadly didn't go away overnight.

skipping over some fights, pouting, and bribing (charlie) and negotiating, protecting, and attempting to get the other to leave (liam) the pair ended up settling down with a compromise. charlie could stay and bother liam as much as xey like, but they are not allowed in proximity of any of his protectors without being supervised (charlie traumatised two of liam's protectors already, out of nine, so they don't have a good streak in that regard).

with that in mind they end up warming up to each other again, liam letting himself take breaks and charlie's forcing of those breaks becoming less and less- well, forceful. and, at some point, they fall back in love. of course without an archive or a boss to stop them, liam upgrades yet again - from a single dad of nine to a taken dad of nine + an idiot.

a lovely idiot though, and as their story progresses charlie figures out how to adapt to liam's parenting style with his kids, and liam grows to trust them and learn to take a step back, allowing his protectors to learn alone sometimes. even if it leads to more accidents than learning - it's the experience that counts.