#erc things

That, is Button. Button is a byproduct of the Camp Fever Labs experiments when the humans were still trying to understand the Absolute Solver. She was afflicted by the Solver at a young age in her production, so the humans captured her and made her a subject. They forced her to mutate into a grotesque eldritch creature, permanently stunting her growth, so she's physically and mentally 8 years old. The yellow text you see in the image is Edith (SD-E) talking to her. E is basically her unwilling mother figure. She found her inside the labs while hunting, and she couldn't just leave her there. So she hid her from her squad until they eventually found out and tried to kill the both of them, sending them into hiding. So, E is basically forced to raise a questionably unstable robo-child.

In the story, after E betrays the squad, C goes stone-cold and bosses F around, completely flipping her personality F, despite not being the sensible one at first, actually defends E, because he actually did love her back, and he never got to tell her. (you could see the ship in the old squad image,, kinda making this dynamic similar to the Panic AU, where Thad defends Niko against Khan when he didn't know what happened to Uzi, except in a different concept) F knows why E did what she did, but he doesn't tell anyone that. The ask blog takes place before the betrayal. E had already found Button, and is hiding her. Canon ship is between E and F, (dEFect), but the other ones are open to interpretation! Button is a child. I don't ship her with anyone and neither should you!! <3

10 questions, 10 answers!

Button

How much of Button's “childlike” state is genuine innocence vs. Solver-induced instability? It's a mixture of both. It wasn't the Solver that stunted her, it was the forced transformation that did. She's just like any other 8-year-old drone to the untrained eye

Does Button like her eldritch form, or is she scared of it? She hates it. It's involuntary, and it brings back horrible memories. She understands the fact she's seen as a monster, and she sees herself in that like, too.

How can Button speak? She can speak in her Worker form, but her Eldritch form renders her unable to, hence the text you see on her screen.

Edith

What exactly was Edith's role before she found Button? She was part of a three drone squad. S-D F and S-D C . She betrayed them in a way. She regrets it deeply, but she knows they hate her now because of the things she protects.

What was the moment that made Edith decide to protect Button? When she saw that version of herself in her. She has faint memories of living in the Elliot Manor as a worker, and her innocence reminds her of herself before she was turned by CYN.

What’s Edith most afraid of when it comes to Button? That she'll lose the only drone she has left. But mostly the "turning into an eldritch horror and giving away their location" part.

How has Edith changed physically or emotionally since going rogue? She earned the gray streak in her hair. Her runaway and the things she's gone through made her the way she is now. She's grown more keen to her surroundings,, a little too keen. ( Anxiety )

World-Building

What exactly were the humans trying to do with the Absolute Solver? They were trying to understand it.

How common are Solver-mutated beings like Button? She's the only one that survived the tests.

Are there other characters hunting them down now? Yes. Ex-squadmates from the time Edith left, and if Button's survival is known, the entire JcJenson company.

Refs