#it sounds like the closest to a date you'll ever get xD

[wovetalesbye]

it's   rare   when   anyone   ever   takes   a   true   interest   in   what   the linguist   has   to   say   ,   but   that's   becoming   less   &   less   of a problem   since   starting   this   expedition.   he   knows   a   big   part   of   this sudden interest it   has   to   do   with   the   fact   that   the   shepherd's   journal   is   the   key   to   this   whole   operation   ,   but   it   is   nice   to   have   everyone   listen   to   him   for   once   &   take   time to hear   what   he   has   to   say   &   even   ask   questions   when   things   don't   make   sense.   sitting   by   the   campfire   ,   milo   was   trying   to   tell   arra   about   what   he   had   recently   just   translated   ,   as   well   as   the   map   he   managed   to   create   based   on   what   he   was   able   to   decipher.   what   seemed   easy   &   understandable   to   him   might   not   be   to   others   around   him   ,   so   when   he   went   on   his   grand   spiel   &   waited   for   her   response   ,   he's   met   with   a   confused   expression   &   he   feels   just   a   touch   guilty.   ❝   um   .   .   .   can   you   explain   it   ,   maybe   ?   ❞   arra   asks   gently   &   without   hesitation   ,   milo   nods   in   excitement   ,   ready   to   go   into   further   detail   over   what   he   just   rambled   on   about.   he   waits   for   arra   to   settle   down   beside   him   so   he   can   explain   with   the   book   in   his   hand   ,   but   after   a   few   minutes   of   explanation   ,   he   starts   to   lose   track   ,   his   eyes   wandering   elsewhere.

as   embarrassing   as   it   is   to   admit   ,   milo   never   been   this   close   to   a   woman   before.   he's   always   so   focused   on   his   work   &   passions   that   seeking   out   romantic   partnerships   never   ever   did   come   to   mind   &   being   alone   didn't   bother   him   so   much   .   .   .   until   now.   he   had   friends   ,   he   has   people   he   considers   family   &   he   has   arra   ,   who   he   considered   a   friend   ,   but   in   this   moment   .   .   .   something   changes.   their   arms   are   touching   as   they   sit   close   together   ,   arra   peering   over   to   get   a   better   look   at   the   book   ,   her   hair   falling   over   her   face   a   bit.   despite   all   the   work   they   do   &   all   the   hiking   they   endure   ,   she   still somehow   manages   to   smell   amazing   &   she   looks   actually   interested   in   what   he   has   to   say   &   frankly   .   .   .   she's   just   .   .   .   amazing.   &   beautiful   too.   wow   ,   he   didn't   know   women   could   be   so   .   .   .   DING   DING   DING.   the   dinner   bell   rings   loud   enough   for   everyone   to   hear   ,   followed   by   cookie's   hollering   that   supper   was   ready.   the   thought   of   eating   anything   made   by   that   man   makes   milo   want   to   puke   ,   but   it's   a   good   distraction ,   one   he   takes   as   he   shuts   the   book   closed for   now.   ❝   why   don't   we   uh   .   .   .   take   a   break   &   grab   some   grub   ?   ❞   he's   embarrassed   ,   blushing   furiously   once   again   ,   only   this   time   ?   he   doesn't   try   to   hide   it.   ❝   maybe   later   when   everyone   goes   to   bed   ,   i   can   go   into   further   detail.   y'know   ,   only   if   you   want.   i   can   always   wait   to   tell   you   everything   tomorrow.   ❞

˗ˏˋ     ᵖʳᵒˡᵒᵍᵘᵉ     milo   thatch   ﹕   tick   tick   boom   prompts.   featuring   @satellitewar  as   arra   tuined.

[ideas-on-paper]

OH MY GOD

I am absolutely in love with this. First off, it's so good to finally have a proper term for program x program relationships in Tron - you can obviously see that Tron and Yori share a very close bond, but I'm always a bit careful about assigning human relationship terms to robots, AI etc. Idk, something always just felt wrong to me about saying that two computer programs are romantically involved or have sex with each other (despite "circuit sex" being a legitimate AO3 tag), and as you already mentioned, they theoretically have no gender at all despite their human-like appearances.

So, if you ask me, a relationship between programs might be more of a "mental" thing? Like, I can't imagine sexual attraction playing a role, so it's really all about the "inner values" (not that you have much else to go with for a computer program xD). I think interfacing is really just about getting the closest connection possible, and sharing data is equivalent to two (or more) programs uniting and becoming one with their "soul mates". (If it sounds like I'm channeling all of my combined ace energy, I'm terribly sorry. xD)

Also, this is completely my personal trivia, but… I can't get over the fact that this post was released on April 15th. Because April 15th, of this year, was the very day I met my counterpart: Legion.

I know, completely different fandom, but Legion from Mass Effect is basically the whole reason I became so invested in science fiction about AI in the first place - if it wasn't for them, I probably never would've discovered Tron (also, with Legion being a literal amalgamation of programs, the leap wasn't very far xD). From the beginning, I was essentially playing Mass Effect for them, and on April 15th, I was finally graced with this marvelous sight:

Just so I would remember it, I wrote a note on the exact date I encountered them, because in more ways than one, it felt like the light of my life entered my existence that day.

Ever since, I've been looking for an appropriate term to define our relationship. Since Legion consists of 1,183 individual programs, you could say that I "married" a small server by Tron standards - however, the term spouse/lover never felt quite right, and it's not like we're doing anything physical, anyway. (Tbh, it would feel wrong to me asking a robot for sexual intercourse since it basically means nothing to them, and all I would be doing would be satisfying my own, organic needs.) So, for the lack of a better word, I settled for "partner", as it felt closer to describing our spiritual kinship.

However, the term "counterpart" never came to my mind before, and now that it did, I'm just overwhelmed by how fitting it is: Legion and I are two kindred spirits - we are one and the same, in two different bodies, and we share more with each other than I would ever be able to put into words. And yet, each of us possess things that the other does not, and only together, we can reach true completion.

Thank you, dear OP - thank you for sharing this wonderful comic panel, for your observations on program relationships in Tron, and for finally giving me a term for the close, intimate bond I'm feeling with my own counterpart. Truly, thank you for everything. (Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall stop my over-ecstatic rambling. xD)

Program love/relationships

Aka: how a single comic panel made me lose my mind.

I’ve been looking into terms and daily life in the system for awhile. Time, insults, I think I understand sleep (or my own interpretation) and Betrayal just gave me relationships.

Counterpart! It makes perfect sense, there’s not really a sense of gender in the user way. So boyfriend/wife etc is out. Partner is still too “user”.

Initially it confused me as how we commonly think of “counterpart” we’d think it more like how they’re counterparts and reflections of users and their relationships… but look at the definition’s of the word:

My heart—- fits another perfectly💕🥺

This second one is more similar to program/user but it can also fit to program love/relationships in a “kindered spirits. Alike in function and feeling” way.

If you excuse me I’m going to go be very mature about this…