Merriam S.

Merriam is the head engineer at AJHQ with a specialty in robotics. He does a lot of the more technical work in the company, and if you need him, you can find him in his office...actually, uh, maybe don't find him there. He's not the most attentive when it comes to other people. You're better off talking to his lovely assistant!

Oh, what, he was also formerly Eric's husband? Who fucking cares about that. Get back to work, Jammer.

## Appearance

Merriam has tan skin (though it's paled from years outside of any natural or artificial light) and long, unkempt dark brown hair held back with a blue ribbon, except for his bangs and two locks of hair at either side of his face. He has large blue glasses and a tight frown with protruding canine teeth.

His work outfit consists of a dark button-up and a blue sweater over it, along with his long white lab coat, which he wears outside of work as well. He also has pants and shoes but like, who cares about describing those. After getting his divorce, he has discarded his silver wedding ring...unlike Eric.

## Known Personality

Merriam puts a strong, all-encompassing importance on research and discovery, caring little for anything that doesn't further his own goal of understanding the world around him. Science has been his passion since...well, forever, and he doesn't feel any shame in admitting that. Or any shame at all, really. It's not something he needs to feel, so it's not something he does. What emotions he views as unnecessary are rather easily tossed aside, because for Merriam, his productivity is his greatest asset, and his identity should be formed around that.

He's quiet and reserved in the eyes of others. He seems to sneak around in the shadows, going relatively unseen as he works room-to-room throughout the layers he takes up work in. He's trusted by The Boss, but it's hard to tell why, because nobody really ever sees him. Nobody knows what he's doing. People who seek him out don't typically come back...they just go out looking for the famed scientist that AJHQ holds so dearly, and end up getting lost in the halls.

Most of the world around him, Merriam views as potential experiments, *robots* especially. If he can poke and prod at someone, study their behaviors and their reactions, that's all he really needs from a relationship with them. Robots are a unique case; people are easy to study, but his fixation on the metallic and shiny comes off as near obsessive and deeply uncomfortable. They're coded. They're *predictable*. Unlike people who refuse to adhere to his testing, and have to be dealt with accordingly. Robots are not people. Whether they choose to act like they're people or not, whether they bleed, whether they scream and beg and plead for their lives, they are scrap metal to be torn apart and tested on like anything else. Merriam finds himself better than that.

Generally, he is cold and uninvolved, mostly letting the world pass him by as he continues on with his work. He's deeply unemotional and set in his ways, with very little compassion or empathy for his surroundings. What matters most is his work. If someone can help him with it, he'll accept it. If they can't, they best not involve themself with him.

## Lore

You aren't entitled to know that, Jammer. Run along, now.

## Relationships

### Eric

GOD BLESS DIVORCE. Merriam does not and has never truly viewed Eric as a romantic partner nor even a friend. Given his interest in robots, Merriam picked up the idea of a relationship with Eric just as a way to test his own experiments and ideas on his circuitry. He spent a good chunk of time "fixing" Eric, which was a front to cover up the fact that he was actually fucking with him and studying his behavior afterwards. After a *certain bird* threw a wrench in Merriam's cycle of experimentation and testing (by ruining what leftover fascinating bits Eric had in his rotten, loathsome excuse for code), his interest in Eric fell flat and his pursuit of scientific development through using Eric as a guinea pig came to a close. After a while, his hope of ever getting this back flew away, and he decided Eric was no longer needed. TL;DR, Merriam doesn't really think of Eric - nor any robot - as his own person. It's hard to tell what kept Merriam from using all his strength to tear Eric into tiny nuts and bolts like he deserves.

### Susie

One of the few that Merriam sees as a person worth his time...oh, no, not because he likes her! Susie is Merriam's intern, working directly under him as an assistant engineer of sorts, and also his greatest threat. Her needless pursuit of him and interest in figuring out the kinks of his research are seriously fucking up his style. She's curious, which is good, any scientist needs a natural curiosity to them, but sometimes IT GOES ***TOO FAR***. She is a risk, she is a liability, and when the moment is right, he'll deal with her. But sometimes, when he has the chance, he realizes he can barely bring himself to...the idea of laying a hand on her makes him sick. He doesn't want her gone, he NEEDS her gone. It's for the sake of his work. For the sake of his health.

### Edward

No interest, full stop. Teenagers are not worth experimenting on, because they aren't fully developed. You can't test what cannot be reverted. Merriam often forgets he even has a son. It's not like Eddie tries to contact him, anyway- huh? He's tried? Oh, well, none of the calls or emails or texts or anything came in, so who gives a fuck. He's...how old? Whatever, old enough to take care of himself. That's what Merriam did! Teach 'em young. Eventually, he'll man up, gain Merriam's cynical worldview, and perhaps be worth his father's time. Until then, he can go...yeah, no, Merriam doesn't even know what he's interested in. What do kids like? Building weaponry?

### Leonardo

Get this little piece of shit out of my office before he chews through a wire or something. He's not MY problem.

### Douglass

Even though Eric has distanced himself from Merriam, his annoying shitass (current) heartbird sure fucking hasn't. Merriam is grateful for Douglass only because he has been granted something else to toy around with now that Eric is out of the picture. When all his work is done, and he's bored out of his mind, he'll always have Douglass to do deeply unethical experiments on to take away that boredom...this guy seems weirdly enthusiastic about it, though. Normally Eric would just resign himself to the "routine maintenance." Why is he so giddy? What's he got to be happy about? Pathetic.

## Trivia

* He is based off of Shuu Iwamine from Hatoful Boyfriend.
	+ In turn, he was original going to be a bird and, subsequently, the boyfriend of Leonardo Akuma, even (formerly) following a similar naming convention. However, this was quickly scrapped for his current iteration.
* Merriam has severe pet allergies towards *both* cats and dogs, a horrible combination when you work at *AJHQ*, of all places.
	+ Not that it even matters beyond such. He would consider himself more of a bird person, anyways.

## Gallery

woooo merriam getting a fucking divorce!!!! hashtag winning