bakerstreet | You are not a robot

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[meme] shipping

You are not a robot

NOT just A ROBOT
shipping meme

There's always a right tool for the job, be it as simple as a hammer for a nail or on up to the much, much more complex. In this, the near future, the new tool for the abstract, post-modern job is no longer from the humble tool box - it's robots. Robots have taken over most sectors, such as assembly, law enforcement, and even health care. Things run so much smoother when they're automated. Yet the most impressive factor is that robots have just recently begun to enter a sector previously believed to require human touch: the personal sector. From personal assistants to robo bodyguards to pleasurebots, most anyone who's anyone has a personal robot these days. Of course, humanity being the narcissistic charmers we are, all "companion" sector robots are made in our own beautiful image, or close to it.

But you know this. You have a personal robot, after all...or you are one.

Whether owner or robot, it's important to remember one key rule: robots, no matter how human they appear, cannot feel emotions. Any appearances thereof are programming in the AI.

Robots certainly, absolutely, cannot fall in love. Again, any appearances thereof are programming in the AI. If that's not the case, and "love" still seems present...

...well, a toll that no longer functions correctly may not be right for the job.

HOW TO PLAY ➟

Comment with your character, preference, and whether you want to play a human or a robot.
Reply to others.
Use the RNG to choose a prompt or pick one yourself.

OWNER ➟

Long Time Owner → You and your robot are a well-oiled machine, no pun intended.
New Purchase → Congratulations, you have your brand new personal bot!
Second Hand → Someone else owned this robot before you, but it can't be too damaged. There's no way you could afford a brand new one, anyway.
For Science! → Your interests in robots are purely scientific. No matter how yours begins to act towards you, honest!
Rescue → Whether you took them from the dump or from a bad owner, you brought this robot from the jaws of deletion.
Reluctant → You never wanted a robot, but you've got one thrust on you anyway.
Cruel → They're just a fancy computer, so you'll treat them however you like.
See the Humanity → Even if you know it's all machinery and programming, you can't help but see the human side of your robot. They shouldn't have to be a servant.
What's Real and What's Not → The lines are beginning to blur between real people and their emotions and your robot.
Incompatible → You can't be with a machine, either romantically or sexually. You're simply not compatible.
Too Engrossed → They say you've created a fantasy world. You're forgetting reality, or choosing to ignore it.
Don't Care → You won't listen to what the others say; you know how you feel.
Have to Pull Away → The close relationship you had with your robot has to be put aside for your own good.
Live a Normal Life → As much as you can, you and your robot live like a normal couple.
Bad End → Your robot is taken away, reprogrammed, or destroyed.

ROBOT ➟

The Perfect Robot → You know what you and exactly what you were made to do. You will not stray.
More Human than Human → Whoever programmed you made you to be just like a human.
Conflicted → There is no way you could have what they call "feelings." But what is this stirring in your circuitry?
Confused → Why do people treat you like a robot? You're a living thing, damn it!
Damaged → Somehow, you've been corrupted. You're a blank slate and have to be cared for, though it should be the opposite. Or it could be that you're showing erratic behavior that no robot should...
Shown Kindness → When you're treated kindly by a human, you are unsure how to process it. It makes you feel - content.
No Longer Just a Program → Your "love" and "affection" may have been shades and imitations at first, but that's not the case any longer.
Obsolete Model → You know you're old. Will you be forced to leave your master's side?
Jealousy → A robot should not feel jealous. Still, you envy those close to your master.
Job is Personal → You were programmed to protect or to serve, though you also do it because you...care
Second Chance → Your old master tossed you aside and now you are wary. But you've been given another chance instead of being used for scrap.
Rogue → There is no way you will be tied to the oppressive system. You refuse to serve the Living Things. Somehow, though, you've become aligned with one.
One of a Kind → There are no other robots like you, and perhaps you are intended for a sinister fate. Rather than face your true duty, you have escaped to take refuge with a human.
Specialty → You were created specifically for this one special person.
Reprogrammed → Because of previous defects, you were taken back to factory settings before. However, that treacherous virus, "love," is bubbling back up.
Android → You can't just forget the part of you that was - still is - organic.
Learn to Be Human → Despite the odds and the prejudices you both will face, you have decided to live as a free, living person with the one you care for most.
Bad End → You're to be junked, impacted, wiped clean, or taken away from your owner.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[cylon / robot]

((Could be either tho he's probably the human who's more like a robot than a robot is human))

[ human. ]

[ Lucky's an android (under the definition that androids are synthetic humans, non-organic) who runs away from his creator with few memories left accessible to him after the fact. whether he was found and sold out to someone else, or simply found by your character, I'm open to either! also open to either owners/humans or other androids/robots/synthetics. interested in either being found or assumed cr (happily pm if you want to set that up beforehand!) and doing some plot idea on an established relationship. his original function was as a technician on other androids, which can either factor in as something he is rediscovering as he goes, or as his primary function under an established cr setting. I know we're in a ship meme but cool with ship it gen. additional info and permissions on journal. ]

((Ooh. Lucky seems interesting! Maybe Squall could have found him? He tends to hide his emotions so he may seem more android than human at times but he's def human and has soft spots. Maybe he just takes him home and they learn more about each other as it goes?))

[ that would be just fine with me! after Lucky's escape he has a couple of reparable hardware malfunctions and if you want we can factor some in (I tend to default to verbal hardware malfunction and some motor control, from an altercation he doesn't recall and is partial cause for his memory issues) for some added interaction flavor...!

since it has been years since I've played the FF games would you mind starting for your ideal setting? I can roll with anything (and maybe it'll give me a little time to refresh with a wiki, haha.) ]

((I'm down with those malfunctions. :3 Hope this works))

It felt like a typical beginning of a fiction novel. The kind of stories where a person found love in a random alleyway while walking home in the rain. It was dark and Squall didn't live in a particularly affluent area so there tended to be shady things going on every which way. He did come across two men who seemed to be in search of someone, or something. Androids going rogue had been rife through the news lately.

He didn't care to get involved though. He had enough problems to worry about.

It was just then that he happened to hear an odd sound coming from a dark corner. Before he could stop himself, he turned to look right as a passing hovercar's headlights lit up the area.

System error: 00754 [ verbal and communicative hardware failure ]
> RUN:DIAGNOSTIC.op
> running: self diagnostic full
DIAGNOSIS: external force trauma in mandible to sections cond-215, coro-343; requires realignment
external force trauma in cervical and thoracic spine to sections C2 - C3, C6 - T3
internal assessment required, see system operator

He didn't have one, not one assigned to memory. He could remember nothing. His irises would give him away -- electronically lit and flashing a warning: low on power, his system malfunctioning. The only thing he knew was that he could not risk being seen...not that he could recall why. He awoke scared, with a few yet incredibly dire objects in mind: locate power source; find shelter; stay out of sight; don't be caught.

Not to be confused with 'don't get caught'; there is a pang of guilt and terror already running in his power systems, draining his reserves down and leaving him to reconcile his asset storage. He has to dump what power he has into one center battery, lest he want to shut down right here and now. Significant systems are down -- location services, night vision, namely things that would be useful to him at the moment.

'Lucky.' That is the system name he has now, as of four hours and twenty six minutes ago. Lucky may not exist long enough to see the morning; he might have another two hours of power left, if he doesn't move.

But move he does, trying to force his flinching hands against his jaw, trying to realign it, the hinge dislocated and the entire lower jaw seized. Communicative nerves are trapped in misaligned 'vertebrae' send interrupted signals, making the job nearly impossible, as his hands snap into fists, fingers twitch, and wrists jerk.

Knelt down in this dark alley, a light flares brightly from some distance, momentarily overloads his visual processors. The lighting lasts perhaps seconds, at most, but the temporary blindness sticks, sacrifices the android's balance, and he teeters sideways, drops the couple inches to sitting on the ground with his eyes scrunched shut.

It takes him some seconds that feel like minutes, before Lucky opens his eyes again into the darkness, across the direction of the source of the light, scanning over into the left...

...And spots someone with his dimly-lit eyes, cycling slowly in a clock-wise motion, his processor shaping out the form of a man.

Whether it's a malfunction, or simply the lack of preset coding command for handling this situation under these conditions and objectives, but the android absolutely freezes, like a prey animal, hands hovering some spare inches below his face, knees practically pressed up to his chest as he sits in this corner he had boxed himself into, unknowing how quickly security could turn into a trap.

Frankly, the android looked like a horror show. He looked like he'd been through a scrap heap before being abandoned here. But there was still life there. Squall could see that much.

With a quick glance around to make sure no one was paying him any mind, he found himself stepping into the dark corner. The part of him that always said to ignore everyone else but himself screaming at him in his mind. This was clearly an android involved in problems he clearly shouldn't stick his nose into.

"What's your status?" he asked, quietly. His voice low and uninterested. He noted the low battery status flashing in Lucky's eyes. He had chargers at his place but it was still up in the air whether he wanted to bring a stray home.

( i mean i could't not do it )

It had to happen. Technophile that he was, when androids became a thing Prompto had to get one. Problem being the lack of money. He could have borrowed some from his buddy, but he didn't want to take advantage of Noct like that.

So it was a choice between saving up for a car or saving up for an android, and super robots were just too tempting. But, much like with a car, he needed to buy secondhand if he ever hoped to get one in his lifetime. That limited his choices as he browsed for good deals, finally settling on one. It was a dude but, well, whatever. If he got a female android it'd just look creepy anyway. And it'd make it hard for him to talk to the android.

He showed up, cash in hand - and clearly an assortment of random small bills that he'd gathered over time - and practically lit up when he saw Connor. He shoved the money at the clerk and quickly ran over to grab his hand.

"Oh man, that's my android?" He paused for a second and glanced back to confirm. After all, maybe it was just a similar looking one, but he was quickly back to his excitement, whirling back towards Connor. "This is so cool." He grabbed his hand. "I'm gonna take you home."