bakerstreet | More human than human

More human than human

NOT just A ROBOT

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

[Robot]

[ Essek is invariably the robot who probably has no clue about human emotions, its fine-- someone can teach him, right? Also M/M for shipping. ]

[ooc; probably human, but open to discussion.]

[100% a robot]

[ the human! with powers that would allow her to communicate with robots easier than most people ]

[Arguably human, possibly augmented, definitely raised by an assassin-bot for a portion of her life.]

[She was a performer (think if Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Players or The Rock-afire Explosion were y'know, human) who worked high-end music venues. Except she super hated that because holy exploitation batman, so she escaped that and lives out in the fringes of civilization now, helping others do the same wherever she can.]

[Either he's a slightly-glitchy caretaker type robot who will go to extremes to keep his charges safe, or he's out there being a mother hen to a bunch of actual kids and a bunch of rescued robots.]

[Obligatory sexbot option (but of course totally down for him being the human instead, or working as part of the underground or whatever we're calling it)]

[Bots come in Animal Companion™ style, right? You know that medication and appointment reminders are probably easier to take coming from an adorable critter than a nannybot.
Plus he's warm and huggable/pettable and can do that calming heartbeat thing for the anxious ones.]

[~~Eeee the player wants one!~~ Counterpoint, I cannot think of a more useful bot for the post-Apocalyptic Wasteland than a pocket sized rat. Interested in something with Furiosa? Maybe she found him in a city and they partnered up?

I can also do a modern AU for her if preferred.]

[Um, yes? Absolutely??
Also now I get to figure out what kind of effect that much unfiltered UV would have on a potentially solar-powered critter.]

When she first found him, she thought he was an animal. A flesh-and-blood animal, that is. She was delicate, because even rats are rare in the Wasteland, and more often than not when you do see them, they're being raised for food, not as pets. One so sleek and healthy-looking was an oddity. It took a little while to earn his trust before she realized he was mechanical.

Of course, that makes him even more interesting to her. She doesn't entirely buy into the cult of V8, doesn't really think there's an engine-god out there watching over them, but she does have astronomical respect for machines. If V8 were real, though, she can easily imagine him establishing tiny, soft little robots as stealth guardian angels. If there are more little mechanical animals out there, she hopes they'll find her people, or their descendants, sooner or later.

In the meantime, the rat might as well be the de facto prince of the Citadel. He rides on her shoulder, tucked into her pocket, or in her lap when she drives the War Rig. He is a perfect scout, small and stealthy, and having him to squeeze through tight spots has probably saved her life more than once.

He's pretty good as an assistant for small repairs, too. Right now, she has her prosthetic arm off, parts spread out all around her on a canvas, as she cleans out the hydraulic system one-handed. She's pretty sure if she needs him to hand her a screwdriver, he could do that, too.

His Girl hadn't followed the cult of V8 either, likely hadn't known what it was, but she had believed in the Phoenix Witch, who kept watch over people out in the dunes, especially if those people also cared for mechanicals like he was.

Not that he understood much of it himself, he hadn't needed to. His Girl had, and that was enough. But then he'd been alone for a long time, maybe even longer than he'd been with his Girl, scheduled reminders winding down and running out and he did what he could to keep himself busy, though non-directed actions weren't something he had a lot of even after so long as a caretaker.

But then, one day, the Lady had found him, and while that wasn't the same it was just as good, because he had people again, he had her and he had so many important things to learn. And learn he did, just as easily -and a bit more thoroughly- than a flesh-and-blood rat would have done.

He probably could have handed her a screwdriver if she asked, or at least dragged one over to her, but at the moment he was carefully pacing between the pieces as if cataloging them, which was essentially what he was doing, he could see how they all fit together again, just taking stock of wear and tear and what might need to be replaced sooner rather than later.

[ooc: sorry about the delay, I got hella sick and am finally starting to feel human-shaped again.]

[Okay but consider: Wayne as a caretaker robot passing as human, Eddie's the one who knows because Eddie's the one who keeps him running. Which probably also means aside from keeping his rattletrap van running, he's the go-to guy for rogue android repair.
Alternately: Eddie as some kind of storytelling & interactive playtime robot (D&D DM!) but he just wants to make music.]

[He's an Augmented Human, and as this was done against his will he's definitely got a soft spot for robots, especially older models set for decommission or whatever.
He's also got a repair shop/halfway house that's known in the robot circles for being where to go to get tags changed (essentially) he'll do whatever it takes to get them into a new line of work in a new sector/city]

[Probably the human, I can see her getting some kind of caretaker/companion/nurse 'bot while she's recovering from getting Vecna'd, and she would be very sympathetic because no one should have to deal with her mother even if they are an android.
Obviously cool with different eras rather than pseudo-80s.]

[We've got two options here: former Special Forces kill-bot, who got rescued and has learned so many more skills now
Or: Caretaker model with a specialty in cooking, but who took the 'caretaker' thing REAL damn seriously so he's got a fuckton of after-market combat and sundry subroutines.

Either way, he's also passing as a human, which could get dicey.]

[I'm thinking something like 6/reluctant on Breanna's part like the only way Hardison would let Breanna join Leverage is if she takes Eliot with her everywhere because he's their jailbroken kill-bot? It's like advanced babysitting.]

[First of all, I love it.
... there's no second, it's just the first point. Though I can also see it as a side-benefit of Hardison knowing that Breanna can handle/repair Eliot as needed, because letting their jailbroken kill-bot go on a spree once in a while is good for everyone, but definitely don't let him go on a rampage.]

You're the new...bodyguard bot?

[There's a lot to process here. Would it have killed Eden to assign him something that he isn't eye-level with its knees?

Rayman tilts his head to the side as if there are more answers to be found at that angle.]

Sorry, I guess I was expecting something a little more...intimidating? I didn't realize they made bodyguard bots in family-friendly amusement-park animatronic form factor.

[Once he says it out loud, the epiphany hits. He snaps his fingers with the realization.]

Oh, I get it! It's for the optics, duh. Of course!

[Rayman steps aside and holds out a hand invitingly.]

Come on in, make yourself at home! Can I get you a... [he squints doubtfully.] ...drrrrrriiiiink? [Then, under his breath:] How the hell do you play host to a robot?

[If he could frown in confusion, you'd bet he would be right now. At most it's just eyebrow movements and even then it's very minimal. The sadness of having a metal casing.]

Bodyguard is not a primary function of mine. I am... [He breaks off here, straightening from where he had bent slightly at the waist to look at the tiny form. Almost Gregory's height.] I was the singer for the Glamrocks at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex.

[Perhaps Vanessa had read the advert wrong, or she was playing a joke on him. She had been struggling to find herself after the Vanny nonsense, though he and Gregory were doing their best. It was she that suggested Freddy try and find a job out there in the world.

Show the world that there were good animatronics out there in the world.]

I do not require refreshments, though you have my thanks. [Freddy takes a look at the door he was gestured through and bends down a bit and slides in sideways to get inside without damaging anything. Doors. His bane now.]

[ Canonically a rogue combat suit AI whose pilot intentionally broke and discarded her, but could have been rescued from the scrapheap and/or 'refurbished' as a secondhand personal droid to escape decommissioning. Arid has a rock-bottom opinion of humans, but could surprise herself by getting genuinely attached to one she actually likes.

Odds are you still really shouldn't ask her to do meal prep, though. ]

[[ Human; he loves building and repairing robots, mechs, and working with cybernetics. Where he's from robots are powered by literal ghosts, so he can be empathetic to lucid ones. Perhaps he found you in a scrapyard, or was hired to "improve" you from another less empathetic owner? ]]

[ But can Masamune really be improved?

Not the rhetorical question it normally would be-- once upon a time, sure, the synthetic samurai was considered a technological wonder, but as the interest in historical re-enactments waned and maintenance costs only rose, it was inevitable that the One-Eyed Dragon would be laid to rest once more. This time there was no grand procession, no reserved spot in a mausoleum. Just unceremoniously tossed in the back of a truck and dumped into a landfill of questionable legality, abandoned among piles of other corroding electronics. By the time Bricks found him, his body wasn't even good enough for scraps.

But his mind... that wasn't so quick to deteriorate. Not that the years spent dormant in a rusting prison did it any good. As Bricks would be doomed to discover shortly after transferring the program into a temporary vessel, his new find came with some... eccentricities. ]

YEAH-HAAA!

[ Eccentricities like zipping back and forth across the floor at top speed, knocking into feet and furniture. And not always accidentally. The way he's going for Bricks' heels now? Totally intentional.

Mistakes may have been made. ]

[ This was just supposed to be a trial run, a test, just to see if there was even any juice or life left in that program at all. That little roomba meant to be little more than a temporary vessel until he finished a proper body. Far better than, say, a potato battery, but— ]

Ah...! [ He lifts one foot as the little machine scoots across the floor. ] AH! [ And hops on the other as it reverses, escalating in a slight panic as he mutters and scrambles for the nearest chair and sits in it, legs immediately drawn up around his chest. ]

You um. You're an energetic sort. Incredible, frankly.

P-positive I hadn't even turned you on yet. [ He watches it move around and rubs his chin, fascinated from the relative safety of the chair. ] Mayhaps the capacitors discharged static build-up enough to get you going... might have to change those out proper, too.

[ The chair leg groans with the next bump and he flinches, hugging his legs. ]

Excuse you!

HA!

[ Bump. ]

HYEAH!

[ Bump. ]

NNGAH!

[ Finally, the little roomba pauses its assault, though the whirring of tiny bristles portends another attempt soon. He just needs a minute to recalibrate, first. A minute to diagnose just why his programming to eternally reenact the same bloody battles (now with less blood!) is suddenly at odds with the newer, simpler command that he should be avoiding collisions, actually.

Something isn't right, here. The whirring stops. Masamune isn't detecting even the weakest signal of another glorified battle bot anywhere. So why does he also feel like he's surrounded by the dusty, crumbly enemy...?

Not to mention the lack of communication with any one of his limbs. Yet he can still run around... ]

...HEY, MAINTENANCE-BOY. [ How long has it been since he's been tended to by one of those? Long enough that they've forgotten how to do their jobs right, apparently. Hard to sound authoritative when his vocal simulation is popping like bad hold music. ] WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?

[ Bricks makes a face. Masamune seems to recognize he's not an enemy (good), and that he's "maintenance" (acceptable), but explaining himself to what he hoped was a very cool interesting historical battle bot...

He draws he knees up around his chest and exhales. Cor, what's he even afraid of, that he'll scuff his shoes...? ]

Y-you're temporarily in a new... vessel. [ Gingerly, he brings his legs down and grips the edge of his chair. ] Not sure what sort I've salvaged so could you tell me what you're on about? Your name and designation? Age? Favorite things to... "hyeah" at I could potentially replicate with good behavior?

[ Hopefully working memory will be good enough. ]

[Very much the Robot.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

More human than human

Maedhros | the silmarillion | ota

Essek Thelyss | Critical Role | M/

bix caleen || andor || ota

Jason Todd | DC Comics | OTA

april | original | ota

Mathilda + Leon: The Professional AU + OTA

Shiny \ Fabulous Killjoys OC \ OTA

Steve | Stranger Things | OTA

Gabreel King + OC + OTA

Sebastian + nu!Suicide Squad + OTA

no subject

no subject

<3 solar powered rat-bot zoomies?

Or burrowing! Or just running around in circles until he falls over!

Eddie + Stranger Things + OTA

Techie | Dredd | OTA

Chrissy Cunningham + Stranger Things + OTA

Eliot Spencer | Leverage | OTA

no subject

no subject

mike schmidt | fnaf movie | voicetesting

glamrock freddy | security breach (voicetesting)

you can roll prompts if you wanna but immabout to adlib this

/boops your silly face

ARID | The Fall: Unbound | OTA

Brickston | BitD OC | OTA

ota means ota no takebacks

i wouldn't DREAM

no subject

no subject

Soji Asha | Star Trek | OTA