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@bibliojudge
Volteel Biblio - Megaman
the lightning judge of the left
one of the gentle judges of a utopia of both machines and man.
is very reasonable, designed to be reasonable save for when judging certain people.
Eel.
heheheh
meant to make humans comfortable.
Condo 403
You'll retain your Humaniod Form. With it, you may use your Enhanced Strength, enough to barely lift a car.
They have no idea what or where that is, but a head librarian should be knowledgeable, which... would likely be useful to have at their disposal.
"JUDGE? SO YOU'RE IN A JUSTICE SYSTEM?"
Perhaps they had better watch themself around him, and keep their mischievous tendencies in check.
Then again, having a friend with such authority would certainly have benefits. Not everyone is always aware of their own biases.
"HARD TO GET EQUAL FAIRNESS BETWEEN HUMANS AND ROBOTS. THEY VALUE US SO LITTLE AND THINK ORGANICS THE ONLY 'LIFE'."
He must have an important job, wherever he's from.
"Within this city. Neo Arcadia, the city in which I preside in has equal authority between humans and those...of mechanical nature. After major disasters that has reduced the population to over 3 percent of its original quota, there is no other choice but co-existence."
"Calculating that...you are not of familiar make, since the choice words of reploid mean little to you. Hence theory, you are not of my world."
Another human-faced robot?
There had to be a reason so many chose to look humanlike, right? Maybe it was safer to blend in?
"AFFIRMATIVE. DETECTING... INCONCLUSIVE."
Of course. They had not met prior.
"YOUR DESIGNATION?"
"Biblio Volteel, prime head librarian of Neo Arcadia, gentle judge of lightning..."
"But among all else, I suppose an ally to fair ruling. I was design with judging both humans and robots with equal fairness in mind."
@crazyprocessedsynth
Data is gathered, hypothesis and theory. confirmed reploid? Gather more information , but first.
"Greetings, It seems that you are a machine as well. A pleasure to m-meet you."
bzzt. bzzt. small starter call, do the robot. cap at four
The sea barely stirred, before someone who looks like he was wearing a white diver suit silently sprung out, barely a ripple at his exit from the sea. A handful of fish dropped into the bucket.
"Apologies if I interrupted anything. I am simply investigating the sea life in the bodies of water around here."
@rattussrexx
lets make it short! have a small starter call cap at four!
Small starter call, cap at four. beep boop.
"...I'm sorry...Lord? ...What?"
Customer service face. Customer service face. Customer service face, Adagio. Don't you slip. Don't you slip up NOW. You have too much on the line.
Harpuia was not naturally a chipper, happy person. (In fact, he was kind of a chronically bitchy, grumpy creature.) He was not the sort of personality who one would expect to be predisposed towards a customer-facing job. That's why, in moments of stress--in moments like this--it was easy to see that Harpuia's customer-facing smile was entirely manufactured.
Because he was stressed. This odd-looking man--something about the way he was put together wasn't quite...right--seemed certain that he recognized him. He'd even pronounced his name correctly--and most people who knew him couldn't even do that. That was why he went more by Adagio, these days. Part of him wanted to keep the name secret, like something precious (because it was precious, it was given to him by his adopted mother, a woman who had no cause to love a machine like him, but who loved him anyway), but 'Harpuia' was not only hard to pronounce, it was hard to explain. 'Yes, like a harpy. No, I am not a girl.' He hated having to explain. Every time he got misgendered, he died a little inside.
"Are you going to order something, sir?" Harpuia's voice came out a little thin, a little forced. He wished there were other customers in the store, so that he could make the 'there's a line behind you, hurry up' excuse. But no. It was just him, and the...man.
Wait.
Wait.
Harpuia's vision was better than most. Even with the counter between them, he could see it--the subtle tells. Doll-like joints moving underneath covering sleeves. The skin on his face ending halfway down his neck--that was not a high collar. That was a lack of human-like synthetic skin. And his eyes--just like Harpuia's. Camera lenses, not muscle.
His smile abruptly died. Whatever this was, he needed to end it, and fast. He couldn't be seen talking to this man. His cover would be completely blown--and then how could he hold down a job? Even with Mr. Wolfwood covering for him, there was only so much the man could do. How would he provide for his siblings? He couldn't risk this.
"What do you want." His low, husky alto came out brisk, sharp, and commanding. "Speak quickly, and then, if you're not going to buy something, you need to leave."
It is him but also not, could this be a mission in disguise? Perhaps his lord also choosing the easier option of becoming more human, less reploid to fit in better? It would not be the first reploid he seen who tried to emulate the humans without proper procedures. He wonders if this city would even care if a reploid tried to copy humans. The past was certainly proof that humans did in fact mind. that when machines called robot masters tried to ask for more rights, every single one of them was put down for good. From the orignal to the latest model, none survive and the only blue print was lord X.
"...I see, this is...my apologies. I had thought you were one of my superiors. You have the same facial...structure. Apologies."
He forces his facial skin into a smile, but it came out...
with too much teeth.
"Well, I'm here to try new things so I would request -
He checks his digital wallet. Though he knows there is a 50% chance that this could be his lord, the lord sage has wisdom beyond that of the gentle judges. Hence he adapts and plays along.
"One of all items that dont' need to be cooked. And one of those standard coffee's. Here, I can pay first."
"Perhaps a book recommendation if you are a reader, I'm looking for new materials for the library." if this is the road that his lord is doing...
@bibliojudge
All was quiet in Café December.
It had been a bit of a slow season, much to Harpuia's annoyance. They'd released their seasonal menu on time, of course--full of pumpkin drinks and peppermint drinks and the appropriate sweets--but the citizens of Spirale seemed too busy to stop in and grab a drink or a snack. Even WinterFES shoppers were in short supply--usually a coffee shop could rely on frantic gift shoppers loading up on carbs and caffeine to round out their Q4 sales numbers.
No such luck this year. It made Harpuia grind his teeth.
Last year we were making money hand over fist, he thought to himself irritably, wiping down the food prep counters with more vigor than usual. If I want to get the promotion to manager I've been gunning for, I've GOT to show Mr. Wolfwood that I can drive sales the way a top manager SHOULD.
It wasn't just Wolfwood that Harpuia was trying to impress. There was his adopted family to consider. Yes, Harpuia looked extremely human--he was a masterpiece of an android, much like their beloved Lady Ofiuco. You could only tell that he was a synthetic being when you were close enough to see his irises--to see that they were closer to camera lenses than muscle. Otherwise, he looked, sounded, and moved exactly like a human. He was even warm to the touch, and his synthetic skin had the proper spring to it.
Harpuia's "father" was his creator, the eccentric engineer Xavier Light. Xavier had built Harpuia while he was still single; the aging engineer wanted more than anything to be a father, so he built himself a son. The following year, Dr. Light had met and married Elysium Serenade, herself an engineer, and the two of them had had three kids together: Forte "Fefnir" Light, Aria "Leviathan" Light, and Legato "Phantom" Light. Xavier had given the kids the mythological nicknames to have them match Harpuia, on the kids' request. Elysium, musically-minded as she was, had given Harpuia the second-name "Adagio." He loved that he matched his adopted siblings. The differences between them meant nothing at all in the scales of Harpuia's love. He adored his siblings. He'd do anything for them.
Which was exactly why, when Dr. Light had gone missing in the Mistwood two years ago, and Dr. Serenade had gone missing chasing after him, Harpuia stepped up to take care of the kids. The twins Forte and Aria were 14 now, still not old enough to hold a job, and little Legato was only 11. They needed someone to take care of them--and finding a job had been rough for an android. Synthetic beings were essentially second-class citizens in Spirale, despite the love the people had for Lady Ofiuco.
But Mr. Wolfwood had given Harpuia a chance. Harpuia owed him big time--not for his own sake, but for his siblings'. More than that, Wolfwood kept his secret. None of the other staff knew Harpuia was an android. None of their customers could get close enough to find out, either.
The least I can do is make sure we sell out of pumpkin spice drinks! Harpuia thought to himself, more and more irritated the most lost in his thoughts he became. He'd already double-cleaned the espresso maker, deep cleaned all the food prep and storage areas twice over, and mopped the floor three times since opening.
And then, the bell hanging from the door to the café rang.
Harpuia tossed his cleaning rag in the sink and rinsed his hands in under 3 seconds, drying them hastily on his apron. He put on his best "customer service" smile, and stepped up to the cash register.
"Welcome to Café December!" His low, husky alto brightened with forced (but not uncomfortable) cheer. "What can I get for you today?"
He watched Volteel Biblio carefully, waiting for his answer. There was not a single glimmer of recognition in his face.
Parts were moved, parts were modified. Staying within a few weeks already within this city, its clear from the get go how every business would prioritize humans over anything else. Even those who pass as humans had a easier time then those who do not. To be part of the harmony if something created , installed deep within him. To go against is something that he is never advise to do so. Sometimes compromise is something that needed to be done, forced to be done to make humans more comfortable. Reploids can survive on less, but humans cannot. It was a unfortunate fact that made living with humans...tiresome. But in the end, Lord X would instill in the virtue of humanity, and how it should be possible to live together despite the difference of opinions.
Reploids were merely tools, in the end to make the life of humans easier. A stable cheap service depending on the make and model of the whole thing. Biblio is a tool as well, a tool who had now a better designed face in order to blend with the humanity living in this city. After all...was that not the goal? to bridge the gap between reploids and humans so peace could happen?
Biblio is higher spec then most, and even then he has to adapt. So humans could become more comfortable around him, after all the humans in this city are unaware of what a reploid is. So his standard apeparance was not something that people trusted, for people cannot trust what they do not understand.
Appearance was subtly changed when in casual mode, artificial hair was created and placed, and fake hair was installed into the bottom parts of his face to make a mockery of a beard. Everything was done with precision, but still the end result....perhaps he did not understand humanity as well as he thought?
Biblio description of a human face frightened human children, and he didn't have enough funds to afford skin over his own arms. the joints showing despite his best efforts to wear long sleeve outfits. His own original outfit still inside the giant messanger bag he had over his shoulder.
Still, still.
Despite everything, he had to sell the image of being a human. So he enters this so called cafe, so called Cafe December because he needed to experience what normal eating is like, to emulate humans so they would be more comfortable around him.
...
"Lord Harpuia?"
the armor is gone, but that face was something that could not be replaced. the face of someone who he see's at a daily, after all Lord Harpuia was the most seen of the guardians. STILL, it...could not been them?
Though the equipment is crucial to managing his powers, without it the helmet is all but useless. Meant only to hold on to whatever vestige of power he can retain. So for the first time in a long while, he does remove it. the mirror acting as his guide... no, it feels incomplete.
"Hmm... I suppose adding fake facial hair would help make me look more approachable. Master X would certainly approve if it means that."
"Oh! Alright." Can't blame her for trying! So much for her plans to recruit every machine in the city...
"You must be able to store plenty of data, Mr. Library-Historian-Judge. How do you do it all?" Maybe buttering him up will work...
"I was built that way, Nothing more then convenience of my type."
"If you wish for me to hold your information, I would not oppose. I am better at holding data then being a judge."
"More uncomfortable than your 'scary face'?" Susie says bluntly. "Sorry, but you did say that it would scare humans..."
"Though, I'm not a human, and I haven't seen you without your helmet, so I guess I couldn't say," she adds.
"Anyway, if it's money you're after, then how would you feel about working at a cafe? I'm going to reopen my friend's old one once I've taken care of a few things."
"...I kindly refuse. I have already enrolled into various libraries, for I am a historian as well. or built to be one."
"Working in such public setting...would not benefit me. unfortunately."
Well, at least there was a offer.
"But thank you."
"Oh, okay." She guesses that he didn't mean it about wearing civilian clothes before. Susie rubs her chin as she tries to come up with a solution to his fashion woes.
"If that's the case, why don't we go on a little shopping trip, you and I? You can keep the helmet, and with the right suit and tie, you'll look just like a judge in the human world!
"I believe the helmet would only make humans uncomfortable."
if anything, he's someone designed in a world that if you don't make humans comfortable at all. Then... perhaps another war could start, civil wars were often happening , minor but annoying.
"If anything, A complete new appearance once I don civilian wear."
"Though, I wonder if I have enough money for that."
"Normal clothes for a humanoid machine?" Susie has to think about it for a moment. "Hmm. Well, I suppose that depends on your particular style, doesn't it?"
"You wore civilian clothes before, you said? What were they like?" Susie asks. This man is fortunate that his body type lends itself easily to human clothes.
"IN truth, the gentle judges offered little time for personal retreats much less a tie where one can attempt to copy the humans. So I have no style to speak of, save for what I am wearing as of now."
"But my human face, so to to speak without my uniform is said to scare humans."
"I suppose I should start thinking of wearing civilian clothes again, After all wearing my judge uniform all day is not...quiet as practical despite its purpose. Without my powers, it is almost useless."
"But what would be considered normal clothes for a humanoid machine..."
@charmingsecretary
pst pst...small starter call. winter time!!!
