The Spine: 1897

[[This is a growing RP blog set in the early Steam Powered Giraffe universe. This is by no means an official blog.]] Please, call me 'Oliver' or 'Ollie'. I am The Spine, one of four automatons created by Colonel Peter A. Walter. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

[silverwarmachine]

Repairs

[[OOC: Just going to be playing off what had happened with the last "story post" here.]]

---

A puff of steam and the lights started back up, gears slowly coming to life within the silvery chassis before the now elated scientist.

"Finally," Colonel Walter sighed. "Welcome back to the realm of the living, hopefully for good this time, Spine."

Oliver blinked his shutters as his optics came back online to see his creator holding a large urn of water. "You're going to need this." He pulled the glass to his (luckily) rubber lips and had every drop he could in his boiler in an instant.

Gentle steam rose from the spines on his back as Ollie took in his surroundings. "How... How long was I gone this time, Colonel, sir?"

The Colonel gave a tired smile and sighed. "The same as last time; around six months." He blinked and spoke quickly under his breath. "Pleasedon'tshutbackoffagain..."

With a look down, the bot slowly flexed his hands, every joint badly needing to be moved. "Mind giving me a bit of oil around the major joints, sir?"

Another sigh of relief. "Of course. Just good to have you back." Peter began with the bot's left arm and hand.

"Were you repairing me the entire time?"

"I was attempting to, yes. I think you might like something that I've been working on in this time, too. If you take over with the oil, I can show you."

Ollie took the canister of oil as his creator scurried about, whispering obscenities under his breath until he found what he was looking for. As he watched the man, he saw that there was more clutter around the workshop; blueprints unfurled atop one another, bits of metal and tools all over, and... Was that a scorch mark on the ceiling?!

"AHA!" Peter Walter sauntered back over, both hands clasped around something small with wires hanging out of his hands. "Are you ready for the future, The Spine?"

"As ready as I ever shall be, I suppose." He continued to oil himself, but watched the man before him carefully.

"Keep in mind that it's still in the developmental stages, buuuut..." Peter lifted his hand, in it an optic.

"It is... an eye?"

"Indeed it is, but I've been working closely with just this one to see if I could give you and the others colored vision!"

Ollie's optics went wide, his movement ceased, his voice quiet. "Sir, that's... incredible."

"Yes, but as incredible as it may be, I assume you saw the marks on the ceiling, yes? That's the kind of damage one of these bastards can inflict if it's not ready. Which this one is not. Still."

Spine slowly nodded his head. "Perhaps we can work on it together, eventually. As for now, would you mind running a full scan on me, Colonel?"

The man set the optic down, a rather exhausted and slightly manic smile on his face. "I thought you'd never ask."

[silverwarmachine]

OOC: The Long Pause

Hey guys, this is the mun for Ollie here. I'd like to apologize for not being active in so long (about half the year, if I'm correct)

It's been a bit over two years since I started the blog, and I believe a bit of explanation is order before jumping back into the RPs.

For starters, I didn't have internet for several months, and only recently had it connected after moving out of my family home and into an apartment. For another thing, I don't think I have the creative juices necessary to continue the previous RPs I had, since, well, there's been a lot of development for the all of you guys. (Sorry!)

As for how to pick back up, I'm about to make a post to try and explain the "long pause", so to speak.

It might take all night, it might flow naturally in ten minutes; please be patient. Ollie has a kind of elegance to the way that he is written, and it takes a moment to "snap" back into that.

Other than that, I'd like you to know that I'm a bit shy when it comes to initiating RP, but I'm more than accepting for when people send me things, and if you'd like to talk to me, personally, about plotting or anything, just send an ask with that, and we could just chat it up on Skype =]

Apologies for the wall of text, but I figured I'd rather get this out there than bottle it up and jump right back into the swing of things.

Love you guys!

-Munny

[justbootlaces]

She listened, as well, and looked thoughtful.

"I can see if I can try, sure."

She picked up her diaper bag, ready to follow, mulling over the words.

"You said he was dusty… In my experience, that’s not good. Dust is really bad on Keys’ internal workings. I wonder if that could be part of the problem?"

The baby fusses again, and she sighs.

'If I'd known I was going to be needing to help him, I would have left Emma with Rabbit.”

[silverwarmachine]

Peter only shook his head. "He was dusty because he was sat for six months. I checked everything; nothing was wrong but a jam, but there has to be more to it than that!"

He nearly jumped, but stopped to look her in the face. "That is really not a good idea, leaving babies with Rabbit. It's enough that he's caring for cats... If he misjudges his strength..." Colonel Walter shuddered, unable to bring himself to say what he was thinking.

"Move as quick as you can, please."

[justbootlaces]

She takes a deep breath, calming herself down.

"Yeah, I can see that being a bit of a mess, if he didn’t know, and— GAH! Jesus!"

She took a few steps back, listening.

"Nothing happened, at least not that I’m aware of. I was on bed rest, my boyfriend let him bring me lunch so we could talk. Keys was keeping the house immaculate, at the time, because he was so worried."

She blinked a few times, looking strained. There’s a clear dislike of him, but she’s obviously doing everything she can to keep it in check.

"Yes, this is my daughter, Emma. She was born not long after he visited me. I’ve been waiting for him to come see her, but— I guess this is partly my fault. If I’d come sooner, he might not have been out so long."

She sighs.

"Sir, I’m a mechanic, and an engineer. I used to be in the military. If you need some help, I’m offering. He’s my friend, and if I can help him, I want to."

[silverwarmachine]

He nodded carefully, listening. "I suppose you'll want to see him, yes?" Sighing, Peter headed towards the door of the library.

"I'm finding nothing in here that would fit why he malfunctioned the way he did; it's dusty, sure, but that's to be expected in a library. He's only dusty because he sat for so long, and I've instructed the maids not to touch the robots."

He hesitated for a moment, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and this woman was crippled and no threat to him. "Follow me, and we'll see if he stays calm with you there."

[justbootlaces]

She freezes, wide-eyed, cane moving back to the floor for stability that’s needed, as she stumbles back a step.

“Six months?!”

She shakes her head.

"That’s right after I last saw him! Is he— Is he still alive?!”

The realization that Keys was right, and things were definitely not okay is like a slap across the face. But then, the mother in her shines through, again.

"I’m not leaving until I at least know if he’s all right or not."

[silverwarmachine]

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "He was fine until I told him how long he was offline. Then he shorted out, and I still have yet to sleep since getting him back yesterday afterno--wait. You said you saw him?"

A second later, he was in front of the tiny woman, not quite angry, but more concerned. "Did something happen on your side of that door again? Perhaps what caused the initial jam wasn't even from here, but from you... Not meaning, you you, but rather your side..."

Peter shook his head quickly, snapping back to reality from thought. "I need to know to fix him; The Spine is stable, yes, but I'm not sure how well he's going to handle another short circu--is that a baby?"

[justbootlaces]

The reaction is immediate, and she goes from cheerful, to having one arm wrapped around her baby, and her cane ready to be used as a makeshift weapon.

Emma fusses, then starts to make the tiny noises that signal a baby about to start wailing her head off.

"Our houses are attached. Technically, I haven’t even left my own."

She limps sideways, putting the nearby chair between them.

"I’m here to see Oll— to see The Spine. I’m not here do do any harm. Even if I was, I can’t run."

[silverwarmachine]

Seeing her defensive stance, Peter sighed, exhausted from working. "I don't have time for this... You're that woman Spine spoke of, yes? The one who quick-fixed his arm when he fell a year or so ago? Well, he was offline for the last six months, and I need to find out why. Go home."

[justbootlaces]

Boots sighed, as she quietly slipped back down the hallway. One friend checked on, now it was time to check in on the other. Keys was right, she’d been putting of this whole thing for way too long.

She hobbled into the familiar library, setting her diaper bag in an empty chair. She adjusted the sling around Emma, a bit, before looking up.

"Ollie… You home? I have someone here you really need to meet."

[silverwarmachine]

From behind one of the bookshelves, Peter Walter suddenly appeared.

"Ex-cuse me. Who are you and what, exactly, are you doing in my home??"

[silverwarmachine]

A Slight Miscalculation

[[Otherwise known as a story post to make up for the fact that my depression kept me away for about what, six months?]]

Something odd was happening. Ollie knew about dreams, but hadn't had one of his own yet, but there he was, subconsciously floating through a dark plane.

A small patch of light began to grow in the distance directly in front of him, which was where he was continuing to float.

Within seconds, he was in a first-person view and in an unfamiliar place, chatting with a woman. Looking down, he noticed he was human.

For a fleeting moment, Ollie felt an odd sense of peace.

---

"The Spine?" Colonel Walter's voice was muffled, Ollie's startup working painfully slow, his optics lightly glowing and barely focused.

"Oh thank goodness. It's about time!" There was relief to the Colonel's voice... What was he so elated about?

Before he could ask, Ollie felt the man forcing water into his boiler, which, after a moment, kicked into gear. In a matter of moments, he was functioning properly again and took a look around; he was on one of the workbenches across the Manor from his library.

"Colonel?" Genuine confusion and steam flowed from his lips.

The man was suddenly very close to Ollie's face, no doubt checking his optics. "You've no clue how long you were powered down, yes?"

"Only an hour, just like I usually do... Right?"

Peter Walter's eyes widened a bit. "No, not right. You were out so long I feared you a vegetable of a robot; it was nearly half the year, Spine!"

A spark shot off of Oliver's neck, which jerked at a painful angle.

"Hal-half a year-ear?!?"

"Calm down, Spine, or you'll shut dow--!" Peter pulled away as a few more sparks flew off, Ollie's optics going black. He sighed in frustration, knowing a long night of rechecking the silvery automaton laid before him.

[preferbialkat]

[[So how many kids are there in the ‘verses? I can think of my Kat’s two, Ian, Jeeves, Junior, Rabel, Ham, Dormouse, Delilah, Rabbit, Mina’s two, Peter from Show’s ‘verse, and Zea.]]

[askcarmina]

((gosh that’s a lot of little ones Once they grow a bit more, (or time skip) I’m sure Arthur and Autumn would love to make some new friends :))

[preferbialkat]

[[Imagine how chaotic a playdate could get. Or how chaotic a birthday party could get.]]

[askcarmina]

((oh holy cow yes! it would be so crazy, and hilarious, and darling all at the same time! >:))

[preferbialkat]

[[That’s fourteen kids. Oh good lord, why are a bunch of robots so fertile.]]

[silverwarmachine]

[Popping in for a second; there's also Kenny and Emma over at justbootlaces, Emma having been born to a human mother and robot father]

[mister-accumental-deactivated20]

Shades of The Spine

[mister-accumental-deactivated20]

[Atlas- Freakshow] [Junior+Mama- SugarVerse] [Cyber-CyberpunkVerse]

[Catz- WonderVerse] [Feds] [Flex- CircusVerse] 

[Silver - CynVerse <NSFW>] [Racy- RacyVerse <NSFW>] [Ollie- Young]

[silverwarmachine]

[[This is why I popped back on. I about screamed when I saw this!!! <3 Also, can I just say that I love that I'm in the bottom row with the NSFW blogs? hahaha!!!! Thank you <3 <3 <3 ]]

[silverwarmachine]

[[Popping back in for only a short time, sorry. Still been a bit rough on the writing inspiration end, but I'll be back soon enough... Perhaps this weekend? =) Hope your Valentine's and President's Days were superb! <3]]

[justbootlaces]

She hugs back.

"I’m sorry, kiddo. She’s due any day now, and I just want to have my baby, and never get stuck bedridden again!"

She laughs, catching the look.

"And besides, look at me! I’m huge!”

She moves aside some of the photos.

"Come on, sit down. You look awesome, let me see you, and OH MY GOD YOU HAVE YOUR ARM, AGAIN!"

[silverwarmachine]

He stared at Boots' face for a moment before bursting with laughter.

"You were really focused in on your food, huh?" Ollie sat where the spot was cleared, moving both of his arms a bit, and flexed his hands. "They were both replaced, and are completely new. My face and some internal structures also got updated, and my chest plate is new as well."

After a moment, Ollie leaned back a bit, holding his palm out to her, a soft smile to his face. "You see this black padding? It's a prototype, and I can feel things again. While it's not quite what it was while human, it's still something."

[silverwarmachine]

With a nod to Keys, he gestured away from the kitchen with a smile. “I’m ready.” It may have been a little while since he had been here, but Ollie remembered where to find Boots, and it would feel magnificent to see her once more.

At her door, he stopped, letting out a bit of steam in a sigh, and tapping on the door with his foot.

"Can you guess who?"

His smile was hard to hide.

[justbootlaces]

"Oliver Walter, I smell my lunch, you bring it in here!"

There’s a bit of stress, there.

Kenny opens the door for him.

"And Kenny, you need to go take care of that stuff, okay?"

The kid is off like a flash, at that, giggling.

Boots is on her bed, surrounded by photos she’s arranging in books, again.

"Hi, Ollie."

[silverwarmachine]

He grins, entering the room, and watching Kenny go.

"We don't see one another in how long, and all I get is a 'Hi'?" Ollie mocked a pout. "Why, Boots, I'm heartbroken."

He set the tray down next to her before giving her a gentle hug around the shoulders.

"You're about ready to have the baby, aren't you?" His optics were locked on her midsection, glowing brighter than normal.

[copperwarmachine]

The Spine peeked his head around the corner, finally whole again. "Rabbit? Are you there?"

Rabbit had been fixed, at a bit of a price.  He looked like a scrap yard; gears of different metals were put in place in his chest.  His chest itself was patched up with odd bits of metal in weird shapes, like they were cutoffs from the other’s.  And while he was able to function, he wasn’t pretty.  At all.

He was sitting at his door, still closed off and boarded up.  At his name he twisted his head around, waving at his younger brother.  If he had a face, he would smile.

"Hiya Spine!"

[silverwarmachine]

Spine grinned again, taking Rabbit’s hands in his own, turning them over on top of one another. “It just feels, you know? Ah, that probably doesn’t make sense… It’s almost like being human again, if only in my hands, and it’s rather odd, really.”

He let out a small chuckle. “Having this new sensation tends to catch me off-guard now, though.”

[copperwarmachine]

Rabbit watched Spine turn his hand over and touching it.  This was strange.

"D’ya like it?"

[silverwarmachine]

He looked at Rabbit's face, or what face there was to look at, a bit thrown-off by his brother's question.

"I, uh... I suppose so? It'll take some getting used to, but it's new and exciting and isn't muddling my thoughts like the last thing. Why do you ask, Rabbit?"

The Spine eyed his brother carefully. What had their creator been doing while he was gone or hiding in the library?

[silverwarmachine]

The boy’s speaking to seemingly no one made Ollie make a face, though Keys brought back his attention.

Taking the tray, he nodded thoughtfully. “I’m sure I’ll be able to say the right thing, but thanks for the warning, Keys. Kenny, you coming with me?” His optics glowed down on the boy, excited to see his best friend again.

[justbootlaces]

Kenny looks up at Keys, and the smaller robot shoos him.

"You go on, okay? I have to give Aaron a call, he’s supposed to come by to deliver some gifts to a few friends of ours."

Kenny nods, and grins back up at Ollie.

"Ready?"

[silverwarmachine]

With a nod to Keys, he gestured away from the kitchen with a smile. "I'm ready." It may have been a little while since he had been here, but Ollie remembered where to find Boots, and it would feel magnificent to see her once more.

At her door, he stopped, letting out a bit of steam in a sigh, and tapping on the door with his foot.

"Can you guess who?"

His smile was hard to hide.

[silverwarmachine]

"I missed you, too, kiddo, and yes! Look at this!" He put Kenny down, showing the boy his black palms. "I can feel things now, how neat is that?"

At the mention of a surprise and it being hushed, Ollie gave the pair a cautious eyeing, but said nothing on the matter.

"Oh yeah… She’s got some broken bones, right? I can see why they would push for her to be in bed. Emma’s about here, isn’t she?"

[justbootlaces]

"OOOH! You’ll like it even better, now, and—"

“Kenny!”

The little boy pouts a bit, then makes a face.

"You be quiet, I can too keep a secret. You’re the one who snitched, in the first place!”

Keys rolls his eyes, then smiles.

"Any day now, actually."

He offers a tray with a couple sandwiches and a bottle of juice on it.

"Oh, and Ollie…? When you go up there, she’s not really happy about having gained weight. Don’t bring it up. And if she does…? Be careful with your words. Okay?"

[silverwarmachine]

The boy's speaking to seemingly no one made Ollie make a face, though Keys brought back his attention.

Taking the tray, he nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sure I'll be able to say the right thing, but thanks for the warning, Keys. Kenny, you coming with me?" His optics glowed down on the boy, excited to see his best friend again.

[copperwarmachine]

The Spine peeked his head around the corner, finally whole again. "Rabbit? Are you there?"

Rabbit had been fixed, at a bit of a price.  He looked like a scrap yard; gears of different metals were put in place in his chest.  His chest itself was patched up with odd bits of metal in weird shapes, like they were cutoffs from the other’s.  And while he was able to function, he wasn’t pretty.  At all.

He was sitting at his door, still closed off and boarded up.  At his name he twisted his head around, waving at his younger brother.  If he had a face, he would smile.

"Hiya Spine!"

[silverwarmachine]

Steam escaped his mouth as a sigh of relief, though The Spine was unsure.

He looked his brother over before locking his gaze. “Rabbit, you know you can tell me if you’re not doing well, right? I just want you to be alright.” He patted Rabbit’s hand before jumping a bit and smiling.

"Look at this. It’s experimental." The Spine showed Rabbit his black palms. "I can feel physical sensations now. The Colonel entrusted me with testing it." His blue eyes seemed to sparkle.

[copperwarmachine]

In that moment, he was glad he didn’t have a face.  It would have fallen.  Pappy gave Spine touch sensors?  He had tried that with Rabbit, and had found it hadn’t worked right.  He had been too sensitive, and it had hurt so much, he had glitched himself into frying his circuits and had to be shut down for three days.

Now Pappy had made something that worked (mostly?) and he was patched up with scraps…

No.  no don’t think that way.  He’s giving Rabbit a break from being hurt, that’s all.  Trying things out on Spine, giving Rabbit a rest, that’s what it was.  Had to be.  He should be happy for Spine.  Yes.  Happy, he could do that.

"Neat!  Y-y-y-ya can fffffeeel things now?  What what’s it like?"  The Colonel trusted Spine.  Trus-nope, happy.  Happy, because he was just getting a break.  That’s all.

[silverwarmachine]

Spine grinned again, taking Rabbit's hands in his own, turning them over on top of one another. "It just feels, you know? Ah, that probably doesn't make sense... It's almost like being human again, if only in my hands, and it's rather odd, really."

He let out a small chuckle. "Having this new sensation tends to catch me off-guard now, though."