Can I ask why Optical dislikes humans? Were humans unkind to them personally, or is it more to do with the ways humans treat each other? (Or are they just disgusted by biological processes?)
Optical worked for years at a shady company which was actually a syndicate that dealt in illegal production of vehicles, weapons, devices and anything that sold well enough.
The people there treated all the robots horribly and now Optical has a deep resentment for humans.
It's also where they got their sourpuss attitude
(I haven't decided how/if Opti looked different in the past, but it's possible they didn't have antenna at the time)
Here are 6 memories of Optical's past:
[1/6] - Waking up Optical's first memory is coming online in front of a group of grumpy humans all looking at them But back then they weren't "Optical" yet, but "Cameraman Engineering Officer-012"
"Is this it? Are you fucking serious? That's what we blew all our money on?" "Shut it. It's a specialized model, preloaded with engineering knowledge. Learns fast, works fast, doesn't need food or sleep" "All the damn robots need sleep you idiot." "Less than any shitty-ass human you can hire." "Fucking fine. Set this thing to work, it better be worth the money." "Sure. Follow me, camera."
012 was looking curiously between them during that conversation then hurriedly follows after the guy and they're immediately put to work the day they get there
[2/6] - Trying to rest Another memory, not too long after they came online
"The hell are you doing here?"
012 wandered off to explore the facility, they just look at the guy blankly
"Why aren't you working? Get back to your workshop."
012 goes to respond in signs but the guy slaps their hands away
"Quit that with your hands, you got vocals so use them"
012 thinks, then speaks "H..ello?" "Don't "hello" me, answer my fucking question. Why aren't you working?" 012: "I was tired and wanted to look around." "The fuck do you mean you were tired?? You're a robot! Recharge and keep working!" "And don't ever walk off who the fuck knows where, stay in your place at all times"
012 was then shooed off to return to work
[3/6] - Harsh lesson Memory about meeting a hardware some time later
012 is working, and someone else enters the room They turn to look.. It's another camerahead, but they look different from 012, it's recognized as a regular cam
The cam walks up to 012 to hand something over to them and then stands there and looks at them curiously 012 accepts the items and puts them away, they're tilting their head at the cam
The cam waves, and 012 waves back Two lil newbie robots spend some time hanging out, curious about each other
Then somebody else enters the room
A wrench hits the cam who topples over with a nasty screech 012 is shocked as shit and goes to help but they are grabbed and pulled away
"We've been waiting for this shipment for two fucking hours and this is what you've been doing?"
012 is desperately trying to look behind the man, at the damaged cam who is still recovering, very much a dent visible in it's head The man notices and turns around to grab at the cam, scolds them too then brings the cam in front of him to practically dangle them in front of 012 for show
"This piece of shit is cheap, I can break it if I wanted to. You ever get distracted like that again and this will happen to every robot that pulls you away from work"
The man shoves the cam away and tells it to bugger off, the poor cam hobbles off fast
"That was your fault for getting distracted. You do most of the shit around here, we can't afford you fucking around, so don't."
012 still horrified nods rapidly and gets back to work without any more input
[4/6] - No loopholes Another memory about a hardware
012 is hard at work, tinkering away
A regular speakerman comes in, they haven't seen this one before, they spare him a glance and continue working The speakerman doesn't seem to have a goal to be here, just looking around. he walks up to 012 "Hi! How are you?"
012 doesn't look at him, "You shouldn't be talking to me, go back to work" "Why?" 012: "Just leave okay? They can't see you talking to me" "But.. there's no one here? It'll be okay if they don't know right?" 012: "…I guess so?"
There's a hesitant small pleasant conversation between the two that goes on while 012 works Then there's the sound of a door opening
012 panics and immediately shoves the speakerman away and turns back to work. he falls to the ground confused, then looks up in time to see a human lift him and shove him away and tell him to stay put. the man walks towards 012 and before he says anything 012 turns around, tech in hand
012: "I've completed the prototype and started working on the one due for tomorrow. I already notified the workers of the next objectives"
The man yanks the tech out of 012's hand, it's some sort of laser gun. he looks it over then aims behind him at the speakerman and shoots him in the leg. The speakerman yelps, it burns through the clothing and melts halfway through the leg. the man hands the gun back to horrified 012. "Not strong enough, make it bigger."
012 nods and turns away, hands shaking, they go back to work. the man speaks again "If you think you're fucking clever, there's not just a camera on your head, there's one above it." He points out the normal security camera that likely saw 012 chatting to the speakerman "I warned you, don't get distracted."
The man and the speakerman leave 012, who starts desperately working faster to not think about what just happened
[5/6] - For their own good Much time later, they were working around many hardwares this time
012 is at a larger part of the facility today, around them other hardwares are working too They occasionally speak to them to give instructions, and nothing more. Most of them already know what the humans are like and keep to themselves.
Until there's another cameraman that comes to them, they've seen him chatting to others when he's nervous before It starts again, he's pleasant, he's curious, he is making jokes and trying to make friends with 012 to lighten their shared situation
012 doesn't respond, they stare coldly right through him, they hardly heard what he was saying
012: "I don't care, get back to work" "Wh-? Can't we chat a bit?" 012: "What part of "get back to work" do you not understand? Get the fuck out of my face" "B-but I just wanted to say "hello"! " 012: "Don't "hello" me. LEAVE ME TO MY DAMN WORK!"
The cameraman startles, frowns, deeply upset and wanders away.
As soon as he leaves, 012's hands are shaking again, they're working faster. they shout at any hardware that may look their way and demand they keep working. It's okay. They don't know any better. At least he didn't get hurt.
[6/6] - An outlier They remember how they got their name
012 was working alone again this time, a new human entered the room. The person asked for advice and corrections on some blueprints and 012 did as asked very quickly and handed them back right away, getting back to their usual work. But the human didn't leave, he lingered
"Man this is cool, heh. Talking robots. How smart are you guys?" 012: "Smarter than many humans." "Pfftttt haHAH! You're funny too! Damn! That's awesome. What's your name?"
012 looks at him confused, that wasn't a joke?
012: "Cameraman Engineering Officer-012" "Bah, that's not a name. Don't you have an actual name? Y'know? Like John or whatever" 012: "Most call me 012. If you need nothing else, then let me get back to my work" "Oh come on, you can do better than 012" 012: "I don't care what you call me." "But what do you want to be called? Make your own choice y'know?" 012: … 012: "Get lost. You're wasting my time." "Woah, harsh. Too bad you're not that scary with that peeper of yours. You guys are weirdly adorable." "How abouuut Lenny? Like Lens, yeah? Zooms? Tinker?" "Oh! Hey what do you think about "Optical"? It's in reference to like, y'know. Sight. Your optic looks like a big ol' eye to me. massive peeper." 012: "Are you done yet? Get out of the way you're blocking the shelves."
When he doesn't move, 012 squeezes past him. The guy huffs and crosses his arms. "Okay, be like that. I'm gonna keep calling you Optical and if you don't like it, tell me m'kay?"
"Optical" doesn't respond, they continue their work and eventually the guy leaves. That guy continues coming to Optical rarely, calling them that. They get used to the name at some point.
He was kinda nice, still rough, like the rest of the humans there. He didn't hurt the hardwares atleast He was as nice as one can be when you're part of a shady terrorist/crime organization They liked the name, they kept it even after the guy pissed off the folks in charge and they never saw him again
These are more or less canon c: