October Catch-All / OPEN

[snarkbot]

WHO: Skeets & Whoever
WHERE: De Chima mostly, but wherever you want him
WHEN: October!
WHAT: Open prompt for an open history lecture, some housemates stuff, and ping me if you want a starter!
WARNINGS: Nah



De Chima University | ota

[ Around De Chima one can spot flyers: Free Open History Lectures at De Chima University. There’s a few posts online going around too, and a bit of word of mouth. However you hear about it, if you come to the University on Saturday afternoons you can find Professor Skeets in a very crowded lecture hall giving a talk about various eras of history between prehistoric and the 1800s. (He’s refraining from the 20th century until he has a better fix on the differences between his world and this one.)

His classes are popular. Maybe it’s because he is an imPort, and not just that: a robot, in the technology-loving De Chima no less. Maybe it’s because he projects holograms to illustrate his points. And the fact that he can shape shift into the historical figures he’s talking about probably helps too.

You can wait until after it’s over to speak to the professor himself, or during one of the breaks - ] Any questions?

De Chima #002 | for roomies & guests

[Skeets was settling into his new life fairly easily. Classes during the week, with a few open office hours for the students, grading papers, and then spending the rest of the time locked up in his room surfing the Internet and trying to piece together this world’s timeline.

It’s odd being without Booster. Skeets is so used to either being the man’s constant companion or locked up in storage. While he is perfectly capable of functioning without him, a month is the longest they’ve been separated for a long time. And it takes Skeets a while to realize he doesn’t have to act like he’s still in storage. But without anything he particularly wants to do he falls back onto old habits.

So he’s cleaning. You can find him wiping down the kitchen appliances, mopping the wood floors, or dusting the mantelpiece in the living room. He does it all as a robot about the size of a pie with tiny robotic claws to hold things with. ]

Comments

de chima 2!

[primadovea]

[ Skeets is wiping down those kitchen appliances when Mint comes into the kitchen...obviously not really expecting Skeets to be there and to be cleaning.

(She kind of feels a little bad that she's not helping. But maybe later. She has Very Important Business to take care of right now) ]

By any chance, are you working on the tea kettle? It's time for my afternoon tea.

[ And she can't drink if if the kettle's currently covered in soap suds. ]

[snarkbot]

[ Skeets looks over to the sink (and to do so he has to turn his whole body, so the look is obvious), which is currently full of soapy water and everything that needs be hand-washed rather than put into the dishwasher. Including the kettle. ]

I'm sorry, miss, I'll get it right away.

[primadovea]

[ When Mint spots the tea kettle in the sink, she just pales for a moment. How long is it going to take to clean it? And while she just wants to say 'clean it as soon as possible,' even Mint knows that's rude. ]

Feel free to take your time....

[ she says, just to be polite, though she's obviously a bit distraught at the idea that her afternoon tea might have to wait a bit. ]

[snarkbot]

[ Skeets zooms over to the sink, finishing up washing the kettle. He's an cleaning mode, so he doesn't even give a small robotic sigh, just does the thing. ]

Do you normally take tea at this hour, Miss? I can make a note to boil the water if I'm in.

[ And it'll probably be better than letting her do it, she seems like she would figure out how to set water on fire. ]

[primadovea]

[ For all of Mint's inability to cook, she's got the art of making tea scarily down pat. ]

I do. It's a tradition that I've had ever since I was a little girl and I don't see any reason to stop now that I'm in a different universe!

[ She looks over at Skeets for a moment, with a small frown. ] You can join me, if you wish. Obviously you'd have to turn human, though.

[snarkbot]

Consistency is to be desired, Miss.

[ Skeets considers the offer, still cleaning the kettle. He finishes up, filling it with water. ]

I've never tried tea before. I'd be delighted.

[primadovea]

Wonderful! In that case, shall I prepare tea for you the same way I do mine, or do you want something a bit more easy to make?

[ As Mint goes to the cupboard, she opens it up, gets out two teacups and saucers, and then gets down a container of tea leaves. ]

De Chima 2

[sasaeru]

[She runs into Skeets when she finally, finally, steps into what is her actual home. De Chima 2. She spent a while sitting out in front of her first night, then she stayed at De Chima 7 with Gran. Now, things have settled down a little and she thinks she's ready to face her new home--

Or not, she thinks, when opening the door and stepping inside brings her face to face with a small UFO... cleaning? That sure is the smell of disinfectant. That sure is a rag in the robot's claws. ]

... Um.

[... Does it understand words?]

[snarkbot]

[ Skeets turns around, spotting the newcomer. He puts down the rag and his robot arm quickly folds up into his body, so cleanly that you would have to squint to see where the hatch opened for it.

He flies over, hovering in front of her at eye height. ]

Hello, miss. I don't believe we've met?

[sasaeru]

[It does understand. It even speaks, and a lot better than the robots she got used to seeing around Aliea's base, too. Ulvida's eyes are as round as saucers as she stares at the hovering AI in front of her, before she regains her composure.]

Uhm... [Snap out of it, she tells herself. She blinks once, twice, then stands up straighter and masks her surprise with her usual calm murmurs.]

No, we haven't. I got here a few days ago, and my papers said I love here.

[snarkbot]

You're a new roommate? Welcome, miss. I am Skeets, a BX9 security bot and more recently a history professor.

[ He can't help but notice her reaction, too. ] But don't let those titles intimidate you, I am quote-unquote "as snuggly as a flying gold rabbit".

[ Literally no one has ever said this before. ]

[sasaeru]

[It's not the titles or the name, but the last description that causes her eyes to widen and for her to tilt her head, seemingly confused.]

Rabbits tend to be flighty.

[...]

So I take it you aren't?

[snarkbot]

I'm only flighty in the literal sense, miss.

[ He bobs a bit in the air to demonstrate his terrible joke. ]

And you are?

I'M MAKING MY OWN!!

[khajidont]

[Jaime gave Skeets a little while to get settled in, but once he was satisfied that he wouldn't just be an imposition, he happily hassled Skeets into coming around to his neck of the woods to give proper sustenance a try. Not a single kale shake would pass Skeets' new lips, and that's something that Jaime would swear on his life. To watch Booster drink those things day in and day out is just cruelty!

Instead, he's decided to put out a good spread of food, some homemade, some not. He spent some time fussing over what was going to be too much for someone who only just now got tastebuds - should he be cutting down on the spice? But it would compromise the flavour! - and eventually decided on a little bit of everything, so Skeets could decide on what he wanted... hopefully without severe intestinal pain shortly thereafter.

At any rate, everything's ready. All he's waiting for is a knock on his door!]

[snarkbot]

[ Skeets until he gets to Jaime's door (it's much faster and easier to fly) to transform into a human. He's not quite used to eating yet, so he's not sure what to expect. But at least he has experimented to make sure the food wouldn't remain in him if he turned back into a robot.

He picks the first thing food makes him think of and so when Jaime opens the door, he'll be greeted by none other than Julia Child.

No pressure, though. ]

[khajidont]

[Guess who hasn't heard of Skeets' powers before? This guy. He was expecting a dashing yellow robot, and he most certainly wasn't expecting a familiar woman at his door, though he can't put his finger on where he knows her from. He first swings the door open with a smile, a pair of tongs in one hand, and while he's still smiling moments later, it's more reserved, more polite.]

Oh! Um... hello, ma'am, [he says, etiquette as good as ever.] What can I do for you?

[snarkbot]

This is Skeets, sir. You invited me? Unless I misunderstood the message.

[ There is a short beat before Skeets remembers that you're supposed to smile, and does so in a way that looks a little bit like someone taking a photograph with an disliked uncle. ]

[khajidont]

You're Skeets? I mean -- well, you did say that you had a human body, but I kind of thought you'd be showing up more... [He waves his hands in mid-air and finally settles upon his hands hovering in mid-air, as if holding a very large ball or, in this case, one tiny robot.] Pocket-sized! Or male.

[Skeets is a he, isn't he? Oh no, has he been calling him by the wrong pronoun this entire time? Has Booster ever asked?! He stares at Skeets with a rictus grin of terrible possibilities flooding his mind, then snaps himself out of it, stepping out of the way to let him - her? - in.]

Um, come on in! Everything's almost ready!

[snarkbot]

[ Skeets enters, slowly and delicately. Though that is less keeping character and more that while he's had a lot more practice walking he is still not fully confident. ]

I do not believe human bodies are normally pocket-sized, sir, the Atom notwithstanding. As for the question of my gender, it very much depends on whose form I take. I merely thought that Julia Child would be an appropriate form for a dinner party.

DC Uni

[keep_nothing]

[ Cordelia had seen the pamphlets when she was in town as well as a few of the posts on her portable console, and while she wasn't interested in the history lecture, her Betan curiosity got the better of her at the thought of a robot instructor. So she attends one of the lectures on a free afternoon (the projected holograms and shape-shifting was especially delightful), and she hangs back from most of the other attendees to say: ]

I do have some questions, but I hope you'll forgive me if it's not about the subject of your lecture.

[snarkbot]

[ Skeets hovers at a comfortable eye level, which he finds is the most polite way to speak to someone.

She's not the first one to be serious about the robot, nor would she probably be the last so he has some idea of what to expect -- and is therefore glib. ]

Unfortunately, I do not date students, ma'am. Especially those below 500 horse power.

[keep_nothing]

[ It's so unexpected that she can't help but laugh. ]

Not up to your exacting standards, huh? IS that a common question you get?

[snarkbot]

You'd be surprised, ma'am.

[ With his robotic voice and complete lack of facial expressions due to not actually having a face, it may be difficult to tell if he's joking or not. ]

But what questions were you going to ask?

[keep_nothing]

[ Another small laugh accompanied by a teasing wink, ] Now I'm disappointed I didn't think of it first.

But I was wondering if I could ask about you yourself. I've never seen a robot instruct anything before, if that is what you define yourself as.

[snarkbot]

Robot is perfectly fine, ma'am. Specifically, I am a BX9 Security Robot from the 25th century.

As for my a current position as a professor, it was my assigned job. Previously I was not an instructor, though I did instruct one specific individual.