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Sep. 5th, 2015 07:30 pmApplicant Info
◎ Name: Meygan
◎ Journal:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
automatonic
◎ Contact: AIM- MeyganJelly
◎ Current Character(s): N/A
Character Info
◎ Character's Name: Rabbit
◎ Character's Canon: Steam Powered Giraffe
◎ Character's Age: 119
◎ Canon Point: Vice Quadrant
◎ Background/History: Official Rabbit Profile, Official backstory, Official Timeline, and SPG Wiki for Rabbit
◎ Is the character a hacker and/or do they have a sixth-sense? Despite the affinity one might think a robot would have with technology, Rabbit is in no way a hacker. She can barely work the oven without setting something on fire. Also, zero sixth-sense.
◎ Personality: "I always thought I was sorta the big brother of the band. Or was it more like great uncle? Or half aunt? Or step sister…. THIS INTERVIEW IS OVER."
--Rabbit, Steam Powered Giraffe: The Quest for The Eternal Harp of Golden Dreams
Compared to the stoic Spine, the sometimes shy Jon, and the just plain awkward Hatchworth, Rabbit is an unrestrained whirlwind of high energy and terrible jokes (she is a pun champion), somehow managing to appear absolutely everywhere at once to make sure her all too valuable opinion or irrelevant pop culture reference is always heard. She is constantly in motion--especially her voice box--hopping from here to there, dancing and shaking her hips, her energy supply seemingly unending. Despite her easily excitable and friendly nature, Rabbit is most often remembered for being crazy and boisterous and just plain weird.
Also those puns. Those goddamn puns.
Though many a human passerby may scoff away the belief that a man-made creation with an artificial brain could possibly be built to feel or have any real understanding of the complexities of human emotions, Rabbit and her siblings are the absolute proof that that line of thinking is very false indeed. Due to the mysterious blue matter energy that powers them, the Walter robots have been imbued with rich personalities, all of them possessing both free thought and the ability to feel. Though they may often deny just how human they are, the phrase 'more humane than most humans' absolutely applies. Rabbit herself is an automaton who experiences the entire spectrum of emotions very vibrantly, from sweet infatuation to debilitating depression to shaking with red-hot rage. Though she is generally quite upbeat for the most part--she can most often be found causing playful trouble or joking around with her brothers--Rabbit is prone to moodiness after fights with The Spine or a particularly bad malfunction, choosing to sulk for days and days until someone finally manages to knock the persistent sadness out of her and get her back to her all too happy self.
Under that infectious copper grin and booming laugh, however, Rabbit holds a large amount of hidden guilt and lingering sadness over the various events that have been unjustly thrust into her long life. The death of her creator and longtime best friend, Peter A. Walter the First, has always stuck painfully with her, even after all of these decades that he has been dead, a loneliness and tightening inside her chassis that the 'bot never has been able to fully shake. Then there is her unwilling participation within the wars and the nightmares that still haunt her from that traumatic time. Combine that with the heavy guilt she still feels over the death of her human brother at her own hand (indirectly, of course, but Rabbit will always blame herself) and it is easy to see why the 'bot is so prone to fits of sulking. For an 'artificial' life, Rabbit truly understands the pain that comes hand-in-hand with living, and it isn't something she will ever be able to forget or simply shove aside. All of this weighs on her conscience often, but she just chooses to keep living on with a smile and a corny joke on her lips for the sake of her family and her own sanity.
For an automaton, Rabbit tends to fall in love rather frequently, though unlike The Spine, the objects of her quick affections are just that: objects. Her torrid love affair with Jenny the Toaster lasted a good eight minutes after purchasing her at Sears before her joints froze up and she dropped her, shattering the toaster to pieces. It is a generally accepted rule throughout the Walter manor that Rabbit is not allowed to use any of the kitchen appliances, but nothing will stop her in her quest for true love!Keep your appliances locked up, folks. That being said, the 'bot does have experiences with real love (aka a sentient being that can actually love her back), but since the heartbreak of Honeybee, she seems to prefer to throw her affections upon things that can't break her clockwork heart again.
"And if my marks weren't good enough, he'd make me sit in the corner with a dunce hat. But the joke was on him, I would just pretend I was a tyrannosaurus rex. ..With a dunce cap."
--Rabbit, Steam Powered Giraffe: The Quest for The Eternal Harp of Golden Dreams
Though she may not often act like it, Rabbit is the oldest of the robots and titles herself as the 'big sister/brother of the band'. She takes her responsibilities as 'big sis' quite seriously, despite her usual teasing and carelessness, always stepping up to protect or stand up for her younger siblings should they end up in any kind trouble, whether it be their own fault or not. With The Jon and Hatchworth, Rabbit is both a playmate and a source of strength. She acts every bit as silly and full of energy as the two youngest 'bots, but is always there to lend a copper shoulder to cry on when life's usual unpleasantness pops up. With The Spine, Rabbit is always taunting and pestering and coaxing, doing all that she possibly can to pull her titanium brother's lightheartedness out from his usually reserved and distant nature.
No, Rabbit may not often act as mature as a being of her age should and she really shouldn't be trusted with any real responsibility, but when the occasion does present itself, she can step up to the plate and do what needs to be done.
Due to her undying loyalty and love for her creator, Rabbit has refused to have her metal structure and inner workings upgraded in any way since Colonel Walter's death up until very recently. The world around her had changed drastically in the last one hundred and eighteen years, but Rabbit stubbornly refused at all lengths to change with it. At that time, she seemed to live her life by the adage 'Things just aren't built the way they used to be', truly believing that it would be a slap in the face of what her father had created to allow another to tamper with his work. Because of this, for a very long time, the automaton still possessed many of her old Victorian pieces, which meant that she quite often found her circuitry shorting out or her joints locking up at random intervals. Rabbit was prone to malfunctions of all sorts, glitching and stuttering while her limbs jerked out at odd angles.* Rabbit dealt with this problem by ignoring it completely.
--Until recently. Rabbit has finally gotten those upgrades that she has so desperately been in need of these last few decades, but only so that she could have her male (or genderless) copper structure shaped into something more feminine and fitting of the gender she truly felt she was. Though, even after that big update, the 'bot has quickly fallen back into her old routines, so the glitching and malfunctioning continues.
Though built with the specific purpose to be a master musician and lyricist that would win the heart of her creator's lady love, Rabbit has taken to other forms of entertainment as well and has come to find some amount of expertise in most of these areas after over a century's worth of practice. Dance, comedy, mime - as long as there is a crowd to shower her in either glowing applause or uproarious laughter, she'll pick up any talent she can to garner more attention. One can only assume that, if she could move more fluidly like her younger brothers, she'd have picked up juggling or some other type of clowning antics, just to expand that already impressive repertoire, but thankfully, that is far outside of her area of movement. As a musician, she plays the melodica, accordion, keytar, and the kazookaphone, which is basically a regular kazoo just with an attachment that makes it ten times more annoying.
It should also be noted that Rabbit is clearly very intelligent, she just simply chooses to not act like it.
* Terrifying examples of Rabbit's on-stage malfunctions: Example 1 and Example 2!
◎ Powers/Abilities: Being a man-made automaton, Rabbit has all of what could be considered the average robot abilities:
* Inhuman strength
* A metal structure that can take quite a beating
* No need to breathe or eat
* Immunity to poisons, the effects of alcohol, and both biological and chemical weapons
* Lighted eyes that can see further into the dark than normal
* Advanced hearing
* Can be ripped to pieces and put back together (by an experience mechanic only please!) with little consequence
* An extended lifespan that is not limited by an organic body
Along with those abilities, Rabbit also has a flamethrower nozzle stuck down into her throat for fire-breathing capabilities should the need ever arise. A leftover from previous warfare.
Rabbit also has detachable gatling gun and buzz saw accessories that fit on her arms, retired and hidden away since her last brush with war in the 70s where all Walter robots took up a Vow of Peace that has been upheld to this very day. It would take a quite great deal to get them to break this vow, so it isn't at all likely these weapons will ever see the light of day again, though they are there.
The strange goggles she possesses are actually an advanced particle accelerator lens device that are activated when aligned properly with Rabbit's eyes. The telescopic section, when positioned in front of her green optic, will emit what can only be described as a 'death ray', which obviously means that if Rabbit were to ever actually wear those inherited goggles, destruction would ensue, which is precisely why they remain safely atop her hat. She really has zero reason to ever use them though and keeps them only for sentimental value.
As stated above, Rabbit has a certain affinity for music and being a performer. It was what she was built to do and she is quite thankfully very skilled at it. She can mime, sing, dance, and play the accordion, melodica, and keytar.
◎ Weapons & Other Special Inventory:
* Flamethrower
* Blue Matter Death Ray Gaze™ (her goggles)
* One astronaut helmet with a shattered visor, decorated in sharpie with stars, planets, and a pod of space whales
CEREALIA-Specific
◎ Element: Air, Rabbit is full of hot air (haha, both literally and figuratively) and is certainly very flighty compared to her siblings.
◎ Sense: Hearing. Music is the most important thing to Rabbit, so hearing is her most valued sense. Especially when she loves the sound of her own sweet voice.
◎ Seven Character Traits:
(puckish, charming, devoted) | (selfish, bratty, dumb) + mercurial
Samples
◎ First-Person Sample: Test Drive
◎ Third-Person Sample: It was unspoken rule among the Walter Manor residents that Rabbit was not to be disturbed during her daily visits with Colonel Walter's grave.
Though privacy had never been an issue among the other robots and humans that resided there - the lack of doors took care of that silly notion - it hadn't taken very long for newcomers of the family to understand the importance of an exception when it came to Rabbit. One too many times of accidentally stumbling upon the copper automaton in a vulnerable position, the sight of oil slicked down her copper face and staining the red trim of her dress had taught the others quickly enough to give the robot space when she was conversing privately with her deceased creator.
So Rabbit was inwardly grateful for the distance. She told the others she enjoyed feeding the ducks every morning and they never had the heart to correct her.
But today was different.
Rabbit was planted unceremoniously under the tree that kept her creator out of the bright California sun, leaning against the trunk with her spindly arms crossed over her chest. There was a constant stream of steam rising from the vents on either side of her face, her gaze focused firmly on the lake beside the family cemetery. Usually she preferred to kneel during these encounters, to physically touch the cold stone and the hard earth and the damp grass, as if the deceased form beneath her could feel her metal fingers and know that his creation was desperately attempting to make some form of contact with his departed soul.
But decades upon decades of routine were coming to a close.
The times were changing and as much as she stubbornly attempted to fight it the last one hundred years, Rabbit had finally made the change with them.
The creaky knees that had no longer been able to carry the full weight of her clockwork body had finally been entirely replaced with new pieces. The shoddily patched-up boiler she'd had since she'd first come online was replaced with something whole and shiny. Where she used to fall into literal pieces wherever she went, the automaton's newly upgraded and fully modern metal structure was now so much more solid and sturdy than she can ever remember being.
It hurt sometimes, when she'd catch sight of herself smiling in the mirror or find herself performing tasks with more precision than ever, to know that her newfound happiness had come at the cost of removing the pieces of herself that her creator had so painstakingly crafted himself. Every part of her had been made with a father's love. How could she show his memory the disrespect of being so absolutely happy in her new body?
When Rabbit finally spoke aloud, voice unnaturally soft and thoughtful for such a usually boisterous and upbeat personality, she tore her glowing eyes away from the lake's ducks with a puff of steam, finally looking to the ornate tombstone in front of her. Her gaze still avoided the words that were carved deeply into rock.
"I miss ya, Pappy." The pause was deafening. Reaching up to adjust the brim of her hat, Rabbit's fingers brushed the goggles that had been given to her so long ago by the same man. The memory was searing, her metal hand quickly retreating as if actually burned. She continued on: "Seventy-three years you've been g-g-g-gone-" An unnatural twitch of her head as her voice box stuck briefly. "-an' it still hurts. It's never gonna go a-away, is itttttt?"
Of course it wouldn't, she rationalized with a mechanical whirr, a touch of bitterness at the edge of her thoughts. If seventy-three years hadn't been enough to ease the emptiness in her chest or the heavy weight pressing down upon her hunched copper shoulders, what difference could another decade possibly do? Or a century at that?
Her father was dead. Her best friend of forty-six years had passed away in his sleep while Rabbit had been on the other side of the world. The man who had given her life, patiently taught her everything, put up with her terrible puns, had lovingly called her one of his own alongside his own biological children, who had wept genuine tears when Rabbit had been enlisted to war...
The robot quickly pushed those thoughts aside before oil could begin leaking from her optics again. Best to change the conversation topic to something that wouldn't leave her face stained for their big performance that evening.
She mimicked clearing the throat she didn't have.
"Y'know, we got another gig tonight. Real f-fancy place. We'll be rubbin' elbows with b-big Hollywood types! Well, not literally, but, uh..." Another pause filled only by the soft turning of her internal gears, though the corner of her crooked mouth quirked upwards. "Hatchworth hasn't changed in th' slightest. I'm beginning t' think he never will. Still seein' t' world like a-a-a little kid. You'd think livin' a h-hundred an' nineteen years would'a taken some of th' curiosity outta him, but nope. Still runnin' from here t' there, always askin' questions, always s-smilin'... An' Th'Spine!" The copper automaton huffed in feigned irritation. "Still livin' with that s-s-ssssstupid idea of wantin' to be human! Got his heart stomped all over yet again by another c-c-c-cold, fleshy dame. I keep tellin' him-" Rabbit's metal chest puffed out. She was created to entertain, after all. The performer in her never would quit. "-'Th'Spine, you gotta leave these thoughts behind ya! Be proud of what ya are, of how P-Pappy made ya! Ain't nothing wrong with being a robut'!"
Her posture deflated at the end of her imitation with a audible creak, neck snapping to the side violently. New and fully modern body or not, there were still some kinks to be worked out.
Reaching up, Rabbit adjusted her head with a nonchalant twist, an obnoxious grinding of metal-on-metal, before continuing: "But you remember h-how he is. Just as stuck in th' clouds as Hatchy sometimes, I swear. It's kind-kind-kinda funny how so little has changed with th' two of 'em. Even after all this time." Rabbit felt a familiar presence in the nearby vicinity and a swift glance back to the manor confirmed her suspicions: a pair of glowing green eyes watching her closely through the kitchen window. Well, that was her cue to wrap this visit up.
Rabbit pushed herself away from the tree, limbs jerking shakily as she found stable footing. Approaching the tombstone with a clank, she allowed her fingers to drop down and touch the stone. The volume of her voice lowered even further, keeping the one-sided conversation between father and daughter private for one moment longer.
"They miss ya too. Even if they don't visit as often as me-me-me." Her curved fingers, skeletally thin traced a delicate star against the stone. "I can tell." Rabbit heaved a final sigh, steam flowing from her mouth as she gave the tombstone of her creator a fond pat.
"Love ya, Pappy. I'll be back t-tomorrow."
◎ Is your character retaining any previous game memories? Nope!
◎ Name: Meygan
◎ Journal:
automatonic◎ Contact: AIM- MeyganJelly
◎ Current Character(s): N/A
Character Info
◎ Character's Name: Rabbit
◎ Character's Canon: Steam Powered Giraffe
◎ Character's Age: 119
◎ Canon Point: Vice Quadrant
◎ Background/History: Official Rabbit Profile, Official backstory, Official Timeline, and SPG Wiki for Rabbit
◎ Is the character a hacker and/or do they have a sixth-sense? Despite the affinity one might think a robot would have with technology, Rabbit is in no way a hacker. She can barely work the oven without setting something on fire. Also, zero sixth-sense.
◎ Personality: "I always thought I was sorta the big brother of the band. Or was it more like great uncle? Or half aunt? Or step sister…. THIS INTERVIEW IS OVER."
Compared to the stoic Spine, the sometimes shy Jon, and the just plain awkward Hatchworth, Rabbit is an unrestrained whirlwind of high energy and terrible jokes (she is a pun champion), somehow managing to appear absolutely everywhere at once to make sure her all too valuable opinion or irrelevant pop culture reference is always heard. She is constantly in motion--especially her voice box--hopping from here to there, dancing and shaking her hips, her energy supply seemingly unending. Despite her easily excitable and friendly nature, Rabbit is most often remembered for being crazy and boisterous and just plain weird.
Also those puns. Those goddamn puns.
Though many a human passerby may scoff away the belief that a man-made creation with an artificial brain could possibly be built to feel or have any real understanding of the complexities of human emotions, Rabbit and her siblings are the absolute proof that that line of thinking is very false indeed. Due to the mysterious blue matter energy that powers them, the Walter robots have been imbued with rich personalities, all of them possessing both free thought and the ability to feel. Though they may often deny just how human they are, the phrase 'more humane than most humans' absolutely applies. Rabbit herself is an automaton who experiences the entire spectrum of emotions very vibrantly, from sweet infatuation to debilitating depression to shaking with red-hot rage. Though she is generally quite upbeat for the most part--she can most often be found causing playful trouble or joking around with her brothers--Rabbit is prone to moodiness after fights with The Spine or a particularly bad malfunction, choosing to sulk for days and days until someone finally manages to knock the persistent sadness out of her and get her back to her all too happy self.
Under that infectious copper grin and booming laugh, however, Rabbit holds a large amount of hidden guilt and lingering sadness over the various events that have been unjustly thrust into her long life. The death of her creator and longtime best friend, Peter A. Walter the First, has always stuck painfully with her, even after all of these decades that he has been dead, a loneliness and tightening inside her chassis that the 'bot never has been able to fully shake. Then there is her unwilling participation within the wars and the nightmares that still haunt her from that traumatic time. Combine that with the heavy guilt she still feels over the death of her human brother at her own hand (indirectly, of course, but Rabbit will always blame herself) and it is easy to see why the 'bot is so prone to fits of sulking. For an 'artificial' life, Rabbit truly understands the pain that comes hand-in-hand with living, and it isn't something she will ever be able to forget or simply shove aside. All of this weighs on her conscience often, but she just chooses to keep living on with a smile and a corny joke on her lips for the sake of her family and her own sanity.
For an automaton, Rabbit tends to fall in love rather frequently, though unlike The Spine, the objects of her quick affections are just that: objects. Her torrid love affair with Jenny the Toaster lasted a good eight minutes after purchasing her at Sears before her joints froze up and she dropped her, shattering the toaster to pieces. It is a generally accepted rule throughout the Walter manor that Rabbit is not allowed to use any of the kitchen appliances, but nothing will stop her in her quest for true love!
Though she may not often act like it, Rabbit is the oldest of the robots and titles herself as the 'big sister/brother of the band'. She takes her responsibilities as 'big sis' quite seriously, despite her usual teasing and carelessness, always stepping up to protect or stand up for her younger siblings should they end up in any kind trouble, whether it be their own fault or not. With The Jon and Hatchworth, Rabbit is both a playmate and a source of strength. She acts every bit as silly and full of energy as the two youngest 'bots, but is always there to lend a copper shoulder to cry on when life's usual unpleasantness pops up. With The Spine, Rabbit is always taunting and pestering and coaxing, doing all that she possibly can to pull her titanium brother's lightheartedness out from his usually reserved and distant nature.
No, Rabbit may not often act as mature as a being of her age should and she really shouldn't be trusted with any real responsibility, but when the occasion does present itself, she can step up to the plate and do what needs to be done.
Due to her undying loyalty and love for her creator, Rabbit has refused to have her metal structure and inner workings upgraded in any way since Colonel Walter's death up until very recently. The world around her had changed drastically in the last one hundred and eighteen years, but Rabbit stubbornly refused at all lengths to change with it. At that time, she seemed to live her life by the adage 'Things just aren't built the way they used to be', truly believing that it would be a slap in the face of what her father had created to allow another to tamper with his work. Because of this, for a very long time, the automaton still possessed many of her old Victorian pieces, which meant that she quite often found her circuitry shorting out or her joints locking up at random intervals. Rabbit was prone to malfunctions of all sorts, glitching and stuttering while her limbs jerked out at odd angles.* Rabbit dealt with this problem by ignoring it completely.
--Until recently. Rabbit has finally gotten those upgrades that she has so desperately been in need of these last few decades, but only so that she could have her male (or genderless) copper structure shaped into something more feminine and fitting of the gender she truly felt she was. Though, even after that big update, the 'bot has quickly fallen back into her old routines, so the glitching and malfunctioning continues.
Though built with the specific purpose to be a master musician and lyricist that would win the heart of her creator's lady love, Rabbit has taken to other forms of entertainment as well and has come to find some amount of expertise in most of these areas after over a century's worth of practice. Dance, comedy, mime - as long as there is a crowd to shower her in either glowing applause or uproarious laughter, she'll pick up any talent she can to garner more attention. One can only assume that, if she could move more fluidly like her younger brothers, she'd have picked up juggling or some other type of clowning antics, just to expand that already impressive repertoire, but thankfully, that is far outside of her area of movement. As a musician, she plays the melodica, accordion, keytar, and the kazookaphone, which is basically a regular kazoo just with an attachment that makes it ten times more annoying.
It should also be noted that Rabbit is clearly very intelligent, she just simply chooses to not act like it.
* Terrifying examples of Rabbit's on-stage malfunctions: Example 1 and Example 2!
◎ Powers/Abilities: Being a man-made automaton, Rabbit has all of what could be considered the average robot abilities:
* Inhuman strength
* A metal structure that can take quite a beating
* No need to breathe or eat
* Immunity to poisons, the effects of alcohol, and both biological and chemical weapons
* Lighted eyes that can see further into the dark than normal
* Advanced hearing
* Can be ripped to pieces and put back together (by an experience mechanic only please!) with little consequence
* An extended lifespan that is not limited by an organic body
Along with those abilities, Rabbit also has a flamethrower nozzle stuck down into her throat for fire-breathing capabilities should the need ever arise. A leftover from previous warfare.
Rabbit also has detachable gatling gun and buzz saw accessories that fit on her arms, retired and hidden away since her last brush with war in the 70s where all Walter robots took up a Vow of Peace that has been upheld to this very day. It would take a quite great deal to get them to break this vow, so it isn't at all likely these weapons will ever see the light of day again, though they are there.
The strange goggles she possesses are actually an advanced particle accelerator lens device that are activated when aligned properly with Rabbit's eyes. The telescopic section, when positioned in front of her green optic, will emit what can only be described as a 'death ray', which obviously means that if Rabbit were to ever actually wear those inherited goggles, destruction would ensue, which is precisely why they remain safely atop her hat. She really has zero reason to ever use them though and keeps them only for sentimental value.
As stated above, Rabbit has a certain affinity for music and being a performer. It was what she was built to do and she is quite thankfully very skilled at it. She can mime, sing, dance, and play the accordion, melodica, and keytar.
◎ Weapons & Other Special Inventory:
* Flamethrower
* Blue Matter Death Ray Gaze™ (her goggles)
* One astronaut helmet with a shattered visor, decorated in sharpie with stars, planets, and a pod of space whales
CEREALIA-Specific
◎ Element: Air, Rabbit is full of hot air (haha, both literally and figuratively) and is certainly very flighty compared to her siblings.
◎ Sense: Hearing. Music is the most important thing to Rabbit, so hearing is her most valued sense. Especially when she loves the sound of her own sweet voice.
◎ Seven Character Traits:
(puckish, charming, devoted) | (selfish, bratty, dumb) + mercurial
Samples
◎ First-Person Sample: Test Drive
◎ Third-Person Sample: It was unspoken rule among the Walter Manor residents that Rabbit was not to be disturbed during her daily visits with Colonel Walter's grave.
Though privacy had never been an issue among the other robots and humans that resided there - the lack of doors took care of that silly notion - it hadn't taken very long for newcomers of the family to understand the importance of an exception when it came to Rabbit. One too many times of accidentally stumbling upon the copper automaton in a vulnerable position, the sight of oil slicked down her copper face and staining the red trim of her dress had taught the others quickly enough to give the robot space when she was conversing privately with her deceased creator.
So Rabbit was inwardly grateful for the distance. She told the others she enjoyed feeding the ducks every morning and they never had the heart to correct her.
But today was different.
Rabbit was planted unceremoniously under the tree that kept her creator out of the bright California sun, leaning against the trunk with her spindly arms crossed over her chest. There was a constant stream of steam rising from the vents on either side of her face, her gaze focused firmly on the lake beside the family cemetery. Usually she preferred to kneel during these encounters, to physically touch the cold stone and the hard earth and the damp grass, as if the deceased form beneath her could feel her metal fingers and know that his creation was desperately attempting to make some form of contact with his departed soul.
But decades upon decades of routine were coming to a close.
The times were changing and as much as she stubbornly attempted to fight it the last one hundred years, Rabbit had finally made the change with them.
The creaky knees that had no longer been able to carry the full weight of her clockwork body had finally been entirely replaced with new pieces. The shoddily patched-up boiler she'd had since she'd first come online was replaced with something whole and shiny. Where she used to fall into literal pieces wherever she went, the automaton's newly upgraded and fully modern metal structure was now so much more solid and sturdy than she can ever remember being.
It hurt sometimes, when she'd catch sight of herself smiling in the mirror or find herself performing tasks with more precision than ever, to know that her newfound happiness had come at the cost of removing the pieces of herself that her creator had so painstakingly crafted himself. Every part of her had been made with a father's love. How could she show his memory the disrespect of being so absolutely happy in her new body?
When Rabbit finally spoke aloud, voice unnaturally soft and thoughtful for such a usually boisterous and upbeat personality, she tore her glowing eyes away from the lake's ducks with a puff of steam, finally looking to the ornate tombstone in front of her. Her gaze still avoided the words that were carved deeply into rock.
"I miss ya, Pappy." The pause was deafening. Reaching up to adjust the brim of her hat, Rabbit's fingers brushed the goggles that had been given to her so long ago by the same man. The memory was searing, her metal hand quickly retreating as if actually burned. She continued on: "Seventy-three years you've been g-g-g-gone-" An unnatural twitch of her head as her voice box stuck briefly. "-an' it still hurts. It's never gonna go a-away, is itttttt?"
Of course it wouldn't, she rationalized with a mechanical whirr, a touch of bitterness at the edge of her thoughts. If seventy-three years hadn't been enough to ease the emptiness in her chest or the heavy weight pressing down upon her hunched copper shoulders, what difference could another decade possibly do? Or a century at that?
Her father was dead. Her best friend of forty-six years had passed away in his sleep while Rabbit had been on the other side of the world. The man who had given her life, patiently taught her everything, put up with her terrible puns, had lovingly called her one of his own alongside his own biological children, who had wept genuine tears when Rabbit had been enlisted to war...
The robot quickly pushed those thoughts aside before oil could begin leaking from her optics again. Best to change the conversation topic to something that wouldn't leave her face stained for their big performance that evening.
She mimicked clearing the throat she didn't have.
"Y'know, we got another gig tonight. Real f-fancy place. We'll be rubbin' elbows with b-big Hollywood types! Well, not literally, but, uh..." Another pause filled only by the soft turning of her internal gears, though the corner of her crooked mouth quirked upwards. "Hatchworth hasn't changed in th' slightest. I'm beginning t' think he never will. Still seein' t' world like a-a-a little kid. You'd think livin' a h-hundred an' nineteen years would'a taken some of th' curiosity outta him, but nope. Still runnin' from here t' there, always askin' questions, always s-smilin'... An' Th'Spine!" The copper automaton huffed in feigned irritation. "Still livin' with that s-s-ssssstupid idea of wantin' to be human! Got his heart stomped all over yet again by another c-c-c-cold, fleshy dame. I keep tellin' him-" Rabbit's metal chest puffed out. She was created to entertain, after all. The performer in her never would quit. "-'Th'Spine, you gotta leave these thoughts behind ya! Be proud of what ya are, of how P-Pappy made ya! Ain't nothing wrong with being a robut'!"
Her posture deflated at the end of her imitation with a audible creak, neck snapping to the side violently. New and fully modern body or not, there were still some kinks to be worked out.
Reaching up, Rabbit adjusted her head with a nonchalant twist, an obnoxious grinding of metal-on-metal, before continuing: "But you remember h-how he is. Just as stuck in th' clouds as Hatchy sometimes, I swear. It's kind-kind-kinda funny how so little has changed with th' two of 'em. Even after all this time." Rabbit felt a familiar presence in the nearby vicinity and a swift glance back to the manor confirmed her suspicions: a pair of glowing green eyes watching her closely through the kitchen window. Well, that was her cue to wrap this visit up.
Rabbit pushed herself away from the tree, limbs jerking shakily as she found stable footing. Approaching the tombstone with a clank, she allowed her fingers to drop down and touch the stone. The volume of her voice lowered even further, keeping the one-sided conversation between father and daughter private for one moment longer.
"They miss ya too. Even if they don't visit as often as me-me-me." Her curved fingers, skeletally thin traced a delicate star against the stone. "I can tell." Rabbit heaved a final sigh, steam flowing from her mouth as she gave the tombstone of her creator a fond pat.
"Love ya, Pappy. I'll be back t-tomorrow."
◎ Is your character retaining any previous game memories? Nope!