Sure! It's probably really tricky with all of the robes, right? Let's see what we can do.
[Good thing childcare is on his list of many things on his statue! God only knows how many times he had to dress Luke before the kid learned how to do it himself. So it's like clockwork, how easily he approaches Justice and gently takes the clothing from him with one hand and both of their hands with the other.]
[Shaking from side to side, Justice takes a step back and seems to consider something, looking all around the lab, like they aren't sure if the two of them are really alone at all.]
I...I've been hearing that...we've been able to start doing it for the people who we're closest to. You're not on my team, but I still really trust you. Is that, is that okay?
[It's a process. Robes need to be de-tangled carefully from the almost dome-like formation it's swaddling their head in. The rest can practically be shrugged off downward to pool around their feet, the cloth is so oversized on him. And then, finally, the mask comes off, as well. The boy that stands in front of Guy fidgets, hollow gaze nervously averted.]
This is what I meant when I said...that I'm not normal.
After his talk with Justice only a few days ago, he knows to brace himself for anything. But it's still not what he expected. It explains the odd shape of the robes around the mask, at least.
He gives the boy a little bit of space at first, taking a few moments to look him over. Everything below the neck looked so normal, almost like the kid just had his head stuck in a helmet. But no. No, Justice had insisted he wasn't a human.
It's absurd, isn't it? I'm a robot that thinks it's a real human, or thought, anyway. And then, figuring out the truth, became a god. So what does that really make me?
[His shoulders sag, hands clutching at the domed helmet of his head.]
Why wouldn't people be scared of me, w-when this is what I look like? When they realize that I'm just a machine?
[This poor kid. But also: WOW DOESN'T THIS EXISTENTIAL PROBLEM SOUND FAMILIAR
He sighs as he puts one of his hands against Justice's, his grip firm but warm.]
You know what I told you before isn't a lie, right? That you're you, no matter what you are.
People might get scared. I wish I could promise otherwise. But they still know Justice. They know what you'd done for us and how you've spoken and acted. They know you're kind. They know you want to keep trying. They know you're a good person. Whether that person is human or not shouldn't matter.
Just have a little faith in us, alright? And yourself, too. So what if you're a machine? That doesn't stop you from being Justice, just like you've always been. You're still real, and you're still worth just as much as anyone else here.
Sorry...what you said to me, and what you're staying now, it's still just as important to me as ever. It's just so hard for me not...not to think about, you know? It's because of this helmet that I have to wear. Back home, it made people so suspicious of me. I know the mask doesn't help, either, though, but it was kind of nice to look the same as all the other gods.
[But Justice lets out a slow sigh.]
But right now...I...I feel kind of free. Maybe just a little bit.
[Once again, Justice seems to pause, but then pulls up a panel with a keypad. Quickly, he enters in a long string of digits...and then, as the helmet ejects, he pulls it away to reveal...
[Alarming at first, yes... but Justice just admitted he was a robot. What shock value hits Guy dissipates within just a few moments. Just a headless robot boy, it's okay.
...
Can he still talk without the helmet, though? WHERE WOULD THE VOICE EVEN COME FROM???]
Can you still operate okay without it? Do you think you'll be able to manage if we put it to the side for a second? I don't want to damage anything on accident.
Yes. It's just a means to hide my circuitry and...I guess to make me seem like I was a normal boy trapped inside of a device. It scared me, too, when I first found out the code that unlocked it.
[Justice begins to lower his arms as the shirt evens out over his midsection.]
I ask myself that a lot. I wonder if he wanted to see...just what would happen. What would happen to a machine when faced with the fact that it had been a machine? When it had no means to know that it was ever any different? I thought when I found the passcode to unlock my helmet...I'd be free.
[But he wasn't free. The moment that the helmet came off, his reality became a cage, his body a prison. Everything he thought about himself, a question and a farce.]
It happens to people, too. If you're raised learning things are one way, only to be told things are another... it's not easy to deal with. Either way sounds just as cruel.
[He can't help but think of Luke and Van, of the mess of that whole stretch of years, of being blind to the whole thing until it fell apart.
...no. At least, I don't think I do. But I'm not sure I really know how it feels to hate.
[He hesitates.]
I'm not sure what a lot of it really means, anymore. It's confusing, and I still need time to understand all the things I never experienced before. But...he made me, even if he made me out of selfish reasons, and never treated me with kindness. So how could I really ever hate him completely?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Good thing childcare is on his list of many things on his statue! God only knows how many times he had to dress Luke before the kid learned how to do it himself. So it's like clockwork, how easily he approaches Justice and gently takes the clothing from him with one hand and both of their hands with the other.]
Here we go, arms up straight.
no subject
[Shaking from side to side, Justice takes a step back and seems to consider something, looking all around the lab, like they aren't sure if the two of them are really alone at all.]
I'm...gonna take my mask off.
i just screamed and scared my cat
He, also, looks around to make sure they're alone.]
Are you sure?
I thought you guys weren't allowed to do that.
OH NO!!
no subject
There's a soft, careful compassion that drapes over him as he kneels back down to Justice's level, the shirt draped over one of his arms.]
Of course it is, Justice. I'm honored.
Do you want me to help?
no subject
No...just...promise you won't freak out.
[It's a process. Robes need to be de-tangled carefully from the almost dome-like formation it's swaddling their head in. The rest can practically be shrugged off downward to pool around their feet, the cloth is so oversized on him. And then, finally, the mask comes off, as well. The boy that stands in front of Guy fidgets, hollow gaze nervously averted.]
This is what I meant when I said...that I'm not normal.
no subject
After his talk with Justice only a few days ago, he knows to brace himself for anything. But it's still not what he expected. It explains the odd shape of the robes around the mask, at least.
He gives the boy a little bit of space at first, taking a few moments to look him over. Everything below the neck looked so normal, almost like the kid just had his head stuck in a helmet. But no. No, Justice had insisted he wasn't a human.
So...]
...You're mechanical.
[Should he be surprised? Probably not.
WHY IS THIS PLACE SO FULL OF ROBOTS????????]
no subject
[His shoulders sag, hands clutching at the domed helmet of his head.]
Why wouldn't people be scared of me, w-when this is what I look like? When they realize that I'm just a machine?
no subject
He sighs as he puts one of his hands against Justice's, his grip firm but warm.]
You know what I told you before isn't a lie, right? That you're you, no matter what you are.
People might get scared. I wish I could promise otherwise. But they still know Justice. They know what you'd done for us and how you've spoken and acted. They know you're kind. They know you want to keep trying. They know you're a good person. Whether that person is human or not shouldn't matter.
Just have a little faith in us, alright? And yourself, too. So what if you're a machine? That doesn't stop you from being Justice, just like you've always been. You're still real, and you're still worth just as much as anyone else here.
So just keep being who you've always been.
no subject
[But Justice lets out a slow sigh.]
But right now...I...I feel kind of free. Maybe just a little bit.
no subject
[He'll hold the shirt back up, though, letting his smile grow a little warmer.]
We still need to get this on you, though! I'll need to go look for another size if I guessed wrong.
Does your helmet have a release switch? [He thought he saw some sort of keypad around the back...]
no subject
[Once again, Justice seems to pause, but then pulls up a panel with a keypad. Quickly, he enters in a long string of digits...and then, as the helmet ejects, he pulls it away to reveal...
well, nothing.]
no subject
...
Can he still talk without the helmet, though? WHERE WOULD THE VOICE EVEN COME FROM???]
Can you still operate okay without it? Do you think you'll be able to manage if we put it to the side for a second? I don't want to damage anything on accident.
no subject
[Justice puts it down, though.]
But...that's why I needed your help.
[NO...EYES...]
no subject
[Odd. Maybe it was some sort of sentience test.]
Well, you can always count on me for that, if nothing else. What kind of person would I be if I couldn't try to help someone I liked?
[And he's back on his feet, tapping at one of Justice's skinny little noodle arms with two fingers.]
Arms up. For real this time, okay?
no subject
[Justice's chest puffs up as he raises his arms.]
Thanks, Guy. I...I'm really glad we're friends.
no subject
[And he isn't just saying that because you are a robot
HE REALLY ISN'T DON'T LOOK AT HIM LIKE THAT WITH THOSE UNSEEING EYES
In one smooth motion, Guy eases the shirt up and over Justice's hands, shimmying it down their torso and adjusting it as he goes.]
Kind of a messed up game. You said you thought you were a real human, right? Why would someone do that to you?
no subject
[Justice begins to lower his arms as the shirt evens out over his midsection.]
I ask myself that a lot. I wonder if he wanted to see...just what would happen. What would happen to a machine when faced with the fact that it had been a machine? When it had no means to know that it was ever any different? I thought when I found the passcode to unlock my helmet...I'd be free.
[But he wasn't free. The moment that the helmet came off, his reality became a cage, his body a prison. Everything he thought about himself, a question and a farce.]
It still hurts.
no subject
It happens to people, too. If you're raised learning things are one way, only to be told things are another... it's not easy to deal with. Either way sounds just as cruel.
[He can't help but think of Luke and Van, of the mess of that whole stretch of years, of being blind to the whole thing until it fell apart.
...]
Do you hate him for that?
no subject
[He hesitates.]
I'm not sure what a lot of it really means, anymore. It's confusing, and I still need time to understand all the things I never experienced before. But...he made me, even if he made me out of selfish reasons, and never treated me with kindness. So how could I really ever hate him completely?