Picture Perfect [Autumn/Edgar] Social Link 1

Edgar: Devil Arcana
Autumn: Moon Arcana

Lv 1 Social Hub

Due to Edgar's current issues, he found himself in a bind with one of his cameras being broken. It gave him a hard time because he was unable to find a person that would be able to fix it on such short notice, but he was intending on doing a vlog in one of the vault's local restaurants to increase the business there. With this being one of his few days off from work,  Edgar liked to help other people in his way, especially if this helps him in the end. Eating there for free once in a while is a nice little incentive, and using his following always helped if he took good pictures of the trademark meals.

However, each shop that he ended up walking inside had a bunch of other digital appliances on the queue, which would put his needs on the backburner.  

"But I don't have three days. Shouldn't you prioritize the things that can be done at a quicker case before taking on big jobs that hold everything else back?"

Even though he questioned the priorities of the shop owner, Edgar simply dropped it and walked out of the store.

"What's wrong with this damn camera? I can't figure it out..." He was currently standing out in the open with his camera in hand, which made it easy for someone to overhear him.

Reality was surreal. The statement was contradictory, Autumn knew, but true nonetheless - it was disorienting to have her feet on solid ground, to feel the thrumming of heavy machinery reverberating throughout the vault proper in a way that no dream, lucid or no, could ever replicate. On one hand, it was a splendid feeling to feel grounded at last; but on the other, she already missed the sensation of drifting aimlessly through a canvas of different worlds like a curator would an art gallery, missed that truest feeling of freedom. In some ways, she hated the sensation of being tied down to a world that she simply couldn't escape, especially when said world had been razed to the ground by demons.

She'd been drifting about the massive vault complex like a dead leaf carried on the wind, drawing odd looks from it's regular dwellers, when an irritated looking man holding a camera loudly expressed his displeasure and naturally caught her attention.

Well, she supposed it couldn't hurt to actually speak to someone who didn't seem to be confused at best by her presence and pettily irritated at worst.

"Hey," She called out to the man, startled by the sound of her own voices -- did she really sound like that? -- and plodding over. "Need a hand?"

With a slight twist on the side, Edgar noticed the voice of a woman calling him. Or at the very least, it was something that imitated the voice of a woman, the appearance of the individual who called out to him was rather ambiguous if he was to tell who or what they were at first glance. Letting the camera out of its embrace so that it continued to hang around his neck, Edgar made a quick observation of the newcomer. Their clothes were indeed large, but it was not as if there was a cycle of temperature in the vaults because of the constant temperature that increases each time. It only added to the mystery of what was exactly under those clothes, but it had to wait.

"Maybe so, but I would like to know exactly how you will help me before I accept the help first. Right now I have an issue with that digital camera. It won't light up, and I changed the batteries twice. It operated yesterday and did not suffer any water damage. Do you have any help with that? Why would you think you could...if I could ask the question?"

Edgar wasn't trying to be rude, he just wanted to know what skills that person had before he encroached on something for them.

"Hmmm, who knows? Maybe we just speak the same language." Autumn teased, smiling ever so slightly in a cryptic manner that probably didn't answer Edgar's question in the slightest. To be honest, she didn't know what had possessed her to volunteer her assistance. She had never seen such a camera before in her (admittedly short) life, and yet she felt a sense of deja vu she couldn't justify.

Upon closer observation, the man standing before her was quite crisp in appearance. Other than the irritated expression on his face, his movements were quite measured in contrast to his somewhat bulky frame. The camera in his hands appeared to have seen better days, though it was obviously well maintained regardless.

"I don't suppose you've dropped that recently?" She inquired, shuffling closer to observe the camera better.

That wasn't an answer to Edgar's question, but he didn't even show that he was irritated. He handed the camera over to see if this mysterious person could even do anything about it. He sincerely doubts it and arresting a con artist that preyed upon individuals that needed crucial tools to make a living wouldn't be out of the norm for Edgar either. This person might not be worth Edgar's time in regards to that, but he wouldn't hesitate to put fraud charges on them.

"Yeah, I did drop it quite recently. But how did you know that? Could you tell from observation alone or the fact that I omitted that it had no water contact?"

If this was something that could be fixed professionally, it would be something that Edgar would consider worth paying for. He always supported small businesses, but he wasn't so sure about this person yet.

"Mmmm, just figured that might have been the case judging by how this side in particular seems pretty battered." Autumn absentmindedly explained as she turned the camera around her hands. And indeed, one corner of the device was somewhat worn, maybe even slightly cracked. Of course, Edgar seemed somewhat suspicious in regards to her actions (which was entirely fair - she couldn't blame him for thinking she was dodgy), so she'd try to make it a quick fix, withdrawing a simple toolkit that she had nicked from the robotics lab earlier that day, sitting crosslegged on the ground as she unscrewed part of the camera casing.

It was an odd feeling for certain; She had never handled such tools before and yet at the same time she felt like she had been using them for years, like a far more experienced hand had spurred her to assist Edgar in the first place and was now guiding her hand as she re-aligned some of the components of the camera that appeared to have been knocked out of whack when the man had dropped them before handing it back over.

"...don't take my word for it, but I think it should work now."

Edgar simply watched as she worked her magic, from the standpoint of a person who was watching this person use the tools, it seemed that they knew what they were doing to a certain degree. In any case, Edgar's posture relaxed a bit they continued to work, rather quickly to be honest. perhaps Edgar was a little selfish in prioritizing his own needs first, but if it was that fast of a fix that this random stranger can just show up and work on it like that, what was the point of him waiting more than 72 hours for it to get done. If he's keeping the vault safe, he would need all of his tools for the job, regardless of whether he also uses them for his personal needs.

"Huh? Done already?"

Being rather surprised, Edgar took the camera and took focus on Autumn, taking a picture. Afterward, he showed her the back of the digital camera so they both could look together. "This is nice, you got it working. What's your name? I'm Edgar, and how much did it cost to fix it?"

When Edgar turned the screen of the camera towards Autumn to demonstrate that it was once again functional, it struck her that she'd never actually seen what she looked like before. A different person gazed back at her from the screen - it was difficult to wrap her head around the idea that that was indeed her and not someone else. It took her a moment or two get over her visible bewilderment before she belatedly responded to Edgar.

"I...my name is Autumn. It's nice to meet you, Edgar." Her voice still felt rather distant and inattentive. Her name, like Edgar's photograph, felt unfamiliar to her, like she was introducing another person - she supposed she'd have to get used to that.

"Umm...I don't need any payment," She added, kneading her hands as she did so, feeling the servos in her hands pushing and pulling, making slight whirring noises. "Even if I had money, I'm not quite sure what I'd even spend it on."

So their name was Autumn? Also, judging from the whirring sounds, lt was safe to say that this person was not all that they seemed. "Are you perhaps an android? They usually keep to themselves or are attached t some other store or place of business. These days, they seem a lot more real and developed their personalities, but I never saw one with actual free time. " Either way, he still felt like it was a service that was done for him and it would be for the best if people of the vault looked out for each other.

"What are you doing by yourself? The more I talk to you, the more it seems like you have some sort of aimless function in mind. Money here circulates, it's a closed economy so you would at least be able to get some materials for yourself if you are an android. Or maybe for your shop if you have one. So far, all of these are assumptions, but I have the highest doubt that we are all completely idle here. There has to be something you want."

Spoiler:

"Never saw one with actual free time, hmmm? Duly noted, I'll keep it in mind." Autumn halfheartedly murmured, partly jesting and partly entirely serious. "Yes, quite a few people have mentioned that I am an android. I'm still trying to process exactly what the ramifications of that fact are, unfortunately." She sighed, clasping a hand to the back of her neck as she did so. It was obvious that she wasn't flesh and bone like the vast majority of those dwelling in the vault, but even so it was difficult to comprehend what her existence truly meant.

Edgar's inquiry was interesting, for certain. His perceptiveness was almost admirable, had the question not been a source of discomfort. It took a moment of consideration before she answered, voice tinged with something a little bit like sadness, or as much as her robotic voicebox would allow.

"I suppose you'd be wrong there, then. I'll have to get back to you when I find one of those..."

"One of those? You mean, something you want?" It had to be that more than anything else, above money or even materialistic things, there was a main goal or reason why people wanted those things. It only supplemented the big picture, it wasn't meant to take on a life of its own. But for Autumn's cause, she had neither, only confusion. " Was you made by a company or an individual. I'd check for a bar code or any sort of marking but in all honesty, even human beings have a form of decency that makes it unacceptable when you look as close to our image as possible. I brought it up because you were made for a reason. Even if that isn't something you might not want to do, how about you start with the reason you were made in the first place. I'm no therapist, and I'm definitely not qualified as a counselor. "

Taking a look at his camera, Edgar would give a small smile before putting it in his case. "But I'm one hell of a detective. If there is something going on in Vault Olympia, at least I'm around. I don't know, missing persons, distrubances that actually need my attention, things like that."

"That's not an unreasonable question. I haven't had much time to check, actually." The android mused, gently rolling up the sleeve-like garment that covered her left arm in order to search for any identifying markings. Upon hearing Edgar's query regarding her creator, Autumn blinked for a moment, pupils irising and spinning like the lenses of the older man's camera as she scanned her digital "brain" to access her records, mostly filled with the different dreams she had experienced during her dormancy, struck by a bizarre sense of deja vu as she came across the name of a man she'd never seen before but nonetheless felt familiar with. "I've heard about a certain Alphonse Morgan, but nothing more. I'm afraid he's...no longer breathing. Checking my databanks, I don't seem to be programmed with a primary directive, but these should speak for themselves." As she spoke, Autumn raised her right hand, her fingertips scissoring open to reveal rifled chambers similar to the barrel of a gun before letting the hand fall to her side again.

Listening to Edgar's boast, Autumn inclined her head curiously. "A detective? What sort of cases have you taken on?"

"The android with all the time in the world that didn't have the time to check. That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one quite frankly."

So far, the only thing that he could do was observe the android as it started to whirr or do some sort of search. It was at that moment that Autumn decided to name drop a name that we never heard before. Alphonse Morgan seemed to be connected to them, but that was as far as it went. As for the actual purpose of Autumn's proposed functions, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the barrel hand was capable of extreme violence.

"I can only hope it's only a precaution for what's outside, if there is anything left out there, to begin with. But still, even though I mentioned it, don't be too willing to show that off. Ok? Vault Olympia is going through some peaceful times, leave the hard stuff to people like me. "

As for the cases, he had to be as vague as possible." I like high-profile cases, but local gangs and corruption here and there is something that I take notice of as well. You always look at things in regards to necessity, not everything is in black and white."

With that being said, Edgar handed over a business card for the robot.

"Once you find out something you want, contact me. The job's not done, I haven't paid you for it yet. "

"That's fair. Still, I don't think anyone really expected me to come to when I did, which was...earlier today, actually."

She slowly nodded as Edgar lectured her about the proper usage of her firearms in a strangely reassuring manner. Perhaps she could acclimate to living inside this vault after all, if she could get over how overwhelming the whole place was. "Mhmmm. Well, they aren't loaded, so that isn't a concern - for now." Autumn offered nothing more than a conspiratorial, joking wink (even if she truly didn't feel like joking at all on the inside, thanks to both their sobering conversation and her generally gloomy circumstances) at Edgar before changing the subject once again.

Edgar's description of his work left quite a bit of gray area, but it got the general idea across, to say the least - she took the business card he offered, stowing it in one of her pockets.

"I...appreciate the offer, Edgar. Here's hoping the next time we meet is under more favorable circumstances."

With a confident nod, Edgar would take a look at his watch, frowning at the time. "Alright, I got to get out out of here. Contact me if anything, I'm not that hard to find. Who knows, maybe I'll look more into that name that you just gave me to see just what happened to the guy. You would just need to file a missing people report if you think he's missing instead of passing on. But if it is the latter, I can bend the rules for a surviving family member if you catch my drift. If he made you, he's technically your father." This was more or less the gray area that Edgar was talking about. With all of the information that Autumn had, it was a possibility that it was different from the vault records that OPD had in their possession. The mysterious Alphonse Morgan might not be much of a mystery.

"See you later Autumn, and thanks for fixing my camera. "