#best robot sweeper

[lincincoclearobot]

What is the best robot sweeper?

Finding the best robot sweeper can feel overwhelming with so many options on the market. You want 

something reliable, efficient, and of course, worth the investment. But how do you make the right choice?

The best robot sweeper is one that balances advanced features, strong cleaning power, and affordable pricing. 

Look for brands with customizable options and high-quality performance.

With so many choices, how can you be sure you’re selecting the right one? Let’s break it down and explore 

what makes a robot sweeper truly stand out.

What should you consider when choosing a robot sweeper?

The first step to finding the best robot sweeper is knowing what features matter most. From design to 

performance, it's important to know what you need before making a decision.

The key factors to consider are battery life, cleaning modes, dustbin size, smart features, and how customizable the model is.

When choosing a robot sweeper, battery life and cleaning power are two of the most critical features. You want 

a unit that can handle your home size without needing constant recharging. Most quality models today offer 

battery life between 90 to 120 minutes, with some even reaching 150 minutes or more. But a longer battery life 

doesn’t always mean better performance—it’s how efficiently the robot uses that power.

The dustbin capacity is also vital. A large dustbin can mean fewer stops for emptying, which is a big deal if you have 

a larger home or multiple floors. If the robot you choose doesn’t have the right dustbin size, you’ll have to keep 

an eye on it more often, which can be a hassle.

Smart features like app control, scheduling, and voice assistant integration (think Alexa or Google Assistant) are 

becoming more popular in modern robot sweepers. These features can save time, allowing you to control your 

sweeper from anywhere. However, these extras can also drive up the price, so it's a matter of balancing value with convenience.

How important is customizability when choosing a robot sweeper?

Customizability is an essential aspect if you're looking for a robot sweeper that fits your brand or personal preferences. 

Why settle for a one-size-fits-all model when you can have a solution tailored to your needs?

Customizability means you can get a robot sweeper that matches your specific requirements—whether it's design, 

cleaning performance, or additional features.

Customizable robot sweepers allow you to choose aspects like the robot's appearance, functionality, and even 

the cleaning brush design. For example, if you’re in the wholesale business or private-label market, having the 

ability to modify the design and add branding could be a game-changer. This allows you to create a unique 

product that fits your brand’s aesthetic or your customers' needs.

Additionally, customization isn’t just about looks. It’s about performance, too. Some manufacturers allow for 

adjustable suction power or specialized brush heads. These features can be crucial depending on the type of 

flooring in your home or business—whether it’s carpet, tiles, or hardwood.

Customization can extend to the cleaning modes as well. Some brands offer settings like "deep cleaning" or 

"eco-mode," allowing you to tailor the robot's cleaning strength and runtime to different tasks. If you're in a 

market that demands versatility, customizability ensures you can meet various needs.

What are the best robot sweepers for large spaces?

Large homes or offices pose a unique challenge for robot sweepers. So, which models perform best when 

tasked with covering larger areas?

Models with longer battery life, powerful suction, and smart navigation systems are ideal for large spaces.

When you’re dealing with a larger area, battery life becomes more important. You’ll need a robot that can 

run for extended periods without running out of juice halfway through the job. Brands like Roomba, Ecovacs, 

and Neato have models specifically designed for larger homes or commercial spaces.

For instance, the Roomba i7+ is a popular choice for larger spaces because it has smart navigation and an 

auto-emptying base. It’s equipped with a high-efficiency filter and can cover large areas without requiring 

frequent recharges. Its smart mapping feature ensures the robot knows where it has cleaned and where it needs 

to go next, saving you time and energy.

Another great option is the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI. This model uses advanced navigation technology, 

meaning it can efficiently clean larger spaces without getting stuck or missing spots. Plus, its powerful suction 

can tackle both pet hair and deep dirt from carpets.

How does price compare to quality in robot sweepers?

It’s tempting to assume the more expensive robot sweeper is the best, but that’s not always the case. 

Let’s dive into how price affects quality and performance.

Price often correlates with features and durability, but there are still affordable models that provide excellent performance.

High-end robot sweepers often come with advanced features like mapping, scheduling, and integration with 

smart home systems, but not everyone needs those extra functions. If you're primarily concerned with 

performance and reliability, there are plenty of mid-range models that get the job done at a more competitive price.

For example, while the iRobot Roomba i9+ may cost over $1000, it’s packed with top-tier features like automatic 

dirt disposal and exceptional navigation. However, if you're working on a tighter budget, models like the Shark 

IQ Robot or the Eufy RoboVac 11S offer impressive suction power and ease of use for around $300-$500.

It's important to find the balance between the features you need and how much you’re willing to spend. Do you 

really need a model with all the bells and whistles, or is a simpler design sufficient? Think about your specific needs 

and weigh those against the price tag.

What is the future of robot sweepers?

Robot sweepers have come a long way, but the future holds even more exciting possibilities. What can we expect 

from the next generation of robot vacuums?

The future will bring smarter, more efficient robots with better cleaning technology, longer battery life, and 

enhanced connectivity.

As AI and machine learning continue to improve, robot sweepers are expected to become even smarter. We’re 

likely to see models that can map out your home in real-time, anticipate cleaning patterns, and automatically 

adjust their cleaning strategy based on your home's layout.

Additionally, with the rise of smart homes, future robot vacuums will probably become more integrated with 

other devices. Imagine controlling your robot vacuum with voice commands via Alexa, Google Assistant, or even 

integrating it with your home security system. The potential for inter-device communication is huge, offering a 

seamless, hands-free experience.

Another key development is the improvement of battery technology. As more efficient batteries are developed, 

robot sweepers could run for hours longer, clean larger spaces, and charge faster. This would address one of the 

major pain points for customers with larger homes or commercial spaces.

Conclusion

Choosing the best robot sweeper depends on your specific needs. Whether it’s a high-end, customizable 

model or an affordable, reliable option, there’s something out there for everyone.

LINCINCO is a Chinese manufacturer of sweeping robots, with professional staff. If you have any questions about 

sweeping robots, please feel free to consult us.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Thomas, Engineer

Part 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sparks burst upwards into the goggles Thomas was wearing, the plasma cutter in his hand burning at several hundred degrees, focused to an incredibly fine point. Holding it in his work gloves was awkward at best, but years of practice had made him exceptional at his job. Sixer and Mace might’ve been better at the finer detail work, Padrino had incredible dexterity after all, but making custom tools was well within his wheel house too.

The two bot brothers had asked him to make a special kind of nano wrench while they ran a ‘memory sweeper’ program through his old translator, the one that had caught that rogue signal all those cycles ago. The group had been working on it in their off time between maintenance requests, and they were finally just steps away from the answers they were looking for. All they needed now was to strip the memory code out of the device, and for that they needed itty bitty tiny nanoscopic tools; ergo, while the twins worked their programs, Thomas got to work making the things they’d need.

He was almost done too, when the comm-link trilled. A patch job in the security chief’s office, apparently one of the terminals was unresponsive and the door was getting jammed up on something. Personal projects would have to wait.

“Roomba, we got a job. You coming with or hanging out here?”

[Statement: you operate at greater efficiency when this unit is present]

“That’s right buddy, but I’m asking what you wanna do,” Thomas said.

“Beep.”

[Statement: I would like to assist please]

“Thanks Roomba, I appreciate that.” Thomas held his arm out and the little droid climbed up to his usual perch on the man’s shoulder. “Look at you, making decisions for yourself. Good for you bud!”

Thomas adored the little robot, and as Roomba got smarter, that feeling only grew. Every day the small cleaning drone was getting more clever, his AI evolving ever further, thanks to the upgrades from Sixer and Mace. Pretty soon Roomba would be as smart as Thomas was.

Maybe I’ll teach him how to play virtual chess, he thought. Or I’ll build him a little controller and we can split screen a blaster battle game or something!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two made their way through the ship, waving and saying hello to the many people who stopped Thomas to look at the small robot on his shoulder. At this point in their mission, it was common knowledge that one of the humans had made a cleaning drone their ‘pet’, although Thomas was trying to make it clear that wasn’t the case. Roomba was his own person, he just so happened to have very little legs and it was faster to just catch a ride on his human companion. It probably didn’t help that outside himself and the Padrino, nobody else had the hardware to understand what Roomba was saying, so all they ever heard was Beep.

They made it up to the command deck and knocked on the door to the Chief’s office. It opened halfway before getting stuck, hidden gears grinding, and there was the Chief, leaning on his desk with a data pad in his hand. Thomas figured Chief Ducane was kinda cute, what with his scruffy yet trimmed beard and his various tattoos, but macho wasn’t really his thing on guys. That being said, he could see why some on the crew were whispering about him, the man was built. Thomas tried getting his attention through the crack.

“Reporting Chief, you sent a maintenance request?” Thomas said through the gap in the door.

“Yeah, I did,” Chief Ducane looked up. “Oh right, you’re Thomas right? I don’t remember if I’ve introduced myself yet, I’m Danny Ducane. You’re the guy with the domesticated maintenance droid, right?” The Chief got up to the door and pulled it open himself, the hydraulics groaning as it slid open the rest of the way.

“He’s not…” Thomas started, annoyed, but took a beat. Don’t antagonize the guy who can pull apart the doors. “This is Roomba, he has an adaptive learning AI now, like the Padrino on the crew. He’s not a pet.”

Roomba looked up when Thomas said his name and trilled angrily at the idea of being equated to a house cat.

“Beep.”

[Statement: Please inform the other human that I am not domesticated in any way, and would prefer that not get said again]

“He said you’re being rude,” Thomas explained.

“Beep.”

[Sufficiently put]

Chief Ducane looked at the two of them for a moment before raising his hands in defeat.

“Okay, fair enough, that was a dick move on my part. Sorry little guy, didn’t know you were one of the clever bots.”

Thomas nudged his tool bag with his foot, and the Chief took the message.

“Right, my control console is fritzing out,” Ducane said, shuffling awkwardly towards his desk. “The screen blurs every couple minutes, and the door got stuck this morning, don’t know what that’s about either.” The chief stood there, gesturing to his desk with one hand, the other fumbling to put the data pad down where Thomas suspected he thought he wouldn’t be able to see it. It occurred to him that Chief Ducane might not be the most technologically savvy, considering you could read a data pad from either side, and the exact same script was frozen on his console screen. It looked like a checklist of sorts, but Thomas wasn’t here to snoop classified documents. Unless it’d be funny, then maybe.

“Right,” Thomas said, eyeing the chief, “it’s probably just an electrical short, a little leftover from that solar flare the other day. I’ll have to strip some wiring but it’s a quick fix. Though the door might have to be taken out so I can get into the motors.”

“And how long will that take?” Ducane asked.

“Maybe an hour? Maybe more?” Thomas shrugged. “Takes as long as it takes for me to get in there.”

Thomas looked at him a moment, standing there with his hands on his sides. He could hear Roomba’s mechanical innards ticking and whirring as the little bot held onto his perch on Thomas’s shoulder.

“Guess I should let you get to it then,” Chief Ducane said, clapping his hands and heading for the door, but he stopped before he left, like he’d just remembered he’d left the stove on or some such.

“Hey, just a quick question,” he said, turning back to face Thomas. The chief’s hands were fidgeting, hooking and unhooking his thumbs into his pockets. “Are you acquainted with the Sed engineers? Kor and Taren?”

Thomas thought for a moment, then shrugged.

“Sure, I’ve seen them around. Why?”

“They ever seem real busy for unknown reasons?”

“Honestly? Like you want my work appropriate answer or my actual opinion?”

“Both.”

“Well my work appropriate answer is sure, they seem good at their jobs, usually off together on requests.”

“And your personal opinions?” Chief Ducane pressed, crossing his arms and shifting to stand in the doorway, as if he was keeping Thomas sequestered until he got answers to his odd line of questions. Thomas didn’t need to ponder the question that long.

“Honestly? Honestly they kinda suck,” He blurted out, a little more venomously than he’d intended. “Like, okay, don’t get me wrong, you ask them questions and they give the right answers, they know how things work and they know the right tool for the jobs, but work wise? Half the time nobody can find them. I’ve had three repair jobs handed over to me in the last two weeks ‘cause they’re off somewhere fooling around.”

“Fooling around?” Ducane intoned, “as in…?”

“Well we just kinda assumed they were an item. And look, we’re sympathetic, but the work load is insane on a ship this size with this many conflicting requirements. Temperature differences for different races, atmospheric controls bottoming out, I got a guy with four arms for a boss and even he thinks it’s ridiculous how often stuff around here breaks.”

“So you all just assumed they were off somewhere… doing that, while you all just put up with it? Has anyone seen them like this?” Chief Ducane pushed.

“Roomba did,” Thomas said, tilting his head the little droid’s direction, “while we were doing repairs in the air ducts a couple cycles ago.”

“Beep.”

[Please do not disclose this information]

“Huh?” Thomas put the little droid in his palm and let him stand for himself. “What’s up buddy?”

“What’s he saying?” The chief asked, shifting focus from Thomas to Roomba and back again.

“Beep.”

[Disclosure of this information will bring my work efficiency into question]

Ohhhhhhh, Thomas thought.

“He’s just saying how weird what he saw was,” Thomas shiftily explained, patting the little droid on the head. “We were working some repairs in the ducts when Roomba saw Taren in another part of the ship through the grating. He was on a comm-link and Kor showed up with a thing Roomba didn’t recognize, but from what he told me it was some hand tool I think.”

“So maybe they were just on another job and not screwing around?” Ducane questioned.

“Nah, couldn’t be, I was supposed to be the only repair guy in that part of the ship at the time. Everyone else is still supposed to be in the core room making repairs after that solar flare.”

Thomas took a deep breath and looked Ducane in the eye.

“Chief, be straight with me, is something going on on my ship?”

“What do you mean your ship?” Ducane scoffed.

“Trust me, this ship has already gotten enough of my blood, sweat, and tears man. I probably love her more than anyone else on this boat, so yeah, she’s my ship.” Thomas was getting a tad red in the face as he said this, which was fair, as it was slightly embarrassing to voice this odd idea of his. “Look man, this ship might be just a job to you, but it’s not just that to me, okay? So if there’s something happening here that could hurt her, I’m not gonna let that happen.”

How odd that a simple maintenance request could have such an impact on his day?

Roomba reach up and tugged on Thomas’s earlobe.

“Beep.”

[New Task Uploaded: protect Noah. Confirm?]

“That’s right Roomba, that’s what we’re gonna do,” Thomas said, weirdly amped up now. Chief Ducane stood there looking at him incredulously.

“Is every kid in the galaxy just ready to ride shotgun off to war these days? I swear, you younger guys need to do something more productive and fun with all that extra energy you have.”

“Shove it… respectfully, Chief.”

“Well if it makes you feel any better, I don’t have anything concrete that something is happening, not that I could tell you if I did.” Ducane shrugged and crossed his arms again, leaning against the wall. The data pad behind them on the desk trilled, a new file had been sent to it, and before the tones had silenced themselves, Thomas felt as if his neurons had just taken a bolt of electricity across his frontal lobe. He turned back to face the Security Chief with a dread look tacked onto his face.

“Hypothetically, Chief, if somebody had possibly intercepted a weird transmission while outside the broadcast shields, how important would that be?”

Chief Ducane stared at him a moment, then clasped his hands together in front of his mouth before sighing uncomfortably hard.

“I’d say that’d be pretty important, kid.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I thought you were supposed to be smart!” Danny half accused, walking quickly down the hall away from the lift.

“Man, I’m like actually a genius, I have four degrees, but nobody ever accused me of being smart,” Thomas said, shrugging. “I didn’t want to get kicked off the ship if it was nothing, which it probably is!”

“You wouldn’t have gotten kicked off the ship. If I can’t even get rid of Grite, you’re as safe as can be.”

“Oh, okay,” Thomas said sarcastically, “then I totally should’ve spilled it when, while on a space walk, my somewhat illegally jailbroke translator picked up a rogue signal on the long range communications array for the ship I just got a job on. I’ve seen people canned for less, I could’ve been tried for espionage or something.”

“You did what?”

Thomas and Danny turned on theirs heels to see Odis the Galley standing in the doorway they’d just passed, a ‘coffee’ mug in hand. It had a cartoonish drawing of a purple cow on it.

“Oh good, we’re just telling the whole ship now, I guess,” Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m definitely getting fired.”

“Wait wait wait, Odis is cool,” Thomas vouched. “He’s a real stand up guy.”

“What did you do now humie?” Odis groaned, downing whatever was in his mug before sprinting to join them. His shorter legs had to move twice as fast to keep up with the taller humans.

“So you know that project the twins and I have been working on?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah, you’ve been using your off hours for something that’s not video games, of course I noticed.”

“Fired…,” Danny moaned. “Court marshalled even.”

“Quiet big human, the smart human is talking.”

“Oh no, we’ve established that word doesn’t apply to me.”

“Beep.”

[Thank you for not telling the human I fell down the air ducts]

It was a wonder how the entire ship didn’t know what they were doing by then, seeing as they were not exactly discreet as they headed down to the maintenance decks. When the group of them finally made the locker room, more than one set of eyes was watching them, though it was mostly Chief Ducane they were looking at. It wasn’t exactly normal operating procedures for the Chief of Security to walk into their locker room.

“How is it that you humans are always up to something ridiculous?” Odis asked, shaking his bulbous gray head. “I mean, as a Galley, I’m actually impressed with the level of… what’s a good human word for this nonsense?”

“Shenanigans?” Thomas offered.

“Ridiculous words, ridiculous people…,” Odis laughed. “The cows are cool, but the rest of your world is just a mess of weird, huh?”

The humans didn’t respond, though given any thought, they couldn’t have refuted the Galley anyway.

Sixer and Mace stood at their work table, the terminal screen running thousands of lines of code a second. Thomas would’ve loved to comb through it given the chance, but now wasn’t the time.

“Twins!” he called over, “Got it up and going?”

“Almost, Human Thomas,” Sixer replied.

“Hello, Security Chief Ducane,” Mace greeted.

“Yeah, hi guys,” Danny said. “I hear you all have been working a little side project?”

The two Padrino turned to each other and each gave a quick burst of machine speak before turning back to face them.

“Human Thomas, do you believe it is time to inform the ship’s command structure of our findings?”

“You could say that, yeah,” Thomas nodded.

“Good, because we have finished preparations. We simply need the tool you made up and to see if the sweeper program retrieves any data.”

Thomas patted down his coveralls before fishing the nano-wrench from his inner pocket. He handed the tool to Sixer, who turned back to the table and made the final adjustments.

“Moment of truth, I guess,” he said.

“You realize I’m going to be extremely pissed if you got me down here and all worked up for nothing,” Danny said pointedly.

“Understood… sir,” Thomas swallowed hard.

The computer ran its program, thousands, hundreds of thousands of lines of code fluttering across the screen, the Padrino’s speed was impressive to say the least. They definitely had to teach him that sometime.

After a minute of them staring at the terminal in silence, the screen showed a resounding-

“Nothing?” Thomas and Danny said in unison.

“Correct,” Sixer said.

“Unfortunately,” continued Mace, “the translators are not equipped with enough memory storage to log something the size of a communications transmission.”

“So we’ve got nothing?” Thomas said, hands clenched at his sides. He didn’t know what he wanted the signal to be, but nothing was… incredibly unsatisfying, to say the least.

“Did you try to see recipient data?” Odis asked, eyeing the console code.

“What?” Thomas turned to him, confusion distorting the disappointment on his face.

“With the long range array, it’s got recipient data built into the message, so the thing knows who it’s going to,” Odis explained slowly. “Back in the day, we Galley used to strip data out of long range messages to find new planets to… interact with. It’s how we found the humies first, caught all those messages you kept throwing out into space.” Odis rifled through one of his side pockets and brought out something that looked like a key fob with a port on one end. He popped open a panel in the terminal and plugged it in, hitting a couple keys to sync the programs together. Thomas watched, confusion and disappointment morphing into a cautious optimism. Maybe they’d find something after all.

“And here… we… go!” Odis said smugly, triumphantly hitting the execute key. The screen rolled the code again, but this time information began loading, the computer compiling the data for them.

“And you just happen to have this… why?” Danny looked sternly in the Galley’s direction.

“If it makes you feel any better Chief, most of my free time has been spent with the kid playing Terran video games,” Odis snickered. “Don’t worry about what I’ve been up to, worry about whoever is sending messages to the GAIL High Council.”

“What the hell?” Danny exclaimed, leaning over the console to examine the data.

Sure enough, they couldn’t recover any of the message, the data was just too big for the little device to have caught any. However, Odis’s tracer did show that whatever the signal was, it had gone straight to someone by the name of Mons on the High Council of the Grand Assembly of Intelligent Lifeforms.

“Chief, what the hell are we looking at?” Thomas asked, for the first time actually realizing that something could be deeply, darkly wrong on the ship.

“This doesn’t make any sense, communications can’t go directly to the Council, not without going through Captain Skitch and me,” Danny kept looking at the screen, rereading the data from start to finish, over and over again, before pulling out his data pad and copying all of it down, taking photos too.

“What are you doing?” Sixer asked.

“Making sure whatever we have here, there’s multiple copies so we can’t lose any proof later.”

“Do you suspect there’s another agenda aboard this ship Chief Ducane?” Mace followed.

“… I sincerely hope not, but either way, none of this ever happened. Not a single one of you saw any of this, okay? Nothing and no one,” Danny looked at each of them in turn, making sure they understood his meaning, “is going to hear about any of this. And when I call any of you to my office, it’s double time, understood?”

“You got it Chief,” Thomas said immediately, the others following suit, but with much less gusto.

“Beep.”

[Task: protect Noah in progress]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The work shift ended with no more excitement, however Thomas’s heart rate hadn’t declined even a bit in the following hours. The idea that something could threaten the ship, his ship, the ship he’d almost died for already, filled him with some very mixed emotions, not the least of which was apprehension. It did reassure him that Chief Ducane seemed like a good guy, and that he wasn’t going to take any disciplinary measures against the worker crew for anything, but the idea that they could be called on to actually do something was daunting.

Walking to the mess hall, Thomas realized he’d never actually made any of the requested repairs to Danny office. He pulled a comm-link out of his back pocket and sent a quick “sorry, I’ll be right there to fix the door” text, but was alarmed at what the Chief of Security replied almost instantly.

>Someone searched my office while cameras were out of commission. Nothing is missing. They took advantage of the door being jammed and unlocked<

Another message:

>Don’t come up here, it’ll look suspicious for the both of us. I’ll make another request tomorrow. Tell your friends to be careful, and come to me immediately if you see anything at all<

Thomas shakily put the comm-link back in his pocket and headed back towards the Vending Machines. He saw Odis sitting in the corner and joined him after getting his food.

“You ever think someone in the GAIL could do something pretty bad?”

“What, you think you humans have a monopoly on being kind of shitty?” Odis snorted. “You’re not that weird, you know.”

[totalperspectivevortexx]

Bubs from Space Sweepers.

Post-finals movie night came down to watching Dune or rewatching Space Sweepers. So of course I picked Space Sweepers because the best science fiction 1. Doesn’t take itself too seriously and 2. Has a cute robot.

I want to watch/read more classic science fiction so I’ll probably eventually watch Dune. I’m sure it has an interesting plot I just don’t find it visually interesting.

[karionice]

The Only Hong

Pairing: ceo!Joshua Hong x secretary!female reader

This is connected to my villain DK one-shot which was lots of fun but much, much shorter. If you'd like, strap in for some world-building.

Word Count: ~ 9.7k

Genres/Warnings: eventual romance and fluff, sci-fi au, kinda dense, tech empire au, non-idol au, robots, mentions of other svt members, skz reference from my drafts, reference to death, joshua is gentle sexy as always, reader and Joshua are about the same age, joshua is an orphan, true neutral, reader probs has anxiety, "refuge cafes" = "Plaza system", first kiss, shua's shtick with water here too

Ceo world taglist: @fabulaee, @laaylaazyy

What a lonely man he must be, you thought to yourself. Everything about Joshua Hong's home was solemn and quiet, yet also very much alive. 

In every direction there was some sort of robot - little ones floating about wiping windows, larger ones scooting about sweeping the floors, little screens on each door blinking at you as you walked by...There was even a slinkier robot swinging about the ceiling rafters dusting surfaces and changing lights. One of the sweepers gave you a little wave as you kept walking until you reached a large, open doorway of polished dark wood.

You stood there in the middle of the open doors and took in the gilded, floor length windows on the other side of a large study. It was a beautiful room within an already beautiful place, but you specifically observed the motionless silhouette of a tall and slim young man. He had his back turned to you with his hands clasped behind him, gazing out the window at the glowing city outside.

You didn't know whether to make a sound or not so you stayed standing in the doorway, fighting the urge to fidget. After a couple more quiet seconds, the man looked over his shoulder and gave you a small smile. He beckoned you to come over before turning to walk over to a large desk.

With each step you felt yourself tensing up so you got yourself to breathe as you watched Mr. Hong sit down in his very comfortable looking chair. Once you'd gotten close enough in front of his desk, you bowed and greeted him plainly.

"Good to see you again, Y/N L/N.” Mr. Hong regarded you, eyes astute. “From today forward, you will be my at-home secretary. Thank you again for accepting the position."

You simply nodded and bowed again, making Mr. Hong chuckle. "No need to be nervous, I only hope to make your time working for me both comfortable and manageable." He then stood and beckoned to you again.

"Welcome to my study,” Mr. Hong exclaimed, making a wide gesture with his arm. “That desk over there will be where you will spend most of your time working."

You followed him over and he proceeded to explain some of the more unfamiliar gadgets on your desk, all of which he'd invented himself. He made note of the subtle uptick in brightness in your expression when he showed you the task managing device he'd designed for you.

"And finally, that quaint little area on the other side of the room is the refreshments corner. All of the cabinets are labeled and the refrigerator is self-cleaning - a best-seller of mine, if you didn’t know. Who knew people enjoy saving time from looking for the source of distracting odors?”

Even though you could tell that he was trying to get you to crack a smile, you still felt too timid to really do so and simply nodded at him, not meeting his eyes. At that, he cocked his head and regarded you with another small smile.

“A few of my delivery rovers have already transported your things to your living quarters, which are a little ways past the main hallway. Allow me to show you the way.”

Your shoulders relaxed a little at the prospect of rest as Mr. Hong turned on his heel and gestured for you to follow. Rather than through the large doorway, he seemed to be leading you to a smaller double door on the side within a wall of bookshelves.

As you passed the refreshments corner, the coffee machine, also a robot, waved at you.

You paused in your tracks and blinked, causing Mr. Hong to turn around to see what was happening. When he saw you giving the coffee-bot a wave back, Mr. Hong laughed. You looked back at him wide-eyed and embarrassed, only for your eyes to grow wider as Mr. Hong walked up to the robot and gave it a pat on the head. 

Did that robot just giggle? You noted the shine of curly embellished letters on the back of it that spelled Shubot.

“Come now,” Mr. Hong said, breaking you from your perplexion. “There will be plenty of time to become acquainted with the rest of my creations inhabiting this home later on.”

As the two of you continued to walk, you eventually came to be walking next to him rather than behind. You looked around, taking in the elegant mix of all things high-tech and what had clearly been there for generations.

"Hong Corporations has had many rebrandings and changes in development throughout the decades, but the fact that the oldest furniture and designs in this home are from two centuries ago doesn’t change. My ancestors wanted to build things that would last for a long time, but my grandfather was the one who decided to begin a legacy of creating to adapt to an ever-expanding world. Therefore our original property is far outside of the city. My grandfather relocated the business itself to the west side of here, Sector 17, and built it from the ground up, eventually raising my father here. And now for a very important question,” Mr. Hong stopped walking and raised his head.

The screen on the beautiful door you had stopped in front of displayed a waterfall effect to reveal letters - letters that spelled your name.

“Coffee or tea?” Mr. Hong smiled, looking at you.

You swore you could feel yourself blush as you said quietly, “I usually prefer neither.”

Mr. Hong’s smile grew wider as he snapped his fingers. Before you had the chance to soak in how perfectly straight his pearly teeth are, a delivery rover approached rapidly and prompted the door to open.

As you walked into your room, you watched as the rover extended its compartments to plop a robot you hadn’t seen before onto a small table in between the bathroom and what looked to be a vanity. You then jumped as Mr. Hong snapped his fingers again and the new robot whirred itself to life.

“This is Voira, a prototype for a new model of my water filtration and dispensing line. She can set the time when she will refill herself in a sink, or you can have her do it herself whenever empty, and she has a variety of options for the quality and temperature of drinking water. She will also retrieve one of your complimentary mugs from wherever it may be herself, unless you switch that feature off too. Currently I am still working on flavor fusion options, but hopefully with the data produced from you having her, it will be completed soon.”

You had to unhinge your jaw before looking up at Mr. Hong with shy gratitude. “Thank you so much, sir.”

“Oh please my dear, no need to be so formal. Call me Joshua.” At that, you simply bowed and turned away to hide your even deeper blush.

Joshua checked his Shu-watch and tapped the screen a few times before putting his hands behind his back and turning to exit. “I shall see you for dinner in two hours, which will be followed by your first set of tasks to complete for me. Please, however, get yourself accustomed at your own pace. If you need any assistance organizing your possessions or adjusting the settings of anything in your room, there is a companion Shubot on your desk that will gladly speak with you.”

After he left, closing the door behind him, you flopped down into a large cushioned chair by the vanity and took a good look around. 

Your room was a sleek yet cozy little space, or at least little in comparison to what you’d seen so far. There were floor length windows here as well, with digital, remote-controlled blinds that you recognized as those of Hong Co.’s that could turn into a television screen. Your bed was a large loft over a simple glass desk, at which you noticed several charging stations for a variety of devices. Mirroring the bathroom, next to your bed was the entrance to a walk-in closet, where all of your things had been left in a neat pile by the rover-bots. 

How on earth am I going to get myself together in two hours and still have energy to work tonight? You thought to yourself. You took a deep breath and got yourself up to settle in.

To start, you decided to ask Voira to bring you a cup of lukewarm water. You then started unpacking your clothing in the closet, only to be surprised by the clothes hangers- they unraveled themselves from the shape of hangers into robotic arms similar to the swinging cleaner bot you saw earlier and began hanging your clothes for you; pants, skirts, dresses, blouses, even belts and scarves. When you placed your shoes on the shelves labeled for them, the platforms above sprayed them with a sort of odor-eliminating disinfectant. 

“...get yourself accustomed at your own pace,” you remembered Joshua’s voice in your head. 

After getting over the shock of it all, you decided to do a little experiment. You noticed drawers that read “socks.” You took out an armful of your socks from a baggage and tossed them all into one. To your amazement, there were digital shifting platforms that paired up and organized your socks for you by length.

At this rate, I will be done unpacking in no time. It’s no wonder how the big CEOs who can afford to have their homes like this are able to be so productive, despite being humans.

“Now,” you thought aloud. “What’s the internet password?”

“Not to worry, Miss!” You heard a voice say from outside of the closet. You rushed out and saw the companion Shubot on your desk waving at you cheerfully. “Just place all of your electronics into the appropriate charging slots and I will get them connected to the internet right away!”

Your hands covered your mouth in silent glee as you hurried to follow the robot’s instructions. Once most everything had been put away, you noted how less than thirty minutes had passed. You got iced water from Voira and sat down at your desk again, you wanted to greet your desk companion properly.

“Hello, Miss! What can I do for you?”

You giggled at the thing and asked, “I just wanted to know, what should I call you?”

“You may call me whatever you’d like, Miss!”

“Please, call me Y/N. And er, may I call you…let’s see…” The little bot swayed in place patiently as you thought about what to possibly name it.

“Ani. May I call you Ani?”

“Of course!” You laughed as Ani gave a little spin. “Nice to meet you, Y/N! I’m excited to take care of ya!”

“Ani, I have some questions, if that’s okay?”

“Absolutely, ask away!”

“Why does Joshua only live with robots?”

Ani’s head quirked to the side. “I assume you don’t know the story of his parents?”

You shook your head. “I know about Joshua being an orphan but does he really not have anyone else?”

Ani shrugged, something you never thought you’d see a stiff little robot do. “I don’t contain any data on the topic of the Hong family outside of their names and important dates. There are other AIs here who do. But I am programmed to keep anything you tell me confidential, so don’t worry! I may not have much to say but you can talk to me anytime!”

You had never thought it possible to experience awkward silence with a robot but there you sat. “Well…I suppose I just don’t know where to start around here. I’m sort of hoping I'll wake up one day and realize things have picked up and I can just work. If, uhm, that makes any sense.”

Ani nodded. “Mhm! If it helps, one of your first tasks after dinner will be to organize your schedule for tomorrow! Joshua will send me a list and then you get to add whatever you want to in my hourly calendar!”

Checking the currently blank calendar, you weren’t surprised that you could add anything you wanted down to the minute, though you did wonder how much of it Joshua would see. “Ani, I have one more thing - Should I dress up for dinner?”

“Oh! The master has specifically requested you wear this…”

“...Ah.”

The uniform wasn’t tacky by any means, you just weren’t sure if it suited you. At least it was comfortable, and you liked that the skirt wasn’t too tight and left plenty of possibilities for layering.

When you arrived where Ani had indicated dinner would be, you stopped in your tracks in shock. Even though you knew that Joshua lived alone, you were expecting something more like a large or lavish dining room, maybe even with a chandelier. Instead you were greeted with a simple kitchen and living space, separated by a counter with tall seats. 

Behind the seats was a small glass table and simple chairs with tied-on cushions, almost like what a grandmother long ago would have in their home. Even larger of a surprise, Joshua was in the process of taking off an apron.

When he turned around to give it to a nearby robot to put away, he saw where you were standing and smiled.

“Come, have a seat at the table. My Cara-bots will bring out dinner momentarily.”

As you sat down gingerly, a robot similar to Voira but with a retractable tray for a body hovered over and poured wine into Joshua’s glass. He then looked at you, lifting his glass in question.

“Oh! I don’t really drink…”

Without anything said, the Shubot hovered over to you and poured something amber colored into your glass. You looked up at Joshua, puzzled.

“Try it, Y/N.”

You took a tentative sip and was immediately wowed. It’s like the robot had read your mind - you’d been craving something at this consistency, and the taste…it seemed to be diluted fig syrup, strained of seeds.

A Shubot similar to the delivery rovers but smaller set out plates, chopsticks, and soy sauce. Another one followed with a tray of kimbap.

“My mother’s recipe,” Joshua said, a tad softly. “It’s one of the few dishes I always make myself.”

The two of you ate in silence for a bit. It’s not that you didn’t want to talk and the food was really delicious, you just felt a bit…awkward. Joshua, being considerate of your shrinking posture, didn’t try to make any small talk like he had earlier. You were hyper-aware of it, especially since the situation was too reminiscent of how the two of you had met. 

You had just been let off of your last job in the upper-east side of the city, where some places were filing for bankruptcy due to a recent falling through in DK Tower, that part of Sector 17’s keystone, something about a security breach causing a leak of investment funds. 

You ended up in one of the city’s “refuge cafes”, which are large plazas scattered across the south side of Sector 17 that offer temporary housing for people willing to work until they find security, usually from business owners that set up there, then after workers can find more permanent options.

Unlike where you used to work, all of the businesses in the refuge cafes used Shubots for everything. The whole system is owned by the south of the city’s keystone, who’s even more secretive than Joshua.

Joshua noticed you at the business you were taking refuge in while he was in the midst of a meeting one day. A rare occurance since it's said he usually never leaves home. He’d invited you to meet with him after your shift and in the midst of the awkward silence of that encounter, you were given a new job which was currently proving to be just as daunting but luxurious.

What finally broke the ice in the present moment was one of the helper robots; a Cara came floating over with another robot that looked similar to Ani on her tray.

“Hello Sunday,” Joshua smiled at the bot as it hopped off of the tray onto the table. “Is something the matter?”

The robot spoke in a much stuffier voice than Ani’s cheerful one. “The atmosphere within a 3-meter diameter of you is rather ‘chilly’. Would you like me to play fireplace sounds over a decibel of white noise?”

The five seconds of silence that followed was deafening until it was broken by an unbidden snort from you. You quickly brought your napkin up to hide your face as Joshua’s head snapped towards the sound. Another second after, Joshua broke into loud and enthusiastic laughter.

Seeing this, you felt your face finally break into the smile Joshua had been looking for all day as you joined in.

What made you laugh even more was how you saw that Sunday was still just standing there, patiently awaiting input. It seemed the suddenly happy atmosphere was affecting him though, as the robot’s face smiled a little more while swaying in place.

“It’s okay Sunday,” Joshua finally said, still wheezing slightly. “That won’t be necessary, but thank you. Let the other Caras know that it’s almost time to bring out dessert.”

Joshua turned back to you as you drank more of your fig drink, and upon seeing that your glass was past halfway gone, he waved his hand and a robot came swinging from the kitchen to refill it.

“Thank you,” you spoke less softly than before, still smiling. “I’m sorry I haven’t said much.”

“Oh my dear, you have done nothing wrong. Besides I should apologize, I forgot to let Sunday know not to have his 'automatic ambience' setting on earlier.”

“All of your creations have so much personality…how have you made that possible?”

“This city is as transparent as it is crowded,” Joshua spoke in a more professional voice, perking your interest. “All it took was programming a Bitty bot to fly around it and gather data on human interactions, giving me everything I needed.” He looked away, wiping his face with his napkin.

“Do any of your robots continue to collect data even after being purchased?”

Joshua raised an eyebrow at you. “Of course not, but I have no control over anyone who uses my devices for surveillance after it’s out of my hands. Only if, say, a separate company volunteers to gather data for me might I entertain the idea, but even so I am still capable of getting that information myself.”

“So if I said you couldn’t use data from how I use Voira to do anything, you wouldn’t?” You were trying so hard not to find your own comment funny.

“Haha! Sorry dear, but the matter of liabilities isn’t there yet. However if you really insisted, I could have Voira be tested elsewhere, but she's a prototype and still under my ownership.”

“There isn’t anything else in this place gathering data from my presence, is there?” You asked, for no reason in particular at this point.

“Just my eyes, of course,” Joshua winked at you. That sure made you quiet. As if to save you from how flustered you felt, the Cara-bot from before brought dessert. A welcome distraction.

Your first day of work was well-paced and quiet. So much in the house was already done by Shubots that most of your tasks were completed at your desk in the study, mainly brief correspondences through an earpiece that matched one Joshua wore, and filtering through messages. Pretty much anything Joshua preferred a human do, which was what you’d expected well before coming. 

Joshua was good about making sure everything was doable along with efficient breaks and meals, all while keeping a pristine friendly attitude. You quickly felt your initial fear vanish.

Your second day was more or less the same, and you concluded it by having Ani help you with finding a television program to wind down with. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt so…safe. Just being alive.

Your third day began with a very perplexing addition to your schedule. Joshua had the words “Field Trip, dress normally” written in the slot after breakfast, which was to be eaten with him. 

You picked a comfortable dress you owned with a cute collar and layered with stockings, plus a pretty jacket. Wanting to maintain some professionalism, you detached your name tag from your uniform and fixed it to your jacket.

“Good morning, Y/N.” Joshua greeted you when you arrived. “I’m glad to see you growing accustomed to the place.”

You gave him a smile and bow. “Thank you for breakfast, Joshua.”

Before you sat down, Joshua walked up to you while reaching into his jacket’s inner pocket and pulled out a small object to show you.

It was a brooch, beautifully polished with a vintage crest decorated with opal. You noticed embossed words before Joshua read them aloud to you.

“Purposeful, Practical, and Peculiar. That has been my family motto since the very beginning. It’s why the company used to be named ‘Pianissimo’ before it was out with the old, but the rather silly motto still stands. You asked me how my robots are so expressive and I told you how but not why. The basis for such an intent has been passed down for generations, I wasn’t about to let it end with me.”

Joshua leaned in closer to you so suddenly you almost tripped, but he stopped just short so he could fasten the brooch in between the lapels of your collar. 

“You look lovely today, Y/N. So I hope you don’t mind my ‘finishing touch.’ Please keep it, as a token of my gratitude.”

It was Joshua’s turn to blush as your face broke into the widest smile he’s seen from you yet.

He almost didn’t hear you thank him, the glow of your happy face made the lights illuminating it seem less bright in comparison making him step back in admiration. Joshua nodded in an attempt to hide his sheepish face as you both sat down to eat.

“So,” you began. “What is this ‘field trip’ that Ani told me about?”

Joshua raised an eyebrow at you as he took a sip of coffee. “You named your companion bot Annie?”

“Ah, yeah…I just thought he sounded like an ‘Ani’ to me,” you said, owning it softly.

“That’s really cute. Well, today I will be showing you the ‘Practical’ side of Hong Co. and give you a better idea of how my business is actually run. I know you have some degree of experience from your time at the Woozi Plaza but you will find that tech headquarters are a bit different.”

“Is it true that Hong Co. is just you and this tower?” You asked before taking another bite of your food.

“How could it not be true is the real question?”

You cocked your head at Joshua in confusion. He looked almost stunned. “My my, you must be the first person I’ve met who doesn’t know.”

“Well I always heard people talking in the plaza but I didn’t really…ingest much of it. I’m sorry…”

“There’s really no need to apologize, I promise to take my time telling you.”

He then placed his hand up to his earpiece, silent before nodding. “Mhm, thanks Sunday. And please have that package brought to the upper loft and unpacked.” Joshua looked back at you. “We’ll depart as soon as you’re finished eating.”

The center of Hong Tower was one long and sleek elevator, surrounded by a steel staircase to follow city safety regulations. Otherwise, as Joshua joked to you once you both stepped in, he wouldn’t even bother with the waste of material. You noted that this central elevator defaulted to being accessed by a biometric scan.

“My home is on the second floor through the sixth floor of this tower. My grandfather began with that and kept building up as the business grew. He had hopes that for generations to come, this building would continue to blossom from the roots he laid down. Our original estate would be a retirement place for each scion’s father to rest when we inherited the tower and well…” Joshua didn’t finish the thought as the elevator reached your destination.

When the doors opened, the most complex symphony of so many sounds hit you, and not one sounded human. When you stepped out onto a platform, you gasped at the hundreds of different kinds of robots performing so many tasks below where you were standing.

It was so fascinating how there weren’t any assembly lines or cuticles, it was just a lot of machines and holographic screens and the constant movement of work surfaces and…oh, a couple of them waved up at you. You and Joshua waved back at the same time. Then you looked at each other, causing you to giggle a bit.

“Every floor serves a general and unique purpose in the many aspects of how I have shaped the company. This is where stock is managed and maintained, receiving materials from above and below. Sunday is in charge of these factory floors, sending me any quirks for me to fix from the study. That used to be a more frequent process when I was still developing Sunday's AI,” Joshua chuckled. “But it has streamlined exponentially since I gave him the ability to control physical forms.”

Joshua led you back to the elevator where he showed you the next floors, “the flight lofts” as he called them. They were where everything from hoverbots to drones to transport pods were developed, managed by Joshua’s other AI program, Wednesday. Clever, you thought, that they were the floors that began to surpass the height of most other buildings in the city.

Since the tower was meant to always be built up, Joshua showed you that the second flight loft was the only place he had ever built sideways so that there could be hovercraft landing pads somewhere.

Your final destination for today’s little trip was a lounge floor almost completely surrounded in Joshua’s signature floor-length windows.

“This is the floor right above the last current factory floor, the upper loft. In his later years, my grandfather found that having a break location to end up in on maintenance check days was necessary. It would constantly change and rise since there could never be a penthouse, so my father inherited the idea as a tradition. It is currently of my own design.”

Joshua brought you to the other side of the lounge where instead of long couches, there were two armchairs. As you sat down in one, Joshua clapped his hands together, summoning a rover bot that placed down a round coffee table between you. A lone Cara-bot floated over with a ceramic tea set.

“I ordered the table yesterday, it’s what was in the package I had Sunday send up.”

You barely heard Joshua say that; you were too busy in awe of the view of the city.

Never in your life had you ever seen it from so high up - And goodness had you also never in your life smelled tea so good before.

Joshua laughed aloud at the face you made when you turned your head towards the teapot. “I like to keep my nicest tea leaves up here. I suppose I’ve always been waiting to share it. Let me pour you a cup.”

“Thank you, Joshua.” Your smile made Joshua blush a little again, and this time you shyly took notice. “I will be sure to savor it.”

You sat there for a bit in silence that was decorated by the sound of an electric fireplace nearby and the raindrops outside catching the neon glow of everything in Sector 17.

Despite the city always being rather dark, during the middle of the day like this it was just bright enough where you could see the towers of the other keystones. You could even see DK Tower in the far, far east, though the drizzle made it appear blurry.

“A great view, isn’t it? The City of Perpetual Dusk…” Joshua murmured, and you turned to look at him.

The look on his face was hard to read. You had a feeling that this was the most he ever truly lets himself relax, which was unnerving. His face when speaking to you was usually wise and cheerful, with rather watchful eyes.

At this moment, his whole form was none of those things, and it made him look a lot younger and smaller than you always picture him.

You watched him turn to look at you back and it wasn’t the motion that startled you, but the subtle diffusion of the glint in his eyes. In the time it took you to think of something to say, you wondered how exactly he saw you.

“If you’re always expanding up, what happens to the order of the floors below?”

“This company is constantly recycling itself,” Joshua answered simply, turning back. “We have a few floors of storage above and below ground, but I try not to have material come in too often. The average lifespan of a Shubot purchased in the city is rather short, so a certain percentage of them end up back here to be repurposed in one of the stock floors. Material left over from renovations and expansion goes back down to be repurposed.”

Practical indeed, you thought, sipping your tea.

You reached out to the Cara-bot still floating next to you and tried petting it the same way Joshua petted the coffee machine the other day, evoking a purr from the robot and a melodic chuckle from Joshua.

Two weeks later came a day where you were tasked with helping Joshua out with gadget orders that required more…personal attention than what was taken care of in the floors above.

You were in awe of how many big names appeared in the list Sunday gave you, a couple of whom you’d seen before at the refuge cafe. Though one unfamiliar name did catch your attention among the rest.

With a quirk of your eyebrow, you looked up at Joshua.

“A large order from one…Arthur Pendragon.”

To your surprise, Joshua cracked the most playful smirk as he chuckled. It caught you very much off guard, so much so in fact, that you felt your face warm up immediately, which only made his smirk wider.

“Ah, Seokmin…still ordering under a fake name after all these years. Well, what would he like this time?”

“Did you just say Seokmin? As in Lee-”

“Mhm, the city ‘bad boy’ as I’m sure even he calls himself.” Joshua interrupted gently, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t worry, he may abundantly misbehave but in reality, he can’t do anything outside of a certain perimeter. And while I’m not unfriendly with him, I always stay on my far side of the city.”

“Why do you do business with him then, anyways?” You asked as you showed Joshua your screen.

“Are you judging, dear?” Joshua raised an eyebrow, but he wasn’t fazed at all.

“Not really," you shrugged. "I just haven’t seen anything here that could be deemed, uhm, shady yet.”

Joshua didn’t answer at first, he glanced through the order before chuckling. “I never cease to be amazed at how funny Seokmin’s taste is. It’s like he doesn’t even notice that I know it’s him. No, it’s not truly shady. Reputation aside, he’s still one of the Sector’s keystones and I have worked too hard to be the only one without a single broken bridge to sour that now.”

Before he could continue, Sunday's bot hopped into view to relay a message. You just barely heard it say “Subject line ‘urgent’, from ‘Lee Jihoon.’ Would you like me to read it for you?” 

Joshua’s face turned stony in an instant. “Send it to my watch, Sunday. I’ll return shortly.”

He turned to you with the complete opposite expression, startling you. “Apologies, Y/N. Process more orders to your best ability and we will continue our conversation over lunch.”

You nodded quickly as Joshua rose from his chair and left the study swiftly, holding his watch up to his mouth speaking in a hushed voice. A rover bot arrived to pick up Sunday and left too. Trying not to think on it too much, you returned to your desk and went back to your tasks.

About twenty minutes later, you looked at the time. There was still a bit until lunch, so you gave yourself a moment to breathe.

Where is this weird..feeling coming from…?

“Sunday?” You called out tentatively. You didn’t even know if it would work.

“Yes Miss Y/N, I’m here.”

You looked down at your custom task device. A wavy, holographic sphere that resembled a rising sun had emitted from the corner of your screen. This must be Sunday in program form.

“Oh wow, so I can talk to you?”

“But of course Miss, did the master not tell you?”

You decided not to answer that and hoped that said master wasn’t listening. “Sunday, I’m curious, how long has it been since another human has worked here?”

Sunday pulled up a simple visual with a series of dates. “Since the worker lifts were recycled, Miss. The building became fully automated then.”

But that’s after Joshua’s father passed… you thought to yourself.

“If you don’t have any more questions Miss, I have a reminder from the master to begin heading to the kitchen for lunch.”

“Thank you Sunday, let Joshua know what I’ve been able to wrap up.”

“Joshua,” you spoke, the moment the man in question came into view. He had just sat down and looked at you, eyebrows raised. “Will I be punished for using Sunday without permission?”

Joshua blinked hard. “‘Punished?’ My dear you haven’t been misbehaving, have you?”

It took you a second to realize he was making fun of you and you weren’t sure if you were amused or mortified. Joshua gave you another smirk, leaning you more towards mortified. 

“No, you’re not in trouble. Even if it was violating a protocol, I never explicitly said you could or couldn’t talk to Sunday. If you ever do something protocol-violating around him or Wednesday, however, I would know immediately.” He regarded you with the same teasing look in his eyes as you sat down, clearly relishing in how it made you pout a bit.

“In truth Y/N, I had hoped in time I could tell you more and more, but I didn’t want to limit your parameters of interaction in the house. Though to see you can be such a daredevil, well, I’m honestly tempted to keep even more secrets.” You scoffed at the way he shone his teeth at you while putting an elbow on the table, chin up and in one hand.

“So I’m not your prisoner who will be buried with what I do end up being told?” Even with your sarcastic side-smile, you sounded just a tad more serious than you intended.

“My my Y/N, do rope in that imagination. I don’t dispose of people like lil’ Seokmin on the other side of town, nor do I encase anyone like his older brother. You’re free to come and leave however you like, we discussed as much in your contract.”

You were thankful for the food being laid out as Joshua spoke, offering you an excuse to not talk for a little.

You’d interacted with Joshua enough by now to know when he's purposely leaving out other implications to situations.

Some bites in, you finally began the expected topic at hand, letting the atmosphere grow serious.

“I was about fourteen when ‘the incident’ happened. Everyone around me talked about it for years. I was still in a District 9 facility at the time though, so most of what I know, I learned when I was sent here. I was first told that keystones are where what we need comes from, not really the CEOs yourselves. When I spent those two years at a refuge cafe though, I heard about how the huge Lee Family broke apart, all of the rumors surrounding your family, what District 9 really is…”

You had to pause for a minute there. Joshua, not taking his eyes off of you, waved for a bot to bring iced water. He nodded at you kindly when you looked up at him, as you swallowed heavily.

“There were so many people of varying levels of importance, talking in those bars every night as I worked. I heard about a lot of things that seem like they’d be underground, so I admit I’m rather afraid of what isn’t spoken about in broad daylight. But when you offered me this job, I decided that I would go in not assuming a thing. I’ve seen how it can destroy a person.”

Joshua was a good listener, his gaze was calm and revealed nothing of what he was thinking as you spoke about your life. When you were done, he finished his food before he decided to talk.

“Hong Co. is and has always been a family business. Even from the beginning it seemed that family businesses are always doomed to fail, and yet we were able to stay together through the decades. Er, mostly by trying not to have too many children. The Lees are a modern example of the third-generation curse that only grew worse over time. I grew up with the Lee brothers of Sector 17, though, so I don’t believe things would have turned out how they did if it wasn’t for, well,” Joshua didn’t need to finish that sentence.

“Know that you are not obligated to believe everything I say, though you are only hearing everything from me. When our parents were killed, Lee Jihoon and I had barely turned sixteen. Lee Seokmin came out of ‘the incident’ a completely different person, making any reparation plans they had impossible. He ran off to fulfill his own desires, which left Jihoon to take care of their youngest brother, Chan, who is now the regime’s most valued keystone. Jihoon designed the Plaza system not only to give Chan a larger and connected space to grow up in, but also to gather intel in the same way you've heard things; surface level. He particularly likes my Bitty bots for that. Many of the Lee cousins disappeared during ‘the incident’ so Jihoon has always tried to find them again.”

“Has he found any?” You asked through your hands, which had been covering your mouth for a while.

Joshua shook his head. “Every time Jihoon gets close to finding one, he gets sabotaged by Seok. I really couldn’t tell you why but it is the only thing I haven’t been able to help with. Seokmin may buy my home appliances but I have no way of hacking his own tech. He mastered stealth the best out of all of us.”

Your eyes widened at this. “Has he tried to infiltrate here before?”

“His ego is too big. Even if he did though, I mastered security the best. So I focus on keeping Jihoon from going completely insane, for now he hasn't gone farther than paranoid. His business serves as protection for the city, he sends most of the info he gathers to Chan’s side of the city where plans are made and executed. Chan was always the best with combat.”

At that moment, Joshua received a message on his watch. He let out a huff. “My apologies, Y/N, there’s been a change of schedule. I have to leave for a bit and won’t be able to have dinner with you. Continue with your afternoon tasks and I will see you tomorrow.”

“Thank you Joshua, see you tomorrow.”

For the rest of the day, you got to experience what Joshua’s home must have felt like for the past decade before you came.

It really was lonesome, even with AI to talk to. Well, more like especially with only the Shubots. No wonder they’d been programmed to be so...peculiar.

That night, dinner was brought to your bedroom with a note that said you would be allowed to sleep in tomorrow if you wanted, and to tell “Annie” when you wanted breakfast. Instead of thinking about how that meant you had no clue what Joshua was up to, you laughed at how funny it was that despite being the most organized human being to exist, he was actually not the best with names.

You thought about writing a letter to your old employer, but you weren’t sure what you could possibly send, to anyone really. Had she forgotten about you by now? All you really did back then was wait tables.

Then again, Joshua of all people had noticed you. Other than awkward, what was it like for him when you two first met? You didn’t even realize who he was until he offered you work for a place to stay.

What was frustrating you the most was that you also couldn’t think of why you were only wondering about it all now. Does it matter why now that you’re already here and know half of his life story?

After you had gotten ready for bed, you took out a keepsake box you hid in among your socks and opened it. Inside were your most precious possessions, many of which held little monetary value but they held the details of your past. The most recent addition was the Pianissimo brooch.

As you ran your fingers along the polished opal designs, you felt a small tear escape your left eye as you tried to ignore the unfamiliar sensation of what felt like a pinch in your heart.

The process of you and Joshua learning more about each other spread across the weeks. The distance between you had long become friendly and Joshua eventually programmed Sunday not to interrupt conversations with you for anything other than emergencies.

Years of only having robots and depressed business people to talk to must have piled on Joshua over time because now that he had another human around, you came to learn that Joshua wasn’t just strange but a rather silly person, too. He could be charming and watching him work was fascinating, as he constantly sketched ideas and swiped at so many holographic screens.

He was not only efficient but afforded the luxury to mess with you a bit too, in extremely high spirits. But still at the same time of maintaining an organized work environment. You pretending to feel offended by his antics only seemed to spur him on more.

Then when you asked him why none of his robots were human sized, he chuckled and said “That would be so creepy, I’d never sleep. Besides, it’s bad for business. A handful of people would splurge on something like that in one place, rather than a bunch returning every so often to buy something smaller.”

When you asked why he only ever wore suits, he said he was only choosing the “hottest attire” from a fashion company sponsor.

And when you asked Joshua why Voira was named that, he said “I think the touch of French can make even a water dispenser sound more appealing, don’t you?” and winked at you the same way he does whenever he catches you staring from across the study.

His casual flirting was what actually drove you crazy. It was almost like he wanted to keep you on your toes all of the time after you grew used to his surprisingly playful nature.

Afternoon tea time in the upper loft only happened on occasion, and it was the only time Joshua was anything but playful.

He looked somber, calculating, and a tiny bit tired as he surveyed the city outside of the windows. Only once did he allow himself to tell you of the burden he felt at times.

“Growing up, I was always the one Hong. In a world of Lees, I stand as the common ground.” And now just about everyone, good or villainous, rich or teeming; Shubots of all kinds are used by them in all walks of life. 

For you, those days served as a reminder of the large world outside of everything you knew within Hong Co. You seldom left the tower to do anything, even though you knew how to take care of yourself in the crowded city due to your own background.

As you got to explore your new home, you came to realize just how much the estate was designed with the intention of housing a small family. You had no idea why the thought always came to you with a little flush to your face.

It was also during tea time that the little pinch in your chest would invade your heart more bit by bit as you got to know each of Joshua’s sides. It was hard for you to show more of yourself at times, so you appreciated the quiet days just as much as the ones with glee.

Before you knew it, you were watching light snow begin to fall outside as you sipped your tea.

Colder months meant new heating designs for Joshua to make, and according to Sunday, less conflicts between the Lee brothers to worry about.

“We basically hibernate until either Seok or Chan randomly gets up to something in Spring,” Joshua joked. “Even though I already stay out of the public eye as it is.”

“Was it always this way?” You asked, aiming to sound broad. Perhaps a month ago, Joshua wouldn’t have answered. But he spoke freely. 

“My father was the least social of all of the men in my family. After my grandfather passed, he no longer had a reason to keep up appearances or go out at all, and then I and the other scions of the city were training up north. I never liked attending conferences with my father anyway, but then suddenly he was gone. I felt terrible letting all of the people he’d hired go, but they served as the foundation for Jihoon’s refuge cafes. And suddenly I had all of the space in the world to build back what I’d been left with. No one watching from the outside or the inside.”

“But no one at all except you,” You didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the look in Joshua’s eyes showed that it was something he always wanted someone to say but there never was anyone else.

“It was the only way I was able to continue my family’s work without sacrificing myself, but that didn’t make me hate it any less. I was never going to be ready to have people around again, though at some point I knew I would have to try. Avoiding how others have failed doesn’t delay your own failure.” When he said that aloud, you could tell that he’d mentally hit a wall. That was probably it for him today, or maybe a while.

You took a deep breath. “I’m glad you were able to try something new, Joshua. For the company, and for yourself.” You put your teacup down and smiled at him, allowing your arm to stretch out to him tentatively.

Maybe it was because he genuinely had no idea what else to say but his hand slowly reached yours. You could tell from Joshua’s flush that warmth was flooding through him, too.

It wasn’t just the first time the two of you touched, it was likely the first time he had touched anyone in a very long time.

Just as his fingers were beginning to wrap around yours, Sunday’s hologram suddenly appeared from Joshua’s watch in between you two, making you jump apart.

“What’s the emergency, Sunday?” Joshua smiled, though you noticed the watchfulness return to his eyes.

“Your heart rate has increased beyond 120 bpm in the past minute, would you like me to send for-”

“No, it's all fine!” Joshua interrupted a bit loudly, completely embarrassed. You doubled over laughing, only making Joshua grow redder.

“Your AI are great,” You said, wiping your eyes. “Maybe I should get a watch, too.”

Joshua scratched the back of his neck in relief that you weren’t judging. “That can be tended to now, let’s head back to the study.”

The next time the two of you touched was when Joshua was showing you how to put on a Shu-watch, since you’d never had anything like it before. He specifically touched one up so that Wednesday would primarily care for you, connected to Ani in your room.

“Now Wednesday can embarrass you too whenever she or Sunday wants,” Joshua said cheekily as he showed you some of the regular features.

The next time would be at dinner the next day, when Joshua would get a little more adventurous by pushing a lock of your hair behind your ear. Even though your legs were about to turn to jelly, you decided you couldn’t let him have all the fun.

“Wow some gentleman you are, boss,” you teased, bringing your hand up to your ears to poke his.

He caught on quickly though. “Oh forgive me, my lady,” Joshua gently took your hand before you could react. He bowed his head down to kiss it. “I was fatefully distracted.”

Forcing yourself not to faint, you met his eyes, hoping he couldn’t see right through you in that moment. “Well I suppose that makes sense since you haven’t wiped the crumbs from your face.”

Before Joshua could grab his napkin, you took your own and got up to wipe his mouth yourself. 

The cocky grin on his face when you stepped back was what made you think that at this rate, you were going to physically fall for him before anything else.

The day you did faint wasn’t from a tussle with Joshua, but from dehydration.

The feeling that had built up within you was a source of stress you couldn’t stand after a while. You had finally acknowledged to yourself by then that you didn't want to leave at some point, as was agreed, even if you'd be sent off with everything you could ever need.

You realized that it wasn't what you wanted, and even if you could stay forever, your feelings for Joshua would be there too. For that you couldn't even look at Joshua, even though it wasn't truly his fault you were feeling this way about him.

Quite literally you couldn't stand it; as a distraction, you kept finding reasons to exit the study and poured yourself into tasks, ignoring alerts from your watch about your health. You knew it was wrong not taking the time to figure yourself out but whenever you tried, the feeling in your chest evolved further into a thorough ache.

When you started to feel dizzy one day, you tried to get up from your desk again for the nth time, only to stumble. Joshua noticed from his side of the study, but you shuffled away fast.

Wednesday showed at that moment that Shu-watches are (cleverly) programmed with certain overrides and beeped at you to either rest, or drink some water.

“That’s what I’m on my way to do,” you grumbled, trying to dismiss her.

“Miss Y/N, the nearest beverage machine is in the study, please pause your activity and-”

You hit the floor and vaguely registered the sound of Wednesday sending a message to Joshua about it.

When you were finally at a better state of consciousness, you found yourself in your bed with Voira next to you, holding out a cup of water. Sitting up, you saw Joshua sitting at your desk below.

He looked up at you, looking relieved that you were feeling better again.

“Wednesday, how are Y/N's vitals?” Joshua spoke into his watch.

“Back to normal,” You heard from your own watch. Joshua smiled and got up. To your slight horror, he climbed up halfway to your bed.

“How are you feeling otherwise?” Joshua asked you, his gorgeous face full of concern.

You looked away, still upset with yourself. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been taking care of myself lately.” 

With a thoughtful “Hmm,” Joshua climbed all of the way up and sat right next to you, making you shrink away more.

“Are you afraid of me, Y/N?” That sure was one way to get you to look at him. Joshua's face was passive, but his eyes were filled with worry over what you might say. 

“I...know that you’ve been avoiding me for a bit but I didn’t expect that you would ignore your watch. Poor Wednesday,” he added light-heartedly. Joshua waited patiently for your answer, fighting his own urge to physically reach out.

You let out a dispirited laugh at that. It was hard for you to find words, but you realized that this conversation was going to happen at some point, one way or another.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m afraid of you, Joshua…just of...the way I’ve been feeling lately. I am really grateful for everything you’ve done for me and you are a wonderful person to be around, but, well, I…”

You involuntarily reached for Joshua’s hand, and your back straightened at the feeling of his hand accepting yours. You suddenly felt so small but, for the first time, you were safe to say so.

“I’m afraid that I’ve been selfish,” you let out, mellow. “In all of this time I’ve spent around you I keep thinking about everything that makes me different and...unimportant...” You didn’t let him interrupt you there when you felt him shift. 

“And I just…who am I to say that I…that…”

You felt him give your hand a little squeeze. Screw it.

“That I like you a lot? I really do care so much about you…you’re so kind to me and you intrigue me very much. I know that doesn’t mean I should feel this way at all, especially since the contract I’m under is temporary. I’m here to work, to help you, and that’s it. So I tried really hard not to think about it…”

You regretted it the moment you said it all, but it was only for a moment.

Because then Joshua used his other hand to cup your face, making you look at him, giving you a kiss on the forehead.

“Y/N, I am the one who should be saying sorry to you. I think I’ve waited too long to tell you that I want you to extend your stay here. From the moment we met I knew that I would like you, so much that I couldn’t bear to watch you leave. I originally designed a new master bedroom just for you, but then I realized that I don’t just want you to stay, I want you by my side.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. You were so stunned, Joshua looked away in fear that this time he had overstepped instead. So you leaned up to kiss his cheek, but given the height difference, it caused you to lose balance and Joshua turned quickly to catch you, and your faces were closer to each other than they ever have been, which at this point said a lot. Joshua swallowed nervously.

“Well, Y/N? Would you like to change your contract to one of marriage someday?”

You were sure at that moment most would have swooned or initiated a makeout session, but you instead laughed, giving Joshua the smile he himself had fallen for.

You had no idea where the confidence was coming from but you’d be lying if you said didn’t it come from Joshua, and just like him, you loved it. “Joshua Hong, you may be one of the most powerful people in the whole world but there really is so very much you do not know about women.”

Joshua blushed immediately, but he held his ground just as hard as he was holding onto you. “As long as it’s you, I will do whatever I can to learn. I want you here, Y/N, truly. You're family now.” 

Family. Something both of you had lived so long without.

“Well call me old-fashioned but aren’t you supposed to date me first?” you both laughed and Joshua poked your nose, making you gasp incredulously.

“Darling, I’m the old-fashioned one here who was planning to take this slow, but then you fell face first before the ‘talking phase’ could even turn into seeing movies~”

The two of you kept the banter and jostling up until you breathlessly grew quiet again.

“That’s why,” Joshua spoke out of the blue.

“What?” You looked at him, and he brought his hand up to your face again.

“Talking with you, laughing with you, seeing you prove that I really am here, with you." Joshua stroked your face so lovingly you could cry.

"For so long I was alone...It was a harsh reality I never wanted to face, but no matter which way I turned it was the truth. Bringing you into my life was the most frightening thing I have ever done, but it remains the one decision I am most sure of. You make me feel like I am worth everything, and now I rest every night knowing I will see your beautiful face the next day. If you accept my offer of making permanence of this, I promise I will always be here for you, too.”

Well indeed right there you did cry. You were so choked up as he wiped your face, trying not to cry himself, that the only way you could respond to him sincerely was by closing the final bit of physical distance between you two.

You could faintly hear the sound of hundreds of the tower's Shubots in a 30 meter radius clapping and cheering as Joshua returned the kiss with passion, holding you close with both arms, your hearts pounding.

Sharing your first ever kiss only marked a pivotal point in the feelings you had begun sharing long before, which would only continue on to fill every desolate corner that could ever appear in this limitless home of yours, and everything you would continue to work for together.

a/n: "And that, kids, is how I met your mother"

Time for a trip to my dentist because my stars writing that might’ve made a hole in my sweet tooth awwwww 💕;w; At a point in this fic I realized I was expanding the world a little too much so I left out the details of “the incident” the reader and Joshua mentions to try and close a love story nicely.  For you all that have reached the end of this amalgamation of my late-night writing, a year in the making, thank you so much and I do hope you’ve enjoyed this fic as much as I had writing it!

[hardworkandguts]

Ghost Sweeper Mikami

GＳ美神　極楽大作戦！！

(Anime + manga)

Action / Comedy by Takashi Shiina

Era: 90s

Rating: B

Plot: In bubble era Japan overdevelopment displaced many ghosts and yokai, leading to the creation of Ghost Sweepers, exorcists who solve the problems caused by them. Reiko Mikami, a redhead in a cocktail dress is the one of the best and charges her clients more than accordingly, helped by his chronically underpaid assistant, high school student Tadao Yokoshima, soon joined by the ghost of Okinu, a teenage girl sacrificed to appease a vulcano 300 years ago who became the guardian of the mountain.

Length: 45 episodes, 398 chapters, 1 movie

Thoughts: Well, here's a show with as amusing cast of secondary characters, like Meiko, one of Mikami's closest friends (or so she believes) who controls 12 shikigami hiding on her shadow, although "controls" might be a bit too generous considering they run rampant the moment she starts crying and is a bit of a crybaby, or Dr. Chaos, an immortal alchemist who was incredibly powerful in the middle ages (as we get to see in the manga), but who has lived so long anything new he learns makes him forget something else, like how did he made Maria, his robot assistant. Turns out forgetting the useful stuff isn't great for his finances, and he lives in constant fear of his landlady. And speaking of finances, there's also some fun world building, like the premise of the show (ghosts and yokai being left homeless due to overdevelopment) and how out of whack the economy is - Mikami can (and will) ask for hundreds of millions for a job, but then we also learn some of the charms and talismans used in these exorcisms cost up to tens of millions as well, and being forced to use more expensive charms eating into her profits is a constant source of amusement particularly when the decision falls on Yokoshima or Okinu. Meanwhile, Yokoshima is still only getting paid 250 yen per hour. He later gets a 5 yen raise, so that's fine.

The main characters work pretty well together, from Mikami's power and intelligence (as well as a everything goes style) allows her to solve any issues easily, Yokoshima's dedication to a job that puts him at constant risk for little pay in name of his pervert behaviour he doesn't seem to get over even when he often gets immediate comeuppance, and Okinu's attempts to get everyone getting along. However, as far as development goes, the anime covers maybe a fifth of the story, missing when they begin in earnest around one third in - uncovering the origin of Reiko's powers, Yokoshima becoming a GS himself (only hinted in the anime by Shoryuki during the training arc) and Okinu becoming the senpai for the friendlier ghosts in the area, later a spiritualist (and other things) herself, and the plot heavy part of the story that begins halfway, and so are some other great additions to the cast of characters - Saijou, Michie Mikami, Ashtaroth, Lucíola, Tanamo and Shiro are obviously all absent. The manga by the end mostly drops the individual cases in favour of typical shounen adventure long arc, but it also feels there was a bit more to the story left to tell anyway, even after almost 400 chapters. The movie is an original story (Mikami is chosen through time to prevent the resurrection of Oda Nobunaga / Nosferatu) and your typical three episode long arc with some improved animation.

All in all, a pretty fun watch from the 90s.

Recommended to: fans of folk tales and ghost stories on the lighter side

Plus:

The timing and expressions kill me

Charming cast of characters

While very episodic in nature, it throws around enough variety to not feel too repetitive...

Minus:

... but it's still pretty episodic.

In the manga as it does longer and more ambitious story arcs, it loses maybe a bit from doing your regular save the world stuff versus the more curious one-off stories.

Due to covering maybe the initial fifth of the manga, character progression isn't all there in the anime. Makes you interested, so, mission accomplished?

[correctmovietakes]

Anora Swept the Oscars: What Does That Mean?

It's Tuesday, March 4th, and the dust has settled around Hollywood after the 97th Academy awards. Sure, most of the decorations in my house are still up from my party, but if I don't take them down, I can feel like it's still Awards Season.

Some costumes from the party (left to right): The Van Buren Institute, Elisabeth Sparkle,Patrick Zweig, a Wild Robot, two Cardinals, Johnny Cash, and a Slutty Vatican Nun

The biggest story of the night is that Anora, a tiny movie about a sex worker in Brooklyn directed by the King of Tiny Sex Worker Movies, not only won Best Picture, but swept nearly all of its nominations. After a chaotic season in which, not too long ago, it seemed like there were six movies reasonably vying for the top prize, The Academy settled on the movie that was first declared the frontrunner in May.

It was a triumphant night for Anora, and especially its glorious leader Sean Baker, who made history by winning four Oscars in one night for the same movie. (Walt Disney won four awards in one night, but for different movies; and Bong Joon-ho won three awards and accepted International Feature, which technically went to South Korea.) Sean won. for producing, directing, writing, and editing Anora, and as Sean Fennessy of The Big Picture points out, he likely would have also won Casting if that was a category this year (it will be starting next year's ceremony).

These are all, of course, makeup wins for The Florida Project

Anora's other win came from Mikey Madison, who managed a slightly-surprising win over Demi Moore, in a move not unreminiscent of the plot of The Substance. Demi had won 3/4 of the "major precursor" awards (Golden Globes, Critic's Choice, SAG), while Mikey "only" won BAFTA (she also won more critics awards than Demi).

Going into the night, I assumed that Demi had the award on lock because the Academy has had a recent trend of awarding longtime beloved actors "finally making a prestigious movie", like Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, or Robert Downey, Jr. With Mikey's win, though, I think it's become clear that the actual most important factor is that the Academy is in a Sweeping Spirit now.

Looking back over the last few ceremonies, it's becoming more and more apparent that the Academy is not in the mood for spreading the wealth. The winningest movies of the last 6 ceremonies have been Anora, Oppenheimer, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Dune, Nomadland, and Parasite. Of those, Dune is the only non-Best Picture winner, but it's important to remember that CODA (the actual winner) was nearly unknown before nominations and had a massive surge in Phase 2 of the campaign, eventually winning all three of its nominations (it was also the second-winningest movie of the year).

But let's be honest, the entirety of the 2021 Awards Season should probably be thrown out as an outlier

All this is to say, the Best Picture frontrunner is likely to dominate bigger than you expect for the time being. I could hypothesize that this is because Oscar voters simply aren't actually watching these movies, and instead settle on one or two big names that they check off whenever they see them. And with an increasingly deeper and richer pool of movies getting exposed to the average person, along with the influence of an increasingly International academy, the act of watching "all the movies" is harder than ever before. But I won't do that because I have faith in our infallible Academy Voters.

But it is clear that Sweeps are what matter now, especially in the event of a close race. This year, Demi and Mikey were neck-and-neck, and Mikey pulled out the W because she was on the Anora wave. Last year, Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone were similarly close, and Emma became a two-time winner because Poor Things had a slightly smaller wave right behind the Oppenheimer one. (It helps to have a Best Picture sweeper with only one Lead, and it's notable that The Brutalist and The Whale were the winningest movies competing in Best Actor the year the Best Picture winner was female-led.)

So as we (slowly, please!) head into the 2025 Oscar Season, keep in mind to Follow the Sweep. As much as the Academy is still in its Make-Up Era, it's no match for Big Broom. Even if Meg Ryan and Richard Gere have incredible "comeback" performances in lauded dramatic roles, but the Best Picture frontrunner stars Sydney Sweeney and Jeremy Allen White, assume that Euphoria and The Bear will become Oscar winners.

************************************************************************

Some Other Takeaways:

Timotheo DiChalametio: Yes, Timmy has unfortunately made himself into the next Leo, and the Academy will castigate him as such by refusing to let him catch the golden carrot until he's older and has broken himself for them. That said, I really don't think it will take as long as Leo. Timmy has two LEAD nominations now and he still isn't 30.

I Don't Wanna Miss 17 Things: I really thought this might have been the year that Diane Warren finally got her competitive win, but the Academy will continue to make the Boring Choice, especially with Original Song. As she said, she's the Terminator, she'll be back. But maybe if she went back to her 90s style of making good songs for movies that actually exist, she could get that Oscar.

Names, Names, Names: never doubt the power of an established name, especially in a smaller category. Anora's sweep was powerful, but it didn't hurt that Sean Baker was one of the most notable existing directors nominated, and certainly the only name in the Editing category.

Denis' Return of the King?: Once again, Denis Villeneuve and Dune were disrespected by the Academy because, apparently, Denis is in an extended Curb Your Enthusiasm plotline with the Directors Branch. While many people are rightly unsure that the wildly odd Dune: Messiah could be a Best Picture winner, I trust that Denis could make it work. He obviously cares deeply about this project, and the changes he made for Dune: Part Two tell me that he will be able to successfully thread the needle to get his triumphant win for the Oscars as he concludes the trilogy. I think Timmy even has a chance of getting a rare scifi acting nom. At this point, its biggest hurdle will be if it comes out in the same year as Spielberg's UFO movie, Nolan's Odyssey, Gerwig's Chronicles of Narnia, and Peele's fourth mystery film.

Animation is for Snobs: Okay I'm being ungenerous with this title, but the Animated Feature race is no longer a place for Whatever Big Disney or Dreamworks Movie to win! This is now the second year in a row that the race came down to a big, flashy (and critically acclaimed) studio movie vs. a small(er), more artistically-minded, less-populist film, with David beating Goliath. Pair that with Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, which was always the frontrunner but still beat Turning Red, and you can see that Animated Feature is getting more high-minded.

Does Supporting Actor Suck Now?: For the 9th year in a row, Best Supporting Actor has been chalk. From Mahershala to Kieran, every winner has been the far-and-away frontrunner the entire season. There is certainly some variation (Troy Kotsur lost the Globe, Mahershala missed the Globes & BAFTA in 2016), but this still-pretty-fun category hasn't had any real excitement since Mark Rylance.

Will Wicked: For Good Actually Be Good?: Looking forward into 2025, the only known entity on the docket is the sequel to Wicked. It remains to be seen how Jon M. Chu will adapt the second act of the musical for the silver screen, but we do know that both Ariana and Cynthia will have original songs for the film. Assuming they land the plane (and remember, a year ago nobody thought Wicked would get 10 nominations including Best Picture, Actress, and Supporting Actress), you can count on at least one song nom, as well as some repeat noms from this year. Will Ariana move up to Lead? Will Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum appear in acting categories? Is the rumor that Alisha Weir (Abigail herself) is playing Dorothy true? Will Jon M. Chu get a director nom? Will they fix the goddamn lighting? I guess we'll have to wait and see!

[multyfandoms-imagines]

Hello! This is the Traffic Light OT3 asker again. Thank you for the latest post you posted and made for Ayin, Carmen and Benjamin!

If you're okay with it and aren't tired of my requests, to continue with the OT3 ask before.

May I ask some fluff headcanons with Ayin, Carmen and Benjamin getting married then raising Enoch, Lisa and Angela as siblings in a no death, happy domestic life scenario?

The Traffic Light Trio gettig married and adopting Enoch and Lisa and building Angela would be very cute indeed.

Of course there gotta be an au where nothing bad happens

Spoilers btw

Happy little family

•that was Carmen's idea. Im just gonna say it right away. That idea got into her head as soon as Lisa and Enoch got saved from Sweepers

•Benjamin loved this idea but Ayin had second thoughts because of their job. Its not exactly easy to manage an entire facility with possibly-world-ending-danger-level monsters that can go wild should they not be satisfied AND raise a family

•Benjamin encouraged Ayin to stop working 24/7 and have some time dedicated to rest and family

•the dang idiot instead translated it into "make a robot to look after your facility when you cant" and boom. Angela was built

•okay it didnt go as goofy as i make it sound, but Ayin did create Angela. Carmen was an inspiration to her design, but naming was hard. He didnt feel like names he picked fit the robot

•other 2 found out about it and, while disappointed that Ayin cant just sit still and rest for once in his god damn life, decided to help him out. Ayin settled for "Angela"

•she was supposed to learn how to manage facility, but it turned out that Angela barely knew basic management skills. She was closer to a curious teen then a smart woman

•Enoch didnt mind having an older sister but Lisa got pouty. Because little kid wanted more attention (siblings will understand lol)

•Benjamin and Carmen encouraged Ayin to spend time with 3 kids, they can run a facility without him. Not to mention how there were some other close friends of theirs to help out: Elijah, Gabriel, Michelle, Giovanni, Kali and Daniel

•que Ayin awkwardly trying to be a normal dad montage. He is trying his best okay?

•Angela learns things quicker and thus asks her father (Ayin) to teach her more. Ayin is a good teacher when he puts his mind into it

•these 2 + Carmen and Benjamin will later have a serious talk regarding the future of Lobotomy Corporation, Ayin's unhealthy schedule and Angela's start of work

•Angela is at first scared of the responsibility, because it is alot. It scares her to be responsible if someone were to get into accident. But, well... That is what her father was doing alot. And uncle Benjamin with mother (Carmen) do worry about dad...

•she decides, even if with shaky beginning, to ask Ayin how to run the facility. Dad always looked tired after a particularly stressful day while she and her siblings played carelessly. Angela hopes to make Ayin's work more bearable

•somewhere Garion is looking amused with how things turn out in Lobotomy but decided to observe longer, sipping tea

•one time Lisa, Enoch and Angela did a group present for Ayin, Benjamin and Carmen. Ayin cried because he thought he didnt spend enough time with family to deserve it

•3 kids were just happy to be with each other. Angela steadily learnt how to manage facility even without Ayin to make sure he stays healthy

[themrswallace]

"Who's afraid of little old me?" This song is currently giving me the need to use the Norbots for DL's villain era scheme, but is that too obvious? Too easy?

Because they're already given the key to their plot by stealing the Beta for Norbot and Wallace's internet security system on a little random USB left somewhere in plain sight, so surely hacking the little robots should be something DL knows NOT to do? But then is the fact that Gromit CAN'T fix them the kicker? Because during the fight scene he tries the butt up the backside method and it doesn't reset any of the Norbots, DL's done something to correct the reboot function, they know what not to do, meaning they've learnt this from watching Feathers! VMF, they're always 5 steps ahead of the boys in every capacity, again leading to the ultimate foe because you've got someone with experience of their past, their abilities and inventions, somebody with Wallace's level of intellect, yet the sense to check their work!

It could be a play on the true outcome, like "Feathers didn't beat you with your own inventions, but I will. Because I KNOW how to" Furthermore, why do they actively avoid killing Gromit, because DL easily could, numerous times! Whether by magic or the Norbots, they spare him because what is the point of senselessly murdering your most skilled adversary? Someone who will actively, time and time again, come to stop you? A little bit attention-seeky seeky but that's what DL wants from them, ATTENTION, and the Norbots seem the best way to get it because they're Wallace's things, he needs to get them back, and sure, he can give up on DL alone but Gromit won't let his master's work be tainted in this way, or at all. Plus, if they hang around West Wallaby, DL is still a threat, and they've said as a grand finale, they're gonna trash the town (Again, it's a cry for attention). And thinking about it, they'll need more than just a glorified street sweeper, they're going to need the ones formally tasked with...BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION!

Probably over-worrying about this, and if it's Wallace and Gromit we can play with old concepts/inventions, plus giving Norbot extra screen time is nice. I just feel icky about recycling stuff, but then...that's the whole point, they constantly reuse because Wallace is an inventor and gets into trouble thanks to it...I'm stupid. But yeah, I wanna use Norbot, also the scene of them doing evil shit on a laptop to dance music as the Norbot army moves onto local cities and banks is just 'Chefs kiss'

[carterlaruadp478]

Discover the Best Automatic Floor Sweeper: The Dreame Advantage

In the ever-evolving smart home industry, finding the best automatic floor sweeper can truly enhance your cleaning routine. Dreame has emerged as a leading brand, offering innovative solutions that simplify household chores. With advanced technology, Dreame's automatic floor sweepers efficiently navigate your home, ensuring every corner is spotless.

What sets Dreame apart is its commitment to quality and user-friendly design. Their models come equipped with powerful suction capabilities and smart mapping features, allowing for tailored cleaning experiences. Many users have reported a noticeable improvement in their overall cleaning efficiency and home hygiene since incorporating a Dreame sweeper into their lives.

If you're looking to elevate your home cleaning game, consider investing in a Dreame automatic floor sweeper. It's a smart choice for a cleaner, more comfortable living space!

Happy cleaning with Dreame!

[tameblog]

There are two kinds of people; those who embrace change and eagerly anticipate each new development or invention that hits the market, and those who cling to what they know works and hold firmly to the stance that “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”   Floor care equipment technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and jan/san distributors have a responsibility to make sure that their sales and maintenance teams are keeping current on the latest developments, features, capabilities, and options to best serve their customers.  It's also vital that end users are properly trained to operate the newest equipment, and that they understand the positive return on investment (ROI) that comes from investing in it. The “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” contingent can be swayed to embrace the latest offerings when end users see how they can improve their bottom line.  Adapting to Autonomy  From the early days of buckets and mops, floor care equipment is constantly evolving — especially as facilities increase in square footage. The industry has experienced the emergence of everything from electric and battery-powered units to walk-behind machines, to ride-on equipment, to the latest autonomous/robotic options, and more.  “Over the past few years, robotics and autonomous machines have entered our marketplace,” confirms Carol Dell'Aquila, vice president of Corporate Sales, Maintex Facility Solutions, City of Industry, California. “You now see robotic automatic scrubbers in many of the different market segments, such as retail, big box stores, airports, school districts, colleges, and many other verticals. They increase staff efficiency and productivity, offload routine and repetitive cleaning tasks, and deliver proof of performance while allowing existing staff to maintain other areas that require a more detailed and manual task.”  Autonomous (also known as robotic) floor care equipment can clean floors with minimal need from an operator. These machines are designed and programmed to perform various tasks, including sweeping, dust mopping, and scrubbing, and can be used on hard flooring and carpet.   “To varying degrees, autonomous machines have been around for many years, but did not make into the mainstream until after COVID-19,” says Phil Carrizales, director of the Hygiene and Facilities Solutions Division at Acme Paper and Supply Company, Jessup, Maryland. “Labor shortages in every vertical made facility managers take a deeper look into autonomous machines because buildings still needed to be cleaned. I see this trend continuing because the machines are very efficient. I believe labor shortages will continue to be an issue, and there is a greater acceptance of this technology by the workforce since it makes their lives easier.”  Dell'Aquila agrees that the growth and implementation of autonomous equipment will continue. She has seen several manufacturers develop the technology for even larger platforms — introducing large sweepers, automatic scrubbers, multi-use carpet machines, and even incorporating functions not directly related to floor maintenance.  “Robotics are here, they are proven to maximize cleaning times, and I believe they will continue to grow in every vertical,” she says. “In some large box stores, you can find autonomous floor scrubbers that are doing ongoing cleaning while the space is open to the public, as well as scanning inventory with an additional raised arm added to the side of the scrubber for data collection. It combines cleaning with fulfilling the retail needs.”  Outside of the proliferation of autonomous equipment, the next notable innovation in this marketplace is lithium-ion batteries, according to Carrizales. When first introduced, lithium-ion batteries were considered cost prohibitive, but “newer battery technology gives the equipment longer run time and less downtime for charging,” he explains. “The ROI for equipment using lithium-ion batteries has significantly improved.”   Training and Implementation   Along with educating customers on the innovations in equipment comes the need to train the frontline cleaning staff who will be operating and maintaining the machines.   Manufacturers design equipment that is simple and instinctive to operate, that provides onboard technical diagnostics and can troubleshoot any problems in real time. Most offer training programs both on-site and at their own facilities, video training packages available online and for handheld/mobile devices, and printed manuals — as well as ongoing support as needed. Distributors should develop good working relationships with equipment manufacturers in order to establish comprehensive training and support for their end-users.  “Training is the key to the implementation, proper use, upkeep and active maintenance and, most importantly, supporting the team members,” says Dell'Aquila. “Our equipment manufacturers are very involved when introducing new equipment offerings to our sales team and will assist when the equipment is demonstrated or sold to the end-users.”  If pushback on implementing autonomous equipment comes in the form of frontline staff members expressing fear of being replaced, leading to the elimination of jobs, it can be noted that these autonomous solutions are designed to work alongside staff to assist them in accomplishing daily tasks. They can serve as a solution for labor shortages, but they are a tool for staff, too. A strong selling point is that the equipment can take on repetitive tasks, allowing staff to focus on more detailed and high-priority assignments.  Autonomous floor care equipment is not a “one size fits all” solution, however, and distributors should work with manufacturers and end-users to find the right fit. Just as it is important to prepare and train staff ahead of implementation, it is important to evaluate the physical environment where the machines will be operating. Carpeted floors will require an autonomous vacuum sweeper; hard surface floors will require an autonomous scrubber, and so on.   next page of this article:Maintenance Strategies for Autonomous Floor Equipment POSTED ON: 3/31/2025 Industry News & Trends Industry Training & Events Advice from the Field Insights & Updates Source link

[ramestoryworld]

There are two kinds of people; those who embrace change and eagerly anticipate each new development or invention that hits the market, and those who cling to what they know works and hold firmly to the stance that “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”   Floor care equipment technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and jan/san distributors have a responsibility to make sure that their sales and maintenance teams are keeping current on the latest developments, features, capabilities, and options to best serve their customers.  It's also vital that end users are properly trained to operate the newest equipment, and that they understand the positive return on investment (ROI) that comes from investing in it. The “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” contingent can be swayed to embrace the latest offerings when end users see how they can improve their bottom line.  Adapting to Autonomy  From the early days of buckets and mops, floor care equipment is constantly evolving — especially as facilities increase in square footage. The industry has experienced the emergence of everything from electric and battery-powered units to walk-behind machines, to ride-on equipment, to the latest autonomous/robotic options, and more.  “Over the past few years, robotics and autonomous machines have entered our marketplace,” confirms Carol Dell'Aquila, vice president of Corporate Sales, Maintex Facility Solutions, City of Industry, California. “You now see robotic automatic scrubbers in many of the different market segments, such as retail, big box stores, airports, school districts, colleges, and many other verticals. They increase staff efficiency and productivity, offload routine and repetitive cleaning tasks, and deliver proof of performance while allowing existing staff to maintain other areas that require a more detailed and manual task.”  Autonomous (also known as robotic) floor care equipment can clean floors with minimal need from an operator. These machines are designed and programmed to perform various tasks, including sweeping, dust mopping, and scrubbing, and can be used on hard flooring and carpet.   “To varying degrees, autonomous machines have been around for many years, but did not make into the mainstream until after COVID-19,” says Phil Carrizales, director of the Hygiene and Facilities Solutions Division at Acme Paper and Supply Company, Jessup, Maryland. “Labor shortages in every vertical made facility managers take a deeper look into autonomous machines because buildings still needed to be cleaned. I see this trend continuing because the machines are very efficient. I believe labor shortages will continue to be an issue, and there is a greater acceptance of this technology by the workforce since it makes their lives easier.”  Dell'Aquila agrees that the growth and implementation of autonomous equipment will continue. She has seen several manufacturers develop the technology for even larger platforms — introducing large sweepers, automatic scrubbers, multi-use carpet machines, and even incorporating functions not directly related to floor maintenance.  “Robotics are here, they are proven to maximize cleaning times, and I believe they will continue to grow in every vertical,” she says. “In some large box stores, you can find autonomous floor scrubbers that are doing ongoing cleaning while the space is open to the public, as well as scanning inventory with an additional raised arm added to the side of the scrubber for data collection. It combines cleaning with fulfilling the retail needs.”  Outside of the proliferation of autonomous equipment, the next notable innovation in this marketplace is lithium-ion batteries, according to Carrizales. When first introduced, lithium-ion batteries were considered cost prohibitive, but “newer battery technology gives the equipment longer run time and less downtime for charging,” he explains. “The ROI for equipment using lithium-ion batteries has significantly improved.”   Training and Implementation   Along with educating customers on the innovations in equipment comes the need to train the frontline cleaning staff who will be operating and maintaining the machines.   Manufacturers design equipment that is simple and instinctive to operate, that provides onboard technical diagnostics and can troubleshoot any problems in real time. Most offer training programs both on-site and at their own facilities, video training packages available online and for handheld/mobile devices, and printed manuals — as well as ongoing support as needed. Distributors should develop good working relationships with equipment manufacturers in order to establish comprehensive training and support for their end-users.  “Training is the key to the implementation, proper use, upkeep and active maintenance and, most importantly, supporting the team members,” says Dell'Aquila. “Our equipment manufacturers are very involved when introducing new equipment offerings to our sales team and will assist when the equipment is demonstrated or sold to the end-users.”  If pushback on implementing autonomous equipment comes in the form of frontline staff members expressing fear of being replaced, leading to the elimination of jobs, it can be noted that these autonomous solutions are designed to work alongside staff to assist them in accomplishing daily tasks. They can serve as a solution for labor shortages, but they are a tool for staff, too. A strong selling point is that the equipment can take on repetitive tasks, allowing staff to focus on more detailed and high-priority assignments.  Autonomous floor care equipment is not a “one size fits all” solution, however, and distributors should work with manufacturers and end-users to find the right fit. Just as it is important to prepare and train staff ahead of implementation, it is important to evaluate the physical environment where the machines will be operating. Carpeted floors will require an autonomous vacuum sweeper; hard surface floors will require an autonomous scrubber, and so on.   next page of this article:Maintenance Strategies for Autonomous Floor Equipment POSTED ON: 3/31/2025 Industry News & Trends Industry Training & Events Advice from the Field Insights & Updates Source link

[hardworkandguts]

Mobile Police Patlabor

機動警察パトレイバー

(OVA + film 1 and 2)

Mecha workplace comedy by Headgear

Era: 1980s, 1990s

Rating: S

Plot: By the end of the 20th century (so, the future) robots called "Labors" were developed to aid in construction work, but their creation also led to crimes and public disturbances committed using these machines. To counter them, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police created the Patrol Labor SV2 unit, but rather than a high profile unit, they are stationed in a remote area in the Tokyo Bay, with limited budget and resources.

Length: 7 eps at 30min, 100min (film 1), 113min (2)

Thoughts: So, another of those names even if you aren't into anime in the 90s probably saw being mentioned often, a mix of both real robot, workplace comedy and police procedural from the late 80s. There are a bunch of continuities, and here we're sticking with the original Early Days 1988 OVA and both Mamoru Oshii's films who followed on it, one day might get into writing about On Television and New Files, plus the other movies.

So, the show begins as the mechanics wait the arrival of two new Patlabor units for a second unit added to the SV2, to be led by the aloof but cunning captain Kiichi Gotoh, joining the first led by the highly professional but stubborn captain Shinobu Nagumo. The newcomers are a bit odd, including robot fetish girl Noa Izumi, son and heir of an industrialist Asuma Shinohara who was tricked into public service, hot headed gun nut Isao Ohta, family man and wife guy Mikiyasu Shinshi, gentle giant Hiromi Yamazaki and shortly after, temporary NYPD transfer Kanuka Clancy. It begins by showing off the strengths of the show, making compelling scenes out of a out of control labor, a sea monster in the Tokyo Bay, or even about the boredom of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, something the TV adaptation would expand greatly on. For that, and for the genre itself, it helps to have a strong cast of characters - Gotoh in particular is a magnificent bastard who's always reading ahead of the situation. The concept of how it all works is also very well thought out, the idea of a revolver cannon probably isn't new, but the detail of having it on the Patlabor's lower leg and the hand extends to reach it is one of those you look at and think "ah, smart". On the human side, you have the pilots, the commanders who act as both spotters and give tactical orders from a smaller car with more situational awareness and finally the carrier drivers, who operate in support. There's a lot of thought that went into how it all works and it shows. Visually, the OVA is very deliberate with the use of light, giving some scenes an almost a noir feeling to it, particularly the outstanding mystery at the training grounds episode. It's a very fun way of introducing the setting and characters, and I think it's still worth seeing now, particularly if you want to see the movies (A).

So, after setting up the story, we get two movies. The first, released one year after, goes around a wave of labors going rogue, which can be extremely problematic given how massive they are and the numbers of them in service, particularly on the Babylon Project, the Tokyo Bay reclamation area mentioned a few times in the OVA, and sharing a new operating system with the new model of patrol labors. The focus are on the investigations led by Gotoh and Asuma trying to find the causes, and Matsui trying to find more information into the mysterious coder who developed that operating system, before throwing himself into the sea. There's a few themes going on, including commentary on the destruction of more traditional areas and thirst for more land to be developed during bubble era Japan, something very common for the time (it's the starting point for even something as silly as Ghost Sweeper Mikami), as well as distrust of authority - even in the face of disaster, every higher up, from Shinohara Industries to public servants, would prefer to roll the dice and hope for the best to protect the image of the company. Also, being a Oshii gig, also expect some biblical references being part of the puzzle (S).

In 1993, Oshii would return to the franchise with a second movie. While the first is a regular story about an investigation, the second begins with something that is either an incredibly creepy coincidence or a very fast turnaround in the production department, as just months before release one of the first JSDF actions outside their borders ended up with a volunteer dead, victim on an ambush in Cambodia, leading to public unrest, and that's where we start, a JSDF labor UN unit is ambushed in southeast Asia. Three years pass and we catch up with the Unit 2 crew - Noa and Asuma are now testing new model labors, Shinshi transferred to general affairs, Ohta is an instructor, Kanuka remains in the US and Yamazaki is the one remaining, with both Gotoh and Nagumo still in charge. While there's less to do, as the conclusion of the construction of the dam means labors were shifted away from Tokyo to other areas with major ongoing projects, things quickly change as a car bomb threat in a bridge ends with a mysterious fighter jet launching a missile at it, and the SV2 is brought in the fold to investigate what is suspected to be an attack by forces inside the JSDF to overturn Article 9. I think the story draws a bit too much from the two episode coup in the OVA, but it's great to see Nagumo a bit more in the spotlight, given that until then, while we know she's every bit as capable as Gotoh (if more orthodox), we haven't seen her at work as much as someone Gotoh bounces ideas with. (A)

Visually, both have outstanding visuals, displaying the love Oshii has for packed urban settings (look at his work in Ghost in the Shell), and a great soundtrack by Kenji Kawai, so you know it's great even as something to just have on the background. If there is one negative aspect to it, it's Oshii's tendency to suck out the fun out of characters in order to make a more serious film.

I recall seeing it featured on Obscure Anime of the Day ( @obscureanimeoftheday ) - the last post before they went on break, as a matter of fact - and it's kind of a bummer, Patlabor is a classic and deserves being treated as so. Maybe the new series due around 2026 will bring it back to the limelight.

Recommended to: Fans of realistic robots, public service budgeting and robot fetish girls (don't confuse with "festish for robot girls")

Plus:

This isn't a mecha anime the main character is some austistic kid or something.

Patlabors are one of the all-time mecha designs

A cast of people who probably shouldn't be in the police makes usually makes good comedy.

Does a good balance of comedy hijinks and more serious work.

Minus:

Some of the episodes can be a bit silly for fans of the more serious movies.

[alexha2210]

There are two kinds of people; those who embrace change and eagerly anticipate each new development or invention that hits the market, and those who cling to what they know works and hold firmly to the stance that “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”   Floor care equipment technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and jan/san distributors have a responsibility to make sure that their sales and maintenance teams are keeping current on the latest developments, features, capabilities, and options to best serve their customers.  It's also vital that end users are properly trained to operate the newest equipment, and that they understand the positive return on investment (ROI) that comes from investing in it. The “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” contingent can be swayed to embrace the latest offerings when end users see how they can improve their bottom line.  Adapting to Autonomy  From the early days of buckets and mops, floor care equipment is constantly evolving — especially as facilities increase in square footage. The industry has experienced the emergence of everything from electric and battery-powered units to walk-behind machines, to ride-on equipment, to the latest autonomous/robotic options, and more.  “Over the past few years, robotics and autonomous machines have entered our marketplace,” confirms Carol Dell'Aquila, vice president of Corporate Sales, Maintex Facility Solutions, City of Industry, California. “You now see robotic automatic scrubbers in many of the different market segments, such as retail, big box stores, airports, school districts, colleges, and many other verticals. They increase staff efficiency and productivity, offload routine and repetitive cleaning tasks, and deliver proof of performance while allowing existing staff to maintain other areas that require a more detailed and manual task.”  Autonomous (also known as robotic) floor care equipment can clean floors with minimal need from an operator. These machines are designed and programmed to perform various tasks, including sweeping, dust mopping, and scrubbing, and can be used on hard flooring and carpet.   “To varying degrees, autonomous machines have been around for many years, but did not make into the mainstream until after COVID-19,” says Phil Carrizales, director of the Hygiene and Facilities Solutions Division at Acme Paper and Supply Company, Jessup, Maryland. “Labor shortages in every vertical made facility managers take a deeper look into autonomous machines because buildings still needed to be cleaned. I see this trend continuing because the machines are very efficient. I believe labor shortages will continue to be an issue, and there is a greater acceptance of this technology by the workforce since it makes their lives easier.”  Dell'Aquila agrees that the growth and implementation of autonomous equipment will continue. She has seen several manufacturers develop the technology for even larger platforms — introducing large sweepers, automatic scrubbers, multi-use carpet machines, and even incorporating functions not directly related to floor maintenance.  “Robotics are here, they are proven to maximize cleaning times, and I believe they will continue to grow in every vertical,” she says. “In some large box stores, you can find autonomous floor scrubbers that are doing ongoing cleaning while the space is open to the public, as well as scanning inventory with an additional raised arm added to the side of the scrubber for data collection. It combines cleaning with fulfilling the retail needs.”  Outside of the proliferation of autonomous equipment, the next notable innovation in this marketplace is lithium-ion batteries, according to Carrizales. When first introduced, lithium-ion batteries were considered cost prohibitive, but “newer battery technology gives the equipment longer run time and less downtime for charging,” he explains. “The ROI for equipment using lithium-ion batteries has significantly improved.”   Training and Implementation   Along with educating customers on the innovations in equipment comes the need to train the frontline cleaning staff who will be operating and maintaining the machines.   Manufacturers design equipment that is simple and instinctive to operate, that provides onboard technical diagnostics and can troubleshoot any problems in real time. Most offer training programs both on-site and at their own facilities, video training packages available online and for handheld/mobile devices, and printed manuals — as well as ongoing support as needed. Distributors should develop good working relationships with equipment manufacturers in order to establish comprehensive training and support for their end-users.  “Training is the key to the implementation, proper use, upkeep and active maintenance and, most importantly, supporting the team members,” says Dell'Aquila. “Our equipment manufacturers are very involved when introducing new equipment offerings to our sales team and will assist when the equipment is demonstrated or sold to the end-users.”  If pushback on implementing autonomous equipment comes in the form of frontline staff members expressing fear of being replaced, leading to the elimination of jobs, it can be noted that these autonomous solutions are designed to work alongside staff to assist them in accomplishing daily tasks. They can serve as a solution for labor shortages, but they are a tool for staff, too. A strong selling point is that the equipment can take on repetitive tasks, allowing staff to focus on more detailed and high-priority assignments.  Autonomous floor care equipment is not a “one size fits all” solution, however, and distributors should work with manufacturers and end-users to find the right fit. Just as it is important to prepare and train staff ahead of implementation, it is important to evaluate the physical environment where the machines will be operating. Carpeted floors will require an autonomous vacuum sweeper; hard surface floors will require an autonomous scrubber, and so on.   next page of this article:Maintenance Strategies for Autonomous Floor Equipment POSTED ON: 3/31/2025 Industry News & Trends Industry Training & Events Advice from the Field Insights & Updates Source link

[angusstory]

There are two kinds of people; those who embrace change and eagerly anticipate each new development or invention that hits the market, and those who cling to what they know works and hold firmly to the stance that “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”   Floor care equipment technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and jan/san distributors have a responsibility to make sure that their sales and maintenance teams are keeping current on the latest developments, features, capabilities, and options to best serve their customers.  It's also vital that end users are properly trained to operate the newest equipment, and that they understand the positive return on investment (ROI) that comes from investing in it. The “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” contingent can be swayed to embrace the latest offerings when end users see how they can improve their bottom line.  Adapting to Autonomy  From the early days of buckets and mops, floor care equipment is constantly evolving — especially as facilities increase in square footage. The industry has experienced the emergence of everything from electric and battery-powered units to walk-behind machines, to ride-on equipment, to the latest autonomous/robotic options, and more.  “Over the past few years, robotics and autonomous machines have entered our marketplace,” confirms Carol Dell'Aquila, vice president of Corporate Sales, Maintex Facility Solutions, City of Industry, California. “You now see robotic automatic scrubbers in many of the different market segments, such as retail, big box stores, airports, school districts, colleges, and many other verticals. They increase staff efficiency and productivity, offload routine and repetitive cleaning tasks, and deliver proof of performance while allowing existing staff to maintain other areas that require a more detailed and manual task.”  Autonomous (also known as robotic) floor care equipment can clean floors with minimal need from an operator. These machines are designed and programmed to perform various tasks, including sweeping, dust mopping, and scrubbing, and can be used on hard flooring and carpet.   “To varying degrees, autonomous machines have been around for many years, but did not make into the mainstream until after COVID-19,” says Phil Carrizales, director of the Hygiene and Facilities Solutions Division at Acme Paper and Supply Company, Jessup, Maryland. “Labor shortages in every vertical made facility managers take a deeper look into autonomous machines because buildings still needed to be cleaned. I see this trend continuing because the machines are very efficient. I believe labor shortages will continue to be an issue, and there is a greater acceptance of this technology by the workforce since it makes their lives easier.”  Dell'Aquila agrees that the growth and implementation of autonomous equipment will continue. She has seen several manufacturers develop the technology for even larger platforms — introducing large sweepers, automatic scrubbers, multi-use carpet machines, and even incorporating functions not directly related to floor maintenance.  “Robotics are here, they are proven to maximize cleaning times, and I believe they will continue to grow in every vertical,” she says. “In some large box stores, you can find autonomous floor scrubbers that are doing ongoing cleaning while the space is open to the public, as well as scanning inventory with an additional raised arm added to the side of the scrubber for data collection. It combines cleaning with fulfilling the retail needs.”  Outside of the proliferation of autonomous equipment, the next notable innovation in this marketplace is lithium-ion batteries, according to Carrizales. When first introduced, lithium-ion batteries were considered cost prohibitive, but “newer battery technology gives the equipment longer run time and less downtime for charging,” he explains. “The ROI for equipment using lithium-ion batteries has significantly improved.”   Training and Implementation   Along with educating customers on the innovations in equipment comes the need to train the frontline cleaning staff who will be operating and maintaining the machines.   Manufacturers design equipment that is simple and instinctive to operate, that provides onboard technical diagnostics and can troubleshoot any problems in real time. Most offer training programs both on-site and at their own facilities, video training packages available online and for handheld/mobile devices, and printed manuals — as well as ongoing support as needed. Distributors should develop good working relationships with equipment manufacturers in order to establish comprehensive training and support for their end-users.  “Training is the key to the implementation, proper use, upkeep and active maintenance and, most importantly, supporting the team members,” says Dell'Aquila. “Our equipment manufacturers are very involved when introducing new equipment offerings to our sales team and will assist when the equipment is demonstrated or sold to the end-users.”  If pushback on implementing autonomous equipment comes in the form of frontline staff members expressing fear of being replaced, leading to the elimination of jobs, it can be noted that these autonomous solutions are designed to work alongside staff to assist them in accomplishing daily tasks. They can serve as a solution for labor shortages, but they are a tool for staff, too. A strong selling point is that the equipment can take on repetitive tasks, allowing staff to focus on more detailed and high-priority assignments.  Autonomous floor care equipment is not a “one size fits all” solution, however, and distributors should work with manufacturers and end-users to find the right fit. Just as it is important to prepare and train staff ahead of implementation, it is important to evaluate the physical environment where the machines will be operating. Carpeted floors will require an autonomous vacuum sweeper; hard surface floors will require an autonomous scrubber, and so on.   next page of this article:Maintenance Strategies for Autonomous Floor Equipment POSTED ON: 3/31/2025 Industry News & Trends Industry Training & Events Advice from the Field Insights & Updates Source link

[tumibaba]

There are two kinds of people; those who embrace change and eagerly anticipate each new development or invention that hits the market, and those who cling to what they know works and hold firmly to the stance that “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”   Floor care equipment technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and jan/san distributors have a responsibility to make sure that their sales and maintenance teams are keeping current on the latest developments, features, capabilities, and options to best serve their customers.  It's also vital that end users are properly trained to operate the newest equipment, and that they understand the positive return on investment (ROI) that comes from investing in it. The “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” contingent can be swayed to embrace the latest offerings when end users see how they can improve their bottom line.  Adapting to Autonomy  From the early days of buckets and mops, floor care equipment is constantly evolving — especially as facilities increase in square footage. The industry has experienced the emergence of everything from electric and battery-powered units to walk-behind machines, to ride-on equipment, to the latest autonomous/robotic options, and more.  “Over the past few years, robotics and autonomous machines have entered our marketplace,” confirms Carol Dell'Aquila, vice president of Corporate Sales, Maintex Facility Solutions, City of Industry, California. “You now see robotic automatic scrubbers in many of the different market segments, such as retail, big box stores, airports, school districts, colleges, and many other verticals. They increase staff efficiency and productivity, offload routine and repetitive cleaning tasks, and deliver proof of performance while allowing existing staff to maintain other areas that require a more detailed and manual task.”  Autonomous (also known as robotic) floor care equipment can clean floors with minimal need from an operator. These machines are designed and programmed to perform various tasks, including sweeping, dust mopping, and scrubbing, and can be used on hard flooring and carpet.   “To varying degrees, autonomous machines have been around for many years, but did not make into the mainstream until after COVID-19,” says Phil Carrizales, director of the Hygiene and Facilities Solutions Division at Acme Paper and Supply Company, Jessup, Maryland. “Labor shortages in every vertical made facility managers take a deeper look into autonomous machines because buildings still needed to be cleaned. I see this trend continuing because the machines are very efficient. I believe labor shortages will continue to be an issue, and there is a greater acceptance of this technology by the workforce since it makes their lives easier.”  Dell'Aquila agrees that the growth and implementation of autonomous equipment will continue. She has seen several manufacturers develop the technology for even larger platforms — introducing large sweepers, automatic scrubbers, multi-use carpet machines, and even incorporating functions not directly related to floor maintenance.  “Robotics are here, they are proven to maximize cleaning times, and I believe they will continue to grow in every vertical,” she says. “In some large box stores, you can find autonomous floor scrubbers that are doing ongoing cleaning while the space is open to the public, as well as scanning inventory with an additional raised arm added to the side of the scrubber for data collection. It combines cleaning with fulfilling the retail needs.”  Outside of the proliferation of autonomous equipment, the next notable innovation in this marketplace is lithium-ion batteries, according to Carrizales. When first introduced, lithium-ion batteries were considered cost prohibitive, but “newer battery technology gives the equipment longer run time and less downtime for charging,” he explains. “The ROI for equipment using lithium-ion batteries has significantly improved.”   Training and Implementation   Along with educating customers on the innovations in equipment comes the need to train the frontline cleaning staff who will be operating and maintaining the machines.   Manufacturers design equipment that is simple and instinctive to operate, that provides onboard technical diagnostics and can troubleshoot any problems in real time. Most offer training programs both on-site and at their own facilities, video training packages available online and for handheld/mobile devices, and printed manuals — as well as ongoing support as needed. Distributors should develop good working relationships with equipment manufacturers in order to establish comprehensive training and support for their end-users.  “Training is the key to the implementation, proper use, upkeep and active maintenance and, most importantly, supporting the team members,” says Dell'Aquila. “Our equipment manufacturers are very involved when introducing new equipment offerings to our sales team and will assist when the equipment is demonstrated or sold to the end-users.”  If pushback on implementing autonomous equipment comes in the form of frontline staff members expressing fear of being replaced, leading to the elimination of jobs, it can be noted that these autonomous solutions are designed to work alongside staff to assist them in accomplishing daily tasks. They can serve as a solution for labor shortages, but they are a tool for staff, too. A strong selling point is that the equipment can take on repetitive tasks, allowing staff to focus on more detailed and high-priority assignments.  Autonomous floor care equipment is not a “one size fits all” solution, however, and distributors should work with manufacturers and end-users to find the right fit. Just as it is important to prepare and train staff ahead of implementation, it is important to evaluate the physical environment where the machines will be operating. Carpeted floors will require an autonomous vacuum sweeper; hard surface floors will require an autonomous scrubber, and so on.   next page of this article:Maintenance Strategies for Autonomous Floor Equipment POSTED ON: 3/31/2025 Industry News & Trends Industry Training & Events Advice from the Field Insights & Updates Source link