Today I want to talk about Kei and her hair. Kei is a rare case where her hair style does change, though this is because Kei fundamentally operates on different rules compared to every other student. Kei originally had straight black hair that was so long it easily dragged along the floor. Despite this, the hair is very clean, likely because the owner of the hair takes good care of it. Her left side has a ponytail tied, and there seems to be some gradient from black to gray for her bangs (which includes her ponytail). This does feel like it's the wrong time to go into further detail over this rendition of Kei, so I will save it for later.
Kei really slimmed down after Vol F. She also shrunk a bit, as well as had one massive haircut! Kei-chan... Has no hair. So instead I will jump straight to the design, where she looks like a cute wind-up toy, winder included! She's got a bit of a wide head that's box-like, with what seems to be a port to plug directly into her head. I can't imagine that feels very good. On her sides are small gray tabs that resemble ears, and her face is glowing. It's also a bit orange, but I'm sure that's normal. Her outfit is adorable, too, since Kei-chan has overalls on her main body, likely printed on. Her limbs are slim, but quite flexible, and could probably withstand being roughly shaken if she were, hypothetically, attached to the end of a mop and shaken around while it's being used for cleaning & clearing. Finally, she's shown to be quite flat-footed as she has rectangular feet with black circles at the end, and above them near where a human's toes would be are orange triangles. Her halo might seem like it's attached to her as a paperclip, but it's very real and the Kei I know and love is in there.
Kei's most recent rendition looks really familiar, like it's going to ask me to install its AI into a casino's mainframe or something, though that's probably just because it looks avant-garde. Kei-chan bulked up a lot for the cold climate of the glacial sea, at least! Instead of being small enough to fit in your hand, she's now about the size of the Saiba twins. She's also a bit wider than last time, especially her feet which have now been replaced with a wheel that can cover many different terrains, as well as being able to stabilize and balance herself like a world-class dancer. Her main body is full like ancient fertility idols, yet is the perfect image of health. Her face is always resolute, but also incredibly emotive to the point where she can show her exclamation or confusion with an ! or ?, something truly beyond human capabilities. Her shoulders are very well padded and can reasonably take artillery shells, but are sleek and refined to give Kei a lady-like appearance. The articulation and movement in her arms are very smooth, and can even do things that most humans can't do. Her hands might seem cold and robotic, but there's a delicate softness there when she's not squeezing your hand really hard for trying to trace her palms, like there's a warmth in there. Her single eye might seem cold and stiff, but Kei is still able to express so much with so little. Truly, Kei-chan is a very cute student, maybe even the cutest!
There's a future version of her, yes, but that's for another day.
Kei's hair, assuming it's not the first rendition (again, not the time to talk about the long black hair) is well-maintained, even if it's non-existent. The way even dull light can reflect on her small form shows a lot of meticulous care in her entire body being as clean as possible, but I would still rub my finger on top of her head to give her headpats from time to time because Kei deserves them. Her wheeled form has more, which means there is more to love. While the light doesn't catch on her head quite like it used to, the uniformity of the white paint makes her feel very reliable, as well as her face being expressive and positively glowing with health. I have tried many times to headpat Kei-chan, with wildly different results, but recently she's gotten somewhat used to it and instead only glares at me and calls me a weirdo for doing this, at least until I start praising her which then becomes too much for her. I have tried to brush her, only to get told to get mental help. I dream about one day being able to brush Kei's hair, where she scolds me for being too close to a student for trying this, but eventually relents and lets me, quietly glowering from being treated so but secretly enjoying it.
Link to previous entries (assuming I don't forget):
https://rentry.org/hair_archive