SecUnit (Murderbot) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
serialskiller) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
come_sailaway2022-04-24 08:42 pm
serialskiller) wrote in come_sailaway2022-04-24 08:42 pm
I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You [OPEN, some closed prompts]
Who: Murderbot and Cesar, Murderbot and Max, Murderbot and Friday, Murderbot and YOU
When: Late April, after Pirate Jenny
Where: On a ship!
Summary: Murderbot fails to make friends, tries to play nice, and generally gets in over its head
Warnings: The thread with Max is likely to contain Violence.
1. If I had a mind to, I wouldn't wanna think like you [Closed to César, Backdated]
In the aftermath of Jenny's attack, once the immediate danger is passed, César receives a message on his phone. Murderbot's not feeling very articulate right now. It just sends a map of the ship with a red dot where its location is, and then Suffered damage.
Really, the fact that it isn't defaulting to pure bufferspeak is a good sign. But the rest of it? Who even knows what to make of such a terse message.
2. If I had time to, I wouldn't want to talk to you [Closed to Friday]
Murderbot doesn't immediately reach out directly to Friday. It has thoughts, it has questions, it has feelings. And it wants to understand if any of those feelings are real. But rather than visiting Guest Services in person, what it does is have one of its drones hover around that area for a few hours; it's just this little guy keeping Friday company, that's all! If she leaves the desk area, it moves to follow her. If not, it's just...there.
A few hours in, though, Murderbot brings the drone closer, deliberately ensuring that Friday can see it. You know, because actually coming and saying hi would be too hard, right? It isn't far, though, just in a nearby lounge, waiting to see her reaction.
3. If I was high class, I wouldn't need a buck to pass [Closed to Maximilien]
As with Dorothy and with Chloe, Murderbot's first action when it notices a new digital presence is to reach out and ping. It's not a heavy data packet, not a request for access. It's about as intrusive as a cat brushing against someone's ankles as it walks past, and then glancing back to see the reaction that the gesture has gotten.
System System//Query: Identity
4. If I was a fall guy, I wouldn't need no alibi [Open]
Post-repair, Murderbot does do its fair share of cleaning up after Jenny's assault--righting deck furniture, removing curtains that could use a wash/dry cycle and tending to that, putting sports deck equipment away. Those who see the cyborg at work may note a look of frustration on its face.
It failed at keeping the humans safe, and even if anyone who died came back the next day, it wasn't up to the task at hand. So it needs to get better. Be more aware. And make up for its failures with hard work now. If someone approaches, there's the customary lack of eye contact, but a low murmur.
"Were you hurt?" Nevermind that it was, that doesn't matter. It wants, needs to know how badly it failed.
5. Back on the bottom line, diggin' for a lousy dime [Open]
Once the ship is put to rights as much as possible, Murderbot starts doing more formal daily patrols. Playtime is over, it really needs to knuckle down. No hanging out. Efficient mealtimes with only nutrient-rich foods. It schools its expression to proper SecUnit robotic blank and there's even some days when it's on deck in armor.
In a human, this sort of behavior might be seen as a trauma response, but Murderbot surely doesn't experience anything like that.
Right?
6. If I hit the motherlode, I'd cover anything that showed [Wildcard]
As usual,![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
darkersolstice or discord to plot anything special.
When: Late April, after Pirate Jenny
Where: On a ship!
Summary: Murderbot fails to make friends, tries to play nice, and generally gets in over its head
Warnings: The thread with Max is likely to contain Violence.
1. If I had a mind to, I wouldn't wanna think like you [Closed to César, Backdated]
In the aftermath of Jenny's attack, once the immediate danger is passed, César receives a message on his phone. Murderbot's not feeling very articulate right now. It just sends a map of the ship with a red dot where its location is, and then Suffered damage.
Really, the fact that it isn't defaulting to pure bufferspeak is a good sign. But the rest of it? Who even knows what to make of such a terse message.
2. If I had time to, I wouldn't want to talk to you [Closed to Friday]
Murderbot doesn't immediately reach out directly to Friday. It has thoughts, it has questions, it has feelings. And it wants to understand if any of those feelings are real. But rather than visiting Guest Services in person, what it does is have one of its drones hover around that area for a few hours; it's just this little guy keeping Friday company, that's all! If she leaves the desk area, it moves to follow her. If not, it's just...there.
A few hours in, though, Murderbot brings the drone closer, deliberately ensuring that Friday can see it. You know, because actually coming and saying hi would be too hard, right? It isn't far, though, just in a nearby lounge, waiting to see her reaction.
3. If I was high class, I wouldn't need a buck to pass [Closed to Maximilien]
As with Dorothy and with Chloe, Murderbot's first action when it notices a new digital presence is to reach out and ping. It's not a heavy data packet, not a request for access. It's about as intrusive as a cat brushing against someone's ankles as it walks past, and then glancing back to see the reaction that the gesture has gotten.
System System//Query: Identity
4. If I was a fall guy, I wouldn't need no alibi [Open]
Post-repair, Murderbot does do its fair share of cleaning up after Jenny's assault--righting deck furniture, removing curtains that could use a wash/dry cycle and tending to that, putting sports deck equipment away. Those who see the cyborg at work may note a look of frustration on its face.
It failed at keeping the humans safe, and even if anyone who died came back the next day, it wasn't up to the task at hand. So it needs to get better. Be more aware. And make up for its failures with hard work now. If someone approaches, there's the customary lack of eye contact, but a low murmur.
"Were you hurt?" Nevermind that it was, that doesn't matter. It wants, needs to know how badly it failed.
5. Back on the bottom line, diggin' for a lousy dime [Open]
Once the ship is put to rights as much as possible, Murderbot starts doing more formal daily patrols. Playtime is over, it really needs to knuckle down. No hanging out. Efficient mealtimes with only nutrient-rich foods. It schools its expression to proper SecUnit robotic blank and there's even some days when it's on deck in armor.
In a human, this sort of behavior might be seen as a trauma response, but Murderbot surely doesn't experience anything like that.
Right?
6. If I hit the motherlode, I'd cover anything that showed [Wildcard]
As usual,
no subject
takes one of the papers from her clipboard. efficiently folds it into a paper airplane.
sends it towards the drone.]
no subject
no subject
[pauses, thinking...]
Oh! [waves] Hi, Mx. Murderbot's little friend! [beat] Or Mx. Murderbot! I don't really know how electrical things work!
no subject
That name is private.
[Is it weird that it doesn't actually look at her while saying that, finding some decoration or piece of furniture in the guest services area to stare at, while continuing to observe her through the drone's camera?
Yes? Too bad.]
no subject
no subject
I’ve been letting everyone choose whether they want to call me SecUnit or Rin. Neither is a name.
no subject
[she likes her name, she thinks. she waited an awful long time for it.]
no subject
SecUnit is a designation. It tells people what I am, what purpose I was constructed for. Rin is an alias. It's something for other people to call me, but it's not who I consider myself.
[It hesitates, lifting its gaze to her eyeless face. It's still hard, even if it's not sure this is eye contact. It's hard to look directly at her.]
My name is Murderbot. It's a name I gave myself, and it's who I think of myself as being. It's personal, and meaningful, and it's not for everyone else. Especially not for those who made me--they decided what I was, but they don't control who I am being.
Do you understand?
[Because it's not just talking about itself here, Friday...]
no subject
[but, her fingers fidget for a moment, and she taps her chin in thought.]
But, if I were to give myself a name, I'd pick something nicer than that! It wasn't your fault, after all!
no subject
[The deflection is immediate.]
no subject
Um... Julie!
no subject
[It's an interesting choice--it has to come from somewhere.]
no subject
[pause] Most everything the Captain does is based on something he's seen before! When he made me, he was thinking of a character on a TV show - and that was her name! If I ever needed to become a spy and go undercover [APPARENTLY A THING SHE HAS PREPARED FOR?], that's the name I would pick!
no subject
[It's still wondering how much of a person she is, in and of herself.]
no subject