You can never say that I didn't try

[notglitching]

Who: Rinzler and OPEN
When: April 14th through the 24th
Where: the Hold
What: Rinzler killed some people and copes poorly. Set after this log.
Warnings: references to character death and mindscrew, glowy injuries, unfortunate assumptions. (See also: Rinzler.)


The first place Rinzler woke up in this system was a cell. He'd been locked in after a fight with his duplicate—with Tron. Not that the enforcer had been capable then of even hearing the older version's name. Rinzler had attacked because he had to, because the overrides built in his mind detected conflict and demanded he delete the source. Since then, he's shattered that if/then chain. Chipped away at the filters on his memories, even managed, once or twice, to speak.

But he's back where he started, and he knows better than to expect things to end the same way.

For the most part, visitors will find Rinzler seated on the low bench back against the wall. Circuits burn dimly in the shadows, almost outshone by the dull glint of fractured code that covers a full half of the enforcer's core. He's turned slightly to conceal the injured side, but the spiderwebbing cracks through code and armor are obvious to see, and he doesn't have the power to refresh his shell and cover up the damage.

The low rattle of corrupted code echoes through the cell and down the corridor, though it does nothing to compete with the invectives from the user locked in one door down. Rinzler approaches shutdown just once, curled up against the wall, and if the flickering lights and twitch of limbs is any sign, it's anything but restful. The program won't notice anyone approaching then, but he probably wouldn't mind being woken.

Once or twice, Rinzler rises, pacing, frustration and the need to move boiling up through the despair. There's nowhere to go, though, nothing to do, and even that much risks opening his damage further. Maybe he should. Fracture, break, rip himself apart and leave them voxels on the floor to claim and punish. Rinzler wonders if he ever tried before. If he does, he can't remember. He wonders what they'll make him into. Alan-one had told him what would happen, told him he'd correct the fault if Rinzler fought again. Now two users are dead, and if there's any hope at all, it's that they'll decide he's too worthless to salvage.


[[ooc: the duration during which Rinzler can be visited depends largely on the results of his trial, so there may be some time-wobbling. In particular, if he ends up with solitary confinement... no longer applicable; Rinzler will be visitable for both the trial period and his sentence. ETA 2: As of the 20th, temperature conditions will be improved thanks to Vision + co.

Prose and spam both welcome!]]

Comments

[notglitching]

No way to repair damage.

That much is prompt. Immediate. But the user keeps talking, and Rinzler's hands twitch, curling faintly on and through the holographic keyboard. 'The same as people'?

Well. That accounted for a lot. And really, it wasn't much surprise, was it? This one is that user's friend, and it had made Rinzler's position clear well before any of these kills. 'Why are you even allowed out here? Around people?' 'The ship doesn't need anything rabid, running around causing problems for the good people of this crew.'

Rinzler isn't allowed out now. By the time his user finishes with him, he knows he won't be capable of making any problems whatsoever. The user wasn't wrong. This user isn't either. That doesn't make the reminder any less bitter, and the constant rumble of corrupted code grows harsher as his shoulder twitches inward in another shrug.

[deal]

She watched him after she talked, and the corner of her mouth curled upward in slight amusement. He seemed to be taking what she said the wrong way, which wasn't the first time someone here had. Her eyes slip shut for a moment as she takes in the sound coming off of him, and she realized that it sounded potentially agitated.

"Don't act so offended," she gently insisted, opening her eyes to look at him once again. "I was trying to figure out how to manage your pain. I just had a crappy way of asking. Sorry about that."

She wasn't apologizing because she felt bad, but because it was the right thing to do. This was his space, even if it wasn't where he chose to be, and she was the one imposing her presence upon him. She may not have understood him or how to help him, but that wasn't his fault.

"I have a friend back home that isn't exactly human. When he was hurt, I didn't know how to make it better. But I still tried. That's what I'm trying to do here, but you can tell me to go away if you want."

[notglitching]

The faceless mask makes any expression impossible to see, but if the pitch of Rinzler's sound is much sign, the hostility hasn't vanished. He isn't a user, and he isn't her friend. He doesn't know why she's bothering to try, much less apologize.

Not that it makes a difference either way. One hand comes up, dim orange lights mingling with the glow of the display as he deliberately scrolls upward, leaving a previous line front and center.

Can't help.

[deal]

She took note of the sound, eyes narrowing a little. He was being difficult on purpose, she thought, and it made her frustrated. That frustration quickly gave way to anger, and she reaches out to wrap her hands tightly around the bars. "Okay, so I can't help. But you should know more people are going to be showing up here. Vision put out a network announcement calling for everyone to make this easier on you."

The only reason she was still standing here and talking was because she had promised Vision she would try, and she never went back on her word. She just hadn't expected Rinzler to be so difficult, although she knew she'd be the same way if she was in his place. Putting herself in his shoes made her hands drop down, though she had them balled into fists as they rested at her sides.

"How do you know there's not any way to repair the damage? You could be wrong."

[notglitching]

Rinzler does know. The helmet twitches to the side, fingers curling, unhappy and restless, on the bench below. He hadn't asked for that broadcast. Hadn't wanted it, and even if the temperature adjustments offered some relief, Rinzler isn't sure at all that it was worth it. He might be damaged, but he didn't need the entire ship to know.

And he doubts very much that those trying to help were the only ones to notice.

Shrugs are rapidly becoming his default answer. Problematic, when only one side works right.

Won't be edited.

Can't. Won't. But mostly won't, which makes this damage entirely Rinzler's problem. Rinzler's fault. He doesn't doubt Alan-one would repair him, but the user wouldn't stop at correcting his body, and Rinzler doesn't trust anyone here to leave the rest of his code alone. The only other possibility so far seems to be the monsters' "magic". And somehow Rinzler doubts this user's here to offer that.

[deal]

Won't.

That confirms everything she needs to know, and her response to it is much the same as his has been for her. She shrugs. "I really don't think anyone is going to force you to be edited. And if they try to force you, fuck them."

She doesn't get him, and he clearly doesn't care for her, but she's all for everyone having personal freedom and not being forced into everything. She spent too much time being held captive and forced to do things back in Philadelphia, and she wasn't going to stand by and watch it happen to other people here.

"I can talk to Vision, tell him that he needs to lay off. So this stays your business and not everyone else's."

It's not her place to be delivering messages to someone that's trying to help, but if all Rinzler really wants and needs is for people to leave him the hell alone, she can try to make it clear he doesn't need anyone stopping by to meddle further. Once he's out, he can figure out repairs on his own.

[notglitching]

The helmet lowers just a little, but Rinzler doesn't offer argument. Tron hadn't believed him after all, and even if this user did, it's not as if anything would change. Fuck them isn't a viable plan of action. Especially when Alan-one had every right.

Vision is another story, and Rinzler's stare comes back up at that offer. He'd told the other program as much already, but he's not sure at all the message had gotten through. There's a cautious incline of the mask—curiosity as much as any agreement. Yes, he'd like his privacy back. He's not at all sure she (or anyone) can give it, but... why is she offering?

That seemed to go a little past pain management.

[deal]

She isn't sure if he's accepting her offer, or questioning it, so she observes him for a few moments longer before deciding to just keep on talking.

"I've been in your place before," she admits, not looking up and over at him. "Sometimes your hand is forced and you have to do things that end with you locked up."

She doesn't elaborate more than that, but tries to get him to see that she knows what it's like, being on his end of things. Her desire to help comes from empathy, even though she doesn't necessarily sympathize with him. It's an odd feeling to have, one that puts her at odds with herself.

"And I know that if I had people showing up to try and help me when I didn't want it, I'd end up stabbing someone in the face."

[notglitching]

The program's stare lingers, unmoving for several moments. He's quite certain this user hasn't been in his place before. The cage, after all, is just an inconvenience, and no user would need to expect what Rinzler knows is waiting for him when it's done. Users aren't code. They aren't meant to be rewritten.

But the last line... that's a closer fit than he'd expected. The stillness breaks, a light-lined hand flicking the MID display back on.

No weapons.

Hard to stab someone in the face when his disks and batons had been removed. Joke? Genuine complaint? Somewhere in between? It would be the first Rinzler's shown in here of having a sense of humor, but stranger things have happened.

[deal]

She takes it as a near joke, and she gives out a dry laugh as she smiles. "I'm sure you could improvise. I know I'd be able to, and you've got to be smarter than me."

Her smile because a little more raw, a flash of teeth that makes her look like there may be more edge to her than meets the eye. She finds humor in weird places, and finds possible allies in even stranger ones. She isn't angry with Rinzler for what's happened, and can see the value in the strength he possesses. It's not like they're going to be fighting people here, not like she did back home, but he's someone that she recognizes she would rather be fighting with than against.

"Come on, give it a try."

[notglitching]

There's another beat of staring before his helmet angles to the side. Acknowledgement. Rejoinder. Does she have an actual target to suggest, or is this all rhetorical? He'll fight, and gladly, once he has the capability.

But somehow there aren't many ways to vent inside this cage—even assuming he wouldn't derezz himself trying. Considering how easily the skeleton had almost wiped him, Rinzler can't take that as much for granted as he'd like.