WEEK 13 - I can't lie to you about your chances, but you have my sympathies.

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (13)

sunday (41) survivors Something in the air breaks, shattering from deep within space itself - and to accompany that sensation is a psychic scream. The ship shakes, coming to a screeching halt as a bright light explodes outside it. It pulses, not unlike a heartbeat, that crawls and crawls along at a slow, grueling pace. The last illusion has been broken, the last mental tie severed and crushed. You've done well up until now, and you can reap the benefits of Her labor; the dead walk among you, after all, and as Her scream rings out, a burst of energy shoots through the residents of the Pygmalion. It's clearly a desperate bid, but it doesn't root itself in place. Instead, you feel lighter than ever - Her attempt to claim you has only unraveled the string that kept you in place. The 40% limit has been lifted, and you are at full capacity. The chains have been broken. Go freely, heroes. taken list profiles private conversations setting rulebook ENTER COMMAND_

Comments

[batsuits]

[ and have a dad who knows nothing about their relationship. he'll stick to voice right now though because he trusts none of y'all. just give him his son. ]

Wayne, actually, but you can call me Bruce.

[ just correcting her there and he's frowning on the other end. he sounds a little frustrated here. ]

I know, he's driving. [ which is still like, what the fuck. ] Can you at least tell me if he's alright, physically? The eye injury doesn't look like it was treated properly when I last saw it.

[baptizer]

[ It's totes fine. Liz doesn't advertise her dirty laundry. ]

Well, sir - [ She corrects instead. ] He's fine. He had a shoulder wound and is a little sore from ... um... it's a long story. Has he always been this reckless..?

[ She'd normally blame a poor upbringing but ... manners. ]

He takes care of his eye wound, we force him to.

[batsuits]

[ just know that on the other end, bruce is literally stressing tf out because SHOULDER WOUND? FROM WHAT? WHY IS HIS EYE MISSING? WHAT IS GOING ON WITH JASON TODD.

but of course, he can't show any of this so he's looking broodier than usual instead. his voice gets a little flatter in response. ]

Yes. [ doesn't even fucking hesitate. ] He'd call it part of his charm but usually it's just a lack of foresight.

[ he hopes jason heard that. YOU'RE BEING STUPID, JASON. ]

He shouldn't be letting his wounds go, he knows first aid, Miss -- Ah, the datapad says your name is Elizabeth, is that correct?

[baptizer]

Sounds like some witty response he'd say to defend himself, yes. He acted like a hero - truly from the pages of an adventure novel.

[ Lightsaber wielding motherfucker. God, why was he so stupid????

She freezes a bit when he says her name - it's weird, but she does nod. ]

Yes, that's correct. For the most part, he did take care of himself. He just... was stubborn. He doesn't like when people worry about him, but I'm sure you know that better than anyone.

[batsuits]

Well, he's not.

[ which is probably pretty rude to say about his own son but look, it's complicated? he doesn't want people to get the wrong impression about jason. not that... bruce helps any with it and look this would be SO MUCH EASIER, IF JASON WOULD JUST TALK TO HIM. ]

And... I do. Word of advice, better to just let him do his own thing and step in as needed. He usually knows what he's doing, better than most would give him credit for. Including myself.

[ haha both rude af and then actually nice af BUT JASON SURE AIN'T HEARING THIS. ]

[baptizer]

[ Okay. That's rude, first of all. ]

Forgive me, but I'll have to disagree. You don't know what he's been through here. He lost his eye defending someone from getting killed, just to start. Pretty heroic if you ask me.

[ She sounds pretty defensive and yeah, even looks defensive. When Bruce discusses stepping in when needed, she does nod - that's exactly what they've been doing!! Liz, Luke, Adam - lord, who else on this ship babysat Jason Todd? ]

Right. I wouldn't trust him with my life unless I put faith in him.

[batsuits]

[ ah, she sounds defensive. she must be friends with him, he expected this. ]

I didn't say he wasn't heroic. I said he's not from a novel. A distinction, Miss Elizabeth. Adventure novels typically have happy endings.

[ jason does not. not at this rate, at least. bruce is just... trying his best to reign in a wildly crashing car, so to speak. ]

... Hm, you trust him?

[baptizer]

Who's to say he won't have one now?

[ Call her ignorant. Please call her bluff because as far as she can tell - ]

I'll make sure he and everyone on our ships do. Or at least, give them the foundation to build towards their happy endings.

[ She sounds confident in that.

Jason isn't a crashing car but more like a shopping cart on fire okay. ]

I do. There's been many times he could have killed. He could have taken advantage of my trust and gotten away with murder. Resigned. Went home without another thought. ...But he didn't. Each week he tried to find the truth during the Pygmalion's trials. It was nothing short of an asset to the ship.

[batsuits]

[ you sure are prodding his temper now, elizabeth. look, he knows jason. you don't. you're a stranger who doesn't understand jason at all as far as bruce is concerned and there's a thinning of his mouth as he finds himself getting told how jason is by someone he doesn't know, when jason still hasn't talked to him.

so, his voice is very unamused when he replies. ]

Oh, you sure sound confident. Definitely inspiring. Forgive me if I hold my opinion until I can talk to him myself rather than hearing someone else's perception of my own god damn son.

[ and then even more frustrated here. you're not making a friend out of bruce here, elizabeth. ]

And it's because he's a detective. Why would he give that up for some -- some game? Jason is smarter than that. He makes mistakes but he's definitely smarter than that.

[baptizer]

Right, right.

[ Elizabeth bites her tongue. The last thing she needs to pick fights or defend someone so selfishly. She dismissed him, not commenting on the impending tone in his voice. ]

The point is, sir, a lot of people trusted and you should be proud. I'll try and get Jason to contact you, but if he is focused on his task or sour on the idea, I can't very well twist his arm about it. I think he's scared, personally, but a lot of us are... No true shock there.

[batsuits]

[ there's a bit of silence before he responds and he still sounds frustrated but he's firm in his reply, not wanting to dwell any longer than he needs to. ]

Please do. If he's scared, that's understandable -- but tell him, if you can, that it doesn't matter what happened in Gotham. What's happening here is more important right now and -- and we're family. So, I'll protect him here. [ . . . ] If he needs it, I'll protect him.

[ he sure wish he could tell that to jason HIMSELF but jason's being a fucking asshole right now and bruce is hoping maybe that can fix it a bit, if his words reach him. jason will understand what he means, he thinks. ]

[baptizer]

I will. I'll relay the message perfectly.

[ It's the least she or anyone could do? Jason's taking on a lot of responsibility and even if he's being stubborn by refusing to answer his hostage's messages... they need to be read. Bruce needs to be heard. ]

I'm sorry you were brought into this, for the record. For anyone else on the Nuwa...

[batsuits]

[ he's grateful when he feels his message will be relayed, even with jason being so... jason about it. still, when elizabeth apologizes, he'll cut her off. ]

This was a game created by people who had nothing better to do than play God. Apologizing for their mistakes doesn't help anyone. Instead, we find our way out and do what we can to stop it in the process. If anything, I'm sorry for out of hand the events on the Pygmalion became. If we knew what was happening beforehand, I'm sure the Nuwa would have tried to assist. We have good people on this side and we'll see each other soon, at least.

[baptizer]

[ That certainly cuts her off - she wants to protest playing God, but. Picking battles. ]

How about no apologies from the victims of this game? [ Because what the fuck Mr. Wayne, why are you apologizing. ] It does none of us good to good to just hold the apologetic weight when we're opposite sides of the same coin.

[ There's a tired, light shrug on her end. ]

Right. We're trying and - is there anything else...? I'll make sure Jason hears me, at the very least.

[batsuits]

[ because while this isn't gotham, it's still his job to save it. he frowns but fine, whatever. instead, he sighs and after a moment, he'll reply quietly with a -- ]

No, there isn't. Thank you.

[ and end the connection. great?? first impression. (no it wasn't.) ]