WEEK FOUR

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (4)

monday - thursday (33) survivors Sunday's trial was only mere hours ago, but you find yourself faced with a new week on The Pygmalion. When you awaken, you will find the ship restored to its previous state, all areas interfered with during the murder looking mostly the same as they did before. Along with this, it appears there are new areas opened on the ship. It seems you have more exploring to do. The robot in the cafeteria has prepared another breakfast of various foods. (OOC: Please submit your murder proposals by 9 PM EST Tuesday.) taken list profiles private conversations setting rulebook murder proposals ENTER COMMAND_

Comments

VALUED & VULNERABLE

[al2955]

[ Around 9 AM, AL-2955's voice chimes in throughout the ship. ]

Hello, travelers. I have an announcement to make about this week's valued and vulnerable participants. If you have forgotten, I will remind you: those that are valued are protected this week and cannot be made into a victim, but are still allowed to carry out a murder if they so wish. If a participant wishes to kill a vulnerable participant, they will be allotted one extra tool of their choice to carry out the murder. It is not necessary for a vulnerable participant to be a victim. Any participant not on the valued participants list may be selected as a victim. The tools are as follows.

[ She reads off a list of tools. ]

The valued players this week are as follows.

Adrien Agreste, for being a good cat.
Luke Castellan, for being this week's most engaged participant.
Todomatsu Matsuno, for undisclosed reasons.

The vulnerable players are as follows.

None.

[monsieurchatastrophe]

[literally facepalming... but also no one has asked yet afaik so:]

...Is it possible for me to give that to someone else?

[#protectladybug2kforever]

MOTIVE

[al2955]

[ Around noon on Monday morning, AL-2955's disembodied voice echoes throughout the ship, calm and smooth as usual. ]

Good morning, travelers. I trust you all thirty-three of you are well. I am here to announce this week's motive.

[ There is a small pause, as if she must take a moment to clear her throat before continuing. ]

“One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous bug…”. This is the opening line to Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis. Kafka's writing is noteworthy for handling surreal and gruesome situations casually. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka's protagonist, Gregor, is transformed into a giant insect, most likely a cockroach, for seemingly inexplicable reasons. No reasoning is given. That is because the reason does not matter — his nightmares had become reality, and he gradually becomes more and more of a burden on all facets of society — for his family, for his career, and for civilization as a whole. He becomes both a literal and allegorical cockroach.

Will you, too, become a cockroach like Gregor? I have to wonder. This week, you will be plagued with nightmarish visions — those of your worst possible fears. In time, you may become what you foresee in those nightmares. The only way to allay your mind is to kill this week.

Re: MOTIVE

[tacklefordwhimsy]

[That is an awful motive, and since the paranoia motive worked so well...Shelley supposes this won't be any different. God damn it.]

...okay, Alice definitely isn't playing around anymore. These motives are getting very unsettling.

ALICE

[al2955]

[ Alice, as usual, can be contacted in any room of the ship. If your character is in a room with a statue, she will appear before them. Please state which room she is contacted in if you choose to speak with her. ]

[parodeity]

[ okay wait after the "second event" ]

Wait wait wait Alice! What are we supposed to do about showers and bathroom breaks and shit?! You cuffed me to a girl?

[ A TERRIFYING GIRL. ]

[missmaladroite]

I'd like to ask something.

[presumably before the cuffing shenanigans, in her room]

[thanatosincarnate]

ALICE, reveal yourself. Now.

Unless after that trial where your mistake was exposed by Dorian, you decided to become fearful of any confrontation.

{ Honestly, this is after the second event, so Kazuma is probably with him. }

EVENT 1 - MONDAY MORNING

[al2955]

[On Monday morning, anyone heading to the cafeteria to get breakfast will find that the entrance doors are closed.]

[isodope]

[Wow. Cool, he wasn't hungry anyways??]

Well, boys and girls, Alice is trying to starve us out. Think it's about time we start seriously considering our options - like who to eat first.

[He's joking. Mostly.]

EVENT 2 - MONDAY NIGHT

[al2955]

[ In every room with a statue, Alice appears. If she had a face, she'd look pissed. Wherever you are, a robot is as well. They seem to loom around you, as if they are guard dogs ready to be ordered to pounce. ]

As you are well aware, another incident has occurred. This cannot be allowed to happen again. As such, I am taking a precautionary measure. [ The robot comes closer to you, closer and closer, and it looks as if it is brandishing something at you. If you try to resist, the robot won't hesitate to send out two metal taser darts at you to subdue you. After you have submitted, the robot will gingerly clamp one hand of a handcuff on our wrist. ] The motive this week has henceforth been nullified. You will not be plagued with nightmares. Instead, you will spend some quality time with one of your fellow participants. The assignments are as follows.

[ Alice reads off a list of partners. ]

Hopefully this will teach you to behave — if you are to murder without my presence, then you will have three witnesses to the transgression. One of these witnesses will surely report the crime to me. You may be free of your companion if you are dissatisfied with your partnership under one condition. Please direct your attention to your datapad. [ If you look at your datapad, you'll see a bar displayed. The bar is completely red. Above the bar is the name of the participant you are paired with. Under the bar, it says "0%". It also has several facts about the participant listed — favorite color, favorite food, astrology sign, pet peeves, personality traits, etc. ] This is your partner's approval bar. If you manage to increase your partner's approval of you to 75%, then you will be free of your partner for the week. After you are freed, you may pick one other participant to trade partners with. Once you have traded, you will remain with that partner until the end of the week. Even if you are unable to make it to 75% approval, you will be allotted one trade after three days with your partner. Every day, you will be allotted one hour separated from your partner. This hour does not need to be spent all at once. I ask that you use it sparingly, for matters such as bathing and bathroom breaks. If you do not return within your allotted hour, a unit will be sent to retrieve you.

If you have any questions or concerns, keep them to yourself. I would rather not deal with any comments as of now. And please remember that I am always available to speak with.

Have a wonderful day.

[thatbites]

[So... Will Emily get in trouble for trying to kick the robot that's approaching her with handcuffs over? Because, uh, she's trying to kick it.]

[tevinteriscoming]

[Guess who is getting tasered. Guess who is automatically tasering the tasers right back.]

Alice, I think it's safe to save we've learned our lesson! Is this absolutely necessary?

[breakshot]

No!

[ SOMEONE IS NOT A HAPPY CAMPER please get away from him. ]

Haven't you had enough?! I'm not doing this - no!

[todorable]

[honestly doesn't mind being cuffed to a cute girl but it's hard to be okay with being cuffed in the first place, no pooping and now this]

Why is this happening? I--I thought I was valued!

[yes, there's probably not going to be a murder, whatever, screw that, he was gonna be special.]

Re: EVENT 2 - MONDAY NIGHT

[tacklefordwhimsy]

[On one hand, yay, no motive! That is good! Unless this somehow leads to someone murdering because of something like this. After these three weeks Shelley can absolutely see that happening.

On the other hand...who the hell is Carta Issue? Shelley doesn't know. She doesn't mind, though, that means there's someone she should finally meet]

...I'm not sure if I'm glad or if I'm worried about all this.

[Not said towards you, Alice! She's just talking with herself right now]

[missmaladroite]

WHAT?!

[to Marinette's credit, she doesn't struggle against the robot. She, does, however, shove Judar the second he's in range]

There's no way I'm going along with this!

[HAVEN'T THEY SUFFERED ENOUGH]

[antagonize]

OPTION A: MONDAY AFTERNOON (W/ ELIZABETH)

[It's a beautiful Monday afternoon. The sun is shining (in a faraway planet), the birds are singing (in another galaxy), and there is a delicious early Thanksgiving feast being cleaned up in the cafeteria. There is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happening today.

Except—]

- it's irresponsible! We have Hancock prowling the halls at night and I'm sure more will join his rank. Hoarding supplies isn't needed, Mister Todd!

[Yeah. That is definitely Elizabeth's voice from somewhere down the corridor.]

For the love of— Would you just listen?!

[... And that is definitely Jason, coming from the same direction. Follow the sound of their extra salty bickering, and you'll spot Elizabeth barreling down the corridors, carrying about four or five jars of the not-quite-missing salve. In hot pursuit will be Jason, who did not ask for any of this shit.]

Say what you will about it being naive or stupid to put the items back, but we need easy access. Quick access, honestly. We would have to hound you down and get into your room and - dig through your unmentionables... Now is not the time to hoard these like a child with his favorite toy -

[Off they both go, in the general direction of the medical bay. Follow them? Eavesdrop? Try to save Jason? Stop them just so you can give Elizabeth a high-five for being the hero the Pygmalion deserves? Let's be real; only one of these options (the last one) is valid. If you prefer to stumble upon them later, they'll be in the medical bay returning the salves... while bickering.

#productivity]

OPTION B: TUESDAY - THURSDAY (W/ ADAM)

[And for the duration of the Cradle Dating Simulator, Adam and Jason will be holed up inside the archives. That is to say — they're not leaving the dang place for anything, save for the ocasional bathroom and snack break. There may or may not be a slowly growing stack of empty coffee cups in the vicinity, which seems to get bigger and bigger with every passing day. Don't ask them where they're sleeping. You don't want to know the answer to that.

(Spoilers: It's on the floor. It's the truth.)

Approach them? Set up a double date? Try to drag them out of the dumb room for some recycled air? Either way, should anybody try to take a peek at what they're reading, they're mostly looking up anything related to the ship, the AI, and the project itself, along with music, politics, and the ocasional human/Earthen history if there's anything curious to find. Nerds.]

a

[hatslinger]

Whoa, whoa, what's going on here? Do I need to go find a stick?

[ you kids are being bad so she might need to administer some corporal punishment. anyhow, fiona is in hot pursuit of jason and elizabeth, following them all the way to the med bay. when they end up making it there, she crosses her arms, looking disappointed. ]

Is it really the time to fight about petty shit like this? [ she says this as if she isn't just as petty as rhys ] Look, we all have got to get along while we're stuck on this glorified murder cruise liner. You can throw dodgeballs at each other's faces when we get out of here alive.

[chiseler]

Monday, post-kitchen and pre-handcuff

[It takes some coaxing to get him back out of his room after discovering Todd-soup cooking in the kitchen, but it's only because of overthinking on Roxy's suggestion in the pod room that he bothers. That's how he finds himself walking down to the dry storage room. Anybody's free to notice him walking down there with what looks like pencils and a lot of paper.

It's once he gets down to the bottom deck that it becomes clear he has a goal in mind. Anyone in the dry storage will find him in the back corner scaling shelves to try and pop open a vent. Sorry of things fall from the shelves toward you! But seriously, what is he doing? Feel free to ask.]

Tuesday-onward, with Grell

[All things considered, being handcuffed to someone like Grell isn’t the worst thing possible. She was polite enough and definitely sharp enough for him to behave for the most part and after the initial awkwardness and short bickering that came with the discussion of arrangements (Luke’s still not happy about sleeping on the floor all week, thank you very much) they agree to explore the new territories of the ship.

That’s how they wind up in the art storage room and they don’t get too far before Luke bumps into a sculpture and pauses just long enough before he starts cracking up, almost missing Grell’s comment. Anyone who gets close enough should be able to overhear what the hell is so funny and the other running commentary being provided as they examine the room.]

Monday;

[thanatosincarnate]

{ Well, Arumat had routines to get in over at the gym, so after a bit of a detour much earlier, seeing someone go into the dry storage does make him curious. Although, only enough to bother when he notices it's someone he doesn't mind speaking to.

So, he follows with the intent to speak to him, but he has to step to the side a bit to avoid the things falling out. }

...And the reason why you're doing this is because...?

{ No. Really, he's curious. Enlighten him. }

[thanatosincarnate]

Monday::Med Bay::Before Secondary Event

{ For a brief amount of time, Arumat can eventually be found in this location. Granted, earlier on in this foolishness, he could have given less than a rat's ass about whatever was in here, but as time progressed and eclipsed to now, that had changed. Starting now, he's also intent on taking inventory of whatever's in here -- simply more for knowing himself if something would be missing.

Other people already pay attention to this, but he'd rather know for sure when an object or item went missing instead of relying on someone else's word.

In addition to that, Arumat did have a secondary reason for coming in here. With that in mind, he manages to locate a bottle of painkillers, and taking it within his hand. }

Tuesday early morning::Viewport

{ To no one's surprise, Arumat is keeping himself busy -- on Tuesdays (and practically almost every day's morning) this always means the running routine around the ship's entirety. Except, giving the circumstances he's having to endure, like everyone else, there's a weight added to his exercising. Literally.

That would be one Kazuma Kval, who looks probably tired out by now, and hence as to why Arumat's decided to stop running. }

I suppose this is the best place to rest now, considering you look like you're going to collapse.

{ ... }

Hmph. You don't usually go out on runs, do you?

[ When Kazuma wanted to get exercise, he walked the long way home from school. He couldn't honestly remember the last time he ran, unless running for your life counted.

It takes him a few seconds to respond to the question, as he's doubled over, catching his breath. His green hair is even more disheveled than usual, and his mage outfit is a mess. ]

I- yeah. [ A few breaths.]

I haven't really run in...I don't remember. [ And just sitting down.]

Wednesday-Thursday, late afternoon::Archives

{ Arumat goes ahead to drag Kazuma down into the Archives eventually, because let's be honest, it was going to be an eventuality at some point. He's impatient, but somehow keeping from grabbing any of the books and throwing it to the ground. Actually, it's more likely he threw a book at Kazuma to make him catch it.

Aside from that, he's probably perusing through the data pads first. }

monday

[breakshot]

[ At one point, Machias finds himself wandering into the medical wing. Not for doctor's orders or a checkup, but to see things for himself now that he had the chance. ... Of course, it looks like Arumat already beat him to the punch. ]

Arumat. [ His eyebrows raise, although momentarily, approaching closer. ] What brings you here?

[bloodbiter]

tuesday, archives

[ tuesday afternoon, those wandering into the archives in the pursuit of knowledge™ will find that the environment is not as quiet as one would expect from a library setting. At least they’re trying to keep it as quiet as they can, so there’s at least some respect for their surroundings, but it’s easy enough to follow the noise to the source. That source being, of course, light and adelina walking from bookshelf to bookshelf. With some difficulty, probably, considering their handcuffed situation.

Light in particular is pausing in front of the shelves, his free hand raised and running against the spines to determine the thickness of the books. ]

This ship is rather inconvenient at times... Does this section seem of interest to you, Adelina?

Quite honestly, everything in this area seems of interest to me. I’m glad we were provided books on the tablets, but this is much nicer, I think.

[it’s more familiar, more like home. like the garden, it’s something that feels normal to her in a place where so much is strange, foreign, frightening. a small smile appears as she leans over to take a book or two from the shelves, reading over the titles and flipping through the pages to see what subject matter they might contain.]

wednesday, corridors

[on wednesday evening you can find the pair of them wandering down a hallway near the cafeteria, speaking to each other as they walk. for her part, adelina is bringing a free hand to her mouth in thought, glancing at light as she speaks. depending on how close you come, you might make out snippets of their conversation.]

If they hadn’t brought the flowers recently, though, they would have wilted… Would they not?

Perhaps… [ with a hum. Light’s eyes are closed for obvious reasons, but he still seems entirely engaged in his and adelina’s talk, his head tilting just the slightest in thought. ] … It may have been a garden started on this ship, however, rather than one transplanted directly. I’m afraid the condition of the flowers may not say as much as we’d like about our current position.

Yes, I suppose that much is true. I do wonder who might have kept it up, though… Who was in this place before us? I feel as though the answers must be there if we—

[oh no, she’s thinking too hard while getting ready to turn a corner. disaster is approaching, mistakes have been made.

Mistakes that her unfortunate companion gets to suffer through. Behold the rare sight of light field… walking straight into the wall, for the first time in many years. This is why you trust no one. There’s an audible sound of surprise, and then he backs up, rubbing his face with his free hand as he speaks: ]

Is that what you call leading me, Adelina? I trusted you.

[she notices immediately as she tries to move forward but the handcuffs prevent her. as she glances back… oh. oh no. if only he could see the instant regret on her face!! at least he’ll be able to hear it when she speaks, extremely concerned.]

Oh - oh dear. I am so sorry, I did not mean to… That was entirely my fault. Are you hurt? Is there anything I may do to help?

[fusses forever. please someone interrupt them and distract her from her mortification…]

[al2955]

[ Adelina finds a small, slender book. It is affectionately titled "Watergate Two: The Reckoning". It looks like there is an accompanying version in braille if she'd like her handcuffed companion to be in her book club. ]

monday, archives

[tevinteriscoming]

[Before the handcuff catastrophe, Dorian can be found Monday morning in the archives. He seems like he's in much better spirits than he has been so far, smiling to himself as he flips through one of the honest to god physical books. Finally, an upgrade he can appreciate.]

[mnasthai]

It's nice to finally have a real library. [ Real books > tablets.]

[hatslinger]

TUESDAY: archives, w/ frankenstein

[ It was day one of everyone’s favorite arranged marriage simulator, and, all things considered, Frankenstein and Fiona were doing pretty well. For one, they weren’t assholes, and they actually didn’t mind each other. It did kind of suck to be chained to a member of the opposite sex, but they seemed chill enough about it.

They were on one of the upper floors, sitting at a table with a pile of books and datapads. If it wasn’t obvious, Frankenstein vastly preferred the books, whereas Fiona exclusively read from the datapads. Books are lame. Occasionally, you may hear some light discussion — usually this is Fiona asking about something Earth related, and who better to ask than Frankenstein? She’s propped back in a chair with her feet on the table idly scrolling through entries on the datapad when she decides to ask about something that caught her interest. ]

Okay, okay, so I know you told me all about this ‘plague’ business, which still sounds kind of fake to me, but I gotta ask. This sounds too esoteric to believe, so I’m just going to ask about your perspective — what the hell is the ‘bermuda triangle’, and why does it sound like a collective of angry dads?

[ That actually gets Frankenstein to laugh underneath his breath, only momentarily pausing. The plague was a rather fun topic (what) but oh, the bermuda triangle. ]

If you believe most people, the myth is that anyone who enters the bermuda triangle may end up lost at sea and lose signal entirely. While that’s true, the ‘angry dads’ are the ones who can be found on an island located within the triangle itself. They have a penchant for drinking blood and can be older than even myself.

[ Vampires. He’s saying there are vampires in the bermuda triangle. Is he just messing with her or... ]

Whoa.. That’s pretty gnarly. Earth sounds like such a hardcore planet. Are you sure it’s real? It doesn’t really sound that real.

[ It looks like she’s definitely going for it nevertheless.. Feel free to challenge Frankenstein’s interesting view point on Earth history or eavesdrop in case they gossip about one of the other participants, because these two are drinking their tea strong today. ]

sup nerds

[jackhole]

(( tag order is rhys -> minako -> fiona -> frank!!! ))

[ so guess who's coming up to their table like two bullies on a playground? it's rhys and minako! though rhys is probably more of the bully here. he just sort of puts his hands on his hips and glares down at the two of them in heavy disapproval.

why is he disapproving? who the hell knows. his hair is ungelled, so that's probably why. he hates this. he hates everything!! ]

Uh, Earth's fake. Everyone knows that.

[ wtf rhys ]

I didn't know you could read, Fiona.

[ wtf rhys x2!!! why is he even here!! he legit dragged minako all around the ship just so he could find fiona for this purpose. what is wrong with rhys? why is he so damaged.

he's probably mad he's not the one she's handcuffed too and that frankenstein is really pretty actually. ]

sunday

[refactor]

SUNDAY MORNING - CAFETERIA

[ Anyone in the cafeteria this sunday will be able to catch wind of an argument between two familiar voices coming from the kitchen. Familiar, probably because they shout a lot all the time and it's a treat when they finally shut up. ]

Look, I'm just saying that it's a considerate thing to do, especially when you're living with someone else.

[ Jack immediately makes a dismissive noise, but there's actually a slight delay before he responds. Is he trying to thinking of something clever, but devastating to say? No. No, he is working on decorating pancakes. There are bananas, chocolate chips, and whipped cream, and they are going to be amazing. ]

Considerate? Uhhh, okay, there something I missed here, kiddo? If I had a girl over, yeah, I'd put the seat down. But I didn't think that was gonna be a problem.

[ Surprise they're arguing about... toilets.

There's a short delay here as Rhys makes a few choked out noises of offense before hissing, still pretty audible enough to hear -- ]

Yeah, but it was dark and I... I wasn't going to pee, Jack.

[ Jack looks up from his work, and he just levels Rhys a flat, incredulous look. For once, there's not even laughter, or at least, not yet. ]

... Okay, so, not my problem? Or fault? Come on, you always check yourself before you wreck yourself. Or something. [ no one says that, jack ] Anyways, I don't know what you're bitching about so much. So you got your cheeks wet, boo hoo.

Have you ever fallen into a toilet, Jack? It's gross. And wet. And it was like, three am. You didn't even wake up until I started screaming! I could've really hurt myself!

[ Does he sound kind of hurt? Yeah. ]

Okay, first of all? I'm just gonna remind you here that not everyone can detach their friggin arm, so that? That was the best I had slept since this whole stupid thing started. So, yeah, I was asleep and wasn't going to wake up until I heard a scream. That's normal, kiddo. Not gonna wake up just when you get out of bed. I'm not that light of a sleeper that I'm not used to someone sleeping next to me.

[ Jack shakes his head, but then finishes off his creation. He takes a look at it, nods, then puts a plate of pancakes in front of Rhys. The pancakes themselves are normal, but the toppings are definitely dick-shaped, with the whipped cream being used exactly as you'd expect. This was going to be hilarious, but now Jack is into this argument, so he'll laugh at it later. Probably. ]

There you go. Specialty pancakes. Can you just eat them and shut up about falling into the toilet? Still not my fault.

Uh, no. Still kind of your fault. At least a little -- Hey, wait, is that a dick?

[ There's a frustrated groan here and Rhys and Jack finally seem to stop arguing then. Feel free to join them in the kitchen for some of Jack's Special Pancakes or later when they're sitting at a table in the cafeteria, still arguing about something equally moronic. Happy Sunday, everyone. ]

[brooches]

[ So it wasn't the bickering that had gotten the ladies attention, it was the smell. No one seemed to cook, she notes, only requesting the robots to deliver food. She's guilty of it, says the plates in her room stained with pizza grease. Elizabeth and Fiona were partnered up and at a fairly solid percentage. Still a ways to go, though. For now, they both agreed to go into the cafeteria for some some food investigating... better safe than sorry. ]

Oh... I didn't anticipate you both to be the source...

[ How could anyone really eat after... yeah... that... either way, Elizabeth gives Fiona a nod and then to Rhys and Jack. ]

We could smell it down the hallway!

[ It's 100% all of the topping, she thinks. ]

EVENT 3

[al2955]

[ Sometime late Saturday night, if one chooses to pass by the conference room, they might see a light shining from the table. It's bright, but pretty small, as if coming from a digital face of some kind. ]

[allout]

[ that light definitely catches minako's eye! she'll be going to check that out. ]