WEEK 1 - Online

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (1)

monday (41) survivors It had been three days since you had awoken. The ship was still quiet, except for the low hums of enigmatic machines with no apparent purpose. You awake, like usual, to dim lighting and poor rations. Perhaps being on the ship had grown monotonous — it was, perhaps, amazing how little anything seemed to happen in space, a final frontier of malaise. That monotony is crushed by a voice echoing through the narrow hallways. Reformatting . . . Reformatting . . . Reformatting complete. The Pygmalion is online. Welcome, travelers. Please assemble in the meeting room. Your presence is mandatory. Silence falls once again. A minute or so passes, and the lights around the ship finally brighten, the walls looking more alive and more unfamiliar — as if you must relearn the ship's interior once again. The robots on deck begin to make rounds, nudging and pushing at the ship's passengers to make their way to the meeting room. You hear the doors behind you lock. It seems there is only one path to take. ENTER COMMAND_

Comments

[deformity]

[ Allen can't deny some of this, but!! There is one thing he needs to make clear: ]

Only from those who deserve it.

[ Which is also mostly true. ]

1/2

[booklore]

[ That's only mostly true. ]

[booklore]

Wait. Tim is here with you?

[deformity]

[ He blinks. Oh -- ]

No. I haven't seem him since... [ He's not sure, actually. ] ... back home. Did I somehow miss you swinging your hammer around, Lavi?

[ It's more of a rhetorical question. They've been together a lot these past few days, and Allen can be oblivious (and kind of dumb), but he wouldn't miss something like this. ]

[thanatosincarnate]

...

{ Arumat will be looking at Allen, giving a raised brow. Sure, Allen. }

[deformity]

Look. [ Shut up, Arumat. ] It's not cheating if they're cheating, too. I'm practically playing fair at that point!

[thanatosincarnate]

{ What a funny reaction. He thinks its fair too -- giving Allen a hard time can be a bit amusing though. }

What do you do with the money afterwards?

[deformity]

[ Keep it close to his heart and never let go. Obsessively count it every morning. That and --

A shuttered expression darkens his face. ]

I use it to pay off Master's debt. That man shamelessly borrows money wherever he goes, leaving me to clean up after him. That guy can't drop dead soon enough...

[thanatosincarnate]

...

{ That face... }

Leave him to fend for himself.

[deformity]

I should, yes.

[ Should, he says. But when it comes down to it, he really won't. ]

[chiseler]

Hey, if they're not watching closely enough then they don't deserve to have it. [It's okay Allen, at least someone agrees with you. Mostly.]

[deformity]

Right! [ He's so glad someone agrees with him. Hello, friend. ] There's no mercy for the careless. When it comes to money, it's life or death.

[chiseler]

And what about the people who aren't so careless? Cheat them too?

[deformity]

That only means they're just as good as cheating, which in turn means I have to be better. [ And he usually is. His life depends on it, after all. ] Though I suppose it's not cheating at that point. Just two parties playing the same kind of game at last.

Have you been put in a similar situation then?

[chiseler]

'Course I have, but my stakes were a little higher than money. Where I'm from you've kinda gotta be better than most of the people you're dealing with to succeed.

[unasking]

What makes them deserve it?

[He's amused - what a fun time to learn about morality.]

[deformity]

When they're trying to cheat a poor, innocent apprentice out of money, for example. [ Unforgivable, really. ] Especially when he already has to spend the nights by candlelight because his stupid Master can't be bothered to pay his debts, so they can barely scrape by...

[unasking]

[ . . . oh god he has to try so hard not to laugh]

... Life has been difficult, hasn't it?

[deformity]

[ You don't even know...

He just sighs at Frankenstein's expression and shrugs helplessly. ]

Or I've just been ridiculously unlucky my entire sixteen years. I don't suppose it's been the same for you, Mr. Butler.

[ 1000+ years, huh? ]

[unasking]

On the contrary, my life is rather blessed.

[ah.

Still though he manages a sympathetic smile.]

Would it help at all if I assured you that it gets better?

[toprotecttheworld]

If you don't get caught, that's their loss. Not that I'd ever try anything like that, of course!

[ojou laugh]

[deformity]

And they can't catch you if you're good. [ And Allen is good. ] Learning how to cheat is a good way to protect yourself. It might not be proper, but I think it's necessary. I could give you some tips if you ever want to learn, miss.

[toprotecttheworld]

I don't think there's any way someone like me could ever learn from you. [Because she's already better at it than him in her own mind, that place where Pikachu is practically hers.] But maybe you should try not to be so upset about it if you're so proud of it, dear.

[deformity]

I'm not -- proud. [ Maybe a little. Okay, more than a little. ] I'm not upset, either. This... this thing [ He means the profile. ] makes it seem like I'm doing it maliciously is all.

[ A little more quietly: ]

I just did -- and still do, I suppose -- what I had to... to survive.