IC Inbox III

[ukan]

This is Lark, leave a message.

Comments

[atowncalledtreffy]

Oh, you have no fucking idea.

[He says this first as a glib note and then…exhales, worried]

Shit.

[ukan]

[Oh. That's not good.]

I haven't followed things with Envy closely enough. What are you thinking?

[atowncalledtreffy]

It’s probably nothing right now. Just has the potential to go to shit later on.

Envy’s a homunculus. Sort of a creature built by an alchemist to perform tasks. And Daniel knows alchemical symbols and rituals.

[ukan]

Of all the things he could have had 'amnesia' about, why couldn't it have been fucking rituals.

Shit.

[atowncalledtreffy]

He’s a fucking torturer, Lark. He went into details that made ME squirm.

And Envy is strong but I think he’s easily led under the right person. I’d be more worried about him getting used in some fuck-off dark magic.

[ukan]

One more reason I can't muster up any sympathy for him.

[And as much as he trusts Archer, it is killing him to have to be hands-off about the man who helped cause everything that has gone wrong.]

At least Sweeney isn't likely to go down the black magic path.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Sweeney’s a good person, far as my judgement can tell.

Daniel’s a monster hiding behind a mask of a scared kid. Who even knows how much he believes his own facade?

And Envy is just gut reaction in humanoid form which makes fighting him fun and easy.

[ukan]

I don't buy it. I think he's manipulating people into protecting him, because he knows the ship hates him. I'm still not here to let people murder or torture him, but we need more eyes on him than we've actually got, and for Archer's sake and the sake of me continuing to be a warden, I shouldn't be one of those watching up close.

I did piss some people off by announcing you'd hit him and then telling them I'm not going to punish you for it. By the way.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Envy is easily manipulated. I think Archer’s smarter than that. Sweeney I think is like me: not particularly clever when it comes to figuring out evil-minded bastards and their plans but not willing to see shit go down in front of them.

I could always just make him stay in place somewhere. Still got Jon’s item.

Well, I’m glad that getting him back after the little shit used me for an easel is as popular as ever. So let me see if I get this right: you say it’s all right to punch him but people here want to kill him, and those same people are angry at you for letting me punch him? Or are those different people?

[ukan]

No one so far has told me they want him dead; downside to being a warden is people don't tend to tell me their crimes before they commit them.

The usual, human-friendly theory of justice is that cooler heads design the punishments. They don't like that I let you settle your own score with him. But since you did kill Father John, I think they just doubt that you're the sort of man who is happy with one punch.

[atowncalledtreffy]

I’m happy with one punch and I’m also not really up to explaining myself to an angry group of people how I do my job.

I don’t like how some people turn on you like you need to somehow control me either. If they want to get upset, they should come to me. I don’t need your tacit approval to punch someone who tortures me in the face and if some higher force wants to yell at you for my actions, well. Sorry. But I’m going to keep at it.

[ukan]

If I could control you with a word, we'd be working to deprogram that. There is no higher force here, though--just the community I've been trying to build since I got here. So it does matter to me that they don't see me as incompetent.

But what that really means is a lot of debate about my actions, which I'm not afraid to do.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Thennnn I guess you just have to content yourself with being the most unpopular bastard on this ship.

You're not wrong. You're just going to be fielding a lot of punches.

[ukan]

Please. I was unpopular before you ever got here. I don't need you, I piss people off all on my own.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Then why the hell are you upset that people are angry at you for letting me punch Daniel?

[ukan]

Because I'm trying to build something here, Trevor. I'm trying to create a community, where people will work together instead of stomping around on their own. I can't do that if no one respects me enough to hear me out.

[atowncalledtreffy]

...There are so many reasons why that's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard come out of your mouth.

[ukan]

Not all of us have the charm to pull off being a lone ranger.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Rude.

Look, it's just...in my world, people need to be kind of shoved and pushed and begged and threatened to do even the slightest bit of good. I just see this as a losing battle.

[ukan]

In your world you can't even drink the water. People are scrambling for the barest needs. Of course they're slow to take risks.

I know it's not visible to someone so new but there's been real progress here.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Yeah? What happens if something goes wrong with the water? Or the food? Or the sewage?

Why d'you think I've been so adamant about making sure these people get fed?

[ukan]

You and me both. I don't work the kitchen because I like cooking, I do it because I don't trust anyone else to plan ahead.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Yeah.

Oh, and why the hell can't inmates get into the kitchen? What if something happens to the wardens or their items stop working? How would anyone be able to feed themselves?

[ukan]

I assume it's because of the knives, but since I lock those up anyway I don't see the point.

I think most things on the ship are designed to make us work together, and human beings always find ways not to do it.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Making sure everyone has enough to eat isn't an opportunity for a fucking life lesson.

Or at least it shouldn't be.