[no fun Friday, that's her nickname from now on. no banter at all. but that's fine! he isn't here for banter, he's here for answers]
I want to put an end to this entire mad affair, the same as every other person here. It's gone on for too long and it's taken too much. The other passengers are following what I assume is the predicted pattern, researching ways to defeat the Captain, responding to his antagonism with aggression, hoping to kill him... But the fact is, fighting him directly is as futile as it is inevitable.
[he spreads his hands in front of him] So, I suppose I'm intending to do the opposite. And since you're the only person to consistently show visible sympathy for him -- I need your insight to do my job better.
That's fine. I'll tell you what I'm thinking; all you have to do is tell me if I've made a factual error or interpreted something incorrectly.
[after all, there is a lot of supposition going on here. time to hammer out some of the finer details...]
Let's start with the absolute basics. The Captain has been doing this for hundreds, potentially thousands of years. At some point, he lost sight of the reasons behind his actions. My speculation is that he traded away pieces at a time, possibly not realizing what he was doing until it was too late. Now, he's stuck in an endless cycle of torturing passengers to pass the time while researching a project he's forgotten the hypothesis of. He has enough power to keep himself entertained for eternity, but I don't think there's enough of him to last that long.
Is it more to do with the manipulation of reality in general? ...I've heard that Jenny also seems to be suffering from side effects as well. Something about her sigil deteriorating...
The Captain has been directionless for so long that he's developed a... dependency on our suffering. He fills that void of purpose by becoming the instigator, the villain. [oh no, he's going to start pacing now,] Negative emotions are easier to draw out than positive ones, and he is exceedingly impatient for more power. Except he didn't even know why he needed that power until recently, after the rain...
Good. That's good. [some relief, there; at least that's one mind-altering magic done away with.]
There's... Hm. I think I've seen hints of something more behind the facade, but you're the expert. Do you think there's something there that can be... helped? Or is he too far gone to save? [shoving his hands into his pockets before he starts wringing them] I'm still not entirely convinced I'm not getting conned as it is. It would make sense. He's already owned up to it, after all...
[the fact that he's trusting Friday with all of this -- regardless of whether or not it gets back to the Captain -- goes unmentioned.]
I don't really know! I'm not even sure what "help" would mean... [pause] So, I'm definitely not the expert on that! You already have a better idea of it after months than I had in centuries...
[that... is alarming to learn, although it shouldn't be such a surprise. shouldn't she -- but of course not. she's the Captain's construct, so how would she know more than him? but it does vindicate his methodology, and he does enjoy being a trailblazer...
he definitely did stop pacing there while he processed all that]
I don't even know what I mean when I say it. That's probably the problem. [word-vomiting that particularly sensitive information to the Captain's construct is still out, but there is one thing they can focus on:]
Right now, I suppose helping him means going to an island to steal something for him. How much do you know about that?
I don't really have to tell him much about anything, because he doesn't like listening to me talk! He's usually not paying much attention to anybody, but this is the only place you can be really sure...
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[BUT...
she trails off meaningfully....]
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I want to put an end to this entire mad affair, the same as every other person here. It's gone on for too long and it's taken too much. The other passengers are following what I assume is the predicted pattern, researching ways to defeat the Captain, responding to his antagonism with aggression, hoping to kill him... But the fact is, fighting him directly is as futile as it is inevitable.
[he spreads his hands in front of him] So, I suppose I'm intending to do the opposite. And since you're the only person to consistently show visible sympathy for him -- I need your insight to do my job better.
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[but, she's here, and she's listening.]
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[after all, there is a lot of supposition going on here. time to hammer out some of the finer details...]
Let's start with the absolute basics. The Captain has been doing this for hundreds, potentially thousands of years. At some point, he lost sight of the reasons behind his actions. My speculation is that he traded away pieces at a time, possibly not realizing what he was doing until it was too late. Now, he's stuck in an endless cycle of torturing passengers to pass the time while researching a project he's forgotten the hypothesis of. He has enough power to keep himself entertained for eternity, but I don't think there's enough of him to last that long.
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Hot! Except the speculation, that's just warm!
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[that's what he's gotten from it, anyway!]
The Captain has been directionless for so long that he's developed a... dependency on our suffering. He fills that void of purpose by becoming the instigator, the villain. [oh no, he's going to start pacing now,] Negative emotions are easier to draw out than positive ones, and he is exceedingly impatient for more power. Except he didn't even know why he needed that power until recently, after the rain...
Has he taken any more memory charms since then?
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There's... Hm. I think I've seen hints of something more behind the facade, but you're the expert. Do you think there's something there that can be... helped? Or is he too far gone to save? [shoving his hands into his pockets before he starts wringing them] I'm still not entirely convinced I'm not getting conned as it is. It would make sense. He's already owned up to it, after all...
[the fact that he's trusting Friday with all of this -- regardless of whether or not it gets back to the Captain -- goes unmentioned.]
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I don't really know! I'm not even sure what "help" would mean... [pause] So, I'm definitely not the expert on that! You already have a better idea of it after months than I had in centuries...
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he definitely did stop pacing there while he processed all that]
I don't even know what I mean when I say it. That's probably the problem. [word-vomiting that particularly sensitive information to the Captain's construct is still out, but there is one thing they can focus on:]
Right now, I suppose helping him means going to an island to steal something for him. How much do you know about that?
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[so. y'know.]
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But unlike him, you care about the passengers, and they're the ones I'm most worried about. Will he use whatever item I'm getting to harm them?
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All that is gold does not glitter.
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Is that a riddle forced by rules you're under, or is it a personal choice?
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How much of this conversation is going to make its way back to the Captain, by the way? Palamedes implied there was some modicum of privacy here.
[he doesn't mind if their conversation this far makes it back to the Captain, but.....]
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