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[forensicks]

[Walter has recorded a video message from the point of view of someone who has just come through the door into his cabin and sees Walter at his desk in the chair turned around to face the viewer. He gives a little salute-wave.]

Didn't get me. But nice try.

Comments

[deuceoftears]

[1 - awkwardly backdated to slightly before port, after John told Jedao about Justine's attack on Walter

2 - filtered to include Malcolm and Walter

3 - no rush on replying at all, I know y'all two's thread is still ongoing.]

Hello, Malcolm. Walter.

John told about Justine's attack on Walter, now that I'm her warden, and I spoke to him about it, as well. He said he wanted something that would get a reaction out of her.

Because she took his blood, but isn't fazed by bloodshed, I thought...it would be appropriate to take something away from her, bodily, that she would care about. Walter said he spent two weeks healing, so I'm going to remove her sense of taste for two weeks.

When I told her, she was extremely sulky about it.

[Just a little bit dryly, at the end.]

[abrightboy]

That’s acceptable to me, as long as Walter is okay with it. Thank you for taking this seriously.

[forensicks]

O-oh. That seems kind of... extreme. More like extremely different from anything back home, I mean.

[Like the stink curse, the wardens have gone nose blind... Walter is leering at his suddenly chittering communicator with some surprise.]

I want the record to show I meant a reaction more like approximating feeling bad about what she did, not just... feeling bad.

[But John disappointment is suspiciously hard to guarantee so here he goes!!]

I guess you're stuck on the long lasting and not confining route though, so I won't say no. My only suggestion is it should be... Nine... Ninety five... No, ninety percent of her sense of taste gone. Just enough left that she won't be in any real danger. Because I wasn't, right?

[Though the black void of it totally being gone is what really haunts him. From John's experiences.]

[deuceoftears]

[He nods to Malcolm.]

I know...people on the barge can be very...partisan, sometimes. And Justine is very charming. She rather badly needs to learn that being charming does not mean she can just get away with hurting people, no matter why she's doing it.

She definitely doesn't feel bad about what she did. She thinks I'm being quite unfair. I suspect this is the first time she's ever encountered a consequence, so feeling actual guilt is a more long-term goal. But we'll get there.

How do you anticipate this would be dangerous?

[abrightboy]

You… don’t need a sense of taste to live. Just to enjoy certain indulgences. She’s not a sommelier or something. Introducing her to the concept of consequences is a good start.

[forensicks]

I guess that spoiled food is supposed to be one of those things that's magically never a problem on the barge, ala the common cold.

[He gives a rattled sigh. There's so much he could say about aversives, et cetera.]

Look, it's more than a little weird to me, but he already heard out my ideas and I appreciate it. That's the only suggestion I had.

[deuceoftears]

It's very gracious of you to be concerned.

[He means that very sincerely; he gives Walter a small smile.]

She still has her sense of smell, and the kitchens won't be putting out anything spoiled that nobody else notices. She doesn't have the technology to keep perishable food in her own cabin, but I'll keep an extra eye on it.

[He runs a hand through his hair.]

It is invasive, but she's earned that. And she's...she values novelty and sensation. So this will actually bother her, without being...torturous.

I also wanted to say, Walter - I can't tell you what's in John's heart of hearts, or what's in their private relationship. But I can say that he was the one who told me what she'd done, as her warden, once we were paired.

[abrightboy]

He promised me he would.

[forensicks]

Well, yeah. That's not much news when he didn't deny it to my warden. Is that supposed to convince me he didn't want this?

[deuceoftears]

[Jedao shrugs one shoulder.]

Like I said, it's not place to speak for him. I can only give you the facts I have: that he did as he promised, and that he made no attempt to defend her actions to me.

If that's no comfort to you, then I apologize for taking up your time.

[abrightboy]

I don't think informing him of the action taken or asking his opinion about it was a waste of his time, regardless of how he feels about it. And I don't think he's out of line for having suspicions about discrepancies in a story around here, even if they turn out to be innocent. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us.

[forensicks]

Yes, precisely. Just because I don't see the correlation in that exact detail doesn't mean I hate the ten seconds you took to say it! Anyway, yes, I appreciate all this... accountability... appreciatively. Thanks very much.

[deuceoftears]

Malcolm, I told Walter this already, but I've also taken all her knives, and I'm monitoring to make sure she doesn't stash more. There's ways around that, but...I'm doing it anyway.

[Might as well make her work for it.]

If she bothers either of you again, please, let me know.

[abrightboy]

We will. Thank you.