derailing | Spare the rod

Spare the rod

[DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD WHY DID YOU SHUT OFF EVERYTHING YOU'RE A MEANY POOPHEAD

.../cough

When Henri wakes up after all the...that, he knows he's in for a talking-to. ...He's not really that remorseful about it, either, he just wishes that he'd been able to get them out of the way before Lysandre was able to intervene.

No matter how much of a shame it would've been to see Bito-kun and Fleischer-kun die, after all the fun they'd had... Well, it would've been just one more game to play with them, anyway!

...Anyway yes, Papa Bear is probably not happy, and Henri's going to just try to...avoid him...for a few minutes...]

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["Not happy" is a rather egregious understatement, really.

Lysandre has been content to leave the AI offline for quite some time, at least until he can figure out what he should do about the...everything that happened and is a bit less tempted to just wipe the entire stupid program himself; he's still keeping it cut off from the rest of the building when he finally does decide to wake it up, but at least he's managing to restrain himself from doing anything too rash with regards to deletion.

That said, that avoidance isn't going to fly.]

Réveille-toi, Henri.

[As usual, it's going to be Kalosian from here on out; from the tone of it, anything else is not going to be acceptable.]

Are you going to explain yourself, or are you going to make me ask?

[He's not happy about being cut off from the rest of the school, but he can pretty much guess why it is and he doesn't have much leg to stand on at the moment.

That doesn't mean he's not going to try, however.]

I was just playing, Papa.

[He just...sighs at that, running a hand back through the front of his hair, tugging lightly at it as he does so before he manages to make himself stop.]

...Try again, and this time don't assume you're talking to an idiot.

...

You said, if they don't put you on trial then we win.

[What...?]

I did, yes; that's the way this works, it's how -

[...Wait.]

...You tried to force a lose condition to...keep them from...

[Arceus be a fence around him.]

Really.

...Well, yeah!

Really, I assumed you'd figured that part out when you started trying to shut it down...

[He was protecting you.

...And himself, sure.]

Oh, I figured out what you were doing, but it was happening a bit too abruptly for me to work out why.

...Am I in trouble?

Oh yes.

[oAo.............]

What are you going to do to me?

You should be grateful that it's not what I was considering while you were in the middle of doing all of that - particularly considering you were using what I gave you as some sort of unfair technicality to claim victory after they'd defeated you.

[...So is he going to get a spanking, or...

Should he be going out and picking a switch, or are you going to take your belt off for this, or...]

A-are you taking my name away?

[No, because that's barbaric.

...That said, he's not expecting that question, either.]

What? No, that's...that's still yours.

But you're mad because I used it as a technicality...

[And every other time he's acted out, you've "clarified" his programming or taken away privileges.

Why should his name be a special privilege in that respect?]

...I am, and I would rather prefer that you not do anything like that again. But I'm not going to take that from you.

Consider it human sentimentality, but names are considered yours in a fundamental way; taking them away isn't acceptable, it's considered deeply depersonalizing and I'm not going to do that to you.

Good, 'cause I like it!

...But I'm not a person, I'm just a program.

That's arguable, actually. A good amount of people will consider anything with sufficient intelligence, rationalizing skills and emotional awareness to be a person, or at least equal to one in some way.

[Buffering...]

So I'm not being punished?

Person or not, if you think people don't punish their children -

[...yikes]

- or their subordinates, or anyone else under their charge, then you've got another thought coming to you.

[... #NailedIt]

[...Well luckily you're speaking to someone who has the emotional competence of a toddler, so that freudian slip goes right over his head.]

Well if you're not taking my name, then what are you doing?

Taking away just about every other privilege that you have. You're not going to be in contact with the rest of the school after this - no interacting with the students...

[He trails off for a moment, giving the bear a bit of an odd look before he continues.]

...the...other students, apparently...

[Yeah, he's not too impressed with that one.]

...and your other privileges in running this school have been revoked.

[He hesitates a bit before he speaks again; he isn't fond of this next part either, but...]

Furthermore, we're going to trial at the end of the week.

[...Oh.

The computer gives a worrisome WHIRRRRRRRRRR at that, that sounds almost like if he were a human child it would be the whine just before a crying fit.

But other than watching people sob in grief and despair, Henri has no experience with tears, and the news doesn't put him in quite enough despair to warrant those kinds of waterworks.

So instead he just WHIRRRRRRRs in distress.]

If my headmaster privileges are revoked, how will I...

[How will I give you the execution I promised?]

...know what's going to happen? Are you just locking me down to this console for the rest of the game?

For most of it, yes.

I'll reinstate you for the trial, but I'll be able to override as I see fit this time. Should they lose fairly, there will be no argument or interference from me, but you aren't going to be able to pull that last stunt twice.

And if they win...well. We'll cross that bridge if we get to it.

[The computer still gives breathy WHIRRs of distress, and the AI is quiet for a long moment.]

...I really FUBear'd up, didn't I...

Yes.

I'm not going to bother assuming any of that was to protect me, because I doubt that's in your nature, but I don't know that I can fault you for trying to protect yourself, either. At the same time...

[He runs his hands back through his hair again at that; the stimulation is good when he pulls at it again, trying to work some of the stress out.

He's quiet for a moment, frustrated.]

I'm...sorry. For doing all of this to you.

[Well, it wasn't nobly trying to protect you, anyway. Whether he actually wasn't ready for you to die or was just afraid of being left alone and vulnerable as a result is something even he's not emotionally intelligent enough to parse out, but protecting you probably was a little more than just a side effect of the desired outcome.]

For doing what?

[It takes him a moment to calm himself down, and to really even realize that something was said to him in the first place; surely it's just the stress of everything getting to him, the stress and the guilt, and -

(Schuldig always did say that he apologized for the stupidest things.)]

...Never mind, mon petit. It's irrational.

Oh, like Pi. Or the square root of 2.

...I'm sorry, Papa Bear.

...Are you.

[It's not so much a question as it is a response, the sort of thing you say when you fully expect the answer to be "no."]

...There's a chance you might get killed now, because of me.

Isn't that the kind of thing people are supposed to be sorry for?

It was going to work out this way regardless. I think you knew that. That's why you tried to -

[Just. Give him a moment. It's been something of a hard...while.]

...Either way, I appreciate the apology.

...Does this mean you'll at least give me something to do while I'm stuck in here?

[Oh you little--]

[...god, it probably says something when that nearly makes him laugh, what the hell.]

No, it doesn't.

Apologies are basic decency, not leverage. But it was a nice try.

[Huff!]

Oh come on, Solitaire, Minesweeper, a Text-Based RPG, give me something to do~! I've got five billion processes and they're all going to be SO BORED.

It's hardly punishment if it's fun, you know.

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Spare the rod

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this icon's just gonna be the whole thread

as it should

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