IC Inbox

[hollow_king]

[You never know, he might respond to a message. If he feels like it.]

Comments

[hollow_king]

Oh. Another one.

[They tend to hunt him down eventually so responding might save time. He's not any more interested in her status as his 'warden' than he has been in any of the others.]

[spoileralert]

Yes, another one.

[ She's seen enough talk about temp wardens to know this is pretty normal. It's still annoying, though. ]

General opinion seems to be that temporary wardens don't do enough, but they don't count anyway, and nobody wants to bother but everybody's got a stick up their butt about it.

So I gotta ask, what do you actually want? Short of somehow miraculously helping you graduate within the month with only the information that can be skimmed off the network to work with, that is.

[hollow_king]

I do not want anything.

Apart from the death I was promised but you have no control over that. You 'wardens' seem to be the ones who want things.

[spoileralert]

That's the whole premise, yeah.

Right now what I want is to sort out the temporary pairing system and see if there's anything worthwhile about it.

So you want to graduate, at least as a means to an end. What have you done so far to help with that?

[hollow_king]

I have no desire to 'graduate'. [That would allow him a chance to die, yes, but it would also be a victory for the Admiral and he has dedicated centuries to fighting against what gods want.]

The... temporary pairings provide an opportunity for wardens to learn the names of a range of inmates and practice their speeches on the different types. It is also a distraction, you are here because you want something and this provides an illusion that something is being accomplished. On some level it is also a type of check, to make sure inmates have someone to 'revive' them or to be held in some sort of position of responsibility if they create more than the usual degree of trouble. [He hates the barge in between periods of not caring but he's not stupid and he can't ignore everything, however much he tries.]

How worthwhile any of that is, depends on what you desire.

[spoileralert]

Not very, in the long run. I'm not interested in making speeches.

[ But there is one thing that's caught her interest- ]

You're really content to just sit around waiting for the Admiral to give up on you?

[hollow_king]

You will likely have to speak eventually.

[He points out idly, he honestly doesn't care much about it. He shrugs.]

I have waited far longer in worse circumstances.

[spoileralert]

Not in speeches I don't.

[ NOT GONNA HAPPEN, END OF STORY. ]

That just seems really passive, for something you care so much about. You can't really want it that bad if you aren't willing to work for it. I mean, whatever, it's just not what I expected.

[hollow_king]

Why would you expect anything?

[spoileralert]

Only an idiot goes in blind.

[hollow_king]

An idiot, or one with no other choice.

What is it that you think you see?

[spoileralert]

At the moment? A very, very tired man.

[hollow_king]

Your eyes are keen enough.

I have walked many paths, I am done with walking.

[spoileralert]

Hmm. [ She considers that for a moment. ]

You could probably use therapy. But then again, so could I. Probably most people on this boat could.

[hollow_king]

Therapy...?

[Well, he's gotten used to unfamiliar terms. They rarely matter.]

Have you established the uselessness of these... temporary pairings?

[spoileralert]

I've established that they might be useful as a way of gathering information, and they certainly have an application for getting along day by day.

I assume if you get killed you don't want me to revive you?

[hollow_king]

I would not wish it, yes.

[After a few moments.] Thank you.

[spoileralert]

Don't thank me. Someone else will just do it anyway. And people are gonna be pissed if they find out I'm encouraging suicidal behavior.

[hollow_king]

I can reassure them that I am in no need of encouragement.

[spoileralert]

That won't even remotely help matters. Just try to make it real quiet? Maybe no one will notice I'm a crap authority figure.

[hollow_king]

[He snorts.] You're supposed to be an authority figure?

[spoileralert]

[ She huffs, succeeding only in making herself look less like an authority figure. ]

I'm not above smacking you upside the head, you know.

[hollow_king]

I am sure you are not.

That does not make your claim sound any more likely.

[spoileralert]

I'm a warden whether you like it or not.

[hollow_king]

Whether I like it or not - and I feel nothing on the subject - is not of any importance.

Whether I respect it or not, that hits more at the matter.