The Admiral loses his grip on people. For wardens that means returning to whatever life they had, for better or worse. For Inmates, it's trickier; he takes us either at the moment of death, or a moment that could have been.
Whether it's careless or deliberate, no one knows.
[ That might be one of the worst things Vash has heard since coming here. ]
I'm sorry.
[ The Admiral just loses his grip on people? Is it because he's spending too much energy on things like maintaining a giant swimming pool and redecorating warden rooms, or is there something else going on?
He'll have to ask the man himself. ]
I don't know how to do anything about that, but if you've got any ideas, please let me know how I can help.
You're very sweet. [ She can't help sound a little condescending about it, but there's something genuinely touched in her expression. ]
If you want real advice - don't waste time on something no one's ever been able to fix. Focus on helping people get the fuck out of here before their time runs out.
[ He knows what a wide-eyed innocent he sounds like sometimes, but he really does mean it. If there's anything he can do to stop her -- or any of the other inmates -- from being released from the barge back to their own worlds to die, then he'll do it. Anything. ]
You mean graduating? I'd love to. [ And this is about where things went bad with his last inmate, but he can't not ask, right? ] Do you know why you're here? Or, do you know what it is that you have to figure out before you can leave?
There's the mass murder, but I've resolved not to pull that shit again. [ Usually she's flippant about that - it's a nice bracing kick in the teeth - but she doesn't drop it like a bomb and move on, not this time.
She can't make a suggestion like that before stacking the deck against him. ...Well, she could, but he probably doesn't deserve it. ]
But shaking nasty habits is different than figuring out new ones, and I keep losing the people who could - [ She stops, with a faint grimace. ]
[ Chasing I've killed a lot of people with and I don't want to do that anymore is the perfect way to share that tidbit! It sounds like she's already done a lot of hard work on herself, and Vash's smile makes it clear that he's proud of her for that. Proud and relieved, honestly -- as a new warden, he still doesn't really know what his role here is, other than cheering her on and making sure she knows that there's somebody on her side.
It's not enough, and he knows that, but it's the best place he can think of to start. ]
That's got to be so hard! Having people around that care for you and that you rely on... [ Because that's the part she stopped herself from saying, right? ] ...only to have them vanish right when you need them the most! That's so terrible!
[ He's hamming it up a little, but only because it's such a serious subject. ]
And yet, through all that, you're still determined to respect life, and turn remain firmly turned away from the path of blood and death! Such fortitude! Such strength!
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 02:55 pm (UTC)Full disclosure, I've disappeared twice so far. If we hit strike three in the next month that's on the Admiral, not you.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 05:10 pm (UTC)The Admiral loses his grip on people. For wardens that means returning to whatever life they had, for better or worse. For Inmates, it's trickier; he takes us either at the moment of death, or a moment that could have been.
Whether it's careless or deliberate, no one knows.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 05:21 pm (UTC)He's sent you back to die?
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 05:35 pm (UTC)[ The viciously bleak smile softens, a little, as she shakes her head. ]
But I chose to come back all the same. ...He does ask, sometimes, I assume when he knows the answer will be yes.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 05:41 pm (UTC)I'm sorry.
[ The Admiral just loses his grip on people? Is it because he's spending too much energy on things like maintaining a giant swimming pool and redecorating warden rooms, or is there something else going on?
He'll have to ask the man himself. ]
I don't know how to do anything about that, but if you've got any ideas, please let me know how I can help.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 05:49 pm (UTC)If you want real advice - don't waste time on something no one's ever been able to fix. Focus on helping people get the fuck out of here before their time runs out.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 05:58 pm (UTC)You mean graduating? I'd love to. [ And this is about where things went bad with his last inmate, but he can't not ask, right? ] Do you know why you're here? Or, do you know what it is that you have to figure out before you can leave?
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 06:11 pm (UTC)She can't make a suggestion like that before stacking the deck against him. ...Well, she could, but he probably doesn't deserve it. ]
But shaking nasty habits is different than figuring out new ones, and I keep losing the people who could - [ She stops, with a faint grimace. ]
The Admiral's only responsible for part of that.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-17 03:57 pm (UTC)It's not enough, and he knows that, but it's the best place he can think of to start. ]
That's got to be so hard! Having people around that care for you and that you rely on... [ Because that's the part she stopped herself from saying, right? ] ...only to have them vanish right when you need them the most! That's so terrible!
[ He's hamming it up a little, but only because it's such a serious subject. ]
And yet, through all that, you're still determined to respect life, and turn remain firmly turned away from the path of blood and death! Such fortitude! Such strength!