[And when he does return, somewhere around fifteen minutes later, he's now got two 5 gallon buckets, with their lids. There's a lot of barge to repair, little cups one at a time was a waste.]
Sorry, I took a minute to wash them. I don't know if magic water can be contaminated, better safe than sorry.
[He doesn't mind getting a little wet to get back onto the boat, it's a bit necessary with someone his weight standing on the part buried in the sand. But it won't take more than a bit of maneuvering at least to get them fully back in the water.]
[Shaw will hop into the prow to help him get the buckets in, settling them on the floor between the two seats - and then handing the oars over to him only a little bit grudgingly.]
So you said you think you might be here for work-related stuff. Assassinations?
[His smile is brief and he hopes, friendly, when he takes the oars and settles into place. He's getting the impression getting the chance to row back is going to be a challenge.
But the smile fades. 'Work', such as it was..]
Not usually. I was more ... if my rank got called in it's because you needed the entire base razed, not because you need a single target eliminated. I'm not sure what the equivalent is in other militaries. My orders sometimes included ... non military targets.
[No surprise, there.]
At the time.. orders were orders, and we were there to try to make their lives better. The company did good. It brought health care, cheap electricity, roads, sanitation, better infrastructure.. but the cost was war. Over and over.
One of the best. There weren't many at First Class, just myself, Sephiroth and Genesis for ... a long time.
[But the Planet was dying because of it all. That was too high a price to pay.]
I don't feel bad about most of what we did. I had my orders, I followed them, I pushed back when I felt it was too much. But maybe the Admiral doesn't agree.
Doesn't agree that you shouldn't feel bad, or doesn't agree that you should have pushed back?
[Based on what she's seen on the Barge, she has what she feels is a pretty good guess as to which is more likely, but she's interested in hearing his thoughts.]
With not really being bothered by most of it. Can't imagine a being here to help us has a problem with kicking up a fuss when things got too bad.
[Makes sense to him, even if it's not why he's here at all. The rowing isn't any kind of a distraction but it's nice to have a simple physical goal: row.]
One of my close friends is here too but I'm getting the impression he's here for things that happened after my death, not before it, and he had the same orders I did. Sometimes refused them too.
[Hmmmmm. If he's from Zack's world, she knows quite a few people also from there, but most of them are wardens. Which, as far as the people she knows by name go, narrows it down to--]
The way I see it, everybody makes their own choices. Even if you did something crappy to him, he has the free will to decide whether or not he wants to talk like a supervillain on the network.
[She pauses, then thinks to add--]
He's not anything close to the worst of the worst. My guess, the guy you knew is still in there somewhere.
If genetic degradation is involved, he might not have had much free will in the matter.
[There is a moment where the metholodical rowing becomes harder, a focused drive of some unpleasant emotion or other, but as soon as he realizes it he readjusts.]
... But I hope so. He's here because someone thinks he can do better, and I know he can. He was a good man, not so long ago to my memory. Reliable, kind. Loyal.
[Lots of good things, lots of things that hurt to think about if he accepted he might have had a part in things going so badly.]
[And that's the truth, at least. If it wasn't one thing going pear shaped, it was another. Sometimes it felt like life on this ship was just moving from one headache to the next with no pause inbetween.]
How long have they been partnered? If it's been a while and progress isn't getting anywhere.. might not be ideal.
[Sometimes a good, trustworthy friend isn't what's needed to motivate - maybe that's why Angeal's not really gotten involved either. He was exactly the wrong person ot handle a friend's problems.]
[It's the sort of blunt question that some might take offense to - but Shaw, queen of blunt questions, doesn't seem put off in the slightest. She gives a nod in acknowledgement of the point, but--]
Wardening's annoyingly inefficient sometimes, especially when the inmate's especially smart, especially stubborn, or especially bad. Like I said, he doesn't seem like that last one to me, but smart and stubborn's a tough combination. Could be that progress is happening, but it's happening slowly. Or, uh, circuitously.
[The unpredictability of the Barge isn't always an asset.]
Throwing a bunch of strangers together and hoping half of them have a fundamental realization about their entire lives is usually a pretty big ask.
[Obviously it works often enough that it's worth continuing. And it gave people like him another chance too, already pretty aware of what was wrong but not sure what to do about it.
There were worse topics for a boat ride across a foreign sea to who-knows-where to get special magic water.]
Especially with what seems awfully like monthly dips into trauma and suffering.
You get it. This place is weird all around, and I don't know what the Admiral was thinking when he set it up like this. Best answer I keep getting from people is that the chaos and confusion is a perk, but I don't buy it.
[She pauses, and then adds:]
Don't get me wrong; it could be a lot worse. If I were fundamentally opposed, I wouldn't be here. My objections are, I dunno, cosmetic.
If I didn't think it had potential I wouldn't have agreed to come.
[How many inmates were there by choice? Angeal hadn't found another yet, though he knew they existed, he wasn't unique. But most had to be dragged kicking and screaming.]
Though there's been some history, I guess, with how the Admiral does things versus usual ships, and .. he's got a pretty good success rate? So there's got to be a method to the madness, we just can't see it because we're at the bottom of the well looking up.
I'd rather not think of the other alternatives, if this is one of the methods with the highest success rate. The other ship had given up on it entirely hadn't they?
[He hadn't been conscious for almost all of it.
There were regrets. Maybe he could have interfered. Prevented more destruction. For a moment, Angeal is quiet, thoughtful.]
What are you getting out of being here, Shaw? I was offered a chance to make things right. What were you offered?
The Admiral's offer to wardens is a lot more... open-ended.
[Shaw says, reaching down to trail her fingers in the water that's just starting to show traces of glinting dawnlight.]
He told me I could have anything I wanted. And he came just a couple days after a good friend of mine had died.
[And even though he hadn't specifically said I can bring Root back for you, the implications, as far as Shaw is concerned, had been clear. He'd picked the time, the place, and the person for a reason, and despite her confusion and suspicion, she'd jumped at the chance.]
But then he brought her here as an inmate and negated any deal I could have made for her, so who the hell knows what he was thinking.
[That's interesting. He hadn't really asked anyone what they were getting out of this, but Zack hadn't given him the impression that the Admiral was sneaky and backhanded about it.]
As far as I can tell, we're just put back where we were before, but alive again if we graduate. I guess that means you could just.. leave if you wanted, and not put up with any of it.
I'm told, though it usually feels like bullshit to me, that sometimes it's okay to prioritize what's good for you. Something about not setting yourself on fire for others, I never really paid attention.
[He certainly had paid attention, but that's not what this is about.]
If no time passes, then she'll be there when you get back, right?
Yeah, sure, but there's a balance there, right? And anyway, home isn't so great either right now. I'm fine with the extra prep time. I've even gotten a few people to sign on to come help us fight.
[She lifts her hand out of the water, examining the glowing drips as the light continues to slowly spread.]
I like the extra time with her, too. Especially since there's no guarantee she'll graduate and get out of here - people disappear sometimes.
[It's pretty, in a distracting way, as were the occasional golden fish that turn up to investigate the boat's shadow. This wasn't the water they were after, but surely they'd get there, in the radiance and warmth.
And then, the five gallon buckets. That this won't work at all will just have to be discovered the hard way.]
First time anyone's mentioned people disappearing. Just.. kicked right off?
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weartearrust) wrote2024-07-10 05:31 am
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Sorry, I took a minute to wash them. I don't know if magic water can be contaminated, better safe than sorry.
[He doesn't mind getting a little wet to get back onto the boat, it's a bit necessary with someone his weight standing on the part buried in the sand. But it won't take more than a bit of maneuvering at least to get them fully back in the water.]
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[Shaw will hop into the prow to help him get the buckets in, settling them on the floor between the two seats - and then handing the oars over to him only a little bit grudgingly.]
So you said you think you might be here for work-related stuff. Assassinations?
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But the smile fades. 'Work', such as it was..]
Not usually. I was more ... if my rank got called in it's because you needed the entire base razed, not because you need a single target eliminated. I'm not sure what the equivalent is in other militaries. My orders sometimes included ... non military targets.
[No surprise, there.]
At the time.. orders were orders, and we were there to try to make their lives better. The company did good. It brought health care, cheap electricity, roads, sanitation, better infrastructure.. but the cost was war. Over and over.
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Yeah, I did a lot of that too, once upon a time - following hard orders for the greater good. Were you good at it?
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[But the Planet was dying because of it all. That was too high a price to pay.]
I don't feel bad about most of what we did. I had my orders, I followed them, I pushed back when I felt it was too much. But maybe the Admiral doesn't agree.
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[Based on what she's seen on the Barge, she has what she feels is a pretty good guess as to which is more likely, but she's interested in hearing his thoughts.]
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[Makes sense to him, even if it's not why he's here at all. The rowing isn't any kind of a distraction but it's nice to have a simple physical goal: row.]
One of my close friends is here too but I'm getting the impression he's here for things that happened after my death, not before it, and he had the same orders I did. Sometimes refused them too.
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Cloud or Sephiroth? Or someone else?
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[Angeal trusts his judgment about people, it's never failed him before. If Cloud seemed like a good person, surely he was.
It's something to think about, while he rows.]
When I knew him, Sephiroth.. wasn't like how he is here. I suppose I'm partly to blame for that as well, but I'm not sure how to make up for it now.
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[She pauses, then thinks to add--]
He's not anything close to the worst of the worst. My guess, the guy you knew is still in there somewhere.
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[There is a moment where the metholodical rowing becomes harder, a focused drive of some unpleasant emotion or other, but as soon as he realizes it he readjusts.]
... But I hope so. He's here because someone thinks he can do better, and I know he can. He was a good man, not so long ago to my memory. Reliable, kind. Loyal.
[Lots of good things, lots of things that hurt to think about if he accepted he might have had a part in things going so badly.]
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[Shaw asks - studying him closely, noting the way he leans into the work.]
Zhao's a good guy. Dedicated.
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[And that's the truth, at least. If it wasn't one thing going pear shaped, it was another. Sometimes it felt like life on this ship was just moving from one headache to the next with no pause inbetween.]
How long have they been partnered? If it's been a while and progress isn't getting anywhere.. might not be ideal.
[Sometimes a good, trustworthy friend isn't what's needed to motivate - maybe that's why Angeal's not really gotten involved either. He was exactly the wrong person ot handle a friend's problems.]
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Wardening's annoyingly inefficient sometimes, especially when the inmate's especially smart, especially stubborn, or especially bad. Like I said, he doesn't seem like that last one to me, but smart and stubborn's a tough combination. Could be that progress is happening, but it's happening slowly. Or, uh, circuitously.
[The unpredictability of the Barge isn't always an asset.]
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[Obviously it works often enough that it's worth continuing. And it gave people like him another chance too, already pretty aware of what was wrong but not sure what to do about it.
There were worse topics for a boat ride across a foreign sea to who-knows-where to get special magic water.]
Especially with what seems awfully like monthly dips into trauma and suffering.
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[she says dryly, shooting him a fingergun.]
You get it. This place is weird all around, and I don't know what the Admiral was thinking when he set it up like this. Best answer I keep getting from people is that the chaos and confusion is a perk, but I don't buy it.
[She pauses, and then adds:]
Don't get me wrong; it could be a lot worse. If I were fundamentally opposed, I wouldn't be here. My objections are, I dunno, cosmetic.
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If I didn't think it had potential I wouldn't have agreed to come.
[How many inmates were there by choice? Angeal hadn't found another yet, though he knew they existed, he wasn't unique. But most had to be dragged kicking and screaming.]
Though there's been some history, I guess, with how the Admiral does things versus usual ships, and .. he's got a pretty good success rate? So there's got to be a method to the madness, we just can't see it because we're at the bottom of the well looking up.
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[Shaw mutters under her breath. Then, louder:]
It's not that I don't think people are right about the chaos being purposeful. I just think it's bull that it's worth it.
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[He hadn't been conscious for almost all of it.
There were regrets. Maybe he could have interfered. Prevented more destruction. For a moment, Angeal is quiet, thoughtful.]
What are you getting out of being here, Shaw? I was offered a chance to make things right. What were you offered?
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[Shaw says, reaching down to trail her fingers in the water that's just starting to show traces of glinting dawnlight.]
He told me I could have anything I wanted. And he came just a couple days after a good friend of mine had died.
[And even though he hadn't specifically said I can bring Root back for you, the implications, as far as Shaw is concerned, had been clear. He'd picked the time, the place, and the person for a reason, and despite her confusion and suspicion, she'd jumped at the chance.]
But then he brought her here as an inmate and negated any deal I could have made for her, so who the hell knows what he was thinking.
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[That's interesting. He hadn't really asked anyone what they were getting out of this, but Zack hadn't given him the impression that the Admiral was sneaky and backhanded about it.]
As far as I can tell, we're just put back where we were before, but alive again if we graduate. I guess that means you could just.. leave if you wanted, and not put up with any of it.
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[He certainly had paid attention, but that's not what this is about.]
If no time passes, then she'll be there when you get back, right?
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[She lifts her hand out of the water, examining the glowing drips as the light continues to slowly spread.]
I like the extra time with her, too. Especially since there's no guarantee she'll graduate and get out of here - people disappear sometimes.
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And then, the five gallon buckets. That this won't work at all will just have to be discovered the hard way.]
First time anyone's mentioned people disappearing. Just.. kicked right off?
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