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[abrightboy]

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[empathicfault]

Will frowns heavily as Malcolm explains, even if he is helping with moving through it. He's realizing he probably should've told Shaw about this, too. But he does try to pick up on Malcolm's question.

"I did. Next time I'll bring Jet, too. I don't know how well birds do in new environments. But if Sunshine does well with it, you should bring her next time. We had a cat, a goat, and a chicken there, too. It was a nice day."

[abrightboy]

“I’m worried she’d be too small for that crowd. Though she isn’t upset at all about Winston’s visits,” Malcolm tells him. He looks at Shaw. “Have you considered a pet?”

[cactusy]

"No," she says - looking up again, and clearly a little surprised by the question. "I mean, not really; I think it's weird that you can just wish up pets."

Here she glances at Will.

"No offense. I'm talking more about ones that aren't... specific pets. If you just ask the Admiral 'get me a dog', where does it come from?"

[empathicfault]

"No clue," replies Will. Even if he's never mentioned it to anyone, he has thought about this quite a bit. "The dogs I have are mine. I'd be able to tell if they were some sort of recreations, I think. Winston is Winston and Jet is Jet. Maybe they're from a timeline to the left of mine or something, but-"

He shrugs. "I don't know about a more general request. You could ask? Or maybe it's possible to ask for something more specific. 'I'd like a dog that was on its own or just given to a shelter," something like that?" He looks to Malcolm, wondering how much experience he has with requesting things from the Admiral. They're all relatively new here.

[abrightboy]

“Neal requested my bird. As a Christmas gift. Hey. Do you guys think it’s weird that a Warden can ask for their inmate to get their potentially dangerous superpowers back, but apparently can’t ask for a therapeutic soaking tub for them for their mental health? Doesn’t that seem weird? Like the thing that could endanger everyone if ill judged is totally up to any single Warden’s discretion but something completely mundane is behind a ‘the rules are the rules’ firewall. I think there has to be more to it than that,” Malcolm muses on a tangent.

[cactusy]

Shaw is quiet for a few beats too long, mostly because she's doing a little internal spiral over HOW would you be able to tell if the dogs were recreations, would you REALLY be able to tell, it's a LOT harder than you'd think - all of which she decides not to voice. It's probably for the best.

"I think it's weird that wardens can ask for inmate superpowers, period," she says, finally.

[empathicfault]

Will can see at least a little of that spiraling, but decides against commenting on it. Because yeah, probably better to move on. He might talk about that with her later, though, why he's so sure.

Malcolm's complaint seems rather easily explained, to him. "I could see some powers being important for health reasons, depending on what the situation is. As far as the tub goes, that- I think- is a way to demarcate our two positions."

That distinction is important, as far as he's concerned. "There's so much afforded to inmates here, in an attempt to make us feel less punished and more helped. But the difference shouldn't be lost. The cabins are what the Admiral's decided on to make his- it's- point, I think. And there are workarounds. A warden could always offer their spa of a bathroom to their inmate if they want to help that way." He shrugs.

breaking posting order just for a quick interjection

[cactusy]

Shaw says nothing, but she lazily shoots Will some finger-guns. Good answer.

[abrightboy]

"I mean, you can argue classism - that's almost always valid - but the size and breadth of the suites Wardens get compared to Inmates is already that. So is the access Wardens have to areas of the Barge that Inmates don't. Rich people have opulent bathrooms in any world, but poor people still have a toilet and a faucet of some kind. The Inmate bathrooms are pretty much the only concession the Barge makes to being a 'prison' environment. So why give the Inmates cabins at all? Put them in a dorm. Communal living, communal bathrooms. It can't just be keeping the wheat separate from the chaff. Unless the Admiral's culture connects some special significance to bathing in private as a status symbol but sleeping in private doesn't mean much," Malcolm points out. "I think there's something we don't know and we're just not asking the right questions."

[cactusy]

"Inmates have toilets and sinks," Shaw points out, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, dude? You're calling it classism? Pretty lame."

[abrightboy]

"He called it that," Malcolm says, pointing to Will.

[empathicfault]

Will breaks into a laugh- almost a giggle- at the back and forth. "I mean, if 'hero' and 'villain' are classes, then I guess. Maybe. And I could be off- but I don't think I am. More like- the Admiral doesn't want this place to come off like a normal prison environment. That's not going to work on the type of inmates here."

I mean, that's clear, right? He looks to Shaw, figuring she probably has an idea of the sort of things he went through in his 'hospital'. "I see it as trying to be 'helpful' but also trying to keep the lines in place. And yeah, it could've been anything else- meal privileges, access to entertainment, whatever. But it would have to be something that's not necessarily a deal-breaker to someone's rehab. Something innocuous. So tubs makes sense to me." He raises his hands up in a 'shrug' gesture. "You have a chance to argue that with the Admiral yet, Malcolm?"

[cactusy]

Thank god she ended up with an inmate who has some sense, Shaw thinks. Sure, she could have handled one who rattled on about classism and whined about unfairness, but it would have been really annoying.

She doesn't say anything, but she smiles again, just a little.

[abrightboy]

"Not yet. I'm still working on the question. But I still think it's doable if the case is made properly. I don't even have a specific need for anyone to have a tub, I just think the Admiral isn't as black and white as people assume he is just based on them asking for specific things and him refusing them," Malcolm explains. "That's one thing that's been held up as an example. If I came across another but more urgent example, I'd look at that instead."

[empathicfault]

"Oh, now that I do agree on," Will says. "And I hope you get through to the Admiral. But if you don't? That tells us something, too."

He thinks it over for a moment, then remembers- "Ah, I've still got to write up what I was going to, about the shooting range. I've traded my psychology books for feline anatomy lately, probably got going too hard on that." There's that, and there's also the great deal of not-sleeping he's been doing. "Requesting that might be a good test, too. See what the Admiral's capable of." Because that's bigger and a lot more involved than a tub, but it's also something in particular to ask for.

[cactusy]

"Here's a question," Shaw breaks in. "Are we sure that we care why the Admiral does what he does?"

It's perhaps clear from her tone that she does not.

[abrightboy]

"Well... I care why everyone does what they do," Malcolm says plainly. "But if we understand how the Admiral thinks, won't we be more effective at our job here?"

[empathicfault]

"Not necessarily," Will replies, with a shrug. "I want to know why and how things operate here, personally. A lot of that is tied up with the Admiral. It seems helpful, maybe even good for most people. But if there's a focus that's off, a value that's different, I want to know about it. Why bring us specifically? Why at these specific times, when time means so little to this place?"

He give Shaw an apologetic glance. "Sorry, but you are actually choosing to talk with two profilers. We used to be paid to ask these questions."

[cactusy]

Her gun sufficiently cleaned, Shaw snaps the last piece back onto it and leans back to lie flat on the bench, her legs still propped on the railing.

"'Why us' seems pretty obvious," she says, gesturing between her and Malcolm. "It asked, and we were desperate enough to say yes. What about you, though?"

This is addressed to Will, though she's still mostly looking up at the stars.

"It give you a choice, or did it just bring you here?"

[abrightboy]

"I've been told that when he does give a choice, it's been between coming here and death. I wonder how many turn him down," Malcolm muses.

[empathicfault]

"As far as I've been able to tell, I'm the only one he's asked," Will says, following Shaw's gaze. "And I was done. I think he knew I'd never have accepted it, if he'd grabbed me from then. But letting me choose...I was curious. Where I'd go from there."

He's not content to leave it at that, and adds, "Is it obvious, why he chose you two? How many people out there are desperate for miracles, throughout the universes?"

[cactusy]

"Maybe it's only obvious from my end," she admits, a tad dryly. "I'm not exactly... attuned to this place, so yeah, I don't know why he wanted me."

[abrightboy]

"I think he chooses Wardens that are damaged in some way because they can relate to Inmates better," Malcolm says. He looks at Will. "I know of a few other Inmates that were given the choice, but they were all taken from the brink of death."

[empathicfault]

Will rubs his chin, looking thoughtful as Malcolm hypothesizes. "You do? I'd like to talk to them sometime." He's curious whether his theory has merit, or if they were all just trying to avoid death and he's some sort of outlier. "Might be something to the Wardens being able to relate. Maybe the Admiral's looking to help you all out, too, and you need a different approach. Or-"

Will gestures with his hand, in something of a throw-away gesture- because he really is just guessing. "Maybe they were just in the area. I can't really say my reasoning's gonna work with an...extra-dimensional being that none of us have talked to for more than a couple minutes."

[cactusy]

"'S why I think it's pointless to even speculate," Shaw mutters. "You guys don't have enough people to profile who you can actually see?"