♻ 022 | audio

[tucky]

Hey, y'all. I been thinking about some stuff lately - about powers. I don't have any and I never did, except for Admiral powers and except for one time when I thought I had some of my own - but that's another story.

They're just kinda all over the place here, I noticed. Arthas had his, and he tried to kill the whole Barge. And I know wardens hurt people with their powers sometimes. I've seen it. And we got inmates who don't have any powers at all, but still hurt and kill people. It's like I was telling someone earlier - it ain't like the Barge is safe when inmates have powers, and dangerous when they don't. It's a lot more complicated than that.

I got two inmates I been talking to, Lourdes and Pietro - and they want their powers back 'cause they don't feel right and whole without 'em. And I don't blame 'em, if I'm gonna be real honest. I maybe would have, before I was a warden, but now I got a different perspective. We're letting parts of people be locked away, and how's anyone supposed to trust us if we do that and don't care?

But maybe it ain't right to just give 'em back without thinking about it, neither - 'cause some of the powers are dangerous, and all of us'd be affected if something happened. So we decided that since they don't got wardens of their own, we're gonna talk to the whole Barge about it and see if any of y'all got objections. Or-- or questions or concerns. Stuff like that.

Pietro's got super speed, and super senses so he can see things okay when he's using his super speed. Lourdes can control people's bodies, and their minds, and even the chemicals inside 'em. Now, that's a whole fucking lot - so she's mostly what I wanna talk about today, I guess. We got Iris and Jean and all those guys who can protect people from stuff like that, but it can still be dangerous. So we're asking you.

Everybody gets a say.

[filtered to Lourdes]

if you get em back i want to talk about how your gonna use em ok

[filtered to Barbara, Cain, Dillon, Eggsy, Iris, Jean, Letty, Lloyd, Lydia, Ricki, Roderick, Simon, Tig; dated to after the post has been up for a while]

I'm giving Lourdes her powers back - but only when she's in the Enclosure with me. Now, I don't think she's gonna hurt me - but if she does, I don't want any of y'all hurting her back, okay? I ain't saying no punishment, or no being mad. Just no torturing or murdering or nothing. Thanks.

Comments

[punched_hitler]

They're inmates. They shouldn't feel right.

If I abused my power that badly, I wouldn't argue for it back if I woke up here without it.

[tucky]

I think that's wrong.

[It's the first time she's said that in this post.]

The part about how they shouldn't feel right - I think that's totally wrong.

[punched_hitler]

[Well, they don't have to agree. And he doesn't have to be right. She just wanted his opinion, and that's it. But,] Okay. What do you think?

[tucky]

I think feeling right is why inmates are here. I felt right when I came. I wouldn't've graduated if I didn't.

[punched_hitler]

Well, we agree on that. I think the goal is to make them feel right.

But consider this. I'm not saying you weren't dangerous, but you weren't violent, right off the bat. What about someone who is? Whether they have powers or not, should we just let them run around? I think this is part of a bigger problem.

But I also think that if someone can melt my face off just by thinking it, I'm gonna do everything I can to stop them from doing it. Even if I know that someday I'll be able to trust them.

[tucky]

I ain't saying we should.

But you shouldn't say they shouldn't feel right or comfortable. That's wrong.

[punched_hitler]

This is a jail, Tiffany. And comfortable and safe are two different things.

I believe in what we're doing here. I believe in kindness and mercy, and I believe people are here because they can genuinely change. But I believe that if people don't understand that what they've done is wrong, they're never going to change, either, and sometimes a little discomfort might be a part of that. Discomfort and punishment are different, too.

[He shakes his head.] I'm not saying you need to agree with me. I'm not saying I'm right, or everyone should listen to me. It's just what I think, that's all.

[tucky]

It's not a normal jail.

... Yeah, I'm sorry. I asked for opinions. I gotta listen to 'em - all of 'em.

[punched_hitler]

No. It's not. Think about this - if it was a normal jail, they'd have their powers. No one could take them away.

[Just something to consider, is all.

He smiles a little, softly.] Nobody likes hearing an opinion that contradicts theirs. But I think it's important to listen to them, even if you don't agree with them. I understand where you're coming from, too. I really do.

[tucky]

I'm coming from a lot of places right now, actually.

[punched_hitler]

Yeah. I know. And you're doing something really important here, which is making us think about the way we do things, and whether it's right or not. That's a good thing. We need to do it more.

Let me just say one more thing. I don't think powers make the person. I think you could take away all the powers on this boat, every single thing from every warden and inmate, and you wouldn't change who we are. I don't think that's the right thing to do, either, but I still think it's true. Maybe that's why I feel the way I do.

[tucky]

I don't think they do either, but they can make up a part, right?

[ichoosefight]

It's a rehabilitation center, Cap. I know you've seen some shit, but prison doesn't work. Not for metas, not for baseline humans. It only makes things worse.

[punched_hitler]

All I want is for people to think about how this looks.

[He's never been on the other side of things. He knows that, and he won't belittle what the people who've been there think. Honestly, to him, this is part of a larger issue.]

I personally don't like the idea of giving inmates their powers back, for a lot of reasons. But I think if it's going to happen, then we think about what kind of message that sends. If we do it, we do it, and we deal with the consequences. Favoritism makes things worse, too.

[ichoosefight]

Rehab works differently for everyone. I know we're not really equipped for that, and none of us honestly have any idea what we're doing. But we can't treat this like it's the prison system back home. The prison system back home turns out more criminals than it takes in.

[punched_hitler]

I know. I don't want it to be like the prison system back home, because if people needed that, they'd be there. I just think that making a lot of exceptions may not be the best thing, in the long run. But I don't have to be right. She wanted opinions, and that's mine. That's all.

I'm just one guy, and I don't run the place. I just have to live here, and so do a lot of other people this could affect. That's all I'm saying. Things have been a real mess, lately, and I'd rather see them head up from here, instead of down.

[ichoosefight]

Well that was my two cents. Personally I don't feel qualified to say much more.

[fridgetothefire]

You and me are always going to be a little unusual for that, I think. More inmates come from lives where they were powerful than powerless.

[tucky]

... You got a point.

But that don't mean the Barge is supposed to be terrible for 'em.

[fridgetothefire]

The way I see it, people who've been ground down need to be lifted up. And people who've been stomping on other people need to get knocked down a bit.

The problem is, of course, almost all of us are some of both. But learning humility is - hard. It's fucking miserable sometimes. There's not much way around that.

[tucky]

You gotta go down to go up.

[She's pretty sure she's said something like that herself, once. A long time ago.]

Yeah. You're probably right. Only we don't gotta do it in a cruel way.

[fridgetothefire]

That's absolutely right.

And we can't do it in a safe way, not perfectly. But I don't think that means we shouldn't try at all.

[tucky]

Me either.

How long'd you take to graduate again?

[fridgetothefire]

Almost a year.

[tucky]

Do you think it would've taken longer if you felt like no one trusted you?