people like us, we don't need that much

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 )

( 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 )

[audio]

Um-- hey. I was wondering if a warden could go to my room, and get me my iPod and my Bible-- 'cause I ain't in there right now, I'm in the infirmary. Maybe a pack of cards, too; that'd be good.

[She sounds woozy and tired, but surprisingly calm; in good spirits, even. She and Merlin were both killed by kaiju, it had been traumatic, and she's death-tolling-- but she's tired of panicking and stressing about death. Even though she's more used to the idea now, it still bugs her a lot when she thinks about it, so she's actively trying not to do that. It's working pretty well, all things considered. She's not in denial about it the way she used to be, but she's careful to keep her mind focused on other things.

The toll itself sucks, though. It feels kind of like getting the flu after being run over by a steamroller.]

My head ain't right for poker or anything, but if anyone wants to play... I don't know, like Go Fish or something, you can come on down. I wanna see y'all, 'cause I think I'm gonna be stuck in here for a little bit. But that's only if I like you; if I don't, you can fuck off.

... And I also want everybody to know that my warden saved my life.

[And then she'd died right after, but that's not the important part.]

When we were still normal, he said he'd fight monsters for me, and he did. I know we thought we was different people and everything, but I think it still counts for something. He's a hero. A real hero.

[There's a smile in her voice; there's pride. She's been called a hero herself before, by her misguided fan club back at home. But she's never had anyone be a hero for her-- at least, not in the traditional way, where they physically defended her in the face of evil. She doesn't consider herself defenseless by any means, but being protected-- being valued like that-- is such a good feeling, and she's tickled pink by it. She's pushing the fact that he actually died in the process out of her mind, and just focusing in on the good.]

I just wanted to say that. That's all.

[Feed off.]

[spam, all week]

[She'll be staying at the infirmary throughout the worst of her death toll, spending most of her time in bed. For the first few days, she'll be lying down a lot: listening to her music, occasionally chatting up visitors and clinic staff, and when she's not too sore or nauseous, trying to recruit people to play cards with her (simple, easy games that don't require a lot of thought or quick movement). As the days go on and she starts feeling better, she'll sit up in bed more, and even get up and move around some. By the fifth day, she'll still be feeling the death toll's affects, but they'll be lessened and she'll be ready to go. But if by that point Merlin's still in and doesn't feel the same way, she'll stick around until he's ready to leave too. Solidarity.]

[OOC: Merlin gets blanket rights to pop into action threads and overhear her side of audio/video phone stuff, even locked conversations! Others who are working/staying in the infirmary can do this too, if they want. If you want your character to talk to Tiffany but want them to say something Merlin/others shouldn't overhear, we can have them do it in text, or set the conversation at a time when people are sleeping and/or not around.]