returnjourneynet | text | UN: waver.v || & action || forward-dated to Feb. 07

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text | UN: waver.v || & action || forward-dated to Feb. 07

I suppose I should give an introduction as well, since I've just arrived, though I'll admit right out I'm not much for talking about myself. I'm a new Warden, my name is Waver Velvet. I'm from London, which I hope is a recognizable name to people out there. I know that we're all meeting here from different corners of the universe.

Ice breakers do seem a bit awkward in a situation like this, don't they. It feels out of place to say something like "I can't wait to get to work" or "I'm glad to be here". So I'll just say that I'm here to help in whatever way I can. Back home, I'm a professor, and I'd rather handle this position as a teacher rather than an actual warden. I am looking forward to meeting everyone and doing whatever I'm able to.

WARDEN FILTER
I'd rather meet my new coworkers face to face than over this, so I'll be in the lounge going over my materials at Warden Command if anyone cares to chat. But over this is fine as well. I'm not picky.

[Action tags welcome for any Warden who cares to meet. Waver will be sitting at one of the open-air tables looking over his communicator with a cup of coffee. He has a lot of reading to do, so better get that caffeine flowing. Right now, he's going over any inmate information he can access, and is taking some notes. He's planning to hit up the library later to check out books from and about their homelands, to get a better idea of where these people are coming from.]

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[Right. A coincidence. Absolutely had to be. The alternative didn't make sense. Just someone with a weird sense of humor. Or edgy parents.]

I-- see. Sorry. Rude of me.

[Maybe he can get this back on track. He clears this throat.] Have you been assigned an inmate? I just got here, but I had volunteered to take on one I spoke with, at least temporarily. Hopefully I'm not being too presumptuous doing that so soon.

It's not very often people apologize for being rude to the Devil.

[ Oh no, he absolutely is the Devil!!! ]

And no, I haven't been assigned one yet. I want to talk to a few of them first, see if I can build a rapport with anyone. That's very important to the therapeutic relationship.

[Well he did want to talk about work but that's over and done with now.

When you're a mage you think you've seen it all, but then this happens. Someone claiming to the the Devil talking up the benefits of therapy.]

I-- That-- That cannot possibly be true.

[Says the guy who became BFFs with Alexander the Great in 1996.]

It can't?

[ Lucifer tucks his flask back into his jacket pocket, raising his eyebrows at his companion. ]

You can teach magic, but I can't be the Devil?

No--!

[His temper's getting the better of him in the face of this absurdity.]

First of all, what interest would the Devil have in rehabilitating supposed criminals. Secondly, what could the Admiralty possibly have to offer that the Devil couldn't get by himself. And thirdly, I cannot help but think that if the Devil did exist, he'd probably find something better to do with himself.

First of all, I was rehabilitated, and now I choose to pay it forward and rehabilitate others. Second of all, I don't need anything - I'm here because I want to be. Helping wayward souls is my calling. And finally, I can't think of anything better to do with my time than helping others. Do you disagree? After all, you're here, too.

[ Lucifer is not angry, by contrast. He's used to people not believing he's who he says he is. He may be a little surprised by the vehemence of this stranger, but his response is calm, reasonable. His expression is open, frank. ]

S-Sorry, I-- [Waver was embarrassed by his outburst, his face red and his expression getting more sheepish as Lucifer's explanation went on. It still seemed so far-fetched, but he was so... calm and measured about this.]

Yes, I'm here but I'm not-- [He's not anyone. He's a nobody. An absolute nobody. Here Waver thought he did too many bad things in his past to be considered a candidate for a warden, and now here's the Devil.]

I'm just someone who foolishly said yes to their offer without thinking it through. I...

It's just. It's a lot. [Maybe it was time for one of those minibar drinks after all.]

[ Well. It's becoming clear that some of the wardens probably need as much help as the inmates. It's not totally surprising. Everyone needs help, sometimes. ]

What makes you think it was foolish?

[Oh this guy needs a ton of his own help, but Waver isn't concerned with that. Not his job.

Waver sighs quietly, propping his chin with his arm leaned on the bar.]

While I think the job is important, I do feel like being offered basically whatever someone want in return seems... I don't know how much I trust it. I suppose I'll find out if I do a good enough job here.

Edited (words are hard) 2022-02-06 21:34 (UTC)

Speaking as the one who invented the art of the deal - this one is far from the worst I've seen. I was prepared to come here with no reward - Navarch simply insisted I name my price. That suggests to me more a strong sense of fairness, rather than any ulterior motive.

However, it will be interesting to see if they can actually fulfill the reward.

They're clearly powerful enough to pull off-- a lot. [Present company included.] More than I expected. But even so, I think it's just as much can they as it is will they.

[He's quiet a moment, thinking on his own windfall, and how it's probably going to be impossible to fill. He has a back up just in case, but he's holding out hope. He has to keep hope.

Waver pushes aside his mostly unfinished mug of coffee and, against his better judgement, decides to grab a some whiskey at the minibar. He'd rather a smoke, but he doesn't know if and when that supply can get refilled yet.]

So, you did ask for a reward then? Or are you speaking in general. You don't have to tell me what it is, if you did. [He considers it pretty personal. His is.]

Indeed, can they may be as big a question as will they.

[ Lucifer isn't especially bothered by it, but undoubtedly some - maybe even most - of the other wardens have requests that involve far higher stakes than what he's got. ]

I asked for a minor token, because they insisted I should be rewarded. So my stake in it is low. No one's life is on the line, for instance.

[ Minor, but yes, very personal. You have not yet reached the friendship level necessary to unlock his tragic backstory, sorry. ]

[If Waver has it his way, no one will ever find out what he asked for, period.

He nods, taking a sip of his drink.]

I'm already pretty concerned about the inmates here. I haven't talked to many yet, but one I spoke with said he felt unsafe as there already have been fights. Keeping them together in a big open area like that... What did the Admiralty think was going to happen?

[Ever see the show Oz? It shouldn't be used as an instruction manual.]

Oh, someone already tried to cut my throat with an improvised weapon.

[ He says this matter-of-factly, in fact a little amused at the memory. He's clearly none the worse for wear. ] We'll need to be vigilant about those.

Still, what would the better alternative be? Keeping them caged like animals? Or their own private suites? Once they have a warden assignment they'll have a bit more privacy. Some will always find ways to pick fights, no matter what we do or how we accommodate them.

[He looks surprised for a moment, until he realized he shouldn't be. Prisoners. We're dealing with prisoners here.]

Are we going to have to do shakedowns of their quarters? They shouldn't be calling us wardens, we're going to just end up as guards.

I guess all we can do is see if we can get they matched up with wardens faster. But some of these people... [Mentally comparing just the two prisoners he met so far, and how they couldn't be more different.] Some are so incredibly dangerous, and some are just... people. People who made some heavy mistakes. It'd be like putting in someone who got a minor DUI in a cell with someone who's in for mass genocide.

They're all people who've made mistakes.

[ Lucifer's tone is gentle, however - he's not being snippy or anything. Just sort of gently trying to course-correct. ]

Some mistakes are definitely worse than others, but they all have the potential to do better. We just have to keep them all safe - from each other, and from themselves - until they decide if that's what they want to do. And if I need to play the muscle once in a while, I suppose I can manage. Since they can't do anything to hurt me.

Yeah... [Anxiety is tough, and it's made worse by being day one on what was shaping up to be the toughest job he's had yet.]

Establishing trust between not just us and them, but between the inmates themselves... That's the most important thing. But getting there is going to be so difficult. They didn't sign up for this, we did.

[Waver stares into his glass, running a finger idly around the rim.]

I do honestly what to help them. To get them out of here. But how are they going to believe that?

Fortunately, this isn't a new problem for me. My patients have to accept the fact that they're dead, and in Hell, and that the Devil wants to help them get out. That's quite a lot for some of them to deal with, before we even get into their more personal issues.

[ So. ]

It's a long process. You have to be prepared to be here for several years, at least. If these were easy cases, if it was likely they could be rehabilitated in their home worlds, they wouldn't be here. Gaining any level of trust with them is going to take time, and you have to be willing to prove your trustworthiness. You may have to open up parts of yourself to them that you'd rather keep hidden.

[ He pauses a beat. ]

Also, one of them - Mr Volk? Has given me quite the little list of demands. I told him I'd bring it to the other wardens - so I will. We'll discuss them. Some of them may even be actionable.

[Years. He wondered if he had years to spend doing this. But if it'd get him his windfall, and truly help at least one inmate, he'd try as long as it takes.

At least he gets distracted from the horrible idea of needing to open up to prisoners by the mentioning of a certain one. He perks up.]

Volk did? Yes, I'd like to see them. Absolutely. I'm taking him on as my inmate. Temp to start, but most likely permanently. [All this on his first day. No time wasted.]

You don’t shy away from a challenge, I’ll give you that. Respect.

[ Whether that decision winds up being a good one, for either Waver or Volk, remains to be seen. But that he’s willing to jump in and try, it impresses Lucifer.

He pulls his CommLink out of his jacket, poking around on it. ]

I’ll send it to you. It’s quite long. And much of it makes very little sense to me. I’m sure partly because I’m new here, because I’m not human and don’t really know what humans need to thrive, and some of it is undoubtedly Volk’s own deep-seated denial.

[ He sends it to Waver, nonetheless. He is and remains, a Devil of his word. ]

Thanks. It's a serious job, I just want to treat it as such.

[He takes his comm to look over the posts, and Lucifer isn't kidding when he says it's long. And there's video in here too... He's going to have to go through this more thoroughly later. He can't help but look a little bit heart broken reading it. Volk had him concerned already, and now there's this.]

He's... not wrong. Not entirely. But, he maintains over and over again that he didn't know why he's here. It might be denial, but either way, he believes it. He really doesn't know.

Indeed. People mired in denial often firmly believe what they say. I speak from long and intimate personal experience.

[ Yes hello, guess who spent thousands of years wallowing in denial? Oh yeah, this guy! ]

We have to make sure he doesn't find out what's in his file yet, he's in a too... [Delicate? Mentally unstable?] ... precarious state currently to have that all dropped on him. But without knowing, it's hard to get anyone to aim for a graduation goal of they don't know why they're here.

[Waver gives in, teaching into his inside jacket pocket and taking out a small cigarette case and a pack of matches. He didn't want to light up so soon after arriving, since he didn't know how long it would be until he got more, but he needs it now.]

I suppose it'll be on me. Talk it out until something in him clicks.

In my experience, there’s often a wide gulf between one’s actions and the root cause of them, anyway. For instance, I knew why my Father cast me out of Heaven. That was never in question. My failed rebellion wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t really why I was in Hell for so long, trapped in a cycle of self-sabotage.

[ Lucifer shrugs. ]

Figuring that out took me a very long time indeed.

[Waver can't help but chuckle good-naturedly at that example, and this whole absurd situation. How did his life get this way?]

Not the most relatable story, but I get what you're saying. Suppose I'm going to be in the library a lot here. Some things don't change. Hope I have the time to pick through their collection on magic while I'm picking up things on psychological counselling.

[While he's still a bit skeptical on this whole Lucifer thing, Waver's curious about something now. He looks at him, thinking a moment.]

What caused the change of heart?

text | UN: waver.v || & action || forward-dated to Feb. 07

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sorry for those random typos, i phone tag too much

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