TLV - Graduations & Demotions

[bargemods]

GRADUATIONS & DEMOTIONS

Inmate graduation is a vital aspect of the game, and occasionally, warden demotion crops up in play as well. If you're planning to graduate your inmate or demote your warden in the near future, please fill out this short form!

Graduations and demotions are character decisions made at player discretion, but in the rare situation that we find ourselves concerned that a graduation or demotion is premise-breaking, the player will be contacted privately. Once we've read through a comment and confirmed that it doesn't contain anything premise-breaking, we'll reply with a confirmation.

Once a graduation comment has been confirmed, the warden of the graduating inmate should reply to their inmate's comment either confirming that their character will be fulfilling the deal laid out in their application, or - in situations where they changed their mind about their deal during their time in-game - receive a verdict about whether the new deal idea is doable.

GRADUATION

<b>Player Name</b>: <b>Character Name</b>: <b>Path to Graduation</b>: How have they changed while aboard the Barge, and what helped cause this change? What were their key milestones? What have they come to regret about their past, and what are they going to do differently now going forward? If they're going to be staying on as a warden, what do they have to offer an inmate? We're not looking for more than a paragraph or two of basic overview here, but if you'd like to TL;DR at us, feel free!

DEMOTION

<b>Player Name</b>: <b>Character Name</b>: <b>Path to Demotion</b>: What actions or choice(s) are causing their demotion, and how did they get to this point? What makes them no longer suited for wardenhood, and what issues will they need to work on as an inmate? We're not looking for more than a paragraph or two of basic overview here, but if you'd like to TL;DR at us, feel free!

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Comments

[blondfragility]

Player Name: Laus.

Character Name: Ken.

Path to Graduation: When Ken came to the Barge, he was stuck in the ideal created for him and unhappy with that, but unsure how to change it without extreme measures. It was the main point of his redemption that Ken should learn who he is and who he wants to be, that it's not always good to do things just because others are, and to develop healthier emotional responses. In the year that Ken's been here, he's come to demonstrate just that.

While others still refer to him sometimes (incorrectly) as a Barbie Doll, Ken has stopped associating himself with her internally. He has maintained a long length of time where he hasn't referred to himself as Barbie's Boyfriend in any way, and even has found a relationship that brings him genuine joy and fulfillment. Through this, Ken has taken a large step in pursuing his own happiness, as well as allowing himself to shed the confines of his creations. Ken's also stepped into trying new things, showing a willingness to genuinely learn (he can do laundry without the machine overflowing! he can sew! he's learned so many new songs besides Push!). He's asked a lot of questions of people around the Barge to help understand things more, and he's also shared his own, albeit unique, points of view. But even those things seem to help. On more than one occasion, Ken's inherent optimism has helped another see a point of view. It's been good for him to see that you don't need to resort to drastic measures to make a change for the better.

Most recently, Ken participated in a murder, which has honestly been the final push into understanding that being a follower is not always good. Having observed that it seems to be a common occurrence on the Barge, he assumed it was just a thing people did, and this was spurred on by several people encouraging it. It was a reality check to realize it was not a good thing, and despite the good intentions behind it, that didn't make it okay. It's caused Ken now to realize he should evaluate for himself, first. Even when doing the murder, he was second guessing himself. Following this, where Ken normally would have sulked and then not even thought about it anymore, he took the steps to reach out and apologize, understanding that it was okay if his apology wasn't accepted.

Moving forward, Ken's ready to return to Barbieland and try to inspire change a little more organically. He hopes that by showing them that it's okay to not Just Be Beach (or whatever you're "supposed" to be), and nothing bad is going to happen by stepping outside of that and trying something new. He's learned that new isn't scary, and new doesn't have to be bad, either. Because of this, he won't be staying on as a warden. He has important work to do back home!

[bargemods]

Unscreened! Please have Ken's warden comment here to confirm what his deal will be.

[ravenswrath]

Player Name: Kota
Character Name: Corvo
Path to Graduation: Corvo was never going to be a tough graduation. He is not a bad man. He’s simply ripped apart by grief and let his anger get the better of him. When he was able to get some perspective, everything started to fall into place.

His failed attempt at following someone else’s plan, by possessing other people, was picked apart by Jamie and Richter. His impact on Emily was picked apart by Richter. His impact on the city was picked apart by Jedao and Aerith. While they might not have realized what they did, they offered him a glimpse into a future he did not want for himself or his daughter. The Silent Hill event offered a unique chance for him to test all of the things that he had learned over the months into convincing someone else not to enact revenge.

Corvo is by no means perfect. He’s still an assassin and he feels some of his actions were justified. However, the death and destruction that he left behind are not worth the price of corrupting his daughter and the city he has come to call home, so he’s able to hone his skills a little better. He regrets the bloodshed and is eager to go home and help make amends. He wants to help rebuild the city back to its former glory.

This is the most important piece of his graduation. He wants to go back and he wants to help build instead of help destroy. He wants to make a better home for the people who matter to him - for all the people of Dunwall.

He thinks that he’s going to go home for a while, but he wants to bring Daud back. The man was a victim, just as he was, and that's the death he regrets the most. As a warden, he will be firm, but understanding. He’s never been the sort of person to lead, but that doesn’t mean he’s incapable. He’s the fatherly type and wants the best for whoever he’s working with. Making them the best possible version of themselves who do only the necessary amount of harm and are always cognizant of their impact on the world and the people around them.

[bargemods]

Unscreened! Please have Corvo's warden comment here to confirm what their deal will be.

[verticalwall]

Player Name: Chase
Character Name: Allan
Path to Graduation:
Allan's changed significantly, even if he's still the strange guy hovering in the background of every frame. This is largely due to being forcibly removed from his canon and being stuck examining himself, no longer skating by on what's normal and expected. Through the barge, he's learned a lot about himself: how being unique does not mean he's alone, and how clinging to ideals and things of the past isn't good if it's just comfort and also that just because things are the status quo doesn't mean it's always a good thing!

One of the biggest hurdles he needed to get over and learn coming in was that his actions have an impact, even if people--and Allan himself-- don't realize it. If he murders someone, even if he thinks it's for a good cause (sorry Silver!), that's not nessecarily the best course of action. People will get annoyed if you shove an audio device into their face without permission. Going from extremes, while it works in Barbieland, isn't the best course of option.

Allan's fundamental core has always been two things: one, that Ken is his person and two, that there's only one Allan. On the barge, after gaining a circle of friends apart from Ken --and being included in a secret society-- he's been nudged in a better direction. He now knows that he doesn't have to constantly follow Ken, and that it's actually better not to. Sometimes space is good! His existence isn't tied to one person, one way of life, one straight and narrow path that cannot deviate. Allan has actually learned to relax.

An incident with Kikimora -- and Eiffel's fantastic wardening sills throughout-- have made him realize that his opinions are valid, yes, but he can't bottle them up all the time until they explode. Allan has learned that there's a middle ground for everything. Passivity isn't good by itself and neither is micromanaging. Similarly, another big thing he's had to learn is that he can be a unique person with his own unique tastes. Eiffel caught that early, and has given him all the tools he needed to realize he can have his own fashion, his own likes, his own dislikes. That includes towel capes.

Ultimately, Allan has learned what he needs to. He's his own person, and that's okay. Being unique and being alone are two separate things--what he does and says matters, both good and bad. He's an Allan, but he's Kenough.

He's going to be graduating and leaving: he needs to help fix Barbieland, after all, and he's ready to track down Nsync the other Allans to reunite. Maybe when Barbieland is settled he'll be able to convince Ken to do some modeling part time in Malibu and work as his agent. He's developed a real fondness for lists and paperwork, after all.

[bargemods]

Unscreened! Please have Allan's warden comment here to confirm what his deal will be.

[idontcareillkillit]

Player Name: Siobhan
Character Name: Annie
Path to Graduation: Annie came to the barge with a higher body count than plenty of inmates, but still less to answer for than most. She was a child who'd raised herself from the age of six, and she did it by becoming a monster. Monsters on Annie's island (and nearby islands, see, King Kong) aren't evil. They're mostly metaphors, and when they're off the clock, they simply are, unique and weird but still just animals. Annie was vicious, Annie was ruthless, Annie was impulsive, but she wasn't acting out of malice. Just indifference.

Which was a defense mechanism on its own. After seeing the crew of her wrecked ship die in the storm that stranded them and hearing her father killed by a local beast, she didn't have the luxury of processing grief and trauma if she wanted to eat. She resigned herself. She teamed up with another lost orphan, the cub of the beast that killed her father, and both of their survival and thriving and contentment required that death just be a part of the world, a world that was cruel and fun and unrelenting and awesome.

Then she got kidnapped by shitheads on a boat, so she started fighting. And yeah, she killed some of them, same way she'd kill giant lizard monsters who fucked with her at home. And she made some friends and met her long-lost mom, and, like, she didn't want them to die, but she wasn't getting upset about it if and when they did. People die. Happens.

So landing on the barge, that was her first and biggest hurdle, and approaching it head on would meet something at least as powerful as engrained evil--teenage recalcitrance. Annie was redeemed an unwilling and unwitting inch at a time, first by people who didn't treat her as a dangerous freak of nature, then, simply, by getting used to a world with people in it. They grow on you. Her warden, the weirdos who wanted to hear about monsters or were at least good sports about the whole thing, people she could fight.

Annie could not write a five-paragraph essay on the value of human life. She is functionally illiterate. And also she doesn't care. But she lost that indifference, bit by bit, until the ship got hit by a big wave and crashed and she went around helping people live through it without a second thought.

Annie fully intends to go home and never talk to another person ever again. And maybe she will! But if her mind changes, or weirdos show up on her shore again, or she decides to go check on the big monkey, she'll be prepared, and that counts for something, too.

[bargemods]

Unscreened! Please have Annie's warden comment here to confirm what her deal will be.

[reviewstarlight]

Player Name: Kates
Character Name: Nana Daiba
Path to Graduation: During her time on the Barge, Nana learned to lessen some of those control freak tendencies. You may think you've got everything under control, but your actions end up hurting others or you could be acting on little information. Even if you think something is a good idea, it might not be wise to implement (or it might not be wise to implement by you—even the best idea can be a bit shit if you haven't fully thought it through).

She's also learned to be more open with people and lessen that idea of the picture perfect best friend Daiba Nana image that she's tried to convey. Nana's learned to let her true feelings show, even if they're ugly and combative, and has learned that people still like her even though she's not the picture perfect image she thinks she needs to be. People like you for you, what a shock!

[bargemods]

Unscreened! Please have Nana's warden comment here to confirm what his deal will be.

[onlyhearmusic]

Player Name: Aisu
Character Name: Dennis Collins
Path to Graduation: The biggest change Collins has undergone is that he has finally admitted that he enjoys the company of others. He has friends and people he cares about enough to protect. This is a huge step for him to allow himself to feel emotion, admit that it's real, and learn about compassion as a means to happiness rather than bloodletting. He's still working on being nice and helpful, but the biggest hurdle has been scaled and he's begun to settle and calm down a little. (He still hates the Barge, he will always hate the Barge, and this system sucks forever. But. He can be less murdery. A little.)

It began slowly but he developed attachments to the likes of Trevor and Sheehan, both of whom he killed in his fit of passion and rage towards events that left him feeling empty inside. Killing them did not help. In fact, it made it a little worse. Killing them broke their friendly relationship and caused him more unhappiness than he could have predicted. Thankfully, Trevor was forgiving enough to rekindle their friendship and that helped support Collins a long way. Collins also made an effort to change with Sheehan's help, and while that didn't quite pan out, it did at least show that he was willing to make an effort if given a reason. And Collins continues to try to listen to Sheehan even if they are on a more rocky terrain than before. Either way the two of them have definitely helped him come a long way.

Collins also has friendships with others like Sweeney and Astarion that are important to him. But the third biggest factor in Collins's change of heart has most definitely been Aerith. She has pushed all his buttons, forced hims to confront himself and his growing emotions, and always been there to have a good time with him and support him even as he threatened her life. In his most recent acting out of anger, the mere presence of Aerith caused Collins to abort his murderous intentions because he could not withstand the idea of hurting her in any way and eventually even admit that he could feel love for another person. This admittance is the final push to graduation for him as it led him to realize that she (and numerous others) is right about his capacity for emotion and caring for others has a reward, even when it is bittersweet sometimes, rather than just a weakness. It wasn't just an admittance that he could feel emotions, but that deep down he wants to feel them and live life with others around him for more than a night or two.

He has plenty more work to do and things to learn, but that's the biggest thing he's ever going to realize that will change his life around. He doesn't feel regret, not truly, for his past and all the lives he's taken as a contract killer. He doesn't even want to stop being a contract killer. But he does want to enjoy life to its fullest and he wants to care for and protect people in his life. He wants more than just another contract to fulfill.

Collins will be staying on as a warden. Less for the desire to help someone else out and more for selfish reasons. He will be quick to point that out as he hates what he considers the hypocrisy of all the altruistic wardens that claim not to have any stakes in having someone graduate. No, they get rewards and now Collins wants his. He doesn't see the point in going home until he has assurances. So he'll stick around for a deal. As for what he will bring to the table... honesty and freedom are the top two things I can think of. There will also be sympathy and understanding for those that did not agree to be here. He gets that. He won't coddle anyone but neither will he restrict them without being forced. He will punish an inmate due to it being the accepted practice here rather than a desire on his own part. He will listen and he will provide and he will treat it as a job and as such there is no room for failure. More than likely this will be a(nother) huge learning experience for him as much as any inmate that he's paired with.

[bargemods]

Unscreened! Please have Collins' warden comment here to confirm what his deal will be.

[themostfun]

Player Name: Alexis
Character Name: Root
Path to Graduation: While she's still stubborn and very, very loyal to her people and her cause, Root has gone from living with singular focus on those people and things to being able to look at the whole picture, to sit with the view, and to think beyond her immediate world and goals.

It took her a long time because so much of her life was built on her old views. They got her through her formative years in a town that never loved her, skyrocketed her into high status among fellow dark web criminals, and made life overall fun and comfortable. On her anniversary of arriving on the Barge, months after her first permanent warden disappeared, she realized she couldn't just stay here, stagnant, and doom Shaw to an eternity in limbo. Her determination to graduate went from plans to action. Facing things others saw about her that she was blind to would be painful, but it would be worth it.

Arthur was an excellent successor to Tim. Neither dismissed the Machine or Her personhood, but rather asked Root to think for herself. Caring about Arthur, talking with another god, being heard and helped without strings attached, being explicitly told the difference between codependency and partnership, challenged her tightly held views about how she could serve the Machine and Her mission. She does not need to die in Her service, and She does not need to live in a way that never puts anything or anyone ahead of the Machine. Rather, as the only god she believes in and loves, she can let herself be loved by this god. The Machine has always protected her; now, She can step back, and Root can take a step or several forward into her own life, and they can still be bound together, without restricting each other. It isn't all or nothing. It's work/life balance.

Also, she can talk about how afraid she is to lose Shaw without having to handcuff Shaw to a sturdy pipe to keep her safe. She can trust Shaw and the others (the Machine included) to have each other's backs, and Root herself can go with them. No need for self-sacrifice on any side. Teams work together. Families talk things out. And married people trust each other enough to lay out their fears and find better ways to deal with them than by making snap unilateral decisions.

Root grew up in her year+ on the Barge. The preteen who watched her friend get kidnapped, and the teenager who avenged her with murder, has learned the wisdom of waiting before acting-- maybe not to perfection, but she's determined to be better from here on out.

[bargemods]

Unscreened! Please have Root's warden comment here to confirm what his deal will be.

[notsoblackbeard]

Player Name: Cala
Character Name: Edward Teach
Path to Graduation:

Ed started out on the Barge as a warden, disappeared and came back canon-updated to an inmate (which he viewed as the Admiral cheating him out of his deal) and has spent the last year adjusting to the new developments in his canon life, accompanied by a major change in his attitude, which had become negative to an extreme extent.

He had needed to regain a more positive attitude and remember how unhappy he'd become with criminal/pirate life in general, and ultimately forgive Stede for rejecting him (not that Stede really did, at least not to the extent Ed perceived), which was corrected by Stede's appearance on the Barge, and although it took Ed a while to truly believe that, ultimately he did.

Back when Ed first confessed about murdering his father to Stede, part of the confession had been that he'd told people he witnessed the kraken (a legendary sea monster) killing his dad, telling Stede: 'I am the kraken,' with that being his greatest fear: that he was the monster he believed himself to be, with that becoming a reality in this canon update, even calling himself 'The Kraken' rather than Blackbeard. So basically, he had needed to stop believing he was a monster, which would help him stop acting like one, and he's finally achieved that, although he still doesn't like the Admiral much. Despite that dislike, he'll stay on as a warden (albeit a somewhat cynical one) for as long as Stede is stuck here .

[bargemods]

Approved! Please have his warden comment here with his deal.

[falkeditupagain]

Player Name: Ian
Character Name: Hanna Falk Cross
Path to Graduation:

When Hanna first arrived on the Barge he was a bit PO’d that he'd been selected as an Inmate. He didn't believe that anything he'd ever done would discredit him enough to not be a warden, especially with the Wardens he had already encountered on board. He felt he needed to keep his shit to himself, and attempted to circulate ridiculous rumors so no one would question his sometimes odd behavior. He generally refused offers of help, didn’t make any attempt at future planning and tried to accomplish most everything by himself rather than considering asking a friend along. With his complete lack of self worth, valuing anyone and everything else over himself in the event that he needed to fix, save or protect anyone, he thought any harm to himself was fine, so long as he managed to make some kind of difference. When faced with mistakes past or present, he attempts to dismiss his own faults or minimizes the harm that he might have caused, going so far as to ignore it completely or try to convince himself that if he could fix what he’d done it would be like it never happened .

Each lesson needed multiple passes before it stuck but the first big leap came when Hanna summoned the Otherworld onto the barge. It was the first time that he had been forced to face something he’d done that harmed other people on a scale wider than ever before and was unable to sweep it under the rug. He had to ask Vincent for help to fix it, had to share a part of himself so that his price to fix it, in his mind, was paid fairly and held himself accountable for his own actions. It also planted the seed of self worth when David sacrificed himself so that Hanna could get out. Even if it had hurt to watch him die, he couldn’t ignore what he’d given for him all because he believed Hanna when he said he could stop the nightmare .

Coming off a rather stupid death that could have been easily avoided after the cruise disaster, Hanna is struck by the fact that Vincent cared enough to keep an eye on his corpse, trying not to look the effort straight on. When he discovers Conrad on the Narrenschiff shortly after and still tolling, he is finally forced to talk to him plainly, surprised that he had died(again), and isn’t able to ignore Conrad’s vampirism or the fact that not warning him or even telling him anything he knew about vampires had led to his second death. He apologizes sincerely and stops trying to pretend like what he’d done was fixable, asking rather than telling Conrad if he can help him try to leave the Narrenschiff. On the return back to the Barge, Hanna manages to make plans with multiple people in an effort to ‘rescue’ some of the crew onto the Barge, and even though it doesn’t work and he blames himself for the failure, David reassures him that the effort was worth it and he was thankful that he still tried.

A big push comes unexpectedly through grief as the holidays approach. The dawnlight, something that Hanna would normally never feel comfortable participating in, finds him valuing help over his own secrets, finding that the ones he decides to share them with take that information with the weight and respect that one should expect, but Hanna never does. With the door cracked open, he manages to admit to Sheehan what actually happened to him, a story he’s never had the chance to tell before with a captive, understanding audience, and while it makes him uncomfortable, it paves the way for sharing with it with a few others, including returning the removed part of his file to Taylor so that she can finally get the full picture rather than the pieces that came after.

A string of disappearances on the barge push Hanna into hiding, trying to keep himself from reacting badly to people he’s starting to accept actually care about him, but when David leaves a letter behind, something to hold onto after he’s gone, it does more help than hurt. Encouraged to find a place to be proud of stopping, Hanna finally admits why he doesn’t seem to care what happens to him, and despite his hesitancy to change it, accepts that it’s not right and that he’ll think about how thinking that way hurts the people who care about him.

The final push comes in the Cat King murdering Hanna for all his perceived slights, some small, some irrational, and Hanna can’t help but try and bargain with him to try and prevent it. The value of himself in this equation is still small, but paired with how he knows what is going to happen to him will hurt and affect the people who care about him, he’s desperate to change his mind. And when that doesn’t work, and he’s laid up in bed with terrible pain, he has to think about the price he paid for something so incredibly stupid and worthless, for the first time in years getting angry on behalf of himself and how he was treated. The numbers can’t add up, and he promises that he won’t let it happen again if he can help it, taking both the threat of reoffense and his own safety seriously.

Hanna is staying on as a warden now that he’s graduated and is of the mentality that monsters are not things, they exist as actions and that everyone has the capacity for them, but they also have the capacity to do great things. Despite his fumbling as a detective, Hanna is extremely dedicated and does not half ass tasks when they are asked of him, unwavering and borderline obnoxious in his tenacity. He’s also a good negotiator, and while he’s nice, he’s not a push over and his experiences have definitely given him the ability to look at things from a number of different angles most might not. Hanna’s self esteem is still growing, and while his empathy was never a problem that could be fixed, he at least will be practicing it with his own self factored in, and that’s certainly a world's difference away from where he started.

[bargemods]

Approved! Please have his warden comment here with her deal.

[atowncalledtreffy]

Player Name: Allison
Character Name: Trevor Belmont
Path to Demotion: Trevor's had a few close calls in the past during his not-exactly-stellar warden career. He hands out weapons to inmates regardless of what their wardens (or sometimes in spite of their wardens) would say; he's burned down the chapel, and his latest debacle of beating up Max (an inmate) when Max had not been fighting back pushed him too far over the edge.

He needs to learn how to control his temper (especially when it comes to violence and destruction of property), how to work with other wardens productively instead of striking out on his own, and to trust said other wardens to do right by their inmates or investigating, instead of assuming he knows what's right and being stubborn to the point of self-destruction.

Additional details here

[bargemods]

Unscreened!

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Player Name: Kota
Character Name: Jacob Seed
Path to Graduation:

Jacob's bad behavior really peaked during the Hilbert-brainwashing incident, and he managed to recover from it, and even provided Hilbert with the way to reverse it before the doctor left. He hit a lot of lows and plateaus past that, but once he was able to really dismantle his relationship with his brothers, everything started to fall into place. He realized that he didn't need to be his brother's sacrifice. He understood that he had been used, but now he has the resources and confidence to say that it was wrong. He still loves Joseph, but he knows that he can never go back to him. He understands how toxic he was and he understands that he mourns more for the boy that he left behind, rather than the man who he became. He also wants to reconcile his relationship with John, as he can see how they were both used. Through other people, other relationships, he was able to find his own path. He began to see that he does deserve to have a future, and that he can help other people do the same thing. He’s not really sure that he wants to continue on to be a warden, but he does have a lot of strength and experience in leading people. And while it was in the wrong direction before, that doesn’t mean he’s out here to repeat mistakes.

[bargemods]

Confirmed! Please have Jacob's warden comment here to confirm what his deal will be.

[caycay]

Player Name: Danielle
Character Name: Cater Diamond
Path to Graduation: Cater arrived on the Barge after reaching a critically low point in his life. Ruled by his fear of loss and perpetually aimless, he only kept friends as far as it was convenient for him--because to allow anything further was to accept that he may get hurt. He only ever let people see him the way he wanted to be seen: just a cute, funny guy, a party boy, a shallow clout-chaser who shouldn't be trusted with responsibility. Throughout his time on the Barge, though, he's learned to be more open with himself. Most importantly, he allow himself to let people in--and falling in love with his fellow inmate and classmate has resolved him to approach a second chance at life with renewed purpose. For the longest time, he didn't consider going back a serious option, because he couldn't imagine the struggle would be worth it. Now, he'd like to return home with Idia so they can face the future together, for better or for worse.

[bargemods]

Confirmed! Please have Cater's warden comment here to confirm what her deal will be.

(Mods, thank you for the two wonderful years here!)

[hikikomortis]

Player Name: Ki
Character Name: Idia Shroud
Path to Graduation: When Idia arrived on the Barge, he lashed out at everyone in grief and rage, wanting only to die to be with his brother in the afterlife. He saw no value in his own life, blaming himself for Ortho's death, and rejected any chance at happiness as he felt undeserving for his "selfishness" that led to tragedy.

In his time on the Barge, he has found connection with other people. Though he'll always be introverted and shy, he made friends and slowly discovered that others can see good in him. This opened him up to seeing good in himself, a value beyond his mechanical skills: his value as a person. Little ways of reaching out, such as talking more in person instead of hiding on the network, bloomed into genuine bonds that he has discovered that he cherishes. Yes, he found a boyfriend in a longtime acquaintance from home, but he has realized that other bonds made on the Barge are ones that he would and will miss when they're apart. Xie Lian might not be his warden anymore after graduation, but he will always be Idia's elder brother now. Sweeney is a confidant and good friend, and Idia truly hopes he finds happiness and peace one day.

Idia has come to regret his hasty and emotional collapse that nearly led him to global genocide. Though he will always grieve his brother, he has seen that life does go on after loss, and that the pain is lessened when shared rather than held inside. He and Cater can support each other, having realized that they have more in common than they ever imagined in three years at school together. Idia plans to continue with what Xie Lian taught him about meditation, swordplay, and mindfulness. He also has a renewed drive to research breaking his family's curse, once thought to be hopeless, while also seeking ways to mitigate its effects in the meantime.

<3

[bargemods]

Confirmed! Please have Idia's warden comment here to confirm what his deal will be.

[fifthofthecovenant]

Player Name: Gail
Character Name: Chase Collins
Path to Graduation: Chase will admit, both to himself and in public, that he has friends (Yelena and Wen Ning; he's less likely to admit to anyone else, but it is still a big step!). He has taken responsibility for one of his own very big mistakes, and tried to correct it (the spider explosion). He has confronted the idea that he does kind of want to die, and been confronted with the idea that there are people who don't want him to die (Yelena, Wen Ning, and Ashton). He's aware of how much he actually does hate himself for turning himself into a monster, in his own words, but he's had the two most important people in his Barge life (Yelena and Wen Ning, again) both basically say he's not that much of a monster and not be particularly shocked by his kill count of four, three of which were mostly accidental. He's not sure he believes them, but their lack of reaction helped him learn he's not that special.

Most importantly, he's also decided that he kind of doesn't want to die anymore. Talking to Yelena's mother and putting up his own 4th wall message that resulted in not hearing from his parents at all proved to him just how much he misses them, and how he wants to see them even if they do wind up hating him for killing them and then murdering more people to get them back. This is the thing he really needed to be able to move on: being willing to actually have a future, and be willing to stick to that future even if that future isn't the one he most wants.

He still has other things to work through, such as his addiction to magic and that he still has problems being empathetic and compassionate with people he doesn't know well. However, as he fully intends to stay on as a warden, he knows he has to work on at least the second one of those, and he will do so, as much because he does want to be worthy of his parents' forgiveness as because he figures it'll be necessary to help other inmates.

The things he has to offer to an inmate are... admittedly limited. Mostly right now, they sum up to his experiences as an inmate, wanting to die out of guilt and fear but learning to accept love anyway, and issues with magic. As he is going to be continuing to work on himself to make himself a better person, though, he will be able to work alongside an inmate to help them with similar issues to the ones he has. He won't work well with all inmates, but he doesn't have to: he just needs to work well with one, in the end.

[bargemods]

Approved! Please have Chase's warden comment here to finalize their deal.

[handleyourshit]

Player Name: A.J.
Character Name: Rosita Espinosa
Path to Graduation: Rosita came in as someone who is genuinely a good person who has had her trust and loyalty abused and tested past the point she was able to bear. This, plus both the fact that survival in her world requires brutal and often violent decisions and the sheer scale of grief and loss attached to that, left her overwhelmingly angry and unwilling to follow her own set of morals or to even think in ways that would avoid hurting others if not killing them outright. She needed space to heal and process, but also someone willing to hold her accountable when she starts to color outside her own lines, and she found that in her pairing with Godric.

She also found an unwavering loyalty to not only the person she is but that she could be as the best version of herself in Jesus, and people loyal to her and willing to let her make mistakes without abandoning her or caring about her less in Jacob and Astarion. Despite some lingering friction with others around her due to, again, the sheer size and scale of her trauma and the way she's learned to rely on herself over others, this combination of factors was enough to shift her from passively suicidal and blatantly hostile in her pain and back towards thinking in a way that supports others rather than automatically isolates her from them.

[bargemods]

Confirmed! Please have Rosita's warden comment here to confirm what his deal will be.

[sixfeetofdirt]

Player Name: Naomi
Character Name: Astarion Ancunin
Path to Graduation:

A big chunk of Astarion's development has been linked to just spending time around people who he couldn't really use in a transactional sense - with his material needs met and his ability to protect himself restored, he's ended up making a few friends for its own sake, which is novel. Over time a couple of these have developed into much stronger relationships, and he's been learning a lot about the give and take that love involves.

His main issue - his thirst for power and control over others as a source of security - has pretty much crumbled. During the Chromatique breach, he had the opportunity to see what happens to him when he's able to access the power that something like Profane Ascension would offer, and the answer is: ...not enough? He still hated himself, he was capable of doing terrible things to people he claimed to love, and ultimately it didn't even keep him safe. If he didn't have some solid relationships and sounding boards, it would have been easy for him to spiral into full-on existential despair, but fortunately he's been kept away from that. Instead, he's been cautiously trying to work out what happiness and a safe, sustainable future does look like, if not...that.

The other stick point - his tendency to stab first and ask questions never - has been much more recently digested. He brushed off his warden's attempt to challenge him on pre-emptive violence, but enough of the conversation got under his skin that he took the topic elsewhere. He's realised now that this instinct isn't about pragmatism or even self-defence, but simply about raw fear, and this is something he no longer wants to indulge.

He's still kinda fucked up. He's still prone to both vanity and self-loathing, and maintains a very selective approach to empathy and selflessness. He won't stab anyone as a preventive measure but he will absolutely knock their ass out instead of trying to talk them down. As a warden, he'll be focused on his inmate but other inmates (and, frankly, most wardens) aren't going to get much out of him.

[bargemods]

Approved! Please have Astarion's warden comment here to finalize his deal.