TLV - Warden/Inmate Pairings

[bargemods]

WARDEN/INMATE PAIRINGS

Post here if you are in need of either an Inmate or a Warden!

All pairings will occur on the 15th and 30th of each month, with temporary pairings going up on the 15th. By default, characters will only be eligible for a temporary pairing after their first full month in-game, though you may request an earlier pairing date if you wish. If you have preferences, speak to the player in question that you want to be paired with before posting a full request. Both players must approve of a pairing before we'll finalize it (a good way to do this is have one put "Attn: Mods" in the comment subject and list the pairing with full names and desired pairing date in the comment body, and then have the other person respond to it with "confirming"). Please fill out the pairing form here so we have your character's full name and information.

PAIRING FORM

<b>Character Name:</b> <b>Character Journal:</b> <b>Status:</b> Warden or Inmate <b>Pairing Information:</b>

Next Assignments: 6/15/25

Unpaired Wardens
Aerith Gainsborough // planetdialup
Archer // anti_altruisms
Chase Collins // fifthofthecovenant
Edward Teach // notsoblackbeard
Elim Rawne // major_rawne
Hannah Finch // datgirl
Hythlodaeus // modestpurpose
Fizzarolli // foolforlust
Misty Quigley // citizendetective
Norton Folgate // pharadyne
Oscar // unilaterallydisarming
Red XIII/Nanaki // cosmomemoryxiii
Rosita Espinosa // handleyourshit
Samwise Gamgee // droppinnoeaves
Sha Gojyo // cigsandbeer
Shuos Mikodez // packhounds
Thara Celehar // witnessforthedead
Ulla // neverwaitslong
Vaggie // xangel
Vash the Stampede // love_and_peace
Wen Ning // verynormalturnipseller
Wiktor Szulski // flawmaturge
Zack Fair // colorofthesky

Unpaired Inmates
Ciel Phantomhive // thespareone
David Collins // hostileterritory
Enver Gortash // closeyourfist
Erskine Ravel // golden_ratio
Frank Castle // smackdab
Gale Dekarios // karsiteweave
Gemini de Mille // stretchy_girl
Iago // knowmyplace
Madelyne Pryor // queenofechoes
Matt Murdock // trustinthedevil
Nancy Downs // theweirdos
Qetzi'ah Morrison // rou_gui
R // keephersafe
Vauhan Istradez // droppedstitch

Current Temporary Warden and Inmate Assignments
(If you wish to opt out of temporary pairings, or opt out of being matched with specific characters, don't forget to post here)

Edward Teach // notsoblackbeard and Erskine Ravel // golden_ratio
Sam Walls // yosemitevamp and Armand // howheendures
Fizzarolli // foolforlust and Enver Gortash // closeyourfist
Misty Quigley // citizendetective and Frank Castle // smackdab
Norton Folgate // pharadyne and Matt Murdock // trustinthedevil
Oscar // unilaterallydisarming and David Collins // hostileterritory
Shuos Mikodez // packhounds and Iago // knowmyplace
Thara Celehar // witnessforthedead and Gale Dekarios // karsiteweave
Ulla // neverwaitslong and R // keephersafe
Vaggie // xangel and Ciel Phantomhive // thespareone
Vash the Stampede // love_and_peace and Vauhan Istradez // droppedstitch
Wiktor Szulski // flawmaturge and Nancy Downs // theweirdos

Inmates Currently Without a Temporary or a Permanent Warden
(Inmates under the jurisdiction of the Monitors of Unpaired Inmates)
Gemini de Mille // stretchy_girl
Madelyne Pryor // queenofechoes
Qetzi'ah Morrison // rou_gui

Current Permanent Warden and Inmate Assignments
(Alphabetical by Warden)

●	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	●
I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R
●	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z	●

#

A

→ Abel // inthebiblicalsense
  ↳ Fitz Kreiner // everythinglost
→ Anduin Llane Wrynn // bythelight
  ↳ Astarion Ancunín // sixfeetofdirt
→ Arthur Lester // lestercraft
  ↳ Sokie Undertown // weirdnecro
→ Avalon // chaos_drifter
  ↳ Cheradenine Zakalwe // weaponuser

C
→ Cho Hakkai // reformedsinner
  ↳ Sebastian Michaelis // untiltheend

D
→ D'Vana Tendi // notthatkindoforion
  ↳ Stede Bonnet // the_gentleman_pyrate
→ Dennis Collins // onlyhearmusic
  ↳ Trevor Belmont // atowncalledtreffy

E

F
→ Florian Leickenbloom // a_titanium
  ↳ Thrawn // artistinexile
→ Fred Burkle // supercompacted
  ↳ Cloud Strife // nimbuster

G

H
→ Hanna Falk Cross // falkeditupagain
  ↳ The Cat King // countthecats

I
→ Iris Wildthyme // routemistress
  ↳ Eric Northman // bythenorthsea

J
→ Jacob Seed // weaponwithoutapurpose
  ↳ Cain // reargunner
→ James "Bucky" Barnes // worthallthis
  ↳ Yelena Belova // musicdied
→ James Fitzjames // endofvanity
  ↳ Feldspar // getfeldsparred
→ Jedao Two // deuceoftears
  ↳ Justine Florbelle // todayiwas
→ John Doe // greatoldjohn
  ↳ Ashton Carver // anashthetic
→ Julian Bashir // surgeryandsarcasm
  ↳ Steven Universe // inthepink

K

L
→ Lahabrea // abyssalflames
  ↳ Kadaj // brattyremains
→ Lark Tennant // ukan
  ↳ Vincent Smith // monsterstoyou
→ Lester Sheehan // heyboss
  ↳ Max Thompson Jr. // killingtool

M
→ Magdalene Grace Garcia // talesuntold
  ↳ Mad Sweeney // madaboutit
→ Malcolm Bright // abrightboy
  ↳ Walter Tattersall // forensicks

N

O

P
→ Paul "Jesus" Rovia // hippie_ninja
  ↳ Yazoo // slingingbullets

Q

R

S
→ Sam Walls // yosemitevamp
  ↳ Armand // howheendures
→ Sameen Shaw // cactusy
  ↳ Angeal Hewley // weartearrust
→ Steve Rogers // punched_hitler
  ↳ Laura Moon // thedeadgirl

T

→ Taylor "Skitter" Hebert // skitter
  ↳ Angel Dust // harderdaddy

U

V
→ Vincent Valentine // coffinturk
  ↳ Katie Slape // gulling

X
→ Will Graham // empathicfault
  ↳ Wu Xin/Ye Anshi // skybeyondsky

X
→ Xigbar // brokenallthelaws
  ↳ Ilde // erbier

Y
→ Yennefer of Vengerberg // violetchaos
  ↳ Pyotr Verkhovensky // mukha

Z
→ Zerxus Ilerez // withintenfeet
  ↳ Kahl // takestime
→ Zhao Yunlan // wildguardian
  ↳ Sephiroth // sefirot

Last Updated: 5/30/2025

directory • rules • ic faq • ooc faq • setting • potential applications • requests • pairings • cabins • jobs • calendar • contact

Comments

[golden_ratio]

Character Name: Erskine Ravel
Character Journal: golden_ratio
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information:

When thrown into a new situation, or any situation, Erskine will do what he's best at: working to get along with people. The lying and manipulation is thrown in for free. He'll do his best to give off the image he's cultivated for centuries, because he's had centuries to practice. He doesn't have any clear plans for the future, which is a big shift from what's driven him for the last few centuries. His life is weird enough that he's very unlikely to be thrown off by any flood or breach, he's mainly concerned with being as social as possible. He genuinely likes people, and it's useful to be liked. He does his best to get along with people, and he's good at hiding that he holds grudges. Meeting people from worlds that have suffered from environmental disasters or whose people are oppressed with make him feel even more justified.

Ravel will never deny that he has done things that require redemption. However, he has a lot of ways of covering the 'what'. He admits to having fought in wars. He might say that he was working on a revolution, especially to people who aren’t human, but will tend to glide over what it was meant to accomplish and focus more on the danger he feels mortals represent. He won’t lie about having magic but it might be a bit until he brings it up. He is very careful to avoid letting slip that he killed his friends and betrayed people who thought they were his allies because that’s not the sort of reputation you want when trying to make friends.

Erskine is actually a big proponent of redemption and believes that he needs it. Unfortunately that doesn’t make it easy. In his view, redemption isn’t something internal. He believes that it comes through making up for it through time and action. Enough time spent doing the right thing will bring balance or if the outcome of your actions are ultimately for the best it makes up for what you did to get there. Thus when he decides redemption is possible for himself he’ll try to find something to do not address what he needs to change. There’s a danger he’ll find another cause to throw himself into.

Any warden for Erskine would need to be someone who's good at getting through lies and distraction. They’ll have to be someone he respects. Someone who tried to impose authority upon him would be met with obstruction and slightly hidden mockery. He has no problem dealing with abrasive personalities but if they have an ego then they have to be able to back themselves up. He has spent a very long time arguing for his cause and he’s not going to be easily swayed.

A warden he'd listen to would be one willing to listen to his arguments and react to what he's saying. They’ll have to be able to disagree with him based off reasonable objections and not entirely on moral grounds. He's made progress on being more introspective, but it's still limited. He’ll talk about actions and his cause but it’s difficult to get him to address his feelings in any depth. He has to deal with his experiences of torture and how it has affected him, both times. He needs to separate the things he’s probably right about – that mortals will discover the existence of magic, that there is every chance they won’t react well – from his actions dealing with the problem. He did, in fact, have a choice.

BARGE UPDATE: Erskine won't immediately remember his prior experiences on the Barge, but even before he regains his memories those experiences have affected him. He made genuine connections, without the layers of lies he was used to. He's aware that he needs to decide what sort of future he wants, and find a place where he can have it. He's somewhat aware that his personal feelings of anger and betrayal played a part in some of the actions he'd claim were just purely practical. He has a long way to go, but these are all very important steps.

[colorofthesky]

Character Name: Zack Fair
Character Journal: colorofthesky
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Zack Fair has been in game for a while now. He’s successfully gotten four deals so far - two for his planet, one to bring himself and his girlfriend back to life, and one for a spaceship that travels to different worlds/universes.

A lot of what was true in the beginning is still true now. Zack genuinely wants to help people, especially people who have suffered a lot of loss and/or carry quite a bit of baggage with them. He's patient and kind, but he is also firm. He’s compassionate, but he also calls people on their bullshit and doesn’t put up with nonsense. His hard line in the sand is violence against others so don’t expect him to go easy on you if you cross that line. He cares a lot about keeping people safe and thinks it is very important to minimize damage that can be done to the ship and its passengers.

What you see is pretty much what though get with him, and he strives to be very consistent.

As a note, he would probably not do well with mad scientist types since he has his own trauma about that kind of thing. Everything else is fair game, though.

[anti_altruisms]

Character Name: Archer
Character Journal: anti_altruisms
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Archer is an old soul who has been on the Barge for more than 4 years now. Generally speaking, he is a no-nonsense sort of person who doesn't suffer lying or attempts at manipulation. He is both shrewd and straightforward; he will call out bullshit when he sees it, but he's also willing to give people chances. If you decide to fuck around and he catches you, well, that's on you for thinking he wouldn't catch you.

In spite of that, Archer does have a softer side to him. He does genuinely care about anyone he's paired with, even though he may not be very demonstrative in showing it. He has a great deal of knowledge about magic and the occult in his world, and he is actually a bit of a nerd about history, folklore, and magic. He will likely do best with someone who isn't trying to pull the wool over his eyes all the time because he honestly doesn't have a lot of patience for that kind of thing. He does well with people who have seen a lot of shit and even done terrible things because of it - mostly because he's been there himself, and He Gets It.

[cigsandbeer]

Character Name: Sha Gojyo
Character Journal: cigsandbeer
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Gojyo grew up a juvenile delinquent, having been thrown out on the streets on his own at a young age after an abusive early childhood: he knows painfully well how circumstances beyond your control can shape what kind of life you end up living. He's non-judgemental, will be protective of his inmate, especially those on the younger side, and is quite laizzes-faire: if his inmate tells him to fuck off he will, and if they later change their mind and reaches out to him he'll respond, no questions asked. Don't want to talk? Fine, they can just play cards instead. Chances are he'd struggle to accept the type of inmate that looks like a little kid but is really an ancient monster.

Good for:
- inmates who don't respond well to authority figures.
- inmates who need a warden that isn't intimidated by violence.
- inmates who need accepting/socialising as part of their rehabilitation.
- inmates who need proof you don't have to be a squeaky-clean goody-two-shoes in order to graduate.

Bad for:
- inmates who need their warden to show a high degree of professionalism.
- inmates who need need a lot of intellectual conversation (he can do talks about feelings! not so much schools of philosophy).
- inmates who need to be pushed into wanting to graduate.
- inmates whose main issues involve abandoning others; Gojyo's own abandonment issues will get in the way of that bad.

[neverwaitslong]

Character Name: Ulla
Character Journal: neverwaitslong
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: Ulla is a graduated inmate, and the issues she's struggled with in her own life include trust, rage, betrayal, revenge, sometimes unhealthy levels of devotion or codependence, ambition, feeling like an outcast or outsider, and trying to earn acceptance from people who were never going to offer it.

These are some of the issues she's best equipped to address as a warden. Ulla won't do well with an entirely adversarial inmate relationship; conflict is completely fine, feel free to metaphorically hiss at her like an angry cat, but she'll do best with someone who she has a sense of kinship with. Who earns her deep and stubborn loyalty by having feelings she can relate to, because she is intensely supportive when that happens. Her trust isn't easy to gain, but it is complete, an unwavering faith in the people she chooses.

Ulla built her whole life around one relationship, and was absolutely shattered when that broke. She caused a lot of destruction in the wake of that loss. She knows what it feels like to want nothing but revenge, and then to slowly claw her way back to hope and positive ambitions over the course of years. She knows how hard it is to trust anyone else after your life has been torn to pieces by the person you loved most.

So she also understands that trust is earned, and not to expect her inmate to offer it freely. Goodness knows she made her own warden work for hers. She waited patiently enough for revenge. She can wait for her inmate too.

She's had one inmate graduate so far. She comes as a two for one deal with her daemon, Hjerte (who she got in her deal with the Admiral.) Hjerte tends to be mildly more emotionally open and connected than Ulla since she was still a mountain of trust issues in the flood where they first met and he needed to balance that, but she manages a bit better without his help these days. She's had time to settle into herself, in terms of both her life without revenge and positive relationships with people.

[major_rawne]

Character Name: Elim Rawne
Character Journal: fork_off
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:
Rawne is a much more relaxed warden, now. He's had a bunch of temps and helped Avalon graduate. He's still inclined to be strict about some things, especially weapons, but he's more confident in himself and knows he can emotionally connect with his inmate. Which he wants to do. He still remembers how Quentin allowed him to access and process his emotions and he wants to help another inmate do the same thing.

[planetdialup]

Character Name: Aerith Gainsborough
Character Journal: planetdialup
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: Aerith is not the sort of person who’s going to beat someone into submission. It’s true that she is playful, joyful, and is not the type to be pushed around. However, as a warden, she’s also not the type to be pushed herself. She has her limits. While she is the type to offer all the chances in the world, she is also stubborn and will do things her way.

Her default is more of a gentle push towards what she feels is the right choice, to be a friend more then to be someone with a position of power over someone else. But if that’s what she needs to do, that’s what she will do. She’s far more of the type that will erode people’s less savory inclination over time, by questioning or overrulling by doing what she wants to do and show them it’s fun to do xyz, rather then, say, hit someone with a baseball bat.

The only type of person that she may not be able to work with is someone who is of a scientific and/or medical inclination. And that is less about her ability to be logical, and even reckless, but having to do with early childhood trauma due to experimentation she witnessed and had to take part in.

It’s not that she would become violent, but that she would emotionally and possibly physically shut down to protect herself- which would not help either party.

[closeyourfist]

Character Name: Enver Gortash
Character Journal: closeyourfist
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information: Gortash has to learn to start choosing to break the cycles that made him. That means respecting that his decisions affect other people (including people that disagree with him) and making them with that in mind. He must also find safety in something other than complete and total control, especially when for now, at least, he is willing to sign off on some very unscrupulous things to maintain it.

Clear milestones will include: 1) An ongoing willingness to figure someone’s wellbeing other than his own in his decisions. If he is to be a leader then it cannot be just the odd ally, either, but that is a start. So this one has multiple tiers. 2) Opening up to trusting people. Not just as long as an agreement is in place on paper. He need not be blindly placing his life in the hands of others, but there is a difference between having and enforcing clear personal boundaries and scorched earth as soon as it is most expedient. 3) He starts forming standards that do not allow for “any means necessary” as a byline. He might draw lines when there is an agreement in place, but those stop existing the second the other side breaks the deal. He should have some, or more, that are firm. He is smart enough to get where he needs to without this remaining the same, and it’s time he started acting like it.

A Warden will have greater success the more he is approached as someone who can reason out what is being done. If he is expected to do something, then you need to be prepared to answer why he should. Tell him how the machine is working, make the accord between the two of you clear, and he will be less resistant. However dismissive and commanding he appears, if he continues to hold counsel with you, then progress can always be made.

Make deals with him, hold him to them, and keep to them yourself. If he views you as inconsistent, then he will never trust you.

The subject of his past will be difficult to broach, the further back you go, and there are certain things he won't budge on. That does not mean they do not need to be addressed, but he is not going to be especially receptive. Expect to be shut down.

Don’t try to rule him unless it is unavoidable. He is much more cooperative with an ally, so don’t make yourself an enemy.

[droppinnoeaves]

Character Name: Samwise Gamgee
Character Journal: droppinnoeaves
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:
Sam has been here before, and largely graduated Wu Xie through allowing him to grow where he needed to with gentle encouragement and friendship. But Wu Xie was an exceptionally easy inmate.

Sam is a father of 13, and he'd be the first to tell you that twelve of them are smarter than he is, and the thirteenth probably will be as soon as he's able to hold up his own head. But he's never felt over-matched by them. Sam has his own kind of intelligence, rooted in empathy and the urge to see things grow and flourish. He's also a gardener, and knows that pruning and weeding are needed to keep a thing healthy.

He'll be good for an inmate who needs to learn trust, as Sam is reliable to his bones. When he's handed a commitment, it becomes his whole objective until it can called complete. And to Sam, that commitment is indistinguishable from love.

But there are kinds of evil he cannot abide, and so inmates who seek to harm others not because of their own hurts, but just for greed won't be a good match for him.

[rou_gui]

Character Name: Qetzi'ah Morrison
Character Journal: rou_gui
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information:

🍄 OPT-OUT 🍄

Qetzi is consumed by the past. She is going mad with the faeries because she does not know whether to just let go or wreak some horrible vengenace on Haran, so that she can rebuild the family. She has no conception of herself as her own woman as separate from the family. The faeries have presented an option to her to do something else, but she is so hesitant to leave the path her family has carved out. While her father was a 'regular' human man, she was not raised with him. She cannot imagine a modern life for herself.

She needs to deal with her grief.

In story, she is very deeply and spiritually tied to something evil and on the Barge she could potentially find a way to sever that connection and be free. She would have to accept and want this, which will be a challenge because of her deep love for her sisters. She will lose a connection with them if she severs herself from the Hill.

There are challenges for Qetzi in trying to change. She has a foot in two open doors, and both want her commitment:

🍄 Morrison Blood- One particular challenge she will face as a Morrison is that they are inclined towards greed and possessiveness. They want in a very abusive and controlling manner.
🍄 Faerie Spark - The faerie magic inside of her doesn't always just sit quietly. It can take over and she can be found dancing and singing to herself, or lashing out with cruel tricks for no reason at all.

She has some ability to resist, but both have their way with her at times. She needs to pick one, or reject both. She will have to wrangle her preternatural inclinations somehow in order to change with intention.

[foolforlust]

Character Name: Fizzarolli
Character Journal: foolforlust
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:
An easy going and fun attitude would likely be Fizz's starting point, something which is supportive, but not necessarily something that would help forward much change. It's when forced into the more serious and emotional moments that Fizz would shine, when he stops thinking of how best to help and just does what comes natural, being a good friend, with a keen understanding of people.

He has seen that people can change, and the importance of forgiveness first hand- reconnecting with Blitz after 15 years of (mostly) misplaced hatred and resentment. Both of them were lied to, and had they talked sooner, they might have repaired their friendship yeas sooner.

As Fizz can be highly unserious, he would struggle if paired with the silent brooding type who never laughs. They would likely not appreciate his antics, and Fizz would struggle to relate.

He does still struggle with issues around perfectionism, and this may interfere with his ability to succeed if there is a stumbling block in his partnership. He would need to deal with his own inadequacy to be able to affectively help his inmate achieve redemption. Ultimately, being able to grow from that would be good for Fizz, and help him to become a more effective Warden.

He would do well with inmates who are more lighthearted and fun, obviously, able to clown around and be their pal. But I believe he would do better than he thinks with the overly serious, the quiet loners with a grudge, who have been hurt by the world. People than need to learn to lighten up a little to help progress on their journey.

[notsoblackbeard]

Character Name: Edward Teach
Character Journal: notsoblackbeard
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Ed's been through a lot since he came to the Barge, having first started out as a warden, disappeared and came back canon-updated to an inmate (which ICly 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 (his love interest) 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; he was able to let go of his anger and subsequently became a warden once again, albeit a fairly cynical one. He'd be a pretty good match for anyone with even remotely similar circumstances.

[cosmomemoryxiii]

Character Name: Red XIII / Nanaki
Character Journal: cosmomemoryxiii
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: Red will view his role as warden as a very serious matter and treat it as such. He will try to be noble and honorable as his warrior tribal nature dictates. As it is what he signed up to do, he will constantly be eager to help and figure out what to do in order to get his inmate to graduate. This might be hard for him to figure out at first as he learns to balance the eagerness to help with a fierce beastly perspective on the law of nature, but he would strive to learn from others and find what works best for himself and his inmate together. He is a good listener and often offers wise advise on matters. He will be keen to impart both lessons of humanity and beastly qualities, and have a good understanding of both upstanding morals and how such morals can be lost in the struggle to survive an unforgiving world. He has experience with the struggle to maintain honor and humanity while also being a fierce beast in a world that views him as such due to his appearance. He has a lot of book knowledge as well as wisdom gained from traveling all over the world. However, Nanaki's biggest weakness will be that he is still technically young for his species and matters of the heart sometimes effect him hard. He is good at hiding his doubts and fears and remains calm under duress, but underneath it all he's still a child and learning to cope with his own insecurities even while he encourages others to be strong and brave.

Nanaki would probably best be paired with inmates that need a good listener to help them along or people that struggle with an inner rage versus good morality. While he could handle an inmate that wanted to fight with him all the time, he might do better with someone that is at least willing to listen to his advice or talk to him freely if not quite want to graduate. He would do really well with individuals who aren't very human shaped or "normal" by their world's standards the same way that he's different people shaped as well. Along that same line, he would also do best with people that wouldn't look down at him being a four-legged species rather than humanoid. Similar to Aerith and for the same reason, he might not do so well with certain types of scientific or medical inclined people especially if their morals are corrupted to the point they don't understand why experimenting on individuals is wrong.

[karsiteweave]

Character Name: Gale Dekarios
Character Journal: karsiteweave
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information:
Gale Dekarios is mid-thirties ex-child prodigy who was taught by the goddess of magic herself, the lover of the goddess of magic herself (questionable ethics there), and then struggled once he hit his limits. He's judgemental, vacillates between broodily taking responsibility and painting himself a powerless victim, and believes if he was simply a stronger wizard (or, indeed, a god himself) he could resolve all life's problems. He thinks he lacks worth without magic.

He's also been party to a lot of murder, under the belief it was his only choice to survive.

Gale will find barges disquieting, because it doesn't quite fit with everything he knows about the gods and the afterlife. He resents being wardened, because life has been 'unfair' to him and being there alongside people like Gortash and the Dark Urge hurts. A warden too aggressive will likely have Gale shrink away and agree with whatever he needs to agree with to de-escalate. Too patronising (or, to his eye patronising even if they mean well) will have him sneer at them and cease to listen. He will need someone who can be a friend but also be firm with him rather than indulge him too much. Gale's worst traits only grow when unchallenged. Keeping his powers contained will likely help, as if people can be his friend even without his most 'interesting/useful' aspects that will help him come to realise maybe magic isn't everything. Patience is required.

He is very emotionally vulnerable, and there's a pretty high risk he will attempt romance at the first sign of people being nicer to him than he is familiar with. The rebound from a goddess is pretty intense.

Additional note here: Gale comes as a character with heavy themes of religion and suicidal ideation. His goddess tells him to kill himself in order to destroy something for the greater good. There is also a suggestion she met Gale when he was very young, and was his tutor before they became lovers. The exact ages for those details are never confirmed. These things are pretty heavily tied into his story, so avoiding them would be papering over a lot of what puts him on the path he ends up on.

[queenofechoes]

Character Name: Madelyne Pryor
Character Journal: queenofechoes
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information:

This is Madelyne's third round on the Barge, and the one in which she's made the most progress. She's actually started unpacking her vast array of baggage and the collateral damage it's caused; she's made earnest connections with people that aren't just means to an end; she's managed to face loss and not wield that grief as a weapon against people who didn't deserve it. She does carry a lot of resentment for the Admiral specifically, between the Narrenschiff and Edwin's disappearance, but that doesn't mean she won't use him for her own ends.

Ultimately, she wants to be alive again; she wants to rule Limbo and defend her people. She wants to graduate and use those deals for her lost Warden, if he hasn't returned in the meantime. She wants to be the hero of her own story, and she's been learning how to do that step by step. It's not likely that anyone will understand her quite the way Edwin did, but as long as they're willing to hear her perspective that won't be an insurmountable barrier.

Someone who’s more practical than idealistic would probably work better, because while it’s important for her to indulge in compassion and move beyond her most cynical tendencies, she’ll always be a pragmatist. She needs someone who can shepherd her without making her feel controlled, who can hold her accountable for inevitable mistakes without condemning her for them, and who can talk her through all the complexities of morality she's finally been facing on the Barge instead of stubbornly ignoring.

[thespareone]

Character Name: Ciel Phantomhive
Character Journal: thespareone
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information: Ciel's a complicated boy who is living a lie, impersonating his lost twin and used to working as the Queen's dog, doing all the shady things she needs in order to remove nuisances. Anyone dealing with him would have to put up with his inability to open up, his twisted nature, and the fact that Sebastian is already his assigned caretaker and bodyguard, and would likely meddle into anything that comes up.

[keephersafe]

Character Name: R
Character Journal: keephersafe
Status: Inmate

Pairing Information: As R came aboard willingly and with knowledge of what’s expected of him he will react relatively positively to wardening, however he will need one that won’t just allow him to follow them around like a lost puppy (thereby mirroring them rather than Perry/etc, and not actually finding himself). Though it would probably be quite tempting for some wardens to want to ‘look after’ him as he can give off an air of helplessness, he would be better suited to one who would give him more of a push towards being independent while not leaving him completely out on a limb.

He will not want to be ordered around or looked down on, but he will take direction well. R is not unable to realise when something someone is telling him to do is wrong and will respond accordingly, quickly showing any warden who thinks he might be a bit "simple" that he is anything but. It isn't too difficult to build trust with him - he wants to be liked and he enjoys social interaction.

[pharadyne]

Character Name: Norton Folgate
Character Journal: pharadyne
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Norton is a graduated inmate and although he's a sociable person, he's still not entirely a good person. But even as an inmate Norton hated the periodic barge murder-sprees and is very anti-senseless violence (while being all for violence that makes sense). If an inmate needs to learn consequences, Norton will creatively give them, including using Admiral requests to mete out public (and possibly humiliating) punishments for egregious misdeeds.

Norton's petty, selfish, and manipulative, but is also often good at understanding what makes people tick. He'd probably be a good match for inmates who act out from a sense of rage at injustice or outsider status, or for inmates who need to learn to tone down their "ends justify the means" impulses. I'm also up for a trainwreck disaster pairing if a particular trainwreck sounds fun.

Warning: If his inmate is a hot guy, the chances of Norton flirting with his inmate and offering to fuck is very high. Even if sleeping with one's own inmate is disapproved of by a lot of people on the ship, Norton doesn't pay much attention to social disapproval. and as an inmate, he fucked some of his temp wardens But if his inmate is not interested, Norton won't press further.

[citizendetective]

Character Name: Misty Quigley
Character Journal: citizendetective
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: Misty is a graduated inmate whose path to redemption largely centered around learning to respect boundaries, learning that the end doesn't always justify the needs, and learning to treat others as fully-realized people rather than as little dolls that she could move around to her liking in botched efforts to enrich her own life - and like so many former inmates, she'd do well with someone whose thoughts and behavior patterns reflect how her own used to be, because look! She's been there! She gets it! As a former off-putting Weird Kid^TM who grew up into an off-putting Weird Adult^TM and whose graduation hasn't at all fully shed her of that weirdness, Misty would honestly be delighted to end up with a creepy slimeball of an inmate who nobody else much likes. Get in loser, it's time to learn how to be a better person even though you have zero charisma and you suck at empathy.

As a warden, Misty won't be harsh or authoritarian, but she won't be naive or a pushover, either: she's intelligent and observant, and good at spotting lies, manipulations, and inconsistencies. The part of her that likes puzzles and problem-solving would enjoy having an inmate who kept her on her toes, so someone who would need a lot of clever thwarting could pair well with her (though on the flip side, a hack-n-slasher who would need a lot of physical intervention might not be the best choice). Her wardening style is definitely one that will involve a lot of discussions, both practical and theoretical - and she'd likely take a page out of her own warden's book and assign her pair pro-social homework and challenges.

Finally, she would probably do best with an inmate who didn't know her before her own graduation, as she's prone to being a bit touchy and defensive around people who knew her inmate self. Longer-term inmates aren't a deal-breaker, but head's up that things might be a little weird at first!

[theweirdos]

Character Name: Nancy Downs
Character Journal: theweirdos
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information: The two main goals Nancy will need to clear in order to graduate are 1) finding a more positive outlet for her anger than lashing out at the world, and 2) understanding how to use power responsibly, and that there's a lot of space between not being the strongest person in the room, and being a victim. Ideally, she'll also learn that limitations aren't just there to control her and keep her weak, though this is likely to come as a part of having a good warden, and won't necessarily have to be actively worked on like the other two points.

She won't do well with a warden who leans heavily on their authority and tries to impose rigid restrictions on her activities or schedule. The harder they push her to obey, the harder she'll ignore or rebel against anything they ask of her, even if the request would otherwise be reasonable. She also won't do well with a warden who tries to take on a paternal role, which may be tempting given her age. She has no real positive association with paternal figures, and a lot of negative ones. (She won't really appreciate a warden who tries to play mom, either, but that's both a bit less fraught and, given gender balance, a lot less likely.)

The biggest difficulty any warden will have with her, though, is that keeping her powers tightly bound is a direct road to failure. She needs to learn to reframe power so she doesn't always feel the need for more, doesn't feel the need to constantly assert her dominance in order to feel secure. She won't learn this from a position of powerlessness. That's where she's lived her entire life, and that's what's taught her to need to be on top of the heap. More of that won't help her. At the same time, giving her power back too quickly will just lead to her acting out and digging herself deeper, and give her warden a lot of messes to clean up.

Wardens who might do particularly well with her are people who have had to learn to manage and direct their own anger at the world, and who are willing to acknowledge that the anger's still there even though they have a positive outlet now, wardens who have experience with feeling helpless, discarded, or disrespected and have lashed out because of it, or wardens who have misused power and come back from it.

[smackdab]

Character Name: Frank Castle
Character Journal: smackdab
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information:

Anyone who gets paired with this guy is in for the ride of their life. Frank doesn't believe, nor wants redemption. There's no point because he doesn't plan to stop taking out the bad people who do shitty things to good people. And there's no sense in trying to reason with him. He doesn't seem to care about the what opinions others may have on the matter, nor does he expect anyone to see it from his side.

A warden for Frank will need to be extremely patient and not come across as someone above him. He does not trust easily and knowing he's been paired will be too much like having superiors and senior officers who, in the past, have steered him wrong and betrayed hi. Anyone who does try to pull a power card can expect a lot of resistance and pushback. Same goes for anyone wanting share what worked for them.

Frank is likely to do the best with an inmate graduated warden, who maybe has gone through their own journey. He'd be drawn to someone who shares a similar background and might be familiar with any branch of the military and/or has lost loved ones to gun violence.

[packhounds]

Character Name: Shuos Mikodez
Character Journal: packhounds
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Mikodez views being a warden as similar to his job as hexarch, on a much smaller scale. For him, that means he believes in giving them a chance to figure themselves out. He might not feel he can rehabilitate someone all on his own, but he can give them the opportunity to do it themselves. He believes in offering goals to focus on, and support on how to get there. He would be a good fit for an inmate who needs a warden who will keep track of them, and who will talk things through in terms of practicality.

Mikodez would not be a good warden for someone who needs a warden that will show a lot of emotions or who wouldn't manipulate them. Mikodez rarely shows any emotion other than amusement unless he thinks he can use it to his advantage, and social manipulation is simply how he interacts with the world. He thinks ethics are important, but his personal sense of morality involves a lot of cold calculation about what will save the most lives.

He's good at seeing through other people's attempts at manipulation, and can advise them on how to do better.

[unilaterallydisarming]

Character Name: Father Oscar
Character Journal: unilaterallydisarming
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Oscar is a man who comes from a place of compassion. While he is a priest, and a vanilla one at that, he has faced terrible dangers and terrible loss from a young age. But he continues to choose to do the best for people, and will continue to be hopeful to ensure the best path.

That being said, Oscar is also a man that can hold fast to a hard line. While he may come across as open minded and at times even nervous, if there is a need for someone to say 'no' or for quick action to be taken to ensure danger is done and past- Oscar is your guy.

That being said, Oscar does have his own problems he's bringing to it, and for those who want to use force against him- well. He is coming in one armed, scarred from a recent brush with the eldritch that nearly killed him.

But he is here, and wanting to do some good while he's here. He wants, above anything, to help, because he can.

[droppedstitch]

Character Name: Vauhan Istradez
Character Journal: droppedstitch
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information: From his app-

Baby needs an identity of his own. While gender expression is a looser sort of experience for Istradez, he did make some very major bodily changes to become his brother. His brother's body and his brother's identity are very real and true barriers to being who he wants to be. He lived in a place where he could have literally any form, even returning to his old one. He will need to find himself, find his true form, whatever that looks like.

It's also become sort of a trope on the Barge that inmates need to find hobbies they enjoy, but this is very literal for Istradez. Any hobby he has is because his brother did it, and he needed to learn it to fill his role. He needs to find things to do that are different, his own, and very much separated from his brother.

Any warden would likely hit a brick wall in trying to pick apart his actual relationship with Mikodez too early. Judgement for their choice to be together, which has been accepted and encouraged their whole lives, starting with their parents, will be met with confusion at the very least and outright hostility at the worst. However, there is a deep codependency issue that needs to be addressed, starting with the fact that he sacrificed himself for Mikodez without any real knowledge of what it would accomplish.

This mission for redemption would not make sense to him. Istradez doesn't feel as if he needs to make any changes. He would assume that it was because of his aggressive tendencies and his temper, not because of the quieter, less destructive reasons.

[love_and_peace]

Character Name: Vash
Character Journal: love_and_peace
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Vash is delighted to work with whoever he is paired with, to help them find better ways to resolve their problems and to come around to view the world as a wonderful place made of love and peace!

More than half of his very long life has been spent actively trying to help people, whether that help looked like carrying groceries or fighting off bandits. His methods aren't the healthiest though, so let's just get that detail out of the way right up front. Vash is the kind of person who thinks it's better to get shot (in a survivable way) than to kill somebody. If somebody's going to jump in front of a bullet, or taunt a crowd of bullies into beating them instead of harrassing somebody else, it'll be Vash. That said, he does understand that his method of pacifism isn't for everyone -- it's just that this is all he knows, so working with his inmate will be a learning opportunity for them both.

He's a big fan of public service, especially the physical kind, so Vash's inmate can expect to find themselves volunteered for trash pickup duty, and cleaning the kennels at the vet's office, and any other menial tasks that Vash identifies that look like something nobody else wants to do. Vash will be at their side the whole time though -- he's not about to send someone to to work he's too good to take on himself! In fact, he's going to be stuck to his inmate's side like glue at first. He'll be outside their door first thing in the morning, and he'll try to drag them with him all over the ship to discover the joy and wonder of seeing new places and making new friends and not hurting them.

Just wait until he discovers that there's therapy available onboard! He's going to be completely insufferable about pushing his inmate to go talk to a real professional about their feelings.

When all that doesn't work, though, he'll be willing to try anything else, because at the end of the day, Vash doesn't know what he's doing. He's here because he wants to help, and he's had some luck (if you can call it that) especially recently in showing some folks that there's a better way to live than one where people have to die. He knows that his methods aren't for everyone -- in fact, outside of the volunteering part, he would be worried to see anyone being as self-sacrificing as he is.

His biggest strengths are going to be his patience (he will not abandon the responsibility placed on him) and his lack of ego about self-improvement methods. He'll take suggestions from anyone about things to try, and he'll listen to his inmate, too. In fact, listening to his inmate will come first -- he'll want to know all about them, about the choices they've made and the choices the choices they were forced into, about why they do the things they do. This isn't a power trip for him -- he's here as an act of service.

As a note for his inmate pairing: his inmate can argue with him all they like, but Vash won't stand passively back while his inmate physically hurts anyone. He's been fighting with his words and his fists in equal measure all his life, and he will knock his inmate down if that's what it takes in the moment to stop them from attacking somebody else. Vash has a temper, he's very impulsive, and there's a 150 years of trauma that he's actively repressing all the time. If he's paired with a physically violent inmate, they will end up fighting.

[hostileterritory]

Character Name: David Collins
Character Journal: hostileterritory
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information:
He's going to need a warden with patience. He'll be slow to challenge them, quick to acquiesce to what they want, and unlikely to let himself form an emotional connection if one doesn't already exist.

His conditioning means he's going to need someone sensitive to the fact that he almost literally can't say no if something isn't in opposition to his current 'mission.' Someone willing to work with his limitations and find ways around his conditioning that don't punish him for what he can't immediately help. Someone with Creative Anti-Murder Problem Solving Skills. C:

The the number one necessity in a warden for him: compassion. He has to remember why feelings are worth it. He needs someone to make him actually think outside of the context of military applications and mission parameters. He also needs someone who can respect what the military did for him before it started doing things to him, who won't disrespect the ideals of the institution he pledged himself to, but will make him examine whether or not the institution lives up to those ideals.

TLDR: He needs someone to get the engine on his humanity to turn over.

Chase Collins

[fifthofthecovenant]

Character Name: Chase Collins
Character Journal: fifthofthecovenant
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:
Chase is a recently graduated inmate and he honestly has no idea what he's doing. He's not a social person-- he's something of a misanthrope in general, and a dramatic kind of nineteen to book-- but the important thing is he's trying. He's well aware that the things he has to offer to an inmate are a bit 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'll generally work best with inmates who aren't going to disrespect him because he's young, who have an interest in magic, and who either don't mind that he's still a bit of a jerk sometimes, or can be a jerk right back in the spirit that it's meant, rather than over-reacting.

[modestpurpose]

Character Name: Hythlodaeus
Character Journal: modestpurpose
Status: Warden

Pairing Information:

He will first approach his given role with curiosity and will reach out to each inmate that he is temporarily paired with in order to try to get an idea of what they might be expecting out of their time on the Barge and how they anticipate their path moving forward, as well as how he may be able to connect to them on a personal level if they would wish it. With a permanent inmate, he will be open to listening to their views and concerns and be kind but determined in a potentially infuriatingly dogged way when it comes to their welfare, emotional or otherwise. He would not be aiming to rush or push an inmate to graduate but rather trying to find out what their personal goals are and how can help them to be achieved (within reason, since he can’t simply magic somebody off the Barge entirely).

Hythlodaeus would be best fit with an inmate who does actively want to graduate on some level, or at least is open to not shutting him out. He isn’t above being sassy and spicy towards those who give him attitude and he’s accustomed to working with difficult, stubborn, and colourful personalities, but if someone is determined to stonewall him forever there’s not really much he can do about that! As such he wouldn’t be a good match for somebody who was going to permanently, aggressively reject the idea of being helped in any way.

Notable strength for him as a warden would be, first and foremost, his desire to help those that he cares for or who fall under his care. While in life he was someone who had a tendency towards laziness and avoiding work if he could help it, when the need arose he was always somebody who would step up to the plate and give his all. He would fiercely defend any inmate put under his care (even temporarily) should they need it and be there to assist them any time they ask.

In terms of weakness, there is the point of his tending towards avoiding work. He will not be very keen on the idea of having authority in terms of exerting it over others and would likely find doing so to be slightly uncomfortable (though he would do it if it became necessary), and that could definitely be exploited as a weak point by somebody who managed to get under his skin. They’d have to work hard to do it though, since Hythlodaeus is a fairly unflappable person for the most part.

[verynormalturnipseller]

Character Name: Wen Ning (Wen Qionglin)
Character Journal: verynormalturnipseller
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: Wen Ning has graduated one inmate, helping his confidence some, but the first impression he gives most people is still somewhere between nervous and harmless. He's very gentle and can be far too indirect, so a very willful inmate may find it much too easy to run roughshod over him. He's not very good at laying down the law on an everyday basis; his occasional snaps of anger are cold and precise and take a lot to bring out. He's a good listener and a natural fusser. His inmate will be cheerfully looked in on all the time and brought a lot of snacks. His instinct when things are wrong is always to try to fix them as practically as he can, a tendency which he definitely means as an expression of fondness, but can come across as pretty meddlesome. He thinks people should be busy! And is a dreadful morning person. He is not very good at reading people (attempts at manipulation work much more often than not) and has an off-kilter sense of both humor and his place in the world. He's from a very magical universe and is an undead monster driven around by the ghost of a teenager with crippling anxiety. This does make him a physical match for the vast majority of inmates, in case of violence, at the cost of creeping people the hell out. He's a magical healer and trained doctor (for an ancient fantastical world value of "trained" and "doctor"), which definitely informs his approach to people.

tl;dr: Wen Ning is a shy weirdo and a mother hen who is pretty easy to mess with, but does possess an iron core and a powerful drive to help. He will bring you treats and take a lot of shit. And while he's got the patience of the dead, don't forget the ability to rip out spines of the dead. It does come up sometimes.

[flawmaturge]

Character Name: Wiktor Szulski
Character Journal: flawmaturge
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: Wiktor is an asshole.

He's clever, caustic, no-nonsense (except when he is All Nonsense), and he's both emotionally and physically very rough and tumble for someone with a squishy human body and as many Daddy issues as he has packed in there.

In his app, I described Wiktor as 'the one who'd bail you out if he wasn't in the jail cell with you' type. Wiktor is not going to 'lead' anyone into moral reformation. What he's going to do is find out what's fucking your life up and making you stupid and destructive and try to help you out with it. And he'll do it by risking his life and limb if necessary and being a son of a bitch about it when he needs to and sitting beside you, broken and drunk and tired right along with you and Not Judging Shit when you're aching down to the soul.

While not for the faint of heart, Wiktor is not much of a hard ass; he's allergic to authority, especially being it, so you'll find a fucked up friend in him more than any kind of 'sage' guide. But he's here with you to the end, here to offer what he's learned and the stupid fuck ups he's made so that you don't have to make them or so that you don't make them again or hurt yourself.

Good for: my parents are absentee/dead/shitty, weird social issues around powers, I grew up weird because of powers, fellow twins, 'privileged' people, people who've lived under authoritarian rule and/or complicated political situations, so much passion not enough thought, my personality issues are now your problem types.

Bad for: dispassionate types, 'I just decided to be a dickhead because why not' sorts, dictators, 'logical' folks, 'I did it because of family tradition' types.

Also please note, he's got a lot of means of detection for emotional upset, secrets, and fuckery identification, so if you want to get away with a lot of sneaky shit, Wiktor is not your dude. Crimes of passion? More his jam. But plotted stuff, nu-uh.

[witnessforthedead]

Character Name: Thara Celehar
Character Journal: Witnessforthedead
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:
The big things for Thara as a warden are that he has been trained from a very young age to really listen to others, with an intent to understand them, that he does not lie (ever), and that in spite of that he does not a-) make excuses for wrongs even if he understands the whys, and or b-) believe that he's place is to mete out judgement or punishment (or protect from consequences).

He is basically a compassionate, understanding, guy who tends to see things (except himself) very clearly, has a great understanding of psychology and 'detective' work and pulls on a lot of loose threads. He's also somewhat ruthless and relentlessly blunt and honest. He can't control anyone physically, at all, but he's remarkably good at standing his ground and nearly impossible to intimidate in spite of all that.

Very little temper, and isn't going to be yelling at anyone, anymore than his skinny butt is going to be physically controlling them.

He will also let a WHOLE lot of bs (that isn't immediately threatening to someone else's safety/life) slide and the consequences play out -- but will also likely be able to put the pieces of what's going on together - just to see where things are going.

Good for: People screwed in the head re: world views and trauma who needs sorted
Bad for: Anyone motivated primarily by greed or ambition/coldly self-serving.

.

[handleyourshit]

Character Name: Rosita Espinosa
Character Journal: handleyourshit
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: Rosita is a graduated inmate, recently returned from a six year canon update. She hates the system organized as it is but is herself ruthlessly practical when it comes to survival, and she needs the advantages the Barge affords her as well as some of the people on it, so here she is.

She is from a zombie apocalypse canon, having survived the actual fall of society and the brutality that is the living scrabbling for resources after the fact as well as the hordes of undead. She's plain jane human so she'll struggle with some of the monsters and gods and superheroes that the Barge tends to attract, but she can handle herself just fine with all manner of human and human adjacent problems.

She's good for the tough love kind of loyalty that holds people she loves accountable and supports them through any mistake as long as they're actively trying (or can reach a point they will actively try). She can forgive a lot - and has - and is generally even keeled and stable, given the givens, even if she's still laboring under the kind of trauma visited on someone who has endured the kind of horror situations and staggering loss she has.

Rosita comes with a potential CW for gore, cannibalism, torture, sexual assault, domestic abuse, and homophobia. Only the first three are almost guaranteed to come up at some point, but she has experienced the latter three as well and will occasionally speak on them if the situation warrants. I do my best to warn appropriately as needed, but please let me know if there's something specific one would like to avoid.

[datgirl]

Character Name: Hannah Finch
Character Journal: datgirl
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: She'll be fairly involved in her inmate's life, regularly checking in, coming up with things for them to do together, possibly even giving them assignments. (Look, writing things down can be really helpful!) She's got mom energy, but she's also got energy in general. She's curious and friendly and ready to deal with all types.

That said, she's not a fighter, physically or otherwise. If an inmate requires any kind of combat in or from their warden, Hannah is going to be a bad match. If they're willing to find healthier coping mechanisms, she can help with that. She doesn't believe in tough love or withholding helpful information. She won't hesitate to ask others for help, either.

OOCly, if you're planning on having your inmate stick around for a long time without making progress, we would be a bad match. I tend to run out of steam after 10-12 months if things stay mostly status quo, so ideally, that's the timeframe I'm looking to do. I really want her to graduate someone, though, so I can be more flexible with that if we're vibing really well!

[cameclosest]

Character Name: Dr. Clement Varker
Character Journal: cameclosest
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information: Varker comes to the Barge less than 48 hours after his entire life has been upended and destroyed by his long time best friend and recently fired Dr. Simon Birkov. Once having been a rather handsome, successful scientist and CEO of a large company, his employee base has been culled from hundreds to two and his body has been violently and involuntarily changed. The last terrible moment of the worst day of his life ended when his life partner of 20 years, also horribly changed, attempted to kill them both to end their suffering and pay for Simon's sins.

The kicker is that regardless of how much Varker could talk himself out of responsibility, he'd been watching Birkov descend into madness for years and did absolutely nothing to either help or stop his friend from turning grief into obsession.

Varker has a lot of terrible things that he is ignoring that needs to be processed and accepted before he can even start to believe that his future exists as anything but misery, let alone believing that he deserves that to change.

Keep in mind that Varker is incredibly off-putting while he's struggling with self-hatred, doesn't want to talk about it unless he thinks you might truly understand all that he's gone through, and is incredibly distrustful of weird things and nonhumans.

[championbelt]

Character Name: Tifa Lockhart
Character Journal: championbelt
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:

Tifa enjoys settling into a place, making connections, and helping people out, which she used to do as the owner of a bar. She'll view her role as a warden much like being a mentor/personal trainer. She's a relatively simple person who will work best for an Inmate that needs to learn to focus on simple things, such as exercise, side-quests, and mixing drinks. On the other hand, her biggest weakness is that she's not a big-picture thinker, and her conscience makes her relatively easy to manipulate.

Other notable traits for interesting pairing dynamics:
-Tifa's a chi-empowered martial artist trained by an eccentric traveling master, and has made his style into her own.
-Tifa grew up in the boondocks, spent her early adult years as a city-slum refugee, and became an eco-terrorist/freedom-fighter. You know, girl stuff.
-Career-wise, Tifa has been an exercise instructor, a wilderness guide, a meat-bun seller, and a bar-owner. As a bar-owner she handled cooking and drink-mixing, and takes the knowledge of the bar's previous owner very seriously.
-She's notably pretty, and doesn't particularly enjoy people commenting on it or treating her differently because of it. (Most of the time.)

[theydrewfirstblood]

Character Name: John Rambo
Character Journal: theydrewfirsttblood
Status: Warden
Pairing Information: Having just come from his first year in prison, John will be a bit clumsy as a warden at first. He's going to equate this very much with mentorship, and be a soft touch. With his conviction hovering over him and a history of being treated as 'less than' for countless reasons, as a warden he will focus on dealing with his inmate as an equal. Extend the hand of friendship, help in the day to day, stay open to conversation and communication. He'll give his inmate every benefit of the doubt and shred of support, but not to a fault.

His biggest flaw is his skill at violence and his reluctance to use it. He will meet force with force, but default to diffusing a situation rather than escalating to a fight. While he is inherently vengeful, his inmate will take a position in his head as being 'his,' of his ilk and his inner circle and John will treat them as such. Harm to them he will treat as harm to him, but again he will always work in their best interest first. If that means diplomacy, he will go there. If violence is necessary for their genuine benefit, he won't hesitate.

That loyalty and refusal to diminish another person will be an asset to anyone with trust issues: it's going to be real clear, real fast, that he's reliable to his own detriment. Victims of circumstance or those who need an impetus to change will find that in John and his loyalty. He sees himself very much as a tool, a weapon, an instrument, but he's taken great comfort in being a tool for positive change, which will help him to better reclaim his sense of self. Those with similar issues and conditions would be good fits for him as inmates, a little less so with those formerly in positions of power they have abused. His own inherent trust issues may produce too much inner conflict to build a rapport, but then again they could result in some interesting relationship dynamics.

[general_affairs]

Character Name: Reno
Character Journal: general_affairs
Status: Warden
Pairing Information:
While Reno has trained new recruits back where he's from, he isn't used to a caretaker role, so it will take some time for him to open up emotionally to use his skillet to the fullest potential in this new role.

At present, he'll do well with others that aren't ready to be vulnerable or open up. He has a laid back demeanor that meshes well with other unserious types, but he's perceptive and mature enough to suss out what lies behind those masks and how to maneuver around them. This also makes it very difficult to manipulate him. Reno doesn't ask that someone pour their heart out, and will most often give them space emotionally while making himself as available as he knows how to. While waiting for them to be ready, Reno is used to(and prefers/typically operates by) moving with and directing the flow of situations as-needed, rather than trying to command total control. Inmates that require a push, an example, or chances to just get out there and put what they've learned to practice will find a good partner in Reno.

He likewise calls murderers, refugees, convicts, detectives, bouncers, the bourgeoise, and soldiers the only family he's ever known, and has seen many things in his time. Not much will surprise him, nor would he be more or less likely to trust or condemn someone on reputation or name alone. Those paired with Reno will find that he can match their energy, and while he typically comes off as a delinquent, he operates with a noticeable undercurrent of discipline and professionalism in his demeanor.

[giraffic]

Character Name: Ellie Williams
Character Journal: giraffic
Status: Inmate
Pairing Information:

cw: Ellie comes with a host of nasty subjects in her canon. Gore, murder, suicide, cannibalism, survival, attempted sexual assault, food scarcity, etc.

What does your character need to change about themselves, and what sorts of milestones do you envision them needing to reach before they're ready for graduation?

First and foremost, Ellie needs to learn ways to solve her problems without resorting to violence. She's always had to fight for herself because no one else will, and if she's going to improve, she's going to need to learn how to use her words and not her fists. A good way towards managing that will be establishing a sense of safety and community.

Unfortunately for Ellie, this also means she's going to need to learn how to trust other people and be open and emotionally vulnerable with them.

She'll also need to work toward learning how to be a kid. For as young and amazed by the world as Ellie can be, she's still growing up in a post-apocalyptic world. She hasn't had the chance to be just a kid and focus on things other than surviving. Ellie will need to learn how to trust others besides Joel to care for her and to have her back.

How will they react to being on the Barge? How will they react to being wardened? What sorts of wardening styles would they be likely to respond best to, and conversely, what wardening styles would likely be ineffective or unhelpful?

Ellie will find being on the Barge cool and interesting, but she's going to butt heads with the wardening system hard. She'll barely let Joel, whom she trusts with her literal life, tell her what to do, and even then, it usually involves a lot of attitude. She's going to need to be paired with someone with a strong force of will, who can handle what is likely going to be multiple attempts at sabotage of their attempts and outright defiance and anger.

Anyone acting as a warden for Ellie is going to need to be able to handle stress well. Very well.

What methods can a warden use to get through to them, and what are some ideas for things that might trigger or motivate them to change?

The most important thing is going to be persistence and consistency. Ellie has lived a life of abandonment, whether by death or by people walking away. She goes into relationships expecting it and resigned to the inevitability. She needs someone who will not give up on her, even if she is difficult and makes things impossible for them. She'll expect the same from her Warden if she makes enough of a mess, and having someone who doesn't will be shocking enough to get through to her.

Getting through to Ellie will take time, understanding, and an ability to relate. She'd do well with someone willing to indulge her goofier side, who could show her respect without abusing their authority or treating her as lesser or just someone to be ordered around. She'd do well with a motherly type. But they're going to have to understand that if Joel is around, he is the ultimate authority, and she'll defer to him.

She's a wounded, hissy cat who needs someone to laugh at her shitty puns and teach her how to just live and not survive.

ATTN MODS

[cameclosest]

Please temp pair Norton Folgate with Varker in June!

Re: ATTN MODS

[pharadyne]

Confirm!

[theweirdos]

Please temp pair Nancy and Oscar for June!

[unilaterallydisarming]

Seconding this!

[planetdialup]

Please permapair Aerith and Ciel in June!