[ There's a part of him that notices that hesitation, still, and that might cause something to flicker in his eyes, a stall in his resolve -- but the hunger for cruelty is real, even if Wash usually doles it out to himself rather than hearing it from someone else. He'd meant it when he told him to go on. He didn't want Byerly backing down, and he isn't going to back down from hearing it, either.
And ah, Maine. That hurts immediately, in a way that Byerly himself probably doesn't even know. He closes his eyes, takes a slow breath. That voice. He's never heard Byerly sound quite like that. It's soft and soothing, and has to be the most dangerous he thinks he's ever heard him be. It's easy for it to wash over him. Easy for him to answer. ]
Every time.
[ It's a lie, there've been plenty of times when he's been more than capable, but it feels true because Wash does believe it. Whole-heartedly. He's not nearly as terrible as he makes himself out to be in a dozen different ways, but he does genuinely think that of himself, ignores every good he's ever done and fixates on every miserable failure. ]
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And ah, Maine. That hurts immediately, in a way that Byerly himself probably doesn't even know. He closes his eyes, takes a slow breath. That voice. He's never heard Byerly sound quite like that. It's soft and soothing, and has to be the most dangerous he thinks he's ever heard him be. It's easy for it to wash over him. Easy for him to answer. ]
Every time.
[ It's a lie, there've been plenty of times when he's been more than capable, but it feels true because Wash does believe it. Whole-heartedly. He's not nearly as terrible as he makes himself out to be in a dozen different ways, but he does genuinely think that of himself, ignores every good he's ever done and fixates on every miserable failure. ]