04 ⚜ Video

[restingstitchface]

[Pristine is how Crane appears when he flicks on the video feed; it's a lovely display of smoke and mirrors that he's pulling off, after the events of the last three days. He has a clean, elegant, ascetic appearance - and enough calm professionalism to mask his excitement.]

You're all handling this outbreak remarkably well. It seems you're all keeping to the boundaries of the law, as the Major-General expects you to. That's a good thing, mind. It would be terrible news to hear people have been shot for breaking quarantine.

Anyway, I am here to help if this event has caused you psychological distress. I am a doctor, after all.

[A pause, and he tucks in his chin and folds his hands in his lap. He half-closes his eyes.]

Fears and phobias are my specialty, and there is much to fear in this situation.

[His head comes back up. He's staring at the lens.]

Be that as it may, fear is something everybody needs. It keeps you safe and keeps you on your toes. It will do you all well to remember that. That it's good to know we must always feel a little scared. It's good to see that most of you haven't submitted to bravado and dagger-tongued bragging.

[The corners of his lips lift in a boyish smile. He tilts his head slightly. His voice is disarmingly gentle. His soft inflection on 'most of you' is meant for one person in particular.]

And I wouldn't like to think that those with guts would put everyone in danger. I trust everyone to make the best decisions for each other in combating this disease.

It would be terrifying to think we couldn't trust each other. Wouldn't it?

[He crosses his right leg and rests his hands over his knee. His graceful fingers smooth his trousers, and he waits for his audience to speak.]

Comments

[restingstitchface]

[Crane's reply comes immediately. There's no deflection happening today. He was almost insulted by how obvious it was.]

Quite so. But you cannot avoid taking larger, important decisions forever, Shinjiro. You may just find someone takes that choice out of your hands and forces you to choose, right there and then.

[hoboagogo]

I know. It's happened.

[And last time it did, he ended up bleeding out on the asphalt with two .50 cal slugs in his chest and gut. A choice he still doesn't regret, but one that he hadn't exactly anticipated.]

But that doesn't change my point. People are gonna decide things for different reasons all the time. Just 'cause you're scared and do one thing, doesn't mean later that day you don't do something else for another reason.

[restingstitchface]

[Crane thinks of his old life as Arkham's administrator. That time he had chosen to travel somewhere else - to be someone else - his reason had been constant and unchanging. Unyielding even in the fact of Batman. Perhaps stronger because of him, in fact.

One could say Jonathan Crane, as they knew him, was dead. He injects his thoughts into his answer, which seems to be referencing Shinjiro's history.]

Another reason. Like dying?

[A simple answer, but one with layers of depth.]

[hoboagogo]

[A pause- confused, as though not quite following the train of thought. When he questions, it's a bit slower, more distanced and reserved... because hello, personal issue.]

You mean, dying as a reason, or as a result and you wanna know the reason behind it?

[restingstitchface]

The latter. I want to know the reason why people run so far that committing suicide seems the only option left on the table.

[It says something of how much Crane favors Shinjiro, as a test subject, that there's little condescension in his voice.]

[hoboagogo]

[So polite and good to him. Which is really the only reason he doesn't curse an hang up. He knows Crane's a psychologist, clearly angling to get him in his office as a patient or something... and so that provocative and personal comment has to be absolutely intentional, he decides. His expression keeps neutral, though he does look out past the feed, as though exasperated.]

Yeah, I guess that's real fascinating for you.

[A sarcastic huff of breath, and he shakes his head.]

Probably tons of reasons out there for that one. I kicked it 'cause I had to. That's all there was to it.

[restingstitchface]

[Crane does find it fascinating, because he's been in every situation where one would expect to feel fear. The smell of blood; the concoction granny had brewed had never made him feel nauseous. Being alone didn't terrify him. He welcomed solitude, and it was why solitary confinement didn't scare him.

His failure had been mounting to frustration and he hadn't been afraid even when he'd been caught, stripped bare and forced into a cell. He had felt no fear in casting off his old mantle for a new one made of straw. He had grown to learn he couldn't feel anything.

Even at the end of that life as Arkham's administrator, he hadn't been afraid to stare down the barrel of a mental gun. That fearlessness was why he found this subject incredibly fascinating.]

I see. Sometimes there isn't a choice in the matter, for any of us. We can only control our response and struggle by.

[hoboagogo]

[An unconscious exhale- slightly relieved that Crane hadn't pressed the question more. It's still not something he's terribly comfortable talking about- especially in public, and especially with the slowly drawing doubts that it might not have been his best and only option.]

Guess that comes back to your 'which is easier' question, then.

[restingstitchface]

[Crane looks around his clinic's office, where he's sitting behind his desk. It's one place where he does his research, but it's also one place where people believe their secrets stay safe. They understand the expectation to talk, there - it's why they all come through that door.]

Absolutely. I suppose my line of questioning isn't secure over this public channel, however. A more private offer is open, should you wish it.

[hoboagogo]

...Yeah, you gave me the address earlier. I'll think about it sometime after this virus thing dies down.

[restingstitchface]

That's fine. I'll be seeing you later then, perhaps.

[And with that, Crane looks ready to end the conversation.]