05 ⚜ Voice

[restingstitchface]

[Crane notices the willingness to discuss Father's Day amongst the community - sons have lost their fathers, and fathers have been torn from their daughters and sons. To say certain imPorts were angry about the separation; that didn't even begin to describe it.

So today, there's the opportunity to research. Father's Day offers everything he's looking for. The ritual tradition has transformed the collective human subconscious and is an annual display of feelings. Denial. Aggression. Love. All emotions that originate from one source, one word.

And that word is fear.

His tone is soft and hypnotic, with a slight lilt. It's the gentle tone he uses on his patients when he wants them to talk.]

A proverb says, "When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry."

[Crane taps his comm against his knee, and then he rests it on his desk and folds his hands in his lap. He licks his lips, once - and clicks his tongue in his cheek. He crosses his right leg and sinks into his chair. These are the those parts of his body language that nobody can see or hear, but are thoroughly expected to those revealed to the man he is. He's prepared to weather any open confrontation.]

Humans cry tears of joy and tears of sorrow. But for each person who begins to weep, another one stops.

I suppose it is the warmth of the relationship that makes fathers and sons cry.

[A pause. His voice remains soft and calming.]

If any of you find today difficult, I am willing to lend a confidential ear.

[Happy Father's Day.]

Comments

voice;

[grimreaping]

Often attributed to William Shakespeare.

[restingstitchface]

Shakespeare is a common but incorrect attribution, yes.

I believe it is a Jewish proverb spoken in Judaeo-Spanish by Sephardic Jews.

voice; private

[itistolaugh]

You're such an asshole.

voice; private

[restingstitchface]

Who? Me? I don't care.

I'm more interested in who cares about this post.

voice

[sunasuna]

Ah. That desperate to find new patients, are we?

voice

[restingstitchface]

Oh, my practice is doing well.

But thank you for worrying about me.

[Hahaha. Suck it, Croc.]

[Voice, Private]

[equinamity]

[This is the doctor Edward's mentioned once or twice, correct? It's taking monumental effort not to laugh at his tone.

But she shouldn't be rude, because she's supposed to weather an appointment or two, isn't she? All she has to do is get a clean bill of "stress-reduced" health, and work will stop nagging. Stop saying 'you seem jumpy, Officer', and queries regarding how she's not been herself lately--far more on edge.

The communicator will read her full name, no attempt at concealing her identity here.]

I believe that you are the infamous Dr. Crane.

How generous of you to be seeking out patients on a weekend. And on a holiday, no less.

[Voice, Private]

[restingstitchface]

[Crane's not going to shy from raising that word in conversation.

Infamous.

Malignant. Detestable. Feared.

Yes, he likes the sound of that.]

Oh. I have a reputation?

Regardless, I believe in doing my job, Ms. Hawkeye, and that involves doing working for reasons unconcerned by money or the clock. How may I help you?

voice; id: Batgirl

[cassassin]

Stop.

[she's not sure what Scarecrow is going for here, but it can't be anything good. and no, she won't have the decency to do this in private.]

voice;

[restingstitchface]

[Crane's tone remains soft and gentle.]

I'm sorry. That would be impossible.

This is a public post. It's hard to stop what's happened. I believe people who wish to reply have the right to talk. You can exercise yours not to respond, miss.

[You're trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted.]

[acclimatized]

It must be like Christmas for you.

[restingstitchface]

I assure you, nothing's like Christmas for me.

I'm not a religious man, John.

audio;

[orangehoodie]

Do you have an advertisement for your practice every holiday, doctor?

[A casual comment? For these two, maybe, and this topic doesn't bother him much at all but Ken's cautious with Crane anyway; his tone is quiet.]

audio;

[restingstitchface]

Ken.

[Crane's straight in at a personal level; he speaks with a soft, calm voice that hides all those cutting slivers of glass.]

This is the first time I've professionally addressed a public holiday. Perhaps I can address them more, if you believe it needed.

text;

[eyelineronpoint]

why do some people here have a problem with your offer?

[Gaara kind of wanted to get some thoughts about his dad out of his head without troubling his friends, but some of those responses... There are people like this back home, counselors for the purpose of assessing a soldier's mindset to see if they're fit for combat, but this offer seems more altruistic than strategic. Doesn't make sense for people to be angry about that.]

text;

[restingstitchface]

Fear. I suppose some people are envious of those who are strong enough to seek help. And I suppose they believe it's their prerogative to bully those who present themselves as weak. Thus, they seek to destroy the help at its source, my reputation, my work, rather than face their selves.

In other words, denial through violence.

Need I go on?

private;

[kreiastophe]

[Weird as usual, Crane. This is probably what Mr. Rogers would sound like while high.]

...Compassionate as always, doctor.

[Right, anyway, Father's Day has no significance to him, so moving on.]

While I have your ear, I want to thank you, properly, for the assistance you provided me earlier this month. I know I wasn’t exactly easy to deal with at the time, but you remained courteous and professional. So, thank you.

private;

[restingstitchface]

[Polite respect! This is good.]

Well. I would say you're sounding a lot better, but that ignores everything underneath the surface.

How are you feeling now, Alistair?

text;

[ferrisbuellean]

My daddy didn't love me!

Is that what you're waiting to hear from someone?

text;

[restingstitchface]

No.

But maybe you'll be the first to say it. Fancy that.

video

[belegurth]

Is today a holiday about fathers or something?

[Melkor may have a lot of father issues that come with your dad being the Creator and pretty much just a terrible dad all around.]

Or do Men just cry a lot when their fathers are concerned.

permavoice

[restingstitchface]

Both.

Though many deny the latter when questioned.

[Injected with his toxin, though? Denial's a whole other game.]

voice;

[abduxel]

What was your father like, Dr. Crane?

voice;

[restingstitchface]

Human, like everybody else.

But I suppose that isn't the case in this world, is it?

[Yes, he knows you're a demon. Yes, he knows you're being a nosy little shit.]

[thinhammer]

[ Naruto doesn't know much about this Father's Day thing given it's the first time he's ever heard of it, but he's not so much of an idiot that he can't get the gist. He's only met his father once, and that one time he'd been a chakra ghost and Naruto had been at the end of his rope, almost lost to weakness and an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy... It was a stressful time. But that's not what he's thinking about right now. The last time he'd spoken to Crane he'd been pretty rude and grumpy, and Naruto had gone away thinking that he was nothing more than a monumental asshole, but.. This post was kind of sweet, all things considered. ]

That's real nice of you. To offer to talk to people about this stuff, I mean. I bet it's hard to take everyone's problems on your shoulders sometimes.

[restingstitchface]

[It is nice of Crane, isn't it?

It's sweet enough that his stomach churns at the thought of keeping up the pretense. He'd become well-accustomed to sprouting off blunt psychological nonsense to people with more money than sense, back in his old life. How he hated it.]

It can be difficult.

But I have means of coping.

[A pause.]

Your concern is admirable. Do you have personal experience of this yourself?

private | video

[huntergames]

[ She's been thinking a lot about her dad recently after Pestilence's effect on her. Before she says anything (and she's thinking hard on it), she notes some of the responses in the post. ]

... do people not like this holiday? Everyone seemed a lot friendlier on Mother's Day.

private | voice

[restingstitchface]

I agree.

I have my suspicions about everyone's replies. Talking about fathers has usually been difficult for my patients, but discussing their cases in detail with you would be incredibly rude. The same holds true for anything here revealed to me in confidence.

[Except isn't that what he's doing with Harley? Oops?]

voice; id reads robin

[performance]

I think you missed your calling at Hallmark.

voice;

[restingstitchface]

I'm sorry, I'll be sure to buy a card after work.

Now. Do you require help or are you just going to crack that razor-sharp wit?

[motherflocker]

Isn't that kind of you?

[restingstitchface]

People don't believe so.

I suppose humans are mistrustful of the psychiatric profession because they cannot trust their minds. [A pause.] I can assure you, it brings me no pleasure to see people suffering on this day. What sort of doctor enjoys pain and agony?

No good ones.

[No-good ones.

Crane doesn't harbor illusions about himself. Then again, does he care about other people's standards? No.]

Anyway. How are you faring, Oswald?

audio

[beneathbluerafters]

How poetic. Are you looking for new customers, then?

permaaudio

[restingstitchface]

No.

It seems a common misconception that's my intent.

[ voice // locked ]

[hostage]

[This reply comes a bit later than the rest. Jesse's had quite a day, looking after his surrogate father while the man failed to cope with his separation from his real children.

But Jesse isn't here to unload the stress of all that or to seek Crane's advice. He's getting proactive. Just like he did with Chilton, it's time for him to get a better sense of all the players in Walt's life.]

I didn't know you were into the daddy issues kinda stuff.

[ voice // locked ]

[restingstitchface]

Well. They certainly do fit my remit.

[Everything happens because of fear.]

Jesse, I would remind you that the fear of abandonment is rooted in such deep-seated issues. Of course, the issues humans raise against their fathers are much more complex than that. And I suppose even you're aware of the argument people seek attention as compensation for receiving none from their paternal figure.

Did you know the term 'Elektra Complex' was coined by Jung? But Sigmund Freud developed the female aspects of the sexual development theory.

Freud is more Chilton's thing, I believe.

[Let's drop the chit-chat.]

voice;

[thephix]

[Oh, this looks fun.]

Everyone always has so much to say about fathers and sons, don't they?

voice;

[restingstitchface]

Of course.

The son can be seen as a rival, much as an heir. I find such rigid gender terminology ignorant of the collective human consciousness. Not as many speak of the relationship between fathers and daughters, or sons and mothers, for example. Yet those connections also affect minds, collective or otherwise.

voice

[rathercommon]

[ There's nearly a frown in Kitty's voice. ]

People are getting...a bit upset over this, aren't they?

voice

[restingstitchface]

I had expected such.

Honesty tends to rub people the wrong way.

voice;

[nohalfway]

[ God, the temptation to talk to someone about any of the upsetting bullshit that is going on in her head is there. But there's a biting, nagging fighter taking precedence over anything else in there. ]

What's the point in that? Talking into someone else's ear, I mean.

[ She says it out of a fresh, yet newly dominant habit. ]

Sounds like a waste of air. Just saying.

voice;

[restingstitchface]

Let me tell you from experience; some people cannot talk to friends and family, and prefer an impartial outsider.

About yourself. You don't have to speak, if that's how you feel. I suppose there are things we're all frightened of...

[She doesn't have to waste her air, and he certainly won't waste his.]

Voice; private

[112ounces]

And what's your hourly rate?

[ Carl doubts he's going to say anything, especially to a stranger. Only a small group of people can understand what's going on, but no one knows Dad, or Carl for that matter.

Carl's mood is black and dry, his tongue wry. In some ways, he's spoiling for a fight. ]

Voice; private

[restingstitchface]

[Such beautiful aggression. It's better to see someone pretend to stand and fight, he thinks, rather than lie down and die. His own voice is calm and composed.]

That depends on your financial circumstances.

[Frankly, if he charged what he was worth, not many could afford his services.]

voice; private

[kingpawn]

[ Fucking. Psychiatrists. ]

What? Is this supposed to be some kind of lure?

voice; private

[restingstitchface]

I have my aims.

Fishing for clients isn't one of them.

[A pause. This isn't a social call.]

What do you want?

voice;

[cleptes]

[This is the kind of topic that Bela would avoid at all costs, given her issues with her father and well, her mother too. But mostly her father.]

Seems like you and Hallmark have something in common, Doctor Crane- capitalizing on a 'national holiday.'

voice;

[restingstitchface]

[Crane, somewhere, is rolling his eyes.

Of all the things to accuse him of, she chooses wealth. Really.]

Capitalizing how, exactly?

voice;

[givetheslip]

How cryptic. I'm certain all of us are better for hearing it.

[Father's Day, what's that? If reminded, Maria will recall the cards and ads she's seen here and there, but by and large she's ignorant to context.]

voice;

[restingstitchface]

Oh. That certainly warms my heart.

I'm glad my post has moved you so profoundly.

[His heart.]