maskormenace | 24 ⚜ Anonymous Text / CW: abuse mentions

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24 ⚜ Anonymous Text / CW: abuse mentions

Whether a man is a criminal or a hero is a matter of perspective.

But if you don't want to play your role anymore, and are removed from your motivation for being who you are, what do you do? Do you seek redemption and rehabilitation and transform as an individual, or do you repeat negative behavior? How much do you believe people change only because they are imPorted? In short, do you believe people can change?

If I had anybody willing to discuss this in private with me, I assure you, I'd not be raising the issue publically.

Thank you in advance.

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What I expected was for you to remember that our relationship is not a personal one. Instead you seem to think a meaningful discussion and intimacy are one and the same thing. Is there a reason you assume this?

[His words are bold and aggressive. Nothing like the Crane of old at all.]

[Not a personal one?

Their relationship shouldn't be, and maybe it isn't to Crane, but Josuke can't say the same. It's been personal since before they ever met face-to-face. Since the Swear-In that got gassed, when he'd been there with his grandfather and his own family had been put in danger. The deceit only made it more personal.

But again, Crane didn't see it that way. He wouldn't. Maybe he couldn't. And that only serves to further incite Josuke's frustration.]

i don't assume they're the same thing, but i assume they can be

do you remember when we talked in the park under that tree?

I don't remember. I wish I could say I prefer not to, but no.

[He doesn't take a deep breath to steady his nerves. He feels the itching of his skin, furious and warm; the need to wear sackcloth over it to keep it cool. He doesn't have a solution to it at the moment.]

i guess you wouldn't. you weren't exactly you at the time.

[He was younger than Josuke was when he'd first arrived in this world, and even more alone. Crane's penchant for isolation hasn't changed at all. But that's not really surprising, is it? Not when he's got a history of being hurt by people.]

you were pretty young then. just a kid. you were reading ulysses when i saw you and we got to talking.

and then i noticed something on the back of your neck.

[His eyes don't rest on his phone. He doesn't look at it, really. His mind snaps out of place - but he's good at operating whilst it happens, and eventually his hands stop typing a message and fold at his sides.]

It's impolite to stare.

[He says admonishingly. It's a lesson he has personal experience of.]

it's worse to hurt someone like that.

[He's careful not to say 'a kid' again at this point, not wanting Crane to feel as if he's ever viewed him as harmless or—more accurately—powerless. He remembers well the advice he'd been given that night on the beach. All of it.]

i've wanted to ask about it for a while, but there for a bit

it kinda slipped my mind.

[You know. When you fucked with his memories? Jerk.]

what happened?

[His eyes narrow at that. His jaw clenches, too. But the cold anger weighing him down lifts when he hits on an idea.]

Conditioning that never succeeded in its intended function. Have you always been this forward in asking questions?

you'd rather i waste your time beating around the bush? string you along and dangle in front of you what i know?

i got more respect for you than that.

so what was the 'intended function'? and who did it?

My grandmother was a strong believer in the proverb, "spare the rod, spoil the child". I doubt that leaves little to your imagination, wrong as the saying is.

I believe she derived enjoyment from her unorthodox methods of punishment more than anything. It's easy to intimidate children and make them frightened. Perhaps she thought it made me easier to control. Not that it especially matters.

[After he killed her.]

why didn't you ever tell anybody?

or did you?

I believed that I was responsible and assumed my treatment was expected. That all experienced it. And, in spite of it, I felt protective of her. I suppose I was trapped by affection.

[It's not uncommon for children abused by their parents or guardians to feel that way. One of Josuke's very best friends from home was in a similar situation for a while. Unlike Crane, however, Okuyasu's situation was mostly resolved following Keicho's untimely demise and the capture of his murderer, Otoishi. He'd been able to live with his father like a family afterwards. But Crane...he didn't have that. Instead, he had a woman whom it seems, whatever he says about affection, he didn't have the highest regard for. Not if her idea of coercion never truly worked on him.]

when did you stop thinking that?

When I stopped being afraid, investigated her methodology and learned to control myself.

[All of his answer is deliberately light on detail. He doesn't intend to linger on a past that's humiliating and no longer matters.]

and how did that change anything happening at the time?

i mean, it sounds like you still didn't ask anyone for help. so what did you do?

I defended myself. Fifteen years old, and despite her treatment of me, I learned that she was scared. Vengeance was mine, and I repaid it in full.

[A cold statement to make, robotic even, but why should he care? Since when has he ever been bothered? This information he's giving? Out of bored curiosity more than anything else.]

[Fifteen years old, and he makes it sound like he knew what he was doing.

What you have to remember about somebody like him, Josuke, is that he's not a child; he's a hardened criminal. That should be the only way you treat someone like that. Even if they're human beneath it all.

But a fifteen year old boy wasn't a hardened criminal. No matter how Crane paints it, whatever he'd done to his grandmother had been done out of fear. Josuke understands that much about him now. He'd needed more than just to feel like he had control. He'd needed to exert his dominance...to know with certainty that he wasn't going to wind up under her thumb again.

It pains him to consider what that might mean Crane did. And what it means for the man now. He's well into his forties, isn't he? He's lived a long time with what he's done. Has had years to shape it in the most comfortable way for his mind to accept. The way that makes him seem faultless.

Probably, he has no regrets because he's managed to convince himself that behavior yields results.

He's got his work cut out for him wanting to help someone like this. Especially when he remembers something else Crane said before.

The most you will receive for your efforts is to see them wasted.

He's afraid there's truth in that...but he can't give up.]

did you murder your grandmother, dr crane?

[His line of questioning remains as direct as ever, his choice of words deliberate.]

[He doesn't so much as waste time answering Josuke's question. With casual bluntness, he sends his answer over.]

Murder is a waste. You're mistaken if you believe I indulge some frivolous need. It's disappointing to lose a test subject, all my progress, but I don't cry when it happens. Yes, I killed her a month before I left home, but I don't care that she died. Do you?

Edited 2017-03-12 01:42 (UTC)

of course i care.

[Because taking the life of another isn't something you can come back from. It's a steep, slippery slope, and even those who manage to climb back up still have to live every day for the rest of their lives with the knowledge of what they've done. It changes a person. It's changed Crane.

Josuke sees now...this man isn't the same boy he met in the park. But that doesn't mean he should have to suffer or that he should be considered a lost cause. He meant it when he said that he believes people can change.

But they have to want it. And Crane...right now, at least, he wants what he's wanted for a long time: control. He doesn't want to be different. Doesn't think it's necessary or beneficial.]

that day under the tree i told you that i knew your older self. you guessed you were smart. and i didn't deny it. but i couldn't deny that you were isolated, too.

how can i look at what it's done to you and not give a shit? is being like this...

is it really the best way to achieve what you want? is there no better way?

[Good question.

Crane doesn't acknowledge it, but he investigates it mentally. This world has obviously had some effect on him, that's a fact, but it isn't Gotham, and he is certain that being away from home doesn't solve his issues. People are all of a lower caliber who lack skill and patience - and their rules often never make sense.

By the time an answer rolls around, he's convinced himself that his way is the only right way. He feels so secure in his belief that he actually gives a short, straightforward answer.]

None other than this, I'm afraid.

[But this isn't the topic he needs to control. He can feel the carpet being removed from under him every time Josuke speaks about meeting his young self. Time to pull it back.]

If you would like, I would be willing to show you why.

[Red flag, red flag, red flag...]

how do you propose to do that? the same way you fucked up my memories before?

[Although this time at least, if Crane can even do that across the network, he'll have the entirety of this conversation to put him back on the right track. Thank goodness for the written word.]

[He sighs. What he did to those was an improvement, honestly.]

No. Don't you think I can access mine as well as yours? Consider this. I'm offering exactly what you're after. Knowledge. You say you want to understand me and I'm offering you that.

[And it's just as likely that offer is another manipulation. Josuke's not stupid.

He is, however, curious. Too much so for his own good.]

and if i say yes, how do you wanna go about it?

A meeting in person. It won't work any other way, I'm afraid.

[Maybe he's testing Josuke's resilience a little, but honestly? This part of his power won't work without that happening.]

heropa, then. my place.

it'll be just us since everyone else has moved out.

[He'll text the directions to Heropa #004 after that, not really leaving any room for argument. Although Crane's free to fight his decision if he'd like.]

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24 ⚜ Anonymous Text / CW: abuse mentions

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