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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[He very, very quickly switches on his camera. Though he wears a different face - Falcone's - for the sake of irony. His own private joke.]

Here I am, as requested. Fronting.

[Falcone? There was a guy who fronted himself because he thought he deserved respect.]

[ Diablo's about to answer but then just stares at the camera, squinting slightly after a moment. Something's... weird. He doesn't fall for it, but it does confuse him; there's a slight knit to his brow, if it can be seen beneath the tattoos. ]

Yeah, you are.

[ Fronting, that is. Diablo says so very plainly, though he doesn't explain himself further. He of course doesn't know Gotham and he doesn't know Falcone -- what he does know is what's been said during this conversation. ]

Thought you wanted this to be face-to-face.

[One of his eyebrows rises.]

What makes you think this isn't?

[He drums his nails a bit on the table and looks at Diablo with calm, curious attention. Though the man isn't exactly calling him out, he is aware things aren't real. Fascinating.]

[ Diablo isn't sure how he'd even begin to answer that, because frankly, it's hardly something he's ever gotten answers about himself.

But he doesn't worry about it, either. He's learned by now to just accept these things about himself and his powers. ]

What are you hiding from?

[Crane doesn't acknowledge the slight to his bravery. He takes it in, all of it, and buries it deep, ready to be acted upon later.]

Who said anything about hiding? Perhaps it's all in your mind.

[ It still falls pretty in line with Diablo's opinion on the subject, so he doesn't question it too much, weird as this whole thing may be. ]

Even it was that crazy-- [ Which he isn't saying it is... ] That don't mean it ain't also true.

[Crane leans back in his seat, letting his spine recline against the backrest. He pays attention to Diablo's micro-expressions, hidden as they are underneath his tattoos, and specifically shares one of his own: his eyebrow, raised in curiosity.

His face shifts to paint another image. He feels nothing in the process, which happens in the blink of an eye. Falcone one minute, his younger self the next. He's curious about it. Is it fronting?]

Better?

[ Diablo continues staring forward, his expression remaining fixed in a state of semi-scrutiny. Then he tilts his head very slightly to one side, judging the new face on the screen with the same otherwise steady impassivity.

His shoulders move in what might either be a shrug, or simply Diablo adjusting the weight he's leaning on his arms. ]

At least it's yours.

[The small movements that Diablo affords are committed to memory. He carries on with his analysis of the man who shrugs away his concern, and closes his eyes for a moment to focus on his breathing. It doesn't matter that the other man adjusts his weight; makes himself look bigger and acts the part of a cool-headed individual. He won't give movements of his own.

He holds his breath and curiously leans in.]

I'll have your opinion now. What am you? Guilty or innocent?

[ Lifting his chin slightly, Diablo regards the screen somewhat coldly, though not all that much more so than he already was -- mostly, he's unaffected by the challenge.

Point-blank: ]

I'm guilty.

[Crane raises an eyebrow. The connotations associated with guilt - an intensity of emotions that few can process, never grasp without having an invested interest in the description. He shrugs and looks nowhere in particular.]

The guilty always have company, as you say. What makes you different from any of your cell mates?

Wouldn't know. I never had any cellmates.

[Ah.]

Neither did I. [A pause.] Afraid, were they?

It don't matter if they was afraid or not -- they was smart, that's all.

[Crane murmurs appreciation. He had to acknowledge his own wisdom when he saw it reflected.]

It's smart to be afraid. It's necessary for survival. They were afraid of what you could do. [Mmh.] The only question, then, is what scares you?

[ Hm. Diablo's expression doesn't change except for his eyes to narrow slightly more, though not in irritation -- more like simply because it's a question worth squinting at dubiously, something no one's ever wondered about him simply innocuously.

And for good reason, obviously. ]

Uh huh. And why is that the only question?

[Scanning the other man's face for some emotion, which makes his own eyes narrow, he blanks out - till that slight narrowing of the eyes catches his attention.

And he bathes in it.]

To be afraid is to be smart, remember? [He does value intelligence.] Perhaps there is nothing about you that horrifies me enough to kill my curiosity.

Yeah, in your opinion.

[ But Diablo isn't going to argue the point either way beyond making that simple comment. ]

Not like you're the first person to ever wonder, though.

[If not by his opinion. Does that mean this man is terrified by himself, hmm? Is he troubled by some inner self-loathing he can analyze? Not today. Patience, Jonathan.]

I suppose not. Though wondering about a person's motivations is hardly criminal.

[It's what you do about it afterwards, Johnny.]

Nah, I wouldn't call it criminal. [ And didn't, either. ] Most of the time it can even be pretty natural. Justified, I mean.

Justified because why? Justification differs from one person to the next. What justifies it to you?

[He knows the answer, or so he believes, but having it in Diablo's own words? Well, that's just good knowledge.]

[ Diablo considers his answer-- not because he doesn't know it, but because simplicity here is better. And wiser. ]

Experience. [ Which can mean quite a few things, unclarified. ] And what about you?

Patterns of human behavior.

[Which can include personal behavior, personal experience, but they're being beautifully simple.]

I am a firm believer in taking action before it becomes necessary. If an individual's motivation towards me is hostile, it makes sense to take action before events come to a head.

If it is hostile, or if you just decide it's hostile?

[ A subtle but significant distinction. Then, with casual curiosity: ]

Like what kind of action?

[There's no answer to the first question. The implication his judgment is less than sound doesn't deserve an answer, honestly. So he bats it away in favor of answering the second.]

Whatever is possible at the time, according to need. Whatever is necessary. [He narrows his eyes, curiously.] Are you always this inquisitive?

Edited 2017-04-03 21:27 (UTC)

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24 ⚜ Anonymous Text / CW: abuse mentions

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