[Video]
[Public]
[And here is the Doctor, looking contrite. He has his journal propped up unevenly, and he's draped and covered in criss-crossing cords and wires and he's not looking at it. He's barely even in the frame. It's more like he hit the first button to turn it on (which happened to be video) rather than actually was going out of his way to give a presentation.] My first inmate here was a terrible man. Most of you remember him, or at least are familiar with his name. The Joker, he called himself. He liked to do terrible things to see how far that he could drive people. Some absolutely claimed that he couldn't be redeemed. [He rolls the "r" for redeemed, and then grunts as he tights something.]
He was capable of unspeakable acts of cruelty for no other purpose than to inspire a reaction, his attachments formed in malice and obsession with little fond emotion behind them. But I enjoyed being his warden, I can admit that now. Not because I approved of him or his ideals, but because it gave me a sense of purpose. I was doing something wonderful in attempting to control what was practically the human personification of disaster. It was as though I was presented with every dark and terrible thing about mankind and told that there was the most slim of chances that I buried under all of that destruction and careless hostility and chaotic resistance to empathy and told somewhere under all of that there was the slim chance of a shred of decency. If I could muster a grain of respect from the maniacal madman I had done the world some good. It wasn't my fault that he was here, but I could put genuine effort into stopping and guarding over him.
[He stops to look at something. Stares at it as if he's attempting to bore a hole through it.] I think I broke it- [And on he goes.] In any case, my second inmate was Persephone. What was good had been obvious from the start when she came. Somewhere along the line, this place did to her as it does to many. It corrupted her. It drove her to distraction and when she was placed under the greatest of strains circumstances broke her. She wasn't all that terrible, just a bit misguided and changed as a bad season would change the environment.
I couldn't quite tell you why precisely. Perhaps it was all the times that Death laughed in my face, literally, and mocked taking those that I loved. The times the Gods of Ragnarok- not yours, Loki -but the times they entertained themselves with the suffering of humans as if they were little more than ants. Or Fenric, feeding on evil since the dawn of all things. The Scourge, devouring on fear and twisting victims on their side of the void. It frustrated me to see what could potentially lead to that, no knowing how someone as inhuman as I could give her a greater appreciation for human life. In the end, I simply couldn't manage as a warden in relating to her.
[He turns to adjust the volume and then squints at the screen.] Oh, I had the video on. As I was saying, though, I owe it to her and her warden to say that I didn't choose not to warden her any longer because she was terrible or salvageable or unworthy of my efforts, especially when I was willing to stand by my previous charge through his monstrous behaviour. Simply that a human would be more fitting than a very old man who suffered so long at the hands of gods. So, to Persephone, you've my apologies and best wishes. [He gives a little wave, before switching the feed.]
[Private to Buffy]
Have you had a chance to give some thought to my proposal?
[Private to Dallas]
I saw that you've had concerns with a new arrival. Do you want to talk?
[Private to Tim]
How did that extra hour go?
[Private to Narvin.]
Pub. Now. Don't forget your shoes.
[And here is the Doctor, looking contrite. He has his journal propped up unevenly, and he's draped and covered in criss-crossing cords and wires and he's not looking at it. He's barely even in the frame. It's more like he hit the first button to turn it on (which happened to be video) rather than actually was going out of his way to give a presentation.] My first inmate here was a terrible man. Most of you remember him, or at least are familiar with his name. The Joker, he called himself. He liked to do terrible things to see how far that he could drive people. Some absolutely claimed that he couldn't be redeemed. [He rolls the "r" for redeemed, and then grunts as he tights something.]
He was capable of unspeakable acts of cruelty for no other purpose than to inspire a reaction, his attachments formed in malice and obsession with little fond emotion behind them. But I enjoyed being his warden, I can admit that now. Not because I approved of him or his ideals, but because it gave me a sense of purpose. I was doing something wonderful in attempting to control what was practically the human personification of disaster. It was as though I was presented with every dark and terrible thing about mankind and told that there was the most slim of chances that I buried under all of that destruction and careless hostility and chaotic resistance to empathy and told somewhere under all of that there was the slim chance of a shred of decency. If I could muster a grain of respect from the maniacal madman I had done the world some good. It wasn't my fault that he was here, but I could put genuine effort into stopping and guarding over him.
[He stops to look at something. Stares at it as if he's attempting to bore a hole through it.] I think I broke it- [And on he goes.] In any case, my second inmate was Persephone. What was good had been obvious from the start when she came. Somewhere along the line, this place did to her as it does to many. It corrupted her. It drove her to distraction and when she was placed under the greatest of strains circumstances broke her. She wasn't all that terrible, just a bit misguided and changed as a bad season would change the environment.
I couldn't quite tell you why precisely. Perhaps it was all the times that Death laughed in my face, literally, and mocked taking those that I loved. The times the Gods of Ragnarok- not yours, Loki -but the times they entertained themselves with the suffering of humans as if they were little more than ants. Or Fenric, feeding on evil since the dawn of all things. The Scourge, devouring on fear and twisting victims on their side of the void. It frustrated me to see what could potentially lead to that, no knowing how someone as inhuman as I could give her a greater appreciation for human life. In the end, I simply couldn't manage as a warden in relating to her.
[He turns to adjust the volume and then squints at the screen.] Oh, I had the video on. As I was saying, though, I owe it to her and her warden to say that I didn't choose not to warden her any longer because she was terrible or salvageable or unworthy of my efforts, especially when I was willing to stand by my previous charge through his monstrous behaviour. Simply that a human would be more fitting than a very old man who suffered so long at the hands of gods. So, to Persephone, you've my apologies and best wishes. [He gives a little wave, before switching the feed.]
[Private to Buffy]
Have you had a chance to give some thought to my proposal?
[Private to Dallas]
I saw that you've had concerns with a new arrival. Do you want to talk?
[Private to Tim]
How did that extra hour go?
[Private to Narvin.]
Pub. Now. Don't forget your shoes.