sunday_reveries 8.16-22 - "Are you insane?"

[take_mychances]

Also serves as an RP thread for arkhams_dr, questionorigin and a_carrion_crow.

Why am I doing this again? Dalia had been asking herself the question all day. Now it was finally time for her to leave work and head over to Crane House for dinner with Duela and Jonathan (and presumably Joshua, who never missed out on an opportunity to condescend to her) and she was still questioning

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[take_mychances]

While Jonathan got his tea, Dalia made her way to where she remembered his study was located. She turned on a lamp, though that didn't do much for the shadowy room and sat down in the high-backed chair across from the desk.

[take_mychances]

Dalia looked back at him. "What--was he like? My dad, I mean. Before..."

[arkhams_dr]

"Aside from his face? Exactly the same. The only difference is that he hid it better then - he even hid it from himself to a degree." More tea, and another pause. "That's unfair. He was younger, we all were, and he thought he really could change the world. One way or another, he would have discovered how impossible it is to change anything but yourself, but the Clown's lessons are invariably harsh ones."

[take_mychances]

"That's what you believe, then? That you can only change yourself--and not the world? Isn't it important that--he wanted to? That he tried?"

[arkhams_dr]

"That's a question better answered to the self. If you ask me, I think he should be satisfied with what he managed, but my opinion isn't what matters, is it?" He glanced back at the portraits before he continued. "As for me, I believe I have changed the world as we knew it. It remains to be seen how much more I have still to change."

[take_mychances]

"So they were both--they both had mental problems--in your opinion--before the events that caused those problems to be more...obvious?" Dalia leaned forward in the chair. "Do you think it was Gotham that did it--or--are people like them--more likely to be drawn to a place like Gotham in the first place?" She paused. "Even now, they're both attached to the City...like...it's some sort of prodigal child that'll come home at any minute...That's not...why I chose my job..." Dalia stopped quickly, wondering why it was so easy to start rambling to him, despite her best efforts not to.

[arkhams_dr]

"Those are interesting questions - ones that have no simple answers. Yes, I believe they each had certain issues before any catalysts took place, but there's no guarantee that doesn't hold true for everyone. What is normal, after all? It's a state we choose, individually, and individually we determine what we believe that truly means." He looked down, into the nearly empty cup. "As for Gotham, it's very tempting to say the city attracts those likely to adapt to its character, but its very character is formed by those who inhabit it. It's a cycle, as most things are."

[take_mychances]

"Duela says Mom had to be put in the sanitarium when Dad left...Mom says you guys locked her up, that you...warped Duela's mind." Dalia looked back at him. "If you helped her so much--why does she hate you now? Why--is her opinion on it different than yours?"

[arkhams_dr]

He paused, toying with the handle of his teacup. "This will be very difficult for you to hear. Are you really sure that you want to know?"

[take_mychances]

"I've heard their versions of things. I want to hear yours," Dalia said. For better or worse, she thought.

[arkhams_dr]

"If you insist." He put down the cup, looking directly at her. "You may or may not know that the first time Nadine believed Harvey dead, she tried to commit suicide. I know that attempt was genuine, as she had no way of knowing that I would find her before it was too late. The second time, however, years later, she knew that Duela would find her body, and only her untimely arrival home prevented this second attempt from success. I knew from the first instance that Nadine valued Harvey far more than she would ever value me, but to do that to her daughter...well

[take_mychances]

Dalia's face grew increasingly grave as Jonathan went on and at one point, she clenched her fists tightly in her lap. When he finally finished, she shook her head. "My mom wouldn't purposely try to hurt Duela. She wouldn't. She worries about her so much, even now." Her voice broke a bit, but Dalia went on. "She was like a broken record when I was younger. 'I hope Duela's okay. I wish she'd come by more often.' "

[arkhams_dr]

"It's clearly a case of trying to compensate for her earlier behavior. I made it very, very clear to her what I felt she'd done, and besides the sting of my rejection, I think that's what has stayed with her." He folded his hands together. "Surely, you don't doubt my devotion to Duela. If nothing else, you can speak to her about that."

[take_mychances]

Dalia heard him, but didn't look at Jonathan. She was silent a moment, her mind swimming with thoughts. Finally, she said, "I think I'll go back and see my sister now."

[arkhams_dr]

"Yes, we should both probably rejoin her." He stood, heading for the door. "If you have any further questions, I'd certainly entertain the idea of answering, as long as Duela doesn't mind."

[take_mychances]

Dalia followed. "Thank you," she said quietly.