versusnurture | fifth ♢ private + voice + spam

private/voice } ben

[She contacts her warden as soon as Hannibal makes his announcement. Last night, when she checked in, she was distant; this morning she seemed more confident. This afternoon, she's shaky, uncertain, every bone in her body trembling, it feels like.]

Ben. I lost time. [This is an excuse, she knows.]

He made me dinner, Ben.

public } voice

[She cuts the feed on, then off. On/off, on/off, in strange but rhythmic patterns like Morse code.]

[She's fishing. Questions, accusations will come - she remembers that much from last time, with her real father, with Garret Hobbs, the Shrike. She wants them now. She doesn't want to wait.]

public } spam

[She doesn't change her routine, not even slightly. Which is not to say she's not afraid: she's terrified. There's no Freddie Lounds here to publicly doctor this story, to minimize her shame. Even if there was, she honestly isn't sure she'd want that anymore.]

[So she walks the halls and accepts what comes, goes to the art room, goes to lunch, visits Ben on his shift. Sometimes she goes to the CES and forgets where she is and how time passes. Hours and hours go by as she sits under a tree with her knees pulled up to her chest.]

[This is the only vulnerability she shows, and it is accidental.]

private } zane

I know what he wants from me so I can ask him for information if that's what you want.

[It's about the Emperor, of course; she no longer has the privilege, in her own mind, of contacting Zane for any reason other than business.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Two-Face is mollified, and Harvey is gratified, at her understanding. But at her caring, neither-- really seem to know how to react. It was a given, easier unspoken -- but laying it out, well, makes it a touch more real. It's hard to deal with the real, when you are half-unreal. ]

Good. We're glad.

You'll let us know if you need anything else?

[ He pauses, and says ]

We'll get you keys. To our room. We want you to have a space you can go to. That's safe. Well. Safer. Door's easy to bar, hard to get through.

We want-- you to have a haven. While you're here.

I'll let you know.

[She wants to hug him again, but she knows, too, that there's a limit of caring that someone like Harvey can handle in one day. So she holds back and adjusts to sit with her feet tucked under her, shooting him a bright smile.]

And that would be - amazing. If you're sure you don't mind.

We're sure. We know we can trust you. Just be careful.

[ They had their enemies, after all. But she had hers, and he would give her shelter, even if it was in a battered, aging asylum cell rent down the middle as surely as they were. ]

You'll be alright. You're already bouncing back.

I'll be careful. But -

[She closes her eyes and remembers what Elena said.]

I won't miss my opportunity either, when it comes. [And she doesn't think he'd want her to. Not really.]

I'm stronger than I thought I was. I have people I can trust, it - helps, it's surprising. You helped.

I know you won't. We'll be there to help you, if you need us.

[ They want her to have the freedom he had; everyone kept telling him that revenge was shit, that it was empty afterwards. Neither Harvey nor Two-face found that true. Exterminating two crime families made him feel like a vengeful God. There was no giving up that rush of power, that accomplishment. ]

[ He is not ashamed of the work he's done. Oh, some eggs got broken along the way-- cops dead, families shattered, that sort of thing. That's regrettable, and Two-Face lets Harvey live with it. ]

[ He's sure Abigail will find her way to do the same. ]

You are, and we're glad. You've -- many fathers on this barge, family of killers and thieves. But I think you'll surpass us all, in the end.

fifth ♢ private + voice + spam

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