Log 0018 - [Video]

[keeps_a_cool_head]

[Someone is in an angry sort of mood, given post-flood shenanigans. Scorpius is keeping himself relatively calm by usual standards, but he's tense and bristling when he makes his post]

I should like the permission of a warden to work in the lab today.

[All day. Because hell if he's going to deal with emotions.]



[Private to Horatio]

I believe I owe you an apology. The responsibility of my flooded self lies with me.

[Private to Stephanie]

Thank you for keeping the situation under manageable control.

Comments

Private; cw: abuse...?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

[Stepping down from the chair, Scorpius approaches Stephanie, looking her over as she speaks. It's odd, listening to her speak candidly about her past. Much of it mirrors his own in ways he prefers not to articulate. But what's curious about her is that she's found a way she prefers to live that doesn't include revenge. Or maybe it's because she took her revenge already and only then got to have her redemption. His was cut short. And the threat still exists out there, so the situations are not entirely the same.

Idly, he bends down to pick up one of her ridiculous little stuffed toys, looking it over]

When you sent your abusers to meet their fates, how did it feel?

And how would you feel knowing that they were still out there, coming after you?

[ichoosefight]

[ She blinks, briefly confused by the question. Most of those people she never got revenge on, or wouldn't want it. But then she knows what answer he's looking for. ]

For a long time I was afraid to go home because I knew Black Mask would be waiting there for me, and everyone else would be there with all their disappointment. Even if I made it through I thought, I've lost everything, so what's the point?

When I finally graduated, I had to put away the idea that I would kill him myself. I knew that I was strong enough to get away if I needed to, and that was just what I had to do.

But then he got a hold of someone I care about. There wasn't any time to think about it, I had to make a choice then and there. If I hadn't just taken a gun away from a gangbanger... [ She wouldn't have shot Black Mask. Maybe Babara would be dead. Maybe Steph would be dead. She doesn't know. ]

It wasn't a good feeling. It didn't make me feel safe. I felt like now I was the danger, and I'd thrown away everything I had only just gotten back.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Revenge seldom feels good, Stephanie. Murder no matter the case, unless you are completely psychopathic, doesn't bring you joy.

[But he still would do it, and gladly, even if it ruins his own life. This is what his life was purposed for]

But sometimes it is a necessity. You may argue about choice, but in the end it may come down to only two choices: living, or dying.

[ichoosefight]

[ For once she just nods, soberly. He's absolutely right, about revenge, and about choices. Killing Black Mask involved neither, really. ]

What were you expecting me to say? That I shot him the first chance I got? If I'd done that I wouldn't have died. [ She lets out a single harsh "hah" as the irony hits her. ] That just goes to show you how badly I screwed everything up.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

From my perspective, you did not..'screw everything up.'

[Look at him, copying human vernacular.]

Or if you did, then you are swiftly on your way to repairing matters.

You are alive now. This counts for something.

[ichoosefight]

[ Now that makes her smile. A little deviously, even. ]

Are you trying to encourage me? That's downright sweet.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

[He bends down to give Stephanie back her beanie baby cat, his gaze completely impenetrable]

No. But I did tell you I don't make a habit of lying.

[ichoosefight]

[ She takes the cat back and turns it to face him, moving the head up and down with one finger so it seems to be the one talking. ]

You were totally trying to encourage me.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

[A dry pause, before Scorpius turns back to the Chair to finish his ministrations]

I was. Now I'm in severe doubt I should ever have tried.

[ichoosefight]

[ She is just going to sit here happily with the knowledge that she has won some sort of victory. She's not totally sure what kind, but its definitely a victory. ]