046 + Orel

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

[Orel is going through his big cardboard box that he keeps stuff in, and pulls out his camera, then a reel. He looks at it thoughtfully, before setting up the camera legs and sticking the reel in the camera... thingies. He grins, and fiddles with a knob or something on it, before aiming it at a sheet he has set up.

Bow before my descriptive prowess.]

{And as I bow, Diva is setting up the last few chairs, since she figures that maybe some other people would like to watch Orel's movie. But what is this? Orel and Diva are no longer chained together! How? Well, you'll have to ask.}

Ne, this is a lot of work for a movie, isn't it?

[Orel laughs.]

It's not that bad!

[He turns the camera on for a second to see where he should position it to make it centered.]

This is the hardest part, I think. It's easier to project on a wall, but a sheet works just as good.

{Diva smiles, clapping her hands together. This is exciting!!}

How neat! And you made the movie yourself, you said? You must be very talented, then. I couldn't even imagine trying to make one myself.

[He nods.]

Uh-huh. I'm still working on getting better, though. Maybe in a year or two I'll be able to make a movie that's over 30 minutes long! And without anything falling over, too.

{Warmly,} I'm sure that you will! As hard as Orel works, I wouldn't be surprised. Ne, but it was interesting being together for...however long that was. Did I tell you that you're welcome to come visit any time? I'd love for you to.

[Orel makes the final adjustments on his camera.] Then I'll come over sometime! Maybe after track practice if me and Doughy aren't doing anything... or whenever you're not busy, is that okay?

{Nods!}

That'd be perfect! Oh, is it ready?

[Orel nods again.]

Yep! Sit down and I'll start it.

{Diva nods once again, and obediently sits in the front row (though, there are only two rows) with a bright smile}

[And Orel plays the movie. For those interested, there is no sound, no music, the animation is choppy, it's stop motion, and the events seem to depict an awesome day at an amusement park and a rollercoaster ride. Which will end in the car falling off the track and crashing into the ground. But don't worry, everyone seems fine. Somehow. Miraculously.]

((ooc: Orel and Diva are free! But they are also best friends, so. Blue is Diva, and orange is Orel!))

Comments

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[Scarecrow just decided to blame Eddie for this incident of touching]

[it will be a REALLY stern talking-to]

I appreciate that, Diva. The Riddler's referred to me by that name for a long time, however, and I doubt he'll drop it any time soon.

[not, of course, that Scarecrow wants him to. He quite likes being who he is.]

[this icon expresses his displeasure the way he refuses to let his face do]

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

{Aww Diva's gay bffs have this issue of bullying, it seems like :(}

Oh, that's too bad, then. At least it's not that bad of a nickname.

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[Scarecrow will just pick apart Eddie's fears for a while until he gets Eddie terrified. Then he'll feel better and they can go finish a crossword together or something]

The inmates have been known to give out far worse.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

{D: BUT CRANE DIVA DOESN'T LIKE HER FRIENDS BEING TERRIFIED...or herself. but.}

I would imagine. I can't say that I would be the most cheerful and understand person if I were in an asylum.

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[phhpt, Crane puts up with riddles. Fair is fair.]

You might be surprised. Home is where the bed, food, and fellow costumed criminals are.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

So they're happy there?

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

That, Diva, depends on the inmate you're speaking to.

[Scarecrow - one of the ones who considers it home sweet home]

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

Well, then how about Eddie and Harley, then?

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[without any uncertainty]

Home. Particularly for Harleen.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

{This is amazing to Diva, because she would destroy everything if she were put in one. So her confusion is understandable.}

Really! That's really...different, then! At least they're happy there, but still...

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

Is it? If you consider the outside world, what do they have? Their lives of crime - free lives, often ones motivated by money. Not that many of them act out of greed, but simply that they need the money to commit the crimes they really long for. One inmate once said that all of them know that, the second they act, it's just a clock counting down until the Bat comes to catch them. So, in poverty or not, battling for survival, they know that misery is coming in the spectre of a human chiropteran, a figure of the night who will beat and bruise them into submission and humiliation. Then it's back home, to be mocked for their failure, unless they've done quite impressively before the fall.

At Arkham, at least they're among their own, the criminal and the lunatic. Sane criminals are nothing but thugs and civilian madmen don't have the cruelty or strength to survive.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

{And, of course, Diva is only pinged by one word in that whole monologue}

...Human Chiropteran? I...What do you mean by that, exactly?

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[glasses adjustment]

Ahh, I'd forgotten. [had not forgotten] The Bat-Man. The terror of Gotham's criminal population.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

Oh. {:(} Ne, so he's a "hero", then?

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

He's a vigilante, but he's mostly done Gotham well. It depends on who you ask, on all sides of the law.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

Then you think he's done well?

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

I think [that he sucks] that---that he could do to be less violent in his work. The broken bones, bruised internal organs, the torn muscles and crushed limbs--[catching himself]---he isn't kind to my patients. There's usually quite a lot of time we have to give them recovering from trauma before we can return to their treatment. And he may truly be responsible for the rise in costumed criminals in Gotham.

Ultimately, he has given Gotham both hope and fear. Before him, it was simply desolate and despondent.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

Hmm~ I don't know whether that's good or bad, then. {Because Sam said you're not supposed to hurt people, but this method seems pretty efficient to her--}

I guess it's the lesser of two evils, isn't it?

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

Many agree. I think the city would be less without him.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

What does it mean to be a "hero" anyways?

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[he lifts his eyebrows; it's not a question he was expecting]

That's not something with a simple answer, Diva.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

Well, then give me the complicated one.

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[he considers this for a moment]

The word, in Ancient Greece, referred to demi-gods, beings who were part human and part something more. Perhaps that definition holds, though the 'something more' has changed. For some, it can be an inhuman willingness to sacrifice oneself for a cause, for something higher. Heroism, there, is the act of human sacrifice, no priest necessary, alter to be built in the aftermath.

Some heroes are admired for their moral superiority. They are shining examples of what it means to be 'good.' Unfortunately, with shifting and differing values in society, one person's hero can be another's monster. It's only sensible, then, that in some cases, a hero is simply the person who wins. Some heroes are defined by a quest they travel on. That is most common in folklore. Post-modern heroes are often disillusioned and borderline amoral, but powerful and perhaps sympathetic.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

{Most of that went over her head! But Diva frowns thoughtfully}

Those don't really sounds like Sister, though.

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

What is your sister like?