seventeenth trick

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[Ikki stands on top of the kitchen counter and yells at the top of his lungs. Presumably, this will get the attention of /someone/ who can help him find this bastard. Or even better, the bastard himself!]

ARKHAM!

[He's also kinda pissed from the looks of it, actually. He's got his brawlin' gloves on, and he's popping his knuckles intentionally.]

Comments

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[having adapted to the level of screaming that the asylum has, Scarecrow looks up]

I'll assume you don't mean our asylum.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[FUMING]

I don't know his name, but he's got the wrong idea about Diva-san. And I'm gonna beat some sense into him!

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

Ahh, then you do mean Dr Jeremiah Arkham. What wrong idea is that, I have to ask? Regrettably, she is truly a criminal, though Gotham is the one city where she would have been luckier not to have been considered insane. If you mean his belief that she is not a vampire... [he adjusts his glasses] Dr Arkham has his oversights. I do what I can to help her with that.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

{This is (one reason) why she loves you, Ikki}

Oh, my~ It looks like Arkham will have some trouble from Ikki. I hope that I shouldn't feel bad about that.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

Diva's not a criminal, she's a good person. She just has problems, dammit!

-- And yeah, that's the one. Also, the fact that he thinks he can just seize her property and sell it without her consent. It's her shit, not his!

[He itches his cheek.]

... Whaddya mean by helping? Do you steal from the blood bank? 'Cause that's what's best for her.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[♥]

No. You shouldn't. I'm gonna be your bodyguard, lawyer, and... ass kicker!

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

She is a civilian with a death count that exceeds the hundreds. That qualifies as criminal behaviour. Unless mass murder is legal in your world, in which case, I suppose she isn't a criminal.

Steal? No, that would be illegal. I'm a doctor. It's easy for me to find her some blood. I've also been working on something that should help her use more of the blood she takes in, which will make getting her enough blood much easier.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I'm so happy for it, Ikki! It's hard to do it myself when he keeps those awful tranquilizers so close.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[Ikki suddenly grows quiet, calm.] It wasn't her fault. She was used.

Doctor or not, if you can't understand that she's innocent, you'll never be able to help her in the long run.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

I'll do whatever I can for Diva-san.

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[with a sigh] It's referred to as 'not guilty by reason of insanity.' She isn't criminally responsible for her criminal behavior. Harvey Dent compulsively flips a coin to decide if he will take a good course of action or a bad course of action. He, too, is not guilty by reason of insanity. But he isn't innocent of lacerating a man's face until that man could no longer be identified by his friends or family.

I understand that it's very disturbing to think of someone you care for, and whose company you find agreeable, as a murderer. I must ask as a psychiatrist, however: does excusing her actions help her reform from them? Or does it simply make it easier for you to enjoy her company without feeling guilt and fear? If it is the latter, I must ask you to reconsider. For Diva's sake.

[allmarbles.livejournal.com]

[Oh, she's seen this face once before... It's kind of a scary face but nothing too bad.]

I, is there anything I can do to help?

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

You might wanna call a medical examiner when I'm done here.

Just sayin'.

[allmarbles.livejournal.com]

Understood, Ikki-kun!

Just make sure you don't get too beat up yourself.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

I'm not denying that she's done some bad shit, Doc, but telling her she's a goddamned heartless murderer won't help her in the slightest. The more she trusts in her own strength, the more likely she's gonna have it.

You know what Diva's really like? She's kind and generous and nothing like a monster at all. I believe in her because she needs someone to do it 'til she can believe on her own. [He folds his arms.] I'm not afraid of her. I don't turn my back on my friends, no matter what.

I think she can atone for what she's done, but she has to do it in her own way. And no one has the right to choose for her. Not even me.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

Heh. All I need to get better is a little TLC.

[allmarbles.livejournal.com]

[She's totally fidgeting and fiddling with the ends of her hair as she talks.]

Then... I could be by Ikki-kun's side till you're better- only if you'd want o, of course.

[madamemoiselle.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad. Not many other people believe in me anymore, but I'm glad that Ikki does most of all.

[lamb_of_gold]

[Shuffling along slowly. He's still getting used to being down two senses]

That tone sounds dangerous, Ikki.

[handfulofstraw.livejournal.com]

[a smile] It's good that she has such friends.

But you'll find that the penal system disagrees on the subject of Diva atoning in freedom. Diva is mentally ill and she needs psychiatric assistance. If she is not mentally ill, then she is fully culpable for the murders she has committed and would be sent to Blackgate Penitentiary. That is the law. Murderers, insane or sane, are incarcerated to protect the public and to assist in their own reform.

Unfortunate that she has been placed in Arkham, though...

[no-wait-gold.livejournal.com]

---Wait, Arkham? What are you talking about, kid?

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[Ikki takes a deep breath.] I know she's sick, but she can get better without this douchebag trying to starve her to death or sell off her property. He can't even do that legally, right? I mean, I'm the one living there.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[His eyes soften a bit.]

Of course I believe in you.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[Sooo cuuuuuuuuuuute~.]

Of course I want you here.

[crowheaded.livejournal.com]

[Poor Mu.]

Apt observation, my eyebrowless friend.