a dance of doves & crows ( jonathan crane )

progress and promises ( part 1. )

author's note : hey all :3 sorry for delay!! i'm moving into a new place, so i haven't had time or energy to dedicate time to this story . however, i plotted out this story in the long run (ive always been pretty episodic with my writing so this is very new 4 me haaah) and i'm eager to get to certain points. buuut i know it'll take a bit because im a sucker for long-term slow burns ( as you can see with the several months between chapters, jules is a TOUGH NUT TO CRACK ) thanks for all the love, i really look forward to ur comments :33

                                    song of the chapter   :     the adults are talking - the strokes

Six months ago, Jules was admitted to Arkham Asylum and put into Doctor Crane's care. 

       In the past six months she had been medicated, interrogated, poked and prodded by complete strangers, been fed literal mush, and completely lost touch with the woman she used to be. Not to mention the isolation from her anomalous companions, and the strange tug-of-war dynamic she had with her therapist. No matter how much sleep she got, it felt as though she was always tired.

         Jules thought, maybe, it was the distance from her creatures that made her feel this heavy. Or the medication. Her mind, body, and soul ached. It clearly showed whenever she caught glimpses of her reflection. 

          Dark circles under her eyes. Chapped lips. Her hair was frizzy and damaged, because of course the shampoo at Arkham was actual poison for the hair. Obviously, she had no access to a bottle of nair or wax strips, so body hair was getting rather impressive at this point.

         Though she felt no remorse for her actions, the punishments certainly felt like punishment. Destroyed self esteem and zero freedom because she got a bit of revenge, God Bless America.

        It begged the question - how long was she even planning to stay here? Jules had no plans to serve out her life sentence, duh, but after everything...

         She didn't want another plan. Not for a long while. Her last plan, though overall ninety percent successful - drained her of everything she had. She wasn't at peace, but she needed a break. Sacrificing your abusers to eldritch deities took a lot out of a gal, I'm sure you understand.

       LED lights and centuries-old walls blurred together like traffic lights on a night-time drive. She only saw the sun through the windows. She hasn't worn shoes since her trial, instead put into the blue socks with rubber on the pads to keep her from slipping on the endless amounts of tile flooring.

       For the past few months, Jules avoided everyone but Ivy and Doctor Quinzel - And only got letters from Selina twice a month. Apparently, according to the first letter, Selina had shown up at the asylum three times since she had been admitted, and had been turned away by the staff. 

        A part of her thought it was Crane's order. Over her time here, he had proved to have quite a bit of pull. He must've been highly ranked and respected, Jules could admit she could see how. He was a damn good shrink, even with what little he actually knew about her. Since she started meeting with Doctor Quinzel as well, he had begun to treat her differently, making her doubt he would prevent Jules from seeing her dear friend.