[Kate exhales, quiet for a moment as she processes. She looks away for a moment, eyes drifting back to the glowing stream.
There's a lot she could say, a lot she wants to say, but she's not sure how ready he is to hear it. Yes, he's ultimately responsible for his own actions, but Kate guesses the number of people who cared about him, who really wanted the best for him in an unselfish way, could be counted on one hand. Most of them seemed to die tragically. Everyone else in his life just seemed interested in using or manipulating him, then casting him aside when he was no longer useful. So of course he'd cling to something like this, to someone like Clark.
But Clark's part of the issue. Damian shuts down every time she says something close to negative about him. He's not ready for it yet, maybe, and she doesn't want to pry open that wound when he's working through this part of it.
So. Deep breath. Kate meets his eyes again, presses a little closer.]
I'm not going to tell you none of it was your fault.
[Really, she doubts he wants that anyway. Admittedly, she also has doubts that he could have done anything to stop Clark, but she'll keep those to herself for now.]
But... Your whole life, you've been dealing with people trying to mold you into what they wanted you to be. You've been through a lot, and the entire time, you've wanted to make the world a better place. So what are you going to do with that now, Damian? There's no Regime, no one to tell you who you have to be. Just you.
no subject
[Kate exhales, quiet for a moment as she processes. She looks away for a moment, eyes drifting back to the glowing stream.
There's a lot she could say, a lot she wants to say, but she's not sure how ready he is to hear it. Yes, he's ultimately responsible for his own actions, but Kate guesses the number of people who cared about him, who really wanted the best for him in an unselfish way, could be counted on one hand. Most of them seemed to die tragically. Everyone else in his life just seemed interested in using or manipulating him, then casting him aside when he was no longer useful. So of course he'd cling to something like this, to someone like Clark.
But Clark's part of the issue. Damian shuts down every time she says something close to negative about him. He's not ready for it yet, maybe, and she doesn't want to pry open that wound when he's working through this part of it.
So. Deep breath. Kate meets his eyes again, presses a little closer.]
I'm not going to tell you none of it was your fault.
[Really, she doubts he wants that anyway. Admittedly, she also has doubts that he could have done anything to stop Clark, but she'll keep those to herself for now.]
But... Your whole life, you've been dealing with people trying to mold you into what they wanted you to be. You've been through a lot, and the entire time, you've wanted to make the world a better place. So what are you going to do with that now, Damian? There's no Regime, no one to tell you who you have to be. Just you.