tushanshu | video;

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Well, this is... embarrassing, if I do say so myself.

[He laughs a little, just to prove how completely embarrassed he is. Look. Do you see his embarrassment? Because it's totally there.]

Here it is, almost literally the eve of this masquerade and I find myself without a date. I hope none of you gentlemen mind me cutting in on you when the time comes.

[His tone is a little at odds with his expression, which is patently apologetic. His voice, however, is steeped in savoir-faire. Because what playboy wouldn't be happy to go stag amidst a party of beautiful women, I mean really.]

And on that note, I would officially like to extend my gratitude to Favrielle nó Eglantine for making this event a possibility in the first place, and for sharing this aspect of her culture with us. She's been a rock of our community for some months now, and she deserves every ounce of recognition her genius affords her.

[encrypted; AGENT CAROLINA | hackable]

Carolina, would you be interested in coming with? As a bodyguard of sorts, a strictly professional basis.

[encrypted; OLIVIA DUNHAM | hackable]

I don't suppose you're feeling up to a dance or two? I cut a mean tango.

[encrypted; BAT!DICK | unhackable]

Keep an eye on the newcomers.

[It goes without saying that Bruce is suspicious of both Tim and Jason, oops.]

[encrypted; ROBIN!DICK | unhackable]

I need to speak with you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She had no way of knowing exactly who this was exactly. Not at a glance. Though his (initial) gentlemanly ways reminded her quite a bit of her father, and that--combined with the topic of choice--made her smile.]

Like I told the others...I don't really see anything embarrassing about going to a dance without a date.

[tmw once upon a time Bruce would have asked Zatanna along as his +1. It takes him a moment before he flicks the video on to respond because man he is nursing a headache in the aftermath of that consideration.]

I suppose you're right about that. I'm sorry, have we met?

[His tone is a politely neutral 'why is a fourteen year old girl trying to give me dating advice'.]

[Because the law of the multiverse states all Zatannas must make commentary about your love life at some point.]

At the rate I've been going? Really, there's a 50-50 chance.

I'm Zatanna.

[Now here's a quandary. 'Bruce Wayne' has public association with the infamous Zatanna Zatara just as much as Batman does. But if he chooses to recognize her, that potentially creates problems. How many thirty-something men from Gotham can there possibly be on the Turtle. If he chooses not to, it's a story that can easily be picked apart later with even the barest amount of research on her behalf.

One way or another, his secret identity is on the line here.]

Bruce Wayne. You wouldn't happen to be a magician, would you?

[Her eyebrows go up; people didn't usually associate her with the performance world.]

My dad is. But how--

[And then the name clicks. There was no personal connection, but everybody knew who he was.]

Wait, the Bruce Wayne? From Gotham?

[He laughs.]

One and the same.

Oh, wow! No, we've never met before, I don't think. But I know who you are. Everyone does.

[She takes a moment, matching the face to the one she's seen on TV.]

...maybe it's my screen, but you look a little different than I remember.

[He raises an eyebrow.]

Different than... what, exactly?

[And then a laugh.]

Everyone always says the camera does add ten pounds.

[She gives a sheepish grin.]

I can't quite put my finger on it, really. Maybe I'm just getting paranoid because of all these alternate worlds.

There are a number of them, aren't there? I confess, the strangest ones are always those where people have never heard of me.

[... pause.]

I won't deny that's a somewhat egotistical line of thinking.

[Just a bit.]

I've been having just the opposite problem.

Hm? You mean like people who should know you but don't? I haven't experienced that at all.

No, I mean people knowing me who I've never met before.

...come to think of it, you'd asked me if I was a magician. Why?

[Most people wouldn't really assume that of a high school girl. Unless....]

There's a performer who comes to Gotham sometimes, we've worked together for charity balls and the like. Her name is Zatanna Zatara. Your mother? It's such an unusual name.

[She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. It figured.]

No. That's me. My mother's name was Sindella.

So then this is a - what do you call it - timeline discrepancy? Because at the risk of offending you, I'm fairly sure the woman I worked with was only a few years younger than I am.

Yeah, sure, let's go with that.

[It was easier than trying to explain the Multiverse. Specifically the reasons why she knew it existed. Although, if this version of Bruce Wayne claimed to know a version of her close to his age, there was every possibility it was happening again.]

I'm not offended.

Believe me, you're not the first person to tell me that. It's a long story.

Edited 2012-12-18 23:01 (UTC)

[He laughs.]

It wouldn't be the first 'long story' I've heard here, frankly. This place does seem to draw a crowd.

Have you been here long?

[She wasn't deliberately changing the subject. She wanted to know how familiar he might be with the on-goings of the turtle, including possible encounters with alternate universes, before continuing her explanation.]

A little over three months, actually.

[Since Batman showed up on the Turtle among the first wave of foreigners, and he'd rather there be as little as possible to correlate the two.]

[Okay, that could have been enough time. Borderline. Depending upon which people he associated with.]

In those three months...has there been anyone else who recognized you like I did? Somebody who you might've known, only they looked "different"? [Younger, older, choice of wardrobe, etc.]

[Dangerous territory, depending on what she knows of Dick.]

Is that relevant?

[He asks, with a rather endearing cluelessness.]

I mean, the strangest thing is that very few people here do recognize me. I understand there's the whole 'alternate universe' thing to be considered, but it's... strange to think that in other universes I might not be a household name.

I wouldn't ask if it wasn't relevant.

[~~Oh, gosh, somebody save her from the ego.~~ No, actually, she had a vague idea of what he was talking about. Her father was world famous, which made it strange to think of people she knew not knowing him. Maybe not world-shattering, but enough to require an adjustment in her way of thinking.]

[He still had an ego, though.]

Imagine how strange it must be to hear that, in some universes, I apparently am one.

[She kinda liked it, honestly.]

[He opens his mouth. And closes it again.]

Hm. Well, when you put it like that...

[Hopefully, she hasn't lost him completely yet.]

Because that's exactly what's been happening to me.

See, there are people here who are from words really similar to mine, with certain differences. Such as me suddenly being older, or having grown up with a different group of friends.

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