tushanshu | video;

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

[It's a lot to take in, and it sinks in in pieces.

Bane. He was clever, sure. Wickedly strong. But able to beat Batman-- literally beat him? He never would've thought. A part of him doesn't believe, but it's the shock cushioning the news. It'll sink in.

Clark-- Superman-- being dead was terrifying, to say the least. One of the Leaguers he admired most, practically a member of his family, the freaking Man of Steel died.

How. How could this happen.

And where the hell had he been?]

[Dick licks his lips, taking a few moments to try to will the words to come out.]

But he didn't... he didn't break you.

No. But it took me-- time. To realize that.

[He's watching Dick's expression very closely, cataloguing each nuance and tick. He's always worn his emotions on his sleeve, it's... one of the things that made him brighter - better than Batman.

And it occurs to him that this is probably the first Dick's heard of Superman dying.]

[It's still sinking in. Painfully.]

Where was I? Why wasn't I helping you?

[Because he'd never leave Bruce to take down Gotham's baddest on his own. He's perfectly capable but having a partner to help means he wouldn't have wasted time. Wouldn't have worn down. Wouldn't have made mistakes. Wouldn't have been beaten.

Maybe Dick is overestimating himself. He pushes those thoughts away, carefully.]

Busy. Team business.

[There's no bitterness when he says that. He and Dick have fought those fights already, more times than he can count.]

I wouldn't have asked for help even if you had been available, Dick. Bane wasn't your counterpart's fault.

But Gotham's my home and you're-- you're my family.

[There's no excuse for not defending it, if he could. He's already lost a home and a family.]

Why wouldn't you ask?

[welp.

Bruce encounters a very real desire to shut down, end the conversation here, and so he's silent for a very long time after that question. At war with himself. Finally,]

I couldn't.

[He doesn't want to have to say he's bad with loss. It's one of those intrinsic things that Dick should just... know. His jaw tightens and he glances away, another moment's silence. Dick leaving to become Nightwing was the first of many dominoes that turned his life upside down. Being Batman had never been easy. But after that...

And losing Jason and Clark within mere months of each other. Bruce's life has been marked by losing the people he loved, but... he became Batman so that he'd be strong enough to prevent those losses from happening in the future. In his twenties, he was still young enough to think that was enough.

He doesn't look at Dick when he speaks again.]

As I said, you had your own life and duties. And I expected to be able to handle Bane by myself.

[In the moments of silence, Dick wonders if he should retract his question. Move on to something new and not heavy and painful. Because this hurt, for both of them. And making Bruce relive it just to satisfy his curiosity seemed almost cruel.

But then Bruce replies. The 'I couldn't' carries a weight-- 'I couldn't because I was hurt.' 'I couldn't because I needed to reaffirm that I was strong.' 'I couldn't because I needed to do this on my own.' Dick isn't a stranger to Bruce throwing himself into his work and trying to shut everything (and sometimes everyone) out. 'Trying' being the operative word. And it never ended in something like this. Where his body was as broken as his spirit.]

I'm sorry.

[It's not an 'I'm sorry I wasn't there.' He can't apologize for something he did or didn't do in another universe. But it's 'I'm sorry you were-- and are-- so hurt.']

Don't be. It was a lesson.

[And he knows the weight those words carry, from Dick. He chooses to acknowledge them only as relative to the immediate topic at hand.]

One I needed.

[And then there's the matter of Azrael... but that's a story for another day.]

[He realizes Bruce only acknowledged the first layer of his apology, but he knows Bruce heard all of them. He always does.]

Guess this is a lesson I needed too. [Even if it's something he never wanted to hear. Even if knowing it makes him ache.

Right now, he tries to push the thoughts to the back of his mind. For later. (Bane's sneer, his taunts, memories transforming into imagined nightmares. The Manor breached, Bruce's broken bod--)

No. No he needs to focus on now.]

One question: I can still assume that you can take the Flash in a fight, right? Because Wally's so in denial.

[It's a weak joke, delivered weakly. He-- they-- needed a break from the tension. A return to "normal," whatever that is.

Bruce's twisted nightmarish stories from his world weren't Dick's idea of normal.]

[and that right there is the core of why Batman always needs a Robin, because Bruce actually laughs. It's brief noise, but it is amused.]

Any day of the week, Robin.

video;

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action

action