Dick Grayson ☼ ̶R̶o̶b̶i̶n̶ ☼ Wren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hackingyoursensors) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
tushanshu_logs2013-02-19 05:49 pm
hackingyoursensors) wrote in tushanshu_logs2013-02-19 05:49 pm
Entry tags:
- thread: zatanna zatara,
- † aisha al-fadhil,
- † alcuin nó delaunay,
- † amon,
- † bruce wayne,
- † bruce wayne (animated),
- † cassandra cain,
- † clark kent,
- † damian wayne,
- † dick grayson,
- † dorian gray,
- † favrielle nó eglantine,
- † inara serra,
- † jack frost,
- † javert,
- † kyle rayner,
- † lina inverse,
- † logan,
- † lois lane,
- † namorita prentiss,
- † oliver queen,
- † tony stark (mcu)
[open] In comics, 35 is the new 55.
Characters: Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and YOU
Date: Today!
Location: Metal Sector
Situation: It's Bruce's birthday! And he'll celebrate it whether he wants to or not.
Warnings/Rating: C for cute
It was mid-afternoon by the time Dick managed to make a video post to the network.
"I doubt he told anyone, but today is Bruce's birthday. I say this calls for a party, don't you? So I'm throwing one in Metal sector this afternoon. Be there or be a quadrilateral with four right angles and sides of equal length."
He grins.
"And don't worry. I'll make sure the birthday boy shows up."
The feed ends. He won't reply to any of the responses, but he'll be clearly visible whenever your character decides to wander over to the party site.
It's nothing too stellar, compared to the birthday bashes back home. Then again, those parties never really suited Bruce. That plus the limited resources he had in Keeliai meant the party was pretty low-key.
The party itself takes place outside in a spacious area in Metal that nobody ever really used. A few tables are covered in snacks and drinks from all over. No booze, so it's BYOB. He's pretty sure he'd be grounded for life otherwise. The decorations leave a little to be desired. There's a banner with "Happy Birthday, Bruce" in English in what is clearly Dick's handwriting. That's more or less it.
But he did clear an area as an impromptu dance floor and managed to set up a soundsystem. It's playing the closest approximation of the music Bruce actually likes. Some of it sounds suspiciously like The Clash.
He did manage to acquire a cake and some candles, though. (Dick tried to make one. It wasn't pretty.)
All in all, he was satisfied. Now to find Bruce and make good on his promise.
Date: Today!
Location: Metal Sector
Situation: It's Bruce's birthday! And he'll celebrate it whether he wants to or not.
Warnings/Rating: C for cute
It was mid-afternoon by the time Dick managed to make a video post to the network.
"I doubt he told anyone, but today is Bruce's birthday. I say this calls for a party, don't you? So I'm throwing one in Metal sector this afternoon. Be there or be a quadrilateral with four right angles and sides of equal length."
He grins.
"And don't worry. I'll make sure the birthday boy shows up."
The feed ends. He won't reply to any of the responses, but he'll be clearly visible whenever your character decides to wander over to the party site.
It's nothing too stellar, compared to the birthday bashes back home. Then again, those parties never really suited Bruce. That plus the limited resources he had in Keeliai meant the party was pretty low-key.
The party itself takes place outside in a spacious area in Metal that nobody ever really used. A few tables are covered in snacks and drinks from all over. No booze, so it's BYOB. He's pretty sure he'd be grounded for life otherwise. The decorations leave a little to be desired. There's a banner with "Happy Birthday, Bruce" in English in what is clearly Dick's handwriting. That's more or less it.
But he did clear an area as an impromptu dance floor and managed to set up a soundsystem. It's playing the closest approximation of the music Bruce actually likes. Some of it sounds suspiciously like The Clash.
He did manage to acquire a cake and some candles, though. (Dick tried to make one. It wasn't pretty.)
All in all, he was satisfied. Now to find Bruce and make good on his promise.
no subject
She's not wearing a dress, because seriously you can't kick in those, but her outfit is sleek and smooth, and her hair is done up, and her shoes shine. It's still strange, to dress up, but in a fun way - like a weird sort of game.]
Having fun? [It's the sort of thing you ask, and it's also a gentle bit of teasing.]
no subject
[His smile is a little tight around the edges. No one but Cassandra would ever notice it. But beneath that smile, and evident in the lines of his body, he's... almost comfortable being here.
But it's the fact that he's almost comfortable that has his spine set in a rigid line. He's... discomfited by his lack of overall discomfort.
And he still isn't certain what to make of that.]
no subject
It's...okay. To relax.
[Relaxing means something different for them, of course; you're still alert, still aware of everything you need to be. But you can settle, you can be...content.]
Nothing wrong with... [Her face scrunches as she tries to find the words.]
no subject
This place may not be his home, but until he leaves it's still his territory, and he'll fight to defend it just the same as he would Gotham.]
And what about you? Are you having fun?
no subject
Cass gives him a stern look.]
Yes. But don't - change the subject.
[She presses a hand to her chest.]
We have to be - more than - what we do. Or we'll forget...why we do it.
no subject
[It's as much rebuke as it is gentle reassurance. Too much of who - of what - he is is tied up in this. This grim court of clowns and crime, of shadows and all that lurks in them.
He can't forget any more than he can forgive. Seeing other people being happy only strengthens his own resolve, independent of his own feelings on the matter.
But it's times like these that he remembers the conversation he had with Barbara about Cassandra, before she even had a name that wasn't 'Batgirl'. Who does she remind you of?
And Barbara had said 'Well, you, actually.']
no subject
But it still isn't enough. She only started building a life outside of Batgirl because it would help her be a hero - but she's realised it's done more than that. She feels...whole. In ways she never thought she would. She's gathered pieces she's never realised were missing.
She wants Bruce to be whole, too.
Her voice lowers, and she stares up at him with quiet intensity.]
You showed me - that I was more...than a weapon. But that's - what you make yourself.
no subject
[His tone is gentle, and he puts one hand on her shoulder. If he were wearing his cape, he'd drape it over her and stoop until he was closer to her height. But he isn't. They aren't Batman and Batgirl here, they're Bruce and Cassandra Wayne.
(And because his parents are on his mind today for myriad reasons, he stops to wonder once again if they'd have liked her. He thinks so. Hopes so.)]
Your childhood was taken from you. Mine was... simply short.
['And none of my children should ever have to be like me'. He doesn't say it. He doesn't have to, it's written in his expression until he shakes his head and blinks it away.]
I knew what I was choosing, when I set on this path.
no subject
Still...stolen. Just - later.
[She saw those pictures. It was like a light had been struck out.]
You can be - a hero. And - a person, too. The others...they do it. Even - Oracle. [And Oracle can change the world with a sweep of her fingertips.]
Not - easy. But...if I can learn, then - you can.
[She stares up at him, chin out.] They wouldn't want - you to be...alone. Broken. Just because you think that's...better. They'd want...happiness, for you. They way - you do, for us.
no subject
The fact is, he always expected that his... soldiers (his children, his family) would lose their cohesion if they lost him. But they hadn't. And Dick, as much as he hadn't wanted him in the role, had walked in his footsteps with more acumen than even Bruce had anticipated.
Dick drew people in. And Bruce is too damned self-aware to realize he does the same only to push them away again when they get too close to the danger.
He's never quite accepted that being around him isn't a death sentence, because for too many people it has been. So when he cares for people, he-- he tries to make sure that they're the best they can be, the strongest he can make them. And he knows too well that's not always enough. So he keeps them at arm's length or farther, for their own sake. For his.
So it hurts less.]
It's not their decision to make.
[The anger is still there. But his words are... quiet.]
no subject
Why does everyone I care about die?
She blinks, hard.]
You - make decisions for us. Push us away, so you don't...lose anyone else.
[She takes a breath, deep and steady.] I - understand. But it's not - that's...
[Her eyes fall.] When Stephanie died, I knew...she would want me to live. For her. [She didn't die, not really, but it still feels like she did and Cass knows she'll carry that for a long time.]
So I - made friends. In Bludhaven. And then - I lost them. Couldn't... [She closes her eyes tight, for a moment. They're bright, when she opens them.]
But they helped teach me - how to be Cassandra. And if I stopped - doing that, it would...be wrong. To their memory.
no subject
Memories only get you so far.
[It feels like a betrayal, to put it that way. Because he's spent more time living in the past, more time grieving people he barely knew than he's ever spent living in the now. Appreciating the bonds he's forged.
He thinks sometimes, about whether or not his parents would approve of what he does. Who he is. How far he's come to being everything he hates. After all, he shot Darkseid. After he swore--
(no guns. ever.)
-- hard to imagine that Thomas Wayne would condone that. That Martha would--
His fingers tighten, just a little against Cassandra's shoulder. It's an unselfconscious gesture, and the moment he realizes what he's done he releases her entirely.]
no subject
[The loss feels greater than it is, but she understands why it happens. She can see the guilt, the uncertainty, the shame. She can only wonder at what caused it.
She reaches out, this time, lightly squeezing his arm.]
Whatever - you did. You did it because...you thought it was right. Because you knew - it would save people. Even if it hurt you. That's...what heroes do.
no subject
[Not the way he expects others to be. For all the reasons she mentioned. He does what's necessary, when it's necessary. So other people don't have to make those calls. That isn't heroism.]
no subject
Helped show me...what a hero is. What I - could be.
no subject
If Dick's comments threw him off balance, Cassandra's have delivered a killing blow to the even keel of his emotions. He systematically shuts down the feelings he can't control. Compartmentalizing. He'll deal with them later.]
You were already on that path, Cassandra. I only lit the way for you. But who and what you are, you were on your own. Before we even met.