april catch-all.

[beknight]

Who: bruce wayne (beknight) & various others.
What: shenanigans for april
When: throughout april
Where: everywhere
Warning(s): none yet, will add if needed.

Comments

DUTCH.

[beknight]

[ ooc: from here ]

[ He is capable. What he does not tell her is that reaching out for her is one of his instincts now, to draw her into the safest place he can find in the dark. He was always a shield, though he believed only in swords until he was reminded, truly, what he was. That knowledge has found purchase in his foundation. ]

[ They walk away, and the screams fade. The sound becomes laughter — one he knows, one he's missed without putting a name to it. Instead of a little girl with a knife there's a little boy, picking through the weapons rack. He's dressed lightly, for a long workout, and can't resist showing off a little with what he picks. His expression, when he glances up at a younger Bruce — uniformed, watching like a silent guardian — is hopeful. ]

Pick one, [ says the man in the memory, the one learning to be a father. Bruce echoes the words in his mind. ]

[motivation]

[ the screams fade and then there’s laughter instead and they’re watching something else instead. a boy, pleased, hopeful, seeking approval but not in the desperate way yalena often had. and bruce standing by, still, uniformed, his voice not unkind. ]

The outfit hasn’t changed that much. [ dutch remarks, tone forcibly casual. she doesn’t know what to feel. ]

[beknight]

Not much to change.

[ Dick picks up a bo staff, twirling it with ease. He pulls it apart curiously to reveal it's really a three-sectioned staff, then puts it down. Then, he chooses a single stick. Then, he nods to the memory-Bruce, who chooses another and settles in a stance opposite him. He's quick to knock Dick down — though it's not straightforward, the boy's quick — but keeps helping him up, trying again. ]

[motivation]

[ until bruce helps dick up the first time, dutch isn't sure what she's watching. khlyen had been charming, at times. khlyen's voice had been kind. sweet, even. khlyen had told her stories and comforted her.

he'd also forced her to kill. he'd stripped humanity from her bit by bit.

this isn't anything like that. that's not what bruce is doing here. ]

What's his name? [ she asks after a moment, quiet. ]

[beknight]

Robin.

[ Dick told him the story; it was his to keep safe after that, one more in the vault of memories that every parent carries. Bruce more so, because there's an allure, to stories. To heroes, to light, to something incorruptible. ]

[motivation]

He in stasis?

[beknight]

Yes.

[ The memory shifts. Dick is a little older, confidently twirling the staff now. Bruce looks his usual self, the only hint he shows is some harshness in the eyes. But he's over next to Dick amiably enough, attentive. ]

[motivation]

( for a moment, her shoulder meets bruce's arm, a steady point of comfort before she shifts her weight again. it's all she'll offer in response, the only admission that she realises that it must cost him to have his son in stasis. )

Did he choose this?

[beknight]

Yes. He was hellbent on it.

[ Bruce couldn't have stopped him. Dick was out on the streets hunting his parents' killer, he needed a friend, a safety net — for God's sake. He'd been hard to stop even then. ]

[motivation]

Then it's good you taught him.

( are teaching him? )