metalogs | ( open ) and what's the worst you take

Entry tags:

( open ) and what's the worst you take

Who: Bruce Wayne/Batman

batsymbol
What: July Catch-all, Bruce assimilating to things, Batman being Batman
When: Throughout July, some August things too
Where: Primarily Central City, will mention otherwise
Content Warnings: TBD but let's just say Bruce being Bruce and Batman being Batman.

BRUCE or BATMAN

open to both [brackets] and prose, i'll follow your lead if you have a preference. if you want something else with bruce or bats, shoot me a PM or PP at

telekinetics to discuss. otherwise things we've planned/discussed can be dropped in here as well. starters in comments.

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In person, yeah.

[More quietly]

There's more to say but need a little more privacy.

( considering their last interaction had involved an unexpected fight which led to a tracker placed on him, he wonders if this is a good idea, but. when it comes to joker, he doesn't get the feeling it's something jason would play around with. )

Where?

There's a park nearby. We can find an isolated enough spot.

[Jason doesn't trust Bruce to show him any of his safehouses. The BatGym and Descendant's bugs are accessible by others and Jason would rather keep this conversation between him and Bruce. He's used the park before when Dick first showed up]

Lead the way then.

( because the more he knows about this, the better. possibly for all of them. )

[Jason nods]

Done shopping then?

Yeah.

( he's more or less got what he needs from this place at least. so he'll go to check out then follow after jason. )

[Once Bruce finishes paying, Jason takes the lead to a nearby park and scoping out a bench that's far enough from people but open enough that no one would suspect the two of them just talking.

His body language mostly seems casual but he's subtly watching out for any nearby hazards. His Bruce taught him well when he was Robin]

( bruce typically does the same, as he's always on and has been for the past two years now. does he get tired from it? yeah. he does. but he does think to slow it down or take time off from it? no. he doesn't. and he's not sure if he ever will... seems like no with the number of bat-related kids here who are connected to him in some fashion.

taking a seat, he pinches the bridge of his nose for a second before he looks over to jason, eyes shadowed some from the brim of his hat. )

[Jason takes a deep breath before diving right into the topic]

Last known in-person sighting was last year during the summer. We fought. The bastard got away. It seems like he might have a healing ability too.

[Because Jason certainly shot the Joker several times center mass but he didn't stay down for long]

December he made another post. Public but it was directed at me.

( joker with a healing ability? that doesn't sit well with bruce and it shows briefly in the way his jaw grows tight. that's all he needs. fingers laced together, arms draped across his legs, he looks ahead around the park. )

Why you?

[Jason anticipated the question. It's only natural this Bruce would ask and Jason's not mad at that. This Bruce doesn't know. He needs to know. But Jason's expression hardens and his hands ball tight into fists anyway]

Because he tortured and murdered me. I came back only because of someone else. December 21st was when it happened. He wanted to let us know that he's still around and still remembers too. Happy anniversary and all that shit.

( he listens as jason explains and when it comes to light, the reason, all bruce can do is close his eyes. three, then. three of them joker— a joker has harmed in ways he can't even begin to imagine... or he can, he just doesn't want to when, especially when it's them. he doesn't know them — he's not their bruce and yet... he feels some sort of way about this. as he would for alfred. he doesn't need to look over to jason to see it. he can feel the rage inside him and his own brand of vengeance deep there within him.

the thing is... he can't blame him. or the other jason. he could he with what joker's done? )

I'm sorry.

[As Jason's mind begins to wander back to his last fight with his Bruce, his voice comes out harsh and sounds much more like the Red Hood]

I tried to get my Bruce to change. Tried to get him to fucking understanding why the bastard has to die. He wouldn't listen. He's got his damn code.

[And it still hurts so much to know that after everything Jason put his Bruce through, that Bruce will never change]

Maybe you got one too. But it doesn't mean shit if the body count keeps going up. Nobody's saying you should go kill every thug you meet. But not everyone deserves to live. Some have to die, especially when you can't trust Gotham's shitty corrupt system to keep every criminal locked up. He always finds a way to get out.

( when jason starts going on about killing and how some deserve to die, he gives him a sidelong glance, hands still folded there with arms draped across his knees. it's difficult because...

...he doesn't agree with that.

no matter how much anger he has within him — no matter how hard he beats the thugs he comes across on the streets of gotham, he can't bring himself to kill them. even if some deserve it, like jason says.

for a long moment, he's quiet. pensive. when he finally speaks, it's soft. )

Justice isn't meant to be confused with scorn, but it easily can be.

[Jason scoffs. He doesn't expect this Bruce to understand what he's trying to say. Not right away at least. But Jason can at least say he trying to make his point known]

Yeah. Sometimes you need that scorn to keep going.

You... He has tried to teach each of us that justice and vengeance aren't the same. That there's right way and a wrong way to do this. Not all of us agree though. I tried to do things his way but I just keep seeing how it doesn't work. I got tired of his bullshit.

You better hope your Arkham has top notch security because that bastard and so many others are gonna use the place like it's got a revolving door.

( he can appreciate the fleeting moment of correction there. his bruce, not him. )

They're not the same. You cross a line, there's no coming back from it.

[In a bitter tone]

Now you really sound like him. "I'll never come back" was what he said last time we fought each other.

Maybe he was right.

That's easy for you to say when you haven't fully seen what he's capable of.

Is there a Barbara Gordon back in your Gotham?

( he knows the name — knows gordon has a daughter. so the look he gives jason is one that's suspicious. )

Why?

He got her too. She survived but not without permanent damage. A few months later, I died.

[Even after all these years, the incident and the close proximity to it with his own death still makes him so angry. Jason will never understand why his Bruce still didn't kill the Joker despite all that]

( that's not anything he needs to hear. not anything that has to happen to gordon. )

That's not going to happen. He's in Arkham. I put him there myself.

[Jason huffs out a humorless laugh]

That's always the case. He loves getting attention from you. And it's not like the cops can do much because they're not all like Gordon.

You'll catch him plenty of times. Getting him to fucking stay in Arkham is another matter.

( all he does is give a shake of his head. )

It doesn't have to be that way.

Yeah. It doesn't.

[Then in a darkly tone]

But are you willing to try something else?

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