[ he can't resist the quip, even though he's glad junpei isn't asking, because he really doesn't want to talk about wally right now. or-- well, ever. still, the question throws him for a loop. ]
Not... really? [ he lifts his hands up a bit to stare at them ] I get the principle of it, but-- I'm the same. Mask or no mask. I kept it a lot more separate as a kid, but I don't... This is kind of my full-time job.
[ it's hard to explain, because so many other heroes have-- day jobs, or college, but the second he could dick went all in as nightwing. between his own city and the team, he didn't have a lot of spare time. ]
Maybe, but I'm a great Marty McFly. [It's equally thrown out there, if only because it's an easy comparison. On the other hand he didn't think he'd have to explain so he stares at his feet stretched out in front of him.]
...ah. I get it. [Whatever he gets, he doesn't share and he shakes his head.] Kind of one of those things where you accept all or nothing, then. Guess I'm still trying to figure out who you are.
Chea-ting. [ in a sing-song? ] Back to the Future was sci-fi, not an action flick. [ of course he's pedantic about that? and it's also a good distraction from. that question. he's quiet for a bit. ]
Maybe I am, too. [ the pause for the team had been an attempt at... maybe doing things differently. he'd been grieving, and he needed a break, and he needed-- who's dick grayson, ultimately? nightwing doesn't want to be batman, great. so who is he? he'd separated the hero, but hadn't really thought about much else. hadn't had the time. and this is a very gloomy personal subject so let's veer the fuck away from it-- ] Well, Dick Grayson fun fact number one: I was in a circus.
I miss movies. [He's not good at dropping subjects that work as distractions. So he just kind of responds to everything that's said. However, he's also patiently waiting for Dick to work out whatever he's thinking, even if he shifts just enough to let him lean more if he wants.
He also clings to the subject change, because that's not entirely unexpected either. He rolls with it, turning his head just slightly to look at him and laughing, a low, quiet sound almost in his ear.]
That would explain why you're so...[He moves an arm in a wiggle, likely meant to mean "bendy."] And that's where acrobatics came from?
[ what he wouldn't give for a working connection right now. but if they're going for that subject change-- and the grin on his face is sly at junpei's wiggled arm movement for bendy-- he'll go for it. ]
Yep. It was a family thing-- we were aerialists. [ past tense, but he doesn't bother explaining, moving on-- ] The flips worked out surprisingly well incorporated into crime fighting.
And video games. [He's not even homesick, he just hates this fucking boat. And he misses a life he had before everything went batshit, but nobody needs to know that. There's a playful lift of his eyebrows when he sees that grin, but he's also working an angle here and keeping hold of the subject.]
Fancy terminology and everything. Call me impressed. [But that doesn't surprise him either.] You can clear some long distances and drops that way, if the physics are right. I...have never really been that graceful. Pretty sure if I tried a flip I'd crack my skull open.
You have to start smaller than flips if you want your bones in one piece. [ and he knew the question was coming, knows it's bound to happen whenever he mentions the circus, and-- he'll always be upset about it, but he likes the older memories too much to not even attempt to share those, so: ] My family was murdered when I was nine. During a show. One of the people in the crowd that night was a superhero. He took me in, helped me bring the guy responsible to justice. I've been doing this since.
[ he's staring at his hands. it's been a decade, now. he's been without his family-- with batman-- longer than with. it's wild to think about. ]
[...well. That also explains some things, but unlike everything else it does actually surprise him. He grows quiet again, processing that information and tucking it away in some Dick-Grayson-Shaped file in his head. He doesn't say "I'm sorry" because it seems insincere, especially for something so long ago and something that impactful.
So instead, he tips his head a bit to rest on Dick's and stares at his feet while Dick stares at his own hands. He's hard-pressed to ever be openly affectionate, but time and effort means sometimes he'll make an attempt.
Where do you go from there...?]
Makes sense then. Habits are a hard thing to break. [Being a hero full time, he means.]
Maybe. But I like doing it, and I'm good at it. [ and, to break off the tension from his little reveal-- ] Incidentally, also true of other things you've experienced first hand.
[He opens his mouth to say something and immediately decides not to reveal one of his kinks and changes the subject.]
And it took me almost two week to learn. Looks like I'm slacking. [He can do quips. That's fine. He's 100% not sure what to do here so he'll follow the beat Dick sets.]
[ share your kinks, coward, dick's feeling a little exposed right now. he huffs a little instead, nudging junpei's foot with his own ]
Yeah, detective. Where's your work ethic at? [ but he won't just fake roast junpei, adding-- ] But I guess we've both been neglecting the "get to know you" part of roommate duties.
[No!! His kinks are staying right where they belong, they can talk about how Junpei's response was about compliments and praise kinks when they unlock new s-links. He nudges back with his foot, a thin smile on his face and still looking unsure where the line of saying things is. ]
Escha's got us both beat by constantly bringing us snacks. [There's an almost fondness to his tone before he frowns.] It's been a while since I've done this. I'm out of practice. And maybe you're not the only one who sucks at sharing.
[Has he bothered asking or concerning himself with Dick's tattoo? Nope. And he's not asking for explanation now.]
I already told her she was my favorite roommate. [ it's said very solemnly, because it is? a fact. Dick tenses a bit at the reminder of his magic tattoo, but doesn't move otherwise, looking wry again. ] I wasn't requesting anything. Talking to a guy with a secret identity, remember? You could always practice sharing to the mirror, dude, we'll probably hear you anyway.
[ because junpei mumbles his thoughts out loud a lot ]
Yeah, well, she deserves that. [Escha is a good girl who did nothing but suffer with these two. He doesn't seem to know what to think, but he at least looks a little embarrassed being called out on that.]
Sorry. Habits are a thing. [He says nothing about talking to a mirror because he thinks of what Hizamaru said a week ago. "If your painting could talk, what would it say?" His would say a lot he doesn't need to hear.] Let me ask you something. What are you requesting?
Nothing. I was joking. [ he sounds amused and-- a little sorry. he'd meant it as a tease, not as an actual call-out. ] I've spent years working with people who don't even know my name, JT. I'm self-aware enough to not actually throw stones from glass houses.
[He raises an eyebrow, not entirely dissuaded. He doesn't seem bothered because it was a real question. He doesn't mind requests and he's good with instructions when it's something he invests in.]
Requests were open for anything, but if you're really sure...[A soft shrug. He won't take the offer back just yet. ] I ruined my chance at a secret ID a while ago. [It has nothing to do with anything but he thinks about codenames and Akane and the nonary game because of course he does.]
I meant including things besides talking. [But okay.] Last year when I woke up on a ship after being kidnapped, I found eight other people. We didn't want the guy watching to know too much in case it was used against us, so we picked code names. But everybody already knew my name by then so I'm the only one who didn't get one. Talk about a rip-off.
[Sometimes you just casually talk about kidnappings. And maybe it's said that way because while it wasn't really a ship, it felt too real back then. This week has been something.]
My mind is way too in the gutter right now for any normal request. [ it's light, as he takes in the rest. it's... a lot. A lot of bad luck, mainly. Dick's used to talking about kidnappings with victims, but not usually in this kind of context. he stays quiet before he asks: ] That why you tried to see if you could jump off?
Like I wouldn't--never mind. [He's also fine with dirty favors right now but that's just him and secretly liking to please. He doesn't ask how Dick knows because he figures it's the same way he knows about things he isn't present for. So he shakes his head. ]
I tried to jump because the building Carlos and I were in before we got here is out there. [A gesture to the horizon ruins.] Or a really good duplicate. Hard to see the full thing but it's hard not to notice.
[ dick is trying to concentrate on that reveal, but he's smirking at that almost slip. ]
Raincheck, remember? [ he's feeling too-- needy to feel comfortable asking for anything right at this moment, so talking it has to be. Dick tries to catch which of the buildings Junpei is gesturing to, a small frown on his face. ] ... The building you were in... Was it a hospital?
[Raincheck. Right. God. But Dick may be able to see Dcom, the strange looking group of buildings, poking out from the waves and the like but Junpei frowns at the mention of a hospital.]
Did you go to see him, too? [He shakes his head.] We were in a bomb shelter. The hospital is...different.
Beck told me she managed to get in contact. [ he doesn't ask anything more about the hospital, instead he looks at the grouped buildings with a thoughtful frown ] They've all got different places. Four of them, four places. So here's the question-- was there anything on that horizon before Polly did the ritual?
[Unsurprising. Beck seems to say a lot.] I've been asking myself the same thing. The worst part is we can't know because we were locked inside. But given a suspicion I have the answer is "no."
The right key? [ its?? a possibility??? but shitty jokes aside, dick leans back a bit, straightening up by reflex as he thinks. ] It depends on what there actually is. Are the buildings physical at all? We're directly transported to them when we request a talk. I've been working under the assumption they're their own... pocket dimensions, but it could also be that they're simply on a different plane of existence, like the Tower of Fate. [ dick does not explain what that is, at all. ]
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[ he can't resist the quip, even though he's glad junpei isn't asking, because he really doesn't want to talk about wally right now. or-- well, ever. still, the question throws him for a loop. ]
Not... really? [ he lifts his hands up a bit to stare at them ] I get the principle of it, but-- I'm the same. Mask or no mask. I kept it a lot more separate as a kid, but I don't... This is kind of my full-time job.
[ it's hard to explain, because so many other heroes have-- day jobs, or college, but the second he could dick went all in as nightwing. between his own city and the team, he didn't have a lot of spare time. ]
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...ah. I get it. [Whatever he gets, he doesn't share and he shakes his head.] Kind of one of those things where you accept all or nothing, then. Guess I'm still trying to figure out who you are.
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Maybe I am, too. [ the pause for the team had been an attempt at... maybe doing things differently. he'd been grieving, and he needed a break, and he needed-- who's dick grayson, ultimately? nightwing doesn't want to be batman, great. so who is he? he'd separated the hero, but hadn't really thought about much else. hadn't had the time. and this is a very gloomy personal subject so let's veer the fuck away from it-- ] Well, Dick Grayson fun fact number one: I was in a circus.
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He also clings to the subject change, because that's not entirely unexpected either. He rolls with it, turning his head just slightly to look at him and laughing, a low, quiet sound almost in his ear.]
That would explain why you're so...[He moves an arm in a wiggle, likely meant to mean "bendy."] And that's where acrobatics came from?
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[ what he wouldn't give for a working connection right now. but if they're going for that subject change-- and the grin on his face is sly at junpei's wiggled arm movement for bendy-- he'll go for it. ]
Yep. It was a family thing-- we were aerialists. [ past tense, but he doesn't bother explaining, moving on-- ] The flips worked out surprisingly well incorporated into crime fighting.
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Fancy terminology and everything. Call me impressed. [But that doesn't surprise him either.] You can clear some long distances and drops that way, if the physics are right. I...have never really been that graceful. Pretty sure if I tried a flip I'd crack my skull open.
...when'd the crime fighting start?
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[ he's staring at his hands. it's been a decade, now. he's been without his family-- with batman-- longer than with. it's wild to think about. ]
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So instead, he tips his head a bit to rest on Dick's and stares at his feet while Dick stares at his own hands. He's hard-pressed to ever be openly affectionate, but time and effort means sometimes he'll make an attempt.
Where do you go from there...?]
Makes sense then. Habits are a hard thing to break. [Being a hero full time, he means.]
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Maybe. But I like doing it, and I'm good at it. [ and, to break off the tension from his little reveal-- ] Incidentally, also true of other things you've experienced first hand.
[ quips!!! ]
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And it took me almost two week to learn. Looks like I'm slacking. [He can do quips. That's fine. He's 100% not sure what to do here so he'll follow the beat Dick sets.]
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Yeah, detective. Where's your work ethic at? [ but he won't just fake roast junpei, adding-- ] But I guess we've both been neglecting the "get to know you" part of roommate duties.
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Escha's got us both beat by constantly bringing us snacks. [There's an almost fondness to his tone before he frowns.] It's been a while since I've done this. I'm out of practice. And maybe you're not the only one who sucks at sharing.
[Has he bothered asking or concerning himself with Dick's tattoo? Nope. And he's not asking for explanation now.]
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[ because junpei mumbles his thoughts out loud a lot ]
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Sorry. Habits are a thing. [He says nothing about talking to a mirror because he thinks of what Hizamaru said a week ago. "If your painting could talk, what would it say?" His would say a lot he doesn't need to hear.] Let me ask you something. What are you requesting?
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Requests were open for anything, but if you're really sure...[A soft shrug. He won't take the offer back just yet. ] I ruined my chance at a secret ID a while ago. [It has nothing to do with anything but he thinks about codenames and Akane and the nonary game because of course he does.]
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he kicks at junpei's foot again like an asshole. ]
Alright, if you're gonna twist my arm about it. [ this is definitely what happened? ] What's that about?
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I meant including things besides talking. [But okay.] Last year when I woke up on a ship after being kidnapped, I found eight other people. We didn't want the guy watching to know too much in case it was used against us, so we picked code names. But everybody already knew my name by then so I'm the only one who didn't get one. Talk about a rip-off.
[Sometimes you just casually talk about kidnappings. And maybe it's said that way because while it wasn't really a ship, it felt too real back then. This week has been something.]
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[ how does he know about that? mystery ]
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I tried to jump because the building Carlos and I were in before we got here is out there. [A gesture to the horizon ruins.] Or a really good duplicate. Hard to see the full thing but it's hard not to notice.
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Raincheck, remember? [ he's feeling too-- needy to feel comfortable asking for anything right at this moment, so talking it has to be. Dick tries to catch which of the buildings Junpei is gesturing to, a small frown on his face. ] ... The building you were in... Was it a hospital?
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Did you go to see him, too? [He shakes his head.] We were in a bomb shelter. The hospital is...different.
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Beck told me she managed to get in contact. [ he doesn't ask anything more about the hospital, instead he looks at the grouped buildings with a thoughtful frown ] They've all got different places. Four of them, four places. So here's the question-- was there anything on that horizon before Polly did the ritual?
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Next question. How do we get there?
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