[ there's an earnestness to dick that bruce was wary to trust at first but the more they talk the more he's certain it's genuine. it's why bruce takes a moment to think about how to describe the parallels without offending him. a tact his older self has long forgotten in exchange for buying efficiency at the cost of etiquette. ]
People who find it easier to be themselves behind a mask or a mission. There's an honesty in fighting but talking to people...It requires we hide some of what we are.
So yes. Maybe it's more natural to brawl in an alley than bake a cake, but I like that you gave me the option to try something that might be considered normal all the same.
[ Bruce is so wise beyond his years and so apt at seeing right through people. this Bruce and his Bruce have that much in common, that ability to distill the truth within the noise. however, here, rather than raw, Dick feels seen. rather than stripped naked, he feels understood. it’s a strange, exhilarating feeling. ]
I wouldn’t give me so much credit. I just wanted you to feel comfortable.
[ it’s all very confusing, how Dick is doing everything in his power to nurture Bruce in an attempt to protect Bruce from a future version of himself. ]
[ it feels like common courtesy but that feels harder to come across in this more modern version of gotham where most people keep to themselves with their heads down. ]
I don't think I could assimilate into anything that might be considered "normal" without a great deal of effort and the normal people would expect of me is a black hole of self-indulgence that isn't good for anyone. Has normal ever been something you wanted?
[ it's an old-school kind of charm that makes Dick smile despite himself. it's admirable that in the chaos of Bruce's life, he still finds the ability to stick with his own integrity.
and maybe that's an effort to hold on to what's normal to him. he imagines Bruce's life before the tragedy would've been filled with refinement and sophistication. he would've been raised to have good manners, to learn things like etiquette and proper social behaviour...unlike Dick, who used to steal Bruce's cars to go on joyrides and swing from the crystal chandeliers of the manor. yet for a circus kid, that was his normal. ]
The black hole part probably isn't good, but self-indulgence every once in a while is okay, isn't it? And yeah. I used to think I wanted what everyone else thought was normal. Thought I could be a 'normal' cop leading a 'normal' life before I realized it was just an unrealistic fantasy.
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no subject
People who find it easier to be themselves behind a mask or a mission. There's an honesty in fighting but talking to people...It requires we hide some of what we are.
So yes. Maybe it's more natural to brawl in an alley than bake a cake, but I like that you gave me the option to try something that might be considered normal all the same.
no subject
I wouldn’t give me so much credit. I just wanted you to feel comfortable.
[ it’s all very confusing, how Dick is doing everything in his power to nurture Bruce in an attempt to protect Bruce from a future version of himself. ]
Is that something you want? Normal?
no subject
[ it feels like common courtesy but that feels harder to come across in this more modern version of gotham where most people keep to themselves with their heads down. ]
I don't think I could assimilate into anything that might be considered "normal" without a great deal of effort and the normal people would expect of me is a black hole of self-indulgence that isn't good for anyone. Has normal ever been something you wanted?
no subject
[ it's an old-school kind of charm that makes Dick smile despite himself. it's admirable that in the chaos of Bruce's life, he still finds the ability to stick with his own integrity.
and maybe that's an effort to hold on to what's normal to him. he imagines Bruce's life before the tragedy would've been filled with refinement and sophistication. he would've been raised to have good manners, to learn things like etiquette and proper social behaviour...unlike Dick, who used to steal Bruce's cars to go on joyrides and swing from the crystal chandeliers of the manor. yet for a circus kid, that was his normal. ]
The black hole part probably isn't good, but self-indulgence every once in a while is okay, isn't it? And yeah. I used to think I wanted what everyone else thought was normal. Thought I could be a 'normal' cop leading a 'normal' life before I realized it was just an unrealistic fantasy.