anyway, despite the transparency(?), he does not presume this is someone checking in on him. maybe jason needs someone to talk to? it's been a rough day.
he scoffs quietly. ]
I do not think a drink will help matters. [ i forgot but he has HOOLIGAN written on his face ] We almost certainly have a trial to attend to tomorrow.
Jason is a bro because while he takes note of the HOOLIGAN, he does not comment on it. He understands.]
Probably, yeah. [He reaches into the inside of his jacket and produces....uno flask. He waves it in offering.] You sure? I'm only giving you a sip anyway, this is mine. Can't waste it.
[Atta boy. He takes off the cap and hands the flask over.] Better not catch you chugging that thing. I had to embarrass myself to get it. [He keeps his hand sort of out so he can take it back when Dimitri is finished.]
[ he looks curious as to what jason means by that, because it sounds like a funny story? but for now, he knocks back a hearty sip. to his credit, he doesn't so much as grimace before he politely returns the flask. the benefit of not having any taste buds is that he can drink all the terrible vodka in the world. ]
I will be fine. [ because he totally seems okay right now for sure ] I do not think there is much option than to soldier forward in a place like this.
[ they have trial tomorrow. a truth to find. more death to face. ]
[Yeah, well, YOU KNOW. For both of these things. This is the most Bruce acting fucker he has seen in his life outside of Gotham next to Yoo Joonghyuk. Why? Why does he suffer Bruce 2.0 and Bruce Junior?
He puts the flask back in the inside pocket of his jacket.]
I mean, you can always take the time to have valid, human emotions about people being killed. [Jason is good at giving advice he will not take himself.] People'll keep going.
But we don't have to act like being able to do that is the pinnacle of strength.
[ sorry that he cannot escape his bruce orbit, but also, he brought this visit upon himself. that raises questions.
dimitri looks surprised, but then smiles, small but sincere. ]
...I think so too. There is nothing wrong with feeling or grieving. The people we share life with are worth shedding tears over when that time is cut short—a caring heart is not necessarily a frail one.
[ he has always believed that. he likes meeting others who can acknowledge similar sentiments, rather than celebrating what people laud as strength. ]
It is my opinion that the world would be a much better place, if we only afforded people more moments of weakness. [ he is just being a hypocrite, as some people are, JASON ]
[Please do not appreciate and respect Jason Todd. Dimitri.
ALSO SHUT UP!!!!]
Sometimes it’s hard to have those because people take advantage of it. Situations try to take advantage of it.
[He gestures
at the hotel.]
Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. There just needs to be a safe space somewhere. [Like with friends; he is too Cool to admit that though.] We can be put together tomorrow.
[ his expression sobers, more melancholic than outright furious. his energy today is Big Sad. sometimes you are a revenge boy with depression at how terrible the world is.
but that doesn't mean everyone is awful, and he lets out a little, bemused huff. ]
[FRIENDS? Ew, gross. What in God's name? Also thinking about Jason saying they can be put together tomorrow, and he was not put together at all for about thirty minutes.]
Psh. Safe places are for you to decide. No one else gets to decide that.
[No, he is trying to dodge this unspoken friendship here. This--whatever. Camaraderie. He doesn't want it.]
[ he doesn't really elaborate, because he doesn't want to presume jason would consider him a Friend, and also he seems easily embarrassed. but he does feel a sort of... easy kinship with him, at least. Enough that he allows himself to say this much, if a little awkwardly. ]
I always find myself wishing that... we had more than just an evening. [ to grieve. to feel things. ]
[He truly feels like he's talking to Bruce Junior here. Not that he's seen a whole lot of this Bruce Junior side from Bruce exactly.]
I think you might have needed the whole flask, buddy. [The bats compartmentalize so fucking fast... Hate them.] It'll be okay.
I mean--obviously, it won't, but, like... it will, eventually. The world is going to keep going on without you. You can't stop that from happening. People are going to keep going, and it'll feel like you're stuck in a prehistoric ice cube watching it happen.
But there's nothing wrong with that. With being stuck there for a while until the ice melts. Then you can catch up.
[ please teach him how to compartmentalize, he's clearly shit at it. every time he lets his guard down a little, he looks terrible. ]
...I do not have time to wait for the frost to thaw.
[ ... ]
Please understand that I want people to have that opportunity. At some point, everyone must find what breaks that ice for them, and perhaps that takes time and healing, the opportunity to feel what they must and come to terms with it all.
But I am a king, and I must be ahead of my people. To welcome them, when they are ready to move on. [ he doesn't have that luxury, and that's fine. after a moment, he bows respectfully. ] But I—...the concern is more than I deserve. Thank you.
Hey. What'd I just say about not making being strong or a survivor the standard of excellence? I'm going to hit you upside the head. Did you forget that fast?
[He frowns.]
The only difference between you and a rat on the street is a piece of paper with a title in fancy script. [He doesn't say this like an insult.] You're just as human as everyone else. You keep walking ahead, you're just putting more distance between the people following behind you.
Take it from a street rat whose had to look at a lot of rich asses walking in front of him.
[ a king is not someone who singularly decides the future of a nation; he builds the paths that best serve and reflect the desires of his subjects. someone who is strong, so that everyone might allowed to be weak.
a king also does not usually also get talked at like a kid by an upstart vigilante and threatened to get hit upside the head. ]
You... speak very frankly.
[ he also doesn't make it sound like an insult. he doesn't say that jason is wrong. he appears to be conflicted. ]
Most city street kids do. They’re trying to survive; they don’t have the luxury of only being worried about who’s who when they’re starving. They know you look like the exact same pile of shit they do except you’re wrapped in nice clothes instead of the ones they found in the trash.
The streets don’t have the same rules the courts do, but I’m not saying the courts don’t have rules. You probably have too many actually.
If you’re a king, the only way you’re going to connect to your people and help them is through fixing the infrastructure of how they live. It’s not easy. You have to make the foundation strong before you can work on the rest. Maslow’s pyramid? I’ll show you sometime.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
anyway, despite the transparency(?), he does not presume this is someone checking in on him. maybe jason needs someone to talk to? it's been a rough day.
he scoffs quietly. ]
I do not think a drink will help matters. [ i forgot but he has HOOLIGAN written on his face ] We almost certainly have a trial to attend to tomorrow.
no subject
Jason is a bro because while he takes note of the HOOLIGAN, he does not comment on it. He understands.]
Probably, yeah. [He reaches into the inside of his jacket and produces....uno flask. He waves it in offering.] You sure? I'm only giving you a sip anyway, this is mine. Can't waste it.
no subject
...A sip won't hurt, I suppose.
[ he doesn't care about booze, but this is obviously a kind gesture, so he'll accept it. ]
no subject
You gonna be good?
no subject
I will be fine. [ because he totally seems okay right now for sure ] I do not think there is much option than to soldier forward in a place like this.
[ they have trial tomorrow. a truth to find. more death to face. ]
no subject
He puts the flask back in the inside pocket of his jacket.]
I mean, you can always take the time to have valid, human emotions about people being killed. [Jason is good at giving advice he will not take himself.] People'll keep going.
But we don't have to act like being able to do that is the pinnacle of strength.
no subject
dimitri looks surprised, but then smiles, small but sincere. ]
...I think so too. There is nothing wrong with feeling or grieving. The people we share life with are worth shedding tears over when that time is cut short—a caring heart is not necessarily a frail one.
[ he has always believed that. he likes meeting others who can acknowledge similar sentiments, rather than celebrating what people laud as strength. ]
It is my opinion that the world would be a much better place, if we only afforded people more moments of weakness. [ he is just being a hypocrite, as some people are, JASON ]
no subject
ALSO SHUT UP!!!!]
Sometimes it’s hard to have those because people take advantage of it. Situations try to take advantage of it.
[He gestures
at the hotel.]
Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. There just needs to be a safe space somewhere. [Like with friends; he is too Cool to admit that though.] We can be put together tomorrow.
no subject
but that doesn't mean everyone is awful, and he lets out a little, bemused huff. ]
Are you implying this is a safe space?
[ is he saying? that? they are? friends? ]
no subject
Psh. Safe places are for you to decide. No one else gets to decide that.
[No, he is trying to dodge this unspoken friendship here. This--whatever. Camaraderie. He doesn't want it.]
no subject
I suppose that's true.
[ he doesn't really elaborate, because he doesn't want to presume jason would consider him a Friend, and also he seems easily embarrassed. but he does feel a sort of... easy kinship with him, at least. Enough that he allows himself to say this much, if a little awkwardly. ]
I always find myself wishing that... we had more than just an evening. [ to grieve. to feel things. ]
no subject
I think you might have needed the whole flask, buddy. [The bats compartmentalize so fucking fast... Hate them.] It'll be okay.
I mean--obviously, it won't, but, like... it will, eventually. The world is going to keep going on without you. You can't stop that from happening. People are going to keep going, and it'll feel like you're stuck in a prehistoric ice cube watching it happen.
But there's nothing wrong with that. With being stuck there for a while until the ice melts. Then you can catch up.
no subject
...I do not have time to wait for the frost to thaw.
[ ... ]
Please understand that I want people to have that opportunity. At some point, everyone must find what breaks that ice for them, and perhaps that takes time and healing, the opportunity to feel what they must and come to terms with it all.
But I am a king, and I must be ahead of my people. To welcome them, when they are ready to move on. [ he doesn't have that luxury, and that's fine. after a moment, he bows respectfully. ] But I—...the concern is more than I deserve. Thank you.
no subject
[He frowns.]
The only difference between you and a rat on the street is a piece of paper with a title in fancy script. [He doesn't say this like an insult.] You're just as human as everyone else. You keep walking ahead, you're just putting more distance between the people following behind you.
Take it from a street rat whose had to look at a lot of rich asses walking in front of him.
no subject
...I did not forget.
[ a king is not someone who singularly decides the future of a nation; he builds the paths that best serve and reflect the desires of his subjects. someone who is strong, so that everyone might allowed to be weak.
a king also does not usually also get talked at like a kid by an upstart vigilante and threatened to get hit upside the head. ]
You... speak very frankly.
[ he also doesn't make it sound like an insult. he doesn't say that jason is wrong. he appears to be conflicted. ]
no subject
Most city street kids do. They’re trying to survive; they don’t have the luxury of only being worried about who’s who when they’re starving. They know you look like the exact same pile of shit they do except you’re wrapped in nice clothes instead of the ones they found in the trash.
The streets don’t have the same rules the courts do, but I’m not saying the courts don’t have rules. You probably have too many actually.
If you’re a king, the only way you’re going to connect to your people and help them is through fixing the infrastructure of how they live. It’s not easy. You have to make the foundation strong before you can work on the rest. Maslow’s pyramid? I’ll show you sometime.