riverviewlogs | ( open ) but everything looks better when the sun goes down

Entry tags:

( open ) but everything looks better when the sun goes down

who: dick grayson + others
what: fireflies + may catchall
when: all of may!
where: all over
warnings: possible violence

Yellow

[ In Dick, fear blends and shifts, keeps him moving rather than freezing him up, looking a lot more like newly single-minded dedication than anything else. Fear turns him outward, draws him inexorably into the role of unasked-for shadow, and whether you're a friend or a stranger you're likely to find him there, sudden and unannounced, if you happen to step out late at night. If you're venturing out past the fence alone. ]

Hey. [ Look again and he's beside you, decked out in a mask (or a police uniform, take your pick). ] Not sure if you know the area, but it's not safe out here right now.

Red (anger)

[ On red Dick simmers. At the Police Station he's picking up extra shifts, passing the break room to down coffee after coffee in the rare moments that he's not out on patrol. With coworkers and friends he's snappish and short, burying himself for hours at a time in the archives with old case files. He's never at home.

As Nightwing he's somehow easier to find - or run across by chance - but if you happen to be looking the road there is paved with unsettled lowlives. No one is maimed or even seriously injured, but he's scared them, clearly with an intent running deeper than Nightwing's typically brisk, playful style of violence. Find him mid-battle just by the fence, taking on at least 12 too many vicious, snapping monsters. Find him mid-interrogation on the roof, holding someone against the drop-off more securely than the man in question likely perceives. ]

Blue

[ Or find him just after that.

Blue never lingers on Dick for long, but he's easy prey when his strength is limited, worn down by effort expended on walking himself down from anger and fear. He can't outpace the feeling when he's already steeped in shame. When a thousand what ifs crowd out everything else. Find him sagging in that dark alley, head in his hands; or huddled out by the fence, surrounded by wounded monsters. Give him a few minutes, he'll be alright. ]

[ ooc: pm or hit me up at

with_pins if you'd like to play out a more specific scenario! I'd prefer to avoid lust prompts for Dick at this time, but Violet, Green, and Orange are all on the table with some discussion. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Of course he sometimes follows Dick around, the man is a potential threat who stalks around the city in a costume. Usually he just keeps his distance, there's no need to interact or interfere, but this-- He feels uncomfortable watching this, maybe because Dick had shown him some kindness.

Before he can second guess himself, he jumps down from the rooftop into the alleyway, landing fairly silently beside Dick.]

What is it?

[ His body sees the threat before the rest of his awareness catches up. The fact that it's news to him that Yogurt Guy had been on his tail tonight at all is probably a testament to just where his head is right now. ]

Nothing. I'm just- [ He's too exhausted to really be in tears, which is probably the only real blessing to come out of the semi-rampage he'd been for the evening. He looks towards the wall, trying to surreptitiously swipe at the wetness under his mask. Trying to pull himself together. He just needs a minute. ]

I'm not having a great night.

[He should go.

He's not this man's friend, and he knows that he wouldn't want to be seen in such a vulnerable position as having to wipe tears from under his mask. He sees, but he doesn't draw attention to it.

There's an elongated moment of silent, before he sits in the alley just a short distance from Dick.]

What happened?

[ He silent for a moment. This is humiliating, sure. Somehow made even worse because there's a balance here that's tilting now. If he wants this man's trust, if he wants a real chance to help him out of whatever bad situation put him here, this isn't the kind of vulnerability he needs to be displaying.

But in an odd way it's grounding too. There's someone else to think about. Someone else the bugs can get to, if he doesn't pull himself together now. He takes his mask off and wipes at his eyes underneath. ]

You have any run-ins with the fireflies? [ There's some forced levity in his voice, and it's falling flat. But he's already pushing to his feet anyway, replacing the mask. Hunching his shoulders only a little under the sharp onslaught of cuts. Bruises. Pain. He hurts everywhere, inside and out.

He can't see the fireflies now, but they're here. He motions the man to move to his side. ]

Come on. If you haven't yet, let's not start a trend.

[It's actually a lot easier for him with the balance tilted this way, it feels less threatening to not be the vulnerable one, and it feels-- nice-- to help someone instead of hurt them. Not that he is helping, but he's at least trying to offer some kind of solidarity.]

Fireflies?

[He's noticed a couple buzzing around, sure, but he hasn't taken much notice of them.]

What's wrong with the fireflies?

I'm pretty sure they're behind the breakdowns people have been having. [ Conjecture. Dick clings to that as he starts to climb. ]

They... amplify the stuff in your head.

Or something like that.

[His shoulders tense, he doesn't like the idea of anything getting inside his head. Not ever again.]

So-- you were already feeling shit and they made you feel shittier?

[Not the most tactful or subtle way to put it.]

That's... one way of putting it, I guess.

[ Though truth be told, the lack of tact doesn't bother him. This is silly. They both know it. Batman would know how to shrug off in a heartbeat, and the knowledge of that burns his heart with shame.

He climbs a little higher, without any real goal in mind other than moving up towards the roof. He should go home. He knows that. But home with only his thoughts for company seems so much worse than waiting it out on a lonely rooftop. Closer to the sky, he can always clear his head.

And ny the time he pulls himself up to sit on the ledge he's kind of expecting the man to just... take off. Wherever it is that he goes, Dick's betting he has better things to do than babysit him while he tries not to teeter over into nervous breakdown territory.

He doesn't believe the man's dangerous. He doesn't believe he has anything to fear, really, leaving the secret in his hands.

But they aren't friends. This man doesn't like him. Wouldn't choose his company if Dick didn't force it on him. He doesn't bother looking down. ]

[Bucky frowns when Dick climbs the building.

He could just let him go, he knows what it's like to run from an encounter that you don't want, but for some reason he finds himself following. It's no effort really to climb the side of the building, until he ends up on the roof beside Dick.]

C'mon, follow me.

[If this is a manufactured sadness, then maybe a distraction is all that's needed until it passes. He's much better at that than actual emotional moments with near strangers.

He glances behind to see if Dick is going to follow him.]

[ He climbs to his feet, pulled by curiosity as much as the desire to be moving again. Sure as he is that he has nothing to fear in terms of real physical danger, he's not really expecting any show of compassion either. There's something else going on.

Still, it's a long moment before he asks: ]

Where?

Just follow.

[He doesn't give any reply beyond that.

He sets a punishing pace across the rooftops, jumping even the larger gaps with the surety afforded by the serum and decades of training. If Dick is keeping up then he'll push further, faster. If he isn't, he'll slow down just a little, but still keep it up enough to push Dick to his limits.

Provided Dick doesn't stop him, he'll run like that for almost an hour, right out past the main city and into the abandoned outskirts beyond, finally stopping atop a ruin that overlooks the forest.]

[ A night of punishing fights and the crushing specter of failure has left him drained. But he has a lifetime of training to fall back on, and it's oddly liberating in a way, letting someone else set a grueling, uncompromising pace for him. Set a new standard by which he can measure himself.

There's little room for artistic flair, but he keeps pace well, flagging only once towards the end of their run. And still it almost surprises him when he finally stops, when they reach the top of the ruins.

And he feels it now. He sags a little, leaning into a half crouch, working to catch his breath. He steals a sideways glance at the man. ]

Good chat. [ Offered quietly, with only a tiny smile. It's himself he's mocking. ]

...Thanks.

[The gratitude takes him a little by surprise, but it's good... it means Dick understood what Bucky was trying to do. He's not good at talking, they're not friends, but sometimes physical exertion or a task can help to draw anyone out of a funk. It's a technique he uses on himself a lot.]

It's fine.

[There's a moment of silence, before the tiniest smile quirks his lips up.]

You look less like a hen in the rain now.

Let's not make this a moment.

[ But his little smile doesn't fade as he unclamps his canteen and takes a drink of water. He offers it to the man next. ]

And I usually prefer bedraggled cat.

[He shakes his head slightly, refusing the water.]

Not a cat, definitely a bird.

[Just saying.]

Is it wearing off?

Yeah. [ A little shyly. He ducks his head. ]

Just needed a push in the right direction.

[It feels good to help for once, instead of making things worse.]

Good, then we're square for that food.

[Bucky Barnes: moment ruiner.]

No. We're not. [ Rather than dignifying that statement with a glance he settles for deploying the bat binocs. He's not really in a hurry to take off, and he might as well use the opportunity to get a better look at where they are. ]

I'd kind of need to ask for payback beforehand.

[He shoots Dick a slightly annoyed glance, but he doesn't make comment until the bat binocs come out.]

Fancy gadget. You're a hero where you're from, huh?

[There's not a lot to see, just some abandoned buildings and the occasional skittering creature in the shadows.]

[ It's a presumptuous word he's never liked. By shying away from it here feels a little like ducking responsibility. He'd claimed it in this place, just like he'd claimed it in Gotham, and then Bludhaven. He'd claimed it, for better or worse, with this man.

He lifts one shoulder; a quiet assent. ]

What it says on the tin, I guess.

You don't think so?

[He's not an idiot, and he has enough experience with reluctant heroes now to know what that means. But he's surprised to see it in someone who voluntarily goes out in disguise with gadgets to protect others, usually they're confident in their identities as heroes.]

It's more of an aspiration than a job description.

[ Which is harder to explain without context than he would've thought before he'd come here. But then he doesn't get the impression that this guy is completely without. He flicks a small, curious grin in his direction. ]

You see much of the cape and mask thing back home?

Yeah, you ever hear of the Avengers?

[It's giving away a whole lot for someone who is cautious with all information, telling Dick what world he's from if he has heard of them. But considering he already knows the other man's secret identity and owes him for kindnesses, it's perhaps a small thing after all.]

...Actually yeah. I know there's a few kicking around now.

[ He's fond of Loki, and Captain America.

Whatever the context here though, he... kind of gets the significance of the admission. A piece of the world you're from is a piece of you, and everything he knows about this man has told him how fiercely he holds onto those pieces. He's afraid a glance sidewaws will ruin the effect, so he lifts the binocs instead, studying the foliage. ]

I got the sense that they get a lot of mileage, where they're from.

[So he doesn't know them from his own world, at least that's what he gathers from the way Dick phrases it. That actually makes him relax just a bit, it means he's not about to run into issues with someone knowing more about him and his past than they should.]

What do you know about them?

[Now it has the careful wariness of trying to gather information. Which Avengers does he know? What have they told him? What does he know about them?]

Blue

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