riverviewlogs | ( 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

Okay, okay.

[He holds his hands up in placating gesture; people here are a lot less easy with like, murder than he's used to, whether it's people or monsters and since it doesn't really bother him one way or another, he's willing to back down.

Not that he really buys the "they'll tell their friends", but scaring them away is something he can do.]

I got something, just like, be cool.

[What happens next is Taako mutters an incantation that seems to summon a huge purple worm from beneath the ground. It screeches, the sound almost painful, and then rears back to lunge at the remaining monsters.

They turn tail and run with the worm hot at their heels, although Dick (with a much higher wisdom than the monsters) will notice that it sort of just... passes through trees, rather than dodging them.]

That's- wow. [ Their reaction is, predictably, a lot more immediate than anything he's seen a flash bomb do. He really can't not crack a smile at that, which he tries to hide at once behind a gloved hand. He feels a little guiltier for being a jerk to this guy. ]

Did you seriously just come up with that right now?

[Taako just grins, using his umbrella like a cane so he can do a cool little lean on it.]

Nah, I've fought one of those guys before. [a beat, and:] Well, three of those guys and their mom, it was a pretty wild couple of hours.

So you pull it straight from memory? [ Mad curiosity wins out over petty frustration. Dick moves back towards the fence, shading his eyes to trace the path the thing took, as if that will unravel the secret. ]

I guess it'd be a little hard to put an image like that out of your mind.

Ehhhhhh. [The most non-committal sound ever.] I don't need to have the fucking, shape of all it's teeth or whatever memorised, magic's pretty good at filling in the gaps.

[It might be different if it was something he completely made up, but purple worms exist; the magic creates an image of a generic one, rather than the specific one he encountered.]

Would've been effective either way. [ He says it thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with one gloved hand.

Which kind of does just leave him here as the escalating factor. To a fight that probably could have been avoided altogether, if he'd been thinking.

If he'd been thinking.

His sheathes his escrima sticks and starts to walk away, glancing at the other man to see if he's planning on following. Hanging around any longer than necessary is a good as baiting them back.

After a moment: ]

...Sorry you had to walk into that.

[He follows, if only because it's second habit by now to wander after the most capable person around, and right now that's definitely Dick.]

Don't sweat it, my man, I have absolutely walked into worse. [Some guy fighting monsters? That's chill.] I mean, at least it wasn't a weird sex thing! I would definitely want an apology for that.

[Why is he like this.]

[ Dick... glances back at the fence, then at Taako. Then he looks back at the fence again, almost as if he's seeing it for the first time. ]

...Does the fence tend to factor into the weird sex things you walk in on?

[ Inquiring minds need to know. ]

Hey, everybody's got their something, it's not my place to judge.

[That's such a vague answer!! He's going to leave Dick in suspense.]

Yeah. I guess it's not.

[ He's Seen Some Stuff in his day, after all. His distinctly judgy look appropriately evaporates. ]

...So can I ask what actually brought you by? I'm guessing it wasn't to play referee for an errant monster fight.

[There's so much vore and tentacles in his life that a little electric play is the tamest kink.]

I was bored? I mean, like, nothing happens here, and I thought I'd be kinda into that but it gets boring and a little claustrophobic, ya know?

[He doesn't go looking for fights, he's not Magnus, but a little jaunt through the forest every now and then takes the edge of the nerves.]

...I kinda get that. [ Though truth be told maybe boredom isn't the right word.

He's frustrated. Frustrated with how difficult this world is to navigate. How alienated he's been with so few allies he can rely on. How many dead ends he's hit so far in his investigation of the portal. He misses his family. He misses the Titans.

But it's all in a day's work. Wearing a suit and accepting responsibility isn't supposed to be easy. None of it justifies the way he'd chosen to deal with it today. It frightens him. He casts another glance at the man. ]

Do I even want to know what your usual standard for excitement is?

[ As if he's one to talk. ]

[Taako huffs a laugh; he's talked to enough people now to realize that his usual standard is very ridiculous compared to what it is for most people.]

Like ten minutes before I showed up in this shithole I was trapped in a gameshow designed to make people suffer to power two tripped out liches and now my friend's soul is stuck in a mannequin. So, you know, that was a thing!

[Honestly, Wonderland was tame compared to a lot of other shit. But also:]

You're a superhero though, right, surely this isn't that wild for you?

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

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