riverviewlogs | ask me no questions, I'll tell you no jokes

who: Dick Grayson and YOU
what: TDM prompts and assorted starters
when: July 20 - August 1
where: everywhere
warnings: possible violence, monster fighting, bat angst

1. "When you live by the ruler you die inch by inch"

[ He's off duty now but still in his police uniform, bearing a growing collection of corrosive holes to show for it as the first fat drops sputter from the sky.

Still, he's undeterred. For once undeterred by thoughts of secrecy and masks as he climbs roofs and roadways, rescuing belongings, clothing hung out to dry, and the occasional beloved pet left out in a high spot.

He balances carefully, one-handed, cradling a small, struggling fox under one arm as he glances back for the frantic woman below who'd been directing him a moment before. ]

I miss anybody?

2. "Tell me your story, shovel the dirt"

[ Bearing an extra layer of protective gear over the Nightwing suit feels a little like overkill, but gear up he does for another sweep of the city after nightfall. Riverview's population tends to be unusually savvy to the frequent infrastructural challenges faced by the city, but not everyone follows the crowds when they move, and he's here to round up anyone who apparently missed the memo.

And anyone he finds he descends on quickly, dropping out of the sky and directly into their intended path. ]

Come on, let's get you back inside.

3. "I'd swallow anything offered as truth"

[ He'd filed back into the jungle alongside one of the teams, bringing up the rear as the boar-like beasts started to cluster. They're fast and they're angry this time, which make fending them off exponentially harder as they learn the habits of the team. As they adjust to whatever curve balls they throw.

An hour in he'd decided to switch tactics, leading an angry cluster of them off in the opposite direction of the rest of the team. Anyone with sharp eyes might notice Nightwing isn't moving quite as fast upon his return; his movements a little stiff, his fighting style narrower. Closer to the ground.

Still he stays on his feet; bearing an unbroken focus that dares anyone to suggest he needs to sit down. ]

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Well, it was red back then.

[ He doesn't get to play this game often these days, and his little glance sideways is all mischief now. Gauging her powers of intuition. ]

And I was about a foot and a half shorter.

[ Red doesn't ring any bells — but the height does. That puts her instantly in the mind of all of that timeline confusion, people showing up not their right ages, and she adjusts her thinking immediately. There is someone she'd met that had made her a promise, and in fact he'd recently been on her mind, even.

She looks startled, leaning back to give him a better once-over. Uncertainly: ] Robin?

Wasn't sure you'd remember. [ That she does broadens his grin. It's not every day you make a lasting impression on a shapeshifting dragon. ]

I go by Nightwing now.

[ Of course she remembers — there aren't many children she's met and spoken with for any amount of time, and none as a dragon. Her appraisal settles into a smile, food finally set aside. It's nearly done, and she's full. ]

A good name. [ Dramatic, it could potentially apply to her; she likes it. ] I wasn't sure you'd make it to fully grown, with how reckless you were.

Not the first I've heard that. [ With a wry little smile. Probably he should be at least a little embaressed. Probably he should apologize.

But the truth is, the night he'd spent soaring over the trees on her back had been the only moment of real joy he remembers, through that mostly disastrous vacation back to pre-pubesence. The soaring had been part of it. Her uncompromising sureness had been something else. She'd saved him for her own reasons, and that's something he can respect. ]

But you could say you made a lasting impression.

[ She preens a little to hear that, sitting up straighter and brushing hair back over her shoulder. It's only right that she should make a lasting impression. She's magnificent.

Only, a less pleasant thought occurs to her mid-preen. Her hand pauses, then lowers, and she fixes a mild frown on him. ]

How did you recognize me?

[ This... should have occurred to her sooner. ]

...Right. Uh- about that. [ She probably has a right to be offended, if she decides to take it that way. ]

You weren't hard to track down over the network, but I, uh- wasn't really sure how you'd react to a stranger dropping in for a chat. [ Using the network himself was out of the question, which he hopes she'll... get. ]

It was just a hunch that you'd come this way.

[ That doesn't answer her question, according to the way her displeased frown deepens. ]

How? [ More insistently this time. ] I haven't told anyone who I really am. [ I, in this case, meaning Onyx. She leans in a little closer toward him. ] So how did you make the connection?

...Well, the username was a start. [ He offers it carefully, though the glance he tosses her way is a little between curious and concerned. ]

I didn't realize you were keeping it secret.

[ She doesn't at all like his answer, by the way her brow knits. Her arms fold over her chest, a worried hand half covering her mouth under the pretense of sitting at her chin. The username isn't that bad, is it? She thought she was doing a good job overall.

Reluctantly: ] ...I wasn't sure how to alter it. But yes, it's a secret. [ so don't go blabbing!!! ]

Believe it or not I kind of get that. [ And he looks credibly abashed. For all the care he'd taken to avoid making her feel encroached upon, he'd missed the obvious factor. ]

I won't spread it around, I promise.

[ There's a few seconds where she debates an answer like it would be in your best interests not to, maybe just you'd better not, but... no, she doesn't want to pull threats into this, unspoken or otherwise. She's liked him so far, that approach seems counterproductive.

Instead, after a brief debate, and still feeling a little defanged for it: ] It would be appreciated.

[ Then she turns her attention to the first part of that, that he gets it. Does he? She hadn't thought of humans trying to hide their identities, and can't really imagine the purpose of it, but she expects that might explain the mask... She nods toward it. ]

Do you hide your face for a reason?

...Yeah. I go by another name, and it’s better for the people I care about if it doesn’t get out.

So, I get it. [ Though belatedly, it occurs to him that he probably shouldn't presume to understand whatever motivations she might have. ]

ask me no questions, I'll tell you no jokes

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