SISYPHUS

One always finds one's burden again. independent bruce wayne/batman written by boar

[vspertilian]

updated blog roll: @ataviisms, @vspertilian, @teoporiuli, @priscus, @thanagrian

[vspertilian]

“would you still love me if i was a worm?” sayeth selina. and doctor bloom, chiming in, decides, “same question.” @clawsextended

there's a fine line between answering a question too quickly and thinking about a question too long. bruce knows how to walk that razor's edge all too well thanks to his wife and selina. he blinks, looks up at them both briefly from the morning paper. it's 8am and he hasn't slept since tuesday. they're trying to catch him while he's vulnerable.

" there are over 20,000 species of worm belonging to several different animal groups, " bruce replies hoarsely, tired eyes drifting back to newsprint to read the same paragraph for the third time. " so that would depend on what kind of worms you both are... "

a moment's pause.

" i'd be inclined to say ' no ' if you were parasitic worms. but i suppose i'd still love you both if you were earthworms. "

@clawsextended

[vspertilian]

Fun Fact!

Send “ Fun Fact! ” for my muse to give your muse a fact, that may or may not be fun at all. --- accepting

" the ancient egyptians believed that all emotion resided in the liver instead of the heart. obviously we know that emotion truly resides in the brain... but it's interesting to consider a world where the symbol of a liver exists in place of a heart in popular culture. "

[vspertilian]

" Fun Fact! (dazzle us)

Send “ Fun Fact! ” for my muse to give your muse a fact, that may or may not be fun at all. --- accepting

" broccoli is not a naturally occurring plant. broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts were all created by selectively breeding wild cabbages for specific qualities. "

[vspertilian]

trying to answer these memes like i haven't forgotten every single cool and interesting fact i know. fdhlfjskl

[vspertilian]

" Fun Fact! "

Send “ Fun Fact! ” for my muse to give your muse a fact, that may or may not be fun at all. --- accepting

" most snakes can go months without eating. when they finally get a meal, their bodies activate over 2000 separate genes to enable them to process and quickly digest their food. "

[vspertilian]

FUN FACT. X2!!!

Send “ Fun Fact! ” for my muse to give your muse a fact, that may or may not be fun at all. --- accepting

" rabies has been recorded as a disease since the time of the ancient sumerians. " he doesn't look up when he says it. a bat skitters across the broad span of his shoulders, but he doesn't mind. and he's certainly not worried about whether or not it might be rabid. it isn't. " there are currently studies being done to determine if a hollowed-out rabies virus can be used to transport drugs past the blood-brain barrier in humans. "

[grobonzmemes]

Send " Fun Fact! " for my muse to give your muse a fact, that may or may not be fun at all.

[am4zon]

@vspertilian said: i just want to let you know… i am possibly the worst person you’ve ever met.

Well, of this, there is little doubt! Diana almost makes the easy remark, how she has been surrounded entirely by Amazons her whole life, until his appearance on their island. She does not pretend to know much of men, but she is certain, in her heart, that no one can be as loving, as passionate, as good, as her sisters.

Still, while not facing him, Diana rolls her dark eyes, before stopping to turn around and look at Bruce of Gotham properly. He speaks so poorly of himself; he seems to think so little of the man that he is. Yet, she has heard stories of the horrors that such creatures are capable of, and she must say, this man, this Bruce, does not have that cruelty in him. He would have shown his cards by now, if he had.

She stifles her giggle, which would be childish, and opts for defiance instead, which feels more befitting of the woman she is. ❛ You speak like you are a wolf with sharp teeth, ❜ she accuses, shaking her head, wild strands of black hair falling around her face. She takes two steps into his space, eyes sinking into his not to test him, but to challenge him. ❛ And yet, you seem so very afraid to use those teeth of yours to bite me. ❜

She wishes he would dare.

[vspertilian]

her naivety astounds. or it would, had it not been clear that she had grown up in such isolation with no true exposure to the cruelty of the world. bruce knows her sisters whisper about him; he's too silently observant, too keen to gather information to ignore them entirely. they speak of men, of the atrocities that have been committed at their hands. they speak of him like he is guilty of those same horrors. and perhaps, in a way, he is.

but diana---in all her foolishness---seems to believe differently. she seems to have imagined some kindness or gentleness in him that isn't really there. he is not a good man. he's never claimed to be. she doesn't have the context for the full extent of his darkness. she's never seen what happens when his hands become fists in the night. and she would be horrified if she did.

a wry expression twists his lips; a shift in the corner of his mouth that could almost be a bitter smile. " more like a kicked dog, " bruce answers. he meets her gaze steadily, blue eyes unflinching. no, he knows when to use those teeth of his. he trained himself to bite when he has to. " and you haven't given me a reason to snap. "

if she's lucky, she never will.

[vspertilian]

@whampow said you were scared once, too. -Scarecrow

" everyone is scared at some point, " the bat replies tersely. fear is normal. a natural response to a perceived danger. fear is what keeps some people alive; an instinct inherited through the chain of evolution. but there's a difference between experiencing fear naturally and being forced to feel it. there's a difference between being afraid and being exposed to a hallucinatory agent. and that's where the line must be drawn.

the bat narrows his eyes down at the scarecrow, irritation and displeasure evident even behind his mask. " that doesn't give you the right to force people to experience it. "

animal wife --- not accepting

[vspertilian]

@whampow said happiness has sharp edges. - Mx. Freeze

they're right. it's an unpleasant truth of the world: happiness, joy, peace. those things always come at a cost. always have some unexpected downside. anyone who doesn't believe that is either foolish or naive. and what does the bat believe? he believes those shreds of happiness are still worth fighting for despite the cost; even if his demeanor doesn't show it.

he looks at the former scientist in front of him; their metal shell just barely keeping them alive. he has no doubt that it's a miserable existence, he isn't devoid of sympathy. and he knows that, in a way, their anger is justified. which is why the bat isn't looking for a fight. " is it worth it? " he asks quietly. " is the damage you're doing to innocent people the price you're willing to pay for your own satisfaction? "

animal wife --- not accepting

[vspertilian]

@whampow said i have a name. -Mx. Freeze

" beatrix śniegowska, former cryogenic engineer. i've read your file. " the bat holds up the manilla folder in his gloved hand, showing it through the small window of their cell door. he knows who they are; or he knows as much as paper can tell him, anyway. but a file folder and police reports are a poor substitute for speaking to the person they concern.

he'll spare them the mercy of bringing up their diagnosis. it's unnecessary, and he doubts they need the reminder. they should also be in a real hospital instead of arkham, but that's a much harder string to pull than he'd like it to be. he's working on it. " i have questions about your cryotech. "

animal wife --- not accepting

[vspertilian]

@whampow said i'm tired of life lessons. - Mx. Freeze

you and me both. it's a grim thought, one tarnished and embittered by twenty-some years of this life, but he carries on despite it. mx. freeze is barely half his age and has already suffered too much for someone so young. could any different be said about him? could it be said about anyone in gotham? this city takes and takes and rarely ever gives in return.

they look alarmingly frail outside of their cryosuit, heavy-gaited and pale. an observation the bat makes silently as he drops down from the shadows above, almost formless wrapped in his dark cape. " i'm not here to give you one. " hand unseen, he withdraws a small vial from his belt, arm emerging only to offer it out to beatrix. " an experimental drug from europe. it's a new treatment, still in trial phase. " quietly, he adds, " no promises. "

animal wife --- not accepting

[vspertilian]

i do think the rogue that annoys bruce the most is firefly. like he just has no respect for that dude at all. he's just a pain in the ass.

[vspertilian]

@am4zon said deer live at the edges between worlds.

six years old; a wild doe in the manor garden. the memory comes back in a hazy rush of sunset colors. the sudden excitement of a boy holding his mother's hand; her voice whispering softly in his ear until the breeze shifted and the deer heard them, bounding off into the bushes. that had been one of his mother's better days. she'd slipped into the throes of her psychosis for a long while after that, only recovering for a short time before she'd been taken from him entirely. but still, bruce remembers the deer. the first time he had seen one so close. they always make him think of his mother when she was well.

the sun is close to rising now. dew glistens on the grass by the lake and the sky beyond grows ever brighter. bruce's face is shadowed by his own exhaustion; fighting the outstretched fingers of sleep that threaten to close his eyes against the morning light. diana greets the small cluster of deer at the edge of the water like they're old friends while he watches from a distance. it's something surreal. like a dream, like a memory.

one of the younger animals, perhaps bolder than the others, steps toward him on thin legs. one step, then another. until it's close enough to reach out and lick the salt from the tips of his fingers. he doesn't move. doesn't breathe. the deer soon returns to the others and his eyes flutter closed, open again. there's a flash of white between the trees and, for a moment, he thinks it must be the ghost of his mother.

but it's only a doe, bounding away into the dark.

animal wife --- not accepting

[vspertilian]

@sherevival said you always come back to me.

in another life, they could have been something. life and this world had other plans for them both. but the thing about fate --- the thing about love --- is that it's hard to kill. the love he has for talia has never gone away, has never diminished with the passage of time. and, deep down, bruce knows it hasn't changed for her either. he still sees the glimmer of warmth in her gaze. the shard of pain that's reflected in his own every time they meet.

he cups her cheek in his rough palm. her dark hair cascades down from her head like a silk curtain as he looks up at her from bed. battered, bruised, clinging to life with the reckless tenacity of a much younger man. the corner of his mouth tugs slightly, threatening a weak, tired smile. breath rattles in his broken chest when he wheezes out a soft chuckle.

" in pieces this time, nearly. " bruce attempts to prop himself up only to wince instead as pain jolts through him, lying back against the pillow. ice blue eyes scrutinize talia's face, taking her in, looking for something he can't name. " i missed you. "

animal wife --- not accepting

[vspertilian]

@sherevival said it's cold in your shadow.

all this time, all this strife... all these years later and somehow talia's presence manages to put an ache in his heart while feeling like a knife at his throat at the same time. were it not for damian, would she even be here now? were it not for her love for their son --- the son she had kept from him for so long --- would he ever see her again? these reunions must hurt her too, after all. if things were different, he wonders if she might not choose instead to spare herself the pain. to spare him as well.

bruce's jaw clenches, but not with anger. the truth she speaks is bitter going down, and he regrets that fact. damian contests him fiercely; a fire he gets from his mother and a stubbornness that mirror's his father's. his relationship with his youngest son is often at odds. talia is right as to why.

" you built me into more than i am, " he rasps quietly. " you made damian idolize me, but i'm only a man, talia. " a fallible one, at that. a poor example more often times than not. damian's rebelliousness is all an attempt to win his hard-won pride. bruce pinches the bridge of his nose, unwilling to turn and face his former wife. " i can't be what he wants me to be. what he needs me to be. "

animal wife --- not accepting