batmanschmatman | 036 [audio]

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036 [audio]

There's nothing more frustrating then having some nagging idea - or a problem or whatever - that you just can't figure out the solution to. And I'm not saying this as a cry for help about the stuff I'm stuck on or anything, or making some comment about life on the good ship Barge right now, and it could easily just be that I haven't gotten more then like, three hours sleep a night in a good week at this point, but there are things I just kind of can't seem to let go of, and I'm starting to feel a little worn out.

So basically, if anyone's got any fun new suggestions for dealing with insomnia while stuck in a pretty contained environment, I'd be happy to hear them.

[Private to Jason]

[He was... very seriously considering not saying anything, but. This is called making an effort. :|]

So I took some Benadryl.

[Private to Howie]

I never really apologized for losing my temper with you the other day, so, I'm sorry I lost my temper over something kind of ridiculous.

[Private to Arthur]

I know this is a potentially extremely stupid question, but do you need anything while you're on babysitting duty?

[Private to Tim]

You're waiting for a train. You don't know where it will take you, but it doesn't matter. Why?

[Private to Costigan]

How's Rex doing?

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[ He makes a small acknowledging sound before turning back to his work. At this point he's actually starting to make a new checkers game on the computer on the BatCave, just for something to do.

(He knows he's being ridiculous.)

But he's keeping an half eye and his ears on Dick, so- that's another reason why he shouldn't- why he can't sleep. ]

[And it's a good thing too, because after only about fifty minutes of pretty uninterrupted sleep - which is better then a lot of his previous attempts, so that's always something - he's tossing and turning, brow furrowed as he tries to get comfortable and escape the images.

The dreams aren't enough to wake him up just yet, but he's clearly in distress, and it's really only a matter of time at this point before he wakes up startled, if not actually screaming. Most of the more severe reactions to the dreams had stopped as he got older, but it didn't stop him from waking up scared.]

[ He's standing up from the first movement, the lines of code pausing and the cursor blinking from where he'd stopped typing. And he's moving over to stand over Dick's sleeping figure.

Fifty minutes. That's much, much more than what he usually gets. Bruce emphatically does not close his own eyes before he places a hand over Dick's eyes, pressing down while his other hand puts pressure on his shoulder, holding him down and still. ]

Dick. [ He keeps his voice low, but the tone is sharp. ] I'm here.

Sleep. [ It's an order. ]

[The dreams, unsurprisingly, often take place at the circus. Or, a circus, since sometimes it's not exactly Haly's - close enough to be familiar, but twisted and perverted in a way that makes it not the place he grew up in - and he's almost always on the highwire platform looking down as everything happens.

This time though, he's in the audience. It's a different angle, one he's not quite used to, and so the dream is already distressing and confusing before it begins. There's a ringmaster making an announcement about the show they were about to see preformed, with the amazing attractions being paraded out for a preview, getting ready for the show to actually start.

The ringmaster turns and Dick can see that it's Two-Face - Harvey Dent - and he's got a baseball bat propped against his shoulder, which he promptly uses to start pointing out the main attractions.

The spotlight turned on to reveal in one ring, the two Mals, one holding a plate of pancakes while the other held a knife - not the shard of glass she'd actually used - to Costigan's throat while the former cop struggled to break free from her grip, eyes scanning the audience as if looking for the vigilante. In the next ring was Hoffman in a dark blue NYPD uniform but wearing the mask he and Donny had found in his room who had Steph - in Bab's old Batgirl uniform, only really identifiable by her blonde hair - at gunpoint, a hand wrapped around her throat from behind. Next to them is Tim, or, who he assumes is Tim in what he guesses is a Red Robin uniform on the floor of the arena, Bruce's bloody and battered body stretched out in front of him as he desperately tried to resuscitate him.

And of course, finally, Harvey calls their attention to up on the high wire, where just like always, are his parents, this time bound and gagged, strapped to the trapeze and held at gun point by thugs. Tony Zucco is there too, smoking a huge cigar and looking down on things with a wide, almost Joker-esque smile, showing too many teeth. Dick is frozen for a moment, staring up at them, and suddenly it occurs to him that they'd all been looking at him - looking for him - not just Costigan, but Steph and his parents too, Tim too busy trying to save Bruce to search for him in the crowd. Time seemed to slow down and he was frozen in place, forced to watch the whole thing unfold instead of getting up to do something to save them.

Time speeds up again, and immediately, he forces his way into action, shoving people out of his way. The crowd is cheering, drowning out his screams for them to get out of the way. There are too many of them, and no matter how hard he fights against them, it feels like he isn't making any progress. But he needs to get through them, needs to get there before it's too late because he can hear Harvey saying the show's getting started over the screams of the crowd and his own shouts for them to get away - for Tim to hang in there until he got there, for Steph to disarm Hoffman and help Costigan so they could take down Harvey and help his parents, he can't even really process the words coming out of his mouth at this point -

And he can hear Harvey saying this was all his fault - this was like Bludhaven, because he hadn't been fast enough, smart enough, strong enough to stop this, and now he was going to lose everything important to him again.

He knows he needs to get there, forcing his way through the crowd which sort of feels like they're trying to crush him. He needs to save them before it's too late because he's already failed - he's already failed the people were counting on him, just like Harvey said, and not just with Bludhaven, and if he could just get there in time to save them, everything would be fine, he could fix everything else and everything would be fine -

There's another sudden scream from the audience and Dick looked up to see his parents falling. The ropes hadn't even snapped, they were just falling, and Steph was screaming and suddenly there was blood everywhere, Costigan letting out a strangled yell and Tim suddenly just sobbing bitterly, the sounds cutting through him like a knife as the crowd pushes back harder even as he fights against them, desperate now because he has to save them -]

[And then he's being restrained by something again, this time actually holding him down entirely. Immediately, he tenses and is about to start struggling against Bruce's hands, adrenaline surging defensively as he got ready to fight or run from whatever it was holding him down, not really awake but not really asleep anymore either, but stops at the sound of his voice. It's a voice he recognizes and trusts probably more than anyone else, so even in his confused, disoriented and more then a little terrified state, he calms down. Bruce is here. He's here and alive and that's what matters, and if he's not worried or upset or dead, everything's okay.

He relaxes slowly, still not quite awake, and his eyelids would be fluttering a little if not for the hand over them. He was still breathing hard - almost panting in his disoriented state, and shuddered violently, sinking slowly back into the cot.]

[ He knows what nightmares do to a person - he has spent far too much time training himself to stop reacting the way Dick is doing to not be intimately familiar - and though he doesn't know what is it that Dick is seeing, he knows it must be particularly bad. So he just exerts a little more force, keeping him down. ]

Sleep. [ And he lets the command take over his tone entirely. ] Stop thinking. Just sleep.

[ A part of him finds this ironic, because he should take his own advice. But that's irrelevant right as this moment, and the less he thinks of his own nightmares and failures, the better. ]

Shhh.

[He wants to listen to, but there's something vitally important he needs to do - people are in danger, or were in danger, and he needs to make sure they're all safe - and so while he doesn't struggle, he does squirm against the increased force, face screwing up in confusion, still not really awake.]

Bruce where is everyone?

[The words tumble out and together in a half awake slur, almost unintelligibly, but he needs to know before he goes to sleep. The images from the nightmare are still there - there had been so much blood and he can almost hear the screaming - and he just needs to know]

They're fine. Safe in their room.

[] ANd he drops down until he's nearer to Dick, raising his other hand to smooth against his forehead, tucks away his hair. ]

Shh. Go back to sleep.

Okay.

[He lets himself relax for real this time, sinking back onto the cot, breathing slowly evening out. He believes him, and he knows he's somewhere safe - the cave? - and everyone else is too, and he's so tired.

After another few minutes, he's asleep again, lying on his stomach, face buried in the pillow. He's really out of it this time, reassured that Bruce was okay and everyone else was safe, and he was exhausted.]

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036 [audio]

spam;

spam;

spam;

1/2 spam; oh god why

2/2 spam; I am a monster

yes you are and i'm sorry this is so short. ;_;

spam; IT'S FINE I'M SORRY I'M A MONSTER <333

spam; A GLORIOUS MONSTER

BUT A MONSTER NONETHELESS