137 [voice]

[batmanschmatman]

[Dick clicks on the audio feed and takes a second to consider what he actually wants to say, here.]

I've been on the Barge for two years, three months, and one day. [Not that he's been counting.] I've met a lot of interesting people, been really amazing places, died and got about a dozen alternate lifetimes jumbling around in my head, and honestly, despite all the annoying stuff we've got to put up with on a daily basis here, it's been worth it. I'm never going to regret taking the Admiral up on his offer, and I'm glad he thought to give it to me in the first place.

But this place isn't somewhere to make into a home, [And he can't help but think about Cissie, and how she'd said she'd tried to convince herself that it was until she finally realized she just couldn't do it anymore, and how Tim had said he could stay here forever coming up with things to make bargains for, and that just wasn't a way to live your life.] and I could stay here forever punishing myself for mistakes or regrets, but that's no way to live your life, and I'd rather go home and do good there while there's still some good left in me, rather than let this place pretty much keep trying to beat it out of me.

So, I'm going home. For good this time, at least for now. I guess I can't make any promises you won't be seeing me again in a couple months. [But he also can't make any promises that he will come back, and he doesn't want to do that to anyone.

And you can practically hear the self depreciating smile:] I was gonna say something like it's been fun or real or a pleasure, or something, but none of that really does it justice, does it?

[Filtered to Friends, if you think you're on it, you are!]

I'll be around for another couple hours getting stuff organized. The door's unlocked. [So feel free to drop by. :c]

[Private to Alex]

We should probably talk before I go.

[Private to Rorschach]

If you ever need someone to talk to, [Read: if you ever need to talk to me.] or just blow off some steam with, you know you've got an open invite back to my world, right?

[He has a feeling you won't appreciate him getting more sentimental than that, but. He might anyway, sorry Rorschach. :c]

[Private to Cass]

I know you've heard a lot of scary stuff about the future, and believe me, I can't blame you for being nervous about going back home. [Seriously. Because:] Two years ago, I found out a lot of stuff I had a really hard time accepting about my future, and it took me a long time to come to terms with it even a little bit. I'm still a little afraid of going back and actually living through all of it.

But I can promise you one thing: it gets better. I know it might not seem like it, but things turn out okay in the end, and I don't want you to stay here letting the Barge wear you down because you're scared. I did that for a long time, and I don't want to see you make the same mistakes I did.

[Private to Ivy]

Can I ask a strange favor?

[Private to Kay]

I've got a write up on everything I remember from the last time the bridge was compromised and what Capa, Connor and I saw there, and you seemed like the right person to give it to. [He's always trusted and respected Kay, even if they haven't been particularly close, and he knows he won't let the information fall into the wrong hands.]

I have no idea what's going on with the Admiral right now or how bad it could feasibly get, and to be honest, I feel like an asshole for skipping out like this, but I know whatever it is, you guys will figure out a way to get through it.

[Private to Oliver]

If you ever run into a kid named Roy Harper, don't kick him out when you find out he's turned to heroin because you've been a terrible excuse for a parent to him.

[Private to Bruce]

[And again, he hesitates before saying anything, because he doesn't want to screw this up, or if he should even be bothering with it at all.]

I get that you're hurting, and I'm sorry we didn't have more time to try and set things right, [Not that it really matters, because Bruce would still be going home to a Dick Grayson who was furious with him.] but don't punish yourself by condemning yourself to this place. You did everything you could to make sure we were safe, and sometimes, that's just not enough. It's not your fault.

I still don't agree with you, [And he wasn't sure he could really forgive him yet, or ever.] but I don't think you deserve to fester here forever. You can do a lot more good at home if you forgive yourself and go back to helping people than just sitting around here feeling sorry for yourself.

[ooc: And Dick will hang around for any spam people want to do, but then he's off for a much needed vacation... back to Gotham which is admittedly not a vacation at all but there you go.]

Comments

private

[tolaywaste]

I agree.

On deck, if that's okay with you.

private

[batmanschmatman]

That's fine. I'll meet you up there in ten minutes?

[Private]

[wemaketheworld]

...understand.

[Another person leaving, and it's not the best timing in the world but that's usually how life goes in his experience. The timing's never right, the world is always disrupted all at once. He'll manage. He'll survive. He always has.]

Appreciate it.

[It goes for more than just the offer. It's for everything, as close to "thank you" as he'll ever come.]

[Private]

[batmanschmatman]

[It's weird, in some ways, that saying goodbye to Rorschach is actually a lot harder than saying goodbye to someone like Cass or Babs or Steph. At least he knows he'll see them again when he goes home, but while he can't really rule out the possibility of finding a way to pop back and forth between universes - and it's something he's actively interested in investigating - there's still a chance that he'll never see him again. And that's... really sad.]

I know it's overwhelming, and Chris definitely seems like a handful, but. You'll do a good job.

Private

[chlorophylliac]

You can ask.

Re: Private

[batmanschmatman]

I guess it's more like advice, I guess. What kind of plants do well in Gotham soil?

Spam

[hetrustsme]

[Kal knocks on the unlocked door because even if he left Kansas years ago he's still a Kansas boy deep down.]

Busy?

Re: Spam

[batmanschmatman]

Nope! [There isn't much to do besides say goodbye, really, so Dick comes to answer the door quickly and smiles.]

Just packing up some stuff for my cat. Come on in.

Spam

[ichoosefight]

[ Steph doesn't have any big emotional outbursts today. She's seen a lot of people she loves leave, and she likes to think that she's learned to accept it. You can only stay in this place for so long, no matter how many bonds you make or how many lives you change. She didn't honestly think she would outlast him, but then she kind of expected to have graduated an inmate before now. Oh well. Life happens. But she's glad to see him going home, when he used to be so against the idea. The future has a lot in store for him, and she doesn't want him to miss out on the good stuff.

So she cuts out the middle man and heads straight to his room, trying to reconcile the joy and the sorrow she feels knowing this will be their goodbye.

She knocks. ]

Re: Spam

[batmanschmatman]

[It's strange, to think that be won't be living here when he gets back. He could, but it's not really his space at home the same way it's become his on the Barge. He's not packing anything, really, but he wants to get Jinks' stuff organized, since a litterbox isn't really something you want to teleport home with you when it's full.

He doesn't come get the door, currently looking for a suitcase or something.]

Come in!

[Private]

[most_feared]

Alright. I'll come pick it up.

Enjoy bein' off this ship. [Oh boy, does he mean that. Some days he can't wait for when he goes.]

Re: [Private]

[batmanschmatman]

Thanks. Make sure you take some time off when you need it.

Spam

[bodilesswarrior]

[Barbara stares at the screen for a long time. She doesn't begrudge Dick leaving; she's seen what this place can do, felt it firsthand. And even through all that, he's seen his deal through. He's changed someone's life.

But it hurts, knowing she'll never see him again. Not this Dick.

So her heart is heavy when she turns away, and makes her last trip to 110.]

Re: Spam

[batmanschmatman]

[Dick... Didn't really need to pack. He didn't really know how it worked, but he knew the Admiral would take care of most of the heavy lifting, and so he didn't need to do anything, but he needed to do something to keep busy. And Jinks needed his stuff ready to go, and it wasn't like he was going to be living here when he got home, so he was shoving a few things in bags to get ready for that, and keep busy.

So that's what he's doing when Babs shows up. Jinks is sitting on top of a packed suitcase while Dick struggled with some gear, although he smiles when he sees who it is.]

Hey.

[Spam]

[terminates]

[ He debates for a while when he sees this message go up.

When he finally decides, he doesn't bother to knock. He just waits, leaning silently against the wall outside the other's cabin.

Whenever Dick decides to come out, he'll be there, waiting. ]

Re: [Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

[Dick doesn't really strictly speaking need to leave his cabin once he's let everyone know he's going, and that they can drop by in person if they want to say goodbye that way. But he's never really been great at goodbyes that mean forever, considering he's almost always been able to go back if he wants to. It's not like people at Haly's would have told him to go if he'd wandered back, or that Wayne Manor just wasn't there anymore after Bruce kicked him out. He could always have gone back. Here, he didn't have that guarantee, or sense of permanence, and he didn't know if he'd ever see it again.

So he decided to have one last look around, to try and really commit everything to memory. And of all the things he expected to have interrupt his last trip, it certainly was not Slade.

So, have some staring.]

Can I help you?

spam of sadness

[hellofist]

[She listens to his message, but she doesn't bother to reply over the network. He said his door was unlocked, so she's going to be taking advantage of that.

First Tim, now Dick. Her family was getting cut almost in half in the space of just a few days and it's hurtful in a way she really isn't sure how to deal with, but at least with Dick it's because he wants to go home. She gets a chance to say goodbye.

She doesn't knock. She just comes in and finds him and hugs him tight because he's her brother and she loves him.]

Will miss you.

Re: spam of sadness

[batmanschmatman]

[Dick knows it's hard, and honestly, he doesn't really want to leave some stuff behind. Sara, for one, even though he knew she was leaving too, and Rorschach and Cass and everyone else, but. He wanted to go home.

Still, he hugs her back tightly, and tries to remember that they'll do okay here without him. That this isn't really goodbye.]

I know. I'd say I'll miss you, too, but I'll probably be seeing you as soon as I get home, so. [It's said like a joke, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Your call on how successful it is.]

Private

[greenarrowed]

Um.

What?

Re: Private

[batmanschmatman]

You heard me.

[video]

[routemistress]

[Iris has very mixed feelings about this. She and Dick have never become friends, despite friends in common, but she approves of him, he's a good influence on the Barge in general and she's sorry to see him go. At the same time, he's always made it clear how much he hates being here; perhaps back in his own world he'll be happier, and Iris can never feel regret for that. On the third hand, his timing sucks; she's watching her own dearest friend stripped of all his allies at a time when he needs them most. It's a wistful, barely smiling Iris that waves at him from her video link.]

You go and 'ave a good life, Dickie love. Thank you for all you've done 'ere.

Re: [video]

[batmanschmatman]

[But that's really the problem: it's never going to be a good time. There will always be an excuse for staying, one more reason to put off going home, and he needs to stop kidding himself. This isn't a good place, and he's needed at home, and that's that.]

Thanks. And I'm serious, it wasn't a problem. I don't regret signing up for it.

Private

[theonlyresponse]

You mean that.

[He's been thinking, a lot, about what Alex has asked of him - what he admitted to himself, finally, that he was no longer Gotham's protector, and that he'd lost two sons, not just one.

Both out of his own foolishness.]

A question.

Re: Private

[batmanschmatman]

Shoot.

[ Spam ]

[surfaceshine]

[Dean is really bad at this. Really bad. In fact it could possibly be said that he's not well known for his ability to let people go gracefully - or at all. And whatever: however he's going to screw this up he's going to do it in person.

So he goes ahead and accepts that last offer instead of anything else; he knocks, but opens the door immediately, sticking his head in. He sounds cheerful anyway.]

Hello? Anyone here or is it safe to scavenge for souvenirs I can sell on eBay later?

Re: [ Spam ]

[batmanschmatman]

Hey, occupado! [But Dick sounds more amused than anything else, even though he really isn't great at any of this either. He's no really packing so much as tidying up, because he wants to keep busy, otherwise he'd go really stir crazy.]

You can scavenge when I'm actually gone, buddy.

Private.

[an_abomination]

I'm glad this is only a see you later, and not a good bye-good bye. Hopefully in a few months I'll get to see your Gotham in person.

Private.

[batmanschmatman]

Hopefully. Stay out of trouble in the mean time.

[strangehistorian]

You will be missed.

[batmanschmatman]

I'll miss you guys, too. And remember what I said, Chromie.