awashlogs | OPEN + CLOSED

Entry tags:

OPEN + CLOSED

WHO: Damian, OTA + some closed prompts
WHERE: around town
WHEN: month of June
WHAT: catch all & quests
WARNINGS: n/a
NOTES: if you're looking for anything in particular with damian, or you want to do a quest with him, ping me at

moetan or send me a message on discord astralfire#9286! feel free to also wildcard me.

i. dog days (after Bad Week)

[In Bluo at the harbor, there's a boathouse floating by the docking with some of the others. From the outside, it looks like the same as any other of the boathouses, but there is a makeshift raft near the steps and also something on the balcony uptop.

A dog, a German Shepherd, tall enough on hind legs to curl the front paws over the railing and gaze out at everything. It doesn't seem as if the dog is in distress, not with its tongue lolled out and its ears up, and depending on the person, it may be familiar. It doesn't appear to be starved either. And, strangely, there doesn't seem to be anyone else with the dog. Weird. Just a dog, chilling on a boathouse, not wet.

Ace is a good, working boy. If he spots you walking along the harbor, he'll start barking. It doesn't sound aggressive, maybe more of an alert warning.]

ii. the early bird (during Bad Week)

[It's honestly way too early for anyone to be out and about much less out and by the edge of the forest. And yet, here Damian Wayne is anyway. Sunrise and at Creep-O Woods.

There's no Robin in sight. Simply a dark-haired boy in town clothing that's been altered to give more mobility, a wrapped tunic and pants, something more Eastern in style. He's going in and out of the forest, and the time between entering and leaving must mean he's not going very far. Maybe a few yards in.

Nearby, alongside a pile of mismatched wood pieces, is not the usual dog, but a cat instead. By the looks of it, the cat seems to perhaps be a tuxedo, and it's lounging indifferently, tail curling up and down. The cat may also be familiar to some. It even offers a quiet, tummy-bouncing thirrup of greeting if you come into range.

Is it friendly? Are cats every friendly?]

iii. beauty_and_the_beast_belle.mp3 (after Bad Week)

[Damian is in the library finishing his consumption of the books, almost like he thinks there will be some shining clue to this entire fiasco waiting for him. Boy, he's going to be shocked. And mad. Nothing greets him except page after page of folktales, some he's heard before, some he hasn't.

He doesn't look up if someone comes inside with him.] Close the door behind you. [He flips another page. Across from him on the table is an abandoned open book--abandoned because it's currently being occupied by the tuxedo cat, sprawled out from one edge to the other lazily.

Clearly, one cannot simply read a book in the presence of a feline.]

iv. extra (during Bad Week)

[Damian can periodically be found trying to talk to Bruce throughout the first few days of the week. As per Bruce's punishment, Bruce won't see or hear him, and so Bruce will continue on without noticing him.

He'll be pretty cold and upset about it.]

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[Izuku catches the very tail-end of the one-sided altercation. Bruce is headed steadily down the street, and the pursing Damian slows to a rigid stop.

His face is partially red. He must have been screaming, and maybe that's what Izuku heard before getting there.

Regardless, Bruce continues on without budging, and the only other thing Damian can think to do is tackle the man, but he doesn't. Something stings, starting like a pin-prick in his chest, rising, blooming out as heat over his shoulders and up his neck into his face.

It's familiar and surreal. He grits his teeth, balls his fist.] Father... [It's a hoarse whisper. He's going to have to recalibrate, figure out what happened, though his mind already thinks it's because of the failure.

He turns around to storm off, then stops dead in his tracks at the sight of Izuku. How much had Izuku seen...?]

What do you want?

Edited 2018-06-04 18:47 (UTC)

[Kirishima gets a single e-mail that simply says:] Meet at the forest on the Ruga side. [There won't be any response afterward, as Damian has immediately left.

It's Robin who is waiting. He hasn't been in the suit in a while, forfeiting it in favor of making his dad comfortable being... well, suitless.

But now there's something like a mission, and the suit would benefit him better in the forest. He doesn't hide like he did when he met Guren; instead, he stands near the edge, waiting, arms crossed. There's no dog or cat, and he lacks the stick he crafted into a stave. Everything he needs is on him, or is him.]

Took you long enough.

Edited 2018-06-06 16:11 (UTC)

[Unfortunately, Damian has already pilfered animal food from a good two or three houses. Usually thievery is done under the cover of darkness and in uniform, but Damian is restless and stubborn, doesn't feel he has time, and also doesn't want to tarnish the good reputation of Robin while stealing.

(Step-mom would be proud, though.)

Rather than painstakingly carry the food each time from the house to his own, he decides to make a cache in Bluo in one of the broken, busted buildings. Quickly, he carries his current armful around inside, thinking nothing of being watched because he assumes after one check, he's golden.

But exiting, Ochako is now closer this time, and Damian freezes just as he's dropped out onto the street.] What? [Maybe she hadn't seen him go in, only come out.

Maybe he can fake it until he makes it.]

Edited 2018-06-05 04:18 (UTC)

[His curiosity might be gone, but his empathy isn't, nor is his concern for his friend. Though he was too far away to catch what they were actually saying, it's obvious that something is incredibly wrong with this picture here.

So, rather than answering the question, Izuku bypasses it and walks closer, worry written all over his face.]

Are you okay, Damian-kun? What happened?

[There's no way Damian can hide the strained heat fading from his face. He tries desperately to mold his face into something more indifferent, something less worried, less scared. He is never scared.]

Nothing. [It's given too quick for it to be true, and it doesn't help when Damian glance back over his shoulder at the direction Bruce disappeared.

He's frowning more than before when he looks back. He can't decide if it's worth being a hard ass here. Everyone knows about the town. He can just find out himself, but...] Did anything happen to you?

After the trial.

[ So, he's not oblivious. He figures out pretty quick that Damian has been... removed from his perception, in a sense. He sees and hears everything else just fine, except for Damian. He figured he'd be punished for failing the quest like most people were but this, this is frustrating. This isn't something he expected and makes the stakes a little higher.

A few days into it, he'll be near Damian's boathouse with a folded up piece of paper in his hand. Ace is nearby, hopping onto the deck of the boat and sniffing around with pleasure. Bruce doesn't think Damian's here at the moment, but he's not sure and that's absolutely frustrating. So, he looks to Ace and whistles, holding out the paper to him. ]

Stay here. Give this to Damian. Understood?

[ Ace barks his reply and takes the paper gently in his teeth before trotting into the boathouse dutifully. Bruce feels confident with that and turns to leave.

When Damian gets the paper, it will be a very simple letter: ]

Damian,

I failed the quest and the punishment seems to be that the town has removed you from my perception. I can assure you that I dislike this as much as you. I understand it might bring up feelings reminiscent of the time I lost my memories a few years ago and that's understandable. I hope you don't take it too hard, this is my failing. Not yours. I'm convinced this is temporary though. This place seems to function on short term circumstances for the most part. I know you've come to the same conclusion.

So, until then I want you to know this: this isn't like before and I will not let something like that repeat itself. Not between us. We're partners and I know I've made missteps, like Khadym, but that won't happen here. Surviving this and returning to Gotham will take us remembering we're partners and all of us, including Clark and Selina, to remember we are a team.

This is a temporary occurrence and I don't believe our bond is so fragile that it'll break over one mean-spirited magic trick. Don't you agree?

Your father,
Bruce

[The letter is both a comfort and a nerve breaker all at the same time. He's glad he's weaseled away in the boathouse because tears well up in his eyes, and he feels all the more stupid for them. It isn't as if he didn't believe things would return to normal. He knew they would. He knows they will, and yet, having it happen...

The ache of calling for a father that doesn't answer is one he had almost forgotten until its disgusting carcass is dragged back up within him.

He does other things to stay busy, much like a Wayne, to keep from thinking about it. And he talks to Selina. He talks to Izuku. He's never been so forthcoming with someone he doesn't know, but he misses Jon, and Izuku reminds him of Jon, and he misses his father after barely three days.

If Bruce comes by the harbor in Bluo again, he'll find a small alteration to the outside of the boathouse: at one corner of the top-most balcony, a stick is holding a piece of paper somewhat like a flag. On it, the silhouette of a black bat.

No one else will really understand it except perhaps Selina and Clark. Bruce will understand, certainly. A sign. An acknowledgment. A promise.]

[In the pure interest of keeping someone from looking stupid (he thinks personally), Damian's assistance only goes so far as something like self-preservation. Except the self-preservation is for pride, not living.

This will change; Mutsu will just have to give him time.

For now, he makes Mutsu come to him since he prefers the solitude of a boathouse in the harbor. And he doesn't want anyone to see him being "nice." Naturally.

If Mutsu accepts, he ends up down by the docks (Bring your laptop. The thing you're typing on.) to a boy waiting patiently. It's not Robin, but hm. Seems... familiar.]

You didn't get lost.

Edited 2018-06-07 14:21 (UTC)

[Though normally he'd follow Damian's gaze and watch Bruce walk away with some degree of curiosity, he doesn't this time. Damian's upset, in front of him, and obviously that's the more pressing matter here.]

After the trial...? I don't think so. I still haven't found anything in my room yet.

[He watches Damian carefully.] You think something's happening?

[Surprisingly, his eyes won't meet Izuku's face. He stares a hole in the other boy's chest. He can't decide if he wants to believe the failures didn't get anything and Bruce is simply... doing something, if there was other involvement, or if the failures also got a "reward." A... punishment.] Yes.

Father... [His lips fold into a straight, thin line. It's not just a loss of memory. Worse. Invisible. Almost like... he's dead.

But Izuku is talking to him just fine.] He can't hear or see me. [His eyes finally lift, mostly so he can see Izuku's reaction.] He doesn't respond to my presence.

[For a second, there's an odd look on Izuku's face as several things in him come to a conflict, mostly with the curiosity that's no longer there. Finally, though, he settles on sympathy.]

So that's what happened just now. I'm sorry, Damian-kun... there must be a way to get around this. We can figure something out together?

[And, strangely enough, Izuku leaves it at that, not even trying to speculate out how such a thing might actually work.]

[For a long time, Damian doesn't say anything. His eyes search Izuku's face. There's... something different, but he doesn't know Izuku well enough to be able to pinpoint what has changed. Izuku seems...

Flat. Hollow.

Nice, polite, but not concerned. It deepens Damian's frown. Slowly, he twists enough to look back again; Bruce has since disappeared from view.] Bypassing not being seen is easy. If I can talk to you, and you can talk to others. I-- [He's not sure how to say it without sounding stupid.]

I need to know if... he remembers me. [Is he just invisible? Has Bruce forgotten him, too?] I need to make sure it isn't like before.

[Oblivious to Damian's suspicions, Izuku just frowns.] If you need someone to check that with him, I'd be happy to do it, Damian-kun. It'll make you feel better if you know for sure, right?

[There's that strangely conflicted look again before his empathy, thankfully, wins out.]

Has he forgotten you before?

[At first, Damian doesn't answer. He keeps looking off the way Bruce left them. Him. It hurts. He'd be a liar if he didn't say it stings him to the core. Of all the things, the one that can break him the quickest, the hardest, is not existing for his father.]

Yes.

[His voice is very quiet, almost a whisper. It doesn't seem to matter that Izuku isn't well known. He thinks about his father, some time ago, with children, ignorant and blissful.

Happy?

Both hands ball into fists, and his jaw tightens, the line of it hard in the view of it from the side. He's quiet for so long. It's almost as if he's died. Maybe some of him has,just a tad, in a way. He's... so afraid.] A long time ago.

He didn't remember anything. He didn't remember me. I don't want that to happen again.

[It's heart-wrenching to see Damian this way, when he's usually so headstrong and so sure of himself. He hasn't known Damian that long, but Izuku doesn't like seeing that look on his face at all. Hesitantly, he puts a hand on Damian's shoulder.]

Whatever's happening right now, we'll get to the bottom of it. I'll talk to him, Damian-kun, okay? I promise.

[The hand makes him focus, and he turns back around to glance at Izuku. A sliver of him wants to say something curt, but only because he's sore, upset. Izuku doesn't deserve his ire.]

I know.

[His eyes scour the ground in thought, brows notching across his forehead. He can't just wallow. He's a Bat. He's Robin. First thing's first: communication with Bruce. He looks back up, determination fueled by frustrated irritation.] I need you to speak to my father for me.

I need you to tell him I'm still here, even if he can't see me. I need you to ask him if he remembers who I am.

[Izuku listens to the request attentively, giving a sharp nod once Damian's done.]

I'll pass the message on. [Then, he pauses, when he remembers something that's just a little important.] I'll need his hex code, though. I've only talked to him on the forum when he was using yours.

Hashtag F-6-D-B-2-C. [For future reference. But:] I need for you to tell him this in person. My father...

I want you to tell him in person, so you can see his face. [Bruce is a master of poker face, which won't necessarily help, but in terms of talking about him... Maybe Izuku will have an advantage, if things were bad.] Just in case.

[ Where's Batman when you need him because Josuke just spotted some kid STEALING SHIT FROM SOMEONE'S HOUSE IN BLUO ... ] Oh, come on. Really? I thought this was a nice town ...

[ Everyone seems to be working together so far. Though, he's somehow not at all surprised that there would be someone who would resort to stealing the supplies they need right out of someone else's home. It's more surprising that there aren't more people trying that, to be honest, given the lack of resources. Anyway, he's actually part of the watch, so he figures he should do something. He won't hurt the guy, but maybe talk to him? ] Hey. That's a dick move, man.

[ Quality policework from Josuke Higashikata. Now that he's closer to this kid, he's starting to find his size, stature and the black hair on his head incredibly familiar. ] Wait a second ...

Edited (I AM JETLAGGED ) 2018-06-08 16:29 (UTC)

[Josuke meets Damian in a similar fashion as his friend, Okuyasu: Damian is on the second story of the building when they run into each other. It's fairly high up, but the boy clinging to the outside of the window doesn't seem to be at all worried.

Everything about him appears familiar, but Damian has an altered piece of cloth covering the bottom half of his face. He has a hood, too, but it's down at the moment. It's not Robin. It sure as hell looks like Robin, in a way.

But regardless, Damian recognizes Josuke. Naturally. He tuts under his breath, and glances down as Josuke moves in below him.] What's it to you? [The only difference in voice is the fact Robin had a kindo of forced deeper one. Not by much. More gravel-y. (Trying to be Batman.)]

What're you going to do? Arrest me?

[Over one shoulder, a piece of rope has both ends tied to the top of two linen bags, maybe half a foot tall each. And full. Of something. They don't seem misshapen, so whatever it is can't be a bunch of oblong items.]

[ This guy looks like Robin, sounds a little like Robin and even seems to share his attitude. The most telling thing, however, is the boy's skill -- how effortlessly he seems to have climbed out of that window on his own, his apparent fearlessness in an act that most people would be cowering over. Not a lot of people possess that kind of skill to begin with, and even less so in Robin's apparent age range. ]

No. I'm no policeman. And I wouldn't even know where to toss you ... [ They don't have anything like jail, do they? Not that they seem to really need one so far, in this town where most people are good eggs. Okay, he does want to get to the bottom of whether this new kid is his friend or not, but first: ] I will, however, ask you to put that back where you found it. If there's something you need so badly, I'm sure there are other places to get it from.

[ Josuke kind of assumes this kid is Robin at this point so he's taking on a bit of a stern-babysitter tone. ]

Oh. So the "defense force" hasn't even put in place a method of containment should someone get out of hand. I see. [He knew this already. He's just being an asshole.

He wants to shit on Guren's work because Guren gave him a hard time. It's fine.] What I'm taking is technically mine. [Don't give him the babysitter bullshit. He hates it.

With practice ease and elegance, he releases the window and, much to Josuke's probably mounting horror, falls two stories to the ground. The pet food comes off his shoulder right before he hits, allowing him to duck into a roll and soften the landing, ending up once more on his feet. Balanced. He grabs the rope and hefts it back onto his shoulder.

He pulls the mask down off the bottom of his face. HM. FAMILIAR.]

Are we finished? I'm busy.

[ So rude. This is definitely Robin. There aren't many others with such a bad attitude. He won't bother arguing with him, since he knows Damian's just being mean for the sake of it as always. ]

Shit, you --! [ Just jumped off the second floor window? By the time Damian touches down on the ground, he'll see that Josuke's brought out his Stand, prepped and ready to catch the boy. He's not actually surprised that he managed the two-story fall just fine, but he is a little annoyed that Damian had scared him like that. ]

It doesn't become yours just because you found it first, if that's what you're trying to imply. [ Or so Josuke says, but if he found $20 on the ground he's very likely to keep it. He crosses his arms now, keeping up that likely-infuriating babysitter act. ]

Really. I thought you'd know better than this. [ He is disappointed in you, homie. ]

[The wonderful thing about seeing Damian bare-faced is: if Josuke has run into Bruce, they look nearly identical. If not, Josuke will just be surprised when Bruce happens.

Unfortunately, Damian does not act like Bruce.] Finding it first is irrelevant. It's mine because the town told me it was mine.

[Also, strangely (fortunately!!), Damian doesn't appear to be aware of Crazy Diamond this time around. No mask. He's at a disadvantage, but at least he's aware of the possibility of it.] The town, however, has idiotic conditions attached to "rewards," or whatever you want to call them.

The food was dispersed between all the houses in Bluo. I'm just collecting what is rightfully mine.

Unless you're the type of man who would keep someone from retrieving what is theirs. Are you that kind of man, Higashikata?

[ That confirms it. This is that fuckin' kid. Being called by his last name is still really strange because pretty much nobody does that, and somehow, it makes Damian's words sound more biting (probably with intention). ]

You must be talking about that quest from a few weeks ago ... [ Untold: The quest that Josuke himself failed, and spent a weak freaking out over perceived hair loss as punishment. As silly as it is, Chroma has been tough on this teenage drama queen. Finally, Josuke is putting it all together. ]

Okay, I finally get it. You were trying to get your shit back. [ Not stealing! Fine!! ] But you could still talk to people instead of breaking into their homes? Unless -- [ Lol, he just thought of something stupid. ]

You that shy, dude? [ Who even understands the mysterious introvert? ]

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Page 1 of 4

OPEN + CLOSED

[CLOSED] IZUKU, QUEST 11

[CLOSED] KIRISHIMA, QUEST 13

[CLOSED] OCHAKO, QUEST 10

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during the no good very bad week

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[CLOSED] MOOTS, GEEK SQUAD TECH SUPPORT

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hassling damian -> time to boogie (quest)

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i cant sleep

you better be sleeping

i finally slept ...

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