closed } but you'll fight and you'll make it through you'll fake it if you have to

[adultwonder]

WHO: BATFAMILY (Dick, Babs, Bruce, Cass, Damian, Jason, Selina, Steph, Tim)
WHERE: BATHOUSE (the Manor in De Chima)
WHEN: BATTIME (Early September in the evening)
WHAT: BATMEETING (There are so many Batpeople here from different worlds. Time to get everyone on the same page.)
WARNINGS: Repressed Batemotions and perhaps some Batlanguage. Will update as necessary.

It took a lot of coordinating, not least because Dick doesn't even know most of the people that need to be contacted. One of them was a bad guy last he checked and he has his doubts about at least one of the others considering he went on a whole "we should kill people" rant a little while earlier. But they all are in on the secret identities, so they're included.

Dick dumps a bag of chips he picked up on his way here into a bowl. As far as catering goes, it's pretty below Alfred's standards, but without Alfred here, he guesses they can just make do. Now all that's left to do is wait and see who'll actually show up.

Comments

Mingle

[adultwonder]

[Look, there are a lot of people here and it's a big house. This might not exactly be a party, but there's still time to get to know each other!! Since some people are from different universes.]

Dick Grayson | OTA

[adultwonder]

[Dick makes himself at home, perching on the back of a chair with a plate of chips as he surveys the people who are here. He's trying very hard to be as aggressively normal about this as he can, since someone has to be, and obviously it won't be Bruce. Mostly, he's trying to get a read on everyone. They all know way more about him, or a version of him, than he knows about them, and that's been frustrating.

Still, he's got a smile for most people who actually approach him and he's willing to chat. That's what the whole point of this is, right?]

[notafraidofyou]

[This is a serious meeting, and Tim is extremely mature.

Which is why he's throwing chips at Dick's head, one at a time.]

Re: Dick Grayson | OTA

[bodilesswarrior]

[It's a relief that she can see exactly what Dick is doing, because it's what her Dick would do. It's also a bit dangerous, probably; makes it easier to fall into old rhythms, when she has no idea where exactly the similarities end.

For now, though, she approaches him with a gentle smile, a bit frayed around the edges.] If you need a break, the manor's got a lot of distractions, and I can probably stop them from burning the place down.

bruce wayne's cheese platter | ota

[the_caped_crusader]

[ bruce sends a cheese platter and his condolences. ]

[batburgers]

[Coward. Fuck you Bruce, he's gonna smash this cheese platter. And no he's not gonna ever thank you for sending it.]

damian wayne | ota

[batricide]

[ He brought a three layer dip because Clark Kent raised him right and you're supposed to bring food to these things as a show you're not hostile. Which absolutely nothing else about him is conveying. Anyone who knows either of Damian's parents probably doesn't have too hard a time placing who the hell is lingering in the corner of the room, arms folded and scowl etched deep in his face.

Unless he's looking at Dick. Hopefully when Dick's not looking at him. His expression shifts from a pissy, i-want-to-murder-everyone-in-this-room to something significantly more... lost. It's not his Dick. Obviously. But he looks so much like him that it's hard to remember that. ]

[adultwonder]

[Look. Dick isn't exactly watching, but it's hard to miss the expression shift, or that it seems to happen when Damian is looking at him. It's... unsettling. He knows he's in a coma in Babs' world. What the hell happened to him in Damian's? Considering how hard Damian was arguing for murdering people, he's not sure he wants to know.

Unfortunately, the entire point of this little shindig was to figure all these things out, and Dick really does have to know. He sidles over, carrying a plate with chips and some of Damian's dip.]

Good call, bringing the dip. It's tasty.

Re: damian wayne | ota

[bodilesswarrior]

Well, I'm glad someone's filling the looming quota. [Her voice is wry, but also gentle. She really is glad he came.]

[giveaway]

[Yes, she was brooding earlier herself, but Damian's brooding activates her annoying cheerfulness! Or something. Steph walks over to him with her trademark awkward smile.]

Sorry, I couldn't get them to have a moonbounce for this one. Maybe next time.

[Realizing it sounds like she's fully teasing him, she adds]

I brought you to one when you were younger, in my world. You liked it.

Tim Drake | OTA

[notafraidofyou]

[Tim brought hot pockets, but everyone knows that hot pockets should be microwaved to order, so instead of putting them out next to Dick's chips or Bruce's cheese platter (what the hell, Bruce???), he puts them in the freezer, and sticks a note on the table as to their location. Next to the cheese.

Then he makes himself a hot pocket.]

Stephanie Brown | OTA

[giveaway]

[She brought cookies and Italian soda! No waffles, sorry. They're not a great party food. Also she might've brought these because then she and Cass can eat them by themselves later.

Steph's mostly chilling on a couch or somewhere near Cass. She's not quite as social as some might expect her to be, except she's just fine interacting with the people she knows know her. Sorry, she's still getting used to this.]

[cassassin]

[ cass isn't quite wallflowering, she's putting herself out there--mostly out of obligation--but she keeps coming back to the couch as a home base in all this. ]

Hey, [ she squeezes steph's hand, leaning in a little to get some measure of privacy, ] you... dealing with this okay?

[ she knows firsthand how weird this can be. how weird it still is. but it's newer for steph. ]

[batburgers]

[Jason is used to the people who know him but don't know him, but Steph is...something else. Jason knows her, but not much. About as much as he knows his world's Cass. But this Cass really cares about her Steph and it's all pretty obvious. And if his sister cares, then Jason at least wants to get to know her. And not just in his public persona.]

Are you the co-host of this shindig, then?

cassandra cain | ota

[cassassin]

[ cass's idea of catering was ordering a lot of fast food and some pizzas, honestly. since she's the closest thing this has to a "host", being the one who actually lives here--on top of being the only batman present--a little extra felt required.

she's spending a lot of time near steph, for a lot of reasons. she's really trying not to fall into her practiced socialite persona with the bats who don't know her, but it's tricky. either way, she's got a smile ready for any of them who approach. maybe even damian! ]

this isn't late shhhhhh

[batburgers]

[Of all the people who are here, she's the one that Jason is most okay with seeing. He doesn't know what to do with the Tiny Tim or the Mullet Dick, but Cass? They've been okay. Not perfect. Not as good as they were a year ago, but. Okay. Better than it was for a while.]

I know the house is big, but I think we're pushing it now.

😽 | ota

[catlady]

[ Well. Nothing says 'I really don't want to be here' like purposely avoiding the rest of the party, so while Selina does actually show up to this shindig if only out of curiosity, there's not a whole lot of socializing on her part. She lingers around outside, having conveniently picked smoking back up for the occasion, idly scrolling through social media posts and news feeds on her communicator. Anything to kill time until Grayson gets to the damn point.

She isn't unapproachable, exactly, and she has nothing against the kids, but it's clear she'd much rather be doing anything else. ]

[adultwonder]

Sooooo...

[Dick leans on the railing of the stairs, glancing over at her.]

Why do I get the feeling we have you to thank for our delicious cheese plate?

[bodilesswarrior]

[Barbara comes out with a plate of food - a couple slices of pizza, some wings, a pile of fries, a stack of Bruce's apology cheese - and holds it up to her.]

It's easier to lurk on a full stomach.

[batricide]

Oh, great. Who invited you?

[ He is -- not a nice or happy person, sorry selina. he catches sight of her as he's taking a break for some air, away from all the dead relatives who don't have the decency to actually be dead right now. ]

Barbara Gordon

[bodilesswarrior]

[Once, in the midst of No Man's Land, she pulled out the ingredients she'd been irrationally saving to make a recovering Dick some homemade bread. That's what she brings now, still warm; it shares a container with lunch meat, fondue, and Alfred's chocolate chip cookies. (She asked him for the recipe a long time ago.)

Once that's out of her lap, she pulls a laptop out of the bag slung over the back of her chair. Then she starts making the rounds, intent on keeping as much peace as she can, because it's important that they all know they stand. It would be nice if they all trusted each other, too, but she knows that's a work in progress. Hopefully they make some.

(Is she treating this family meeting as a mission? Of course she is. She also came armed, because this meeting is just asking for a coincidental attack and she's not taking any chances.

Well, that, and she rarely goes anywhere without at least a couple of weapons concealed somewhere or other.)]

[notafraidofyou]

[Really, anyone in this family going anywhere unarmed is a little much to ask. Even Tim has a batarang in his pocket.

He's on his third cookie by the time Barbara makes it over to where he's hanging out by the snacks. He's happy to play up the "always hungry teenager" angle if anyone gives him a funny look, and... well. He's a teenager. He is hungry a lot. But he's also taking the opportunity to check everyone out, see how they're like and not like the people they know back home, try to get a handle on the new people. They're probably not Justice Lords, or whatever they call themselves in their universe, but he doesn't know most of them, and it's weird how they all seem to think they know him.

He finishes chewing, then smiles at her as she approaches.]

I think you got hold of Alfred's cookbook.

Family Meeting

[adultwonder]

[Once everyone, or as close to everyone as seems likely to actually show up has arrived, they can get started. Dick, currently dressed in his Nightwing costume minus the mask, holds up a marker and a stack of stickers.]

I brought name tags.

[giveaway]

[Well, she was in normal clothes, but did switch because of peer pressure. So now it's Batgirl time.

Steph raises her hand, which adds to the classroom aesthetic of the name tags except she doesn't wait to be called on.]

Sorry, but which names should we put? Like all of them or...?

[adultwonder]

[Dick glances down at the stickers and shrugs.]

Whatever you're most comfortable with, I guess.

[He writes DICK and slaps the tag on his chest. Look, everyone apparently knows him, but let him at least pretend someone else might need the reminder.]