Ask, and it shall be given you;

[aslandish]

Who: Aslan and YOU!
When: May 24th through May 31st.
Where: All over the city.
Summary: Feeling lonely or discouraged? Need a friend to cast your cares upon, or a light to guide your way? Aslan will be there, whatever the need may be. Tag yourselves in with the place and time in the subject line; before or after evening sirens is fine (as are

Comments

Beach, cliffside, sunset

[kingofrooks]

[ The sun is setting in the distance and he's far away from any shelter, but Bruce is calm as he sits on one of the cliffs. Watching as the water hits against the mountain. He should leave soon- the Darkness is coming, and Batness needs to protect people once more.

But deaths haunt him even though people come back, and he can't help but blame himself for the deaths. The murders. Decapitation. Whatever you call it.

He's here, isn't it? He should've been ablr o stop iit. Should've somehow been- better. ]

[aslandish]

[ A warm breeze takes the chill out of the air, reassuring in its own gentle way.

It may not be readily apparent when it happens, but there he stands, looking out across the waves.

Will you speak with him? ]

[kingofrooks]

[ Aslan's presence isn't very difficult to immediately detect. It's always- different. Warmer. The air becomes sweeter and gently, and though Bruce always moves, immediately on guard when anyone appears near him- this time he just tenses a little. The air helps.

He looks to him, and bows his head a little. ]

King of Beasts. [ Pause. ] It seems that no matter the place, the Earth's sun is still beautiful.

[aslandish]

[ A faint smile crosses that golden face at this, brief and vaguely solemn. ]

The world is still young.

[ Not like Charn, forsaken and destroyed. A red sun had reigned there before the end; here, time yet remains. ]

[kingofrooks]

[ Young. It's hard to think about, when the world is millions of years old. And it's funny, how much the gods he has fought had talked about the fleeting nature of human lives- how Vandal Savage had mocked him and Clark for even bothering to fight him, for they are temporal and he is eternal. One day he will die (which has already happened) and he will still live, and triumph for another day. Bruce knows that.

But he fights, and lives, nonetheless. ]

It is. [ There's a pause, and when he speaks again, there's no accusation in his voice. Only curiosity. ]

Those who died. Why didn't you save them?

[ In a way, he's asking about himself too- why did Aslan bother to save him that night, when exhaustion had weighed him down?

If He existed, why didn't God save his parents? Bruce has lost his faith because he cannot find a satisfactory answer, but not this isn't faith- this is purely fact. ]

[aslandish]

[ It's a question that's been asked before, and though it's not always to his face, the underlying tension is present whenever tragedy strikes.

Why? they ask, repeatedly. Why do terrible things happen if God is a God of love? He knows the conundrum well, and he doesn't expect others to understand. Not usually.

He takes the query seriously, though, a measure of gravity to his look as he considers it for a moment in silence. His answer is quiet. ]

The worlds were created with purpose, and there are laws and precepts that bind them that govern even the actions of gods.

Whatever else may happen, there must always be a choice.

[kingofrooks]

[ He snaps his head away to stare out to the sea- it's not anger that seizes him suddenly, but a sudden burning frustration. This he already knows- when he was nine he had pored over the philosophical arguments, he had listened to pastors and priests and begged them for enlightenment. He knows this and yet it still burns against him.

Because he knows that the choice Aslan mentions isn't his own. It's Joe Chill's choice, and he suffers the consequences. (He does, as well, but years upon years later, when Bruce chases him down and makes him pay for everything, reaching inside to the man's mind and dragging out all of his fears until they are squirmy pieces in his hands. Then he takes that fear and becomes it, and Chill died knowing what he had created; what he had unleashed.

(Thomas Wayne died by a bullet to the heart. He died immediately. Martha Wayne died slowly, bleeding out on the streets, blood on her lips staining the lipstick, her breath ragged as she tries to reach out to her son, to reassure him. She bled to death, her heart

[aslandish]

[ The words he doesn't say are etched clearly in Bruce's eyes and face, a testament to the pain he's endured in the past. It breaks his heart to see it, to know all he's been through, but at the same times, Aslan also knows that at least part of what he's said isn't true. Karma and payback aren't all that Bruce believes in. ]

Do you believe in second chances?

[kingofrooks]

[ But he cannot help but believe in redemption. Because without that belief, all that he has done would be for nothing. The war he fights cannot be won if the people here don't put down their guns themselves. Brueve believes in a better world, in the possibility of a day when he can look at Gotham and smile because he has won.

(He can't, now. He can never do it now. He's dead; Darkseid doesn't make mistakes.)

He closes his eyes, suddenly exhausted. He shouldn't believe in second chances. He shouldn't be affected by his emotions so. He should cling onto his belief because they are all that's keeping him on this side of the line. ]

You already know my answer.

[ Simply. ]

[aslandish]

[ He does know. He's one of the few who does, who can see the depth of him and all his complexities. It's true, he dons the night and darkness to lash out at those inflicting pain, but deep down there's a well of hope that stubbornly refuses to yield.

He is a mass of contradictions, but his heart remains the same. ]

The chance to do better has always been a gift.

[ Not something to be earned or bargained for, but rather given for all to have. It cannot be 'deserved', nor should it be taken away. ]

sob the sheer typos on my side dsfgdfsgdfh

[kingofrooks]

[ There's always a difference between what Bruce believes, what he should believe, and what he does believe. What Aslan says is true- the chance to do better is a gift, and one that he gives to every single person. He doesn't kill them. No matter what they have done to him, he would forgive if only they wish to do better. (But not forget. Never to forget.)

What they do to the people he loves is another story. Bruce holds those at a higher standard. With harsher eyes. ]

When you kill a man, you take away all that he is, and all that he could be. And people can always be better.

[ Quiet, soft. He looks at Aslan, and doesn't reach out even though there's a bit of him that dearly wants to. ]

Even the Joker.

it's okaaaay <3

[aslandish]

[ Aslan nods once. For all that Batman is a dark figure designed to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, his darkness lends itself to light, his conviction a beacon that prevents the man from falling. Hope and determination -- there can be no progress without such as these. ]

Until such a time as their story will end.

[ A beat. ]

There is always hope.

he asks the worst questions

[kingofrooks]

[ He looks at Aslan for a long moment before turning his gaze back to the sea, back to the skies. The sun is almost fully set, and the Darkness crawls in at the edges of where the light no longer touch the Earth. Bruce knows that it's almost time for him to put on the cape and cowl and to do his job once more.

He stays. Just for another moment. ]

But sometimes it's difficult to believe.

[ Breathe in. ] Who- decides when their story will end?

sob Bruce, wry you do dis

[aslandish]

[ It's not an easy road that has been set before them. He's always know this. However, Aslan has always believed in them and shall continue to do so for as long as the worlds shall last.

Solemnly, he answers. ]

Those things written in Destiny's book are but records of every choice that has ever been made. [ Or ever will be, for that matter. ] We determine for ourselves the story that shall be written.

[ Free Will, baby. Gotta love it. ]

because he's the goddamn batman

[kingofrooks]

[ That- is the greatest confirmation of his beliefs that he has ever gotten. That it's true; that though Destiny's book has words in them, they are simply records of the choices he had made, is making, and will make in the future. That what he does is by his own choice; that even though solidified time exists, it doesn't mean that what he doesn't have a choice.

It simply means that he cannot change the past. That no matter how powerful he is, there are things that he cannot change.

He cannot become a God. No one can. It's a safeguard- and though it's supposed to frustrate him, make him pull against his bonds, scream at the unfairness of his parents' deaths; that they have to live with the consequences of Joe Chill's choices rather than Chill himself- he thinks that- it's a good thing.

Darkseid cannot change what happened even if he goes back to the past. Clark can't. Bruce cannot. He's human. He's vulnerable. At times, he's helpless

and this tag is lame/late =~=

[aslandish]

[ He does not move away, merely watches Bruce with that quiet solemnity all his own. ]

You're welcome.