[ Bruce is a complicated person. He can be demanding of his students, perfectionistic, paranoid, and emotionally constipated. But he's never, not once, been abusive or abandoned Dick. A Bruce out there somewhere who could do that to anyone, especially his own child, is difficult to understand. His heart sinks a little. ]
( this is what he gets, isn't it. for being honest and open about shit--even if the alternative would have been worse. letting dick find out the hard way wasn't an option. but his relationship with his own bruce is--complicated. )
Grayson and I come from the same place, I think. You should ask him about B, he knows him better.
( because jason is bitter and angry. because he knows his experience with bruce isn't universal, it's--jason's the problem. bruce just doesn't help any. )
[ He supposes they all are. Even Dick, still so young, has a relationship with Bruce that's hard to define. Bruce is complicated and flawed, but he's still struggling to reconcile the Bruce he knows with Damian's Bruce and Jason's Bruce. It's a futile effort, he knows, but his Bruce is the only template he has for every other Bruce. ]
( there's a lot he can say in response to that. he could tell dick about all the bullshit he and bruce went through. he could talk about tim, about damian, about dick. or cass, duke, harper, steph--there's a lot he could get into. he's a good man is a response, and it wouldn't be an incorrect one even if would be an incomplete one. jason instead settles on what he knows to be fully correct and true, because it's--less weighty that way. )
I'm not a good person. There's been times when I was significantly worse than I am now, an' B and Tim got the brunt of it. Bruce did what he thought was best. But a lot of my. . opinions of Bruce're shaded by my own bullshit. I love him as much as you do, but any answer you get from me's gonna sound jaded, an' you should get it from Dick first before you get mine.
If you're looking for objective, I'd ring up Timbers. But I think older you's got the most experience with B, an' he's spent a lot of time dealing with his bullshit. And he's got a more--
( this isn't even his first round with a mini me. it is, however, his first round with one this similar. and he hates it. hates seeing all the ways they're similar, hates the differenes even more because all they do is make him think about how much better junior is. )
[ Dick has the benefit of being much younger than his other self. And he generally isn't consumed by self-loathing.
Still it'll cause a lot of problems if they can't at least tolerate each other. He assumes the others will side with the older Dick rather than him, if it came down to it.]
( which makes sense, doesn't it? they're the same person, of course they'd look like each other and also - dick's father. john, jason's memory supplies, a guy he hadn't met but knows the importance of regardless.
dick leans forward, and jason moves a hand down to ruffle his hair. )
I know it's weird as hell, but we'll get through it.
[ Dick's not sure how to feel about that. It's nice, maybe, but looking in the mirror and seeing his dad has to have been jarring the first time he noticed.
If he ever did. His memories of his parents slip away more and more every day.
Dick freezes at the hair-ruffling, but doesn't push Jason away.
Ruefully: ] Not much of a choice but to get through it.
cw child abuse
( because dick grayson died and everyone, including damian, blames him. )
Beats the shit out of him when they cross paths, too. He's got his reasons, they're--I can't blame him any. Hell, I've wanted to kill my B before.
( a loose shrug, before he reaches out and places a hand on dick's shoulder. )
He won't kill the one here. Probably.
Re: cw child abuse
You have a bad Bruce too?
no subject
Grayson and I come from the same place, I think. You should ask him about B, he knows him better.
( because jason is bitter and angry. because he knows his experience with bruce isn't universal, it's--jason's the problem. bruce just doesn't help any. )
no subject
[ He supposes they all are. Even Dick, still so young, has a relationship with Bruce that's hard to define. Bruce is complicated and flawed, but he's still struggling to reconcile the Bruce he knows with Damian's Bruce and Jason's Bruce. It's a futile effort, he knows, but his Bruce is the only template he has for every other Bruce. ]
no subject
I'm not a good person. There's been times when I was significantly worse than I am now, an' B and Tim got the brunt of it. Bruce did what he thought was best. But a lot of my. . opinions of Bruce're shaded by my own bullshit. I love him as much as you do, but any answer you get from me's gonna sound jaded, an' you should get it from Dick first before you get mine.
no subject
[ Dick only knows Jason from what he's seen here. He's complicated and weird and Dick doesn't think Jason is lying. ]
no subject
( gesturing over to dick, because. )
You outlook, I'm guessing.
no subject
Yeah, that's going to take a lot of getting used to.
no subject
( this isn't even his first round with a mini me. it is, however, his first round with one this similar. and he hates it. hates seeing all the ways they're similar, hates the differenes even more because all they do is make him think about how much better junior is. )
no subject
[ Dick has the benefit of being much younger than his other self. And he generally isn't consumed by self-loathing.
Still it'll cause a lot of problems if they can't at least tolerate each other. He assumes the others will side with the older Dick rather than him, if it came down to it.]
no subject
( better than jason and junior, at least. hell, jason handled having a double better when he was just a brat rather than someone so--similar to him. )
He's had time to adjust to a bunch of Robins running rampant 'round him. You're just a little closer than the rest of 'em.
no subject
That's one way of putting it.
[ He sighs and leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. ]
He looks so much like my dad.
[ Which makes sense, of course, but it threw Dick off so badly the first time that he could hardly look at his double. ]
no subject
( which makes sense, doesn't it? they're the same person, of course they'd look like each other and also - dick's father. john, jason's memory supplies, a guy he hadn't met but knows the importance of regardless.
dick leans forward, and jason moves a hand down to ruffle his hair. )
I know it's weird as hell, but we'll get through it.
no subject
If he ever did. His memories of his parents slip away more and more every day.
Dick freezes at the hair-ruffling, but doesn't push Jason away.
Ruefully: ] Not much of a choice but to get through it.