and we crash and we burn every second in turn

[the database]

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In his not quite dreams, he sees him often, a silhouette or the pressure of his presence bearing down over the shoulder. In his not quite dreams, he can barely speak.

"Hi dad," is his usual choice, a dying appeal to the passing desire for audience, for recognition that this thing has happened, is happening to him. "Been a while."

And then nobody is speaking and everything hurts but in his not quite dreams, Bruce says with the stroke of one large hand over his hair — rough, proprietary — that he can come back. That it can start again. That he never replaced Tim after he left.

Sometimes he wakes up gasping for breath.

Sometimes he shuts his eyes tight and falls deeper into dream.

"Somebody's been sitting in my chair. Somebody's been sleeping in my bed."

Literally, albeit not the same chair and bed Tim is using at the moment. One of his other headquarters is being occupied, and it's taken him this long to notice. He knows why, now. The other communicator is missing. The correct communicator, at that. It's a sign and it's a message. He doesn't know whether he should stop worrying or be more alarmed. There isn't anybody in the world he trusts except himself, and not always then. And why, indeed, would that apply to his future self? Who knows what he's like?

Except what can he really do about it? He knows Tim. He didn't have to use one of their headquarters. He could have slid below the radar easily. So he's saying... no. Tim doesn't know what he's saying, only what he wants to show. What he's showing is that he's acting courteously, with a mind to avoiding the worst of Tim's paranoia. It's tempting to believe it. It's exactly the kind of honesty Tim would do, and appreciate. Which is exactly why he shouldn't trust it, but that's ridiculous. They're the same person, and there's no profit in somehow screwing his past self over. If anything, he might be doing this out of some kind of memory-based obligation. Logic forces him to do nothing. Logic forces him to train harder. And was that the purpose?

This is the worst kind of navel-gazing — when your navel belongs to someone else, too — and Owlman laughs at him, as he tends to. Don't think. Don't question. Be Talon. Fight.

hahahahahahahahhaha

Thanks to Bob for linking me.

The reason I'm doing this here instead of on RPGchan is because RPGchan is still too new, and it'd either be 1) pretty obvious it was me asking for concrit anyway or 2) interpreted as antagonism from certain people.

How's my writing? What are things you think I need to improve? Do my characters have similar voices, interests, philosophies? What words do I use too often? Do you wish I would be more verbose or less? Do I do too much metacommentary? Am I clear and understandable? Do I need to work on physical description, action sequences, pacing? Am I boring? Which character do you like or dislike the most, and why? What characters are you indifferent to? Etc.

If you only have nice things to say, don't bother to comment. Anonymous commenting is on. (I think it's always been on, but whatever.)

[Statement: I believe in heroes.]
- Axiom: Sometimes, heroes have to make hard choices.
- Corollary: Over time, these hard choices can help them develop as people, but may also impede their ability to make decisions as heroes.

[Statement: I believe that sometimes, in order to accomplish great good, great evil must be done.]
- Hypothesis: This is a choice that many heroes eventually face.

[Statement: I want to help heroes.]
- Fact: I am not and will never be a hero.
- Corollary: It will be difficult for me to help heroes with heroic action.
- Hypothesis: It may be that I will best serve heroes with primarily non-heroic actions.

[Statement: I believe that sometimes, in order to accomplish great good, great evil must be done.]
- Hypothesis: I may best help heroes by selectively doing what needs to be done instead of letting them lose faith in themselves/others/ideals or become wracked with guilt/self-doubt.
- Hypothesis, part two: Letting them know this might result in similar reactions of guilt/self-loathing, and attempts to stop me.
- Hypothesis, part three: It would be better to appear an unredeemable, difficult-to-catch force rather than a rational individual.
- Hypothesis, part four: This will not be easy to do.

[Statement: I want to help more than I want to have a normal life.]
- Fact: You are your feelings.
- Fact: You are your thoughts.
- Fact: You are your memories.
- Fact: You are your choices.
- Hypothesis: I am best when I am using everything I can to help the people I care about.
- Hypothesis, part two: If I am being the best I can, I don't need to compare myself to Robin.
- Hypothesis, part three: If I am not comparing myself to Robin, then I will feel normal.
- Hypothesis, part four: Acting this way is the closest thing I will ever have to a normal life.

Little remains to be said of his time as Talon. There is a part of him that might be content to do this forever. It's a small and irrational part that people think they stopped using once they got up on two feet and started using fire. The rest of him carefully sets aside storage space for things he will miss: spaces are accorded to people, boxes are neatly stacked in chronological order by holiday, every missed birthday, every missed Christmas.

Owlman laughs at him, and the cycle starts over.

He loses himself for days at a time, but he's not afraid. He's going to make it, and he's not going to stay. Who would? That little part of him can stay behind if it wants. He'll cut it right out and Owlman can keep it in a jar.

What does Tim think of your character, etc.