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redrobin-detective · 2 years

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teach me how to say goodbye

This is stupid, ridiculous, worse, it’s invasive and potentially insensitive. You ask your questions anyway because you want more than anything to know. You’re relatively new to the League, only 5 months since induction, it’s taken you this long to make your way up to the circles They run in. The Big Ones, the gods who shaped the very earth you stand on. But it is not their power you seek.

Wonder Woman is training you along with a few dozen relatively new heroes. She is taller than you’d imagined, her aura radiates strength and power that would make your knees quake if only her eyes weren’t so kind. Her training is brutal but informative. It takes courage to step into her space after the session to ask your question.

“Batman?” She questions, something flicks across her eyes. “I don’t know much about this new one; you probably know more about him than I do judging by your accent.” She smiles warmly at your surprise. “I’ve become quite familiar with the Gotham sound over the years,” she continues her maintenance of her armor. “If you’re having trouble getting a hold of him, I’m sure I can arrange something. Is there something you wish for me to pass along?”

“I do know this Batman, I’ve worked with him a few times. He’s great, but I was wondering about the original. You knew him, didn’t you?” You question.

“I did,” Wonder Woman sighs somewhat forcefully. “He has been gone for some time, longer than your grandparents have breathed. Why do you ask after him?”

You don’t really know how to describe your fascination. The easy answer is that you live in New Gotham, have your entire life and that gives you a connection to the heroes that have defended her for centuries.

The longer, less easy answer is that you love mysteries and thought you might like to be a historian or archeologist back in the day before your powers came in and changed the game. There’s so much information about Batman, about the myth and the legacy. But to this day, not much is known about the one who started it all. Most members of that monumental, larger than life era of the Justice League have their names, faces, backstories plastered in every history book. All but the mysterious Batman, was he a meta or not? What was his purpose? How did he carve out such a deep niche in the public conscious while leaving so little traces? All you know is that he was part of the golden age of heroes and his influence helped to change the world.

And as a scrappy brat from the grungier part of Gotham trying to make a difference, it’s knowledge you crave.

“Curiosity, I guess,” you settle on. “Can you tell me about him?”

“It’s been so long,” Wonder Woman says almost disdainfully, a small frown marring her perfect face. “I’ve met so many people in my life, it’s easy to lose track of the details but that man was hard to forget.” She pulls something out of her belt and lightly tangles it through her fingers. It looks like a batarang, a very, very old one. “Perhaps his memory remains so strong because I am still angry at him.”

“Oh?” You ask. The demi-goddess gives her full attention to the old, worn weapon. Her lips have the slightest snarl to them but her eyes seem closer to sad.

“He should still be here with us. That man was the single most infuriating man I had ever known but his mind, his skills, they were impressive. I had offered him the elixir of the gods which would grant him a form of immortality. A man of his intelligence had to see that his good works could have, should have, lasted beyond his mortal lifetime.” She scoffed and clutched the tool tightly.

“I was rejected, not once but multiple times. Humanity has fought and died for even the glimpse of a prolonged life and he dismissed it like I was offering him poison. He died as all mortal men do and let the earth reclaim his body,” her grip on the tool relaxed and she looked at it sadly. “I doubt there is any trace of him left after all this time.”

“What was he like?” You ask, awestruck.

“He was a man,” she sighs and tucks the tool back to its hidden compartment. “He was a good man. One day, I too will return to clay, I can only hope I go with the same dignity he did. Even beyond the grave, he has lessons to teach me.” Her shoulders were held back tightly, her chin high as she turns her back to you. “Excuse me, I have places to be. We shall continue this discussion another time.” She walks out, briskly and gracefully leaving more questions and an itch to scratch.

It’s another two months before you run into another of Them. The Martian Munhunter is mostly retired from League duty, spending much of his time rebuilding Mars. You’d gone to help fight off an incursion which ended victoriously but with you and a few others requiring a stay in the medical wing. Despite this, when you see him walking past the window, you find yourself limping out of bed after him.

“Excuse me, hello, if you have a moment, I have a que-” you start before your bad leg halts your progress. The alien tutts, turning around to help you limp over to the nearest bench.

“About Batman,” the Martian nods. “Apologies, child, your thoughts were very loud.” You don’t mention you haven’t been considered a child in almost a decade but to a being who is closing in on a thousand years of life, you suppose you are.

“Batman was a contradiction, a puzzle I never fully unraveled,” the Martian says simply. His form shivers and changes before your eyes. He is smaller but bulkier, more muscular and wearing a familiar symbol of his chest. You know Batman, the one currently active, but this Batman feels different. He feels softer and more distant all at once, kind but cruel. You realize this is how the Manhunter sees Batman, remembers him.

“I have loved and lost a great many people in my lifetime,” the Martian says, gently turning over and inspecting the spikes on the sides of his gloves. “Batman is one of thousands I have mourned. I was honored to call him a friend,” Manhunter smirks, “I also called him my enemy at times. Somehow he could be both at once.” He reverts back to his Martian form and turns to you with a nostalgic smile.

“It has been some time since I have thought of him, I thank you for the reminder. The Batman I remember is long gone but it is good to know the children of today understand his importance.” He stands up and helps you to your feet. “Come child, you must rest after your battle.”

“I appreciate it but I can get back on my own,” you say but his grip is firm as he leads you back to the med bay.

“He used to say the same thing,” the Martian chuckles. “Less politely but the same sentiment. Humanity truly does not change. I think he would be pleased to know that.”

You recover quickly enough and get back out into the field. You do good work, save some lives, make some mistakes, cry yourself to sleep some nights for all your inadequacies. But still you look into the inky, smog filled sky of your home and see a signal and wonder. Where did it all begin? How did a man, an ordinary human, become a legend? What must he have been like to leave an impression so strong that his colors still shine long after he went to his final rest? You find yourself wondering less about the Bat and more about the Man.

Your one year anniversary with the Justice Leagues comes and goes before you see Him. The one you’ve really wanted to talk to. You see him in passing one, twice, before you’re able to pin him down. He’s not on Earth a lot these days, hasn’t been on the active JLA register in years. Time touches even the Superman, if slower than the rest of them. You catch him wandering out of the crowded hall during a diplomatic event one evening and quietly go after him. You find him leaning on the railing of the Watchtower’s observation deck, looking at the stars.

“Superman,” you speak softly. “I hope I’m not interrupting.” He turns and smiles at you, before shaking his head. You take it as permission to approach. His hair is mostly gray with small streaks of black, his face rough and worn but despite that his power is still palpable.

“You’ve been trying to reach me,” Superman begins. “I overheard you asking after me at the last peace conference and you’ve been watching me on and off all this evening,” he tilts his head curiously. “But you never went through official channels so I figured it wasn’t League related. So tell me, what can an old man do for a rising star such as yourself.”

“I,” you flush, embarrassed to have been caught. “I wanted to know more about Batman, the original one.” Superman’s inhumanly blue eyes turn on you, curious and expectant. You struggle to give him an answer. “There’s so little we know about him, the one who started it all, it’s all just rumors and fairytales. I guess I’m trying to get a sense of the man, the one who turned down immortality, the one who was a walking contradiction.”

“He was my best friend,” Superman says simply. “He was,” he chuckles, “god I don’t even know where to start with Bruce.” Bruce. What an ordinary name, an old fashioned one. You think there was someone famous from Old Gotham with that name. You’ll have to look into it later. “We didn’t get along at first, and some days we fought like cats and dogs but I loved that man something fierce. Whenever I doubted humanity, felt low from the constant struggle, I looked to my friend.”

“But you’re Superman,” you can’t help but say. “How could one ordinary man become that?”

Superman sighs and props his chin in his palm. “Because he was a man, he had no powers, had only his wits and his gadgets. But for all his paranoia, all his struggles with mental and emotional health, I never met someone who loved like he did. He was someone special, I miss him every day.”

He turns and looks at you, “Diana offered him a chance to live and is still mad he never took it. She grieves that she had to grieve him at all, that he chose not to stay with us. But Bruce, he was ready when his time came and I think he wanted to make a point too. He wanted to remind us that not all of us were gods, that the impact of one human life could tip the balance. Even on his deathbed, he still was trying to tell us something.”

“Wow,” you say quietly to yourself. The both of you spend a few moments in companionable silence; you, imagining a man you’ll never meet based on impressions and Superman remembering his friend.

“I’m proud of the men and women who have taken up his legacy, and those of his family, over the years,” Superman nods. “I’m happy his bloodline lives on, that his legacy survives despite changing times and attitudes. I have many years of memories. The sound of his gruff voice, of his heartbeat still rings in my head when I think of what he’d say. Most days it’s enough but sometimes,” the god-like man sniffles, wiping at his damp eyes with his palm. “Sometimes though, I just miss my friend.”

Behind every hero was a person and behind that person, a legacy of love and loss. It’s almost breathtaking that the depth and breath of Batman’s, Bruce’s, memory.

“Thank you,” you whisper, “for telling me and I know it’s been a long time but I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Superman responds back. “As long as I can say his name, speak his stories then he’ll always be with me. What else would you like to know?”

“Everything,” you breathe. Superman grins and begins to speak of a man, of a quest for justice and peace and everything that came of it. You close your eyes and you can almost see the shape of him in your mind. You settle in and you listen to a life long gone but still loved, still remembered.

#does a jig #ive been down hard for 2 days and struggling badly for almost 5 with a migraine #Im finally coming out the other side and was seized with an intense desire to tell this story #a story of love enduring and bruce's stubborn determination not to be more than a Man #you can almost feel the point where my migraine started to return with a vengeance #where I sorta lose track of the story #but I like it in its own quirky way and thought I'd share #I just #fuck man I know we make fun of him but i really hecking love Bruce Wayne #as a character and what he represents #the version that exists in my heart #fuck my head hurts I need more medicine

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theoptimisticdaydreamer · 2 years

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Episode 6 was so incredibly touching and poignant. It was heartstring-tugging, moving and absolutely beautiful. I filled an ocean with my tears this episode. This episode will leave you emotionally drained and even thinking about it will make you cycle through all of these emotions again.

This episode was different from all that came before it. Primarily, it was an arc that was told within the span of one episode. This did not lessen the feels in any way whatsoever but I wonder if it signals a shift in story telling going forward. Will the arcs be self-contained within one episode? Will this change the messages that each case brings with it? Will this lead to focusing more on the Grim Reapers themselves? Only time will tell. Secondly, the person they were tasked to save only had a limited time left to live afterwards.

The focus of this episode was an elderly Korean War Veteran. He had the kindest disposition. He reminded me of a polished river stone in that time and life experiences had worn away all of the impulsive emotions and what was left was a quiet enduring wisdom. I think what really got to me is that he reminds me of people I knew who grew up in that generation. The generation that faced unimaginable pain and hardship and who grew up to have this otherworldly patience and outlook. The people who would save every penny but wouldn't hesitate to give you the shirt off of their back if you need it. The people who are givers and put everyone else before themselves. The generation that is quickly passing away. He reminded me of all those I lost and made me miss and treasure them even more. Safe to say, just like Jun Woong, I quickly became attached.

The Risk Management Team took a different approach to this case than I was expecting. They not only told him that they were Grim Reapers but that he had one day left in his lifespan. They gave him all of the facts upfront. You learn that the only reason he was considering taking his life was because he didn't want to die alone. They told him that he could do anything he wanted to do for his last day and all he wanted to do was peacefully do what he did every day.

You got a glimpse into his life during those twenty four hours. The Risk Management Team saw how he viewed trash as treasure and was grateful for everything. You saw him give all of his hard earned money to the person who ran the dump and told him to use the money for meals for his family. I think seeing his enduring optimism and kindness really moved them. It is so frustrating how easily he was dismissed in the beginning of the episode for his livelihood and how he was used as a cautionary tale by the woman to her daughter. Just seeing how he chose to spend the last day of his life exemplifies that a person’s character is not defined by their job and what they have to do to survive.

Seeing his backstory really broke me. You learned that he volunteered for the war, that he couldn’t just stand by as people younger than him gave their lives for their country. Watching all that he had to go through during the war from having his commanding officer die right in front of him, to getting reluctantly attached to someone who later yelled at him for saving his life, to returning home to realize his home was destroyed and his mother had died while he had been gone, was absolutely heartbreaking. Seeing how PTSD drastically changed his life afterwards while those who never fought could live their lives successfully felt so cruel after everything he lost. Hearing that he had regretted his choice of joining the war meant that for over eighty years he had carried this burden in his heart hurt. Knowing that he thought his life a waste, meaningless and useless for so many years absolutely destroyed me. It reminds me of so many others who fought in the war and survived the war only to come home and never talk about it again. So many have passed without realizing that there are so many people who are grateful for their sacrifice.

I am so so glad that Ryeon was able to convey that to him. That in no way shape or form was his life meaningless or useless. That his sacrifice created the country they lived in now, the bright night lights of a bustling Seoul. Without him, it would not have been possible. I cried as he realized the magnitude of what he achieved through his sacrifice. That he did not sacrifice through war and did not suffer through its aftermath for nothing.

His last moments really got to me. A man who was scared of dying because he would be dying alone ended up having so many people around him. The Risk Management Team stayed by his side (even though Jun Woong had to step out for a little bit because he couldn’t stand to see Grandfather Veteran in pain). Seeing Joong Gil show up confirmed to me that he could be gentle if the situation called for it. There was a truce in those moments between all of the Reapers because there was something more important at hand - paying respects to a kind soul. Joong Gil told Grandfather Veteran that he remembered the last time he saw his back (knowing that he was there that day also tugged on all of my heartstrings). He gave the comfort that only someone who had been there with you could give. I think he was absolutely vital in bringing peace to Grandfather Veteran’s past. I want to pay my respects to the courage you had for your country so we will all accompany you in your last moment. When you saw Grim Reapers arrive from every direction, you began to feel the importance of this moment. Hearing that it was a special case and the Director must have approved for this to happen means that even the Director softened her heart for this case (despite her firm standing on no special treatment earlier in the episode). The fact that the girls of the Escort Team had never seen this happen before shows just what a kind soul Grandfather Veteran had to make such an impact. An impact so great that the Director herself showed up which made me lose it seeing how many people have come to honor him.

The Director’s speech to him was so touching. Hearing that he had a gentle face and had lived a kind life. People face choices every moment of the lives. All those various choices come together to make their lives. The choice you made during your youth were honorable. You have lost so much yet you have protected so many lives and brought about the world of today. Thank you for protecting the lives of so many. Seeing the tears in the Grim Reapers eyes and the tears that fell down her face as she helped him pass on peacefully and comfortably really spoke to how Lee Young Chun (Grandfather Veteran) moved them. I was crying alongside them. I am so glad that his soul will be blessed beyond what his life has been worth because he deserves so much peace and happiness in every life to come after having such a difficult life. Thank you for your hard work.

His send-off was so incredibly moving. I am so happy he saw the scale of his send-off because it just cements that though he thought that he did not change any lives, he in fact impacted the lives of so many (Grim Reapers included). I’ve lived regretting the choice I made that day for a very long time. But fighting for my country was the noblest choice I have made and it was worth it. Thank you for being with me during my final tomorrow. The HUG he gave Jun Woong MY HEART. The salute Jun Woong gave him. The moment of silence for the soul of the fallen hero who protected this country...I could not stop the tears from falling. It was the honorable and respecful send off he deserved and I hope that all those who gave their lives to protect the lives of so many, all those who endured so much pain and suffering, got a send off just like his. They deserve it too.

When the Risk Management Team first approached Young Chun, he was like a wilted flower bush who had not seen the sun of other people’s company or gotten any water of a meaningful life. He was alone and thought his life to be worthless and meaningless. Through the Risk Management Team and Jumadeung and in his final moments, he bloomed because he was no longer alone and everyone showed him just how important and meaningful his life actually was. He was given the sun and water he was deprived of for so long. He spent his final moments with good company and then was escorted to the afterlife surrounded by people. He was surrounded by the warmth of people who cared about him and then reunited with his mother who never stopped caring.

This episode also made me treasure Jun Woong so much. I think he was critical to Young Chun’s final days. He was really the turning point for Young Chun’s perspective on his own life. Up until Young Chun met Jun Woong for the first time, he was struggling to get by, getting bettlitled by people on the street and then bullied by the thugs of the neighborhood. Jun Woong stepping in showed him that someone cared and someone noticed. The Risk Management team treated him with kindness and respect but Jun Woong went one step further and treated him like family. He immediately adopted him as his Grandfather. Family like affection was something that Young Chun hadn’t received since he said goodbye to his mother. It carries a different type of warmth. It was also through Jun Woong, that Young Chun learnt the friend he thought resented him for saving his life actually saw Young Chun as a source of strength and used his words to get him through. The friend was grateful and thankful and appreciative of Young Chun’s actions and he would have gone to the grave not knowing that if it had not been for Jun Woong. The hug they shared gives off very Grandparent vibes which just speaks to the bond Jun Woong was able to develop with him through such a short period of time. The epilogue also shows the softer side of Young Chun that Jun Woong was able to draw out as he persuaded him to get his photo taken. Also, his dynamic with Ryeon and the Director is always such a pleasure to see. He is truly the heart of Jumadeung and its missing piece.

You also get a glimpse into the world of the Grim Reaper and that they can also be moved by humans as well. When Ryeon went to plead with the Director that he be given a peaceful passing, the Director implied that Ryeon was not the first person to ask this of her. Given that Ryeon and Joong Gil met right before and she asked him to escort Grandfather Veteran to the afterlife, you can assume that Joong Gil had gone in first to ask the Director to pull some strings. Which means that Joong Gil possesses some warmth to him hidden under his icy cold persona because he can be moved by the lives and the sacrifices of the living too. Ryung Gu also tells Jun Woong that because of the scale of the war, multiple Grim Reapers were called on to assist people to the afterlife which means they also were witness to the horrors of war and it weighed on them too. You also later learn that the reason that Ryeon only wanted to escort criminals was because she had a hard time watching people in their last moments.

I think that a greater understanding between the Grim Reapers grew this episode. Joong Gil showing up to accompany Young Chun in his last moments and Ryeon looking surprised to learn that Joong Gil also does not find it easy to watch people in their last moments indicated to Ryeon that Joong Gil has layers and is not unfeeling (and somewhere deep down there is warmth). Joong Gil also saw how Ryeon has changed in that she stayed by Young Chun’s side even though she still found it difficult to watch people in their last moments. They are both more than each other thought they were. I hope that there can be tentative positive growth in their dynamic because they are so much better working together than they are butting heads. It was also nice in general to see the relative warmth that Joong Gil had at Young Chun’s bedside (which I think also speaks to how much Joong Gil respects Young Chun in comparison to the other souls he has escorted). How he softened when he told Ryeon that no one finds it easy, but that is the work of a Reaper. To watch until the very end. I am invested in the complex character of Joong Gil and his many layers (not just the by-the-rules ice cube) and I hope to see more of it on screen as time goes by.

I think that this episode will always bring me to tears. Always.

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