I'm going to assume you mean it as a compliment rather than any attempt at being diminishing, so I'll let you have your opinions and leave it at that.
Look on the bright side: maybe I just attract boring people and freaks, with absolutely no middle ground.
I avoid the circus as an adult because of the easy potential for hiding animal cruelty or other kinds of abuse inherent in a lot of traveling performance troupes. But if I'm honest, I never went as a kid because we didn't really do a lot of family outings, so if I didn't go somewhere as a school trip I pretty much didn't go. So I mean... if you know of one that's definitely on the more ethical side of things, I wouldn't mind going sometime, just to see what it's like.
Obviously. You can be cute and badass and cool all at the same time.
Generally or just romantically?
[ who's he kidding, he's a freak too. just not in a 'ask random girls on the internet for feet pics' kind of way. ]
Well it just so happens that I know of a good one. The one I came from, that is. I keep promising to visit, I really need to actually do it sometime soon anyway, you could come with me.
Romantically. Though that isn't the right word for it, since most of them probably don't want a romantic relationship beyond getting off for the night. And generally speaking, I don't have very many friends to begin with, so the jury's out on that score.
[She would make some comment about how he can't be a freak if he'd left the circus, but that doesn't feel particularly PC. Besides, that's not the kind of "freak" she'd meant. Dick's freakiness is debatable.]
You know what, yeah. I think I'd like to see the kinds of things you used to be up to, back in the day. Let me know when.
Well yeah. Unfortunately it's non-negotiable so you just have to live with it.
Safe enough to assume that it's not you anyway. I'm sure that these guys message literally dozens of women every day trying to find one that's willing to indulge their kinks.
Great, maybe next week? They're good people, I think you'll like them. Mr. Haley always made sure that everyone was taken care of, and that hasn't changed since his son took over a few years ago.
You flatter me. Which of course means I'm going to assume there are ulterior motives at play, but for now I'll take it at face value.
Oh, I never explicitly said it was me. I just can't figure out why these guys don't just look for someone on one of those kink apps instead. It's almost like being rejected is part of their fetish.
Yeah, sure, that works for me. It's nice that you're still in touch with where you came from. It proves what I'd said before about you not being some entitled jerk.
To be entirely honest I've been guilty of being a jerk more than once. Not because I wanted to be one, but you know... tough situations. But entitled, no. At least I don't think so.
I'd argue that most humans have ulterior motives, so yes.
You should have seen me in high school. I was definitely a bit of a jerk, even if I thought I was only doing it to shut down bigger jerks. But growth is important. So is not being entitled. So I think we're both doing pretty okay, at least by my standards.
Of course I'd tell you. Shutting down douchebags will always be a hobby of mine. Besides, I wouldn't want you inflicting that kind of behavior on whoever the date of the week is, so I'd nip it in the bud.
Hey now, that's... okay not necessarily uncalled for. Anyway first dates aren't the problem. It's that six-month 'I've been thinking too much about the future and got lost in the hypotheticals so now I just talked myself into a break-up' stage that gets me.
Not that you've got any douchebag tendencies. I'm just saying that, if I see any, I'll let you know.
Six months, huh? Wow, your relationships last a lot longer than mine. Imagine that. Have you ever considered NOT thinking too much about the future and just enjoying where things go? It's not like you're under any kind of pressure to settle down and have a family or anything, are you?
Yeah, yeah, I get it. I can confidently say that I'm not a douchebag even on my worst days but it pays to be vigilant.
I have. I mean I try. It's not pressure exactly, I have to figure out how to square up what I want my life to be and what it can be with all of the responsibilities that I have.
[ Yes, it's that bad. ]
It's just complicated. I'm complicated. It's a lot for a relationship.
[It takes her a while to respond, though for the way the little typing bubbles start and stop, one would think that she's preparing a monologue chock full of snark of the most epic proportions. That would've been typed and sent much more quickly, since what's sent is relatively short and more genuine than she tends to be over text.]
If it's a relationship you want, then I hope you find someone who's worth the complications. And who thinks the same of you.
[ He didn't have to prove his point by making things as awkward as humanly possible. Maybe that's just how it feels to him, but he suspects not. Time to try to dig himself out of this one with the tried and true method of defaulting to humor. ]
Of course I could always take after Bruce and become a single dad to a bunch of orphans. Well, he's more of a co-parent with Alfred, but you get the idea.
[MJ doesn't feel awkward about a friend expressing a desire to have a relationship despite how messy his life is, but she definitely sees how he might feel awkward about it and deflect. So while she'd tried really hard to go with sincere, she decides to switch back to sarcasm. At least her tone can't be misread that way, not with someone who knows it as her default.]
Oh, so it's not a relationship you want so much as a lot of kids so you can have a circus of your own. There are probably apps for that too, but I wouldn't know about them since I'm still at that stage where I'm actively avoiding being responsible for children. Good luck with that.
[ He's got all kinds of reasons to feel awkward, he doesn't even need to pick just one. ]
A metaphorical circus, maybe. I don't see either happening in the near future anyway, so I guess I just have to accept the 'date of the week' lifestyle for now.
If it works for you, it works. And if it's kids you want, you're not on a biological time crunch, so you have lots of time to sort out your messy life before embracing minivans and dad jokes.
As a general spoiler, though? Parents have messy lives too, and that didn't stop them from procreating. It didn't stop mine. You've got your shit together a lot more than either of them ever had.
So have (consensual) fun while it's fun. And when it stops being fun, figure out where to go from there.
I'm not in a hurry. I don't even know if that's something for me, so yeah, figuring it out.
But don't worry, I've already got the dad jokes. Bruce is kind of famously stoic, I took it as a personal challenge to come up with jokes that are either so good or so terrible that they'd make him crack a smile.
It probably explains a lot about my personality, now that I think about it.
I personally think that the Y chromosome is all dad jokes and just becomes activated after a certain amount of time to counter any semblance of maturity men might gain as they age. Whether or not they choose to use this terrible power is entirely up to the individual.
Eager to please, regardless of how you're doing it? It's no wonder you seem to be talking to a different girl every time we catch up. Personally I think your personality's fine the way it is so long as you keep the bad puns to a minimum. Or make sure that your puns are really, REALLY clever.
Okay, it's kind of rude to point out my deeply ingrained need for validation? Just saying. I think I've been budgeting my puns very well lately. Which reminds me, do you know why accountants are so unhappy?
It wasn't an attack, just an observation. But sure, we can pretend you're absolutely normal and boring, if that's what you want.
... I hate that I don't hate that.
[She'd actually laughed. Granted, it had been rolled in with a pained groan, but there'd still been a chuckle mixed into that sound, not that she'll tell him so. She'll save her genuine reactions for in-person interactions, where she can't hide them as easily.]
Then I wouldn't have anything to get on your case over, and where's the fun in that?
That depends on whether this is revenge for my so-called "attack." And on how much you enjoy wounding me without so much as the benefit of watching me cringe in agony.
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bakerstreet2024-08-09 12:10 am
no subject
Look on the bright side: maybe I just attract boring people and freaks, with absolutely no middle ground.
I avoid the circus as an adult because of the easy potential for hiding animal cruelty or other kinds of abuse inherent in a lot of traveling performance troupes. But if I'm honest, I never went as a kid because we didn't really do a lot of family outings, so if I didn't go somewhere as a school trip I pretty much didn't go. So I mean... if you know of one that's definitely on the more ethical side of things, I wouldn't mind going sometime, just to see what it's like.
no subject
Generally or just romantically?
[ who's he kidding, he's a freak too. just not in a 'ask random girls on the internet for feet pics' kind of way. ]
Well it just so happens that I know of a good one.
The one I came from, that is. I keep promising to visit, I really need to actually do it sometime soon anyway, you could come with me.
no subject
Romantically. Though that isn't the right word for it, since most of them probably don't want a romantic relationship beyond getting off for the night. And generally speaking, I don't have very many friends to begin with, so the jury's out on that score.
[She would make some comment about how he can't be a freak if he'd left the circus, but that doesn't feel particularly PC. Besides, that's not the kind of "freak" she'd meant. Dick's freakiness is debatable.]
You know what, yeah. I think I'd like to see the kinds of things you used to be up to, back in the day. Let me know when.
no subject
Safe enough to assume that it's not you anyway. I'm sure that these guys message literally dozens of women every day trying to find one that's willing to indulge their kinks.
Great, maybe next week?
They're good people, I think you'll like them. Mr. Haley always made sure that everyone was taken care of, and that hasn't changed since his son took over a few years ago.
no subject
Oh, I never explicitly said it was me. I just can't figure out why these guys don't just look for someone on one of those kink apps instead. It's almost like being rejected is part of their fetish.
Yeah, sure, that works for me. It's nice that you're still in touch with where you came from. It proves what I'd said before about you not being some entitled jerk.
no subject
To be entirely honest I've been guilty of being a jerk more than once.
Not because I wanted to be one, but you know... tough situations.
But entitled, no. At least I don't think so.
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You should have seen me in high school. I was definitely a bit of a jerk, even if I thought I was only doing it to shut down bigger jerks. But growth is important. So is not being entitled. So I think we're both doing pretty okay, at least by my standards.
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I don't have any nefarious ulterior motives, how about that?
Whew, that's a relief.
But seriously, if you did think I was being a jerk or entitled or just plain wrong I know you'd tell me. I appreciate that.
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Of course I'd tell you. Shutting down douchebags will always be a hobby of mine. Besides, I wouldn't want you inflicting that kind of behavior on whoever the date of the week is, so I'd nip it in the bud.
no subject
Anyway first dates aren't the problem. It's that six-month 'I've been thinking too much about the future and got lost in the hypotheticals so now I just talked myself into a break-up' stage that gets me.
no subject
Six months, huh? Wow, your relationships last a lot longer than mine. Imagine that.
Have you ever considered NOT thinking too much about the future and just enjoying where things go? It's not like you're under any kind of pressure to settle down and have a family or anything, are you?
no subject
I have. I mean I try. It's not pressure exactly, I have to figure out how to square up what I want my life to be and what it can be with all of the responsibilities that I have.
[ Yes, it's that bad. ]
It's just complicated. I'm complicated. It's a lot for a relationship.
no subject
If it's a relationship you want, then I hope you find someone who's worth the complications. And who thinks the same of you.
no subject
Of course I could always take after Bruce and become a single dad to a bunch of orphans.
Well, he's more of a co-parent with Alfred, but you get the idea.
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Oh, so it's not a relationship you want so much as a lot of kids so you can have a circus of your own. There are probably apps for that too, but I wouldn't know about them since I'm still at that stage where I'm actively avoiding being responsible for children. Good luck with that.
no subject
A metaphorical circus, maybe.
I don't see either happening in the near future anyway, so I guess I just have to accept the 'date of the week' lifestyle for now.
no subject
As a general spoiler, though? Parents have messy lives too, and that didn't stop them from procreating. It didn't stop mine. You've got your shit together a lot more than either of them ever had.
So have (consensual) fun while it's fun. And when it stops being fun, figure out where to go from there.
no subject
But don't worry, I've already got the dad jokes.
Bruce is kind of famously stoic, I took it as a personal challenge to come up with jokes that are either so good or so terrible that they'd make him crack a smile.
It probably explains a lot about my personality, now that I think about it.
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Whether or not they choose to use this terrible power is entirely up to the individual.
Eager to please, regardless of how you're doing it? It's no wonder you seem to be talking to a different girl every time we catch up.
Personally I think your personality's fine the way it is so long as you keep the bad puns to a minimum. Or make sure that your puns are really, REALLY clever.
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Okay, it's kind of rude to point out my deeply ingrained need for validation? Just saying.
I think I've been budgeting my puns very well lately.
Which reminds me, do you know why accountants are so unhappy?
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Is it, though? I was just extrapolating from the provided data.
......... I swear this payoff had better be worth it.
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Because it's accrual world.
[ Totally worth it. ]
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... I hate that I don't hate that.
[She'd actually laughed. Granted, it had been rolled in with a pained groan, but there'd still been a chuckle mixed into that sound, not that she'll tell him so. She'll save her genuine reactions for in-person interactions, where she can't hide them as easily.]
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Perfect.
Do I push my luck with another one or stop while I'm ahead?
[ That's more or less the reaction he's envisioning, but it's definitely better to see it in person. ]
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That depends on whether this is revenge for my so-called "attack." And on how much you enjoy wounding me without so much as the benefit of watching me cringe in agony.
(no subject)