[Nothing swallows, looking away. If anyone else was looking at it, it doubts they'd catch the slight tilt of the head that indicates that, but Jason is sharp, with an eye for detail that will no doubt catch the movement. It weighs its' thoughts, carefully making the decision to reveal a small piece of background, despite the risk of that being compromising information.]

I... it's complicated. There's a lot of reasons. I don't want to have my secret identity compromised, for one, but for another, I know how cops work, especially in the shitty part of town I'm from originally. If they knew I was black, I would not be getting to explain myself to them or make citizen's arrests or hand over tips this freely. I'm not like Batman, I don't run around the whole city, I work on a local level, mostly against gangs and drug pushers and domestic abusers. I can't afford anything that might undermine that work. Other people matter more than I do. And, well. It's not just cops, is it? That's the thing, I got used to being treated better than before, and now it feels uncomfortable not to have this on. People listen to me now. [There's a hint of despair there, a mix of exasperation that this is what it took to be treated well and a nagging fear that people, once they know what's under the mask, won't continue that treatment.] People talk to me like I'm not inherently too dumb to understand the books I namedrop or the artists I like and... and people don't misgender me as much. They're more likely to listen to me when I say what I prefer if I'm like this.

I feel more confident like this. I know that's messed up. I know it's stupid. It's just... it's just how I am. I'm sorry.