[open] this time I'll be a little smarter

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Date & Time: First two weeks of Feb
Location: Training area, rooftops, other places!
Characters: Stephanie Brown AND YOU
Summary: Steph's finally settling into a routine in the city; see threadstarters for options or make up your own c: Or PM me if you want to work out something specific!
Warnings: Violence, will update if necessary



It's been over a month since Steph first stepped off that damn platform and into the Initiative Hold, and she's still struggling with it more than she' d like to admit. Time travel and the multiverse and strange creatures aren't exactly new to her, but they're all things she had minimal contact with, they're the things that the Justice League deals with. Batgirl might be a bigger player in the vigilante game than Spoiler was, and she's certainly noticed a shift in the sort of situations she finds herself in, but it's nothing compared to being pulled into another city to fight a war. That stuff happens to Superman, or Wonder Woman. Steph doesn't have the training for it.

But even if she's struggling, she refuses to let it show, and puts on a brave face to deal with life until things start making sense. Exsilium is depressing, with the constant rain and cold temperatures, with the citizen living in poor conditions, and all the Transports and their nonsense. It takes her a while to warm up to using the network, and to warm up to the idea of even getting to know the other people here, but she's getting there, and starting to maybe, possibly, sort of make friends.

That doesn't mean she likes it in the city, but at least she doesn't actively hate it anymore.

Comments

→ Training area

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Despite her reluctance to actually participate in any of the Initiative's missions as a soldier, Steph knows it would be stupid not to keep in shape, or to turn down the training facilities available, especially when there's the consideration of her 'weapon'. The small changes in her suit haven't gone unnoticed, and for all her distrust, she's curious, too, and maybe a little excited at having an evolving Batsuit at her disposal. Spoiler had to make do with homemade gadgets or whatever Tim would pass on to her, Robin had access to the best Bat-gadgets, as does Batgirl, but it always felt a little... borrowed. After Robin was taken away from her, she has a hard time not worrying that the same thing will happen with Batgirl, that Babs or Bruce won't one day decide she doesn't have a right to wear their symbol anymore and they'll take away all her cool toys and cars and hideouts. (It's not that she needs them, but they make life so much easier.) Spoiler has always been safe, always been hers, something they couldn't take away no matter what they tried, and she's starting to feel that way about her suit now that it's evolving with her own training.

So she trains, turning up both to the mandatory sessions, and spending her own free time in the training area. Most of the time, she's in uniform, her cowl up to keep her face hidden, though occasionally she leaves the cape behind, allowing herself freer movement, and sticking primarily to martial arts training. The few times she goes in civvies, she sticks to acrobatics, enjoying the chance to spend more time on the beam and bars than she has since she was fifteen; while the cave has gymnastics equipment, it's never her focus because she's already proficient. With no school or work commitments, she has more time to do things she actually enjoys.

→ Library

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Research isn't really her area of expertise. She's a good detective, and while she's nowhere near the same intellectual level of Tim, Bruce and Babs, she's good at figuring things out when she puts her mind to it, but, well. She's not at the same level as Tim, Bruce and Babs, so usually when serious research is needed, Batgirl isn't the one that people go to.

Unfortunately, she's the only one here (there's Dick and Jason, but she's... not sure where she stands with them) which leaves the research to her. At least college served as good practice, and her job at Gotham U's library means she can make her way around the Initiative one with relative ease. And research serves as a good counterpoint to the physical exertion of training; curling up at one of the desks with books stacked up in front of her. For someone who doesn't have a lot of patience, when she gets lost in a task she can spend a few hours reading through books and making notes in one of the various notebooks she's collected. If anyone gets a close look, they'll notice that she isn't writing in any intelligible language, but rather a combination of shorthand and code, something to make writing things down both quicker, and safer.

Occasionally she remembers that staying seated for hours at a stretch isn't good for her, and promptly takes a walk around the library as she sips a cheap coffee from one of the vending machines. She really needs to buy herself a thermos.

→ Rooftops

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Compared to Gotham, Exsilium is practically crime free. Where she usually expects the background noise of sirens and screams and gunshots, Exsilium feels silent and empty, more like a ghost town than anything. That's not to say there isn't crime, but it's nothing compared to the constant mess that is Gotham City. There's no Joker, no Two-Face or Ivy or Killer Croc. There's an army potentially waiting across the Channel, ready to attack at any moment, but that's a different sort of threat, and definitely not one that gives her something to do at night.

Still, Batgirl patrols the rooftops at night, slipping silently across them as she learns the lay of the land. When something catches her attention - usually a bar fight gotten out of hand, or a simple mugging - she intervenes just the same she would back home, except she can't leave them with a note and a call to the GCPD. She'll have to find out how the Transport organized police force feels about vigilantes leaving gifts for them. Until then, she usually just lets people off with a warning, since they're mostly committing petty crimes.

At least there are plenty of tall buildings in the city. There's nothing she enjoys more than flying between buildings on a zip line.

→ Elsewhere around the city/housing complex/her apartment/anything else

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When she isn't patrolling, training or researching, Steph tries to build herself a routine in the city to help her stay grounded; she buys groceries, drinks far more coffee than a sensible person should, and explores Exsilium. She's learnt the rooftops, but she takes time to learn the streets as well, having no qualms about walking into potentially dangerous parts of the city, since she knows she can take care of herself. When she's being honest with herself, the general state off semi-impoverishment tat seems to cling to the city reminds her of Gotham, and there's something comforting about it, as much as it's distressing as well.

The apartments are different from the rest of the city, nicer, cleaner, newer, all which hasn't escaped her notice, but she can't find it in herself to complain when it means she gets a big kitchen and a comfortable bed. Sharing her space with people is strange, which often leads to her avoiding her apartment when her housemates are around, but she does show her face occasionally.