quiet_tiger (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
quiet_tiger) wrote2011-01-27 09:21 pm
quiet_tiger) wrote2011-01-27 09:21 pm
Ficlet: The Problem With People
Title: The Problem With People
Universe: General
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13 for implied gore
Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne
Word Count: 446
Warnings: None
Summary: Bruce ruminates on recent happenings.
Note: For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
batfic_contest theme "Caveat Emptor."
~*~
Sometimes, the pessimistic part of Bruce wondered if any of his actions as the Batman meant any damn thing at all. He’d dedicated his life to the cape and cowl, to protect the citizens in his sadly dark city.
And in return?
In return people still died.
People still died because they paid no attention to the news.
The news wasn’t important, apparently. News like the Joker’s escape. News like mysterious, strange, and suspicious robberies. News like products in the supermarkets having horrifying effects.
Really.
Bruce worked so hard to keep people safe, and he was repaid by them buying a new toothpaste called “White Smile.”
The box was green and white with red lettering. Which wasn’t terribly suspicious in itself, of course. It was toothpaste.
But the picture on the box… A garish smile framed by deranged lips…
Rows upon rows of boxes that appeared out of nowhere in the stores, rows and rows of vaguely disquieting smiles.
And people bought them.
Citizens of Gotham bought toothpaste no one had ever heard of, while the Joker was out of Arkham, and with a subtle yet distressing image on the box.
He didn’t want it to, but Bruce’s mind kept flashing one word:
Stupid.
It wasn’t even the first time Joker had poisoned the populace, hundreds and thousands dying with their faces distorted into grotesque grins. The man was absolutely insane, but he was also highly intelligent. He could keep doing the same awful things to Gotham, and the people always fell for it. All to save a buck or two.
To save a buck or two, they paid with their lives.
It was one thing when people died because of something unforeseen, or through no fault except Batman or the police arriving too late. Very little was worse than that.
But falling for the Joker’s schemes over and over…
It was frustrating. But Bruce also couldn’t expect the citizens to live in fear all the time, to only buy something indicated as being “Joker free.” It was his job to make sure something like that wasn’t necessary.
And that was most frustrating of all.
For all it was easy to blame the people of Gotham for buying a product that seemed like a bad idea in hindsight, it was Bruce’s—Batman’s—fault that the product was there in the first place. That he hadn’t seen it before people had died.
If he did his job better, there would be fewer deaths.
The thought pushed him further, made him work harder.
It was his his city, and he had to protect it.
Even if his pessimism flared up every once in a while, warranted or not.
Universe: General
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13 for implied gore
Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne
Word Count: 446
Warnings: None
Summary: Bruce ruminates on recent happenings.
Note: For
batfic_contest theme "Caveat Emptor."~*~
Sometimes, the pessimistic part of Bruce wondered if any of his actions as the Batman meant any damn thing at all. He’d dedicated his life to the cape and cowl, to protect the citizens in his sadly dark city.
And in return?
In return people still died.
People still died because they paid no attention to the news.
The news wasn’t important, apparently. News like the Joker’s escape. News like mysterious, strange, and suspicious robberies. News like products in the supermarkets having horrifying effects.
Really.
Bruce worked so hard to keep people safe, and he was repaid by them buying a new toothpaste called “White Smile.”
The box was green and white with red lettering. Which wasn’t terribly suspicious in itself, of course. It was toothpaste.
But the picture on the box… A garish smile framed by deranged lips…
Rows upon rows of boxes that appeared out of nowhere in the stores, rows and rows of vaguely disquieting smiles.
And people bought them.
Citizens of Gotham bought toothpaste no one had ever heard of, while the Joker was out of Arkham, and with a subtle yet distressing image on the box.
He didn’t want it to, but Bruce’s mind kept flashing one word:
Stupid.
It wasn’t even the first time Joker had poisoned the populace, hundreds and thousands dying with their faces distorted into grotesque grins. The man was absolutely insane, but he was also highly intelligent. He could keep doing the same awful things to Gotham, and the people always fell for it. All to save a buck or two.
To save a buck or two, they paid with their lives.
It was one thing when people died because of something unforeseen, or through no fault except Batman or the police arriving too late. Very little was worse than that.
But falling for the Joker’s schemes over and over…
It was frustrating. But Bruce also couldn’t expect the citizens to live in fear all the time, to only buy something indicated as being “Joker free.” It was his job to make sure something like that wasn’t necessary.
And that was most frustrating of all.
For all it was easy to blame the people of Gotham for buying a product that seemed like a bad idea in hindsight, it was Bruce’s—Batman’s—fault that the product was there in the first place. That he hadn’t seen it before people had died.
If he did his job better, there would be fewer deaths.
The thought pushed him further, made him work harder.
It was his his city, and he had to protect it.
Even if his pessimism flared up every once in a while, warranted or not.
no subject
That's a hard burden to carry.
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Thanks for reading and commenting!
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I first thought of the Joker poisoning stuff and people buying it, and then I thought that that must annoy the hell out of Bruce, both because he couldn't stop it and because people are so stupid they just don't pay attention to anything or think about anything.
I'm really glad this worked for you, thanks for reading and commenting!