Player Name: marzi
Player Contact: plurk @oathkeeps

Character Name: Bruce Wayne (The Dark Knight, Son of Gotham)
Age: 18
Canon: Gotham

World Description: Gotham City

History: Obligatory 'my parents are deaddddddd!!!!'

CRAU: n/a

Death:
A woman going by the name Theresa Walker appears in Gotham at the same time as a large military force. She has a man called Bane, who heads this force, use his group to capture Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne then bring them to an old mansion. While there Jim says that he knows the name Theresa Walker is just a cover up and she replies that Bruce Wayne will help them learn her true identity. She orders Bane to begin torturing Jim until Bruce is able to figure it out. The torture continues until Bruce mentions Ra's Al Ghul's and learns that she is actually his daughter, Nyssa Al Ghul. She admits to be in Gotham for her dead father, but that "revenge is just the beginning of what I want."

She also intends to kill Jim's wife Barbara for her hand in killing Ra's and this prompts Bruce and Jim's urgent need to escape. Bruce will be killed by Nyssa during their escape.

What are your plans for this character in-game?
Haha this is probably a big I'm not sure! This is mostly because I had a lot of plans for Sora when I apped, of things I wanted to do and elements I wanted to explore, a path of development. But instead a bunch of things happened with his close cr that really hemmed me in and derailed much of the development I wanted to pursue. Since that hadn't really panned out for me the way I hoped, I thought I would explore Beacon with a character that was just way more cerebral and less emotionally driven. Bruce is very pragmatic. He likes to collect information and study, and that would allow me to look at information and details that would just never occur to Sora. I still don't really like to spear-head and gather limelight in games so I think Bruce also suits my behind-the-scenes preferences. Apologies in advance to Will, who he'll probably build a portfolio about rip.

What aspects of this game and/or its setting are you most interested in having this character engage with?
When I originally joined with Sora I'd been interested in exploring the thematic light and darkness mechanics of the game, as well as throwing a very social character into a setting focused on working as a team for the sake of the town. As it stands that hasn't really worked out for me so I looked instead at characters who might better appreciate the mystery of the town. Bruce is- shall we say selectively social, he doesn't mind doing things on his own and trying to piece things together. So I'm curious about exploring Beacon from this new angle.


How does your character generally get along with other people?
On Bruce's seventh birthday his parents had invited about 50 other children and their parents to come celebrate. But instead of playing with any of them, Bruce had taken a bright red wagon that he'd gotten as a gift from his father and went off by himself for hours, collecting rocks in the garden with the intention of building a secret place for him and the wagon. It's a kind of microcosm for the way he regards others later in life. Bruce isn't a hermit, he socializes with others very well and often leaves people with a positive impression of him. But internally he knows that his values and motivations, and I think even a degree of his intensity, is different from other people. His peers accused him of being weird or strange, aware that he had no real friends and never wanted to do the normal teen things- like partying or going to movies. He spent all his time with his butler.

He's a consummate loner, really. He keeps his thoughts and feelings to himself and internalizes his obsessions, allowing them to dominate his life instead of pursuing friendships or even family. It's the socialite persona of Bruce Wayne that is his true mask- the face he wears when he's driving around the city, attending lavish parties, hobnobbing with socialites, and donating massive sums.


What is your character's mental state upon entering the game?
Bruce is frustrated with himself more than anything. He doesn't like to leave things unfinished and it feels like that's what he's done- that he had a goal and managed to fall short. He interprets this as a personal short-coming and believes that if he'd been more thorough in his own observation and study then he might have altered the outcome. In short: Bruce's belief that he can control and account for everything tells him that he's been careless and it cost him the only future he could really envision for himself.


Skills/Abilities:
Batman has always been a detective before he'd been a super hero, and though he gains a reputation for prowling around on rooftops and punching criminals in the face, it's his intelligence that does most of the heavy lifting. Bruce is describes as having an above-average intellect, but I feel like that's a really broad statement so I decided to break it down into more trackable and distinct niches.
►Investigation His first obsession had been the identity of his parent's killer and early on that meant keeping meticulous records, obsessive notes, and researching on his own. He's a keen observer, noticing even the smallest of details, and he's doggedly determined- willing to pursue the same leads for as long as it takes.
►Criminology Understanding the facts of a crime would only get him so far and as a result Bruce had started studying criminal psychology, even going so far as to leave the manor and live on the streets of Gotham in an attempt to deepen his understanding of criminal mindsets, techniques, and tactics both major and minor.
►Cat Burglar With Selina Kyle as an early mentor and friend, Bruce learned how to pick locks, break into high security buildings, bypass security measures, and even access safes.
►Scholar Bruce is a nerd! If he encounters something he doesn't understand immediately his response is to go and research it, to become an expert as quickly as possible. His range of interests have run the gamut from archeology to physics, biology, geology, psychology, and even landmaps.
►Networking For a guy so often described as a loner, Bruce is very good at networking. Part of this is inherited- a skill modeled by his parents who were philanthropists, well loved by the city. As the chairman and then CEO of Wayne Enterprises Bruce had access to inexhaustible funds, technology, and intelligence- but he was also in a position to begin rubbing elbows with Gotham's elite. This is a habit he continues even with less wealthy individuals outside of the figures in the social pages, as he comes to call Detective Jim Gordon and Selina Kyle friends.
►Deception In his own words "the best liars always tell the truth," Bruce has already started to cultivate what it means to lead a double life. He manipulates others from a young age, lying first to girl who knows the identity of his parents' killer, and then to an uncle that means to kill him and take over his company. Bruce pays attention to the desires of people around him and will press his advantage on the belief that the ends usually justify the means.
►Willfullness Often likened to his father in this regard, once Bruce has an idea in his head and once he's certain of it- it's impossible to get him to change his course. Sometimes this quality appears superhuman, like when it allows him to break free of ironclad mind control. And sometimes it makes people like Alfred look to the sky for strength, like when he wraps his own broken bones and walks on them anyway.


And then there are the skills most commonly associated with Batman- the brawn.
►Peak health Bruce has been trained in hand to hand combat by both his butler Alfred and by a mysterious figure called the Sensei. As this training started from a young age Bruce is in excellent physical shape with above average speed, strength, and endurance. Bruce is shown as capable of beating down full grown men with exceptional focus and maneuverability, using counter attacks and focused strikes strategically in the heat of the moment. His time with the Sensei altered his metabolism and his senses as well as his reaction time and reflexes. He's able to sense the presence of others without looking at them, despite their own stealth abilities, and his speed is often remarked on by outside observers. These abilities, while incredible in their own right, are not superhuman and instead exist only at the level of peak human condition.
►Combat As mentioned above Alfred trained Bruce in hand-to-hand combat, teaching him how to throw a punch but also how to take one- and that gave him his first taste of self-defense skills. That training was furthered by the Sensei after his abduction, where Bruce learned to conquer his rage and become more focused- able to defeat his opponents without distractions. He picked back up with Alfred and began honing advanced boxing techniques, later incorporating elements of krav maga and jiu-jitsu. Bruce has been shown as capable of single handedly taking on foes both one on one and groups.
►Stick-fighting What started as makeshift sword fights with Alfred began to evolve after his time with the Sensei, where he learned escrima. He took to this training with such single-mindedness that he was shown to be capable of taking down highly trained members of the Sensei's assassin group. He has used anything from iron poles to pool sticks.
►Marksman Instead of honing marksmanship with guns, Bruce has learned to throw projectiles, first pieces of glass and later his infamous batarangs. He has also demonstrated his aim with grappling guns on numerous occasions.
►Free-running Living with Selina in the city he learned early on how to maneuver through Gotham's winding streets and alleys- taking to fire escapes and rooftops, leaping from one to the other with ease. He's also learned to scale buildings with ease and how to perform advanced parkour with exceptional precision, stamina, and speed.
►Stealth Even before his training began Bruce was constantly accused of sneaking around- he's always been quiet and difficult to detect, even by Alfred, formerly part of the British Special Service. This evolves to the point where Bruce can sneak in and out of police headquarters, high security private buildings, and even maximum security buildings without being detected. Bruce possess impressive stealth skills, as he was able to easily sneak out of GCPD headquarters without Jim Gordon hearing or noticing him. Bruce was capable of breaking into Blackgate Penitentiary without being detected.
►Escape Artist Bruce is shown sneaking in and out of crime scenes on numerous occasions, but he's also shown slipping out of traps and even freeing himself from captivity. One of the most notable examples would be when he escaped from a pole, where he was handcuffed in front of a crowd with a canon ready to go off and kill him- by prying a staple out of his arm and picking the lock.



Flaws/Weaknesses:
►Inner Darkness It's no accident that our very first introduction to Bruce comes hand in hand with Jim Gordon, two characters that will have their idealism and naivety shaped by their experiences in Gotham. The whole series is about understanding how to live and navigate inside of this massive grey area. For Bruce a large part of this narrative comes in accepting his inner darkness instead of running from it. He has a confrontation with the manifestation of this the first time that he glimpses Batman and understands that this haunting and terrible figure is part of him. That it's his true nature. But before that, Bruce's willingness to throw himself into the deep end manifested in erratic and risky behavior- choosing to live on the streets, standing on the very edge of buildings to conquer his fear of heights, enduring great physical pain with the goal of pushing his limits. Bruce can go Too Far Too Fast because it isn't really his choice, it's just in his nature.
►Pursuit of Justice Bruce stopped going to school for a lengthy period of time after his parents died, but it didn't mean he was lounging around in his grief. His need to understand what happened was his attempt to have control over some aspect of the situation- but the process of uncovering this mystery only led to more questions. It shed a light on the nearness of criminal groups to his own family, to his company, and to his life- effectively throwing away any sense of safety and idealism he might have left. He isn't paranoid, but as a result Bruce has attempted to prepare for every possible outcome- an attempt to make himself bulletproof for a future he can't predict entirely. His willingness to throw himself entirely into these situations also means that he comes close to and ties himself to a veritable rogue's gallery of Gotham's criminal and insane. He becomes a figure of obsession for murderers like Ra's al Ghul who wants Bruce to become his successor, and Jeremiah Valeska who wants them to become brothers because he believes they are intrinsically bound to each other.
►Solo Act It's hard for Bruce to ask for help. It's not that he doesn't believe in help on the whole, but instead that as a very private person Bruce tends to play things close to the chest even, and most especially when he shouldn't. He hides the truth from the people closest to him and pushes relationships away if he feels that they're attempting to curtail the pursuit of his goals.
►Selina, Alfred, &Jim Being a loner isn't the same as being alone, and while Bruce's circle of important people is small it isn't non-existant. He feels a profound connection to Selina Kyle and he considers Alfred family, a man that's been there the whole of his life- both of whom know about the strange quest Bruce is on and both of whom try to support and try to discourage at different turns. He also considers Jim a friend, a man he considers to the the one good cop in Gotham and a man who once promised to do everything he could to help a very frightened young boy. Antagonists in the series that have Bruce in their sights know that these three individuals will prompt Bruce to act faster and more recklessly than endangering just a handful of citizens and they have each been pursued and hurt with the express purpose of hurting Bruce by extension.



Personality:
"I know how you feel right now. And I promise you, however dark and scary the world might be right now- there will be light. There will be light, Bruce."

It could be said that everything Bruce Wayne is was shaped the night his parents were murdered. The senselessness of the act left him struggling to understand why it happened when the robbery had already been successful. His sense of helplessness and inability to stop the thief left him desperate to make himself stronger, faster, less afraid. He never wanted to feel that way again and he never wanted anyone else to feel that way either. He began devoting all of his time, energy, and attention to finding the identity of the man that killed his parents and struggled to find a place for himself on the line between vengeance and justice.

"You can't have both happiness and the truth. You have to choose. I beg of you, my son, please choose happiness. Unless you feel a calling. A true calling."

In Gotham's lawlessness, where all figures of authority can be blackmailed or threatened or bribed, he creates a code for himself. A standard to which he must hold himself and his actions. In his early years he's repulsed by the idea of killing, to the point where he's horrified by his friend Selina Kyle for killing a man to save their lives. But he makes an exception for himself when it comes to his parents' murderer. While he ultimately chooses to spare the man's life, the experience reinforces the idea that the world isn't black and white because even Matches Malone had his own code of ethics. He was not an evil person because of what he did and Bruce was not a good person because he didn't pull the trigger. They were both simply men.

Bruce is told on numerous occasions that Gotham and her citizens are not his responsibility, but he chooses time and again to make it his business. He takes it upon himself, often to his own detriment, to act. He volunteers to be bait for a psychotic criminal and dons a mask in the middle of a shootout at a fundraising dinner. Bruce wants to lose himself, but he can't. At the peak of his self-destructive phase, where he begins binge drinking and partying, where he fires Alfred and casts Selina out, he is drugged and sees a vision of his true self- the future Batman. He is confronted by his own darkness and chooses to become it- to answer the calling he's felt all his life.

"That's the difference between you and Bruce Wayne. He would try and save everyone."

Bruce was a good-hearted boy who grows up, against all odds, to be a good-hearted man. He has a tendency to go above and beyond in just about every aspect of his life and this manifests in self-harm, when he holds his hand over a candle in an attempt to conquer pain as well as in his willingness to volunteer to be a hostage in order to save the lives of others.

Sheltered and well-loved as a child, Bruce can sometimes be naive- but his observant and empathic nature means that he's always aware when someone is lying to him. Serious, selfless, and kind are traits that become amplified and morphed when he dons the mask, manifesting in less obscure ways. Bruce consistently demonstrates a great deal of maturity and personal strength- whether that's filling his father's shoes with the company, publicly apologizing for his behavior, and even accepting certain death. It isn't just a sense of obligation that prompts him to act the way he does, Bruce simply has a big (and sometimes misguided, often guarded) heart. Unwilling to compromise his beliefs and firmly attached to his ideals, Bruce forges ahead despite risks and warnings and sometimes even the pleas of those who love him.



Items:
►suit
made up of mask and hood, a jacket made of thin kevlar weave with reinforced firearm protection, gloves that help him cling to any surface, & microphone earpiece
►grapple gun
►telescope
►stun grenades
►smoke grenades

Log Sample: here
Network Sample: here