on being reserved at ataraxion

[did]

I'm thrilled.

[ Gordon's tone of voice, however, suggests the exact opposite. ]

ooc: warnings for spoilers in threads should castmates tag in!

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[doctrine]

It is not a question of judgement, Commissioner. You assume that people must do something to be found wanting but perhaps wanting is found in the failure to prove that one is not.

[did]

[ For an instant, Gordon bristles, ire rising quickly and then suppressed within a heartbeat. There's no point to seeking out an argument, and though the overall tide of things turned in Gotham's favor, he knows he's no match for any of the heavy hitters of the conflict on his own.

Besides, the need for that kind of anger has passed. (He hopes.) ]

Gotham's earned its stripes.

[doctrine]

[ Bane remains implacable as always. The possibility of defeat doesn't bother him. Gordon's unfailing belief in his city -- unearned as it is -- doesn't bother him. Anger has its uses but only when controlled so tightly that it becomes a reliable weapon. ]

Correction: Gotham believes that it has earned its stripes. But tell me, what did your city do to earn them?

[did]

We fight. We survive. We grow. We learn. We're not the city on the hill, but still, even among the worst of us, there's good. Two ferries, one full of citizens and the other full of criminals — each is given the choice to blow the other up, or be blown up anyway at midnight. Nobody pulls the trigger. Tell me it's weakness if you want, I don't care. But we've made our own salvation.