#Brooke's Journal

[brooke-burnes]

Brooke's Journal Part 1

Origins: "The Worst Birthday I've ever had"

I think the only way I'm gonna be able to cope with this is if I detach myself from it. If I treat it like it's something that happened to someone else, a crime scene I only ever saw pictures of, at an address I don't recognize, it feels less... personal.

Even if I know for a fact that it was.

Well, no matter how little I wanna talk about it, I'm probably gonna regret not writing this down.

I was going home late after work. A few of my co-workers made me a cake to celebrate my eighteenth birthday. It was good. They talked me into staying late with them to decorate the office for the winter holidays. Something about how my desk was always decorated the best. I doubt any of us were expecting that me staying late would save my life.

As the bus pulled up to the stop, I noticed the red and blue lights around the corner. It wasn't until I actually rounded the corner that I realized they were in front of my house.

I remember being confused and concerned. This is the point where everything becomes a bit of a blur.

They almost didn't let me in. It took a few minutes of convincing. I think Red Hood was there. He really didn't want to let me in.

Walking in was really jarring.

Everyone was in the living room. It looked like they were decorating the tree.

This would have been my second year celebrating Christmas with them. The only family that would want me around for more than a year. The only family I wanted to be around for more than a year.

It followed the Joker's typical M.O. in a few key ways: the "haha"s written on the walls, green purple and red spray paint, and the sides of everyone's mouths cut like that one Yo-Kai. That said, I'm honestly not convinced it was the Joker. He's not exactly the type to make home visits without being damn sure Batman would show up.

That aside, the entire house was completely ransacked. Furniture was destroyed, a few doors were torn off the hinges, plates and glasses were shattered on the floor.

By the time I went upstairs to my room to see what had survived, Batman had showed up. He and Red Hood insisted on sticking with me. I'm honestly grateful for it.

Upon opening the door to my shared room, a click sounded and before I could react, a bomb went off. I'm damn lucky batman was there. He used his cape to shield me from the blast. I remember wondering what the hell it was made of to be able to block a fucking bomb at point blank and have all three of us get out of it without a scratch.

The worst part was after the smoke cleared.

On my wall, in bright red paint, were the words "where did you go?" along with my deadname.

Everything of mine was torn to shreds. All I could salvage was a silver bracelet with red roses that was under my bed. I don't even remember where I got it.

That's not even the end of the story.

After all that, Batman told the commissioner to "call their mutual friend" and "let him know the bat's calling in a favor". Then he turned to Red Hood and told him to keep an eye on me until "he" got there. He drove off while I got taken to the police station, and I was wracking my brain trying to think of what I was gonna do, who was I going to stay with, my phone had died on the bus ride home and I didn't have any family I could reach out to anyway.

As I was spiraling I heard a car pull up outside, and moments later, Bruce Wayne sat down across from me.

He offered to let me stay with him until I could get on my feet, and without anywhere else to go, I accepted.

I write this entry from my bedroom in the manor. I have nothing to my name but the clothes I wore to work that day, the few things I had in my backpack, a bracelet I found under my bed, and my smartphone (but no charger).

At this point, I'm not sure what I can do. Tomorrow I'm going to get a charger, call my boss, and figure out where the hell I go from here.

-Brooke Alexandra Burnes

[journalismjpg]

The 109-page indictment paints the movement to oppose the construction of a massive police training center in the Atlanta area’s Weelaunee Forest as a criminal conspiracy, and it goes back to the Minneapolis police department’s killing of George Floyd, which took place almost a year before Cop City was announced.

By doing so, the National Lawyers Guild said in a press statement, the indictment “attempts to render all mass protest against police violence and racism—including the killing of Rayshard Brooks by Atlanta police—an ‘unlawful conspiracy’ or ‘racketeering.’ ”

Read more here.

[b4ookie]

chat im gonna have to shift tonight. like

i need to.

[brooke-burnes]

Brooke's Journal Part 2

Origins: Finding a Mentor

I better hope to whatever gods are out there that no one finds this entry, because it could easily cost me my career.

I recently was approached by a woman whose name I will not write for her safety and mine, offering me a sort of apprenticeship.

for multiple years now, I have been carefully committing repeated theft on specific locations as a sort of "punishment" for the evil deeds committed by people in power, since the law certainly wasn't doing anything.

I thought I was doing well to avoid getting caught, but apparently not well enough, because this woman had noticed and decided that I needed her help.

She offered me a job on behalf of her colleague who wanted to take me under her wing as an apprentice in theft. I, of course, pretended I didn't know what she was on about, because why on earth would I admit to committing crimes regularly?

Regardless, she gave me a time and a place and told me to come alone, and I am nothing if not incredibly curious by nature. I had my self defense handgun tucked in my boot (it's a tiny replica of an 18th century handgun, and a gift from an old friend), so I was confident I would be walking out of there in one piece.

Turns out, it was not a trap by criminals or police, and instead I met with Cat-woman, who promptly took me on as her protégé. She handed me a burner phone I could use to contact her at any time, and promised that the next time we met, she'd help me pick a codename and design a costume.

I'm already thinking about my name... the chance to work with THE Cat-woman, how could I possibly pass this up?

-Brooke Alexandra Burnes

[moonpascal]

@mischievousmoony for our viewing pleasure

credit to @/slutforaaron on tiktok