Give me Bruce Wayne with a truly impressive lack of self-preservation, much to the absolute bewilderment of the rest of Gotham
Bruce has spent the past 20 years being a reclusive, socially awkward shut-in, and his public presence really isn't that much different once he starts getting involved in charities and public works. Hunched posture, barely audible mumbling, little to no eye contact- Gotham's Prince is well known and well loved for how socially uncomfortable he is. He's trying, bless his heart, and he really is making a difference, and that's what matters. Everyone just accepts that anxiety and discomfort are part and parcel of who Bruce Wayne is.
Except it becomes very clear very quickly that Bruce Wayne is apparently anxiety ridden to the point of paradoxical fearlessness.
On the few occasions he has to interact with Gotham's more dangerous (but powerful) individuals, Bruce shows zero extra fear. He interacts with Oswald Cobblepot with the same level of anxiety he has when interacting with a particularly chatty barista. Any time he's informed of a threat that's been made against him, he just responds with an awkward half shrug and a mumbled "okay" and then goes about his business like normal. Someone tried to shoot him in a crowd once but the gun misfired, and Bruce just shuffled away with the same urgency he has when leaving a long meeting. He got kidnapped once and spent the entire hostage video just looking tired.
To Bruce, these are expected things that he's used to facing as Batman, so why would he be afraid of them? To everyone else, Bruce Wayne has such bad anxiety about EVERYTHING that he treats all interactions as equally threatening. It's equal parts concerning and endearing. The memes about it are endless. Bruce's cryptid status grows exponentially each time and all of Gotham is living for it
This is the hot-take shit
