[OPEN] Summer lovin’~ Had me a blast~

[robintohood]

Who: Jason Todd robintohood and you
What: Various antics throughout August, including aftermath from the Downburst event
When: Throughout August
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: N/A for now. Will edit if needed.

Descendant:

[Now that Mechanima and the Society have lifted their control over Central City's borders and the teleporters between various American locations are properly working again, it's easier for visitors to come by again.

As usual, Descendant Karaoke Bar and Lounge is open for business and now hoping that they can have more customers again. Civilian or criminal; temporarily depowered or not; people will want a drink and/or blow off some steam.

This month's popular songs include hits such as It's Not Right But It's Okay, Escape (The Piña Colada Song), Don’t Stop Believin’, and Summer Nights.

The Coyote Ugly Nights were successful despite previous travel restrictions so now these events are happening at least twice a week, depending on which employees are available to dance or do extra security. The social media posts advertising the business and showing off performances are still in full swing as well.

Or you can just drop by during a normal day/evening. As Descendant's official owner, Jason can be found doing things like bartending, serving particularly close attention to the VIPs, or just in the reading room taking a break.

Mind Descendant’s shadier customers.]

Happy(?) Birthday (In-game date: August 16th):

[It's Jason's birthday and it… might be a mixed bag for him. Previous birthdays have wildly varied from depressing, bittersweet, and for a short while, actually happy. This year things with his family could be better but they could also be worse. There's also no doubt that this year he has people he genuinely cares about and who would care that it's his birthday. It gets confusing having so many ambiguous feelings.

In the hopes of minimizing potentially awkward conversations, he's taking a day-off from Descendant, sleeping in a little and perhaps going out later in the day to treat himself to a new book and his favorite foods.

Maybe you can catch him when he's out and about]

Wildcard:

((OOC: Got something else in mind? Hit me up! I always welcome new CRs as well. My contact information is on this journal's profile and I'm in the game's Discord server. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns as well. I also have a feedback post.))

Comments

[atypical_echo]

[Mark sighs.]

Would it be wrong for me to... Ask for a hug?

[robintohood]

[Jason's usually not a hugger but given everything Mark's gone through, including recent events, it's an understandable request]

Yeah, go for it.

[atypical_echo]

[Good. Mark sets aside his mug and moves to pull Jason into his arms. Hopefully that's okay.]

Thanks Jason.

[robintohood]

[Jason hugs and... For him, it feels like a strange gesture. These days, when it comes to physical contact, he's much more inclined to hit someone than to give any kind of physical affection. It says a lot about how sympathetic he's become to Mark. Given what Mark did for him during the Lazarus Pit nightmare, Jason feels a hug is the least he can do in exchange]

Better now?

[atypical_echo]

Nope. But it'll do.

[He smiles and pulls back.]

I'm just worried about you.

[robintohood]

[Jason knows why Mark's worried but he wants more details. He's still trying to filter out what he can say and maintain his double life]

Worried about what exactly?

[atypical_echo]

[Jason, why do you have to maintain a double life? This is Mark Bryant. You know more about this guy than everyone but Huvrye at this point. But yeah, Mark hasn't earned that trust.]

Are you seeing anyone? For therapy?

[robintohood]

[Because the Red Hood side is such an ugly thing for people to know about]

No. I'm fine as I am now. Besides, no one can really understand what I've gone through.

[Other than his double but that's a different kind of mess]

[atypical_echo]

[Mark doesn't have ugly sides but he definitely has been through ugly stuff. Maybe he'd understand. Maybe he'd respect it.]

No, they can't. But maybe understanding each other to that depth isn't something all your friends need. But you have people to help you, right? Not me, but others. Sleeper if nothing else.

[robintohood]

Yeah. Sleeper's special.

[In ways Mark doesn't realize given how a symbiote bonds works]

Not like either of us ever planned to have someone though. It just sort of happened.

[atypical_echo]

[Oh of course he doesn't realize. But it does mean Jason's not alone, right?]

I think the good connections aren't planned.

[robintohood]

I guess so. But in any case, therapy's not for me.

[atypical_echo]

Oh, I get it. I used to tell Joanie that all the time.

[Mark's DEFINITELY in need of therapy. He's just a bad judge of it.]

But if you ever need to talk to someone about... about that place. At least I know?

[robintohood]

Mm. It's not something I'm used to sharing, you know?

[atypical_echo]

Yeah, I know. Well not know. But I can understand. That's a lot of trauma.

[robintohood]

[Even worse when that's just a slice of what Jason's gone through]

Nobody was supposed to see that.

[atypical_echo]

I know. But no one was supposed to see a lot of things, or know a lot of things. We're in a situation where our desires on this stuff doesn't really seem to figure in.

[robintohood]

Yeah. It's never easy. It's just... I don't really like talking about that stuff. The stuff that happened to me.

[atypical_echo]

Guess I don't much either.

[He'd avoided it for so long. Very few people knew of it, but he was definitely more open than Jason.]

It helps. A little. To talk about it. Speaking from experience.

[robintohood]

Not sure if there's much to say. Yeah, what I went through was awful but I've survived.

[And struggling in other ways]

[atypical_echo]

[Mark considers that for a moment while nodding. How was he supposed to say it? Well, he guessed the answer was to say it the way he'd need to to hear it.]

Are you living, or just surviving?

[robintohood]

[It's a fair question for Mark to ask and not one Jason's comfortable going too in depth with. So he responds in a neutral, well-practiced casual tone]

Both I guess. It's not like it's been all rainbows and unicorns for me but it could be worse.

[atypical_echo]

It's never all rainbows and unicorns. Not even rainbows are all rainbows and unicorns. Just... don't shut people out. That makes you make mistakes. Or it makes me make mistakes, so it's logical to think maybe it does it to people in gneral too.

[robintohood]

I'm used to doing everything alone so that's easier said than done.

[atypical_echo]

That's sad.

[They both know that's true, right? Surely they do.]