[OPEN] Maybe not a literal monster mash

[robintohood]

Who: Jason Todd robintohood and you. Also a mingle!
What: Various antics at Descendant Karaoke Bar and Lounge during October
When: Throughout October
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: N/A for now. Will edit if needed.

[There may be some changes to the timeline now but Descendant Karaoke Bar and Lounge is still open for business. There are always people looking to have a good time drinking and blowing off some steam with a good song. It doesn’t matter if they’re ordinary civilians or some of Central City’s more... colorful characters. Just be nice to the bouncers and check your weapons by the entrance first.

To reflect the fall season, Descendant has included seasonal drinks like pumpkin beer, apple cocktails, and spiced maple bourbon.

Meanwhile, some of this month's most popular songs seem to be reflecting Halloween, such as Highway to Hell and Monsters. Or maybe you want to do a more classy number like Witchcraft? Descendant looks like a speakeasy after all. And in a total coincidence, Time Warp has also shown up on the popularity chart.

If you drop by at Descendant on a Coyote Ugly Night, you’ll find the atmosphere considerably wilder and wetter. You might’ve even already seen some of the social media posts and videos of the employees performing. They certainly look like they’re having a good time.

Perhaps you’re coming in during a more normal time. Come by for a drink. Maybe rent a private karaoke room or karaoke on stage in front of others if you’re feeling brave. There are some bar games around too.

You can always just people watch as well. Those who are especially observant might notice that some of Descendant’s customers are a bit... furtive as they keep their heads low or quickly scurry to one of the private rooms.

There’s always the reading room too for those who want a more quiet ambiance.

And then there's the very select few who are allowed upstairs in the attic apartment.

Whatever the case may be, Jason will be around. As Descendant’s owner, he’s a busy guy with plenty he has to do]

((OOC: Jason will be around but feel free to mingle! My contact information is on this journal's profile and I'm in the game's Discord server. Also feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns as well. I also have a feedback post.))

Comments

[batinbelfry]

[Barbara automatically assumes they aren't from either the same place, or time, since there's no immediate Bruce comment and is strangely happy about that. No being sad when there's a weird younger Bruce running around alive and well.

And it doesn't matter since Diana is always a welcome surprise. ]

Still in one piece and the only one of me, so far. Have you met all the Dicks, Jasons, and Tims?

[avatarfortruth]

There's still one I haven't met. The younger Dick.

[ Still strange to think about, though not wholly out of her realm of understanding. She lifts her glass for a sip of wine. ]

I've heard there was another version of me here, before. I admit, I'm a little relieved not to have to navigate that particular situation. It's strange enough to be known already by people I have not yet met.

[batinbelfry]

It's like looking into a living memory that never happened.

[She'd been around him at that age, in and out of costume. It just seems odd that his version of her isn't involved in everything.]

I think you'd get along with another version of you better than the Jasons do.

[avatarfortruth]

It must be so strange. For you, especially.

[ She knows Barbara and Dick are close, and assumes they have been in every possible universe. ]

How are you holding up with it all?

[batinbelfry]

Everything is weird, but I think living in Gotham has expanded my acceptance of the weird.

[There's no way Diana doesn't know what she means. They deal with some of the oddest criminals anywhere.]

Other than remembering Dick at that age, and Bruce at that age... We roll with what's thrown at us and adapt.

[avatarfortruth]

[ That wins a small but genuinely amused smile. ]

Yes, I expect it would.

I do remember Dick at that age, you know. And Bruce... he's not so very different from when he and I first met.

[ He is, and he isn't. But there's so much of him she recognizes. Her friend is easily visible in this other, younger version. ]

Strange as it is, I'm grateful to have them here.

[batinbelfry]

Bruce is hard under usual circumstances. Just not usually for all of us at once.

[They all have reasons to push him away, accept his pushing them away, and yet wanting him there. No matter what the Jasons might say to the contrary.]

Then again, I don't think a Bruce used to dealing with us would be able to handle all the doubles.

[avatarfortruth]

You might be surprised.

[ It's a murmur. Barbara isn't wrong, exactly, but: Bruce's family sees a very different side of him than his teammates do. And she and Kal have the privilege of seeing even a little more. ]

As for the one here... I imagine it's difficult coming to a place where a great many people say they know you, that you've adopted them and trained them and mentored them and more, without having any idea who they are. Those are quite the expectations to put on someone.

[batinbelfry]

Fine, I don't think my Bruce would have handled it well.

[She catches it, as soon as she hears herself say it, but it's too late to do anything but let it go.

Lips pressed together, she looks at her glass.]

It's one reason I've only had a couple of text conversations with him. If you can call them that. [They were conversations as far as one could be said to converse with Bruce.] I don't want to chase him off. But, I'm also not sure how I'd react seeing him.

[avatarfortruth]

Would have – ?

[ Realization strikes as true as a bolt of Zeus' lightning, followed instantly by a flood of distress. No, not Bruce.

But she swallows her welling sorrow: she is Amazon. Grief comes later. The young woman in front of her comes first. ]

Oh, Barbara.

[ She reaches to put a gentle hand over the younger woman's. ]

I'm sorry. I can see how that would make things... especially difficult.

[batinbelfry]

There's only one person that would be harder to face.

[And she would never forgive anyone that made her face a younger version of her father, but he's also been dead a couple of years now, so it's not so raw.]

Didn't have much time to deal with it at home. Gotham is unrelenting. We're having to do everything we can to keep up, but we're doing the best we can. And yes, we could ask for help, but Gotham isn't the only place that needs it. [Not like Bruce trained them to ask for it, either.] There are four of us. We'll figure it out.

Just don't say anything to him? No need to add that to the mess when we can't even say if we're from the same place or not. I already know I'm not from the guys.

[avatarfortruth]

I promise.

[ Aside from helping Barbara, it would be just another heavy thing to place on Bruce and all the others. She remembers all too well those months when the Bruce of her home was nearly killed and how it affected all of them. How helpless his friends had felt. How chaotic everything that followed.

It seems they all carry secrets from one another. Only Kyle, she thinks, is from the same world and time as herself. And even he may not know... everything. ]

I believe you'll be able to keep Gotham standing, Barbara. The four of you. You have always been formidable.