robintohood: (Goodbye to my enemies)
Jason Todd ([personal profile] robintohood) wrote in [community profile] metalogs2023-10-15 12:46 am

[Open-ish] October Oddities

Who: Jason Todd [personal profile] robintohood and you. Also a couple of closed prompts
What: Various antics with Jason as a civilian and as the Red Hood
When: Throughout October
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: Potential PG-13 level violence. Will edit if needed.

Civilian:
[Between running Descendant Bar & Lounge as a civilian and being the violent vigilante and crime lord known as the Red Hood, it’s hard for Jason to have time for himself. But somehow he finds a way to squeeze in a few free days every month.

After running several errands, Jason’s now relaxing on a park bench and reading a library’s copy of The Bad Seed. If one were to look at the bags next to him, he apparently bought some new apparel, tools, and sewing supplies. Come bug him]


Red Hood:
[Tonight, the Red Hood is well within his gang’s territory and busy with making sure things stay in order.

If you’re nearby, you might see a thug get defenestrated out of a dive bar and landing on the curb. Jason then coolly follows after him and cracks his knuckles. Two of Jason’s gang members also come out of the building to follow him]

We can do this the easy way or the hard way.

[Come enjoy the show?

Alternatively, instead of coming across the Red Hood committing assault and battery, you might see a rarer side of him.

He could be seen escorting a teenager towards a homeless shelter for youths. There's no threatening, dangerous growl to his voice as he talks to the kid.]

Just give tonight a shot and see how you feel tomorrow. You can call me if you need something.


Cooking Lesson (Closed to Donnie):
[A lot has happened since Jason and Donnie talked about making a grilled cheese sandwich. Time travel, more new arrivals, a possibly new timeline…. These things happen, you know? But Jason and Donnie’s schedules have finally lined up for them to spend a morning making a grilled cheese sandwich. It should be simple enough, right?]

Might wanna take it easy on the laser.

[Okay, mostly simple]


Crime Lesson (Closed to Accelerator):
[As promised, Jason is going to teach Accelerator on how to be a better criminal.

Tonight, Jason is fully dressed in his Red Hood gear and perched on the rooftop of a store that’s closed for the evening. The meeting spot he and Accelerator worked out is within Backbreakers territory near a chop shop. Said shop’s lights are on and sounds of tools banging and whirring indicate the illicit business is open.

Jason isn't entirely sure how this lesson will turn out but it should be entertaining at least. He just has to wait for Accelerator to arrive]


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.))
levelshift: (exasperated)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-18 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
Fuck no.

[Look at them, a couple of liars.]

I just know them.
levelshift: <user name=karmasicons site=tumblr.com> (glancing back)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-18 02:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[The response Jason will get is a glare. He's right, random people you know generally don't go to that much effort for you unless you're friends with them.

Accelerator is quiet as he listens to the call, switching his choker back to normal mode. When it ends he tilts his head a little.]


That asshole sounded terrified.
levelshift: (what a pain)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-19 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
... You arranged the entire thing.

[So it wasn't just random chance Jason chose the toolbox, he set this entire thing up. Accelerator isn't sure if he should be flattered or annoyed he put that much energy into this.

................... Well. Either way.]


I'm keeping it.

[It's his now. He is stealing it for real.]
levelshift: (inquire)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-19 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Wait, what?

Accelerator stares for a second before shifting the toolbox. He has to let go of his crutch in order to use both hands to open it, but he's doing so, confusedly.]
levelshift: (so they've stopped cellular aging)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-19 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Blinking, he takes the bandana out of the toolbox.

Oh.

This is awkward, but it might just be him. Masks are clearly important to Jason, they must be super important in his universe, but it's such a far cry from nearly the entirety of his own life.

He isn't sure what to say. Masks are pointless when you're the strongest, because your infamy utterly destroys any attempts at a normal life? God, he isn't sure he wants to get into that.]


... Shit, you're really hung up on separating your civilian identities from your vigilantism, aren't you? I told you that isn't my style. I don't even bother using my real name. Anonymity's a luxury I don't give a shit about.

[Rather, it's one he's never been afforded and he has no idea how to handle receiving a gift, let alone one that's had care put into it. Especially when Jason wouldn't know about the significance of it all.]
levelshift: (sigh)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-19 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
.....

[There's always the chance Jason knows more than he's letting on, but Accelerator is pretty sure he's only being logical. He doesn't actually know he hit the nail on the head when it comes to a major aspect of the esper's life. Even if he's gotten a bit of a temporary break here, that's all it is. Temporary. It's inevitable that people will put together he isn't just strong, he's the strongest, and the fights will start back up again.

Jason is absolutely right. He's hot shit by some very strict standards and people have spent a lot of his life trying to take him down a peg. Where his logic fails is that whole bigger fish thing.

(Not to say there aren't people or things who can beat him - Aiwass comes to mind, Gojo as well - but they're few and far between.)

It's kind of hilarious how much Jason's got him pegged. Less hilarious is that he has a point, he benefits from a level anonymity he's never going to be able to get when he knows someone like Accelerator. When he thinks about it, it's kind of cruel, even dangerous, to keep him in the dark about that.]


I know.

[His legs are starting to wobble a little, so he shoves the bandana back into the toolbox. Closing it, he grabs his crutch and starts walking across the rooftop.]

That's something you have to live with when you know me.
levelshift: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/31999684 (first ranked)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-20 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
That's putting it lightly.

[He stops, looking down at the ground, silent as he decides whether to just spit it out. That's a rabbit hole though, there's so much packed in those stupid words, I'm the strongest, that he swerves and starts rambling about the science behind it first.]

Back home, the scientists that make us espers have a level system to categorize our abilities. Zero to five. Level Zeroes, despite going through the Curriculum to become espers, are basically the equivalent of normal humans. Even if they can even manage to manifest their reality as an ability it's too weak to affect anything. About sixty percent of espers are here. Level ones and twos can bend a spoon, that's about it.

[Exceptionally weak. Barely even worth thinking about. His tone is derisive.]

Level threes have enough power that it's convenient to everyday life. Level fours are the ones with combat ability. They've got tactical value in a military force.

[There's another pause.]

Level fives can take on a military force on their own on equal terms. There's seven of them in total.
levelshift: (what the hell are you even doing?)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-20 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
[It's a complicated system, made all the more so since there isn't an Academy City here in this universe. There isn't even an equivalent he can compare it to - at best there's Excelsior, but that's only in terms of technology. Excelsior isn't a closed, independent city. Excelsior isn't producing millions of psychic children, then forcing them to live within its walls and take part in experiments day after day.

There's a lot more to it, things Accelerator doesn't see relevant to the conversation at hand or want to get into. He's glad Jason is picking up the thread he's been laying down, that makes it a lot easier.

He turns to face Jason, spreading his hands a little, a gesture one normally does when they're talking about something grand.]


I'm not just one of the seven, I'm the first. First ranked Level five, Accelerator. Number one. The strongest damn esper in Academy City, and therefore the world. I'm so fucking powerful even the #2 and #3 don't come close to me. They're fucking insignificant jokes compared to me.

[He drops his hands, huffing, finally getting to the point.]

When you're the strongest people target you for all kinds of reasons. Maybe you threaten their way of life, or you're a stepping stone to some stupid goal they have. Or they just want the clout that comes with beating the strongest, there've been a lot of those kinds of idiots over the years.

[He shrugs.] Even if I'm not home my being the strongest doesn't just go away. It's not like I'm going around bragging about it, but eventually people are gonna put it together and start picking fights with me. A mask isn't gonna be able to change that.
levelshift: (unimpressed)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-20 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
That's fucking obvious. They'd lose.

[After all, you don't get to be the strongest without completely slaughtering anyone who picks a fight.]

If they were lucky they got to walk away with only a few broken bones.
levelshift: (tell me absolutely everything)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-21 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Accelerator doesn't hesitate in answering that question. After years of dealing with people not being lucky, he's desensitized to what happened to them, so he doesn't really care.]

They died. Either by their own weapons, or their internal organs exploding.

[It depended on whether they attempted to touch him or not. Either way, it was the same bloody outcome.]
levelshift: (sus)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-21 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
[Collateral damage? Again, Accelerator doesn't hesitate in answering.]

Yeah.

[Mainly when he was younger, and had no idea how to control his ability. Like those classmates who had attacked him when he was ten. They had been only dumb kids, ones who had thought they were going after a slightly-above-average child their own age. Not a monster.

The teacher who had tried to step in and stop things was collateral damage, too. And the members of Anti-Skill and Judgement who had done the same.

He pauses as he considers the Sisters, but... collateral damage requires a lack of intention. He had intended to kill every single one of them.

(Except the first, that had just happened because she fired and he wasn't paying attention, but he doesn't let himself consider that. It would imply he wasn't one hundred percent responsible for every awful thing that happened to those girls.)]


Of course there was.
levelshift: (hey LISTEN)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-21 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
That's the kind of shit you're in for when you know me.

[Like it's an inevitability, or something, because it is. His attempt at normalcy lasted all of five minutes before his reputation ruined everything and people around him began to get hurt again.]

I get what you're trying to do with the mask. [Even if actual masked superheroes and villains don't exist in his universe, he understands the premise well enough.] It'd make sense for most people, but not for me. My life doesn't work that way.
levelshift: <user name=patch-robots site=livejournal.com> (shrug)

[personal profile] levelshift 2023-10-21 03:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Despite everything Accelerator just said, he doesn't try to return the toolbox or the mask. It's stupid and he's sure he'll never use it, but he knows that it means something to Jason and he doesn't want to just dismiss those feelings.]

Careful? I'm the strongest, plus I've got the gun the other you made for me. [Yep, that's where the gun came from.] I'll be fine.

(no subject)

[personal profile] levelshift - 2023-10-22 16:54 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] levelshift - 2023-10-23 00:31 (UTC) - Expand