[Open-ish] October Oddities

[robintohood]

Who: Jason Todd 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.))

Comments

[welcome_summer]

What can I say? October is being October.

[She shifts and a... number of books slide out from her. Again, she pokes them back under herself, this time with her tail.]

There haven't been any other dragons this far out? Really?

[robintohood]

Not that I’m aware of. Why? Looking for some friends?

[Jason beings to cautiously approach her]

[welcome_summer]

[It's Red, and her hoard is for the most part out of sight, so Mayuko exhibits no anxiety about him approaching. She huffs at the question, turning her head upward just in case any fire gets brought up.]

Friends? I came out to get some space! Not everyone affected turns into dragons, but there are certainly enough that I'm glad my teleporter worked.

[robintohood]

Small favors.

[Was that a joke about her current size? Maybe]

What happened at Sunset now? Or you turned into that after getting to Central?

[welcome_summer]

[Sorry, she missed that first part when she shook some more books out of her pocket. They slide from her back to the rooftop, where Mayuko begins to arrange them to her satisfaction.]

As I said, October in Sunset Falls happened, again....

[She pauses for a moment, then siiiiighs. Her conscience won't let her keep secrets, even as a big scaly monstrosity.]

This time, it's candies causing it, from a new shop in town.

[robintohood]

Ouch. Hopefully that stuff's temporary.

[Jason eyes the books]

Nice stash.

[welcome_summer]

Three days, to be exact! I have studied the shop all month to be sure. And thank you. It is a work in progress.

[Mayuko drops her wings at his compliment. This definitely is not related to the spat of book thievery that has hit Central. Nope, not at all.]

[robintohood]

[Jason takes out his phone, quickly texts something and keeps talking to Mayuko.

Funny enough, he did hear about a string of recent book robberies]

“Work in progress” meaning you’re making a new library or…?

[welcome_summer]

It's more building up my collection. How could I show my face back in Sunset without a sizeable increase in my hoard to excuse my absence?

[She lifts a foreclaw, clenched into a fist.]

I would surely lose in prestige, and then I would have to thrash every last one of them to regain it! Just what I was trying to avoid!

[robintohood]

[Well this conversation certainly has taken a turn]

Would anyone actually expect you to come back with a hoard?

[welcome_summer]

[Odd October is odd. Mayuko draws her head back, and crosses her forearms.]

Yes? It's not surprising you don't understand, you haven't met as many dragons as I have.

[She turns to the skylight, looking down into the building. However frosted the glass is, there seems to be more than boxes in there. Hmmmmmm.]

[robintohood]

[Jason sees what she's doing and decides to keep talking to distract her]

Yeah? Do tell. Sounds like you meet them on the regular.

[welcome_summer]

[She can multitask! Talk and sneak a peek! It's a little like the T-Rex from that one book/movie, turning her head to get a better look inside, and fogging the window... although she rubs it with her wing to un-fog it again.]

I haven't told you about dragons yet??

[Her wings fan as she thinks, white ribbing on dark hide. Almost skeletal-looking, appropriate for a Halloween transformation.]

Ah... that memory you saw was from before most of them arrived. Yes, I met a few over the years, and knew about a few more. Most of them from the Napoleonic Era! An alternate Earth that had dragons, of course, but the course of history was still recognizable.

[robintohood]

So that era had an air force? Interesting. And you might wanna move to a roof without a skylight. You don't know if that thing's gonna crack.

[Or when the next wave of security devices gets activated]

[welcome_summer]

[The dragon's head swivels back in Jason's direction, and her tail begins to lash. Implying she'd crack the roof--she's not THAT large... is she???]

How very solicitous of you. Don't worry, it's not like I'll roost on the skylight.

[robintohood]

[Jason doesn’t flinch when Mayuko turns to look at him. It was already alarming that she was right on top of one of his family’s secret spots. He needed to maintain at least a calm exterior while he keeps distracting her.

He casually shrugs]

Just sayin’. Pretty sure there are some bigger rooftops too for your library.

[welcome_summer]

[Her only response to that is to snort. She doesn't want a bigger rooftop--her usual diurnal tendencies are at odds with this nocturnal creature's habits, and all she wants is a nap.

But then she freezes, nosetip to wingtip to tailtip. The gears of her mind don't grind the quickest, but she has her moments. He IS being solicitous. Of this building. He wants me to leave. Because. It's his building?... Or he's hiding something.

She immediately raises her energy bubble around herself, dark and opaque and impenetrable as she can make it, large enough to pace under as she considers. To anyone with normal vision, she'll have dropped even further out of sight.]

[robintohood]

[Jason calmly switches his helmet to thermal to try and see her past the barrier]

[welcome_summer]

[Her draconic body runs hotter than her shielding, for a change. She seems to be pacing around and grumbling as she thinks.

It doesn't take long. As much as she is loath to leave, it isn't worth tangling with Red Hood over what's meant to be a temporary stop. She's seen those swords slice through wings. And then there's her stance of non-interference. She moved all the way to Massachusetts to avoid butting into whatever Jason was doing in Central, just as she would hate for any non-residents getting into Sunset Falls business. If there's crime stuff happening in there, she doesn't want to know about it.

She sits facing away from him, dropping the barrier and spooling out tendrils to collect her hoard.]

Fiiiiiiiiine. I'll go elsewhere for the night.

[robintohood]

[Internally, Jason feels more relaxed now that Mayuko is ready to leave. He’s still refusing to acknowledge that she likely knows his dual identities. So long as there aren’t more major clues or leaks to that, some mild gaslighting could help smooth things over]

I can point out some bigger spots nearby if you want.

[welcome_summer]

I can find my own.

[That tail keeps on lashing back and forth-- with Mayuko's current angle, Jason's right in its way. Sorry not sorry.]

... while you're here, though. A question.

[robintohood]

[Jason calmly movs out of the way of the tail while still looking at Mayuko]

What is it?

[welcome_summer]

Could you explain to my technology-and-intrigue-novitiate self the... reasoning behind placing trackers on people? That may have been planted at some time by, I don't know, other people. It's a bit creepy and I'm not sure how I should be feeling about it.

[THERE. This is about as low-stakes a method to get some kind of answer as she could've wanted; better than trying to weasel an answer out over the phone, or worse, at the bar. She even kept it vague (for her standards). That should be worth something.]

[robintohood]

[Ah... Jason picks up on the implications Mayuko's question carries. He maintains his casual attitude though, not wanting to give away anything]

It depends. There could plenty of reasons why you got bugged. Why? You found something on you?

[welcome_summer]

Yes? That's why I'm asking why.