[OPEN Mingle] If music be the food of love…

[robintohood]

Who: Mingle post! Jason Todd (DCAU version) robintohood is also available in a separate top-level comment
What: Valentine’s Day season at the Descendant Karaoke Bar and Lounge
When: 2/1 to 2/13, before the February game event
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: None for now. Will update if needed.

[It’s early February and even a place as gritty and tough as Central City isn’t immune to the Valentine’s Day mood.

If one visits the Descendant around this time of the year, one may notice that some of the Gritty the mascot figures are holding fake roses and Cupid bows and arrows. Don’t worry. They’re safe. Really.

In addition, there are two types of songs getting a ton of play. On one side you got romantic and sweet songs such as Truly, Madly, Deeply, My Heart Will Go On, and As Long As You Love Me. On the other side is quite the opposite. These songs about heartbreak. A lot of them also are blow-out torch songs. Classic hits such as You Give Love A Bad Name, I’m Still Standing, and Should I Stay or Should I Go are getting performed with at least as much enthusiasm as the love songs, if not more. Even mobsters sometimes have rough love lives and need to blow off steam.

So whatever your feelings are about Valentine’s Day this year, come drop by for a drink, some entertainment and maybe a bar game or two. Chances are, you’ll be in decent company. Besides, what else could possibly happen in Central City this month?]

((OOC: Mingle post before this month’s big event! Have fun. Jason’s own top-level is right here. 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

Jason Todd (DCAU) | OTA

[robintohood]

[Meanwhile, Jason’s around and busy like any good owner. He’s taking and serving orders as either a waiter or bartender. He’s playing host, especially to the possibly shady VIPs. He’s checking inventory. The list goes on.

Sometimes, one can find him taking a break at the reading room. He’s not ashamed of his fondness for regency romances. Jane Austen’s novels are classics after all! Or maybe if you’re one of lucky few who are allowed, he might up in the attic safehouse.

Come bug him wherever he is at Descendant]

[purplexing]

[There are probably better places to bother a person than at work but Donnie's spent enough time holed up in his workshop alone that some ambiance and a change of scenery seems better. But after having two people disappear on him, it's taken some doing to get out of that rut of thinking that maybe it's not so great getting close to people.

Honestly, he's not completely convinced about it, but here he is anyway. Jason's always been pretty cool to hang out with. Even if his bar is way too bugged.

Donnie hasn't been back since they'd discovered those, but then he's been a bit busy- not busy enough to remember to check that his counter-frequencies are activated. He may be slightly depressed but that's hardly any excuse to be sloppy. If he's not held up by the bouncers, he'll make way for the reading room and without any sass.]

[robintohood]

[The Descendant’s bouncers don’t hold Donnie up this time as Jason told them that Donnie can be an exception whenever he shows up. They just have to let Jason know right afterwards so he can monitor whatever might happen.

If Donnie were to scan the building again for bugs, he’ll find that the bugs’ signals appear to be gone. After what happened last time, TJ and Jason worked hard to better insulate their listening devices.

It’s not long after Donnie settles himself in the reading room that Jason shows up as well]

Hey. Needed a change of scenery?

[purplexing]

[By the Donnie's picked out the first sci-fi title he'd come across, skimming the summary on the back to see if he's ready to commit. He'd done a scan out of habit because 'fool me once, etc, etc...' but even without getting an active number of pings, he's still making his own private little dead-zone.

He looks up when Jason makes his appearance.]

Hey. Yeah, something like that. You like going all out for the holidays huh.

[robintohood]

The customers seem to like it. We went way more out with Christmas.

[Jason sits down in armchair. It was time for his break anyway]

We make Gritty extra festive for that.

[purplexing]

[Donnie smiles crookedly at that.]

I've noticed.

[robintohood]

Good. I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.

[Jason gestures at the shelf Donnie was just looking through]

You came in right on time by the way. The newest donation batch came in this morning.

[unkindled_madness]

[Sephiroth is not a regular. He's been in a handful of times since Mayuko introduced him to the place. But he's been in Central more often in the evenings lately, and it doesn't hurt to stop by and make sure mead is still on the menu.

He wanders into the reading room with his drink, browsing the shelves for a selection.

He glances at the spine of Jason's book, out of curiosity.]

[robintohood]

[Indeed, mead is still on the menu given what a success it's been for Descendant.

At the moment, Jason's reading Twelfth Night. He looks up and nods at Sephiroth when he sees him. It's hard to miss the man given the height and hair alone]

[unkindled_madness]

[Good! Sephiroth will do his part to keep it that way.

He returns the nod.]

...have you seen that one on the stage?

[robintohood]

Only a couple of times, including at Loki’s theater last year. You?

[unkindled_madness]

No, I believe I missed that one when he was showing it. I saw The Tempest.

[robintohood]

Different genre but that’s another good one. Very dramatic.

[feathersandflames]

[It's silly, she supposes. She's been working at Descendant, but avoiding nearly everyone. There's no reason for it, not really. Mostly, Bette's just been feeling overwhelmed because it hit her that she was actually in a different place, and so she'd been keeping her head down and low. Working, going back to her place. Doing some light shopping while she tried to deal. It was easy to pull up a brave front and be excited that she had a chance for a fresh start, but then reality sometimes catches up to you once that first bit of exhilaration and adrenaline wear down.

Bette offers him a bright smile as she wanders into the reading room. She's been borrowing and returning books from there. Edith Wharton, today. The Buccaneers. It was unfinished, which she can weirdly relate to.]

I always seem to run into here, specifically. I'm not interrupting, am I?

[Sometimes when you're lost in a book, you want to remain lost.]

[robintohood]

[Jason’s been treating Bette as best as he could. They don’t have a shared past fraught with awkward tension or share a more direct legacy like with other Robins. In all honesty, Bette is one of the people Jason has an easier time getting along with because of the lack of history.

Jason smiles back when Bette enters]

Nah. I just like this spot for my breaks. You finished another book?

[feathersandflames]

[It's wild what that lack of history can do for burgeoning new friendships. She knows she's going to have to dip her toe into getting to know the rest of the Batfamily at some point - sooner, rather than later - but she's been on the fringe for so long that she can't wrap her head around becoming whatever the opposite of a fringe is. The sleeve, if this was a suede fringed jacket metaphor, maybe.]

I know Edith Wharton's never met a sad, tragic ending that she didn't like enthusiastically love, but this the one she wasn't able to give an ending to. Very meta, I know, but I find that weirdly relatable. Unfinished book, unfinished Bette. Though maybe it's time for something a little bit fluffier than Wharton.

[Most people wouldn't consider Bette a book nerd - between the constantly trying to become a respected crimefighter, remaining a pro tennis champ, and spending her nights partying, she gets why people in different circles consider to be some variation of an airheaded, athletic flake - but she does enjoy a good book. As long as it's not something she's forced to read for class. That's when the charm goes flying out the window.]

Or, I don't know, maybe it's time to give the reading a break and be more of a social bird. I used to be good at that, back when I knew my place in the world.

[robintohood]

[Jason nods. He’s sympathetic. For him personally, what he considered home over the last several years is harsh and not what most people like. But he understands he and Bette had different paths. Plus, he used to know what it was like to have a stable home. Deep down he misses that]

Take your time with it. Don’t force it if you’re not ready yet. Even after being here for a while, it’s still weird to think about how different and similar this place is. It’s jarring.

[feathersandflames]

[Hopefully, this one becomes some sort of stable as well, for as long as either of them are there. She just needs to figure out what that means, or looks like.]

It's like there are familiar puzzle pieces fitting into unfamiliar ones, which creates like this...half familiar picture, until something else gets thrown your way and suddenly you realize you're not in Kansas anymore. Or, you know, Gotham. Which hit me after the adrenaline rush of fighting a giant robot and getting hired here wore down, you know?

[It was refreshing in some ways, that much was true. But also weird. And though she kept on meaning to approach any of the faces from back home...well, she was going to need to be brave enough to do it one of these days. She missed the party scene back home. Maybe she needed to throw one here, on her own terms. Not control the narrative, as such, but the ball was in her court, and she needed to do something with it.]

But I'm doing the languishing thing, and I'm not Languish Girl, so I'm kind of over that. I know the gang knows I'm here, and though I've been dancing around the whole...actually interacting with them, I think it's time. Can't hide forever. So I was thinking...maybe a little bat party? Here, if possible? But if not, I can totally find a more neutral venue.

[robintohood]

[Jason listens patiently. While he’s not the party type nor even the extrovert type, he knows Bette isn’t like him and he can follow where she’s coming from]

Here’s fine. It’s one of the safest spots in Central between all of us coming in and out of here and all the extra security we put on the building.

There’s also the new building Dick bought. It’s not done yet but it’s supposed to be like a Belfry for us to use and live in if we want to. The shindig could double as a housewarming party if the others are okay with that.

[welcome_summer]

[On a fine mid-February night, Mayuko rolls up to the Descendant with not one, not two, but four individuals with her. Her mayoral security detail have been working hard this past year. Plus with some bigwig from Atlantis scheduled to visit the Alliance, they were all in Central. So after dinner, Mayuko takes them to (in her opinion) the best place in town. They take a table upstairs, with the main karaoke stage and the dance floor.

After a few drinks, the three ladies in the group sign up for the stage. One song each.

Waterloo is a warmup for everyone. Something fun, playful and bouncy, led by a woman who looks like she could arm-wrestle both Jasons simultaneously and win. It seems like the group has some unified steps to go along with the song?

Then Lay All Your Love On Me kicks in, and the moves get crisp once the beat drops. The languid-eyed lady leading must have some siren in her ancestry, because she has the audience singing the plaintive chorus back to her, reverberating down into the rest of the building, drawing more people upstairs. ~Don't go wasting your emotion, LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME~/~Don't go sharing your devotion, LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME~

Which means when Mayuko steps up to the lead mic and the riff of Voulez Vous rings out, if the audience members aren't thoroughly entranced by the songbirds, they are ON. THAT. DANCEFLOOR like they're auditioning for this universe's remake of Saturday Night Fever. Taking advantage of that peak Eros-energy. Mayuko herself is in full-throat, commanding and proud, her steps not a tad bit slow or sloppy after two full songs.

Once their set ends, the ladies take their bows, finish the drinks one of the gentlemen was watching for them, and join the second on the packed dancefloor. That's where Mayuko can be found nearly the entire night. She's spent the last month and a half sad in the snow so really, she has energy to burn.]

[robintohood]

[At this point, Jason’s used to Mayuko’s visits to the Descendant. It’s the extra security detail that catches more of his curiosity. Figuring she must’ve just come from something work-related, he subtly follows the party upstairs and watches them perform. He has to admit that they’re three of the more enthusiastic ABBA performances in recent memory.

He waits for when Mayuko’s at the edge the dance floor to greet her]

Yo. Business or pleasure tonight?

[welcome_summer]

[Even with her pact with Athena, Mayuko is like most of the Sunset Falls citizenry during White Hearts. More than a little Eros-touched. So when he comes up, there's a moment where she's still focused on the song that's ending before she realizes: Oh! It's Jason. Right. C'mon. Words. TALKING.

The haze clears a bit and she's brushing up bangs that are drooping into her eyes.]

Hey, Jay! Uh, it's a pleasure visit. Reaching that point where everything sobers up before Spring, you know? Gotta cut loose before then.

[robintohood]

[Jason’s taking mental notes of Mayuko’s current state versus how she usually is. At least he probably won’t have to cut her off tonight. She’s got company]

Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Seems like you guys have been dying to blow off steam.

[welcome_summer]

[Company that is clocking where Mayuko is talking to Jason. They have each been around before, at least once, when she's visited. One of them is definitely a Society member-- not a big name, but more than skilled enough to have a place working for a metahuman hub's government. She might have more liberty to visit places outside of Sunset Falls, but it still keeps its eyes on her. No wonder she's gotten so touchy about surveillance.

Meanwhile, Mayuko nods at his comment, more focused now.]

They're Sunset Falls natives, they've done the White Hearts thing or have things lined up later on; we all decided to do something different, for a one-year thing.

[robintohood]

[Jason vaguely recognizes the fellow Society member but they wouldn’t recognize him as he’s always made a point to have his mask and/or helmet on whenever he was at Society HQ. He also doesn’t miss how the rest of her company are observing him. He makes no sign that he noticed that though. Better to keep his cool for now and not cause trouble]

Aww. I’m flattered you picked here then. Seems like you’re all enjoying yourselves. I could hear it too.