[Open] Marching to the beat of his drum

[robintohood]

Who: Jason Todd robintohood and you
What: Various antics as a civilian and as Red Hood
When: Throughout March
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: PG-13 level violence

Jason:

[The weather is gradually warming up and moods are lifting up for people! Well, lifting up for most people. For the owner of the Descendant Karaoke Bar and Lounge, he’s just briskly working as usual. Maybe he’s being less talkative and more introverted than usual but sometimes that’s what happens when one is busy. He even sometimes still puts on a smile to make customers feel more welcomed.

But that’s assuming people are following his rules. If otherwise, then his vocabulary gets colorful as he snarls out statements like…]

Pull that shit again and your brains get splattered across the floor.

[Okay, maybe how much rougher he’s gotten this month when he’s literally throwing and kicking out belligerent patrons might indicate he’s in a certain other kind of Mood. Don’t worry. He doesn’t usually bite.

On a note that can’t possibly be related, the 4-eyed black and yellow talking cat that used to hang out at the Descendant hasn’t been seen in a while]

Red Hood:

[The Backbreakers are as active as ever in Central City. They had a few setbacks over the last few months but that hasn’t kept them down. They’re maintaining their territory. Illicit goods are still being handled. The racketeering business is sturdy. The chop shops are always having a good time. If you ask a local in their territory, they might say the gang members are also friendly neighborhood vigilantes.
The Backbreakers are Society members after all. Overall, the gang’s recovery has been okay.

So in their territory during an evening, it’s possible you might see the Backbreakers’ leader with a couple of his people outside of a dive bar.

Though the Red Hood’s helmet hides his facial expressions, the way he’s whaling at a rule breaker might indicate he’s not in the best of moods at the moment. Blood splatters on his helmet also indicate how brutal he’s being tonight. He then drags his screaming victim by the hair across the sidewalk]

It’s time to get back to basics.

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. 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

[purplexing]

Donnie shakes his head. "...no," he says, pausing to clear his throat. He sniffs, looking briefly to make sure the clinic staff's not coming so he can pull his helmet off for a moment, wiping at the inside with a sleeve.

"Leo's been...preoccupied with things lately." And Huvrye's probably keeping an eye on Leo whenever he's not doing...whatever it is he does. Donnie hasn't kept much track of anything for the past few weeks and been out and about even less until tonight. He's starting to think maybe he should have stayed in.

[robintohood]

“He might notice you being gone soon,” Jason says, thinking back on his first encounter with Leo. “He seems like the type to stumble onto something, even by accident.”

[purplexing]

"He probably won't," Donnie murmurs. His brother's focus has been worse than his own lately, not that Donnie blames him. He has absolutely no idea how Leo's mind is working but he knows that even though things have seemed normal, they were in reality far from.

One more swipe across his eyes and Donnie pulls his helmet back on where he can hide at least to some degree from the rest of the world.

[robintohood]

“How close are you two?” Jason asks, thinking on about his relationship with Dick. To Jason, the risk to having a close bond with anyone is one could learn more easily what happened with the other, on purpose or not.

[purplexing]

The question makes the turtle visibly stiffen. To him, it sounds like a challenge of that relationship, even if it isn't meant to be. Maybe his answer made it sound like a dismissive thing, and even with no real intent in the question, it still feels like a knife driven into his gut. It severs whatever fragile threads had been holding him together.

Maybe he shouldn't be moving so sharply after just being treated for an injury, but it doesn't keep Donnie from twisting around towards Jason, glare unseen through that visor but implied with the ragged, bordering unhinged edge of his tone.

"My brother died in that stupid battle. I literally went through Hell to get him back," he almost hisses. He ignores the ache in his arm, swallowing down the threat of another sob as his voice drops to almost a whisper as he sags against the chair again. "That's how close we are."

[robintohood]

That… was not a reaction Jason expected and once again he finds himself relieved that his helmet hides his expressions and makes it easy to hide his emotions.

The mention of death and coming back from there also has Jason comparing his relationship with Dick to the turtles. Donnie and Leo’s relationship seems uncomplicated and undoubtedly one of love and care.

Meanwhile, Jason could almost imagine Dick rescuing him from the afterlife if he had been given the chance before the League of Assassins got their hands on his corpse. Dick is the Golden Boy of the family. He tries to see the good in most people and doesn’t have the same sort of cynicism Jason developed. Their relationship wasn’t the closest at first but Jason doesn’t doubt his older brother’s love for him the same way he doubts their adoptive father’s love. Still, it was complicated. Jason was the black sheep of the family after all.

After a long and not comfortable moment of silence, Jason speaks again.

“Then he’s going to notice,” He says in an even tone. “Close enough siblings have a way of getting up in your business weather you like it or not, especially older ones.”

[purplexing]

Donnie doesn't say anything. He doesn't feel like trying to explain, and a part of him would like to say that Red Hood is right. If things were normal, Leo would have noticed even before Donnie had gone off. Maybe he had been noticing, but then things have been complicated since he'd come back, and that's what Donnie doesn't know how to explain. It's part of what's been driving him crazy.

Realistically he hopes Leo notices. If this were home, someone would be bound to, Red Hood's not wrong there. It's hard for anything to get past any of his siblings. Donnie wants Leo to notice, the way he'd noticed when Donnie had been away from the apartment, burying himself in projects to try and keep from thinking about the things he didn't want to think about. Things would be normal then.

"...can we go yet?" It's a while before Donnie finally quietly speaks up again, feeling like he's asking for permission.

[robintohood]

Jason goes to ask the staff as he’s not looking to aggravate Donnie’s injury if he can help it. Several minutes later, he comes back.

“Come on. I’ll go with you to the border,” he offers.

[purplexing]

He appreciates that the man goes to check for him. At this point Donnie just wants to leave. The humans aren't doing anything more and the worst seems to have been taken care of. As tired as he is, this is the last place Donnie wants to fall asleep at.

Lifting his head as Red Hood returns, the turtle pushes himself to sit up again, nodding as he moves to get to his feet. Fine by him. He could wish for better company, but semi-familiar company is still more preferable to none.

[robintohood]

Jason leads Donnie back outside to his motorcycle. The sooner this evening ends, the better it is for both of them. Jason feels he’s done more than enough damage tonight.

“How’re you feeling now?” He asks.

[purplexing]

That seems to be the million dollar question. Donnie follows behind Red Hood and would have preferred the silence. Feelings are the last thing he ever wants to talk about on any given day, more so these recent times.

"I don't know," he says, and not completely in dismissal. It isn't that same blankness from when Leo was gone. He's just not sure what he should be feeling, and everything's just bleeding into each other at this point, none of it positive. Even the dull ache in his arm's meshed into everything else. "Tired."

[robintohood]

"Yeah, I get it," Jason says. His growl isn't as prominent and his tone does suggest that he's exhausted by tonight and then some. He gets back on his motorcycle and waits for Donnie to join him before starting it.

[purplexing]

This would be a lot more awkward if he wasn't so exhausted that he just doesn't care anymore. Donnie clambers on behind Red Hood, bracing himself as well as he can.

At least the guy's not intent to chaperone him home. After all this, the apartment doesn't seem like the place Donnie wants to go right now, but at least he has options for where he can crash.

[robintohood]

The ride takes about 15 minutes and spent in silence. It’s not just the road Jason is focused on. The guilt he has for hurting Donnie is still hanging on. It’s hard for him not to beating himself up over it. He’s supposed to be better than the thugs he fights, not be the same kind who are too reckless with guns.

It’s only until they reach the edge of Backbreakers’ territory that Jason stops and speaks.

“This good enough for you?” He asks.

[purplexing]

Tired as he is, Donnie manages not to doze off during the ride. His thoughts are everywhere and nowhere, watching the streetlights pass by. It's the most at ease his mind's been in a while, if only because he's too tired to focus.

It takes him a moment to get his bearings once they come to a stop, Donnie straightening as he looks around to try and get a grasp of where they are on a mental map. Accelerator's shouldn't be too hard to get to from here.

"...yeah," he says, the word almost sticking in his throat. He breathes a quiet sigh as he disembarks from the back of Red Hood's bike.

"Thanks for the lift," he says, feeling he had to at least say something to that extent. Not wanting to make it any more awkward for them, he turns to be on his way.