[OPEN] Ha... ppy Anniversary?

[leastdramatic]

WHO: leastdramatic WFA!Jason Todd and you
WHEN: Throughout September, until the next mission starts
WHERE: Various locations. See prompts.
WHAT: Catch-all post for WFA!Jason throughout September and before the next mission starts
NOTES\WARNINGS: N/A for now. Will update this if needed.

Time sure flies when one has been trapped in a multi-universal hub for a while now. For one Etraya resident, he’s choosing to deal with his homesickness and melancholy in various productive ways.

On The Road Again:

There’s something soothing about riding a motorcycle down a road, even if one doesn’t have a specific destination in mind. Jason's riding his motorcycle throughout Etraya’s roads. Maybe for fun he’s riding along the trolley tracks and blowing past the car. See if you can catch his attention. Between his red motorcycle, his red motorcycle helmet, and the biker leather jacket, maybe he’s got your attention too.

Rooftops:

It’s nearly dusk and a certain vigilante in a red helmet is practicing his parkour. It’s not enough to just slide down handrails and jump and roll on concrete though. Pssh. That’s for amateurs.

Instead, Red Hood is parkouring across rooftops across Nova City. Nova City is as close as he can get to Gotham’s skyline for now. Not only is he running, jumping and rolling, but you may also see him fire his grapple gun and make long swings towards the next building. Enjoy the acrobatics? Or see if you can impress him by keeping up with him.

Shooting Range:

You’ll likely hear Jason practice his shooting first before seeing him at one of the booths. Judging by all the proper gear and appropriate stances he’s doing, it's clear he’s experienced with firearms. Judging by how many holes are near the center of his targets, his aim seems pretty good too.

Library:

As usual, Jason can be found at the library checking out what books he's in the mood for. This time, he can be seen checking out The Little Prince, The Secret Garden, and an anthology of poems by Emily Dickinson. Nope. Definitely not a theme here going around.

Wildcard:

((OOC: Got something else in mind? Hit me up and we’ll work something out! My contact info is in the journal profile and I'm the game's Discord server))

Comments

rooftops!

[lingeringshadow]

It's bizarre, having so much downtime. Sure, there's the general learning curve of being on another plane of existence, but she's used to that, so she recovers relatively quickly. In this odd liminal space between "missions", the place almost seems... chill, at least next to the chaos they've all been dealing with back home after the fall of Krakoa. Plus, she is oh so maturely trying to ignore the fact that her stepping disks are out of commission, and her connection to Limbo has been severed. That latter side effect should be a good thing, but she's having complicated feelings about it that she's been doing everything in her power not to analyze.

So. Rooftops. Stepping disks are out, but she's still got her sorcery, and that means she can float herself up to wherever she wants. She's perched on the edge of a building, legs dangling out over the open air below, when she sees someone bounding across the rooftops. The grappling hook is a neat little gadget, and she can't help but instantly think of Natasha back home.

Sure, maybe he's just some kind of Tiktok parkour bro, but maybe he's another superhero. She's heard that there's more than a few of them wandering around here, and she's nosy.

Either way, he's definitely got a flourish going on, and Illyana needs the distraction, so off she goes, scrambling up to hop after him, her magic giving her a bit of an assist.

"Are you off to somewhere special, or just showing off?"

[leastdramatic]

Despite coming from a world full of metahumans and other superpowered beings, Jason doesn't regularly encounter people on rooftops unless it's his family, his fellow Outlaws, or he's in Gotham. Plus, now that he's been in Etraya for nearly a year now, it's an even rarer occurrence.

So Illyana gets his attention quick enough.

"What? You don't usually see a guy swinging across buildings for exercise?" He says in a light tone. He's bored instead of annoyed.

[lingeringshadow]

"Not unless they're wearing a costume or they've got a camera strapped to them."

It's a little hard to tell if what she's wearing is a costume or not. It could just as easily be some goth club wear.

[leastdramatic]

Indeed, Jason can't tell for now if it's a costume or she's just a goth. He's fairly certain he's seen one someone wear something similar back home.

"Nah. No GoPro for me. Gets in the way of of the nifty helmet," he says. "Didn't expect pedestrians this high up here."

On the Road Again

[welcome_summer]

[Mayuko has finally had enough of brooding over the mission-- all the things she did. The things she should have done. It's time to get back to contributing to Etraya. Which in her case is figuring out how to train up chocobos in an everchanging environment.

Today's lesson involves staking out a spot in sight of the trolley tracks with her flock and watching the occupants zoom by at an incredible 10 miles per hour. Not close enough that the birds will dash onto the tracks in panic, but close enough to see and hear the noisy vehicle pass by. The lot get praise (and most important to them, greens) when they stay calm.

It's all going swimming when she hears a different vehicle coming down the tracks. From her seat on the largest chocobo's back, she shades her eyes to peer in that direction as a chorus of confused "warks" rises up. At least the big chocobo sidling protectively in front of the others should keep the rest from bolting?

If she weren't keeping a firm hand on the reins, she'd wave.]

((there's no books involved this time? check both their foreheads for temperature, stat))

[leastdramatic]

[As much as Jason enjoys speeding, he sees the flock ahead and slows down. Safety first and he's not an asshole to animals! Good thing too as he also sees a figure riding one of the chocobos. As he rides closer, he sees who it is and waves before slowing down]

[welcome_summer]

[The unridden chocobos stomp and rustle their feathers as the motorcycle slows-- it's stopping here, which the trolley does not do, but it's also getting quieter which is fine? It's something new, that's for sure.

Mayuko waves back before patting the neck of her steed. Katsu might not be stomping as much, but his response to scary things is "kick, and don't stop kicking." She directs him to turn to the side so he's not facing the bike if it stops all the way.]

Hey there, Jason! Looks like we're both out in the daylight today.

Wayne Tower Roof!

[copsormasks]

[It's been a while since Jason has been up this high and not immediately pulled the drapes. He's sitting on the gravel and looking up at the stars. He needs air, real air. Not air cycled through some processor a hundred times a second. His left arm is tightly bound to his chest, but the bruising and scars have diminished in prominence.

A red helmet is really hard to miss and Jason rolls his eyes when he spots it. The older version is so weird.

Rather than run and be obvious, Jason stays where he's at and calls out,] What the fuck are you doing?

[leastdramatic]

[Ah... now there's someone he wasn't expecting. Jason had been trying to avoid his younger self for a while now. It's disquieting seeing a younger version of himself and immediately be reminded of all all of the mistakes he's done and spotting all potential mistakes his younger self could be making. It seemed best that they avoided each other.

But he suppose they were bound to see each other again one way or another.

He expertly lands near the teenager]

Felt like a nighttime stroll. What about you? Bat-mandated brooding practice again?

[copsormasks]

Ha. Ha. [Jason shakes his head and looks up at the older version of him in that weird as fuck helmet.]

Needed some air. Some real air.

[He's a bit hunched over with the weight of his arm strapped so tightly to him, but he doesn't seem to care.]

You here to see Bruce?

["Nighttime stroll," his ass.]

Library

[bubblegumheart]

"Are you bringing one of those to book club?"

Naturally, Chrissy tends to be curious about what other people are reading. Occupying the library makes it that much easier to snoop on people when they line up to check out. For the last little while, she's been working her way through the available Stephen King titles- today, she's checking out The Shining and Needful Things.

Jason's relatively easy to spot even if they haven't spoken much outside of book club. Most people would probably lead with hello, or announcing their presence in some way. Chrissy isn't most people... and she's curious.

[leastdramatic]

Jason still mostly knows Chrissy as a fellow book club friend. Casual but not very close. He’s also aware that she’s become friends with his younger self but that piece of information was best left private given his family’s… eccentricities.

“Haven’t decided yet,” Jason replies. “Probably not the poems because that’ll sideline into poetry club. Maybe The Little Prince though since there are a lot of ways to interpret it.”

He nods at Chrissy’s books.

“Good movie.”

[bubblegumheart]

"Hey, poetry club could be really interesting too." But really, she's enjoyed herself every time she managed to get to book club, and she's not entirely sure about how many people would even be interested in something like that.

"You could always bring them both if you can't decide," she points out. Meanwhile, Chrissy hasn't even started thinking about what she's going to bring this next time. Maybe it'll be one of these, or maybe she'll end up bringing something else entirely.

She glances down at the books in her hands. "Which one?"

on the road again | length due to maximum ridiculous

[reincarnesiac]

Healthy management of post-breakdown signal sendings into space is, per Alex at least, to take her own motorcycle out and hit the streets. Aside from how she largely avoids Nova City itself for the plenitude of felines with a tendency to look at her like she was personally offending nine generations of their ancestors when she'd blast past, taking connecting bridges and the trolley tracks, depending on the timing between trolleys.

She hasn't driven at top speed while here because blowing past at up to 190mph is certainly fun but better advised on roads she knows. Except now she has a better idea of where to go, and the urge is creeping right back in. Not much moves quickly outside of the wildlife tucked around the various archipelagos, Hawks and whoever else flies like they've just been shot across the expanse of the contained sky, or another Etrayan taking their own vehicles for a spin. It should, in theory, be fine.

As long as she's smart about her timing. (Hah.)

It's much the same idea he's had, hitting the trolley tracks and cutting around the trolleys themselves, gradually increasing her speed as the switches between the two loops back at the central station. She's hitting close to one hundred ninety by the time she hits an alteration to the pattern just as she leaves Etrazim, passing the snakes and the WcDonalds without leaving the tracks (be kind to our slithering kings, Clea would have words if not) when the trolley that should have been well into Dewpoint is getting pulled backward by the bulked up companion bot who's been running one of the 'express' trolleys. Alex's eyes widen behind her visor, over the water and looking at narrow options beyond throwing herself off the tracks entirely to a watery sadness for her bike.

Hell no. She crouches down lower, resonating with the protocore powering her 310HM. Leaning back and hauling with her arms, Alex pops a wheelie, bike faintly thrumming with the energy she's feeding into it. In the last seconds before she's about to meet the bot, who has helpfully slowed down with a startled and extraordinarily soft voiced "oh no," head on, she slams her bike back down and onto one of the wooden support struts for the tracks, a brief burst of visible energy accompanying the flip of the bike into the air, slamming down on the roof of the trolley with a squeal of the tires on contact. Alex keeps it aimed forward, flying off the top and hitting the tracks again at an angle she wrenches the bike back from when it threatens to unbalance. She manages to finish out the section over the water before pulling off the tracks, cutting speed dramatically and sweeping the back tire around to end up facing the way she'd just come when the bike stops, leaning onto one of her legs and breathing heavily. Ducking her head to pull of her helmet, braided back hair flying all sorts of errant strands, she sets it down in front of her on the bike, beaming.

That was so incredibly stupid. Throwing both her arms in the air, she lets out a whoop of sheer incredulous relief.

"Score one for Hunter's Association tech!"

[leastdramatic]

When Jason decided to do another motorcycle ride around Etraya, he wasn't expecting much. More relaxing and and flow state than thrilling. In between missions, not much happens in Etraya. So it's a hell of a surprise to him when he sees from a distance something going on the route connecting Etraya to Snake Island.

First he speeds forward, thinking he should help somehow.

Then he sees the wheelie, the flip, and the landing. Soon, he pulls up near Alex.

"Holy shit," Jason says sounding impressed and flabbergasted by near miss.

[reincarnesiac]

Alex hears the other bike coming, so she's looking his way with her arms slowly lowering by the time he stops. His statement makes her laugh, her smile bright as she shoots back immediately with a laughing, "Right?!"

Then she lets her arms settle back down, her hands loosely on her handgrips. "Also incredibly stupid, but I'm going to take my wins where I can. Have you ever seen the trolleys start running in reverse?"

rooftops

[fieldtrip]

[ Toph is trying to get acclimated with Etraya, so she's spending some time just generally wandering around, convincing herself she can't be homesick for two different places and sets of people. She can start over again here, she can.

Some days it goes better than others, and it's nice to have a distraction. At the edge of her senses she can feel someone flicking in and out of existence, like they're taking to the air and setting down again periodically, and it has the annoying persistence of a buzzing insect in her peripheral vision. (It's also, just a little, like an airbender... but she knows better by now. She's the only bender around, always.)

Whoever it is never makes contact long enough for her to get a clear read on any details. After long enough walking through the city trying to explore and feeling that flickering presence, her curiosity gets the best of her, and she's stuck waiting patiently for him to come around again within her range. And she is patient when she wants to be.

That means next time Jason swings by, a tiny girl in green Chinese clothing goes rocketing upward from the street level and neatly hops off her earth-platform elevator onto the rooftop beside him. ]

What the heck are you doing? [ she demands, baffled.

The earth platform remains a narrow spire shooting up out of the ground multiple stories high beside the building. She'll put it back later. ]

[leastdramatic]

[At first, Jason doesn't think much when he sees the girl at ground level. He's used to swinging and doing rooftop parkour while there are pedestrians all over. It's just the nature of navigating around an urban environment.

As someone who trained and worked besides Batman for years, Jason knows to always keep his eyes and ears open for any surprises and be ready to counter them at any moment.

Then he landed on another rooftop and she suddenly shot up from the street level]

Ack!

[Jason jumps in surprise. Look, in his defense, someone rocketing upwards on a rock spire is not something that happens on the regular even in a wreck like Gotham]

[fieldtrip]

[ It's sort of gratifying to startle him as retaliation, but Toph isn't about to waste an opportunity when she has a point she wants to make.

She sets her hands on her hips. ]

What, you're allowed to jump around like an annoying insect, but I'm not allowed to ask why? These aren't your rooftops, buddy.

Shooting Range

[usedhuntersmark]

Vex has been checking out Etraya since her arrival, taking one section at a time. Today takes her to the area around a building where she can hear the familiar sound of gunshots. They're a lot faster than what she's used to, but she would know that sound anywhere.

She's quiet as she enters and watches the man/boy as he shoots until all of the bullets are expended. Despite the different shape and make of the gun, she recognizes it for what it is. And, well, she did spy a few of them during the time she met up with Vax while he was transformed into the Raven Monster by his powers being exploited by this world during his time there. However, it's not his hardware she's interested in. It's the target at the end of the track filled with holes all in what would be the chest cavity of a human.

She lets out a slow clap. "Impressive. Your aim is really honed."

[leastdramatic]

Jason hears Vex, safely puts his gun on the counter, and takes off his earmuffs before looking at her. He knows he hasn't seen her before but there's something familiar about her features.

"Thanks," he says with ease. "Been at it for a while."

He then notices the bow and quiver strapped to her back.

"Here to practice?"

[usedhuntersmark]

She notices the way he moves. Fluid, not an ounce of energy wasted. He's a killer, but he's so young. He reminds her of the way that sometimes Vax moves. (She doesn't know it but she moves the same way when hunting.)

She doesn't spare a look at the familiar bow at her back, but she does let out a slow smile.

"Not really. I was out exploring when I heard the gunfire. My husband is responsible for building the first gun on our world, so I was curious as to whom was here. This isn't exactly the same as the practice ranges I learned at as a girl, but I suppose this is rather close to it."

Gun Range.

[badnewsandshitlist]

The crack of gunfire echoed through the range as Percy stepped inside, boots striking in measured rhythm. He lingered a moment to watch Jason’s grouping tear into the bull’s-eye, a faint smile tugging at his mouth, equal parts intrigue and hunger.

“You’ve practiced,” he said, smooth and cool. “Most fire these like toys. But you… you make it look as though it belongs to you.”

He shifted the weight resting against his shoulder, bringing it forward into the light. Bad News was no ordinary firearm. The walnut stock gleamed with oil, brass fittings bright against the darker wood. The long barrel stretched uncompromisingly forward, fitted with a brass-and-glass scope that caught the lamps with a predator’s gleam. Along the sideplate, bold and undeniable, the name BAD NEWS was carved for all to see.

Percy settled the rifle in both hands, letting its sheer length dominate the space between them. His smile sharpened into something crueler. “I would very much like to see how I measure against you,” he said evenly, then let the words bite. “Although from here, it does appear mine is bigger.”

He did not fire, only let the musket’s presence weigh the air like a gauntlet thrown, daring Jason to prove otherwise.

[leastdramatic]

In between shots, Jason heard Percy's confident and deliberate pace approaching him. They're boots striding in a way that suggests the man doesn't need to be loud to exude how skilled he is. The man wants his actions to do all the talking. He's not like the dozens of hotheaded goons Jason has taken down. This really could be fun.

Jason can't help but smile when Percy greets him. He safely places his handgun on the counter and takes off his earmuffs before looking at him. His eyes scan at Bad News. By his world's standards, parts of it seem old-fashioned and almost remind Jason of adventure stories that take place during bygone eras. But Jason can also tell Bad News isn't some quirky ornament that would hang above a rich idiot's fireplace. He can see how well it's been taken care of. Its parts have been maintained not for show but for continuing usage.

Jason laughs at Percy's taunt, not at all offended.

"You know, they say that it's not always about the size but how you use it instead," he says with ease.

[badnewsandshitlist]

Percy’s smirk curved wider at Jason’s easy retort.

“True,” he said, voice smooth but edged. “But when you can master both precision and power, nobody is left wanting.”

He shifted Bad News into position, every movement deliberate, the barrel gleaming as he braced. His stance was flawless, a duelist’s posture translated into gunfire.

“Watch closely.”

The musket roared like a cannon, thunder cracking through the range. Smoke blasted forward in a rolling cloud, brass fittings flashing as the recoil slammed into his shoulder. At the far end, the target burst apart, the bull’s-eye obliterated and the frame left trembling. Shredded paper drifted down in slow, curling pieces, scattering across the floor.

Percy lowered the rifle with calm inevitability, composed as if the destruction had been rehearsed. His mouth curved into a smile that carried the satisfaction of a craftsman and the smugness of a performer hitting his mark.

“Another satisfied,” he said, pitched with just enough weight to carry, as though the whole range had been waiting to hear it.

Then his eyes cut back to Jason, bait sharp in their edge. “So, Jason. Can you top that?”