#atrcpain

[pngun]

@atrcpain​ continued from here !

The response catches him rather off-guard, brows furrowing for a moment as he cants his head. “---It can.” His mouth stays open for a moment, shocked by the truth that came so freely from his lips, a sigh would remedy it as a hand pushes his hair back. “I suppose one just grows complacent because you realize there is no other way. I wasn’t given many options in life to sway me from this path, and those who showed true kindness were always taken from me.” There’s a subtle shrug, “That is my burden to bear I suppose. I’m very aware of it but that is simply the way it must be if I stay in the position I’m in. . .and if I even try to retire, it will be in vain if I stayed in Gotham so I might as well try my best while I am still breathing. I just happen to be putting my time towards what I know will grow and prosper.”

[veratridine]

@atrcpain​​ comes bearing gifts: On rummaging through old artifacts in the store, she had found an interesting lamp sitting on a vinyl record. She purchased both, initially unaware of the value of the record until she chanced upon him mentioning the very artist the record belonged to, causing her to quickly turn it into a gift, packed away for when needed. And that day was today. “Happy birthday Jason.”

[♞] How’d she...? It takes a second for him to remember having mumbled about this day not too long ago, when he had one of his extremely rare moments of opening up to someone. But he also remembers telling her it means nothing to him and it shouldn’t to anyone. So why’d she gone through the hustle of getting him something? But now there’s that part of him that he’d locked up tight trying to escape. He’s touched. “Never thought you’d remember.“ Or even payed attention to the date he’d mentioned, actually. “But let’s not make a big deal out of it, ok.“ But he’s not going to turn down the gift, he appreciates the gesture, no matter what is in the package, though, something tells him it might just be something he liked. From the size and shape, he had a hunch and anticipation starts to rise. But he’s meticulous, so instead of ripping the packaging, he unpacks it carefully. And there’s a genuine spark in his eyes as he regards the vinyl revealed by the paper. “Are you fucking kidding me?“ What were the odds she found that one artist he’d been looking for. “DIO? Are you for real?“ For once, he decides it’s safe to show some excitement. After all, it’s not just the gift, but the fact she knew, she’d payed attention. Maybe he’s in luck this time and chose the right ally for once.

[one-eyed-queen-eto]

“ unique just means alone. ”

“A fair point,” Eto conceded, curiously watching the young woman before her. She always met so very interesting people, whenever she had the chance to leave Japan for a signing or book tour... It must have said something about her, that she considered (most of) the people she met in her native country boring or uninteresting, but the tiny ghoul didn’t care to find out what it was. At least, not just then. “How did such a perceptive girl come across my books, hm? You must surly have other things to spend your time reading...”

She wasn’t being patronizing; she was honestly, genuinely intrigued.

@atrcpain

[vicsmusehub]

@atrcpain​ said: “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

Ophelia continues to run as fast as her mid-heel boots would allow her until she finally catches up with the other woman. After a bit of huffing and wheezing, she shakily holds up a pitch-black volume. The cover is lightly dusty.

“You... You dropped your book, Ma’am...”

[brucene]

@atrcpain​ asked: ❝ something happened today. ❞ 

  THINGS that are hard to hear || NOT accepting 

~𝕽~ “Are you ok? Is everyone ok?” He’d felt the tension between the new titans and no one wanted to talk about training, Gar just said they’re slowly getting better, believable but also clear that there was something they all didn’t want to talk about. So when Rachel opened the discussion, he’s there to find out what happened, what’s bothering everyone and how to try and fix it. “Rachel, what happened?”

[veratridine]

@atrcpain​ asked: While Jason might be very open about killing, Raven was not. Still, it made her feel very hypocritical around Dick whenever he went on his 'no-killing' policy. "I'm not sure if you're brave or outright stupid for constantly challenging Dick" she says quietly. It made things tense, but she couldn't help but feel grateful that he was voicing what she couldn't. "I'm surprised he hasn't kicked you out yet"

[♞]   “Dickie-bird’s all bark.“ There’s dismissal of the issue in his voice, like this was no issue at all. To the outside it may seem that he is not the least bit worried about the constant fights he has with his brother, that he feels he’s safe, no matter what he would do. The truth though is exactly the opposite of that. He and Grayson had a complicated past with numerous fights, to the death almost, and a lot of differences in opinions. And the present was murky at best. The Red Hood was treading on thin ice, and he knew it. So then why was he poking the beast, pushing the exact buttons he knows will cause a ripple, a reaction? And a big one. The social answer would be because it’s fun. The real reason? That was more complicated than that, with deeper roots. While it is true that he does it because he truly believes in his own kind of justice and that getting rid of the more dangerous villains in a more permanent way is the right thing to do, the other reason, the more profound one, is also a more sentimental one. A sentimentalism he works so hard to hide all traces of from the outside world. He doesn’t want to be forgotten, be just another face in the crowd. He doesn’t want to be ignored by family, wants to make a name for himself, get their eyes on him, and, eventually, make them proud. And while he’s quite fond of Raven and they got to be quite friendly towards each other, he couldn’t tell her any of this. So here’s the usual quarterback-type response: “And more importantly, it’s fun. To know you can push all his buttons like that. Because, at the end of the day, we’re on the same side here. We’re fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves. And that we can both agree on. Even if the couple punches now and again seem to say otherwise.“ He wants to seem more certain in his conviction than he actually is. He knows it’s hard for a lot of people to see him as a friendly, since, in their eyes, he has crossed that one line that should never be crossed.

[veratridine]

@atrcpain​ asked Jason was charismatic-- just like Dick, but it was a different kind of charisma. Regardless, it made Rachel want to be approved by Jason, but the more time they spent together, the more of a lost cause it seemed. She'd slipped up-- once, and it seemed to have marred any chance of approval from him. Still, she did her best to try. "Hey. So. Are you and Gar training today again?"

[♞] “No. Why? Do you want to come and crash the show? Maybe break our bones while you’re at it, with those freakish powers of yours?“ The second the words leave his mouth, he knows they’re the wrong ones. It always happens like that. He’s hot-headed and he speaks whatever is on his mind, before his brain can tell him otherwise. With thugs and lowlifes, bunch he usually has to deal with, that works perfectly. He lets out steam and sass and they get the point that he’s not scared of them and they’re going to take a beating. Plus, girls dig a bad boy. But with making friends. Well, that’s when this habit is bad. No wonder they all avoid him, hate him even, they might. Nobody wants him around and that fine for him. He likes working alone. Even Batman was a liability most of the time, not letting him act as he’d like, hell, not letting him act at all. But, a part of him is aware that he’s only lying to himself. He’s afraid and wants to be accepted, be part of a group. But all his life he was rejected, stepped on, and it makes him defensive, it’s hard to trust people, and a part of him will always know that no one will want him around, not the rude punk that he is, not with his backstory, Bruce Wayne or no. So hell, better push them all away before he can get false hopes. He’s suffered enough from that. “Your powers are pretty cool though, if you wouldn’t try to get us killed and focus on the bad guys.“ He’s not going to apologize, that’s not who he is, but he can try and make things better. And maybe prove that he can face the thing he’s afraid of. Because, truth be told, her powers freak him out. “But I could go for a spar if you’re up for it. No powers though.“

[brucene]

~𝕽~ Too much had happened before their arrival at the tower, before his decision to restart the Titans and bring the kids here. And even though Rachel was doing her best to cope with all that and not make others privy to her problems. She’d talked to him, of course, if only briefly, but he’d never knew what to do or the right thing to say to help at that moment. Whenever he’d been in such a mood, or something terrible would happen during one of his patrols with Batman, Alfred would always silently bring him a piece of freshly baked cake and tea, despite it being well past midnight, or a new vintage record found who knows where, a butler resource stash or something, no doubt. And he was always grateful for these small signs of unsaid “you’re not alone, master Dick”. Though he had never expressed his gratitude through words or clear actions, he knew Alfred was aware of his gratitude. So, of course, now he would try and do the same for his protegees. For this particular gift he’d researched calming effects of plants and aromatherapy. He was having a bit of trouble for the rest of the team though. “Purple immediately made me think of you. About the guys... I was hoping you’d give me a hand. I thought of getting a record for Jason, but what could we get Gar?“ There was an ulterior reason for his request. He was hoping to get her out of the house, change her mindset a bit.

@atrcpain​ from this random ask