#Damian’s entering his emo phase and I’m all for it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

helloblobbyblobfish · 2 years

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Jason the wannabe flower-boy

Story absolutely inspired by ivy!au by @cearamorran and Sweet Briar by Moxibustion (https://archiveofourown.org/works/30155091/chapters/74289489 ).

However, while both works are JayTim, I'm keeping it gen for now… I can read any batman ship as long as it's not underage (looking at some damian fics and variations of barbara/bruce), but I don't really care enough about any romance for any robin to search for it in particular. So, when I write about a batfamily member besides Bruce, there will be romance only if I feel the story NEEDS that ship to make sense.

First time writing Jason, and I've seen so many versions and interpretations of him. Thankfully, everyone agrees he is a soft boy. So I might have laid a bit thick on that. But yeah, expect the characterisation to be a bit wonky about Jaon for now. Everyone else’s actions are interpreted by Jason, so expect feeling like they are OOC.

It's first during a training session on a verdant mountain that Jason first realizes it.

He is fighting one of Talia's men. And kicking his butt. Talia needs better fighters. More loyal men too.

As Jason turns his back, his opponent rises up and takes a knife out of his sleeve. Usually, Jason notices that kind of thing. But today, he feels the grass and the bushes. Since he came out of the literal pit, he really likes the green. He thought the lazarus pit gave him extended senses, along with his rage, but he seems to have those moments of extra-perception only when surrounded by plants.

Suddenly, he can tell the man is ready to stab him like he is watching the man from the sight of every pile of moss around them. And before he can even turn to catch that cheater, the guy trips on a flower who decided she was going to be as sturdy as an oak's roots.

As he sees Talia running towards them and beheading the dude, Jason can't help but remember this flower wasn't there before.

As Jason was planning his return to Gotham City, he couldn't help but check for news about all the villains. They were newbies in town, like Hush and Anarky. Little fishes, for the most part. Sadly, it seemed that almost every big names of his time are still around. Calendar man, The Spook and some others were missing for years or were a shell of their former threat. But nowhere near enough.

Two-Face, The Joker and Penguin were still as free as ever to commit crime. Baffling. Why didn't his d- Why didn't Bruce kill those sinners?

As he's walking in a corner of a black market, Jason checks his new look. He isn't sure why he decided to have a white strike. Pissing off Bruce? Maybe he is just having his emo phase like B. Hopefully, he will grow out of it.

He is eying some nice berettas to steal when everybody enters in a panic. Jason's body goes on pure instinct and rolls out of the way a few seconds before a giant vine bursts through the wall, crushing the weapon dealer with debris. Jason doesn't think about the fact he can tell in which direction Ivy's plants will go and feels that they are specific targets to kill and simply grabs what he wants. Talia had proposed to give him money, but Jason had planned to use the criminal scums' own savings in his campaign against B.

And there she is, a majestic figure of pure fury. She immediately zooms in, and he holds her at gunpoint. She seems more intrigued by him. After a moment that is tense for at least Jadon, she looks satisfied and moves to somewhere else.

Jason could probably kill her, but he will attract too much attention, already, some people seem to go towards him. He isn't sure why. He runs.

If the vines seem to move out of his way but block off his pursuers, he doesn't acknowledge it. It would give too many reasons for anti-meta bat to hate him. Not that Bruce ever loved him.

Joker would be dead if that was the case.

Trying to work with the impos- with Tim was hard. Jason was getting along better with Damian. Having known the kid when he was a toddler helped.

But the worst part about Red Robin isn't the fact he replaced him. Apparently, Tim is the one who pushed himself into Bruce's life. Jason has a hard time buying affection-starved Bruce Wayne would push anyone but him, but he likes to imagine Bruce WAS saddened by his "passing".

No. The problem is that that robin is way too smart.

"Why were you able to tell where ratcatcher went as long as we were in Gotham Park, but you're now blinder than a bat since we entered this warehouse? And I didn't buy your comment about having a tracker one second anyway. You were way too far and I know your tech. You would have needed to press a button on your helmet to see where your trackers are."

How and when did Timothy learn THAT???

And he isn't going to say "I'm a meta and I can feel what plants feel." Tim would turn on him immediately. Oh god. Tim is hanging with paranoiac folks like Bruce, that Bernard kid, impulse and who-else on the regular. What if he thinks Jason is a clone made by Ivy. Jason knows he isn't, but would Tim, Bruce, heck, even Damian and Dick believe his words?

Time to calm down. Sad he can't meditate. It helps a lot with this almost surnatural anger he constantly feels. He takes deep breaths and tries to exhale without Tim's notice, if that is in the realm of the possible. The air in his lungs are little particles that need to come out the more silently they can.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jason remarks Tim is looking at him in a weird way. He seems confused. And longing? That's not possible. What does Jason have that Red Robin could want? HE's the guy with Batman's respect, superheroes at his beck and call and a civilian life!

Tim holds his arm towards Jason- to comfort him? Why? No-no! Please- when the red hood notices a swarm of rats coming their way. "DUCK!" He screams. Tim looks confused and shakes his head. Did he think Jason meant Drake? Jason actually has to grab the third robin to bring him to safety with his grappling out.

Once the fight is finished and a beaten blue and black ratcatcher is on the floor, tied up for the police, Tim once more looks at Jason. Jason tells him to wait for the GCPD and runs like a coward.

Shockingly, it's Dick who ends up exposing him. They are fighting one of his villains, a killer for hire like many others named Lady Vic. Jason first joked he was raised by THE best assassin's group ever, to Bruce and Richard's disdain but Damian's approval, when Dick asked for his help, but had to swallow his pride when she showed herself to be a pretty good fighter.

That's what happens when he is too used to fighting demons and working with a Bizarro, a Tamarian princess or an Amazon. It made him forget how hard fighting a skilled human can be. And Nightwing and he forgot to work with another enough. His brother- his colleague is jumping all over the place and getting close and personal with the villainess, stopping him from shooting. And Jason doesn't use his grappling hook that much anymore, so he has a hard time following Dick and the brit's ballet.

When Dick gets a gaping wound from a poorly esquived blade swing and gets distracted enough the woman looks like she can kill him, no he won't, not his big, nononononono. "STOP!" He shouts.

Suddenly, the tree next to the two guys starts to move his branches and hold the bit- wrong-doer the time Jason shoots her with rubber bullets.

Jason doesn't even care about Dick's look while he grabs his sibling and runs to their bikes so they can reach the nearest safe-house.

"You're a f*&$ing meta, Todd?!?"

"Language, Damian! Your mother didn't raise you like that."

The Al Ghul heir looks baffled by his answer, but Dick simply laughs from the med-bed he is resting on. "Don't worry, Dami. Jason is just a very prude dude who drinks milk at the bar." Jason huff. He saw enough of what alcohol does to a person to swear to himself to never drink.

This does distract him from his main issue right now, and that is Batman simply looking at him with no visual sign of emotions or making a noise for a quarter of an hour. He doesn't even bore through his helmet with hate. Batman is just inscrutable.

Barabara in her wheelchair and Cassandra Cain in her Orphan outfit suddenly arrive, with Cassandra holding a blue plastic pot filled with dirt. Jason doesn't even try. He is simply confused as to what's the point when he suddenly knows a jonquil is waiting to flourish inside the soil. He also knows "Do you let that poor flower in the sun? Jonquils like him don't like humid ground. And it doesn't mind the cold, but they still want some heat."

He's certain he is whiter than poor Deadman. Cassandra looks at him with interest in his arm and Alfred, since when he is there, Jason can't flee and disappoint Alfred. Bruce, did you plan that, musing he should let Jason help him in the garden probably gives him red ears, but he can't look. Too much shame.

Oracle grabs the pot and gets close. "Dick told us you have arborakinesis, which is" "The power to control plant life. I would rather use florakinesis, if you don't mind." A beat. "Sorry babs. I'm a bit stressed." He smiles and accepts the pot by guilt. Barbara doesn't look hurt, but you never know a Gotham bat’s true emotions.

Jason looks at the pot like it personally offended him. Damian speaks up. "Not able to control it, Todd? Pitiful, mother wouldn't have let you ignore such an asset. What gives, as some say." Jason glares at his baby brother.

"Well, maybe I was afraid of what you would think, always letting B look down with disdain and mistrust on metas and aliens. Maybe I was afraid that showing powers would be the point where you decide I'm too much of a threat and hand me off to Arkham or S.T.A.R.Labs! MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO BE EVEN MORE OF A FREAK!!!!" He is crying, so what!?! Stupid family who think you should always control yourself and not be flawed. He's too broken for that.

He looks at that damned pot, cursing the fact he's going to look dumb for not knowing how to make sprout a fickish flower, when he sees the junquil popped out of the ground, but it looks sick. It's hunching and the petals are crumpled and of a sickly yellow.

Of course. Ivy's a botanist. She makes fantastic fruits and beautiful trees. A guy like him couldn't make a normal, healthy flower, no matter what he could try. Cassandra grabs the pot from his fingers. He grips it so hard the plastic cracks. He drops the pot out of reflex. Thankfully, Cassandra has a secure grip on it already.

She says: "good… try.. better… next time." He can't bear to look at her. She's trying, but there is no way.

Tim asks, never one affected by emotions, a good soldier for Bruce, he could never hope to be, "So, Red Hood has Ivy's powers? Does that mean he has toxin immunity?" Even B looks taken aback by this bluntness. Damian and the others are horrified by Tim's words. Dick tries to rise up but is stopped by Alfred, while Cassandra stands between him and the third robin.

Tim raises his jands in defense, a look of pure terror on his face. "I'm Not planning on poisoning him, jeez!"

It's Dick who brings the next terrible idea. "Do you think he has mind-control pheromones?” Batman immediately puts on a gas mask. Same with traitor Red Robin over there. Jason is too baffled at the ridiculous concept to even care that some of his- That some of the batfamily think he would try to control them. And don’t Ivy’s spores make people attracted to her? Does Bruce think Jason would try to seduce him??? That would be incestuous rape! He lived under your roof, B! Know your damned kid! Jason realizes Damian, Barbara and Dick aren’t interested in wearing a mask at all.

Barbara even seems amused by the idea. Jason isn’t. Seeing his autopsy’s scar in the mirror every time makes him feel violated despite the fact it makes sense the mortician tried to stitch up a child’s body to fit in a casket, he isn’t interested in drugging his family.

“So, Jason. Want to see if your bad boy charms work alone or you need a little help to hit the bar?”

“No. Not with any of you.” You are my family, even if I don’t feel like you see me that way.

They are at a standstill. It’s Tim, again Tim, always Tim. He never should have tried to kill him. The kid is unkillable and holds his grudge as long as Batman, he will see Jason be exterminated, and someday Jason thinks it’s for the best. “In the warehouse. With Ratcatcher.”

Jason has never been so glad Tim is a mysterious little shit and he kept his own mask on. The look of panic on his face would have alerted B something happened. The speed his head turned towards Tim might still worry Bruce.

“Oh-o-OH.” Jason feels a bit like an idiot. “You think-” Tim nods. Okay. Jason understands so much why Tim seems worried and puts the air filter. If Jason made him. Barbara and Dick don’t understand, though, and are trying to goad him on to try to do his spores. Damian simply scoffs. “Well, ratcatcher is not exactly a man with a lot of mental training. Father can resist Ivy’s pheromones. I can resist Jason’s. He doesn’t even seem to control them consciously.

Jason turns towards Batman. He wants to see the other refuses, out of fear for his family. But no. “Why not, Hood. Let’s see what you can do.”

No emotions are visible on the bat’s face. They really are just soldiers to him. Maybe not even that. They are just a science experiment right now. Jason is, at least. He is just trying to see where he should put him.

Jason has a dark though. A terrible thought. If he can get Alfred and Barbara, maybe even Cassandra depending if her costume isn’t hiding a filter, to fight Batman. He can escape. He’ll have to run away from Gotham and probably spend the rest of his days scared of every shadow, but he won’t make it easy for this tyrant. He tries to remind himself of what he did in this warehouse.

He takes big breaths and imagines little things coming out of his mouths and getting everywhere. He refrains a laugh and imagines they are so tiny they can pass in the tiny cracks they’re probably in those often used gas masks, in the minuscule space between the skin and the plastic. That would be so cool if even Batman would start to love him again. Maybe there is a way of not getting people to love him that way? He could almost live with himself if he could force his father to care about him again.

But he knows it couldn’t work. Damian is right. Bruce resists Ivy, and she is much more trained at this than him.Breathe in. breathe out. What was simply him trying to produce a lot of spores the only way he knows how becomes him trying to stop a possible panic attack. To distract himself, he thinks about how Ivy does it. She kisses people. Ew. No. He is NOT kissing Damian. Or maybe on the forehead, like when he was tugging the lille two year-old in bed without being aware they were siblings on the father’s side on top of the mother’s?

Could receiving a kiss work too? What if he could produce his own spores through anything? He remembers a time where he was living in Wayne Manor and Bruce was kissing him goodnight after reading him some chapters of Austen if Jason had trouble sleeping. He really misses Bruce.

Jason is so stuck in his memories he realizes he is getting hugged when Alfred holds Dick under his arms to let Nightwing join the cuddle pile. Even Damian and Bruce are here. What. “Huh, guys?” Dick whispers. “You smell so good. It’s like you’re my favorite plushie from my youth. Are you Mr. Tiger reincarnated, Jason?” Wut.

Damian is the next to speak: “Don’t be silly, Grayson. It’s just that Todd is a very huggable person. Nothing to do with a silly child’s toy.” Jason Knows Dick. He gets sad every time Damian shows disdain for “kid’s stuff”. But Dick says nothing and just seems happy to get his nose closer to Jason’s body. Jason feels his blood having trouble moving with how tight Cassandra and Daiman are holding him.

Bruce mumbles something. Jason can’t be certain, but he was taught by “the world’s greatest detective”. It feels a lot like “Sorry, Jason.” But that must be wishful thinking on his part. no way Bruce would feel regret for what happened to him.

Suddenly, Jason realizes what is going on. He imagines the tiny spores disappearing and everyone leaves him, looking surprised and even a bit ashamed of their action. Alfred and Damian immediately move Dick back to his bed.

The only one who doesn’t seem to be stopping the hugs is Bruce. In full Batman costumes, he takes advantage of the fact that Tim and Barabara aren’t in his way anymore to completely cover Red Hood’s body with his cape while holding Jason tight in his arms. Bruce moves his hand on Jason’s helmet, like he is trying to touch his hair.

Tim looks intrigued and dares to take off the cowl. Even if Bruce presumably deactivated the defense function of the suit and is amongst people who know his real identity, everyone, including Jason, gasps at the bold move. Bruce doesn’t react much, but blinks a lot, like he needs to awaken.

Tim pulls out a torch and checks for something. Jason can’t exactly tell what, being unable to turn. Red Robin explains: “His pupils are way too dilated. Seems he is still affected.” Tim throws his own filter away. Bruce suddenly backs off. Jason realizes he didn’t even try to fight the mark of affection and stops himself to move towards the bat to continue having a hug.

And indeed, Bruce has the eyes of a guy who isn’t quite there. Jason got to see this look often amongst the poor districts of GothamHis nose is still sniffing around the air like he is searching for. Then, Jason realizes Tim is also shaking a lot. “Tim, why do you look like YOU are in withdrawal?”

Also, they were both holding gas masks used to fight against Ivy’s toxins. How powerful is his stuff? They were all affected, and rather strongly. Just how-

“I feel pretty cured personally.” Dick’s statement cuts through Jason's worries. What.

They quickly go through blood tests. The results take some time to be transferred and analyzed by the bat-computer, so the girls and Damian have left to help Alfred prepare a meal. Alfred seems horrified that people want to help him. Jason secretly beams that Alfred is always happy to have him to help but he doesn’t want the others.

The results are… interesting. Jason has no strange elements in his blood, but he has quite active meta-genes. Bruce thinks they should have noticed some signs of this in his youth. Thansfully, Tim replies that metas were a lot less common back then. Sure, they were known, as Dick had joined the teen titans since years when Jason was there, but most heroes were vigilantes, aliens or magicians. The term “meta” wasn’t even used for people like The Flash.

Jason knows that he probably didn’t HAVE an active meta-gene back when Bruce adopted him. Would that have changed something? Probably everything. Anyway, he is happy Tim is usually so smart about things. Bruce looks like he agrees with the replacement.

Alfred and Dick had almost no traces of anything in them. If the group didn’t know to look for little bumps on the red blood cell, they would have missed them. Because it turns out that rather than pheromones, Jason is actually expelling toxins. It appears those toxins enter the bloodstream through the skin and have a euphoric effect on people, and make them particularly prone to hug. At least, that’s the hypothesis before they do more controlled tests. The fact the toxins seem to be able to get through clothes with how small they are will make it complicated to not affect anyone located in the room Jason is in. Jason finds it interesting. If he can get criminals to try to get close to him so that they can hug him, he can shoot them very easily.

Barbara, Damian and Cassandra have some noticeable forms on their blood cells. It looks like pustules, ready to explode. Why they are more affected than Alfred or Dick is uncertain. Jason thinks he might be the distance between him and the others, but that doesn’t explain the worrisome results Bruce and Tim get.

Because, for those two. Well. The spores are so present on the red blood cell they seem bigger than they should be. Even the white blood cells have some noticeable marks of red on them. They were pretty far, maybe if not as much as Dick, and they were covered with their suits, which should be thicker than civilian clothes or bandages. They are completely unable to figure out what happened. But it scares Tim and Bruce to know they were even more “compromised” then the rest. They don’t even try to hide it. Jason is hurt to see them so unnerved by the prospect of Jason affecting them so much. He wouldn’t- Okay. He hurt them so, so much, in the past, and he will never be able to be truly forgiven by Tim for what he’s done.

But they shouldn't be acting like he is just waiting for the others to come down to put the whammies on everyone again. Thankfully, only Alfred comes down to “drag” them (and support Dick) and the dinner is a lively affair, even if most conversation is shockingly on light matters given this family.

The next morning, Jason is working in the garden with Alfred. He never thought gardening could be so calming. The repetitive snipping of the scissors as they keep the grass animals smooth, letting the watering can be filled with water. When they are supposed to pluck the bad seeds, Jason promptly refuses. “You won’t touch a single petal of those babies as long as I live!” Jason claims while putting his body between those poor dandelions and Alfred’s terrifying stare.

Jason can’t believe he standed up to Alfred. for flowers. Bruce wouldn’t dare to go against Alfred for crime-fighting, at times. Dear lord, here’s hoping he doesn’t get like Ivy or Swamp thing. Alfred has the look of someone who would stay all night the whole week to get every flower he doesn’t want off his garden while Jason is distracted. but apparently, Jason looks motivated enough to be a nuisance over such a “silly” thing. Why did he do mental air quotes? He is becoming Ivy…

Alfred Sighs. “Very well, Master Jason. Let's see if they are pots we can put those… babies in. Because I won't let them stay, but you won’t let them die. I guess the red hood will also need gardening tools sent to each of his hideouts to take care of the many children he decided to adopt. Taking after Master Bruce, I see.” “Bruce still got it worse.” “Maybe, master Jason. Maybe.”

Jason has never felt so stressed. It's probably an exaggeration, but it feels like he never had to do something as precise as taking all the roots for every dandelion and buttercup of the garden and giving them enough moisty dirt for them to thrive. Alfred left him to it, refusing to show sympathy to an invasive plant species. He is the only other member of the family who won’t hesitate to shoot a criminal. Jason respects him. To be fair, there is nothing about Alfred that doesn’t inspire respect, even if you disagree with him on everything.

And Jason is clearly the favorite. He shakes his head, thinking about Tim or Dick finding him blushing and beaming with pride.

When the sun is setting down, and Jason thinks he will soon be called for dinner if Alfred manages to find everyone before they go on patrol, he is happy to have just finished. He is feeling refreshed, and he has plenty of pots to put everywhere. Would Roy… wants some on his grave? Maybe he would like prettier flowers.

Suddenly wanting to train, Jason tries to find a place where he can feel seeds that would bloom into beautiful flowers. It’s hard. He has no experience looking for that. He feels like an idiot moving throughout the gardens in search of something that would get his plant sense tingling. Would that even work? Does “I want to find a plant” even work, given his powers?

He decides to instead cross his legs and try to summon pretty red flowers. He doesn’t manage at first. Closing his eyes, Jason imagines poinsettias and carnation flowers. At first, he doesn’t feel anything. He focuses on one beautiful carnation he saw once in a flower shop. The petals delicate like lace, the lovely pinkish red color, the round shape. Suddenly, he feels like something just grew out of the floor. surprised, he opens his eyes and falls on his back. raising himself with his hands, he looks at the place he was aiming at with his hands, and sees a carnation. It is smaller than the one he had in mind, a bit more ugly, but he goes in search of a vase to put it in.

Maybe Jason's powers aren’t so bad. Maybe he can learn to use them in small ways.

But the Red Hood is definitively sticking to guns as a weapon against crime.

#DC comics #my writing #jason todd #red hood #tim drake #bruce wayne #dick grayson #alfred #alfred pennyworth #the other are a bit too minor for me to tag #got many scenes set in that verse.#Actually started a story about this Jason joining the JLA #Talia is the most sane people in the whole batman mythos

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