#Jason wonders if he should ask for the Joker's death | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starry-bi-sky · 8 months

Text

Childhood Friends Au: Jason

there's something burning in the empty room inside my head fill it up with doubt let it in, let it spread

When Jason gets Tim's text in the groupchat, he ignores it. And then a short series of buzzes distract him from a drug bust. It hasn't even been that long since he reconciled with the family, with Bruce. He thinks that perhaps he should have left it sooner.

He glances at it momentarily when the buzzing stops and he doesn't need to knock out more guys. He sees Tim's question dedicated towards him, and his response is instant, his thumbs flying over in response.

He doesn't care, he's trying to patrol.

(He does not have Danny's number in this phone, it's new. A model from this year rather than one from four years ago. He wants that old phone back. He hasn't even looked at their old letters yet.)

(Jason bets that they've been packed away in storage with the rest of his things. He doesn't want to visit the manor, but maybe he should. Just to find those letters again. He's not sure if he's allowed to.)

And then Tim says its Danny, and Jason flies up to the past texts to find the photo before he can think. And then there is Danny staring right at him again, with the same old smile on his face that he always aimed at people. Lopsided, Danny's favorite kind of smile.

Something old, something new. He's got piercings, and his eyes are as blue as they've ever been. He has an undercut, it looks self-done. It looks good. He looks tired.

Danny's good at hiding things from people, it comes with the purchase of being a street kid. But Jason can't have someone else's back without knowing the ins and outs of the person in question. Jason knows when Danny is tired, and Danny knows when he is too.

Before his death, whenever Danny came over he never missed a beat in telling Jason that he looked like shit. Were Bruce's fancy rich-people, cloud-made mattresses too soft for him? He can find him a moth-eaten street mat for him if he needs it. It'd be like the good old days.

(Jason wishes he could have told him he was Robin, but it wouldn't be safe.)

Jason had to see him with his own eyes, had to confirm with his own eyes just how much Danny had changed. It's just his luck -- if he has any left -- that he arrives to Bruce's dumb gala just as Danny steps out onto their once-shared, west-end balcony.

He drops down, something heavy in his throat, before he can properly think it through. Danny looks up before his feet even touch the ground, like he knew he was there. Jason wonders if he did. There is a cigarette in Danny's mouth. Something old. And something flashes in his eyes that Jason cannot place. Danny looks tense.

Jason feels like he's made a mistake.

In the end, watching Danny walk away feels a lot like Jason is losing something -- or is he missing something? Is it both? He wants to reach out, grab Danny's arm, but his feet are glued to the balcony floor. There are so many things he wants to say, but his tongue has glued itself to the roof of his mouth. Something has crawled into his mouth and died.

So much has been said with so little words. He wants to spin Danny around and ask him so many questions.

What do you mean you spoke to my ghost?

What do you mean I told you the Joker killed me?

What else have I told you?

The Fentons were right?

What happened while I was gone?

Why are you scarred? Where did those come from?

(He is not blind. He saw those silver lightning scars etched into his best friend's skin, saw that it disappeared under his sleeves. Danny did not have those the last time Jason saw him, the last time he was alive.)

(The sight of it makes him alight with murderous intent. He wants to take his best friend by the front of his shirt and shake him -- who did this to you? Who did it? Tell him, he will fix it.)

(But he can't. He doesn't. Doing that means revealing who he is. It means telling his best friend that he has been alive for the last five years and he did not tell him. It would mean telling his best friend that he did not want him to know.)

You're going to kill the Joker for me?

What have I missed?

What do I not know?

You look so tired.

But before he can even get his mouth to move, Danny is gone back inside. The door swinging open, music once muffled now blaring out for only a few seconds before Danny is slipped back inside.

And Jason is left on the balcony, alone, with more questions than he thought he would have. He stares at the broken cigarette on the ground, it feels like a metaphor for something. Jason can't figure out for his second life what it is.

Maybe it's not a metaphor at all, maybe the curtains are sometimes just blue. Maybe sometimes your best friend just tells a vigilante that he is going to murder someone; that he is going to avenge his best friend with his bare hands and feel no remorse for it.

It is what Jason wants Bruce to do, wants someone who loves him to do. But he's not sure if its something he wants Danny to do. Not when he has been living a normal life -- or as normal as it could be -- without hide nor tail knowledge of what Jason used to do, or what he does now.

What have I missed?

Danny. He's missed Danny. He didn't look into Amity Park out of fear of what he'll find; of what he might do. But now Jason thinks he might have to.

Danny has talked to his ghost. Danny is going to kill for him. He has that look in his eyes that Jason knows so familiar; the one where he needs Jason to play distractor while he stole something from the corner store. The one where he looks a kid five years his senior in the eyes and kicks him in the dick because he cornered him and Jason, itching for a fight.

There's a look so familiar in his eyes; the one of a boy that's set his mind to something and he is going to do it. He can't call it the eyes of a cornered animal, because Danny has never been cornered, not when he's been with Jason. He calls it the eyes of a boy about to do something he will never regret.

He watches him leave with the Vlad Masters guy. He hides atop the roof and eavesdrops. The paparazzi have since left now that it was much later in the night; they are not the bigger fish, even if they sometimes parade it to be.

"I thought I told you to make nice." Vlad Masters scowls as he walks to the other side of the sleek black limousine. "To not embarrass me."

Jason frowns at the way he talks. His fingers itch, and something old lurches in his chest: the same old protectiveness that he used to feel whenever he and Danny were about to get into a fight. And then, later, when they would stand inside Bruce's galas with people who couldn't care less if they breathed or died.

Danny scowls right back at him, all venom and bite, and leans against the side of the car. "I did make nice -- as nice as I could when you dragged me here."

Vlad Master rolls his eyes, huffing. Jason's frown only deepens. It's not easy to make Danny do anything he doesn't want to. His sister has tried, so have his parents, as well as his teachers. But Danny is wild and so is Jason. Rebellion and disobedience -- no, independence -- cut into them from the streets like its broken glass.

Jason doesn't remember Danny ever mentioning knowing a Vlad Masters. They must have met after Jason died, then. He doesn't like him. He's the same as all the other socialites in that party. There is a greed in his eyes that Jason knows rots down to the core of him.

"I thought you would enjoy being here, little badger." Masters tries, and his tone makes Jason ruffle. As does the nickname. Danny's scowl only ever deepens, his fingers curling to dig nails into his palms. He looks at Masters like he wants him to burst into flames. "You are friends of the Waynes, I thought you would like the little reunion."

"Whether I did or didn't is none of your business." Danny says. The door clicks open on Masters' side, as if they remembered that they were on the street rather than in the car. Masters climbs into the back, and Danny opens the door. He only reaches in though, and pulls out a old hoodie.

Danny pulls it over his head, and his vest and button-down are hidden underneath it. "Don't wait up you old fruitloop, there's someone here I need to see." And he slams the door shut with more force than necessary.

(Jason makes a mental note to look into Vlad Masters. Who is he to Danny. How did they meet? There is an old animosity between each other that Jason has never seen before. Not even when they were on the streets. Not to this extent.)

Jason's heart seizes up. Danny's reminder early surges to the front of his mind. Right. That's right. He's going to go see him. Jason. He is going to lay flowers on his grave. He remembers that Jason likes zinnias. There are no florists open this late at night, Jason thinks.

He follows Danny from the rooftops. Danny sticks close to the buildings, slipping in and out of shadows. Jason wants to know where he learned how to do that. Where did he learn how to move without a sound?

Five years is a long time to be away from someone, Jason thinks. Something that fills him with dread. Five years is a long, long time. He's afraid that it's been too long. Will he still know Danny like he used to, if he asks? And if he doesn't?

More, more, more. More questions than answers. More things that Jason doesn't know about someone he used know to like the back of his hand. It scares him, and he hates it.

(There is scarring on Danny's hand that Jason has never seen before. Maybe that's the metaphor he was missing before. Maybe there are still more.)

Danny moves like a ghost down Gotham's streets, his hands shoved into his pockets without a care in the world. It is confusing. It is concerning. It is proof that more things have changed than Jason likes.

Danny somehow finds a florist open at this time of night, and buys a bouquet. And like he told the Red Hood, he buys zinnias. Reds and yellows. For a moment, Jason thinks that Danny knows. He wonders if he does.

What would he have told him, if he was a ghost? He told him that the Joker killed him. Maybe that means he told Danny he was Robin too, like he always wanted to. But couldn't, because it wasn't safe, and it wasn't just his secret to tell?

Why has nothing changed, now that he was alive again?

"Did you know," Danny starts, when he sits down at Jason's grave with flowers slipping gently from his fingers, before the tombstone below. Jason is as close as he can without being seen, hiding like a ghost. "That red zinnias mean stead beating of a heart?" He smiles sardonically, "You picked quite the flower, Jay."

(There is an echoing in his ears, Danny's voice faint in the back of his mind. Ghosts can hear you when you speak to their grave, did you know? Jason can hear him better than he should.)

Jason knows the irony. Perhaps it's got double the meaning now, now that he's alive again. Danny doesn't know that though, sitting before his grave with flowers that symbolize a beating heart. Between the two of them, Jason thinks that the only heart here is Danny.

(Between the two of them, the only heart here is one that's made between the two of them.)

"Yellow zinnias," Danny continues, resting his chin in his hand, "mean daily remembrance." His smile tilts on the axis of his mouth, a wrinkle between his brows. He looks pained. Hurt. There is no comment made. Like it doesn't need to be said.

Jason thinks he can hear it anyways, and his heart twists like someone took it and twisted it like a rag, trying to drain the dirty water out of the cloth. He hurts.

I miss you. Is what he hears. Is what Danny doesn't say. Is what Jason knows he's thinking anyways.

I am right here. Is what Jason wants to say, but doesn't. He is right here. But his feet are grave-bound to the floor, and a part of him feels like he's clawing out his own grave again. But the dirt falling is endless and merciless. He can't get free.

He bites his tongue, a lump in his throat. Shame wells in his heart and Jason wants to shrink away from this. His feet are grave-bound to the floor.

"I'm sorry for not visiting sooner." Danny says, hand dropping out of his chin to pick at the ends of his sleeves. His smile fades into a frown. His voice wobbles. "I'm sorry, I don't have an excuse. I should have."

Please don't be. Jason thinks. He doesn't think he can be upset about it, not when Danny is laying yellow flowers on his grave that mean remembrance. i think of you daily. Not when Danny was going to kill the Joker for him.

Jason still doesn't know what to think of that. He still isn't sure if it's real or not.

"I went to one of Bruce's galas today." Danny says, and Jason knows. He saw him there. Danny smiles weakly. "I know, right? First time in five years. Vlad dragged me along, you remember him right?"

No, I don't. Jason thinks, and he feels a flutter of anxiety. A sense of impending doom. A choking dread. What else have I missed? He thinks again. Why doesn't he remember? Danny told him about Vlad, but it can only be from when he was a ghost. How long was he a ghost before he was revived? How often did he and Danny speak?

Jason doesn't like not knowing things, he doesn't like not knowing things about himself.

It would be so easy, a little voice whispers, to reveal himself now. To step forward and take his helmet off. To tell Danny that he was alive. To demand answers that only Danny could know.

But then what? When Danny inevitably asks his own questions? About how long Jason's been alive? Why he was dressed the way he was? Why he didn't say anything earlier, on the balcony?

(But he did say it earlier, when he offered Danny the cigarette and silently asked him for his thoughts.)

Jason is afraid of what Danny might think of him, if he tells him what he's done. About the blood on his hands and the bridges he's burned. What if telling him is just more gasoline on another bridge, with Danny holding the match? He stays silent. Fear is a powerful motivator. It's a powerful deterrent, too.

"The asshole blackmailed me into coming." Danny says, drawing his knees up to his chest. He looks disinterested. Annoyed, actually. Like what he is saying isn't sending alarm bells through Jason's mind. Like what he's saying doesn't concern him. "It's really dumb, actually."

He sighs, long and tired. There is grief etched into every line and pore in his face. "I could have handled it without even needing to come to the gala, I've done it before." He mutters when his eyes open. His fingers brush against the petals of the bouquet.

(And that only sends more alarm bells ringing in Jason's mind. Red lights blaring. Distress fills the cavity of his lungs. What has he missed?)

"I only agreed because I missed you," Danny says, "and Bruce. He invited me to come over sometime soon, to catch up. I agreed and I'm not sure why I did."

Jason didn't know that.

Danny continues talking. Jason listens in dutifully. He feels like a stranger imposing on his own grave. It's ridiculous. It makes sense. He feels like he should slink away and let Danny talk to his grave in peace. He cannot bring himself to move.

If he closes his eyes, he can pretend that he's sitting in front of him, like it's the good old days and they're back in Jason's room in the manor. Staying up late and trading stories back and forth. Sneaking out to the balcony and climbing onto rooftops they’re not supposed to go on.

Jazz is getting her psychology degree. Him and Sam had a big fight a few years ago, but they’re better now. Tucker wants to start his own tech business.

And on and on Danny goes, rambling about every little thing he can think of in the last five years since they last talked. He jumps back and forth between topics, when he remembers something he cuts to it. And then jumps back off to the next thought passing through his mind.

"I don't know what I want to do." Danny says, finally, after he exhausts every other topic to talk about. "I wanted to be an astronaut, but now I'm not so sure." His knees draw up to his chin, and he looks so sad. He looks nineteen. Small despite his size.

Were they really just nineteen, verging on twenty? Jason feels older among his years. Fourteen feels so far away.

Danny breathes in slowly, it's a sound that trembles. From where he stands, Jason sees Danny's eyes film over with tears. He makes a choked out sound that sounds like a terrible mix of a laugh and a sob.

"Where did you go?" He whispers. He tries to smile, and it is this pained, awful thing that drops within a second. Fingers clutch at his legs, diggings wrinkles into the fabric. "I know you're still here. Where did you go?"

There is no answer. Guilt is an animal with claws, and it burrows into Jason's heart to make itself home between the tendons. Tears slide from Danny's eyes down his cheeks. He still cries for him, five years later. Five years after. Jason feels worse.

"I haven't stopped looking for you." Danny continues, his voice cracks, and the words run over Jason's ears like water sliding off a duck's back. He doesn't hear it at first -- no, he doesn't understand it at first. And then when he does, he plunges his hands into the waters of his mind to drudge it back up.

You're looking for me? Do you know I'm alive?

It's another question to Jason's never-ending list.

"You might as well tell me where you are now." He smiles again; tries to. It wobbles, lips pulling back to show teeth as more tears spill over and carve red marks down Danny's face. "Or I'll find Cujo and sick him on you. He's gettin' real good at tracking things you know."

Jason doesn't know who Cujo is. But it sounds like a dog. He knows Danny's always wanted one, but their apartments would never allow it. It's not like his parents could afford one either.

There is a silence that hangs over them, with only the sound of the city around them. Danny seems to tremble more and more as each second passes, until finally a bubble pops. His smile drops, and so do his knees that were pressed into his chest.

He doesn't say a thing, not with words anyways. He hunches over and hugs himself with nails that dig into his elbows, failing to stifle a years' old grief. Jason wants to flee, lest he breaks his word to himself and steps out to console and dry Danny's falling tears. It feels like a betrayal unto himself to only stand there and watch him drown in his grief.

Guilt is a thing with claws, and Jason leaves the cemetery with hatred eating his tongue. Danny deserves the privacy that a ghost cannot give him. Jason may no longer be a ghost, but he is still the next best thing. either way I'm left holding onto the shovel and rope digging in the dirt finding bones, finding ghosts

#dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dpxdc #danny fenton is not the ghost king #dpxdc crossover #childhood friends au #dead on main #really thought long and hard about whether or not danny should kill the joker in this update #but that feels too soon #i feel like a few more things would need to be established before the Joker's inevitable end #so this is not half as long as the first part but this also only addresses the immediate aftermath of Red Hood's meeting with Danny #rather than spanning over multiple years building up Jason and Danny's relationship and jason's death and danny's return to gotham #word count: 3k #i'm a little disappointed i wanted to get to 9k like before but i think Jason's pov deserves a little more attention on its own #im still unsure of whether or not i should have added more or not

402 notes · View notes

heart4reigns · 1 year

Note

i wanted to know if i could ask for a Roman Reigns x fem reader imagine. Like based off that one tiktok sound, ‘are you in the mafia? Am i in the what?’ although he’s most definitely in the mafia lol

UNDERGROUND PROBLEMS, roman reigns.

warnings: cigarettes, alcohol, guns, violence, curse words, blood, slight age gap, pet names, creepy dude trying to flirt with you

tags: owww mafia roman in action.. i need him

summary: maybe it's okay to be suspicious of your rich boyfriend

THE sun was literally on top of your head. it was a great thing that you decided to buy an extra pair of sunscreen because the sun was going to be the death of you. the wind tingled your skin as you breathed out the fresh air. "hey, do not provoke me, i'll beat your asses in volley if i can!" you heard your boyfriend yelling at his cousins. "they're still going?" you asked. "looks like they're not stopping anytime soon." he chuckled. "a private beach, jimmy, jey, and solo. doesn't sound like a good combination to me."

yes. a private fucking beach. you told him you wanted to go to the pier for a date, but again, he just had to do something out of your reach–your boyfriend, roman, had a private beach near his house. you knew dating him was an extraordinary experience, he was very extra. at certain times you wondered about his life and why he didn't like going out to public places. "i hate crowded places." was always his answer.

you started dating him 6 months ago. the two of you met in a bar, for your best friend's brother farewell party. it was a stretch but hey, you could never decline free drinks. the two of you hit it off right away, finding similarities that you thought was kind of weird at that time. you were the polar opposite of him when you first met. he was intimidating, of course, he had the figure of a man you wouldn't mess with. but when the two of you started talking, he was a totally different person.

ever since your first meeting, your days were never filled with mundane things. sure, he was rich, but the way he treated you, it was like something that came out of the movies. he gave you the full princess treatment, even if you didn't ask for it. roman showered you with love, gifts, affection, and everything you could ask for. you were very lucky to have him in your life and he was very lucky to have you too.

"how are you enjoying this, baby?" he asked, tying his hair. "i love it, thank you, love." you looked at him with a smile. "although, you went very extra with it, i should know by now." you chuckled. roman held your head and kissed your forehead. "you deserve good things in life, baby." the warmth of his love gave you nothing but happiness. he was genuine and it showed. you couldn't help but to wonder about his daily life with you knowing only a little about his life.

you felt the sun disappear for a second. someone was standing in front of you. it was his personal assistant, paul. "sorry to bother you, but you have a call, chief." roman looked confused for a second. "i told you i'm not accepting any calls if i am with (y/n)." "it's from hunter, chief." he immediately let go of his embrace. "babygirl, how about you play with them? i have a very important call." you pouted. "okay."

"(Y/N)! FINALLY! SOLO SUCKS ASS, WE NEED ANOTHER PLAYER."

weekdays came and you were back in you class. not to study, but to teach. you were a college lecturer, teaching criminology. you loved your job and you loved your students. "good morning, as i promised after your finals, we're going to watch a movie." your class was filled with excitement. "jason suggested we watch joker, but no one voted for that movie. sorry jason." you let out a laugh. "asuka suggested the shining, with the highest votes, we are going to watch that today."

"these kids will be the death of me." the lecturer lounge was empty, leaving only your best friend and old college buddy, seth. he was practically your wingman in every scenario. he taught english literature, which was the class next to you. "looking rough, buddy." you chuckled at his distressed hair. "they beat my ass in word games. i'm devastated." he groaned, taking a seat in front of you. "where you going after this?" "home, i have to check their finals." he nodded. "well, stay safe. i think i might be sleeping here."

you checked the time, it was 11 pm. to your luck, roman was going to pick you up in 15 minutes. you pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. it was a bad habit, you knew–but a single cigarette after every lesson was something to look forward to. as you were walking outside the campus ground, you heard footsteps behind you. you felt goosebumps as you looked behind and didn't see anyone.

once again, to your luck, it was very dark. you were practically power-walking. your other hand was inside your bag, trying to look for a pepper spray–incase things went downhill. "hey, you alone?" an unfamiliar voice rang in your ears. "no, i'm waiting for my someone." your voice was laced with venom. "i don't see that someone here, how about you leave with me?" you shook your head. "sorry, he'll be here anytime soon."

"code 03." roman read the text solo sent to him. "fuck." anger boiled inside him. "paul take care of this deal, i got a code 03 from solo." paul nodded and took the paperwork inside his bag. "i don't want the fucking guns from damian, they're a rip-off. if they want to score a deal with us, tell them they shouldn't bring counterfeits in front of my fucking eyes." paul nodded.

code 03 meant that someone in the business was bothering you and he wasn't there to intervene. solo could've step up if things went to an extreme extend, but that would leave you more confused on how he got there in an instance. "dude, please leave me alone!" you yelled at him, looking for someone to help you. "i'm just being nice sweetheart, i can treat you nicely." he kept pestering you. seeing you like this broke solo's heart, he wanted to lunge on the guy but he had to wait for roman's command. the guy had a familiar tattoo on his neck, solo noticed that. the guy reached out for your arm. "come on!"

"she said no." you were relieved to see your boyfriend in front of you. "i don't give a shit about what she said." the guy said, still holding your arm. "get the fuck out of my face and let her go." your heart skipped a beat. you've never seen him like this. he was always a sweetheart to you, even with his cold facade. "just trying to give her a good time." the guy continued. "oh, you're going to have a very good time if you don't let her go now." the sentence was dripped with sarcasm. "let's go." roman slightly yanked your arm, pulling you away from the guy.

roman had to make sure that the guy wasn't following the two of you or he just might whip something out that you weren't supposed to see. he knew that guy, he was familiar with his face. "baby, are you okay?" as soon as you entered the car, he let his guard down. "i'm okay, love." you assured him that you were fine. "i'm sorry i wasn't there... baby, i'm sorry it happened." you shook your head. "love, i'm okay. now let's go back, i have to grade some papers." you gave him a reassuring smile. "let's get you ice cream first."

you passed the street that you were on earlier and the guy was nowhere to be seen. you could've sworn that you saw someone dragging the guy away, but it was probably your mind playing tricks as you were very tired.

after grading your papers and eating ice cream (which you insisted getting a cone but roman just had to buy the entire tub for you), you felt sleepy. "i'm going to bed." you announced, seeing your boyfriend slump on your couch watching football. "go to sleep baby, i'm still watching the game." you nodded and went over to give him a kiss. "i love you." "and i love you too, baby."

you were fast asleep and roman silently went outside your apartment, already thirsty for blood. you were his and no one should lay a finger on you. the drive to his warehouse went quick as he was already boiling with anger. the guy earlier was tied up to a chair, shaken up by the act. "well look who is here." his voice was deep, greeting the guy. "r- roman, i'm sorry." he stuttered. "sorry for what you did or sorry because your sorry-ass messed with the wrong person?"

jey, jimmy, and solo stood by waiting for his command. "i don't usually deal with situations like this. but you touched my girl and you're going to pay for it." roman barked, intimidating the guy. roman was in love, his cousins thought. he could't careless about other people except for his bloodline before he met you. his family business was his top priority, but now, you were always on his mind.

the first punch roman threw sent the guy on his back. all those private trainings pulled off. "who sent you?" he didn't answer. roman picked him up with force. "i said," he paused a second to throw another punch. "who sent you?" the guy cracked. "t- the judgement day! they didn't like how you insulted their shippings! they told me to get your girl to intimidate you." the fucking judgement day. roman clenched his fist, preparing for another punch.

blood splattered across the room. his fist was busted as well. "if you and your little emo band cross our path again, i'll fucking kill you. if i ever see you again, i'll fucking kill you." the guy was beaten up to an extent where he was already begging for roman to stop. "throw him somewhere in the east coast, give the judgement day some warning." jey nodded.

roman was powerful in many ways. he was feared by everyone, no one crossed his path and they knew not to mess with him. as one of the top dog for the mob business, everyone respected him. it was hard hiding things from you. he didn't want you to see him in a different light. so he told you that he was the one in charge of his family's company. there were almost slip ups along the way, but being the man he was, his secret was still safe–not for long.

his cousins; jey, jimmy, and solo all worked for him. they owe him their lives and they were ready to take a bullet for you and him any day. you were special for them, like a shining with light glimmered with hope, you were a breath of fresh air.

you woke up to the sound of his snoring. "love, get up. seth is picking me up today." he groaned in despair. "you know i can drive you or have the twins drive you there right?" you shook your head. "seth and i are going to our weekly lunch, it's a tradition since high school. you've met him countless times, i'm safe with him." roman was still on top of you, unbothered. "i'm going to kick your ass if you don't move in 5 seconds." "i'd like to see you try, babygirl."

lunch with seth was always fun. it was in his nature to make people laugh their asses off. "becky made me workout last sunday, my arms are sore." he complained. "because you never workout and your wife has her own gym." you stated the obvious. "well, you're a criminology lecturer and your boyfriend is a ceo, that doesn't add up too!" he defended himself with a chuckle following his sentence. "that's because i don't pry." you replied.

"i don't know, (y/n). it's kinda fishy." seth shrugged his shoulders. "what's kinda fishy?" you raised an eyebrow. "you've never been to his workplace, you don't know his work life. he doesn't like open places, always takes you on a private date. hell, the dude doesn't even have instagram. what if he's like a mafia or something?" his question made you laugh.

"seth, just because he's jacked doesn't mean he beats up people for a living. he's afraid of cockroaches, for fuck's sake!" you furrowed your brows. "well, i don't know. even my brother doesn't know what he's up to. but as long as you're happy, (y/n)." seth gave you a thumbs up while fixing his sunglasses. "you're thinking about it now!" he pointed his fork at you. "i am not! there's no way my boyfriend is in the mafia, he's just your regular joe!" "i've known you since we were babies, i know when you are thinking about something."

it did get to your head though. but you brushed it off, there's no way your oat milk-loving boyfriend was in the mafia. roman picked you up, exchanging goodbyes with seth. "you owe me a lighter!" seth yelled, waving at the two of you. "i don't owe you shit, rollins!" you laughed. "how was lunch?" roman asked, driving away from the cafe. "it was fun, we gossiped about you." his right arm was on the steering wheel, weirdly enough–covered by bandages, the other was holding yours. "gossiped about me? what'd you say?"

"oh we thought you were in the mafia, so like are you in the mafia?" you joked. for a second you saw him clenching his jaw and the grip on your arms tightened. "am i in the what?" he furrowed his brows. "i don't know, it all adds up." you continued your joke. "you have paul as your personal assistant, i've never been to your work and you rarely talk about it, you have random bruises on your back from 'working out'." yet again, the grip tightened.

he pulled over some random street. "baby, you know i am not in the mafia. that's just insane." roman chuckled. "right? seth is out of his mind, you know how he is!" roman had to be careful, as your best friend was picking up some clues. but he knew he couldn't hurt seth. you'd burn the entire world just to find out who laid a finger on your best friend. "paul has been working for my family since god knows when, you've never been to my work because there's nothing going on, it's just boring board meetings. i rarely talk about my work because i want to be a hearer not a talker, baby. i get bruises because i work out." he explained.

"baby, you don't really think i'm in the mafia right?" "no, that would be very stupid of me, love."

he was relieved. "okay baby, do you want to go somewhere tonight?" roman asked, starting the car again. "let's go watch a movie." he nodded. "right, i'll rent a place." "NOOOO, I DON'T WANT A PRIVATE NIGHT. LET'S JUST GO TO THE MALL NEXT TO MY PLACE." he was sure that you were going to be the death of him. "okay baby, whatever you say." roman would risk his life for yours. but little did you know, the mall was filled with his men. it was never a normal day with the mafia boss of the reigns clan.

"you do realize this is the first time we ever went to a public date?" you teased him. "yes." he was oddly wary of your presence. "are you okay? you look distracted." you furrowed your eyebrows. "baby, i'm okay." he made eye-contact, giving you a warm smile. "i just don't like going out in public places." he confessed. "i'm sorry, love. do you want to go home instead?" roman nodded, feeling very tense at the thought of being out. "okay, love. let's go home now."

the walk back to the parking lot was filled with conversations about the movie that you watched. "thank you for watching barbie with me." you chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "anything for my baby." he stole a kiss from you. "i knew you would like it." the black-haired male actually loved the movie. despite his strong persona, he was a softie. especially to you. "it was a fun date-" before you could finish your sentence, you heard screams coming from... solo? when did he get here? you thought.

there was a sudden bang outside. "GET DOWN!" solo yelled. roman immediately pushed you inside the car. "JEY, DRIVE!" roman yelled, taking off his sweater, revealing a gun strapped to his side. "WHAT THE FUCK!" you yelled in a state of panic. "I TOLD THOSE FUCKING EMO CLUB NOT TO MESS WITH ME, NOW I'M FUCKING PISSED." you've never seen roman like this. "PAUL, CLOSE THE DEAL WITH THEM. THEY FUCKING PISS ME OFF! THEY MESSED UP MY DATE NIGHT." roman yelled at the phone. the two of you almost got shot and you were only the one panicking.

"SO YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN THE MAFIA?" "YES BABY, I AM ACTUALLY IN THE MAFIA, NOW GET DOWN!"

a/n: THANKKK YOU FOR THE FIRST REQUEST <3333 i hope you enjoyed it!!! requests are always open!!

317 notes · View notes

batsythoughts · 27 days

Text

Soulmate Au with Dick Grayson where the last words they specifically say to YOU are on your wrist. THIS IS HURT/NO COMFORT! There will be no happy ending, so suffer with my thoughts!

'I understand.'

Those are the words that have been on Dick Grayson's wrist since the moment he was born

His parents told him it was most likely going to be said at the end of a long and happy life with his soulmate

When he became Robin, he worried it would be a one time interaction with a citizen before he wasn't able to save them

But when he became Nightwing, he stopped worrying about it and began to live his life to be grateful for all his interactions

He had always asked what everyone's words from their soulmate was when he got close enough to them, having deep conversations with each of them

He was always interested by Alfred's the most. He had two different sets of words on his wrist when everyone else only had one

"It appeared after they had died. A small reminder of the time we had together."

Dick had found that amazing, one would have the reminder of who their person was even after death separated them

At some point after Dick leaving to become Nightwing, Bruce had taken in you in

You had been raised by the Joker after he kidnapped you at the age of 9 to take over as the worst villain of Gotham when he ultimately died

Bruce explained that you had openly denounced the Joker and his views before switching sides

With no other place to go, Bruce had taken you in when you had no place of your own

Even after time had passed, Dick noticed that you didn't spend much time around the other. He never saw you leave the manor except for going on patrol

The most peculiar thing was you had a bandage that went around your wrist where your words were supposed to be

Dick tried starting conversations to get to know you, but you always found a way to get out of them

The most personal thing about you that he could seem to get was these little notebooks you would randomly write in

When he asked about them, you shot him down with a glare

"It's personal, wonder bitch. So back off."

Dick didn't understand why Bruce was still putting up with the same attitude for so long without snapping

He was always told to just give you some space and you would come around when you were finally ready to

Dick never took a liking to how you handled the vigilante business. He thought you weren't focused on keeping the citizens safe and only wanted to make the bad guys hurt more than anything

You always told him to get off your back when he pushed on how you should be more cautious about how to do the job

He started to become frustrated by being around you with how much you pushed back with every word he said, but he still tried to be pleasant

More time had passed and you still didn't really warm up to any of them, but you weren't as hostile with your words

You mostly stuck to your room so you didn't actually have much difference in the previous interactions with everyone

Dick still couldn't shake off the frustration though, no matter how hard he tried to be understanding and polite to you

One day when you had told Dick to 'fuck off to the sewers' after he had accidentally walked into and spilled your drink on your shirt, he was very tempted to yell out as you walked away

Jason quickly stepped in and stopped Dick before he could actually blow up over the attitude you kept displaying

"Dick, you don't entirely understand-"

"That shouldn't matter! They keep acting like-!"

"Like The Joker has raised them to think in a way of 'be useful or you will be killed'. We don't know what he could have done for all those years. We don't even know what life was like before Joker forced his way into the picture. Not everyone was born into loving families. Remember that."

Dick had tried to take Jason's words into consideration as the next few months progressed

You never expressed any form of appreciation to what Bruce or Alfred seemed to do for you. You would mostly just spend time alone around the manor, occasionally sitting around with Jason

The only time Dick seemed to see you express any emotion was when you would randomly write in the notebooks before putting it back in your pocket

Frustration and agitation kept getting bottled up the longer Dick watched the whole situation continue on

It was getting close to a big bust on some plan a couple of the villains had joined together for temporarily to make it successful

It was the end of patrol as Bruce was explaining what everyone's job was going to be for the following night so they could prepare themselves throughout the day

Bruce had mentioned that Damian would be working alongside Jason, and you had mumbled some comment about that

Dick had finally had enough as he looked over and asked what the problem was

You rolled your eyes before saying that Damian wouldn't be able to handle himself with the combined strength everyone would be against with everyone stretched so thin

Dick pushed as he argued that Damian had taken care of himself in worst situations and you should mind what you were claiming about them

Bruce tried to to get the both of you to calm down, but Dick kept pushing as he argued you didn't really know them or what they could do

You clenched your fist while arguing that the precious boy wonder didn't even have a full understanding of what the criminals of the city were actually capable of

Dick finally felt his anger reach the boiling point as be finally began yelling at you

It soon became a screaming match as Jason held Dick back while Bruce got between the two of you as Tim guided Damian out of the area

The anger kept getting worse for Dick as he was finally letting out all the pent up feelings from the past few months of watching you push back against everyone

"This way of thinking is going to be what gets you killed! And when it finally catches up to you, I'm not going to feel sorry for you dying!"

You suddenly become very silent as you just stare at Dick with a deep glare as Bruce raises his voice to make Dick calm himself down

"I understand." The venom is in your voice as you turn around and march out of the Batcave

Dick doesn't truly register the words as he and Bruce start to get in it about how Dick went too far and would need to apologize

Dick huffs as he pulled out of Jason's hold before walking off to go to his room to get some rest

As he walked through the manor, Dick saw Tim and Damian both waiting for him with confused look as they asked what happened

Dick assured them it was nothing they needed to worry themselves with before going to his room

Dick was surprised that you hadn't tried making the day hard for him in retaliation of what was all said

Your door had never opened an inch though the whole day after the fight had happened

The day was eerily calm in a way that made Dick slowly begin to regret what was said. He knew Bruce was right about apologizing, but decided the anger might make you focus on getting the job done and would talk to you tomorrow when patrol was done

Night had come and Bruce had changed the groups so Dick was with Tim while you paired up with Jason

Damian had said he didn't want to be on the mission due to an important test the next day he needed to pass, though everyone was certain it was a lie

No one argued as they got ready for the fight that was going to come before going to the streets of Gotham

The bust had gone down at midnight as everyone had fought to take down as many people they could with the minimum getting away

Everyone had a few scratches as they all helped get the criminals in the transport

Bruce was talking with Gordon when Dick noticed you standing a ways off from everyone else looking confused for some reason

He began to slowly walk over with the intention of apologizing with all the anger and adrenaline slowly fading

The ground shook as Killer Croc suddenly appeared while getting between you and everyone else

None of them could stop it as you got hit and went flying in the air

Dick went to try and subdue Killer Croc before getting hit back into the wall

He felt a pain in his wrist as his arm hit the bricks as the sound of shattered glass sounded from the building you got thrown through

Bruce and Jason were able to get Killer Croc subdued as Tim went over to Dick to make sure he was fine

Dick quickly brushed off the pain in his arm, saying he was fine as he went to the building with the shattered window to go and check on you

He saw you at the far end of the room with your back to him. Dick called out asking if you were okay as he cautiously stepped inside

He thought you were in a daze when you didn't respond. Being mindful of the glass, Dick kneeled down as he placed his hand on your shoulder

"I know you're mad, but this isn't fun-"

The words escape him as he gently pulled you onto your back. Your head still facing the direction you had landed in as the rest only turned slightly with the effort

Dick could only stare for a minute before his hand went to hold the cheek pressed against the floor

The small cracking of your neck that came when he turned your head made Dick's stomach churn

Small pieces of glass stuck out of your skin as your unfocused eyes stared at the ceiling now. A trail of blood flowing down your cheek from your barely parted lips

Dick had to stop himself from throwing up as he got back up and walked into the street

Dick held Tim back when he tried to go in and check on you. When asked what was wrong, Dick could only shake his head as Bruce came up to them

Dick could barely register anything as he watched them put the gurney you were on in the back of the medical examiner's van

They all got promised your body would be treated with the upmost respect until the time for your burial

The journey back was quiet as everyone processed what happened to you when they had thought it was safe

Dick had went to go take a shower to wash of the pressure he felt in his hands from where he had touched your body

He noticed the blood on his wrist when he had removed his shirt in the bathroom

He rinsed a rag with cold water before wiping the blood away to find a sight that made his blood run cold

'This way of thinking is going to be what gets you killed! And when it finally catches up to you, I'm not going to feel sorry for you dying!'

'I understand.'

The words looked like they had just been carved into his wrist with how fresh the new words appeared and the small bit of blood still seeping out of his skin

His thoughts went back to the fight when he had hit the wall. His arm didn't hurt because he was smacked into the wall

It had hurt because that was the moment you had died

Dick couldn't think of who he could confide in with this sudden news. Especially because he had been so cruel to you when you last spoke to one another

How could he have been so cruel to not even think of apologizing before the mission? The last think he said was how he wouldn't care if you died

But you had always known it would be that cruel. You were born with those careless shouts as a mockery on your skin since the first cry

While he grew up with thoughts of comfort over what he might have with his soulmate, you never got that when you saw those words

You had grown up in a world of torture by the hands of one of the cruelest men in all of Gotham, and his words couldn't even give you a sense of comfort over the torturous treatment you went through

It had been a couple of weeks since you had tragically passed away, and Dick found himself in the doorway of your room

He didn't know why he was even here, what he would even try to find, but he was there

The room didn't have too many decorations around as he went in, as if you never tried to find your own style

The clothes in the drawers and closet were like taunts as he touched the fabric (most were soft, so he figured that was a texture you liked)

A candle in your nightstand drawer had never been lit, but the cap had been repeatedly removed (he found that it smelled like flowers during a rainstorm. You must have liked that kind of smell)

There were a few books on the small desk you had with a handful of notes and letters scattered around (it looked like you had been trying to catch up on the education you missed out on)

After some time of looking around, Dick sat at the foot of the bed. He quickly realized something was wrong when his weight pressed on the mattress

He untucked the covers (why would you have been so neat with making the bed?) to find that a small section of the padding had been cut out from a small hole in the bottom

Dick reached his hand in to find the hiding spot of all the small notebook you had written in

He slowly flipped through the pages as he read the neat handwriting that you had

Alfred made a different kind of cookie today. I really like this kind

Jason and I watched a documentary on dinosaurs. The raptors seem the coolest

I glanced at the moon during patrol last night. It was the cresent phase. I think I like that one most

The more Dick looked through them, the more he realized you were distant because you were realizing things about yourself. You were figuring out years of information in such short time, you were probably getting overwhelmed with all this information you were learning

His eyes stop on one small bit you had written, his eyes softening as he kept rereading the words

Dick randomly started laughing today. It sounds nice

You had thought his laugh was nice? Dick didn't even think you paid attention to anything he had done while living in the manor

He kept flipping through each different notebook before he stop on the latest one you had written in

His fingers flipped through to the last pages, expecting to see words of anger and hatred on the paper before him

Dick's my soulmate. I felt my wrist burn when he yelled at me and I just knew without having to seeing what I said appear on my skin. I know I'm going to die tonight.

Dick swallowed the lump in his throat as he thought of what could have went through your mind the exact moment it happened. His fingers carefully flipping to the next page as he kept reading

I don't know what's going to happen with the mission tonight, but I know it's going to be my last. Who knows? Maybe I'll be careless just like Dick always said.

Tears began to form in his eyes as he remembered the confused look on your face after the fight had ended. You had died when everyone was supposed to have been okay and you were confused you were alive after the main fight

I hope to whatever type of god that is out there at Dick never finds these before someone else. I know he had every right to say those things, but I don't want him knowing that I knew I was going to be killed. I was an ass and was given nothing but patience from everyone else. I know he will figure out what we were when I die, but I hope that he doesn't blame himself for what will happen. He had no way of knowing just how much it had hurt to actually hear those words. I hope he lives his life like he always had before.

The tears spilled own his cheeks as he closed the book and held it to his head

Everything after that was just blank pages. You still had over half the pages to keep writing in

Dick felt broken as he took in the feeling you had written out clear as day

He had caused so much hurt in your life before even knowing you

His hands clenched around the cover as he allowed himself to cry. In all the realities of how the end could have happened, this was the worst

The was never a mutual understanding, no form of chemistry like he hoped, not even a split second meeting

All that was there was frustration and hurtful words that could never be taken back

But what hurt the most was that your words to him had never been more truthful compared to anything said to him. You didn't blame him for the anger or even lash back out at him

Because deep down, that was the person that you truly were despite everything

You understood

#batman #dick grayson #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x you #dick grayson angst #nightwing x reader #nightwing x you

124 notes · View notes

nox140497 · 4 months

Text

Jason?

BACKGROUND: The reader was Jasons best friend and partner and was kidnapped with Jason and forced to watch the Joker beat him to death.

SUMMERY: After having to watch your best friend and partner beaten to a bloody pulp by a psyco clown and blown up, not being able to do anything to save him, the reader gets thrown out a small window, only big enough for her to fit, before the explosion and then saved by Batman and returned to the batcave. She continues to work with Batman and Nightwing and helps to. train Tim to be the new Robin so that he would not end up the same way Jason did.

WARNING: The characters may be slightly ooc, and my timeline is probably really wrong, but I don't have wifi at the moment, so I can't make sure if the timeline is really rediculously long. Sory.

Oh yea and ------ means line break

WORLD COUNT:1120.

Masterlist

Prompt List

--------------------------------------------

I am Sparrow a.k.a Y/N L/N. I am one of Batmans allies. I used to be the partner, love interest and best friend to the second Robin a.k.a Jason Todd. However that all changed when we were kidnapped by the Joker while we were on patrol one night. He forced me to watch him beat my best friend to a bloody pulp. Batman was able to save me, because Jay threw me out a window,but Jason wasn't as lucky.

I still blame myself.

--------------------------------------------

It's been about a year since I was forced to watch Joker brutally beat my best friend and partner Jason Todd to death. In this time, Batman a.k.a Bruce Wayne has taken on another Robin by the name of Tim Drake.

At first, I was really upset about the fact that Bruce had taken on another Robin as I saw it as him replacing Jason, and I knew Jason would see it like that as well. After a while, though, I realised that Robin grounds Batman in some weird way.

I had noticed that after every Robin that he lost, Dick having quit as the first one, and Jason had.....died, that the Bat became more brutal. Having a Robin by his side made him more mellow in a way.

So I made a decision that even thogh I wasn't his partner and I now worked mostly alone much like Dick, now Nightwing, does, that I would help train the new little bird so that the chance of him ending up like Jason would be slimmer.

--------------------------------------------

We had formed a bond in the past couple months, a bond much like Dick and I had. Tim was like a brother to me, and all the bad guys in Gothem knew by now that I was very protective of my siblings, whether it be the older one or the younger one.

Anyway theres this new guy that appeared in Gothem a few months ago. He really likes annoying Batman. He's an anti hero named Red hood. He seems so fimiliar in a way but I can't figure out why. He seems so angry though, and under all that anger I can tell that he is hurting, broken in a way.

Don't ask me how I can tell, I just can.

--------------------------------------------

I was on patrol with Batman and his other birds. I was standing on a random rooftop listening to Batgirl and Nightwing bicker about something through the earpiece in my ear, I swear those two bicker like an old married couple, when I heard an almost silent thud behind me. I didn't think anything about it as the only ones who could do that so silatlntly were the Dark Knight himself and his birds.

I did, however, spin around when there was a soft but deep chuckle from behind me.

"Redhood." I breathed. I know I should have been scared, but for some reason, I felt safe in his presence.

"Hello, little birdie." He said. This guy was so rediculously familiar.

"What can I do for ya, Hoodie?" I asked calmly.

"I needed to talk to you alone." He said, his voice seeming to warm slightly and slightly nervous. I wonder why 'cause I know he isn't scared of me. I mean, seriously, this guy is at least twice my size, built like a truck and freakishly tall. He could seriously hurt me if he wanted to.

"Well then talk, you have my full attention, dear Hoodie." I said, removing the earpiece for a while and acting like I wasn't freaking out a bit.

He removed the helmet, leaving him in just a red mask that looked like the ones we birds wore.

My eyes widened and filled with tears under my mask as I recognized the face under that rmask, granted slightly older but still the same.

"J-Jason." I wispered weakly.

"Hi beautiful." He said softly.

"H-how?" My voice was weak and barely audable as I spoke to the boy I loved, the boy I thought was dead.

"Ras Al Ghul and his Lazarus pit."( SPELLING??)

I nodded weakly and stared at him for a minute. Suddenly, I lunged at him and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, nuzzeling my face into his chest as he held me just as tightly.

"I missed you so much." I sobbed softly into his chest.

"I missed you too, my love." He said quietly.

We stood and chatted on that rooftop for a while, catching up, when I suddenly I heard a slight beep. I looked down at the earpiece that I had put in one of the pouches in my utility belt and put it back in my ear, and answered it.

"What's up, Blue Bird?" I asked as I knew it was Dick who wanted me.

"Bruce wanted me to let you know that Redhood has been spotted in that area of Gothem." He informed me, and I could hear the concern in his voice.

I looked at Jason with an amused smile on my face.

"Yea, no kidding." I muttered.

"What was that n/n?" Dick asked.

Nothing, I'm almost done anyway. See ya in a bit, Blue Bird." I said.

"Alright, please be careful." He said.

Jason looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" I asked softly. He just smiled at me.

"So what now?" He asked me. I looked at him and smiled.

"I don't suppose you want to go back to the Batcave to speak to Bruce, huh." I asked with a soft sigh.

"Not particularly, no." He sighed and looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Jaybird, I'm not gonna force you to do something that you don't want to do, but I really think you should at least talk to him. Talk this out with him. It might make you feel a little better if you hear his side of the story. You know how he is. He might not show it very often, but he really does care about us kids." I said, hoping that he would agree to come with me to the Cave.

"I don't know, Babe. He never really cared for me much, I mean, look how fast he replaced me." He said almost sadly.

"Don't be ridiculous, Jay. He loves you. He just doesn't show it that often. And he only replaced you because 1) Tim offered (*cough* demanded *cough*) because he saw how brutal Bruce became and 2) Batman needs a Robin for that exact reason, and besides Tim isn't your replacement and nobody thinks he is." I said.

"Fine." He sighed.

I smiled happily and pulled him along behind me as I took off towards the Batcave.

#batman #red hood #nightwing #robin #bruce wayne #dick grayson #tim drake #jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n

75 notes · View notes

klbwriting · 2 months

Text

Broken Prism

Chapter 21

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Todd x f!reader

Warnings: o this chapter has some fucked up stuff in it, mentions of body mutilation, child death

Summary: Batman and Red Hood go to the scene of the crime, then find out about another murder

Taglist: @amberpanda99 if you would like added to the taglist let me know!

The GCPD didn’t trust Red Hood, so Batman was the only one allowed at the crime scene. Jason waited across the street, not sure what to do honestly. Who killed a family like this? What kind of absolute monster? It made him sick. He paced, watching the cops, who were watching him back. He saw a mix pride and anger depending on the face. He figured they either loved that he had taken out Joker, saving them some work later, or hated him, wanting to get the big score themselves. He wanted to walk over, get as close a look at the scene as possible, but he didn’t want someone to get trigger happy and try shooting him. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Batman walked over to him.

“Gordon is willing to let you walk the scene with me,” he said. Jason nodded and followed him, the cops parting enough so they could get through.

“Since when is Batman friendly with murderers?” “Who does this idiot think he is? A Nightwing ripoff?” “He killed Joker, we should be groveling at his feet right now.” He wanted to scream at them, tell them what had happened, why he had become this person. He shook himself, they wouldn’t understand, ever, and he had made his bed, now he had to lie in it. He followed Batman into the dining room and stared. The family was seated for dinner, the food still on their plates. The parents were eating meatloaf, looks like the kids were having chicken nuggets. Their throats had been slit, which was the only decent thing this monster did. The rest of the scene was haunting.

“Emily Dervish, Dexter Dervish, their children, 7-year-old Amelia, and 4-year-old Tyson,” Gordon explained, voice coming out staggered at the sight. “We will have to wait for the coroner to be sure.”

“Sure of what?” Jason asked, unable to take his eyes off the children.

“To be sure if they were alive or dead when the killer cut off their faces.”

After another hour scouring for evidence and finding nothing Jason and Batman were about to head back to the cave, see if they could find anything there, when another officer came over to Gordon, whispering to him. They watched his face grow ashen and he nodded solemnly.

“There’s been another murder…not completely the same, but they left a note,” he said. “You two better come with me.”

Across town at the McCreary’s Pub there were cops keeping curious onlookers away. Despite it being early morning at this point people were still curious when they saw police tape and a medical examiner’s van. They brought out phones and started taking pictures when Batman and Red Hood arrived. Jason was really glad he hadn’t done the whole social media thing now, he couldn’t imagine what Twitter looked like, him and Batman working together. All those concerns left his mind when he entered the bar. There were at least a dozen bodies, all seated like they had been enjoying a night out, lifeless eyes staring up the ceiling, posed as if gazing towards Heaven.

“What the fuck,” Jason muttered. Batman wandered the room slowly, looking at different angles. Jason started, but then his eyes were drawn to the mirror behind the bar. Once again, a message in blood, the shaping of the letters completely different from the last crime scene.

DID YOU SEE HIM YET RED HOOD?

Batman stared at the message also and then looked at Gordon, nodding his head for the room to be cleared. The commissioner sighed and called for his guys to vacate for a few minutes, letting the vigilantes have the room. Jason started looking at the faces of the patrons, wondering who he was looking for. While Jason looked at faces, Batman looked at him. He could feel the man’s eyes, probably trying to read his body language, see how his mind was at the moment. He wouldn’t lie, his mind was fuzzy, the sight of all this death was almost too much for him to handle and he had been an assassin once. He was trying to avoid staring at the gaping holes in the victims’ chests.

“Why do you think they took the faces and the hearts?” Jason asked, trying to focus in on the case, ignore the dread rising in his chest.

“I am not sure, but we are most definitely dealing with at least two people who are very annoyed at you,” Batman said. Jason didn’t like that, that Batman was already blaming these deaths on him. ‘If you hadn’t killed Joker all these people might be alive’ he could Bruce’s voice in his head, the accusations stinging. “Do you know someone here?” Jason shook his head as he rounded to the back of the bar and stared.

“Ya, I do,” he said, eyes falling on Auggie Valentine. “This guy, um, he was my best, well my only friend in Crime Alley, before you took me in.” He looked at Batman and Batman stormed out of the bar. This was bad. Very bad. If this person had killed one of Jason’s friends that meant they knew who Red Hood was. They knew where he lived. He took off running, climbing on his bike and driving like the devil possessed him back to the cave. He had to know if YN was safe.

You were watching the monitor with Alfred, Dick, Barbara, and Tim, listening to Bruce and Jason talk about the murders. You were horrified by the family, and the bar just made things worse. Then Jason mentioned knowing the bartender and your blood ran cold. Someone knew. Someone knew Jason was Red Hood. The others noticed also, and they started looking around, maybe for listening devices, cameras, maybe for a person hiding in the shadows ready to attack. You sat the computer, staring at the live feed video from Batman’s cowl. You looked at the body of the bartender, noticing that you knew him too. He had been a loyal informant against Black Mask back when you were looking into him. Did the bartender know more than he said? Bartenders knew a lot of things that most people didn’t realize, and he had been willing to talk for no money, just the idea that Gotham would be safer if he helped. Auggie was a great person, you could see how Jason would have been friends with him as a kid. He was a good person; he didn’t deserve to be murdered and have his heart ripped anymore than those children deserved their deaths. It made you sick and you could only imagine what Jason was thinking.

The familiar sound of the Batmobile and Jason’s bike came from the ramp into the cave, and you went with the others to meet them. Jason was off his bike, helmet tossed aside and running towards you, taking your face in his hands, looking frantic.

“Are you alright?” he asked. You nodded, reaching up and taking his hands, holding them in yours. “I thought…they know who I am…”

“Shhh, I’m here, we’re all safe,” you whispered, hugging him tight. He gripped you like he used to after a nightmare, like you were going to vanish if he didn’t hold you tight enough. The others went to the Batcomputer to start discussing the samples Bruce had brought back and the other clues from the crime scenes.

“You’re not safe, please take some time off, please stay here,” Jason begged. You nodded, anything to calm him down. His breathing was hitching, and he was going pale. You guided him to sit on the floor, sitting next to him.

“I won’t go anywhere, I’ll stay here, take deep breaths,” you said, rubbing the back of his head gently, petting his hair, catching the white streak and massaging the spot it sat on. He leaned his head into the touch, matching your deep breaths with his own.

“It was awful,” he said, finally calm again. “It’s my fault.”

“It is not your fault. You are not responsible for these monsters. You are a hero,” you said. He shook his head.

“I killed Joker, they saw it as a challenge. I thought it would end with him, but instead I just created a new threat. One head is cut, two more grow back,” he said. You leaned to his shoulder, arms around him.

“Jason, you killing Joker didn’t bring this about, this city is rotten, we all know it. Something in the air here breeds horrible criminals. No matter what happened they would be here, they just picked you because you are doing the most good right now. Just like they went after Batman,” you said, desperate to stop him from spiraling down into self-loathing again. You could see the signs, his eyes distant, his body fatigued from worry and despair.

“I need to go to the others, find out if they have any idea who did this,” Jason said softly, getting up. He walked away, leaving you there.

#jasontodd #jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #jason todd x y/n #redhood #red hood #red hood x reader #red hood x you #red hood x y/n #brokenprism

44 notes · View notes

platitudinalteen · 28 days

Text

Blood In The Water - PlatitudinalTeen - Batman - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

As promised, here's the winning fic from the poll I posted yesterday. (I'm sorta sad the Joker fic didn't win, but there's always next time)

(Summery- After returning from being dead, Jason makes amends with his family, but the rift between him and his father only grows. They are constantly waging war until one day Jason disappears without a word. When he returns, he and Bruce finally hash it out the way they should have from the very beginning. Only, with an audience.)

(Snippet↓↓↓)

("You said you'd save me, but instead, you got me killed. You said you'd catch me if I fell, but you didn't even scrape my body off the damn pavement!" His words were laced in venom, and it's clear that his resentment had been building for a long time. "Did you even care that I died?" Jason asked, wondering how long it took for him to move on.

"Of course I did," Bruce exclaimed, hurt that he could ever think otherwise. "I mourned you."

"You mean you mourned Robin?" he retorted bitterly. "But not for long, right? You just got another. You're good at that, aren't you?"

"No, I mean I mourned you!" His father shouted, taking everyone, especially Jason, by surprise. "I mourned my son's death for months, and I'm still mourning you after all this time because alive or not, the child I raised is still dead!")

#batman #bruce wayne #jason todd #red hood #red hood angst #the justice league #diana prince #wonder woman #superman #clark kent #barry allen #the flash #oliver queen #the green arrow #batfamily #Batfam mentioned #ao3 #archive of our own #Unhappy reunions

27 notes · View notes

robin-the-robo · 21 days

Text

Okay so @steriafluff asked me for Red Hood recommendations and I apparently have a lot of those, so...

Do keep in mind that these are very much My Opinions, but this is what I think is worth reading if you're getting into Jason Todd/Red Hood and don't wanna end up reading the... Really Weird Stuff.

So I think everyone should start by reading Batman 1940 from issue #408 to #429, which ends with Death in The Family, to see what Jason was like as a kid and as Robin (an absolute delight).

Then obviously you gotta read Batman: Under the Red Hood, (and deal with a 19 y/o being drawn like he's 40. Yeah.) but I would also recommend Red Hood: Lost Days, which basically covers what happens between the Lazarus Pit and Under the Red Hood.

Then we have... Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011). Look. I'll be honest. The """characterization""" for Starfire in that comic is painfully sexist. It has its moments and we somehow managed to pull a pretty cool friend group (and/or polycule if you wanna interpret it that way) out of it, but I would never blame you for skipping it. Red Hood/Arsenal, which covers the time after the original Outlaws broke up, is pretty decent tho.

Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth (2016), on the other hand, I think is cooler than people give it credit. I like that they're a play on the DC trinity (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) but as antiheroes. The plot goes in some weird directions from time to time, but the characters keep their personalities all the way through it and I think it's just really fun. Tbh the worst thing about it is that they ended it.

Now I'm gonna give you a few wildcard picks that you're either gonna love or hate, but I think there's something cool in each of them:

Batman: Urban Legends, from issue #1 to #6. Look, it's got Bruce and Jason struggling to cooperate, they're realistically tense but ultimately on the same side, I wrote a whole fanfic about how delightful Jason's interaction with a kid he saves in this comic is, so yeah.

Batman: Three Jokers. This one is quite dark and potentially triggering I think, so be careful. It also has a little bit of Barbara x Jason which No Thank You, but the art is GREAT and it has some banger moments in there. Read at your own peril.

Robins (2021). It's got ups and downs, not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but if you want to see all five Robins interact it's a pretty interesting read.

Knight Terrors: Robin. Hey do you want Tim and Jason interacting and being brothers and actually talking through some of their personal issues while battling their own nightmares? If yes, then you'll enjoy this. A lil bit on the nose but good nonetheless.

And then finally we have Red Hood: The Hill, the new RH comic currently ongoing. We only have a couple of issues out yet so it's a bit early to judge its quality. Atm i agree with someone here on Tumblr who said that it feels like it's more about the new characters than about Jason himself, but maybe that'll change later on. We'll see.

So yeah these aren't all the comics I've read about him, but they are the ones that get his characterization right, or better than the rest at least. Hope this helps some new (or simply confused, which is very fair) fans out there.

#jason todd #red hood #batfam #batfamily #dc comics

25 notes · View notes

gingkos-eldritch-secret · 7 months

Text

Fanfiction Commentary and Recommendations: Lex Luthor´s Ascend from Supervillainy to Fatherhood Part VI (chapters 26 to 30)

The Original story by @halfagone can be found here.

The previous parts of the commentaries can be found here:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VII

So, just to begin with: we still continue where the last part cut off. This will include discussions of injury, blood, torture and death. Also, discussions about the morality of killing someone, even in self-defence.

Many good and interesting and also important discussions happen in these following chapters. Which is very, very nice, but also makes for a bit of an emotionally exhausting bit to read. It´s absolutely wonderful, but at the end I lay in my bed and was like 'how. How do I even feel now? What should I feel now? What?' So yeah, be prepared for that.

Now included: Memes and (hopefully) gifs. You´ll see if it worked. As of now I have no clue. And with that: have fun with the commentary :D

○○○••○○•••○○••○○○

So: Dick is still floored by Lex just leaving after admitting that he forgives them for their behaviour. And has the same opinion as me: That he´s a freaking miracle worker. Good for him! He really DOES deserve Alfred´s cookies for this.

And now we get back to the interrogation. I mean. It should be just Gordon doing this, but Batman has been allowed to stay. And knowing how the bat behaves in such scenarios I´m not really sure that that´s a good idea.

A fun fact: the bats are ALL listening in to the conversation. And as I already know how this will go I´ll just say: they´ll be facepalming. A lot. Or will be commiserating with Danny in a way. Because god damn, he kinda verbally eviscerates Bruce. And Bruce freaking deserves it.

I mean, true, Bruce has made it clear that he´s not offering any input. But it´s Bruce. Even if he wanted to, can this man even hold back his opinions and questions?

Jason and Dick hide it out on the roof - more or less in a mix of civilian and vigilante outfits, having their own conversation while listening in.

And listening in they do. I´m not sure that 'What´s one more bad memory in a hospital?' is a wonderful conversation starter, but god damn. It sure sets the mood. You can decide what that mood is, but I´d say a mix between resigned, shifty (if that even is a mood and not a state of being) and exasperated. So Fun mix.

At least Jim doesn´t seem all too happy about the conversation either? Small mercies, I guess.

At least there´s a lawyer present.

(If I´m very wordy in this: blame the mix of melatonin and caffeine that is unique to night shifts. I am VERY giddy right now and that translates weirdly into commentary. It´s weird to write while kind of dancing to a space documentary YouTube video lmao.)

The first question is just. Basic. 'What happened? Begin from the kidnapping'. That was the moment I decided that I needed popcorn. Because with how done Danny seemed from the whole situation to begin with that could only go so well.

So, it begins with Danny beginning at the. Well. Beginning. With him running off and befriending the crazy local lesbians (I love them your honour) and how he spent his time there, how he doubled back after the explosion and the whole Van business happening after that. All the while Jason is still reeling about his relationship with two ex-Villains. But really, should he be so surprised about that? It´s Danny 'i'mma rehabilitate villains' Luthor we´re talking about.

Then he tries to explain why he thinks the Joker targeted him - he brings it back to his connections with said man´s ex and her new girlfriend. Which is understandable. I doubt he knows that he was mistaken as a Robin when he was taken.

And then we get into the nitty gritty. The things that happened after the camera was shot and the stream was ended.

And just oof. There had just been a whole freaking table full of torture instruments. FULL OF THEM. None of them like that revelation.

And of course, Batman interrupts and asks if the camera was shot on purpose. What the fuck man. WHAT THE FUCK. YOU ASK A TRAUMATIZED CHILD IF HE SHOT A CAMERA ON PURPOSE AFTER BEING BOUND AND TORTURED ON A LIFESTREAM? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU????

Danny stays calm. Only just. He explains how he´d meant to get the man in the shoulder or the back to run as far away as possible. How he still managed to get away and knocked out any goons he met on his way. How he found bomb equipment and used it against the bad excuse of a clown when he got too close to a hiding spot. How he´d tried to shoot him in the back and just met his chest instead. How the Joker just LAUGHED and tried to kill him then and there because 'two killers killing each other'. Really. Fuck him.

Jim, bless his soul, just gently prods at what happened next. Which Danny lies about. Says he just tried to drag himself away, but was slow because of the blood loss and the wounds. That Red Hood came soon after that. It´s a good lie. And it´s nearly the truth. But we all know what went on was just a tad more eldritch. Not that he can tell them that. Who´d ever believe it after all? Or react well to that? No one. that´s who.

Now Gordon tells Danny that the goons were all found dead. All of them. Danny … does not take this well. At all. Even the lawyer asks if they should stop for now, but … well. Then they´d have to do it a second time and I highly doubt that would go any better.

And now the million-dollar question. Where did our boy learn how to wield a gun? This is where the bad parenting choices of the Fentons come in. And how they led to Danny and Jazz chasing each other around the house with loaded guns. In a playful way…. Now where is that Danny protection squad. I need a membership.

And of course, Batman asks why they taught their children how to use lethal guns. He´s still not holding himself to the earlier 'promise' of: he´ll stay out of the conversation. I´m still mad at him for that. And I will continue to be mad at him for that.

Go Jason. Own that cringe at the behaviour of your father figure. Though we´ll all agree that the Fenton parents are, in fact, fools.

So, while Danny tells them that he learnt because he had to, that he never liked guns. Which Batman then uses against him with his next question. And Gordon is not happy about THAT either, trying to interrupt. But of course, the great batman just ignores the head of the police force and asks why Danny chose the gun instead of any of the other weapons.

Danny´s just like 'What? Should I have taken a melee weapon? With the joker? How´d I have gotten away that way? It would have been so much harder?'

And Bruce, not understanding or not liking the reasoning is just like 'You could´ve just ran away'

Like. Danny´s right. He´d been trying to do that from the start? Why´d Batman suddenly fault him for this? For self-defence? I repeat myself: WHAT THE FUCK BATMAN?

Now the man is trying to talk Danny into a corner so that he may 'confess' or whatever the hell is going on in his head. Because why ever else would he hide somewhere? If not to just ambush the Joker?

Which is, I think, when Danny gets really fed up and was also the time I was sitting there like

Batman be like 'I just need to know why' and Danny? Has had ENOUGH. Jason may find his eyes creepy at this point. And I do imagine him letting a tiny little bit of his ghostliness slip through. Because all of those accusations? I´d have had enough of that much earlier than Danny.

And that´s when Danny eviscerates Batman. How do you ask? Well. Because he researched. Everything from crime rates to rogue statistics and even looked into the rogues themselves. And the Joker would´ve had the death penalty several times if it was not for his 'plead to insanity'. He´d left behind half a baseball stadium full of bodies. And nothing was ever done? He told about the second Robin´s death and how he enjoyed it. And batman says things about death and playing god by choosing who dies.

And he asks the real questions:

“You talk about how people play god by choosing who dies, but aren’t you playing god by choosing who lives?” Danny sneered; teeth bared. “Who do you go for? The civilian in need or the criminal who caused their suffering? Who’s the priority to you? Who do you chase after first?”

God damn - going right for the metaphorical throat.

He continues. Calling out that bullshit mentality of 'choice', when the Joker still would´ve just gone back to Arkham after killing him when he´d not even wanted to be there in the first place.

Talks about how there´s people who can be reformed. Who can live normal lives again. But that there must be a life for them to get back to and that the Joker had nothing else. He simply had nothing to live for except for his 'jokes'. And even if they´re reformed. They´d have to live with all the people who have heard of their exploits looking at them with scorn.

There´s just so many good points to this conversation, I love it :3

I kind of think that Jason really needed to hear all of this as well if we go by his reaction. Poor man´s been going through the wringer that day.

When Cass and Tim find the corpse, she´s not sure what to think. Should she be upset that Danny has killed? Should she even be upset that it was the Joker in the first place? Sould she be relieved? I think it all depends on the why´s.

In the end. Nearly all of them had killed before. So, what makes Danny all that different?

Meanwhile Bruce is just having big thoughts and would like to be alone for now please. I think what he actually needs is a hot bath with some scented candles. Self-care, my man. It would do you a world of good. Also: introspection. Always good.

But in the meantime, Bruce and Jason talk things out and it´s beautiful. Some parts of it are quite funny - always trying to ease the mood this one. But in the end Bruce is right. He´s not Jason´s therapist, but he´s his father. He just wants him to be well.

And if things have to be talked about for the going well part? It must be done. Even if it very clearly is hard for either of them. But that´s what family is for, is it not? To be there for each other even when things get uncomfortable …

I cried at some parts of the conversation, but Bruce nearly puts his foot in his mouth so many times … like Jason tries to understand, but Bruce doesn´t make it any easier.

They talk about why Bruce feels so tense at Danny being the one to kill the Joker. Why he´s so insistent on Danny. How it shouldn´t have been Danny. But if not Danny, who then?

Jason? Dick? Bruce? Any way has it´s pros and cons. Who´d have been able to live with it? Who´d have come out of it unchanged? Would the Joker even have been able to reform? No. Not in this life. Never in this life.

Jason´s question threw me out the loop a bit because 'Since when do you talk about these things?' is a very justified question xD

Then the talk shifts. Towards Dick, towards the 'golden boy' and how it was originally Jason who gave his older brother that title. Not Bruce or anyone else. And how Jason has always been the favourite.

Jason predictably doesn´t believe that. Which is of course his right, but it made me just so freaking happy? How he disbelievingly tried to make any of his other siblings into the favourite while Bruce just explains that no. The child who´d so earnestly tried to do well in school, who did his homework without asking, who was excited to stay with him, who didn´t leave freaking scars (and god damn Dick you feral child) and who didn´t fake an uncle so that he´d not be adopted.

And Bruce? Just says that he´d never be mad at Jason because he tried to steal the cars of the Batmobile because it gave him Jason in the end. And that really let me tear up a bit there. Cause that´s just so wholesome? My poor little heart.

Then the impossible actually happens: Bruce apologizes. He actually apologizes. That he´s sorry to make think he was never loved, but that he´s his son and it never should have been thought to have been otherwise. That it never changed to begin with. That he loves him now and god damn I´m a puddle on the floor now. I died of family feels my friends. Bury me shallow though. I have the feeling I´ll be back.

After Danny is released from the hospital, him and Lex go to a Diner for some food and conversation. And let´s just say Lex would like to have a TALK with Bruce Wayne still.

He´s also very happy about Danny´s healing factor as that means his boy will be pain free much sooner than he´d be if he´d been human… well if he´d been completely and utterly human he´d probably be dead because he would´ve taken a much longer time escaping his bonds … anyways

Though this also lets Lex think about how Danny had explained his healing factor. How it´s emotion-bound. And how sometimes when the emotions are right and good, he´ll heal, but when he feels bad or if the wound had emotional damage attached it would heal slower or even leave scars. Though the latter would only happen if the psychological damage went over a certain threshold.

And because he´s a dad he won´t beat long around the bush and tells him about his talk with Dick, about how he knows he collapsed after seeing Jason and if he knew why that was and then they talk about cores. And how the 'parasite' may not have had one, but it had certainly reacted to the proximity to one.

Soon after Lex goes outside to talk with Bruce. Bruce apologizes directly to lex - noice. He really needed to do that in person, otherwise it´d have been quite insincere.

Lex compliments Bruce in how his children care for him. How they certainly do care for him, because otherwise? They wouldn´t even bother.

Lex still warns Bruce that he´ll it slide this once and that if it ever happens again? There´ll certainly be hell to raise. Which is quite understandable. If my child had faced what Danny has faced I would not in any way be calm either. In fact, I´d be furious. So, the little warning is certainly appreciated.

While Bruce is surprised by how well Danny already looks since he´s only been out of the hospital for a few hours, he wants to apologize to Danny. And the little shit? Just says 'I´m waiting'.

Honestly, this man xD

Bruce actually, really, honestly apologizes with a whole explanation of why they did that how he´s also sorry that they did not take his trauma response seriously. He´s also understandably confused when Danny asks if he´d taken a blood sample.

And when Danny emphatically asks if he´d tried? Well. Let´s just say that a little of the eldritch energy slipped through and Bruce got a whole lot more attentive. Danny can be creepy. As a treat.

And when Bruce says 'yes`? And sees the reactions has to that? He realizes that Danny´s afraid. Honest to god afraid even though this could not be as bad as his confrontation with the ex-clown. He also doesn´t know how to feel when Danny warns him about trying it again.

Though here I´ll have to throw something in. Bruce may not have gotten a sample. But do you remember that Danny´s been tortured? With knives? And that there´d understandably been blood from his wounds all around the warehouse? And that the hospital probably also had some of his blood from the bullet removal as well as the cleaning of the other wounds? Let´s just say it will come into play later. I completely forgot about the left in my first read but god damn. This just makes the situation so much worse. But first it´ll get better. I swear this is like a roller coaster ride of emotions.

Where were we? Ah yes. Danny asks about the parasite. And if they´d taken it into the Batcave. Bruce is. Not amused. The first question out of his mouth was 'how' and the second was 'did you tell lex Luthor'

Dannys reaction´s just a wrinkled nose like 'ew, why would I do that?'. Which is honestly kind of adorable. And Danny does this whole spiel about secret identities and how they´re not his to tell and that he´s not exactly following lex´ agenda at all.

And after that rant Bruce just focuses on the word 'parasite' like a confused puppy. Danny´s just like 'yes. It´s a parasite. No, I don´t know how he got it' *thinks about ectoplasm* … 'was it a green liquid’ the instant reaction of 'LAZARUS PIT KNOWLEDGE' is funny as frick if you ask just always me. He just always assumes things first before he asks. Let me remind you peeps: To assume makes an ass out of u and me.

And then Danny explains how his parents used to work with 'something like that' and that it´s the reason his blood probably wouldn’t even ping as human because of all the contamination.

As Bruce asks if that´s the reason he´s so shifty about his blood samples Danny´s just like 'Nah. I just don´t trust you with this sort of information. Someone would get it and then they´d just use it maliciously. I KNOW that. Already lived through that'

Then this heartbreaking part follows:

There was only this soft, sad expression on Danny’s face as the boy said, “Oh, Bruce… There is no fixing me.” And then, Danny looked away, gaze falling to the half-eaten plate now. “Not anymore, anyways. Had someone tried a decade earlier, maybe it would have worked out but… No one bothered to try when I was still worth saving.”

I just want to put him in a blanket burrito and hug him until he´s happy and safe and no one will harm him anymore …

Bruce wants to talk about that topic further, but Danny just deflects back to the parasite. He talks about ectoplasm! Achievement unlocked! Knowledge about ectoplasm gained! Congratulations!

Bruce is fascinated. Danny is horrified that Jason was basically put into extremely unhealthy sludge that´s just a very bad representation for Ectoplasm. He´s not surprised about the side effects it had though. Which. If you think about it. I wouldn´t be either. I mean that stuff runs on emotions. And you can´t tell me that the League of Assassins has many positive emotions. Especially around the pits.

And then everyone´s just horrified that the parasite is sentient. Not as horrified that it´s not sapient. Can you imagine a green sludge parasite being sapient? God that sounds like some horror movie stuff.

Now the million-dollar question: Why isn´t Danny as affected by the whole thing? Easy answer? Because he´s been surrounded by that stuff since before he´s been born. It´s integrated in his DNA. Of course, it won´t affect him the same. And of course, there´s no fixing him. But his parents never did realize, did they? They never did understand what they´d been doing to their own flesh and blood. But their work was more important in the end, I guess.

And then we´re back with a mixed bag and some sadder emotions as the talk swaps to Danny´s parents and then to Lex and the situation at the hospital and Damian´s reaction and Danny´s 'mask' being just as much of a mask as Brucie is and. So much information in such a short time. Ouch :')

Good emotions. But too many D:

And now Cass has switched in! She´s taken Bruce’s seat and they ... Talk. Cass is not really all that jazzed about Danny knowing their vigilante secret. She´s also not happy about how the whole situation came about. Not sure what to think about Danny having killed someone.

And … Yeah. She has killed before. Has seen how the life of a man left him and decided: never again. She was raised as a weapon. Only a weapon - that leaves it´s traces.

And then she came to Gotham. She came to Bruce and became a vigilante and there´s the no kill rule (not that it always stops them from killing someone). And Danny just killed someone.

But it was the Joker. He´d done horrendous things to both Danny and her family. And in the end, if it´d been a member of her family who´d done the deed she would still feel not quite right about it. But the kill was not done out of some twisted sense of revenge or someone thing else. It was self-defence in the end. It was accident. So …

And in the end: she can´t be upset about all of that. She wouldn´t have wanted to lose Danny either. Even if she´d always had the feeling of not understanding him.

But that´s the thing about relationships isn´t it? They´re hard. They´re a work in progress. You can never know another person as intimately as you know yourself. We go into a relationship, any kind of relationship, with the intent to learn more about another person. Maybe also to learn more about ourselves. But at the core relationship works out if both people want to see the other for who they are and how they can make it work as a team. The same is true for friendships and family relationships. And there´s always more to learn.

Also. They´re just cute. Cass then asks what his parents did to Danny and his eyes just flash green.

There is no further information before the scene changes to the fathers trying to be subtle about spying on their kids through the window lmao

He recounts a number of their neglectful behaviours, their questionable morale standards, their involuntary hurting their children and just. Not once did they ever question themselves. Not once did they try to change or apologize. And then in the end? They used their blasters on him and he just ran. Danny´s so tired of running. So, so tired of it. He just wants somewhere to belong. A home without the danger of his own parental figures turning on him every second he´s there.

Cass is just so sweet as she gently reminds him that he´s not less important just because he hurt someone. Because in the end no one´s life is worth more, than one’s own. That she´s just glad she´s safe and god, I’m getting diabetes.

AND THEN THEY KISS. It´s all very romantic and cute and the fathers want to protest, but Tim is just sitting next to them with a camera making photos of the whole scenario because he wants to show them on their future wedding party. I understand you, my man, I understand you. That´s just the sibling in you. As well as the photographer. Those two go remarkably well together!

Tim be like:

While going home Lex and Danny make a pit stop at Harley´s and Ivy´s house where Harley and Lex badger Danny into going to therapy for the low price of Lex repairing their home and them basically becoming Danny´s Wine and Vodka aunts. Ahhh yes. Found family at its finest.

Danny also gets permission for a pet from Lex. LONG LIVE THE KITTEN EYES.

Of course, the public has already been informed about the death of the joker and how Danny had been involved. Gotham is throwing a party for him and they´re showered in confetti on their way to the airport. It´s all very heroic and nice. Until the antis come out. But they´ll always come out the little buggers.

And then. AND THEN. My favourite parts about this fic: one of the social media chapters. God damn.

It starts with their excitement about Danny coming to Gotham, worrying about the Joke r and then Danny in his custody, Danny’s health status as well as his being saved by red hood, people worrying about the joker, people being confused at Danny talking with Bruce in a diner, people insta-shipping Cass and Danny and being just so damned happy for them? It´s adorable. The social Media peeps are just CUTE.

And when they find out that Danny killed the joker all hell breaks loose. The stans, the antis - there´s fights breaking out over it, there parties, there´s just so much joy about that little fact.

And then people freak out about a pic Harley shared with the sirens and Danny and Bud and Lou during the Uno game. The Fanart is adorable and people are just joyous about Harley being like 'I´ve only known Danny for a day and a half, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself'. Which. Yes. Dany protection squad RISE UP.

People are not comforted hearing the 'nah don’ worry I’ve had worse' comment upon being asked about his wellbeing.

The exact way Danny revealed that Danny and Cass are now dating just absolutely adorable. It´s so fucking sweet. The whole family is exasperated and the PR team probably wants to cry but god damn, it´s cuuteee

32 notes · View notes

morgansunflower · 1 year

Text

My Beloved Dear

Jason Todd X Wayne! Al Ghul! Reader

Bruce Wayne X Talia al Ghul

Warnings:suggestive content, explicit language and angst.

Words:1462

Arthur's notes! Third P. O. V. Good mom Talia! Damian Wayne is Damian Todd. Y/N is pregnant with Damian

Requested taglist @too-strong-to-lose

Jason wasn't the one who was killed by Joker it was Y/N. She had been living with her mother whilst visiting her Father and Alfred.. And especially Jason. Though things take a turn for the worse once she tries to take Jason's place when Joker plots to kill him.

Jason stepped into the dark hideout after a night of patrol. He turned on his lights and sense a presence behind him. He instantly turned with his pistols. A woman comes from the shadows.

"Talia!"

"I did not come here to fight you child" she scoffed.

"threaten me?" he said coldly, he knew shouldn't be cold but... He seemed to have lost a bit of himself.

"I came to tell you matters to which you should know. I am fully aware of your affections for my daughter"

Y/N his love. He had to take a deep breath from the force that fell onto his chest. He lowered his arms putting his weapons back in his holsters.

"inform me about, what Talia?" he asked with a calmer tone.

"you know I am to never lie just as my father. Be that as it may you will likely not believe what I am to say regarding.. My daughter" Talia then sadly smiled. "why don't you be a gentleman as I know Alfred taught you to be and make me some tea young man?"

"ok.. Sure have a seat wherever you like" he was quite glad he took Alfred's tea ingredients when he had got the chance.

She sat on the chair. He would love to see what shades of red Bruce would turn seeing her in here. As he poured a cup for her and himself. He can't help but wonder why she's here. Guilt? A chance to know her daughter's lover? He misses Y/N. He misses seeing her kind smile and her e/c eyes. Being able to tell her about his day and talk to her for hours without end. He gave Talia her cup and sat on the other chair.

"thank you" she said kindly

What the hell? Did he miss something?

"Y-yeah sure thing" he awkwardly said

That's when he understood how Bruce fell in love with her. She had a hidden kindness. She had layers.

She looked to her tattoo on her wrist of Y/N's favorite flower "my father underestimated Joker's madness just as he underestimated my love for your father. Though he did not believe in death that had no purpose.. You know well he's used the lazarus pit to remain alive for many years.. I was a grieving mother but she.. She returned to us damaged and disappeared into the darkness.. I tried to track her down for months but I've been able to gather she is still alive"

Jason felt a train hit his heart as it pounded and for the first time since she died, he feels he can breathe. He wants to feel her soft touch. She's alive. She needs him. He has to find her. His eyes wanted to shake. He wanted to hold her in his arms again. He wanted to cry.

Talia stands placing the cup on the coffee table and placed her hand on his shoulder "your silence proves how moved you are, by what I have said. Proving to me that you do indeed love her and for that I grant you my blessing"

He nodded with a sad smile "I am very in love with her"

"rest now, in a few moments we will begin our search"

"wait, wait! Does anyone else know about this" he asked then her face fell further. "does Bruce?.."

"I cannot expect my beloveds reaction to my presence be accepted with welcome arms" her voice hinted with a genuine heartbroken tone

"maybe not, I guess he deserves to know" things between Bruce and Jason are not exactly functional.

"yes, he does" she agreed her heart sinking knowing how much she has broken his heart.

"thank you" he said, she gently bowed her head and then left

He couldn't stand because he's in such shock. He couldn't even move. He takes a deep breath reaching for his phone. Dick nearly fainted when he got the phone call from his little brother. He almost thought it was just Jason hoping too much.. Though the heaviness in Jason's voice. Triggered Grayson's big brother mode, he had to help him find her.

Bruce's sitting in his chair in the Bat-cave. He smells Jasmine, rose of taif.. Talia!

"Talia" he rose from his chair to see her. "if this is regarding our daughter I already know. You should have nev--" she prevented him from speaking further

"how dare you?!" she yelled "Y/N is my daughter just as much as she is yours! Do you believe that I truly wanted her to have the life I did? I never wanted to lie to you but my father was going to betray you! I lied to spare you! She refused to not know you. Do you believe I wanted to be a assassin? I wanted to be different for you but you could never see--" Bruce grabbed her hand pulling her into a passionate kiss. One reason he had truly missed her. Second reason was that he was scared, scared to lose her, to lose their only daughter. They both sat in the batmobile to go search for their precious daughter. The silence was agonizing.

"I told Jason" she admitted to her beloved.

"you what?" he asked in a angered tone.

"he loves her I understood his pain in losing something that you once held dearly"

"you mean to tell me you knew of their relationship without my knowledge" her beloved said looking at her with a appalled look on his face

She scoffed "you're the detective or perhaps mother's intuition is stronger than your rice sized brain"

He grunts "dammit Talia"

Y/N shakes as she hears Joker's sick laugh sending a shiver down her spine. She's gonna throw up! She's so scared she'll never get out of this nightmare. She vomited into the alleyway. She finally stop her knees desiring to buckle. She walked for a few minutes but she doesn't know how much longer she's got. She crouched into a fetal position on the ground. Nothing seems clear. She can hardly even remember where she came from. She closed her eyes seeing a bright smile. His kind eyes with a heart warming laugh. She feels her heart beating fast with her e/c eyes shaking..... She jolted awake hearing a faded man's voice. She moved back, as he touched her face, crawling backward. She can't catch her own breath from complete shaking hands. All she could see is red, black and leather from his uniform. He takes off his helmet. He smiles, she knows that smile.. His arms were open in a cautioned manner.

"hey! Hey! Y/N it's me, it's me" he takes his mask off "it's me babe" his eye's shake with a brittle voice.

It's him. It's really him! She began to sob and weakly open her arms. His face broke into a helpless cry. Jason smiled lifting her into his arms. She buried her face in his neck. She heard, him began to cry. He takes her to the Bat-cave yelling for Alfred. He ordered Jason to lay her on the stretcher. They hooked her to an I-V. Alfred used a scanner to look for internal injuries. He gasped stopping near her abdomen. What he saw brought him to tears. He looks to Jason whom was kissing her cheek and then her lips. Alfred reached out to his grandson motioning him to look at the scan on the small computer by the stretcher.

"is that...." Jason gasps, how? The Lazarus brought them both back.

"it is indeed" Alfred smiled, she would have to be put on bed rest. He was more than willing to help her, breakfast in bed, her medicine. Anything his granddaughter would need.

Both Talia and Bruce run in to see their daughter, to the where she laid. She could see Jason his tears were stained on his cheeks. Jason glared to Bruce with enraged steps. Dick came into the room he nearly fell from shock to see his baby sister. Talia then looked seeing the image of her grandchild on the screen.

"you knew she was alive for 4 weeks! You didn't even have the guts to tell me!!" Jason said with a angered glare

"you kept your relationship with my daughter a secret from me for years. I only found out hours ago" he said enraged with folded arms.

"and what was I just a damn soldier to you?!!" Jason accused

Talia instantly got between them pushing them away from each other.

"both of you silence yourselves! Y/N is going to have our grandchild and I will not have the child live with quarrel among this family" she ordered to the men whom were behaving like children.

"Y/N is pregnant?!" Dick nervously exclaimed

#Angst #Jason is 18 #Reader is 17 #Pregnancy #Pregnant! Reader #Jason Todd X Reader #Jason Todd X Pregnant! Reader #Fluff #batfamily #bruce wayne x talia al ghul #batsis! reader #batfam x batsis! reader #Alfred Pennyworth #Bruce Wayne #Jason Todd #Talia al Ghul #Good mom Talia

81 notes · View notes

dyslexic-mess · 1 year

Text

Lil drabbles I have nowhere else for. They where written under the assumption of a dc X dp crossover but nothing properly developed (it's mostly dialogue, I won't lie)

One of the bats asks a ghost about Danny after hearing him refered to by a diffrent title:

"The young King had many titles!" She said poudly "Though, they are mostly used by ghosts to refer to his highness. Humans gave him one..." The ghost seemed to think for a moment, placing her hand under her chin before snapping her fingers. "Ah, yes. You call our King 'The Grim Reaper', I think"

---

The same ghost comments when it's revealed Danny is here for the Joker specifically:

"Your friend should think himself lucky" the ghost set her hands on her hips, nose in the air. "His Grace is a kind King, to a fault, some say, and will only intervein when he apsolutly has to. When he's called to right the ballance, he's as merciful as he can be." She looked more fierce now, a warning in her gaze "the relms could have called upon another to do its bidding and the Master of Time has no such patience for mortals..."

---

Danny, explaining to Jason what he is:

"Your like...a janky medium.

Exept You weren't born with your connection to the other side, it was forced in with your soul when you came back." Danny spoke alot with his hands, Jason noticed, as he pointing a finger into his palm. " It's no wonder you went insane, its actually more of a wonder you got your witts back. You shouldn't have, your body and mind arnt compatible with the abilitys, if they where you'd have already had them."

Danny circled him as he paused, as if marveling at some kind of artwork or maybe a large mess was a better comparison.

"Dispite all that and being dunked in septic ectoplasm, somehow, you seem to have acclimated on your own."

---

Vlad explaining what Danny is to Jason:

"Danny is ground zero. In basic terms."

"He was right at the heart of a tare being ripped in the vale, he was spit in two with it and then sewn back together. More than that, he was the catalyst, IS the catalyst. The portal didn't create him, he created the portal."

Vlad didn't talk with his hands, Jason noted, standing almost perfectly still as he spoke.

"He walks on the razor thin line between the two worlds with perfect ballance." Vlad paused, them muttered "Hell, he dances on it."

That comment broke vlads expression for a moment and he huffed through his nose. Jason had to smile a little at the hell Danny must have danced this guy though.

"Natural portals appear on there own but that...thing the Fentons created was forcibly wrenched into being. That requires far more than some electrics and ectoplasm. It needs a braking point. An apsolute. A moment, THE moment where there is perfect ballance between life and death."

"That's what Danny is. He's the moment. The braking point. He's ground zero. He is forever locked in that split second he was both alive and dead."

A breath. Then a lower tone.

"I doubt the Fentons even know what they've created. If they do, they certenly don't know how they did it. They could never create it again, not the portal, not the way they think they created it. The electrics, the ectoplasm the archway. To slash another hole in the vale, they would need another Danny. They would need to kill another child. Create another being that sits perfectly in ballance between the two worlds."

Then the man's face broke again but Jason didn't smile this time. Suddenly Vlad looked sad. That wasn't even the right word, he looked bereaved.

"No, if they knew, truly, what is required to force a gateway to the infinite relms, what it required the first time, it would brake there hearts."

#bek rambles about crap #danny phantom #bek writes #Ik Ik its mostly dialogue #Im used to writing scrips Im SORRY #Im still learning to add the bits where charicters DO stuff between lines #its easyer when theres an actor to take care of that for youuu T^T

54 notes · View notes

phoenixcatch7 · 1 year

Note

This is one world where the Joker dies. The Joker sees LBH walking around and thinks it a good idea to kidnap and/ or murder Bruce Wayne’s husband as a joke. LBH, remembering all SQQ’s rants about how he fucking HATES the Joker and wants to kill him so bad, but can’t because he’s not allowed to, goes 😈😈😈. LBH is sure that his husband will appreciate getting the Joker’s head in a box as a present. Jason can have the rest of the corpse.

Ahhhh your read my mind! Batman is contractually obliged (read: forbidden by the system on pain of punishment protocol and/or a true death) not to kill, but that doesn't stop the ancient demon Empress scholar warrior from having Opinions™ on who should frankly kick the bucket. His husband has slaughtered clans over less than what Scarecrow has done.

Another idea though: lbh wouldn't wait for the joker to kidnap him. He sees Bruce's tight expression when talking (infodumping) about Gotham, he sees the way the children glance at Jason whenever they hear his name, he sees how his husband scowls helplessly whenever the topic of future breakouts comes up.

He'd go out and find him.

"Binghe?"

"Shizun?" he asks, just to confirm it's his husband on the other end of the line. Even weeks after they were reunited, it's wonderful to hear Shen qingqiu's new voice. It always is.

"Where are you? You're normally back by this hour. Gotham is dangerous at this hour, come home."

"Shizun..." Usually, at the first sign of being wanted back luo Binghe would be dropping everything and running. Not tonight. He's finally found what he's seeking. "Forgive this tardy husband, but I will be a little longer. There is something I've been looking for."

"Looking for?" shen qingqiu echoes, and he waits while his clever husband's mind works. If shizun truly wanted him to stop and leave well enough alone, he'd tell him, but luo Binghe thinks that this time that won't be the case. "Looking for what, Binghe?"

"I found something peculiar the other day, and given how much shizun cares about his city, this one thought it would be best to ensure it wasn't dirtying up the streets. It's making quite the joke of itself."

He heard the sharp inhale on the other side. He waited. Then, softly;

"Ah," shen qingqiu breathed. "Well then, dear husband, be sure you don't get lost wandering the city. It's quite dangerous. In fact, I feel it might be better if I sent Jason along with you. Just to make sure you're safe. He's been positively desperate to get out."

Oh.

Of course, their second eldest. The one the joker had brutally killed. The one whose death still gave his too kind husband nightmares.

Well, luo Binghe knew the rules.

Everything that has happened in the past, we'll repay it to you today.

A thousand fold.

#Pov your husband who hates killing just gave you not only implicit approval but sent the one person who very openly wants to kill to you #Batman!sqq au #batman #svsss #dc comics #shen qingqiu #Jason and lbh bonding time! They r both covered in blood #I honestly thought I'd posted this days ago whoops sorry #Also pov you are the joker terrorising your goons in a warehouse completely unaware the two people batman would ever let kill you #are standing right outside with about three hundred years of experience in torture and beatings between them and full permission to go wild #luo binghe #A little more bingge rn tho haha #Fusion of his and sqq's retribution quotes because yes please

33 notes · View notes

starry-bi-sky · 4 months

Note

ive been hesitating to ask this bc youve been on a roll with the clone^2au (which i am frothing over) but could i poke you for some childhood friend au? bc GOD i wanna see how danny reacts to reuniting w jason or how the rest of the batfam react to learning jason never told danny of his resurrection or wondering if dannys gonna put jokers dead body on a display/offering to jasons grave. i havent been normal about this since i first read it and was wondering. thank you for your writing.

RAAAAHHHH DON'T BE HESITANT I AM JUST AS FERAL OVER MY CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AU AS I AM WITH CLONE^2 I AM DELIGHTED BY THIS. Like.,,,, i literally love them,,, so much. I can't listen to The Crane Wives without thinking of them.

(which is my fault - the ao3 fic of them has literally only crane wives lyrics for each chapter title and summary (posted AND the ones not written) so of course im gonna associate with them.)

(if you wanna listen to some of their songs while thinking of cfau here are my recommendations: "Once & for All", "Here I Am", "Hollow Moon" is a Danny AND Jason song to me, this would be my go-to song for an animatic of CFAU if i had the skills for it. "Tongues and Teeth", "Curses" and "take me to war" is a heavy cfau danny song to me, and of course, "the moon will sing")

Like they're BEST friends dude, they're two sides of the same coin and when they were kids they would do this thing where their 'fingers crossed'/'double-crossed' was them hooking their index fingers in the fingers crossed gesture.

and i'm actually currently rewriting my original post into a more fic-like format, and when I'm done I'll post it on here under the cfau tag - with the original post still in tact. But its,,, gonna be so long dude,,,, the original behemoth was just over 9000 words,,, and I've written 3k words already of the new one and we haven't even reached Jason and Danny reuniting at the gala yet,,, i need to get back to that,,,

and then to answer your questions!! god im almost hesitant to answer because i dont wanna spoil the little fic i had planned for it but also like,, its not like im gonna spoil everything, right? and answering the questions isnt the same as writing the scene down so!!

i love danny and jason's reuniting, like i've thought about it SO much and I've thought about it happening after Danny kills the Joker. I know the reveal could have been before that, and it could have been equally just as dramatic but like??? Thematically, doing it after danny kills the joker is SO good. To me at least.

Because like?? Jason's been in somewhat denial about danny's plan to kill the joker for months. ever since danny told him that he wanted to at the gala. And from Jason's pov its not even technically a plan. He sees his best friend for the first time after five years and his best friend still isn't over his death. He hasn't stepped foot in Gotham since his funeral and now suddenly he's here.

And he's still so full of grief over his death that he tells a masked vigilante that he's going to kill the guy that did it, who lives in said masked vigilante's city. And danny's got that look in his eyes that Jason knows so well that means he's being serious. And yet he still doesn't know if he should believe him or not.

And then he does. Danny kills him. And Jason can't fucking believe it. And when he goes and sees Danny, Danny's hands are still covered in blood. And that reunion? God like a fucking firework show. Danny's so fucking angry, and pissed, and hurt, and so goddamn overjoyed that he's alive and here that he sends them both to the ground, and if he doesn't calm down he's gonna take out the power in a five block radius.

there's just so, so much yelling on Danny's end. And then so much crying, first from Danny and then them both. because god, you're alive. you're here. i've missed you so much. i'm never letting you out of my sights again.

and Joker's death! God I don't want to actually say too much about that, but the way I have it set up thematically makes me actually not want danny to take any part of the joker with him as an offering. and he may actually forego that particular ghost etiquette and offer something else as an offering to Jason in substitute to not bringing him the Joker's heart/head/ritualistic body part.

Because you know what the last thing a man whose been spending the last two decades of his life building himself up to be larger than life would want? A death that's unremarkable. :) and that's all i'll put on the matter for now.

and the batfam!! they technically already know that jason hasn't told danny he was resurrected, and plenty of them have mixed feelings on them. largely bruce and dick i think, considering they saw firsthand how close jason and danny were when they were kids.

Dick was honestly surprised at first when he found out that Jason hadn't told Danny he was alive - and on one hand he understands the reasoning for it, and on the other hand he isn't sure if it was such a good idea. Especially after he sees Danny again after he arrives back in Gotham and sees just how badly Jason's death was still affecting him. But it's not like he's going to try and convince Jason to tell him - he can make his own choices, even if Dick has questions about them.

Bruce has much the same thoughts as Dick, so there's not really much to add here other than he might bring it up once or twice to Jason like, vaguely. And then immediately drops it when Jason shuts him down. He might actually somewhat...?? prefer that Jason hasn't told Danny because that raises a lot of questions and could jeopardize their identities. However, again, Jason can make his own choices and there's not much Bruce can do about it other than disapprove from afar.

Tim who knew of Danny from stalking the Wayne family shares similars sentiments of being surprised that Jason didn't tell Danny, but again, yeah, understands the thought process to some extent. Doesn't bring it up ever.

Everyone else who hadn't seen firsthand how close Danny and Jason are don't really have much opinion on it -- Jason didn't tell his best friend he was alive, great, he also didn't tell them either so it's not like its that much of a surprise. It would've been more of a surprise to them if Jason had told Danny before he told Bruce and co. Damian may make a comment or two about Jason not telling Danny, but its not about how he can't believe he didn't tell him or anything like it.

#dpxdc #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #danny fenton is not the ghost king #cfau #childhood friends au #danny and jason are such best friends i love them so much #BUT YEAH ASK ME MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT CFAU I'LL SCREAM #AND THEN TRY AND ANSWER THEM TO MY BEST ABILITY #like i could go on RANTS almost SPECIFICALLY about rath (dan) and then about jason and danny #and their friendship like i've thought about this au with a combined soulmate au and immediately hated the idea because no!#no! i can't call them soulmates. i can't it doesnt fit. their bond goes DEEPER than that. its *better* than that #this wasn't written in the stars it was forged in the back alley streets of gotham with all the broken glass under their feet #and the smell of nicotine weaving itself into the fabrics of their shirts. their souls aren't intertwined because the universe said so #they're two balls of yarn tangled together because they batted it at each other and decided to play cats cradle. and then never bothered #to untangle the string from one another. you'll never know where one ends and the other begins #i actually have a cfau miscellaneous facts post in my drafts that i need to finish too and i might do that today because of this ask <33 #the fastest way to starry's heart is through her ask box #asking me questions about my aus is the fastest way to make me make more content about them ajshld #see: clone^2 (i've been coasting off the fanart i got from them for the last two days) and now this #i need to stop more before i start waxing more poetic about jason and danny's bond with one another.#also also jason is equally as feral about danny as danny is about him (see: him plotting joker's demise since he was 14) its just not #showing as much since a lot of this is from danny's pov. like dw this isn't one-sided obsession its mutual.#see: jason seeing danny's scars and immediately wanting to find out who caused it and getting murderously angry about it #its not a starry post unless its long #idk maybe im just obsessed with the idea that relationships are chosen and forged with time and that the bonds we have arent because they #were predetermined but because we made them to be. Like how clone^2 said 'i choose to be brothers' and how danny and jason said #'i choose you. i will always choose you. you're my other half. the one who watches my back. i choose you.'

81 notes · View notes

nabtime · 10 months

Text

Our Empty Graves V

Fandom: Danny Phantom / Batman: Under the Red Hood

Pairings: Danny Fenton/Jason Todd (Dead on Main)

Rating: Mature

Tags: batfamily, hazmat AU, Nobody Knows AU, Mute!Phantom, potential ghost king danny, slow burn?, DC means Disregard Canon, AU means AU nothing is exactly the same, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, more than canon typical violence, danny is a Halfa and also a Fetch, no beta we die like basically everyone

Summary: They say that Red Hood has a loyal mutt. The man rules his territory in Crime Alley with an iron fist and a guard dog at his side. They say that Hood calls him Fetch, sometimes Fetcher. No one's ever heard him speak. Anyone who's ever seen him says he looks like an experiment gone wrong, that Hood picked him up somewhere unspeakable. They say he'll do anything Red Hood asks of him and he'll do it well. That he's strong and fast and probably inhuman. The girls say he's sweet; quiet but charming in his own way. Rival gangs say he's vicious; that he'd sooner rip your throat out than let you go.

Jason just wants to help him.

Chapter 5: they call me devil (and you should be afraid)

Chapter Summary: Red Hood keeps running into Fetcher, who disappears on him each time, until he decides to take the matter into his own hands and hunts the other down.

Chapter Notes: title from Call Me Devil by Friends in Tokyo Links: AO3 // Chapter 1 // Chapter 4 // Chapter 6 // Spotify

There was a part of Jason that knew he wouldn’t find Fetcher in the safe house when he returned, but there was another (stupider) part of himself that had hoped to find the sassy little shit where he’d left him. He knew the first time had been a miracle and probably owing to the fact that Fetcher had been exhausted and recovering. He really hoped the kid had healed fully before he left. It looked like he already had a pretty fast healing rate, but Jason still worried. Like an idiot, really.

He wondered where Fetcher went. Jason didn’t believe for one second the kid actually had a place to go. But then again he literally glowed green and walked around in a Hazmat suit, which meant he was kind of hard to miss. So he had to have a place to go, to hide. Because Jason sure as shit hadn’t seen him since he left. And no, he had not looked. Well, maybe he looked a little. But it didn’t matter because he hadn’t found the fucker anywhere. There and gone again in a single night.

Jason should not be as preoccupied about it as he was. He had plans. He needed to focus. Didn’t matter that he’d felt almost calm for the first time since he resurrected around the kid (four long, long years of mindlessness and anger and a sort of helplessness and despair he hated). Fetcher was gone now and all he could do was sink back into his rage and learn to swim willingly within the haze all over again. He’d done it before and he’d do it again. Rage was useful. Anger was something he could mold and carve to his satisfaction. He would use it as a tool to strike down those that needed striking and avenge those that needed vengeance. Himself for one.

Tall, Dark, and Emotionally Repressed wouldn’t know what hit him. The Batman had failed him. Bruce had proven that while he may have loved Jason, he hadn’t loved him enough. And wasn’t that just the story of his life? Jason had never been enough. Would never be enough. Always second-rate. A good Robin, sure, but not near enough to live up to the first one. To Dick’s spark and skill and flamboyance. Dickie had set the standard for what a Robin should be and Jason had never been able to live up to it. His Replacement got closer than he ever could and it stung. Too arrogant, too forceful, too angry, too reckless. Too much, yet never enough. Jason was loved but it always came with conditions. Jason was mourned but his death had still not been enough to put a stop to the Joker. Just another page in his story instead of the catalyst to his end. He hadn’t cared that Bruce was too late to save him, he’d cared that Bruce had still not considered his death enough to put a permanent end to Joker’s murder sprees.

It pissed him off.

If the Batman, so-called protector of Gotham city, wouldn’t put an end to the festering blight on humanity at large that was the Clown Prince of Crime, then someone else would. Jason was not afraid to bloody his own hands if it meant more innocents could live. If it meant that people like Jason had been wouldn’t have to die anymore. Die broken and bleeding and scared. Thinking that Batman would save you, would pull you out of the wreckage and make sure everything was alright. Thinking that Batman would go to the ends of the earth to make sure you lived. Thinking that Batman would do anything to avenge you if you didn’t. He would not let anyone else live that lie. Die with that lie.

Because that’s all it was. A lie.

If Jason, a child he had brought in and personally trained, was not enough, then there weren’t many others that were. How many people would finally be too many? How many lives would end before the Joker’s? His hadn’t been worthy enough to count as the sacrificial lamb to end it all. Though, he supposed, he hadn’t been worth much anyway. Bruce could bluster all he wanted, pretend to be angry that someone had trespassed on Jason’s grave. But the fact of the matter was that nowhere on that headstone had he been given the name Wayne. Unclaimed and unwanted and unavenged. He wondered, sometimes, if it had been Dick that had died instead of him, if that would have been Bruce’s breaking point. But Dickie had never been stupid enough to get himself killed.

Not like reckless, angry, arrogant, Jason.

But, now, now he had a plan and he would put those traits to use.

He would continue to take over the Alley. Expand his territory and take over all trade from Black Mask and any other Kingpin trying to rule the underground. He would control the drugs, the arms, and any other goods. He would destroy what he couldn’t control and control what he couldn’t destroy. Drugs would sell no matter what he did, so he would make sure they were pure and out of the hands of minors. He would provide refuge for the weak and weary, clean spaces and warm places. He would do what Batman could not and rid the city of its more heinous strains of crime. And he would be as ruthless about it as he needed to be. He would not hold back because of some old moral code, not if it meant doing what needed to be done. He would not be so selfish as to put his conscious above the lives and well-being of others.

He would show the Bat what the city could become before he put Bruce’s morals to the test. Before he found out what Batman’s breaking point really was.

═════ ◈ ═════

Six months he’d been running everything. Killing off rival gang members, making sure everyone knew the rules and the consequences for not following them. Pissing off Black Mask and eating more and more of his territory, claiming the Alley for himself. Teasing Batman and dodging his attempts at a take-down. He wasn’t ready to give up the ghost just yet, Brucie needed more patience than that.

It was just another run-of-the-mill patrol of the area. Checking in with his lieutenants, keeping them in line and making sure no one was breaking the golden rule. Checking in on the Corner Workers, making sure they had everything they needed and that no one was trying to rough them up. Checking in on the camps, making sure everyone had food and water and shelter and anything else they needed. Keeping the pigs away from all of them.

So, imagine his surprise when he finds trouble. No, not that he just finds trouble, that was expected and the reason for the patrol in the first place, but that he finds trouble and Fetcher was in the middle of it. Trying to stop it? From the looks of it?

Taking in the scene, there were three figures. Fetcher, some guy in a black jacket and ski-mask (like you couldn’t get anymore cartoonishly criminal), and a girl all done up in high-heels and a short leather dress. Nadi if he had to take a guess. Looked like some bozo had been trying to mug one of the Ladies of the Night. Had been because Fetcher had the guy in a headlock and was- Giving the guy a noogie? The girl in question seemed to just be watching, hands on her hips and grinning, make-up and hair without a single smudge or ruffle. Fetcher must have intervened before Bozo could get very far then.

Jason joined her in watching the show. Bozo tried to pull a knife and Fetcher just kept one arm around his head and used the other to snatch it away without effort. Then he density-shifted it into his suit and gave the guy a finger wag. Like some naughty kid.

“That’s the third knife he’s done that with,” Nadi said, sounding on the brink of hysterical laughter.

Nadi, from what he had learned of the sex workers under his protection, was always one to deflect with humor when things went south. Served her well in this instance because it kept her calm and able to enjoy the show. She wasn’t new to the block either so this probably wasn’t the first time she’d had a knife pulled on her. Probably the first time a walking radiation hazard saved her though. Or, knowing Gotham, maybe not.

“He hurt you at all?” he asked her, just to make sure.

“Nah,” she said turning to him with a smile that didn’t falter at the sight of his helmet.

He was trying his best to keep his reputation good with the ones under his protection, so he was happy to see her without fear around him. The ones who should fear him were the ones that broke the rules, not the ones he made the rules to protect.

“Little man in the funky suit,” she said, pointing to Fetcher with an impeccably sharp nail, “jumped in the second I started yelling at that asshole.”

“Good,” Jason replied. “How long has this been going on?”

“Mm,” she started, brown eyes looking up in thought, “about ten minutes, I think. Glow-boy’s been keeping him down for a while.” Her eyes gleamed. “I just wanna see how many knives is gonna get involved.”

Fetcher had been keeping that man in a headlock for ten goddamn minutes. Amazing.

“Oi, Fetch,” he called, watching as the vicious little nightlight jumped at his voice and dropped the guy, who flopped to the ground, boneless, with a groan. “What are you-”

Jason watched, stunned, as Fetcher held his hands up in surrender and then disappeared. Just fucking vanished into thin air. He switched his helmet to night vision, heat vision, anything and everything. No readings. Nada. Nothing. What the fuck.

“Aw,” Nadi whined, disappointed, “you scared ‘im off.”

“I did not!” he protested. Because really, he hadn’t meant to spook him. He was just glad to see the kid up and about and apparently well enough to take on random muggers. At least Batman hadn’t gotten to him, from the looks of things.

“Big bad Red Hood,” she sang, “scaring off my savior!”

He sighed. At least someone was having a good time.

Bozo groaned, face still planted in ground of the dirty back alley. Oh, right. Assholes to punish. He moseyed over, making sure each boot thunked heavily against the asphalt. He watched Bozo grow tenser with every step he got closer.

“Talk,” he commanded. Fetcher wanted to play good cop (silly cop? ridiculous cop?) to Jason’s bad cop, so be it. He had a reputation. He could be a bit playful with the girls or soft with the kids, but trouble-makers got no mercy.

“I-I didn’t do nothin-,” Bozo started, stammering and struggling to move up onto his hands and knees.

Red Hood took care of that with a swift kick to the ribs.

“Try again.”

He wouldn’t stand for someone trying to shift the blame. Trying to get out of the consequences of their actions.

Bozo groaned and curled up on his side. Jason had no sympathy.

“Fine, fine,” Bozo said, face still one with the concrete. “Know the girls always carry a lotta cash from workin’. Figured it would be an easy grab. Wasn’t plannin’ on hurtin’ her.”

Nadi scoffed. “I worked hard for my money, asshole.” She loomed over him, hands on her hips, and Jason let her. “You thought you could just grab it off me?” She pressed a threatening heel against the guy’s bruised ribs. “I’da fought you off myself if little cujo hadn’t tackled you.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Bozo said miserably. “Just throw me to the cops already.”

Jason tsked. “No pigs in the Alley.” He paused, thinking it over for a moment. Guy looked young and scruffy. Desperate for money by the sounds of it, if he was willing to go for someone in Jason’s territory. Knew to keep more than one knife on him, so stupid- but with some street smarts. He could work with that. “You’re working for the girls now, as penance.”

“What?!” Bozo and Nadi shrieked at the same time.

Jason held up his hand for silence. He pointed at Bozo first. “Room and board and something better to do than trawl the streets for blood money.” Then pointed at Nadi, “Extra set of hands to do whatever you want.”

Nadi’s eyes gleamed again at that. “Whatever I want?”

Smart girl.

Bozo collapsed back down with another pitiful groan. Served him right. Jason crouched next to him, making sure he had the guy’s attention and letting a little murderous-intent bleed into his voice.

“Pull this shit again and there won’t be another second chance.”

He bared down on him, making sure it got through that thick skull just what would happen if he crossed the line again. He was lucky he’d gotten away without any maiming this time. Next time, Hood would have his head.

Bozo nodded, face pale and clammy. Jason stood up, satisfied, before turning to Nadi again.

“He tries to pull anything, let me or any of my crew know.”

And with that he grappled off, climbing back to the rooftops and running his route with a distracted air. Looking for a neon green glow he knew he wouldn’t find.

═════ ◈ ═════

The second time Jason caught sight of Fetcher out and about, it was a much bloodier encounter.

Some of Black Mask’s men had ambushed him mid-patrol, thinking they could catch him by surprise and bring him in to their increasingly irate boss. Too bad for them that Jason wasn’t a man so easily caught off guard. If there was one thing that Bats taught all the Robins that served them well- it was paranoia. If you think they’re always out to get you, you’ll be prepared for the many times they actually are.

Five against one, but Jason was packing all five of the Bennett sisters tonight and he had more tricks up his sleeves besides.

One shot to the jugular. One pistol whip to the face. One kick in the ribs and two shots to the kneecaps. Two men trying to grab at his arms at the same time, missing, and getting swept off their feet by one of Jason’s own.

One guy got an arm around his neck in the aftermath, pulling tight, and one of the two he’d knocked over popped back up and wrestled Lizzie out of his grip. Two were completely out of commission but that still left three stubborn bastards. The third one got in a shot to his thigh while he was throwing off the others.

He hissed, the bullet was unable to pierce his armor but still left a nasty bruise.

He pulled Mary out of her holster and took a rapid shot at that third guy’s hand, taking out his gun and leaving him out of the game for the rest of the fight- screaming and trying to staunch the blood pouring from his missing finger.

The other two had backed off, noticing that their odds were dwindling fast.

One guy pulled a knife, the blade glinting strangely in the light of the street lamp. Looked like it was coated in something. A paralytic, a poison? No matter what, it wasn’t likely to pierce his jacket or his armor. And the guy should know better than to bring a knife to a gun fight.

He took the shot but the guy dodged.

Idiot number two pulled a gun himself and fired off, three shots, all going large. One to the brick behind him, one to the pavement, and one to the dark of the night beyond them.

Idiot number one, being faster than Jason anticipated, made a lunge toward him and his knife skimmed the sleeve of his jacket on the left side, cutting a long and jagged stripe before just barely nicking his wrist where his jacket ended before his gloves.

His hand went numb. Fuck.

Whatever was on that knife, which shouldn’t be able to cut through his jacket, was potent. The edges of his jacket where it’d been split open began to sizzle. Double fuck. That one was his favorite.

He swung around and shot at idiot number one, being careful to dodge around the bullets being fired by idiot number two.

The tingling sensation of numbness was starting to crawl up his arm.

Idiot number one fell to a bullet in the shoulder, poison knife clattering to the ground while the guy screamed. Idiot number two was starting to look antsy, realizing he was the last man standing. Jason may be down an arm but he wasn’t about to let the guy go running. He shot- but the guy was squirrelly and dodged so that it only grazed his shoulder.

The numbness was reaching his chest. Would the paralytic kill him? Stop his heart? Or just leave him trapped? Either way he needed to end this, now. It’d already gone on too long. If he hadn’t been so fucking distracted… He hadn’t seen Fetcher in a week and a half now…

And then, well, think of the devil and he shall appear.

Last idiot standing was being held in a choke-hold by the glowing green halfling in question, which was a little funny from how short the kid was. Fetcher held him there until he passed out before dropping him and running towards Red Hood.

“Long time no see, Jellyfish,” he said, trying for a casual tone as his left leg started going out on him.

The kid gave him a flat stare before standing underneath him and swinging Jason’s left arm over his shoulder.

Fetcher was- cold to the touch. Like he’d been standing in a snowstorm and the chill had permanently sunk into his very being. He felt like static shock, like pinpricks of electricity were swirling around under the latex-like material of the suit. He felt completely unnatural and yet somehow familiar. Jason wondered, not for the first time, just what, exactly, a Fetch was.

Jason pointed to the dropped knife, sitting so innocently on the dirty pavement. “Gonna need that. Doc Thompkins’ll need to know what got me.”

Fetcher bobbed his head in a nod and scooped the knife up, being careful of the blade before shifting it into his suit like he had all those others.

“How many knives you even got in there?” Jason asked, trying to distract himself from the numbing sensation crawling further through his chest. His lungs were starting to stutter.

Fetcher held his free hand up in a gesture reminiscent of a shrug that didn’t move his occupied shoulder. So he didn’t know. That wasn’t concerning at all. The little glow-worm got them to the mouth of the alley before motioning to the street before them. Asking for directions.

Jason jabbed the thumb he could still move towards the left. Man he hoped Leslie would help him.

It was only after Leslie reluctantly let him go and he exited the clinic that he noticed Fetcher had disappeared again.

═════ ◈ ═════

Twice was a coincidence, three times was a pattern.

This time it was in the rain, heavy downpour obscuring everything in sight and the occasional flash of lightning spearing the dark in a thunderous roar.

Bruce had caught him on one of his runs.

They were on the edge of the roof, his boots slipping just the slightest against the slick concrete that bordered the ten story drop as Batman gripped the shirt that covered his chest armor in his fists, holding him up and being the only thing between him and the pavement below. One hand of Jason’s scrabbled against the slick armor on Batman’s arm and the other held a gun against the man’s head.

Red Hood laughed, bordering hysterical, the sound crackling and grating through the filter on his helmet. “Let me go, Batman,” he demanded, gun digging against the mask over Bruce’s temple.

“Who are you?” Batman growled, agony underpinning his words and it flooded Jason with a righteous glee that made him ache. Oh, Brucie, Brucie, Brucie he thought. You’re so close to figuring it out but you’re still not sure.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he said, trying not to cackle. The sweet, sweet fury painting his father’s ex-mentor’s face was delicious. He might not be ready to lead Batman to his pièce de résistance but he could still enjoy teasing in the meantime.

“Tell me,” Batman demanded, shaking Red Hood within his grasp, making Jason’s boots slide ever further toward the edge.

“Or what,” he snarled, “you’ll kill me?”

He nudged his gun to an angle beside Batman’s head and shot, the bullet flying into the air but the blast and the noise pushing Bruce away and startling his grip loose. Jason used the momentum to push up and arch in the air, feeling the rain and the wind against him as he flew. He flipped and felt the beautiful, intoxicating rush that came with free falling. Distantly he could hear Batman yelling, but all he wanted to concentrate on was feeling the pull of gravity before he landed.

He pulled out his grapple and aimed. It slipped and he cursed. The building was too short to sustain his fall for long and he didn’t have time for another grapple to hook and swing. He was meeting the pavement fast. Too fast. He wasn’t usually this sloppy. His landing would be messy and painful, but if he moved right, he’d live.

Cold hands caught him a single story from the ground and slowly lowered him down until his boots hit sidewalk. The glow around them told him he knew who his savior was.

When he was released he turned. The hands that had caught him were gone, and so was the rest of Fetcher. He tsked in annoyance. He’d need to hunt the kid down at this rate.

He looked up to see if Batman was still there. But if he was, he couldn’t see anything through the rain.

═════ ◈ ═════

Of course he was living in a graveyard. Because why not, right?

It was one of the last places Jason tried searching. Ever since Fetcher had risked Batman’s wrath again by catching him a few days ago, he’d doubled his determination to find him. He shouldn’t let himself get so distracted from his main goal, but keeping Fetcher within his sights and making sure the kid was safe was now part his master plan, apparently.

He could see a faint glow up in the branches of the single hickory tree planted in the cemetery Fetcher had originally been chased from. The one Jason was buried in. He tried not to have any particular feelings about that. He watched as the green shell of a hickory nut fell from the branches and bounced on the ground. Well, at least the kid was eating.

“Hey,” he called, watching the branches shake when Fetcher startled. “Get your radioactive ass down here.”

He backed up and watched in fascination as the other man swung down from a branch like a monkey before he dropped like a stone. If the forty foot drop did anything to his ankles when he landed directly on his feet, he didn’t let it show. What the fuck was this guy?

Fetcher walked closer, posture cautious but casual. Like there was at least some modicum of trust but he still knew to be wary. He tilted his head to the side, a question.

“How many crimes have you interfered with on my turf?” he asked, crossing his arms. He was genuinely curious though. He’d gotten reports from his lieutenants that mister nightlight had been spotted multiple times preventing a mugging or defending a Corner Girl. A little vigilante in the making, all he needed was the blue eyes and black hair and he’d be perfect Wayne Bait.

Fetcher scuffed his shoe against the grass and hid his hands behind his back before shrugging, trying to act innocent. Little shit.

“Listen,” he said, “if you’re gonna play vigilante here, it’s gonna be on my orders.”

Fetcher raised his head and tilted it to the side again. Another question. He sighed.

He walked closer, steps slow and careful so Fetch wouldn’t disappear on him. He didn’t want to spook the guy. “No more living in trees and popping in and out of nowhere,” he said firmly, close enough to see his curious glowing green eyes. “If you’re gonna work in my territory, then you’re gonna be on my payroll.”

The green glow narrowed and Fetcher crossed his arms. Defiant. Defensive.

Jason scoffed. “If you mess with things you don’t know about you’re going to get hurt. Or get someone else hurt.”

The arms dropped but stayed crossed, his head tilted to the side. Accepting but still questioning.

“I’m not going to stop you from saving people,” he said, “since that seems to be something you want to do.”

“But,” he lifted a finger, “you gotta listen to me. And you’re going to live in an actual goddamn house, you heathen. And eat actual food. I don’t care if you’re not human, no man under my protection is living like a monkey unless they are one.”

He paused. “You aren’t some type of monkey, are you?”

Fetcher seemed to double over. Shoulders shaking in silent laughter. Probably a no then. But, yeah, sure, laugh at him for not knowing what the fuck a Fetch was and trying not to make any assumptions.

“Alright, alright,” he grumbled as the other seemed to finally gather himself together. “You coming or not? I’m setting you up in a safe-house and then putting a fucking bell on you so I know where you are.”

He wiped a tear that wasn’t actually there from his tinted mask and mimed catching his breath before nodding and gesturing for Jason to lead the way. Then he paused and tilted his head. He lifted his arms and made a little paw motion beside his head and moved his head back and forth. Jason could almost see green ears and tail appear.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

Fetcher leaned forward, arms out in some sort of questioning shrug. Why not? he seemed to say, with some mocking edge. Little shit knew what he was doing.

God, Jason really hoped he wouldn’t regret this.

#naps fics #dp x dc #Our Empty Graves #dpxdc

11 notes · View notes

romeulusroy · 1 year

Text

I posted 354 times in 2022

346 posts created (98%)

8 posts reblogged (2%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@druiigg

@dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt

@randomfandomimagine

@always-imagine-a-dream

@moonlit-imagines

I tagged 354 of my posts in 2022

#ennasfavorites - 147 posts

#marvel - 117 posts

#marvel imagine - 97 posts

#dl - 89 posts

#ask - 65 posts

#avengers - 38 posts

#avengers imagine - 34 posts

#dc - 34 posts

#dc imagine - 33 posts

#stranger things - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 72 characters

#i think the only thing that matters in the school year are the breaks 😂

My Top Posts in 2022:

Imagine being Jason's next target:

Hank was gone and you were next, Jason made that much clear. You weren't sure why he was going after you. Him and Hank had never gotten along. One always annoyed with the other. It wasn't a reason to kill him, but he believed so. You'd always been kind to him, as kind as you could be to someone who didn't want it. There was no time to mourn, to fall to your knees kicking and screaming. There was no time to even act. This was it. Whatever happened to him, whatever trouble he'd gotten himself into, it changed him. It made him cruel. It made him a killer. Without remorse, without a second thought. Yous always had a little faith in him, that at the end of the day the good in him would overrule any bad, anything in him that wanted revenge or to avenge, depending. This wasn't Jason, though. He even looked like someone else, someone haunted. Whatever faith you had in him isn't there for him now. What he wanted, he would have. If that was your death, well. . . You could try to stop him, the whole team could, and would, but there was no reason here. No actual explanation. Whatever tactics you used to use were not going to work anymore. He wasn't an old friend or a teammate, he was the enemy now. A villain. He wasn't any better than Harley or the Joker. All wanted you gone.

244 notes - Posted September 10, 2022

Imagine Tommy catching feelings for you:

"You're getting attached."

"I, I wanted to know if you got home safe." He stammered, toying with the chord. What was he doing? This wasn't like him. This wasn't like him at all. This wasn't the agreement you made. No feelings attached. No spending the night. No telling anyone what you were up to. It was a purely physical relationship, he'd made that clear from the beginning. And yet, here he sat, hunched over the table by the side of the bed, wondering all about you. Fuck. Who was he fooling? He'd fallen for you the way he'd never fallen for anyone. He wanted to spend more time with you than just in bed. He wanted to hold your hand, to hug you, to hold you and protect you. Sneaking around, that felt childish. It felt like you were his secret. In the beginning thats all you both wanted, but now? Now something in him changed. He regretted ever accepting those awful terms. He didn't want to treat you like this anymore, he didn't want to treat your relationship, whatever it was, like this. You mean more to him than he admitted. It scared him to death knowing that he cared for you, that someone could make him worry the way he was worrying now.

"Goodnight Tommy." You sighed, not waiting for a response to hang up. This was bound to happen. He was always doing what he wasn't supposed to. You should have known. This little agreement you had, it wasn't just to stop you from liking him, but from him liking you. You were perfectly fine keeping things casual. You preferred it that way. Tommy always messed things up. He had a way of ruining relationships, driving his partners away. You didn't want that, you didn't want to end up another scorned person on his list. The physical attraction should have been all. You didn't want to hurt him, or get yourself hurt, it was just easier this way. You'd been expecting this call. For weeks he'd been trying to get closer to you, making himself into a boyfriend. Holding the car door open, wanting to take you to dinner before you went to bed, even insisting you spend the night. Breaking all the rules. One of you had to be realistic. You wouldn't work out in any other context. Couldn't he see that?

"Night."

245 notes - Posted November 4, 2022

Imagine Kory thinking you're working with your boyfriend Jason:

"Kory stop!"

You couldn't breathe. You were just inches off the floor, but your whole body felt like it were being compressed. She'd caught you completely off guard. You were walking through the kitchen, yet again checking on Hank while Conner and Gar were working in the lab. You'd said hi to her, maybe asked her how she was doing, you couldn't remember the little things. It doesn't matter right now, that you were dying. It was like she was in a trance, raising her arms. It pushed you against the wall, then up. She seemed to be interrogating you, angry and upset. She thought you were working with Jason, being his little minion and trying to make Hank worse. You dated, or you were still dating, you weren't really sure anymore. Days ago you thought he was dead, grieving him and all his stupidity. Now he was alive and changed, different. He wasn't the reckless idiot you loved. He was hurting the team, your family. No way you'd ever help.

"Stop!" Conner finally yelled, loud enough wake her, to get her back to normal. You fell hard, gasping for air. Gar by your side, making sure you were okay, hurt in his eyes. Kory stepped back, shaking her head. It felt dreamlike, hazy, but she did what she did. She wanted to run to you, hold you, but she knew what kind of reaction that would get. She didn't mean it, really. Something overcame her. Not once had she ever thought you and Jason would team up. Never would you do that. How many times had you confided in her that you were thankful for this team, for this home, finally a place you felt safe? You and Jason had been through a lot, both individually and as a couple, but this behavior wouldn't have kept you together. He was hurting the people you cared for. So why would she do this? Why would she try to kill you? Kory was horrified.

"I'm so sorry."

265 notes - Posted September 5, 2022

Imagine your husband John warning the family about your temper:

"Shouldn't have done that."

"Like I'm scared of you." Arthur laughed, stubbing out his cigarette again into your best tablecloth. It burned a second hole in the cloth. The best tablecloth you had, one that wasn't stained from bany food or mud or anything sticky the kids could get their hands on. He knew to he careful around it. The kids knew. You put it out when you were having company over, when you were cleaning the house and you wanted it to look nice, when you were cooking a special dinner for the whole family. You had your own reasons and John didn't question them. If it made you feel good, then that's what he cared about. Once you saw this mess you'd lose it.

"It's not me you should be afraid of." John said, looking above his paper. You had a side to you only few knew about. Teachers at school who picked on your children for having the Shelby name. Tommy when he questioned if John was worth being in the family. When the Blinders almost ruined your wedding day. Any other time you were the sweetest person he knew, lucky enough to call himself your husband. You were kind and thoughtful and the voice of reason he needed. But when you were upset, really upset, you were an unstoppable force. A fury he'd never seen in anyone else. It excited him. He wanted you to lose your cool just to show Arthur you weren't to be messed with, you or your fancy tablecloth.

"Right, like it's your love we're afraid of."

307 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Imagine being a reporter Dick falls for:

"Do you want that on or off the record."

"Whatever makes me look good." He laughed. He would never say anything like this to any other reporter. Hell, he wouldn't even be talking to them. For you, he'd say and do anything. You weren't just a fantastic reporter who made him, and his team, look like superheroes, you were a genuinely kind person. You didn't treat him like a superhero, but a person. You could tell when something was really getting to him, when a villain truly hurt him, after one of his teammates was rushed off the scene due to injury. You didn't go after him because of a good story, but because you really liked him and wanted to know his perspective on things. He wasn't just a cape and a mask to you.

"You're funny, Mr. Nightwing." You admitted, hating how flustered you sounded. You always found yourself saying the most embarrassing things in front of him. And him only. Interviewing other superheroes was a walk in the park. You played it off casually, laughing when you were supposed to, getting the scoop no one else seemed to be able to get. You were always the exception. With Nightwing you were all over the place. You laughed too much and for too long at things that weren't funny. You asked silly questions and made a fool of yourself. He was nice enough never to notice, or not to say anything when he did. Always kind in his corrections and never one said anything about how poorly of a journalist you presented yourself to be in front of him.

"It's Dick. Dick Grayson."

387 notes - Posted August 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #oof im going to post more in 2023

7 notes · View notes

lfthinkerwrites · 2 years

Text

The Newest Member of the 'Family'

My contribution to Day 7 of Riddlebat Week. This is a sequel to this drabble.

Bruce had faced many opponents in his life. Joker, Ra's, Scarecrow, Bane. Even Edward once, before his reformation and their partnership. However, none of those past opponents inspired the same kind of dread pooling in his stomach as the person standing with Edward.

Ellen looked up at him with her father's smirk. "Hiya Uncle Moneybags!"

"Ellen!" Edward scolded. He looked at Bruce apologetically. "When you called me, we were just finishing up some father-daughter time."

"Dad was trying to give me driving lessons. I think I took about twenty years off his lifespan."

Ellen could be a sweet, loving girl, but she could also be more stubborn, more mean-spirited, and more hot-tempered than all of Bruce's children combined. Bruce could just imagine the girl behind the wheel of a car. He wisely decided not to comment on it. "Come on in." He led father and daughter into the living room of Wayne Manor, where Tim was waiting. The second Tim and Ellen made eye contact, the young man jumped from his seat, while Ellen's grin grew even wider. "Hiya Tim," she greeted in a sickly sweet tone.

Tim grit his teeth. "Ellen," he said. He crossed his arms and glared at her. "Can you at least try to be civil today? Me, Bruce, and your Dad have important work to do."

Ellen shrugged. "Depends. Are you going to be a jackass today?" She smirked again. "Trick question."

Bruce shut his eyes. Not even five minutes and this day was down the toilet. "Ellen!" Edward scolded. "Language!"

"Sorry, Dad." Ellen ignored Tim's red face and took a look around the living room and towards the hall that led to the kitchen. "Where's Alfred?"

"He had to go run a few errands," Bruce said. A few errands that he needed to do just when Bruce had said Edward was bringing Ellen. Alfred liked the girl just fine, and really, Bruce did too. It was whenever she was in close vicinity to Tim that things...took a turn.

Bruce heard feet bounding down the stairs and saw Damian with Titus at his side. The dog gave his customary growl to Edward before happily running to Ellen. "There's my baby!" the girl cooed, ruffling the dog's ears. "My sweet baby boy!" The dog gave her hands a lick before trotting back to Damian's side. Ellen gave the boy a solemn nod. "Damian."

Damian nodded back. "Dixon." Bruce exchanged a worried look with Edward. His boyfriend's daughter and his youngest were getting along. That did not bode well for the third Robin.

Tim seemed to know this too if his paling face was any indication. He looked at Bruce beseechingly. "What time's Steph done with her final?"

"Not for another hour," he said. Stephanie was one of the only people who could talk Ellen and Damian down in a situation like this.

Tim's face became even paler. "I'll meet you in the Batcave!" He ran out of the living room, towards the safety of the study. Ellen and Damian both cackled, confirming Bruce's worst fears. His thoughts turned toward his worst-case scenario protocol, the Knightfall Protocol. In the event of his identity ever going public, Bruce would fake his death and go into hiding. He wondered if it would be worth activating the protocol before whatever Ellen and Damian decided to inflict on Tim.

Edward cleared his throat. "We should be going too. You said that you had new evidence in the Diamond District murders?"

Bruce tried to ignore how Ellen's ears seemed to perk up. "Yes." He nodded toward Damian. "You should come with us too?"

"Can I come to the Batcave?" Ellen asked.

Edward was quick to respond. "Ellen, we've had this discussion. No capes or cowls until you turn 18!"

"So what, you're just going to ditch me up here!?" Ellen argued. "Why didn't you just leave me with Jason like I wanted?"

"Because the last time I left you with Jason, I came back to find him teaching you how to make Molotov cocktails!" Bruce winced at the memory of that. He should have known there would be trouble at how Jason and Ellen had immediately taken to each other. "And I can't leave you at the Clocktower because apparently you blew a whistle outside Cassandra's bedroom and I walked in to find her throwing you into the furniture!"

Damian turned to Ellen. "And you can still walk after that? Impressive."

"She started it!" Ellen said. "She broke into my house and ate all my Funyuns!"

Bruce really, really wanted to fake his death and go into hiding right now. "Ellen," he said as patiently as he could. "This is a gruesome case. Your father has a good reason for not wanting you in this life."

Ellen huffed, then pouted. "Like you're one to talk."

"She's got you there, father," Damian quipped.

Bruce could concede she had a point. He glanced at Edward and saw his lover's resolve slipping in the face of his daughter's pout. Edward had a lot of guilt where she was concerned. Luckily for them, Ellen seemed to be too inherently decent to take advantage of his guilt. He sighed. "I don't want you anywhere near this case...but if it's alright with your father, you can come down to the cave."

Ellen's eyes lit up, and she looked much younger than her fifteen years. "Dad? Please?"

Edward sighed. "No peeking at the case files, no playing with any gadgets or weapons, and stay at least ten feet away from Tim at all times."

Ellen whooped for joy and hugged her father, before impulsively hugging Bruce too. Bruce stood too rooted in shock to react before she was off towards the study like a shot. Damian rolled his eyes and quickly followed her, leaving Bruce and Edward alone.

Edward came up to his side and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Admit it. You're developing a soft spot for my little hellion."

Bruce snorted. "More like I don't want to see what she'd do if she had free reign of the manor."

Edward laughed at that before Tim's loud cry of agony came from the Batcave. Bruce turned his gaze Heavenward. "Can you try to keep her under control down there at least?"

Edward looked at him affronted. "Dearest, I can help you solve this murder case or I can control Ellen. I cannot do both."

#riddlebat #dysfunctional family circus #riddlebatweek22

13 notes · View notes