#and this is why I hate the entire thing where Bruce does nothing and it’s ALL terrible writing like

[starlooove]

I alluded to this in tags awhile ago but like. IK continuity doesn’t work this way and when things shifted from kooky and silly 40s stuff with psas scattered to like dark brooding whatever we’re supposed to take it as like either time passing with some hand waving to personalities or ‘it was always like this for them trust’ but thinking about dick specifically going from holy galloping grasshoppers Batman to dealing with Bruce in spyral and shit is so so so sad I can’t articulate it well rn but like everyone kinda agrees the shift happened after two face and jason but like no dick saw it all he saw it while it happened he saw Bruce taking tim to baseball games and then gaslighting him at 16 he saw the man who’d take care of a random baby on the fly threaten to send his youngest son back to the league he saw the man who helped usher in a new era of young heroes treat Steph like shit he saw the man who inspired hope for a future in civilians heroes and enemies alike take advantage of cass’ suicidal thoughts and separation from her own humanity he saw everything and he just has to. Deal. To everyone else this is just Bruce and ppl like Tim and cass justify it to an extent bc they love him and get exasperated and when Dick is angry but how couldn’t Dick be angry? That’s his dad and he’s being so fucking mean and idk I’m rambling

[naggingatlas]

i think people's takes on jev being this like thousand year old creatura are fascinating and fit even my interpretation of his character and place in the story (as like. a representation of the setting at large. an archaic force being shoved into a simulation/loop/machine. cosmis horror kinda shit) but i also think it's 1. funnier 2. scarier 3. more emotionally scarring to imagine him as like. a 30, 40, 50 year old man. just a quirky little guy. he had a childhood, maybe he got picked up by seam as an urchin and they were a travelling magic act and clownery and judy n punch duo and they stole apples from the market and he climbed trees w his little paws before someone made him wear shoes. he was a brash teenager and he played the accordion and kept all of his trinkets in a little chest he used to sleep in. seam made his suits, from his own crayon drawings. he was a middle aged man disenchanted with his work and he sought shelter from the boredom in bothering others. and he ran away so many times and he slept outside and he helped seam make their own beer and mead and they still played the accordion and the hurdy-gurdy together. isn't it scarier to make him a normal man? who turns into what we see? doesn't that hurt more doesn't that make his character even deeper. he was just like you and this means That can happen to you too, grounding stuff like that is like one of the basic rules of horror. and then he just goes to jail they straight up lock a mentally ill guy with all those horrors in the basement - not an old-as-time-itself demon, not a savage beast, but. a man. jevil russian sleep experiment au.

again im not calling anyone out its just an interpretation ive NEVER seen anyone else come up with and i genuinely wonder why and if my other jev readings continue to be weird as fuck to other people

[thevoidstaredback]

I should be sleeping, but I'm not, so here's a thing based on a thing I just saw!

Pre ID reveal (I do a lot of these, but that's because the comedy is endless)

The JL and JLD especially, as well as all the protege teams treat the Bats with Fae or Vampire or Cryptid rules. The Batfam figured it out after the third time the others turned down the invite into Gotham, and they all started rolling with it. Nothing really comes of it, though, until someone does accept the invite to Gotham.

I'm thinking it's gotta be Clark, Diana, or Oliver. Clark could be there for an interview with Bruce Wayne (probably shortly after he buys The Daily Planet) and Tim Drake. Diana could be there for any number of reasons, but I think she's there for a new art exhibit that opened up in the Greek part of Gotham museum where she bumps into Damian Wayne and Dick Grayson. Oliver could be there on business, strictly speaking, but he hasn't talked to Bruce in person since just after their senior year of high school, so is it really a coincidence that he meets up with Bruce Wayne and Jason Todd (who was revealed to have been in witness protection for a time)?

Dealer's Choice on who's there. Could be one, could be all three. Could be someone else entirely! (Though, I can really only see Barry as having a good excuse of working with the GCPD on a case and meeting Dick that way if you really wanted to not use the other three)

Anyway. We're gonna use Clark here because he'd be extra cautious around magic, seeing as it's one of like...2 weaknesses he has.

Clark is sent to Gotham for an interview with the head of Wayne Enterprises. Ownership didn't change, but stuff got mixed up around last year, so he could either be meeting with Bruce Wayne or Time Drake-Wayne. Either way, Clark doesn't want to be here. Lois was supposed to be here, but she got sick, so he got stuck traveling across the harbour to the Crime Capitol of the Country.

He'd normally be ecstatic about potentially running into any of his JL coworkers in their natural habitat home cities, but Gotham was different. Batman, for all that he is Superman's best friend, doesn't let anyone into Gotham. There had been speculation for a while as to why that was, but no one had really been able to confirm it.

Kal-El didn't make it a habit, but he had, admittedly, tried to find out who Batman is under the cowl. He couldn't help it! He and Diana had told both each other and Batman who they were, but Bats had refused. He and Diana were understanding, of course, but that didn't stop the journalist side of him from slipping into the forefront of his mind.

At first, Kal thought he was sick. But he can't get sick. It's not like he could just ask B if his cowl was lined with lead or magic or kryptonite or something!

God, he hoped it was magic that was preventing Kal from seeing through Batman's cowl. It couldn't be kryptonite because Kal would've known it the second he got too close. Lead was the only thing he couldn't see through (that wasn't magic) but that brought up the issue of B's health how heavy the cowl was.

Magic, believe it or not, was the most logical explanation. Batman's cowl and cape are connected, so any magic on one would be on the other. With the way that Batman's cape seems to move on its own, somehow pull him deeper into shadows, and is able to hide at least four humans at any given moment, well, it's not a stretch to say magic was being used. Ignoring the fact that Batman hates magic.

That's a lie. He hates what he doesn't understand. And, try as he might, the man can't get a handle on magic.

Off topic.

Clark got off the train at exactly fifteen-hundred hours. Fourth-five minutes before he had to be at Wayne Tower (who named it that? surely not Mr. Wayne himself?) to meet whoever he was interviewing today.

Not knowing the layout of the city was what probably made Clark on obvious target. He should've memorized a map of the city before coming here.

He knows that there are three parties at work. Red Hood, who not even Batman pushes the boundaries of; Signal, who covers the entire city during the day; and Batman, Robin, Red Robin, Spoiler, Black Bat, and Oracle who cover the night shift. Sometimes, Nightwing joins them from Bludhaven, but that's only sometimes. It's safe to assume, though, that Red Hood and Nightwing are the two outliers. So long as Clark doesn't draw the attention of those two or Signal, he should be fine. A quick in and out and he'll be home free!

"Mister Kent?" the receptionist asks when he approaches her desk.

"Yes," he clears his throat, nervous for some reason he can't place, "That's me." What's wrong with him? It's just a routine interview! He's done hundreds like it before!

The receptionist smiles at him. "Misters Wayne are both waiting for you in Mister Wayne's office on the tenth floor."

He nods his thanks and goes to the elevator. Doesn't this building have like...thirty floors, though? Wouldn't the CEO's office be on the top floor?

Regardless, Clark uses the short elevator ride (complete with smooth jazz as the provided white noise) to calm himself down. He's met hundreds of big shots. Mister Wayne, whichever (or both?) he's meeting with today will be no different.

Maybe.

Probably.

Hopefully.

The elevator dings, the sound an odd harmony of several notes on the C Major scale instead of the single tone bell that is common through everywhere else. He gets off on the tenth floor and finds exactly four offices. He knocks on the door labeled 'Bruce Wayne'.

"Come in!" is called from inside, though the voice sounds too young to be Bruce.

Clark opens the door with an easy smile, taking in stride the fact that he is meeting with both Bruce and Tim Wayne. Oh, dear. "Good afternoon, Mister Wayne, Mister Drake-Wayne."

"Please," Mister Wayne has on the smile he always wears for the public. "Call me Bruce."

"And call me Tim," Tim shakes Clark's hand after he stands from his seat. The door clocks shut behind Clark.

Ah. Now he knows why he's so nervous. Batman usually only has bad things to say about Bruce Wayne. On the other hand, Tim Drake is a complete mystery to him.

Clark takes a seat on the couch opposite the two men when he's prompted. They go through pleasantries they all know are ingenuine before Clark opens up the notepad he brought with him. "Now, Mister Wayne, Mister Drake-Wayne, what made you decide to buy The Daily Planet?

Storyboard Part 2

[jojosquires]

So... Just a thought

Often when discussing extended media, Tim Drake (and also Cass and Stephanie, but those are two different essays entirely) is adapted out. The idea, I think, is to streamline the story/Bruce's timeline. What it really does is kinda make Dick's storyline/character development VERY unlikely to make sense.

So....

Bruce does the Batman thing solo for a bit

Dick Grayson's parents die, Bruce takes him in, Dick is the first Robin

Dick and Bruce fight, Dick leaves/is fired, eventually he becomes Nightwing

Jason is found, adopted, becomes second Robin, dies

Bruce is grieving, only snaps out of it when a biological son (Damian) appears, he can't ignore this child since it's his bio kid (whereas he could say no if it's another rando kid who wants to become Robin).

So... Damian is Bruce's "third time's the charm".

Dick survived being Robin, but is estranged from the familial side of things

Jason had a better parental relationship with Bruce (at least initially), but died as Robin

Damian will be the success story of both because Bruce now has the experience to handle both sides of a child's growth or whatever.

Except... Uhh, no?

Damian's initial self-improvement has nothing to do with Bruce (who is lost in time during his start as Robin) and everything to do with Dick (who IS NOT Damian's parent) and Alfred (and also Steph, but again, she's rarely adapted as well).

Alfred's investment in Damian can be explained by Alfred's dedication to the Wayne family line so that's the end of that part of this essay.

Dick, however, in this hypothetical "No Tim" scenario has no reason to be invested.

Now, his relationship with Jason isn't as terrible as fanon likes to think, but they're not what I would consider "close". Dick mourns his loss, but Jason's death only makes Bruce's relationship with Dick worse.

Tim arrives on the scene as this annoying (kinda stalkery) fanboy, right? Dick didn't immediately latch onto Tim (fanon loves to say he did over regrets about Jason, but... No no no no no that's terrible and gross people). Instead, after Tim is approved to train as Robin, *Tim* puts in the effort to *bond with Dick*. He goes and visits him to "train", seeks him out when things get weird in Gotham, constantly hypes him up as the coolest guy ever, shows up at his wedding, etc. It doesn't take a super longtime for Dick to start putting in the effort in return, but I doubt it would've happened without Tim's initial push. Dick still has issues with Bruce (a lot of them), but they start to improve partially due to *Tim's* insistence and tendency towards team ups (and his discretion when Dick asks if he's going to report back to Bruce).

They BOTH put in a lot of effort and become brothers way before Tim loses Jack. Tim is Dick's first Robin (oh, Prodigal, so often dismissed/ignored when discussing Dick!Bats). Dick learned a lot (patience, mentoring skills, communication, confidence, planning, risk management, etc) from his time with *Tim*.

All this to say, a Dick without a Tim isn't going to be in any way prepared for a mentoring relationship (or brotherly one) with Damian. Why would he be willing to step in for Bruce without the mending of their relationship during Tim's time as Robin (both of them are too stubborn to fix it without outside pushing)? How would he fair as Dick!Bats without a trial run (with the safety net of Bruce returning) that was Prodigal (where, again, Tim had been advocating for Dick over Azrael/JP during Knightfall)? How would he know how to work effectively with a *younger* partner if not for his many team ups with Tim?

Tim was the easy (if annoying) kid before the difficult kid (no hate to Damian, of course, kid was abused... Doesn't make him less of a difficult kid). Not only for Bruce, but also (and ESPECIALLY) for Dick.

So... All I'm saying is that taking Tim out of the narrative messes a lot of things up (obviously there's another essay in my soul for Bruce and the 90s expansion of the Batfam and team ups in general) for Dick. Because? Where is the connective tissue? The Dick who never grew to love Tim as a brother isn't going to be prepared to be anything to Damian.

Just a thought....

[aurumacadicus]

"Did it hurt?" Tony asked softly.

Carol paused in sorting his meal, Jell-O still in hand. Finally, though, she set it back on his tray, deliberate, focused. "Did what hurt?"

Tony blinked at her slowly, then turned his gaze out the window, silent. Apparently, that was all he had the strength to ask. All the guts to, maybe.

Carol looked back at his tray, straightening his spoon next to the bowl of broth that served as his main entree. Soft foods. Easy on the stomach. It was easier to look at his food than it was to look at his scarred face, his blind eye, the bandages where his arm should have been but wasn't anymore. Things he'd lost while doing her job, protecting the earth, and doing it better. She hadn't been able to kill Thanos. Tony had.

"It hurt a lot," Carol finally said, because it had--all that energy forcing itself into her body, burning, bright and hot. It had hollowed her out, left her feeling cold. She didn't remember much from immediately after she woke up, except that it had still hurt, excruciatingly, and it had been a mercy when Yon-Rogg and the Supreme Intelligence had muffled the power coursing through her. Perhaps that was why it had been so easy, to believe that she needed to have her power restrained until she could fight without it.

Perhaps that's why it had been easy to fight the Supreme Intelligence, when her heartache at all she'd lost and regained overpowered the pain her body felt.

"Does it stop?" Tony asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Carol didn't know. Sure, her pain had eventually stopped, but her power wasn't the same as even one of the Infinity Stones. Tony had held all of them. Had succeeded where others failed. She supposed the only ones who would know even a fraction of what he felt were the so-called Guardians and Bruce Banner, and even then, Peter Quill was half-Celestial, and they'd shared the power over their entire crew, and Banner, well... He had the Hulk.

She didn't know anyone else who had held the power of the universe in their hand.

"They didn't have any cherry Jell-O, the nurse said," Carol said instead.

"I fucking hate lime and if I turn and see that green freak on my tray I'm going to flip the entire thing," Tony replied, apparently allowing her the out.

Carol grabbed the Jell-O cup and chucked it over her shoulder. She heard an outraged spluttering instead of it bouncing over the floor and turned to see Jim, outraged to be covered in green goo.

"This isn't my fault," Carol said, and Jim shouted, "WHO ELSE THREW THE JELL-O, CAROL," and Tony quietly started eating his soup, as if nothing had even happened.

[elizabethemerald]

Gala Daze DPxDC

AO3

“What a great idea Vladdie!” 

“I don’t know Jack…” 

“Oh I assure you, my dear Maddie that Daniel will be perfectly safe with me. I won’t let him out of my sight for a moment.” 

“Come on Maddie, it would be a perfect opportunity for our Danno to bump elbows with some rich bigwigs!” 

“Well maybe he can talk to them about getting some funding for ghost extermination. Very well Vlad. You can take Danny to Gotham.”

Danny was disassociating. While not entirely a new state of being, a dissociative episode had never lasted this long for him. He had been fully checked out from his body ever since the flight from Amity Park to Gotham. He had been thinking about turning intangible and just letting the plane fly through him so he could go home, when Vlad had leaned over to him to whisper in his ear. Vlad said if Danny stepped even one toe out of line, or did anything to embarrass him, Vlad would overshadow as many people as it took to ensure that Jazz was turned down by every college she applied to. He would ruin her entire future if Danny did even one thing wrong. 

Danny had started disassociating after that. 

His parents had done a lot to hurt him and Jazz. Usually the harm the elder Fentons did to their children was either accidental or unknowing. Like when Jazz was sick for days after the Thanksgiving dinner where Dad tried to fry the turkey in ectoplasm or like when they shot Danny when he was out as Phantom. 

However this time there was no excuse for them hurting their kids. If they ever listened to their children they would know that Danny hated Vlad and Jazz didn’t trust him. The kids had said over and over again for years that they didn’t like Vlad, but no! Uncle Vladdie could do no wrong! Danny and Jazz were just making things up for attention. 

Ancients, Danny hoped that he could keep his nose clean for the trip, he didn’t want to be responsible for Jazz having to give up her dreams of getting into an Ivy League school. He had lost huge swaths of time. He barely remembered leaving the airport and the next time he was cognizant they were heading to the gala in the tailored suits Vlad had ordered. 

Fortunately Vlad loved nothing more than the sound of his own voice, not even Danny or his mom. So he was more than happy to talk to the people around them about Danny and any time someone asked Danny a question he would be the one to answer instead. Vlad kept his hand either on Danny’s shoulder or on the back of his neck at all times so he couldn’t even slip away. 

Now he was talking to some rich fruitloop who kept trying to engage Danny in conversation. Brucie? Wait? Bruce Wayne? Yeah the guy was rich but why would Vlad go out of his way to introduce Danny to this airhead? 

“Well, yes, my son Damian does have many interests, but I can’t say that any of them have to do with NASA's latest satellite.” Mr. Wayne was saying in response to something Vlad had said. Ah. That made sense. Vlad wanted to brag, shove his superiority into Mr. Wayne’s face. Brucie turned to address Danny. “Tell me Daniel, what do you know about NASA's deep space satellite?”

“Uh, I prefer Danny actually, Mr. Wayne.” Danny said. Mr. Wayne’s eyebrows rose marginally considering those were his first words during this conversation. “And I-”

“Yes, Daniel really is attached to that childish nickname, isn’t he?” Vlad spoke up again. “Really Brucie, you would think children would grow up at some point. We should discuss this more over a game of golf next week…”

Danny let Vlad’s words wash over him again. The worst thing about Vlad was he really knew how to push Danny’s buttons. Of course he would bring up the new satellite only to show off to his rich rival, then not even let Danny talk about it. And then insulting him for his name! Prick!

He tried to avoid looking at Brucie’s concerned face. Obviously he was a socialite and knew all about the proper behavior for galas, and Vlad probably wasn’t meeting those social rules. There was a small part of Danny’s chaos-gremlin brain that wanted to say something seemingly innocuous but super sus if you thought about it. Nothing would make Danny happier than getting Vlad investigated for something stupid like tax fraud, but he couldn’t risk Jazz’s career just for spite. Or gremlin urges. 

Vlad moved his hand from Danny’s shoulder down to his lower back. Danny did everything he could to keep the snarl he wanted to make at that action from coming out. He still couldn’t help the full body shudder that shook his frame for a fraction of a second. Vlad shot him a look filled with malice and promised pain so Danny reigned himself back in and put his attention firmly on the floor in front of him. 

Danny clenched his fists, driving his nails into his own palms. He was sure he was bleeding, but he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t do anything. He hated feeling powerless. You would think that after the portal accident and him gaining actual real powers the feeling would be far more rare, except it happens far too often and he hated it. His hands were shaking with rage and suppressed desire to punch Vlad right in his smug, manipulative, fruit-loop face. 

He chanced a glance up just in time to see a girl melt out of the shadows near the wall. If he didn’t know better he would say she was a ghost with how easily she was able to appear. But she definitely wasn’t a ghost. Perhaps a touch liminal, but not a ghost. And she was watching him. 

Danny tilted his head slightly to get a better look at her and she tilted her head to match. Her eyes flicked to the two adults for only a fraction of a second to confirm they were still engaged in whatever conversation they were having, then her hand came up and she signed for letters in what Danny recognized as ASL. 

“R U O K.” 

She merely looked the question at him. He risked a peak at Vlad, but he was focused on trying to strong arm Brucie into meeting for a golf match and some private drinks. Other than his thumb rubbing circles into the small of Danny’s back he wasn’t paying any attention to him. Danny looked back at the girl who was watching him intently. He gave the smallest shake of his head he could, hoping that Vlad wouldn’t notice. The girl nodded and slipped effortlessly back into the shadows, all but disappearing from view. 

Several more minutes went by of mindless conversation with Mr. Wayne seemingly had given up on trying to get Danny to answer questions. He let his mind drift again to his beloved stars as he began naming the stars in biggest constellations visible in the night sky. 

For a while Danny thought that nothing would come of the mystery girl who had checked on him, until a crash echoed across the hall from the entrance of the gala hall. Vlad finally released Danny’s shoulder to whirl to face the noise. Then to his surprise, Mr. Wayne turned as well to put himself in between Danny and the crash, effectively hiding him from Vlad. At first he thought that was just serial adopter Brucie Wayne’s first gut instinct in a crisis, putting his body between a threat and the nearest black haired kid. 

However, immediately after Mr. Wayne stepped in front of him, two kids appeared out of the crowd, grabbed Danny’s shoulders and started to drag him away. He recognized the asian girl who had signed to him, and the other was, even more surprisingly, Damian Freaking Wayne! That meant that the other girl must be Cassandra Wayne! Sam had made sure Danny knew all the Waynes before the topic of the gala had even come up. Apparently the Waynes were the only people who made the events her parents dragged her to worth it. 

Damian and Cassandra maneuvered through the crowd so effortlessly Danny had to take a moment to check if they were using intangibility. The trio weaved through as the noise behind them got even louder until they pulled him into a back room of the hall where a very tired looking Timothy Drake-Wayne was already there on his laptop. He looked up at Danny in confusion for a second before returning his attention to the computer in front of him. 

“Don’t worry, that noise was just the chandelier in the entrance hall falling. Apparently it couldn’t take Dick’s weight.” Timothy, actual real CEO of Wayne enterprises said. Tucker would be losing his mind right now. 

Cassandra settled Danny into a chair while Damian marched up to Timothy. Danny could finally take a moment to look properly at the Waynes. All three of them wore elegant, likely name brand suits. Timothy was wearing a plain white shirt under his suit jacket while Cassandra and Damian wore black on black suits, though Damian’s did have some green highlights at the lapels and pockets. Timothy looked like his eye bags had eye bags, which Danny could relate to. 

“Father ordered you not to work for the night of the Gala.” Damian snapped. When Timothy didn’t dignify that with a response the youngest Wayne turned back to face Danny. “Vladimir Masters escorted you to the gala tonight.” 

Danny couldn’t help but snort. 

“What a polite way of phrasing that.” He said with a dark chuckle. 

“Would it be more accurate to call you his hostage?” Timothy asked from his chair, where he was still focusing on his computer screen and whatever it was he was working on. 

That brought Danny up short. He tried to stutter out a denial, but Damian quickly spoke over him. 

“Has he hurt you? Threatened you or someone you care about?” Damian demanded. 

“N-no!  He would never lay a finger on me!” Danny was quick to say, trying to project as much confidence as possible. Cassandra moved her flat hand in line across her face. Damian glanced at her and his eyes narrowed at Danny. 

“You don’t have to lie to protect him. We can protect you, our family has resources.” 

Danny shook his head over and over again. 

“I can’t talk about it. I can’t talk about it. I can’t talk about it.” He had to repeat himself, the phrase trapping themselves in his mind as he kept saying it over and over again. 

If he told them what Vlad had done to him, Vlad would ruin Jazz’s entire life. He already regularly tried to kill his father, but there was no telling what he would do to Jazz. Danny couldn’t tell them about being thrown into walls during his fights with Plasimus, or the clones Danny had watched melt in his arms under Vlad’s uncaring eye. He almost jumped out of his skin when a hand came to rest on his shoulder. 

While he was panicking, Damian had withdrawn, visibly uncertain about how best to approach him. Cassandra and Timothy had come closer, Cassandra had her hand on his shoulder providing a calm, steadying presence. Timothy had closed his laptop and scooted forward his attention now fully on Danny. He made some motion to the others that seemed to symbolize that he was going to be taking point. 

“You’re not from Gotham originally, is that right?” When Danny nodded he continued. “We have some heroes here in Gotham. Believe it or not, we Waynes get kidnapped a lot, get rescued a lot. We know some of the Bats, they could help you.” 

Danny was already shaking his head again. 

“No, no no! That’s even worse. The worst thing that can happen if you Waynes help me is Brucie gives Vlad WE for pennies on the dollar and Vlad gets even richer. But if you get Batman involved, then he could have a man inside the JL. He could turn them against the people, use them as a tool to take over whatever he wants. He could overthrow the Ghost King…”

Now Danny was really panicking. He had muttered the last bit, terror carving its way through him. It would be like the absolute worst of the fight with Pariah Dark and Dan all over again. Danny would have to fight, and maybe kill the Justice League to stop him. If he won, he would have to eradicate Earth’s heroes, and if he lost Vlad would become King of the Infinite Realms. 

“You are talking about mind control.” Damian said, his eyes wide.

“No! Not mind control. Overshadowing. Humans call it possession.” Danny was rambling now. Desperately trying to convince these silly rich people not to get involved. Danny was a lost cause, he couldn’t be helped. All he could do was keep his head down long enough for Jazz to get into her college of choice. The Waynes glanced at each other nervously for a moment and Damian pulled his phone from his pocket. 

“I think I need to make a call.” 

Danny snapped his head up, his attention on the far wall as his breath came out in a foggy puff, like he had just walked into a freezer. He didn't know it but his eyes were blazing green at that moment. 

“It’s too late now.” 

The Waynes all step back or slouch against their chairs. Only a second later the door to their room snaps open, Vlad furious, his once spotless suit now covered in red wine and assorted finger foods. His eyes burned red with rage as he locked onto Danny. Timothy immediately stood to his feet. 

“Ah, Mr. Masters.” Vlad pulled himself back from his rage with difficulty to acknowledge the young CEO. “We were just coming out to look for you. Your ward was grabbed by our security team. Small case of mistaken identity. It's standard procedure during these sorts of events to get my brothers and sister to safety in the event of another terrorist attack. Or worse a Joker attack. Thankfully it seems everything is under control. You may take your charge now.” 

Timothy brushed past Vlad without another comment. Damian glared at him, but he glared at everyone, while Cassandra just stared at Vlad, unblinking, like some kind of demonic cat. Her complete lack of reaction obviously weirded Vlad out even more than Damian’s aggression. 

“Oh I’ll do that.” He grabbed Danny’s arm hard enough to bruise. “Come Daniel. We’re leaving.” 

Danny turned away from the Waynes as he was dragged out the door. He didn’t want to face their pity. At least he did a good enough job convincing them that they can’t help him. Now he just had to last long enough to get back home again. He let himself checkout, ignoring Vlad’s crushing grip on his arm as he dragged from the gala and back to the hotel. 

When Danny next checked in with his body it was to Vlad screaming in his face and burning pain in his body. In Vlad’s furious race out of the Gala after his humiliation he had pulled Danny’s arm out of his socket. And to emphasize his points Vlad would hit him with ecto fire, each hit destroying more of his once nice suit and leaving burns on his body. 

“You think you can just toy with me in front of these richest elite? I will make your life hell! I will make your sister’s life hell! She’ll be lucky to make a living on the street corners of a shit hole like this!” He gestured out to the window, which Danny belatedly realized was open. “I just don’t understand why you make me do this to you, Daniel. Little Badger, you are forcing my hand and I-”

He shrieked as a batarang whipped from the open window. The lights in the hotel room flickered for a second and Batman, Robin and Orphan were standing in the room when the lights returned. Vlad turned to them, furious that they would interrupt. 

“Vladimir Masters. We have some questions for you.” Batman growled. 

“No! I think you’ll find Batman, that I have some questions for you!” Vlad’s eyes flared red. Danny tried to stop him but he was backhanded away

Vlad floated into the air as his ghost transformation rolled over his body. He reached out to grab Batman but before he could several things happened at once. First and most shockingly, Robin drew a katana and cut off Plasmius’ hand at the wrist. Then several voices shouted out at once.

“Azarath Metrion Zinthos!”

“Dnib siht tirips ot sti ydob!” 

“Puer iste spiritus maxime!”

Chains of gold, purple and blazing fire wrapped around Plasmius again and again. The chains dragged him down to the ground even as he snarled and swore at them. A man in a trench coat, a woman in a long black cloak and an actual stage magician appeared in the room, magic sparking at their fingertips. Cassandra had bypassed the battle completely to come to Danny's side, though she did still have her weapons in her hands. Batman turned to address him, ignoring Vlad’s continued vitriol in the middle of the arcane trap. 

“You’re safe now Danny. You don’t have to worry about him hurting you ever again. This I swear.” Batman said, his voice just as serious as it ever was, and for the first time in his life, Danny felt like he could actually believe it when someone told him he was safe. He collapsed to his knees, shuddering sobs shaking his body. He was safe, Jazz was safe from Vlad’s machinations. Maybe this nightmare could finally be over. 

[dcxdpdabbles]

I recently had a dream that wouldn't leave me alone so I feel the need to share it with someone else.

I can't remember the name of the fic that had been rereading at the moment but it's a crossover DC/DP/MLB. In the fic Danny, Damien and Marinette are called the three headed beast. At the time I was also reading a fic with Captain Marvel and I got it stuck in my head that what if Danny, Marinette and Billy were the three headed beast and Damien was their baby sibling.

Like hear me out they were made by Ra's without even Talia knowing. He wanted to raise his potential heir without even his daughter interfering. When the three are about 7 some magic bs with a Lazarus portal happened resulting in them living in a separate dimension for decades away from Ra's before being de-aged and sent bad under their grandfather's thumb (honestly I don't really remember what happened, my dream confused me). Once back they quickly jump ship and fake their deaths making sure nobody's are left to try and revive.

Roughly 2-3 years later Talia had Damien. I don't remember why but he knew about the triplets and had been on multiple family bonding trips with them without Ra's or Talia knowing so when Tim said Bruce was alive he just said ok, called his older siblings sounding sad and said find him. And then I woke up (and thought about it a lot).

Sorry for the rant this idea just wouldn't leave me alone.

I can just imagine Phantom and Marvel being entirely different people. Like Captain Marvel doesn't happen until after leaving the league neither does the portal incident so both Phantom and Marvel are completely different heros. The three went their separate ways once out of the league, yes they love each other (and the baby sibling they occasionally pop in on and kidnap for a few weeks to month to for adventures in dimensions that have different time flows) but they are grown adults they have their own lives they want to lead and they definitely haven't needed a parent in decades.

Anyways I'll stop now I just need to share this.

That's honestly such a cool dream. I don't read a lot of Miraculous Ladybug crossovers with DC but I do know the show.

It's interesting how all of them would be extremely powerful for their respective hero personas, but no one would link them as the Three Head Beast.

Also since Danny and Billy would be different heroes, I like to think that maybe Danny would have become more like a meta-human instead of a halfa. Maybe it was due to all his dimension-hopping as I can see him being the triplet that would enjoy exploring the Infinite Realms.

Danny has wanders lust- he hates lingering in one place too long so he is always on the move, always wanting to see new worlds and new timelines.

Maybe he would become Clockwork's human lesion as he can't be King. He happily goes to the living realms of the timelines Clockwork needs him to observe for the stars.

Danny believes the stars are a reminder of his freedom because it's one of the first things he saw the day they faked their deaths. He loves seeing new constellations and can't wait to jump lines again to discover new ones.

Billy meanwhile would fall into Magic again but this time it would be his own magic. He has the highest potential in magic to make him a candidate for the Wizard, but his past of being in Ra's thumb mucked up his purity soul bit.

Still, he finds out that "You're a Wizard, Billy" while traveling dimensions and unlike Danny chooses to stay in a lot of them for long periods just learning all he can of magic.

Marinette, unlike her brothers, is much more willing to stay in one place. Yes, she'll sometimes join them on trips or go looking for an adventure but she wanted to build a home. Danny and Billy see it as a cage, far too used to Ra's locking them up to not get itchy to move about, but she saw it as having control.

She picks her house. She picks the dimensions. Marinette is the one that decides when and where she wants to go. Nothing is bigger "I made it out. I survived you" then staying in their native dimension with Ra's on the other side of the world. If he finds her and tries to bring her back, welp she escaped before she can do it again.

But she didn't want big adventures or conflicts with Ra's, she was comforted. So Marinette opens a bakery in France, living as mundanely as possible but with years of deadly training under her skin and a strong link to Spirits.

Marinette didn't get her Kawami when the Guardian needed to pass them on, because she wasn't there, but years of Lazarus Water, Ectoplasim of the Infinite Realms, and just her aura she can see them.

Alongside thousands and thousands of Spirits that are everywhere. Some get attacked by her and her little bakery. Marinette allows them to live with her and respects them and their domain, so it's not really a surprise when they start bestowing small Blessings on her. She may not possess a miraculous that powers her up but she has a bag of tricks that are close and her own training that practically makes her a miraculous holder anyway.

And that's them the three heads of the Ra's Three-Headed Beasts- monsters, killers, weapons from birth- who lived on as what they wanted.

An explorer with a love of stars.

A mage with a love of study.

A Baker with a love of everyday life.

One day, when a little ninja wanders into Marinette's bakery on a break from his first real mission, the three gain a new love for their little brother.

Damian may not understand his older siblings desire to not be a cape but he respects them all the same. He still trains every day in the hopes of one day besting them but not to prove his worth.

Only to make Danny, Marinette, and Billy proud.

[jasntodds]

Petrichor [18]

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Powered!Reader (little bit of fwb)

Words: 9,775

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, angst, canon character death, blood, canon violence, mention of previous abuse, mention of drug use, mention of drug addiction, mention of canon gore, kind of a mention of alcoholism

Summary: ❝Pylades: I’ll take care of you. Orestes: It’s rotten work. Pylades: Not to me. Not if it’s you.❞

Gotham is home, not just for Jason but for you, too. And now that you’re both finally back home, together, you’re ready to see where this next chapter brings the two of you. He’s your best friend and you’re his. And you both might want a little something more with being back home, the place you both feel most comfortable. Surely, nothing could possibly go wrong now.

A/N: I can't believe I've had to type out canon character death 4 times for this series lol You can add yourself to the tag list below, ask me to be tagged, or you can follow my library blog @jasntoddslibrary  and turn on notifications if you prefer that!! I love feedback, I swear it keeps me posting on a weekly basis 😭

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You and Gar are seated on the floor facing each other while Rachel went out to get you some supplies. You're trying to wrap your head around how you're supposed to function around the city and take down Crane when the entire city wants your heads on spikes. The GCPD has always been weird about Batman but now they actually want all of the Titans taken down and with Crane behind it, that can't mean just throwing you all in cells and tossing away the key. You can't just go out and fight every civilian that hates you now. They're brainwashed because that's what Crane does and fighting people who have no clue what they're doing isn't going to help your situation. It feels more like you're all sitting ducks at this point.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Gar asks, breaking the silence between you, earning an eyebrow raise from you. "How Jason came back."

Your eyes narrow slightly, unsure how or why it would bother you. Him being alive is a good thing. "Why would it bother me?"

"I mean the Lazarus Pit." Gar states as he leans forward. "Like, he came back and that's just it? Some water somewhere is magic and can bring people back from the dead. That doesn't make sense."

You nod your head slowly, this is the same thing he told you at the manor when he showed you some of the books Bruce had on it. "Yeah, we went over that. It's because of Ra's which I think makes a lot of sense, honestly. It's still bothering you that much?"

"Yeah, like why doesn't anyone know where it is? Or what if they do but it's a secret. Bruce knew, right? Why didn't Bruce close it off like the others? Why did he keep the one in Gotham open?" Gar rambles off his questions.

Of all topics that's going to pick at Gar, this is it? The Lazarus Pit? You're bothered by it, too but not enough to be sitting here thinking about it when you're worried the Titans are going to be hunted for sport now. You've been separated and you're going to need each other but Gar doesn't seem bothered by it at all. Just the Lazarus Pit.

You blink at him a few times. "I've been trying to rationalize the decisions Bruce makes but I think that's more of a dead end than anything else. If anyone is going to have that answer outside of Bruce, it'd probably be Jason or Dick. But, they don't really get him either. I don't know." You shrug your shoulders. "Bruce is paranoid, maybe that's all there is to it. Couldn't explain why no one else knows..."

"Yeah, he's paranoid!" Gar groans. "So why leave it open?"

"No, I mean that's probably why. Or research." You let out a breath. "Maybe he's worried something will happen if he closes all of them off. Or he needs it to do more research. I don't know." You scoff. "I don't know how he feels about resurrection so maybe he wants to use it to help people or something I have no fucking idea, Gar. I think you'll drive yourself insane if you try to rationalize Bruce Wayne." You lean back on your hands, stretching out your legs.

"Maybe more people know about it." Gar says quietly. "If Crane knew..." Gar trails off as his eyes grow worried.

Without him finishing, you know exactly what he's thinking.

"Yeah, thought of that." You nod your head, your heart skipping a beat.

If Crane knew and his guy knew, more people know. They have to. Gotham is a big city so anyone can stumble upon it. People talk, it's what they do. It can't be that big of a secret. The question is who knows about it. If Crane knows, more Arkham inmates might know. More people who are crooked might know. There have been some really bad people who've been killed. If Jason can come back, so can they.

"We have to find it." Gar states.

"Why?" You ask flatly, tired of the circles you've been running.

"So we can do something about it." Gar says sternly.

"Like what?" Your voice raises.

Considering Crane is literally taking over the city, poisoning the water, and still might be wanting to distribute his drug, you think your hands a little bit full at the moment. Why go messing with something like a Lazarus Pit? That just sounds like a bad idea. Doing research into it is fine but the way you see it, it's probably best to leave well enough alone. Maybe you all should tackle one problem at a time and the Lazarus Pit doesn't seem to be a problem right now.

"I don't know! But maybe we can understand more about it and...use it for good. Or close it off so people like..." Gar's voice trails off as his eyes dodge yours. "The Joker don't get brought back."

"We should leave it alone." You urge, not missing a beat. "That's...that's Bruce and Ra's' business and Jason filled me in on the whole League Of Assassins and the Al Ghuls and I don't want to fuck with them."

"Since when are you on Bruce's side?" Gar scoffs in disbelief. The you he knows would love to do anything to get one over on Bruce, to show him up, prove he's wrong. Or just spite him in general. "He left. He left Dick to clean up his mess."

"I'm not on Buce's side." You grit your teeth. "I don't know why I have to be on anyone's side besides my own, by the way. Look, he's been doing the Batman shit a long fucking time and his methods don't always work but there has to be a reason the pit was left open." You pause for a few seconds before you shake your head. "It brought Jason back. It's not up to us to close it or do something with it."

The room falls silent with your final words. A lot of really bad people can be brought back and that is obviously a big concern. And you disagree with Bruce like you get paid for it but you know if that, of all things, was left open there is a reason for it. It brought Jason back. The way you see it, it can't be up to you and Gar to do anything about it. The Lazarus Pit isn't a battle and it's not up for Gar and you to make it into one. That's Bruce, Ra's' and Jason's business now.

"I got everything." Rachel states as she walks into the room, gaining Gar's and yours attention. The two of you get to your feet as Gar takes the bag from Rachel. "So, this happened last night? With the GCPD?" Rachel asks as Gar looks through the bag and pulls out a box of Cheeze Its.

"Yeah." You nod. "We, uh, we were set up. Dick and Babs had a plan to get the public off our backs but uh, Crane has basically the rest of the department on his payroll now so, uh, yeah." You nod your head as you look to the ground. Gar nudges you softly, offering you the bag. You look inside, seeing clothes. "Thank you." Your eyes widen at Rachel as you nod your head but before you can go to change, all of your phones start blaring an alarm.

The three of you pull out your phones, hoping this means cell towers are back up and running but you can never get so lucky. Instead, Jason wearing the Red Hood suit appears on your screens. Sam's heart falls to her feet. This is never good.

"Hello Gotham!" Jason cheers. "It's Red Hood coming to you live from the most exclusive spot in town: The Batcave. For too long, this city has been at the mercy of criminals and I'm not just talking about the Penguin and the Riddler and The Joker. I'm talking about the ones who pretend to help but only make things worse. First Batman and now the Titans. Hypocrites who feed off of your terror and pursuit of glory and they turn Gotham into a city of carnage. But it all comes to an end today. There's a new savior in town. First thing I'm going to do is burn the trash. You hear me, Nightwing? You're public enemy numero uno. But not for long, meet me at midnight. You know the place. It's time for us to finish this." Jason finishes before the screens go black.

You can feel the headache coming back. What the fuck?

"Okay, what the hell was that about?" Gar asks, looking to you.

Just last night Jason got you both to safety, took out the snipers. Gar might have been a bit out of it but he remembers that pretty vividly. Now, Jason is back with Crane?

"I literally have no fucking idea." You let out a groan, stuffing your phone back into the pocket of your suit.

"I thought he was on our side?" Rachel asks.

"Yeah." Gar raises his brows. "Isn't he supposed to be?"

"He is!" You immediately defend, desperately grabbing for an ounce of faith and reason Jason might have. "I don't know what he's doing. Maybe..." You pull in a breath, trying to figure out why he'd be acting like he's trying to target the Titans. If it were you, it'd be an act, a ploy to play both sides. "Maybe it's to meet up with Dick? I don't know. I mean, he has to make the public think he's with them and not us. He has to play along with Crane or he's dead again. And Crane clearly has access to the towers so it's not like Jason can just...call Dick. Crane might know." You nod your head, mostly just blurting out whatever bullshit you could come with on the spot.

"That's not reassuring." Gar remarks. "How do we know he's not working with Crane again?" Gar asks and he wants to hold onto hope that's not the case but after everything, even he's starting to be chiseled down into a calloused version of himself.

"We don't." You state, holding your head steady, careful not to waver. "We don't know. I don't think he would but it's always possible Crane drugged him again, I guess." You roll your eyes before you roll your shoulders. "Okay, I'm gonna go find Dick."

"No!" Gar protests. "They're going to try to kill you if you go out there. We need to stay hidden until we think of a plan."

"Yeah, I'm with Gar on this one." Rachel states, glancing between the two of you.

"I know this city like the back of my hand. I can find him and be fine." You argue back casually.

At this point, you aren't too afraid of what's out there. It can't possibly be any worse than anything you've experienced lately. You can change, go out as a civilian until you find them. It shouldn't take too long and if it does, you know where they'll be at midnight and you can go there. Someone has to find Dick before any of this gets any worse. And someone needs to find Jason to make sure he's not actually going to try and kill Dick again. You're volunteering, again.

"How are we supposed to find you again then?" Gar asks.

"I don't know." You shrug. "Rache's ESP or whatever?" Rachel offers a slight glare to you as you shrug and give her a grin. "That's kind of what it is." You mutter under your breath. "Whatever Rachel just used, use that. I'm gonna find Dick and if I can't, I know where they're gonna meet."

"Why do you know that?" Rachel asks.

"Because I know Jason and so does Dick. So I'm gonna go there if I have to." The casualness of your voice is not reassuring to Gar or Rachel.

"We're gonna try to find the Lazarus Pit then." Gar states, holding his head high as he crosses his arms.

"You're not gonna stop about that are you?" You ask slowly, giving Gar a slight glare.

"Nope." Gar offers you a smile right back which gets your rather cold exterior to crack just a little.

"Fine but can you promise not to mess with it...like don't take any water...liquid? From it, okay? Or have Rachel try to destroy it." You raise your brows at Rachel and then at Gar who starts to beam.

"Of course not." Gar nods his head once. "I just want to find it, learn more."

"Alright." You let out a sigh. "I'll change and head out. If we don't meet up and you don't hear from me before somehow, we'll meet back here at noon tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good." Rachel offers a soft smile. "Don't do anything stupid."

You let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, too late." You look back to Gar. "You guys don't do anything stupid." You smile cheekily at Gar before you turn on your heels. "Be careful!" You wave a hand as you leave the room.

You start your search near the tunnel system, hoping Jason will be there at least but he's not. The reality is that if Jason doesn't want to be found, he won't be. That little bit of information about him has you starting to really worry. It's probably nothing. Jason is probably just with Crane, getting information and saving his own ass. But, there's this small part of you that does wonder if he's preparing to go after Dick again. As much as you don't want it to be true, a part of your trust in him is gone. It's been ripped and torn to unrecognizable shreds. It's as if he took that trust and ripped it apart, baring his teeth with anger like a rabid bear and it can't be mended from that. It's not how it works. There is no fixing it. Just gaining something new and you are not there yet. That leaves you questioning his motives even if the beating between your ribs is telling you his intentions are only pure.

Finding Dick is of no use either. You don't even know where he would go. At least with Jason, you know he likes the school around the block from the library but he doesn't care for that library. He prefers the one near the shelter that houses mostly kids. He has his favorite gargoyle. Finding Jason, when he wants to be found, is easy but Dick? You have no clue where he would even go. He probably has places to go but you aren't sure of any of them which leaves you mostly wandering around until it gets closer to midnight.

By then, it's time to change and meet them at the spot. If nothing else, Dick will be there and you'll be able to tell him where Gar and Rachel are.

This is not how Jason wanted this to go. He wanted to meet up with Dick but with Crane having control of the entire city, he couldn't risk it. Too bad for Jason because Dick does not trust him. Dick has offered him no benefit of the doubt of this not turning into a fight and no part of Jason actually blames him even if he's mad. Of course, Dick doesn't trust him. Why would he? But Jason doesn't stop fighting him to try to explain anything and neither does Dick. Instead, the two of them fight, throwing punches and kicks. Dick uses the enigma sticks and Jason shoots at Dick a few times. It's turned into chaos.

Somehow the roles have flipped. Jason doesn't want to kill Dick but by the way Dick is fighting, Jason is scared Dick will fight him till the death and Jason doesn't want to die again...not yet. It leaves him with no choice. Fight harder, faster, better. Be better.

But Jason and Dick's attention is pulled away from each other.

"What the fuck are you idiots doing?!" You yell, fully suited up again and just walking up to see the chaos they're creating.

This does not look good. They shouldn't be fighting. If all Jason wanted to do was meet up with Dick, they shouldn't be fighting. Something went wrong and at this point, you aren't even sure who caused it this time. But by the way Dick snaps his attention back to Jason and smacks him with the stick, you almost wonder if it were Dick that started this.

Jason doesn't take it lightly, immediately stepping back into combat mode and firing a shot at him. You roll your eyes, pulling out your grappling hook and a knife. You aim the hook at Jason's feet and the knife at Dick before you fire and throw. The hook smacks Jason's feet, throwing his aim off while the knife's end hits Dick's arm with enough force to get him to drop his stick.

"Hello? What the fuck are you two morons doing?" You snap again.

"He started it!" Jason yells as he points at Dick like a child.

Dick snaps his attention back to Jason. "Me?!"

"You threatened to kill him again, Jason!" You yell at him. "Seriously, what the fuck is going on?!"

Jason spins to look over at you. You cannot believe he wanted to fight Dick again. Of all people, you have to know this is not what he came here to do tonight.

"I just wanted to fucking talk and he attacked me!" Jason points at Dick again.

"Gee, I wonder why Dick would attack someone who just threatened to kill him. It's a real brain teaser, Jay." You quip back but you roll your eyes and look over to Dick. "So...you gonna kill him now?"

"I saw him!" Dick defends as he points the stick at Jason once he picks it up. Are they both five? "At the PD." Dick clarifies. "He was on the roof when we came out. He was in on it!" Dick closes the distance between them and smacks him with the stick again.

Jason doesn't miss a beat in fighting back, not even bothering to explain that he was at GCPD to help. Of course, Jason isn't going to try to explain that now. You're just exhausted with these two. At some point, they need to learn how to communicate with words and you figure, maybe they can just fight it out for once. Maybe they need to just fight until they get tired. So, you cross your arms and decide you'll watch and try to intervene if it looks like they might actually kill each other.

Dick ends up disarming Jason entirely, sending him to the ground just as a crowd of civilians gather around to watch the show and that's when your stomach starts to sink. Jason will be fine but these people hate Dick. The fight turns into a violent hand-to-hand fight, the two of them throwing punches and kicks as hard as they can and going for the neck. Jason grabs Dick's neck, pushing him back but Dick grabs Jasn, throwing him over Dick's head and slamming him on his back onto the hard pavement. You wince at the sight and sound. Dick walks over and picks up one of Jason's guns before he goes back to Jason and stands right over him. Dick points the gun at Jason's head.

You're quick to run and stand over Jason. You look up at Dick. "Dude, put the gun down." You put your hands out in surrender, the gun aimed at your stomach. "You're not gonna kill him." Your voice doesn't waver even if you're not entirely sure if that's true anymore.

Would Dick kill him?

Jason doens't want to die. It feels wrong to be back. It feels wrong. Like he's stretching the universe too far and it's all going to snap back, straighten itself out and toss him back into the grave where he belongs. But today, at the hands of Dick Grayson? No. He is not dying tonight so he decides to taunt Dick. Even if Dick wants to kill him, he'll never do it. He'd never give Jason the satisfaction even if Dick were able to toss his morals to the side.

"I did this to you." Jason mutters.

"Shut the fuck up, so fucking help me." You look to the sky in annoyance.

"You did this to yourself." Dick points the gun past you, aiming at Jason again. You move to stand in front of the gun again.

You were just shot two days ago. As badly as it hurt and as bad as it still sucks now, you'll take the bullet if you need to. No one is dying tonight. You've all lost too many people already and this is over a miscommunication.

"Come on. Give me the fucking gun." You mutter. "You're not like us." You plead, locking eyes with Dick.

There's something about the way you say it that gains even Jason's attention. It's not pained or sympathetic, it's just honest. It's not remorseful even, just honest and candid. But it's sad with the smallest touch of desperation. It says everything Dick and Jason need to know about how you really feel about people killing other people.

Dick looks at the gun and back to you. He hands you the gun and you take it, removing the bullets immediately and tossing them before you bend down beside Jason to make sure he's okay. For a second, you really thought Dick just might pull the trigger.

"You okay?" You ask softly as Jason leans up on his forearms, his head and back throbbing from the impact.

Jason looks back at you, brows pinched tightly together but then he sees movement from the corner of his eye, grabbing his attention behind Dick. "Nightwing." Jason's voice is rough but stern, harsh. A warning. Jason's eyes widen with the slight nod of his head.

You follow his stare, seeing an innocent civilian aiming a gun at Dick. Dick's brows pull together but before he can turn around, the kid starts shooting. Lucky for Dick, the suit is bulletproof. The bullets bounce right off as Dick turns around. The gunfire comes to a stop as you and Jason watch from your spot behind him. The both of you start to worry, just a little because the suit might be bulletproof but the kid just needs one lucky shot for this to be catastrophic.

"Woah, easy. I'm not here to hurt you." Dick says, putting his hand out as he walks towards the kid.

You get to your feet first, offering Jason a hand up. Jason takes it but the two of you keep your eyes on the kid. Scared kid, a gun, a guy painted to be the enemy fighting the guy painted to be the hero. The air fills with dread, suffocating Jason with its bare hands tattooed with guilt and regret. It's his fault Dick is here. It's his fault he didn't just say what happened and what he wanted. None of these people should even be here. What is he supposed to do?

"Careful, put the gun down." Dick states.

Jason pulls out another gun, switching to new bullets. He's definitely not going to shoot a scared kid who thinks he's doing the right thing. But, he can shoot in that general direction, he can just use it as a threat if he needs to. He doesn't want to threaten the kid but if he has to he will. He did not come here to kill Dick, get Dick killed, or watch him die. Not tonight.

"What the hell are you doing?" You whisper to him.

"Being prepared." Jason mutters back.

Dick hears Jason and turns around to face him before he starts walking back toward you and Jason. Dick is on guard, feeling as if he can't trust Jason. The second his back is turned, Jason is reloading a gun. From Dick's perspective, Jason isn't done fighting and Jason poses more of a threat than the kid. So, he pulls out the enigma stick again.

Before Dick can reach you and Jason, the kid starts shooting again. Dick is blocking them but Jason pulls you behind him, blocking you from the few shots not even putting any thought into it. But, by the time the third shot rings across the stale air, it finally makes proper contact with Dick. The kid got lucky. The kid got lucky, sending the bullet into Dick's neck right above where his armor stops.

It's as if the entire scene falls into slow motion as you and Jason watch in horror as the blood spurt from Dick's neck. Jason's heart stops beating entirely as Dick's hand goes to his neck, trying to put pressure on the wound. Jason eyes the kid who doesn't even look surprised or sorry or fucking scared. He doesn't look scared. He should look scared.

Jason didn't feel scared killing all those people but if he weren't high, he would have at least felt something. There would have been some part of him that would have felt some sort of fear or remorse or pity or he would have had a thought questioning if it were the right thing to do. Is this really the last resort? He would have felt fucking something other than pride for a job well done. This kid does not look like any of those things. He looks like he just did something on a random Tuesday night. No remorse, no consequences. Just a thing he did.

What is the city turning into?

What has Jason turned this city into?

"I did it for you." The kid's wavered voice breaks the silence, shattering the slowed illusion.

Jason glances to Dick as he falls to the ground and then he looks back to the kid. This is not what he wanted. Crane, Jason, they convinced the public of this. That this was the right way. Jason may not have had a part in that video but it never would have been made if it weren't for him. The public is gonna get blood on their hands. This will clear up, somehow, someway, it will and now this innocent kid, has to deal with the death of someone on his own hands for someone who was masquerading around like a hero, like a savior.

"Red Hood." The kid states, this time the unsteadiness of his voice is gone. And then he starts chanting Jason's vigilante name, over and over and over again as the rest of the civilians join in.

You look at him with heartbreak before you run over to Dick, pushing him onto his back where you put your hand over the neck wound. How could this happen? Another person? Another fucking person? Dick was always right about Gotham. Maybe Bruce was right about Gotham.

Jason went into more detail about what Bruce said to him the day he took Robin away. Bruce had said something about how people lose themselves to the city. Maybe he was right. Maybe they go mad, maybe they turn into murderers, and maybe they die. But eventually, maybe everyone gets lost in the city of damaged hopes. And maybe Dick was right, too. This city takes and it changes people. It's as if this city needs the chaos of destruction in order to stay afloat and it waits in the shadows, just waiting for the perfect victim at the right time before it sinks its teeth into them. It bleeds them of all their good parts until there's nothing left. A perfect sacrifice for the city.

Maybe that's all Gotham is because Dick is bleeding out because some kid got fucking lucky with a gun.

Jason watches in horror and having everyone chant his name does not sound as good as he once thought it would. At one point, he thought having everyone cheer for him would feel good. He would be important but he just got his brother shot. Someone who has almost always just tried to help him. Jason has been out here trying to kill him and thanks to you, Dick was willing to trust Jason and give him a second chance but now he's just been shot and it's his fault. And he's going to die because of him.

Jason knows what it's like to die and it's fucking terrifying and painful. Tears brim his eyes and the crowd is still chanting and he sees your cheeks glistening in the low streetlights around you. He wanted to talk but when Dick attacked first, rightfully so, he just couldn't help it. He thought that it was over for him and maybe it didn't have to be. How the fuck did he get here again? He should have just surrendered. That's all he had to do but his ego and pride get in the fucking way. All he ever does is get in the way. Dick's gonna die and it's all his fault.

He wants to run, get out of here because it's all too much. Too loud, too heavy. Too much pressure. Everyone is cheering as if Jason pulled the trigger and killed the worst of the worst. They're brainwashed and Jason knows that better than anyone. Someone has to snap them out of it. It's too much but running and pushing has never done him much good.

"Get out here!" Jason yells over the crowd as the chanting slows down. Your attention, like the rest of the crowd, lands on him. "Go! Before I start fucking shooting." Jason aims the gun into the air, his arm steady and his eyes threatening.

"We're on your side!" One of the citizens announces.

"So do what I fucking say." Jason snips back. "Didn't ask for you fucking help here. Get out of here." Jason takes steps toward the crowd as they start to back away.

They grumble and mutter amongst themselves before they eventually disburse. Jason takes that as his cue to run up beside you, leaning over Dick. There's blood pooling out of his mouth as he gasps for air.

"I can't stop the bleeding." You state. "Think he hit the fucking artery."

"I got it." Jason mutters, slightly nudging you out of the way where he can replace your hands with his. You have had enough blood on your hands lately, this is on Jason.

Neither of you have ever seen Dick look scared or panicked. Surely, he feels it. He is human and normal, mostly. But, he's really good at hiding it. With Deathstroke, you didn't see the look of pure terror on his face when you were standing outside the window. You didn't see the look of horror and agony on his face as Jason was falling to his death. You didn't see it because Dick has always been good at making sure no one sees those emotions from him. He has to be strong, sturdy, and a little calloused in order for everyone else not to panic. If the leader looks panicked and scared, so will everyone else. If everyone is scared and panicked, mistakes are made and more people die. So, he hides it. Until now.

Dick can feel the blood loss taking over, making him light-headed. The blood loss and bullet wounds alone are making it harder to breathe. He knows how long he has, maybe minutes but nothing more. Not unless you or Jason can get some sort of help in the next few seconds. He's going to die and it is fucking terrifying. He isn't ready. He has too much left. Who is going to look after the Titans if he dies? Who's going to stop Crane? He has too much life to live, outside of the Titans to die tonight but he is helpless. There is no help and there is no hope. It's just him bleeding out in the middle of downtown Gotham.

"Get." Dick tries to pull in a breath. "Help."

You look around and you don't see a single person around. Your heart starts to break as the lump comes back to your throat. It destroyed you when Jason died and it destroyed you when your mom died. You're actually pretending like Tim survived just in case he didn't. You can't deal with it if he died, too. But, you look back at Dick and you're really scared he'll die.

You might fight with him all the time and disagree with him usually, but you have a lot of respect for him. He saved your life more than once. You might not like his morals but you think he is a good person and he tries a lot harder than anyone else ever would. To help innocent people. To help you, no obligation, no transaction, no contingencies. He helps you because he just does. Just like with Rachel and Gar, and despite what Jason thinks, you think that's why he tried to help Jason, too. Just because. It shouldn't be Dick to die. The Titans need him. He's a really good leader, usually. It's almost shocking but he is. And everyone trusts him. The Titans will fall apart if he dies. They practically fell apart when Donna died but Dick would kill them. The Titans need him. You need him.

Jason glances over to you, knowing this is going to be bad. He's not going to make it and by the look of devastation in your eyes, he knows you feel it, too. And then the throbbing under Jason's hands comes to a slow halt.

"Dick?" Jason questions, looking back at him. "Hey, man, stay awake." Jason holds his voice steady, careful not to let it slip how much this is ripping him to shreds. "I can't feel his pulse." Jason says quietly, glancing back to you before he pulls his hand away, trying a different spot but he still feels nothing.

"Keep your hands on the wound." You mutter, moving to the opposite side before you place your hands on his chest and start chest compressions.

Jason watches you, trying to keep his hands steady on the wound but with every ump, Jason can feel blood coming from the wound, warming his hands. The tip of Jason's nose starts to feel like it's on fire while his eyes feel like someone's just thrown sand into them. This cannot be happening. Dick is otherwise dead and he's got you doing CPR, just as you did the night Jason died. And Jason can't peel his eyes away from you as some sort of self-torture because he thinks this is probably similar to how you looked that night.

The hood of your suit falling off of your head, resting lazily on your shoulders and moving with every compression. The way your hair is a complete mess. Tear-stained cheeks shining against any light that they catch. And blood soaking your skin. Jason wonders if this is the exact sight Babs walked in on. You must have felt so alone.

"Dick!" You and Jason hear Gar's voice from across the pavement, wet footsteps picking up their pace. "What happened?" Gar yells as him and Rachel get closer to the two of you.

"He was shot." Jason states as you don't miss a single beat.

"He's not breathing." You rush with heaving breath.

"Are you sure?" Gar asks with glossy eyes.

You stop, feeling for a pulse and there's still nothing. "Positive." You continue chest compressions, looking to Rachel who falls to her knees beside you.

"Is there anything you can do?" Gar asks, looking at Rachel.

You stop, sitting back on your toes, to see if Rachel can use her powers somehow to save him. It might not have worked on Donna but maybe it could work on Dick. He hasn't been dead long. Maybe that matters and Jason and Gar seem to have the same hope. Jason pulls away while Gar keeps his stance steady, almost holding his breath as Rachel tries her powers, a purple glow coming from her hands over Dick's neck. But nothing comes from it. Instead, the purple fades as Rachel lets out a cry.

"It's too late." Rachel sniffles, looking to Gar.

Gar lets out a scream as tears start to fall from your eyes. Jason's eyes stay trained on Dick, almost distant as he thinks the pain of it all has just chewed him to pieces. What are you gonna do?

You look to Rachel who looks like she might break into a million pieces right in front of you. Gar yells again as bats crowd the space above all of you. The four of you look up, watching the bats circle around all of you. Gar starts to have problems with his eyes as he rubs them only for his face to start turning green and then his hands start to change until his body follows. Suddenly, Gar is a bat, flying with the others above you.

"Gar?" Rachel asks.

You, Jason, and Rachel get to your feet as the bats circle closer and closer to Dick, Gar right in the mix of them. You all back away as the bats fly down to Dick and start to pick him up, all of them working together. They fly Dick high into the air before they start moving.

"What...the....fuck?" You look to Rachel as she'll have some sort of answer.

"That's new, right?" Jason looks to you who just nods.

"Come on." Rachel says, without missing a beat, grabbing some of Gar's clothes before she starts following the bats and Gar.

You and Jason exchanged a confused look before deciding to follow. You both have absolutely nothing left to lose at this point.

"I thought he couldn't turn into anything else?" You ask as the three of you run to keep up with the bats.

"He turned ito a snake once." Jason answers, not even thinking.

He was possessed at the time and the reason Gar turned into a snake in the first place but Gar talked about it a lot at first. Jason tried to help him transform again, several times with different methods. Getting him mad, scaring him, sparring harder with him, they tried everything but nothing ever worked. And then Gar stopped talking about it.

"Yeah, once but now he's a bat?" You question. "What the fuck?"

"Is that really what you're concerned about right now?" Rachel asks, her voice torn between amusement and worry.

"I mean..." You suck in a breath. "It's better than the alternative. I would prefer to focus on the weird shit than the sad shit."

Rachel gives you a subtle glare as you keep up your fast walk. It's not a long walk before you all reach the entrance of a building and Rachel is the only one who understands what's happening.

"They're taking him to the Lazarus Pit." Rachel says as Gar and the bats take Dick into the building.

"What?" Jason almost demands as his steps come to a hard stop. "You found it?"

"Yeah." Rachel mutters softly, turning around to see Jason not walking and you standing a few feet in front of him.

He can't go in there. It feels wrong. How do you know Dick would want that? Would he want it? If someone were to have asked Dick before he died if this is what he wanted, would he say yes? Would he agree to it without knowing the consequences of being brought back? Would he be okay with the constant feeling of being pulled back to the dark where the Grim Reaper waits with a smile?

But Jason looks at you and Rachel, the two who Dick has saved. It's not his place to argue it. Dick hasn't been dead long. Maybe he won't feel the way Jason does. Jason was dead a few days. Maybe it's different. Maybe the Pit has different effects the longer someone is dead so it's not his place. Jason hasn't been on good terms with Dick in a few weeks, he doesn't get a say. But, he can't go in. The pull is too strong and his bones feel like they might vibrate and shatter right through his skin. He can't do it.

"You coming, Jay?" You ask softly as you close the distance between you. You thought maybe he'd want to see the thing that brought him back. It is fascinating. And maybe he could be there if it works for Dick. Maybe help.

"No." Jason shakes his head. "I'm going to Crane." Jason spits it out without thinking as he watches the shock consume your face.

"Do you think that's really a good idea?" Rachel asks as a wince almost consumes her entire expression.

Jason takes a step towards you and nods his head at Rachel before looking back at you. "I gotta try to fucking help. Maybe I can get Crane to spill with Dick dead. He won't know about the Pit."

He has to do this. Maybe he can convince Crane to give up some form of information. If the Pit can bring Jason back, it can bring Dick back. He's going to wake up in a few hours and now it's Jason's job to get him some answers so they finally put this whole thing out of its misery. He owes Dick that much.

"Are you sure?" You ask, eyes scanning his face as if fully convinced this is just him avoiding something.

Jason nods softly. "Yeah, go with them. We'll meet later." Jason offers something that's not quite a smile.

You don't like the idea but...maybe Crane will think Nightwing's death is on Jason's hands. Maybe that'll be enough for Crane to actually trust Jason just enough to offer some sort of information to him. It's the right thing to do.

"Okay." You nod reluctantly. "Be careful, yeah?"

"Always." Jason gives you the subtle smirk he always does before he nods and runs off in the opposite direction.

The two of you go into the building, following the way Gar and the other bats took as you run to catch up. You get to an open room where a glowing pool of blue liquid sits right in the middle of the room. Gar and the other bats hover above it, holding Dick's lifeless body.

"Gar, now!" Rachel yells as the bats start to lower Dick into the water.

Once Dick is lowered, the bats fly around until Dick is completely submerged and then they disburse. Besides Gar. You and Rachel sit at the edge of Lazarus Pit, just watching as it starts to bubble. This whole thing is weird but you can't help but feel just a little bit of hope. If it worked for Jason, it should work for Dick.

"You're not allowed to leave anymore." You mutter, keeping your eyes on the Pit.

"What?" Rachel shakes her head in confusion.

"You're not allowed to leave. Everything went to shit and you show up, find me and Gar and then the damn pit. You can't leave, Titans need you." You nod your head quickly as Rachel smiles softly, looking back to the pit.

Gar transforms back to himself and starts getting dressed. Once he has his pants on, he walks to the edge of the pit, standing opposite you and Rachel. He's blinking dramatically, having a subtle sway to stance as he tries to get his equilibrium back to normal.

"He's gonna make it, right?" Gar asks, looking at you.

Gar isn't sure how you would know but you're the one who's had more conversations with Jason than anyone. Jason might not know a lot but something about asking you gives Gar hope. Maybe you do know the Pit works every single time. Gar hopes it works like that.

"I don't know." You shrug. "Uh...J-Jason just said, uh, that someone put him in it and then he was alive. So..." You nod your head. "I-I guess if that's all there is...yeah. Jason was dead for a few days so..." You pull in a shaky breath.

"I can't believe he actually died." Rachel states, her eyes on the pit. She says it mostly out of hope that whatever happened with Jason to bring him back, will bring Dick back.

You glance to her before you pull your knees to your chest. You know it's because Rachel is finding all of this out for the first time while everyone else has had a few weeks to digest the news and fumble their way through the aftermath. But, no one can believe Jason not only died but then came back. It's the way it's talked about, how it's said in passing and so casually that you almost wonder if they're all just...fine with it. At the end of the day, Jason died. He died. That was something that happened and he remembers it. As someone who was nearly beaten to death, you know that was haunting. Is haunting. You can't imagine what dying is actually like. And how terrified he probably still feels. But, everyone else is...it's as if that aspect of it, doesn't matter. To some extent, you get it. You understand because he became Red Hood and decided to kill Dick. You understand because they didn't see it. But, it irks you anyway.

"Sorry." Rachel says quietly. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just meant that it's kind of crazy. Jason was reckless but I didn't think he'd actually get killed." Rachel explains calmly.

"No, it's okay." You shake your head. "You're just getting the news of everything and then Dick is killed. I get it, don't worry about it."

"Are you okay?" Gar asks, his brows knitted together in their usual state of worry.

"I'm fine." You look up to him with one stern nod. "Been here a few times, right?" You quip bitterly.

"That's why I asked." Gar nods his head.

"Yeah, I'm good." You sniffle. "Are you guys okay? I mean...it's Dick." You look between Rachel and Gar as if feeling you have no right to grieve him as much as them.

You've been at odds with Dick most of the time over the last few weeks. It doesn't seem fair for you to absorb any space for grief. It should be given to Rachel and Gar.

"No." Gar answers. "What're we supposed to do without him?" Gar's voice nearly shatters.

"We don't have to think about that because if it worked for Jason, it'll work for Dick." Rachel states with ease and you're not sure who she's trying to convince.

"Yeah." Gar says shortly.

"I think we need to force the batboys into therapy after this. Group and individual until they learn how to have a conversation." You groan, trying not to focus on Dick actually dying and not coming back from this.

"We all need therapy." Gar mutters as he comes to sit on the other side of you.

The three of you fall silent, just watching the pit with no idea how long this is supposed to take or if you'll even know if it works or not. This is definitely the pit but none of you know the logistics of it. For all you know, this isn't going to work or it could take hours or days. So, you just fall into silence, mostly thinking of everything that's happened.

It's haunting and sets reality into stone of the work you all do. Of couse, it was real the day Donna died. Wonder Girl was killed. It was real then, too. But, it was an accident. And then it was real when Jason died. But, it was Jason who was killed by The Joker. That was different. This is Dick though. He's the leader and even when he's wrong, he still knows what to do. He was Robin. He's Nightwing. He's not supposed to die and he did anyway. And it was by some kid with a gun. It wasn't The Joker or Two Face or Deathstroke. It was just some kid. A kid Dick would have protected but everyone turned their backs on the Titans over Crane. And Dick was killed for it.

What are you all supposed to do if this doesn't work? Just go back to San Francisco like nothing happened? That doesn't seem possible. It'll just feel cold and lonely.

Between the three of you sitting here, he's saved your lives more times than you can count. He is the older and annoying brother none of you really asked for. It's losing another family member. But...it hits a little different this time. So, the air around you feels like it's carrying bricks and the guilt of the entire world.

Jason, he's also still processing everything that's just happened. When he left to meet Dick, he knew he'd have to start talking immediately, given his own broadcast and conversation with Dick. But, then the flashbang went off and it's like it...triggered something in him where he just had to fight. He just had to. Something deep inside of him told him Dick would never let him explain why he did what he did. It's the immediate defensive mechanism and he knows it. But, he's on the way back to the manor and he's thinking that was just dumb. It was not giving Dick any bit of credit which Jason doesn't like to do on most days but he deserved this time. And now he's dead. He's dead and that's Jason's fault because that kid was defending him. Everything is his fault even when he is desperately clawing his way away from all of this. It follows him.

He told you that, months ago, it follows him like a curse and he has never been so sure of that. First it was his mom. He is not mad at her and he holds no resentment towards her but he wasn't enough for her. She chose those drugs every single day over him and he knows part of that was so she could function. That's how it started. It started so she could take care of him. If it weren't for him in the first place, his mom wouldn't have gotten addicted and then she'd still be here.

His dad was angry and desperate because he was just trying to provide for them. He was down and out and he was an ass and abusive but there was a point, before the alcohol, where he was trying. He was trying and if it weren't for Jason being an extra mouth to feed who needed other things, maybe his dad wouldn't have been so angry and desperate.

Had he never gone after Deathstroke, you wouldn't have been there. Had he never gone after Deathstroke, the Titans wouldn't have left and the tower wouldn't have been attacked or the Titans would have fought together. Gar wouldn't have been kidnapped and turned into a killer. Donna wouldn't have died.

You wouldn't been traumatized had he never went after the Joker. You wouldn't have been shot. Dick wouldn't have been shot and killed. Hank wouldn't have been killed. Everything that's happened has been following right on his heels like a rabid dog chasing him down a dead end alley. There is no escape. He is just stuck in this constant spiral of agony and causing everyone else around him the worst pain they will ever experience.

This is all his fault and there's nothing he can do anymore.

Even if the Pit works, will Dick remain the same? Or will he be as terrified and traumatized and stuck as Jason? Whatever side effects Dick gets from the Pit, that has to fall on Jason, too.

Jason reaches the Batcave, the cuts from Dick's punches still bleeding over his face. Crane is dragging his scythe on the floor, his face covered in fresh cuts. He's got this evil and eerie smile while there's a body on a table, cut open with his organs sticking out. This is the first time he's ever felt terrified of Crane. At the hospital, it wasn't Crane Jason was worried about it. It was who would call in. But this? This is Crane losing his damn mind on some, likely, innocent person and Jason thinks his days are definitely numbered with him. Everyone's days are numbered with him.

"Nightwing's dead." Jason states, his words flat and pained.

"Batman saved my toy." Crane says but it's only slightly enthusiastic, almost childlike as he holds up the scythe by the chain. Crane lets out a light chuckle as Jason just watches him closely, ready to move if Crane tries to pull anything. "A trinket of our courtship together. Who would have thought he was so...sentimental."

Jason's eyes narrow as he watches Crane. All of this...over his scythe? Jason knew he was insane but he's really pushing the envelope tonight.

"Did you hear me?" Jason questions but with no venom or snark. His chest is in so much agony, he doesn't think he can muster it at this second. "I said Nightwing is dead!" Jason gets himself to yell, growing frustrated.

"So?" Crane states. "Wasn't my monster." Crane states plainly but not in the way where his words feel light. This time there's something heavy and dark in his tone, running a chill up Jason's spine. The scythe drops to the floor, Crane still holding it by the chain. "He's your monster. What do you want? A cookie?" Crane offers a half-assed chuckle, mostly to himself.

A fire starts erupting through Jason's blood like an overdue volcano. He can't be serious. Getting clean, Jason realizes that so much of the shit Crane was spilling was just him manipulating him, making sure Jason had no one to run to besides Crane. But, there's some part of him that is still hurt and disgusted by the reaction. It was Crane's idea.

"You said that's what you wanted." Jason argues softly, taking just a few steps toward Crane. "When it was done, we would save Gotham my way." Jason's voice is small as the sense of betrayal kicks in.

He is only here to find out what Crane has planned and then he's gone. But, he can't help how badly it hurts. It would hurt anyway because he was manipulated into it. Turned against someone who has been looking out for him. But, Jason, as far as he knows, felt like Crane figured they were still on the same side. This doesn't feel that way. That's when Jason is realizing that's the point. Jason does the dirty work so Crane can be up at the top, hands clean and filled with the power Jason served him on a silver platter.

He knew that's all it was but maybe a part of him still believed otherwise and for the life of him, he has no idea why.

"Gotham will be saved." Crane starts his walk towards Jason, holding his scythe so it doesn't drag on the floor. "But first, it must be destroyed. As clever hopes expire, waves of fear and anger circulate over the bright and darken the lands of the earth." Crane explains as he uses the chain to sway the scythe back and forth while he paces in front of Jason.

"What the fuck kind of gibberish is that?" Jason quips back not even entirely sure if Crane is actually coherent.

"No," Crane says quickly, turning to face Jason. "No, not gibberish. No, it's the past come to life in the present." Crane pauses and Jason realizes how completely fucked he is. "An ode to the bat and his wee bird. When they stopped me, but they can't stop me now. No." Crane is looking away from Jason and Jason is starting to wonder if Crane is talking to him or just talking to himself or some third person Jason isn't aware of. "They can't stop me now...because." Crane shakes his head. "Because we will walk among them. The dead." Crane looks back at Jason and Jason hangs his head, something about him basically being the dead. "And the fallen city will be like...it'll be like a beacon. Very soon, very soon, Jason, very very soon they will die. Yes, they will die."

What the hell is this maniac even talking about?

"Who will die?" Jason asks cautiously.

"All of them!" Crane faces Jaosn as he screams, his entire face turning red. "All of them! Everybody." Crane looks to the floor and this is not how Jason wanted to fix Gotham. The answer isn't gutting the fucking the city. "You still stink of fear. After all that I've given you."

Jason's growing tired of Crane's babbling. It's not making any sense and he wants to get the fuck away from him before Crane tries to slice him in two like the other guy.

"You said I was gonna be a savior." Jason nods his head at him, a hint of disgust in his voice. "Is that your whole plan? Destroy the fucking city?"

"Is that not what it's been about?" Crane states almost whimsically.

"And how the fuck do you plan to do that?" Jason lets out a scoff but Crane just offers him a harsh glare as Jason sees his grip tighten on the chain.

Crane isn't going to tell him anything and even if he does, it'll likely be an incoherent mess like it has been the last few minutes. It was a waste of time, mostly. What Jason does know now is that he wants to destroy the entire city. There are a lot of ways to do that though and that's where he finds himself stuck. But, he can't stick around here. Not when there's no chance of getting a good answer.

"I won't help you destroy the city." Jason holds his stance, firm but calm.

"Well," Crane says with disappointment. "Perhaps you won't." Crane says before there's a pause and then he turns around quickly, throwing a scythe at Jason, still holding onto it by the chain.

Jason dodges just in time, moving quickly away from Crane. Crane follows right after him, swinging his scythe at him and just missing by a few inches. Jason keeps moving away and running, avoiding the blows each time. He does not want his head taken off tonight. That is not the plan. So, he dodges and once he sees the opportunity, he runs out of the Batcave as quickly as he can.

Crane has officially lost it which was only a matter of time before that happened. Jason was hoping they had a little bit more time but, if Crane is losing it, that means he'll be easier to take down. Once Crane starts losing his mind, he gets distracted, starts losing some of the quick thinking he's so proud of. But, Crane has something in place. It's the way he talked about it that tells Jason Crane won't need to do anything else. It's already in motion. So, now he needs to find at least you, Rachel, and Gar and maybe the four of you can figure it out. Maybe you've had some luck with the Lazarus Pit.

Jason hopes you've had luck with the Lazarus Pit.

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[televisionlassie]

The reason I find Jason to be boring is because people are so scared to hold him accountable. You can’t claim to like anti-hero’s or claim that Jason is an anti-hero if you’re going to excuse everything that makes him an ANTI-hero.

There is no doubt in my mind that I would like him a whole lot more if people accepted him as a character that does bad things. I understand he has trauma and his own reasons but trauma is only an explanation, not an excuse. While I like consuming content of the batfamily being a family, when it’s not based in pretty much an entirely different universe it doesn’t make any sense.

Pretty much all of the batfamily (except Bruce because he’s can actually be pretty awful to Jason) has reasons to hate or be mad at Jason.

Jason went out in a Nightwing outfit and killed people to try and ruin Dick’s image, and all the shit he’s done to Dicks other siblings. You really think Dick would just be cool with the fact that Jason beat one of his little brothers and shot another one?

Cass has a moral code probably stricter than Batman, she would HATE Jason for killing. And again same thing with the siblings.

Tim I just don’t understand why he would ever forgive Jason. Jason beat the absolute shit out of him, plus you gotta admit that guy is too much of a cocky bitch to ever just forgive and forget

Unfortunately I can’t say much about Steph as I can’t think of a single time where they actually interacted in canon. But I don’t think she would be too fond of the guy who beat up her best friend and shot Damian.

Duke I think has had one personal interaction with Jason and while it wasn’t too friendly I don’t think he would hold that big of a grudge.

Damian I think would be more understanding but it’s hard to forget how he was shot by Jason and had to have his SPINE replaced because of Jason.

I’m not trying to hate on Jason, he honestly makes me sad because he is filled with wasted potential. It’s not even that they never make him do bad things, it’s that there’s never any lasting consequences.

Many times when I see people who hate on Jason they bring in the death penalty argument, which as much as I hate and believe is stupid, still has some tiny bit of validity. The reason it sucks is because the world of DC comics is not even remotely similar to our real life. Criminals in real life don’t have plant powers or convoluted plans to distribute their weird ass poisonous gas. If they did, they wouldn’t even spend a night in jail because they would be shot on the spot. If Jason did just kill these types of criminals, then he would not be considered an anti-hero, just a hero. But that’s the thing, Jason doesn’t just kill the Joker, or the Riddler or any of the Rogues, he kills the type of criminals we would see in our real lives. THAT is where the validity lies in that argument, it’s not just that Jason is killing supervillains but that he is killing the type of people that we are fighting against the death penalty for. Obviously this argument means nothing to you if you are pro-death penalty but I just wanted to explain.

Jason would be so interesting if he was treated like the character he is supposed to be. A young traumatized person who does bad things for the right reasons but still has to face the consequences.

And if people really want to give him a character arc where he eventually stops killing, it shouldn’t just be he gets tried of killing or tired of arguing with Bruce, but that he sees how his way of crime-fighting can do more harm than good.

It’s just so frustrating to see how people just act accept anti-heros for what they are. It like people are so scared of making or admitting a character to be immoral, that they just erase the consequences of their bad actions to make it excusable.

Anyways, thank you for coming to my rant, Jason Todd fans this wasn’t me hating on your babygirl, I’m trying to help you.

[celaenaeiln]

My connection went off so idk if my ask just sent but. I was wondering your thoughts on post Robin Jason, because idk what his deal is at this point and writers don't seem to either. I don't think he's a heartless killer who should be hated and hunted by the entire family but I don't like this fanon "Jason is 100% right about everything and everyone else is the problem" idea either, when they put him in the family he feels really out of place and random and it's just.. one moment he's trying to kill Tim and the next he's the best guy ever with the softest heart?? I don't know there has to be a middle ground right?? I just can't get into Red Hood as a character due to this

Thank you for being so incredibly smart, reasonable, and intelligent.

You're exactly right. I think this is the same issue that's been affecting the Robin Dick vs Robin Jason mischaracterizations as well as the batgirls' that have been predominant in the fandom post 2020. Tim and Damian's motivations and personality have stayed the same from when they entered to now but Dick, Jason, Cass, and Steph have all grown as characters. Who they started out as, they've changed from then to now which has led to some confusion about their personality and motivations.

For Jason in particular - no, he shouldn't be hunted to the ends of the Earth for the things he did. He was hurting and acted out of pain. However it's irresponsible to refute those actions and blame other characters for them.

Jason was originally meant to be a villain. He was supposed to be like Freeze, a sympathetic villain - a character who despite their evil actions is understandable. All Freeze wants is his wife, Nora, back. He loves her and commits horrible acts that don't justify his actions but it makes sense. You're supposed to feel complicated about characters like him because they point out exactly why morality is grey. What Freeze does is wrong, but he does it for the right reasons. It's ultimately still wrong which is why he gets imprisoned.

That is Jason. Jason's actions were never supposed to okay. In what universe would creators who spent half a century working on and developing characters be okay with another character trying to kill them? What about that is acceptable? But it's not just trying to kill Tim (who only escaped by outsmarting Jason) or trying to kill Damian, the crimes he did are not acceptable.

He bombed Gotham just because despite knowing he didn't need to. He was willing to kill innocent children, men, women, and civilians for Dick and Damian were chasing him, after they helped him.

Batman and Robin (2009) Issue #25

In the Red Robin Comics, he was willing to use children as bait during a gang war.

Robin (1993) Issue #177

Not to mention Mia Dearden.

But at the same time, he killed people who hurt children

Red Hood: Lost Days Issue #3

Initially Jason's morality was a swinging pendulum. He was as likely to kill kids as he was to protect them. He didn't care about the lives of civilians if it meant getting away or completing his plans.

Batman/Superman (2013) Issue #26

Here Superman says he wants to save a kid so Jason argues that to save him, they need to poison the environment and wipe out several countries.

That's why Bruce struggles with Jason so much. Over his lack of care for people's lives. It's not the murdering of criminals that Batman is caught up on which is where I believe the misunderstanding in fanon comes from. It's his fear that by his own hands, Bruce created a deadlier version of the man who killed his parents.

Batman vs Robin Issue #3

So no it's not fair to blame everyone for Jason's mistakes and claim him innocent, but it's also not fair to say Bruce had nothing to do with Jason's mental state. If he had shown a little less hesitance at the reappearance of Jason in Under the Red Hood, if he had shown a little more love then Jason probably wouldn't have gone as crazy as he did after coming back.

Because he saw Jason killing everyone, Bruce fell into his worst possible explanation of Jason, knowing the pain he was going through but succumbing to selfish actions to protect himself.

Jason's tough to deal with for writers because even when the batfamily reaches out, Jason is the one that burns his own bridges. When Dick begged Jason to take his hand during the Battle for the Cowl, when Dick and Damian helped Jason save his friend during Batman and Robin (2009), when Bruce saved Jason and fought alongside him against a couple members of the Secret Society of Supervillains, Jason immediately turned around and killed people and bragged about it.

In Batman Urban Legends, Jason tells Bruce that he has given up guns to which Bruce is grateful but it's also not for him. It's a sign that Jason is turning a new leaf especially given how caring he was with the kid, calling him Blue Hoodie. That was so sweet of him. The current Batman family comics are a sign of things changing between Jason and the family. What has happened up until now is not the family's fault, especially when they've reached out for the sole purpose of extending an olive branch only to have it burned and tied to a person in return. But now things are slowly changing and writers are trying to show that.

Jason's story is story of growth. He didn't come back to save people, he came specifically for the sake of hurting Bruce. But over the years, the repeated attempts of the family (Dick and far less Bruce) of bringing Jason back into the fold has helped him move past his anger. To slowly become adjusted and settle down.

Writers have struggled to know what to do with a character that canonically wants to be included in the family but rebuffs their every attempt to include him. They finally figured out the problem was Bruce - hence his fight against Jason and his exit in Gotham War. I'm assuming now that Jason will become more involved in Batman comics.

As a character currently though, I think of him as a lone ranger. He works independently but he'll show up for family meetings and big events. He'll also join family dinners if he's coerced but for the most part he likes to run on his own or with his team.

[sasheneskywalker]

batfamily fic recs where the main character is asexual or aromantic

Unsteady by withthekeyisking

Dick grew up watching Bruce take countless women to bed for the sake of the mission, and to get what he needed from different people. He watched, and he learned.

And maybe he doesn't feel the same things the people around him feel, maybe he doesn't really like sex, but it doesn't really matter. Because if sex makes people happy, then why does his opinion on everything matter? It's not their fault he's broken.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Dick Grayson/Various, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

10 Things I Hate About Sex by blueyeti

Damian felt like this obsession with sex and romance was some long con being played on him by the entire school, and he was reaching an untenable level of frustration with the irrational behaviour of his supposed 'peers'.

On a Bat Family movie night, Damian finally figured out the right question to ask, to finally get answers to why all the other teenage boys at Gotham Academy were obsessed with sex.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne

Nothing Personal by firefright, Skalidra

Jason's never been that interested in sex, except as a tool to help him get what he wants and a way to please the people around him. What he does enjoy, however, is the part that comes before it (especially being treated with a firm hand). Finding someone willing to understand and respect both those aspects of himself has always seemed impossible, though. That is, until Slade comes along.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Jason Todd/Slade Wilson

Kerosene and Flame by Sohotthateveryonedied

Jason chews his cheek. How is he supposed to explain his sexuality to an alien whose first language is touch? Part of Kori’s culture revolves around physical intimacy, sharing oneself with another as a means of connection.

“I don’t exactly…feel things the way you do, Kori,” he starts. “You’re a very tactile person. You like skin contact and connection and…you know, sex.” He blushes just saying the word. He pushes through. “But it’s not like that for me. I don’t feel sexual attraction the way you do.” He takes a breath. “I’m asexual.”

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Koriand'r & Jason Todd

enough by sparkycap

After trying to make his son relive his violent death in Ethiopia in hopes of bringing his other son back to life, it occurs to Bruce that he might, possibly, have made a questionable decision in his grief. Again. For once, he'd like to try to fix it before it's too late. Jason may have run away again, but he's still alive, so Bruce has to believe it's not too late. He goes to find him.

Finding him in bed with Roy Harper and Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran is an unexpected distraction

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Roy Harper/Koriand'r/Jason Todd

Reciprocation (or: Sex as Violence) by Honorable_mention

Sex was a lot like violence. It was all about who held the power.

---

Or: Jason's always had a complicated relationship with sex. Despite his best efforts, it might finally be time to explore it.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Roy Harper & Jason Todd

Hot Chocolate and Fruitcake by HermesDay

"Tim," Barbara said. "Do you know what asexual means?"

"Immaculate conception," Tim replied. "Fact: the Virgin Mary was an amoeba."

G | No Archive Warnings Apply | Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson

A Thin Line to Thaw by Terminallydepraved

The sound of a chamber sliding into place shouldn’t have been a soothing sound, but in the quiet stillness of the shitty motel room, Jason found it just that.

E | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Jason Todd/Slade Wilson

Your Name Carved in Stone by Cirth

“Think clean thoughts, Robin.”

It was an outrageously old-fashioned choice of words, and it took Damian a few moments to realise, with creeping embarrassment, what his father meant.

T | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne

Think of Me by Luvo

“Any…life updates?” Bruce asks hopefully.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Do you maybe…is there a girl?”

Jason feels his face heat. He does his best to ignore Tim, Steph, and Cass snickering as he asks, “Seriously?”

Bruce looks down. He looks back up.

“A boy?” he tries.

Jason’s fork clatters to his plate. “Dad!” he hisses.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Connor Hawke & Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd

our love was built outside these walls by Shenanigans Connor Hawke loves Kyle in a clean simple way, but he can't help but think it's not enough. He can see Kyle look, can feel Kyle need more than he knows how to give. He can't find the touch, the words, to make the mess Kyle needs to be.

He asks the people he trusts for help.

E | No Archive Warnings Apply | Connor Hawke/Kyle Rayner, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Kyle Rayner/Jason Todd

we show off our different scarlet letters (trust me mine is better) by lostandlonelybirds (RUNNFROMTHEAK)

He gets called things, sometimes. Slut when Mirage tricks him. Cheater when Barbara tells others about her suspicions, her doubts and feelings. Whore when it’s a villain pissed he took out their goons and they’re aiming below the belt. Playboy by magazines, and bicycle by the younger generation because “everyone gets a ride”. They hurt the way most things do, and they each hurt in a different way because he’s broken and he’s tattered and he loves but not the way you’re meant to, because it’s not nature or an inferno or something out of a Greek myth. It’s not possession or jealousy or the need to lock it down.

It’s different. It’s not supposed to be.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Other(s)

break your throne, cut your hair by dukeaubergine

Ra’s thought he could force Tim into marriage with an ancient magical artifact. He didn’t account for the magic recognizing his daughter’s protégé as a potential alternate groom.

Tim and Jason just have to survive the one-month engagement period without getting kidnapped, killed, or outed as fakers to the press. Then survive any assassins gate-crashing the wedding. Piece of cake, right?

…This might be easier if they’d actually tell the rest of the Bats what’s really going on.

E | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Batfamily Members & Tim Drake, Batfamily Members & Jason Todd

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

BFTC isn’t really a case of terrible characterization for Jason so much as it was a terrible case of victim blaming. Like yeah, some of the things Jason did were a bit extreme compared to his “better” appearances, but that’s nothing new and pretty much true of many stories that aren’t utrh or lost days. The bad parts are are also definitely exaggerated by fans.

The story isn’t centered on Jason. Of course every other character’s description of Jason would be knee-jerk dismissive and misunderstanding, since (again) the intention was to make Jason out to be the cartoony bad guy villain. But if you look past the layers of grime they added, the bare bones of his characterization are not entirely incorrect. It’s a biased story in which their intended criticisms of Jason’s morals often fell short, so to compensate they deliberately cranked up his motivations to be more extreme and unrealistic (but one which, nonetheless got Jason’s overall thoughts and goals relatively consistent with stories that portrayed him accurately).

Yes, him shooting Damian was out of character, but granted we’re all in agreement that it was a true case of “bad writing decision”, I don’t think it’s hard to look past. The only other bit people probably complain about (which felt iffy at worst) was him being “a bit enthusiastic” at times in trying to convince Dick to become another lethal Batman (you can just as easily say Jason wouldn’t have been personally invested enough to have acted in the way he did). I don’t care though because he was probably doing it for shits and giggles, and it was funny watching him push their buttons on his spare time while being excellent at his job. Same old ‘none of them deny that he’s effective, they just can’t get behind the killing’ conflict.

Looking past the fact that Jason still had a valid point, the “he’s the bad guy” plot falls apart for other obvious reasons, which happen in the 3rd issue. It’s kind of hard to focus on how much of a bitch Jason’s being when the other characters are written in an infinitely more problematic way (which ends up happening in most “hate Jason” stories). Not only did they heavily imply Jason is a victim of SA, but the way Dick/the batfamily treats Jason about this is … horrible. Arguing that this was a case of character assassination for Bruce and Dick would be more realistic than using this story to claim Jason is a Bad Person™.

Even though Bruce does have a bad track record with his perspective on victims of SA.

Hey. Maybe listen to the living person begging you to turn it off.

Geez. I wonder why he never felt safe enough to confide in Bruce or any of the rest of them. Implying that enduring what he did made him “broken beyond repair”, that he needs to be “fixed”, and saying verbatim, “you are my greatest failure”, not “I failed you greatly”. Then deciding on behalf of Jason that a bunch of people who weren’t involved in what happened to him should all know about this so they can decide what should be done. And everyone agrees with this garbage. Unbelievable.

Aka, any sort of healing he may have tried to accomplish was ruined by you lot. When exactly am I supposed to see that Jason was evil all along.

The story collapses in on itself in the third issue because where Dick is supposed to be at his prime within the arc, he just sort of rambles about how Jason was a shitty victim and then awkwardly shifts to talking about personal growth and coming to accept his own heroic destiny.

I do resent this, but not because “Jason sucks here”. Jason’s “bad portrayal” pales in comparison to the problematic mindsets given to the other characters (namely Dick) which were framed as good-natured intentions and “tough love”. As for people who describe this as “vilifying Jason to prop up Dick” … I don’t really know what to make of that.

[searchforahero]

tag game & WIP game

combo tag game, i was tagged by @necrotic-nephilim ! :]

last song: roxanne by the police

currently watching: honestly like nothing... i have been swamped with midterms lol but i have a whole list of scary movies i wanted to watch this month that i will hopefully start working my way through soon... i also want to start watching buffy the vampire slayer & star trek & hannibal. also need to get back into supernatural & teen wolf... so much to watch so little time...

last movie: romeo + juliet (1996) but that was like over a month ago. urg. i need to watch more movies...

sweet/spicy/savory: savory (but i love all three yay)

relationship status: single yay :D but also starting to think more seriously about if i want a relationship so that's been interesting.

current obsession: DC as always LOL on a smaller scale, desperately trying to make my t4t4t jaydicktim fic work even though it has gone nowhere

last thing i searched online: other than just searching up ao3 "giant lightning mcqueen canada"

WIP game:

Rules: You will be given a word. Share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word.

word: ROBIN

R [dicktim undercover WIP]

‘Richie’ Grayson is possibly the worst of all Dick’s undercover identities. It’s not that it’s a weak cover or that it isn’t helpful in the field, it’s that Tim can’t focus when he has Dick leaning into his space, muttering mission information under the guise of whispering something salacious into Tim’s ear. Tim hates to admit it, but he’s gorgeous like this, long hair slicked back and piercings studding his ears. He’s applied subtle makeup to change his face, but the way his eyes crinkle fondly when he looks at Tim still shines through, even with the added layer of grease he’s managed to apply to every action he takes. Looking at him now, Tim wants so badly to slip his finger in between the thin gold chain resting across Dick’s collarbones and his pretty scarred skin, and pull. Wants to mark him up and undo him until all that’s left is plainly Dick Grayson - no slimey smiles, no Nightwing confidence, not even the charm he carries like a well-worn coat - just Dick Grayson, the man that has eclipsed Tim’s entire world since he was twelve.

O [dicktim roadtrip WIP]

Obviously It's going to be fine, he needs to stop being such a freak about this, rule number one was literally "be normal" and he's somehow found a way to fail at that before the trip has even begun. He has no earthly idea how he's supposed to be normal in the car with Dick when he can't even be normal in the privacy of his own bathroom.

B [???? WIP]

Bruce is evil. Bruce hates him. Bruce wants him dead. That is the only possible explanation for why Tim is where he is now, sweating like a dog waiting for Victor Fries to leave his newest hideout. The air conditioning in the apartment he’s conducting his stake out from is shot to hell and he can’t leave the window for long enough to figure out what’s wrong with the piece of junk. This is all made about a thousand times worse knowing that there’s what amounts to a giant ice box mere metres away.

I [dicktim roadtrip WIP]

It’s unavoidable at this point, Dick is going to kill him. A full year as Robin and a man Tim caught kicking dirty clothes under his bed in response to hosting unexpected guests is going to be what does him in. Write that on his tombstone and put Dick away for murder: Tim Drake, beloved son, killed by Dick Grayson’s heart-stopping smile and infatuation with low cut necklines on a road trip to New York.

N [damitim camping trip WIP]

[Drake was a road rager.] Not just a sit-in-the-car-and-swear at bad drivers road rager, no, Drake went all in. The space between their two seats had become a danger zone, with the frequency at which Drake shoved his hand between them in order to give the finger to traffic in the rear window, and he had slammed the horn a full three times in their short hour on the freeway. Damian grips his seat belt as Drake swerves into the right lane, cutting off a completely innocent driver to come up beside the Honda previously in front of them. Damian can hear the person behind them slam on the breaks and lay down the horn loudly, but Drake pays them no mind, instead groping around the centre panel to find the window button. Once the window is down he sticks his scrawny arm out the window to make a rude gesture at the driver next to them.

Damian is unsure if Drake has always been like this; he can't quite imagine it - little seventeen year old Timothy Drake cutting off drivers in the Red Bird and racing obnoxious sports cars down the highway - but then again, he knows very little about Drake as a person. He didn't know him then, and he knows even less about the twenty-four year old sitting across from him now.

honestly most of the people i know on here have already been tagged in this so... hi mutuals if you see this and you haven't been tagged yet this is me tagging you!

if you do the WIP game your word is: CAPE

[zeroducks-2]

“Judging by how the sales of comicbooks dropped from post reboot onwards” does this refer to N52 or Rebirth or the former but keeps declining even with the latter? I’m curious bcs 👀 like, well, it should be obvious the reason why but ig it’s true that many execs/marketing team in that huge kind of company do not have the biggest brain 🤷🏽‍♂️

I don't actually have official sources on hand, sorry about that! I remember reading an interview with Dan DiDio saying that in the past 10 years or so "they lost an entire generation of readers", which leads me to assume there has been a consistent drop in comicbook sales after Flash Point Paradox -ish. Not sure if precisely with Rebirth of N52. Which doesn't surprise me given that they butchered entire decades of worldbuilding, character building and established dynamics for a half assed parody of what they had before.

To expand a little on that. When the reboot happened, despite being hella pissed, lots of fans (me included) thought it was a way to set in stone some key events of what we can call the "main comicbook continuity" because a lot of things concerning New Earth (which is the "main continuity" going from the early '80s to 2010ish) made absolutely no sense, temporally and logically and what have you. For example, when exactly Dick had worn the Batman mantle. Or, that bullshit with Joker being ambassador of Iran. Or the ages of the characters, when they started wearing their mantles etc. Nothing of this happened. Instead they got rid of a number of characters that they didn't really want in their stories anymore (like Cass and Steph who literally disappeared despite having had successful and beloved runs as Batgirls), and they cherrypicked what to keep as canon (Joker shot Barbara and rendered her paralyzed BUT she can walk thanks to an implant, so she's Batgirl now and also she looks and acts as if she was 20 despite she should be in her late 30s. It's unclear if everything she did as Oracle and with the Birds of Prey happened or not).

As you can imagine, that didn't sit well with a lot of pre-existing fans, but also made it extremely confusing for new fans. Things make even less sense than before and it's even more intimidating to approach the comics since to understand a shred of what's happening you should read 30+ volumes of the New Earth continuity AND ALSO everything that happened post reboot and probably you still would have zero idea tf is going on. I don't most of the time to be honest.

This is also why people tend to be weirdly attached to stuff that happened in one single comic even if it was never brought up again, imo. For example Dick, Cass, Jason and Tim having been legally adopted by Bruce. I don't believe there is one single mention of that in any comic except the one comic where it happens - kinda like the writer who wrote it wanted it to be like this, but then the one who came after them pretended it never happened, and nobody brought it up again. So is that canon? It surely was at some point but how about now, is Dick "legally a Wayne"? As far as I know the answer is no, but again, nothing makes sense so people keep on cherrypicking what they like about canon.

Sorry I went on a tangent but yeah they made a mess. Toss in the mix the fact that many of the writers that handled these characters post reboot really hated them (and to this day I cannot understand for the love of me WHY they gave them to writers that hated them. Just see what happened with the whole disgrace that was the Ric Grayson situation), and you have barely readable storylines that contradict previous canon, make no sense and are boring and uninspired as fuck, trying to bank on cheap tricks like "let's pretend these people love each other and are a big happy family because that's what the public wants to read, right?? The Batfamily sells!". That's the extent of their effort to make a story good.

[electricprincess96]

I've decided to rank some Jason Todd designs. He's had a few, so I ain't looking for all of them. Just the ones I remember off the top of my head.

This is my list, don't come at me if you disagree even though you're wrong cause I'm obviously right about this. Anyone wanting to start a fight with me about this can save yourself the time as I will be ignoring you.

Number 1

There is no competition this is just peak Jason design, no others come close. There's a reason why Under the Red Hood movie used a variation of this design and not the UtRH comic design (which admittedly was not a bad design keep reading to see where that lands in this list), it's the design Wayne Family Adventures uses, it's the most cosplayed Jason design. It is just peak.

Number 2.

People will say I'm cheating here. I'm not. Under the Red Hood comic confirms Jason did infact wear this outfit, in fact this IS Jason in this panel. It's half way through the fight when he swaps with Clayface.

What I like about this design is its throwbacks to Robin with the belt and the R symbol on his chest. I get that the trench coat was very much Hush's thing but Jason rocked it here. The white streak in his hair has become to popular that some fans don't realise it wasn't canon for a long time (I'm aware plenty of newer stories have him have the white streak, I think it's entirely up to the artist now which is kinda dumb shit like that should be mandated by the editors but whatever).

Overall I just like this design, I wouldn't necessarily want him to ever adopt it again but it was certainly very nice for what it was. And it's different without stripping Jason of all his identity since it references his Robin past.

Number 3.

Oh I debated between this one and number 4 partly because they are very similar. I think this one is edged out 1. By that belt with the R which again is hinting at his past as Robin, something Jason was immensely proud of even if people want to pretend he wasn't. I'm aware they'll say it's R for Red Hood but that's why it works, it's his current alias' initials but R is Robin's symbol. And 2. This design is also just helped by the fact the art style is just very pretty and this particular Jason is just so god damn pretty, like he's gorgeous and I wish the story accompanying it was better.

Number 4.

(Yes I'm using this picture, sue me)

Under the Red Hood. An actually pretty good comic story completely let down by a lot of the shit that came after it. BUT it gave Jason the glow up he deserved at the time. Sure its now far from peak as I've already shown what peak is but its solid. I wouldn't complain if suddenly Jason got another redesign and looked like this again. This is below 3 Jokers cause of the fact it looks very similar to 3 Jokers but 3 Jokers had the inclusion of the R Belt which I liked and 3 Jokers had a better art style in my opinion.

Number 5

The Arkham series had a particular style. I'm putting these together cause while they aren't the same design they are the same character, in the same game and I rank them somewhat evenly. Now Mask off Jason in Arkham is up there with 3 Jokers in terms of how much I like it. I always loved a sense of irony that despite being adopted and being the "fuck up of the family" Jason resembled Bruce so much and he really does resemble Bruce in Arkham. BUT these actual designs are both fine, nothing about them are amazing, I don't love them but they're OK and thats all they need to be.

Now I ain't even gonna number these cause well I'm sure there's maybe a couple dozen one shot or elseworld Jason designs out there that come before these two. Every version of Jason's Robin suit comes before these two. Gotham Knights with the mask off comes before these two (although I hate how the mask in Gotham Knights is cloth and not a helmet but I'm basically screaming into the void right now to try and get Jason's helmet back and designed properly).

Slightly Less Worse

I've said what I have to say about this design, I hate it, I despise it, I get an angry twitch whenever i see it or whenever I see fans lusting over Jason's exposed arms or talking about how deep it is that he wears a muzzle now as if calling a character you're meant to like a wild animal is somehow a good thing. Like yes Bruce called him an animal, Jason then going and choosing to wear a muzzle is so wildly out of character I despise it. Jason is so fucking PROUD, like does he have some self doubts and self hatred? Yeah. But when it comes to Bruce and the rest of the Bats this boy is PRIDEFUL. He wouldn't go and deliberately "muzzle" himself just to make Bruce happy. Its dumb conceptually, it strips Jason of the uniqueness and individuality and it clearly exists to try and emulate the Winter Soldier since Civil War was coming out around that time. Some art styles make this design look OK but it still isn't a Jason design for me.

The Objective Worst One

Kill it with fire! Just make it go away and never return. As I've said for all my utter dislike and distaste for the muzzle I will take another 100 issues of the muzzle and the crowbar if I could wipe this monstrosity from ever having existed. This design and the storylines that accompanied it almost did irreversible damage to Jason Todd as a character. That's why UtRH is not seen as being as good as it actually is because all the ground work set was instantly trampled by other writers and Grant Morrison was one of the main perpetrators. I will spare showing you what he looks like under the helmet cause that might very well be worse than the helmet. Jason went from being a at most 20 year old to looking like he was older than Bruce at times. Other times he looked like knock off Roy Harper. As I say anyone who wants to argue with me that Jason's canonically a ginger always uses this as proof and no I'm sorry Grant Morrison was someone who didn't believe in retcons and that everything was always canon which I mean I'd love for him to explain to me how Jason can both be a circus kid and a street kid stealing tyres but whatever. Jason Todd is a brunette, he was found on the streets by Bruce with black hair and no way of getting consistent hair dye, his father had black hair, his mother had blonde hair. Jason Todd is a brunette and this design and all the stories attached to it need to be wiped from collective consciousness.

[icgaminglogs]

Nightwing's Log, Night 21

Tonight's the night. Time to bring down the Court of Owls and make sure Jacob Kane faces justice.

This place really is a fortress. A pair of anti-aircraft guns at the top, armor-clad; it's like Kane expected he'd be attacked one day. Maybe he did. I know Bruce never left anything to chance if he could help it, and I doubt anyone makes it as high as Voice of the Court by ignoring potential dangers, but this is supervillain-lair level.

Well, I guess all things considered that's kind of fitting. Time to get climbing.

Okay, I'm in. Hopefully Jason and the others can keep the League from doing too much damage; he said they're picking up a major increase in activity coinciding with this mission. Hopefully Talia was right and they'll leave once the Court is brought down; it'd be nice to have something go our way for once. Now to get into Kane's bunker. Where's that laser cutter.

Oh hey! He went retro with the design, it looks like something from back in the da-wait, no one said it could talk, what the hell. Why does it talk? Does a laser drill really need an AI? Especially if it's single use? Seems kinda superfluous. Whatever.

Got the first wave of security handled. Now I have an ID card. That'll be helpful once the Belfry works its magic on the biometrics.

Keycard Acquired. Time to find out just why Jacob Kane wanted all this extra security. Can't have been just us, can it?

Jesus, if security's this tight in here I don't want to know what the others are dealing with right now. Time to race the system.

And there's his office. And his laptop; he must have bugged out fast when the drones started in. Looks like he's been talking to Luthor...might be something to mention up the chain when I get the chance. No idea what they're trying to do, but I doubt it's anything good. Now if I were a secret elevator to a bunker, where would I be hiding...?

Nothing at his desk, except a recording for his daughter. What kind of person calls someone 'too honest' like it's a bad thing? Especially when it's the mother of your damn child? Here's a thought, Jacob: maybe don't get into a shady organization and you wouldn't have had to lie to her in the first place. The fact that Catherine just doesn't ask and is arguably fine with dark secrets explains a lot about GCPD's backsliding recently, too. Definitely made for each other. Yuck.

Well, would you look at that? I thought the room was too small. Subtle, Jacob, hiding behind Court symbols. Not that anyone outside of the Court and us would probably recognize them for what they are. Also that was arguably the easiest sudoku puzzle I've ever done. And I haven't done any.

Found the elevator. Heading into unknown territory. About the only thing I can probably expect is Talons, unless Jacob Kane decided to keep those things as far away from himself as possible. Wouldn't blame him, I'm not too fond of them myself.

An entire war room? What the hell, Jacob. And this kind of dirt, on this many people? What were you doing? Running Gotham suddenly not enough for you? That plus the dionesium, no wonder the League hates you.

There's my way down. Whatever the hell an inclinator is.

Oh. Elevator on an incline, I guess.

Weapons hot, huh, Jacob? Guess we're not playing anymore, are we.

Ah. There are the Talons. Threat is contained, my ass. Still standing here, Kane. Still coming for you.

I would say there's not much point in stealth anymore, considering Kane knows I'm coming, but a cornered animal is the most dangerous, and Kane is pretty well cornered. Still, I can't afford to give him a chance to run, either, and he's not stupid enough to build a bunker without at least one escape route.

Well I found the power room. And the reactor it controls. Really don't like the idea of going through anything that has a buffer area labeled DECONTAMINATION between it and the outside, but I'm not sure I have a choice here.

Fire and toxic gas, what the hell kind of reactor is this anyway? Okay, time to get through this. Diagnostics mode didn't exactly turn it off, but it should at least give me a fighting chance to avoid getting fried to a crisp.

Made it. I've probably been in hotter situations - ha! - but it's hard to remember just when. Now, where are you hiding, Jacob?

...Great. Comms cut out again. Whatever the Court uses for its shielding I'm starting to wonder if we might not want to look into it. The others can hold the fort outside; I've got to finish this.

That...looks suspiciously like a Talon lab. Like the one I found in that labyrinth. No wonder Gotham's been crawling with them. Also looks like Jason might be right; the best of Kane's personal security detail might be getting 'promoted'. Ugh.

Found him. Just got to get through the blast door, and the flunkies guarding it. No sign of Talons yet, but they're probably lurking around somewhere.

Nothing gets in or out without your say-so does it? So you wanted me to make it this far, Kane? Sure, we'll go with that. Shame there's not a huge truck-mounted laser nearby for me to burn through that blast door with. Oh wait...

Y'know, I've always wanted to push the big red 'Fire the Laser' button. Must be my lucky day.

'Know their place'...? Don't you mean 'answer to you'? These things you've created are nothing like Bruce, don't you dare compare him to your pet science projects!

It's done. And he's lucky he only got away with a split lip. Montoya can take it from here. I'm going home as soon as I see him in that squad car.

Fuck. That was-...

Talia. Damn it.

How the fuck is she so fast? I can barely keep up.

No. I'm done. All of this, because she was playing the long game for control of the League? The Court's not an issue anymore, but now the League's got nothing left to distract it...fuck this. I've got to get home. We've got a new emergency on our hands.