#essence (DC)

[cologona]

Chuckling to myself imagining Jason coming off as a snarky New Jersey bad-boy in English, but sounding like some prim and proper little prince in Tibetan because he learned the language from Talia, and she only speaks with perfect formal Lhasa diction.

It’s to the point that when they first met, Essence and Ducra assumed that Jason was Talia’s rumored son. The first time Essence hears Jason use English and he calls someone a ‘brain donor’ she gets whiplash.

[bitter-hibiscus]

Im sure I forgot multiple other characters whom Jason has completely fucked over

[puppyjt]

ok all caste rewrite. bc i've had it on my mind for a while. insanely long post (for me at least) so strap in if you care and skim politely if you don't. this took way too long.

i must preface by saying, i have not fully read rhato 2011, i absolutely hate scott lobdell, so if anything here is totally wrong relating to that, my bad, i tried my best to incorporate stuff from canon. ALSO i do not know shit about spirituality irl, this is a fictional philosophy, okay? okay.

my all caste is very soul magic focused, this type of magic is wielded by all caste and i think its very insinuated this is the main type of magic used and that their magic/work/training focuses on soul related things.

this is how dc fandom wiki defines soul magic:

"A type of magic that is powered by the souls of others; it allows its user to view one's aura, manipulate the soul to reveal knowledge within another, steal the powers of others, and recharge mana by grazing through other's souls. The Faust family line are notable practitioner, as it requires a user to have either no soul or a tattered soul and to be demonically empowered to cast."

but i'm going to redefine some things. these are MY definitions/revisions of these concepts/things, as stated before, they are not going to align perfectly with the comics/canon. "oh but you said that as a statement/the truth when it's not in dc canon", it is true, in my rewrite.

for soul magic, let's talk about the last part. i'd argue that jason has a "tattered soul" and essence has no soul, but neither is "demonically empowered", so scratch that off the criteria. "oh but what about all the other all-caste members?", let's say that to have a somewhat pure soul, your soul must be somewhat tattered. therefore any one who is cleansed, trained by the all-caste, and uses soul magic, must have a tattered soul. tattered ≠ corrupt. tattered = damaged/having had experienced hardships.

purity and evilness/corruption - a measurement of someone's soul/aura based off their actions, the effects of the actions, and mildly the intentions behind them. (think the points system in the good place, but like, slightly less flawed lol.)

here's a visual representation of some of these things as i feel i do not have the skills to properly verbalize how i visualize it:

^ related to this; being fully on one side of the spectrum does not mean one cannot have "evil" or "pure" aspects. additionally, being "fully corrupted" and "fully pure" does not necessarily mean they are untitled or all-caste, or that they have touched the absolute evil or cleansing.

the cleansing - opposite to absolute evil. a powerful "water" that can cleanse the souls of those who are not (fully) corrupted. if someone's soul is too corrupt or has touched the absolute evil, the cleansing kills them.

absolute evil - deriving from the well of sins. opposite to the cleansing. a powerful "water" that can corrupt the souls of those who are not (somewhat) pure. if someone's soul is too pure or has been cleansed, the absolute evil kills them.

the untitled - ancient evil race, of essentially demons, descending from eight siblings who touched the absolute evil. they take positions of power to lure people in and corrupt their souls.

all-caste - ancient cult of warrior monks created by the ninth sibling, ducra, who resisted the absolute evil and found the cleansing. cleanses people and then trains them to take down the untitled. members also train to have omniscience.

omniscience - (the "all" in all-caste.) the ability to see the future, past, and present all at once, specifically in regards to aura/souls. they can see how corrupt or pure someone has been, will be, and is. this helps members find the untitled amongst regular people. those who have this also tend to be colder and drier as they see much corrut

all-mother - the leader of the all-caste. possesses the ability to read anyone's soul/aura and determine whether or not they can be cleansed (or corrupted). gains the knowledge of members once they die. formerly ducra, would be essence but she technically refused the title, although she attempted to rebuild the all-caste after they were slain and before she was trapped in the blood blades.

all-daughter / the first daughter - essence. the first daughter and the heir to the all-caste. will gain all of the power and knowledge of the all-mother (and thus all deceased members) in the event she is killed.

the chosen / the last son - jason todd. the one prophesied to take over the all-caste when ducra died, originally thought to be essence by most until jason rolled around.

chamber of all - a magical space that apparently has a gateway to hell and the past?—really could not find a solid definition for this. help.

acres of all - a land within Tibetan mountains that is the home of the all-caste. surrounds/built around the chamber of all and the cleansing waters.

all-blades - a weapon made of the physical manifestation of one's soul. classically conjured into blades (hence the name), though can be conjured as other weapons as technology advances. kills the untitled/those with fully corrupt souls, cannot harm anyone who is not fully corrupted. held by jason todd.

blood blades - a weapon made from of the blood of the holder. same as above; can be conjured as any weapon but typically blades. traps the untitled/those with fully corrupted souls, cannot harm the pure—if one does, they themselves are trapped inside. held by essence/isabel ardila.

(all doesn't look like a real word anymore...)

personally, i think defining good and evil like this is so silly, but for a fictional little world, it's okay.

also i added that the blades can be made into other weapons bc i think the idea of jason using guns with all-blade/soul manifestation bullets is the most peak thing ever!!!!! if you take any concept away from this, let it be that!

okay. moving on to ducra and essence.

who is ducra? the all-mother. an ancient magic user who was extremely corruptible (in that middle circle of our spectrum), but cleansed herself of evil. completely omniscient. currently deceased, but her soul is present in the acres of all and can communicate with her daughter.

who is essence? the last daughter. an ancient being with no soul. she was originally born as a real girl, where she witnessed her aunts/uncles touch the absolute evil. has been continually remade by her mother using the shadows (think god making adam out of clay). NON-HUMAN (fuck you rh:o for calling her human). is technically the leader of the remaining all-caste, however has not trained anyone yet and likely will not for a while. currently bound to the blood blades and isabel ardila.

i wrote the above after the below, so below is explaining/elaborating on some of the above:

-> so, i've questioned, is essence supposed to be about the same age as jason ? i always think it's kind of weird that she's supposed to be ancient and he's like, mentally fifteen.

i've seen it done as ducra and essence endlessly giving birth to each other, and that's fine. i'm not sure if it's canon but idc. my idea is that ducra continuously recreates essence (using the shadows of course) and does not allow her to have the memories of her former selves, so that she can learn knew things each new life and study different areas—and also so ducra can teach and tell her selective things and information. this would make sense as essence would be 17/18 when her and jason, ahem, begin their relationship. but then when ducra dies, essence gains the knowledge of all of her former lives, and all of the all-caste, and essentially becomes thousands of years old mentally. thus there is no weird age difference when they initially hook up.

-> i'm also totally not sure on whether ducra is dead or not??? rhato2011 claims her and the rest of the all-caste were killed, but red hood: outlaw features her and another all-caste member. essence also sees them as force ghost type things. let's say (mildly based off very vague canon) the force ghost thing is the last manifestation of their soul/magic. ducra had a lot so hers can stick around for a long time.

additional info, some important, some not:

-> the all caste, specifically ducra, is extremely puritanical, for a buttload of reasons and with a buttload of causes:

the untitled basically breed like crazy, so sex is viewed as an evil/untitled act. ducra perpetuates this by using the shadows to rebirth essence instead of actually rebirthing her (although given the fact that ducra is ancient i don't think that would be biologically possible anyway).

the absolute evil and the cleansing must touch bare skin to work, so nudity/being unclothed is viewed as extremely weak and dangerous because you are allowing yourself to possibly be exposed to the absolute evil. it is only allowed when you are being cleansed (and obviously changing showering etc, but that is done in private quarters).

this is why the all-caste monks wear the layers they do (actual buddhists monks do wear robes to cover such things, as well as for practical reasons like the cold etc). essence wore layers while training and once exiled donned the full black body suit.

-> related to above, my ducra & all caste are not meant to be the best people ever. they are intended to be morally flawed. she is meant to parallel bruce in that her "mission" is extremely important and kind of goes above anything else.

-> i want to say that the acres of all are immune to omniscience and anything that happens within them is not known to everyone else. but this is iffy because i mostly like the idea because i want jason and essence's relationship to be a secret for most of it (not sure if that's canon or not).

-> while training, bruce was offered to train the all-caste/ducra but once told about the cleansing, he refused. he was worried that the cleansing would kill him because he was too corrupt.

ask questions, give suggestions, and give constructive feedback. this is all for fun but my goodness ive put so much thought into it. its three am and this hasn't been proofread so ill fix it up later.

i'm going to make a few posts relating to all of this; at LEAST, one with visuals of how i view everything, and one going in depth on jason and essence's relationship in my revision. i might also write some fics based off this au/revision.

jayessence sequel post

some posts that partially inspired/helped the creation of this one: what-ifs @moon-ayyye , talking about essence @spiritsglade , these reblogs and replies @autisticrosewilson , + some others that i can't find :( and literally anyone who has ever posted about the all caste on here because i've read so many posts.

[moon-ayyye]

I saw a few asks that revolved around all caste Jason or just the all blades and I just wanted to share a very self indulgent hcs and would like to hear your thoughts on them:

1.) Jason having the white hair streak but there is no definite origin for them but rather a clusterfuck of reasons. A form of Marie-Antoinette syndrome perhaps, perhaps perhaps the all caste and such. Nobody really knows. I mention this because I thing is would be very cool if like. When Jason takes out the all blades in fire situations, his mostly black hair suddenly becomes a shock of all white hair (I’m debating if he should have a streak of black hair, like a reversal of his color palette perhaps). It’s kind of like an Acheron from Honkai Star Rail situation. Jason assumes it has something to do with the all caste but it doesn’t explain him having it before he joined them. It’s a mystery to them

2.) I actually saw this from somewhere and I really enjoyed it so I incorporated elements of it into my own world building but the all blades affect how he perceives the wold and he has tricky feelings in regards to it. Something something about the all blades being able to detect too things: the weight of someone’s evil + their ability to repent. Jason only sees the full picture when he’s got the blades out, which is rarely. However he can sense things about someone and figures it worth investigating depending on how intense the pull is for justice. The flipside is that the all blades doesn’t care about human sentiments and will see the evil in anything. Even in children and animals and it does not fully coincide with Jason’s own morals. It simply connects to his righteous justice and his capability to bring about that change—not his empathy. It makes his feelings about it all fucky whucky

3.) Jason’s body is already fucky whucky after coming back to life because of resurrection, non all caste related. Some of these examples in my mind is: *much* slower heart rate, inhuman levels of strength (not enough to be a super meta, but something about being undead removing him from a few restraints that exist when you’re alive. But also the cosmic nature of him coming back means he’s not getting all the undead enchancements. For example he can use strength that surpasses any human capability by a certain range depending on how desperate he is, but it’s tied to adrenaline. He also can destroy all his limbs if he uses too much force cause he’s still Ina. Human body. So he uses it very sparingly). Anyways long story short. When he has the all blades out, because the blades are his soul and his soul is no longer in his body, he is capable of being much more stronger, faster, and sharper because his body and soul are not limited to anything. His consciousness is his soul and his body is the vehicle of justice. That being said this can only happen for very short amounts of time because the longer his soul is out of his body the harder it is to stay tethered and he will probably die. Or be stuck in limbo and that is not fun

Sorry for word vomiting all over your inbox I hope that this finds you well

No need to apologise. These are really good!. I'll address my takes on each one:

1) I headcanon that the white streak is actually the mark of the All Caste, and it disappears when he draws them out. The opposite of what you said. If I'm reading a crossover fic with danny Phantom, then yeah, having full white hair with a black streak is an amazing design in my eyes. If you want, it could also be like a kiss of death; lady death feels strongly connected to Jason and so marked him as one of hers. That way, it also works as being independent from the All Caste while explaining away how he keeps coming back. To me, Superboy Prime's punch didn't directly bring him back, but it created enough leway for Death to be able to revive him.

2) I actually really like this headcanon. Being completely free of evil is impossible due to human nature, so it's always more of a spectrum than a binary system. It would be triggered heavily around people like the flashes due to the deaths they caused by fucking with the timestream (ie flashpoint), or members of the JLD, specifically Jason Blood, Constantine, and Raven. You could have him battle that instead of pit madness. Also a bonus, if you like JJ!Tim and the fanonised version of the attack on TT, you can have it so Jason attacks Tim because he's the next potential candidate for the joker, so that's what triggers Jason into beating him. Him being JJ in other universes sort of stains his aura so to speak.

3) Jason has canonically punched a hole in the hull of a submarine that's under water. This definitely has merit. In my mind, since Jason pulls out his soul, Cass and Shiva can't read him because his body isn't thinking. It's acting. It's kind of like Richard Dragon's ability. It being a short burst makes sense, but I also like it when Jason just becomes less and less human over time. He starts looking like Essence; pure white pale skin, black eyes, and whispy white hair. It starts as a short burst, but over time, he can maintain that form for longer until, eventually, decades later, he's just always like that. Also the slower heart rate is such an interesting idea. Sometimes he forgets to breathe, or goes weeks without eating, and he doesn't realise it because his body is, as you aptly described it, fucky whucky.

If you have any more headcanons please send them my way, these were really fucking good.

[onnahu]

Let's clear up something.

Jason Todd's canon love interests as as followed: Essence, Koriand'r, Artemis of Bana Mighdall, Rose Wilson, and Isabela Adrila.

We don't know much about the last one, but from the pattern we can suspect things about her.

Lokking at that all, the thing is obvious.

Jason ain't toping shit. Those women could and would kick his ass. And he'd get butterflies in his stomach over it.

[stickyvoidpaper]

ik they're sharing a body but Isabel and Essense should date.

[spiritsglade]

for the character ask game i would loooove to hear you go off about essence :))

[character ask game!!]

oh birdie you knew exactly what you were doing when you sent this in didn't you.

My first impression

I think I probably ran into her first in fic but I don't actually remember anything in that regard. First impression with the comic was that this was a character with a pretty design but somewhat... confusing of a storyline.

My impression now

God her canon portrayal is so annoying and inconsistent I SWEAR. Jason and her misunderstanding and misinterpretating what's going on and immediately jumping to kill each other has happened EVERY TIME and what is the point!!! Her backstory and motivations are so opaque and the flashbacks to their time together in the All-Caste keep on dangling the promise of an interesting story in front of me and then not delivering. Lobdell and Tynion IV when I GET YOU--

However I've thought about her too much and now I have brainworms. She is the side character I have adopted as my own. I understand her better than her creators ever will <3 (I have extrapolated a lot of conclusions from like 3 panels out of all her appearances. It is working out for me.)

Favorite thing about that character

The concept for her character. Particularly as a daughter to Ducra and one of the original Untitled. The fact she's been banished from the All-Caste apparently for not being willing to give up her "dark powers" when Ducra did? That's so interesting to me. It could be such a good parallel to how Jason's moral code causes a rift between him and Bruce. Tell me more. Lobdell you will surely explore this further, won't you? Lobdell aren't you gonna-- LOBDELL

Least favorite thing

Can I complain about Lobdell again. I will not. Instead I will complain about how her little like... intro narration box? You know the thing where comics will give you a little line to tell you who a character is if you don't know them already. Hers is that she's the "last human descendant of the All-Caste" which is just WRONG? She is the DAUGHTER OF THE UNTITLED. She is like, objectively not human at this point. JASON is the last human descendant of the All-Caste, maybe. Y'know, the first human they've taken in in over a century and the first in millennia to survive a cleansing? Y'know, that guy?? Also she literally reinstated the All-Caste at this point in the timeline why are we calling her the last human descendant. She's literally they're leader right now. I'm so mad I'm so mad I'msofmkgekmreklgm

Also I really don't like that her Blood Blades draw only the blood of the guilty or whatever like it does to Artemis in RH:O #45. Or the whole capturing souls thing in #35. I hate it I hate it I hate it girl please go back to fighting people with your smoke magic.

Favorite line/scene

I overall think the scene in RH:O #35 was bad but I do particularly like her lines here.

I have never wanted to lead the All-Caste... I am a soldier. Heart and soul.

Oh girl. Girl you are never escaping the legacy of your mother. Ignore the fact that Ducra is literally still alive even though we established that she died in the first issue and her ghost vanished back in RHatO v1 #27 I'm not mad.

Favorite interaction that character has with another

Her fight with Kori in RHatO v1 #22

I think using Tamaranean tech like this is very clever!! Essence is immortal, ancient, and very powerful, but alien tech was also a weakness for her back in Issue #7 and I think that's a nice touch.

Also the fact that Kori literally summoned her to try to talk and help Jason and they end up trying to kill each other for several pages is so funny to me. Like. In the next volume Essence also fights Artemis and possesses Isabel like... girl are you jealous that he's seeing other women? Is that what this is?

I think the thing with the amnesia arc where all of Jason's friends were trying to help him from different angles and with incomplete information and in the process fucked over each other's attempts forever could have been really interesting if written well.

Close runner-up:

Right before this Essence says:

We need to talk, Mother. About the great darkness that looms over all that lives. About a mistake you must at long last rectify.

It's giving the "I think we're gonna have to kill that guy" meme to me. And that was entertaining. These are the depths I need to sink to find hope.

A character that I wish that character would interact with more

ISABEL ARDILA. Genuinely fucking impressive that Lobdell managed to write them literally sharing the same body and have them not interact at all. I don't even know how he did it. He deserves an award. How does Isabel feel about this arrangement? How does Essence feel?? Like Issy you chose on purpose to pick up the sword again and keep letting Essence use your body in RH:O #49. Let's talk about that--no we're not going to? We have to move on and do Duela's arc and Red Hood: The Hill now? Oh. Oh okay. That's fine then.

Anyway I think they could turn the bodysharing into a beautiful symbiotic relationship if they tried. Essence/Isabel as a ship is slept on I swear.

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character

Jerboa III/Boa from Wings of Fire. Her mother (Jerboa I) was an animus (basically a dragon that can do whatever magic except raise the dead) who created her and then basically kept editing her personality and existence for like 2,000 years so she could have the ideal daughter. Obviously this is very fucked up. Eventually Boa catches onto this, betrays Jerboa I and kills her, but not before Jerboa I curses her. We don't talk about what happened to Jerboa II. (We know that she "went wrong" and Jerboa I "disposed of" her.)

Do you see the vision. Ducra implanting "pure life" in Essence's body. Banishing her when Essence railed against what Ducra wanted for her. Essence's entire life being dedicated to this fight against the Untitled. Like we are very much getting into headcanon territory with Essence when I make this connection but Boa manages to escape her mother and also the entire fucked up legacy of animus magic and I think that is lovely for her. Manifesting that for Essence.

She's also Hornet from Hollow Knight just a little bit. To me.

A headcanon about that character

She is more headcanon than actual canon substance to me at this point. Um. She has mommy issues re: Ducra. Her banishment from the All-Caste was because Essence refused to purge the "dark magic" (The essence of the Well of Sins she carried in her, the bond that tied her to the other Untitled that Ducra had long cleansed from herself.) They'd been having disagreements since the beginning of time that just happened to be what finally made it boil over. I'm still a little vague on this but I think Ducra setting up the All-Caste and the truce with the Untitled had some long term negative consequences for the world (like how in RHatO #5 the Untitled in Middleton, Colorado had the townspeople under its thrall). Essence doesn't want to spend the rest of eternity waiting for the day the Untitled inevitably decide to take over the world, but Ducra is all 'this is your duty' about it. Also remember that the Untitled are Ducra's siblings and Essence's aunts/uncles.

Anyway Jason's admittance into the All-Caste was the trigger for Essence acting out against Ducra properly for the first time. Him being this fresh new perspective so hellbent on vengeance really helped her realize that she wanted more from her life than to be another soldier in Ducra's war against her siblings.

Do you see the parallels I'm shoving in here between her and Jason. I am just saying.

A song that reminds of that character

Alas I must expose myself as a non-music listener. I'm sorry. Random Gods from the Rain World soundtrack that's the best I can do.

An unpopular opinion about that character

Honestly I don't think anyone cares about her enough for there to be popular opinions but uhh. I think this panel is incorrect about her and Jason's relationship.

Boy and girl are always there for each other.

Are they? Are they??? God I wish they were. Goddammit.

Anyway. I think Essence building the All-Caste was actually the most boring fucking direction to take her character but I can't even be that mad because she was barely a coherent character to begin with. However, her recruiting for the All-Caste... where the fuck is she gonna get these recruits for this secret old as time warrior monk sect?? Why exist at all when all the Untitled are allegedly wiped out (i.e. the entire reason the All-Caste existed in the first place)?? Escape from the shadow of your family's legacy come onnn Essence you can do it I believe in you!!! AUGH.

Favorite picture

Shoutout to RH:O #35 for having some really pretty panels of her.

ANYWAY THAT'S IT FOLKS. If you actually read all of my inane ramblings, um. Thanks! I'm normal about Essence.

[nixienewt]

Fake cover for an Essence & Isabel comic

[nenehyuuchiha]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Ducra & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Everyone, Jason Todd & His Siblings Characters: Jason Todd, Ducra (DCU), Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Essence (DCU), Stephanie Brown (mentioned), Barbara Gordon, Talia al Ghul (mentioned) Additional Tags: All Caste (DCU), All Caste Jason Todd, Tim Drake is Robin, Cassandra Cain is Batgirl, Damian isn't robin yet, Stephanie is still pretending to be dead, Canon is what your heart chooses, i chose violence, Bruce Wayne's A+ Parenting, Gotham City is canonically cursed, BAMF Jason Todd, no betas we die like robins, Swearing, Protective Jason Todd, Jason Todd Deserves Better, Cursed Gotham City, Jason Todd takes his life back Series: Part 1 of All-Caste Jason Todd Summary:

There was really only one question that Jason Todd needed the answer to after his resurrection.

Just one.

He could have confronted Batman with a dramatic and overly elaborated plan.

Or he could just ask Bruce.

So he asks.

 AU in which Jason Todd chooses to finish his All Caste training, and eventually goes back to Gotham to ask Batman why the Joker is still alive.

Flawless, perfect, in character, ate and left no crumbs, absolute cinema, i love it.

[what-if-this-happens-instead]

Whats Black & White - Part 1

In which we see Jason and his magic hair

The white streak in Jasons’ hair is not from the Lazarus pit. It’s not from dying or from waking up, and it’s not stress. It’s also not hair dye, Stephanie.

Jason came out of Nanda Parbat with the same almost black-brown hair he went in with. He killed several of his trainers, and and his hair only got longer. The colour didn’t change. He walked up deep into the mountains with Talia without a single white hair. He does, however, leave with the white.

Jason Todd became a master of the All Caste, slowly and painfully and carefully and he has so much power running through his veins now. Time works differently here. He and another student worked out he had experienced about a decade of time in what would be 4 months. His hair gets darker, fully ebony. There is no white. It contrasts with his skin now. He looks less human than before. One of his masters had smiled at him when they noticed.

Jason Todd ties the very essence (hah) of his being to the woman across from him. Jason and his other half in every way that matters bind their very selfs together, something deeper and more intrinsic than a soul or a body. It’s not romance or familial bonds. It’s not out of pure necessity just yet. It’s comfortable and he feels more at home than ever before with a part of him melded so completely into Essence and part of her with him. A lock of his hair turns snow white. A long streak of Essences’ turns Ebony. There are hints of blue in the voids that are her eyes. The whites of his own eyes darken, and look grey in the right light. He’s suddenly slightly quicker to anger, she’s now better at planning espionage.

Jason Todd leaves the Acres of All with a white streak in his hair. He will never tell anything, living or dead or in-between where it comes from. He will visit his mountain home, carefully, quickly, quietly, once a month and only under the new moon. No-one notices. For all he plays up his incompetence, Jason is All Caste. And at that, he trained until there was nothing left to ingrain into his memory. It’s not hard to get away when he’s so underestimated.

---

Thank you for reading.

PART ONE (You are Here) --- PART TWO --- PART THREE

[the-real-aku]

What do you guys think of ancestry being important to the All-Caste. Like your ancestry playing a big role in what you're taught combat wise. Like more inclined to magic or better off teaching you just normal hand combat skills. What KINDS of magic would u be better at, etc.

Communing with your ancestors and getting to know where you came from etc. Obviously this would be more important to newer and you get members like Jason as they don't exactly have the hundreds of years under their belts.

[cologona]

Essence performing the All-Blades ritual on Jason, forever transforming his very being into a weapon, with all the innocence and giddiness of two teenagers exploring each others’ bodies for the first time. Ducra doesn’t know it’s happening.

[puppyjt]

okay my jayessence post because they're actually so tragic. sequel to this post.

another preface: in my u, jason came to the all-caste in the lost days arc (right before issue 6 probably) as a final attempt from talia to get him to see the light basically (and ya know, not go through w utrh and killing more people). plus she knew he wouldn't be able to kill his teachers.

okay so basically. jason is brought into the all caste and absolutely no one likes him. ducra barely tolerates him. why the hell would the all-mother attempt to train a human? a human who has killed people??

he survives the cleansing and they only hate him more. they all see this homocidal human and think, this is everything the all-caste is against, the evilness of modern humanity. it goes against the traditional teachings of purity in the all caste.

essence hates him too, but it's more of a rivalary thing. her mother seems to believe in HIM more than she believes in essence, in HIS goodness, but not essence's. essence hates that, but she's also totally intrigued by this human boy.

when he begins training, she basically tutors him. they begin to talk and spend more time together, she is basically the only person in the all caste that tolerates him (apart from ducra). they bond over their relationships with their parents, being prodigies, and other things like rebirth (her being reincarnated constantly and him being brought back to life).

they begin a romantic and sexual relationship, but due to all castes puritanism, it is strictly forbidden and therefore secret. jason is also seen as ducra's son because she treats him like her own child, thus most people see jason and essence as adopted siblings (obviously they're not but they can't deny it because that would mean admitting they were in a relationship) (this comes from rh:o and that all caste member referring to them as step siblings)

to me, their relationship is very intimate. they're each others first everything. they understand each other in ways they never thought they'd be understood.

anyway, they're extremely close and essence starts to realize that she wants more out of life than just training. she hears about the world outside of the caste, and she wants to experience more than what she does just under her mothers supervision. although she still wants to fight and be a warrior of the all caste, she wants freedom too.

she goes to ducra and says, "hey i want to leave the acres and battle the untitled, i can use my connection to them to find them and end them."

ducra flips out, "no you're being stupid you're not ready. your connection to the untitled is a curse, not a blessing. i should've cleansed you a long time ago, and i was a fool for giving you that choice and allowing you to remain uncleansed."

essence is basically, "i will not succumb to your "purification", we both know im not as pure as you want me to be."

and ducra is like, yeah bitch, i know. you're fucking the human boy. he corrupted you, you've lost your innocence. and you refuse to cleanse yourself, to conform to MY standards of purity.

so ducra exiles her. kicks her out of the all caste, away from the acres. jason is devastated, but he finishes his training. then leaves the all caste and you know the rest. utrh!

now, let's talk about some parallels, contrasts and similarities between essence and jason.

-> "rebirth": essence is given a new life every time she dies. jason todd is killed and reborn in every single universe, and is pretty much implied to be unable to properly die/stay dead. they are both unable to die, there is no end to their suffering, they must keep living. they are soldiers who will fight for eternity (in their parents' war).

-> parents, rapid fire: having a parent who must be right/correct at all times (bruce because of the narrative & "batman can't be wrong", ducra because she's omniscient/knows all). the high expectations put on them. being the black sheep of their people/family. not being able to give up their "impurities" (essence literally and jason with killing) for the sake of their parent's conscience. wanting to fight their family's war but disagreeing with the methods of their parent.

-> souls/shadows: to me, essence's shadows are her soul. she has no actual soul, she hasn't been a real human in a long time. as much as i think the blood blades are fine and can work for a fun story with her and isabel, i think her smoke/shadow stuff should be her main weapon/power (at least when fighting regular stuff, while the blood blades can be used for fighting untitled).

her shadows should be the equivalent to jason's all-blades. they are both weapons using physical manifestation of their "souls."

what do/did they get out of each other?

jason showed essence freedom, rebellion, and broke the black and white view she had been taught. he showed her that life doesn't just have to be about her mother's mission, that there is a whole world outside of the all caste that she can see. he helped her realize that her powers and connection to the untitled can be used for good. he also helped her understand that killing and "immoral" acts do not define someone and that one is not evil or corrupt for committing act for the greater good (killing the untitled is not seen as really killing because they're essentially demons. killing humans is a different thing, regardless of how the human is, if they are not fully corrupt, it's not okay.)

essence showed jason rebellion too. that he can fight and kill and help people without worrying that they're innocent. that there is a way to know when someone is truly beyond saving. she also showed jason care, and intimacy that he wasn't used to. someone who would love and touch him with gentleness and without needing something from him.

they both helped each other realize that their parents way isn't the only way, and that they aren't alone in being messed up, and "impure" in the eyes of their parents. (obviously they met before jason had his confrontation with bruce, but jason knew bruce wouldn't approve of his methods already.)

anyway... i don't know if this explains them well enough, but they're very perfect in my mind (romantically or not). weird freaky looking nonhuman girl x traumatized loser human guy who has never felt the touch of a woman, save me.

i don't necessarily think they need to be in a current romantic relationship, and honestly think her and isabel would benefit from like. haunting and/or torturing him. their relationship is very much a first love kind of thing to me, but i think they still hold a lot of affection for each other and a special place in each others hearts. like they wouldn't be where they are without each other.

hope this makes sense... 😓

[onnahu]

Essence meets Batfam

Essence: I'm Essence, Jason's partner.

Jason: My ex.

Dick: So... partner or ex?

Jason: Both.

Dick: How does that work?

Essence: My mother likes him. More than me. And we murder people together.

[stickyvoidpaper]

dc! isabel ardila and essence magical adventure with close "friendship" when

is it gay to be in love with the woman who uses your body? wait not like tha-

[autisticrosewilson]

Meet Essence, daughter of Ducra, former love interest of Jason when he was training with the All-Caste! Currently a body being puppeted around by sentient shadows older than the sun.

Thinking about the newer bats (Duke, Cass, Steph, Tim) speculating on Jason's age because he looks like a recently divorced 30 y/o but he's younger than Dick, and he acts like a 50 year old man (he still has a Nokia, out of the loop on Internet and pop culture, primarily listens to dad rock), and after they've exhausted all their guesses Dick breezes in, informs them he's like 24, and then leaves.

The bats then have to come to terms with the fact that Jason NINETEEN when he took over the criminal underground.