#except in both jason ends up staying in the building

[rmbunnie]

I am alone on this barren earth (Jason Todd liker and Mia Dearden liker who honestly thinks issues 69-72 of the 2001 Green Arrow run are fun and good and would really like to talk about them beyond "Jason Todd was ooc and irredeemable there because he was trauma-dumping on Mia but also everything he said was fake and made up and he was manipulating her to become his sidekick and he blew up her school in retaliation because she didn't so really we should ignore the whole comic as bad writing /or agree he should just be read as an sadistic sidekick killer" (None of which is true and over half of which is directly stated to be false in the comic's text) but all people ever have to say about the comic is weird wrong takes about the three pages in which the gym fight happens ripped out of the very interesting and fun surrounding context)

[heavysighing-dreamyeyes]

imagine like reader being a detective or something, being on the case to catch Red Hood (while he’s still a crime boss)/ the Arkham Knight, but being in a relationship with Jason, unaware of his nightly business. And then boom, they find out one day and it’s all angsty 🤞🤞 love ur work btw hihi

Betrayal

Hi, nonnie! I thought I had this done earlier, but then I had to keep world building. Stuck with Red Hood on this one. Hurt/No comfort warning. Non-graphic, very minor character death. ~1.8k words

Gotham is cursed. That's what they told you when you transfered to the GCPD. Yeah, you've heard the stories, but they're just messing with you, right? Trying to scare the newest rookie cop.

Except they were telling the truth. A few years later, more cases than you can keep track of, enough masked rouges to fill arkham three times over, and a promotion to detective, you tell the rookies the same thing they told you. Gotham is cursed.

"Alright, Detective, this one is yours." You make a face at the case file the Commissioner drops on your desk.

"Sir, I took care of The Penguin robbery last week, isn't it someone elses turn to deal with the high profile cases?" You gingerly pick up the file, reading over the name Red Hood stamped on the front.

Gordan sighs at you, already turning away to move onto the next poor detective. "We cycled through everyone else after the Black Gate breakout. Anyone who didn't work on it has active cases. That makes this one yours."

You grumble reluctantly, cases like this lead to more press coverage than you want to deal with, but start flipping through the file, mentally noting down the sparse facts and theories about the up and coming crime lord.

That was four months ago. In such a short amount of time, Red Hood has taken over more territory in Gotham than any other crime lord and completely changed the game. No dealing to children, no human trafficking. You hate to acknowledge it, but crime technically has dropped since he took over the majority of gangs in Gotham under an iron fist.

The work is exhausting, he's always one– no, five steps ahead of you and your growing team of detectives and beat cops. You don't think you've even gotten a real glimpse at him that he didn't mean to let you have.

The closest you've gotten to Red Hood was out of uniform, weeks after you got the case, when he was still a new name on the streets.

It was a robbery, some desperate punk in a mask that didn't conceal anything, was dragging a little girl out of the store as a hostage.

"Take me instead, she's just a kid." You had protested, heart sinking at the terror in the little girls face.

"Not a chance." He barked back at you.

"Look, she's scared, she'll only slow you down."

The gunman stares at you, you see his fingers twitch. "Fuck it. Fine. Both of you are coming with me." That's how you ended up in some alley, familiar sirens wailing in the distance and your hand curled protectively with the child's.

"Shit. Man. Shit. The cops weren't supposed to be here. What am I gonna do? I can't go to jail." He's snapping. Rambling and desperate. Your eyes dart for some kind of plan, a way to help the little girl stay safe. But the alley is empty, not even a dumpster to seek shelter behind. "I just gotta get rid of the witnesses. Yeah. The witnesses."

Your eyes dart to him, he's lifting the gun. You don't hesitate to grab the little girl, wrapping your arms around her and turning your back to the man, tucking her to your chest to provide as much cover as you can provide.

A gun fires.

There's a thud.

You look over your shoulder, the girls face still hidden against you. He's not moving, gun unshot and laying next to him on the ground. There's a pool of dark liquid forming around him. You look up.

You manage to see a red glint, the shine of a gun, the eerie glow of a luminescent eyes. Red Hood.

That's all you manage to see before you're swarmed by cops, guiding you and the girl to safety.

It's a memory that plays in your mind sometimes, when you hear testimonies of how Red Hood saves people in crime alley, despite his crime lord status. It's confusing, exhausting even, to try and sort between the good and the bad, the duality of one man. At least you have your loving boyfriend to come home to.

Jason. He makes you feel like Gotham might not be so cursed. It's great, he gives you butterflies. He makes you happy. You cook meals together, and you both work the weird twilight/night shift hours. He holds you like you're precious under your shared comforter. You think you might love him. He whispers sweet nothings into your hair when he thinks you're sleeping. You kiss his palms when his eyes get that far away, haunted look he can’t seem to explain.

He's insisted on cooking dinner tonight as you watch him, a little starry eyed. You can't really blame yourself when he's shirtless and working over your favorite meal.

"Oh, Jason, I need to wash my clothes. Do you need anything done?" You ask, finally remembering that you do actually have a job and responsibilities and you can't stare at your handsome boyfriend all day.

"No, I'm good, baby. Go ahead and do your thing. Dinner's almost done." He answers idly, shooting you a lazy grin as you stand.

You smile back before leaving the kitchen to gather your clothes. As you dump the dirty laundry in the washer, you realize you never refilled the detergent. Mumbling an annoyed curse, you head to the spare bedroom you rarely use. There should be some extra necessities stock piled in there. You know, for the next time a criminal messes with Gothams chain supply.

You're more focused on the delicious smells floating through the apartment as you open the closet door, idly looking around for the detergent. That's why it doesn't really click in your mind what you're looking at. Guns. Armor. Your thoughts freeze to a stop. Are you dating some kind of henchman? A bright red helmet takes up your vision. Nope. You're dating a crime boss.

The helmet is in your hands and you're fumbling your way to the kitchen before you even have your thoughts sorted. Should you call for back up? Shouldn't you try to catch him by surprise? Sure. But, you need answers. You want this to be a misunderstanding. You want Jason to be your partner– not– not what the evidence that's heavy in your hand says he is.

Statistics run through your mind. Stories of Red Hood saving working girls. Stories of him leaving bodies of dealers that sold to kids. Then, memories of your boyfriend. How he leans down to kiss your forehead. How runs his hand up and down your arm while you watch movies together. If there was a sign. If you were too blind and in love to realize.

He turns to look at you when you stalk in. You throw the helmet at him. The helmet you'd recognize anywhere, even if you've never gotten close enough to touch it before. He catches it with the grace of a predator. "The hell is this, Jason?"

"It's a helmet." He says evenly, turning off the stove and placing the helmet down on the counter.

"No, duh, it's a helmet, Jason. Don't patronize me. Is it yours?" You nearly hiss, hands curling in anger and frustration and heart break you're not ready to admit you're feeling.

He studies you, eyes dark and calculating. It makes you bite the inside of you cheek. His eyes never looked at you like that before. "It is."

You laugh out of disbelief, stepping back. "So you've been using me? Is that what all this was? Just a way to get information about the GCPD and what we had on you?"

"What? No." He says your name a little pleading, "it's not like that. Not anymore."

"But it was." You bite out, cursing yourself for the sting of tears in your eyes.

He steps closer, you step back, trying to keep your hands from shaking. He whispers your name, and you think you see hurt flash in his eyes before it disappears. His voice goes steady, even. "It was. But I haven't tried to get anything like that since–"

"Since when, Jason?" You cut off, anger and hurt clear in your voice, in your face. "Was it before we raided the warehouse at the docks? Is my computer bugged? Did you hack my phone?"

He winces. You don't need to be a detective to know he has. "I haven't used them since we started getting serious."

"And when was that, Jason?" You ask, voice breaking at his name. "Because it's been serious this entire time for me."

He doesn't answer at first, gaze leaving you to stare at his helmet. "Since I– I saw you save that kid. Instead of going after that shooter. When I realized you weren't just another one of the corrupted cops. That you care about this city. And the people. I realized I couldn't keep doing that to you."

You go quiet. What can you say to that? "Were you ever going to tell me?" You settle on.

"I don't know." He shrugs helplessly, eyes leaving the helmet to meet your teary gaze. "I didn't know how. I don't– think I wanted you to know. " He stutters over his last sentence, and then says your name, pleading coming back to his tone. "I can't lose you over this."

"You never had me!" Your voice raises, a shout in anger before you can bury it down. You shake your head, wrapping your arms around yourself protectively and lowering your voice. "You never had me if everything this was was built on a lie."

"It's not a lie." He says firmly, snapping to attention and stepping towards you. He gestures between the two of you, says your name like he demands your attention. "This is not a lie."

"It is, Jason! You're only here to gain something from me! From my job!" You push back, throat tight and head spinning. Maybe you shouldn't be yelling at Gothams most dangerous and deadliest crime boss, but your heart is too broken for your head to think straight.

"No, pretty." You think he's pleading. You think his mouth might even be trembling as he speaks, but you can't make it out through the tears in your eyes. "No. It was like that at first. I know. I know that hurts you, but, it's not like that now. It's nowhere near that now."

"I don't care." You choke out.

"You don't mean that." Jason protests, but he doesn't sound certain.

"I don't want to see you anymore." You say the words before you're even sure you want that.

His face drops. "You don't mean that either."

"I do." It tastes like a lie. It sounds like the truth. You're turning and leaving before he can speak again, before you can unpack what you really want, locking yourself in the bathroom.

You fall asleep to the sound of your own tears, curled on the cold tile floor. You wake to silence. His helmet is gone from your counter when you enter the kitchen.

Your favorite dinner is wrapped in plastic when you open the fridge.

It makes the truth of it all worse. Gotham really is cursed.

Part Two

[trashdragon4]

Having incredibly Jason Todd flavoured thoughts in regard to Toi Dericottes poem “Speculations About “I””

I read this poem in class the other day and immediately thought ab my boy Jay. So i finally sat down today and messily vomited the below words into a document, please enjoy.

Heres the poem link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/90292/speculations-about-i (in case u want to read it normally, as it is a banger of a poem)

Ok, so I feel like this is post death, early resurrection. This is Jason borderline catatonic, wandering the streets of Gotham having just dug himself from his grave, begging for the only safety he’s ever really known. This is Jason in the hospital, desperate for a comfort he’s unaware he ever had (Bruce, his dad, he's sorry, he's sorry, he's sorry).

This is post Lazurus pit, with the league, with Talia. Jason is hardly more conscious than before, but sometimes he feels things now, the adrenaline of a fight, the hot sharp pain of a blade, he’s something closer to alive. But he’s a mere observer in his own body, and he hardly ever observes (he doesn’t want to see the carnage).

He’s gaining control now, battling the Lazurus pit, gaining consciousness as well. He doesn’t know where he ends and it begins, and he’s not sure if cares, if he should care.

Who is he now? What does he remember? He clings to those fragments, however painful they are and are becoming, because they are all he has left of himself, of Bruce, of Robin. In a way they are still shaping him, they are the tools Talia wields to carve him into what she needs him to become.

The Lazurus pit, it stifles what remains of him, pushes it deep down, he lets it, helps it even. It’s easier this way. Now all he has is the anger, and the stories he’s been told, they fuel it.

A memory, his childhood, he found himself, in his first life, in the grime of crime alley. He grew up in the filth and abuse and neglect and he loved it despite it all because it was familiar, a comfort, he loves it still. He hides this piece of himself amongst the scattered fragments of his mind.

Sometimes he wonders if he should’ve stayed dead. He thinks that maybe it would be better if he hadn’t clawed his way up from the dirt, if he had crumpled up like so many others on Gotham’s streets, if Talia hadn’t found him. He’s here now though and through the poison he lets her feed him he plots. Memory and musings will do him no good, so he will let them fall away.

The prodigal son returns. Except not really, he’s back in the physical sense and he’s trying, trying so hard to do what no one else will. He will be the saviour to all those his Father couldn’t (wouldn’t) save. He’s building a new safer home from the ground up, brick by brick. He’s in control for the first time in years and then he’s standing on that rooftop facing Bruce His Dad Batman with a gun in his hand and a countdown on his wrist and he didn’t see the batarang coming but it slices through his throat and he can’t breathe.

He is not the Jason of his memories, not the little bird who thought Robin was magic. He is the cage that little birds get trapped in.

Internal conflict, the fragments of himself are locked in opposition, he does not know who to trust, what to do, how to move forward.

He has broken the one unbreakable rule he was raised with, over and over and over, and he will do it again. It wasn’t that he wanted to kill, he wanted someone to protect him. No one did. He will protect himself now, protect everyone that needs protection. And so he clips the little birds wings.

This is all he is, no matter the justification. His survival is not one to be celebrated, and as far as he’s aware it hasn’t been. He is life at the cost of life.

He has failed everyone he has ever cared for, broken every promise to them that he made. Bruce, His Mother (both of them), Alfred, Dick, Babs, everyone. He never cared enough to promise himself anything.

[d8nielaa]

would i be able to request the same fic as the daryl tofa one but with jason??

where reader and jason are in a secret relationship? but the reader is an Ace understudy?

thank you so much!!!

Authors Note: yes ofc anon! guys I hate school-i do NOT wanna go anymore😤

Loving in Secret

Jason Schmidt x fem!reader

You and Jason had always had an unspoken connection—one that started in the quiet moments between rehearsals, the stolen glances, the way your conversations felt easier with him than with anyone else. But neither of you could let anyone else in on it.

As Ace's understudy in The Outsiders musical, you were part of a rare dynamic within the gang. The role was important to you, but it also meant you were constantly under pressure. There were expectations for you to fit into this tough, confident mold that Ace wore with ease, and Jason had always been there, quietly supportive, but never making a move. That was, until one night after rehearsal…

It was the end of a long week, and everyone had gone home except for you and Jason. You’d stayed behind in the rehearsal hall, running over Ace’s line (s), your script spread out in front of you on the floor. Your mind was scattered, thinking about the pressure you felt to perform well as an understudy while also being part of the gang and, of course, trying to keep your secret relationship from the others.

Jason appeared in the doorway, glancing around the empty room before stepping in. “Still here?” His voice was soft, with that hint of concern you’d grown so used to hearing.

“Yeah,” you muttered, not looking up. “Just… trying to get everything right.”

Jason’s eyes softened. He knew how much the role meant to you, how much everything meant. You’d talked about it before—how Ace’s role was a balancing act of strength and vulnerability, how you sometimes felt like you didn’t fit in. He stepped closer, sitting next to you on the floor, close enough that his shoulder brushed against yours.

“I think you’ve got it,” he said quietly, glancing down at your script. “You’re gonna be great as Ace, just like you always are.”

You smiled faintly, finally meeting his gaze. The warmth of his expression made the weight on your shoulders lighten, but only slightly. You couldn’t deny the growing tension between you two—it had been building for months, both of you trying to keep your feelings hidden.

“You always say that,” you said with a small laugh, trying to brush off the emotion that had been stirring inside you.

He smirked, but there was something different in his eyes. “Well, it’s true.” Then his gaze dropped to your lips. “You’re… incredible. Don’t forget that.”

Your heart skipped. For a moment, everything around you felt distant. The rehearsals, the expectations, the pressures of being Ace’s understudy—they all melted away, leaving only Jason, his face inches from yours. You couldn’t help it. Without thinking, you leaned in, your lips meeting his softly at first, but it was enough to ignite something you’d both been holding back.

The kiss deepened, your breath mingling with his as the world around you felt like it vanished entirely. You’d dreamed of moments like this, but now that they were here, you couldn’t stop. But even in this moment, you knew there were rules you both had to follow. This had to remain a secret.

When you finally pulled away, breathless, you rested your forehead against his, your heart racing. “Jason… we can’t… we have to keep this quiet.”

His thumb gently traced your cheek. “I know,” he whispered, a hint of sadness in his voice. “I just… I want everyone to know how amazing you are. Not just as Ace, but… as you.”

You closed your eyes, leaning into his touch. “I don’t want themto find out. I don’t want to mess things up. I’m already walking this line with Ace’s role.”

Jason nodded, understanding. “We’ll keep it quiet. But I can’t pretend I don’t care about you.”

“I care about you too,” you whispered back.

For a moment, there was just the sound of your hearts beating in sync, a silent agreement to keep your love secret, but to cherish it in the quiet moments, the stolen kisses, and the shared glances when no one was watching.

The rehearsal hall became your safe place, where you could both forget about the world for a while. As the days passed, your secret relationship became a little more complicated. You had to keep your focus on your time as Ace, knowing the pressure on you would only grow. But Jason was always there, quietly supporting you, never pushing for more than you were ready to give.

And in the midst of the chaos of being a greaser, of learning the lines, of navigating the expectations placed on you, there was Jason. A constant, steady presence in your life, your secret, your love. No one else could know—not yet—but the connection between you two was undeniable, and it was something you’d hold onto, no matter what.

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

Author's Note: hola chicas y chicos!

[valdangelodreams]

Au #30 (separated?)

I had a dream of what I think was the prequel to au #27 of this series, and I have more questions than answers

-so, high-school au

-the dream did not happen chronologically, so I tried to put everything in order

-it started at the climax more or less

-anyways, so it starts when Nico starts dating this guy right?

-and it was like implied that everyone thought the guy was great with him bc Nico started being healthier and such

-but he also started hanging out less and less, and for some reason no one called him out on it?

-and Leo notices because him and Nico had had this relationship where they started hating each other but having to see each other bc of shared friends and then eventually became close

-and Leo became like the person who knew Nico the best, and Nico him, and so he immediately thought him ditching hangouts for his new boyfriends was a huge red flag

-so he tries to bring this up to the others and everyone kept making it like Leo was just jealous

-but the guy hears him and starts trying to turn Nico against Leo, but like making him avoid Leo and not talk to him

-and also he was constantly managing the things Nico did and didn't do or say, and calling him annoying, and generally bullying him into changing his personality on the side

-and there was also a show of some sort that both Nico and Leo were a part of, which was important

-so Leo's feeling awful because he's watching his friend destroy himself and no one else can see it

-and it reaches a point where he's like so tired of it all and he just like decided to call it quits, bc he can't keep doing this

-and so he decides to use the show as a way to say goodbye to Nico, so he manages to talk to him one on one and ask him to stay and listen to his turn

-that's where the dream started, with Leo prepping to go on stage and Nico who just performed trying to stop his boyfriend from dragging him away

-and then Leo came on stage and started playing the saddest song, and Nico realizes that he's saying goodbye

-so he returns home with this in his head and he sort of happens upon this box that's labelled 'to burn' and it's full of pictures of him with Leo, and some with everyone

-and he has a full on epiphany and confronts the guy he's dating and then confronts everyone else

-and there was a specific scene where he was like "if getting better means abandoning everything and everyone I care abt then I don't want to get better" (this was where I woke up btw)

-this was to piper, bc she was like saying Nico shouldn't end his relationship since it was so good for him, and Leo was just being jealous

-and then for some reason that convo turned into them saying how Leo was jealous of Piper for years bc he liked Jason but he never got in between them

-and it was like everyone knew except Jason and Piper, like Percy commented that he thought everyone knew (I thought this was funny)

-and there was also a scene where I saw Nico running around town looking for Leo

-but I don't think he did, which is why I want to believe it was the prequel to the reunion

-like, I think they both realized their feelings, but Nico realized as he was desperately looking for Leo

-and like, if that doesn't build tension

[necrotic-nephilim]

I saw on your pinned post you had Slade/Tim. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

yes of COURSE i adore SladeTim and am happy to spread propaganda-

i will be honest some of my thoughts are simply "i will fandom bicycle the hell out of Tim bc he's my Fave Guy", but i do genuinely think about what a relationship between Tim and Slade could be fueled by. i 've briefly mentioned them on this blog before (but that was a month ago so it'd be impossible to find) and what i brought up then I'll echo now: i think what's fascinating about Slade and Tim is the fact it *shouldn't* work. there's really no foundation for them. there's been scattered interactions throughout canon, but nothing that's lasting besides the typical hero/villain thoughts.

which is fascinating, given Slade *does* have developed interactions with most of the other Robins. there's endless canon to build off of for Slade and Dick, of course, those two will always be tied to each other in fascinating ways. and Slade and Jason also have interesting history, working together in some comics and having a lot to build off of. even Slade and Damian have some history, Slade has developed feelings on Damian and multiple fights with real substance between them, not even mentioning how Respawn plays into it. so we canonically know at least a bit about how Slade feels on each Robin- except for Tim. Tim just gets brushed over which given how long he was Robin, it's impressive he never had a real meaningful moment from Slade, maybe aside from the time Slade brainwashed Cass, which was questionably characterized for *everyone* involved.

it makes SladeTim an interesting blank slate. and naturally, makes Tim the Robin that Slade just mentally skips over. Dick is *the* Dick Grayson, the mental replacement for Grant and the apprentice he crave, the "real prize". Jason is fascinating in the "Bruce's biggest fuck up" sort of way, running on his own away from the Bats and occasionally making a good ally when Slade is in a tight spot. and Damian is a reminder of Slade's fatherhood and the grandson of Ra's, so at the very least there's begrudging respect for the mantles he's carrying. but Tim is just... the other one. he's a rich kid who thought he could choose this life and has probably bit off more than he can chew and i don't think Slade ever fully takes him seriously, which is *really* fun. Tim has proven himself to most villains, but he's never really proven himself to Slade.

so i'm very interested in the idea of Slade having a run-in with Tim and being pleasantly surprised that Tim is far more than he appears is *fun*. i think it's fun if Slade doesn't realize Tim was trained by Shiva until he's actually fighting Tim and is finally forced to develop real thoughts surrounding Tim aside from just seeing him as Robin #3. i think there could be a sick curiosity to it that drives Slade to press and press just to see what he gets out of Tim.

i'm also always into the idea of Tim using sex as almost a form of masochism or self harm. i love shipping things like JayTim or RasTim to specifically explore Tim using sex as an emotionless outlet to get hurt in a way he can control. bc i *love* masochist!Tim who needs some kind of control over his masochist outlets. and well, Slade's a fun choice for someone for TIm to go to for no-strings-attached sex that will always stay within the arranged parameters. even if Slade isn't morally a good person, he's always good on completing his end of a deal and it makes him a reliable source for Tim to go to.

also, i just like "i know you're pretending i'm someone else when you fuck me and i don't care, i'd do anything to be touched like this" dynamics. i *truly deeply* adore ships where someone is a substitute for the *real* person their partner wants and they know it. and Tim in that dynamic will always get me. i think SladeTim works well for them both knowing Slade is pretending he's fucking Dick- maybe even calling Tim by Dick's name. and Tim allows it, bc it's part of the agreement. Slade gets what he wants and Tim gets what he wants. Dick will never be fucked up enough to want the things Slade likes in bed even if Slade manages to sleep with Dick- but Tim, the little fucking freak he is, will.

and i think feelings blooming out of that is fun, them accidentally falling for each other and neither expecting it bc rlly, they should've fallen for anyone else. i'd love to write an aromantic SladeTim fic though, i won't lie. where an aromantic Tim goes to one person he's confident won't fall for him romantically. and Slade develops almost fatherly feelings for Tim in the process. and not an ounce of it is romantic, but it makes for a complicated sort of almost-love between them. i think i prefer any SladeRobin ship with some kind of fatherly love from Slade thrown into the mix, and given Tim's loss of his own father is a very fresh wound, they have the most potential for that.

TLDR: the fun of this ship is that *because* there's so little canon, it makes for an endless sea of potential. and there's so many fantastic fics that explore it *very* well. i think they'd be neat.

[tr4umaborn]

** IMPORTANT INFO RE: TJ HAMMOND

a study in. drug abuse / addiction,  self harm,  suicidal ideation / attempts,  over dosing,    bipolar I disorder  (  which includes mania episodes,  heavy depressive episodes,  anxiety,  and minor psychosis breaks  ),  bdsm / submissive behaviors,  sex as a coping mechanism,  in being the bad twin,  the nature of growing up addicted,  undiagnosed mental illness, the golden gay, an opposite role model, making music until your fingers bleed, the minor chord, living fast dying young

full name. thomas james hammond also known as. tj, teej, golden boy date of birth. 02 / 19 / 1984 age. 38 zodiac. pisces sun / libra moon / leo rising gender. male (ish) pronouns. he / they romantic orientation. homoromantic sexual orientation. homosexual occupation. pianist / influencer / model species. human birthplace. raleigh, north carolina, united states current home. new york city, ny, us nationality. he's never asked beyond being american ethnicity. just another dumbass white boy language(s). english parents. president elain barrish, former president bud hammond siblings. twin brother - douglas hammond other family members. lydia martin - basically a sister thanks significant other + children.  canon: mieczyslaw stilinski-hammond (husband) @mieczlw jason stilinski-hammond (son) @jasnstilnski the bee and jenna cinematic universe: antonio dominico marcus rizzotti marvel au: bucky barnes @whtwclf faceclaim. thomas doherty hair. brown + short eyes. baby blues height. 6 ft build. as an addict: too skinny for his own good when sober: muscular from getting addicted to the gym dominant hand. left scars. one of his left arm from the singular time he shot up, plenty of scars on his chest and back for boys who were too rough both in the bedroom and in the bar tattoo. many small pieces in easily coverable places piercings. one on his right ear, many on his left ear, had an eyebrow piercing decided against it, nose stud and septum vurrent positive traits. sensitive, whimsical, romantic, charming, artistic, gentle, love of beauty and harmony negative traits. gullible, gregarious, dependent, cagey likes. giving and receiving gifts, sweets, coffee, massages, cocaine (unfortunately), fuck boys (even more unfortunately) dislike. being wrong, being proven wrong, fears & phobias. disappointment, drowning wishes & dreams. to not be in the spotlight because of his family, but instead because of himself. mbit. ESFP - The Entertainer moral alignment. neutral evil enneagram type. type 3 - the achiever

biography.

 THE GOLDEN SON  𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. now imagine the feeling of floating away into the nether reaches of space. imagine the way slipping up into the air would make you feel – do you feel the air around you at all? is there enough oxygen to make the trip sliding up through the sky and into the unknown worth it? or will the whole experience just leave you clawing at your own skin because it’s burning from the inside out without the attentive oxygen filling up your pores?

the headline read : 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐲 but there’s nothing golden about the downward decent into enveloping madness. he was not born mad ( and really is anyone? ) but had the madness set upon him by the events that took place. born ninety seconds before his twin brother douglas, thomas james hammond was smiling when he came out into the world. it may be hard to tell now, but from that first moment he has always known that he wanted to experience all that life had to offer. the happiness didn’t end much at all in the first ten years of his life ( except for when it did, but according to doctors he was simply a growing boy with a growing mind ). even through the first campaign and moving into the white house ( seven year olds still in awe that they have this much space to play in ) his smile stayed so strong. there were things that made it even brighter : his brother, his mama, telling stories with a flashlight under the blanket long past their bedtime. but there was one thing that kept him happy, kept the madness at bay when it threatened to show its burning head.

music never wanted to kill him. while it may be an artist’s curse to feel everything so fucking fully, it isn’t the art form that grabbed him with sharp jaws. he picked up his first piece of sheet music at three years old, and everyone in the family broke out the camcorders. 𝐨𝐡 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫 they’d say as he banged tiny fingers on keys. those tiny fingers grew into the keys. passion and music weaved together, only those within his most inner circle allowed to see what really showed. books upon books begin to get filled through the years. music notes that look like water as they swim across the pages of score sheets. his happiness isn’t dependent on his music, but his music has always and will always provide him with natural serotonin that he chases after in the powder of small bags.

fear and loathing keep him from doing well in school. doug is the favorite twin with grades and extra curriculars that fill out the resume how every college wishes it would. he’ll go to princeton or yale or harvard or wherever the fuck he wants and tj instead knows exactly where he’s headed ( 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 ) but his steps to get there are the difficult part. first he must survive high school : where his best friends are snow and addie. they provide the blanket of protection he needs when he finds himself on the wrong side of his first tmz article.

the first son is a fag? it didn’t say that, but when he read it it really may as well have. the world plucked him from the closet just before y2k ; a fifteen year old boy with a life sentence. first came tmz, then the times article, and then before he knew it he’s suddenly the country’s most famous gaybie. to america that makes him their sweetheart, but the world never knows what sweethearts do when they’re craving sweet tarts.

the same year he found himself on the wrong side of a conversation. while the world doesn’t know it, having your father be the 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 really makes these trying times much easier to keep undisclosed, he knows the truth of it all. the good ole boy’s private school couldn’t have a drug addicted slut making a bad name for their school, so they banished him to the other realm. or you know. . . expelled him. he finds himself in the countryside of france for the next two years where catholicism is the ruling decree and drug addicts rule the halls. it’s here he rules the school with charlotte arnold by his side, and cross my heart and hope to die those two are a dangerous duo.

college isn’t for everyone, but for a hammond it is an expectation. he’ll start his education one place, and eventually end it in another. the location doesn’t matter : after all there are phones on cameras and street corners now. his antics can destroy his life no matter what he ends up. wherever he is, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬.

 COCAINE DREAMS  and what about the snow? playing in the white confection as the world keeps spinning around you. it’s comfortable, holding you and keeping you warm when the world outside is desperately freezing. why wouldn’t you jump into it’s open arms that widen more for you? it doesn’t feel good to leave it’s grasp so you stay there. where you are wanted. where you are needed. 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝.

he feels everything so fully that even empathy doesn’t cover it. with elders describing his symptoms as a side effect of drug abuse, tj knows the symptoms came first. 𝐢𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 ( and if only when he screamed it was outside of his mind ) they wouldn’t feel the pain of every time he runs. snow opens her beautiful arms for him and through out his twenties he jumped too far into her arms. some moments were easy – someone at a party helped him sleep it off or his few friends gave him the space to grieve the loss of his sanity. other moments hurt more – nearly dying in a crackhouse in canada just over the border line from buffalo. or the time he thought a bottle of downers was a bottle of uppers and sent himself spiraling more when trying to fix his own problems. he’ll hurt those he loves with every gram that goes up his nose.

after tj and doug turned 24, elaine barrish hammond began her first campaign for president. in a never shocking turn of events, people seemed more interested in a third term of bud ( even though they knew the scandals he locked in his closet ) instead of elaine. he doesn’t care ; after all, a tour de usa means he can find a fuck in all 50 states. they want to use him as a puppet like always? not a person, not a son, but a 𝐭𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞.

she ends up secretary of state, and tj ends up with a forced residency in dc once again. at 25 years old he is beginning to 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. no one notices when republican senator sean reeves of ohio begins to steal glances at the ex first son. what’s worse is the reciprocation. tj on the wrong end of those glances turns into allowing someone to devour him whole while knowing he’ll spit him up and throw him out. the details of his sobriety, and his happiness, are unfortunately unimportant ( after all, they come at the hands of a false idol ) and instead the focus shifts to the inevitable ending. our sweetheart feels the false love ooze from every pore ; it leaves him as the tears spill from his red rimmed eyes. there’s a car, and a garage, and it’s all he can think to do in a split second. how might a mother, who loves her children with all of her heart despite how she hurts them so, feel when she finds her son no longer inhaling fumes because he’s passed out? ask elaine barrish.

no one knows for over a year, names and pseudonyms being confused and dispersed. forced sobriety normally didn’t work for tj, but this time rehab seemed to get through to him. he can maintain a sense of sobriety, nothing that’s considered illegal or prescribed to others, until 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. the puppet is now a pawn, an article being published on the suicide attempt of america’s sweetheart. he watches the story unfold on the news while sharing a straw to soak up snow on his dealer’s couch.

the rest of his life will never look the same. he realizes that sobriety is a privilege he has to work for. feeling everything makes the lows lower and the highs higher. when no one will name it ( maybe one day a doctor will say the word bipolar to him outloud ) how can you treat it? mania gives him excitement, but with it comes his chest being ripped to shreds by his own mind. 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭?

[sophieswundergarten]

Things I think about Jackson and Jillson

After they get away from Curtain, I definitely agree that they would live with SQ and Martina in Stonetown.

Jillson gets a job at a bookstore, and she learns that she just loves reading. There weren't a lot of books at the Institute, but SQ's apartment is right next to a bookstore that the Benedict humans frequent, so he's friends with the staff and vouches for Jillson.

Her favourite thing to read is poetry, and she spends all her breaks reading through whatever she can get her hands on. The owners are really nice, and let her borrow whatever books she wants since she's so incredibly careful with them. A couple of times she even tried writing her own poetry, but she keeps it a little secret journal and doesn't let anyone see it. (Except SQ one time and he said it was really good but she felt horribly self-conscious and they never spoke of it again)

Jackson starts working at a pet store, through a similar relationship SQ has with the owners. At first, he is extremely hesitant and only does menial work like restocking and sweeping. But one day one of the puppies escapes and Jackson happens to be nearby. It runs right at him, and even though it scares him a little he catches it, and when the person in charge gets over there, the puppy is totally calm.

They put him in for a trial period, and after a couple days he gets over his fear and does great. He's much happier working with the animals, and he gets to be one of the head dog trainers. All of the critters love him, and he gets a pet snake at some point, since they can't have dogs in the apartment building. (It's a little corn snake and he names him Jason and he loves him)

One day Mr. Benedict and some of the others come to the bookstore, and Jillson freaks out. She hasn't spoken to them since Curtain, and they'd begged SQ not to tell the Benedicts about them staying with him, so she isn't sure how to react. She isn't even paying attention initially, because she's reading, but when they all come up to the cash register she looks up and freezes. In the end, she just does her job without making eye contact or speaking if she can help it.

Mr. B and the kids try to make her comfortable, though Constance almost asks point-blank what she's doing there, but Reynie shushes her. Jillson comes home that day utterly mortified and locks herself in the bathroom to hyperventilate over the situation. Jackson eventually gets her to come out, and they talk through it.

Jillson feels like they probably hate her, and while she knows better now, neither of them were especially kind to the kids while they were at the Institute. Jackson also regrets his decisions, but right then he's more concerned about Jillson, who has decided she's going to quit her job and never leave the apartment again.

However, once Jackson's mostly got her calmed down, there's a knock at the door. The bookstore owners had been talking about how much help Jillson was, and how excited she got when they let her borrow books, so the kids wanted to bring some of their own for her to look at.

SQ lets them in, and of course J&J are terribly nervous, and Jackson tries to cover it by acting super polite and distracting them from Jillson, who has gotten very quiet, but Sticky and Constance go over and start talking to her about her favourite poets, and once SQ tells them that Jackson is working at the pet shop Reynie and Kate have a lot of questions for him about that.

So the two of them relax, and Mr. Benedict invites them over for dinner, and though they're reluctant, SQ and Martina do a lot of cajoling (Since they're way more comfortable with the Benedicts at this point), and they all go. At the end of the night, both them have apologised to each person at least twice, and they thank Mr. Benedict profusely for being so kind to them.

He, of course, is very gracious and tells them they're welcome any time.

A few days later, the two of them show up with (Slightly burnt) cookies and a full apology speech. It takes them a while to understand that they don't have to work for forgiveness, but Martina and SQ help, and they all end up happier for it

[piastrinorris]

copying ur 2 titles: all your pictures on the floor / this dizzy dreamer

all your pictures on the floor: oh god. i never thought i'd choose to write cheerscoops angst. but that's what that's become

this dizzy dreamer: hmmm. i've been thinking about this one for a while now. and we're getting a chrissy cunningham double feature here bc i wanna talk photocheer!!

send me a fake fic title and i'll tell you what i'd write based on it!

all your pictures on the floor: chrissy's mum and jason's mum had like practically arranged for them to be childhood sweethearts turned eventual spouses and during chrissy's Teenage Rebel phase (at 18) she's like "and why can't i choose who i want to date, huh?! what's to stop me from dating whoever i want anyway behind all of your backs?! isn't that worse?" so laura is like "if you won't agree to a relationship with jason, you're not living under my roof"

so she ends up dating and running away to live with steve. charming, goofy, totally reformed former playboy steve. everything's a dream, at first. she even opts to not go to college so she can just start her domestic life with steve as soon as it starts. but they're both still way too young to be starting a lifestyle like that, and neither of them have had good role models. so even though they do have really good times together, the in between bits are full of little insecurities. any time one of them is home late from work, the other assumes that Something must be happening behind their backs, but they're both so inexperienced in adult relationships that neither of them talk about it. chrissy's fed up of working and being a homemaker but steve never had to lift a finger so he doesn't know how to cook or clean and chrissy doesn't want to have to teach him.

stuff like that builds up until eventually steve cracks and is like "look, you chose to live here, so if you're not happy, you can get out." and maybe this is just before chrissy goes off to work for the day, and when she gets back all her stuff is in boxes outside the harrington house. her family won't accept her back. jason's got a fiancée who he's obsessed with. so she gets a motel room for the night, looks in one of the boxes and sees that steve's given her all of their photo albums, too. so chrissy puts all the photos out across the room, of all the good times that they had, reminiscing of them, wondering where it went wrong, wondering if the "good" times even were that good. and she realises she's faced with the option of either trying to fend for herself with no support network, or going back to steve with her tail between her legs and repeating the cycle of being just like her mother, who she starts to realise was only setting her up w jason bc jason was the safe option she never went for as a kid. and she was hoping not to let history repeat itself. but it did

this dizzy dreamer: au in which chrissy is a popstar, and jonathan works for a music magazine. he takes photos for a piece on chrissy, and they are. stunning. they capture her vibe perfectly, even she loves how she looks in them, and that feature really helps her career kick off. she's about to do her first major all-american tour and she seeks jonathan out to be the photographer for the whole thing. (idk if this is a thing for everyone, but i've been seeing a lot of harry styles' tour on my fyp and he apparently has a photographer called lloyd so that's what i'm basing this off of)

anyway as they're touring, chrissy realises how introverted jonathan is and desperately tries to get him to open up around everyone so that he feels part of the ~tour family~. and ofc he does Not want to do that. but some nights when chrissy can't sleep, jonathan is up, too. except he's sitting on the roof of the tour bus, getting high. he offers to roll chrissy a joint, but she tells him that if she smokes a whole one all by herself it makes her dizzy and throws her off. but she'll stay up with him and talk to him.

he tells her he's up bc he worries about his brother back home. she tells him she has a little brother too. he tells her he knows, they've grown up together and she's never even realised it. that's why he's completely okay with this just being a professional relationship. but chrissy feels bad that she doesn't remember jonathan. but she still finds ways to connect with him through anecdotes like "remember when mike lewenski started that huge food fight in middle school?"

as the tour goes on, she starts getting stressed. people keep writing about her, and being a female in the public eye, a lot of tabloids are judging her, setting expectations for her she doesn't know how to keep. and so to help her calm down between shows, jonathan offers to share a joint with her. she opens up to jonathan on a deeper level about how she's worried that she can't hack it, and that she's gonna have to give up on her dreams. jonathan tells her that it's admirable that she even has one, let alone one that she went for. it makes chrissy sad to hear that jonathan's never had a dream, but he tells her he doesn't mind, he only never thought to have any bc he spent so long taking care of his mum and brother.

chrissy swears that she'll help him come up with a dream to aim for. but, as tour goes on, his work gains notoriety, and he starts genuinely enjoying taking photos of the girl he's falling in love with, he realises he's already living it :)

[veronica-17-hood]

headcannon that jason always has a spare room ready for any of his siblings in your shared apartment.

so when you had asked him he wanted to stop going to safe house to safe house or climbing in and out of your small studio apartment. he immediately said yes and started sending you listings to apartment after apartment every second of the day and even facetiming you every now and then during patrol when he sees a building going up or a for sale sign.

the two of you finally went house hunting and he was honestly like a kid in a candy store, asking questions about amenities work, if animals are allowed, parking, he was a full blown homeowner at this point.

once the two of you settled on an apartment, it ended up bigger than the two of you even wanted but it stayed within budget. 3 full bedrooms and baths, walk in closest, and a beautiful kitchen which sent the two of you wild, it was perfect mix of modern and homey, something jason never had before he found you.

a home.

and jason couldn’t be happier.

he was going furniture shopping, calling you often and asking how exactly you wanted everything to be set up (he never really had a good eye for decorating, have you seen his safe houses?)

he wanted large couches because even though he claims his siblings annoy him and he would be better off without them, he doesn’t mean it, and he wants room for his family to be at HIS home with HIS soulmate.

but jason did make it a priority, it didn’t matter what you wanted or said, he wanted one of the extra rooms to be for his siblings. no one used it for anything else but them.

he picked the whole room out himself and he had never been prouder (except of his reading nook that he had in the corner of your master bedroom, he showed everyone the work he did). he picked out the bed, brought timmy to get a mattress and they agreed on one, painted the walls, and stocked the bathroom with the usuals, shampoo, face wash, first aid kit, extra anesthesia, ya know the normal things everyone has in their guest bathrooms.

he always kept the room neat and clean, changing the sheets and vacuuming the carpet every week, never openly offering it to his siblings but they all knew that it was open for them at all times. 

the first time timmy stayed over he was over the moon, of course he only expressed that to you not to his kid brother. he cooked tim’s favorite meal (was very bummed when he didn’t come out when dinner was called) but he kept it warm for him whenever he decided to come out.

he waited from 5 pm to around 9, worried sick as to why tim hadn’t come out of the guest room yet. he didn’t know if he got sick, hurt, or crashed finally from the caffeine jay watched him consume during patrol the night before.

finally mustering up the courage and knocking down the walls of ‘i’m a tough man’ act, jay finally grabbed the warm plate of spaghettini and gently peaked into the spare room seeing his younger brother working too hard on Wayne Enterprises bullshit (thankful he wasn’t the one who inherited the company as a teenager).

jay looked back at you with a smile, nodding that his kid brother (both of your favorite sibling of the many bruce wayne had adopted, well yours is obviously jason, tim’s a close second) was perfectly fine and he watched as you headed back to the two of yours bedroom, book in hand now waiting for your soulmate to eventually saunter back to spend time with you.

and of course jay annoyed timmy for hours after that, eventually getting him to eat, stop working, and thankfully sleep, and you could swear that jason slept with a smile on his face that night.

since then tim spend most of his time at your home, most of the time because he genuinely loves you and jay and your home, but other times because of fights with bruce or breakdowns he can’t have, or just for some quiet, something you and jay love endlessly, quiet.

after a while damian would come in between the visits of tim. he always said he just needed quiet or a place to think and draw without intrusions but what he really means is he loves hanging out with his big brothers partner, who actually paints with him and loves his animals (you take him to shelters and museums every time he’s free and at your home). but he also loves his brother (he will never admit that aloud) but he loves jays food and hanging out with him, if it be silence of speak just eating and watching tv, or having heated debates about books, help with homework (which dami will never admit he needs) or even going to get new ear piercings and books.

then cass started coming, she got the second spare bedroom that you had just decorated simply with decor and furniture from your old studio apartment. but that style changed as cass started to stay more and more and soon stef was coming with her after patrol and the third bedroom became theirs. purple and black with posters and flowers across the whole room on stef’s side, knifes and weapons laid on the dresser in cass’s side but lots of comics and school work on the desk too. (cass also has been loving the baby pink color and sage green so that’s been making appearances).

then of course lastly dick and duke started to come, more so for movie nights and adventures or anytime after patrol. dick really only sleeps on the couch because jay couldn’t fit a third bed in the room where tim and dami normally sleep. this three bedroom house is now housing at least 6 people and 5 different beds for the people to choose from. duke will normally take the couch as well unless tim or damian decides to actually sleep at their own house for once, then he grabs the spare bed.

but dick and duke tend to come less often, dick goes through phases (mainly because the two of you are best friends and when he visits gotham he ends up loosing track of him and just crashes at yours) and duke enjoys the manor, especially as everyone is now in your house more time than not.

of course jay and you need a break so he’ll close the doors for a few days, the longest was a month. he explains that you and him need some time and all of his siblings respect that no issue. they all go back to their mad house until jay sends a short sweet text saying ‘it’s a go’ to the group chat and they all come back to the silence that is apartment.

there are no fights or drama at jays place, it’s always calm and everyone gets along (leading bruce to almost selling the manor because the energy or feng shui is off so it makes everyone crazy; everyone yelled at him and damian threatened him and the thought was suddenly *poof* from bruce’s head.)

jason loves having everyone there and he loves that you and him are the ones to provide it. he feels like he’s apart of the family again after everything he’s been through and with all the work with the outlaws that he thinks has been spreading him from the bats (not on purpose, which is why it makes him sad) and when he tells you that, gosh your heart swelled so it barley fits in your chest.

and don’t worry, roy, donna, and bazaro spend time there as well. the outlaws have a monthly sleepover with you and jay, no other siblings.

but jay never thought he could be so happy, but he is and truthfully he can’t stop smiling.

[insanescriptist]

See look, the thing was, Jason as a kid was absolutely 100% a liar. Not that anyone really ever called him out on it, but you didn't live four years on the street without seeing shit. Choosing masks and marks and praying you'll live through your mistakes. Seeing people who didn't. Who weren't good enough, lucky enough or useful enough. Like with everything else good with Jason (according to everyone else), that happy boy facade died in a warehouse but it had been cracking for months before that.

Sure, it wasn't entirely a facade -that's what made it such a fantastic lie- but Jason's big mistake was thinking that their relationship, that it had become true on both ends, instead of a lie he had crafted on his. He didn't even think B lied on his. Fake it till you make it. B said look to the evidence and the evidence said, before his death, that Jason was his son. B had adopted him, trained him, treated him as his child. In and out of the leotard and pixie boots.

After his death, under the headstone Todd. Not in the Wayne family cemetery. Not his son. No, in the cave, where the heart of Batman was, Jason had been a good soldier.

Batman collected trophies from his cases. Once he had come back as Red Hood -a very petty fuck you to Bruce and psychological warfare on Joker- the memorial case existing had been a brilliant red flag.

How did that quote go?

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;

Jason knew that B believed that about him.

It was no wonder their relationship never mended beyond their stark ideological differences. It was well and good to believe that all deserved redemption and the chance atone. It worked sometimes. But B was at his heart, a classist fuckhead, who didn't understand the really, all he was doing was prolonging the suffering of the victims who deserved justice and not the Joker's insanity plea. Again and again. And again. And again.

Kind of like this whole society was a classist shitstain through genetic lottery.

You had your winners. The Heroes.

You had your average joes and janes.

You had your losers. The Villains.

And then you had the fuckwads creating this status quo, allowing society to fuck everyone over. Bread and circuses, except less Flying Graysons and more children gladiatorial battles as preparation for a life and a paycheck to hunt down those that "deserved it," for breaking the law, when society had broke them first.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the Mystical Shit™ then Jason would have thought he was reincarnated into a personal hell dimension full of everything he hated.

They didn't even have proper heroes here! These incompetent shits stayed dead! But what else could you expect from Heroes under a government body? Even the villains under the government bodies he was used to had access to health care from death ala Lazarus.

Where the fuck were the Wallers here?

Jason really fucking hated it here. Six months into a stable identity and a stable place to live and he still hated this world.

Even this shitty apartment was still several steps up from the level of grime he expected. Not enough urban blight. No serious grit. No personal stakes in the hero vs villain rivalries. No real drama. No stakes beyond the petty everyday shit.

Oh, a purse snatcher. A hero is there. Oh, someone robbed a liquor store. A hero is there. Oh no, somehow an entire building is on fire. No worries, a hero will rescue you and fuck themselves up because despite the training the allegedly had, they don't have the equipment on hand to protect themselves from the smoke. What a heroic sacrifice when the fire department could do it just the same but without ending their own career over it. Basic shit.

There were still the fucked up "villains" who just wanted to hurt people. That sort of thing was just endemic to human biology, which these people were. Allegedly. 4 outta 5 people being born metahuman -sorry, with Quirks- and having powers before they had finished potty training and then having their entire lives defined further by genetic lottery, on top of the normal shit politics of wealth and otherness defining their life path.

Jason wanted to burn the whole Hero Industry down. But that's wasn't a new feeling for him now. A whole year into this fucked up world -no Gotham, no Star, no Watchtower- and he still hated everything about it.

Now the question was, how to avoid martyrs.

Martyrs were the bane of any killer, mercenary or assassin. They wanted to die for a cause. It would get the cause more publicity and thus more power. So the obvious solution was to either not get caught killing them or to dismantle the cause.

Both however was better.

Accident someone who was holding some uh, compromising evidence. Whoops, now there's an investigation. Point it out to the news.

Do a little murder. Frame it the right way. Let the police take care of it. It's an average joe. Just works for a hero.

Oh, no. It looks like there's corruption in the hero business. Except the government body over Heroes says, "no, that's just an outlier."

So again and again. Throw a little dirt there. Some accelerate here on the internet. That shiny image isn't as shiny anymore. Take a break. Let things roll, reassess and then plan and progress some more. Change up the MO enough and space things out enough it looks like coincidence. Maybe to the suspicious mind, multiple actors. Multiple cells. Espionage, not his forte, but Jason could dabble in it well.

In the mean time, tonight is a night in. Gotta moisturize and dye his hair again. Forgetting the eyebrows again would be awful; the brow gel was so expensive and so much upkeep compared to just dying it. Mascara at least was quick and cheap.

---

Jason was technically 3 hours into a movie marathon, watching the most recent movie adaptions of classical literature, judging them for their lack of technical skill. Because why have that when there's quirks that can do the same thing?

Basically in this reality anything that could have been done with a quirk was done with a quirk. So special effects? Oh, quirk. Easier to hire someone to breathe fire or something than to get a professional at pyrotechnics or CGI it in. Illegal yes, but no one really cared about the "no quirks in public law without a government permit," unless they were using it to commit crimes or seemed threatening.

Thankfully Jason was always capable of multi-tasking. He had his laptop out, working on a paper. Presumed dead this body was, but Jason had papers that said he was a living person.

Complete with a fucking quirk registration. Because that was also so important to this fuck up society. Positively Orwellian.

Ice quirk, his papers said, because while this body had the instinctual response of lashing out with fire, Jason had been working with the ice. Safer and easier to do that inside than playing with fire and his skin would thank him for it. He may not like this body, but he was at least going to take care of it.

His skin looked more like normal skin now, thanks to some regular moisturizing with the Skin Restorative Serum Knock-off, better known as Skin Goop™ but it wouldn't ever really get back to what it should be. Thankfully he had an explanation for that. His papers said his sad tragic backstory was his family was dead in a fire from a villain and hero fight, he survived with burns and amnesia and now was finishing his schooling online because of having missed so much school and other psychological bullshit that Jason could pull out of his ass like magicians pulled bunnies out of hats.

As much as the stagnation of technology was an anomaly in this dimension -apparently this is what happened when all your "villains" were meta-humans instead of "normal" people with PhD's- it did make faking out his backstory a whole lot easier. Japan had family registries and so it wasn't just a fake identity for himself, but for a whole damn family lineage. That also had to be tied to a real enough one for quirk falsifying purposes and that meant so much fuckery. False taxes, false schooling, falsifying bank records so he could live off of the "life insurance." Which yes, thank you fraud. Steady paycheck, no work. Not enough for vigilante expenses but enough for civilian expenses.

Jason took his time making Himura Touya existent.

Loner in school due to poor health. Yeah, the clinic he used to go to closed down while he was in the hospital. Records lost. Whoops. Yeah, the private school he used to go to developed a leak, so the paper records turned to mush. Electronic records were much more easily faked, but it still took time.

Like it was obviously sketchy as fuck if anyone dug deep and did the legwork and did actual asking but it was a credible enough fake to the rest of society.

So he had a shitty apartment but still better than he was used to for a shitty apartment. He was getting valid credentials for an Official Civilian Life with Normal Things™ like potentially college. That he didn't really need but was absolutely something to do to fill out his time with beyond taking down the Hero Industry.

Plus the insurance fraud money wouldn't last forever and having an official income made it harder for people to think "why doesn't he have a job if he has all these nice things?"

Yeah, even in this world, with the very much real labor shortages, minimum wage sucked. So much of the world was focused on the hero industry and what supported it, that it was absolutely sickening.

But that's what some middle of the week stress relief was all about. Stopping traffickers, rescuing people and arson.

Because why would someone with an ice quirk be a suspect for someone using a fire quirk to make a big ol' fuck you to the world?

Besides, some stress relief was being covered up (and not by him) and well, that's another scandal.

Cremation is just another fun(erl) service

So blaming random 4am thoughts that have been plaguing me all day for this

----

Jason woke to a bright room, thin sheets and the smell of a hospital embedded in his body.

First as always, assess. Hospital. No affiliation printed on the walls or anywhere. Private room, but small. That door looked like it led to a private bathroom. Generic flower picture, a mounted screen turned off. Really fucking bright sunlight from the windows.

There was no fucking way he was in Gotham then. Everything was too nice. Normal by standards outside of Gotham. There were blinds, not metal shutters. The walls were cleaner than Gotham allowed outside of Downtown and he could see greenery through the window.

Okay. So what had he been doing? Jason remembered and then wished he had his Jerichos to shoot himself with. Mystic Shit™. Okay. Okay. That was not one of his better ideas, but if he's recovering in a hospital, it worked. World saved.

So recovery. How fucked was he?

His skin looked so fucked. Which meant he had been worse. He's had time to recover and lose muscle tone in, going by how twiggy his arms were. His hands looked good. Clearly someone knew he cared about those if they went through the effort of restoring those.

Hmm, that was odd. No matter how much Jason hated the Lazarus Pits and all its by-products, it would have been a faster and more simple way to recover from near-death than the long incarceration in a hospital for a John Doe.

Jason wasn't sure if he'd been abandoned yet again by those who called themselves his family because he could, "take care of himself," or if he had been written off dead. Again.

Hospital beat the coffin by a long shot.

And it was with that cheery thought, a nurse -obvious meta human nurse- came in and burst into excited Japanese, because that was of course, his luck.

It's after the nurse and doctors leave that Jason loses his shit.

It looks like he's sulking in bed, but mentally everything in his head is exploding. Imploding.

Three. Fucking. Years. Coma.

Burn victim so bad they not only expected him to die in the first couple of days, but still expect it because of the infection risk his fucked up skin represents.

Still the conversation with the medical staff -of varying degrees of bizarre- was enlightening.

No, he has no idea who he is. Did he ever get anyone visit? How did he get here?

Of course some amnesia is to be expected. No, some of the nurses visited. No one knows how he got here.

Does he know what his quirk is? Uh?

Trauma blocked amnesia, the doctor mutters.

What's the last date he remembered?

Saturday. Maybe? The last year? No, I'm pretty sure my memory is shit and I'm trying hard not to freak out over not knowing anything. So could I get the year number?

And then there's the fucking year number. Once he got it translated into more normal terms.

Mystic Shit™ said fuck you to the future.

Except Jason knows this is not his future. Again, if it was, this would have been treated as a fucking inconvenience. Effective skin restoration goop -the proper name escaped him- was easily available to those with the right connections. A normal baseline human with 2nd and 3rd degree burns would be fine in less than two weeks with it, with nary a trace to show for it.

Thanks to the three year coma, his muscles were all atrophied as fuck, despite their best attempts at physical therapy. Because of all the burns and later burn scars and infections making it basically impossible to actually do fuck all about maintaining muscle tone until he was basically burnt skin and bones anyway.

He was so fucking weak now. It wouldn't last forever. He'd escape this hospital before he was discharged, before whatever "benefactor" showed up for whatever "purpose," he was suppose to serve now, as they had the medical debt over his head or was threatening his loved ones or whatever. If one didn't show up in the next week, he was losing his genre-savviness, because shitheads always wanted to claim shit, if it looked useful.

And Jason was used to looking useful, until he was no longer useful and they just didn't care. The amnesia made him less shiny, but Jason couldn't pull off the brain dead zombie imitation without actually being a brain dead zombie crawling up out of his grave.

So under the thin hospital sheets, Jason twitched his muscles.

Two weeks of emotional freak outs, watching the news, physical therapy and drugs Jason had had enough.

And he broke out.

----

Yeah, he regretted it almost immediately. Hard not to in the stupid paper gown, barefoot and bare ass.

Thankfully people were people, even with the plethora of meta humans he had seen, so it actually wasn't hard to find clothes. Someone left a hoodie in their car and Jason broke into said car. Put on the hoodie. Hotwired the car and drove off.

Somehow for being in the fucking future by two centuries and change, cars really hadn't changed. More evidence of Mystic Shit™ slamming him sideways.

He drove to the next town over, picked another direction, drove some more. Parked the car near what looked like a chop shop, negotiated the car for some money. He probably got ripped off, but better than nothing.

He walked to a corner store, bought some flip-flops after bullshitting an excuse that his had broken. First aid stuff. You know, for his feet. Hair dye in three different colors, because Rose Wilson could pick out a bad dye job at a hundred meters and so Jason learned how to dye his own hair properly so as to avoid her mockery, only to get mockery (affectionate) anyway.

It was a mix of instinct and lifelong observation that let him find an empty apartment quickly. He stole some sweatpants and passed out on the bed.

----

The thing is, Jason doesn't regret his crimes like Bruce thinks he ought to do, with a massive pity party and flaming self-hatred and punching criminals instead of shooting them. He hates the necessity of doing crimes, even if that crime is a net gain to society, but that's why all his serious crimes are premeditated. He's homicidal, not a psychopath.

Not Pit-mad either, no matter what the rest of them might have thought.

Again, he's homicidal, not a psychopath. And when he doesn't have to be some sort of costume soldier to be discarded by family for the disgrace of disfiguring the memory of a dead boy? He's actually chill and boring.

That is to say, he crashed at that apartment for three days, felt progressively more like himself, especially after the dye job -white hair all over, now a solid and boring black- but it still didn't change all the other issues the Mystic Shit™ inflicted on him.

This body isn't actually his. Too young, scars not right where the burns didn't fuck him over. Thankfully his existing coping mechanisms for dysphoria work and it's shoved to the side.

It's also a shit body. Not even a month out of a three year coma with inadequate -by his standards- of medical care. It's weak and building muscle to do everyday civilian shit, is going to take months to do. Pushing as hard as he did during the escape wrecked him the next three days. Jason may not know what's going to happen, but with his luck, it's going to suck and training is preparing to make it suck less. The only certainty he's got is that his skin or lack thereof is going to kill him from infection if he doesn't fix it.

He's got no legal identity here. Which basically puts him back onto familiar ground of legally dead.

Beyond the lack of paperwork, he's got a lack of funds. He also has no easy target to steal funds and equipment from, even just for fun.

For more disadvantages, he's in a different country, with different laws and a whole different culture. He would be climbing on board a fucking plane to Gotham, if it existed in this world, for some familiar ground.

He really is the unluckiest Robin. It also means he is also the most prepared Robin.

---

The first six months after waking up in this mockery world of heroics were the absolute worst.

He started at one foot in the grave and crawled out of it before the casket could really eat him alive. Jason had experience in casket busting. He didn't wanna repeat it.

He still didn't know who he was -in who was he inhabiting- but it wasn't like Jason had a lot to go on. 'His' quirk was thermo-manipulation, most obviously in the blue fire he could call to his hands but he could do some ice too; it was thanks to Duke's light and shadow manipulation that he had even tried for the duality. He had white hair. Presumably Japanese heritage but quirks had really erased or blurred a lot of racial lines. Also presumed dead and young.

Access to the Quirk Registry took some doing, but again, not everyone followed basic computer security, much less what it took to keep someone bat-trained out of their systems. Again, for nearly two centuries in the future, a lot of the technological development had stagnated. Searching through the Quirk Registry hadn't yielded any result but none of his other methods had struck anything either. And he had looked at the recently dead and/or presumed dead. Sure, he had some leads that looked viable, but he wasn't going to follow those up yet.

He had fixed a few of his most pressing issues the past six months. His ignorance of the local area, the local and national politics and so on. This world supported and had an entire industry catering to making child soldiers and sell their image and reputation to make money and more child soldiers that called themselves Heroes.

His weak ass body no long cried doing daily tasks and only hated him after working out. Yes, Jason was pushing it but he was well aware of how months of preparation could mean shit in the face of seconds.

His infection risk was severely reduced after quick research bender let him make the most generic knock-off brand of the skin restoration goop in a shitty homemade lab. Did it fix his skin being patchwork fucked in places? Some. He wasn't going to get feeling back properly, but at least he looked more normal. Maybe with enough moisturizing he might look a little less Frankenstien's monster.

He also had a cash inflow. It wasn't great, but it supported his apartment. And the second set of papers. And the 2nd apartment.

Which meant in grand old tradition for Jason, time for him to bounce to the next apartment and come up with a new name.

[zaceouiswriting]

New Professor

Characters: Dick Grayson x male, Jason Todd x male, Tim Drake x male

Universe: Somewhere in DC

Warnings: None

The entire class mumbled. After talking about their new professor, they got fired for using drugs in public after their old one. Her actions were unacceptable to the university. But not one single student knew who it was. The university itself held it under lock. Why that was, nobody was really sure, which made all of this so much more enticing.

Maybe a famous person, with a degree? Or a special agent? Maybe even a spy? There weren’t many reasons to hold the information of a new professor under wraps. So, their minds wandered far from the truth.

In the end, they did not even notice someone coming into the room from down where the professor would stand. All of them way too far into their own little worlds and conversations. Which gave that person, enough time to build everything up, get ready, and even write his name on the chalkboard.

Just then, he turned around and clapped once loudly in his hands. Immediately, all eyes flew down, directly to you. A small smile is visible on your perfectly groomed face. „Good morning class, I know it is bright and early. Not all of you are already awake, but please turn it down a notch. My name is (Y/N) or Professor (Y/L/N). I will teach this class at least this year. Hopefully, no incidents will ruin our fun together, okay?“

You turned around and swung the chalkboard up, so everyone could write down your name, only for you to turn around again. „And for the guy, I just met in the toilet. An excellent place to get to know other people, might I add. Yes, I stared at your dick, not because it was that appealing, but because your pubes looked like someone tried to trim it and almost cut the entire thing off. Next time, please be careful.“

For a moment, the entire class was silent. Not knowing how to react to your brutal honesty and savagely. But soon after burst into laughter. It even made your own smile a bit wider.

You let them get everything out, before clapping once more, „Okay that’s enough. Let us begin!“

Maybe it was because you had experience with classrooms already, or cause of the work outside of campuses you have done. The people you met and learned from. But every single person loved the two-hour class you just, had spent together.

Making it boring doesn’t help anyone, so why do it? You guys laughed and even played one or two games, to get the information better in your student's heads. Of course, not all classes could be like this, but sometimes and when it's possible, it should be done that way.

Before you let your pupil go, you had to call out a couple of them. „Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake, please stay behind.“

Especially the guys were confused, one of them even mortified, but no other one really paid any mind to it. Not even after your story at the beginning of class. Most forgotten, just to get remembered later and wondering if the guy you had talked about, was within this small group.

„It is nothing serious guys, relax.“ You smiled at them, as they came to a halt directly at your little podium. Waiting for the last person to leave the room, you immediately turned back to the three guys. „As far as I know, you three are brothers, right?“

The three guys nodded in unison, still confused, except for one. Who looked even more mortified than before, you had called them to you.

„Okay, good Tim here, really needs your help with his self-care. Please show him how to shave, before he does irreparable damage to his own body. I almost feared for his life, when he goes onto me in the toilets and saw his damaged skin.“

Both Dick and Jason looked shocked at their brother, who tried to hide himself away with his hands. „If you guys need tips or… „Help“, just call me, here is my number.“

Before either of the three could say something else, you already were at packing again. Eyes not even met them once more.

Together, the brothers left, confused and with your number in their hands. As Jason looked at his, under your number was only one word written, „Hunk“, at first, he was confused, until he finally understood, that it wasn’t meant innocent.

With a bright grin, he showed it to his brothers. „Look what our hot teacher wants to call me,“ he told them cockily.

Dick, with a satisfied grin, showed him too. As Jason read it, he rolled his eyes, „Stallion? Really? He must be blind, or maybe he gave you the wrong piece of paper?“

Just then he turned the piece around, and showed his first name, „Don’t think so bro. He just knows what he likes.“ His voice arrogantly, knowing how much it would piss him off.

„You don’t even like guys!“, Jason retorted loudly. His anger began to flare up.

Dick just shrugged with his arms, „Don’t care. He is hot, giving him what he wants, could only be profitable for me.“

„What says it on your paper, Tim?“, Jason tried his hardest to get away from Dick and his obvious ego problem.

But Tim said nothing, trying to stuff the paper in his pocket. To his luck, Dick was faster and snatched it out of his hand. „Let’s see… Baby boy?“

While Dick stood there confused, Jason broke out laughing like a maniac. The tallest of the three did not understand it. Was it a joke?

Tim, who already was uncomfortable, tried to get the paperback, but he could see that Dick wanted an explanation. He groaned embarrassed. „He thinks I'm inexperienced and… and-“

„Submissive!“ Jason screamed out laughing. Almost rolling himself over the floor, clutching his sides from the amount he laughed.

Now it was on the tallest to be mortified. He quickly gave the paper back to his smaller brother, which he in return immediately stuffed in his pocket, finally. „Is it true? Are you a baby boy?“

Of course, Dick wanted to know that. He had no experience with any of that and if he hears or sees something, Jason or Tim needed to explain it to him asap. „Yes,“ he mumbled almost silently. Which finally let even Jason shut up.

„Oh fuck, sorry,“ he quickly excused himself. Thinking that you just wanted to make fun of Tim, without knowing that you could see right through the tough guy demeanor he has because of Jason and Dick.

As the three brothers, now in uncomfortable silence, walked back to their car, someone else found something very interesting about you. Another of your students, made it her mission, to expose why the school had made your appearance a secret. And what she found, explained everything and so much more. Already planning, how she could use it to her advantage.

[Masterlist]

[mxtantrights]

the assistant - one

I'm here with another story with the batfam. however none of them are the love interest for the reader. You shall see,,, if you read... hope you enjoy! <3

part two here

It’s 9:03am when you get the email. It’s always 9:03am. Every time.

Mr. Wayne is doing his usual rounds of the office. To those who don’t know him personally, it’s time to be the star-employee. To those who know Bruce, it’s time to socialize about what Gotham’s playboy has been up to since he was last seen. Even though there was probably several magazine covers that could answer that question.

At 9:03am, Roy (security guard extraordinaire) sends you a very formal and very non anxious email to let you know that your big boss is in the building for his monthly rounds. He’s not even nervous, he does it to be funny. It looks something like this every single time:

to : yourname@waynein.co 

oH- your boss’ boss is herE! YOUR BIG BOSS IS HERE! Good mood, smiling, sMOOZING!! 

and you always reply with:  

to : royharper@waynein.co

thanks Roy, lunch later?

Your boss likes to make his rounds with almost everyone. And you work on the same floor as his son, so you see him last. Along with everyone else on your floor. 

At 9:19am Tim Drake comes out of his office and hightails it to yours. Usually he doesn’t wear the dreaded office suit. Usually it’s something bit more comfortable, less showy. But his adoptive father was coming and he always get nervous that something might go wrong.

When he opens your door, after knocking, you see the disheveled hair and the waft of mint gum. To hide his caffeine levels, you assume.

“Tim, nothing has gone wrong in the last twenty four hours. He’s your dad. He just wants to show face and leave.” you say.

He lets out a breath of relief. But like always he needs more. So he sits in the chair across from you and your desk. You take a second to peel your eyes off the computer screen for a moment. Your fingers stay moving, typing out the address to the sandwich shop for later today. 

“Tell me again. Please.” he says as you look at him.

You stop typing. 

“You know that nothing has gone wrong because your a bit of a control freak and you have managed everything down to the last minute detail. You’re doing great.” you say.

He nods, “Thanks again.”

by 9:21am Bruce Wayne is on your floor. And Tim leaves your office to greet him. Your phone rings, like usual. You pick it up knowing exactly who it is.

“How do you manage to call at the right time every time?” you ask.

“I don’t know it’s like I have someone in the building that tell me these things. Huh.” Jason says.

“Okay smart-ass.” you say.

“Anyways, how is work?” 

“Fine. Except your dad is a dilf and a distraction.”

“Please- how many times do I have to-”

“You ask me every time, and yet here we are. Funny how that works.”

There’s some moving in the background and you swear you can hear another voice with him. But you decide not to say anything over the phone. He might be at ‘work’ as you both like to call it.

“ANYWAYS, anything interesting happen today?” he asks.

“Didn’t I- you’re dad’s here. That’s the talk of the building, Jay.” you say.

There's more shuffling on the other end of the line, but he makes a noise that suggests that he did in fact hear you. But he’s obviously busy. You’re about to telling him to just call you back later when he answers.

“How’s Tim-bo doing?” 

“You know he’s spinning out a bit. But I think I calmed him down. Why are you asking for the run down, you know exactly how this goes down every time. It’s kinda weird.” you say.

He laughs, “I just think today might be a bit different.” 

You’re eyes squint at his words.

“Different how Todd?” 

“Oof, last name. I hit a nerve.” 

“Jason.”

“It’s nothing bad. When have I ever steered you wrong-”

“that time-”

“You know what I don’t know why I said that but suddenly I’ve got to go now and you’re breaking up and yeah buhbye-” Jason says.

He ends the call.

You put the phone down on your desk and sit there. What could he have planned? If there was one way to pick his mind it would be to talk to his partner in crime.

You pull up your email on your computer screen.

to : royharper@waynein.co

Jason was being weird on our call. what's about to happen? 

You click send and the whoosh sound fills the room. Instead of trying to get some work done you wait for him to answer. It would be quick anyways. Unless he was actually doing his own-

From: royharper@waynein.co

nothing he’s just trying to put you on edge. about lunch tho can we raincheck??

You’re about to write out a response when you hesitate. You don’t know why but you do. Your fingers hover above the keyboard and you look like an actual idiot. So then you curse yourself and type out a response.

to : royharper@waynein.co

yeah sure. you’re good!! is everything ok?

You truly hope everything is okay. and you also think about how you could text him and it would be quicker and you would actually have the message bubbles to look at instead of just a still screen as he answers.

from : royharper@waynein.co

yea yea. something came up. promise I'll make it up to you.

Now you really are worrying. Roy wasn’t one to overshare but he did share with you. Whether it came to building gossip, whatever the two of you were having for lunch or any very niche thought he had. 

This generalization felt weird. It’s not like you didn’t want him to have his privacy. He’s a grown man and he’s got the things going on in his life. But you guess- you don’t know what you guessed.

to : royharper@waynein.co

okay. if you need help with anything just txt me.

you sigh.

from : royharper@waynein.co

always. thankz.

With that, you exit out of your email and pull up your actual work. This weeks assignment enclosed looking over the small details for an upcoming board meeting. You’re used to it, two years at this company and you know the ins and outs.

It’s about thirty minutes of scanning for discrepancies when there is a knock on your door. You figure it’s Tim, always the polite one to knock before he enters. But the door doesn’t open.

“It’s open!” you shout.

And like some sick twist of fate, Bruce freakin Wayne opens your door. When you called him a diff to Jason you honestly meant it. And that’s why Jason prefers you don’t joke about his dad because he knows there is a part of you, very small but still apparent, that is not joking.

“Hi there.” he says

You shoot out of your chair, practically knocking over your whole desk when you do, “Hi Mr.Wayne.”

“Please, you’ve been here for two years. Call me Bruce.” he says.

You smile. There are so many jokes going through your mind right now. Jokes that would make Jason choke on his own spit. But you don’t say them out loud. It’s his dad. You’re not one of those Gotham piranhas that circle the Wayne family and ogle them.

“How can I help you, sir.” you say.

There was no way in hell you were calling him Bruce.

“I was just making my rounds, as usual, when I realized it’s been a while since we’ve chatted.” he says.

If by a while he means a whole three months then yes, it’s been a while. Three months ago at a Wayne gala that you were invited to by Tim and brought Roy to as your plus one, even though you were a plus one already. The same gala where you looked at Roy for a few moments too long and realized that you wound’t mind being more than friendly with him-

“Yes it has. How is everything?” you ask.

He nods his head, and moves to take a seat in front of you. But you notice that he waits for you to take your seat before he takes his own. Prim and Proper Mr.Wayne.  It makes you want to laugh but you can’t- he’s your boss!

“Everything is going well. How about you? Anything exciting?” he asks.

You chuckle at that a bit, “Sir, I think you get up to more exciting things than me.” 

“I think that’s untrue. My life is very boring, meanwhile you are a young woman. You must get into some trouble from time to time.” he says.

something in you is questioning him. But you’re not a hundred percent sure in your questioning to call out your boss. Yet. 

“Legal trouble or relationship trouble?” 

He laughs, “I hope it’s the later and not the former.”

“Oh well, not as much. Men in Gotham are... I’m sure there’s a word but I’m pretty sure I shouldn't say it to my boss.” you say.

“Oh-so, you aren’t seeing anyone right now?”

There it is.

Your boss was wondering if you were seeing someone. Why would he do that?Why would your boss be wondering who you swapped spit with? A thought flashes through your mind and you shoot it down instantly. It can’t be.

“No sir. It’s been a while.” you say.

He nods his head and you can see him smile a bit. Okay- maybe that thought you just pushed away wasn’t that far fetched.

“I think you’ll find the one. Gotham is many things you know.” he says.

Okay, the dilf jokes were fun to annoy Jason with but this is... is this actually happening to you or did you accidentally ingest some hallucinogens? He stands up, as if to leave and it makes you stand too.

He is halfway over to the door when you get the courage.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” you start and he turns back to you, “you can totally fire me if I’m crossing a line but, were you trying to ask me out or something?” 

His eyes go wide like saucers. And then you realize you’ve made a big mistake. He wasn’t. Your boss totally wasn’t trying to ask you out and you just put your foot in your mouth and now you were totally fired right?

“No!” he shouts. Then he seems to realize he shouted. 

He puts his hands up surrender, “Not that- you’re a wonderful girl but that’s not why I was asking about your love life.”

“But you were asking about my love life.” you say.

He winces, “I think I’m gonna leave before I give something away.” 

He waves and scurries off like a child with stolen candy. You are left standing there, confused and cheeks a bit warm.

WHY WAS BRUCE WAYNE ASKING ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE?

[mzminola]

Got reminded of this, so, okay, how do we not just have Tim dying while Dick is Batman, but specifically in this era of Robin costume?

We scrunch up the timeline right at the end of the Robin 1993 run is how. Ulysses “the General” Armstrong has stolen Anarky’s suit and is planting bombs, there’s a manipulated gang war, Spoiler is hiring assassins to attack Robin & working with Armstrong in the name of following Bruce’s orders to toughen Tim up.

Except before Armstrong turns on Stephanie & she ditches that part of the plan, the alien invasion with Darkseid & the turbo depression equation happens. Tim has not yet been caught in an explosion, so he’s still fighting in the Tribute To Superboy Robin suit.

Bruce is kerblooey’d back in time, the crisis is ended, and in the aftermath, Spoiler quietly cancels any remaining assassin contracts on Robin and blocks Armstrong’s number. All the regular Gotham shit got put on hold during the alien invasion, including the gang war and bombs. Stephanie hopes to just sweep that whole mistake under the rug without anyone knowing. Sure, it was on orders from Bruce, but the orders were kinda vague and he’s dead now.

Battle for the Cowl happens, but since Tim is not in recovery from explosion-burns, he holds his own better and doesn’t get stabbed in the chest with a batarang. Jason just winds up kicking him off a precipice in that subterranean lair & scampering off to lose at mind games with Dick.

Damian, however, still got shot, which means there’s still the presumed canonical time lapse between when BftC ends and Red Robin 2009 begins. During this time Tim is increasingly attached to his theory that Bruce is alive. Tim can leave at any time to pursue ths theory since, you know, no puncture wound that needs healing.

Dick asks Tim to stay. Yes, Dick has already decided to make Damian Robin, the suit is in progress, and Tim is devastated, but Damian isn’t healed from that gunshot yet and Dick needs Tim. Can he at least, please, stay that long?

Tim agrees to stay.

Meanwhile, it turns out Armstrong was just taking some time to figure out what did & did not change thanks to the alien invasion, and starts up his bombing spree again. It was Tim’s case before, so he jumps right back into the investigation. If he’d left to find Bruce, like he wanted, Dick would be the one investigating.

Stephanie still has not told anyone of her previous involvement. Not anything she learned, not anything Armstrong learned, because she has no way of explaining her knowledge without admitting her mistake.

Consequently, Armstrong gets the jump on Tim.

Robin is captured and beaten to death by the General.

Dick might get there in time to disarm the bomb, or haul Tim out of the building before it blows, but he might not. Tim’s dead either way. Dick has a complete fucking breakdown.

Stephanie, horrified & guilty, rushes off to stop Armstrong, like when she tried to stop War Games after starting it. Spoiler catches the General and beats him nearly to death, only stopping herself because of Tim’s no kill rule. Armstrong goes to jail.

Dick blames both himself & Stephanie for what happened to Tim. He has some complicated feelings about her reining herself in, when he wasn’t able to rein himself in during the Joker’s Last Laugh debacle. There is a lot of yelling, crying, deliberately hurtful words, frag-grenade style blame sharing, and rehashing old wounds.

Stephanie does not become Batgirl, though whether she continues as Spoiler is dealer’s choice.

Thanks to the animated adaptations of Under the Red Hood using the greenless Robin uniform that Tim wears in the animated series and post-Kon’s-death in the Preboot era comics, my brain parsed the first image in this set not as Bruce and Jason, but as Dick and Tim.

Which is. Very ouch.

[butwhyduh]

Peeping through the stacks

Jason todd x reader

Valentine’s fic

Warning: smut

I recommend the book I mentioned if you like the classics.

“I have a proposition,” Jason said and your eyebrows rose. “Not that kind. We separate. I grab you a book and you get me one. And we meet up afterwards to go to dinner to see what we got. No cheating. No following each other around. Whoever gives the better gift, wins and gets to control the rest of the night.”

“Sounds like plan. Just know Todd,” you said moving up in his space standing on your tiptoe to talk in his ear. “I’m going to crush you.”

“Only if you win, baby. Only if you win,” he said with a smirk. He opened the door to the largest used bookstore in Gotham. 3 stories with a section of just records and another of old comics, it was heaven. They even had a coffee shop in the back of the second story. You went left and he went right.

You went straight for the classics. Jason would pour over old novels for hours and his favorite were clearly dog eared. You thought about replacing them but, while he’s appreciate it, it wasn’t exactly exciting. You milled around the area, looking at books that were nice but not it. As you moved to leave the area, a section caught your eyes.

If you love the classics but need a book written in the last 50 years:

This is what you needed. A careful list of books that you like next to new books was perfect. Jason had been reading his copy of Moby Dick and talking about the hubris of man recently, heavily alluding to Bruce. You grabbed the recommended book: In the Heart of the Sea.

Now to find Jason. You had agreed to no cheating but it wasn’t really cheating to just watch him if you had already picked. He was probably in your favorite area and you walked upstairs to watch down low.

Jason was holding two books in hand and looking between them both. You felt a thrill to watch him. He almost always caught you quickly but the store with multiple patrons and levels must have thrown him off a little. He finally grabbed a book and looked directly up at you with a smirk. You threw your fist playfully. He’s certainly caught you. You came downstairs with a grin.

“I knew you were watching me. That’s cheating,” he said. You held the book behind your back as you kissed his cheek.

“It’s not cheating if I didn’t change my book,” you protested and he kissed your forehead.

“Tell yourself that. Let’s check out and then I can win,” he said, wrapping an arm over your shoulder and walking to the counter. You both laid them down, face down because you’re competitive, and paid. You carried two separate bags and held hands as you walked down to a little cafe on the corner.

The place had the coolest vibes. Fresh coffee day and night, records and music memorabilia on the wall, and a band of musician played on a tiny stage every night. Valentine’s was no exception. You found a table in the back and promptly ordered your favorites from the menu.

“Okay. Show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” you said with a grin.

“I thought we’d wait until tonight to do that,” Jason said with a roguish wink. “Oh, you mean the books. Yeah, let’s swap.”

You gave him his bag and he yours. It almost looked like a drug deal if it wasn’t books. You pulled out the book. A continuation of a series you loved but had a hard time finding the next parts. Jason pulled out his and read the back.

“Okay, you won,” you said with a teasing scrunch of your face. “This is really great.”

“This looks great. But you did cheat too...” he said pretending to take his time deciding. “I guess I’ll take the win. But it was pretty close, I’m not going to lie.”

“Don’t rub it in.”

“Seriously, I can’t wait to bore you with more whaling facts.”

“I’m taking it back,” you said and he laughed. “I can’t learn anymore. I’m not kidding.” Jason’s eyes smiled too and you loved the sight. He looked happy. You food arrived and a folk band started playing.

As your food dwindled and it was fully dark outside, Jason’s gaze lingered on your body. His hand sat on your knee as you talked.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said randomly and you exhaled quickly with a shy smile as you looked away. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Okay,” you said, letting him pull you from the cafe and a few blocks down. Jason pulled you close and rubbed his nose against your cheek. You turned your head up to close the space between your lips. It started as soft, gentle, cute. But Jason gripped your hips and pulled you closer and you wrapped your arms around his neck and before you knew it, you were being pushed against a wall as he kissed down your throat. You made soft sounds as he nipped and kissed the sensitive skin.

“Jason,” you said breathlessly. He hummed against your skin. “Take me home. Take me home.”

You ran your hands along the muscles under his shirt as you rode behind him on the motorcycle. Jason insisted on helmets and you wished you could kiss at the back of his neck. Probably best. Your hands on his stomach were distracting enough.

Jason barely drove the bike into the parking garage of his building before pulling off his helmet and turning towards you. You did the same. Neither of you climbed off as you made out. His tongue slid in your mouth as his hands held the back of your skull in place. He reached behind him to turn it off as you kissed.

“Upstairs,” you breathed. He nodded before getting up and picking you up. You wrapped your legs around his waist and kissed his neck as you walked towards the elevator. The knee high slit in your skirt had scooted up to expose most of your thigh. Luck was on your side as no one was around to watch but security must have gotten a great show with the pair of you aggressively kissing. Jason pressed your back against the wall in the elevator as you rode up to his floor.

He carried you down the hall. You were less lucky as your elderly neighbor was sitting in the end of the hallway as she always did everyday. She’d watch the sunset and people watch everyone coming home from work or school. She giggled and looked away. Jason put you down the second you both realized and you flushed with embarrassment.

“Don’t worry sweetie, I was married once. Happy Valentine’s,” she said with a big smile looking out the window. Jason quickly pulled you in the apartment.

“I forgot about her,” he said. “Gross part is that she’s probably thinking about her dead husband and all the times he used to rail her.”

You glared at Jason. “That’s.... so gross. Why? Like you ruined it. Your dirty mouth.”

“I can get it a little dirtier,” he said with a wink but ruined by bursting into laughter. “Like do old people blow each other? Can their hips bend that much? I know their knees are bad. What age did they have to give them up?”

“Shut the fuck up. That’s so gross,” you said putting you hand over his mouth and he laughed before pulling you close.

“You look really pretty tonight. I forgot to tell you because I kept staring at you,” he said with a soft look. He bent and kissed you sweetly. Not rushed or hard like earlier. He slowly pulled you to the bedroom. You pulled each other’s clothing off as you walked. Shirt here. Pants there.

“Thank you. You look good too,” you said as you pulled the bedroom door closed. Jason rolled his eyes. He never agreed with you but had given up on arguing.

Jason pulled you on top of him in bed. His nose ran up your throat until his lips met yours. He was slow and deliberate in his movement. His hands roamed your body as you moved your legs to straddle him. You didn’t bother teasing either of you but instead sunk down on him.

“Princess,” he breathed with closed eyes. You sat for just a moment, get used to him, before starting to move. You bent at the waist to give him long deep sloppy kisses. “Baby,” he pleaded before you started moving.

“Remember, I won,” Jason said.

“Yeah,” you asked with a grin. “What do you want, Jaybird?”

“This. Keep riding me. You look so good,” he said breathlessly. His hands gripped your hips as you bounced. He grimaced as you swirled your hips. “Fuck!”

“Oh we like that,” you commented. He chuckled distractedly. Jason pulled you down to where he could kiss and nip at your chest. You whined as he took your nipple in his mouth. He let go with a loud smack.

“Mmm someone seems to like that,” he quipped. You pressed yourself back towards his face and he chuckled against your skin before giving your breasts the attention you wanted.

“I love your Valentine’s gift. You’re so thoughtful,” you said breathlessly. Jason looked up at you confused.

“Yeah no problem. Is now the time?” He asked with his eyes half closed and mouth open as he breathed heavily. His hips jumped to meet yours and he reached a hand down to rub circles on your clit. You moaned loudly and he smiled as he watched you come undone. He thrust your faster to finish with you. You both moved together jumpily as you buried your head in his neck. You breathed for a few second before softly kissing his lips.

“I seriously loved today,” you said.

“Yeah, I’m glad. Me too. Surprised that no one call-“ Jason started before his phone rang and he sighed. “At least we finished. I’ve got to take this,” he said and you rolled off and curled in the blanket. He answered the phone as he threw on boxer briefs. He looked at you wistfully as he talked. It sounded important.

“My source said Black Mask is getting a shipment early this morning so I’ve got to go. We can’t have those guns on the street,” Jason said after hanging up. He leaned over to give you a dizzying kiss. “I’ve got to go but here is your book and a glass of water. Don’t stay up. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“Be safe,” you said before he climbed out the window.

“Aren’t I always,” he said and you just knew he was grinning under the helmet before jumping from a 6 story window. No, you thought, no you aren’t.

[umbran6]

The Argument Against Caleo

Spoilers up to Blood of Olympus and beyond. Beware! (Or not, the book series has been out for a few years, get over it). I wrote this after seeing a user wondering why people didn’t like Caleo, or in some cases, hated it. Here, I want to explain the answer as much as possible while doling out my own points. 

One of the main grievances I have as a fan of Leo Valdez would be the ship Caleo, or Leo x Calypso. It’s a complicated ship, to say the least, with multiple issues that make me question why people like the ship. And I admit it, they initially had some chemistry, but there’s multiple issues that Uncle Rick produced through making such a relationship that makes it extremely open to criticism, criticism which I will explain through this post.

One of my main points against them is that the ship was created on a very limited time scale. Although we aren’t given an exact date to date of when Leo and Calypso met to when they fell in love, we can safely estimate it to be a week at best. Such a limited amount of time from going through the multiple stages of a relationship already stresses the limits of the suspension of disbelief.

A counterexample would be Percabeth, or Percy x Annabeth. Throughout the series, we aren’t introduced to them being romantically involved until the Titan’s Curse, which was two years after they met. Specifically, this is brought up by Aphrodite, the goddess of love herself. Admittedly, Percy and Annabeth were twelve years old when they first met, when romance was definitely out of the picture, especially with a quest to get the Master Bolt.

However, from there we get to see multiple examples of their character depth, ranging from their respective fatal flaws to their ambitions, hopes and dreams, and their friendship. We get to see the slow build up of their chemistry, which was a really good writing move on Uncle Rick’s part. These characters took their sweet time to get to where they wanted to go, and despite the false romantic lead of Rachel, they still got together.

On the other hand, we don’t see enough of this between Leo and Calypso — we only see one book where they interacted with each other in The House of Hades, and that was only for a handful of chapters. While they are definitely older so they can jump straight to romance (some may say too old, but I’ll get to that) its still a pretty huge gap to jump through without making it stick. This makes it hard to root for a ship when it is built on a rather faulty foundation from the ‘they just met’ to ‘they get together’, especially when they don’t have a lot of events to show their chemistry.

Which brings me to Ogygia, which has raised a few red flags for me when looking at it from a retrospective point of view. Now, we know what the main issue of the island is that the hero who landed on said island can’t leave until Calypso falls in love with them. And we’ve seen this with Percy during the Battle of the Labyrinth, where he lands in the island and Calypso falls in love with him while tending to his wounds from, you know, being erupted from freaking Mt. St. Helens. Needless to say, this falling in love with each other montage happened quickly to the point of suspicion, which sets up the complication that Calypso and Leo might have fallen in love due to magical intervention.

And hear me out, because although this  might be a pretty big pill to swallow, we have evidence for this through Percy. It only takes one chapter for Calypso and Percy to meet, and the next he’s willing to consider leaving Camp Half-Blood and Annabeth behind to live on the island when Hephaestus gives him the choice to leave Ogygia or stay. We don’t even get an explanation on why Percy considered giving it all up just so he can be with her. All we know is, girl meets boy, now they want to live on an isolated island forever. It’s especially absurd considering Percy’s hamartia (fatal flaw) is freaking loyalty to those he loves.  Needless to say, It’s a huge YIKES, especially when we apply it to Leo and Calypso. 

It also raises the possibility that the romantic relationship between them is doomed to failure. And if you guys want to fight me on this, let’s look at Jason and Piper, a couple whose relationship started with a similar foundation. Piper had romantic memories implanted into her brain by Hera through the use of the Mist, while Jason was reduced to a Tabula Rasa (a blank slate for those who lack culture) by said goddess. They broke up before the Trials of Apollo because it was clear that when the dust settled, Piper had been aware that their romance was a lie and that their intentions to stay together was a mix of delusion and pressure from freaking Aphrodite. Leo and Calypso get together under what is arguably a very similar set of conditions if Ogygia’s magic had any influence on their relationship, and that this magic could wear off if given enough time. 

Third, and here’s a pretty big one for me, would be Calypso’s character, mainly because there are a lot of unfortunate implications attached to it. In The Blood of Olympus, she was turned into the divine equivalent of Princess Peach, with Leo being her Mario (except he saves her with a badass metal dragon). Its extremely unnecessary to make a character, especially as one such as Calypso, get  turned into the typical reward of a B-Class action movie. It’s insulting and puts her up as a trophy, a narrative that is definitely not ok by any means necessary.

In another direction, Calypso is also really, really worrying when things don’t go get her way. First, let’s look at The Odyssey, the first myth she pops up. Calypso had imprisoned Odysseus for ten years on her island until Hermes said to let him go, and although it gives them plenty of time to fall in love, it also raises the implications of stockholm syndrome. Then we’ve got the fact that Calypso cursed Annabeth out of spite, implicitly saying that she wished the daughter of Athena would suffer the same isolation that she did, which came to reality when Percy and Annabeth met the Arai in Tartarus. And Annabeth wasn’t even aware that she was still in Ogygia, much less intentionally intervened in the matter. When Percy left Ogygia, rather than be angry at Percy, Calypso cursed Annabeth out of all people to suffer the same loneliness and misery she went through. That’s some Hera at her worst levels of spite. 

Through such evidence we can see that Calypso is extremely wrathful towards those who break her heart even though they don’t want to. It certainly implies that Calypso isn’t in a good state of mind, and could easily repeat said actions if provoked. We could almost compare it to Medea and the original Jason, but at least in that case, Medea has every right to be pissed off at Jason and take her revenge. Calypso’s curse and how she handles things certainly implies a level of immaturity that would end in disaster if they broke up.

One issue that, I’ll admit is more from my personal point of view is that the ship took a lot of Leo’s character and threw it in the garbage in Blood of Olympus. Though we see him do a lot of stuff behind the scenes, the fact that its all for the goal of reaching Calypso just reduced him to someone who is more focused on love than, you know, fighting the evil goddess that was responsible for killing his mom and getting sweet sweet revenge. While the revenge plot can be cliched sometimes, it can be played well, while romance and the typical ‘always save the girl’ trope is just overdone. If Leo had been allowed to, you know, be more focused on other things rather than Calypso, we could have seen a lot more variety in his character.

For example as one of the possible character arcs he could’ve gone through, Leo has always been alone among the couples, often being isolated. Heck, Nemesis herself stated that he would always be the seventh wheel, and that he would never find a place among his brethren. Though some fellow tumblr users have taken this in multiple ways, either saying that he should learn to be happy by himself or that he is socially isolated in the Argo II because of these romantic relationships (I prefer a mix of both). Uncle Rick just giving him a girlfriend seems like taking the easy way out of solving such an issue and abandoning what could’ve been a rather interesting character arc. The relationship isn’t a bad thing if we remove some of the unfortunate implications, but it is a bad way to end what is a complex and realistic problem for a character and in some cases maybe possible in real life.

One more minor but still yikes worthy point is that there’s a huge age gap between them. We’re not talking about the ‘Hazel is 15 and Frank is 17 and in one year that’ll be a problem because then Hazel will be jailbait’ age gap. And even then, we can argue that Hazel is older since she is chronologically ninety-one years old. No, Calypso is older by millennia in terms of mindset and body due to the perks of being a goddess, while Leo is sixteen.

God-to-Mortal relationships are already complicated, even with emotionally and socially well-functioning adults. The fact that Leo is underage, inexperienced with romance (despite his flirting, Calypso was his first kiss), and has been through a freaking ton of trauma in his youth, does not make this okay. At best, they’re both mutually interested in each other but may have different expectations when it comes to a relationship. At worst, Calypso is taking advantage of a boy just so she can get out of Ogygia and possibly dumping him later on like the wrapping of a candy bar. Even though Calypso lost her immortality during The Trials of Apollo, that doesn’t even compensate for the immense age gap alongside Leo’s guilt at the possibility that he might’ve been responsible for her losing said immortality.

Oh, and about Leo... I’m a fan of him, but I can admit that he is in a bad spot both mentally and emotionally throughout the series. He’s lost his mom due to a mix of his own powers and Gaea’s trickery, and never had the chance to fully process that event and come to terms with it. The foster home system alongside his own trauma has forced him to hide his emotions through a façade of happiness and jokes when it’s quite clear to me he needs a therapist, stat. He's also run away from several foster homes, implying this means he was and still is being affected by the event. His mask is still on during The Blood of Olympus considering he hid a lot of things from Piper and Jason.

Speaking about them, not helping this matter is the fact that he’s rather isolated in terms of friendships since Jason and Piper, his supposed best friends are more interested in locking lip rather than, you know, actually hanging out with each other.  He doesn’t have good friendships with the rest of the Seven, and the closest ones he does have is with Hazel and Frank. And even then they start off in the wrong spot since Frank is very insecure about possibly losing Hazel to him during Mark of Athena while Hazel in the meantime, is also dealing with the fact that he is the descendant of her possible boyfriend Sammy Valdez. 

This could indirectly have made him desperate for affection since he has nobody else to confide in during the rest of the series, which is a bad mental state to be in when one lands on Ogygia, the island that we’ve seen could possibly force two people to fall in love with each other. A romantic relationship is not something that he needs or something that will help him in the future. He needs more than that, and having him in one that could end in disaster is the last thing he needs. 

And that does not make him a bad person, much less a bad character. While some who are similarly emotionally and socially isolated may turn to violence or creepy behavior on those they want affection from, Leo does not do that to the other characters. It just means that he as a character needs more time to recover and develop before we go giving him romantic relationships, much less one with Calypso.

That’s not to say that they don’t have some things in common. Both are starved for love and affection, with Calypso being constantly rejected by heroes while Leo was rejected by foster homes and his own family. It’s a trait that they have in common, but it shouldn’t be the only thing that they have in common, especially since it is laced with a trauma that is clear they haven’t had help processing. They need to develop more as characters and as friends before they should be paired together.

So… yeah. The Caleo relationship is, in my eyes, doomed to failure, or at least heavily flawed after taking the above points into account. Uncle Rick, as if seemingly aware of these criticisms, has put the relationship in a rocky place by The Tower of Nero, giving them the possibility of overcoming the above criticisms and their own flaws, or giving fanfic writers an out and pairing Leo with another character or have him single, but happy. Either way, in my opinion Caleo is a bad ship when it comes to how it was created, alongside the flaws and unfortunate implications it has.

While I can see some of the chemistry the ship has, you can’t just use a couple of moments where they get along as evidence that they belong together, especially with the above reasons. That’s like using a band-aid to cover a bullet hole without removing the bullet, stopping the bleeding, and preventing infection. If both characters and their relationship had been given more time to develop, I would understand how they would get together.