#unfortunately for him the next time they meet jason is in his red hood get up

[killishin]

— ♡ right person at the right time.

PART 02.

pairing: jason todd x reader

category: lots of fluff, angst, he fell first she fell harder kinda trope, sfw, thinking of making this a slow burn but we'll see.

content warning: afab, mention of death (reader's mother), violence here and there, blood.

summary: reader's just a normal citizen of Gotham, scrambling to making ends meet. after a fateful encounter, when he saw the reader kick ass and save a life- he can't get them off his mind. and fate just keeps pulling them together forcing him to do something about it.

a/n: right now i wanna make this as sweet and lighthearted as possible, but i have a soft side for angst :) updates can become slow since my exams are coming up.

wc: 4.8k

masterlist. fic masterlist. previous. next.

dividers by @cafekitsune

"you've gotta be kidding me.." jason muttered under his breath as he looked at you, infront of the counter, desperately finding your purse because your card just declined.

normally he didn't really come to cafés, he'd much rather either sleep in or anything but places that involved people. jason wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, but he hates the way he towers over people. being red hood, its advantageous, helps get shit done without even lifting a finger— thats where intimidation helps. there he's proud to be built like this. but as just jason, he sees the apprehensive looks, the judgy middle aged aunties suspicious looks all because he's a big guy who looks rough around the edges. it irks him truly, his body subconsciously tries to shrink as if that would do much.

unfortunately, dick was in a mood for brotherly bonding, as he worded it, and somehow getting a coffee together is bonding. and to make matters worse (or better?) he sees you, someone he has just spent weeks scrubbing off his mind. he succeeded too! (barely), yet now its down the drain as his eyes stayed glued to you while his hand twitched— to do something. save you this time, not from danger but he has a feeling embarrassment is somehow worse for you than almost getting shot.

dick comes back from the washroom, his brows furrowed as he looks at you at the counter, "i can just sense the embarrassment—" and then he pauses because what the hell is his brother doing?

jason steps forward, passing the annoyed people glaring daggers at you and gave the staff a nod, "I'll pay for her." he said politely, handing her the card. he was really trying his goddamn best not to look at you.

you stopped and raised your head to look at your saviour but realised that maybe the kind man was actually irritated enough that he'd rather pay for you than wait. horror and embarrassment seeped in as you took back your card from the staff.

"i am so so sorry for the hold up i caused— i- i honestly don't know why this was—" you begin to hurriedly apologise and he waves a hand, giving a smile that he hopes is at least polite.

"its alright. you don't need to apologise."

"no its not. do you come here often?" you requested and his eyes widened, tip of the ears going red as his brain practically shut down.

"oh wait no—" your eyes widened in horror as you shook your head, "no i meant– to pay you back. i would like to buy you a coffee someday as a payback." you explained, your hands becoming more animated.

upon realisation, his heart slowed down and he huffed out a chuckle, shaking his head slightly. "no that's not necessary." but then he paused as he observed you with a small amused smile, "but i don't think you're going to back down so okay."

that pulls out a sheepish smile from you, " so uh when are you free? next weekend uh..?" you asked politely, taking your coffee and immediately step out of the line, trying your best to ignore the loud sighs.

he doesn't what he's feeling. this wasn't how it was supposed to be. he was set on forgetting you— and he almost did, yet now here he is, planning a date.

no its not a date wtf—

"jason." he replied, "and im sorry but i really don't know if I'd be free on the weekend." he can't say why of course, he could have just lied and then ghosted you. that would have been for the best... yet he's aiming for something else.

"oh." your smile fell a bit before you looked up at him again, "is it alright to exchange numbers then? you could text me when you're free." you suggested and hoped he doesn't see you as a creep.

...that's exactly what he was aiming for.

"you really don't need to pay me back but.." he huffs out a smile as he scratches the back of his head, "i guess you won't take that as an answer so gimme your phone."

you take that time to really look at the stranger, he's really tall and built like a truck. you supposed most men in that size were intimidating as fuck but this man is anything but. you would swoon over him, you are, but its practically overshadowed by the persistent embarrassment.

he looked back up at you as he handed you your phone back and you quickly averted your eyes down at your phone. "jason." you murmured before looking up at him, smiling warmly, "thanks a lot jason, i'll hope to pay you back for the coffee soon, i promise."

"no rush, its okay. I'll text you when im free for that coffee." he nodded back at you and stared at your back as you found the literal corner of the cafe. you were going to stay but you were also too tired to leave just yet— so you shrunk yourself as much as you could, opening your laptop while sipping on your coffee. you could feel the stares— even his for that matter, but it wasn't as heavy and uncomfortable as others. like the show's over guys mind your own buisness?

you pushed the feel of discomfort out of you and focused on something better— good. bluish green. his eyes were kinda green, kinda blue you couldn't really see well, not only was he very tall but you were far too embarrassed to look at that handsome gentleman's eyes. but even the slightest glimpse of it stuck to the very nerves of your brain.

and so when you steeled yourself, taking a deep breath and encouraging yourself through yet another potential embarrassment, you stole a glance at him. right as you did, he quickly averted his gaze— his whole head actually as he started walking back to his spot.

you quickly looked back too, missing the way his jaw clenched— hands twitched, clenching and unclenching.

when he came back in line to stand beside dick he rolled his eyes, biting back a groan, "don't even—"

"its alright. you don't need to apologise." dick immediately mimicked with a cheshire smile, poking Jason's side while the other glared back at him. "i was just helping. thats all."

"yeah right." he scoffed, rolling his eyes, "sure you were. cus you're such a gentleman."

"no she was holding the line. and i need to get this stupid bonding time over with— thats why i helped." jason retorted defensively causing dick to gasp, feigning offense.

"did you just call our time stupid?!"

"i am never hanging out with you."

"heartbreak!"

"i am gonna strangle you—"

"hey pa." you said softly, the dim light of your monitor illuminating the paper cup that is in your hand, the one you're staring at. it wasn't the same from that day of course, but now whenever you buy coffee from a cafe your mind can't help but go back to him.

you were doing a personal project currently, amp up your skills but mostly to have fun. animating has been something your dad introduced you to when you were just a teen, and you turned into your livelihood.

"how's everything going? are you doing okay at work?" your dad asked, your lips twitching in amusement as you could sense the concern raging in his mind.

"its good dad. im doing fine." your thumb rubs at the seam of the cup, your mind partially elsewhere, the stranger— jason, to be specific.

"you're lying aren't you?" your dad sighed, "are you struggling with expenses? i can help you know— if you're forcing yourself in that job all because of the expenses—"

"calm down dad." you laugh quietly as you gently throw the cup in the bin beside your table, and then looking at your monitor, eyeing your current project. "its honestly not that bad. anyways, how's alyssa?"

"since when do you care about her?" your father snorted, his voice suddenly quiet and hushed, didn't want the missus hearing any of that.

"i was just being nice!" you scoffed out, but he is right, you were just making small talk. "she's alright. less moody and smiles more, so definitely better." he paused, as if debating, "we went on a date yesterday."

your father was an introvert like you, or well you got it from him maybe. he's always preferred to stay indoors, your mother was the wild one. she respected dad's boundaries but with her, your dad didn't mind going out of his comfort zone.

so you're glad he's becoming the old him again, even if its with alyssa.

your eyes lit up a bit, even though alyssa's the cause, you like that little giddiness in his voice. "that's wonderful! where'd you go?"

"nothing just exploring the town. oh yes! we went into a bar and danced a bit—"

"you danced?!"

"yeah why don't you shout and tell your neighbours too while you're at it?" your dad scolded you sarcastically and you grinned while you did your work.

"..yeah we did." he sighed and you could hear the smile on his face, "i wish you were here, to see that side of her. you would like her i know."

"hm its okay. you like her, that's enough." you doubt you'd ever like her as much your dad wanted you to but he doesn't need to know that.

after talking for a while you hung up and yawned as you leaned back in your squeaking chair, causing you to grimace.

your stared mindlessly at the screen before flashes of his face came to your mind. you smiled to yourself as you thought back to that encounter, you still don't go to that cafe. it was your favourite one and it kills you that you can't go– but you still feel self conscious whenever you go there or at least try to.

you had tried finding that man on socials, thinking he'd have a hell ton of following if he does indeed post. but came up with nothing, and you just assumed he didn't use much social. you had thought about texting him but it felt rather awkward to, since its been almost a week he hasn't responded to your 'hi', assuming he forgot about it or well, ignored it.

but really, what would you even say? your confidence isn't that high either that you could maybe 'rizz' him through texts, so to your dismay, you left it at that. just a memory that shows humanity ain't dead yet.

you got up while scratching your stomach, you should be sleeping but its a weekend and unfortunately for your body, you're yet to care about your messed up sleep schedule.

entering your kitchen you open your fridge, not bothering to switch on the lights. you rummage through a bit, fridge, cabinets— before simply settling on some noodles.

you took out a saucepan, about to switch on the light—

THUMP!

your body froze, blood running cold. that definitely came from your balcony. you know it did. sweat immediately formed on your forehead as you gripped the handle of the saucepan. there's no mistaking it— you're not gonna be one of the dumb ones from those horror movies. you keep your body absolutely steady and still as you take out a kitchen knife slowly, slowly—

"ugh— CLANK!"

that is definitely someone in your balcony. you almost let out a whimper, biting your lips hard. you start praying internally as you hold back tears. with a silent, deep breath you slowly turn around and flinch when you see the silhouette of someone. you still can't make it out accurately, you don't quite have a proper line of sight of your balcony but its closer to you than your room is, un-fucking-fortunately.

you slowly inch out of your kitchen, knife in one hand and saucepan in another. you almost felt like rapunzel and you would have laughed at yourself had it not been a really dire situation. because chances are, whoever that is, definitely isn't your flynn rider.

your hands were clammy, sweating furiously as you start to slowly inch to your room. you just need to get in, get your phone and call the police and hope for once the GCPD is on time.

but then you pause—

"fuck... she.. not hear me."

you know that modulated voice. your memory isn't exactly the best, which is concerning because you aren't old and senile yet, but you know that voice. it hasn't exactly been that long since you saved that girl and met red hood— you could never forget that voice.

and curiosity gets the better of you as your legs change trajectory, inching to the balcony instead of your room. the sliding door to your balcony was partially ajar and you cursed at your lack of self preservation.

his voice was coming out in huffs and sighs, little grunts and broken words— he sounded almost pained.

as you finally reached the edge, you risked a peak but flinched back when you heard shuffling, eyeing the shadow of him trying to get up. you were half sure— but you could never be too cautious, if its not him, you could be in a shit load of trouble.

it was getting increasingly hard to hold your breath, the shaky breath you took that sounded like wild winds to your ears.

finally, you gripped the knife and pan hard, preparing yourself for the now or never moment. you swung your pan and lifted your knife as your battle cry (which really just sounded like a dying cry) tore through the silence. you squeezed your eyes shut as you got but a glimpse of the huge man and just, attacked. swung like your life depended on it.

"wha— HEY! WOAH— fuck you almost stabbed me in the eye!" he gasped out, his hands wrapping around your wrists staring at the pan and the knife.

"huh—" you peaked your eyes opened, and there under the moonlight that illuminated him barely enough, you recognised that red helmet. your body immediately relaxed as you let out a heavy sigh. "thank god its not some thief." the pan and knife in your hands went lax and he almost flinched.

a mere citizen with a pan and a knife scared the crap outta red hood. the things that would do to his reputation if it got out.

but what really confused him is how you...relaxed. it was understandable when you weren't affected by his intimidating presence back in the alley, since you were clearly in a state of panic. but even now, it almost feels like you know him, the way your body relaxes like it trusts the vigilante.

he doesn't know what it is but it heals something in his scarred heart.

"what— what are you even doing in my balcony?" she questioned as her brows furrowed again, "so much for not stalking huh?"

and as if on cue his body snapped out of the trance you pulled him in, he winced when he felt that sharp ache on his sides. things always go sideways, but sometimes it goes a little too sideways. his body cowered a bit and your eyes followed down, brows furrowed in confusion as you try to discern anything in the darkness, and why he's pressing his hand on his side.

"sorry about this— I'll leave—"

"wait is that blood?" you whispered quietly, gulping down a gasp as your fingers brushed against the dark red liquid that was partially dried up on his side. "oh god you are bleeding."

"easy." he hissed as your fingers pressed a little too firm on the wound, his hand shooting out to grab yours, slowly pulling it away.

"oops." you muttered awkwardly as you took your hand out of his grip and took a step back to properly assess the wound, "you're really bleeding. that's a lot of blood."

"oh is that right?" he scoffed as he leaned against the railing, supporting his weight on the arm, "thanks i didn't even know." he exclaimed sarcastically and looked around. he really needed to leave, he was sure you were beginning to see him as a creep.

you sighed and stopped yourself from giving him a deadpanned stare before stepping back inside your apartment, sliding the door away for him to enter. he paused and you saw his head tilting down before looking back at you, as if he cannot comprehend what you're suggesting.

"what?"

"what 'what'? you're bleeding on my balcony!" you waved him in, holding both the knife and pan in your hand, "I'll at least fix that up. im no nurse but i do know the basic."

"oh no no i can manage just fine." he waved you off and turned around making you click your tongue in exasperation. you beat the knife against the back of the pan, making a loud CLANG! sound, and he flinched before turning around.

"you look less like red hood and more like a senile man with a spine problem and a red tin bucket stuck on his head. come in." you said, or rather scolded, pointing towards your couch with the knife.

he is red hood. he has seen enough bloodshed, a shit ton of guns and their types, knives, daggers— you name it. and yet the sight of you holding a kitchen knife, yes, for some reason that straightened him up.

"look you really don't need to—"

"i am not pitying you okay? i am just—" you paused as you exhaled in frustration, pushing your hair back with the back of your hand, "just think of it as returning a favour okay? you helped me back then. saved me from a shit ton of panic and wrong decisions— and from the gcpd. so let me help you back."

he stood there for a moment, staring at you in contemplation. he clenched his jaw and cursed his past self for even entertaining you that time, for staying long enough to get 'intrigued'. he knows he shouldn't step in, shouldn't let you help. you are a normal person, with a normal life and nothing ever good comes out from associating with a vigilante— especially the red hood. he wants to berate you for not being rational enough but he cannot, for he is quite the same at the moment. he knows the right decision but the devil on his shoulder murmurs, weakening his resolve.

besides, he really is hurt.

"and I'll also forget that you practically stalked me." you added, your lips twitching in slight amusement.

finally, releasing a heavy sigh he stepped in, dragged his feet inside and plopped down of the couch. "i did not stalk you. don't flatter yourself." he immediately felt bad though in case he got blood on the couch.

you smiled to yourself before hurrying to the cabinet in your bathroom.

he looked out of place in your apartment, it was cozy and though it looked worn down in a lot of places. it looked homely. a certain warmth in it that eased him slightly. he looked to your direction before down at his wound.

seriously why did he even come here? he was on the run and automatically his legs carried him in this direction before remembering you lived close. and he took shelter. he's never this idiotic and he could practically hear bruce berating him for yet another wrong decision. dragging a normal person in his life.

"okay— shit that is really a lot of blood." you murmured as you switched on the light, kit in your hands while the pan and knife rested on the coffee table.

you sat beside him, damp cloth in hand to clean the blood off him first. you held the cloth and turned to him, for a moment just stared at him, unsure of how to tell him to lift up his clothes which was pretty layered you could tell.

"what?" he grunted as his eyes narrowed at your awkward staring and you pointed down at abdomen, "uh— lift that up. please?"

now that things are a bit calm, you're starting to really process things. gauge the situation, which is ridiculous. you literally have the red hood bleeding on your couch, and under the warmth of your light, your rather normal yet homey apartment did nothing to ward off the intimidating aura that surrounded him. your apartment feels small because of him. you don't even know how you noticed none of that when you first met him. it doesn't deter you, no its too late for that, but it certainly adds that need to be cautious around him— it makes you suddenly conscious about your actions.

he notices the slight change in demeanor, the stiffening of limbs, stolen glances that really looked like they were trying to analyse how much of a threat he is. he is used to this kind of looks, the apprehension and a part of him is glad that you finally have some sense of preservation to be wary of a literal stranger/ vigilante in your home.... but another part maybe had hoped that you wouldn't be.

he had hoped that you wouldn't see him as the 'thug of a vigilante' like everyone does, he doesn't know why. he just met you, and yet he had developed expectations of you.

he bit the inside of his cheek, glad his helmet could conceal the irritated scowl on his face before he slowly peeled off his shirt and vest to reveal the cut. it was deep— would need stitches.

but besides the cut, and you feel very guilty for thinking this when he's hurt, but he is chiseled like a greek god. toned muscles and abs, a sliver of skin and it already has you wanting to trace them. out of appreciation, of course.

"that would need stitches I think." you remarked quietly, looking a bit green and he lets out a snort. "told you you shouldn't."

you sighed before you began slowly dabbing at the area around the wound, cleaning the blood and small debris off. "i can at least just— bandage it. you can get it stitched later. im sure you have someone to do it."

the sight of blood does nauseate you a bit, your brows and lips a bit furrowed as you focused on getting it cleaned as fast as possible.

"i knew how to do them once." you began, biting your lips often while concentrating, "my mother taught me that. but now im so out of practice i dont wanna make it worse." you murmured and he stared down at you in thought.

"you do know you don't actually owe me shit? i mean you did the heavy work in that alley." he said quietly and for a moment it felt as if that modulated voice carried more emotion than it should, "you didn't need to do this."

he sounded guarded, grumpy even. you chuckled under your breath before shaking your head, "i do actually. if you didn't come there i don't know what i would have done. if i simply ran from there the paranoia would have eaten me alive. but knowing i left it with you, a vigilante who knows what to do, i was at ease. less shaken."

you look up and smirk, "and if that still sounds bullshit to you then consider this an act of goodwill from a friend." you moved away to dip the cloth again in water.

"oh we're friends now?" he scoffed out, actually surprised you'd say that. you scrunched your nose as you pretended to be confused, "i mean we had a pretty good conversation. that has to count." you retorted amusingly, totally not serious.

"a conversation where you were panicking about the guy you knocked out." he pointed out and the mirth in his voice amplified enough to annoy you, "not to mention hurling blames on innocent me."

you paused and scoffed, looking up at him a defensively, "i was not in the right mind alright? and you were late." you scowled and began dabbing away a little too quickly. "i was nice later on."

he resisted the urge to laugh, you were still stuck on that. "oh and by the way—" he paused to adjust himself on the couch, leaning back, "i am not stalking you."

your eyes lit up for a moment, as if glad he reminded you that, "oh so you just happened to stumble on my humble abode hm?" you narrowed your eyes at him, "red, if you found me hot you coulda just said that." you murmured smugly, lips pulled into a cheeky smile as you moved away, fetching the ointments to apply.

he scoffed at that, scoffing way too loud to maybe drown out the way his heart drummed when you smiled like that. "trust me, if i found you hot you'd know." he said sarcastically and you gave him a mock stink eye before applying the ointment.

if only you knew that he did find you hot. very hot.

"your apartment happened to lie on my way." he added with a shrug, his muscles tensing and contracting when the ointment stings the open wound. you do your best to not stare at anywhere else but the wound, really you are trying your best.

"of course and your legs just happened to fall on my balcony hm?" you murmured teasingly as you covered it up with a bandage.

"...yes it did." he replied quietly and curtly, and you just hummed a smile before standing up. "so that's done. let me clean up I'll get you a glass of water." you said as you began picking up the bowl and cloth. "you want to eat something? the blood loss might have made you a bit woozy."

you pause. he paused. you just know he's giving you the most blank deadpanned stare under that mask.

"you do know i have a—"

"yeah i know i know— i just forgot about the helmet." you grumbled quietly in embarrassment before walking away.

he watches you walk back and forth between the bathroom, washing your hands and rearranging the things back. he notices you're meticulate. he sweeps his gaze around the apartment, nothing is amiss, everything in its place as it should be except a few strays lying around. another observation down his mental diary about you, you're organised. mostly.

and then he remembers the interesting set of weapons you had and he lets out a snort which gets your attention as you were walking to the kitchen. "what?"

he's peeling his clothes back down when he shakes his head in response. "nothing."

"tch— what, red?"

"....a pan."

you groaned quietly as you rushed into the kitchen, "were you seriously gonna pull a rapunzel on me?" he called out sarcastically making you let out a involuntary laugh.

"no i just—" you pause as you laugh, drinking from the glass while you stayed standing, "i was about to make some noodles. and then i heard that loud thump sound so i just— i had it in hand!" you explained haphazardly as you rolled your eyes.

"still. a pan?"

"its better than nothing— oh quit it." you rolled your eyes as you put the glass down before you crossed your arms, raising a brow at him.

"how the hell are you gonna leave though? the front door?" he got up with a slight wince as he head back to the balcony.

"wait you're seriously gonna parkour back to your house? the bandage might open up!" you gawked at him as you followed behind, "so much effort and all down the drain."

"so that's what you're worried bout huh?" he scoffed sarcastically as he turned to looked down at you and you shrugged, "i mean im proud of my work. i don't wanna see it get ruined."

"you're heartless."

"i'll take that as a compliment."

you heard a muffled laugh coming from him, your eyes lingering on him for a few moments as your hands fidgeted with each other behind your back.

"uh take care!" you called out suddenly, worried about the vigilante maybe, while he fought to keep his heart from getting ahead of itself.

"don't worry this will be the last time i bother you."

"just don't get hurt, red."

"....."

"....."

"last time, huh?"

two weeks later, and you found red in your balcony again, this time with another wound in the opposite side, just as deep as last time. it makes you wonder if the vigilante has really come to trust you, even just a shred, to come to you when he's hurt. it warms your heart.

"i was gonna sing rapunzel let down your hair—"

"i will push you off my balcony."

reblogs are appreciated! :D

[bigscotman]

Fic idea: Bruce and Jason get into a big fight, both physical and verbal, and it ends with Jason getting kicked out of Gotham for some arbitrary amount of time.

Jason sorts out everything he needs to with his gang and then simply vanishes without a trace.

Bruce thinks that Jason will be back in city limits the second the time for his exile is up. Then the time comes and goes and there's no sign of Red Hood or Jason. He makes the rest of the family search all the safe houses they know of and locations he frequents etc. and there's just no sign of him.

Bruce doesn't panic though, no. He knows that Jason will come back sooner rather than later no matter what happens. The others aren't so sure.

Tim and Babs decide to start searching for Jason using their many channels and find out that no one has seen Jason since before he was banished from Gotham. They check the cameras from the time he was banished to see if they can't track him. They see him clearing out each and every one of his safe houses, putting anything he holds value in into some sort of magic ring and then smashing the bug in that apartment. This pattern continues until the final apartment where instead of destroying the bug it simply goes staticy and when the video comes back Jason is gone and what remains is an extremely faint whisp of green smoke.

The family assume the worst, that he was kidnapped by the LoA and they've left him alone in Ra's' clutches for months. After breaking into a few bases and then going to beat Ra's himself they find out that it's not the league.

After it's been about a year of literally no trace of Jason anywhere on the planet Bruce finally decides to ask the justice league for help at their next meeting which is unfortunately being attended by Kyle Rayner as Hal and John were currently on some mission in space. As soon as Kyle hears Batman's request he bursts out laughing much to the horror of the other leaguers and anger of Batman.

Kyle, despite having one of the deadliest Bat-Glares™ the league has ever seen leveled at him is still doubled over laughing. When he finally regains his composure about half an hour later due to several relapses into laughter, he activates his communicator and up pops a hologram call to Troia and when she finally picks up the calls shows he half asleep and half dressed in bed with a sleeping and clearly butt naked Jason Todd both of which are covered in scratches and hickeys and bite marks that clearly come from 2 different people.

Before Kyle can even say anything beyond "Hey babe do you mind waking Jayce up? His old man is worried" (I don't know much about Kyle let alone how he talks so just imagine something to the same effect) Batman sweeps out of the room clearly livid and made even more so when he hears the echoes of laughter from several people both physically present and not

[guesswhoisofftheirmedsagain]

Teacher Jason AU (specifically English)

It’s half way through the school year, and Tim’s English teacher goes on leave (due to having a baby or maybe they get murdered or something idk it’s Gotham, for all we know they were eaten by Killer Croc). For the rest of the year, they get a permanent sub. The sub is Jason. Before the great reveal, Jason is still Red Hood. Tim doesn’t know Jason is Red Hood. Jason is there to torment Tim daily, in his high school English class, and Tim can’t say anything because what beef does Tim Drake have with Mr. Peters?

Tim is 99.8% sure that his new teacher, Todd Peters, is Jason Peter Todd, which should be impossible because Jason Peter Todd is dead. He literally blew up in a warehouse, had a funeral and was buried. He’s stalked his records, they look legitimate, or at least faked very well, and have even taken to stalking the man back to his home. He just lives in an apartment building, legally, it’s not suspicious at all. Which makes it even more suspicious.

Tim swears on his LIFE that this man is Jason, but he has absolutely zero evidence and it is driving him mad. What makes it worse are the physical differences, most of all his eyes. Jason had blue eyes, and Mr. Peters has green. Tim is sure he’s wearing colored contacts.

The worst part? He has to hear his fellow classmates talk about how ‘hot’ or ‘attractive’ the new English teacher is, the moment he stops thinking about it, someone has to bring it up again. He wants to slam his head against the desk, multiple times. His school friends are very concerned about him, regularly asking if he’s ok. He can’t explain to civilians that their new English teacher is actually dead, and definitely out to chop off his head. That would make him sound crazy. He can’t tell Bruce, because what if he’s wrong and ruins everything even more?

Jason is absolutely loving this, he gets to borderline torment and torture his replacement every single day, without even breaking a single bone of his. Of course the pit screams for his blood, but Jason has fully decided that making Tim stay behind after almost every other class to talk about the “concerning word choices of his essay” or “his grade” whatever else bs he can come up with is way better. He knows Tim knows, theres absolutely no way the stalker kid wouldn’t know, but Tim is also a detective, who needs proof. Jason has giving him 0 proof, he’s been very sneaky.

Jason likes to think he’s a good teacher, (he actually really is) and he actually finds a passion for teaching. So he stays with the school, and moves his class up a grade because the original teacher is coming back tha next school year. (Ok maybe they didn’t get eaten by killer croc, who knows). On that first day of school, as a 12th grade English teacher, starting his first actual year teaching, is made all the better when a little bird walks into his classroom. Tim really thought it was over, nah, round 2 replacement.

Now that Jason is actually Tim’s teacher, he starts having to go to parent teacher conference meetings, which he fully believes will be the end of him because Bruce would definitely show up to that, right? Bruce always showed up to his parent teacher conference meetings, so he was very surprised when nobody showed up at all, just an email saying that “unfortunately, the drakes are busy and are unable to make the meeting, and to please send them the information they need to this email address” bla bla bla bs. Jason hacks the account, and immediately learns that Tim is the one sending the emails. Over the course of the school year, at some point mid year there’s the whole “I’m not actually dead” reveal, Jason and Tim grow closer as brothers. Even after the reveal Jason stays teaching at the high school, and then Damian enters the family, Jason picks up a second job, teaching at the late elementary school level. Somehow, he follows Damian through his schooling, being his English teacher every year until he graduates high school, eventually moving onto teaching Collage level English, just to make sure his little brother can’t ever escape him. (He did this to Tim too, dw)

He has won many teacher awards over the years, left impressions on hundreds of students, and has been invited to more than a few celebrations such as weddings. He goes to them of course, he cares about all his students. Not only has he been preventing crime activity on the streets, but he has also been able to prevent crime before it even happens by helping the kids before they even get to the point of committing crimes. Sometimes though, he’s see some of his students in gangs, dealings, robberies, etc, and he always notes them down. The next time he sees them in class, he helps them to the best of his abilities.

[anonao3author]

untitled fic, ch 1 - i've done a lotta things

—

"We know what you did." Superman loomed over Red Hood, every word a booming threat that if he didn't cooperate, it'd be more than his helmet smashed to pieces.

"I've done a lotta things," Red Hood said. "Ya gotta be more specific."

—

"I'm almost there, Roy, there's no need to get pissy." Jason flipped off the old woman he just passed, the one who'd been doing twenty under the speed limit since Pike Ave.

On the other end of the phone, Roy sighed. "I know, Jay-" Jason adjusted the phone, speeding up on his bike- "-worry about you. Bikers get in three times more accidents than cars. Three times!"

"Maybe 'cause their boyfriends won't stop nagging them while they're tryna-" he swerved around a pedestrian who should not have been crossing there, holy f- "-drive!"

—

His reintegration into the Batfamily had been... a little rocky, mainly on account of the whole "trying to kill Tim thing", which he would admit was definitely his fault.

—

Getting to hang out with Damian again was a plus, too. He'd met the little shit in the LOA, and they actually hit it off pretty well, in his opinion. Given, he had no idea what an actual sibling relationship was supposed to be like, but stabbing was probably normal.

All in all, the Wayne's, being one of them? It wasn't that bad.

—

It had seemed impossible, for a while.

He was finally getting his life back together.

He stepped out onto the road.

Someone stopped him.

He looked up, and was greeted with an (unfortunately) familiar face. Oliver Queen, Green Arrow, Roy's father. He was in his full Emerald Archer get-up, little green booties and all.

—

Hal slammed his hands down on the table, leaning towards Red Hood. "What do you need the money for, Hood?" He growled.

"Raising children isn't cheap, dickshit, have you seen the price of fucking sheet metal these days?"

"What does... what does sheet metal have to do with raising kids?" Clark asked, puzzled.

"My son is a picky eater."

—

Decided to try my hand at the "Batfamily meets the Justice League" trope, filled to the brim with my own headcanons and favourite dynamics. This fic is entirely self indulgent, but I'm gonna post it anyways because I'm so bored.

If you liked these snippets, you will probably like the fic (or at least the first chapter). I tried to pick out the funniest bits of the 4k ish words I wrote.

First chapter will hopefully be posted before January next year

[yourcutelittlegayfriend]

So this is basically just a thought I come up after watching the movie, I haven't got a chance to read the book but I'll try to when I have free time.

So short summary this might be headcannons I've come up for the time being before making a whole series about this.

This series might end up as Yandere Platonic Batfamily x Nimona!Reader

Nimona!Reader headcanon:

Reader is gender neutral since they can shape-shift into anything and anyone, the concept of being a girl or a boy is confusing to them, They are Y/N simple as that.

Y/N's power is like Nimona's minus the magic sparkles you see in the movie, their body shifts each cell to anything they want but like her or even Beast Boy they have telltale signs that it's not just any animal or person.

When Y/N shifts into any animal they have the hint of red on the skin, fur, scales or feather while if they shift to a person they have red stripes of hair on their head.

I would like to keep Nimona's red/pink-ish hair because why not? it's Iconic and I love it, really pops out in Gotham that Y/N is a the main character.

The rest of the other physical description is up for the readers to decide.

The setting of their origins goes back to the mid-early Gotham days, where the corruption is it's highest, a perfect plot to explain why they became so hateful to the city and later to the world.

Batfam Headcanon:

Bruce Wayne

Let's start with this bat pajama wearing vigilante

As I told before Y/N is already a citizen of Gotham at the beginning ahead of Martha and Thomas Wayne time and few generation of Wayne's and the original known influencial families in Gotham.

When Young!Bruce met Y/N it was the day Bruce fell in a cave/well at the back of the Wayne mansion

Except instead of Thomas rescuing Young!Bruce it was Y/N who did

Y/N save Young!Bruce and calm him down, he still became afraid of bats but the memory was tied together with their first meeting making it hard for him to forget Y/N

Young!Bruce and Y/N (who shifted to a young child) became friends behind Thomas and Martha's back

The two loving parents would always listen to their son telling stories about his new friend who can shape-shift

They only smile and encourage him to talk about his new friend because they thought Y/N was an 'imaginary' friend he made up after the traumatizing event.

Then here comes the canon event, I got two scenarios with me first is that Y/N was there when the death of the Wayne's happened and they shifts into a large deadly bat after the trigger was pulled and killed the mugger making Young!Bruce traumatized and call them a monster.

Second that Y/N was gone and came back after that night and Young!Bruce blames them for not showing up when he needed them because they promised to protect him.

Fast-forward to the present Bruce became Batman and already when through Dick, then him now as Nightwing Barbara from Bat-girl to Oracle (still in the process of healing), Jason, Jason's death, adopting Tim and making him Robin, Stephanie to Robin before Spoiler as well as adopting Cassandra before Damian came after Talia introduce and told Bruce to 'get to know his son' unfortunately no Duke yet because in order for him to be introduced everything in the batfam should have settled in including Jason but I will put him later on the series and He'll have his own introduction to Nimona!Reader.

Reread that again Jason's death but no reconciliation with him and here comes the next part I love.

Imagine this setting, it was raining in Gotham and Bruce as Batman was in pursuit of the Vigilante named Red Hood.

After finally cornering him, Bruce found out about Red Hood's true identity being the revived Jason Todd, his late Robin and son.

But before he could apprehend Jason, the younger male only smirk and whispered something before a pair of red blood bat wings emerge behind Jason.

A person rose up from Jason's back having a that familiar her color and a pair of glowing eyes looked directly at Bruce's as the mysterious person's with uncanny features that stood behind his son tickled the back of his brain.

Before he could utter a word he was cut off by a one strong flap of wings, soon Jason and the figure was up in the sky, the large bat wings flew up in the middle of the moon's form and their large wings spread open as if to mock the symble of the Batsignal before disappearing.

Headcanon for Nimona!Reader relationship with Bruce

At first I was planning on making Nimona!Reader as Young! Bruce's childhood first love before making it a sibling relationship

Still open to a romantic one if people are ok with it but I'm more fine with a sibling dynamic

You already see Young!Bruce as your Brother and you still do even after the harsh fall out the two of you had.

You already knew he was Batman by scent but never bothered with telling him or showing yourself

It's fun to wreck stuff at Gotham and making the big bad Bat frustrated and angy.

The only thing he's glad about is you never interacting with the Joker

for the Yandere part is that you being a big influence to his younger days being his only friend and literally the one who save him from the well/cave accident.

You became one of his fears and inspiration to become Batman

and seeing you again made his feeling from before come back and resulted to needing to find you and to reunite with you again.

Jason Todd/Red Hood

I'll pick him as second since I think I should put the order of how close the members of the Batfam are to Y/N

I can imagine him as Ballister to Nimona!Reader but more dark and is actually a villian that Y/N is going to join and become his sidekick

I was planning on mixing two version of Red Hood/Jason Todd maybe Arkham!Red Hood/Jason and Young Justice League!Jason Todd? weird but I need to this two version of him to connect for the plot I have in mind so stay with me

So Jason died by the Jokers hand at Arkham and his dead body was snatched and revived by Ra using the lazarus pit and became the League of Assassins puppet for a few years before escaping and became the Arkham Knight

He started a few solo missions, killing criminals and making a name -remember not Red Hood yet- first before moving on the recruite people not yet joining forces with the scarecrow

Y/N saw the Gotham news and found out about The Arkham Knight and was like

News reporter: He's a criminal

Y/N: He's awesome

News reporter: He blew up a building and killed people

Y/N: He's fucking metal

News reporter: He's Evil

Y/N: He's perfect

After that they broke into one of Jason's secret hideout and tell him about becoming his sidekick making Jason's ptsd come back about being a robin and Batman's sidekick

Jason threaten you with a gun since he's still angsty and depressed because of Bruce but you're more stubborn than him

First time you ever shape-shift he asked you if you were Beast Boy/Garfield's relative but you genuinely don't know who that is

He freaked out a bit but warm up to you little by little since your actions remind him of his kid days and unfortunately when he was Robin as well

As Arkham Knight he needed you for escape plans, distraction but most importantly on stealth missions seeing that your shape shifting powers was handy

But stealth missions are the ones you hate so when you end those missions You.Break.'Some'.Shits

He was pissed of course but quickly shut his mouth when you already had everything covered, now he doesn't even get bothered by your 'metal' moments

Then the whole Arkham happened, Gotham City was still fixing and healing but then the criminals still came back, Batman is still alive (Scarecrow didn't get to expose his indentity as Bruce Wayne because Jason save him in time) but didn't make up with Bruce and after that he finally became Red Hood

Headcanon for Nimona!Reader relationship Jason

When you met him you already smelled Bruce's phantom scent on him

It's smelled normal like a lingering scent but enough to tell you that Bruce is not Jason's biological father but still somewhat close with him, how you have that skill? I'll call it a weird mutation you have being a shapeshifter

You call him Boss but you actually treat him like a younger brother or act like mother/aunt-ish around him most of the time

Jason always think you could as well be his younger sibling but we all know your older than him by a few decades.

I kept Nimona's red colors since I think it'd be fucking awesome that two of the person that hated Bruce or became Bruce's nightmare and pain in the ass are both wearing or have the color red in their character palette. (Tim......is orange? Idk fckn know some of the fandom give him the orange color)

Damian Al' Ghul-Wayne/Robin

Before anybody say 'why jump to him quickly?' Well Lemme tell you something, Lemme tell you something

Damian's origin is connected to Y/N's origin story, remember when I told that Y/N existed early mid-Gotham days?

Well guess what Y/N was the connection of Ra to the Lazarus Pit and they became one his inspiration to use it.

Damian's grandfather speak highly of you, how you were the perfect being in this world that could widthstand the force of the Lazarus and continue to live forever.

Damian became influence by his grandfather's, mother's teaching and stories about you that deep down he wished to see you face to face

He still is an annoying brat from time to time but after staying at the Wayne and finally experience the life of living instead of surving he tone down for a bit

Ra's words still linger but now he has his own morals he keeps.

The first time he meet you might actually be pretty normal, him in his civilian Identity and you guys being you.

I guess maybe at the park? him just looking out for Titus and taking for a walk and you were just in the grass or the swings chilling.

He wouldn't care for the first minutes but when he saw Titus getting pretty close with you and he just watches as Titus let's you pet him.

He was intrigued and decided to introduce himself since he was in the midst of getting lessons about 'making friends'

Headcanon for Nimona!Reader relationship to Damian

How about like Mother-ish Aunty as well? and Damian also thinks you have a caring moments since you usually care even though you act crazy

Crazy? I was crazy once, they lock me in a room, a rubber room, a rubber room with rats, Rats makes me crazy, crazy? I was Crazy once-

and casually talk about killing and blood, lots of blood, buckets of blood.

He has alot of respect to you since you're this high being his grandfather talks about everytime

Likes that you can shape-shift into animals more

Follows you around after discovering your real identity and doesn't mind your 'metal' moments as well

----

This is not the last of headcanon but I might add more in the future for now I'm just gonna put this in before I forget.

[galaxymagitech]

For the WIP Ask Game

Continuing an ask from @birdieisnotwriting

✏️"what are your current WIPs about?"

I...have a truly terrifying number of WIPs. So I'll stick to the ones that are either particularly interesting or that I intend to eventually post.

fool me twice — A Tim-centric fic where some of Bruce's more recent physical abuse leaks into the 90s where Tim was initially Robin. It starts small and slowly gets worse and worse. Tim keeps trying to draw lines, but he shifts them back every time Bruce crosses them. About 1/3rd to 2/5ths of this fic is written, and I go back to reread it sometimes, but I'm not sure I'll ever finish it. It's kind of a spiritual precursor to fool me thrice, to the point where I cannibalized the name, but it's a distinct story.

Reverse Robins Damian Discussion — Set in my Reverse Robins AU. When Jason realizes that Tim was worried about him being around Bruce and Damian, he's afraid that he's in danger. Tim is like, "oh, Damian grew up, and Bruce hated Damian specifically, so you're fine". Jason asks questions and Tim theorizes on why exactly Bruce and Damian's relationship was so awful and why it's better now. This story serves as a bridge between Damian's time as Robin and the present day.

Two Truths and a Lie — Inspired by Batman and Catwoman debating the circumstances of their meeting. Jason has a conversation with Talia, but he can't remember which version of canon is true. It's very uncomfortable. I probably won't finish this one.

Robin Hood — In a universe where Jason didn't die, Tim ends up in foster care after his parents' kidnapping goes south. Unfortunately, Tim doesn't quite have the computer skills that Batman and Oracle taught him, but he's still no slouch. Between trying to pass his classes, deal with his neglectful and ever-so-slightly abusive foster parents, and prevent himself from being lost in Gotham's corrupt foster care system, Tim has his hands full. Still, he finds himself drawn to Gothem's vigilantes. So when Batman goes missing (due to Bane) and substitute Batman attacks a Robin who has nowhere to go, Tim tries to help.

Hallucinatory Cellmate — Jason ends up trapped in some sort of magic stasis zone, an infinite expanse of white. He's just starting to go crazy when Tim shows up, equally trapped. Over the next few weeks, Jason gets to know Tim. But when he escapes, it turns out Tim was just a hallucination, and Tim isn't nearly as pathetic and forgiving as how Jason hallucinated him, and Jason has to reconcile his imaginary version of Tim with the real one.

Better Than Batman — Near the end of Post-Crisis, Jason Todd is captured in all his unhinged glory. One by one, his family talk to him and try to convince him to stop killing. Whether they're successful or not, I have yet to decide, but this is my attempt to explore exactly what unconventional arguments the Bats might make that actually have the potential to convince Jason.

Calling All the Monsters — A murderous comedy. Damian's attack on Red Robin is more successful than he expected. After Damian cuts his line, an injured Tim manages to escape into an assassin-infested Gotham. Damian decides that he has passed the point of no return and needs to kill Tim, even though he feels guilty for what he did. He teams up with various shady figures, including Red Hood and Prudence Wood, thinking they're all helping him kill Tim. Meanwhile, they all think they're helping Damian save Tim. Tim thinks everyone is trying to kill him.

Burden — Dick leaves Wayne Manor after Bruce fired him. If he is no longer Batman's partner, he knows has no place in Bruce's home. But when the heat is broken in his cheap apartment, Dick is forced to swallow his pride and return home.

it beckons me to stay — An exploration of Tim and Damian's brotherhood set 5-10 years in the future. In the intervening years, the rest of the family has died. They are both extremely traumatized.

Pawn to D3 — Reverse Robins Titans Tower AU (but not set in my main RR universe). Tim breaks into Titans Tower to kill Jason. It's not personal, but he needs to provoke Bruce, and killing a vigilante is better than killing a random civilian. If Batman needs a villain, Tim will give him one. (Eventually he snaps out of it and realizes that treating a teenager as a pawn in a war is Bad, even if he’s also treating himself like a chess piece.)

Tim Befriends the Gremlin — Described here!

Flood Sequel — Literally a sequel for Flood lol. Reverse Robins. Jason befriends Dick. Tim mentors them both. When Tim finally confronts Bruce, it goes…differently than expected, thanks to his little brothers’ interference.

Be My Robin Fic — This one is almost done! A Tim joins Jason during Battle for the Cowl AU. In a universe where Batman was just a bit worse and just a bit more out of control, the idea of having to work with a cruel, murderous Batman doesn't seem so unusual to Tim. Plus, Tim knows that Damian has to be Robin to get him to stay. So, Tim gets a new Batman.

Tornado — Five times Reverse Robins!Damian was uprooted + one time he found home. Features Damian navigating his fraught relationships with Bruce, Duke Thomas, Tim Drake, and Jonathan Kent as he grows up.

Haunted House — Jason steals Batman's tires two years earlier than in canon, and the effects cascade from there. Bruce doesn't make Jason Robin, but he does adopt him. Meanwhile, Dick is still in Wayne Manor, but he and Bruce are on the outs. Jason overhears some extremely out-of-context conversations, sees that Dick has bruises (from being Robin) and freaks the heck out. This one is almost finished, but I've since found a very similar work, so I'm trying to figure out what I can do to make this fic unique.

[fiction-is-the-new-reality]

Pt 3: An Unfortunate Incident

word count: 5k

warnings: major violence, adult language, and angst

A/N: Ok sooooo. Thank everyone for all your support!! It means the world. Also I want to explain my inspiration for our main girl. I want her to be a bit darker than the other vigilantes. Someone that’s similar to Red Hoods vibe. I like to imagine her outfit similar to Azrael’s in AK, just without the full mask. I changed the name to Vulture instead of Phoenix because I felt like Phoenix was a little too cliche. As always please give feedback and love you guys!

series masterlist previous part next part

Blinking a few times, you take in your surroundings. You’re on a cot in Panessa Studios. There’s a tightness in your side that tells you they stitched you up. Pushing yourself up on your elbows, you look around. There are other cells identical to the one you’re in, with people in them.

“Great, you’re up,” Tim pops into view, donned in his Robin suit. “Batman told me not to let you out.”

You look at him, opening your mouth to argue, when he cuts you off. “Lucky for you, I know he needs help out there. You’re free to go, that is, if you’re feeling like it. I know it can be scary to get back out the–”

“This isn’t my first time getting my ass beat,” you remind him, “but that did sound like it was going to be a great pep talk, though.”

Placing your feet on the floor, you begin to stand. Your body aches from the beatings, and you can feel the itchiness of the stitching as you walk to the door. The door slides open to allow you out, and you finally see the other people in the cells.

Looking at them, you see they all have pale skin and green hair, and even their mouths look slightly deformed to an upturned smile. While you’re staring, they all begin to yell and taunt you. Seeing the confused look on your features, Tim quickly explains who they are and why they’re locked in the cells.

Turning away from the people, you begin walking toward the elevator. “How long was I out for?”

“Couple hours. It’s gotten worse out there.”

“Has Bats asked for any help?”

“If he has, he hasn’t asked me.” He frowns like a disappointed kid.

And as you stare at him, you remember that he is just a kid. He’s barely older than Jason was when he became Robin. Your heart clenches at the thought of Tim possibly meeting the same fate as Jason.

“Don’t take it personally. He’s just looking out for you in his own way.” You grab his shoulder and squeeze it. He smiles back.

He calls out to you as you get on the elevator to go up.

“Kick some ass for me!”

As you leave the studio, your ears are filled with static before a voice emerges.

“Hello, Miss, I wanted to let you know your suit is complete. I have the Batwing sending it, along with new devices for you. I hope it is to your liking.” Lucius sounds pleased with himself.

“Thank you, Lucius.” The Batwing comes around the corner, and you watch in awe as the pod rockets down, slamming into the ground.

It opens with a loud hiss. Inside, the light reveals a two-piece suit. The dark green and black colors contrast against the bright white light. Putting it on, you instantly notice the reinforced fabric and the extra padded areas. Lucius had included details you hadn’t even thought of, like attaching a cape to the hood of your top and new boots. You take a moment to get used to the new suit and place your new gadgets and weapons on so they adorn every inch of your body.

Pressing on your comms, you call out to Oracle, but there’s nothing. A chill runs down your spine. That’s unlike Barbara. You try again, but there’s still nothing. As a final attempt, you use the tempad on your wrist to call her but receive the same response - silence. Shooting out the grappling hook, you feel the tug as it latches onto the next building. With your legs moving at top speed, you leap from building to building, feeling the wind rush against your face.

The moment you get closer to the Clock Tower, the reverberating sound of multiple shots fills the air, echoing from the Batmobile and the militia tanks. The Tower itself has an overwhelming presence of militia. Jumping down, you make quick work of taking them out. Taking your chain whip, you wrap one end around your left hand and use your right to swing and deliver blows. Utilizing the chain, you swiftly neutralize several men, effortlessly reeling in the remaining ones and defeating them with your hands.

There’s a quick, almost too fast black mass out of the corner of your eye. As you glance in that direction, you notice Batman has entered the fray; his powerful presence gains the attention of the men. Most of them leave you to go deal with him. You and Bruce do good at avoiding each other, until the last second of the fight.

There’s only one man left, and you punch into his core as many times as possible, forcing him to move backward and toward Batman. Sweeping out his feet, you kick him back, letting Bruce deal the final hit that puts the guy to sleep.

The robotic voice of Arkham Knight comes over the comms of the fallen militia men. “I’m impressed. But your tricks don’t stay new for long, Batman. I see you’ve added another person that you’ll get killed.”

Your eyes widen as you look at Bruce. He looks back at you before grappling at the top of the Tower. You’re right after him.

You both land in the room, and while looking around, you notice only one thing out of the ordinary. There’s no sign of a struggle, just an empty turned-over wheelchair that lays in the middle of the floor.

“What the hell happened?” Bruce ignores your question. Turning to see what he’s doing, you notice a glossy look in his eyes as he stares at the wheelchair. Strange. He still doesn’t respond or acknowledge you’re there, even after you call his name multiple times. He finally snaps out of his daze and places the wheelchair back upright.

The elevator dings open to show Commissioner Gordon. As he enters the room, you push yourself into the shadows, hoping to become a fly on the wall as you watch what unfolds.

Jim’s foot lands on a picture frame of him and Barbara. While he kneels, he lightly runs his fingers across it. Bruce speaks up, “This isn’t your fault, Jim.”

“Of course it is. Crane’s done this to get to me. I should have been here.”

Your heart breaks as you watch him blame himself.

“There’s something I need to show you.” Bruce turns, walking to the retina scanner.

Jim stands back to full height, following him. “We haven’t got time. She’s not like us,” Jim frets.

“Batman?” You question him, making sure he wants to do this. He doesn’t seem to care about the consequences.

The room soon converts into Oracle’s domain as the machine whirls to life. And before you can say another word, he reveals the secret Barbara fought so hard to keep from her father. You watch as Jim digests what's happening, his eyes darting back and forth between the room and Batman. You know it’s clicked when his face goes from sadness to anger.

“She’s strong, Jim, stronger than you realize.”

Not only do you see the anger, but you can feel the anger radiating off of Jim as he turns back to Batman.

“She works for you?” He scoffs as he shakes his head, walking toward the elevator. “This is all your fault.”

“I will find her,” Batman’s stern voice was an unspoken promise.

You stare in surprise as Jim punches him. Batman takes the punch unfazed.

“She’s my family! MY DAUGHTER! She’s all I’ve got.” He gets on the elevator, turns around, and tells Bruce, “I never should have trusted you. Never!” His face was full of pain and betrayal as he threw down his communicator.

“I’ll do this on my own. Stay away from my family.” His voice wavers a little but remains stern. He slams shut the elevator door and leaves.

Once the elevator is gone, you turn back to Bruce, “What’s our next step? How do we plan on finding Barbara?”

“I’ll hack the municipal CCTV system. I should be able to monitor all access points in the building.” He filters through the footage from the last few hours.

“There!” You watch as two militia vehicles pull up. The Arkham Knight hops out of one, enters the Tower, and soon returns with what looks like an unconscious Barbara. He puts her in the back of the car and takes off with her.

“I’ll be able to program the Batmobile to track the tires, their AmerTek D60s.”

“Great, I’ll come with you.”

“No, you need to be out on the streets. There are militia checkpoints and riots that you can help with.”

“I don’t work for you, Bruce,” you remind him. “I’m in this for Barbara, and the best way for me to help is to get her back.”

“There’s no time to argue. If you want Barbara back faster, you’ll listen to me and stay back.” He insisted.

“You better find her.” You sneer at him,

You’re out of the tower, watching the streets from above. You can’t stop yourself from seething with rage towards Bruce. Who does he think he is to tell you what to do? And who are you to listen? You hate that you’re not helping find Barbara; you hate that you’re stuck doing busy work.

A flashing light catches your eye, causing you to turn and see Bat Burger in the distance. You and Jason had gone there before everything, and you wish your smile were genuine, but instead, a bittersweet feeling washes over you. Your smile is one of self-pity. Your last moments with each other were marked by faces red with anger, furrowed brows, and tear-filled eyes as you desperately pleaded for him to listen. Closing your eyes, you think back to that night.

There’s snow covering the ground, Jason’s complaining about Bruce treating him like a kid, and you just listen as you stare up at him while waiting in line to order.

You grab your food and sit in a secluded booth, far from the bustling crowd.

“I’m not a kid. I haven’t been one for a long time. He treats me like I’m still in the learning phase. Like, I haven’t been with him for almost two years! You know, after Dick had been with him for two years, he had joined the Titans!” He takes a massive bite of the burger in his hands, and with his mouth full of food, he speaks again. “I’m going to show him. Hell, I’ll go after Joker if it shows him to take me seriously.”

You giggle at him, “Yeah, great idea, Jay. I’ll take down Croc while we’re at it.” You look up from your meal when you don’t hear him laugh.

“I’m not kidding,” he had a stern look on his face.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” He stops mid-chew to look at you like you’re crazy.

“Look, Jay, I know how hard it is to deal with Bruce, but don’t you think that’s a little too much?” You shrug, trying to ease the uncomfortableness that’s fallen over the table.

“Actually, you don’t know how hard it is to deal with Bruce.” Great, you think. He’s putting up a wall. “You don’t think I can do it?” he accuses you.

“It’s not that, just…maybe wait a little longer.”

He scoffs, “I could do it. I could take any of them.”

“I’m sure you could, but wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t risk it? Wouldn’t it be better if you could confidently take them down in a couple of years?”

“The only ones not confident in me are you and Bruce.”

“Don’t lump me in with him. I just think there are other ways to show him you’re ready to move on from being the dynamic duo.”

“None of that will be as effective as this. If I show him, I can hold my own. He won’t be able to ignore it.” Jason’s being stubborn as always, and usually, you love that about him, but right now, it’s adding to your aggravation.

“Unless you get killed!” You toss your hands up, trying to make your point more clearly.

“I can’t believe this. You’re supposed to support me. Why don’t you see that I can do this?” His eyebrows furrow, his face getting slightly flushed as he grows angrier.

“Jason, it’s a stupid idea! There’s such a high chance of you getting injured or, worse, killed! Why do you not care about that?”

“I bet if Dick had told you this, you’d bat your eyelashes and tell him he’s so brave.” He jeered. Your eyes soften slightly, knowing how he constantly compares himself to others. He had a wicked jealous streak, not to mention his fear of not being good enough. You know he wants to impress Bruce, to show that he was better than Dick, that he was the best yet.

“Don’t be an ass, Jay. I’m trying to look out for you.”

“I don’t need you to look out for me. I can do that myself.” He stands from the table, and you lunge up after him. Following him outside.

“Just forget I said anything. No one trusts me. No one believes in me. I’m just Jason, the poor alley kid Bruce Wayne so generously took in. I’m just the second Robin, constantly compared to Boy Wonder.” He whips around to face you. “I’m so fucking tired of it! I want to be seen for who I am, not for where I came from. No one has faith in me, but I’ll prove it. I’ll show all of you that you’re wrong.”

You step back from him, your face twisting as you empathize with me. He notices immediately, and his anger just furthers.

“Don’t you fucking dare look at me like that. I don’t need your pity. I don’t need anything from you.” He turns back around and begins stalking toward the nearest alley. You chase after him, the cold air nipping at your burning face.

You feel your eyes welling up with tears but refuse to cry, “Jason, wait, please!”

His pace doesn’t decline. “Jay, I just want to keep you here for as long as possible! I don’t care about where you come from or who’s been here before you! I just care that you’re still here! You can’t do this.” You finally catch up and grab his arm.

Turning quickly, he grabs your arm and shoves you off him. His eyes are full of fire, and they’re glossy with tears. “Nothing you say can stop me. I was just hoping you’d be different and that you’d understand. I hoped you’d be a good friend and at least lie, but you didn’t because you’re just like them.”

“Please don’t do anything stupid, please, Jason.” You grab at him again, but he dodges your hand. You feel the tears overflowing, and your throat gets tight as your nose burns.

“Jason, please, just listen to me. Just think about this. Please don’t, Jason.” The tears have started to fall as you beg him.

The tears that roll down your face feel like knives slicing him open. He has to turn away. He can’t stand to see you cry, especially since he caused it. He doesn’t respond to your pleas as he makes his way up and out of the alley.

A huge booming noise towards Miagani pulls you back to the present. You can hear multiple rapid shots exchanged between tanks and the Batmobile. Pressing a button on the tempad on your wrist, you hear the low rumble of your motorcycle nearby. You jump off the building and press the button again. From around the corner, your bike appears. Positioning yourself on the bike, you grip the handlebars tightly, feeling the engine's vibration reverberate through your hands as you accelerate towards triple-digit speeds, racing towards Miagani Island.

Arriving at the scene, it is obvious you're too late. Destroyed tanks fill the area, with some still burning. The thought of following Bruce crosses your mind, but it quickly vanishes once you see the tunnel. You're very intrigued by the tunnel. The pull is irresistible, like a pirate under the spell of a siren's song.

As you slowly roll down, you’re stunned at the realization that there had been a massive militia presence under your feet this entire time. Your eyes dart from one direction to another, constantly scanning your surroundings. Despite the appearance of a complete evacuation, you remain on high alert, not lowering your guard. The tunnel opening fades from sight, leaving you with a pounding heart and a sense of unease. As you venture deeper, an unsettling feeling of being watched washes over you. You just blame it on nerves.

There’s a room on the left side of the tunnel. You wonder if there’s anything in there that could help find Barbara. You position your bike nearby in case you need a quick getaway. Walking around, you examine every piece of paper, nook, and cranny. Luckily, your search isn’t wholly void; you find some Batarangs.

As you stand from picking up the Batarangs, the feeling of being watched is so strong you quickly whip around to look at the door. Your blood runs cold as you come face to face with the Arkham Knight.

“It must be my lucky night, getting two of you little heroes in a row. Even better is that you brought yourself to me.” His modulated voice adds to echoes around the room.

Without meaning to, you’ve taken a step back. Arkham Knight matches by stepping forward.

“If we’re going to fight, let’s get on with it.” What sounds like a laugh comes through his helmet before he lunges at you.

His fist met your body quick and hard. Blocking as many as you could, you landed some of your own. Each punch from you lands with a resounding thud against his combat suit. You're doing well until he grips your shoulders, forcefully slamming you against his knee. The impact of his knee against your stitched-up side sends a lightning bolt of pain all over. As the pain rattles your body, you crumble to the ground, feeling the hard surface beneath you. His towering body seemed even more looming as he stared down at you.

He straddles your body, not even flinching as you thrash and punch him. He tightly grips your neck, his hands constricting like a vise. You know you’re going to be bruised. As he tries to suffocate you, you swiftly wrap your legs around his waist, desperately seeking leverage. You attempt to gain an advantage by extending your arms as far as possible, pushing against the front of his helmet, and contorting your body to move his head back. His grip on your neck relaxes lightly as you twist his neck further to the side.

With his grip still on your neck, you brace your arms in a triangle-like shape under his. Slamming them against his, you break out of the lock he has on you. Following it with a kick to his chest. The impact is jarring, sending a shockwave of sensation up your legs. With a backward roll, he allows you to rise to your feet. When you turn to face him, you see the Knight back on his feet, ready for another round. Both of you stand there, eyes locked, the tension palpable. He waits for you to bolt out the door as you wait for him to lunge at you.

He jerks his head at the doorway, “Go ahead, run.” Even through the voice disruptor, you can hear the smirk he’s wearing.

You break the stand-off by slinging the batarangs at him. They take him by surprise, and he instinctively swipes at them in self-defense, giving you time to run towards your bike. You hear his footsteps thudding behind you as you approach your bike. Before you can swing your leg to get on, you’re being picked up and slammed down onto the dirt. Your brain rattles in your skull from the force, and you go blind with rage.

Going ballistic, you start punching, and you don’t stop. Even as he blocks, you keep going, sidestepping his fist and legs as he attempts to kick. You circle him so fast that he gets dizzy. Ducking down, you strike his midsection with jabs, then deliver an uppercut to his metal head. In a twisting motion, you aim to deliver a roundhouse kick, but he successfully catches your ankle as your foot comes close to him. You support him by propelling yourself towards him.

He wobbles backward. You entwine your legs around his waist and thrust yourself towards his center of mass. He falls to the dirt with a thud. Your strength doesn’t waver, not even when you’re on top. Straddling him, you slam the front of his helmet with both hands. Despite repeating the process, the glass remains unbreakable. Yanking out one of your blades, you aim for his unarmoured neck. Just before the blade hits, he grabs your arms only centimeters away.

“I wonder how Batman will feel about this murder attempt?” He taunts you.

Determined to get the blade through his neck, you push as hard as you can. “I wonder how it’ll feel when I slice through your vocal cords.” You snarl back at him.

He chuckles, pretending he doesn’t feel the blade against his Adam’s apple.

You lean forward, using your body weight to press the blade down. It backfires and allows him to ram his helmet against your forehead. After you tumble off of you, you attempt to crawl toward your bike. The black spots in your vision make it almost impossible to see it.

Arkham Knight stands there, watching as you crawl to your motorcycle. He almost for half a second feels for you. For half a second, he thinks back to when he was Robin. He thinks of that little boy so full of red-hot rage, so stubborn to prove himself. He sees Jason Todd in you. Soon, images of himself crawling away from Joker derail his mind. The asylum’s grimy, moldy floors squeak as he moves away from Joker. The new Robin suit being caked with blood and the massive headache he had all the time.

He can’t breathe. He hates watching you crawl. He hates seeing you. He hates Batman. He wants him to pay, to feel how he feels. He needs to send a message.

He stalks over to you, and once he’s close enough, he kicks you in the side so hard you flip over. He places his boot on your chest, applying enough pressure to make you wheeze.

“Don’t blame me for this. Blame Batman. He wasn’t here to protect you. He left you all alone.” He says it like he’s pitying you. No teasing or taunting, just pity.

He takes a small gun and aims it at your chest. You double-click the button on your tempad that alerts your bike to come to your location. It roars to life and charges in your direction. The bike's speed causes his instincts to kick in, and he swiftly leaps aside. With lightning speed, you mount the bike and zip away. As you emerge from the tunnel, the sight of the Gotham streets greets you, and in that moment, a wave of relief washes over you.

Standing there, the Knight watches you disappear into the distance, the sound of the motorcycle reverberating off the walls. He raises the gun, his finger hovering over the trigger, but then abruptly lowers it, a moment of hesitation flashing in his eyes. He’ll wait until the perfect moment. He wants Batman to witness your death. Nothing and no one is safe from the Arkham Knight, and he will make sure that Bruce knows that.

taglist: @thegirlwiththeyarn @pank0w @geminizmoonz @emilia527 @elizamay @anime5005 @babypaperwitch @skypperlegacy @rwylm-things @mayo-0-o @ex-cla-ma-tion @pheonixfucu @not-herexo @g0atmansbridge182 @theg0ddesshera @just-lost-inbetween-worlds @marigiano @lyralibra @lilocapoca @misaki-kira8 @blackcanary130 @ykyouluvme @kiwi03 @xbonniepricexx @definitelynotanalien @ghostlyleech @pinkmaggit666 @0littlestwolf0 @stupid-ninja @reanie-xoxo @kittykatchicha @bunz-lover @justalittleb1tcrazy @gghoulpool @snackeyalleyjuice @deadplantluver @comealivedaya @thefandomdiaries07 @peter-parker-tony-stank-trash @awstrck @gemini-bichxx-blog @jennifermoyas @xdrin @harleycao @screamingsilence3 @ex-pinguina @kat-nee

[vera-bees-hyperfixations]

My Jason/Red Hood Headcanons

Warring! I've only read about him in fanfics and researching info. I've never read a comic on this man in my live yet but he is bb to me.

JASON

He is a mother hen friend. [says a mother hen friend, i know the signs of one bitch]

He is the big brother you go to if anything bad happened to you, because whoever hurt you will no longer exist.

He is also the brother you go to to hide a body, most questions not asked.

He was [and still is] a theater kid 1000%.

He secretly drinks tea like a 1700s/1800s lady.

He would take the role of "housewife" in the relationship.

His love language is cooking; if he cooks for you, you are loved.

Stress cleaning. due to living on the streets, Jason likes his space(s) to be clean and tidy, he did it to control his environment. Which means he stress cleans, fortunately and unfortunately. Fortunately because his safe houses are always clean but unfortunately because he will clean whatever room he is in [e.g. one of the bedrooms in the manor, bruce's offices, meeting rooms, other peoples safe houses, you get it what I'm saying]

When Jason is anxious or panicked he cooks and he cooks a lot when that happens.

He is always carrying at least five knives and two guns on a good day, eight knives and four guns on a bad day.

How many knives and guns he carries depends solely on his paranoia level for that day.

Jason when dealing with a horrid mental health day(s) or week(s) and knows he can not bring himself to cook anything, will text or call Alfred; his grandfather Bruce Wayne's butler will stop by the next day with a fresh batch of his famous cookies and three to seven tupperwares of his cooking for his grandson, Jason to heat up when needed.

as RED HOOD

He 1000% mother hens the Alley Kids, they've just learned to accept it [and the Alley Kids 1000% do not fear red hood and sass/mock/tease him to no end].

Red is like a BAMF Mama Bear TM.

To help ease Tim after the "TTA" whenever they are together [and not in harms way] he dismantles his guns and removes his knives from his person to show vulnerability .

all safe houses have at least two books in them even in the other bat's+bird's safe house. Most of them are Jane Austen books.

All food cooked when anxious/panicked he gives out to the homeless and the alley kids, sometimes the working girls too depending on how much he makes.

Jason as a HUGE knife collection.

With the knife collection he hands them out like candy to the Alley kids and working girls.

He gives them [the Alley kids and working girls] self defense classes every Tuesdays and Thursdays where he teaches them ways to get away and/or detain men two to three times their own size.

Also gives classes in properly handle a knife, and use it to your advantage in a fight; and normal day to day survival [for Alley kids], and how to conceal carry with few clothing on and still be easily accessible [for the working girls].

If any of the bat clan need shelter because of a storm or to hide after a fight they will crash in one of Hood's many safe houses.

Due to this, all Hood safe houses are stocked with change of clothes for each bat member.

[lambsouvlaki]

Moments in Between - Ham, Cheese, & Tomato

Characters: Jason Todd x fem!OC

Rating and warnings: G, no warnings

Summary: Jason & his Definitely Not Girlfriend volunteer at a community kitchen making sandwiches. Shenanigans ensue.

Masterlist

-------

Jason scowled and carved another piece of ham on the industrial slicer. The tranquil peace was shattered, the contentment of good work done well lost. 

Across from him Andy tried and failed to stifle her giggles. Her face was scrunched up adorably. 

Maybe he wouldn’t mind so much if she weren’t so fucking cute about it. 

“There he goes,” she said, holding her breath.

On her phone screen a youtube video played, drone footage of the Red Hood getting his foot caught on the edge of a building and face planting on the roof.

She burst into laughter once more. She was almost in tears.

Jason sliced another piece of ham and tossed it down on the upturned sandwich. 

“You are falling behind on the tomatoes,” he snapped. 

“I was ahead of you anyway,” she said, closing the sandwich without looking and putting down the ingredients for the next. 

It was five in the morning and they were helping out at a community kitchen. His arm was still in a cast and he was antsy enough to need distraction. Andy had suggested volunteering as a joke, then they had both egged each other on right up until they were writing their names down and getting assigned a time and place. 

Now they stood in hair nets and plastic gloves, in an old but clean kitchen making three hundred sandwiches. 

Andy clicked the replay button. They were, unfortunately, well ahead of schedule. 

Jason considered snatching her phone and throwing it into the tub of mayonnaise. No, she’d fish it out and watch it thirty more times just to rub it in. 

He considered dangling whoever sent her that video off the edge of a roof. Upside down. In their underwear. 

“I don’t see why it’s so funny,” he said. “That could be a really dangerous injury. Maybe he broke his ankle and he’s in hospital right now. Or maybe Black Mask’s goons shot him in the head and you’re laughing at a dead man.”

“This video is from a year ago.”

It looped again. He could hear the crunch of his own boots slipping. The ‘oomf’ of impact. 

The sniggering. Dear Lord, the sniggering. 

“Didn’t you meet him, once?”

“Yeah he saved my life.” She wiped away a tear. “Scariest motherfucker I have ever seen.”

He looked at her. “Really?”

“No footage really does him justice.”

“You don’t look very scared,” he said evenly. He slowly sliced another piece of ham. 

A wide grin spread across her face. “Well, he’s not looking, I think I’m safe.”

The temptation to do some very stupid rose within him. He scowled at the deli meat in his hands and called upon his great reserves of restraint. 

“Besides,” Andy said, giggling again, “it’s important for us all to remember our protectors are human. So we don’t take them for granted.”

“I’m sure he’s feeling very appreciated.”

She looked at him funny. 

“Why do you care?”

“Those tomatoes are not getting sliced.” He pointed at her chopping board and knife. 

Her eyes narrowed. “Do you know him?”

“Tomato!” He slapped a piece of ham down. 

“Ham!” She shrieked in return, slapping the next piece of bread down. 

“Tomato!” 

“Ham!”

“Would you two stop yelling sandwich ingredients at each other?” the organiser called from down the hall.

Andy jumped and Jason hiked his shoulders up. 

“Yes, Miss Silvie,” they called in unison, and meekly returned to their work. 

Andy smothered a giggle. 

Jason mouthed ‘tomato!’ at her. 

Next>>

[cxrdioectomy]

@ryusokcn asked, "i generally have several madness-inducing hallucinations before breakfast. - To Law (Sabo's joking. Mostly-) AS SAID BY JASON TODD/ROBIN/RED HOOD || Status: Accepting

He was pretty sure that was a joke. But unfortunately he had accidentally overslept, woke up five minutes before it was time to open the clinic, had a headache and was half dead from only being awake half an hour with no time to drink coffee.

So as far as he was concerned it was to early in the morning to pretend like he was up for humoring him so instead he just crossed his arms and said, "I don't know how I can help you with that. If you need a referral to a psychiatrist you will need to go to the next island over. Because I'm the only doctor in town and I don't get the chance to leave to meet professionals that are well versed in your problem."

And the idea of meeting one and them even having an inkling that he might need help rubbed a nerve that Law himself honestly tried not to think about.

[deadsetobsessions]

Clark was used to being, at the very least, respected by Bruce’s brood of birds.

Nightwing loved him as Robin, Red Hood and Red Robin was equally awed when they met him as Robins, and the current Robin… respected him on the field. Mostly.

So, whatever he’s done to receive Red Robin’s gimlet stare and blank face of immense disapproval, he needs to fix it. ASAP.

But what did he do wrong?

——

Tim Drake was a vigilante on a Mission. No, he was a Bat on a Mission. And that mission is to make Superman’s life as hellish as possible for as long as it took for the man to get his head out of his ass.

While Tim understands the violation that the man must have felt with Conner’s existence coming into life by his nemesis, it doesn’t excuse how the grown adult had been treating Connor, who is still not an adult. In fact, he’s practically a child!

And any good vigilante or person would take offense at a kid being treated badly!

Well, even if Connor was forty, Tim would still feel the same way. His best friend is his best friend. Tim knows himself well enough to admit he is kind of intense and extremely protective of the people he gives his trust to. Ride or die? No, he’s ride, get revenge, and then die. Only Tim and Connor’s other, cherished, friends can hurt his feelings without fear of retaliation.

So when Superman failed to step up to his adult status, Tim Drake went nuclear. First, neutralize Superman’s allies. Fortunately, this is the easiest part of the entire operation. Unfortunately, this included Bruce. Oh well, Bruce should have picked better friends. Tim shrugged and sent a message to his fans and mentor.

RR: If you help Superman or try to stop me, I’ll tell Alfred exactly how many minutes you spent not resting after the last Arkham Breakout got contained and [img. 32] [blackmail 14. pdf] B-man: …Understood.

That’s one down.

RR: Wonder Woman. Can I interest you in a collector item originating from the first world war that currently legally belongs to Drake Industries? W-W: In exchange for my silence, no doubt. RR: It'll be delivered on Wednesday. I'm sure you'll have no time to visit the watch tower.

That's two of the main ones that would defend Superman. By the end of the week, Tim had blackmailed, bribed, and casually distracted everybody that could be in the watch tower next Wednesday, save for Superman. Tim strolled into the cave, locked eyes with the rest of his siblings and Bruce as he cracked open the encryption lock on the kryptonite container and plucked a sizable chunk out of the reinforced safe. He smiled politely at Dick, who stopped in his tracks, and strolled right back out.

"... You know, I don't want to get in between that." Dick muttered.

"Agreed." Damian crossed his arms, looking uneasy.

"That's the smile he gave me when he went to fuck up a gang that mugged Benard. The crime rates went down for a good half a year after that." Steph grimaced.

"I'm sure Supes deserved whatever Timbit's got in store for him. I'm not risking my hide for him." Jason went back to cleaning his guns.

Bruce simply sighed. He couldn't say anything, having been threatened into compliance ages ago. He mentally wished Clark good luck and may his gods have mercy on him, because Tim sure as hell won't.

RR: got the ok

RR: ready?

Cassieeee: Yeah, Bart's got the stuff.

RR: kryptonite secured. Kon?

Cassieeee: Jaime's distracting him

For the rest of the week, he needled and glared at Superman. Tim made sure Superman's existence on the Watch Tower was as miserable as it could be, starting with cold coffee that never heated no mater how much Superman lasered the liquid. Let it be said that Tim gave the man adequate warning.

At meetings:

"Regardless of Superman's less than adequate report-" Tim would say, reveling in the blatant insult because the man's an accredited reporter.

Or, when the League spoke with the present members of Young Justice, they'd do the opposite of Tim's heavy murder glare and ignore Superman the best they can.

With Zatanna's help, he'd concealed his presence from Superman's senses and stalked him around Metropolis for the remainder of the week, perching on the top of his headboard when Clark woke up, appearing behind him during meetings or casual conversations only to glare him.

Tim thought about shredding the man's personal life... but that would be a step too far. He's not a villain. Yet.

And when Wednesday came, Tim, flanked by a blood thirsty Cassie and a coldly cheery Bart, equipped his new kryptonite knuckle rings and stepped into the transporter. Clark was about to be on the receiving end of the most patient Robin. Only fools disturbed a dozing dragon, but Clark was an idiot and Tim is nothing but a full blooded Drake.

——

"What made you change your mind?" Dinah asked Clark. The man had been going to therapy more often, and had been interacting with Superboy more. He tried to check his tone.

Clark held a hand to his cheek. "Red Robin's reckoning," he muttered in a haze. Clark refused to elaborate, even as he glanced around warily.

Dinah stared at Clark. What the hell was he looking for? No one's here.

I love the idea of Tim being openly pissed at Clark for Conner's sake and just scaring the shit out of superman

[yasmindifference]

if ur still doing the title meme, "suffer with my ghost." make me cry plz

Okay anon, from the title+request for tears, I assume you were hoping for some character death here. Unfortunately that's not the way I roll, so instead I offer a different kind of angst:

A scenario where Jason is working with the Bats on...let's say friendlyish terms. They're a long way from BFF and he is very quick to shoot down any kind of indication from Bruce or Dick that they consider him family, but they're cooperating for the sake of Gotham.

Only thing is, Tim doesn't seem willing to play.

He never speaks out against Jason working with them. He even seems to indirectly support it; he'll turn up some piece of intel that might be relevant and mention that someone should pass it on to Red Hood, or he'll reference Jason having something covered when they're splitting up work, or whatever. But despite these regular shows of trust(?), Tim will not actually work with Jason himself.

Oh, he's subtle about it. There's always a really good reason he speaks up and assigns himself somewhere far away from Jason whenever Batman's passing out team-up assignments. It's not like he says or even hints that he's unwilling to partner up with Jason.

It's just that they're a bunch of frickin detectives, so yeah, everyone picks up what he's carefully not laying down. Tim is not willing to play nice.

And, okay. Jason has an attitude problem, they've all experienced it. And yes, he's crossed a lot of lines in the past. But he's working with them now, he's playing nice, and Tim's refusal to meet in the middle is hindering their effectiveness and also risking their alliance, because it's not like Jason's missed that Tim is very carefully avoiding him.

So Bruce starts trying to put his foot down and force Tim to partner with Jason, because this is never gonna get settled if Tim keeps weaseling his way out of even being in the same room as Jason. Unfortunately, Tim is a world-class weasel-er and keeps managing to slip off to other, totally legitimate and very important work before Bruce can get a word in. Tim's tricky that way.

It gets to the point that Bruce and Dick are honestly annoyed by Tim's unwillingness to cooperate. Working with people you don't like is honestly just part of life and Tim is being downright childish; it's extremely frustrating.

So the next time there's a team-up, no one gives Tim a chance to speak. Dick physically covers his mouth while Bruce jumps right into saying "Tim, you'll be partnered with Jason" before even telling anyone what the plan they're teaming up to enact is. He's counting on Tim, who's thus far been very subtle about avoiding Jason, being unwilling to make a scene with Jason right there.

....But he's counting incorrectly, because when Dick lets Tim go, Tim flat-out refuses. It's not happening.

Jason's offended by this frankly rude rejection, and says so. Bruce is annoyed at Tim's disobedience, and snaps at him. And Dick is at his wits' end with everyone in this clusterfuck of a family, so he brings up the 'childish' argument.

Tim waits until they're done, then very coldly points out that the issue du jour is that Scarecrow is out of Arkham. Scarecrow. AKA the guy who frequently exposes people to chemicals that make them hallucinate their worst fears. It's therefore tactically unsound for Tim to work with Jason, because he won't be able to tell the difference between Jason and any potential hallucinations.

The implication there is that Jason is one of Tim's worst fears. To a degree that he expects to see him when exposed to fear toxin.

Everyone is horrified, Jason most of all. They're also shocked, and Tim is openly disdainful about this.

Jason, as he reminds them, has tried to kill him more than once. Jason openly hates him. Jason regularly insults him using the same terminology he applied before the murder attempts. Jason has all the height, weight, and training advantages. Tim has never beaten Jason in a real fight.

Of course Tim is terrified of Jason. He'd be a moron not to be.

His piece said, Tim slips away to go fight Scarecrow not at the side of a man he's likely to hallucinate under the effects of fear toxin. It takes Bruce and Dick quite a while to follow.

Jason doesn't go out that night. He's a little busy hating himself.

[ayamari-no-goshi]

And Think of Him as Living - Danny’s chapter

AO3 — > Companion to this fic, To Join the Whispers

Fandoms: Danny Phantom (DP) / DC universe

Summary: THIS IS A CROSSOVER. What was supposed to have been a normal mission to stop  members of the League of Assassins became something so much more when  their family accidentally tangled with a ghost. And sometimes, the  details leading to the resolution were obvious to some while completely  missed by others. Companion chapters to ‘To Join the Whispers’ written from the POVs of some of the others

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, and questionable mental health

Parings: none

Notes: originally uploaded to AO3. Cross-posted to tumblr

Danny tuned out his parents as they ranted about how ghosts must have infiltrated the various hero organizations throughout the world. They’d never be able to see the flaws in their own logic, especially not after they interacted with Jason the previous night.

He had the shock of a lifetime when he woke up in the hotel room the Bats were using to find out what happened after he’d been knocked out. Jason was officially a halfa like him, like Vlad, and he felt so conflicted about it.

Jason had made it very clear he didn’t want superpowers. While Danny didn’t want to pry, he figured it had something to do with his criminal past. If he’d done even half the things the Red Hood had been reported to do in the years after his appearance, then it made sense he didn’t want that temptation. On top of that, the way Vlad triggered that transformation… It just wasn’t right.

But, Jason was like him now. He was someone else who was unfortunately trapped between life and death and was forced to deal with the uncertainty of it. There’d be several weeks of adjustment as he figured out how to control his new powers and deal with the changes to his body.

And, according to Dick, Nightwing, and the others, Jason had fiercely protected Danny from his parents. While he knew the Bats wouldn’t purposely allow their allies to be harmed, there was just something about it that deeply touched him. It was true Jason didn’t know he was in his ghost form at time, didn’t realize just how dangerous ghost hunting gear was to him now, but he still made that decision to protect him.

He also cared, like legitimately cared. For example, Jason had called him out on how he tried to minimize Vlad hurting him. It was so strange to hear someone who understood being a hero scold him for shrugging things like that off. Sure, Jazz had warned him about it too, but it meant more coming from Jason.

He could sort out his mixed feelings later. Right now, he needed to conspire with Jazz to make sure his parents don’t do something stupid, like deciding to go after Batman, or Ancients forbid, Superman, because they think they’re ghosts. Danny loved his parents, he really did, but once they got a wrong idea in their heads, sometimes nothing could change it.

….

“Took you long enough.” Irritation laced Sam’s voice as she watched him approach their favorite spot in Amity’s Marley Park from her perch in a large and old maple tree. “You better have one heck of an explanation for us after what happened last night.”

Tucker glanced up from his PDA and gave a slight wave. “The news has been freaking out all morning over the appearance Batman and the other heroes from Gotham in Amity. Normally, I would have given my left arm to have gotten a chance to meet some of them, but, dude, you got seriously hurt. I thought you said they weren’t here for any ghost business.”

“They weren’t.” Danny sighed as he collapsed at the foot of Sam’s tree. “Vlad decided to get them involved.” After debating for a moment, he added, “I’m not going to be able to tell you everything because parts of it I just can’t. I don’t need to be watching over my shoulder because Batman thinks I gave away too many secrets.”

Tucker took a seat next to him and sympathetically patted his shoulder. “I get that. Tell us what you can.”

“I think I told you they were originally here investigating those weird people we saw around town. Nightwing and Red Robin gave me a bit more context this morning once they were sure I was okay.” That was a tense meeting. Once they made sure he was okay and provided a little more information in case more assassins showed up in the future. Then he found out what happened to Jason. “I guess the leader of those guys is researching things associated with immortality and coming back to life. He’s already somewhat familiar with ectoplasm as he owns a corrupted pool of the stuff.”

The echoes of Jason saying, ‘A regular pain in the ass watches over something similar to your parents’ Portal. He mostly uses it for healing injuries and keeping himself young and insane,’ repeated in his head. Just how problematic was this guy?

“And with Amity being filled to the brim with ghosts,” Sam climbed down from the branch to sit next to them, “and your parent’s portal, it would make sense they’d come here. Your new friend, Jason, he’s one of the Bats, right? That’s why he asked you if you could check outside.” When he raised an eyebrow at her, she backtracked, “Secrets related to Batman, right.”

“I told you I was curious about Jason because I could feel the ectoplasm in his body, right?” When his friends nodded, he continued, “Well, Vlad was also aware of that. Frostbite told us he was still technically human but with enough ectoplasm to be a bit ghostly. But Vlad didn’t get that memo and though either the process was still ongoing, or he had a dormant core or something. While his family was distracted outside, Vlad … I guess he decided it would be easier to get Jason to go along with his plans by showing how strong he was by overshadowing all of the guests.”

“Guys, what Vlad ended up doing…” He couldn’t finish. Jason’s screams were going to haunt his dreams for weeks. Had he sounded anything like that when he was dying in the portal?

And then there was the scramble to get Vlad out of the way so they could get Jason out of that thing. Batman hadn’t even cared if he got hurt trying to break that glass. There was just a tangible feeling of fear and desperation because his family had no idea what was happening to him.

To make it worse, a growing horror had gnawed at Danny in the tense few moments after Jason was pulled to safety. His form was flickering. It wasn’t the same as unstable invisibility. No, there had been a very real possibility he could have faded. There were a lot of hushed debates among ghosts if that meant they passed on properly or just ceased to be, and not knowing that was not something he wanted to admit to a devastated Batman.

“… I can’t even talk about it.” He ran his hands through his hair as he tried for find words. “If… if what happened to me when I went into the Portal was anywhere near as bad as what Vlad did to him, I’m so sorry I put you through that.”

His friends didn’t say anything. Instead, they moved closer, so they were touching his shoulders with theirs as a silent form of support and comfort. After a moment, Sam started moving her hands in comforting circles on his back while Tucker pulled up a few photos of animals getting the better of the G.I.W on his PDA to help lighten the mood. He really didn’t deserve his friends.

As the mood lightened some, Tucker uncomfortably shifted before asking, “I hate to be the one to ask, but is Jason okay?”

“Mostly?” He was starting to get into territory where he had to be careful what he said again. “You know how I was after my accident? Well, that’s how it’s going to be for him for a while.”

“Wait, you’re telling me Vlad succeeded? Dude, that’s seriously messed up. Wait!” Tucker sat straight up. “Is… is that why the Red Hood looked like that? I couldn’t figure out why he was wearing blue.”

“I’m not allowed to confirm or deny that.”

“Pushing that aside, are we just going to ignore the fact that your new friend is a mass murderer and now has ghost powers?” Of course, that was what Sam would end up focusing on. “I knew there was a reason he bothered me.”

“He didn’t want powers,” Danny snapped at her before reigning in his temper. She didn’t have all of the information he did, and he had to remind himself of that. “I asked him about it, and he was very honest about what he has and hasn’t done. After talking to Frostbite, he told me he’d ruin my reputation if he was unlucky enough for things to become permanent.” While he wasn’t able to see it on his face due to his gear at that specific time, Danny hadn’t missed the bitterness and possibly self-loathing in Jason’s expression when he tried to get him to use his powers before the transformation happened. He really didn’t trust himself.

Nightwing, Dick, had told him that Jason was working on redeeming himself. Did it erase everything he’d previously done, no? But, the fact that he was aware of that and actively trying to do better said a lot about his character.

Was it the loneliness talking? Maybe. Jason would officially be the only person, other than Vlad, he could talk to about the weirdness of being half-dead. Though, when he left for Gotham, would they even have a chance to talk again? With how busy Jason and his family were reported to be with their hero duties, it was a real possibility.

Danny could worry about it later. He still had to explain things to his friends.

“Frostbite mentioned the corrupted ectoplasm in his system affected his thoughts,” Danny continued as he pushed aside his thoughts about his new friend leaving, “and his brothers used the term ‘pit madness’ when we were trading information before he woke up. They’d seen similar behavior in others who’d been exposed to it like him, but those guys didn’t have the same permanent effects.” And even if he hadn’t said anything, Danny hadn’t missed how some of the tension in Jason’s shoulders lessened when Frostbite told him things would get better.

“Woah, back up,” Tucker scooted so he could look him in the eyes. “Are you saying there are others, other humans, who have been driven crazy by ectoplasm?”

“I guess? Both Frostbite and Jason and his family suggested it happened, but it’s not like I’m going to get any more information about it from Batman. I might be able to coax Frostbite to give me more info… I could ask Clockwork, but you know how hard it is for me to get him to directly tell me anything.”

As he thought about it for a moment, he jolted slightly. “Guys, I forgot to tell you about the damage control Jazz and I had to play before I met up with you. If you want to talk about crazy, my parents are currently making a list of all the heroes they think might be ghosts.”

“I’m sorry,” Sam stared at him, “I think I misheard you. What are your parents doing?”

….

As dinner rolled around, Danny found himself wandering the streets of Amity with his friends. While his friends still wanted more information about what happened the previous night, they knew he needed a bit of normalcy. One of the things about being a halfa was that he didn’t get a lot of time to just be himself and not worry about the next ghost attack or whatever nasty plot Vlad decided to pull.

As they turned onto the street where the majority of the non-Nasty Burger restaurants were located (Sam had decided to treat them), Danny noticed a few familiar figures. The Wayne family, minus Jason and Bruce, were arguing at across the street. As their voices wafted towards them, he could catch bits of insults from mostly Tim and Damian and talk of dinner.

Before he could decide if he should wave or not, Dick noticed him and caught the other’s attention. Soon they were across the street and had somewhat surrounded them. Their postures weren’t threatening, but after what Danny saw of what they could do the previous night, it still made him a bit nervous.

Cass must have noticed as she tapped Dick on the arm. “He’s wary.”

“Huh, oh!” Dick gave Danny an apologetic grin. “Sorry about that.”

“We’re just out to grab some grub,” Duke explained as he glanced around. “Living in a mansion is nice and all, but we don’t get a lot of chances to grab take out.”

“Don’t let Alfred hear you say that. You’ll break his heart,” Dick teased before noticing the confusion written on Danny and his friend’s faces. “Alfred is Bruce’s butler and unofficial dad.”

“I know that feeling,” Sam grudgingly admitted, “but my parents just think that any food that isn’t bought from their upscale markets or whatever isn’t fit enough to eat.” She made a face. “And yet the vegan options they’ll bring home for me are bland and tasteless.”

“Sam, vegan options are already bland and tasteless.” Tucker put his hands up with a shrug as she turned around to glare at him. “What? I’m just stating the facts, and let’s not forget your ultra-recyclo-vegetarian phase. You tried to convince us that grass on a bun was edible.”

“I already told you that all of that was perfectly safe to eat. You’re just mad that my individuality upset a ghost.”

“Yeah, a ghost who threw ovens that spat ghostly fire at us.”

“I am not sure I understand,” Damian interrupted with a huff. His eyes were darting between the three of them. “A ghost did not appreciate vegan options and attacked as a result?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you speak like an old man?” Danny asked before he could stop himself causing Tim to start laughing. “Sorry, that was kind of rude. But, yeah, the ghost who most of call the Lunch Lady wasn’t happy that someone,” he glanced at Sam, “changed the school menu. That was the first major ghost attack in Amity.”

“I was just properly educated unlike the majority of the ignorant population.”

“Just keep telling yourself that, demon,” Tim muttered before glancing at Dick. “Is it a bad thing I want to know who’s worse, this lunch lady ghost or Condiment King?”

“Condiment King? Should I ask?” When he noticed the varying looks of annoyed frustration, Danny amended, “I guess he’s Gotham’s version of the Box Ghost, got it. Anyways, is Jason around too?”

Dick’s smile slipped off his face. “No, he’s back at the hotel room. Him and Bruce are bonding which means we should probably figure out what we want for dinner and head back. You’re welcome to join us, if you’d like.”

“I…”

Before Danny could make up his mind, Tucker made a show of checking his PDA. “Crap, I totally forgot it’s meatloaf night. Sorry guys, you know I won’t miss that for the world. Nice meeting all of you.” It definitely wasn’t meatloaf night – that was on Wednesdays. Tucker was purposely giving him space to handle Phantom related business.

Was he really that transparent? He wasn’t that worried about Jason. Okay, maybe he was.

“Guess I should get going too,” Sam mentioned taking a cue from Tucker, though she couldn’t quite keep the scowl off her face. “Keep us up to speed with what your parents are doing. I want to know what crazy plan they creating to take down the Batman. You know full well he’s going to end up on the list of heroes they think are ghosts.”

“Right now, they’re still in the debating phase, but Dad was talking about possibly modifying that ice ray they have on the GAV.” Danny did everything he could to ignore the stares of the heroes circling him.

Sam just rolled her eyes before glancing at the Waynes. “There’s a new Thai place that’s opened up down the road. We’ve heard it’s pretty good. Anyways, you better send a text when you get home tonight. I don’t want to find out tomorrow that you got knocked out and ended up sleeping in a ditch.”

“That only happened once!”

“It shouldn’t have happened at all.” She glanced at the Waynes and gave them a very flat look which clearly said, ‘See what I have to deal with?’

“We’ll make sure he gets home,” Dick assured her while some of the others tried to stifle laughter.

While Sam’s slightly raised eyebrow clearly stated she didn’t exactly believe him, she didn’t press the issue. Instead, she said her goodbyes before heading off.

Glancing at the Waynes, Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he apologized for his friends. “They’re super protective of me. I didn’t tell them who you are, if you’re worried about that,” he added quickly. “But they know you know about me and that I trust you with that knowledge.”

“Don’t let B hear you say things like that,” Tim warned him. “I don’t think you want to hear the secret identity lecture, but we are going to have to help you take better precautions. We had you figured out within in a few hours of meeting you.”

He sputtered as the others laughed. “You guys are smarter than like the entirety of Amity Park combined!”

“No, we’re just good at our jobs.”

….

The Waynes decided to take Sam’s suggestion and check out the new Thai place. They seemed to be pleasantly surprised at how large the menu was and quickly picked what they wanted. Danny wasn’t as familiar with some of the ingredients, but Damian surprised him by explaining what they were.

Once all the orders were in, Danny found himself having a nice chat with Duke as they waited. With Duke being the newest member of the family, he was still getting used all the quirks of living with the others. He entertained Danny with some of the things in the manor that seemed so normal to the others but baffled him. It was surprisingly nice to hear.

When the food was ready, they made their way back to the hotel. Things were pretty chill between the siblings until they started discussing if they should openly take action against Vlad in the business world. While they agreed that it would be wise to slowly start cutting off the man’s wealth, they didn’t agree on whether or not to take action before or after the police investigation.

When he asked what they meant, Danny had the displeasure to find out that Vlad had been brutally killing people, and that the Waynes had tipped off the police. They had gotten word that the police had begun mobilizing to get the needed documentation to begin looking. It helped that Superman had given them confirmation that there were bodies and where they were.

He must have made some sort of look (because who just causally mentions they know Superman in a conversation?), because the others laughed at him before continuing the conversation. But things went from pleasant to tense as the assassins got mentioned and a fight sprung up between Tim and Damian.

“Normal,” Cass told him when he attempted to speak up.

“Yeah, from what I’ve learned, as long as they’re not openly trying to kill each other, it’s mostly fine,” Duke added.

“Mostly?” He wasn’t given any further explanation. What was with this family? Even Jason openly mentioned he had tried to kill the others, and it was just treated like nothing was wrong with it. Was it a superhero thing? He really hoped it wasn’t a superhero thing.

Damian and Tim were still fighting when they reached the hotel room. “Do I even want to know?” Jason questioned when he watched them tumble into the room. He wasn’t even phased by the sight of it.

“It’s just the usual,” Dick’s tired voice immediately lightened as he gestured to Danny. “Look who we ran into! Hope it’s okay we invited him.”

Danny watched as Bruce Wayne gave Jason a fatherly smile before welcoming him inside and grabbing the food off of him so it could be moved to the kitchen area of the suite. He wasn’t going to lie. It was kind of unnerving to see Batman act like a regular person. Duke and Cass took the other food from them and joined Bruce in the kitchen as Dick attempted to half-heartedly stop the fight.

He glanced at Jason, who didn’t seem to be bothered by the scene. “Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“Why? Means more food for us.”

“You better not touch my dinner, Todd,” Damian announced as he lost interest in Tim and hurried to the table where the others were starting to take everything out of the bags and set the table. Tim made a face before he and Dick followed.

When Danny sent Jason a questioning look, he just winked. Whatever magic tactic he just watched, he needed to learn to help stop Sam and Tucker’s fights.

Still feeling a little uncomfortable being so around so many heroes, he took a seat next to Jason. Even before Jason’s transformation, Danny had found himself relatively comfortable in his presence. Sure, there had been some unease when he first felt the strange ectoplasm in his body, but he guessed the feeling of finding someone who understood overwrote it.

The others seemed to sense he was uneasy as they started sharing stories of their early days and some of their fumbles on the field. Danny found himself fascinated. These were trained heroes, but they were openly admitting that they weren’t perfect and made mistakes too. It made him hopeful that things were going to get better.

“So, Jason, you never did explain how you broke your friend out of prison.” Duke crossed his arms as he waited for an answer.

Curious, Danny looked between him and Jason, who didn’t seem to want to explain. That was something Danny noticed during the stories. Jason hadn’t been as willing to provide details as the others, especially if it was something that happened after he stopped being Robin.

“Dressed as a priest, infiltrated the prison, and broke Arsenal out.” He tried taking another bite of his food only to have his fork slip through his fingers. “Dammit.”

“Oh no, you’re not getting away with not giving us details this time.” Dick poked Jason in the side a few times. “Spill.”

If you asked Danny, Jason’s sigh seemed staged as he began his story. Unlike his other stories, he was more animated as he explained how he broke in and gave Arsenal, who Danny had gathered was an archer, his bow right before he was due to be executed. Jason had revealed himself at that time, and the two escaped exchanging fire with the others in the jail.

The others didn’t seem to be familiar with the story either. Duke and Dick seemed openly concerned with the close calls. Damian oddly seemed bored but would nod his head on occasion as if he approved of some of the kills Jason reported. Tim argued with him a few times about why he decided to do certain things.

“Will you shut up and let me talk, Timbo?” Jason eventually snapped at him. “Not all of us like planning every single move out. Besides, I like having room to improvise. Makes life more exciting.”

“But you could have avoided half of what happened!”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

Bruce sighed and rubbed his forehead. He’d been oddly quite during Jason’s story, but he did frown several times. Danny knew he had a no kill policy, so he figured that was at least part of it. “Tim, let him finish. You can talk about what could have been done differently later.”

“We have a guest,” Cass reminded with a slight nod even if she’d frowned at Jason a few times as well.

“Now that that’s settled, where was I? Right, we were trying to get away.”

Once Jason finished, Danny debated a moment before deciding to share a story of his own. “Um… So, I might have kinda caused a prison riot and breakout in the Ghost Zone once.” As he told the story of how he first met Walker and got on his bad side, the heroes around him listened in awe. It felt great to be able to openly talk about it.

Once he finished, a few questions got asked. He had to remind himself that there was a lot about the Zone and ghosts that the Bats didn’t know yet. Once they were satisfied, Tim asked if he was willing to share another story. With a smile, he told the story of his first encounter with Vlad.

…

After dinner, Danny was shocked to learn that the Waynes were going to be returning to Gotham the next day. He figured that they’d stay at least a few days to let Jason adjust before getting him on a plane. He wasn’t going to admit that he wanted them, especially Jason, to stick around for a little longer.

But he understood. They had a duty to their home in Gotham, and from the reports he’d heard, crime was so common that them being away from the city for too long could be disastrous. It was somewhat like Amity Park in that regard.

When they were cleaning up dinner, Danny barely caught Bruce give Jason a look. After a quick nod, Jason pulled him into the living room area of the suite. He seemed almost uncomfortable which struck Danny as strange. What could make someone who has faced the villains of Gotham and death nervous?

Turns out, the answer was having a heart-to-heart chat. Who knew the Red Hood had trouble with stuff like that?

“Bruce and I were talking while you guys were getting food.” He glanced towards the kitchen to scowl at his siblings. Judging by how they moved out of sight, they must have been listening. “He’s offered to set up a Zeta Tube, something that allows near instantaneous travel, between here and Gotham. If you’d like to, we can provide training and gear and even help with medical needs. I think Bruce might want scans for a baseline first though. He’s also offered to provide a safe house if something happens, and you need to hide out for a while.”

Danny’s thoughts stopped for a moment as he registered what Jason was trying to tell him. Batman, THE Batman, was offering to help him, but if that was the case, why was Jason telling him about it?

Maybe it was because it was too good to be true. With the exception of his friends and sister, no human had ever offered to help him to that extent before. Sure, the people of Amity occasionally did little things, but nothing to that extent. And there were still large groups of people in Amity who thought he was just a mindless monster. But Jason wasn’t exactly human, and he trusted Batman…

There was the also an unsaid part of the offer. Danny would be able to help Jason adjust. While he wasn’t certain if Jason felt the same sort of loneliness he did, he’d at least be able to keep in regular contact with someone who was like him. He wouldn’t be alone anymore.

“You don’t have to agree if you don’t want to,” Jason quickly when he didn’t reply. “I know you have issues with Plasmius, and with Bruce being a billionaire too, it’s probably weird…”

“It is kinda weird, I’m not going to lie about that,” he admitted, “but I think I’d like that.”

Danny didn’t miss the slight smile that momentarily appeared on Jason’s face as he quickly wrote down a phone number before handing it to him. “Look, I might not be able to answer immediately, but if you need me… I’ll do my best to respond.”

After taking it from him, he stared at the number momentarily before giving Jason a hug. There was something about the gesture that seemed to be more personal to Jason then it would be to the average person, and Danny wanted him to know just how much he appreciated it.

He felt Jason stiffen at his touch, but he quickly relaxed. It didn’t last long as his siblings silently started teasing him. Somewhat embarrassed by their response, he pulled away and let Jason deal with them.

A text from his sister reminded him of what time it was, and he explained he had to head back home, which rather hilariously interrupted the rough housing that started. He really wished he would have taken a picture of how they stopped – Dick had been trying to stay out of the grip of Jason and Cass. Damian had climbed on Jason’s shoulders in some attempt to stop him. Tim had been cheering from the couch while Duke was trying to stay out of it. Bruce just looked tired.

After a round of goodbyes, Jason surprised him by ruffling his hair. “Stay safe, Glowstick. We’ll be in touch.”

As he left, Danny could feel his core thrumming. He recognized the sensation as the same one he sometimes got when he spent time with his friends when ghosts weren’t involved or when he visited Pandora. Sure, he was still learning some of the weird things about being a ghost, but he at least knew it was something positive.

Glancing up at the stars which were just starting to appear, he reminded himself he needed to send Jason some links in the morning.

[arty-chase]

Graveyard Siblings (5)

[Masterlink] (PART 1) (PART 4)

-----

Mari and Cass sometimes switch their suits as they have the same body type. Cass would sometimes go out in full Hellbat gear and give the appearance that Hellbat is out more often than she actually is.

So Orphan/Black Bat also sometimes uses guns.

This also helps with concealing secret identities. Maria was rescued by Hellbat from Joker’s Henchmen. (Vicki Vale was getting sus of the new Wayne and Hellbat.)

Unfortunately since Hellbat rarely comes out and she had already made all of her appearance for the month and it wasn’t a busy weekend, the public had come to the conclusion that Hellbat has a crush on the newest Wayne.

Basically everyone thought that Mari has a crush on herself. Which led to some teasing and escalated to Mari announcing that Jason had a crush on Red Hood on live TV.

It didn’t help that a video of Red Hood and Jason re-enacting Romeo and Juliet with Jason on his apartment balcony and Red Hood on the roof was posted on the internet a few days later. (Thank you, Trixx and Tim’s awesome video editing skills)

Sadly, it was taken down 24 hours later. (Tim and the others have multiple copies of it, on the cloud or hardware, hidden around in the manor and their respective safehouses in the US.)

Some people kidnapped Jason to hopefully gain leverage over the Red Hood and to their dismay and nightmares for years to come, Hellbat came instead.

One lucky and incredibly brave reporter asked why she was there instead of her brother.

Mari being a little shit, “Red Hood may be a tough and scary guy but when it comes to his feelings, my brother is a chicken.”

Pictures of Jason tackling Hellbat somehow never made it into any papers.

The criminal underworld hasn’t taken a hint and Jason has been kidnapped a few more times.

Other times Jason was kidnapped:

Robin: Red Hood made a fool of himself in front of Todd recently and he doesn’t dare to show his face.

Spoiler: He was taking too damn long checking his hair even though I told him that no one was going to see it under his helmet and he was so offended that he is currently sulking in the bathroom.

Red Robin: Red Hood can’t think straight when he is around Jason. I mean have you seen the dude.

Arsenal*during a rare visit to Gotham*: Red Hood owes me one now.

Dick finally ends it by going out as Red Hood and rescuing Jason. Gotham is happy that Redson (Red Hood x Jason) ship has finally sailed.

-------

Kate, Babs, Cass, Steph and Mari were out on Mari’s first girls’ night since her move to the manor.

This is set a little after she came back from Paris with Jason.

They watched rom-com movies, did hair and nails, gossip about the superhero community and bitch and vent to each other.

Marinette off-handedly mentioned the crazy shits she had done during her stint as Ladybug. It started with asking about the T-rex in the Batcave and she mentions jumping into the mouth of a live one before.

Everyone in the room was shocked and after a few more questions, it was obvious that she was very reckless and self-sacrificing. Yep, she was going to fit into this crazy family just fine.

And Holy Shit. There is so much trauma packed into this kid. She needs lots of therapy.

Babs finally decided that they all needed to get out and have some fun. All in their respective suits and they went out.

Joined by Harley, Ivy and Selina.

Plagg came along because I want Plagg to meet Selina.

It was a chaotic night and it was a miracle that Bruce didn’t find out about what the girls did.

-------

Batman and Red Hood were on patrol together when Selina jumped in front of them.

“Hello, Boys”

“What do you want, Catwoman?”

“I want to meet my new prodigy, Kitty Noire.”

Cue Marinette jumping down from her hiding spot, transformed with the Black Cat Miraculous. “Hiya.”

Red Hood carries her like a potato sack and points his gun at the other two.

“Nope, she’s my sister and I called dibs. I adopted her. She’s off limits.”

“Legally, she’s mine.” Batman coughed out.

“I did it first. Emotionally. She’s my emotional support sister. You have plenty kids already, B and Selina, get your own.”

“Hey, I am still here and can hear you.”- Maria

-------

Alya was worried for Lila. She had been acting weirdly for the past month.

She looked very out of sorts. Her clothes weren’t in order and her hair was in disarray. She had bags under her eyes and her eyes looked wild. Lila didn’t look like herself at all.

She jumped at any sound and flinched at really sudden movements.

Alya tried to find out what was wrong with Lila and received vague answers.

One time Lila said that Marinette is to blame.

Alya reaches the somewhat right conclusion that Marinette was haunting Lila and hurting her because Lila used to come to school with bruises and claims that Marinette did it.

Alya goes to Marinette’s grave to desecrate it. (Yeah, go anger the ghost that is haunting someone.)

Unfortunately, the moment she tries to do something, the sky turns dark, clouds appear and the wind begins whipping. A Lightning strike near her and there was a cloaked figure beside her with a scythe.

All Alya saw from the figure was the blood-red lips in a very sharp grin and glowing blue eyes, raising the scythe high before she ran away. The scythe swiped the air where her head once was.

Alya didn’t get far before she tripped and blacked out.

When she woke up, she found herself in the hospital with no idea how she got there.

She was told that somebody found her with a concussion in the park and took her to the hospital.

------

The next one on Mari’s hit list was Natalie.

She wasn’t as involved in the whole thing like Lila, Adrien or Gabriel but she still did it anyways.

Her punishment is a little mild compared to the others and was more of a warning to Gabriel.

Natalie woke up in the middle of the night to see a not-so-dead Ladybug sitting on her vanity chair with the moonlight from the windows illuminating her body and her neck. Her suit was torn exactly like the day of that battle with blood dripping down her arms and from her open wounds. The shadows kept her face hidden but glowing blue eyes stared at her.

Natalie was scared at first. But she regained her normal cool composure.

“I assume you are here to extract your revenge for aiding in your unfortunate demise. But before you kill me, I regret my part in my entire thing and I apologize for everything I have done against you even though I knew it was wrong.”

“At least you show remorse over what you have done. Visiting my grave when even my parents didn’t and leaving flowers. I love those purple hyacinths by the way. Did you know that they mean sorry in the language of the flowers?”

“Why are you stalling my death? Just kill me already.”

“Madam Sancouer. You just played a minor role in my downfall compared to what Adrien and Lila Rossi did to me. And you showed more guilt over your actions than they ever did and Adrien claimed to have loved me. And like I have told the Bats, Death is too swift of a punishment.”

“Who are the bats?”

“None of your concern. You should be more concerned about yourself.”

“Lila sees the ghosts of her past and they haunt her. Adrien is in a living nightmare and has no control over his actions and is despised by everyone. What are you going to do to me?”

“Well, since you show some guilt over your actions, let me tell you a little secret. I am not dead. Not really. I mean I did die. But there was a spell in the grimoire that revived me. It took a few days to work.”

Marinette changed to her normal form. It was a little jarring to see an older Marinette Dupain-Cheng sitting on her vanity chair like it was a throne. The Ladybug suit and the wounds were gone. She looked a little familiar.

“Why are you telling me this? What was the point?” Natalie faltered as she wondered why the girl looked familiar. Marinette moved closer and her face was fully illuminated by the moonlight.

“I intend to take everything by which I mean everything from Gabriel Agreste for what he did.”

“M. Agreste just wanted his wife back. You just gave him your Miraculous, you would still have everything.”

“What difference would it make? Sure I had friends and family before but they turned out to be disappointing. I might have become a famous designer like I dreamed of and can't achieve because I died. Besides, he never said about wanting his wife to come back in his tedious monologues. For all we knew back then, he wanted them for world domination. He showed that he would end the world for them. For kwamis’ sake, he nearly started World War III, just for a pair of earring and a ring. He was willing to kill me to have her back. No wait, he did that too. If he actually read the translated grimoire or asked the Guardian or at least someone with magic for help instead or maybe used his head and made some who can heal as his champion using the Butterfly, we wouldn’t even be in this mess. Face it, Mme Sancour, your boss is a power-hungry and very controlling maniac who is also thankfully an idiot.”

“But- he- he just-. You are just a child, what do you know? M. Agreste knew what he was doing.”

“A child who had a normal life up until he tried to ruin it with his idiotic schemes and hiring Lila to do it. A child who had to fight a war on her own.”

“I am sorry you had to go through that but I doubt you and your little revenge rampage is going to solve anything.”

Ghostly Chains wrapped around Natalie’s body, squeezing tight like it was squeezing the life out of her.

“I was all for sparing you, you know. If you had actually listened to my side of the story, you would have spared from my ‘little revenge rampage’. This is going to be a little painful. Sorry about that.” In a tone that was definitely not sorry.

Pain coursed through Natalie’s body. Her skin crawled and itched as pitch back feathers grew out of it. Her bones turned to dust and reformed.

Where Natalie Sancour once was, there was a raven.

An omen of death and destruction for one Gabriel Agreste.

Marinette leaned down towards the raven. Natalie tried to peck her eye out but Marinette held the beak in a firm grip.

“Ah. ah ah. Luckily for you this is temporary. Mostly. Every night, you will assume this shape and each night the longer you will stay in this form. Slowly counting down the days until Gabriel’s downfall. Since you love helping him so much, you are going to help him know how long he has to live. The night you are a raven from sunset to sunrise, that sunrise starts the day Gabriel Agreste will be utterly destroyed.”

She released the beak and headed towards the window.

"Send him my regards."

With that, she was gone.

(Part 6)

[cyraniadebergerac]

If you're also a Batman fan,

Hogan being the second Robin after Dick but before Jason, taking on the mantle with Dick's blessing. He had been orphaned by his mom dying in Cleveland and arrived in Gotham to live with his uncle Crane aka Scarecrow. He made himself useful to him by using his charm and skill for deception to get him research money, not knowing the full extent of what Crane did. Then one thing leads to another and Batman ends up saving and taking him in. Then after a while as the 2nd Robin, WWII breaks out. He decides to enter the war and leaves home, from there ending up in Stalag 13th.

From Alfred's letters, he hears the news about Jason becoming the next Robin and some other news. But there's never a letter written to him when Jason dies. So after the war's over and he goes home, he's expecting trouble with Bruce. But he's also expecting to get to meet his little brother.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), Jason comes back as Red Hood soon after Hogan comes home and so they both meet for the first time that way, while Hogan is struggling to adjust after the war and is trying to decide what he really aims to do in life. One thing's for certain. Eagle is not about to become his hero name.

Bonus points if you have Klink, after a name change to William Clark, end up getting employed as a Wayne Foundation accountant without Hogan's knowledge. And then having the crew end up in Gotham and slowly learning Hogan's true background, starting with Kinchloe who uses a number Hogan gave him to contact because he's struggling to find a job.

Do you ever write a fic and part way through you don't necessarily become stuck, but you have to write "boring" chapters that eventually lead you to the more meatier chapters. And you don't want to have to write them. But you do if you want to finish your fic. But because you don't wanna have to do that, you try to come up with another story to write that will be a little more fun?

Well, that's me right now. The problem is, I can't think of any (short!) story to write. All my WIPs are long stories.

So, if anyone wants to throw out some ideas for me, that'd be nice. I may not actually write anything, but I find that having ideas thrown my way help get my creative juices to start flowing.

[soulmate-game]

Curiosity Killed the Exorcist

“And then, see here? You have to be on the lookout for subtle signs like these. This indicates that he’s…” Marinette nodded as Tim continued explaining, pointing out various body language and other clues out on the Batcomputer. It had only been about six months since the Batfam collectively adopted the little ladybug into their menagerie of heroes, and started teaching her deductive habits and skills. She would not allow them anywhere near Paris on pain of death (some of them had already tried, and Bruce was still recovering from the bruise to his ego. The bruise on his ass from being teleported out of the city and onto the stone of the Batcave was gone, though) but she welcomed any help they could give from within Gotham’s city limits.

Usually, at least in the beginning, they did their mentorship at a distance over video call. But then Tim found out her identity, and Marinette made the excuse of wanting to meet with them in person to gauge their trustworthiness for herself and erase their memories of her identity if they failed her test— and, well, it all snowballed from there until she was teleporting to the Batcave every few days for detective lessons. She was practically a Bat herself, if not for her out of theme codename. And she found herself surprisingly comfortable with the thought of them being a… very eccentric extended family.

Tim was flipping to another saved video in the Batcomputer archives to show another example of his current lesson, when Tikki flew up to Marinette in a hurry. She was holding Kaalki’s glasses. The little kwami whispered something in Marinette’s ear, instantly making the teen blanch and force on the glasses.

“Sorry Timmy, gotta cut this short! I’ll come back tomorrow to make up for it! Okay? Okay! Awesome, you’re the best, bye!” She ignored all of Tim’s protests and rapid fire questions, instead opening up a portal and jumping through it as fast as humanly possible. The portal has barely disappeared before an all-too-familiar voice rose up from behind Tim.

“Maybe I’m still drunk, ‘cause I could’a sworn I just saw a portal closing in the damned Batcave, of all places,” the British-accented drawl was accompanied by the flick of a lighter and accompanying fizzle of a flame. Tim groaned, mentally making a note to ask how in the world Marinette had known that John “Annoying asshole” Constantine was showing up soon, and if he could be in on the warning next time. Bruce, cowl still off, walked over from where he had been sparring with Damian and crossed his arms. He had also heard Marinette’s hasty exit, and made a few mental notes of his own before focusing on the exorcist in front of him.

“What do you want, Constantine?” he grumbled. Any time the blond brit showed up, things only got far more complicated than he ever enjoyed. And he always gave Bruce a migraine, to boot.

“Two things actually, Batsy,” John held up to fingers as his free hand tucked his lighter away in his pocket. His unlit cigarette stayed in his mouth though, probably just for the familiar feel of it. “One; I’m gonna need you to tell me why there was a portal closing when I walked in, because I’ll be honest. The implications there are way more interesting than what I came here for in the first place.”

“None of your business. What’s the second thing?” Bruce immediately shot him down, but John was not one to be deterred. He never fucking was.

“But you hate magic! You make sure I know that all too bloody well every time I pay you a visit, so why the sudden change in heart? Huh?”

“Drop it, Constantine. What. Do you. Want?”

“Fine, fine. I need your help with…”

— * — * — * — * — *

A week later, Marinette was sitting with Jason and Damian in one of the manor’s sitting rooms, the three of them just minding their own business and silently enjoying one another’s presence. Even if two of them would never admit it. Jason was reading Jane Eyre for the millionth time, Damian was leaning against Titus on the ground as he sketched, and Marinette was embroidering a sunhat. Unfortunately for her, Alfred the Cat was currently asleep on her lap and thus holding her hostage.

Even as Tikki flew up to her ear in a panic and whispered, making Marinette prick herself with her needle. She hissed for a second but shrugged off the familiar pain, much more concerned with whatever news Tikki had given her. Damian and Jason were already on high alert from the second that a whispered curse had left her lips, and were staring straight at her and her kwami and Marinette frantically tried to find a way to get up without awakening the cat sleeping on her.

“Uh, what’s wrong?” Jason asked, feeling thoroughly confused and left out. On one hand, he knew that if they were in physical danger she would have moved Alfred the Cat without hesitation. On the other, he did not like the sheer amount of anxiety he could see her experiencing. Marinette’s frantic eyes shot over to him, pupils mere pinpricks and hands mouth agape as she tried to form some sort of plan.

“Uh— “

“Ah! You must be the fair maiden that the Bats are comfortable with using magic around them,” John goddamned Constantine threw the door to the sitting room open wide, making it bounce off of the wall and lightly smack back against his shoulder. He ignored it as he grinned at the three younger people in the room, waltzing in casual as anything. He wagged a finger at her playfully. “I’ve been awfully curious about you, ya know? Brucie boy knows a shit ton of magic users, but he never likes seein’ any of us do our thing. And to not only allow you to teleport without any apparent discomfort but to actively protect your identity from me? Now that’s a damn accomplishment and I really gotta applaud you for it,” he mockingly clapped his hands a few times. “So what’s your secret, huh? I won’t tattle.”

“No thanks. Kaalki, a little help?” Marinette carefully pushed Alfred the Cat off of her lap before diving into the portal that Kaalki whipped up for her, the entire process happening so fast that Constantine couldn’t even get out a proper “hey!” before she was gone and the portal closed. He just nodded, hooking his thumbs in his pockets.

“Ya know what? Fair. That’s fair.”

“Goddamn it, Constantine!” Jason threw up his hands in frustration. “Why the fuck do you have to scare away one of the only sane people in this family?”

“Part of my charm, little red riding hood.”

— * — * — * — * — *

“You know, I’ve been pretty damn nice not teleporting right over to you whenever you disappear. So why don’t you just tell me why you’re avoiding me now that we happen to be in the same room by complete accident, huh?” John asked from where he sat in one of Bruce’s lounge chairs sipping on a beer. Marinette mimed choking him, clearly fed up. He had been trying to have a conversation with her for the past three months, ever since that one time he caught the tail end of her portal closing in the Batcave. Three. Long. Months. And he hadn’t given up, because something about this little Parisian teenager intrigued him. She was sixteen, that much he had gathered from the Bats. But to be sixteen and not only in possession of the Horse miraculous but also clearly the Ladybugs, since he had seen Tikki more than once as well, now that was interesting.

Anybody being in the possession of more than one Miraculous was already cause enough to be keeping an eye on them, which was why he had been keeping an eye on the Paris situation and had pieced together on his own that the presence of Tikki meant that this little parisian teenager was none other than Ladybug herself. Now, that? That was a whole new level of concerning, especially since he knew firsthand that the old Grand Guardian was gone and passed his title down to— yeah, Ladybug.

After that deduction, his interest in Marinette had swiftly switched from curiosity to fuck-I-need-to-know-what’s-going-on-here. Because no kid should have to deal with that kind of weight, and Constantine always looked out for kids when he could.

But right then, Marinette was glaring at him. She had been just coming over for a normal “family” dinner with the Waynes, which she attended from time to time. And apparently they had decided to have Constantine already over so that they could chaperone a meeting between them that would hopefully appease the stupid british magic user enough that he left them all alone again until the next time he needed help.

“Believe me when I say, you’d rather not know,” she replied sharply, glaring Dick. He was the one who had convinced her to come despite her recent close calls with Constantine in the past few days. He studiously avoided her gaze. “I just would rather not cross your path, and there’s no reason for us to interact. Why do you care, anyway?”

“You see, now that is an excellent question!” he chugged the last of his beer and gestured to her with the empty bottle. “Normally, I wouldn’t give a flying rat’s ass. But I’ve put two and two together, since I know who Tikki is,” he nodded to the red and black Kwami. “And maybe I just wanna keep an eye on the new Grand Guardian to make sure she’s doin’ alright. That’s an awful lot of magic and responsibility that you don’t deserve, but I’m not about to try to take it away. Keepin’ an eye on you is the next best thing.”

“Try again,” Marinette shot back, crossing her arms. “You were interested in me before you learned about me being Ladybug.”

“I’m nosy, what do you want me to say? I saw a portal in Batman’s man-cave, I get curious. Sue me.”

“Well. I have Bruce and everyone else already watching out for me, so you can leave me alone now. If I need your help, I’ll make sure to ask every other magic user first before contacting you.”

“Woah, now what’s all this venom for?”

“Uh, maybe we should go and actually eat dinner?” Dick tried to step in, hands up. Constantine had stood up from the chair he was in, which was usually a cue to change the subject as fast as possible. “Before Alfred has to come get us?”

“Maybe I’ll be less venomous if you let the subject drop and leave me alone!”

“Context would be nice, though.”

“Seriously guys, let’s go! Food!” Dick was once again ignored.

“Context is the last thing you need in this situation,” Marinette’s voice was suddenly soft, her arms dropping to her sides. “We’ve had this conversation so many times in so many now-deleted timelines. Just drop it this time.”

“If those timelines are now-deleted, then I obviously don’t remember what’s so bad about telling me why you’re acting like I’m some hated family member you’re avoiding!”

Silence.

Pure. Fucking. Silence. As they all watch with front row seats as Marinette flinches at the word ‘family’.

Pure silence as Constantine’s shoulders drop at the sight of her flinch, realization slapping itself on his face.

“No.”

“See? I fucking knew you would— that this would happen. This always happens, you always hate finding it out, but you’re so— so stubborn!” Marinette was blinking away tears, digging in her pockets and bringing out Kaalki’s glasses. “You’ll drop it now, at least. You always do.”

“Now what is that supposed to mean?” Constantine rubbed his forehead, still trying to sort through his amalgam of emotions. Marinette just shook her head, turning to Kaalki.

“Do you mind showing Monsieur Constantine the way out, Kaalki? I’ll grab you a load of sugar cubes afterward.”

“No, wait, hang on a second!”

A portal opened up under him, making John “Stubborn Idiot” Constantine drop ten feet down onto the hardwood, polished floor of his house. His bruised tailbone would take a while to heal, but his frazzled mind was by far the more concerning development. He staggered to his feet, reaching for the nearest bottle of tequila.

“Ugh, fuck my damn life.”

— * — * — * — * — *

“Marinette..?” Damian nudged the girl with his shoulder, frowning. It was after dinner that same day, and as much as he hated to admit it he had grown to actually like having her around. She was a good friend to have. And seeing her slumped back on one of their sofas, sketchbook covering her face and not a single rambling conversation to be had or heard? It was very concerning. She just made a groaning sound to answer him, prompting his frown to deepen. “Are you alright?”

“I just can’t believe that such a sweet, adorable thing like you is half made up of Constantine’s genes,” Jason mused bluntly from the opposite couch, where he tossed a rubber ball up and down out of boredom. “But now I see where you get all of your Disaster Bi-ness from.”

“Shut uuuuup,” She groaned, chucking her sketchbook at him. He caught it in midair, replacing his rubber ball with it and tossing it up and down in the air. “I’m just frustrated. This timeline is still perfectly stable, so I can’t erase it. And I can’t exactly ask ‘hey, can someone commit a horrid atrocity that makes this timeline split from the main one so that I can erase it and we can start over from four months ago?’ because that would be horribly irresponsible of me. But seriously, Jason. If you’re gonna ever commit, like, city-wise arson? I’d probably condone it right now if only so I have an excuse to use time travel to get out of this situation.”

“Not committing arson unless you give me a better reason for it, Pigtails.”

“Damn.”

“But are you okay?” Damian asked again, seeing as she had completely ignored him.

“I’m fine, Damian,” she finally sighed. “And I know how this is gonna go. He’s going to totally ignore me now, until we meet during some magical crisis and he only interacts with me when necessary. Then he pretends we never met, we have a private little one-sided whisper-argument about how he will never make a good father figure and I would be better off leaving him alone, blah blah blah. Avoidance is a coping mechanism I guess I inherited from him.”

“Guess it’s a good thing I’m trying to bite that in the bud then, eh?” Marinette startled out of her sitting position, seeing John stumble into the room…

Drunk off his ass. But apparently still at least mildly coherent.

“I agree with deleted-me’s, I’m not gonna be a dad. Not me,” he tripped, landing on his still-bruised ass and hissing in pain before continuing from the floor; “So if you’re looking for another Daddy dearest, that ain’t me.”

“See, I knew this is how you’d—”

“Let me finish,” he interrupted. “I don’t know how long the booze is gonna last and I need it’s courage here. ‘Kay? ‘Kay. Where was I? Right. But I know magic, ya know. The kind that doesn’t rely on little bobblehead gods to do. I got— like, a million books. Shit ton of books. At my place. Ya can read ‘em. My books. At my place. But I ain’t gonna parent, but I can lend ya books. Maybe give magic advice. Teach a little. Little bit. Didn’t think I’d have a child, but apparently I do and she’s the fuckin’ grand guardian and a damn hero, and I don’t know how the fuck I was able to help make someone like that. But whatever, it’s not like the world’s ever fuckin’ been easy on me,” He pulled out a sample-sized bottle of whiskey from one of the pockets on the inside of his trench coat and chugged it. After a brief wince and hiss at the burn, he kept rambling. “My door’s open, is what I’m tryin’ to say. No guarantee I’ll be in any state to talk to when you walk through it, but it’s open.”

Deciding to steadfastly ignore the tears streaming down her face, Marinette just swallowed thickly and nodded.

“I, uh. I think I can work with that.”

John barely made it to the nearby bin in time to vomit into it.

— * — * — * — * — *

I hate my imagination sometimes, guys. I started imagining a convo between Mari and Constantine at like 4am and it wouldn't leave me alone until I got it down. but by the time I wrote it, I kinda forgot like 60% of the original convo and just winged it. And this was born. I 100% blame @multifandomscribette because their Bio!dad John Constantine headcannons are amazing and even though this isn't in that universe, those headcannons are exactly what inspired this. So blame them, lol.