#they gotta make Jason more like Deathstroke I said what I said | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

butwhyduh · 3 years

Text

Sickening

You looked at the blood in your sink. It was becoming sticky and rust colored at the edge. It probably wasn’t a lot but it certainly looked like it. The fact that you weren’t exactly sure who’s it was made you feel sick. You closed your eyes and grabbed some towels to clean it.

After spraying your sink heavily with antiseptic, you scrubbed your hands clean and left the room. Your boyfriend laid out on the couch. Normally you found it a little funny the way his long body would hang over the arm. Now you were worried.

“Jason,” you asked. What is going on? He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“I got in a fight. It’s no big deal. You know how assholes in Gotham are,” he said. As if to emphasize his point, the sound of police sirens sounded close by. Yeah, this place was rough.

And Jason certainly looked like he had recently been in a fight. His knuckles were red and raw. He had a bruise blooming on his forearm. And his grey shirt had little specks of black that you couldn’t help but wonder was blood.

“Why are you always covered in bruises? Is that the assholes in Gotham?” You asked, sitting on the coffee table.

“You could say that,” he muttered under his breath. “I guess people just want to punch me. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“You need a bath,” you said. “I’ll throw your clothing in the wash.”

“I’m fine-“

“You’re covered in blood and I’m not sure it’s yours,” you said. Jason slowly rose from the couch and you see that he favored one shoulder over the other one when pushing up. Probably also bruised. Or worse.

He all but stumbled into the bathroom. You started a hot bath. Your small apartment didn’t have a shower attachment. Jason roughly pushed off his boots before grimacing as he pulled off his shirt and threw it in your tiny washing machine. That one was a gift from him that somehow your landlord was totally cool with despite being a complete ass.

His shoulder had nasty red and purple splotches of bruises and there was a small bloody area. He shoved his belt open and pushed off his pants and socks. Jason slid into the tub. He groaned. His long leg had his knees sticking out of the water almost comically.

You bent down and sat on the old tile floor. Someone, probably in the 1920s or something, had out tiny little white hexagon tiles all over the floor next to the claw foot tub. You grabbed a cup and started pouring water on Jason’s chest. He hissed before relaxing. Steam from the tub rose in the cold room.

“I worry about you. Worry what you’re doing. Why you won’t tell me what you’re doing. That you’re in trouble or something. Do you owe a gang money or something? Who hit you?” You asked softly. Deathstroke, Jason thought but he certainly couldn’t tell you that. His hard look soften a little.

“I don’t owe a gang money. Nothin like that,” he said. He couldn’t help but look at your face. You were too pretty, too innocent, too good for his world. He didn’t want you in this. Hell, he shouldn’t have talked to you in the first place because no one lasted long in his life. Jason knew that taking you on a date had been selfish. And everything after that was him being too weak to do the right damn thing.

You took the cup and poured water over his hair. The slight pink color had you grimacing. You didn’t push your questions. It was something Jason loved about you. He was a hard nut to crack and usually what worked best was time and space.

You grabbed your shampoo rather than Jason’s to wash his hair. There was no way that you were going to use his ‘mountain bear scented 4 in one shampoo, conditioner, body wash, motor oil’ when trying to pamper him.

You’d never washed his hair before. He’d definitely never let anyone close to washing him. Shower sex, great. But never something non-sexual and intimate as just being bathed. You ran your fingers through his hair letting the soap rub in. Jason literally felt goosebumps on his skin and he closed his eyes and leaned into your hand. You were the only person that he let touch him and high key, this was the best relaxation he’s ever remembered feeling. You ran your hands through his hair longer that necessary but you could tell that he wasn’t complaining. He groaned a little.

You poured the water over his head and was pleasantly surprised that the water was soapy but clear. At least there wasn’t a lot of blood in his hair. Jason bent and washed his face in the water. He had more stubble growing than he usually did.

“Do you wanna shave your face? I can do it,” you offered. For a fraction of a second his brow creased before he gave you a half smile.

“Not today. I’m good. Thank you,” Jason said holding your hand. He couldn’t exactly say that he didn’t trust anyone with any kind of blade near his face.

“Are you okay? Tell me what’s going on,” You said reaching a hand to his other cheek. His jaw clenched a little and his eyes almost looked hurt. He was thinking of all the people who had died because they knew a secret. Other vigilantes who’d lost their entire families for knowing their secret identity. But at the same time, Jason knew that you wouldn’t stay around forever and the lies were growing. He was going to do one more little selfish thing. He sighed deeply.

“I’ve gotta tell you something but I don’t want to scare you,” he said and his eyes showed so much worry and fear. He genuinely thought he might lose you over this.

“Scare me? Jay, what are you talking about?” You said confused. He inhaled nervously.

“I- I’m Red Hood! Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to say it so loud,” he said. Jason’s eyes searched your face. Your eyes were wide and you were frozen. His breath was all over the place in absolute fear. It was only a few seconds but he prayed for you to speak.

“Did you just say that you’re Red Hood?” You said faintly. Red Hood was infamous. Brutally murdered gang members, rapists, and traffickers. Even once famously fought the dark knight himself. The one continued theme of everything you heard: cold, cruel, and highly deadly. If you saw Red Hood, it was probably the worst day of your life, if not your last.

“Uh... yeah? Yes.” He gulped and watched you. His blue eyes were so round and worried.

“No. I can’t believe that,” you said. Jason, who would read Jane Eyr to you, that fed stray cats outside of the apartment, and was literally the sweetest boyfriend couldn’t be this killer. He looked down with a sarcastic smile.

“I’m Red Hood. That’s me. If you don’t believe me, there is a Glock 26 Gen 4 strapped to my bedside table. There are a few more around,” he said motioning around the apartment.

“You keep stuff here?” You asked with a mad look. Your head was spinning.

“No. Just some protection. None of the Hood stuff is ever here. I don’t want anything that could be found in this apartment. All the stuff here is new and never fired besides a few practice rounds. I try to be as safe as possible so you are never in danger,” he emphasized. You both sat in silence for a few minutes. The only movement was Jason’s fingers running along your hand.

“Why? Why do you do it? Be the Red Hood?” You asked finally. He expected that question but not right away.

“I should probably tell you how it started,” Jason said and he didn’t hold back. He told you about his parents, attempting to steal the rims from the batmobile, becoming Bruce Wayne’s ward, becoming Robin, being killed by the Joker, the lazareth pit, and becoming the Red Hood. By the time he was done, the water was cold and your legs were numb. “That’s why I have bruises and scars. Why I leave sometimes or miss dates.”

“I’m sorry,” you said softly. He gave you a look of confusion. What could you possibly be sorry for? “You shouldn’t have gone through that. You shouldn’t have needed to hide it from me. I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t scare you? You don’t want to run from a murderer?” Jason asked. His eyes searched yours for signs of fear or disgust.

“Is it really murder if they are evil? Or justice?” You said slowly and he winced at that word. Bruce certainly wouldn’t agree. “Every time I hear the question ‘would you kill baby Hitler’ I would. Without question. I would shoot a baby because I would be thinking about 6 million Jews and unknown others that died because of him. The bad guys always get out and make things so much worse.

“You’re going to have to tell me where all the weapons are here. I’m paranoid that I’m going to reach in the couch and grab a sword,” you said with a laugh, standing up. Sure, you were shocked. But that wasn’t going to make you run screaming into the night. Or maybe you were in shock? You’d find out in the morning.

“Swords are more my brother’s thing,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll show you. I’ve been wanting to teach you some self defense too.”

“We’ll get back to your brother being into swords later. But first, let’s get you out of that wet ass tub and into bed. Because I can’t process any more information tonight,” you said handing Jason a towel. He obviously favored his right shoulder when dressing in sweatpants before coming to the bed where he flopped down. The lights in the bathroom flickered and you rolled your eyes. That’s Gotham for you.

“I’ll fix that tomorrow,” Jason said quietly.

“Nevermind that. Do you want an ice pack?”

“No. I want you,” he said and you smiled a little before crawling in the bed. Jason moved around to lay with his head next to your chest snuggling close. It was almost comical the way the big man hugged you and laid in your arms. He needed to be close to you even though your arm on his waist made him clench in pain for a second before you moved to a better position.

“I don’t deserve you,” he said quietly. “You’re way too nice to me. Almost gullible. Like Baby, you live this way?” he said with a smile. His sarcastic defense was back up. You rolled your eyes.

“Maybe I’ve got a thing for the whole bad boy thing. Or that I know last week, you had cereal with water and honestly, that’s the ultimate weakness,” you said back and he gave you a rare grin.

“We were out of milk. Like what was I gonna do? Eat it dry? No.”

You kissed the corner of his mouth and he grimaced.

“Sorry. We should get some sleep. It’s super late,” you said.

“Yeah, sleep. Sounds great,” he said already drowsy. “I fucking love you,” he whispered before falling asleep.

#fns #friday night smut #Jason todd #red hood #red hood x reader #Jason todd x reader #Jason todd angst #Jason todd smut #batboys

322 notes · View notes

internalsealpanic · 3 years

Text

Better Die Than Doubt

Summary: You wince knowing he’s already noticed. You feel the tiniest bit more at ease as he approaches your booth but it didn’t stop your eyes from flickering and searching for something off in the environment. The creeping sense of being watched trails up your spine. You’re sure.

A/n: To no one’s shock, this entire fic was unplanned. I was possessed by the urge to make it (translation: I got the urge to write this and one of my enablers said do it). This story should be treated more or less as a horror story. Nothing is being glorified here except how dorky Jason is. That being said, PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS. This fic contains quite a few triggering things and I really don’t want you to be blindsided. Also thanks to @knightfall05x for helping me write this whole thing. Thanks to @batarella (HOE) for action writing tips.

Warnings: graphic violence, stalking, emotional manipulation, unhealthy coping mechanisms, drugging, nongraphic description of rape, and rape aftermath

masterlist

You press the heels of your palms into your eyes. You could practically feel the oncoming headache the way you could sense someone coming down the hall. This is what happens when you’re running on just 5 hours of restless sleep for the last few days. This headache was also not helped by the fact that this was your fifth coffee in the past 30 minutes. You probably should not be drinking this much caffeine this late but intelligent decisions weren’t exactly your strong suit this week. You rub the sides of your forehead feeling another wave of nausea.

You check the time again and groan. It’s been one-and-a-half hours since your agreed upon time had lapsed and yet one Jason Peter Todd was nowhere to be seen. You curse, nerves edging, and mind fraying. To be perfectly fair to him, he is a busy guy, vigilante, and all. You understood that fairly well- and this was sudden to say the least. You can’t really fault him for being a bit late but the long wait was ratcheting up your anxiety. Again, the coffee didn’t help but considering it was the only thing you could keep down since last night, you didn’t have much choice.

Last night.

Your stomach tumbled. You cup your hand over your mouth feeling your coffee traveling back up your esophagus. You let out a long exasperated breath, letting yourself sink into the booth. You look out the window, eyes flickering wildly searching for Jason. Your hands tighten around your mug. The feeling of being watched made you bristle.

Jason, well, Jason wasn’t hard to spot. The man was 6 feet 4 inches of pure muscle and leather. Having a handsome face and a ‘fuck you’ look in his eyes also helped. In short, the man was hard to ignore. You wave weakly to him as he dismounts his bike, a gesture far too small for your usual bombastic self. Jason’s smarmy smile greets you as he returns the gesture with his gloved hand. The motion is slow and cautious, rickety in a way. You wince knowing he’s already noticed. You feel the tiniest bit more at ease as he approaches your booth but it didn’t stop your eyes from flickering and searching for something off in the environment. The creeping sense of being watched trails up your spine. You’re sure.

“Jesus, y/n, you look like Timbo” Jason chuckles sliding into the booth his green eyes shining with scrutiny. You look at him flatly not having enough energy to properly respond to his jab. He winces seeing your lack of reaction. “Rough night, huh?” He asks flagging down a waitress, who looked quite pleased to get away from her previous table.

You nod weakly, slowly as if the fact that it had been a rough couple of days had just sunk in. “Yeah,” you reply, your voice small and a little threadbare. You drum your fingers against your increasingly cold mug. The waitress sets a couple of warm mugs in front of you. Her soft smile makes you uneasy. You and Jason mutter a thanks as she tells you to wave her over if you need anything else. Her warm brown eyes boring into the stark purple bruise on your face. You shrink and smile sheepishly at her.

“I’m fi-”

“I am going to throw these sugar packets at you if you say you’re fine.”

“Damn, ok, Mr.Kettle,” You laugh. His concern startles a genuine laugh out of you. You’re sincerely surprised how lively the sound that comes out of you is. “You know if you keep sounding like that, Jay, you’re gonna wreck the whole stone-cold badass thing you got going,”

“Y/n..”

You huff running your hand through your disheveled hair, trying in vain, to soothe your mind. What was the best way to put it? You swallowed, gathering your lapsing thoughts. “Sooo uh-” The collar of your shirt suddenly felt tight around your neck. “-I-” You breathe. “-I found around 4 or 5 of Blackmask’s boys and Deathstroke-No, I’m not shitting you- in my- my apartment for- well- the third time in the last two months, can I crash at your place? Just ‘til I find a new place. Oh and also how do I get rid of them?”

He blinks as his brain takes its sweet fucking time digesting what you had just said. He leans back groaning and running his hands over his face. He looks like he’d like to deck you if he wasn’t too busy being concerned for your welfare. You shrink again, feeling bad for springing it on him. The decision to leave out the gory details of your hectic week suddenly felt like the wisest choice but you had no doubt he’ll get it out of you at some point.

“I’ll skip the obvious ‘why did you wait three times before moving’ question because I feel like I’m probably going to get an aneurysm from your answer,” Your reasoning wasn’t quite that stupid. You were mucking about Sionis’s operation. The fucker decided to branch out his little enterprise into your city and like hell, you were gonna leave well enough alone. After you had set fire to one of his warehouses, you thought that would explain the False Facers. But Deathstroke? Deathstroke was a mystery. You’ve also been mucking about his business but you two have always been civil if not friendly. Frenemies of sorts, you guessed. You’ve been encountering him a lot in the last few days. You had figured that Blackmask had hired him but considering he threw two men out of your apartment window last night, you’re not entirely sure. You make an affronted noise that Jason elects to ignore.

“What did they do?”

“Aside from necessitating a visit to IKEA? Nothing.”

“Did they take anything? Leave a message?”

“Nope, nothing-” You furrow your brow trying to recall. You shake your head. “-They just made sure I knew they broke in.” You add, shrugging your shoulder. You wince at the movement. Your shoulder still aches from being hit with a bat. Jason’s shoulders shift, moving as if to reach out to you but stops himself. Instead, he continues with his line of questioning. “Sweetheart, there’s gotta be something missing.”

You frown, biting your cheek. Jason rests his chin on his hand, green eyes watching you and urging you to think back. It was either the weight of his gaze or the lack of sleep that was making it hard to recall. You close your eyes and catalog your belongings, analyzing the mental picture you have like a crime scene like how he taught you months ago, breaking it down into the smallest pieces of information and bringing it back into a bigger picture. Still, nothing. Nothing of note was missing. You shake your head and shrug your uninjured shoulder. Jason glares at the immobile one. You shake your head silently telling him it wasn’t from last night which just made him clench his jaw.

“Evidence?”

You shake your head. He frowns baffled.

“Tech?”

You shake your head again.

“Anything personal?” He asks jokingly.

“I-” A cold horror washes over you trailed by embarrassment. Your vibrator had been missing and so were a couple of your lingerie sets. You feel your stomach drop to the floor. “Oh god, Jay- I- Please, let me stay with you.”

“And have them steal my stuff?” He chuckles.

“Please, Jay, like you have anything worth stealing.” Jason frowns at you scrutinizing your face. You level him a glare but it was more in an effort to fight down a blush than anything venomous. Jason’s jaw unclenches and his face breaks into a shit-eating grin. “What color was it?”

“Wha-”

“Bzzzzzzzt ”

If you weren’t blushing before, you are now. Heat climbs up your spine. Your mouth felt dry.

“Well, what color was it, sweetheart?” Jason drawls, his voice dropping an octave. You shiver but bristle just as quickly. You bite your cheek and glare at him. “HA. HA. HA. Funny, Todd.”

“Was it Red Hood Red?” Jason teases, winking and raising his cup of coffee to his lips.

“Nightwing blue” You deadpan. Jason coughed into his drink. You preen with satisfaction.

“Does it make stupid puns while you go at it? ”

“Yup,” You say, the ‘p’ popping. “That’s part of the appeal.” You joke smiling into your mug. Jason snorts. “How is that supposed to be sexy?”

You shrug, a sharper less tired smile cutting across your features. “Dunno man. Nightwing is pretty sexy if you ask me.” You wink.

Jason makes a fake gagging noise. Well, it seems fake with how theatrical the gesture is but with bats? You never could tell. You roll your eyes and giggle. Jason’s shoulders loosen at your bubble of laughter, his face slipping into one of his sheepish smiles. “In all seriousness, y/n, you can stay at my place.”

You smile at him, your usual fluorescent smile.

Click

A man from across the street watches you intently through the lens of a camera.

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

Slade throws the photos across Roman’s desk, each glossy piece of paper containing a candid photo of you looking increasingly frayed and anxious.

Roman marvels at how your usually larger than life figure shrank into your puffy coat, how small and malleable and inexperienced you looked. He notes the panicked look in your eyes in every one of the photos and savors it. He couldn't wait to see it for himself.

In one photo, you're looking over your shoulder as you enter your office building.

In one, you’re tracing circles on a child’s hand with your thumb, beaming brightly as you told some wild tale to distract the child.

In another, you're slumped in your desk chair as you think over a case looking absolutely exasperated but determined.

In yet another one, you're locking lips with a man, his hand trailing up your shirt. Roman made sure to give the man some swimming lessons a few weeks prior.

In the photo in Roman’s hand, you're at the emergency room looking like you haven't slept in 2 days. Your face was bruised and your clothes were torn in several places where Slade had managed to land a blow. Your delicate skin marred with cuts and trickling blood. Absolutely gorgeous.

He examines it closely. The photo was taken just a few hours ago. You look like you're going to cry but your shoulders and jaw are squared more frustrated than scared. There's a fire in your eyes that threatens to level the city. A thrill rides up his spine at the prospect of extinguishing it.

“This is why you wanted to throw my men out the window?”

Slade hums. He shrugs and the edge of his lips curl into a smile. “It was the only way to convince the kid that we’re both after her-” His eye drifts to your face. Appraising but impassive. “The kid’s scared out of her mind and exhausted at this point.”

Slade had a point. Roman had to give him that. It wouldn’t be obvious to the casual observer but it would be plain as day to anyone like Roman who had been studying you for a while. You weren’t quite as meticulous with your appearance as Roman thought you should be (He would work on that later) but the dishevelment in your appearance was obvious. The slight dip in your shoulders in place of the prim posture that you usually employed was a blatant indication of your weariness. And the falter in your smile, the flickering in your eyes, and the number of times you let yourself bite your cheek showed the cracks in your fearless image.

Who knew weeks upon weeks of chaos could weather Minos City’s own budding hero?

In the photo next to Roman’s hand, your laughing face is stark and lively against the drab atmosphere of the diner, bubbling laughter carving life into your exhausted features making you look more like the shining paragon your city has come to rely on. The man sitting in front of you is laughing too. The sharp edges of his grin softened by the fondness in his eyes. It was hard not to recognize him even with such a foreign expression plastered onto his face. Roman crushes the photo in his hand.

“BUT NOW SHE’S WITH THAT SCUMBAG RED HOOD”

“And she’s now with the Red Hood. In his secluded safe house. Weakened and far from help. Most likely thinking that she’s safe under his protection and blissfully unaware of the tracker I put in her arm.”

“I see… It seems like you are worth the pay.”

Slade made no effort in hiding his smug grin.

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

“Jay, I really am sorry about this.” You mumble for what seemed like the fifth time in the past half hour.

“I sincerely hope you’re apologizing for the fact that you neglected to tell me you had bruised ribs before getting on my bike and not the fact that you’re staying with me because two crazy assholes decided your place needed remodeling.” Jason exasperates, pinching the bridge of his nose. You feel kind of annoyed by the gesture but he did have a point especially with your city’s less than smooth roads. You were also pretty banged up. As it turns out, facing off against a bunch of goons plus a master assassin is not good for your health. You swore viciously under your breath. Now, you weren’t expecting Deathstroke to go easy on you despite your rapport but the guy really didn’t have to throw you around like a rag doll. Even with your power to adjust the odds, it was a miracle that you escaped intact.

“Well, Mr.Pot, you ride your bike all the time even with broken ribs.” You bite back. Jason rolls his eyes unaffected by the distilled venom in your voice.

“Well, one of us is a stone-cold badass- ”

“And the other is a sasquatch with a stick up his ass.” You sneer snatching the beer bottle from Jason. Your tone was far too fond and playful to have any actual bite. Jason chuckles at you and ruffles your hair before snatching it back and handing you a bottle of water.

You huff taking the bottle from him and following him to the couch. He sits down on the couch patting the seat beside him. You plopped on to the couch, placing your sock feet on his lap. He grabs your ankles and throws your feet back at you. You just as quickly throw them back on and this time you do it with an absolutely delighted smirk on your face. “Rude,” He mumbles but doesn’t attempt to extricate you again.

“So Deathstroke, huh?” Jason starts, side-eyeing you over his beer. You adjust yourself to sit up a little straighter.

“You mean the asshat who broke my favorite lamp last night?”

“Who the hell has a favorite lamp?”

“Me! And get to your point.”

“Have you two- yanno?” Jason jokes, his eyebrows wiggling and hands gesturing vaguely. Your eyes grow wide and heat creeps up your neck and face. You scowl at Jason throwing a pillow at his face for good measure. He catches it with ease much to your frustration giving you his trademark triumphant grin. You kick at him with no real force.

“NO! What kind of soap opera shit is that?” You giggle into your drink. You would be lying if you said you hadn’t thought about it before. The guy was skilled and pretty witty. You also had eyes and the man was handsome but something always felt strange about taking it further. You were civil but you kept your distance.

You pout at Jason again causing him to chuckle. “What? I’m just saying it’ll air out some tension~” He suggests winking.

“Oh my actual god, I hate you. I sincerely, truly hate you.” You laugh, kicking at his thigh. Jason makes an obviously fake hurt noise which draws out even more giggles out of you. Some tension in Jason’s shoulders releasing upon hearing the bubbly sounds.

“You speaking from experience, Jay?”

Jason shakes his head and coughs. “Catwoman-” Cough. “Talia Al Ghul-” Cough. “Sorry, sweetheart, seems like I have a really bad cough this week.”

And that is how you spend the rest of the night questioning Bruce’s love life.

“Food is in the fridge,” Jason says pointing to the said fridge which was sorely lacking magnets, sounding like a somewhat tired single parent.

“Do I look like I can keep anything down?”

Jason snatches the water bottle you had abandoned on the side table next to the recliner. “With that big mouth of yours? Sure.” Jason teases lightly booping you on the nose with your water bottle. “Get some rest.”

“Yes, mother” You sighed, burying yourself into the thick comforter he’d given you, crumpled water bottle in hand. He ruffles your hair.

“You know you’re safe here, right? ” The question startles you. You shift uncomfortably, pulling the comforter tightly around your shoulders. You shrug at him, not entirely certain how to answer. You know Jason’s safe house is, well, safe but you also thought your apartment was too. Your stomach twisted.

Jason squeezed your shoulder probably sensing the spiral of your thoughts. He smiles down at you, probably. It was hard to tell with the helmet.

“If you want, I can-”

“No, Jay, I’ll be fine here. You can go on patrol. I’ll be fine. Promise.”

The thing with Jason was that even when he was so big and bulky and hella intimidating, his empathy towards others had a bad habit of always shining through despite the layers of armor and sarcasm. You squeeze his hand, pressing little circles into his palm, and smile up at him. It was forced but it was the best you could do. Jason ruffles your hair again before letting go and making his way to the window.

“Get some sleep.”

“Aye aye cap’n” You yawn settling into a slump on the couch. Jason can’t help but smile fondly at you. You wave him a sleepy goodby before he sets off.

You passed out on the couch, an old habit you never grew out of. You always slept on the couch when you felt uneasy. It may have been some sort of way to separate stress from your bedroom. It sure as shit wasn’t for safety reasons. Your equipment was dispersed throughout your apartment but your weapons were usually stowed away in your room.

You feel a hand running gently through your hair, smoothing away all your apprehension.

“Jay” You grouse, your hand halfheartedly swatting at the hand stroking your hair. You bury yourself further into the warmth of the comforter feeling the need to shrink away from the touch. You feel a soft prick on your neck.

Your eyes fly open.

Shit.

The hand tangles in your hair. It throws you to the wall. The air is knocked out of your lungs. Your ribs scream. You scrabble to your feet. Your limbs fail you. They flail uselessly. Your breaths pick up. Your chest feels like it's caving.

"JAY" You shriek. “HELP.” A large hand grasps your throat. A rush of adrenaline kicks in. You thrash. You kick. Your hit lands. Another grasps your ankles. You scream. You swear viciously. Another grabs at your wrists. Something rough winds around your wrists and ankles.

The world tilts into an odd angle. Your head feels heavy so do your arms and your legs and everything.

"Jaaay" You slur, the air in your lungs becoming sluggish like everything else. "Jay" you sob again, knowing he wouldn't come. Not when he was so far away.

"Shut up you ….. bitch" You feel a swift kick to your stomach. It barely registers above the haze.

"Hey man-"

"What? The …. man said we …… rough her up."

"We can?"

"Yeah, ……, said so"

Your eyes blink, stupid, and uncomprehending. Distantly, you hear yourself grunting and whimpering. You can feel their blows but your body is too far away, too inaccessible. It was strange to physically feel yourself drift away.

Roman traces the sun shaped scar radiating on your shoulder with a leather-clad hand. The one shot he’d managed to land on you the first time you’d stormed one of his warehouses. You were all cocksure and quick wit and boisterous laughter. You really had the devil’s own luck but it seems to have run out. Not that Roman’s got any complaints. Not when he’s got you laying at his feet, tied up and vulnerable.

He crouches down, hand on his chin. His eyes roam appreciatively over your sleeping form, appraising you like a premium cut of meat. You look pretty against the black silk sheets he’d chosen. He sighs content with his prize. He traces the tip of his knife over your cheek, a dark purple bruise maring your features stark against the stainless surface of the blade. Slade really was quite careless when handling you. Not that Roman has any plans on being any gentler.

He lets his blade drift down, trailing down your neck down to the flimsy protection of your oversized shirt. Your steady breaths falter. You keep your eyes shut trying to gather more information but it’s hard not to focus off the tip of the blade cold against your warm skin even as the blade cuts through the thin fabric of your shirt. A large hand grasps your face roughly.

“I know you're awake, baby-” You blanch still not opening your eyes. The grip on your jaw tightens. You grin like a madman. “It's rude to keep daddy waiting.”

“Sorry, Sionis, I was really hoping not to have to wake up you’re ugly mug.” You sneer, voice thick and raspy with sleep but still full with your trademark confidence. Roman looks more amused than irritated. Your body and mind are still at the cusp of sleep. You wriggle and almost cry out with joy when you feel them move. You mind the hand on your jaw and its tight grip.

“Baby, I won’t tell you a-” You spit in his face, cracking an eye open to see his reaction. A bloody grin spreads across your face like wildfire when you see the annoyance on his face.

“You’re going to regret that” He growls, wiping his face with a torn piece of your shirt.

“Oh please-” Something cracks across your jaw.

“The next time it’ll be the other end,” It takes a moment for your mind to catch on. You stare at the hilt of the blade for a moment before letting loose another smarmy grin. His violent reaction spurs you on. Yeah, you can definitely see why Jason thinks you’re going to age him twenty years. “Oh please, You like my face too much for that.”

“You really wanna test that?”

“Nope,” You say, spitting into his eye and landing a punch square in his face. You cackle like a madwoman when he goes down. You don’t bother hiding the delighted chirps that escape your chest.

Being petty, you give him a swift kick to the face before dashing towards the door. You launch yourself, feeling like you can fly. The copper taste in your tongue almost feels sweet.

Your hand grasps the door when a hand tangles itself in your hair.

Roman throws you back onto the mattress, the springs digging into your back. You scratch and claw and thrash against the large hand wrapped around your throat. You snarl as Roman leans closer, his body pinning yours against the mattress, his weight immobilizing your fatigued limbs. A sweet-smelling cloth covers your mouth and nose, you gasp in surprise, inhaling the scent. Your mind is already sluggish by the time it catches on.

Your vision dims.

You feel hollowed out.

Your limbs fall away, arms drooping and pliant against the silk-covered mattress. The cloth feels too much against your skin. Vaguely, you feel horror prickling up your spine or maybe it was just the springs again.

Roman pulls away. You think you breathe a sigh of relief, feeling the weight of him lifted. He straddles your body, grinning down at you. Your mouth falls open to say something. You want to say that you curse him out or that you threaten him. The sound you make is small. Your tongue feels too heavy. No, something is pressing it down, you think.

Above you, Roman is a towering colossus. You’re vaguely aware of the shifting of his hips. He removes his gloved hand from your mouth and caresses the side of your face with mock gentleness. His movements are sluggish and syrupy. You make another noise when you realize to some degree of horror that isn’t. Your mind felt heavy and useless.

He snaps his fingers. The sound is dull like it's contending with water. A muffled set of steps approaches you. A man, you realize. You don't think you’ve noticed him before. His dark shape is messy and incomprehensible. A red dot flashes stark against his form. The mechanical sounds of a shutter drift in and out of your mind. You turn your head back to Roman at the sound of shifting fabric.

Above you, Roman, already without his suit jacket, loosens his tie, eyes staring hungrily at you. The pit of your stomach feels painfully cold. You blink at him stupidly. He chuckles, grasping your chin to make sure you’re looking at him. You protest against his touch.

“Don’t worry, baby, you’ll be the star of our little show like the filthy attention whore you really are. ” He laughs. It rumbles like thunder in your ears.

The world falls away.

Click

One

Two

One

You feel a prick on your neck.

Hot breaths fan against your face.

Your body is too warm.

You don’t want to know why.

Twenty-five, you continue counting.

You feel fabric shift against you.

Something sharp digs itself into your flesh.

One

Two

Three

Three?

Something’s crushing your windpipe.

Your body is aching. You’re not entirely sure whether it’s from use or disuse and by who.

“Good girl”

Thirty

Twelve

There’s something scraping against your flesh.

Is it a knife?

Hot pants fan against your skin.

Teeth

Four

Fifty-six

“Boss, I-.... going a …. bit too far?”

Smack!

“Do …. You…. to think?”

Two sixty-eight

A hand strikes you. You think your jaw is broken. It hurts but then again everything hurts. All you can do is take it and whimper.

Tears sting against your face.

“That’s right. Just like that. Like that, you little whore.”

Your body is warm again.

You still don’t want to know.

Two

Two?

You’ve counted two before.

You blink.

The haze of your mind lifts.

The coldness of the room seeps in your bones. You’re bare. You take stock of yourself, running your hands over your skin. Everything is still there.

Everything and a few other things. You let disgust and shame roll over you. A sob tears its way out of your chest. Your breath picks up. You feel your mind slipping. You press the heels of your palms into your eyes, calling your mind back and steadying yourself.

You take stock again. This time moving your limbs and jangling your joints. They were weak but workable. You’re surprised to find yourself unbound aside from the collar around your neck. You suppose Roman’s confident in his drugs. How long have you been here? You press lightly against your neck, feeling the higher than normal pulsing of your artery. You shift yourself waking your legs up.

You stiffen, gooseflesh spreading over your skin as light filters into the room through the door. Your eyes snap shut, stinging from the sudden intrusion of light. The pulse beneath your fingers jackrabbits. You think you’ll keel over.

“Shhhhhh”

All the strength in your veins floods out, leaving a feeling of cold horror in its place. You scream or you try. Your body feels impossibly rigid. Roman stalks towards you, his footfalls slow and deliberate and too loud. Your heart jumps up to your throat with each step. You inch yourself away from him, drawing yourself up to make yourself feel bigger. He coos at how adorable you are, trying to look defiant. The mattress dips under his weight. Your mind begins to slip away from you again. The world falls away from you. You anchor it, digging your nails into your palms. He cups your face, thumb caressing your bottom lip. You glower at him and bite out something witty. He laughs amusement lighting up his features, the sound grates against your ears.

“Not gonna fight back?” He taunts, pressing his thumb down on your bottom lip. Your body recoils but then goes slack as he runs his hand up and down your side. Shame blankets you but the fear etched into you keeps you still.

Roman loosens his tie.

Your mind falls out of your reach.

“Such a good little slut.” He murmurs against your lips.

You wanted to say.

Instead, your mind starts counting again even as you hear the rustle of fabric.

BANG

A gunshot rings through the thick atmosphere of the room.

Roman curses.

His men stampede.

Another round of shots fire.

Something- No, no. Someone tears Roman off of you.

“Deathstroke?” You croak, your voice sounding foreign and absurdly brittle.

“Do you know anyone else walking around looking like this, kid?”

“Ravager” You snark, lips twitching into a smile. He rolls his eyes underneath his mask. The familiarity of the exchange breathes life into your body. Roman’s hand grips your wrist with bruising intensity. Your breath catches.

No. No. No.

The word loops in your head like a constant rat-tat.

Slade’s foot makes contact with Roman’s head, the force of it unnecessary but satisfactory. The sounds of bone-cracking fill the air. The man falls uselessly to the grimey floor. He shoots him with a couple of rounds for good measure, each shot instilling a pang of finality in the back of your mind.

You scrabble towards Slade, wide-eyed and shallow breathed. You cling to Slade as he bundles your body in silken sheets. He hoists you easily into his arms. You bury your face into the junction between his neck and shoulder, closing your eyes, the image of Roman’s bloody body on the floor pressed into your mind. You sob in relief. Your hands clasping onto Slade, white-knuckled and shaking.

"I've got you, sweetheart," He rumbles, running his hand through your hair soothingly. The tight knots in your body, loosen. You whimper a quiet thank you. “I’ve got you.”

You lift your head only to see Roman twitch.

Your breathing falters.

Fear pricks your spine.

Your mind falls away from you again.

Distantly, you feel Slade’s grip on you tightens.

Distantly, you hear him murmur something.

Everything is too far away.

Your eyes blink sluggishly. The world becomes dimmer with each blink.

A warm spray of water drizzles down over your aching skin. Your open wounds sting but the warm water pooling around you soothes the aches of your bruised flesh. Your eyes focus on the soft off-white of the tile on the wall opposite you. You don’t let yourself about the thin, rusty red film swirling in the water. The air in the room is thick with steam and the scent of lavender.

The absence of grime on your skin makes you feel lighter and gauzy and immaterial. You felt naked and obscene like you had been taken apart and now someone was examining pieces of you. You almost miss it.

“Lean back” Slade grumbles as he lathers your hair with some lavender concoction the hotel provided. Your body follows automatically, eagerly, obediently. You tell yourself you’re just tired. You tell yourself nothing’s wrong with your response. You tell yourself you’re ok. You wince. The warm water around you shifts. You hear it splash against the tile. You flinch at how loud it sounds. You take a deep breath and lean into his touch. He’s handling you delicately as though you would fall apart any second. You might.

Blinking away tears, you watch his face, aware that by leaning back, you’d be giving him a good view of the hickies, bite marks, and knife wounds Roman ‘gifted’ you. There’s a slight twitch in the corners of his lips. He must be disgusted with you too. You want to sink into the hot water and let it burn you anew, but you don’t trust yourself not to drown.

You close your eyes as another spray of warm water pours over you. You melt into it hoping it’s enough to wash the last few days- weeks?- away.

Your hands grasp his face, pulling him towards you. His hands brace against the tub, keeping him from falling in with you. Your arms loop around his neck, your hot breath fanning against his lips. You press your lips against him, searching and wanting. For what exactly? Comfort? Safety? Stimulation? His lips press lightly against yours, not quite a kiss. Slade actually looks taken aback.

The rest of the world floods back in. You peel away, your eyes wide with terror. “Shit- I’m- Fuck! Fuck! Shit, Slade, I- I’m sorry. I- Shit! I didn’t-” Your breathing ratchets up, becoming shallower as the pulsating in your ears grow louder. There’s a tightness growing in your chest that makes you think your ribcage is about to implode. You cover your face with your hands not caring how it didn’t help your shallowing breaths. You can’t look at him. You just can’t. You know you’re disgusting.

Your body wants to come apart, dissolve, and if it can, evaporate. You can’t breathe. You curl into yourself, into the water. A hand grabs at your wrist. You flinch. The hand carefully pries your hand away, forcing you to uncurl. Slade’s other hand cups your face gently, guiding you to look him in the eye. The lack of disgust in his face rattles you.

His thumb brushes against your lips making your stomach twist and your spine curl. He dips his head closer to yours. You kiss him eagerly. He lets out a pleased hum and smiles against your lips. Something cold licks at the bottom of your stomach but it’s overtaken by the need for connection, to fill in what had been hollowed out.

You press closer to him than strictly necessary as you watch the news, chewing on your cheek. He pulls you close, shifting you on to his lap. You don’t protest, eyes glued to the TV.

“Businessman, Roman Sionis, was found with several gunshot wounds to the stomach in one of his warehouses here in Minos City. He is now in stable condition. Authorities say...”

Your jaw falls slack in mute horror. Your stomach tumbles to the floor. You’re hyperventilating. Your teeth are digging into your cheek, you taste copper. Your mind spirals back into the room, back to the dirty mattress, back to Roman.

Strong arms wrap around you, stilling your trembling body against a broad chest. Your body relaxes a fraction. You curl into him, the buzz of nervous energy settling into a quieter panic.

“You’re safe with me, you know that don’t you, sweetheart?” Slade says tracing circles into your palm. You lean your head into his shoulder. You nod easing against him. “I’ll never let that monster anywhere near you.” He promises, pressing a kiss into your hair. A little sob wrenches free of your imploding chest.

Slade keeps his face buried in your hair even as you fall into a lull. It was the only way to hide the triumphant grin spreading across his face.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll take good care of you.”

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

A/n: Thanks for reading. There’s a follow up to this because I can’t cope with bad endings. I had to promise myself a good second part to make the ending horrifying.

The writing process for this fic was basically:

Me: I have this horrifying idea!

My brain: Yes but what if we put a little dork Jason in it.

Me: I guess that wouldn’t hurt.

Me: Ok I have written nearly 2k of dorky Jason where’s the other parts?

Brain: Uh what other parts?

Me: *sighs and spends the next few days spamming @knightfall05x*

taglist:

@batarella, @anothertimdrakestan, @lucy-roo, @multifandomgirl-us, @idkmanicantenglish,@birdy-bat-writes, @americasmarauders , @l-horizon11, @arestorationofbalance , @cloudie-skay, @wunderstell

#yandere dc #yandere blackmask #yandere roman sionis #yandere deathstroke #yandere slade wilson #Black Mask #Deathstroke #slade wilson x reader #Roman Sionis #roman sionis x reader #jason todd x reader #jason todd imagine #Jason Todd #red hood x reader

248 notes · View notes

why-this-kolaveri-machi · 3 years

Text

i’m an idiot. i screw everything up.

Titans 3.03

still here, still doing this. these reviews take a fair bit of time that i cobble together across days (like, ten minute chunks during breaks, etc) and i tend to struggle to keep up with episodes as they come out. this means that by the time i’m done with one, most of my stuff is jossed (or geoffed in this case? idk) or outdated and the post sinks like a stone into oblivion. so! i’m going to change things up a bit with this one and write as i see the episode rather than collecting my thoughts later. in my experience with spn, that was a faster way to get them done.

anyway. let’s see how it goes! *shadowboxes*

SPOILERS ahead.

1. an auspicious start with some grave-digging!

digging up a grave and breaking open a coffin is some serious, back-breaking work--that dick did it on his own, likely straight after that fight with red hood, is a testament to the sheer intensity, stamina and discipline that he’s capable of. like, we like to joke about dick cooking cauliflower crust pizzas and making gar and rachel spar and memorise sun tzu--and despair at the obvious consequences of some of bruce’s parenting skills--but imagine crime-fighting almost daily without any superpowers, performing some of the most intense parkour in bulky, uncomfortable armour, doing detective work, pushing through every last barrier of exhaustion and then getting up to repeat it all over again the next day. dick probably thought he was going extra-easy on rachel and gar.

1.5. then again, dick probably had a hundred different easier ways to confirm whether jason was still buried or not, from using equipment to merely asking connor to have a quick look with his x-ray vision. but, no, he’s too caught up in confusion and terror, not really having come to terms with jason’s death in the first place, leave alone the possibility that he could be alive after all. he can’t possibly let the others know until he’s confirmed it himself, even if it means digging all through the night until his arms are jelly, thinking over and over again about jason’s eyes, jason’s voice, from behind that red mask.

... besides, dick has good reason to believe that he could’ve been hallucinating. wouldn’t be his first psychotic episode, after all.

that just imbues this sweaty, desperate, fingers-scrabbling-in-gravedirt scene with that much more poignancy, and a fair bit of bone-chilling terror. dick is horrified to realise that jason’s grave is empty, but a part of him is also probably relieved.

1.75 (... also it’s curious that we’re never shown any of the team asking to see jason’s grave after they come to wayne manor. i guess it’s because the writers--and the audience--know that jason is actually alive, but these people don’t know that. i don’t know if it’s sad or infuriating or both that they’re barely shown mourning him.)

2. oh GOD the sheer TENSION in kory saying, “i don’t want to say it, but--” and dick quickly interrupting, “it was jason. i saw him,” and hank giving him this loaded sidelong glance. i love how dick’s precarious mental health from last season is still this big elephant in the room but at least nobody’s blowing up in his face and questioning his every decision yet

2.25. i love the relative matter-of-factness with which they’re discussing a possible resurrection. and, of course, ra’s al ghul is brought up and quickly dismissed

(still wouldn’t put it past this show to bring him up at the very last second as the real real mastermind)

2.5. “maybe they can bring donna back” OH KORY

2.75. didn’t they have this same conversation about killing/not killing rose last season? man, the og titans make me tired.

and i don’t know if it’s just hank, but there’s a definite in-group/out-group vibe going on with the og titans, where they’re not only ready to consider killing anybody who threatens the group but makes it difficult for new people to fit in. donna and kory got along well with each other, but the dynamics between hank/donna/dawn and gar/rachel/rose were somewhat strained, and with jason, they were really fucking terrible. it makes sense when you think about how the titans started and how they broke up the first time--both were fairly disruptive events, i’d imagine, in that they probably got together to break away from their mentors and strike out on their own, and when they split up, it was the first time they felt directly responsible for the loss of an innocent life.

but the titans that dick is leading now is explicitly about mentoring a young generation of heroes, about second chances and found family. dick definitely wants to reach out to him first, and i have a feeling he’s going to be forced to make some sort of terrible Choice later on in this episode.

2.8. (honestly tho, this also seems like hank struggling with his own guilt re: jason; if red hood is not the kid that he failed, it’d be easier to fight him.)

HANK NO

4. honestly this season is already ticking off so many things on my wishlist, but i really wish dick would sit down with the newer members of his team and trust them with important information the same time that he’s telling them to the other members. gar searching for help and reassurance from a man who just dumped all of his responsibilities on his son overnight and went AWOL is a sad sight

4.25. has it only been just 48 hours????? wow! jason’s definitely been planning the red hood gig for a long time now...

5. ezekiel, my man! shady looking guy gets into your cab without a destination in mind... no problem, get right in! said guy gets a call to go to the observatory when he’s barely even looked out of the window so far at gotham... yep, a damn tourist! i want more ezekiel in this show.

5.25. (of course jason has upturned table lamps all along the floor... we have to *gritted teeth* balance the TEAL with the ORANGE don’t we?)

5.5. “dick’s a fucking psycho--he could be following you right now.” hank... has no objection to that lol

5.25. hank, hank... this is bad-decision-palooza. i can’t imagine that hank actually thought that jason was reaching out to him for help, given that the last time hank and jason had any substantial interaction hank had been one of the people accusing jason of sabotaging the team. but for him to go seek out jason and go along with his demands without any backup, weapons or equipment? not the best idea he’s ever come up with.

(add to that getting into the swimming pool of a condemned gym... oh yuck.)

((yes, i have enough self-restraint to not cap his ass.))

(((cap his ass! HA!)))

5.5. do you think jason has bugs/monitoring equipment planted in wayne manor to monitor the titans, or remote access to the cave’s systems? wouldn’t put it past him.

6. oh man, hank came back before dick and the others could meet ezekiel! this is TRAGIC

6.25. i mean, it’s plot-convenient that connor was able to give so much information about the bomb from just looking at it once, but i also like to think it’s the luthor-side of him coming to the fore. it also reminds me of that (in)famous scene from the new52 run of Nightwing comics, where a bomb was attached to nightwing’s heart and luthor disabled it by killing nightwing (temporarily). it’s a neat little callback.

6.55. “where i come from, you go after family? there’s no mercy.” BUT THAT’S THE PROBLEM ISN’T IT

6.75. i mean, dick’s making sense: this is a game, and they need to get it off playing out on jason’s terms. but having a member of his team in his face, doubting his reasoning and every decision? a very familiar sight.

6.8. krypto with an a+ sense of humour? also a very familiar sight.

7. wayne enterprises... providing the military with... bombs that can be implanted in humans? a BIIIIG yikes. i guess it’s not too many steps above developing clandestine intra-dermal trackers and implanting them in your own sons, and bruce probably thought they could be used as part of negotiation tactics, but still... YIKES.

7.5. on the other hand, conner being asked to build a deactivation advice seems part of a growth arc that started from last season... he knows so much, but part of growing is learning, and part of learning is using what you know to create something new.

8. oh man, my heart broke at hank going “i’m an idiot... i screw everything up.” like. for him to go like this, after being brought down to such a low last season? struggling with pain and addiction and his relationship with the love of his life? it’s so sad.

9. oh, oh, oh! ronnie from schitt’s creek! i love her!

9.5. “one of jason’s minions” took his body out of the morgue... how deliciously morbid that he planned out his own death like this!

10. TALK TO HANK, DICK

honestly, tho, i’m quite impressed with dick here. trying to think beyond just the most alarming part of the crisis at hand, keeping his cool, delegating tasks, frequently touching base with different members of his team... well done.

10.25.... whoops, spoke too soon. i’m genuinely confused here, tho. where did the van full of gold bars come from? why did they stop there and get out? how did dawn even know about this?

on the other hand, it’s cool to know dove has bulletproof feathers!

10.5. eh... curran walters isn’t really selling red hood’s menace to me so far. but then again, if titans version of red hood is vulnerable-kid-with-father-issues-trying-to-overcompensate, then yeah! yeah, it makes sense.

11. “when bats have sex, they gotta have something to hang from” OH GOD HANK

... because i want smiley!gar on my blog :)

11.5. awww. i feel sorry for hank but NONE of these fuckers deserve gar except maybe kory

12. ohhh FUCK! look at jason being exactly one step ahead of the titans at every turn. nice.

no really, i love the building stakes and the building mystery - i feel like the deathstroke arc from last season should’ve been more like this. the flashbacks about jericho and rose came too late and after too much build up, which resulted in a very underwhelming and confusing season throughline.

13. HANK AND DIIIIIICCCKKK

“you’re doing your best by me. always have.” WAILING HERE

it also kills me to think that hank thinks that his imminent death is because of his failure to keep the team together (when he was clearly struggling with his own issues and was spiralling towards rock-bottom) and his fear that he will once again be the cause of the team falling apart.

also:

14. “i grew up... you can, too. you just have to face your fear.”

yep, got scarecrow’s grubby little fingerprints aaaaalllll over this.

14.25. nightwing’s got specialised batarangs! yay! (somehow i can’t see this universe’s dick calling them “wingdings”)

15. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

oh man, that was devastating. well done, show. fuck, well done, jason.

this is going to bring up all sorts of “if onlys” for the team. i can’t wait for some fucking aftermath.

#titans #titans spoilers #dick grayson #hank hall #dawn granger #garfield logan #conner kent #jason todd #a tragic jalebi #meta

17 notes · View notes

withthekeyisking-writer · 4 years

Note

What’s a Batman story you wish someone else would write for you instead of writing yourself??

Gotta tell you, I got super excited when I got this ask, because there are so many things!! That I would love to see happen!! That I’ll never get around to writing!! So uh, strap in because this is gonna be a big ol’ list :) I’m gonna organize these so that it starts with gen ideas and then switches to darker ones (otherwise, really in no particular order). Also, because it’s me, many of these are Dick-centric.

1. First up is a Batfam Hogwarts AU, but with the specifications that Dick is a Slytherin, Jason is a Ravenclaw, Tim is a Slytherin, and Damian is a Hufflepuff. Skalidra actually made an amazing post about this that I agree with so fucking much, and I want a fic that does this justice.

2. Batbros are actually blood bros. I know there are a couple of these already out there, but not the way I picture it in my head, so here you go: Bruce knows about Dick while the kid is growing up, visits the circus any time it’s in town, takes Dick out for ice cream & shit like that, but Dick thinks this is just some family friend his parents like him hanging out with. It’s not until Mary and John fall that Dick learns the truth about his parents. For Tim – Janet never really wanted a kid, so when she and Bruce sleep together (up to you to figure out why) and got pregnant, she was like “okay brucie as soon as this pops out you can keep it” which, once Tim was born, Bruce did. Jason can go so many ways, so up to you!

3. Transgender Dick!! Yes, these are already out there. Yes, I want so many more! Give me the struggle of coming to the realization while amongst Gotham’s high society. Give me extra supportive Bruce or a Bruce that just can’t wrap his head around the concept and absolutely fails to be in any way a good parent of a trans kid. Or take the extra step and give me a non-binary Dick!!! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one of those, and as an enby individual, I really would love to.

4. Jason as a teacher. Do whatever the fuck you want with that, but I want to see Jason teaching literature. Still in the superhero world, no alternate world where Batman isn’t a thing. I want a Jason who’s been Robin and died and come back and been Red Hood and is a teacher.

5. I had a dream about Dick being a clone, and then an idea popped up behind it: In the Young Justice cartoon world, the Light makes another clone of Superman. But this time, the human DNA they used to stabilize the Kryptonian part isn’t Lex Luthor’s DNA, but Batman’s! That Superman-Batman clone is Dick. While Conner gets rescued by the YJ team, Dick (or whatever title CADMUS gave him, like how Conner was just called “The Superboy”) isn’t found, and is trained to fight against the team of young heroes as the Light’s weapon. Dick gets captured eventually and Bruce&Clark find out about their clone baby. Throw in some Superbat if you feel like it, or just Two Bros And A Baby. Either way, I would kill for this.

6. Ok you know how at one point or another Damian, Jason, and Cass were all members of the League of Assassins? Well, what if there was overlap? I want the three of them working for the League and knowing each other. I don’t know if this even works out at all but I just think this would be kinda cool, especially if it includes Bruce finding out about Damian or about Jason being alive and gaining a daughter along the way.

7. While we’re on the subject of League of Assassins, all four of the boys work for the League!! Do with this what you will, I merely present the concept to you.

8. Secret Agents. Just…just give me them as spies. Pls.

9. Dead Robins Club that ACTUALLY INCLUDES DICK BECAUSE Y’KNOW HE DIED. It’s a pet peeve of mine, when people write these kind of fics and include Tim and Steph (neither of which actually died) but not Dick, even though he did die for at least a couple minutes. Please stop ignoring Dick’s trauma guys, I beg of you. There’s one amazing fic between Jason, Damian, and Dick, and I want so many more of stuff like that.

10. Greeks/Roman Gods AU where Dick is the God of Death and king of the Underworld instead of the springtime god. There’s a really great jaydick fic out there that has this, but it’s abandoned, and I rally really want more of a Dick like this.

11. AU in which Bruce is the youngest member of the Justice League, and is still the badass leader he is in canon. No one in the League knows the truth, but it’s not like Bruce ever said I’m in my 20s or older, he just. Never mentioned he just graduated high school and is working on his accelerated bachelor’s degree.

12. A fic that addresses the fact that Dick has, in canon, been buried alive. I might one day write this, but I have a lot of projects that I do know I’m going to write, so this is wayyyyyyyyyyyy down the line, long enough that I’d be very happy to see someone write it instead. Bonus points if it’s a fic about Dick and Jason, and the fact that Dick killed Joker also comes up.

13. Tamaranean!Dick. And I actually have a whole word/plot for something like this that I’m never gonna write so if you wanna do this hmu I have THOUGHTS

Ok boys and girls and enbys we’re about to hit the dark shit so turn back if you don’t want to have to read it. You’ve been warned.

14. Ancient Rome AU in which Bruce is a senator and owns his robins as slaves (gladiator-wise and otherwise) who try to earn their freedom but Bruce likes using them too much (both for himself and in gaining control over others, like sending one of them to seduce somebody to gain leverage or steal something or what have you) and so he keeps changing what will gain them their freedom.

15. Auction fic where Dick is drugged and kidnapped and auctioned off to a bunch of villains. Yes, fics like this exist. Yes, I would like Many More.

16. Brusladick where Bruce has some Bad Thoughts about Dick but can’t bring himself to act on them, but he wouldn’t mind letting someone else do it, and who better than Slade Wilson, who absolutely wants to fuck Dick. So Bruce sets up a camera in the room and gets off to all the hard shit being done to Dick, but Slade breaks their agreement a little and tells Dick that Bruce is watching.

17. In an ABO universe, Dick is an omega. The world is pretty modern overall, of course there will always be some level of sexism but it’s not a large issue. But there’s this far-right terroristic-type group that thinks omegas are just good for ding as they’re told and being bred and have made it their mission to “fix” omegas who think they deserve equal rights, and they get ahold of Dick, sending a video to Bruce saying they’re return Dick when he’s better. For some reason Bruce and Co can’t find Dick for a long time, and by the time they do Dick’s severely traumatized and been conditioned into obedience and submission towards alphas.

18. In the Young Justice cartoon world, while Kaldur is undercover in season 2, an interaction with Deathstroke reveals something horrible about Nightwing’s past, and Kaldur has to act like hearing these graphic, awful things about his friend. After it’s all over, he goes to Dick and mentions Deathstroke saying something and Dick kind of shuts down and says like “How many people heard what he said?” There is a twitter thread between me and a friend on this very subject if you need inspiration ;)

19. Something based on this amazing art

20. Bruce is hella abusive. Dick lets himself be Bruce’s outlet so he won’t hurt the others. This, of course, comes to light. Yes, shit like this exists. But I pose you a question – is there ever too many? And has it been done by you yet?

21. Brainwashing. Just, give me brainwashing. Turned against your family, used and mocked by your enemy, kneeling “willingly” at your enemy’s feet. Bonus points for all kinds of abuse.

Well, that’s my list!! Go off and do great things for me! Thanks for the ask!!

#anon ask #ask #writing #batman #fanfic question

48 notes · View notes

spunky-89 · 4 years

Text

Shipwreacked

A/N: So this is the next part in my titans!jason fic. This technically comes before Broken Ship but oh well, I never was good at posting things in a proper timeline 😂

If you haven’t yet, please take my poll to help me name this series because I’m struggling... https://forms.gle/VG6QcMY3nyGJJcTU6

Read part one and two here

WC: 1700

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

You weren’t thrilled being in San Francisco to hunt down a human assassin, but it was what your father had asked of you, and as much as you wanted to hate him, you wanted to please him.

You were following the ridiculous feud between the assassin and the child heroes. You flinched when you thought about it. You tried to convince yourself that you weren’t going to run into him while on this quest. Rationalizing it due to the size of the city.

You had gotten a lead on where the assassin would be so you were prepared for him. Deathstroke. The killer of one Aqualad. Apparently, your father took a liking to him and wanted his killer dead.

You realized a few minutes before the broken team that the meet was a distraction from something else. Something with the elder Robin. You had no way to trace them though. So you waited until one of the others noticed and when the alien did, you followed after her. Sticking to rooftops using rainwater or open pipes to make bridges. By the time you got there, you heard something that stopped you cold.

You heard his scream. You saw Him falling to his death. You didn’t have to think twice before busting open a fire hydrant and jetting yourself up to intercept. But some kid jumped and grabbed him first. You used the water to cushion the fall for the unknown boy. You could see Him looking around, trying to spot the source of the water cushion. You stuck to the shadows, frozen in place. You could see his eyes from where you were. They were just as gorgeous as the last time you saw them.

You shook your head as the tears started to gather in your eyes. You moved to walk away when you saw Deathstroke slinking from the building. You moved to intercept him but you felt a searing pain in your shoulder, looking down to see blood spilling from a bullet wound in your chest. You turned around when you heard a second thump. You saw the kid who saved him on the ground with a similar wound to yours. You took a step and reached out to the water before the pain intensified and you let out a scream as you fell to the ground. You heard your name being called just before the black dots overtook your vision. But you knew exactly who it was.

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

You were in and out of consciousness. You could hear voices, sometimes soft and comforting, and other times loud shouts. All you knew was you were in pain, so you welcomed the unconsciousness each time. Until one time, you managed to stay awake just long enough to hear something that gave you hope.

“We need to get her to the beach!”

“Why? Give me a reason and I’ll agree but I’m not letting you take this girl to the beach on a hunch.”

“It’s not a hunch Dick, you gotta trust me.”

Then you were out again. The next time you woke up, you were underwater. You gasped as you felt the saltwater starting to close your wounds a bit. You let yourself sink to the bottom to breathe for a minute. You took in your surroundings. You were definitely on a beach, and if you had to guess, you’d have to say it was the San Francisco Bay. You took in your surroundings and saw legs covered in rolled-up jeans to your right. The face staring down into the water. You could hear yelling, but the face above you stayed focused on you.

You swam backward and shot up from the water, breathing heavily due to pain and shock.

“What the fuck?!” You exclaimed, staring at the few people on the beach. You quickly recognized them as members of the Titans. Which meant the person in the water with you was Him. Which made sense. He was the only one who would have known that the water would heal you.

“(YN)?” He asked quietly.

“I’m fine, I’m good.” You spoke, clearing your throat, still refusing to even look in his direction.

“Are you okay?” A tall man with brown hair and light eyes asked you as you started to walk towards the beach.

“I’m fine, thank you.” You said with a tight-lipped smile.

“How the hell are you dry?” A tall muscular man asked before getting elbowed by a petite blonde.

“Of all the questions you could-Sorry about him. Are you sure you’re doing alright?” She asked.

“Yeah, I promise. I’m all good.”

“That’s bullshit.” You heard him mutter behind you.

You ignored him and proceeded to talk to the kind woman. “Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the nearest... anything?” You asked when you realized you were in the middle of nowhere.

“Um, we’re about-”

“Why are you in a hurry?” asked the first man, cutting off the nice blonde.

“Because I was kidnapped and now I’d like to know what direction to go to get back to civilization before all hell breaks loose at my disappearance.”

“We saved your life and that’s all you have to say?” The taller man asked, his voice dripping with distaste.

“Thank you for saving my life, may I go now?”

“Are you just going to ignore me or are you going to acknowledge the fact that I’m the reason you’re alive.” You heard him say behind you, hearing him wading back to shore.

“I said thank you, what more do you want? And might I remind you that the only reason my life was in danger was because I decided to save some dumbass who was falling from a building.” You turned to look at him and voice dripping with venom said, “If I’d known it was you I would have just let you fall and save myself the trouble.”

“WHoa! Let’s calm down here.” The blonde lady said, bringing my attention back to her.

“I’m perfectly calm right now, you’d know if I wasn’t. But I am getting annoyed that no one has given me any form of an answer as to where the fuck we are and if I’m getting a ride back to the city or have to find my own way.”

“Look, we’ll drive you back, we just want to make sure you’re okay.” She said as her eyes flicked down to my shoulder.

You rolled your eyes and said, “Then let's go so I can move on with my life.”

“But seriously how are you dry and bonehead is sopping wet?” The muscular man asked.

“Oh I'm so stealing that name. But I’m surprised the bonehead in question didn’t give you the 411.”

You all started walking off the beach to where an SUV was parked. As you walked you started taking a quick inventory of her appearance. She was in clothes that weren’t hers, but she was glad to feel the cold metal of her necklace against her collarbone.

“Nah, said something about respecting a secret that isn’t his.”

“Wow, didn’t think he had any honor so that’s a shock.”

The rest of the walk and the drive was quiet after that. You had been given the front seat so you weren’t squished in with people you didn’t know/like. You soon noticed that the driver, Dick as he’d introduced himself, was taking you to wherever their little lair was. It was a long and tense ride. When you pulled into a dark underground parking garage you whipped out a dagger and held it up to Dick’s throat.

“If this is anything but what I think it is I will not hesitate to eliminate any or all of you. Do you understand?” You threatened.

“(Y/N)! Chill out!” he exclaimed.

“It’s okay Jason. Her point is valid.” Dick said calmly. “Just know that you pull another stunt like this and we will get a lot less friendly.” He threatened back.

You nodded and made a show of making your blade disappear in an instant. He raised an eyebrow, showing he was unimpressed. You smirked and exited the car, your Jackson attitude showing full force.

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

“Well your wound is definitely much better, but it’s still nowhere near healed.” A dark-skinned woman, Kori, informed you as she examined your shoulder.

“So I can go?” You asked hopefully.

“I’d feel more comfortable if you stayed here a few days so we can monitor your wound. Samples from your wound could help us save our other patient.” Dick said.

“I’m not playing guinea pig.” You said firmly.

“I’m not saying that. You can leave if you want, but we could use your help on this.” He said walking towards the door. He stopped in the threshold and turned back to you to say; “And I want to know exactly who you are and what the extent of your abilities are.”

You scoffed as he walked out. “Did he really just say that to me?”

The woman laughed and said, “Yes he did. He has the best intentions but,”

“His execution might need some work.”

“Yeah, you’d think with all that charm he’d be better at communicating with people.” She smiled as she shook her head.

“Oh gods you’re sleeping with him aren’t you.” You spoke as the dots connected in your head.

“I don’t think you have much grounds to stand on, cause the way I see things, we have a similar taste in men.”

“We so totally do not!” You defended quickly.

“So you were in a relationship though?”

“Look the past is in the past, leave it there please.”

“So that’s a yes then,” She smirked

“It’s a never was never will be kinda a situation.” You said, venom in your voice.

“You say that, but your first instinct was to catch him as he fell.”

“If I’d known it was him-”

“You’d have let him fall, yeah I heard. But I think you’re full of shit.”

“Look, lady, I’m cooperating cause I don’t feel like starting a war. Nothing more. So if you could please mind your own damn business it would be much appreciated.” You snapped as you stormed out of the room. Preparing yourself for the days to come.

#Jason Todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #titans!jason todd #percy jackson crossover #percy Jackson #dcu #dcu titans #robin x reader #robin #titans robin #curran walters

16 notes · View notes

m00nslippers · 5 years

Text

Titans S2E1, a review kinda.

I’m lazy so I’m gonna bullet point this stuff and just dump it in a haphazard order but I had some Thoughts™ about the episode that I felt like expressing.

Spoilers abound, I am withholding nothing.

I get why they held back this episode. If you look at the run time, a lot of the best stuff was actually stuff with the new characters/cast members (Slade and Bruce), and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have any of that cast at that time--at the least the news certainly came out in the interim between seasons. It seemed like the old episode might have cut off when everyone was exchanging cars but holding it back we got a lot more and I think it splits up the episodes better. So I’m okay with how they held it back.

Love the Trigon actor, not a fan of the CGI. I think the actor for Trigon was excellent, amazing. He feels so cold and malevolent but also persuasive. He’s great, I really feel his menace, he’s a great villain. The CGI when he transformed though? Mm, I think it was never going to work on the budget this show has. Personally I think they should have just alluded to his demon form with him having a Trigon-shaped shadow with the multiple glowing red eyes and then maybe we see the full Trigon figure just for a split second when Rachel is banishing him. I think it would have been a better use of the CGI to avoid it looking cheap/tacky.

Jason. You know I gotta talk about my boy Jason. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a perfect Jason but there’s potential here. I’ve seen a lot of people say "He’s a jerk! How can anyone like him, he’s not like comic-Jason!” But I mean, none of the characters here are 100% their canon counterparts, they are all changed a little to fit the story and situation. For the most part I enjoy this show and these versions of the character for what they are in the context presented. And Jason isn’t actually a jerk, he just has a lot of teenage bravado that comes off as obnoxious and I think that’s on purpose. It’s really obvious to me that he is trying so damn hard to look cool in front of Dick and his friends, and it’s kind of just not working because they’ve been set up not to like him because he took Dick’s vigilante identity. Watch the show and you’ll realize that literally everyone he talks to is hostile to him before he even opens his mouth because he has Dick’s costume. He’s not actually a jerk, like Bruce said, he just has rough edges, in his heart he just wants to be acknowledged. Look how quick he was to say he wanted to help Dick. He really looks up to him, even if his way of showing it isn’t always the best, but he’s not going to let Dick walk all over him, either. I just hope we get a little bit more development in the season to show he’s smart and kind of nerdy. Like Dick walks into his room and is surprised he has so many books everywhere. And like sees Jason studying or something. That would make me really happy. I also am really hoping the stuff with Hawk and Jason continues because considering the character similarities (posturing bad boys with trauma and anger problems) it’s something that makes sense. Also in the comics Hank kind of goes murdery like Jason does so it’s kind of foreshadowing to place these two together.

Deathstroke was awesome. He barely had any words, but I feel like the actor’s delivery and the writing was on point. He looks the part, too (could be taller, but I’m not fussed about it). I’m looking forward to more of him. Also his password was JOEY, I saw that on someone else’s post and it made me ‘!!!’. Yeah, there’s that heart of fools’ gold that may or may not have actual gold deep down in there somewhere that I know and love! I’m really excited to see more of him. Tangentially related is Wintergreen, who has been race bent, he’s black now. And he’s a lot younger than Slade and more dressed up, not British, either. We haven’t seen much of him yet, but I really did get a long-suffering manager/friend who is torn between being-over-Slade’s-shit but also giving-too-much-of-a-shit-so-he’ll-never-really-leave feel. Yeah I read that much into his like twenty seconds of screen time. I think I’m going to like him.

Brendan Thwaites continues to be excellent as Dick. I LOVED that he went full dad-mode/big bro-mode at the end. Making his stupid jokes. He really does feel like Nightwing. He’s great. And I thought his talk with Bruce was excellent. It really stops a batfam-fan’s heart when you see these characters interact in a healthy way.

Dad Bruce Wayne is a treasure. I think I get it. I think I understand why they cast Ian Glenn. Yeah I think his looks aren’t quite right. I think they should have had him dye his hair dark at the very least, and he’s a bit old. But to me, he really sold that Bruceness, the sort of wry humor, the way he powers through any interaction with anyone on sheer force of personality but underneath it all he doesn't have a clue what the fuck he’s doing, especially with his kids. Oh my god, he’s got Batdad down so good. When Dick said his anger had stopped him from seeing all the positive ways Bruce had helped him and Bruce leaned back and tried to play it cool and was casually like, “I’d like to hear about that,” and seemed really disappointed when Dick was like, “Next time.” DUDE. He was so surprised he’d managed to make any positive impact! He was fishing so hard for tips! Like he was so clearly thinking, “Holy shit I somehow managed to do something right under all my fuck-ups? I need to know these things for Jason!” And that’s obviously his motivation for sending Jason with Dick. He’s like, clearly Dick is better at this shit than me and knows stuff I don’t, so I need to get his help on this for Jay. But of course he’ll never just say that because he’s Bruce Wayne. Classic. Oh my god, I love them so much.

All the returning cast was great as usual. I love Teagan’s new look as Raven, her hair looks great. I kind of wish her gem didn’t just look stuck on but, eh, it’s not a deal-breaker. I also continued to love Anna Diop as Starfire and her interactions with Donna. I chuckled when Donna was like, “This is Kori, she’s an alien,” and Kori was tiffed and Donna’s like, “What, you are!” and Kori is like, “You coulda put some love into it!” or something. That was hilarious. Also I think this season is going to keep leading into RaeGar and probably more DicKori and I hope we get some JayRose too.

So overall I enjoyed this episode. Honestly all the best stuff was at the end, IMO and I’m really looking forward to more. My only disappointment is that we didn’t get a scene where Bruce calls Jason into the security room and is like, “Can you explain this?”, and there’s the footage of Jason eating shit on his motorcycle on the upstairs banister. And Jason’s guilty, like “Oh fuck.” Yeah we needed that scene.

#Titans #Dc Universe #Titans spoilers #Titans season 2 #Dick Grayson #Nightwing #Jason Todd #Robin #Red Hood #Bruce Wayne #Batman #Slade Wilson #Deathstroke #Batdad

134 notes · View notes

jmblyajones · 5 years

Text

Titans: Bruce Wayne 2X7

1. bruce’s ass really just popped out of nowhere. but now i can see bruce as his guilt trip subconscious. not to mention dawn’s ass coming up trying to twist the knife. y’all i am tired 😒. i just don’t understand what she wants. is it still okay for dick to have a crime fighting team but under a different name or not fight at all? tf

2. Y’all see Kory’s face calling Dick’s name? she had such a worried wife look i’m-

3. Jason really said “ how did it look from your angle.” my boy is in such pain

4. i definitely think this whole situation with Bruce as his guilty conscience will definitely transform Dick into Nightwing and i’m fuuuucking ready! this seems like the last push for him. this could cause him to switch things up and be a better team leader. he has to get over a lot of issues

UPDATE: that paired with Dick unburdening his secret

5. KRYPTOOOO 🥺🥺🥺🥺

6. can jason and rose hook up already? mamma mia (ok them two dancing was soo cute)

7. 15 minutes in and no gar or rachel ://

8. ok so someone please correct me but i thought kryptonians around kryptonite, their powers couldn’t work. so.. krypto’s laser eyes shouldn’t have worked then?

9. zaaaamn, ok i will temporally admit i was wrong about rose being this shows’ version of Terra 🥴

10. ok i’m so sick of this bullshit! yes, the og team was wrong to use jericho but when slade is out here killing loved ones he’s expecting people to not fight back? hit him where it hurts? get the fuck out if here with that shit! deathstroke is NOT the victim, the only victim is Jericho!

11. BRING THE SUN HERE BABY! BRING THE SUN HERE 😍😍😍 (top 3 favorite scenes from this episode 1,000%)

(what a fucking bomb ass mother/daughter duo

12. Brooo the way Conner looked at Kory (AAAHH) , his ass is so hypnotized (or i guess that’s the look you give to your friend 💀💀)

13. ngl i kinda went back and forth with jason being behind the sneak shit only because with him looking out the window it seemed like he was hypnotized to do anything buuut i still think Rose is an op.. (this makes me wonder how long deathstroke had been tailing them? even before he killed garth? bc he knew about the orange soda?...) but the way jason was looking at everyone when he was being blamed hurt my heart a little. i mean damn they were really foul for playing the blame game! rachel is the only one who had good probable cause for her assumptions.

14. amazing emotional pull from curran!! i felt that shit! the only thing that was off to me was the way jason was basically emotional and tearing up and everyone coming at him. NO ONE (except dick) realized something was wrong?... that little sarcastic asshole is really going through it. that dynamic just shows how far removed the team is from each other. how they are more separated and divided than ever. i hope with dick’s coming to jesus with himself and opening up to jason, THIS will finally bring the team together.

sooo top things: i wish there was more core 4 (or 5) interaction however i get that until “sins” or secrets of the past are continued to be buried it will continue to separate the team. we still have a long way to go so i hope they get a good fight scene (or two) against slade!

the way dickkory has been sidelined so far, they gotta step it up before i start seeking out my mistress “connory”! y’all i ain’t playin’! kory ain’t felt a naked man since 1x5/1x6!

lawd rose just stormed out and disappeared! i wonder if next week is a full flashback or big chunks. i wonder if rose is gonna shank some people tf OUT

THEY REALLY GAVE GAR 3 LINES?? fOuL

however the writing and acting, just everything has been amazing!! i am sooo engaged and we are only half way finished!!

90 notes · View notes

ibroughtanarsenal · 4 years

Text

shakespearean

WHO: Roy and Jason (@thatsjasonfkntodd) WHERE: The hospital. WHEN: Backdated to April 29th, 2020. WHAT: Jason sneaks into the hospital like a fool.

JASON: As soon as Dick had sent that text, Jason had wanted to go to the hospital. On an ordinary day when everything wasn’t already upside down, he would have. But so far, all within just a few hours, he’d left a handful of bodies at the docks with Deathstroke, got roped into Kiteman and Joker’s scheme, and had his identity revealed with a god damned puppet. So as much as he wanted to go make sure Dick wasn’t just sugar coating everything to keep him away, he did not want to spend the rest of the day (or longer) being hauled in for some kind of interrogation.

After exercising an uncharacteristic amount of patience, he entered the hospital well after visiting hours and when the nursing staff would be making fewer rounds into patient rooms. It took hugging a few walls to get where he needed to go without being stopped, but he was eventually able to let himself into Roy’s room. It immediately reminded him how much he hated hospitals - the sterile smell, the cold, the glow and sound from machines. Hospital gowns also just had an uncanny way of making anyone wearing them look helpless, and he hated that the most.

Roy looked like he was sleeping, so Jason closed the door silently behind him and walked over to drag one of the chairs closer to the bed. “Probably can’t stay long,” he said in a low voice, not loud enough to wake him if he was actually asleep.

ROY: By the time the park was secure enough for EMS to get to them, Roy had been too out of it to give them much information other than his name. He barely remembered reaching the ambulance at all. The next time he was aware of his surroundings it was hours later. He woke up in the hospital, with Dick in the room, and over the next hour he asked more questions than he was able to answer.

Jason's identity was out. He couldn't remember the details about how it happened, just that it did, and that was the only thing that mattered. He wasn't expecting him to come to the hospital because of the possible risks involved. There wasn't much he could do but sleep. They'd given him something for the pain while he'd been out. He felt it immediately upon waking. The first thing he should have done was tell the nurses his history, he fucking told people that all the time, but the light, calm feeling felt good. He could just let himself have it for today.

He was drifting in and out when Jason's voice broke through the haze and Roy opened his eyes, confused. When he saw that he was actually there, he sat up on the elbow that wasn't bandaged, and thought the lights were much too bright in here. "You shouldn't be here." It was a damn relief to see him, though, after hearing how the day played out. JASON: He moved to the edge of the chair and sat up straighter. Just to do something with his hands, he caught the edge of the blanket they’d draped over Roy. Those things were always too rough in a place where comfort would’ve actually done some good. He didn’t even like looking at them. They were always some sickly pastel color.

“Yeah, yeah, already got that from Dick so don’t waste your breath. I was careful coming in.” The last thing he’d wanted to do was get caught before he even made it to the room. He’d have to face everything sooner or later, but he was fine with it being later. “I didn’t know if he was just feeding me bullshit to keep me from coming, but it doesn’t look like you’re dead.” ROY: "He told me what happened." At the... theater? Maybe? Roy didn't add that detail just in case he wasn't remembering it correctly. It didn't matter. What mattered was the people who'd be gunning for Jason now that he knew who - and where - he was. He didn't care so much about the local SCPD. Dick hadn't done anything. Not yet, anyway.

He snorted softly and let his arm rest on the plastic railing. "Shouldn't be here long. The whole thing... stupid. I was meeting some lawyer about a patient. Guy got both of us." It took him entirely off guard and he hadn't been prepared for a random gunman in the park. "Couldn't go out like that. Too anticlimactic." He closed his eyes, trying to focus, and took a deep breath. "What are you gonna do, Jaybird?" JASON: “Bleeding out from a shoulder wound would’ve been a real let down. I’d bring you back just so you could put on a better show.” He have a humorless little snort of laughter. While he was no stranger to joking about death, and it was usually even his first choice, right then he was in no mood to think about Roy getting killed. He hadn’t even been around. He’d been at the damn docks, fighting some idiot gang members. Dead ones, now, which was a much bigger problem for him than it had seemed like at the time,

Jason ran his free hand down his face and sat forward far enough that his forehead almost rested against Roy’s arm. “I’ll figure it out. Get my shit out of my apartment though, that’s for sure.” While he did have some added security there, it wasn’t nearly enough. Red Hood had been active for years and he’d pissed off a lot of people. Sometimes they managed to track him anyway, but with his name? His real name? He was going to have to come up with a much better strategy to avoid them. ROY: "Appreciate the sentiment." Roy had to joke about it after being with Foggy for the last couple hours. He tried to keep him distracted by asking him questions, but even that stopped working eventually. Not having his phone on him was the biggest annoyance. He thought he'd be at the park for ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops. As far as he knew it was still in the car where he'd left it. Plugged in, too, since he had the tendency to let it die for hours.

Frowning, he didn't ask if Jason were going to leave the city. Roy just assumed he would have to. It seemed like the safer option. He opened his eyes when he heard Jason move, watching him for a few seconds without speaking, but then he sighed quietly and moved his hand back just enough that the tips of his fingers brushed over Jason's temple. "Don't drag your feet. If I get out of here only for you to go in, I'll be pissed." He did wonder before if Jason's name was still legally useable, but it wasn't a question he'd ever asked. JASON: “Funerals suck, so I’d appreciate you keeping up the trend of not making me go to one.” He swallowed as he felt Roy’s hand and abruptly reached up to catch his fingers. Of course some kind of bullshit was going to happen right when he was trying to start over with something he wanted. Story of his life.

“I just need to get an actual safehouse together in the city. There are places. I wasn’t counting on needing one yet,” but he could do it. “Gotta figure out where to lay low until then.” Loathe as he was to admit that Dick was right about keeping a low profile, it was the only real option for a little while. He had an idea, but it made him want to throw up. It might be the best one. ROY: Roy laughed softly. "Deal." He definitely didn't plan on dying anytime soon, although he was well aware it was a difficult promise to keep in a city like this. When Jason caught his fingers he pressed the side of his hand, the touch oddly sobering. He didn't really want to joke about it anymore. Even though he did his best to write off Foggy's talk of death, it did make him think about the things he hadn't said.

"You want to stay here?" It wouldn't have mattered to him. Roy wasn't the type who got attached to jobs or apartments or cities. If Jason wanted to go then he would go, but he knew he could have his own reasons to stay. JASON: “I don’t know if I want to, but I’m not leaving while that fucking clown still thinks he can just pick us off like flies.” He’d already gone after Damian, and Steph had a run in with him, too. Jason wasn’t going to tuck tail and run just because Joker had decided to out him (and all the rest of them). Jason wasn’t letting him win.

More than that, and more than he was going to say, was that Roy was...settled. At least a little. He had the rehab clinic. He was doing alright. Jason both didn’t want to upend that or walk away from it when he’d just walked back into it. “I’m sticking around,” was all he ended up saying. ROY: Family dynamics were complicated. Roy knew that better than most. Oliver hadn't shown his face in his own city the entire time he'd been here, not that he expected him to, but having Dinah around again made him feel more attached than usual. It bothered him that Joker had the obsession with Bruce and anyone who'd ever sidekicked with him. There were a lot of targets, but Jason was the only one he'd ever killed. From what he'd heard from Dick, it seemed like Joker could have killed Damian and chose not to. It made him wonder what the endgame was supposed to be.

He finally nodded, frowning. "Okay, just..." There were a lot of things he wanted to advise him to do, remind him about, but Jason knew it all already and he'd be wasting his breath. It was hard to keep his thoughts straight. "Be careful," he finally said, his voice quiet. JASON: “Pft, me? I’m always careful. Jason Careful Todd.” An absolute lie, but what he didn’t plan on doing was dying again anytime soon. It hadn’t been a cakewalk the first time around and he wanted at least another decade or two before the sequel.

He shifted the hold that he had on Roy’s hand and turned his head to press his lips against the other’s palm. The whole day had been so fucked, and capping it off with Dick telling him Roy was shot had jarred him enough for some uncharacteristic sentimentality. “Just don’t get too comfortable in here. Whole place gives me hives and the windows don’t open.” ROY: "That's some bullshit." Roy didn't worry about Jason because he knew he was capable, but he wasn't dumb enough to think he was ever careful. Sometimes he got cocky. They were both a little guilty of that. It didn't help that the enhanced abilities Jason had from the Pit wouldn't be there to serve him.

He bit the tip of his tongue when he felt how Jason kissed his palm, his fingers moving against his jaw even in the few seconds his hand was there, and it was much harder not saying what he'd thought to say (not just now, but in the past). The words might sound slurred and he didn't want it to sound like that. "Guess that means you can't scale my wall like some tragic Shakespearean figure. Must be killing you." JASON: It was some bullshit, but he still didn't plan to be reckless. He wasn't incapable of laying low, it just wasn't his preferred method of...anything, really. Jason didn't run from problems if he couldn't plant himself right in front of them. This problem, though, was impossible to see the entire scope of on day one. He wasn't going to gamble with it.

He smirked, unable to help it. The day was too heavy. "With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls; For stony limits cannot hold love out, And what love can do that dares love attempt." He let go of Roy's hand and pressed his palm against his own chest, reciting Romeo's words by rote. Why the fuck he remembered them rather than using that space for something more useful or that he cared about, he had no idea, but they were in there anyway. He just wanted to see the reaction. ROY: The situation was unpredictable. It made Roy feel a little better to know about the power dampeners, even though it was a strange thing to be happy about, because that left Jason as one of the most well-trained people in the city (and the rest of his family.) Maybe this was the best place to be for the time being.

The recitation made him open his eyes and he stared, unable to keep himself from smirking as his hand lowered back to the rail. "I would say I'm surprised you have that memorized, but I'd be lying." He remembered how much Jason liked books. Back when they shared the same space, Roy had even made a point of making room for some. He read from time to time, too, but rarely finished unless it really got his attention. "Careful, Jaybird. That almost sounded like a declaration of love." JASON: Being brought back by Talia and the Lazarus Pit had given him an edge over people in a lot of ways. He was a little faster, a little stronger, he could heal from things that probably would have killed him again, and being taken down a notch was going to be an adjustment if it was long term. Even with that, though, Jason had never let up on his training. He never slipped, never took a break, never let himself be less than in case that was the moment it would bite him in the ass. He’d spent most of his life comparing himself to other people and trying to stack up, and even though that wasn’t the driving factor anymore (not in the same way) he kept himself at a hundred percent in all the ways that counted in the field. All he needed was a roof with a little extra security for awhile.

“I’m full of surprises.” Whether that was supposed to be a response to him having the text memorized or the declaration of love, he didn’t bother to clarify. He wasn’t doing that in a hospital room with a bunch of monitors and Roy on fuck only knew what. Had they given him something? Did he let them? He didn’t ask. It definitely wasn’t the time for that, either. ROY: It was getting hard for Roy to keep his eyes open, even though he was doing his best to stay focused in the present. It wasn't like Jason could stay long and he hated missing out on that small window of time, especially because he wasn't sure when he'd be released. The doctors were optimistic about it, but it was still a shitty situation and he didn't want to deal with the recovery time. He especially didn't want to deal with his co-workers and the comments they'd make about getting back into the swing of things. They talked about things that were a little too personal and he didn't want the questions.

"I know it. One day I'll surprise you, just wait." Sometimes he thought the surprise wouldn't be necessarily a good one. That was something he kept to himself. "Tell me another one." Even though Roy was doing his best to stay focused, he was already feeling himself drifting back to sleep. The soft beeping the monitors did weren't exactly helping, either. JASON: “What, you want more Shakespeare?” Jason remembered bits and pieces more. Roy looked like he was on his way out, though, so he didn’t spend too long thinking about it. In all likelihood, he only had a couple of minutes before the nurses would start making their nightly rounds and he’d have to slip out.

He reached forward and idly straightened the corner of the blanket that covered Roy’s leg closest to him before reciting the next piece, with less gusto and mocking than the first time around. “I have night's cloak to hide me from their sight; And but thou love me, let them find me here: My life were better ended by their hate, Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.” Maybe now that it had served some purpose, he could dump it from his head and put something more useful there. ROY: "Yeah." Roy's voice was barely audible, but he knew he wanted Jason to keep talking so he had something in his head that wasn't machines.

Even though he tried to listen, it was difficult to understand the meaning behind the words when he was slipping into unconsciousness. It was something he would remember later with surprising clarity, however. By the time Jason finished speaking he was already asleep. JASON: Jason stayed about half a minute longer, until he was sure that Roy was well and truly out, before he got to his feet and pushed the chair back into place against the wall. He paused by the bed and pushed back an errant red curl before making his exit. Sure enough, he narrowly missed the night nurse heading toward his room.

#c: thatsjasonfkntodd #jason todd #roy harper

5 notes · View notes

anunvalidcritic · 5 years

Text

TITANS: sn2 ~ ep5

(DISCLAIMER: MY OPINION IS MY OWN AND CAN BE DEEMED INVALID TO THOSE WHO DON’T CARE FOR IT.)

One of the best looking villains in the game

DEATHSTROKE

22 Minutes Since Abduction

JASON you need to wake the fuck up bro.

JASON is the prime example of why kids are just hardheaded.

lol DR.LIGHT lookin’ like he’s about to fuck his ass up

“Is my talking annoying you dick weed? Cause that’s the thing I can do it all day, all night, and if you’re nice I’ll buy you something someday.” - JASON

It was a tad hard to make out what he said at the end but I did my best.

wow this dude really got choke out between JASON’s legs smdh

LOL he deadass thought he was going to get out of there without running into DEATHSTROKE

STARFIRE is driving around in Chicago while trying to call RAVEN

Scene switches to RAVEN with all that ooey gooey black shit floating around her.

BEAST BOY walks in and then proceeds to stare at it

wtf would you try and touch it?!?!?!

Now your wrist looks like a fucking vampire tried to bite it in a weird position.

“They don’t trust us.“ - BEAST BOY

I wouldn’t trust y’all either with all the shit y’all been doin’...

“Something is off I can feel it.” - RAVEN

Well duh bitch we can fucking see that!

“Oh don’t blame yourself shit-starter did this on his own.” - HANK

Ofc their being watched on some monitors.

The dilemma that’s between HANK and DICK is one for the ages like the Montagues and the Capulets.

The women had to set this shit straight.

“Why are you seating there like a fucking statue while our whole plan is going up in smoke?!” - DR. LIGHT

DR. LIGHT better chill before he gets fucked up by DEATHSTROKE

With all those lights around it looks aesthetically pleasing.

Oh shit, he found the fucking tracker.

DR.LIGHT is so childish headbanging to that loud ass music and hitting the steering wheel.

Say what you want about Nickelback I still fuck with that song

OFC DEATHSTROKE put a bullet in that dude.

Aww BEAST BOY got flustered when asked about RAVEN

HA the way he said “NO” to her. Puberty got to that ass.

ROSE is right though it is his fault for going in after the enemy without a thought out plan or backup.

“Now if you’ll excuse me I’m about to go ham on some cinnamon corn puffs and chill.” - ROSE

He didn’t have to make that loud ass grunt noise though

Now he’s back with RAVEN

Wow she’s really getting into her feelings about how GAR and JASON didn’t her in on what they were up too smh

THAT’S RIGHT BEAST BOY GO OFF ON HER!

“How?! ou can’t even control yourself!!” - BEAST BOY

“Creepy black cloud of razor blades that nearly took my hand off.” - BEAST BOY

Once again you shouldn’t have touched it in the first place (sorry not sorry)

“Who tf are you callin’ a sidekick asshole!” - JASON

Y’ALL... ik it’s not funny that DEATHSTROKE is punchin’ the shit outta JASON but I’m laughing because HANK really just went up to the phone and said, “You fucking bastard come try that shit with me!”

But hasn’t he already??? And if he hasn’t he will...

Oh so now you want to go to school??

RAVEN and STARFIRE having a heart to heart

Damn her back is fucked up

How can STARFIRE do a whole little speech about how powers are uncontainable but the bitch can barely use her powers at night???

“The more you try to suppress your power the harder they’ll resist” - STARFIRE

I’m so ready for this girl to say, “Azarath Metrion Zinthos!”.

How are you going to tell them that there’s a way to listen in on what they’re talking about but then say....

“Yeah, I don’t feel comfortable doing this. It feels sketchy.” - BEAST BOY

“You good with this Greyson?! DICK!” - STARFIRE

She said that like a true black woman!

“We’re not using DEATHSTROKE’s kid to get to him again.” - DAWN

RUN BITCH RUN

“ Hey don’t do this look we can talk and have like cookies and milk or something.” - HANK

They gotta find ROSE a better wig

DID RAVEN JUST BREAK THAT BITCHIES BACK I HEARD A CRACK?!?!?!?!

Ig I spoke too soon about the wig situati...

THIS BITCH IS ON SOME FREAKY DEAKY SHIT!

The bitch can get a better wig now!

HANK should’ve just choked her out honestly.

On a serious note what happened to HANK as a child should not happen to any child or adult.

Wtf did they do to JERICHO?

(ik he’s dead I just want to see what lead up to it.)

“Reopening this tower was a mistake.” - DAWN

HAND THAT GIRL TF OVER

“By the way, I like your new hair.” - DICK

Wow these ROBIN boys are fucking hardheaded

See this is wtf he gets for trying to be a martyr.

STARFIRE catchin’ these bullets like nothing

See this would've been the perfect time to have your bodyguard come back you up without dying.

COME ON NIGHTWING

OHHH SHIT!!!!!!

JASON TODD BETTER NOT FREAKIN’ DIE!

SOMEBODY BETTER FUCKING CATCH HIM!!!!

____________

I have nothing to say... somebody better learn how to fucking fly and catch that boy! REMEMBER EVERYONE’S A CRITIC WHEN THEIR OPINION MATTERS THE LEAST…

13 notes · View notes

hiitsmeamir · 4 years

Text

Titans bruh

Man, this show is fucking garbage dude

First of all, like none of the jokes land. At all ever the show and its ridiculous stupidity is more funny than anything that any of the characters say. Like Hank is the funniest one but none of the characters can bounce off of his humor

The fight between Nightwing and Deathstroke is horrible, like an Iron Fist season 1 level of bad. So.Many.Cuts. Also why did NO ONE help Dick fight Deathstroke. Like hes fighting Dick hand to hand and he's clearly out of bullets because he never busts out another gun. Jump his ass. Even if Kory has to stay in the car thats 3 other people 1 of whom can eviscerate him from at least 30 feet away with her magic

This fight should have really shown why Deathstroke is so feared and such a badass it should have taken everything from all of them to defeat him. But they just beat him REALLY fucking easily. Its not consistent.

I know its comic accurate but Roses mask gotta go. Rest of the costume is fine

And I thought the lesson of the season narratively was going to be that they can't fight Deathstroke alone. Like the first go around Donna fought him alone and lost, as did Dick. Second time around Jason tries to do it and loses and Dick goes rogue and is barely saved by Kory. The lesson is that they are a family and stronger together but we're never actually SHOWN that. No Rose and Dick beat him while everyone else sits in the car and Deathstroke goes out like a bitch. His defeat should have been way more impactful.

Ok I know I complain about heroes killing on this show but if Mercy really wanted to sell the super soldier thing why DIDNT she have Gar kill people? IIRC they only said people were injured.

#Justiceforgar hes like the least shitty person out here and all he does is try to help whenever someone is in trouble hes the FIRST one saying that they should go help. They reward him by blaming him for Jason and Rachel(whos supposedly his best friend) and Kory want to help him AFTER they find Dick who didnt want help at the time. He also gets like 0 screen time or development in comparison to a lot of other characters even tho he's supposed to be a main character

Dawn saying "you're themyscarian" to Donna so she could connect with Connor when Kory a LITERAL other alien who speaks the language is standing 1 foot away from her is peak inanity.

How the fuck did Gar cause that much destruction? Cars are flipped over??? How??? By a tiger. It would make more sense if he used more forms but hes only been a tiger or a snake

Also why did the crowd clap for them? Connor punched out the tiger that was hurting civilians like 10 minutes ago?? So the danger was over besides his and Donnas slap fight. Like he punched out the tiger and then they all stood around staring at each other for 5 minutes while Dick was in his mind and then the people come out clapping??? Like absolutely nothing happened from their perspective. Like they should have been clapped already

Connor shooting the mirror when Dawn holds it up, Characters with optic blast powers like heat vision unless something is restraining their head. Like how did you miss? All you have to do is LOOK at the target

Donnas death is just a big ol monkaS like did the actress want off the show last minute? Because thats how random this felt she should have went out like a warrior it should have meant something like it was just so anticlimactic and she just falls over after. They wrote her terribly and her death meant nothing. Also now that im thinking on it she should have had a hand in Deathstrokes defeat considering he killed Garth but that would have been to narratively satisfying.

"I'm finally done running from my past." Oh really Dick? It only took 2 full fucking seasons of you struggling with the same fucking shit every.single.episode. This show aint titans, its the Dick Grayson variety hour. Dicks arc should have finished at the end of season 1/early season 2 because even THEN it was going on too long.

"Im going to Themyscara to help Donna?? Fucking why???????? Yall aint like each other at all if it were Kory or Dick or Gar then yeah but Donna, Rachel? Lmaoooooook

Nobody even mentioning Jason(Especially Bruce) is just what Ive come to expect from this show. I had better not EVER hear about Red hood being on this show, they have fucked his character so fucking bad I actually cannot.

#titans #dc titans #dc universe #dcs titans #titans lb

4 notes · View notes

darlingkuroo · 5 years

Text

Make it your last - Dick Grayson

This came spontaneously while watching Lucifer at 1 in the morning. Also part 2 for jealous is comingggggggggggg.

Prompt: “Kiss her like it’s going to be the last”

—————————————————————-

Y/n and Dick spent months and months trying to track down Slade, also known as Deathstroke. But y/n liked to stick to slade, mainly because it was much shorter. Back to the actual plot line though, they had finally tracked him down in Gotham. It was time for them to bring him into custody, where the villain truly belonged.

“Come on, Dick.” Y/n says, watching as the man she loved kissed another. Barbara had been one of his best friends and it looks like they became more. Of course, y/n was heartbroken when she found out, but she would do anything to keep Dick happy. It was crazy on how love works.

Y/n was ready, she had all of her gear ready but the problem was that Dick wasn’t ready. “Look Dick, sorry to break your moment or whatever together, but we spent months tracking this loser around and well we’re not letting him get away.”

Dick gave one last kiss to Barbara before getting on his bike. Y/n took this as her signal to take off and boy did she drive fast and away from the two. Her tracker sent her towards an abandoned warehouse.

“Slade.” She says, doing her best to make her appearance known. Y/n let her scythe drag along the floor, she never used it to kill it was more so to scare the street thugs and rapists away before she had to actually get her hands dirty.

“Well if it isn’t the little bird’s sidekick.”

“If anything, he’s more of my sidekick.”

Dick made it shortly after y/n made that comment. Secretly cursing in his mind for her running off like that. Taking out his escrima sticks he walks to find y/n and Slade talking.

“Bold of you to assume either of us are there sidekick,” Dick Grayson says, adding into quarrel. “But let’s speed this up.”

Mans by speed it up he meant by attacking Slade without all of the talking. Y/n rolled her eyes with how dramatic he was being, but she guess that’s how you react with your archenemies. But by his irrational decision, it cost him a lot. ( lmao I can’t write a fight scene to save my life)

Now he sat waiting in the bat cave as y/n was being operated on. She took the hit for him and for that he will always feel guilty.

“Oh please, Grayson, it’s y/n we all know she’s gonna make it out, she’s gotta kick your ass before she goes of course.” Damian had been observing the two for awhile, in fact if Dick wasn’t with Barbara he would have thought those two were married.

“Kick my ass for what?” He asks stupidly.

“For going in all irrational, I mean at least she beat his ass but it’s yours you should be worrying about now.” Damian says, keeping his eyes on his book, he was reading Little Women.

“That sounds like y/n.”

“You know, I’m confused on why you’re with Barbara and not Y/n. I mean y/n brings the best out of you, she pushes you forward. No offence to Barbara though.” Damian says, closing his book sharply and getting up. “Well I’m off, I got grounded for putting salt in Drake’s coffee.”

And now Dick sat there, had what Damian said was true. He sat there numbly as he waited for y/n to be done. “Master Dick, I think it’s best if you go upstairs, she’s in quite critical condition and it’s best if you aren’t here.”

“Wait-“ But Alfred only continued to push him upward and towards the stairs.

Now he sat in the living room, head in his hand as he waited on news. “Aw, is little Dickie sad?” Jason taunted, Tim walked in sluggish behind him.

“Shut it, Jay.” Dick mumbles.

“You know, Dick, I’m not the best at advice, but y/n almost died tonight.”

“Wow, Jason, tell me something I don’t know.”

“Don’t interrupt me, I was getting to the point. What I’m trying to say is make it your last, it’s obvious your in love with her, and tonight better be an eye opener.” Jason says. But Tim was slightly aggravated, he should have just said it out loud and by Dick’s face it doesn’t seem like he got it.

“What he’s saying is kiss her like it’s going to be the last. God, sometimes you people can be so dense.”

“But I’m still with Babs.”

“Yeah, after hearing this conversation it helped me realize some things, Dick.” Barbara says, coming into view. “I obviously shouldn’t have gotten into a fight I would have never won, but love does crazy things, like throwing yourself in front of a katana nearly hitting your important organs.” Barbara says, describing what heroic actions y/n did.

A smile ghostly appeared on his lips as he thought about how much you loved him. “Master Dick, y/n can take visitors now.” This led to him racing down towards the bat cave, where she was waiting.

“Hey loser- mhg” y/n says, as she’s silenced by a pair of lips. Though she melted into them, her hands tangling into his dark hair. Dick pulls away from her. “Wait aren’t you still-“

“She broke it off with and made me realize some things.”

“Oh.”

“You are so stupid for taking that hit for me by they way.”

“Well I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t so distracted.”

“Maybe if your suit wasn’t so tight fitting maybe I wouldn’t have.” Dick says before pulling her into another kiss.

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #bruce wayne #jason todd #damian wayne #tim drake #barbara gordon #nightwing #batman #robin #red robin #red hood #oracle #batgirl

80 notes · View notes

hood-ex · 6 years

Note

Dad Bruce anon: lol, thank you. I mean, where's the lie? Regarding what that other anon said about Robin trust. I think it's more neglect then anything. Rebirth can be pretty inconsistent overall, but what seems to be consistent w/all titles (except Super Sons, and even then) is that Bruce is a very neglecting dad to Damian. Heck, not just Damian. TEC made a point about Bruce being neglectful to Tim and Cass's issues until it nearly blew up in everyone's faces. In the end it may have ended -

2 well (I don’t read TEC, so I’m assuming it did) but it still ended w/Tim taking off to parts unknown and Bab’s taking over training Cass. They’re not Bruce’s daily main focus of attention. For Jason, future solicts show the two coming to a devastating brawl that ends w/Jason seemingly broken and going down a darker path again. Again, Bruce will leave Jason alone to this. Dick and Bruce having a two way relationship is the only consistent relationship that shows up a lot among Bruce’s kids.

3 I remember in Trinity a possessed Jason basically remark Dick has been the only one to make Bruce proud. In Priest’s JL only Dick showed up to act as a conscience that Bruce listened to. In RHatO again Jason comments Bruce would trust Dick w/a undercover mission. In NW we’ve had several shows Bruce being involved in Dick’s life/worrying but trusting him. In Batman, Dick is the only one so far who looks to be getting attention from Bruce - donning the batsuit again. Upcoming solicts about-

4 long arc post wedding focusing on Dick and Bruce working together again detailing their close bond. Even in Titans it shows Bruce listening and very invested in Dick (believing he’ll lead the JL someday). He’s being a controlling arse about it and seems to disaprove of anyone he hasn’t picked himself to work alongside Dick (that being said, I too am incredibly dissapointed that complete trust is not there right now). On Dick’s end he’s the only one among the protege’s who routinely gets -

5 Bruce and understands him better then anyone across the titles. Wedding prelude even shpwed Bruce considers Dick his best friend over Clark. Opposed to Damian who doesn’t seem to understand his father at all and needs Dick to explain things. Basically, Bruce seems to actively care and invest in Dick’s potential almost to a fault compared to the dismissive attitude of the others. I guess because he believes Dick’s actions carry a lot more weight in the world then the others do. =/

That long anon ask: well that was already very long. But I forgot to add my conclusion. It appears a lot of DC writers only really like the original dynamic duo’s relationship. Tomasi and probably Gleason are the only ones who try to show the current dynamic duo’s bond but even that’s never been a main focus in Rebirth. Bruce only remembers Damian for drama. Even Priest states the current Bat vs Slade arc in Deathstroke has nothing to do w/Damian. =/ it’s kind of sad.

Tim is actually the batkid I’m side-eyeing the most right now. I have no idea what DC is planning to do with him from here on out. Evidently, Bruce trusts Tim enough to go do his own thing and forge his own path. Which, okay, cool. I can sorta understand Tim and Steph’s need to go work on an independent project. But at the same time, it seems like an excuse to push Tim out of the picture. I’m just hoping they don’t make him… redundant.

As for Cass, I think it’s cool that Babs is helping her with her social skills because that’s similar to what happened pre-52 when Cass first showed up. It would be nice if we got to see Bruce build a bond with her, but who knows if that’s gonna happen any time soon.

It is pretty annoying that all the progress Jason made with Bruce and the rest of the batfamily could be destroyed. Cause if Jason started killing again or whatever then not only would that hurt his relationship with Bruce, it would probably burn bridges between him and Dick as well. But yeah, I don’t know how progressive Bruce would be about trying to make things right with Jason all over again.

If Bruce really is pushing for Dick to become the future leader of the Justice League then I could understand why he might invest more time in Dick than the others. He’s gotta make sure Dick is prepared to take on a monumental task like that as well as make sure Dick has no weaknesses when it comes to leading such a powerful and impactful team.

It is sad how Damian has been more of an afterthought in Bruce’s life lately. I can see how one of the reasons for that might have to do with the fact that Bruce is used to the Robins (Dick and Tim) being independent and sticking with their teams while also being on call for Batman related business. Still, you’d think Bruce would keep Damian on a shorter leash since Damian likes to (sometimes recklessly) charge ahead when he’s got his mind set on accomplishing a goal.

So yeah, it would be nice if there was more consistency with Bruce and his kids.

#Bruce Wayne #Dick Grayson #Jason Todd #Tim Drake #Cassandra Cain #Damian Wayne #anon

21 notes · View notes

dickie-gayson · 6 years

Text

CHAPTER 4: COUNTING BODIES LIKE SHEEP

Summary:

Characters: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd

Genre: Horror

Length: 4k+

Other: Arkham Knight!Jason, Talon!Dick. this is The Worst Chapter - the Remix

Find It On: Ao3 Fanfiction

Counting Bodies Like Sheep

"I was hung from a tree made of tongues of the weak The branches, the bones of the liars, the thieves Rise up above it, high up above and see One night of the hunter, one day I will get revenge"

Jason's heart thumped an almost painfully quick pace in his chest as he lay on the dusty floor. He stared wide-eyed and unseeing at the ceiling as if it held the answers to his problems. Talon hovered over him, looking far too much like a leopard waiting to feast for Jason's liking. Still, he did not move. The weight of his predicament and new revelations seemed to keep him tied down and helpless. He certainly felt helpless. The assassin watched with a morbid sort of fascination as the resignation killed what little light had sparked in Jason's eyes.

With no warning, Talon rose on graceful feet and turned from the downed man. It was clear he viewed Jason as no threat just in the relaxed way he moved. There was no line of tension drawing up his shoulders. No hint of wariness in his posture. It was equal parts humiliating and irritating to be thought so little of. Jason watched the killer's soft steps closely, still on edge from the earlier assault. Every shift set his teeth on edge. Talon was unpredictable with his temper, making him a troubling foe.

He seemed to stop before a spot of blank, peeling wall just out of Jason's view and stare. It seemed to be a recurring theme with the new Dick Grayson. He stared far more than before and it was downright creepy. There was something he couldn't quite place in those gleaming eyes that made him want to crawl out of his skin. Jason saw pure evil, was face-to-face with it on a daily basis for a year, yet this was something completely different. It left the astringent taste of fear lingering like bile on his tongue. It kept his pulse pounding despite his best efforts to keep it calm. Yes, there was something completely different about this thing and all the demons Jason faced in his life.

Cautiously, he rose to his feet. His efforts to mask his movements were rendered useless as Talon heard him. The slight cocking of his head in Jason's direction was a dead giveaway of that. He had to resist the intense urge to try and brutalize the assassin who faced away from him. It wouldn't end well, he knew that much. The small amount of satisfaction he'd gain from landing a few hits wouldn't outweigh whatever the repercussions would be. Personally, Jason would prefer to be stabbed but Talon seemed to have a fondness for causing mental and emotional wounds. That was something he had no desire to endure at all.

Jason noticed that the only exit that wasn't boarded over was right beside Talon. Of course. He doubted that was a coincidence. Sure, he could try to make a break for it but he highly doubted he'd make it out before being dragged back in. To make matters worse, Jason was still missing his arsenal of weapons and tools that had been stripped of him while unconscious. He flexed his hands, sorely wishing for a gun or something to defend himself with, no matter how useless. This feeling of being totally exposed and helpless was something Jason absolutely loathed. No matter what he's gone through, the horrors he's triumphed and training he went through, he was still the victim. It was driving the man completely insane.

There was a fury in his steely gaze that he was positive Dick could feel. If looks could kill, his captor would most assuredly be nothing but ashes from the glare penetrating his back. It was with a certain degree of reluctance that Jason turned that angered glare from the black-clad man to sweep over the room in a more meticulous examination. Letting the crazed killer out of his sight wasn't something he was particularly keen on doing. However, he needed to find his gear and he couldn't exactly do that while trying to burn a hole through the back of the other man's skull.

Now that he wasn't panicking he was able to take note of a few more key details. All the windows but one had been boarded up, the lighting was purposefully dim to the point of near blackness, and there was an array of vicious looking blades of many forms lining the tops of boxes near Talon's little nest. What had appeared to be brown blankets were in reality white blankets completely covered in stains. It didn't take the world's greatest detective to guess where those brownish stains came from. The thought of just how many bodies it took to get that much residual blood was baffling. The analytical side of him was legitimately curious just how many DNA samples he could get from one swipe across the cloth.

He spotted his weapons and belt sitting out in the open on a weathered desk near Talon. Jason was mentally weighing whether or not he really needed those items or if he should take his chances. It was a short-lived thought, as he knew Talon had very purposefully placed them where he could see but not quite reach without getting near the assassin. All these false little windows of opportunity only added to Jason's growing resentment. That asshole was toying with him to see if he'd fall for those traps. Jason clenched his jaw in frustration as he swiped his now scratched helmet from the floor. Just as he was about to slide it back on, Talon's quiet voice cut through the air.

"Don't."

Jason paused, helm above his head, and stared at the assassin. Then, he took notice of the piercing yellow eyes in the dim reflection of a mirror so grimy it could almost pass as part of the wall. Had it not been for the tell-tale golden glow he wouldn't have even noticed that Talon was watching him. He'd been watching this whole time. Jason locked eyes through the dirtied reflection and gave a defiant sneer before forcefully putting the helmet on. All systems blinked on as the suit reconnected with its missing piece. There was a somewhat entertained look on the killer's otherwise blank features.

"Robins never were very good at following orders."

That made Jason's lips twist in an irritated scowl. He hated that Dick kept bringing it back to that. Robin. The argument 'I'm not Robin' sat heavy on his tongue, waiting to come out again. It was useless. To this bastard he'd always be Robin. Once a bird, always a bird. Jason could almost swear that the carved R on his chest was mocking him. He stomped heavily toward Talon, who still faced the wall but tracked him through the mirror. Jason wasn't quite sure whether he was drawing closer to punch the frustrating man, to grab his gear, or just try to jump out the window. Perhaps a daring combination of all three, though not quite in that order.

He came to a slow halt as his eyes landed on the section of wall Talon was covering. All thoughts of escape and his supplies left his head. Carved crudely into the wood was a long list of names; some were already scratched out. Jason read the list and recognized quite a few, if not only from word of mouth. He knew what this list was but the thought that Dick made a hit list, no matter how demonic he's become, was almost unfathomable. It just didn't quite connect. He found himself questioning it without thinking.

"What the hell is this?"

He mentally facepalmed for asking the stupidly obvious. Truthfully, he half expected to hear a witty 'my shopping list, obviously' or something equally dumb. Instead, that ravenous stare was back on him full-blast. There was no response at first, just an uncomfortable silence. Then, Dick spoke in that unsettling arctic whisper.

"The damned."

Had it been the old times, when Dick was still Nightwing and Jason was Robin, Jason would have snarked back about Bruce's melodramatics rubbing off on the older boy. But these weren't the old times and those soft words left his gut churning. It wasn't what he said but how he said it that got under Jason's skin. There was such unmistakable malignance in his tone that even Batman would be chilled to the core. Rather than linger on the discomfort, he kept reading the list. There was one break in the names, a section that looked like it'd been hacked at. There was no hope of reading what name had been there. The curiosity ate at Jason, but he continued on. It was a varied list, going from super villains to people Jason would have marked as average Joes. His eyebrows rose once he hit one name in particular.

"Slade Wilson. You're gonna try to kill Deathstroke?"

That unsettling stare turned sharp, nearly vicious, at the surprise in Jason's voice. He almost backtracked from that look alone.

"He wronged me. I will kill him."

Jason let out a low whistle at the sheer level of spite in his words. He knew all about the feud between his brother and the super-assassin. Who didn't? The fights between the two, particularly when Dick had been Robin, were something of legends among teen heroes. Now that Dick was turned into this, he almost pitied Slade. Almost. Whatever Hell he brought upon himself was completely deserved. As his eyes swept back to the list, he couldn't help but wonder just what the rest had done to deserve it as well. 'Catalina Flores, where have I heard that name before?'

"If this is everyone that wronged you, I gotta say I'm surprised the list ain't bigger."

Making enemies in their line of work, well, previous line of work was laughably easy. What hero didn't have their scars? It was meant as a joke, but the look he got in return made the light tone wither on his lips.

"It was."

Talon pushed a box that was sitting on a table. Jason's gaze fell onto the now exposed portion of the wall and that sickening feeling returned. Names lined the paneling, all scratched out. Many were from Gotham's elite that Jason never bothered to look into. He hardly pegged them as criminals. Then there were others; Elaine Marsh-Morton - otherwise known as Lady Vic or Lady Victim, and Tom and Tad Trigger - The Trigger Twins, Dudley Soames, Shrike, Guillermo Barrera, Randy Hanrahan, Giz, Mouse. All noted criminals and assassins. All crossed out. The list of scratched out names went on and on. It flooded to the next panel and ended at the next target: Harvey Dent. It wasn't too surprising, given how the madman had tortured Dick when he was Robin.

He was impressed by the body count Talon was able to rack up without drawing attention to himself. Hell, Jason was part of the underground scene and he never heard so much as a whisper of someone murdering others left and right. Sure, he heard word that some of the more notable people, like Lady Vic, were dead but nothing else on the topic. No one ever connected them together. To find out it was all Dick fucking Grayson that killed them? He's pretty sure his brain shorted out for a few moments trying to process it.

"I almost added you."

Jason had to force himself not to jump at the unexpected words. While he'd been focused on piecing everything together, Talon had slipped uncomfortably close. He was all but looming at this point. If Jason's armor didn't cover him so completely, he's pretty sure he'd be able to feel Talon's breath on his neck. Then, what Talon said caught up with him. He resisted the urge to step away from the eerie assassin. Dick seemed to notice this hesitation and spoke again.

"But I don't want you dead."

There was an unspoken 'yet' at the end of his sentence, Jason could feel it. He couldn't decide whether those words were meant to be comforting or a warning.

"Y'know, that's not as reassuring as a 'But I couldn't kill you'."

Again, it was meant as a joke, and again that look was all too serious. No matter how familiar the voice, he had to remember this wasn't the man he knew. It was a monster, as was evident by the cold stare he got in return. The silence that greeted his words was all he needed to know. This...this shadow of Dick Grayson could kill him and not feel an ounce of remorse. Jason promptly ignored all the reasons that hurt. He could still feel that heartless gaze on him as he returned to staring at the list. There were names Jason expected to see but didn't. In fact, it infuriated him just a bit that a certain name wasn't on his brother's list.

"I don't see Joker here."

There was no hiding the ire in his words. All these names and Joker - fucking Joker - wasn't deemed worthy of Talon's time. It pissed him off more than just a little bit. His fists clenched tight as he tried to reign in his temper; his hurt. There was another beat of silence before Talon spoke.

"Not mine to kill, not mine to add."

He then pointed at the section of wall that looked like it'd been hacked at. It was clear now that it had been Joker's name on the wall. Any response Jason had came to a halt as he was presented with a wicked looking knife. He got a pointed look from the assassin, making his intentions very clear. It was to be Jason's vengeance and so Jason should carve his name. He stared at the blade in surprise while Talon continued on.

"I was going to torture him. Drag out every last inch of his life then slaughter him like the swine he is. ...Then, I found out you still lived."

That rage fizzled out under the confusing assortment of bewilderment and, as much as he'd deny it, happiness. Despite the frigid, impersonal tone and former treatment, Jason couldn't help but be a little pleased someone was going to avenge him. He didn't doubt the assassin's words in the slightest. Given his possessiveness up until this point, it'd align just right for him to seek out the one who killed 'his Little Wing'. Jason took the blade and traced his free hand over a blank spot on the wall. He let out a slow breath then dug the dagger in. Each stroke of the blade was slow and deliberate. A bit of hate flowed into every line. As that hate and anger mounted, the gouges grew deeper. When the name was complete, it was cut further into the wood than any other. He had to yank out the blade at the end of the 'R'.

Teal eyes glared at the name and the dagger trembled in his grip. This must be why Dick chose to carve the names rather than write them down. It was much more intimate; made one really remember why they were on the list. In a spur of rage, Jason sliced yet another name into the wall beneath Joker. He could remember her high pitched laughter and nasally voice just as well as the Jokers. She was as guilty as him and she'd pay. 'HARLEY QUINN'. He grit his teeth as he glared at the names. His fury was evident in the growing choppiness of the lettering. It was less meticulous in style and fueled by his emotions. The memories dredged up brought with them the familiar heat of wrath and hate. It caused him to quake from the sudden onslaught. He all but snarled as he slammed the dagger back into the wood, carving even more names. Everyone that hurt him would feel his pain tenfold.

All the while, Talon watched silently. He was curious as to who would be sentenced to death by his little brother next. There were names he didn't recognize and names he did, like Sal Maroni. The list was not nearly as extensive as his own, but the sheer resentment that went into each stroke and letter could almost even the gap. As reluctant as Jason had been to cooperate in the beginning, Talon knew they could work well together on this. They would.

Jason took a step back from the wall and let out a low breath. The animosity still poisoned his veins, but he felt a little lighter marking those names down. It'd feel even better once those names had lines through them, he just knew it. It would calm some of his inner demons to rid the world of those scum. With Talon's help, he knew they'd all fall. So, why did it feel like he just made a pact with the Devil?

There was still one name he's yet to mark down. It would have been two, but he doubted Talon would appreciate his attempts to add Tim Drake to the list of the damned. That thought made his temper flare just a bit more. Having to spare his replacement just because Dick was obscenely possessive sent spikes of frustration through his nerves. He ground his teeth and gripped the handle of the dagger a little firmer. Then, he started to add that last name, the hardest one to write. The one that he would have given his life for and almost had. The one that failed him. Bruce Wayne. Jason didn't get further than 'BRUCE' before his forearm was caught in an unforgiving grip.

"No."

He looked at Talon with something akin to betrayal at being stopped. Tim he could understand. He didn't like it, but he understood. Bruce though?

"What the hell, Dick? After everything that's happened to us you're just going to let him go?! He deserves to be on this damn list! He needs to pay for his failures!"

The words were spat out with such venom, it was nearly enough to hide the pain that lingered under the surface. The slight crack in his tone near the end didn't help his situation. There was still no reaction to his torment or anger. Then, Dick calmly moved his hand to cover Jason's own hold on the hilt.

"Death isn't justice. It isn't vengeance. It's solace. Justice and vengeance? They come before death."

The way he spoke, so soft yet so unbelievably vicious, caused a chill to run down Jason's spine. Then, he moved the dagger under both their command and began to carve a new name.

"You want Bruce to suffer? He will suffer."

'B'

"He will beg and plead for the children he forsook."

'A'

"He will be reminded how he failed. Every. Single. Day."

'T'

"We will face him but we will not offer forgiveness."

'M'

"We will break him but we will not offer solace."

'A'

"Death would be kind, Jason."

'N'

"I am not kind."

Jason stood enraptured by his voice, envisioning what he spoke of. There was a dark, damning promise to his words that filled the younger man with a sick sort of glee. Originally, he wanted to just end Bruce's life for leaving him in the caverns of Arkham but this? This would be so much better. The utter iciness of Talon's hate contrasted so wildly against the searing heat of Jason's own animosity. Combined, the two could surely bring ruin to anyone and anything in their path. The plan he had started shifting to accommodate the ideas now planted in his head. Jason spoke low and slow, voicing the thoughts as they formed.

"We kill the bat and leave the man."

Bruce is his real mask, not the cowl. To be left with only 'Brucie' would certainly be a hell of his own making. And to know it's all because of the sons he forgot and replaced? That would definitely destroy him. 'If he even cares at all.' The invasive thought couldn't help but crop up. Jason was still utterly convinced Bruce felt nothing for them other than their shelf life and how useful they could be. Being forced to live every single day seeing the weapons he cultivated turned against him would be so delicious. Yes, Jason could see the merit of Talon's plan on leaving him alive.

The assassin watched the thoughts rolling through his brother's head with interest. He gave a slight nod at Jason's words. It was what he intended on doing. Destroy the legend of Batman, leave nothing but ashes in their wake. It would torment their 'father'. He could hardly live without the cowl and cape. They would strip him down, hollow him out and leave him cold, just like he left them to be.

"He'll know the pain of being left with a face that isn't truly his."

Talon's tone was acrid in its loathing. The two looked at each other, taking note of the disfigurations that marred the other, making them almost strangers. Dick's distortions were far more severe, but Jason was marked so cruelly by his tormenter that he could hardly stomach his own reflection on good days. What happened to the two was tragic. What they planned to do to Bruce will be anathema. A cruel smirk curled up Jason's lips. The day of reckoning was drawing near and he couldn't wait to watch them all burn.

He was drawn from his musings by Dick taking his dagger back. Why he needed all those knives on him, Jason still didn't know. He was a living weapon with fucking claws. Then again, he liked to pack an excessive amount of weapons himself. Maybe it was a comfort to feel that much more protected. Though if he were being truthful, Talon gave off a vibe that it was just to have more ways to kill people. Really, he had no room to judge.

The assassin then handed Jason his equipment back. It was a bit of a shock but he quietly took the peace offering. At least, that's how Jason thought Talon was offering them to him. A sort of olive branch. He woke up here despising Talon and would leave here feeling something close to camaraderie with the killer. Those cold, cruel words still echoed in the back of his mind, warning him not to become complacent near Dick. 'By my name you lived, Little Wing. By my name, you'll die.'

Jason holstered his guns and clipped on his belt, feeling safer in his full Arkham Knight regalia. When Talon placed a guiding hand on his shoulder, it felt like the cold hand of death gripping him. He motioned toward the window and gave an almost feral look.

"The sun is setting. We have hunting to do."

He didn't miss the fact that Talon didn't ask if he wanted to hunt with him, but rather issued it like a command. Jason gave a sigh as he checked his comms and messages. His men were a bit frantic that he went missing, especially after receiving such a grotesque 'gift'. He radioed over to Bax to let the man know their commander was fine. Then, he turned his attention to the waiting assassin. Talon was perched on the window sill staring at him, owl mask firmly in place. His pose was almost achingly similar to how Dick used to perch at the edge of ledges, just on the balls of his feet and teetering dangerously. It was yet another reminder that no matter how heinously different he was now, there were still some Grayson mannerisms left in the man.

"I've got to get back to base. My men are freaking out since some people can't talk to others without kidnapping them."

He took a cautious step toward the window, testing the waters. Jason wasn't sure how this crueler version of Dick would take his disobedience. If Talon let him out, then that'd be great. It'd mean he wasn't as freakishly controlling as Jason was led to believe. If he didn't let him out? Well, there wasn't too much he could do about that but follow his previous orders, was there? He was mentally rooting for the former but expecting the latter. Talon gave that strange little head tilt and made no effort to move from the sill. Jason was forced to come to a halt before the assassin. A frustrated noise rumbled in his throat at the lack of cooperation from Dick.

"Seriously, I need to go. We can 'hunt' some other time. I have shit I need to do."

What was meant to be forceful came out a little closer to a plea than he would have liked. There was a beat of silence and neither moved. Then, Talon grabbed him by his armor and yanked him forward with more force than Jason was expecting. He was only just able to choke back the startled noise from slipping out as he steadied himself. In reflex, he grabbed for his weapons but didn't fully unholster them. No need to rile up the crazy undead killing machine after they just got on friendly-ish terms. Dick pulled him so close, their masks nearly touched. The vicious, almost ravenous edge to his voice had Jason swallowing in fear.

"Go. Settle your business. Look at the flash drive. After that, we will hunt."

There was no room left for argument in those selfish, hellish words. He found himself nodding in agreement with the terms. Jason could deal with a compromise. It was honestly more than he was expecting from Dick at this point. Talon shoved him away with the same amount of force, nearly causing Jason to trip over his own feet. Then, he leapt from the window with the same enviable grace that left all who saw in awe of the last of the Flying Graysons.

A shaky breath came from Jason as he attempted to calm his spiking nerves. This had not gone like he planned at all. After one last look around the room with a pause to re-read the names, Jason made his own escape. It was going to be a long night, that was for sure. He had to figure out what the hell to do about Scarecrow now that Talon threw himself into the mix. That could wait until the more immediate problems were addressed, though. There were men to sort out, orders to give, and, most importantly, a flash drive to examine.

#Me and the Devil Verse #Talon!Dick #Arkham Knight!Jason #The Arkham Knight #Jason Todd #Dick Grayson #My Writing #fuck me this is Bad #o well i tried ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

5 notes · View notes

why-this-kolaveri-machi · 5 years

Text

Fic: explosion

For the Whumptober 2019 Day 2 prompt: explosion!

Summary: When the breakdown finally arrives, it’s nothing like Dick once pictured it would be: a spectacular implosion, buildings collapsing on themselves and raining debris until there’s nothing left but a flaming pile of rubble. The weight that he’s been collecting (for too long) just seems too big for the letting go to be anything short of a disaster. Instead, it starts slow, without him even noticing.

aka: at the end of everything, Dick breaks down, and his family is there for him.

Warnings: future!AU, Titans s2 spoilers upto 2.04, some swearing. this is some truly indulgent shit.

When the breakdown finally arrives, it’s nothing like Dick once pictured it would be: a spectacular implosion, buildings collapsing on themselves and raining debris until there’s nothing left but a flaming pile of rubble. The weight that he’s been collecting (for too long) just seems too big for the letting go to be anything short of a disaster. Instead, it starts slow, without him even noticing. It erodes him with the unceasing regularity of the tide, instead of cracking him right through the centre.

It starts with the end, the night after Deathstroke is defeated and the Titans, both old and new, are gathered at the tower. The gigantic rooms are about as small as Dick has ever seen them, filled with people and music and laughter and chatter. Superman and Green Lantern-themed party decorations hang from the ceiling, (“literally all that was available last minute,” Gar had told him earlier that day, like somehow over the last year he’d gotten better at lying to Dick. Hah.) glittering in the lights, and there are pictures everywhere—trophies of their biggest triumphs, and snapshots of smaller, more intimate moments that Dick has no memory of ever posing for or taking.

Dick walks through the party, beer in hand, feeling strangely light-headed. The music sounds muffled, and he hears snippets of conversations as though they are coming from very far away. He smiles vaguely at Gar talking animatedly to Rachel and Rose, flits, ghost-like, between Jason and Dawn throwing down for an impromptu sparring session, and gestures with his beer at Donna across the room, hoping that’s answer enough for the curious look that she’s giving him.

Joey catches his eye from where he’s sitting with Kory and Conner. You okay? he signs. You look unwell.

“I’m okay,” Dick says loudly—maybe a little too loudly, because he can barely make out anything over the roaring in his ears—and keeps walking, determined not to be a buzzkill (this once, Rachel had said, crossing her arms over her chest but with a playful twinkle in her eye).

Somehow, he finds himself sitting at the kitchen table, watching Hank determinedly mix something in a giant bowl.

“You’d think he’d know the difference between walnuts and peanuts,” Hank’s saying. “I mean, just on principle. The kid’s got a smartphone and every fancy gadget money can buy and he doesn’t think to text me oh hey hank, you weren’t really planning to bake a cake with peanuts, were ya? Because that would be ridiculous, oh no, not him—”

“You do a mean Jason impression,” Dick says. “Gotta save that for the actual party.” Now that he can actually hear himself speak, he winces—he sounds scratchy and hoarse, like he hasn’t spoken in a while (he hasn’t spoken in a while).

Hank stops mixing to stare at him. A beat passes before he sets the bowl down and walks around the table to sit next to him. “You feeling all right, man?”

Dick sighs. This is exactly what he wanted to avoid. Usually when he gets like this—wobbly, sad, there but not quite—he discreetly escapes to his room and punches and cries and screams into pillows, stares at the ceiling and the walls, listens to loud music or makes notches on his desk with his bare fingernails, anything to quell the desperate, seething mass of feeling inside of him. It almost always works.

“Just tired,” he says. It’s not even a lie.

Hank nods, then throws an arm around Dick’s shoulders, pulling Dick towards him. “Yeah right,” he says, “like you’re going to weasel out of the party with that excuse. Roy still hasn’t forgiven you for skipping his birthday to go to wilderness survival training in the Amazon, and that was a hell of an excuse.”

“You say that like I had a choice,” Dick mutters.

“You coming back and lecturing us on camping styles and insisting that we stock up on twenty different kinds of insect repellent? Definitely a choice.”

Dick remembers Hank dragging him away then just like this, reminding him none-too-gently to get his goddamn head out of his ass once in a while. He opens his mouth to laugh, but to his horror, hears a sob escape instead.

Hank freezes. “Dick?”

God-fucking-damnit. He really, really can’t do this here, not in front of all these people. He wriggles out of Hank’s hold and staggers in the general direction of his room, his vision swimming. The music stops, there’s a litany of concerned voices and numerous hands reaching out to stop him, and Dick squeezes his eyes shut and keeps moving because if he doesn’t—

if he doesn’t he can’t—

“Dick please,” Rachel says, and her voice cuts through everything like it always does, like it did when she saved him from Trigon (when she saved them all). “Dick, what’s wrong?”

He’s in his bedroom with Kory, Gar and Rachel, trembling like he’s going to fall apart with the force of the ticking time bomb inside of him. He wants to reassure her, but he can’t find the words or his voice, and so he looks to Kory, pleading.

Please, he tries to say. Not with them here.

Thankfully, she seems to get the message, and ushers them out of the room. Within seconds, she’s back in the room, her arms around him. She’s warm enough to be right at the cusp of uncomfortable, her skin glowing faintly in the dark room. Dick leans into her touch even as she says, “It’s okay. It’s just us now, Dick.”

And Dick… crumples.

He cries—loud, keening sobs that are barely muffled by her shirt. Every time he thinks he’s just about spent, a fresh wave of sorrow washes over him, and he starts all over again. He doesn’t understand where this is coming from—why this sadness is pulling him along in its current and washing him up on shore feeling empty and bereft—when everything is over, fixed, saved. He only knows the feeling of a festering wound being sliced open, spilling pus and infection until the blood runs red. He only knows what it means when something blows open, spitting smoke into the air as fire burns everything clean.

There’s so goddamn much to burn through.

He realises that at some point he stopped crying and started talking. He’s not making much sense, not even to himself, but the words pour out of him like a messy afterbirth anyway. At one point all he can say is it’s been so cold for so long and he doesn’t know if that means all the nights training in the Batcave past the point of collapse, or if it means trying so goddamned hard to keep himself together while everyone fell apart around him because he’s the leader, this was his idea, or if it means living with the guilt of Joey and Slade and Zucco and Bruce festering inside him, trying not to let it spill out of him even if all he wanted to do sometimes was tear at his hair and scream—

“I understand,” Kory says, the only words she’s said the entire time that he’s been falling apart. “But it won’t be cold forever.”

He collapses against her, utterly spent. She threads her fingers through his hair, singing something both indistinct and ethereal—Tamaranean, he guesses.

“I’m sorry,” he says, his voice like smoking wreckage. “I shouldn’t have—put all of this on you. It’s not fair.”

“Maybe not,” Kory says lightly. “Perhaps you will return the favour one day.”

“I want to,” he says, and there’s a longing there, a wistful belief that he will ever be strong enough to do for others what Kory is doing for him.

“You will,” she says, and continues to sing. He falls asleep to the sound of her voice.

#titans #my fic #dick grayson #koriand'r #hank hall #whumptober2019 #no. 2 #a byronic cupcake

42 notes · View notes