#and when in flashpoint Jason becomes a priest | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zeroducks-2 · 2 months

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Let’s talk Helena Wayne bc like it’s criminal that we barely get anything about her and that they completely changed her origin and family (the bertinelli mafia family) to add her into the main comic book line.

im torn bc I love both versions of her :(

But I wanted Dick to share some older siblings trauma with her and for Damian to have that “blood” sibling bc I think that would have completely rocked early Damian’s shit. All his life, he was told to be the true heir of Bruce Wayne, but it turns out he has an OLDER SISTER BRUCE HID FROM TALIA AND RA. Idk I just think that would have crushed his lil murder ego and made for some interesting sibling moments and an interesting dynamic.

Lastly, can we talk about how the Batfam fandom completely stole all of Helena (Bertinelli)’s character traits and gave them to Jason??? Im sorry but when in the material source has Jason ever been super devout and catholic? Helena is the religious one, why am I reading about Jason’s apparent Catholicism in fics and HC dumps? Also Jason (besides his Robin days) has never been this savour and protector of the woman and children of Gotham, that’s very very veryyyyyy clearly a trait from Helena and strongly ties into her backstory as a child who suffered coming from a rich bloodline of syndicate crime. And don’t think this is me bashing on Jason, bc it’s not!! I love Jason Todd - but for who he is. Not for this weird fandom version of him who is either still suffering from the craze the lazarus pit puts you through, or this Joan of Arc of Gotham character either.

I'm gonna be honest with you, this character confuses me a bit. I know that Bruce and Selina got married and had a daughter in their Earth-Two incarnations, and this daughter is Helena Wayne, who's Dick best buddy and a vigilante in her own right called Huntress.

Then I know Helena Bertinelli, daughter of a mafia lord who was introduced in the late 80s in the preboot comic continuity, and was a quite murdery vigilante called Huntress who Bruce didn't accept because she "reminded him of Barbara" (you gotta love DC's excuses for sexism and ableism lol it's not like Barbara was dead just paralyzed. Also it did not look like Bruce gave a shit about it at the end of TKJ that Joker had crippled her - "she reminds him or Barbara". LMAO Bruce).

Then post reboot the title Huntress was given back to Helena Wayne, however Helena Bertinelli is ALSO there and she's ALSO called Huntress? She appears in the Grayson run where Dick is an agent of Spyral, and she seems to be Italian-American but I don't think her origin is the same as in preboot? Also I have no idea about Helena Wayne's continuity post reboot - when she was conceived, who raised her, how did she become a vigilante, neither I have any idea where to find this info.

I agree that if she had been raised by Bruce it could have made for an interesting dynamic amongst the bats and birds. It did in Earth 2 even if only Dick is just there - they're not siblings but they also aren't not siblings? The dynamic is murky and I love murky. Pretty sure it would have changed everything for Damian as well, especially the fact that she would have most likely been the first object of Damian's need to prove himself worthy, instead of Tim.

That being said, not much of what you mentioned is fanon about Jason.

Jason had an arc in which he's a priest. Pretty normal that fans HC him as devout or anyway catholic.

Father Todd in Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Vol. 1 - this is an AU in which Jason was never taken in by Bruce and was never Robin.

As for the whole "protector of women and children" thing, you probably know that Jason was born in extreme poverty, his father was in and out of prison and his mother died of overdose. He is very much a child who suffered because of a broken system, and given how harshly he reacts when women and children are the recipient of violence "in his Robin days", is it really that strange that fans assume he carried these traits in adulthood?

We see him being sweet and protective to kids many times, or anyway losing his mcfucking shit when children are being harmed (like in Brothers in Blood). Imo that of Jason caring about vulnerable people is barely a headcanon, and I don't see how this would make him the Joan of Arc of Gotham either - if I'm being honest ALL vigilantes should care about minorities and vulnerable people, it's the other way around that is weird as fuck (like that arc in which Dick almost dies to prevent this guy from shutting down Bludhaven's casinos, like what the hell was Tim Seeley thinking exactly).

That being said, I understand your frustration if the character you like doesn't have recognition. Trust me I do! There's a lot of them for me too, especially female and/or non white characters who had maybe 1 run ages ago and then got forgotten by DC, and I would REALLY LIKE to see them more, and to see them acknowledged more by the fans (from the top of my mind, Jenni Ognats or Patricia Trayce).

But this isn't fandom's fault. As I mentioned before, Helena Bertinelli as a fleshed out character was a thing between 20 and 30 years ago, and most of tumblr's userbase was either very young or not born yet. DC forgot about her, stripped Huntress from her to give it to Helena Wayne, then brought her back but as an agent of Spyral and it really doesn't look like they care. Fans can't be held accountable for the fact that she's simply not there. They didn't "steal" Helena's traits to give them to Jason; this implies a willful and malicious intent from people who saw this character and decided her features fit another character better, and it's obviously not what happened - people barely know Helena Bertinelli exists if at all.

Also - I said this about Jason already and I will repeat it a million times: Jason wasn't picked at random from the sea of DC characters to be people's blorbo, he resonates with fans for a reason. Under the Red Hood is a deeply emotional and relatable arc for many people because it's the story of how a child was failed by every single person who was supposed to protect and guide him, and then was failed again as an adult victim who demanded to be seen and heard and acknowledged, and instead was silenced again. It's heartbreaking to see how many people see this and say "this is me, this is what happened to me", but it is what it is, and most of all there is no taking this away from Jason's fans. DC tried to villainize him, to make him look and sound like a madman, to make him unhinged and deranged and they had Tim suggest that "maybe it's the Lazarus Pit that drove him mad", but it didn't work and fans still love him and still consider him a symbol of how "bad victims" are treated worse than their abusers, and keep being retraumatized by a society that prefers turning a blind eye to violence than deal with the issue at its root.

And lastly, bitching won't get you anywhere. I am the living proof that the right way to make people interested in something is to be passionate about that something. You want more folks to pay attention to Helena Bertinelli, then since DC won't do anything with her, the most effective thing you can do is post about her - write essays, draw her, write fics with her, create webweavings and moodboards, commission this stuff if you don't have the skills. Complaining that she should be the recipient of fandom love won't make anyone more interested in her.

#my asks #long post #yall please stop blaming fandom for DC's sins #'no one cares about my blorbo!' look up and see if your blorbo is anywhere in the source material in the past 10 years #DC has historically culled female characters and minority characters even when their runs were beloved and successful #see Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain for an easy accessible example #if it hadn't been for fans yelling about them we probably wouldn't have them AT ALL since DC was adamant in pretending they never existed #despite both of them having had perfectly good selling runs #so no it's not the fans' fault for being sexist #of course there's sexism in fandoms there is sexism everywhere #but it's not that simple and fans aren't responsible for the fuckups of the source material anyway #okay rant over #jason todd #helena wayne #helena bertinelli

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catholic-character-tournament · 11 months

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Round 1 - Side B

Propaganda below ⬇️

Luis

real funny little guy I was introduced to him through seeing a shirtless mod that made several already somewhat queer scenes with him even more queer lol. also he dies so sadly and asking Leon (the protagonist) if he turned his life around which is both very catholic flavored and very depressing

Okay so i marked yes because the wiki says he was raised catholic but i can't find a source on that so here is what i for sure know: He does the sign of the cross with his gun when you play as him in the mercenaries mode and a major part of his character was that he grew up in an extremely backwater part of Spain. The head of the village when he lived there had the title of Father so thats Probably Catholic. A side novel released with the game about the village describes the village head as a priest and everyone in the village attending church on Sunday as well.

this guy drives me nuts for a variety of reasons including same age as my mom (not now but the game is set in 2004 so he would be now) he's very goofy and silly in a pretty scary kind of game, he eats floor three times in his second cutscene, and he has an extremely emotional and touching death scene (yeah he dies and im not over it). Also in the OG version of the game the protagonist literally never pronounces his name right even as he is dying (he dies in the original too yeah) so he deserves a break.

Jason

Okay it's cannon but like in an alternative universe because Comics. I just think the fact DC made Known Murderer and Reblious Teen with Daddy Issues a Catholic priest in a different universe. Just. Casually.

Jason Todd is may or may not be Catholic in the main timeline of DC Comics, but I the Flashpoint storyline, my man is a priest! He was a drug addict, thief, and in the Blood Brother cult before dying, only to come back to life and decide to become a priest in the hellhole that is Gotham. In the main timeline, he comes back after dying and stuffs a duffel bags full of heads! The common trait before all Jason Todds is that they all have to be as dramatic as possible. Dying and coming back as the most unexpected thing. Unbelievable. I love this man.

#Luis Serra Navarro #resident evil #jason todd #batman #batfam #red hood #cct polls #tumblr tournament #tumblr bracket #tumblr polls

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stxleslyds · 3 years

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Hello again! What is your opinion of Jason in the Flashpoint Universe? Does it seem like a fitting outcome for Jason?

It's a complete 180 from Winick's Red Hood, so I'm not sure what you think about him. He's only there for a cameo appearance, though.

Hello again friend!

I think Flashpoint Jason Todd is adorable! Am I allowed to say that? Is that something appropriate to say about someone that has now dedicated himself to God? I don’t know but he is truly adorable to me. As you say, this Jason variant is a complete 180 from Winick’s Jason but I think it works!

I have never read Flashpoint in its entirety or anything but I know that it wasn’t exactly an alternate universe it was just the main DC timeline but re-written.

This Jason appears in one issue (Flashpoint: World of Flashpoint #2), and while he isn’t the main character what little we see from him is actually very important and well written.

I usually don’t have problems with Jason’s past being rewritten (unless it’s badly written like Titan’s Jason) and this time we get a bit of information about Jason’s past life, we don’t really get to know about his age or if he was an orphan or not but we are told that he was a thief in order to buy himself drugs, and that he was in fact a drug addict. He was also involved with Brother Blood and his cult.

That is certainly different from main continuity Jason’s background but I can still see some similarities like drugs being involved in his past, his mom in main and Jason himself in FP and then the Brother Blood thing too, in main Jason fought Brother Blood and his church when he was Robin alongside the Titans and in the FP continuity, he was part of them. It is extremely interesting.

FP Jason also died but we are not told how he was resurrected; he does have his white streaks in his hair so that might suggest a Lazarus Pit was involved but it also might not mean that.

Although his background is not told with much depth it still works, this Jason has definitely lived a different life from our Jason and that life and consequent death has led him in a very unique path. The thought of Jason becoming a priest has never crossed my mind to be honest, but it exists and it works.

Now, him being a priest isn’t necessarily something that makes me feel any kind of way, what makes me like this variant of Jason is how kind and lovely he is. Someone appeared out of nowhere in his church and his first thought is to help them, he doesn’t waste a second, and then he talks and approaches Traci with such care that it made me feel like he really cared for her wellbeing despite just meeting her.

With this I am not saying that Jason isn’t kind or caring in main continuity, he does have his moments but they are not characteristics that I relate to him if someone were to ask me some of Jason’s characteristics.

FP Jason is kind and caring and it’s really nice to see, and it does fit my line of thought about Jason becoming a hero of his own kind if he never got involved with Bruce. He gave me the feeling that he was a community man, and that he stayed in Gotham to help all kinds of people and that maybe some of his intentions were trying to help people that were in his same situation.

He also seemed to not be completely devoted to God, or at the very least he knows that not everyone is a believer and he doesn’t force that on anyone by the way he talked to Traci.

All in all, I really enjoyed what little we were given of this Jason variant and I kinda want to know more about him but given that this is DC, I would love it if they don’t ever bring him up again because DC tends to butcher everything that they have done right in the past.

Did you enjoy his character there? I would love to know!

#jason todd #father todd #flashpoint #dc comics #asksss

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incorrectqus · 4 years

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Popular DC Characters and Their Canon Religions

(Thought about doing this bc I thought it would be cool and interesting to do plus I’m still obsessed with gradient text)

(Also these are based off the Prime Earth or New Earth Versions of the characters)

(And there are a lot of characters who aren’t on this list bc they have no confirmed religion)

Edit: I re-did this with evidence directly from comics as to the character’s religion.

Batwoman (Katherine Kane) Jewish

The Kane’s are implied to be part of the Reform Judaism branch of Judaism. more evidence to her being Jewish is in DC Infinite Holiday Special (2006) we see her celebrating Hanukkah with her girlfriend, Renee. In Detective Comics #854, #858 and in Batwoman #7 you can find more evidence of her being Jewish.

Batman (Bruce Wayne) Atheist

He grew up Christian with his father, Thomas Wayne, being a big influence, but his mother, Martha Wayne was Jewish. Batman in issue Batman #30-#33 (written by Tom King) has it confirmed that he doesn’t believe in a God. Also in Justice League (2016) in #23 its also confirmed he’s an Atheist.

Black Canary (Dinah Lance) Christian

In Wonder Woman #34 Wonder Woman asks Black Canary directly if she’s Christian and she says “Yeah, I mean it's complicated, but sure.”

Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) Christian

It’s assumed he’s Christian as in Blue Beetle (Volume 7) #9 there is an imagine of Jesus in his house and in Blue Beetle (Volume 7) #21 Alberto mentions going to church with him.

Booster Gold (Michael Carter) Atheist

My favorite boi has openly admitted to being atheist in Justice League International Annual #2.

Doctor Fate (Khalid Nassour) Muslim

He’s an Egyptian-American and both of his parents are Muslim and it has been confirmed by DC that he also follows Islam.

Doctor Fate (Eric Strauss) Jewish

He was mostly raised by his Jewish step-mother Linda Strauss and therefore it’s assumed that he also follows and believes Judaism.

Dove (Wiley Wolverman) Atheist

In Hawke and Dove (Volume 4) #4 it’s stated he doesn’t believe in God.

Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) (Christian on New Earth) (Jewish/Christian on Prime Earth)

So it’s been stated that Hal is Christian, but when Prime Earth came along he had adjustments to his background and we got a glimpse of his father, Martin Jordan, who was Catholic, and his mother, Jessica Jordan, who was Jewish and them celebrating Hanukkah. In current comics it’s shown that Hal believes in God, but whether that is the Jewish or Christian God is up to interpretation.

Green Lantern (Jessica Cruz) Atheist

In Green Lantern #42 we see Jessica and Simon’s religion clash and its confirmed that she is Atheist.

Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) Christian

In the Omega Men series we see Kyle Rayner reference back to his Catholic mother and in turn he speaks of following that faith and he even prays on several occasions.

Green Lantern (Simon Baz) Muslim

In Green Lantern #42 we see Jessica and Simon’s religion clash and its confirmed that he is Muslim.

Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel) Jewish

There have been references to her being Jewish since her first comic with celebrating Hanukkah, but she was finally confirmed to be Jewish in Gotham City Sirens #7.

Huntress (Helena Bertenelli) Christian

Her backstory states she comes form an Italian Catholic family as well as the fact she has a cross on her costume.

Joker Atheist

Guy hates God and Gods and any higher power as well as doesn’t believe in them even though he’s met a few. Plus with all the sad backstories he has I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost his faith before becoming the Joker.

Lex Luthor (Alexander Luthor) Atheist

He was written during the Cold War and many villains were actually written to be atheists to basically see them as even more evil. Plus the guys ego is too big to believe in anything more powerful than himself.

Mister Freeze (Victor Fries) Atheist

In Outsiders (Volume 4) #21 its confirmed he’s an atheist as he says he doesn't believe in an afterlife.

Mister Terrific (Michael Holt) Atheist

In Infinite Crisis #5 it’s confirmed that he’s an atheist and doesn’t believe in anyone, but himself and his team.

Red Robin (Timothy Drake) Atheist

Confirmed in a Red Robin #22 he says he doesn’t believe in a higher power(s).

Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) Raoist

Easily explainable as she grew up on Krypton and follows it’s religion.

Superman (Clark Kent) Christian

He was created by two Jewish guys, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. He was raised by two Midwestern Methodists, Martha Kent and Jonathan Kent, and therefore follows their religion

Bonus:

The Flash (Barry Allen) Jewish in the DCEU

Green Lantern (Guy Gardner) Buddhist during Flashpoint Timeline

Johnny Thunder (John Tane) Mormon only Mormon DC Comics character

Red Hood (Jason Todd) Christian during Flashpoint Timeline (so all those fanfics with Priest Jason maybe coming from somewhere)

Also Raoism (Rao-Orthodox) is the Kryptonian religion based on the god Rao. The religion has like 14 major deities, 200+ demigods and 1000+ titans. And one of their major deities name is Nightwing...guess where Dick’s name came from?

#dc comics #batman #harley quinn #justice league #supergirl #superman #red hood #green lantern #green lantern corps #black canary #blue beetle #red robin #mister terrific #mister freeze #joker #doctor fate #cyborg #booster gold #batwoman

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valkerymillenia · 4 years

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So... This is very embarrassing to admit as a long, long, long, looong time DC fan but I only watched “Under the Red Hood” today.

I read the whole arc in the comics and I caught a piece of the movie before but I only now watched the full thing.

Thoughts I had while watching it:

-Where the hell is Ra’s palace?

-Bosnia...? What?

-Where was Sheila in all this mess? We gonna act like Jason didn’t get his heart ripped out by her before he was killed?

-Where’s Tim?

-I never thought I’d like NPH voicing Dick but here we are (on that note- Dick, sweetie, that hair! What were they thinking?)

-Why...Why were they bandaging Dick’s leg OVER his suit? Wtf?

-Why is Red Hood so much smaller than Batman?

-You’re telling me Bruce “world’s greatest detective” Wayne brought home and buried a doll and nobody noticed?

-Since when is Ra’s so nice?? You don’t like unnecessary killing, wtf? You literally lead a group called League of ASSASSINS! I’ve seen you snap necks of loyal followers of yours just because they were disabled.

-Ok, I get why the Lazarus Pit to resurrect Jay because it’s just easier plot-wise than the mess in comics but... Oh, we’re going to pretend Ra’s wanted to bring Jay back out of the goodness of his heart, huh? And Talia is just there and unrelated, huh? K then.

-Where’s Tim??

-”Ally & Friend”? “You were my partner”? So... we’re just going to pretend Jason wasn’t Bruce’s son at all? Because, you know, it’s less creepy for him to fight alongside someone and say ‘I loved you’ if it’s a child partner and not his actual son. Well done, Warner/DC, you made it creepy *rolls eyes into oblivion*

-Joker’s voice just feels....wrong. Good acting though.

-Bruce saying that Jason was always a bad apple, violent and troublemaker and that if he hadn’t made him Robin, Jay would have grown up to become an evil criminal... WTF?

Are we talking about the same (admittedly brash and loud) nerdy, polite, star-struck, sweetheart that was Jason “Robin” Todd? The guy that in Flashpoint (aka the reality where Bruce never met him) became a wholesome priest? What??? Why are you invalidating the trauma that made him Red Hood by implying he was mean from the start? Why you doing my baby dirty, Warner?

-WHERE IS TIM?

-The whole “I forgive you for letting me die” and “because he took me away from you” scene? Tears, man. TEARS! My poor heart.

-The ultimatum between Bruce, Jason and Joker? A little flawed but still very good! Maybe better than the comics actually... But that’s just my opinion because I never liked the ‘batarang to the throat’ scene.

-WHERE. IS. TIM???

-”This changes nothing.” Bruce, just admit you love the boy and you’re glad he’s alive.

-Very good action scenes, slightly cheaper animation in idle scenes. Still great.

All in all, very good movie, I liked it and, from an unbiased point of view, I can see how someone who doesn’t read the comics would love it.

But once again my Timmy gets screwed over in the adaptation, and I don’t like the implication that Jason was a mean kid before his death, or that Bruce didn’t consider him a son. Also, Ra’s is way too nice in this movie and it gives me the creeps.

#b:utrh #utrh #under the red hood #batman #red hood #jason todd #dc

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wesavegotham · 5 years

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Bruce is frustrating

This post contains spoilers for Tom King’s Batman #60+ and Peter Tomasi’s run on detective comics #995+.

So Bruce and Damian Wayne aka Batman and Robin (!) have gone seperate ways since Justice League: No Justice #4 in May 2018:

After their offscreen argument the only indication that Damian just running off on his own had any effect on Bruce at all was this promotional material for Heroes in Crisis from DC Nation #4 in September 2018:

Heroes in Crisis doesn’t really adress any of Batman’s issues listed above, he just gets a page telling the camera that he has seen many of his partners/family members die and that he feels bad because of it. Not exactly a revelation in my opinion.

The first time a Batman comic even hints at Bruce suffering from their estrangement was months later in Batman #62, January 2019:

Bruce woke up in a slaughterhouse without knowing how he got there and had to fight Professor Pyg. At the end of the issue Bruce finally asked Pyg how he got there and how he can get out and then Pyg turned into Damian and walked away:

The chapter is part of Batman’s ongoing Knightmares arc. Apparently Thomas Wayne/Flashpoint Batman hooked Bruce onto a machine that pumps fear toxin into him after Thomas knocked him out at the end of Batman #60. According to DC Bruce is facing “his greatest fears” in this arc.

I’ll be honest, I’m still not sure what exactly Bruce is afraid of in this chapter. Damian turning evil? Having a physical fight with his son? Letting him in? It’s confusing and I’m not sure if King will give us any further explanation after Bruce wakes up, but at least a Batman comic aknowledged that something is going wrong after months of simply ignoring it.

When Tomasi started his run on Detective Comics I was hopeful that he might adress their estrangement, because Tomasi has written a lot for Damian over the past years and I was right:

He adressed it in the third issue of his run, detective comics #996, also in January 2019. Bruce seems to know about Damian’s new team and wants to work things out.

The end of this arc, Detective Comics #999, revealed that everything we saw since #994 was a simulation Bruce goes through every year on his birthday to become a better crimefighter, meaning that this conversation only took place inside the simulation and was thus not real. Bruce hasn’t asked Damian if they can make up and we don’t know if Damian would really agree to clear things up between them if Bruce did.

Despite this it’s possible to see this conversation as an indication that Bruce wants to fix their relationship, since the problem is seemingly important enough to Bruce for it to invade a simulation that had nothing to do with Damian at all.

Sadly Bruce doesn’t follow up on his wish when he actually does meet his son in the manor for the first time in probably months:

Instead he goes out with Leslie and Alfred to celebrate, which is a really nice moment don’t get me wrong, but still feels a bit like a wasted opportunity.

We don’t get an explanation on why Damian was at home in the first place. It made sense for him to be in the cave to take care of an injured Alfred inside the simulation, but Alfred is fine in the real world and doesn’t need help. It’s Bruce’s birthday, but Damian stated that they aren’t on speaking terms in Teen Titans, so I don’t think that he would come back only to congratulate his father (especially since Bruce completely forgot about Damian’s last birthday at the start of Rebirth *cough*).

After looking at the solicitations for upcoming Detective Comics issues I’m fairly certain that he will be part of the story again for Detective Comics #1002 and #1003 at the latest, therefore it’s not unlikely that we’ll get something on the matter then or even before that:

#1002: Batman’s first battle with the Arkham Knight was as brutal as they come…but things are about to get worse, as one of his most important allies jumps into the fray, and ends up in far over their head!

#1003: Damian was so certain he could succeed against the Arkham Knight where his father failed—and not only was he wrong, but as it turns out, the Knight has a surprising plan for the son of Batman!

It doesn’t look too good for him, but I have more faith in Tomasi to write a good Damian story than in Adam Glass, Christopher Priest or Tom King.

I guess one of my main problems with DC right now is that a lot of the batfamily comics and beyond don’t feel connected at all. Bruce in Tom King’s Batman and in Detective Comics feel like two different people and their stories seem to take place in different universes sometimes. Ric Grayson is still going on in Nightwing, but the only people who adressed the Ric situation are Bruce, Alfred and Barbara. Damian and Jason worked together in Teen Titans (and had a fight), but Red Hood and the Outlaws says nothing about that. Jon Kent, Damian’s best friend, was in space for some time and came back as a 17 year old, but Damian hasn’t noticed a thing. Jason had a falling out with Batman, but the only thing that Bruce goes on and on about are Selina leaving him and Dick getting shot in the head as if everything else didn’t happen.

Not everything about that is bad, I know. Not having to read everything to understand a story is better for people who only read one or two comics. I’m not demanding for writers to dedicate entire pages or issues to respond to something another writer did, but it would be nice if they included a few sentences that let you know that yes, certain things have happened and we’re not ignoring it. Just a few words, preferably not months after an event.

And I would prefer for Bruce to finally fix his relationships with his kids DC.

#damian wayne #bruce wayne #batfamily #batman and robin #long post #sorry

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sassycassie-s-writing · 5 years

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Flashpoint Inferno

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): DC, BatFam - Jason Todd/Red Hood

Rating: PG-11/T- (mild violence, mild language but not really)

Original Idea: In Flashpoint, Jason never meets Bruce and becomes a Catholic priest.

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me) Okay, first off: I know VERY LITTLE about catholicism. I’m Christian, but not Catholic. If I got something egregiously wrong, I’m sorry. (You can lmk if you want and I’ll try my best to fix it though.) @welovegroot @batboys-and-other-messes

^^^^^

Jason snuggled behind me in the Batcave, his body armor pressing against my heat-resistant suit. “Doin’ okay, darlin’?” he murmured in my ear, voice low and full of concern. I wrapped one arm around him as best I could, rinsing the char off my other hand.

“Fine,” I said. “No one’s going to trust me. The more I do and the more I screw up, the more they’ll whisper that I'm a villain. Heroes in Gotham don’t have powers.”

“It doesn’t matter what they think,” he said, pressing his face into my hair and neck. “You are a hero. A much better one than me.”

I turned to face him. “That’s not true. You have the best heart I know.” I tilted up onto my tiptoes and kissed him. My hands found his bare arms where his suit sleeves were cut off. There were goosebumps on his skin. But, of course, he’d never mention if he was cold. He was too tough for that. I smiled into the kiss and heated up my hands. Not enough to make them burst into flames. Just enough to warm him up. He smiled too.

“Ugh. Get a room you two!” Tim complained.

I pulled away from the kiss. “C’mon, Red Hood. Let’s get outta here,” I whispered.

Jason grinned. “With pleasure.”

^^^^^

“Welcome, my child. Do you seek forgiveness from God?” the priest asked.

I rubbed my nose, which was running from the cold outside. “I'm, uh, not Catholic. But I wanted somewhere spiritual to pray,” I said.

The priest noticed me trying hard to cover my arms with my tatty jacket. “Well, child, you are welcome here. All of God’s children are. Feel free to pray. If you would like to talk, my name is Father Todd.”

Todd. That name rang a bell. Why did that name ring a bell?

“Thank you,” I said.

I went into the chapel and sat in one of the pews, right next to the aisle in case I needed to take off. It was warm in the cathedral, so I slid out of my jacket. The burn scars on my forearms shimmered in the light of the lit candles. I didn’t know how Catholics prayed. I’d never learned The Lord’s Prayer. My religion was different. Didn’t Catholics light a candle? I glanced over at one that was unlit and blinked. A bright cheery flame spring up on the wick.

I shook my head to clear it, folded my arms, bowed my head, and began to pray. It had been a while since I prayed in a church. And I’d never done it in another religion’s church. It felt strange. I could hear Father Todd busying about the chapel: moving books, dusting off pews, murmuring quietly to himself in a low voice that seemed to resonate familiarity in my ears—and my mind—but I kept praying. I wasn’t even sure what I was praying for. Or what brought me here, to another religion’s church, to pray.

After my, “Amen,” I stared ahead at the altar. There was something peaceful about the chapel. Quiet. Calm. Safe. It had been a long time since I felt safe. The burns on my arms attested to that.

Father Todd approached and sat on the pew in front of me. “I never caught your name, my child,” he said.

I leaned slightly away out of habit. “Fern,” I said—I lied. “And please don’t call me child. We’re probably the same age.”

“My apologies. But we are all children of God and I am the father of this parish.”

I cleared my throat. “… Right.” I shifted in my seat. “I'm sorry for disturbing you, Father Todd. I don’t know why I came here.” I moved to get up.

Father Todd held up a hand to stop me, but didn’t touch me. “Don’t worry, Miss Fern,” he said. “Those seeking sanctuary are always welcome. Perhaps God guided you here today to fill a hole in your life.”

“I'm already pretty devoutly Christian. Just not Catholic. I don’t think it was for that.”

“You never know. The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

I nodded, rubbing a scar. “I know.”

Father Todd’s sharp blue eyes took in the scars on my arms. “You look like you’ve seen trials,” he said.

I pulled my jacket back on to hide them as best I could through the holes in it. “I have,” I said. “Too many.”

He gave me a sympathetic smile. It was one that felt familiar but at the same time… not.

“May I… can you tell me your first name?” I asked. “Your given name, I mean?” I didn’t know much about Catholicism. Were priests’ first names a secret? Probably not, right? That seemed a little… strange.

His grin changed from sympathetic to amused. “Jason,” he said.

Another bell gonged in my head. Loudly. But for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why.

The big heavy doors to the cathedral flew open. “Father Todd!” someone greeted, voice dripping with false enthusiasm and fake friendliness. I turned around to see who it was. The voice seemed to strike a chord.

I bristled. I knew the newcomer. He was the Mob enforcer—strictly low-level—who threw me off the docks the other night. Rude.

Father Todd and I both stood up. He gently took my arm and encouraged me to stand behind him. I moved automatically, trusting his touch on instinct even though I definitely should not have. I didn’t know this guy—this priest—I shouldn’t trust him. I never trusted people I didn’t know so what was it about this priest that seemed so familiar? Familiar enough that I let my guard down?

“Brother Ricci,” Father Todd greeted, friendly but taut. I recognized the tension across his shoulders. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Collection day,” Ricci said. Nice to put a name to the face I disliked so much.

I peered out from behind Father Todd’s tall figure to glare at Ricci while Father Todd said something about religious exemptions that I tuned out.

Apparently, Ricci did too, because he smirked on realizing who I was. “Harboring street rats now, Todd?” he joked. “This one’s dangerous.”

“She is a child of God like all of us,” Father Todd said.

I stepped out from behind him, turning my palms toward Ricci and glaring. “The Catholic church shouldn’t have to pay protection money to the Mob,” I snapped. “Or any church, really. Leave now and tell your bosses this church is under my protection and I won’t pay you back for the indignity you made me suffer the other night.”

Ricci tutted. “Sweet child, thinking you can scare me,” he cooed. I clenched my jaw and flared my nostrils. I was really getting sick of the child thing. I was an adult. “It’ll take more than a cold glare and an attempt at an intimidating posture to frighten me. You’re so small.”

True. I was short. That didn’t help me be intimidating. “I make up for my height with an extra foot-and-a-half of attitude,” I said. “Leave the churches alone and I’ll let you live. I won’t turn you into an example for your bosses.”

“Mmm… I don’t think you could. Your display on the docks the other night was less-than-impressive,” he purred.

“I was holding back,” I spat.

“Miss Fern,” Father Todd tried, setting his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t be reckless.”

“That’s a good one, coming from you,” I said, not looking away from Ricci, who was still amused more than scared. I had no idea where the words came from. The word reckless in his voice triggered the automatic response of hypocrite in my head, but that didn’t make any sense. He was a priest I’d never met before. How would I know if he’d been reckless at any point in his life?

“I beg your pardon?” Father Todd asked.

“Listen to the man, little girl,” Ricci said. “He’s right. You’re too reckless. And that’ll get you killed.”

“I shoulda burned you to a crisp when I had the chance,” I snarled under my breath.

“Fern,” Father Todd said, more strictly now. “Stand down.” His voice sounded quivery. Like he didn’t know where his words were coming from either.

“Yes, little missy. Stand down and run along.”

“NO!” I shouted. I thrust one hand forward, a stream of tightly-controlled fire exploding from my palm and surging right for Ricci.

Who shrieked and scampered toward the door. I strode forward, following him. “METAHUMAN!” he cried out in terror.

“Tell your bosses that the churches are off-limits and anyone who tries to enforce otherwise are going back to the big-shots as ashes,” I shouted. Ricci took off out the door. I stopped the fire. It dissipated immediately, leaving only a few wisps of heat behind. Nothing had caught. Whew. I was getting better at control.

I exhaled sharply, feeling suddenly rather exhausted.

Father Todd caught me as I wobbled. “That was foolish,” he said.

“Tell me about it,” I muttered sarcastically. He supported me back to a pew and sat me down. I sank down gratefully and put my head in my hands. “I haven’t used that much in a long time.”

“What was that?” he asked curiously.

“Pyrokinesis. I'm a metahuman. I can control and manipulate fire,” I panted. “But it’s stronger than me and takes a lot of effort to control.” I rubbed my nose. It came away bloody. Wow. I really had overdone it and I’d barely put much effort into it. “I'm sorry, Jason. I—I mean… Father Todd.” Where had Jason come from? We weren’t on a first-name basis!

“Don’t worry yourself, Miss Fern,” he said consolingly.

“No. I just… I probably just put the parish in even more danger.” I sighed. “Oh that was stupid. I just saw him and got so mad for pushing me into the harbor and hoping it would kill me that I wanted to give him some payback. But I wanted to do some good with it too but now…”

Idiot. I was such an idiot.

Father Todd was thoughtful for a moment. “He called you a street rat,” he said.

“I am a street rat,” I said. “I’ve lived in the gutters of Gotham since my parents kicked me out for having powers. I wouldn’t have survived without my powers.”

“I was a street rat once too,” Father Todd said. I stared at him in alarm. Seriously? This guy? A street rat? Not frickin’ likely! “I found salvation here. This cathedral, and the people in it, saved my life in more ways than one.”

“That’s nice—I’m not becoming a nun.”

“No, no. I wasn’t suggesting you should. Though, perhaps you should stay here for a few days. Just in case Ricci comes back with… higher-level officers.”

“Good point. Are you alright if I stay here?”

“Of course.”

I nodded. “Then I’ll stay. Thank you… Father Todd.”

“You are not a member of my parish. Jason is fine.”

“Okay. Thank you Jason.”

^^^^^

“Everything alright, ‘Fern?” Jason asked as we sat on his fire escape, looking out over the skyline. Our armor was abandoned on his floor inside, leaving us in the tight under-armor we wore under it.

I ran my hands up and down my clothes, warming them up. “Fine, I just… something’s changed. Something feels off.”

“Let me guess. Time to call the Flash and see what time-travel shenanigans he’s gotten into?” Jay asked, already reaching inside his dark apartment for his helmet.

“Yeah,” I said.

“How can you always tell when something’s happened?”

“I don’t know. Intuition? The universe just feels… off.”

Jason rested his head on my shoulder. “My love, you are the most incredible woman.”

“Thanks Fa—Jason,” I said. What had I been about to call him? Fa? Like Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do? Or something else? What on Earth just happened with the universe?! I took his helmet from him so I could call Barry. I really needed to figure out what happened to the universe.

#Flashpoint Inferno #Jason Todd #Jason Todd Imagine #Jason Todd FanFiction #Red Hood #Red Hood Imagine #Red Hood FanFiction #DC #DC Imagine #DC FanFiction #BatFam #BatFam Imagine #BatFam FanFiction

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