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bluejaysandblackbats · 4 months

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Five Little Ducks

Fandom: DC Comics, Batman

Summary: Bruce finds a magically de-aged Jason.

Chapters: 4/13

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Zatanna Zatara

Additional Tags: De-Aged Jason Todd, Magic, Babysitting, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, POV Third Person, Bruce Wayne is Not Okay, Bruce Wayne Tries, Jason Todd Has Issues, Childhood Trauma

Chapter Four: Tag! You're It!

Bruce woke up to a punch in the nose and Jason screaming. "Where am I?" Jason asked. He was slightly taller, and his eyes were dark.

Bruce jumped out of bed, his eyes watering involuntarily at the force of the blow. "Jason-."

"Where am I?" Jason screamed.

He was older. Bruce could see a difference. Dick ran into the room, and Jason backed away from them, snatching the closest thing to him to use as a weapon. "Jason, you're not in any danger," Dick explained.

Jason burst into tears. "How did I get here? I was home with my dad," Jason cried, "I want my dad. He's gonna-. How did I get here? How do you know my name?" Jason ran a hand through his hair. "I was at home with my dad, and we played-. We were playing a game." Jason gasped for air. "And then I woke up next to him! And who are you?"

Bruce held his shirt up to his nose as it bled, and Dick held up his hands. "Jason, I need you to put the picture frame down and breathe... Tell me what you were playing with your dad," Dick replied to get Jason to refocus.

Jason wouldn't put the picture frame down but took a deep breath. "My name is Jason Todd. I was playing the lock game with my dad," Jason answered, "I want my dad. I don't wanna get in anybody's car... I want my dad to come and get me. Just let me call him. I wanna call him. I promise I won't call the police or nothin'. I only want my dad." Jason started getting agitated again, and Dick kept his hands up.

"Jason, what's the lock game? Let's go downstairs and use the phone while you talk to me. No one's trying to hurt you here," Dick reassured him.

"That's a lie! My dad says everybody hurts people! You get hurt by people, and you hurt people, then you die... That's what my dad says," Jason replied.

Dick glanced at Bruce, and Jason threw the picture frame at Dick and rushed past him out of the room and down the stairs. "We've gotta go get him," Bruce whispered.

"We know where he's going, and we can beat him there if we drive," Dick replied before chuckling. "Oh, he got you good. How old do you think he is now?"

"Shut up and get in the car," Bruce sighed, rolling his eyes as he followed Dick downstairs.

"He's older, though, isn't he?" Dick asked. Bruce nodded.

Dick and Bruce got in one of the cars in the garage and drove to Jason's apartment, where they waited for him to arrive. They sat in the kitchen out of the direct line of sight of the front door. Jason crept in nearly two hours later in pajamas. They were half a size too small. He was barefoot and drenched in sweat. "Dad? Dad, I'm home," Jason called before looking around and spotting Bruce and Dick. "What do you want with me?" Jason backed away toward the door.

"Jason, how old are you?" Dick asked.

"I'll be eight in August. And if you come near me, I'll scream. I swear I will," Jason replied, "And why is everything different? Where's the phone? Where's Mommy's CDs?" Jason started hyperventilating.

"Jason, relax. This can all be explained... But you're not gonna like this explanation. We've known you since you were twelve years old," Bruce whispered.

"I'm seven, you psychopath!" Jason yelled.

"Of course, you're seven now, but a few days ago, you were twenty-four years old and just as angry as you are now," Bruce explained, raising his voice.

"I'm not angry! I'm scared! If I was angry, I would've gone for your eyes! Now get out before my dad gets here and makes you both sorry you ever followed-."

"Jason, your father isn't coming. He's gone," Bruce snapped. Jason looked around the apartment, and he sank to the ground. He sobbed into his hands.

Somehow he knew Bruce was telling the truth. The room stayed silent until Jason could collect himself. "Is my mommy-? Is she okay?" Jason asked.

Bruce frowned and shook his head. Jason clutched his stomach. "Nooooo," Jason moaned as he tried to pull himself to his feet. Dick came close and offered Jason a hand, and Jason swatted it away. "No, no, no. I can't-. She said she was getting better." Jason stood up and stumbled to the kitchen sink, where he threw up. Bruce could see the difference in Jason's grief. In only two years, Jason's whole demeanor changed. It was like Bruce was looking at a completely different child. Bruce crouched down, still covered in blood from his nose.

"Please come back with us... You can get cleaned up and rest. Jason, I'm sorry. We only wanted to help," Bruce whispered.

Jason wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked at Bruce. "Mommy's been away at the hospital, and Dad-. Dad's been great. He got a job, and it's been him and me for a few weeks. Dad was gonna-. He promised to take me to the park," Jason mumbled. Dick opened his arms, and Jason stumbled forward into Dick's embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Jason," Dick whispered.

Jason clutched Dick's shirt. "Dad was doing better... Mommy was gonna come home soon," Jason mumbled. Dick met eyes with Bruce.

"Bruce swore he'd do whatever he could to help you," Dick whispered, "He's a good man. He raised me... And he wants to raise you too... If you'll allow it."

"Why would he want me? I'm nobody," Jason whispered as he looked up at Dick.

"Not to me... Jason, you have no idea how important you are," Bruce replied. Dick let go of Jason and let Bruce hug him.

Jason hugged back. "I'm sorry I punched you in the face," Jason apologized.

"I'm just thankful you didn't break my nose. You've got one heck of a jab," Bruce smiled. It reminded him of the first time they met. Still, he couldn't figure out why Jason managed to age two years overnight. And Bruce couldn't get that comment out of his mind. Bruce thought he knew Jason, but he didn't know him. Not one bit. He couldn't even tell the difference between fear and anger for Jason... He would've gone for his eyes... Was that what Jason was that whole time? Scared? Was he pulling his punches, hoping for a better outcome someday? Was he asking for a change in Bruce? What was Jason so afraid of?

They'd have so many things to talk about whenever Jason grew up. Suddenly, he couldn't wait for Jason to get older again.

#batfam #fic #jason todd #bruce wayne #five little ducks fic #de-aged jason todd #catherine todd mention #willis todd mention #angst and fluff

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mzminola · 1 year

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Because something superhero comics, noir, and fanfic all have in common is leaning into soap opera convolutedness, @alexmaybe & I have come up with the Bruce Wayne Spawn Shell Game AU, in which the middle kids are all biologically Bruce’s.

(Dick really is John & Mary Grayson’s, and Damian is Talia’s direct clone.)

No one finds this out until Batman!Bruce & Robin!Damian are fighting a magic user who has heard rumors that Robin is Batman’s son (rumors started by Damian’s not so quiet comments about being The Blood Son). The mage gloats that they’re going to use a “teleport everyone with X trait to me” spell to yank Robin over, and use the disorientation of teleportation to take him hostage. “I will summon Batman’s direct blood descendents! Mwa ha ha ha!”

Cue Damian staying firmly at Bruce’s side, while Cass in street wear with bubble tea, Jason doing gear maintenance, a random college student studying for exams, and Tim in his pajamas pop out of the ether all within a yard of the mage.

The mage regrets their life choices.

Now, how did we get here?

Firstly, during the years Bruce is doing his world tour of Learning Batman Skills while still swinging in and out of Gotham, Bruce is seeking physical activity to make his brain shut up, and also seeking intimacy but keeping too many secrets to let himself actually get close to people, so he is sleeping with Even More People Than In His Batman Years. He remembers condoms but always doesn’t use them perfectly.

Bruce meets Sandra & Carolyn Wu-San at their dojo in Brooklyn. Some time later when David Cain coerces Sandra into reproductive sex, she seeks out every male martial artist she vaguely respected or thought had potential to sleep with them too as a Fuck You to undermine Cain’s scheme without openly breaking their deal.

Bruce has a one-night stand with pre-transition Willis Todd, both of them just giving their first (legal) name, no contact info. Figuring out several months later that he’s pregnant but no clue how to find the other father, Willis, who does want kids someday, weighs the pros and cons of “having trouble making ends meet right now, can I support a kid?” with “everyone says pregnancy would be harder later in transition,” and opts to have Jason now.

Sheila Haywood is either a friend or a bribable hospital worker (or both) who agrees to put her name down as the mom so Willis can legally be his kid’s dad without any complicated paperwork. Willis and Catherine never got around to telling Jason before both of them died. When Jason showed up at the camp thinking Sheila was his bio-mom she rolled with it, figuring she could get details of why he thought that later, and then unfortunately [canon ensued].

It won’t be until the spell incident happens that Bruce puts together one night stand Wilhelmina with Why do the pictures of Willis Todd look kinda familiar? Because he definitely never slept with Catherine or Sheila.

Bruce meets, befriends and sleeps with Janet Drake while going on an archaeological research binge. He’s also still having a lot of random bar and nightclub hook-ups.

Some months later, while Jack is out of town on a business trip, Janet complains to Bruce that Jack really wants a son, but the latest ultrasound shows a female fetus. Janet really doesn’t want to deal with pregnancy ever again, but Jack isn’t open to adoption, and ugh if only Janet could just swap this one for a male infant. It would be so easy to nudge Jack into an archeology dig closer to the due date, he’d never have to know!

(No, neither Bruce nor Janet have thought maybe Bruce got Janet pregnant instead of Jack.)

“You’ve got this knack for finding odd things at just the right moment, Brucie…”

Janet knows it’s a long shot, and dubiously ethical because adoption records exist for good reason, and if they can’t find a baby that works she’ll just have to dig her heels in with Jack against trying for a son, but if Bruce could find a baby…

Bruce makes no promises other than keeping an eye and ear out.

Anyway, Bruce isn’t Batman yet, but he’s home between tutors on his World Tour and venturing into the city in various disguises to learn more about Gotham’s underworld, and getting into trouble. So it is Bruce Wayne with a fresh concussion, not a drunk Brucie, who stumbles into an alley to vomit and finds a baby in a dumpster.

It’s a very full dumpster, one half of the lid broken off. An orange cat (who may or may not be Teekl returning a future favor) is curled around the newborn baby boy. The infant has a shock of hair as dark as Janet’s.

Concussed Bruce walks all the way to the Drake townhouse marveling at the tiny hand gripping his finger so tight.

Janet schedules a C-section. Bruce forges Timothy Jackson Drake’s birth certificate and arranges the adoption of Janet’s daughter by a family in Oregon. He keeps tabs on them over the years, preparing a Wayne Foundation scholarship to the college of her choice someday.

Back to the magic incident: Nightwing and Batwoman were on their way there as back-up when the mage cast the summoning spell, so Dick is able to hug Damian as the kid bluescreens about Not Being The Blood Son.

Bruce awkwardly explains that yes, he ran Damian’s DNA when Talia dropped him off, but when he realized Damian was Talia’s direct clone, he also realized Talia was taking steps to ensure her child escaped the League of Assassins, by attaching him to one of the few people on the planet who can go toe to toe with (and even defeat) her father. Bruce opted to go along with Talia’s choice.

Kate has gotten popcorn from somewhere, munching on it while Bruce desperately thinks back to his Mega Ho Years to figure out how everyone else happened.

Cass is feeling a vindictive sort of smugness about not being David Cain’s bio-kid. He’s still her dad, but he only got part of what he wanted from Shiva.

Jason is pissed at Bruce for not figuring it out earlier, but kinda relieved that Sheila wasn't actually his mom.

The freshman college student from Oregon is really annoyed, she was at study group and she CANNOT fail this class!!! Now she’s on the entire opposite coast???

Tim is having some feelings about how fucking soap opera his origins turn out to be. Bruce slept with his mom Janet, but also she wasn’t his birth mom, he was adopted and no one told him??? Who the heck is his other birth parent??? What were the odds of his apparent bio-parent Bruce being the one to find him??? Wait, was finding baby Tim in a dumpster why younger!Bruce suddenly had Wayne Enterprises put money into improving and proliferating Safe Drop-Off Sites in Gotham???

(He is Not Thinking About his complicated relationship with Jack.)

Tim, when things are just starting to quiet down: “Wait, so does Talia have XY chromosomes, or does Damian have XX? Because I’ve done a lot of of cloning lab work, and—”

Damian: “Don’t talk about my mother’s chromosomes, dumpster baby.”

Tim: >:(

Bruce, very tired: “Damian, don’t call your brother a dumpster baby.”

Damian, indignant: “But you just told us you found him in a dumpster as an infant!”

Freshman college student: “Dude, it’s still fucking rude? Like how would you like being called a test tube baby?”

Damian: /draws sword/

Dick, pushing sword back into sheath: “No drawing weapons on civilians. Or calling Tim rude things. Tim, I think any chromosome questions are Talia and Damian’s personal medical business, so please don’t speculate on them.”

Tim, sarcastically: “Sorry, I forgot medical privacy exists after how you all reacted to the spleen thing.”

Freshman college student: “Spleen thing?”

Tim: “Don’t worry, it’s not genetic. Speaking of, B, you’re gonna have to update, like, all our medical history now.”

Bruce, even more tired: "Hn."

#post contains infant abandonment and reproductive coercion in fiction #fic ideas #that we are making technically plausible within canon for funsies #Min Writes Stuff #with friends!#Bruce Wayne Spawn Shell Game #DC #Batfam #Bruce Wayne #Sandra Wu San #Cassandra Cain #Willis Todd #Jason Todd #Janet Drake #Oregon College Freshman #Random Gothamite #Tim Drake #also mentions of David Cain Catherin Todd Carolyn Wu San Sheila Haywood Jack Drake #guest appearances by Dick Grayson and Kate Kane

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5-7-9 · 2 months

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here’s an alternative idea: Jason Todd is a loner street kid. His mother is sick, so his father takes up a quicker way to get medication. His father is ashamed of his work, so Jason never talks about it. Jason doesn’t get along with the other kids, except he does get along with a few kids who are just like him, but Jason is too worried about his family to hang out. So he spends time picking out books from the library to read at home alone. Jason pickpockets money, breaks into houses to steal clothes, steals shit to sell, uses his stolen money to buy music thingys (idk) and likes to sing and read by his mother’s bedside. He buys groceries and cooks lunch and dinner since it’s difficult for Catherine, making sure to always remind his mom to eat, sometimes even feeding her himself. Never getting enough sleep because he stays up all night looking out the window, waiting for Willis to come back home alive.

#jason todd #willis todd #catherine todd #tw poverty #tw food mention

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telffiin · 4 months

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crazy that i care more about tim and jason's parents than them. anyways justice for willis, janet and jack.......................

#catherine doesn't really get slandered (thank god) so i didn't mention her #dc #janet drake #jack drake #willis todd #anti fanon

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scaryscarecrows · 8 months

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Anonymous asked:

Jason has been put thru the ringer enough rn

I respectfully disagree, so what did Jay crave the most while imprisoned in Arkham? 😈

Batman's head on a pike. A cyanide capsule wouldn't have been turned down, either.

Food, though...

My mom, when I was sick as a kid, before she got too sick to do it, used to make me cream of wheat, but she'd put a little extra sugar in it. I wanted that.

-Jason

#asks #jason todd #arkhamverse #scaryverse #mention of catherine todd

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hypewinter · 9 months

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At first Danny had been overjoyed to hear that Ellie had finally settled down. But then he realized the man she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with was absolute scum. He was a raging alcoholic without a stable job and even worse, the asshole had managed to get Ellie hooked on drugs.

Danny had tried to get her to leave him. But she kept on insisting that he wasn't that bad, that he had his good moments. Every time she talked about that man it sickened Danny but he never pushed her too much for fear of Ellie cutting off all contact with him.

Now, as he busted down the door to her apartment, Danny regretted not dragging Ellie back to the Infinite Realms when he had the chance. She had stopped communicating with him a few days ago and panic had overtook him. If he found out that bastard had done something to her, he'd unleash endless suffering the likes of which would make even Pariah Dark cower in fear.

As Danny made his way into the apartment, he found himself experiencing the one thing he dreaded the most. Ellie lay on the floor motionless, a needle beside her. He was too late. No. No no no. Why hadn't he tried harder to convince her? Why hadn't he forced her to move out ages ago. Danny cradled Ellie's body as a silent sob escaped him. Why hadn't he.... His thoughts were interrupted by shuffling coming from the corner.

Danny looked up to see a small boy, sitting in the corner, his legs pulled up to his chest as he watched him. The boy's eyes were hollow and lifeless. And he was so tiny and boney, a gust of wind could have blown him away. What was a child doing here? Was this... was this Ellie's kid? She had never mentioned having a son. Then again, as time had dragged on, she mentioned less and less about her life. It's quite possible she had a son and never elected to mention it to Danny (the very thought that she would keep something like that away from him was too painful to bear).

Danny stared at the boy who looked at him with abject terror. He didn't even need to ask why the kid looked like he was bracing himself. He knew exactly who had instilled such trauma into him. Resolve settled into his heart as he realized it didn't matter whether this was Ellie's kid or not. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He was taking the boy with him.

----

Or Ellie is Catherine Todd and Danny takes Jason in.

#dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #dcxdp #winter's tales #tw drugs #tw death #let me know if there's any tw i missed

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damianbugs · 1 year

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dc might not like to address how they've unofficially retconned a lot of jasons original robin run to end up being absolutely classist, but i most certainly will bring it up whenever i can. while this is definitely narrative criticism, it is more of a study, as i am not expecting anyone, readers or dc, to really change how they view the todds.

jason goes from being a rather reserved, kind and genuinely friendly child to an angry and cruel boy who was contemplating murder at some point (batman: urban legends). not to mention willis going from an absent but well meaning man who turned to crime to support his family to now being an abusive father and husband. catherine todd was originally stated to have died from overdose, but was later confirmed in death in the family to pass away from cancer, so while the 'poor addict mother' stereotype still applies, it is more complicated in her case.

it is no surprise that in modern tellings, all three of them represent very realistic forms of poverty. willis the abusive criminal, catherine the addict (her battle with cancer is always noticeably left out) and jason the violent child left to repeat the cycle.

dc simply couldn't allow the todd family to remain poor but an all in all good family (though i am careful to say they were perfect, past or present, since depending how you read him, willis can still be seen as a bad father and horrible husband), and instead had to dramatise negative stereotypes of poor people in order to really perpetuate the existence of jason being the "angry" robin. this mostly comes down to dc perhaps wanting to bury older comics featuring the original characterisation (since the only way to read them is through piracy), and there is no better way to do that than make his current characterisation nothing like his old one, at all.

after all, how else can we ensure readers are aware of how angry, evil and emotionally unstable jason todd is, if not making his life the pinnacle of why poor people are terrible and should not have kids? dc is not trying to hide it at all, it's almost laughable.

while the blatant classism is very clearly the biggest issue, from a storytelling perspective it is also really disappointing. deconstructing catherine and willis todd to their morally reprehensible, abusive and neglectful 2d personalities in modern telling leaves a massive gap is what made jason so personable as robin. personally, i also think it takes away how homelessness and his own poverty seperate from his family might have affected jason's morals and opinions on certain topics — another aspect of his character that is very important but often undeveloped.

especially with jason; making him having always been this quick to rage and violent child/robin takes away the true devastation of his death and subsequent revival. he died an innocent, damaged and complicated but caring boy, and came back vengeful and spiteful. he is a boy who has suffered a lot in life, with a sick mother he had to provide for due to his absent father, who also died due to a life of crime — and yet jason broke free from the cycle and became something more.

he loved to learn, to go to school, to play sports and to help people. he loved being a hero, even when it got tough, and though sometimes it was hard to remember, he always tried to stay on the bright side of things.

it's one of the main reasons bruce is so unable to process and accept his son's return, because to him, the person who came back is not the son he lost. though, that is another conversation entirely.

on the one hand however, i can see why jason's current life story might be more appealing to certain readers (and depending on the work, fanon or canon, it can makes more sense). since now that he's broken out of the cycle of abuse, he can use his strength to protect other vulnerable people. the true 'people's hero' in a way batman and other adjacent vigilantes can not be.

it is just a little regrettable that to fulfill this, he and his family must adhere to classist stereotypes to make it more believable. after all, jason was very much the 'people's robin' even without all the retcons to his character. he has always stood up for people who couldn't do it themselves.

#jason todd #robin ii #batman and robin #red hood #bruce wayne #catherine todd #willis todd #more of a word dump than an actual study #just some thinking #classism #dc #saki comic talks

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space-dreams-world · 9 months

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Step-Dad, Godfather or Uncle! Danny au:

Inspired by @faeriekit Dig Three Graves in Apartment 31c

Danny was good friends with the late Catherine Todd before a life of drugs took over. Since it seems like Jason was abandoned by his mother and sent to Willis before marriage to Catherine.

Willis knows about Danny being good friends with his wife and sometimes tries get his wife to bribe Danny for money or Catherine herself would try once she's addicted to drugs...

Danny definitely refuses Willis's demand, and when Catherine tries, there is always a sad look in his eye. While Willis is trying to make money, and when Catherine was somewhat in better health, Danny would visit and Babysit and take care of the young Jason Todd, trying to give him as much love and support in this trying time.

Willis getting jealous of Danny taking care of his son and worried of what he was teaching him and the potential of his wife cheating on him, Willis murders Danny leaving him to die in the apartment while protecting Jason from his Dad.

(This could take place when Jason was a baby or before Jason is abandoned to the streets of Gotham. Either way, Catherine dies of drugs and Willis is sent to prison as a scapegoat for Two Face Gang.)

Because Jason spent so much time near Danny, Jason is definitely liminal and Jason kindness stems from Danny (Catherine mentions to her neighbors that should anything happen to her or Willis that Jason goes to Danny and Jason knows this too, but it's too late and the crime is never reported even after when Jason was with Bruce...)

#dp x dc #not mine #dc x dp #danny fenton #jason todd #au #DPXDC

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sadlynotthevoid · 2 months

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Jason Todd is like the MCs of those (a lot of them chinese) asian novels that start like:

"My father let me aside, my older brother turned his back on me, even my dearest [X family member/friend] left. At the end, I was alone. Nothing was left for me.

Just when I died I found out that my life was a novel and I was a cannon fodder— a step stone for the protagonist, [X person he didn't get along with and got everything he wanted]"

It's just that he doesn't know it yet. But he meets all the requirements otherwise.

-Terrible sad backstory.

-Kept forgiving the people who actually gives zero fucks about him.

-When someone (of the people who would fit the important character roles in the inside novel) treated him "well", most of the time is because they want something of him.

-A few good friends who either die before him or would mourn him after his inside-novel death. (Usually one of the regrets of the real novel mc is not listening to them/spending more time/"letting" they die).

-Bad reputation between the inside-novel characters (sometimes it can also be an overall bad reputation, specially if the mc is famous or it's a showbiz story).

-Inexplicable Piss Poor Luck.

-Ends alone no matter what he tries (always before returning back in time).

-Possible DNA drama.

-A mother figure that loves him, whom probably he was separated from by the narrative (death if she was already part of his life, like Catherine, kidnapping/disaparition if it would be an unknown biological mom— not Sheila, obvs—, or other plots/assholes if is a mother figure like in his adult life).

-The father mentioned in the description has a lot of power (AKA, Bruce).

#jason todd #he is regressor asian mc coded #if there's a fic like this can someone recomend it to me?

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bluejaysandblackbats · 2 months

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Five Stages of Mamma Mia

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: AU where Catherine Johnson (AKA Catherine Todd) is Jason's bio mom and Jason doesn't know who his father is. He engages in adventures while getting to know the men that could possibly be his biological father. I'm literally about to traumatize Jason within an inch of his life (literally) in the process.

Also, the five stages won't be in order probably because it doesn't have to be. :)

Chapters: 1/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Jason Blood, Catherine Todd Mention, Bruce Wayne, Willis Todd Mention

Relationship(s): Past Catherine Todd/Jason Blood, Past Catherine Todd/Bruce Wayne, Past Catherine Todd/Willis Todd

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Mamma Mia-inspired AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Father-Son Relationship(s), Jason Todd Experiences the Five Stages of Grief

Chapter One: Money, Money, Money (Denial)

Jason didn't go into Catherine's room for days after her passing. It frightened him to think he could go into the room and she wouldn't be there. It was a reality that Jason had to face. So, one night after coming home from the supermarket, he crept into the room. He was never barred from entering her room. It just felt like an intrusion to go in without her being there. The smell of vinegar and burnt plastic filled the room, but Jason was used to it.

He turned the lights on and stared at the suitcase at the foot of the bed. She'd had that bag for as long as he could remember, and he opened the battered leather suitcase. He wiped a few stray tears from his cheeks and swallowed hard. The first thing at the top was a photo of Jason at the zoo. It was one of many photos in the suitcase. Some Jason recognized, and others he didn't. Most of the ones he couldn't identify were from before he was born. Catherine usually dated her pictures, so Jason organized most of them. It kept his mind preoccupied. That way, he didn't have to miss her.

Underneath the first layer of photos was a diary. It was locked, and the leather faded from brick to a washed-out pink. Jason picked it up and held it to his chest. He'd only seen it once. It was Catherine's diary. Jason knew most people in his position would be excited to read their mother's diary, but he couldn't move himself to betray her trust like that. He still thought she'd come back somehow. Maybe it was childish to think she'd come back, but he figured people came back to life in Gotham all the time. For that moment, though, it felt good just to see something of his mother's.

He set the diary aside and continued digging through the suitcase until he found a photograph of a man with sunglasses grinning at a parade. Jason's mother wasn't in the picture, but he knew she had it for a reason. He looked at the back of the photograph for the date and noticed it was a year before he was born. He set it on top of the diary and lit a cigarette. He didn't think much of the picture until he found other photographs of the same man and a photo booth strip of Catherine with him. He wondered if they were in love.

In another set of pictures, though, Catherine was with Bruce Wayne. It was around the same time as the photographs with the other man. There weren't as many pictures of her with him, but she looked so happy.

It made Jason wonder what went wrong. Maybe he was to blame. Jason dumped the ashes on a piece of paper before noticing the ashes burned a hole in the page. "Darn it! Nononono," Jason whispered as he tried to put the page out. Once he managed to stomp it out, he looked at the paper and realized it was his birth certificate. "No," Jason whimpered.

He frowned and took another puff from his cigarette. He promised to kick himself for being so irresponsible later, but for the moment, he decided to finish smoking his cigarette. People usually gave Jason the worst looks when he smoked cigarettes, but they didn't understand the bitter taste of tobacco, and the smoke was well-earned after the stress he endured constantly. He never begged for much of anything and never complained. The cigarettes helped. Hunger, stress, anger? It all melted away with a simple cigarette. Jason decided he'd have to smoke two more to calm himself. Usually, he didn't smoke that much back to back, but things had gotten painfully stressful.

He finished the last three cigarettes in the pack before cleaning up and leaving the room. He tried to cook for himself, but his nerves were shot, and the cupboards were bare. So, Jason decided he'd go to the deli. He had twenty dollars left of their emergency money, and the "classic Italian" was only twelve bucks. Jason climbed out the window and onto the fire escape, involuntarily shivering as the cold air hit him. Jason absentmindedly stepped in blood from a crime scene that'd been left behind overnight. It sent a shiver up his spine, and he pointed his index and pinky fingers downward before wiping the bottom of his shoe against the wall. He didn't know where he learned it, but he knew it was supposed to keep his luck from worsening.

A man ran into him on the sidewalk and nearly knocked him over. "Watch it!" Jason yelled out. The man paid him no mind, and not too long after that, a police officer shoved him out of the way, knocking him to the ground. Jason got up and dusted himself off. "Pig!"

He stepped off the sidewalk and jaywalked to the deli. The man at the deli greeted Jason as soon as he came in. "The regular?" the man asked. Jason grinned and nodded. The deli was one of the safest places in Gotham. It was where his mother sent him most of the time when she had company. It happened a lot, so he and the deli clerk knew each other well. Jason approached the counter and tried to hand the man his twenty. "Figurati. Don't worry about it. How're you feeling?"

"I'm holding up," Jason answered as honestly as he could. "I can pay. I have—."

"No, today you eat for free. I haven't seen you... Is your mama better?" the man asked. Jason shook his head and sharply inhaled before a few tears escaped. He turned to leave out of embarrassment, but the man invited him into the back. The man sat Jason down and fixed his sandwich. "It's alright. Jason, there's no shame in tears. When did it happen?"

"A few days ago," Jason whimpered. He tried desperately to pull himself together as he watched the man work. The man washed his hands and started packing away soups and making sandwiches. "Mr. Bernardi, I can pay you for the sandwich. Really—."

"No," Mr. Bernardi interrupted in a stern tone of voice. It startled Jason, but he did his best to conceal his fear. Mr. Bernardi had a soft heart and a grandfatherly sweetness to him. "When's the last time you ate? Hm? And no lying."

"Two days ago," Jason answered. He bowed his head out of shame.

"Eat," Mr. Bernardi commanded. Jason obeyed. It felt good to have something on his stomach, especially since he ran out of cigarettes. "I don't like that."

Jason looked up and blinked absently, wondering how he'd offended the man. "I don't like when children are hungry. It makes my stomach hurt," Mr. Bernardi chastised Jason. He sighed when he looked at the tears welling up in Jason's eyes. "Here." Mr. Bernardi handed Jason a can of rootbeer.

Jason felt like he'd give way to tears at any moment, so he thanked Mr. Bernardi and got up to leave. Mr. Bernardi whispered something to one of his employees and she offered Jason a ride back to his apartment. Jason opened his mouth to turn them down, but he knew it was no use arguing with Mr. Bernardi.

Jason got in the backseat and the woman put a large order in the passenger's seat. She didn't say much. "Bernardi doesn't like a lot of people, but he likes you. He says you remind him of himself when he was growing up in Italy," she whispered.

Jason was too emotional to speak still, so he stared out the window. When they got to his apartment they both got out of the car and she said she needed to deliver an order in his building. They went in the front entrance and climbed up to his floor. He had an uneasiness in his chest that was confirmed when the woman handed him the large bag filled with food. "Bernardi wants you to take it... It's not charity, and he'll be offended if you send me back with it," she whispered. Jason thanked her and rushed into his apartment where he could cry without being looked at.

At least he wouldn't have to sleep on an empty stomach.

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samgirl98 · 5 months

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Mending a Family 35/?

Prev | Next

When Jason was young, there had been no Christmas tree or decorations. They had been too poor for that. As Willis used to say, would you rather be warm or have useless shit lying around? Funnily enough, he always had money for booze.

His mom, Catherine, used to take him to midnight mass every Christmas Eve. He used to love to go, not because he believed in God, but because he could spend time with his mom in a warm building. Even though his mother had sounded off-key while she sang Christmas carols, Jason thought she had sounded like an angel. The church would always be decorated for Christmas, and, at least for a little while, he could pretend he was like every other family, spending a Merry Christmas.

Christmas days didn’t have gifts, but his mom would give him gingerbread cookies while Willis slept off his hangover.

Then Willis had been arrested, money had become tighter, and his beautiful mother had fallen hard for drugs. The last few Christmases with Catherine Todd had not been spent in a church but in a rundown apartment while Jason cared for her.

Bruce was ethnically Jewish but not a practicing one. He didn’t observe the Sabbath, go to a synagogue, or celebrate any Jewish holidays. The only thing he did was light up his mother’s menorah every year.

He also ate Chinese food on Christmas day while waiting for Alfred’s dinner.

Jason’s first Christmas with Bruce had been full of decorations, with a massive tree with mountains of presents stuffed beneath it. Jason had had fun decorating with Alfred. Even Bruce had helped. Dick hadn’t shown up to celebrate Christmas with them. That year, Jason had fallen in love with Christmas. Not because of the presents, but because he had spent it with people he loved and who loved him back.

The following year, it had been spent in front of Titans Tower. He had wanted to bring Dick back home as a present for Bruce. It hadn’t panned out. The last Christmas in Wayne Manor had been celebrated with Dick, Bruce, and Alfred. There had been tension between Bruce and Dick, but they had put their differences aside.

The following year, Jason had gotten himself blown up. He didn’t know if he had been alive for that Christmas or not.

After that, he was in Nanda Parbat or out learning how to kill. Then came his explosive return to Gotham.

The whole point was that Jason hadn’t thought about Christmas in years. It was just another day alone.

This year, it was different. He had Danny, his son. He had a younger sister and two nieces. An older brother and an older sister. He had been tentatively excited. Then Jazz had sat him down and told him how much Danny hated Christmas. There was a lot of trauma around the holiday because the Fenton parents used to fight over the existence of Santa Claus, of all things.

So before decorating, he had asked his son if he wanted to do Christmas or not. His little boy had hummed and asked if there would be any fighting.

The question had broken Jason’s heart.

“No, chum, no fighting allowed.”

“Good, cuz ghosts have the annual truce during Christmas time.”

(Jason filed that tidbit of information for later and had asked Ghost Writer about it.)

“Okay, if there’s no fighting or turkeys coming to life to kill me, then yeah, why not?”

Jason had blinked at the turkey bit. The fuck?

So, for the first time in a long time, Jason celebrated Christmas again.

They hadn’t gone all out. Jason had bought a small tinsel tree and put some wrapped gifts under it. There wouldn’t be a big dinner (Alfred cooked a huge dinner for the family) or Christmas carols. The only decoration they put up was a wreath at the door.

They never once mentioned Santa Claus.

Neither Roy, Lian, nor Raven came over. They had other traditions and people to hang out with. Jason had understood. In a way, it had been a good thing. He didn’t want to overwhelm Danny.

On Christmas morning, the little family opened the presents in pajamas and then spent the day watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate. Instead of cooking, Jason ordered carry-out.

That night, while he tucked Danny into bed, Danny thanked him.

“For what, chum?”

“For giving me the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

Jason kissed his little boy’s forehead and went to bed. It hadn’t been extravagant, but it had been a good Christmas.

Merry Christmas

@itsberrydreemurstuff @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @skulld3mort-1fan @theauthorandtheartist @emergentpanda-blog @jaggedheart11 @fisticuffsatapplebees @booberrylizard @fantasticbluebirdfan @thegatorsgooseoose @cyrwrites @kjoboo91 @crystallicedart @amaramizuki666 @spekulatiusmuffin @meira-3919 @kilasmess @bubblemixer @lexdamo @wonderland-daisy @mj-arts-n-stuff @amyheart19 @dolfay @the-church-grimm @undead-essence @aph-mable @lizisipancardo @purrloin77 @writer-extraodinaire @charlietheepic7 @sinfulloccultist @nootherusernameworked @coruscateselene @chaoticchange @itsberrydreemurstuff @gmkelz11 @feral-bunny31 @paroovian @thatonegaybitch68 @d4ydr34min9 @overtherose @fandomwandererer @vipower001 @thordottir45 @blackrabbitt3t @rosecinnamonbun @bianca-hooks123 @epilepticnerd @dat1angel @consouling @flamingenchiladadragon @all-mights-asscheeks @ender-reader @fuyu-bitch @ravenswife

#mending a family #dc x dp #dp x dc

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onnahu · 1 month

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Jason Todd Fanfiction

Tw: death, religious trauma, mentions of drugs, violence and homelessness

So yeah, I had a rough week, and on easter my religious trauma have the time of life, and I remembered that Jason canonicaly grew up catholic. So did I. It was easy from there. It's rough, not edited, and that's why it's for now only here, I'll get it on ao3 later, after some smoothing over.

When Catherine fell ill, she said 'it's a part of God's plan'.

Jason didn't really understood it then, he was 6, but he knew his mom was strong and smart and knew everything, so he agreed, and went play with his neighbours.

When the mony was tight, she took him to church and prayed. He kneelt beside her, but didn't really know what to do. He knew the Lord's Prayer, but it never felt right. It was hard to belive there was some big guy up there, that loved them, and yet made them live in an apartment with mold and non-airthight windows. It just seemd counterproductive. If you love someone, you should wsnt the best for them. Like his mom wanted the best for him. But his mom prayed, and his mom knew best, so he knelt beside her and prayed along.

When Willis got arrested, his mom said that god will help them. She said they should prey, and so they did. Jason thought it was stupid, but didn't said anything.

When Willis went to prison, his mom took him to the church, again, and told him to pray to god for help. He knelt beside her, but didn't prey. He knew there wasn't anyone there listening to him. And even if there was, he for sure didn't care for them.

When his mom got worse, and her medicine was too expensive, so she had to take the other 'medicine', she often sent him to aunty Mei next door. Jason knew what drugs were, and he wasn't stupid. He knew it didn't really help his mom, but so did her prayers, and drugs were at least real. And she wasn't in pain so much. That had to be enough. When his mom was too weak to get up on sunday, aunty Mei took him to the mass instead of her. He didn't tell his aunty that it was bullshit, because she would get angry and tell his mom, and his mom would be sad, because she still believed. So he went silently and on their way out he picked up a few dollars from the collection. If he had to be there, he would at least do something useful. It was always a little more to their budget, a little less of his mom's worry.

When his mom died, he cursed god out. He screamed and cried and sweared and he hated god, hated the world, hated his dad, hated his mom, hated all his aunties and uncles, and above all, he hated himself. When he was done, he packed up all the money left, his warmest clothes, a few photos he hidden in his favourite book, everything that looked like it was worth something, so he could sell it, soap, all the food that was left, a pack of cigarettes, his dad's old pocketknife and a tire iron. He stuffed it all in a dufflebag, and then knocked on aunty Mai's door. He told her that there was something wrong with mom. When she came into their apartment, he took off. She would call 911. He wasn't going to wait on CPS so he could be sold out or packed into some awful foster-home. He was better off alone. He always was.

In winter, he found himself in the church. It was warm, and he could be ther a whole hour of the mass. He got all the money from offerings, and later got himself a warm meal. Church wasn't that bad after all.

He was hiding from some thugs that didn't like him taking their tires. They shouldn't have left their van alone if they had a problem, Jason thought. They didn't like his argument and started to beat him up. He menaged to run away, and was hiding behind a dumpster. They were close. He could hear them. He started to pray. They didn't find him.

The next time he was hiding and started to pray, they found him and beat the shit out of him. He, once again, got reminder of why he could only rely on himself.

When he met Batman, and then Bruce, and then Batman as Bruce, he was happy. Fate finally smiled at him. He found out Bruce also belived on god, but it wasn't (or was? It was confusing) the same god his mom had. He didn't tell him that it was bullshit, because he wasn't stupid, thank you very much, but told him that he wasn't gonna belive in him. Bruce said it was alright, and that was it.

When he was laying on that werehouse's floor, watching the numbers fall, he heard Sheila praying. He didn't call her out on that bullshit, because honestly, he wanted to pray himself. Only she prayed to god, and he wanted to pray to Bruce. He knew it would mean jack shit, but it would be nice to believe someone was coming. He didn't pray. I stead, he got up and dragged his broken body towar Sheila. He positioned himself so he would take to most of the bomb's blow. It propably wouldn't save her, but he wanted to at least die doing something good. She didn't paid him any mind. She was still praying. When numbers on the display wen 3, 2, 1, she was still praying. She died with pray on her lips. He died with the bitter flavor of dissapointment, pain, resignation and hate on his lips. He never heard the batmobile's engine so close to him. He never heard the broken-hearted scream of a grieving father.

When he woke up in his coffin six feet under, he thought two things. First, that if god really exist, he must really hate Jason. Second, he also has a sick sense of humor. To be honest, if he wasn't already screaming, maybe he would laugh too.

#jason todd #red hood #robin #batman #dc #dc comics #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #religious trauma #unedited #catholic jason todd

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ao3feed-brucewayne · 3 months

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Like Mother Like son (Never Again.)

by Myheartwinter After the events of Under the Red Hood, Red Hood was not seen in public for 5 months. BatFamily is worried about this. One night, Batman visits Jason at his safe house and encounters things he could never have predicted. Jason has a daughter. AKA Bruce finds out he's a grandfather, but it's not the right time. TRIGGER Warnings; ❎Underage sex, underage drug use, suicide, graphic depictions of violence, slang, self-hate speech, character death. Words: 2221, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham - All Media Types, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures (Webcomic), Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Batman: Death in the Family (Movie 2020) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Categories: Other Characters: Jason Todd, Original Child(ren) of Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, Talia al Ghul, Roy Harper, Koriand'r (DCU) Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Talia al Ghul & Jason Todd, Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne & Original Child(ren) of Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne Additional Tags: Catherine Todd is Jason Todd's Parent, Mentioned Catherine Todd, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Protective Jason Todd, Hurt Jason Todd, Jason Todd Has Issues, Resurrected Jason Todd, Drugged Jason Todd, Suicidal Jason Todd, Jason Todd Whump, Protective Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Parent Talia al Ghul, Protective Talia al Ghul, Batfamily (DCU), Protective Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Worried Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily Angst (DCU), Jason Todd Angst, Underage Drinking, Underage Sex, Underage Drug Use, The Batarang Incident (Batman: Under the Hood) via https://ift.tt/7bQVdkT

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the dark knight #the caped crusader #gotham #dcu #dc #ao3 #ao3feed

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msfcatlover · 10 months

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lunaryugamine: Would you mind talking about the changeling!Jason AU?

Not at all! That’s actually another one which is more of a self-contained story with just a few too many holes for me to fully assemble it (rather than my more expansive “I have a concept. I’ve overthought it. Now what?” AUs.) This one, I think, really is best summarized with the opening hook, and I’ll add the other ideas I have for it below the read more. .

Catherine Todd raised a sweet little boy, with dark curly hair, a bright smile, and eyes that sparkled like sapphires. She had him for four years, before her son ran off the sidewalk at the park, up a path too tiny for any adult to comfortably navigate. Catherine tried to hurry after him, calling out for her boy to be careful, only to be interrupted by a scream that made her blood run cold. She fought through the underbrush, yelling for her son, before arriving at the edge of a steep, dried up riverbed. There was a little boy at the bottom, covered in dirt & leaves, curled in on himself, shaking with quiet sobs.

Catherine scrambled down the embankment, nearly twisting her ankle, frantically asking her son if he was okay. She picked him up, brushing dirt & leaves out of his dark, curly hair and off of his clothes, looking for anywhere he might’ve been hurt. The boy told her he hadn’t been injured, but she fussed anyway, and she knew the fall must have scared him more than he let on by the way the boy clung to her and did not protest when she cut their park time short.

"Never scare me like that again," Catherine told him on the bus. She pulled a leaf out of his hair. "Promise me, Jason, that you’ll never scare me like that again."

He looked up at her as best he could, long dark lashes still tangled with tears, and after a moment’s stuttering breath, the boy whispered, "I promise, mama. I won’t ever scare you that bad, I promise."

"Good," Catherine told him, pressing a kiss into his hair to hopefully ease the edge off her words.

The little boy stared at his knees with eyes like soft grey river stones, bright with tears and hidden in shadows.

Nobody ever noticed the difference.

(From this point out, CW for briefly mentioned bullying & child abuse, because Jason’s home life isn’t exactly better in this AU than it’s usually depicted in canon.)

This AU is different from the Urban Fantasy AU in how I’m handling changelings. In that, Tim was an unwanted fae child traded for a human as part of a deal. In this, changelings are magical constructs, made of whatever was at hand and hidden behind a glamour to pass for human. Changelings are also not meant to last, the magic they run on gradually drying up, making them grow slower, weaker, stiffer, seeming more tired & sickly as time goes on; on average, changelings only last about four months before seeming to die (the glamour will then last until the next new moon), though an especially well-crafted changeling might make it twice that long.

But they are still bound by fae laws.

And Jason made a promise, didn’t he?

(He’d make another right before Catherine died, that he’d grow up big & strong, and never lose his kindness. The last words she ever said to him were, "My little boy’s going to change the world," before she sent him to bed. Only the shell of her was left by dawn.)

(Very specifically, Jason is made of the tangled roots of an upturned tree that lay in the riverbed, reshaped into the form of a boy, with a handful of rocks trapped within the roots settling in like organs. He has no bones, and his skin is pure glamour, but as long as that glamour remains intact he is—almost—indistinguishable from human.)

Jason doesn’t know what he is. His memories start in that riverbed, with Catherine dashing over to see if he’s alright. But he doesn’t... fit quite right. Words carry a different weight with him than they seem to for others ("Stop lying," people would tell him, no matter how much he assured them that he didn’t--he couldn’t,) certain foods & materials cause a bad reaction from that day forth (he never touched the frying pan again after it left his hands blistered & red, even though he only took it out of the cabinet to move it to the stove,) and his behaviors are weird ("Jason Peter Todd," someone will snap, a Name that, like a hand-me-down coat, sits a little bit wrong but is the only one he has, and compels him as strongly as any other of his kind.) The other kids are more than happy to tell Jason as much, make it very clear just how weird they find him, and Jason pulls back into corners & books, just trying not to draw attention.

His skin is tough like tree bark; it takes a deep gash to draw blood. (Jason’s dad called him a freak for never bruising, no matter what happened to him. Willis only broke the skin once, breaking a bottle over Jason’s back, and Catherine was the one to clean it up. She reassured Jason that there was nothing wrong with him, that he was special and that was all ("Yeah," Jason muttered, "special...") never telling him the fluid she cleaned off his back was not normal blood. Jason would not find that out about himself until he was 9 and living on the streets; he cuts his hand deep while scrambling over a fence, cursing to himself out of both pain & fear, and rushes to the nearest convenience store to both hide & wash up in their bathroom. Instead of blood, Jason’s hand is sticky with dark golden tree sap. For a few minutes, he just stares at it, trying to figure out what that means.) He doesn’t sleep, but sees well enough in the dark that he can usually get away with reading by the light of his window once his parents have gone to bed (and if anyone ever asks what’s wrong, Jason can tell them in full honesty, "I didn’t sleep well last night.")

He has a much larger appetite than other boys his age, always trying to refill those ever-dwindling reserves of energy, and is always hungry (when Bruce takes Jason in, he’s worried about refeeding syndrome. Jason cannot believe that he’s in such a fancy place with food right there, and still having it denied to him, at least until he tears up and Bruce folds like a stack of cards.)

Perhaps most importantly, Jason is sensitive to the presence of magic, and Gotham is overflowing with it. And when he can find it, he can absorb it, refueling himself better than any meal ever could. Jason has a police record by the age of 7 for pocketing trinkets & charms at antique stores all across the city. He gets in trouble at school for reaching out on trips to the museum to brush his fingers against the artifacts, just for a single moment. There are places in Gotham where magic pools, but it’s very rarely good magic, and soaking it up makes Jason feel unwell in a way he can’t quite describe (but he’ll still do it if he has to. He will. He has to.)

(He promised.)

Bruce takes in the little boy he caught stealing his tires. Jason tries, oh he tries, tries harder than ever to just. Be. Normal. The manor has seemingly endless reserves of food, sits over a veritable font of magic, and the library could keep him busy for the rest of his life. It’s the best chance Jason will ever have of actually growing up, and he doesn’t want any of his weirdness to give Bruce second thoughts about taking Jason in. And Bruce, bless him, doesn’t exactly have the generally accepted standards for “normal” anywhere in his brain when he’s not actively putting on an act, so he doesn’t notice anything amiss (outside of relief for how healthy Jason is, despite living so rough for so long.) Alfred, if he notices anything, doesn’t say anything.

Dick Grayson watches the thing half-hiding behind his father—how it moves, how it acts, what it does & what it avoids, the very careful way it chooses all its words—and everything his parents ever warned him about walking down fairy paths or stepping in mushroom circles comes flooding back. Dick knows the tests, and every time he casually tosses one Jason’s way, he sees the fear flash in Jason’s eyes. They stare at eachother over the table, over the counter, across the room, fake innocence on both their faces (“I know what you are,” and “Please don’t,” whispered with their eyes alone,) until Dick finally managed to corner Jason alone to confront him.

“You’re not human,” Dick says.

Jason swallows.

“What are you?” Dick asks.

“...I don’t know,” Jason says, probably the only answer that could’ve brought Dick up short right then. Dick asks if he’s telling the truth, an old sore he doesn’t mean to poke, and Jason turns away to hide his scowl. “I don’t lie.”

“That’s what they all—”

“I. Don’t. Lie.”

A pause.

“Don’t? Or can’t?”

“Does it matter? You won’t believe me anyway.” Jason’s problem, in his own opinion, has always been that he’s an easy crier—stress, anger, grief, they all get the tears going. “I didn’t ask to be here, okay? I am just trying to exist, and people always—”

Jason stops, clenching his fists. “Are you going to tell Bruce?”

Dick looks down at a creature that by all surface appearances is nothing more than a frightened, frustrated child trying to hold back tears. And for the first time, Dick realizes what Bruce saw that day at the circus. Because Dick’s never made the direct connection before, but he does know what it’s like to be dropped down in a completely different world, with different rules, abandoned by everything you knew, lost & out of place, trying to survive in a place that wasn’t made for someone like you. Clinging to the one good thing you have left, terrified that at any moment someone will realize they made a mistake and then that one good thing will be gone too. The complete lack of security, despite the manor walls and Bruce’s stubborn protectiveness.

Dick groans, dragging one hand over his face, and crouches down so he’s not looming over the kid. “Look me in the eye and swear to me that you’ll never intentionally hurt any member of this family.”

Jason’s jaw drops. He pulls himself together quickly enough. “I swear it. I don’t want to hurt any—okay, there are some people who really deserve punching, but I don’t want to hurt anyone here.”

Dick laughs. He can’t help it.

Dick’s new little brother scowls at him, and Dick laughs harder.

("No, little bird. I guess that's up to you.")

When Jason is adopted, he gets to pick a new name. Dick throws down three books of baby names the next time he comes over, after hearing the excitement in Jason’s voice over the idea. Jason ends up naming himself in honor of both his mother and the family who took him in.

Jason Cayden Wayne.

It fits.

This Jason does not confront the Joker to save a mother he doesn’t know. This Jason figures out his past and goes back to the mound to rescue the boy whose life he stole. He challenges the Court and wins, carrying out a boy whose time has run strangely and whose form has warped slightly under the influence of magic, but whose eyes still sparkle like sapphires. As a last effort, his creator tries to Name Jason back to their side, to return what he has claimed, but it slides off of him like water.

That’s not his Name anymore.

It never really was.

(The boy on his back shudders under the force of the command, but Jason has the strength of twisted roots and buried stones, and the boy cannot break free. Jason does hesitate, asks if the boy wants to go back. “I have to,” the boy whispers back. “That’s not what I asked. Do you want to?” The boy presses his face against Jason’s back and shakes his head. “Then we’re leaving.”)

(“Why couldn’t they Name you?” the boy asks on the long, long walk out. Jason smiles. It’s more crooked than the little boy he was supposed to be, but just as bright as ever. “I haven’t been Jason Peter Todd in years, kiddo. I tried to be, sure, but it just didn’t fit. So I picked a new Name, and the old one can’t hurt me anymore.” “You can do that?” “Sure!” A pause. “I don’t think I want to be Jason Peter Todd anymore,” the boy says, and it’s the first time he’s sounded sure of himself in the immeasurable time Jason’s known him. “Okay, you don’t have to be.” The boy holds on a little tighter, and Jason knows he said the right thing. “You work on thinking up some new possibilities and we’ll go over them once we’re safe, sound good? We can ask my big brother if you need any help. Trust me,” Jason adds, “I’m not very good at names. References, sure, and symbolism. But if you ask me to name you, I’m just gonna to pull something out of a fairy tale.”)

(He does end up helping, in case you couldn’t tell.)

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