Batman And Robin - Tumblr Posts

Why did Jason impersonate Nightwing to patrol in Bludhaven ?

He was just trying to be a dick

"Jason keeps making comments about his death and it's whiny" this "Jason is always talking about his death" that... Jason is always thinking about his death. Because that's what trauma is, being trapped in the moment, reliving it again and again and again. Children with PTSD/CPTSD sometimes do this thing where they play games when they recreate their trauma, and the explanatory hypothesis is that they're trying to fix it in a way. Adults with PTSD/CPTSD tend to find themselves at risk in similar situations. Being trapped in a time loop of the worst moments of your life and trying to stop something that's already happened, begging to be saved even if it's too late, lashing out to defend yourself after the fight is over. And I know the confrontation in UTRH is complex and about a lot of things, especially about Jason and Batman and Bruce, but also I can't help thinking, this reads a lot like trauma reenactment. And Bruce's response... Let's just assume it didn't really help.

So, yeah. Jason talks about his death a lot. Jason is still in that warehouse, in that coffin, still being tortured and dying and buried alive. Jason is still calling for help.

Random goon: Hey boss, were you the one to pick that name as an alias? And why this one?

Red Hood : I used to have another name, before... A long time ago. But that person is dead now. I get to choose for myself now, they can't take that from me. I won't let them.

Goon: Huh.

***

Random Goon: Say boss, why do you never take off your shirt in front of us?

Red Hood: Well uh, I actually have that really fucked scar on my chest and I'm not comfortable with...

Random Goon: Don't worry boss, we get it, you don't have to explain yourself to us.

***

Red Hood, high on some toxin: God, I wish my family...

Random Goon (on boss-sitting duty): why not try reaching out to them?

Red Hood: They would never accept me as I am now... They wouldn't agree with my so-called "life choices". Besides, they don't miss me, they miss the person they think I used to be... I wasn't even a man when I last saw them.

Random Goon: Damn boss, that sucks.

***

And then the goons throw the Red Hood a party on trans visibility day and Jason is so confused he straight up cries.

More of trans allegory Jason and the goons VS the batfam:

Transmasc older goon, trying to connect: Hey out of curiosity boss, when did your egg crack?

Jason, thinking this is a bird pun about how he became Robin: Uh, 12 I guess...

****

Penguin henchman: Wow, you really are okay calling yourselves goons? Isn't that like a little demeaning?

Red Hood Goon: Inclusivity my guy -Henchperson is a mouthful, and that way, we don't have to assume.

Penguin Henchman: Oh my god that's so thoughtful!

*they resume shooting at eachother.*

*****

Batman You're not okay Hood, you need a professional. Please, we can help you!

Jason: There's nothing wrong with me, I won't let you throw me into Arkham!

Goon of the week: Yeah Batfreak, the boss doesn't need help, there's nothing wrong with him! How would you like it if we tried to convert you out of being a furry, huh?!!

Batman: reconsiders life choices.

****

Angry goon: *beats the shit out of Nightwing with a trans pride flag*

Dick, a bisexual cis metrosexual: I'm not sure what is happening but this feels offensive.

****

Batman: Please, I know there's a lot of bad blood, but you're still my child...

Jason: Really? Because I clearly remember you saying you weren't my father and didn't have to deal with my "teenage angst"!

The Goons: You said what?!

Oracle : You said what?!

Dick, standing up and picking up the pride flag: You said what.

The average gothamite dies twice factoid is a statistical mistake. Jason Todd, who keeps dying and coming back to life, is an outlier and shouldn't have been counted

And if I told you they could fix Batman #148 by putting Jason in a coma. What then.

Let's build Jason a bookshelf !

Pride and Prejudice - homeboy is an Austen fan canonically, we need at least this one.

Hamlet -do I need to say more? Do I?

Water for the elephants: He won't admit it, but the book reminds him of Dick, and he reads it any time he misses him. It's angsty enough to maintain a front while actually being a romance with a satisfying ending.

The Outsiders: It's not just that the story is relatable and really well written; it's the themes of loyalty, grief and heroism, and the imagery and hopefulness shining through, and it's the way Johnny reminds him of Roy and sometimes, after Roy's death, he will close his eyes and picture the two of them together in an abandoned church, in that quiet space safe from the war raging outside, reading Gone With the Wind while Roy provides uncharitable commentary about the characters' decisions.

Under The Whispering Door (TJ Klune): This one was gifted to him by Tim because "the main character is an asshole ghost, I thought you might relate." Of course, these idiots could talk to eachother about emotions and go to therapy, but why do that when you can bait your brother into reading a story that will help him process a bit of his relationship with his own death and the family? The worst part is, it worked great, and Jason is so upset that it became one of his favourite books. (The part about the stages of grief is scientifically inaccurate, though. He would know.)

A compilation of TS Eliot's works: Maybe it's because I'm a big fan of TS Eliot and Jason, but every time I reread one of his poems, I think about Jason and I'm sad. The Hollow Men, in particular about the fallen soldiers from WWI, hits so hard as a Jason poem, especially when you consider he lived through the explosion but died of smoke inhalation.

Flowers for Algernon: After losing Bizarro, Jason rereads it often, sitting on rooftops, every time the sky is bright enough to see the stars. He reads it out loud, and the words burn his tongue and taste bitter every time every time, but he likes to pretend his friend is listening, and feels a little less alone.

The Oresteia: This one belongs to the list Jason has read many times and should probably read less, because he projects the tragedy onto his real life and it's a bad influence that comforts him in the idea that he was doomed from the start and might as well burn the remains of the bridges with his family. Good luck trying to pry it out of his hands though! He also loves the idea of being seen at his worst, in the midst of all his hopelessness, and being loved anyway, cradled with unwavering devotion.

Frankenstein : He's a huge Mary Shelley fan, both as a person and a writer. As for Hamlet and the Oresteia, he definitely projects maybe a little too much of some of the characters, but hey, not everybody can brag that they relate to the Creature on such a visceral level.

What else would you guys add?

Jason Todd character profile!

Poem: First Memory (Louise Glück)/ And My Father's Love Was Nothing Next To God's Will (Amatullah Bourdon)

Novel: The Outsiders

Quote from a Novel: "they are going to stop hitting, I am going to catch my breath, this can't end here, not now and yet he couldn't breathe anymore nor feel his body nor hear anything, nor see anything either and still he hoped, something in him repeating, life will hold, still, it always holds, it's going be alright still, they will stop because they will understand that my life is too small in my body and it's wearing too thin now to last more than a bubble of knowing that rises and explodes... " (What I call Oblivion, Laurent Mauviginier)

Play: Hamlet (Shakespeare)

Quote from a play: "Here he lies like something melting away. His mother’s blood comes quaking howling brassing bawling blacking down his mad little veins." (An Oresteia, Anne Carson)

Song: The Horror and The Wild (the Amazing Devil)

Song lyrics: "And I am both the fire and the forest, and I am the witness watching it "(Mitski, Burning Hill)

Ancient Greek Deity: Nemesis

Flower: Rain lily

Feel free to add more!!!

Two Mistki songs per Robin, because I was physically incapable of picking one:

Dick: Liquid Smooth/Bag of Bones

Jason: Pearl Diver /Working for the knife

Tim: Everyone/ Frost

Steph: Buffalo Replaced/ Townie

Damian: Abbey/class of 2013

The public has requested fic recs for the hyper specific "dark mafia no kill rule reversal Jason comes back to the family angst but still there's love" trope, aka Jason Todd's platonic found family version of a dark romance, and so they shall receive: the five fics I've found on the matter, which I recommend especially if you enjoy protective batfam, angst and misunderstandings.

We happy few by sunsational96, it's really good writing if you're not afraid of stuff getting dark, unfortunately it has only two chapters yet but I hope it gets updated because it's so promising (only point I dislike is Jason being a cop but also given his family, I get it.) Tim is unhinged in it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42523731/chapters/106806804

The Safe Inside series by Dalee, the first work of which is "The Sun will Rise", which is complete and a satisfying conclusion to the story in itself.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25397782

Unrefusable Offer by Envisparkler, it's finished! Honestly I could have done with a third chapter because it's kinda angsty but it's really fun too, somebody give poor Jay a hug he's traumatized.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52124098/chapters/131834677

Choke by Chemically_Imbalanced, VERY similar to Unrefusable Offer (though idk which came first) so if you love reading different takes on the same idea and enjoyed one, I definitely recommend the other- also a real fun read, and it has the advantage of not being finished yet, so we might get more than just the two chapters, even if they're already fun on their own!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56516731/chapters/143631982

You liked Unrefusable Offer's take on dark!Dick and wish there was a short fic with his POV? Don't worry, here's sElkieNight60's extra add-on for that fic: Damned to Perdition. It's tasty, y'all.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53521066

@fhteehj

@hesztia16

@trust-and-jump

@dark-night-hero

@chaaannnah

@trashcanqueerie

@ohlooh

"He barely notices his feet taking him to the cemetery, but isn’t surprised to find his grave there, naked as the day he crawled out of it. There are no flowers by his tombstone. Why are there no flowers on his tomb? It’s not fair. He wanted somebody to mourn him. The green fizzles at the thought, the dying ashes of a spitfire, but he’s too tired to care. His knees crumple down and he falls, sprawled over his grave, and it’s its own kind of relief."

Sunlight on a Broken Column, chapter 3, on ao3 (by GlitterStained)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55936753/chapters/142045438

Currently writing an UTRH AU with 17 years old Jason deciding to kidnap the batkids to protect them from Batman, so of course I need a playlist. Does anybody have song recs?

"It ends like this: a warehouse, a child, and a bomb. It's magic, in a sense, the way a moment you have everything in the world and then nothing at all. Call it the miracle of death: a child is only a child until the screaming stops, and a bird is only a bird until you twist its neck.

It starts like this: Jason digs up a grave, and is surprised by what he doesn't find."

Chapters: 1/11 Fandom: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Batman: Hush (2019)

When Jason comes out of the Pit, trauma and a years-old misunderstanding make for an unfortunate combination as he learns other children have fallen under Batman's influence. Now a trained and highly skilled assassin, he will do anything to protect his newest siblings from the demons of his past... Honestly, this would all be a lot easier if everybody just make sure they were talking about the same thing.

Or: a years-old secret leads to Jason kidnapping the Robins to save them from a not-so-evil Batman who just wants his children to be safe.

The first chapter is finally out!! I'm so excited 

I keep seeing posts about how Jason should have chara development that makes sense regarding his morals and stop killing because of that rather than because Bruce told him to stop and like - it's not like I disagree. Of course, that would be great. Of course I want him to be written his age by writers that like him and have development that makes sense and work with Bruce and Dick and evolve on his own as a person.

But the thing is.

A few weeks ago I saw a critique of His Dark Materials that was so absurdly daft it made me want to peel my skin off. For context, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman is a children/young adult book set in fantasy worlds that doubles as a retelling of Paradise Lost in which Lucifer wins, and criticism of christianism is preponderant in it. (This will spoil a good part of book 1 of HDM btw). I'm far from a HDM fan, I saw a few episodes of the adaptation and read it once when I was ten and thought the characters and world was fun but the rhythm in the 2nd and 3rd books was off and I didn't like the ending, so like it was fun but I definitely not a re-read for me. But the point is, this critique clearly had a degree in not getting the fucking point, because his arguments against the books clearly stemmed from an inability to shift his viewpoint out of the christian framework (I promise this is still a Jason post). One of his most ludicrous argument was the lack of character depth in HDM. This is particularly silly because one of the main characters, Mrs Coulters, is one of the most interesting complex characters I've ever seen in fiction. Now Mrs Coulters is interesting because she is a bad guy. Like, tortures and kills children level of bad guy. She doesn't magically grow to sacrifice herself in the name of martyrdom to repent for her sins or something silly like that; but still, she sometimes does very good, helpful things for the characters, because the tension between her character is between her ambition (and her faith though that's more questionable) and her motherhood, as she truly loves and cares for her daughter, one of the protagonists, and wants a better, safer world for her. Now the critique claimed that there was no character depth because there was no concept of sin and no redemption arcs in the books- but those are utterly Christian concepts, so of course they wouldn't be endorsed by a book that challenges their validity. Just because Mrs Coulters doesn't have a redemption arc doesn't mean she isn't deep; and the fact that she does good things not out of morality but out of love is what makes her a fascinating character.

So, thinking about that asinine critique, I was suddenly struck with the realization that Jason is somehow similar to Mrs Coulters in that he is a very loving person who tends to put his personal connexions above everything else (of course, he doesn't experiment on and torture children, that's not what I'm saying). My point is, I don't think why we shouldn't have a Jason who evolves not moved by his morals (though he has them and they matter) but by his love. The point of Death in the Family is Jason wanted to be loved and have a family and trying to shield Sheila's body with his and telling her he loved her. The point of UTRH is Jason doing horrible things in the most theatrical, strategically planned mental breakdown as begging for proof of love because he can't reconcile being loved in a different way that he loves and because he can't understand someone putting their moral code over love. And as much as RHATO #25 fills me up with dread, I have to say I love Jason's behaviour in that final stint. "I am my father's son" holy shit what a line. Jason is Willis' son and because of his filial love, his loyalty demands he avenges him. Jason is Bruce's son and because of his filial love, his loyalty demands that he does not kill. Jason almost murders Willis' murderer with a blank bullet and then when Bruce beats hims halfway to death he doesn't defend himself, doesn't fight back (like, one punch but come on, we've seen him fight, he just gives up). That right there? Hate to say it with how questionable RHATO's Jason is in general, but that's peak characterization. The conflict is entirely about Jason's conception of love, family and worldview, and it's deep and interesting and has nothing to do with morality. I want Jason storylines that explore that. I want Jason to work with the batfam in stories that make sense, I want the writers to acknowledge him as a victim and trauma survivor and allow him to grow from there instead of demonizing his mental illness, I want him to stop killing out of love and I want him to allow himself to love in healthier ways and for the width of his love to spread exponentially and for that to affect his behaviour and worldview.

And that's not just because I like Mrs Coulters and dislike the idea of holier than though moral characters! The christic symbolism Jason is crystal clear (especially in Lost Days), but it's not just about Jason: Talia is associated with Mary (which makes sleeping with him that much more obviously incestuous and horrible and ooc), Joker is the Devil and Bruce, of course, is God (which begs such interesting questions about the Holy Spirit - Robin maybe? To explore at a later date). Now, everybody's experience with Christianity differs wildly, but the way I learnt it growing up in catholic culture was basically God being an Authority of Judgement and Law, strict and all about morality; while Jesus is about love, unconditional love, even and especially the sinners and the damned (and as for the devil Lucifer is a fallen angel who fell after losing to God, and Satan is the demonic incarnation of temptation ain't that interesting). So I would argue that by having Jason kill or not kill out of love for his family, Jason is already his own character with autonomous thought process, independent morals and original interesting values that are a breath of fresh air in the world of superhero which is all about moral codes. Additionally, I think it's interesting and full of potential (and hope) that that very thing is why Jason and Bruce are held in opposition so often when in christianism they are two sides of the same coin.

TLDR: Jason going through character development that doesn't involve an evolution of his moral code is a great idea and if executed properly should give us fascinating stories with one of the most interesting characters in the DC universe, I used to think he should get a sort of "redemption arc" after UTRH where he questions his moral code but now I feel like I'm stuck in the same Christian/superhero framework as the pedantic guy who didn't understand His Dark Materials and I refuse to agree with them about anything so now I'm a hardcore "love over morals" Jason girlie. Obviously I still think moral code development would be a good and interesting storyline and better than anything DC is giving us rn, but I think we could do even better without it.

(also Star Sapphire Jason ftw)

"It's a copycat. Or, worse, it's a challenger. The name, Joker's head, and how he knows about Jason... He wants to surpass the original. Black Mask too, since he also killed a Robin. That's what they do, don't they? That's how those people work. They make a game out of misery, a competition of terror."

A little snippet of chapter 2 of The Protector! Will be out as soon as I'm done with chapter 5 💥💥

Have some magical girl!Jaybin while I scream about part two of chapter 6 of The Protector. This baby is about to get betrayed by a parental figure, brutally tortured, and murdered. At least that will get him out of the ugly colour scheme.

Jason, Constellation of the Robin Classic Transformation:

-Flight

-Enhanced athletics

-Limited Regeneration

-Colour Swirl: raises a colourful wave that rains concussive damage on his opponents, effectively stoning them with colourful magical energy.

-Starlit Labyrinth: While in the streets of Gotham, Jason has the ultimate high ground. He is able of finding the way out of any alley, like a thread only he can see out of a maze, and is capable of creating illusions of alleys and walls to better hide and lure his enemies into dead ends. This leaves him at a disadvantage when travelling in places away from Gotham like say, for example, Ethiopia.

I tried to draw an illustration for the first fight scene of the protector chapter 5 but as it turns out I am not good enough for mid-air side profile battles yet, so have this magical girl AU semi-transformation batkid picture. Barbara is transformed in that picture, unfortunately I realized after drawing her facepalming that the outwards sign of her semi transformation, which needs to be discreet as she often uses it in public, are multicoloured smoke coming out of her eyes and mouth, which I couldn't draw with that pose. I'll try to make quality art of it sometimes though.

Fun fact: the fictional magical girl anime this AU takes place in is called "Starlight Lullaby" and spawns over more than fifteen 30 45 minutes episodes long seasons plus one reboot and two movies. It follows the adventures of the batfam, with some arcs centered around one character and some arcs putting the highlight on relationships and the family as a whole as they fight supervillains, mend their relationships and interact with dc superheroes with the powers of love and semi-sentient Gotham-specific constellations.

(Shirts : Cass' says "Volving", Duke's says "All Colours Are Beautiful", Steph has the Star Trek symbol, Tim is in his canon Oasis shirt (nerd), Dick's says Big Dick Energy, Jason's says "I survived my trip to Ethiopia" with 'survived' barred by a crowbar, and Bab's says "Silent, Tranquil, Fluid, Unafraid".)

Okay but wouldn't it have been funny if Jason came back to life and just straight up told the truth

Like, I understand why that's a terrible idea (we don't want Ra's al ghul wannabe immortality enthusiasts targeting traumatized innocent civilian Jason Todd who has "easy prey" written on his forehead) but still, this is a world in which people have come back to life several times, the mystery of Jason's resurrection is mysterious, but it's not unbelievable, and nothing about it compromises the bats. I can so see it backfire on him too.

Picture this:

Jason: What's the funniest way I can come back to life?

Duke: Tell the truth.

Jason: ??

Duke: Like, leave the compromising bits out obviously, but other than that, be 100% honest. They'll never believe you, and it's gonna drive Bruce crazy. With a little luck, we can get the vein on his forehead to jut out.

*****

Later:

Interviewer: So, why did you fake your death?

Jason, trained spy, theatre kid, shakespeare nerd extraordinaire: *puts on his traumatized young man face*

Jason: *ashened complexion*

Jason : *knee trembles*

Jason: *hand wraps around a rope burn scar around his wrist like reminding himself the rope is not there* (he let himself get kidnapped by BM's men to destroy that base of operations a week ago)

Bruce: Oh no

Jason: I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I did die. I don't - I remember it very well. I went to Ethiopia to find my birth mother in the hopes of learning to know her, but she took advantage of the situation to traffic me to- to a dangerous sociopath. He tortured me for hours, then turned on her, tied us up and left us to die in the explosion. I'm not sure how I came back... I woke up in my coffin, and then, well. I just dug my way up.

Interviewer: But why only come back to the public eye now?

Jason: Before I could make it home, I was taken in by a cult... They found me desoriented in the streets and I don't know, I guess they decided to take advantage. I... Sorry. Sorry, I'm not trying to- I didn't mean to cry. Um, please just-yeah. It's been a couple of difficult years, I guess.

Interviewer: I understand, this must have been very difficult for you. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, and I think I speak for all of Gotham when I say we believe you, support you, and are very relieved and happy you finally came home.

Jason: I'm sorry what?

The crowd: *enthusiastic noises of agreement*

Jason: what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck

Duke: lmao I can't believe that worked

Btw you don't need christian Jason Todd to have self-aware christian imagery Jason Todd, he just needs to have read Paradise Lost