Jp Todd Rp - Tumblr Posts

Leslie had to admit she had been somewhat unconvinced that Jason would return, so seeing him at her office door was a welcome surprise. “Lovely to see you Jason. Please, come in. Take a seat.”

Busying about offering him something to eat and drink, something she was keen to become a routine occurrence, she added. “How has your week been?” Hopefully a generic way to break the ice given he wasn’t outwardly displaying any particularly strong emotion.

jp-todd-rp​:

Just a thought exercise.

Jason still didn’t trust it, didn’t see the point of it, but he understood what she was offering.

Bruce had expressed his worry. And he’d continue to express his worry if Jason would leave it with only the one meeting; there’d be no telling what else he might make him do to elevate that worry. Leslie was offering… almost like a cover, to keep Bruce off his back.

He couldn’t quite figure out her angle – maybe she really wants to help, idiot – but Jason rose up from his seat, journal still in hand. “Guess I’ll see you next week then, doc.”

Hope bloomed in the wake of his statement and Leslie smiled, whatever his motivation, agreeing to come back in any case was a milestone and she was proud of him for it.

She got to her feet, following his lead. “Excellent. Thank you Jason. And here-” Leslie handed him a slip of paper. “My contact details, if you ever want to get in touch between visits. Better to have them and not need them…”

“Same time next week work alright for you? I can work around any rehersals or clubs you have after school.”

Leslie took her own seat, the door safely shut behind them. The warm smile bled into her voice, echoing his enthusiasm. “I did. That was a particularly nasty trap of his. You did well.” 

She was a little hesitant to make too much of a fuss over his activities as Robin, but she wasn’t about to dampen the grin on the boy’s face. “So it’s been a big week for you then.” Leslie prompted, pulling her notebook into her lap. 

With an offered soda in hand, Jason went down to sit in the same seat he had occupied the week before. His journal, was safely tucked away in the bag he had let drop on the floor. “It’s been good, doc.” Jason smirked, appearing a lot more confident than he felt in her office. “You saw me on the news last Thursday?”

It’d been amazing. Riddler had honestly been convinced that he’d had the upper hand. All cameras on. Bruce’s identity on the line. They’d been under pressure, and Jason had delivered.

Saved the day. Saved Batman.

He’d earned his stripes.

'Batman needs me.'

There was a weight to Jason excited revelation. But not one that she was going to dive in with to start off. "Im glad things went how you wanted them to Jason." It was worth pointing out the good. Noticing positives.

She wondered if he had kept to filling in the journal she had given him in all of the excitement.

"How about the rest of your week outside of the cape. The book report going well?"

Hel–Heck yeah.“

Jason smirked, opening his can of coke. ’‘I told you, doc; being Robin is the best thing that ever happened to me. I can do good. Batman needs me.”

It had earned more than a few notes down in his journal. He was good enough, he was earning his keep as Robin and as Jason. All their worries… he was good. Even Barbara had said so.

Leslie smiled at that, proud of him for doing so well. People often forgot how difficult education was for children and underestimated the effect it could have. But it didn't feel like an issue at the moment.

She nodded, adding a note to her book, tilted just out of Jason's line of sight. "Excellent. And how about the journaling task I set you last week? How have you found it?"

Hel–Heck yeah.“

Jason smirked, opening his can of coke. ’‘I told you, doc; being Robin is the best thing that ever happened to me. I can do good. Batman needs me.”

It had earned more than a few notes down in his journal. He was good enough, he was earning his keep as Robin and as Jason. All their worries… he was good. Even Barbara had said so.

He was glaring at her notepad, but Leslie continued unperturbed. Jason would just need to get used to it. Hopefully after a few sessions, he wouldn't care as much but it only reaffirmed that she had been right to leave it out in their previous session.

"That's great Jason. Well done." She wasn't going to ask to see the journal, that hadn't been her plan. But she did have questions for him regarding it. "How did it feel, purposefully thinking of different things to be grateful for? Was it easy, difficult, talk me through it."

Hel–Heck yeah.“

Jason smirked, opening his can of coke. ’‘I told you, doc; being Robin is the best thing that ever happened to me. I can do good. Batman needs me.”

It had earned more than a few notes down in his journal. He was good enough, he was earning his keep as Robin and as Jason. All their worries… he was good. Even Barbara had said so.

The corner of her lip quirked at his appology and Leslie was reminded again of how young the boy was.

It was with an ignored pang of sadness for the boy that she put her next question to him. Food and shelter and school were not things a boy his age ought to be concerned about. "Do you think its something you could continue to do?" She was curious to see what he would fill it with when those types of answers began to run low.

He was glaring at her notepad, but Leslie continued unperturbed. Jason would just need to get used to it. Hopefully after a few sessions, he wouldn’t care as much but it only reaffirmed that she had been right to leave it out in their previous session.

“That’s great Jason. Well done.” She wasn’t going to ask to see the journal, that hadn’t been her plan. But she did have questions for him regarding it. “How did it feel, purposefully thinking of different things to be grateful for? Was it easy, difficult, talk me through it.”

She didn't answer straight away, choosing her words carefully. "Well, if I were to make a suggestion... Why does it need to be from before? What about now? The present moment? And it doesn't need to be about your circumstances. Why not be greatful for the qualities that make you who you are?" The last thing that she wanted was for him to feel like he had to find some silver lining in the horrors he had faced before meeting Bruce. That hadn't been her intention.

Realising he hadn'tmuch frame of reference for what she was aiming to guide him towards she relented on her own boundaries slightly. This was hardly an impersonal case anyway given her relationship with Bruce. "I mentioned it the last time we spoke, but the exercise I gave you is one I do myself. Every day. If you think it'd be helpful, I can give you some examples."

"The idea is that you do it for an extended period of time. So often that it becomes a habit."

The corner of her lip quirked at his appology and Leslie was reminded again of how young the boy was.

It was with an ignored pang of sadness for the boy that she put her next question to him. Food and shelter and school were not things a boy his age ought to be concerned about. “Do you think its something you could continue to do?” She was curious to see what he would fill it with when those types of answers began to run low.

"That's great Jason." Leslie smiles, glad he was taking her seriously enough to rewlly consider what she was saying.

"Kind of. Its more about recognising where you are now. What is good about the present moment. A lot of the time life has you working to the next goal, then the next. Which - it is good to be goals oriented sometimes. It can help make changes and improvements and reach aspirations... However this is more about seeing the good in the moment. Being present. Which, in turn, a lot of people find helps them in the future."

She was careful not to reinforce his idea that he needed to become better, that was the opposite of what she was trying to achieve. "You mention being better. I'm curious. What would better look like to you? What is it that is different to the Jason Todd we have here today?"

Jason picked at his nails.

His qualities?

He was working on them, to meet Bruce’s expectations of him. “I suppose,” Jason shrugged. “I’m a quick student. In school too. I’ve already caught up with my backlog, so I guess I’m appreciative of that. And it’ll help me be better. Is that what this is for, really? To become better?”

And it was obvious, that Jason wasn’t a medical sense. Or even a psychological one.

He needed to be better than he was. To prove he was worthy of the colors, despite his early successes as Robin. As Jason Todd.

Leslie nodded thoughfully, taking her time and not answering immediately.

He was defensive. She knew how much being Robin meant to him. It would be a mistake to be critical of that.

"You are fourteen, right, Jason? I imagine that becoming quicker and smarter is something that will most definitely happen in time."

Leslie pressed her lips together before continuing, considering how much she ought to say about her knowledge of Bruce and his own eccentricities. "What I do know, is that Batman relies on Robin. And you are Robin."

"Do you feel like you disappoint?" Leslie was curious to see if this was something rooted in the past or if something had happened more recently.

“That’s great Jason.” Leslie smiles, glad he was taking her seriously enough to rewlly consider what she was saying.

“Kind of. Its more about recognising where you are now. What is good about the present moment. A lot of the time life has you working to the next goal, then the next. Which - it is good to be goals oriented sometimes. It can help make changes and improvements and reach aspirations… However this is more about seeing the good in the moment. Being present. Which, in turn, a lot of people find helps them in the future.”

She was careful not to reinforce his idea that he needed to become better, that was the opposite of what she was trying to achieve. “You mention being better. I’m curious. What would better look like to you? What is it that is different to the Jason Todd we have here today?”

"Part of what we do here, why therapy can be helpful, is that we have difficult conversations. It works, because this is hopefully a safe space, so it allows you to explore those thoughts and topics without worrying about repercussions."

It wasn't her place to decide if her office was a safe space for the boy, but she hoped it wouldbe in time. "Feeling like a disappointment is one thing. Actually being one is different. It's also a subjective matter, but we'll get to that. The difference between feelings and facts... it's important to make the distinction because feelings are not facts, and although the can be helpful, they shouldn't always be trusted wholeheartedly. And facts, as I'm sure you know, require evidence. "

Leslie shifted in her chair slightly, leaning in a she looked at him. "So. What evidence is there to prove that you are a disappointment, Jason?"

“That’s great Jason.” Leslie smiles, glad he was taking her seriously enough to rewlly consider what she was saying.

“Kind of. Its more about recognising where you are now. What is good about the present moment. A lot of the time life has you working to the next goal, then the next. Which - it is good to be goals oriented sometimes. It can help make changes and improvements and reach aspirations… However this is more about seeing the good in the moment. Being present. Which, in turn, a lot of people find helps them in the future.”

She was careful not to reinforce his idea that he needed to become better, that was the opposite of what she was trying to achieve. “You mention being better. I’m curious. What would better look like to you? What is it that is different to the Jason Todd we have here today?”

Finally ontop of her paperwork, Leslie had packed up for the day. It had been a fairly straightforward kind of day, and she was looking forward to getting home and relaxing for the night.

"Oh. Hello."

The sight of a man sitting head bowed in the waiting room was unexpected to say the least. For the briefest moment, she thought he looked rather like Brucein stature, though it wasn't him. He wasn't in the habit of dropping in anyway.

Her tone friendly and curious, she spoke up. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise anyone else was out here."

As the man looked up at her, she had a moment of deja vu. Sitting in the exact same chair, years ago, a young, fourteen year old boy who had just wanted to help people and make someone proud...

But it wasn't him. It couldn't be.

Because Jason Todd was dead.

The hesitation got caught in her throat as the grief made itself known again. She stuffed it down for the moment, that wasn't this man's problem. Though, the more she saw him, the more she wasn't entirely sure of that.

"Do you... have an appointment?"

closed starter | @docthompkins

He shouldn't be here.

She probably didn't even want to see him anymore, if she even knew he was alive at all. Who even knew who Bruce had told? And if he had, what had he told them?

He's gone mad.

He's not the same.

He came back wrong.

Jason's still dead.

But there had been a comfort in her offices. Four walls where he could be. Say what he wanted to say, what he thought, where no feeling had been wrong, or shameful, or mad. Not even at his worst. She had sat there, patient, waiting for him to open up, and to work through all he had faced.

Jason didn't know if she could help him now.

But if she couldn't... no one could.

He didn't knock. He just sat there, in the waiting room, elbows on his knees, and face down, knowing she had already seen her last patient of the day and was working through her files. Jason had watched her for weeks, making sure her routine stayed the same, making sure she wasn't being watched.

Not much longer now.

Wonder if she'll even recognize me?

Jason's knee bounced as the seconds ticked away, but he stilled the moment he heard her chair scrape the floor in the other room. And he wanted to run. Like years ago. Push it all back, and hide, and fight through it. But, despite the pain, the green, and the laughter, Leslie's words rang true.

So he stayed.

And watched the door slowly open.

"Let's go through these one at a time." Leslie nodded. She wasn't planning on telling Jason he was wrong. On the contrary, it might be that other people had felt disappointed in him in the past, but reasoning through it could help Jason to decide how much of it he should shoulder.

"Dick was upset that Bruce had given the mantle of Robin to you. Specifically the colours?" Knowing Dick, it didn't seem like the kind of think he would have said infront of Jason. "Did Dick say this to you? Or did Bruce tell you, or..?"

"What is your impression of Dick and Bruce's relationship? And more importantly, how are things between yourself and Dick?"

“That’s great Jason.” Leslie smiles, glad he was taking her seriously enough to rewlly consider what she was saying.

“Kind of. Its more about recognising where you are now. What is good about the present moment. A lot of the time life has you working to the next goal, then the next. Which - it is good to be goals oriented sometimes. It can help make changes and improvements and reach aspirations… However this is more about seeing the good in the moment. Being present. Which, in turn, a lot of people find helps them in the future.”

She was careful not to reinforce his idea that he needed to become better, that was the opposite of what she was trying to achieve. “You mention being better. I’m curious. What would better look like to you? What is it that is different to the Jason Todd we have here today?”

"Okay. So he and Bruce aren't getting along." An understatement, but then she held Dick's confidentiality as much as she held Jason's. " But he has been alright with you, when you've been together."

"Is it possible that his words were less about you, specifically, and more about Bruce asking anyone else to be Robin? A position that Dick held for a number of years." It wasn't her place to explain the significance of what Robin meant to Dick, the ties to his parents and the community that raised him. "Perhaps Dick had hoped that if Bruce was to take on another partner, they would have their own secret identity. It sounds from what overheard, that Dick wasn't asked for his opinion before Bruce did so."

"None of which would be your fault, and more an issue between Bruce and Dick. Which you've unfortunately been thrown into the middle of." Bruce needed to talk to his children more, that much was painfully obvious to her.

“That’s great Jason.” Leslie smiles, glad he was taking her seriously enough to rewlly consider what she was saying.

“Kind of. Its more about recognising where you are now. What is good about the present moment. A lot of the time life has you working to the next goal, then the next. Which - it is good to be goals oriented sometimes. It can help make changes and improvements and reach aspirations… However this is more about seeing the good in the moment. Being present. Which, in turn, a lot of people find helps them in the future.”

She was careful not to reinforce his idea that he needed to become better, that was the opposite of what she was trying to achieve. “You mention being better. I’m curious. What would better look like to you? What is it that is different to the Jason Todd we have here today?”

"I'm not suggesting that what Dick said was right, or wrong, but sometimes it helps to consider that there's another side to it. More to the story - which is difficult to do sometimes when we can't see the whole picture. Detective work, I imagine is a little similar, considering different angles to a case."

This was their second session. And already Jason had shown a real desire to want to understand things, to explore himself. Giving it his best, despite his reluctance and reservations about it all.

"I don't think I need to tell you that adults can be wrong sometimes. And unfair. The thing is, a lot of the time, you get to decide your truth, how you respond and what message you take from something."

"Why did Willis call you weak?"

“That’s great Jason.” Leslie smiles, glad he was taking her seriously enough to rewlly consider what she was saying.

“Kind of. Its more about recognising where you are now. What is good about the present moment. A lot of the time life has you working to the next goal, then the next. Which - it is good to be goals oriented sometimes. It can help make changes and improvements and reach aspirations… However this is more about seeing the good in the moment. Being present. Which, in turn, a lot of people find helps them in the future.”

She was careful not to reinforce his idea that he needed to become better, that was the opposite of what she was trying to achieve. “You mention being better. I’m curious. What would better look like to you? What is it that is different to the Jason Todd we have here today?”

He was tall. A wall of muscle. In civilian clothing, but it almost didn't seem quite right. There was something she was missing. Something in the man's eyes almost imploring her to recognise him.

It was then that she realised she was staring.

"I'm sorry. You just remind me of someone that I, um..." Lost. Used to know. Cared about. Loved. Failed.

And his expression was familiar too. The set of his mouth, the careful frown...

Leslie inhaled sharply, eyes blinking against the flood of emotions at the realisation. Unless she was wrong. But then again, how could it be possible?

"Jason?"

She hadn't changed much.

Jason had already noted that during his weeks of surveilling her, but this was the first time he saw her up close again. A few more lines. A few added grey hairs here and there. But still pristine, put together.

And even now, with her evening routine disrupted, still kind and open.

''I don't,'' Jason muttered, raising to his feet without taking his eyes off her. ''But I was hoping you'd find the time to squeeze me in, doc.''

Leslie gasped, a hand coming up to cover her mouth as she shuddered in her shock. The tears sprung up instantly. Grief, pain and love pounding in her ears.

Her voice trembled, the emotion thick in every syllable. "Oh. Jason. You're alive." She reached out for him, moving forward, closing the distance to cradle his face in her hands, really looking at him. Taking it all in.

She had no children of her own, but the vigilante children Bruce brought to her broke through all of the usual boundaries she would set with clients. And Jason, everything that boy had been through, everything he had hoped to be; his death was the worst pain she had ever felt. She felt his absence everywhere.

Leslie had questions, a hundred of them, but stroking her thumb over a faint scar on his cheek she uttered something else entirely.

"It is so good to see you."

She hadn't changed much.

Jason had already noted that during his weeks of surveilling her, but this was the first time he saw her up close again. A few more lines. A few added grey hairs here and there. But still pristine, put together.

And even now, with her evening routine disrupted, still kind and open.

''I don't,'' Jason muttered, raising to his feet without taking his eyes off her. ''But I was hoping you'd find the time to squeeze me in, doc.''

With no more preamble, Leslie tugged him down towards her, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. "Come here. Oh my..." He was so tall now. Worlds away from the slight and scrawny fourteen year old she had first met. "Missed you is an understatement."

Holding him, her fingers smoothing down the crown of his hair, rational thought resurface despite the quiet sob that slipped out. It just shouldn't be possible. She had squeezed as much detail from Bruce as she could about what had happened in Ethiopia, gone to the boy's funeral, examined the coroner's report herself, visited his grave...

If he was alive - and he was alive - did Bruce know?

What had happened to him?

She tightened her hold on him for a moment, half afraid he'd disappear again as she attempted to pull herself back together, sniffing. "Are you okay? Do you need help?"

She hadn't changed much.

Jason had already noted that during his weeks of surveilling her, but this was the first time he saw her up close again. A few more lines. A few added grey hairs here and there. But still pristine, put together.

And even now, with her evening routine disrupted, still kind and open.

''I don't,'' Jason muttered, raising to his feet without taking his eyes off her. ''But I was hoping you'd find the time to squeeze me in, doc.''

Bruce knew.

He knew?

He knew and he didn't think to tell her?

The hurt on Leslie's face was clear, but it wasn't directed at Jason. "It's alright. I - I didn't know. But I'm glad you're here."

But they were just standing in the middle of a waiting room, it didn't seem quite right. "Do you have some time to stay? I want to hear about everything."

She hadn't changed much.

Jason had already noted that during his weeks of surveilling her, but this was the first time he saw her up close again. A few more lines. A few added grey hairs here and there. But still pristine, put together.

And even now, with her evening routine disrupted, still kind and open.

''I don't,'' Jason muttered, raising to his feet without taking his eyes off her. ''But I was hoping you'd find the time to squeeze me in, doc.''

“Go to hell, Red Hood. Better yet, I’ll send you there myself.”

''Hi there, @masquenoire.''

“Dead?! What the fuck do you mean they’re dead?!?” Roman snarled, apoplectic with rage at the news he’d just received. The piles of paperwork littering his desk scattered like leaves in the wind as he slammed his fists down heavily upon solid wood, the gesture doing nothing to appease his foul mood and only fuelling it further when Horsehead’s suspicions had been proven true. Business on the streets had been sinking like a corpse in Gotham Bay for some weeks now. Naturally there were slow periods from time to time, so Roman hadn’t been overly concerned after the first week but then profits only continued to decline, with today turning up less than a few hundred measly dollars. A few hundred fucking measly dollars! His profits had never been that bad, not even when he was a fresh-faced rookie for crying out loud, so where had all his customers disappeared to? Turned out they hadn’t just disappeared, they’d been turning up dead all over the city, many of them familiar names who’d bought from him for years. Now all of a sudden they were dropping like flies in just a few weeks? It didn’t make any sense and because of that, Roman was pissed. "So what the hell happened then?? And don’t tell me, they all decided to join a doomsday cult? The crap we sell is clean so it can’t have been that killing them all!” The muscle, those slack-jawed idiots shuffled on their feet uncomfortably, not one brave soul amongst them daring to lift his gaze for fear of getting a punch to the jaw for his trouble. Even Ms. Li didn’t have a smart quip for once which didn’t make him feel any better. Rocco was merely a dog, blissly unaware and uncaring of the situation that had befallen his master and Roman envied the mutt for the briefest of moments, wishing life could only be so simple. Horsehead was the only one who seemed composed, but the rubbery white equine mask he always wore concealed any and all expressions from others. ”Word on the streets is that bad drugs have gotten into Gotham and they’re coming from your territory. No idea what they are or where they came from just yet, but it’s bad stuff. Real bad. The GCPD claim twenty victims have turned up dead this week and they’re finding more and more bodies every day. Buyers are getting nervous so they’re staying away, you know... just in case they’re next.” ”No fucking shit. This is bad for business!” Roman snapped, running a hand over his blackened scalp. Today was turning out to be an absolute disaster. Roman didn’t give a rat’s ass about some random dropheads too stupid to know not to OD themselves but he did care about his reputation and how badly profits would be hit should people believe these lies being spread about him being the one distributing whatever the fuck was killing his regulars. Ever since the fiasco that caused him to lose Janus Cosmetics, Roman always double-checked his deals and made sure he’d gotten exactly what he’d been promised. Poisoned drugs were not what he desired - the dead didn’t come back for another fix and now he was out of pocket and liable to end up in serious shit if he didn’t get a handle on this situation quickly. It was only a matter of time before the bat brigade came snooping, if they hadn’t been doing so already, and tossed his ass in Arkham. Worse still, Red Hood might believe he was responsible for these killer drugs snuffing out people all over the city and would do a hell of a lot more than just breaking his bones and dragging him back to the slammer. And Roman really didn’t feel like dealing with that asshole today. Unfortunately, Horsehead seemed to read his mind and commented further before he could say anything against it. ”Why not contact Red Hood? He can’t be worse than the Joker, plus you might find out what the hell’s going on around here.” ”Have you lost your fucking mind, Horsehead??? The last time we dealt with that asshole, he nearly blew our previous building to Kingdom Come with a goddamn ROCKET LAUNCHER!!! Or did you miss that newsflash somehow??” ”That’s because he wanted to make a good first impression. Next time we might not be so fortunate, especially if he thinks these rumors are true. Shoot first, think later and all that.” Roman gritted his teeth, seething at what he was hearing but knew he didn’t have any better suggestions. For all his issues, Red Hood didn’t target civilians so he couldn’t be the one responsible for the killer drugs either. He would not poison a bunch of random people just to make up an excuse to come after his enemies, he did so anyway regardless so there weren’t many other options avaliable and like hell was he running to the Bat.

”Fine. Send a message to Red Hood, tell that prick we need to talk. Where and when, I don’t give a damn - somebody’s trying to set up shop or cause trouble between us, one or both and I ain’t interesting in taking the blame for this mess.” The muscle, who had been watching this exchange nearly breathed out a collective sigh of relief as Roman signalled for them to go, clearly wanting to formulate a plan with Horsehead in private. They did so quickly, coming up with the idea that the equine-masked man would instruct a new underling, one of the most harmless members they had on hand to get the vigilante’s attention and let him know Black Mask needed to discuss a delicate matter at a time and place of his choosing, preferably sooner than later. Roman sighed once Horsehead also left, collapsing back in his seat and pouring himself a shot of whiskey which he downed fiercely. What a way to start the week. At least he’d caught wind of this situation early, and would soon root out the little rat bastard who’d poisoned half his regulars and scared off the rest. Horsehead’s words rang in his mind, that Red Hood couldn’t be worse than the Joker. Roman had a hard time believing it but what options did he have at this point? He had to make his move before anybody else did and stop this from getting any worse than it already had. @jp-todd-rp​