#and one hell of an actor

[selenitespeculations]

Jason descended onto Gotham like a wraith, taking over Crime Alley in a bloodbath that wouldn’t be forgotten any time soon, but some of his plans had been adjusted. The influence of the pit had been almost non existent between falling in the portal-pit and leaving Danny behind in Amity Park, but the further he traveled the stronger it became. It was as if the air in Amity Park had an effect on the Pit Rage, leaving it calm and docile. Even once he was back in Gotham, Jason felt more in control then he had ever managed in Nanda Parbat.

Jason was so happy when Danny talked about making his first friend. A boy in his second grade class had been getting picked on by some of the other kids.

“They were being so mean to him!” Danny had exclaimed one night on a phone call with Jason. “I wanted to punch that stupid Dash in the throat! But I didn’t!”

“Good job controlling yourself kiddo.” Jason had praised him. “I’m sure just being your friend helps him to feel better.”

“Yeah Tucker probably would’ve been scared if I hurt Dash,” Danny continued thoughtfully, “but one day I’ll figure out how to give Dash a taste of his own medicine without it being traced back to me.”

“That’s the spirit Danny,” Jason chuckled, “just make sure there’s no blood, remember that he’s just a kid too.”

“He’s an asshole of a kid though.” Danny pouted, and Jason lost his battle to the full belly laughter he’d been holding back.

“It’s true! Don’t laugh at me!” Danny cried, “You’re kinda an asshole too Jay.” He grumbled under his breath until Jason finally got ahold of himself.

“Sorry, sorry,” Jason wheezed, “I’m not laughing AT you I swear, it’s just a little funny to hear you talk like that, you gotta admit!”

“I do suppose it must be rather jarring.” Danny said in his best snooty prince voice, before breaking out into giggles himself. “Ok yeah I see what you mean.” Danny admitted once they had both caught their breath. “Everything is so different here.”

“But a good different, yeah?” Jason asked

“Yeah, a good different.”

Jason made sure to call Danny often, and Danny did the same, but as time went on the length between calls got further. Danny got busy with school and new friends, civilian life being surprisingly fraught with stress and joy alike. Holding himself back from showing some of these kids what he could truly do was difficult at times, but if he wanted to keep his new life he’d have to act the part. Jason was living the vigilante and crime lord life in equal measure, both causing and stopping disasters, and helping out during the semi-annual World Ending Events (TM).

There were several times when Jason almost went back to Amity Park, the urge to see that Danny was safe in person so strong he almost hoped on his bike to ride east, but Danny managed to talk him down over the phone every time. The worst was always after some big attack or timeline altering event.

“I’m Fineeeeee Jay!”

“I know, I know, but I had to make sure!”

“You know if you try to come out here after every big battle your family is going to get suspicious.”

“Their your family too ya know”

“I’ve never met B in my life, he doesn’t get to claim me as part of his furry brigade.”

Their laughter always calmed Jason down enough to remember why their only communication was through the burner phones, ones he had highly encrypted the second he’d gotten back to Gotham, and walked Danny through doing the same to his. It was to dangerous to go see Danny in person, especially with the way Talia had been on his ass the second she realized he was back in Gotham.

“I want her to know I’m alive,” Danny had said in one of their calls, just before Jason’s first encounter with Talia, “but not where I am.”

Luckily with how they had been deposited in the middle of nowhere Midwest by a magic portal no one knew about, it was pretty hard to trace an exact location. Sure, given time, Talia would probably be able to do it, but Jason had managed to convince her this was the best possible solution for Danny’s happiness.

“Where is my SON!” Talia had almost gotten the drop on him. Jason’d only been in Gotham for a few days before Talia appeared behind him while he was scouting one of Black Masks bases.

Jason hadn’t jumped. He absolutely did not. Maybe just a little hop. She definitely didn’t scare him thank you very much.

“Not here.” he’d said hurriedly, voice distorted by his helmet, grappling off the building down to where his bike was.

He lead her back to his most secure safe house, one that scanned for bugs or transmitting devices the second you entered. Talia lit up like a Christmas tree with all the devices she had on.

“I’ll tell you what I can, but first all of that has to go.” Jason was not negotiating on that one. Talia, obviously disgruntled by being told what to do by a 19 year old she’d personally cared for while he was recovering from his death and subsequent resurrection, tried to be sneaky and leave a couple trackers and listening devices on Jason, but even without the tech alerting him, he was trained by the Bat himself, and Talia wasn’t gonna get anything by him, especially if it would put Danny in danger.

“He’s alive.” Jason had confirmed, once Talia had put all her equipment in a lead lined box.

“Where is he?” She had demanded, desperation leaking through the tight control in her voice. “Where is my son?”

“You know I can’t tell you that. Not after what happened-“

“Nonsense!” She cut him off, “he is MY SON, he belongs with ME!”

“After you failed to protect him?” Jason was getting angry now. “I know you love him Talia but he’s OUT! He’s safe! He is finally getting to be the kid that he is-“

“He is no normal child!” Jason was getting tired of being interrupted. “He is a prince! One of the Demon Twins! He belongs with me! With his brother!”

“And he would be if you had stood up to Ras! If you-“

“My father is-“

“Stop!” Jason was done. “YOU allowed your children to be brought into Ra’s’ sphere! You could’ve hidden them away, put them somewhere safe! But no, you thought that you could convince your father to have an actual heart!” He took a deep breath to steady himself, Talia blessedly silent for once. “You put them both in danger, and just because Damian hasn’t been irrevocably harmed yet, doesn’t give you the right to Danny after what the kids been through.”

“I just want him to be safe,” Talia finally admitted. “After I heard- once I’d discovered what my father had ordered,”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Jason cut her off this time. “You failed your duty to Danny as a mother. You lost the right to be the one watching over him.”

“I followed the trail. I thought it would be easy to find you both, that the blood would lead me right too you. But when the trail ended at the edge of that cliff-“

“Cliff?” Jason asked, confused.

“The cliff.” Talia said, as if he was being intentionally obtuse. “The one in the cavern behind the Lazarus Pit? The trail of blood ended there.”

Whatever portal had brought him and Danny away from Nanda Parbat must have closed, taking the Not-Pit with it.

“I won’t tell you where he is.” Jason stated again. “And I won’t tell you how we got out.”

Talia sighed, “But he is safe?”

“As safe as I could make him. And he’ll only stay that way if neither of us interfere. If Ras catches wind he’s still alive…”

“He won’t.” Talia affirmed. “My father assumes him gone, that his plan worked, but the assailant was never found. He may become suspicious, especially since there was no body recovered, and you disappeared the same night.”

“Then you have to lead him to believe I got out myself, under the cover of the chaos.”

“And Damian? He is grieving his twin.”

“He’s too young. He may be a good assassin, but we can’t expect a seven year old to hide the fact that his twin brother is alive out in the world somewhere. Even if he doesn’t say anything outright-“

“The change in attitude could alert my father, yes.”

Jason asked Danny after, if there was anything he wanted Jason to pass on. It would be a risk, letting Talia know they were still in contact, but if Danny wanted to get a message out that was his right, in Jason’s mind.

“I’ll keep writing my letters, to mother and Dami, but I’m not ready for them to read them yet.” Had been Danny’s response.

“It’s up to you kid,” Jason replied, “when it comes to this, you’re in control.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time kept moving forward, and Jason’s cluster fuck of a family continued their crusade of miscommunication and chaos. The biggest bump in the road came when Damian was dropped off in Gotham. Kid lived up to his name Demon Prince for sure, and Jason watched from afar, only interfering when he knew about the situation and felt it absolutely necessary. Damian refused to even acknowledge that he knew Jason from his childhood in Nanda Parbat, and Jason played along.

Jumping between The Outlaws and his position as head of the Red Hood Gang, he kept in touch with Danny as much as possible, but deciding what to tell the boy about his brother was difficult. He didn’t want to scare Danny, or make him feel guilty for his relatively peaceful civilian life, but he felt obligated to at least keep him updated once everyone was okay and the danger of the week had passed. He didn’t tell Danny everything, Jason knew he himself didn’t even know the half of the shit Damian and the rest of the Bat Brigade got up to, but Danny deserved to know that his twin was in Gotham with their father at least.

Years passed, trauma and death following Jason and his family like a shadow, and Jason began keeping more and more from Danny. ‘He’s just a civilian child now,’ Jason reasoned with himself, ‘there’s no way I’m putting any of this shit on him.’ Danny still asked about his twin, and Jason gave him the PC version of events, skipping over some things entirely.

Reconciliation with Bruce, and Jason’s ever growing collection of adoptive siblings, was slow going. One step forward a hundred steps back kind of slow going, but Danny encouraged him to keep trying.

“He’s your father and he loves you.” Danny would state unequivocally. “He’ll have to accept that you two have different methods and morals eventually.” Really, for a kid only 12 years old, Danny was wiser than many people triple his age, but in the end he was still a child, and had the emotional and impulse control to match.

Danny updated Jason on his life in every call, complaining about school and chores and homework like any child his age. He spoke about his friends and adoptive family, about fitting in and learning about the world around him. Hiding the calls got more complicated as Danny got older, the Fenton parents easy to dodge with how much they worked, but Jazz was another story. Danny’s older sister was smart, and paid far too much attention to his actions for Danny’s liking.

“She’s so nosy!” Danny complained to Jason. “She acts like shes an adult already!”

“I’m sure she’s just looking out for you,” Jason consoled the disgruntled preteen, “if you wanted to, I’m sure you could open up to her a bit. She seems mature enough to keep your secrets, as long as they don’t put you in danger.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Danny sighed, “I think I might tell her about you, at least so I don’t have to be so worried about hiding the phone. She’s almost caught us talking a couple times now.”

“She probably already knows about the phone, especially if she’s as perceptive as you’ve told me.” Jason said. “She might just be waiting for you to come to her.”

“I’ll tell her. Say you’re an older brother or cousin or something. That you couldn’t take me in back then, and that’s why I was at the adoption fair.”

“Whatever you want kid, you don’t have to tell her anything you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Things settled into a new normal as Jason began working with the Bats more regularly. He still had his Gang, and The Outlaws, but he found himself turning to his father and siblings more regularly; helping them when they asked for it, and sometimes when they didn’t. He’s pretty sure Barbie knows about Danny, Oracle sees everything after all, but she’s kept her findings to herself to Jason’s knowledge, so he didn’t bring it up.

Danny and Damian turned fourteen, new horizons opening up with their freshman year of high school looming closer. Danny seemed more distant lately, but Jason tried not to worry too much. Puberty’s a bitch and Danny probably wants to figure stuff out on his own without telling Jason about every little thing. They still talk, but less regularly than they used to, and Jason could tell Danny was holding things back.

‘It’s a normal stage of development.’ Jason told himself. ‘Once he feels more stable in his own skin again I’m sure he’ll be more comfortable talking to me about what he’s been up to.’

Danny seemed more tired on their calls as well, but promised it was just late nights out with friends, or school assignments left for the last minute. Jason felt there might be more to it, but didn’t push. He didn’t want Danny to feel cornered, so Jason made it his mission to make sure Danny knew that he could tell Jason anything, and that he would always be there if the kid needed him.

Jason never would have guessed exactly what Danny was hiding.

Protective Instincts

Hmmmmmmmmm

Idea.

So we all mostly headcanon that Jason was around tiny Damian when in the League right? And if we do demon!twins or siblings Danny they meet too?

Well what if, now hear me out, what if while taking care of them Jason notices early on how Danyal, or as he likes to be called Danny, doesn't seem to have the heart to be an assassin compared to Damian. And even under the pits influence and the LOA teachings, Jason's protective instincts of protecting kids is still strong. And notices how... lack the protection around Danny is compared to Damian, the true heir.

What if, when Jason leaves the League to start his revenge against Bruce, he fakes Danny's death by killing off the little 'guards' he did have and takes the kid with him.

But as he goes to Gotham Jason has to decide.

Drop the kid off in a good family, give him a new identity and keep him hidden or keep the kid and raise them?

[koschei-the-ginger]

[edwinisms]

george rexstrew deserves awards for many things but i have to say. edwin’s bloodcurdling scream as niko gets killed deserves a whole award unto itself. like. that scream did not feel at all like a tv show scream. to a somewhat jarring degree. and i can’t express how much I respect that

[sleevebuscemii]

the thing with ensemble casts is that it only works when the actors involved are freaks in a good way and can get along with each other and the thing about a paul mescal barry keoghan haris dickinson joseph quinn beatles movie is that every loewe front row seater soft rat it boy right now comes off like they have something seriously wrong with them once you scratch the smallest bit below the chicken shop date buzzcut white tank top w magazine photoshoot pr package surface and putting a bunch of them in a movie together is gonna feel like hera athena and aphrodite fighting for that damn apple

[watercups]

style test: wyll & karlach

[autistickaitovocaloid]

This was really fun to make lmao. Happy pride month.

[rakiah]

SO 🙏 MUCH 🙏 FEELS 🙏 AND 🙏 YELLING 🙏

[aspenous]

MY SWEETHEARTS MY AISEN & RYUSAE

[ashsdumbbrain]

COBRA KAI

Season 6, Episode 13

[shoot-i-messed-up]

Was always worried about the angst of unrequited love, had never realized the sheer amount of comedic potential that it has.

Imagine one-sided Superbat where Clark is fully aware that Bruce has a crush on him but is being his repressed self about it, and Clark is just like, “I’m not gonna touch that :) you’re going to figure that out for yourself, buddy, and in the meantime, I’m just going to have a good time and be best friends with you as you inevitably pull yourself together enough to either fall out of love or to confess :) and I’ll just let you down gently because I care about you :)” but he absolutely 100% is using it to his advantage in the meantime. His puppy dog eyes had never been so effective before. He’s gotten out of Monitor Duty three times in the past month.

[venator-signum]

nothing but wins for me

[starssoblue]

i need more episodes about adrien just trying new things and gradually figuring out what he wants to spend his time doing, what classes and hobbies he genuinely enjoys, and then eventually, what he'd like to pursue professionally. i never really thought about running before sublimation and while i still don't think that's actually his passion, i love that he connected the act of running to the freedom and joy he gets when he's being chat noir, running around paris saving people. one of my favorite things about adrien that a lot of people in fandom especially in fics miss is that just because he's decent or even great at several things doesn't mean he has a personal connection to that thing. in early ml he was acting in his friends' student films, playing sports to different results, fencing with his friends, participating in band, even modeling for fun. in climatiqueen, he discovered he was decent at drawing, a mess with labwork, quick with languages (no surprise there), and v new to baking—all things he could improve upon but nothing that made him feel passion. but he specified the reason he had fun trying those things wasn't the things themselves but because he was doing them with marinette, same as before when he took skills he was forced to acquire by his father and re-utilized them to hang out with his friends despite not feeling a personal connection to any of those hobbies or talents. i don't know if the show plans on him discovering this soon (they're sooooo young, i hate that he is even stressing about this just because his friends are not normal and because the french school system has most people declare their course of study in lycée) but i'm just excited to see him branch out and try new things and get the life experience he was denied when he was younger. 

and running away from the agreste manor (where he was confined and forced to be a perfect mold) as his first step toward self discovery? brilliant imagery.

[novelconcepts]

The more the show progresses, the more I want to see the 90s cast infiltrating the modern timeline. We've gotten hints of it with Shauna and her younger self, her Jackie hauntings. We've gotten a little more with adult Lottie seeing teenage Nat (and Laura Lee), and with Natalie getting teenage Lottie in her final moments. I want more. I want the teen cast to be absolutely invasive on pivotal adult moments, infecting their adult counterparts when least expected. I want Taissa's argument with Van to dissolve into their teenage selves, their bond endless and timeless and inescapable. I want Misty absolutely wrecked by young Natalie lurking around corners, watching from mirrors. I want to see these women unable to navigate adulthood without the specters of their teenage selves cropping up absolutely everywhere, more and more as they let the memories in, as they stop being able to repress the trauma. They didn't grow up. They never could. You are always doomed to regress around your high school teammates. You are haunted by the phantom elements of your misspent youth. It is a comfort, and it is a gift, and it is a trial, and it is a curse. I would love to see that reflected with greater intensity, until the lines blur, until the timelines have no choice but to intersect. They haven't escaped themselves at all. They didn't grow up. They just got older.

[annabelle--cane]

I will say this for adonis biros from mag 108, he may be a completely insufferable self centered theater kid but he at least seems self aware about it. he is completely able to say "this creative choice personally satisfies my desire for singular attention but drama wise it's terrible and it actively makes the play worse." plenty of actors are entirely unable to distinguish between "this feels good for me" and "this is good for the audience" and he does possess that skill.

[casualavocados]

Do you think...I deserved to be born? [We're on our way, Ace! Ace, we'll save you at any cost! Wait for us, Ace! Don't give up!] That's something you'll see as you live.

PORTGAS D. ACE in ONE PIECE, Ep 477

[walmartbrandwhatever]

Marcia who has always shown her emotions on her face. Marcia who meets two-bit at the drive-in and almost cries finally meeting someone who shares the same type of personality she has. Marcia who had sat waiting to here her phone ring as she comforted a then sleeping Cherry. Marcia who realized that he wouldn't be calling. Marcia who's live took such a downfall so quickly. Marcia who watched in horror as her boyfriend beat the shit outta a kid who didn't deserve to feel any pain. Marcia who after breaking up with Trip sees Two-bit, their eyes meeting, and just sobbing even harder as she runs off to her car. Marcia who slowly heals after everything and starts racing again. Marcia who sees Two-bit out of the corner of her eye as she racing. Marcia who laughs like crazy they second they start talking again. Marcia who falls so deeply in love with two-bit but can't act on her feelings just staring at him from across the parking lot during lunch with the most gutted look. Marcia who denys Cherry accusations of liking him despite knowing Cherry knows exactly what she's thinking. Marcia who when she finally gets together with two-bit just stares at him with the most loving face ever because she's finally happy and she's with the guy of her dreams.

Two-bit who has never shown how he truly feels to anyone. Two-bit who constantly drinks himself until he can't see the sad kid who is hurting so badly. Two-bit who dates so many girls trying to find the right one but no one seems quite right. Two-bit who meets Marcia at the drive-in and is stumbling over his words because he never expected someone to match his energy. Two-bit who tosses her number into the gutters with a gutted heart thinking it was a fake. Two-bit who goes through so much that week and losing two people he cared about so much. Two-bit losing himself, thinking about all the what ifs in the world. Two-bit who is dragged to the rodeo by Ace after months of being miserable after everything. Two-bit who watches Marcia in awe as she competes in barrel racing. Two-bit who works up the courage to talk to her. Two-Bit who after a month of talking ask her on a date. Two-bit smiling so wide after catching Marcia staring at him as she sits on her bed waiting for him to come sit down next to her.

Them laying down on the couch next to eachother just so happy to be where they are now.