Bruce: As you all know, this mission is going to be dangerous so I want you guys to pair up. Whoever’s left over will go with me.
Sounds of people shuffling around the room followed by an awkward silence
Jason (only one standing alone without a teammate): …
Jason: Wooooow do I really scare you guys that much? You guys are really going to stick me with that old fart?
Dick: Sorry, Jason. I promised Damian I’d team with him this time.
Damian: Yes. Last time I did a mission with you Todd, you threw me off a building.
Steph: Cassie and I have been dyyyyying to work together for the longest time and this is the first time our schedules have aligned for long enough to do it.
Cass: Nods in agreement Tim: Last time we worked together you called me a nerd the whole time, completely disregard the plan and almost got us both killed.
Duke: I am genuinely just scared of you.
Jason: … You know, all pretty valid points. Looks like it’s you and me, old man.
Bruce *pinching his brow*: I knew this was a bad idea…
you’re in his HOUSE
The Batkids have the same twenty dollar bill that has been going around for like 16 years straight or something - beginning with Jason and Dick
The story goes:
Jason, 12: I bet you $20 that I can make Bruce cry without saying a word
Dick: Deal.
Jason: *walks up to Bruce and hugs with love in his eyes*
Bruce: *violently sobbing and picking Jason up*
Dick: *angrily walks by and slyly hands Jason a 20*
—
A few weeks later it’s
Dick, on a skyscraper looking down at a different one: I bet $20 that I can make this landing
(Info: this genuinely should not be possible for Plot Reasons)
Jason: okay but if you die I get to keep it
Dick: *jumps and lands it*
Jason: *sadly climbs back down to the street and hands a proud Dick the SAME $20 he earned not too long ago*
—-
This goes on between them for years - up until you know what
—-
Dick, out of habit: I bet you $20 you can’t do six front flips in a row
Tim, new and eager to please: watch me bitch
Tim: *does it perfectly - maybe with a tad bit of a waver but still*
Dick:
Dick, crying hysterically for many reasons: *hands the faithful $20 over*
—-
(For plot reasons Tim never spends it for X reason)
Steph: I bet you $20 I can make that guy over there ask for my number
Tim: okay
Steph: *comes back over after successfully getting him to ask*
Tim: *handing over the 20*
—
Cass:
Steph: oh you’re fucking on
Cass:
Steph: DAMNIT *hands $20 over*
—-
Cass:
Damian: -tt- yes obviously I can. I shall take on the bet
Damian: *wins*
Cass: >:(
—-
Damian: Thomas, I will give you a 20 dollar if you can scare Father
Duke: Hell yeah
Duke: *goes on a quest for a few days before he genuinely scares the crap out of Bruce*
Duke: GIVE ME THE $20 HOE
—
By now, it’s a very big inside joke between the bats
—
It’s Dicks turn with the $20 when it happens like the first day
Jason: hey I bet I can make Bruce cry
Dick: oh please he hasn’t since 2013
Jason: Watch me
Jason: *walks up to Bruce, says a few words, hugs him tightly, walks back over to Dick*
Jason: Wait for it…
Bruce: *wonders off and a few moments later - you hear crying*
Dick: *passes a very wrinkly and used $20*
Jason: what the hell is this? The routing number has been out of rotation for years
Dick: oh it’s the same one that we used back when we made stupid bets - it’s been around the family
Jason:
Jason: *definitely not crying*
—-
Anyway; the reason I made this post was cuz of this headcanon
The bat siblings might have a $20 bill but there’s a 75% chance they won’t give it to you because “oh it’s not spending money”
“(Bat) YOU’RE A MULTIBILLIONAIRE”
“I know but this one is special-“
More dad Bruce comics hehe
Jason: *walks into living room and pauses, looking at tim* uh Tim: *frowns as he looks up from a book* what? Jason: um. Tim: dude. Spit it out. Jason: *still staring* you like that book? Tim: yeah I’m really loving it! It’s a new bestseller, Steph recommended it. It’s a fun fantasy. ‘S got dragons and the romance is nice and Jane Austen-esque. You should read it, it’s right up your alley. Jason: uh. Okay. I’ll, uh, look into it. And, uh, what about the author? Know anything about them? Tim: *frowns* aside from the fact that there’s like, no information about them, no Jason: *chuckles nervously* ah, yeah. Haha.
Jason, later to his editor: hey can we change my pseudonym? I wanna use “Todd Peter” and see how long it takes for my brother to yell at me editor: Jason that’s not how pseudonyms work
Presents 2/2
Something's never change
Hood: “How was I supposed to know that 8-year-old girl wasn’t the Riddler?! It was dark! THEY HAVE THE SAME BUILD.”
Since we all agree that people of the Alley of Crime adore Red Hood and believe in him, I think it is time to imagine Jason in a scene similar to the one from OG Spiderman, where his identity is accidentally outted in front of crowd of people, and they all are just choose to protect him and help him out.
So maybe Gotham is facing especially nasty trouble, and vigilantes are on the receiving end this time. So maybe Jason is thrown at the dirty Alley in his part of town, wounded, with helmet flying off, and there is just a crowd of people staring as bleeds out, astonished. And Jason thinks, oh, that's the end — he can go and shoot himself, honestly, because he just failed the man rule every vigilante have: never show your face, never reveal your identity.
But people are... helping him? His eyes are half-open, breath laboured and pained, but all he hears is gentle murmuring:
'God, he is just a kid...'
'He must be younger than my son.'
'Poor child...'
He feels soft elderly hand against his cheek as someone from the crowd, an ex nurse, comes closer to bandage his injuries, while a kid, barely with the size of his helmet, brings it back, sticking out their tongue as they try to place it back on his head, to hide his face.
'It is okay,' the old woman reassures him. 'You are safe with us, son. We hadn't seen anything.'
Jason's eyes sting, because, oh.
It is his people. He loves them. He will die for them.
And they love him just as much.
He still waits for someone to out him, though. But the week ends, the villain is out of the picture, and no one says a thing. The only proof that it ever happened is civilians, who keep waving at Jason — not Red Hood, just Jason — when their paths cross somewhere in the shops or streets.
And that's how he knows that it is them; it is them, and they keep him safe as much as he keeps safe them.
Bruce is so important to me
obsessed with like, Jason who absolutely refuses to reconcile with the bats. he wants no part in that family and will not talk to them under any circumstances. but he's legally dead with no friends and sometimes he gets sick of being completely by himself and wants to have company. so.
Bruce: hey Alfred have you seen my-
*comes into kitchen to see Alfred calmly preparing dinner while Jason Todd, Killer Red Hood, silently does paperwork while sat on the corner of the kitchen counter*
Bruce:
Bruce: uh-
Tim, doing homework at the table: don't mention it. if you acknowledge him he'll leave. he just likes being around people sometimes.
the bats have to start treating him like a stray cat, letting him go to them and acting completely unbothered by his presence because if they even make eye contact with Jason he'll jump out the window and they 1. won't see him for a month and 2. will start to see a lot more murders cropping up around gotham.
eventually it gets to the point where Dick will come to dinner to see the rest of the family wordlessly ignoring the brick shithouse of a man who is just sat on the floor of the dining area reading a book and he has to just. take a breath and pretend Jason isn't there. calmly stepping around him without acknowledging him. Alfred will silently place a plate of food by the guys elbow while speaking to Damian about school. When they decide to move from the table to the tv room for a movie night none of them can even look around when they hear him eventually follow just to sit in the corner of this room instead.
Bruce: I'm concerned, this is abnormal for Jason. what if he's been drugged with something? or he's trying to gain sensitive information?
Damian: actually he used to do this a lot after he came out of the Lazarus pit. he liked to sit in and watch me train, and occasionally we'd find him sat by grandfathers feet while he ran meetings. Mother says it's important to let him settle, because it's likely that he's simply craving human intimacy on his own terms for once.
Bruce, crying: oh
Jason still refuses to say a word to any of them unless it's in costume, and even then it's the same old 'i'm not your son! i'm not one of you! fuck off!' shtick like normal. they just have to accept him sneaking into the house every now and then too.
one time Tim needs Red Hoods info on a case he's working and since Jason's been sat on the floor against the wall of the bat cave for the past 45 minutes just. staring into space and vibing. he risks sliding the file across the floor towards him before pointedly turning back to the batcomputer, the info he needs marked clearly. five minutes later it's wordlessly slid back, info filled out and Jason refusing to acknowledge Tim's existence again. it's the only way he'll communicate with them.
after a while it gets to the point where Jason will straight up go to bludhaven and break into Dicks apartment just to silently sit in the corner of the room and Be Around A Familiar Person. Tim comes back from his lunch brake at WE to find him sat on the edge of his desk, working through a case. They work in silence for the rest of the day and when Tim leaves Jason just follows. They get a batburger together but the second Tim slips up and asks how his day was he's off like a shot. Damian regularly eats lunch at school on the roof while Jason plays mario kart on a DSI next to him. Batman will be 4 hours into a solo stake out when civilian Jason will silently slide up next to him with a crossword. they never talk. Jason still makes it clear that he's pissed at Bruce. Bruce doesn't know what else to do but let him be and hope eventually, with enough time, things will progress even further.
Dick, whispering so Jason won't pick up on the fact that he's being perceived: are you sure this is normal
Damian: is anything about any of us normal
Tim: he's got a point. at least we know Jason's watching us. I did this shit all the time before I was Robin, and none of you ever noticed me.
Dick:
Tim: sometimes its comforting to be in the same room as people you're familiar with, even if you can't handle interacting with them.
Dick, crying: ok
Bruce, giving teen!Jason the shittiest car driving lesson ever: And remember, if you still hadn't figured out how to park, and a police officer tries to fine you for that, just tell your name backwards. The CGPD has too much job to actually search for you afterwards. They will just have a pile on your name in their department. And I didn't tell you that, but their system hadn't been updated well for ages. So, they won't be able to tell for sure if you are lying about your name or not. 16!Jason, nodding: Sounds cool. Bruce: ...It is not cool, but Alfred said it works, so we listen to Alfred.
(Years later, pre-reveal)
Batman, standing on the rooftop: So, Jim... anything new? Jim Gordon: Yeah, you know, nothing, actually. Except for an asshole, whose parking fines are filling my whole fucking cabinet. He keeps putting his bike anywhere he wants, especially next to our building - an audacity! - and then, disappears after receiving a fine. I can't find him anywhere. Batman, chuckling: That's smart. Jim Gordon: Yeah, fuck him. Tason Jodd, my ass. Who fucking names their kid like that? Batman, with his smile disappearing: ...What. Jim Gordon: What? Batman: ...Jim. I need you to call me the next time this guy appears. Jim Gordon, concerned: Hey, this is just a teenager. It is fine, no need to break his spine or something- Batman: Use Bat-signal next time you see him. I am serious. Jim Gordon: ...What the hell. Sure?