Jaydick for 01 and Jason for 02 because I want to ask about both.
Excellent. Both are things I was hoping for XD
How I feel about this character:
Jason Todd is my favourite forever and he breaks my heart in too many ways. From the beginning where he was this sweet, homeless, abused kid who wanted to do right even as he was forced to do wrong to survive, to being Robin in the best period of his life. To the fallout where he was this teenage kid trying to process through the trauma of his earlier years and punished for it by the readership at the time, then finally to the jaded, angry, wounded vigilante he is now, who just still wants to do good. To help and protect those who cant’t do it themselves by any means necessary, even if it means he has to sacrifice his own connections and happiness to do so. I love Jason for his protective streak, his inability to stop caring as much as he tries to pretend otherwise. He’s self-destructive and in pain, and he’s done terrible things not because he enjoys it, but because he believes they’re necessary, and just… gah, how can you not love him?
All the people I ship romantically with this character:
Dick, Tim, Damian, Bruce, Roy, Starfire (in the Outlaws ot3), Midnighter and most recently Slade which is all Skalidra’s fault.
My non-romantic OTP for this character:
Rebirth has absolutely made me fall for Artemis and Jason for this. Their whole dynamic is fantastic. I want them to go on road trips and have witty banter together forever.
My unpopular opinion about this character:
Again, not sure if this is actually unpopular, but I do not like dude-bro Jason who hangs out in bars and drinks all the time. This is mostly Batman & Robin: Eternal’s fault and it really just grates on me so much. There was this whole effort to characterise Jason as the rebel/bad boy Robin in the most stereotypical way and please no. Luckily Rebirth seems to be backtracking on this approach.
One things I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:
Follow up with Bruce and Jason in the pre-52 canon. After all the drama and pain of Under the Hood, they never really met again? Like, ever? I think the closest there was is the message Bruce left for Jason after he died. I really wanted more effort on Bruce’s part to bring Jason home and demonstrate that, contrary to what Jason believes, he really does love him.
Other things include: That the first RHATO had been done better; that Jason had more of a reaction and there were bigger consequences to how far Bruce was willing to go to bring Damian back to life when he didn’t do the same for him; that Talia and Jason’s relationship had continued post-Lost Days.
JayDick, so much. See below XD
Bucky Barnes/Jason Todd. Formerly dead sidekicks unite!
Jason donates a lot of money to women’s/homeless shelters and drug rehabilitation programmes for underprivileged kids. Otherwise, other than paying for his own equipment and needs, he actually lives pretty frugally (if comfortably). It’s a knock-on effect of his childhood that he just doesn’t feel comfortable spending excessively on himself when it’s not necessary, and if the money he has can keep others from going through what he and his mother did that’s a much better use for it than luxuries he doesn’t need.
when I started shipping it if I did:
Around 2 years ago? After I came back into the Batman feels after a long break, read some fanfiction and fell in love XD
Stupid pretty boys who can emphasise with each other so much if they just give each other a chance.
What makes me happy about them:
So many things. I like them in a healthy relationship where they’ve slow-built and there’s trust and compassion and understanding on both sides for each others issues. I like how protective they could be over each other. How they both come from poorer backgrounds (though Dick had a much happier childhood than Jason did). I love how they both care about each other even if they’re not always great at showing it (see that punch Jason landed on Dick when they found out he wasn’t actual dead, and also Dick’s breakdown pre-52 on discovering Jason had died).
I enjoy portrayals of them on the unhealthier side too. I mean, when it’s Dick’s frustration over Jason’s behaviour and beliefs combined with Jason’s resentment of Dick for being ‘the favourite’ and the good one, the insurmountable pedestal he was always held up to and could never hope to match, building into sexual tension that eventually explodes is just so enjoyable.
What makes me sad about them:
A lot of things. Mostly that they never really had much of a chance to bond when Jason was Robin, due to Dick being at odds with Bruce at the time and also off with the Titans. I feel like Jason would have had so much of a better chance if Dick had been around for him then like he later was for Tim.
And let’s face it, that there’s a good chance their conflicting beliefs would realistically end up driving them apart if anything did ever happen.
things done in fanfic that annoys me:
I’ve seen some portrayals of Jason where he’s this semi-evil dude bro who is borderline abusive, if not outright, and Dick as the submissive uke who just rolls over for him (this is also a trend I’ve seen when Jason’s paired with Tim) and it drives me up the wall. Each to their own, but it’s not for me. Similarly, stories where Jason just gives up on his beliefs for the sake of being with Dick with no conflict or believable development about it.
things I look for in fanfic:
Oh boy. Stories where Jason has/had a crush on Dick as a kid are my ever loving favourite. I also have a massive thing for sub/bottom!Jay in the relationship (with healthy understandings of each other’s boundaries included). Dick who does grand (even everyday) romantic gestures and Jason who constantly gets embarrassed about them because he just doesn’t know how to handle open expressions of affection. Either of them being protective over the other for whatever reason. And also especially stories where Dick is understanding and patient with Jason for all the traumas and pain he’s been through while also not taking his shit.
Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:
Dick/Starfire and Jason/Roy.
My happily ever after for them:
Something dreadfully normal where they live together and work as partners in their nighttime activities. Dick possibly takes over as Batman again for a while until Damian’s old enough for the role once Bruce retires, then goes back to being Nightwing. They adopt a couple of kids (because Dick definitely wants to dad, and to a lesser extent so does Jason, even though he’s afraid of messing it up), and eventually retire with most of their health, offering advice and a helping hand to the new, younger generations of heroes when they need it.
who is the big spoon/little spoon:
Dick is the big spoon. At first Jason was actually more comfortable not sleeping in the stranglehold of another person, but Dick’s a cuddlebug in his sleep and he eventually learned to like it (especially when pillow barriers quickly proved to be no deterrent).
what is their favorite non-sexual activity:
Patrolling and fighting bad guys is the easy answer XD After that, working out, or racing in a playfully competitive way, either on bikes or foot (Dick almost always wins the latter, and it almost always leads to sex). Also the rare quiet moments at home, where Dick’s got a movie on and Jason’s probably reading, and they’re curled up against each other in comfortable silence
