I Think The Worst Part Is That While There Is Absolutely A Connection Between Kevin And Neil, It Wasn't

I think the worst part is that while there is absolutely a connection between Kevin and Neil, it wasn't on purpose.

Like, Wymack went and took in a kid because he needed it, and also because he was the literal best striker in the world, and then found out he was hunted by the mafia.

And then, Wymack and Kevin took in a different kid, completely unrelated, because he needed it and also because he had the potential to be one of the best players in the world, and then all three of them found out he was being hunted by the same mafia? And they didn't do it on purpose?

Like if I were Wymack I would be so done like oh Aaron just committed a murder got it honestly we're all happy the fucker's dead, apparently I'm this guy's bio dad now sure whatever, oh Renee kidnapped a third half-dead mafia kid why not, Neil keeps picking fights with the mafia and winning eh might as well happen

Wymack: If I had a dollar for taking a kid connected to the mafia on a team, I'd have two dollars

Wymack: Which isn't much, but why the fuck did that happen twice

double red | jayroy week - day 5: pirate au (but also mer au)

they say if you die at sea and the ocean claims your soul, you’re reborn as one of hers. 

when jason died, roy never thought he’d see him again. 

"Duke squints suspiciously at the clementine.

The issue is not the clementine itself; it’s fine, a bright orange that doesn’t look poisoned, probably. He doesn’t know how one would even go about poisoning a clementine. Besides, according to what little he’s managed to figure out about Jason, the older boy is more likely to have drugged it than poisoned it, if he’s done anything to it; still, Duke would like to avoid getting drugged, but Jason can hardly bare to be alone long enough for it to matter. So, the clementine is probably neither poisoned, nor drugged, and the most he risks by eating it would be a healthy dose of vitamin C.

Still remains the question of what the fuck is going on with the clementine."

-The Protector, Chapter 12: Miracle in Reverse

i have come here Just to say HELLO !!!!!!!!!!

Hello!

comments sections are bleh let me invade your inbox hello

ON HANAHAKI AU. and also in conjuction (is that the right word? i do not care about google i trust my brain!!) with the notif i got of you liking one of my art pieces. the original context of hanahaki has always felt Weird to me bcs its like ? giving people an obligation to reciprocatw your feelings. INSTEAD i subscribe to the idea of it being about extreme lack of communication and repression that results in a physical overflow—in this case still flowers suffocating u bcs cool aestheticw qnd also they carry this fucked up vibe to them idk man

ANYWAY i just think its SUPER fitting for jason in his familial relationships (ESP bruce) and i think each time he dies its just building more and more. like concealing this thing over and over again, not letting himself process what hes dealing with and express that hes desperate for validation and love + yk. all that trauma that people like to pretend has been resolved ...

not to mention. jason is a canonically suicidal character, at least passively, so the amount of value he puts on resolving the issue and curing himself is.. Lacking

i have no idea if any of that made sense i dont think my meds have kicked in yet and my brain is SCREAMING. Sorry for my godawful typing

Okay so

First of all I usually like Hanahaki BECAUSE you cannot make yourself love someone. So in general I like classic hanahaki because you get one of two situations:

1. Soft hurt/comfort where the person's self-esteem and past trauma stops them from realising the others actually love them back (I'm a soft bitch and will enjoy any variation of this trope)

OR

2. Tragedy when they try their best to make themselves love the sick person the way they need to, they love them but not in the way they need, and in the end it feels like their love is not enough no matter how much they love and they have to watch their loved one die because of it. Do you understand the tragedy it's so good!!!

So usually I like trad!hanahaki

However

I'm not kidding when I made the Jason hanahaki before seeing your ask i was already like wait but for jason what if it's not about feeling unloved. What if the very act of loving someone whose love will never satisfy you, not because of its nature but because you have such a different understanding of love and what it implies, is what hurts you. What if the reason you're sick is because you love someone who keeps hurting you, and you hate that you love them, and you can't help that you love them and you can't help that you hate that you love them, and this is what kills you.

And even death does not stop the love, just like the love can't stop itself from killing you.

So that's the OG thought for the AU

Honestly I really like your take on that, the relentlessness and desperation, and the suicidality -I can see him being so tired of the pain and at first wanting them to see and then realising they're not seeing it and getting used to it, getting comfortable in that cycle of pain and just waiting for the day it finally takes, until he has to actively conceal it because he's grown so used to his own personal garden of doom that someone finding out, and the emotional vulnerability that comes with it, is scarier than this.

Also loved your art because the version of Hanahaki death i like most is when the body horror is hardcore. Like, sure, die choking on flowers maybe but I need a whole rosier to sprout out of the ribcage, alien-style. And I think after Jason wakes up from his death, the plant is just there. I think he has a whole safehouse where he keeps his plants. He calls it the Greenhouse. It's beautiful, and the petals are bloodstained.

Might I bring to your attention how the shadow around Jason's eye when he says "don't tell me the world isn't better off" looks like a domino mask, like sure it's scary he's killing people ooh look how dark he is but hey at the core he's still a vigiliante. Love that kind of detail, the Lost Days art is so full of things like that, it's clear the art is enriching the story rather than just serving it. I genuinely believe in order to have the whole of Jason's character in Lost Days you have to pay at least as much attention to what the image has to say, and not just the narration. Like, I feel that's true for all good comics, but I keep finding bits like that especially in Lost Days, it's so fun!

How comics treat Jason killing is so frustrating to me because it's always all or nothing. Either Jason just runs around killing anyone who you could label a criminal or Jason has to learn the error of his ways and give up killing.

But the Jason I like best in terms of killing is by far Lost Days Jason.

In Lost Days, Talia fears that Jason may have come back from the pit wrong. He wants to kill Bruce, and he wants to do it cruelly. She decides to see if more time will help, and sends him around the world training. And when he kills, because he discovered his teacher was a child trafficker? Talia is relieved.

In Lost Days, Jason's first murder is presented as a sign he still has empathy. His first act of killing is done to protect children. Jason's desire to kill may have started as revenge for his death but his choice to kill is because he saw children being victimized.

Jason goes on to kill other teachers and the pattern is clear. Harm to children, tainted drugs - these are what Jason kills for. Not some concept of "criminals bad". For concrete and specific crimes against vulnerable people.

Notably, we do see a teacher Jason doesn't kill!

I think this is interesting for two reasons: Jason acknowledged that this teacher isn't a good person - a merc! And yet! He isn't going to kill him. This guy is just a driver.

Lost Days shows that Jason doesn't kill indiscriminately. He doesn't kill someone just for being a dirt bag, for engaging in crime in general. Jason has a clear and easily discerned internal code of ethics for killing. He can stop himself without trouble. He doesn't kill on impulse. His kills are internally consistent and largely sympathetic choices to an outside observer. I think that's important.

I think Lost Days connecting Jason's choice to kill to Jason still having empathy, to Jason, above all, always caring about victims and children - I think that's what killing always should be for Jason.