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Post by zee on Jun 20, 2014 22:11:17 GMT
Aug 16, 2017
Tag: @redhood
Note: Sorry! I got wordy. >.<
| Zatanna was lurking on a rooftop in Gotham, which made her feel like such the creeper. It wasn’t unusual for a hero to be on a roof since she had been on these roofs several times in her lifetime. During her brief relationship with Richard, she had spent a few nights lurking on rooftops with the blue eyed male. There had been a few nights with Artemis during their childhood on rooftops as they stalked criminals too. Now that she thought about it, rooftop shenanigans were really common.
She supposed standing on the roof and watching the police stand front the crime scene was pretty norm in her life. Years ago, she was meeting a boy around this area before the two went out on fun runs to stop crime while having fun. Dick was playful but he wasn’t about joking and playing about as the years passed; maturity was so boring. By the time the two had dated and broke up, he was completely different from the person she met at fourteen. He might have grew into a more attractive male, but the silly teenage boy who giggled as he taunted adversaries was gone.
Luckily, his new little brother had taken that spot.
“Jason,” she moaned unhappily.
Great, now she depressed herself.
Just saying that name tended to bring a frown on her face. While she lost her mother at an early age and her father was technically gone, she never thought she would be losing anyone else but one day she was informed that something happened to Jason. He was given a little memorial as the group mourned but it was all too surreal. Her parents were both adult that lived full lives and Jason was younger than her before he was knocked down. His untimely death made her determination to join the Justice League and become a great hero like her father was stronger; she didn’t want to lose anyone else. Sadly, Aquagirl lost her life too and there was nothing she could do about. Her heart broke by the time Artemis staged her death.
While she felt so hurt to know Richard and Artemis would lie about something so major like that and use her powers to help make it happen, she kept that pain to herself. If anything, she would have been happier to find out Jason and Tula were really alive and everything was just a lie. While it hurt a lot to be lied to, it hurt even more to lose somebody forever. Every time she talked to the great Nabu, she missed her father but Giovanni was at least right there and in her hardest moments Nabu’s grip always seemed to list as an encouraging word her father might say slipped from the helmet. She had lost her dad but he wasn’t gone forever but Jason was gone.
They had so much fun together being silly teens. Her hand covered her face for a moment before she shook her head. Today was his birthday and it just made several things feel worse. If he were alive, today he’d be eighteen and she would be dragging him somewhere terrible, promising how it was going to be the worst night of his life if Dick wasn’t the one looking to corrupt him on this special day.
She needed to go see him.
Zee would be a terrible friend if she didn’t go see him.
Her head definitely wasn’t on the task at hand anymore and Batman was sure to know more details than someone like her spying from above. If he found something out, she could get with him back at the Watchtower. For now, she had a few words with a rather pathetic date with a headstone. “Tropelet.”
Instantly, she was whisked from downtown Gotham to the cemetery on the outskirts of town. The world seemed darker here, unnecessarily but Gotham’s atmosphere always lingered about the dark and sinister. The mood would have been a whole lot darker if she dressed for the occasion but the girl was still in her heroine outfit as she stood in front of the headstone for Jason Todd. “Uh, hey Jay, long time no see,” she said trying to act casual. She was doing a terrible job with casual since her voice was a bit cracked but the headstone wasn’t going to call her out on her pathetic tone.
“I know it’s your birthday and well, I would have brought a cake with a stripper inside, but somehow I think she’d be really upset to pop out and realize there’s nobody but me, here, and well… a cemetery. Besides, I’m not too sure how much she’d charge to give a headstone a lap dance,” Zatanna explained with a little laugh before that same frown appeared on her face.
She missed him and their antics. “So… since I’m here, I guess I should bore you with my year… There’s boy bands in this story, so I know you’re just going to love it!” He was probably turning over in his grave right about now.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2014 0:49:39 GMT
zeeiwantedtoseeifitworked In terms of birthdays, the last few years for Jason had been far from conventional to say the least. For his sixteenth he had worked up the courage to read his own obituary, his seventeenth had been spent learning more ways to kill someone than he could count on his own toes, and now on his eighteenth he was silently approaching one of Gotham’s so cheerful cemeteries. Had it been any normal person then perhaps it would have been cause for concern but in a city like this, you’d be lucky to find anyone that could be described as such. Yes it was an exceptionally morbid place to be, but given the circumstances he believed it to be acceptable. Having only recently arrived back in Gotham there was a lot that Jason was yet to see and this was something that he needed to tick off of his list for nobody but himself. When it came to hunting down his own grave, he had only gone so far as to find out the cemetery in question he had been apparently laid to rest, although given that feet quietly padded over the pathway that was certainly questionable. With his hood pulled down over his face as much as he could, as much of the teenagers face was concealed as he could muster as shoulders slouched forward beneath the red hoodie and brown leather jacket as blue eyes glanced from the shadows that stretched across his face peering over the names on the headstones he passed after all he hadn’t gone as far as to find out his exact plot. As hands sat in the confines of jeans pockets, that row seemed unfruitful but as he dared to look up from the direction of the ground to see where he was going, a glance across his surroundings revealed a figure he had been previously blind too. At first there was the urge to just shrug it off and continue on his own expedition but as he took in the female figure, it was clear that she wasn’t exactly dressed for the situation. Jason at least had had the courtesy of going for a somewhat non-descript, ‘I want to hide from the world’, young thuggish sort of look. No, the outfit that the young woman was wearing was reminiscent of someone he used to know, and as booted feet kept him on track he couldn’t help but feel his stomach knot as it became clear that more than the outfit was familiar. He was always so focused on what he needed to do with his new found time that the black haired boy rarely found himself thinking about everything else that he had lost, and now it hit him like a punch to the gut. Wandering down the row slowly, he made sure to stop a few headstones down from where the familiar Zatanna stood; subtlety and all of that. He had wanted to stay under the radar for as long as possible but on a day like this, as he heard her quiet voice addressing ‘him’ he could hardly turn and leave. One of the only people in the world he had ever been actually able to feel like he could act his age around, one of the only friends to make him feel like he could have something close to the childhood he was denied… he couldn’t just walk away even if he did make an effort to keep his head bowed down, hidden by his hood for fear of recognition and all that would ensue. He hadn’t expected to find anyone at his grave, even on this day and as breathe silently but shakily left his lips Jason was instinctively reaching in to his pocket, his fingers toying with a cigarette he pulled out of a pack idly before raising it to his mouth, holding the end between teeth as he lit it with the scratch of a lighter. ”I’m sure you’d find someone willing to do it for a fair price.” As a shadow of a smile threatened to turn up the corners of his mouth rather solemnly at her words, the need to clear his throat that the young man resisted doing at least managed to make his voice sound slightly less like his own. CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE
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Post by zee on Jun 21, 2014 20:18:02 GMT
Tag: @redhood
Note: OMG! Your Jason is so perfect!
| She should have been more observant when teleporting to a new location but Zatanna must have taken her idiot pill today. Actually, she probably took her idiot pill on time every day for the past week considering how poorly she had done at trying to stop this one group. Now she was appearing out of nowhere in front of civilians; it was a good thing she was in her costume though a woman in a corset and fishnets in the middle of a cemetery talking about strippers probably looked less than heroic.
Turning around, she saw a man in a hoodie smoking a cigarette. Did thugs lurk graveyards? An instant frown appeared on her face as her tender moment with the headstone was put on pause. Instinctively, she moved in front of Jason's grave in a defensive position as if the man was really after the tomb. It was a silly notion but she was playing the idiot today so who cared if she wanted to be protective of a dead man.
"Is that your way of offering your services? No offense, but I'm pretty sure your don't have a big enough rack for my friend here," she replied with a smirk as she crossed her arms. "And he was into redheads."
Actually, she had no idea what Jason was into. Sadly, Jason was taken from her before she could start teasing him about girls and which ones he liked. It was such ashamed too since she was really good at teasing and he would have been so adorable if she could make him blush. The thought of the rough-edged boy blushing over liking a girl filled her heart with such sadness. There were so many things she wanted to do with Jason but that would never happen. He wasn't around to see her costume change and give her tips on how to look the part better. He was taken before she could have forced him to congratulate her on becoming a Justice League member.
Zatanna frowned deeply as she sighed. There were so many things that happened in the last few years and her friend wasn't there to share in the experiences. Someone took Jason away from her and it hurt so much. Any time she got close and cherished a person, fate decided to steal them away. A few tears dropped from her eyes before she quickly wiped them away. Sniffling, the woman straightened up and looked at the stranger again. She really didn't need to be crying or looking weak in front of a random thug as they talked about strippers. It was really the wrong time to be sentimental.
At any other time, it might have been fun to talk to some guy propositioning to take off all his clothes, right now she just wanted a moment alone to remember someone she loved; was that so wrong?
"Anyways, I'm going to totally sound rude now but could you go away? I'm talking to a dead person, and I like to do crazy things without witnesses."
She didn't know who he was or why he was here but she wished he could leave so she could go back to her moment alone. The world took Jason from them and the polite thing would be to at least give her five freaking minutes alone so she could have some peace while she remembered her friend since she wasn't allowed to see him grow up and watch him become a man. Was that so much to ask!
Her head turned slightly as tears threatened to come out again. Being here was sending her back into that emotional whirlwind that she felt when they first lost him. At this rate, she was going to end up in tears headed to Bludhaven to bother a certain boy in black and blue tights so she could have someone to cry with. Did Dick mourn once a year too, or was it even worse for him, remember the days that Jason became part of his family as well as the day he lost him? Her ex-boyfriend was really good at lying so it was always hard to know what went though his head.
Great, now she missed younger Dick and Jason.
Maybe she had a thing for Robins?
For a nice while, Dick and Jason were both her most favorite people in the world. Time had a nice way of screwing that all up. The frowning magician looked over at the stranger who still seemed to be there smoking, judging her. Her arms wrapped around her body as she felt weak and idiotic. "Please?" she whispered softly. All she wanted was a moment with her memories of Jason. Even if he didn't know her or who she was here visiting, couldn't he be polite and let her mourn alone?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2014 19:21:07 GMT
zeeayifdjehopefully i don't disappoint. your zee is such a cutie i can't even. i want to smoosh her. SORRY FOR THE MASSIVE DELAY They say you learnt something new everyday, and this was no exception as Zatanna explained to him the type of girl he supposedly liked. It brought something to him that he never imagined would happen when he set out that evening as a faint smile briefly twitched the edge of his lips before they took another long drag of the cigarette. ”I’ll just have to find someone else for my services.” If you couldn’t make a joke, what could you do? Plus it was the typical case of trying to make something seem amusing so you didn’t have to deal with the true magnitude of the situation. Glancing from the corner of his eye, Jason could only make himself seem so interested in the grave of the apparently beloved mother and wife that he was currently stood in front of and as caught site of that hand reaching up to brush away the tears tumbling down his current companies face it became increasingly difficult. He hadn’t anticipated for the spot he was looking to have for the evening being occupied, as far as he was concerned anybody who had by chance been at all upset from his passing would have been over it three years later; he was just a robin that wasn’t cut out for it, what did that warrant? It took a lot to not just walk up and hug the friend from days gone by, briefly chewing on a cold lip as the eighteen year old pondered how to get around the situation at hand. She wasn’t the only one who had wanted some time alone with that grave after all and as his gaze shifted from her to the words that were engraved in to the stone he could feel every hair on his body stand at end as a discreet shudder ran down his spine. Perhaps the phrase ‘someone walking over your grave’ to describe the sensation was a little bit too apt for the situation. ”Sorry I was just…” He was what? He could think of nothing that he could say that wouldn’t draw attention to himself so perhaps leaving it at that was easiest. With a clear of his throat he dropped the spent cigarette, stepping it out. Even for him there was a pang of guilt about leaving the butt in a place like this, one thing he wasn’t was disrespectful which was why he then leant down, retrieving the stepped on end and just holding it between fingers. They had to have a bin somewhere around here he would just drop it in there. Nodding his head down again to shield himself with his hood he walked behind the magician, his voice quiet as he walked by. ”Sorry…He only got three steps past her when feet stopped him from walking. He couldn’t just leave her there. The reason she was there was because of him, stupid Zee she should have just forgotten about him, it was the easiest thing to do and frankly it’s what he had expected people to do. His failures were just confirmed by the fact he managed to run off and get himself killed so what was the point in caring? It’s not like she didn’t have other friends to get on with and he had no doubts that she had done just that because why would anything stop for him, but she didn’t need to be there. Nobody did. And after seeing those tears was he really expected to walk away? Maybe a stranger would, a pretty heartless one at that, and he knew that he should have just kept moving but he couldn’t. Reaching up to scratch at the edge of his eye (that was his story and he was sticking to it), a little realisation had Jason reaching into his pocket and turning slightly to offer the contents that consisted of a folded white napkin he remembered he had pocketed from when he had stopped to grab some food on his walk that evening. ”You look like you need it more than me.” He knew that she wanted to be alone, but the decision was made on his part that that just wasn’t the best thing to be doing. She looked far too upset to be on her own even if she didn’t know who he was as he stepped round slightly more, ensuring he stood slightly in front of her so the most she’d see from where she stood was past the edge of a hood was a nose and maybe a sneaky peek of cheek. Hoping to avoid any awkward silence, or even worse another request for his presence to leave hands settled back in pockets by default, as feet shifted slightly awkwardly. ”Did you know him well?” Subtle, real subtle. CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE
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Post by zee on Jul 9, 2014 17:41:54 GMT
Tag: @redhood
Note: sorry for taking forever.
| The jokes and playful banter stopped the moment her emotions seemed to get the most of her. Zatanna was crying in front of strangers, shaming herself as a heroine. Not once had she seen Dinah or Diana start to cry because they let their emotions get the best of them. It was silly for her to feel such a way over something that happened years ago but Jason's passing hit her hard. While she was far from the only person that suffered that day, being in pain with others didn't lessen the blow to her heart. She lost a friend and unlike Artemis, it wasn't some elaborate plan to get at some villain or temporary state. Jason was gone forever and there was never any getting him back.
While she had been a League member for two years, Zatanna was still herself. She was still the girl who waited on rooftops as a teenage girl for him so they could get into trouble. Zatanna listened to pop music, gossiped with friends, and talked about how cute boys were. Being in the League hadn't changed her and she couldn't tell if that were a good thing or not. She was a terrible adult and Justice League member from what she could tell and probably should have stuck with the team but with her relationship with Dick over, Wally and Artemis gone, and two friends lost because of missions, it seemed like joining the League would be a clean start.
It sucked how wrong she was.
If Jason were still there, she probably wouldn't have accepted the invitation into the Justice League. As much as she wanted to be like her father, her lack of family made her wish to stick closely to her friends. When Dick and Zatanna fell apart, Jason would have been the one to make sure she didn't go anywhere. Her seemed to be full of mistakes and regrets so thinking about where she should have stayed was no different than thinking of how it was a mistake to summon the Helmet of Fate to stop Klarion.
Something finally moved the stranger. He straightened up enough and started to leave, finally granting her wish to be alone. Her body faced the direction he once stood but her head was pointed towards the grave. Jason had seen her with a face full of tears when she forced him into watching sappy movie; he used to poke so much fun of her and claim how unattractive tears made her look. He judged her so harshly but it always made her feel like she needed to get stronger for his approval.
He whispered he was sorry as he walked by but for what?
The stranger had no idea who she had lost and what that person meant to her. He definitely wasn't the man who took Jason away from this world so there was nothing to be sorry. He passed her, and while then would have been the perfect time to check if the man who was once offering stripping services was cute, all Zatanna could do was stare at the ground as she tried to deal with the massive amount of tears filling her eyes. A moment with Jason meant more than random flirting or silly pickup lines. He was a dear friend and that would always mean more than some passing boy.
She felt like dropping to her knees and sobbing but that wouldn't help. Fishnet stockings ripped too easily and dramatics were unnecessary. Jason had been gone for years and there was nothing to change it. Her tears probably weren't things he wanted; knowing him, he probably wanted hotdogs put into the casket or on top of his grave just in case he became a zombie so he could snack on them before looking for brains. He was such a loon sometimes and just thinking of that made more tears come out.
A napkin was presented to her as the stranger seemed to stay. Tears had a funny way of making people empathetic. "T-thank you," she stuttered thanks to the lump in her throat. After wiping away the tears, Zatanna took a few calming breaths to try to hold back the flood gates. It was a bit embarrassing letting a normal citizen see her mourn like this. Heroes weren't ever supposed to appear weak but Zatanna liked to break rules.
He asked if she knew the dearly departed well and she couldn't help but chew on her lip at such a question. "I liked to think so." Who knew if she truly knew Jason. He had a temper and wild side but she had those things too. His family was gone and all he had was his adopted family and Zatanna had a similar story. It was always hard to tell who a person truly was once they were dead because nobody was around to answer questions anymore.
But that didn't matter.
Nothing like that mattered anymore.
The only that mattered was what was in her heart.
"He had tons of faults and good points just any other guy but he was a dear close friend I loved very much."
Jason might have been gone, but what mattered the most was the feeling in her heart. Even if he was no longer here to tease her and have fun with her, those feelings had never died or faded. He would always be someone she loved.
"Sorry... You were here to visit someone too and I probably started rushing you, right?" she asked as she looked up at the hooded man. His head wasn't facing her but low towards the ground and a hood up. Biting her lip again, she couldn't help but stare at the man in question. Now that she was looking at him, he seemed suspicious.
"Who were you here to see? Someone you were close to?"
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2014 0:12:47 GMT
zeefeeeeeels i couldn't resist it any longer It was a relief to not receive more requests to go on his way and leave the young woman, but the words that replaced them were almost worse. Hearing himself being spoke about in the past tense, it just made everything more real; the truly ridiculous scenario was all the more reality and internally the dark haired teenager was kicking himself for his stupidity. He had just gone with what he assumed would be normal graveyard conversational topics but hadn’t actually thought about what might follow. Another fault, but then he was pretty sure that those ‘good points’ that were mentioned were something entirely of the magician’s imagination but he resisted a snort of derisive laughter. He didn’t want her after all thinking that he was being disrespectful to the deceased which it could easily be construed as even if her words were so blaringly untrue. He would let her remain delusional for a little while longer, it seemed that she needed it after all. Besides, what good person stood and observed a friend unravelling in emotion. A shake of his head was a temporary response to her question, he was in no rush after all. He had nowhere better to be on his eighteenth birthday and wasn’t that a depressing thought. ”I’ve got all the time in the world.” The sentence seemed to lack conviction as it came out, after all it could have been an entire lie. For over two years he had been going from one day to the next, not knowing when it would end. For all he knew, for all anyone knew in fact, the effects from the Lazarus Pit could well have been temporary. He had grown a loathing against people who said that you should live each day like it’s your last. The reality of living such a way was nothing short of terrifying. He could try and make a difference, sacrifice his own well-being to try and right some of the millions of wrongs in the world and then for all he knew the next time he managed to fall asleep he might not wake up. And it would all be for nothing. The fight would end and the cycle would continue. And once again he would lose everything, even if that ‘everything’ amounted to next to nothing. Eyes temporarily glazed over as his mind raced with thoughts, a hand rising to push through the front of his hair instinctively, moving his hood slightly in the process. ”You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.” Jason mumbled more so to himself than Zatanna, hand dropping down heavily before rummaging through his pocket. ”I guess you could say we were.” Clearing his throat before he smoke the cigarette packet was once again taken from his pocket, fingers toying with it idly as a rather lazy shrug overcame him. ”I mean he was a total dick, but we were close…” With a cigarette now between his fingers it was twirled between his fingers a little before taking pride of place between his lips and lit. For the first time in a long time it didn’t feel awkward to have a conversation with someone without the guise of masks and helmets to hide behind. It was probably the fact that it was familiar company; the amount of times they had spent sat on a building ledge chatting away as they laughed and mocked the sorry excuses of criminals below them. It just felt natural, and part of Jason definitely missed it. It wasn’t practical any more though, if anyone found out what he was doing…well….it was better not to think about it but for now. In this moment he could forget all that. ”It’s not like we can pick who we get stuck with after all.”Unfortunately for him, Jason forgot to the point that he naturally found himself glancing over his shoulder at Zatanna with raised eyebrow and a knowing smile almost as if he had never gone away. A split second later and reality crashed down on him, a look of dread flashing over his features just hoping, praying that he had grown enough, matured enough, been dead long enough that he was unrecognisable as his own fear and stupidity kept him glued to the spot. CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE
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Post by zee on Jul 12, 2014 6:33:27 GMT
Tag: @redhood
Note: I'm drowning in all these feelings!
| His head turned slightly as his hand went though his hair, pushing his hood back so she could see his face. It was suspicious acting with a nervous tick? What was there to be nervous about? The male in front of her shouldn't have been nervous about answering such a simple question unless he was hiding something. Even his answer made the magician raise one of her finely trimmed brows.
He pulled out a cigarette and started to explain how he was close to the person he came to visit and that person was a complete and total dick. Part of her wanted to smile at a line like that because she could say the same about the boy she came to visit; she could also say that about his brother too. Sometimes Artemis could be a jerk face too. Essentially, all of her closest friends were dicks.
Maybe she was attracted to dicks?
The urge to smile and chuckle disappeared the moment he turned to face her. A pair of cold blue eyes stared at her for a moment and she felt like her heart stopped; she had seen those eyes before and it had been over three years since she saw them last. She kept staring at the male as she struggled to suck in air from her nose. Azure eyes stared at the male for an eternity, trying to make sense of it all.
If his eyes were the same then this facial structure was just as familiar. He had perfect cheekbones, which she once commented several years ago how unfair a boy had higher and more define cheekbones than her. He had that same cute button nose too that she had tapped so many times while teasing the boy whenever an adult told him no or he was too young to do something and he did it anyways. His face was longer, however. Puberty had and made his cute puffy cheeks lessen as his face grew longer and his jaw became more defined and refine. His hair was still as messy as ever and part of her resisted the urge to reach and brush it with her fingers.
This face was a face she knew, granted it was no longer the face of a child that she could pinch the cheeks of but a man. At the same time, it couldn't have been him - it couldn't be Jason! He was dead. They were both standing in front of Jason Peter Todd's grave as she was trying to have a moment to remember the boy who died bravely. So why was there someone with his face standing right in front of her? Her heart stopped beating as the boy smirked and told her how they couldn't pick who they got stuck with.
Her lips parted but words failed to come out. The wide eyed magician kept staring and slowly the male's facial expression changed from a playful smirk to one of pure dread. He must have realized why she looked so shock.
Was this really Jason?
Was this a trick?
He could have been a clone or some magical spell. There had been a group of magic users but they weren't following her and they damn sure weren't conjuring up dead kids or masking themselves to look like people she knew. Her brain told her to be suspicious because this could be an enemy. If anything, all she had to do was cast a spell to make him reveal himself or explain who he was but her heart told her that the person in front of her was Jason.
Her hands covered her mouth as tears instantly streamed down her face. How was this even possible? She had been to his funeral and the memorial the Team and Justice League held for him. She was here when they placed his body in the ground and she came here to see this grave every year. Not once had she noticed something was wrong. Not once had she felt something was missing from this spot.
"Jason," she weakly whispered from her covered mouth.
Her voice was so cracked that it might have not been completely audible. Her heart was telling her this was her friend. The boy who she joked around with and made her smile so many times was right here beside her! Her eyes couldn't stop the tears from falling as her heart threatened to burst from all the emotions. "Jason," she said again, choking on the lump in her throat as her arms reached out and wrapped around his shoulder. Her head pressed into his jacket as she held him tightly and let all her emotions overtake her.
She was hugging Jason.
She was hugging her Jason!
It didn't make sense but right now she didn't care if nothing made sense. This could have been a miracle or another trick from Cadmus considering how many clones she knew now. It could have been magic or something more sinister at work here but right now none of that mattered. All that mattered was Jason Todd was right here and she was really touching him again. After several years, she could finally hug the boy again. "Oh Jason," she cried. She missed him and his stupid face! As her heart started to settle, she felt her brain going into overdrive. Every question in the world was now on her mind. How was he alive? Why was he alive? Why was he here? How long had he been alive? Why wasn't she the first person to know he was alive? Did Grayson know? Oh, she would kill that stupid jerk if he knew and had kept it from her!
At the same time, all those questions weren't as important as this overwhelming feeling of happiness and relief to have him within her arms. Her teary eyes looked up at the taller boy for a moment. This was her Jason, all grown up and an adult. It had been the exact thing she had wished for a second ago and been so sad fate had stolen from him. For some reason, fate decided to be less cruel for a moment. It wasn't her birthday but the universe had decided to grant her the one thing she wanted: to desire to see her friend all grown up on his eighteenth birthday.
"H-happy birthday."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 22:51:44 GMT
zeei can't even deal with this aalkhf Maybe he could run, maybe he could just turn and flee and forget this meeting had happened at all. He was quick, sure Zatanna may have had magic but if luck was on his side she would be too emotional to think that way. Maybe if he disappeared she may think it was her mind playing tricks on her and that there had been no one there at all. Maybe he could say it was clayface. Maybe the ground would swallow him up so he could avoid everything and be sucked down in to his grave. It was an awful lot of maybe’s, and none of them were going to come to any fruition as the ground stayed solid and the dumbfounded woman before him soon had arms around his shoulders. Now there really was no way he could run away from the situation. His body went rigid at first. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been pulled in to a hug; it was when he was still Robin and thinking about it it was probably Zee dragging him unwillingly in to one then. Back then he would squirm and try and escape from his team members’ embrace but now he just remained still. What did he even do? It was his own stupid fault that he was in this situation; he got too comfortable, let his guard down and now there was a teary eyed brunette buried in his jacket. Perfect. Eventually he moved, hand pushing through his hair in a somewhat exasperated motion as cigarette briefly went to his lips for another drag. One hand however did stop to rest on one of the magician’s shoulders with a soft pat, his voice much more coarse than before as he greeted her quietly. ”Hey…” How reassuring of him; he was clearly not an expert in this department. Some things never changed. When she finally managed to utter something other than his name, Jason had honestly expected a tirade of questions so there was a bit of relief when he wished him a happy birthday. Even he couldn’t keep a poker face as the very edges of his lips twitched with a faint smile at the words, leaning back so he could actually get a good look at the now young lady that he had known from so long ago. She was definitely the same Zee, yes a few years older but it was hardly noticeable; there was still that same spark behind her eyes even if it was currently a little bit drowned by the tears. ”Thanks.” It had been years since he last heard such words towards him. People didn’t tend to bother with the pleasantries when you were trying to kill them. Realising how glad he was to have not run in to her on the battlefield as he had with Barbara, actually being able to see her as Jason as opposed to his alter ego, for a few brief moments he felt normal. As close to that as he could get anyway. Squirming slightly so he could move to look at her properly, hand fell from his shoulder and instead moved so that the cold skin on the back of his hand wiped across tear stained cheeks the last thing he wanted was for this to get serious. Well of course it was, it was inevitable; lucky was one of the many things he wasn’t, but he could still try and postpone it as long as possible. ”And you didn’t even bring me a busty redhead? I thought that’s what I liked.”CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE
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Post by zee on Aug 8, 2014 15:11:18 GMT
Tag: @redhood
Note: Sorry for taking forever.
| She laughed uneasily as more tears came out from the joke. She had made a rather odd joke earlier when she thought he was some random stranger about getting him a stripper opposed to getting some male as a random gift to Jason. Zatanna dried her eyes as put on a happy smile for a moment. “I’ll have to call Dick since there’s a good chance he’s got a listing on busty redheads,” she said half joking. Knowing Richard, he probably did have some little black book that had girls listed by hair color.
She wondered how many girls she knew in that book.
The thought quickly passed as she stared up at Jason with his smug grin. The urge to cry was slowly passing as the rest of her emotions were starting to go array the longer she stared at him. “Though, I’m more tempted to bust you up!” Punching him in his shoulder, her happy smile was slowly fading, being replaced with a frown.
He was dead but he wasn’t dead. Jason let her think he was dead for several very long, painful years and now here he was alive. Since he wasn’t crawling about, moaning for brains, it was safe to assume he wasn’t a zombie. While he was pale individual, he didn’t sparkle so he probably wasn’t a vampire back from the dead either.
Then again, only movie vampires sparkled. She was sure he couldn’t turn into mist or a bat since chances were he would have run off the moment he saw her; though, how appropriate would it be if he could turn into a bat?
“What was with that stuff a second ago? That strangers act, huh Jason?!”
Her voice was getting a little louder as she punched him again in the shoulder as her happiness was slowly becoming overcome by all these uncertain feelings. For years he had been missing from her life and now she knew he didn’t have to be! “And where the heck have you been?!” She had all the questions in the world but any good friend would have them. He wasn’t a zombie, vampire, or any other undead creature so she was having a hard time comprehending why he had to be dead when he really wasn’t.
“I swear, if this is another Grayson fake death thing I will go to that hermit’s apartment and strangle him to death!”
That idiot was trying to give her a complex with dealing with grief, wasn’t he?! She suddenly felt a world of emotions: frustration, anger, betrayal, sadness, loneliness, distrust. Did nobody she cared about trust her with the truth? Everyone seemed to skirt the truth or outright lie to her it seemed.
The magician sighed to herself as her forehead pressed against his chest and her arms wrapped around his torso.
She actually did have a complex already. Losing her father had weighted heavy on her and everyone knew it. When Jason died, it started a bad cycle of her friends being taken from her. The thing with Artemis hurt the most since they had been so closer, but it hurt even more to find out it was a lie she had played a part in fabricating. As far as she knew, there was no glamour charm in Jason’s possession so she didn’t help keep the illusion that he was dead to cause pain to herself as well as all the other Team members that cared about him.
Sighing, her head kept against his chest as she stood there for a moment and let her body adjust to the sudden stress she felt. It was hard losing a friend but it seemed even harder to take when they randomly came back from the dead and had to explain it was all a trick. Zatanna was one for trickery but didn’t like ones that hurt this bad.
“Would you have said something if I didn’t notice it was you,” she muttered as she felt her heart aching. She noticed he was the little boy she once knew all grown up because she saw his face. He was actually on his way out rather than revealing himself to her.
Did he even have the intentions of telling her he was alive tonight? Was her figuring who he was not part of his plans tonight? Her heart started to hurt even more at the thought. Was this all a big accident on his part?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2014 15:19:13 GMT
zeeover 9000 years later >.> I'msosorryittookthislong With a punch soon colliding with his shoulder Jason could hardly retaliate, the fact of the matter was that that was more than likely the least that he deserved. Really he should have been thankful, Zatanna was definitely able to inflict much more on him so a little punch was a relief. And with a second punch, this one a bit more forceful his body didn’t even move against it, his head simply hanging down as eyes tried their best to avoid Zee’s as the questions begun. Where was he even supposed to start? None of this had been anticipated, how did he even begin to explain himself. ”I… I just…” Master of conversation, there was some solace that at least the magician didn’t seem to be upset any more. Even if it was gradually being replaced by anger that was at least something Jason knew how to deal with. ”I didn’t know what else to do.” With a rather non-committal shrug it was hardly an explanation but it was the truth. He couldn’t just come forward and reveal himself, but he couldn’t walk away and leave her as she was. Any semblance of the smile that had once tried to sneak onto his features melted away as he tried to think of slightly better answers to the questions. Out of reflex the cigarette in his hands once again met with his lips. Where had he been? The real question was where hadn’t he been. The last few years he had spent exploring, training, following in the similar footsteps of Bruce but in order to become something different. Something better. Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, he had been all over different continents learning so much, but none of this he could say to his friend. He couldn’t let her know what he had done, what he had been working towards. ”I’ve been around, you know, travelling.” Just that. And coming back from the dead, no biggy. It would do though, it wasn’t lying after all. Something he had clearly managed to do enough of without even trying. And apparently he wasn’t the only one. Eyebrows furrowed together somewhat out of confusion. Fake death? Well, if what he had been through was ‘fake’ then he would certainly not want to try actually dying. ”Wait, what?” Sure he wasn’t a true advocate for being able to stay dead right now but fake was certainly going a little bit too far. What would even make her say something like that? He’d had a funeral, he’d read his own obituary, it wasn’t really the sort of thing that you messed about with. ”Fake?” That would bring around just as many questions as to the truth of what happened. ”Zee, it wasn’t fake, trust me I was there.” For as unbelievable as it all was, Jason had managed to come to terms with the absurdity of the situation. Sure it might be more difficult for other to understand everything that had happened, he still wasn’t one hundred percent himself after all, and that was just another reason as to why he had intended to stay under the radar to save any awkward explanations, but he couldn’t have her going around thinking this had all just been some kind of act. What reason had he had to want to fake his own death? Being Robin had been one of the greatest things that had ever happened in his life, one of the only good things he had ever had and while things may not have been perfect, why would he throw that away? Her next question though, that was the hardest one, mostly because he was pretty sure she already knew what the answer was to it so there really was no way to get around the truth of the matter. Remaining silent for a little bit longer than was really necessary it was the lack of words that spoke for him, leaning down ever so slightly as he rested his chin atop the waves of dark hair that was rested against his own chest, hoping that she could feel the shaking of his head as he used the motion to answer the difficult question. As much as he wanted to though, even he couldn’t leave it at that as with one last puff of the cigarette he dropped it to the ground so foot could step it out before hands took Zatanna by the shoulder, gently holding her as he stepped away from the embrace slightly. ”Not because it was you, Zee…” This was the hardest bit to explain, but it needed to be said, Jason didn’t want her thinking that he purposely did it just because it was her, it could have been anyone he had known from his first life and he would have acted the same way. ”Nobody was supposed to know.”CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE
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Post by zee on Oct 3, 2014 20:41:09 GMT
Tag: @redhood
Note: I'm not better at response time. xD
| He didn’t understand what she meant by fake so he hadn’t been hiding, getting memos on the lives of the people he once called team mates. Artemis was the only person to fake die while others like Tula and Wally were long gone and not coming back. ”Long story. We’re not going to talk about it because it’ll upset me,” she retorted, explaining absolutely nothing. Her arms crossed as she wore a sour expression. The things that happened a year ago still didn’t sit too well with the woman.
”Not that you being dead, real or fake, upsets me any less.”
Having him die hurt her just as much as it did to lose Tula, Artemis, and Wally. The memorial in the garden on the Watchtower was a somber place she attempted to avoid at all costs. Dealing with loss wasn’t her strong point to say the least. The thing with her father made her handle loss even worse.
She stood there hugging him tightly for a moment, happy to have him physical back that she could actually embrace him again. ”I have to say, you’re the nicest smelling zombie I know.” He didn’t smell of death or blood, which put him pretty high up on the zombie list; then again, he was the only zombie she knew. Artemis was a faker and nobody else came back from their graves in the last few years.
”Not that I’m a fan of burnt ash and boy musk,” she commented as she pulled away. The blue eyed magician smirked as she looked at him; smoking was a bad habit but it smelled like he had been at it for a bit.. ”Well, maybe the latter…” Zatanna shrugged as she tried to look innocent for a bit, an expression she never did too good with.
The silly jokes and light mood didn’t last. When she asked if he was planning on not telling her, he didn’t deny it. He attempted to soften the blow by claiming it wasn’t her that he was avoiding. ”So… yes.” Just because he wasn’t avoiding her didn’t make the pain in her heart hurt any less. He claimed nobody was supposed to know; being a zombie was some grand secret she wasn’t privileged to along with several others.
”I thought I wasn’t a nobody to you,” she whispered as she hugged herself and looked away.
She thought she was important to him; she thought they were close friends!
”I thought I was someone you trusted. I thought you considered me a somebody.”
She loved and cared for Jason but those feelings weren’t returned. It wasn’t a mutually close friendship but something one sided. ”It’s not the first time I’ve been wrong about that.” He wasn’t the first boy she loved just to find out it was something not returned. Jason also wasn’t the first friend she considered close just to be sorely disappointed. Her life’s running theme had been disappointment in the last six years.
It looked like the seventh year would be that way too.
”I know now,” she said with the pained look still all over her face. She knew he was alive; she knew that very important secret he kept from her and everyone else. What was he going to do now that she knew?
”So what does that mean?”
Was he going to do something to her so she never told a soul about tonight? The anniversary of Jason’s birthday, she found him but now it might become the anniversary of something bad happening to her. Life was just full of wonderful surprises concerning the magician.
Her expression hardened as she tilted her head and stared him down. ”Are you going to try to kill me?” she said mockingly. Jason was a rebel and jerk, but he wasn’t a murder. Unless he became some super spy, she was pretty sure her death wasn’t imminent.
However, he could do something far worse.
He could hurt her in a way death couldn’t even come close to measuring to.
”Or something worse… ?” she whispered as her expression softened and her eyes fell on the ground. ”Like stay away again…” The most painful thing he could do to her was let her know he was alive just to avoid her. At the same time, she was the delusional one since she thought she was close to the man before her. He probably could hurt her quite easily by avoiding her and think nothing about it.
And yet, even though she finally understood how little she meant to him, the thought of having to lose him a second time made tears swell in her eyes. Zatanna tired of losing people she loved – even if those people didn’t love her back.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2014 22:26:32 GMT
To say he wanted to ask questions was a bit of an understatement but with all Zatanna had gone through just in her time at the graveyard her request to not talk about it further was something he would at least honour. Not that it killed his curiosity any, he was going to have to delve deeper in to that. If something had happened that could have made her think what happened to him had been fake it had to have been something substantial. It was bad enough that he was now finding out just how upset his passing had made her. It annoyed him because she should have known better. Not that he wasn’t really gone, but that he wasn’t worth it. Unfortunately he couldn’t argue this point with her; it was hardly the time or place and he didn’t want to risk her getting any more upset that evening than was necessary. He’d already done enough in that department. Despite it all though the glimpse of the Zatanna he knew and loved shining through was enough to keep him content as he tried and failed to contain a little chuckle at her zombie comment. ”Thanks, I did try. Washed the brain smell out and everything.” She couldn’t fool him with that vain attempt at innocence, Jason knew her all too well as he shook his head as smile ghosted over his features. It wasn’t going to last though, not with the direction this was turning and quickly. ”Zee, I didn’t mean—“ She had it all wrong. Why couldn’t she see it from his perspective. He wasn’t the best talker by any means as was becoming quite evident but why could she not just see where he was coming from. ”That’s not what I meant!” The moment the words came out he regretted how snappy it came off, the angry tone undeniable as hands moved to cover his face, rubbing up over his forehead and through black hair where they seemed happy to reside for the time being. He wasn’t angry at her and he hadn’t meant it to come off that way. Sure he was annoyed she didn’t understand but the blame that lay with him. He was angry he couldn’t make her see what he meant, angry that he had even gotten himself into this subject. Fidgeting somewhat on the spot, bouncing on his soles to try and get rid of some of the tension that was just on the edge of boiling over, eyes closing for a few seconds as he tried to calm himself down. This wasn’t helping, not now. Especially as she began to imply he didn’t even care. Couldn’t she see it was because he cared he hadn’t been able to come forward? She still remembered him as Robin, the second boy wonder, she didn’t know what he had been through, how much he had changed. Became the person he was always supposed to be. ”You make it sound like I could’ve just waltzed into the cave at any point, just reappeared and everything would be fine.” He’d at least managed to calm his voice somewhat, even if he didn’t feel any calmer it sounded like he did as he paced in a small circle trying to get his point across. ”It’s not that easy, I’m not supposed to even exist right now. It’s just… it’s not that simple!”Eyes locked with those of the magician, just wanting her to understand, but nothing could have stopped his thoughts as quickly as her next line. She didn’t know, she couldn’t. She would have said something if she had. He recognised her tone, it was almost joking at the idea but the stony expression that Jason shot back at Zatanna spoke more than any words could. They both knew he could never do such a thing, the idea of even just hurting her made him feel sick to his stomach. But did she really know this? She after all did think he had stayed quiet from her for the last three years because he didn’t care. The quietness was even harder to deal with. Loud and angry, that’s what he could deal with. These tears and whispers he was very much ill equipped for, Jason didn’t know how to cope with this sort of situation. He could see eyes tearing up again and it made him want to just shake her, shake some common sense in to her so she could just understand what he meant and see how her insinuating he didn’t care made him feel. Searching endlessly for the words he just couldn’t find the right thing to so, instead going with something he had done maybe once in all the time he had known the hero before him. Reaching out one hand to lightly touch her shoulder, the taller male pulled her closer so both arms could wrap around her torso, hugging her close against his chest, pausing for a moment before finally speaking quietly. ”Do me a favour, Zee. Stop being an idiot.”CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE
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Post by zee on Oct 14, 2014 6:22:17 GMT
Tag: @redhood
Note: angry hugs. all over emotions. i don't even understand anything anymore! and record time replies!
| He started yelling how he didn't mean that but he didn't say anything to make himself clearer. How was she supposed to take things when he said nobody was supposed to know? She knew now, so did it make her nobody? Did he only tell her because she was nobody?! How did Jason not see how much she cared about him and how thinking he was dead hurt her so much?!
Considering how his brother felt about her and how easily he could push her aside, she shouldn't expect much different from Jason in regards to her. She was just that silly magician that was too happy to be around them as a child. Nobody was a child anymore; they had no real use for her anymore. She once told Barbara that she was the only well adjusted one in that family and nobody had ever done anything to prove those words wrong. At the same time, to be pushed away by Dick and Jason didn't mean they were ill-adjusted. It spoke volumes more about her and how worthless of a person she grew up to be.
If he returned to them years ago, he thought things would be different. He thought they wouldn't instantly accept him for some weird reason but he was wrong. Jason was such an idiot! "Everything would have been fine because you would be back!" she shouted. The hurt expression probably wasn't something he could comprehend since he was on the other side. Losing him showed her that Giovanni wasn't the only person she could lose by being weak and the cycle never ended.
The cycle never ended.
"Everything would have been fine," she repeated in a small voice.
But to him, things couldn't be that easy. He died and he wasn't supposed to be alive. The both agreed but she could easily accept the miracle of his return without looking that gifted horse in the mouth. Whatever spell, serum, hex, deity, or anything else that brought him back did her a favor and she wasn't looking to undo it. It was really that simple to her.
He stared at her with such an ugly expression that made her want to run. When did his eyes get so cold? The expression alone made tears spill from her eyes since she could only imagine such an look was gained while he was away those long three years. Jason was alone and grew cold and content with that loneliness. Nobody was supposed to know. Words like that were clues to how his life was the last three years; nobody knew who truly was. There was nobody there to care for him and worry about him. It pained her to think about it.
It pained her even more to think how he wanted it. There was no reason for Jason to ever think she'd turn against him. Her life was full of mysteries and the unexplained, so his resurrection was a shock but something she could accept easier than anyone. All those things she saw before she lot him weren't true anymore. There was no scar or bruises of the incident that took him away. There was only Jason. He had no idea how happy she was to see him or how much his words cut her. Even her tears were just a fraction of what turmoil her heart felt.
Someone very important had been taken away; it was the story of her life. When those people came back, they didn't come back to her. Things between her and Artemis weren't the same from years ago. Now, Jason had come back and wanted distance. Why was life such an asshole to her? What did she do to piss off fate?! Why was stealing her father not enough for it!
She expected a screaming match between them or something to that nature on how things were simpler than he imagined. His hand reached over and grabbed her shoulder before jerking her body forward. Zatanna fell into his chest before arms wrapped around her and hugged her tightly. The whole thing caught her off guard since Jason wasn't the hugging type and yet this was the second close moment they shared in the last fifteen minutes.
"You first," she whispered.
She cared and she had no problems accepting he was back. The young woman could hear his heart beating in his chest and feel the little warmth his body offered. She could touch his masculine aged face and see him with her own eyes. As easy as she accepted him now would have been just as easy three years ago.
"I have no clue what happened to you, Jason, but why would you ever think I wouldn't accept you? Why would you ever think it wouldn't be just that simple?"
Her hand moved and reached out for his. Her fingers intertwined with his, feeling how truly cold his body was. It wasn't inhumanly cold but that chill that came from loneliness. Her cobalt eyes stared at his hands for a moment, noticing how cold and hard they were. They weren't the hands she held onto three years ago.
Her eyes shifted up to his face, the one that was different from the one she remembered. Everything about Jason was different but that meant absolutely nothing. And yet none of that mattered.
"You're Jason Peter Todd. That's really all that matters to me and will ever matter. What happened or where you've been are little details I want to know. I desperately want to know Jason. But the most important thing will always be that you are you and you are someone I love and never want to lose. So if anyone needs to stop being the idiot, it's you."
She didn't want him to disappear and leave her life again. He was an idiot for thinking otherwise.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2014 23:32:29 GMT
zeeTHERE'S JUST SO MUCH I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE! And such timekeeping. Check us out. As a voice that had spent so much time in the past joking with him shouted back it felt a chill down his spine. She honestly believed that it would have been fine, that nothing would have changed. Yes, she was delusional but if anything it just made Jason regret this night even more. He should have just left the moment he saw her stood at his grave; left her to her devices for the evening no matter how upset she may have seen. He’d stuck around because he didn’t want her feeling bad, didn’t want her feeling alone, but he’d made everything worse. So much worse. She may have been upset, but that’s all she was. Now he had thrown this spanner in the works and she was a hundred times worse than when she was just talking along to what she believed to be another dead boy. If he hadn’t appeared she would have just carried on, like nothing was any different. He couldn’t even retaliate, nothing he said would have changed Zatanna’s mind at that point. She still had that image of him when he was younger in his mind, the memories of their time together and he doubted there was much he could do to change that. Not that he could blame her, you always wanted to remember the best of someone. Just as he did, everyone did it. Back before everything changed she made him feel comfortable. With Batman he had to be Robin, one half of a duo. With Nightwing he had to be the protégé, aspiring to be someone he couldn’t come close too. With the team he had to be a team player, with the expectation of his two mentors to live up to and uphold. When it was just him and Zee? He could be just him, just Jason. For the first time in his life he could be a teenage boy. Not someone looking after a drug-addled mother, not someone fighting to survive on the streets and not someone so swamped with expectations and responsibilities. That was what he liked to remember when he thought of the brunette before him. But that teenage boy had died and nothing could change that no matter how much Zatanna hoped and pleaded. And he knew that she could see that as eyes locked. He just wanted to shake her or anything to make her understand, but as arms wrapped tightly around her smaller figure it was easier to try and let go of some of the anger and frustration. He didn’t deserve it but he dipped his chin none the less, resting his head atop hers lightly as eyes closed for a few seconds. Any way he had said it she just didn’t understand. ”I’m not Robin anymore…” Hardly spoken above a whisper into soft brown hair there was a lot more behind the words than just face value. He couldn’t come out and tell her what he was now, he couldn’t deal with that judgement or attempting to justify it, not right now at least. For the first 6 months of his resurrection he was convinced the Lazarus Pit had changed him, that coming back from the dead had an adverse effect but he soon realised he couldn’t use this as an excuse; everything had to be rooted in truth so how much had been him, and how much had simply been circumstance? For as much as he enjoyed looking back at some of those times with the ‘R’ on his chest, only now did Jason feel like he was doing what he was supposed to. As fingers laced with his own body stiffened, fighting the natural reflex to pull his hand back, it had been a long time since he had contact like that. Hugging was one thing, body contact was common in combat but how often did you hold hands with someone you were attempting to kill? Those hands had done things that Zatanna probably thought completely unimaginable; they were drenched in blood that could never be washed off and she was completely oblivious to it. As eyes met, even if he believed her words to be completely misguided he still gave a hand a light squeeze even if he wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. Shifting slightly so he could lightly rest forehead against that of Zatanna’s corners of lips tugged upwards slightly. ”I’ve always been an idiot, what’s your excuse?” It was probably a good thing they were alone in the graveyard, anyone trying to eavesdrop would likely end up very confused; first they were strangers, then there was tears, anger and shouting and now hand holding and smiles. Not that he was genuinely amused, humour was a great way to try and avoid serious situations and now the anger had calmed down somewhat he needed a different distraction from the truth of her words. And the nonsense. ”Trust me, you don’t want to know what I’ve been through…” Hell and back sprung to mind. CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE
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Post by zee on Oct 15, 2014 20:26:12 GMT
Tag: @redhood
Note: We're like on the ball! Go us! And I broke the cycle of feels! Go me! changing fate.
| They were a pair of idiots, screaming and she wasn’t too impressed with either of their behavior. If anything, she should have stopped since if he didn’t really care Jason would walk off once he tired of all the yelling; but that embrace proved her wrong. He picked some bad words and created painful misunderstandings but she hoped that was all over. She hoped he realized how important he was and how she would accept him no matter what since he returned to her.
He accepted his stupidity and questioned why she was stupid. “I blame your brother for making me stupid,” she groaned. There was some truth to that statement but she mostly an idiot because Zatanna was an idiot when it came to the people she loved. She was an overly emotional idiot and wasn’t too sure how to fix it.
“I get really stupid about people I care about. It’s one of my many character flaws.”
It was unfortunate that Jason fell on that list. It was unfortunate a lot of people who chose to push her away were still on that list. It made that whole argument how she was an idiot even truer. Regardless how some of her friends treated her, she still carried about the people she considered her family so much. In this world, there were few people she felt like she could turn to and it was hard to want to cut that number down.
“Another big one I have is overindulgence, especially when it comes to shoes, but we’re not going to get into the many, many flaws of Zatanna,” she said to alleviate the mood. She didn’t want the subject to stay about how much she was an idiot. Zatanna was perfectly fine remembering that fact on her own when alone or talking to certain people.
Right now, she wanted to concentrate on the fact Jason was alive. Despite all the things she saw and felt three years ago, he was standing here right now. It wasn’t a perfect reunion in the least but she got him back! “And if you don’t want to talk about the last three years right now, that’s fine too,” she sighed as she shook her head. The last three years were complicated and she didn’t want to think of them either. All she wanted to focus upon was the fact he was right here, right now.
“But…”
Nothing else needed to matter tonight. All that mattered tonight was the fact she was being given second chances. “It’s your birthday. That means I owe you a cake and a busty redhead.” While she didn’t know his taste in women, he did seem to like that whole busty redhead comment when he was finally admitted to who he was. His taste in women wasn’t that far from his brother’s it seemed. Somehow, the thought really didn’t surprise her.
Sadly, the only redhead she knew was Barbara and showing up at her apartment with Jason and suggesting she give him a dance would not only get her hit but it’d also lead to a trip to the emergency room when Batgirl passed out from seeing a ghost. It was probably best to attempt reunions between him and the other bat children with no jokes involved. It would be a long, emotional day. But tonight, all she wanted to do was have fun with the newly aged adult.
“The cake is slightly easier to find, so let’s start there first!”
They didn’t need to be in a graveyard to celebrate his birthday. Contrary to popular belief, cemeteries weren’t exactly the best celebration grounds. It was late, but there were several coffee shops that stayed open all hours of the night and diners if he wanted a real meal plus cake. Quickly, she held onto his hand tighter as she pulled him away from the empty grave and the terrible memories that resided in that spot. Neither one of them belonged there anymore; Jason was alive and there was no reason for either one of them to mourn or be sad.
“Now, this is going to sound really mom like, which I’m totally not, but have you been eating? You were pretty lanky as a child and look bigger now, so I’m going to go with yes.”
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