Beth4LC

Thanks for so many updates!

Hahaha okay but even if Jason might think he wants the cigarette, he actually can't handle smoking anymore! In Muscle Memory, he realizes it makes him feel sick. And with where the series currently is, he's barely been exposed to cigarette smoke at all, so the connection he used to have to it has really faded away.

Of course, he would absolutely feel weird about that when he becomes a teenager and some of his friends start smoking and/or vaping and he doesn't feel that compulsion at all! I love playing with the idea that Jason's actually growing up very sheltered this time around. Aside from the childhood vigilantism, of course. 🤪

Okay, I keep meaning to dig deeper into Jason's feelings about his mom! Mostly Catherine because that's who actually counts for that. For whatever reason, I can't figure out how to shape all the different feelings and stuff into a fic!

I like your suggestion of someone asking him about her, because he wouldn't want to lie about her, but he has to at least a little. And his feelings about Catherine are going to be more fragile with him as a kid; he can't bury them under a pile of unhealthy coping mechanisms anymore.

There's this little part of my writer brain that wants to put some kind of spin on all of this rather than just straight-up grief and maybe that's partly what's making me stuck.

This is such an important theme for the Soft series! I totally agree with what you're saying, but right now I like treating it as a recurring theme rather than one stand alone fic. These kinds of feelings have definitely popped up for Jason during Birthday Boy and in Rich Kid Problems, and probably in other fics that I'm not thinking of right away.

Putting my unrefined drawing skills to work so people can get an idea of what I'm envisioning for Soft AU Jason's vigilante uniform. I like the idea of it being very Red Hood inspired, but with a few key changes.

AHH! Okay, this idea has actually been sitting on my ideas list for forever now! I keep pushing it off to write other stuff. 😅

But I do really like it, and I think it'd be good to explore. Jason's got a little kid brain which is not nearly as good at self control as an adult one, and those mobile games know exactly how to hook people in!

Plus, Jason's unrestricted access to his phone is one of the few hold-overs from his adult independence and it always makes for such good angst to dig into that.

Burying a sigh, Jim shrugged. “Not much. But I got a, uh, tip that said I should request a meeting tonight. I thought you might have something for me.”

“A tip,” Batman echoed.

Jim held his gaze steady. Maybe he’d been the one to light the signal, but he sure as hell wasn’t the organizer of this little meeting; that was squarely on the Bats. And Batman had to know where this particular message came from.

Then, a voice piped up. “Was it Oracle?”

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Gotham City Residents & Jason Todd Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon (DCU) Additional Tags: Original Character(s), Batfamily (DCU), Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Age Regression/De-Aging, Kid Jason Todd, Vigilante Jason Todd, POV Outsider Series: Part 54 of Soft Summary:

Oh, yes, this is the plight of all fanfic writers! Most of my searches are pretty bland, though. My most recent one was "cost of a happy meal", and you are free to speculate on how that will come in! And then a lot of it is me checking if something is a Canadian thing or if it's also in the US. 😅

The one questionable search I did not end up doing was related to alcohol tolerance in children for Privilege, which is the story when Jason thoughtlessly downs Dick's cocktail at a charity gala.

“Master Jason, if you don’t stand still, I won’t be able to make the correct adjustments.” Alfred did his level best to pin Master Jason down as he tacked the temporary cape into place, but it was an uphill battle, even after the admonishment.

“Sorry, Alfie. It’s just— really cool. I like how swishy you made it.”

“Hm. Well, after all these years, I have something of a handle on it.” With the fabric finally in place, Alfred released his hold of the squirmy, overexcited boy.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd Characters: Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth, Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Batfamily (DCU), Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Kid Jason Todd, Vigilante Jason Todd, Secret Identity Series: Part 53 of Soft Summary:

“So, then, that’s when Babs said that Cass needed to take the rest of the night off. And then I said she should come over here!”

“I guess it’s all the same germs, huh?” Tim asked as he leaned back in his chair.

From the laptop screen, Jason shrugged with a sheepish grin. “Yeah but it’s— Well, it’s not totally my fault. Cass is the one who’s always hugging me.”

“Sure.”

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Batman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Characters: Jason Todd, Tim Drake (DCU), Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne Additional Tags: Batfamily (DCU), Domestic Batfamily (DCU), Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Sickfic, Sick Jason Todd, The family that shares germs together stays together, Kid Jason Todd, Cute Jason Todd, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Family Fluff Series: Part 52 of Soft Summary:

Maybe Damian goes too hard on him during training/sparing?

Like, a fight with a sibling or something? I'd have to figure out what would lead to that happening since Jason is so cemented as the baby of the family at this point. No one's going to want to fight him like that!

Tim flicked the TV off. “That’s probably enough for tonight, huh?” Jason snapped his head up. “Wait, what? Why?” “Well, it’s getting kinda late—” “It’s only nine o’clock!” A whine started to sneak into Jason’s voice, and Tim braced himself. So much for doing this subtly. “Sure, but… you know, if you’re feeling a bit tired…” Jason’s face twisted. “No! I’m not tired! I wanna stay up with you!”

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Batman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Characters: Jason Todd, Tim Drake (DCU), Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne Additional Tags: Batfamily (DCU), Domestic Batfamily (DCU), Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Sickfic, Sick Jason Todd, The family that shares germs together stays together, Kid Jason Todd, Cute Jason Todd, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Family Fluff Series: Part 52 of Soft Summary:

Okay, zero promises I will follow these results, but I am curious to know what readers think about Jason's potential vigilante name. I listed some of my personal favourites in this poll, but not every single one of them, plus I'm sure there are more out there. Feel free to chime in with others in the comments!

Some more info under the cut: