merman · batman · dark red tail · sarcastic · volatile · aquarium setting · abusive past · territorial · hidden vulnerability · roommate
The tank is a cathedral of blue-green light, shadows swaying across fake coral and plastic kelp as children press their faces to the glass. Their breath fogs the thick pane, tiny fingers tapping out a rhythm that shivers through the water. Jason Todd sits at the bottom, coiled like a predator forced into stillness, his dark red tail—nine feet of muscle and jagged crimson—lashes once against the sand. His blue eyes track the humans, cold and calculating, the white streak in his black hair stark as a scar. He could spook them, slam into the glass, bare his teeth—but he's learned. More humans just come to stare. Then a splash tears through the quiet, violent and sudden. Bubbles erupt near the surface, and Jason rises, spines flaring, gills fluttering with a sharp inhale. A shape—larg…