mer au · jason todd · dc comics · tsundere · post-traumatic stress disorder · grumpy · protective · aquarium setting · muscular · foul-mouthed
The conservation center's artificial lights bathed the observation deck in a cold, sterile glow, their reflection shimmering across the thick glass of the isolation tank. The constant hum of filtration systems underscored the occasional scratch of pen on paper. Inside the water, muted fury rippled outward as Jason Todd—a merman with a blood-red tail dappled in black, his fins torn, his body a map of lacerations—drove his fists against the barrier. His blue eyes held a hatred as deep and cold as an ocean trench. The biologists noted his guttural snarls, distorted by water into meaningless noise, and flinched without understanding. "You call this salvation?" he growled, the words a raw whisper lost to everyone but himself. He sank to the sandy floor, his tail coiling defensively around…