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anxiousnerdwritings · 2 years

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Any concept for the batboys with Bruce's sibling S/O? Like, how would they be with their uncle/aunt? I like to think of Bruce's sibling S/O as being the more outwardly loving of the two :)

Most definitely! It’s that outward affection and love that opens the batfamily up to their obsession to begin with. It would depend on when exactly the darling is introduced into the family though.

If the darling is adopted by Bruce before he adopts Dick then he would have grown up with them. They would have been the one to really comfort and console him after his parent’s deaths, holding him while he cried and just overall being there for him when Bruce wasn’t. I imagine the darling would have been the one to really be a part of Dick’s life living at the manor. Like, I have the thought of the darling being the one to help Dick with his homework or being the one to show up at school functions either alongside Bruce or by themself. Even packing him little lunches or snacks, both for school and when he grows up and starts working at the police department.

Honestly, no matter when the darling comes into Dick’s life he would be the most accepting of them right off the bat, especially seeing how invested Bruce is with them and overall how genuine and loving they are.

Jason would cling to the darling if they had been around before he came to the manor. He’d really take to the affection and care they directed towards him. He would show off as much as possible just to earn their praise. Any moment he could get with the darling would be monumental to him. They would be the one he would go to to vent or just for reassurance when he needed it. He’d really crave for them cheering him on for even the smallest thing, it’d mean a lot to him. Anything Bruce didn’t give Jason, he’d seek out in the darling. They would be the first one he thinks of when he gets resurrected, fearing they had forgotten him or that they had replaced him too. It would take everything in him not to go and run to them right away not only for comfort from everything he’s been through, from Joker’s torture to dying to being brought back to life, but also for validation and reassurance that everything was going to be okay and that he was still their ‘Little Jay-Bird’. And that he always would be.

If the darling came after he had already been resurrected and went through everything with Joker then he would be wary of them, especially because of just how important they were to Bruce. It would take him some time to come around to it but I could see him really taking to them eventually. He would hold them to the same regards as he does Alfred. When he finally came to accept that the darling was genuine in their love and affection for not only the family but just in general, Jason would hold such a soft spot for them. There’s no doubt that Jason is touch starved and when the darling greets him with a hug or ruffles his hair whenever they get the chance he can’t help the warmth that bubbles in his chest. He can’t even pretend to act like he doesn’t like it either. It would be a process for him but eventually he’ll come around to them and then he’ll be one of their most overprotective guard dogs, even towards Bruce.

I feel like if the darling was there when Tim came along that they would of course welcome him with open arms but they would still probably be dealing with the loss of Jason. So, they would either give him even more attention and care because they’re compensating for what they can’t direct towards Jason anymore or they would feel like Bruce was using Tim to fill a void. Either way, they would still give Tim affection and love no matter what it would just depend on how much they’d give. Tim would most likely be drawn to the darling because of their nature and just how genuinely they care about him, a complete stranger to them. He would really appreciate them checking in on him, especially when he’s pulling a third all-nighter in a row cause he’s so focused on the case at hand. He would be even more touched if the darling went out of there way to try and stay up with him so that he wouldn’t be alone. That would really mean something to him, even if more times then not they end up falling asleep. It’s the thought that counts after all. I also totally imagine that Tim could easily fall asleep either on the darling or with them nearby, like their presence alone is soothing and comforting to him that he feels he can relax and unwind with them.

By the time Damian comes around the darling would probably already be involved with the family. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Talia or Ra’s mentioned the darling during Damian’s growing up when they would discuss Bruce so he’d probably already be aware of them. It would be something else if Talia and or Ra’s held the darling in some kind of high regard so when Damian does finally meet them he already feels a connection/attachment to them just from what he’s been told. In this case he would be an overprotective guard dog right off the bat.

It would really surprise Damian to be treated so openly affectionate. Like, his father doesn’t even ruffle is hair nearly as much or with the same amount of warmth as the darling does. Nor has Damian been given so many hugs in the span of a day. He would really melt into the affection whenever given it. It would get to a point where he expects a certain amount of affection on the daily and when he doesn’t get it he’ll either sulk or he’ll think he’s done something to warrant the deduction in his daily allowance of affection and love. Also, you have no idea how much Damian has come to love those little sticky note messages in his lunches for school or patrol cause of course the darling left him one once and ever since he’s been hooked on them. He absolutely adores them and keeps every single little one he’s ever gotten from them. (All of the Batfamily does the same cause no doubt the darling writes them little messages in their little batlunches or something too, even Alfred.) Damian can’t start his day without having a little sticky note from his aunt/uncle, even if it’s a stupid little doodle that you can’t tell what it is.

Damian would definitely cling to the darling because of how they love and treat him and he is totally a little brat about keeping their attention and time for himself. And he doesn’t like to share, more times then not fighting the others for who’s turn is it to have the darling’s attention. Even bickering with Bruce about it when Bruce tries to come in and spend time with his (adoptive) sibling.

Overall, all the batboys would become very attached to their aunt/uncle, especially due to their open affection and care for the boys. As much as the boys would fight over their aunt’s/uncle’s time and attention they would always come together to protect and take care of them no matter what. It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch for the family to refer to the darling as the glue that keeps them all together, cause that is exactly what they are to them. They would hold an extremely important role amongst the Batfamily members and because of that god forbid if anything we’re to happen to them.

#anxious answers #yandere bruce wayne #yandere dick grayson #yandere jason todd #yandere tim drake #yandere damian wayne #yandere batman #yandere batboys #yandere dc #yandere dc concept #yandere concept

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alyssadeliv · 3 years

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The Forgotten One

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Chapter 12

They were going to the zoo. Richard had decided that after two months of her living in the Manor it was time to have some family bonding time. It didn’t matter that most of her time in the last months was used to get to know her new extended family or get reacquainted with her old one.

He was adamant that she needed the full Gothamite experience, so here they were on a Friday afternoon on a crowded metro, listening as the oldest one tried and explained how Metro’s worked to her. He was so happy, gesticulating and smiling, that she didn’t have the heart to tell him that she indeed knew how the metro worked, having lived in Paris for almost two full years.

After Damian, Richard was her favorite sibling, mostly because she had always seen him as a role model, as part of her training had been inspired by him and his trapeze maneuvers, but she did enjoy the warmth that she tended to feel when he was around. He was patient and had no problem explaining pop culture references to her. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with her other siblings, it was just that Richard went out of his way to make her feel accepted.

Tim was a very busy person, and their interactions were reserved to 3 a.m. coffee hunts. He wasn’t bad, just closed off, and a little wary of her after his first experience with Damian. Not that she could blame him. But she was a bit closer to his girlfriend, Stephanie Brown, who would come to have dinner at the Manor every week.

And there was Jason. She refused to address him as her brother, that would just be plain weird. After the initial shock of finding each other again had worn out, it had taken a few weeks for them to finally address the elephant in the room. She could tell that he had struggled with the news that she was Bruce’s biological daughter.

“Dick, maybe speed the lecture a bit so we can still get to the zoo before it closes.” Jason was leaning casually against a wall, finding this whole situation funny. He was wearing jeans and his red leather jacket, nothing special, but if she was honest he looked rather handsome.

“It’s fine Jaybird, I was just wrapping it up!” He says with a smile, just in time for them to catch the next wagon. Because they spent at least 25 minutes listening to Richard’s lesson, the metro had emptied a bit so they were able to find seats. It was just the three of them, the others would meet them there, after being picked up by Alfred, Damian after school, and Timothy after a meeting.

“So… I know Bruce said not to ask, but I’ve been dying to know…” Richard starts unsure, afraid to cross a line. They were lucky to score seats in the same section, she was seated with Jason by her side, with Richard in front of him facing them both. “But how exactly did you two meet, I mean it was obviously at… Tibet-'' He caught himself before he could out them as members of the League, you never knew who could be listening in their conversation, so better safe than sorry. “- but why do you know Jason, but Damian didn’t?”

With a glance to the side, she was more than happy to allow Jason to explain that part. In the two months she lived at the Manor she saw how much they wanted to ask about their relationship, but kept their distance. Aside from Damian, they didn’t feel the need to inform the family about their past.

“Well, Pixie Pop here was the one to train me for the duration of my time in the Temple. Kicked my ass more times than I can count.” He says with a smirk, while casually butting an arm on the back of her seat. “She taught me most of what I know”

“Most of it?” She was indignant, but the smile on her face betrayed her true emotions.

“To be fair B didn’t totally suck as a parent.” She knew that he and Father didn’t have the best relationship after he came back from his time at the League, but according to Damian, it used to be way worse, not that she would know. Richard seems content with their explanation and didn't demand more information, even if he desperately wanted to. He respects their boundaries, and that only makes her like him more.

When they got to the zoo, Damian and Timothy were already there, but surprisingly Stephanie had tagged along, so now she wasn’t the only female in the group anymore, not that she cared, but she liked her brother’s girlfriend so the surprise was appreciated.

She had never been to the zoo before, just to see the attractions. The times she went to fight an Akuma did not count. It was a bit sad seeing all these animals stuck in a cage, and she could tell her brother felt the same. Damian always had a soft spot for animals, and would not tolerate if they were being mistreated. Not surprisingly, the Waynes made annual donations to the zoo to ensure that all the animals were well taken care of. When she first heard about that she was glad that Father cared about Damian’s interests enough to pay to support every zoo and animal shelter in the city. It helped ease her guilt for abandoning him for two years knowing that now she was not the only one who cared for him.

They spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the animals. And Dick was glad he chose to go to the zoo as a family bonding experience. When Damian first came into the family he had taken him there, after discovering that his younger brother absolutely adored animals and he was happy to see that Marianne liked it as well.

Efficient as always, Alfred was already there waiting for them the minute they crossed the exit of the building. As she came to know, the men seemed to have a six sense when it came to all of them. Just by his aura, she could tell he wasn’t someone you wanted to cross, but she could see how much he loved each one of his grandchildren (because she could never kid herself to think of him any less than a Grandfather).

“I assume that today's activities were enjoyable.” The butler asks as he opens the back door of the limo for them. Richard enters first thanking the men.

“It was acceptable” Damian voices, as he too enters the vehicle.

It was a bit of a ride, seeing that the Manor was almost outside of Gotham, but she didn’t mind. Seated between Richard and Damian she spent most of the journey chatting with everyone. But by the time they arrived at the house everyone was a bit tired, so dinner was a relatively small affair. But not uneventful, because as revenge for Bruce bailing on family day, the boys started sharing with her all the shenanigans of her father’s public persona, Brucie Wayne. It was amusing to see this new side to her father, always so reserved and serious.

“If you are all finished sharing Master Bruce's embarrassing moments, I believe it is time for patrol.” Alfred as always came to defuse the situation before it could implode.

Because she spent most of the last two years fighting almost every single day, she decided that she needed some rest from her hero lifestyle. Even after her father asked if she would like to accompany them on patrols, she decided to turn it down for now. So while her family directed themselves to the cave, she made her way into her suite.

It was a beautiful room. Although the color scheme wasn’t something she would have picked herself, it fit with the furniture rather nicely, and her artist side appreciated that. The room itself was simple, but the red colors and the dark wood made the room seem cozier than it was. With a double bed with a canopy, two bedside tables, a vanity with a mirror, and a wardrobe, it had everything she needed. Her Father had encouraged her to decorate her room the way she wanted, and she had been tempted to do so, but ultimately decided to wait until she settled into her role as a family member before she went and added more change to the mix. What she had been very close to doing was adding a desk so she could draw and design, but after she discovered that there was a big one in the library just a few doors from her room, she dismissed the idea.

Quickly she showered and changed into something more comfortable than her street attire, before exiting the room and making her way into the library. It wasn’t as big as the one downstairs, but it had a big balcony that overlooked the gardens, so she liked to just sit in a shadow and sketch away. Damian had been kind enough to spare one of his unused sketchbooks and some pencils, knowing that she liked to draw just as much as he did. She leaned forward into the railing resting her arms and head, but still looking upwards.

The sun had already set, and she was glad that they were far enough away from the city that she could see some stars in the sky. Having lived in Paris, she had really missed all the stars she could see at night from her home on the League. One of her studies had been about the Astros, so she spent a lot of time as a kid contemplating the skies.

“It’s going to rain soon” A voice comes from behind her. Without having to turn around she knew who it was. A smile appears on her face.

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for patrol?” She asks, straightening her body, but still not turning around. She could feel the person getting closer to her until she felt a presence at her side.

“That’s the whole point. It's gonna rain.” He carries a hint of humor in his tone “And besides I prefer to keep you company, Pretty Girl. Besides, I believe Red Hood deserves one night off. The guy has been working hard.” He jokes.

With a smile she finally faces him. He had showered and changed, and without his red jacket, he looked so relaxed. It reminded her of their time in the League. Like that he looked so much like the angry boy she helped train. So young and while broken, so full of life and fight in him. He smirks at her but turns his face upwards to look at the night.

“You always did love the stars.” He commented, not looking at her. “It’s sad that here you can't see them as much.”

“It’s not that bad. In Paris, you couldn't see any. It was sad, but to be fair the whole city more than compensated for that. It’s beautiful there.” She recalled all the times she went on a midnight stroll around the city, just enjoying the architecture. “I could spend eternity drawing all the details in the buildings.”

“Do you miss it?” He asks, looking at her. His tone is neutral, but by his body language, she can tell he’s anxious for her answer. She had always been good at reading him, and she was glad that their time apart had not changed that.

“In a way…”

She sighs.

“I liked the city, but I spent most of my time there fighting and training. Not much different from before. It was like everything changed but was still the same. To be completely honest… I miss our time at the League the most.” She confesses but hurriedly continues. “Don’t get me wrong, it was hard! But still… at the same time…”

“I get it.” He interrupts her. He has a small side smile, and the dimples on his face make her want to freeze this moment and draw him so she could eternalize him. Instead, she gets closer to him, seeking comfort in his presence at her side. He embraces her. Securing her in his arms, her body pressed against his, her head buried in his chest.

It was funny to think that the most capable woman to take care of herself he knew, chose to be vulnerable around him. It made him feel loved.

“I miss it too.” He whispered in her ear. She raises her head, just enough that she can see his face without removing herself from his arms. Staying like this reminds her of all the nights he used to sneak into her chambers. And they would talk and hold each other for hours. It felt like it was just yesterday the first time he got the better of her.

“Focus!” She yelled while landing a kick at his unprotected left side. “You are unbalanced- in three moves I could have you on the ground again” She punched him to his right, but he was able to block her and tried to deliver a punch of his own. His knuckles were bloodied, and he knew that in the morning his ribs would hurt. But at this moment he was high on adrenaline. She dodged.

They were training for what felt like hours. But both were too stubborn to ask for the fight to end.

But just as promised, in three more moves he was on the ground. He tried to get back on his feet to continue with the fight but was stopped by a foot on his torso.

“That’s enough.” She helps him to get on his feet. “You were great! You could have overpowered me so many times! I left you so many openings!” She laughs. This was routine for them. After a fight, Marianne was usually so pumped with adrenaline that she spoke at a mile per hour. “We really need to work on your tactics this week. Oh! You also need to improve your stance, you’ve been favoring your right side too much. I know your ribs hurt but you still need to protect your body as a whole.” She comments only stopping to take a large sip of water. “Well, I am spent.”

“You’re spent? I’m the one that has been eating dirt for the whole hour!” He complains indignantly. She tossed a water bottle in his direction, which he grabs and happily finishes in a single gulp.

“Just another reason you need to study more!” She grins. And turns to exit the room, and while walking to the door turns to him again.

“See you in a bit” She winks.

When they meet again they are in her room. She’s seated on the bed sketching some view, while Jason sits on the floor sharpening his knife. They chat casually for some time, but ultimately end speaking about their training session earlier.

“That move would have totally worked!” He exclaims, knife long forgotten he now kneels facing her bed.

“There’s where you are wrong, you need strength on your fist on both sides to push my torso, otherwise I would easily be able to doge only one. You need two punches at different sides in succession for you to distract your opponent!” She explains in a hurry. Her thoughts jumped around her head.

“No way! If it’s strong enough, only one is needed!” He argues.

Worked up she threw her notebook to the side, forgotten. In a second she was up, signaling for him to do the same.

“There is no way. Stand there, pretend to be in stance.” She directs, and without a second thought, he complies. “Okay, so I come for your right side first, you are stronger there.”

Her movements are slowed, as she demonstrates the move. “That’s going to distract you, and keep you focused on your stronger side, leaving your weaker one unprotected.” She shows him where he left an opening for her. “So all I need to do now is strike again, focusing more strength now. Either a punch or a kick would do the trick.” As she goes to demonstrate her point, he grabs the incoming slow punch and pulls her into his body.

Unprepared she loses her balance, falling into his chest. In a second he secures her with his other arm, keeping her in his embrace. She feels her face burning with embarrassment. He caught her by surprise, and she felt ashamed.

“Hey that wasn't fai-” But he silences her, bringing his face closer to hers and giving her a heated kiss. It lasts for some time, but when they finally separate themselves he has a grin on his face.

“Just to be clear, I knew the move wouldn’t have worked. You just look cute when you're angry.”

And before she can protest he shuts her up with another kiss.

So this is by far the biggest chapter! Hope ya’ll like it! We finally get the story behind Jason and Marianne. Let me know what you think!

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alixanonymous · 4 years

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How A Demon Commissions An Angel ~ A Daminette FanFic ~ Chapter 2: A Search For Continuance

From the phone of Damian Wayne:

Chat Name: Father

Father: Have you come up with any ideas for Christmas?

Me: Yes, Father. I assure you I will not disappoint you.

Father: Damian, this isn’t a mission.

Chat Name: The Only Sane One

Me: Alfred, I’ve hit a bit of an obstacle in Operation Christmas.

The Only Sane One: Indeed, Master Damian? What seems to be the problem?

Me: The designer I hired is being unreasonable.

The Only Sane One: How so?

Me: She’s refusing to work with me.

The Only Sane One: I see. Why is that?

Me: She doesn’t like how I talk to her.

The Only Sane One: Master Damian, I trust you have remembered your manners.

Me: Yes, Alfred. Of course.

Me: The thing is I was a bit… blunt.

The Only Sane One: Indeed?

Me: Yes…

The Only Sane One: I see. It seems an apology is in order.

Me: I suppose.

Me: So how does one go about apologizing?

The Only Sane One: I would suggest cutting back on any bluntness, admitting fault, and a request for forgiveness and continuance of service.

The Only Sane One: You may also find added incentive to be particularly effective, perhaps offer aid in some way or a favor.

Me: I see.

Me: Thank you, Alfred.

The Only Sane One: Of course, Master Damian.

Google Search History:

Arthur’s Little Sister?

Success Rate Of Blackmailing

Apology Template

From the phone of Dick Grayson:

Chat Name: The Boys (Minus The Demon)

Jaybird: find anything?

Timmy: nope. she’s really good at hiding.

Jaybird: no idiot

Jaybird: take a break from stalking mdc and see if demon spawns hired someone to get our presents yet

Me: Should we help him? I know Damian’s difficult but I don’t want him to feel like we want him to go away.

Jaybird: but we do want him to go awayy…

Me: …

Jaybird: just for a little! cmon we cant keep going on like this

Timmy: he’s right.

Timmy: I mean we all know why he doesnt like me…

Jaybird: dont blame him

Timmy: and I cant fault him for hating Jason…

Jaybird: shut it replacement

Timmy: but he doesn’t even get along with you most days dick!

Timmy: he needs friends…

Jaybird: besides superbaby

Timmy: and he’s only just stopped terrorizing his classmates.

Jaybird: he doesnt have any people skills!

Me: You can’t fault him for that! You know what it was like for him growing up with freaking Talia for a mother.

Jaybird: we know dick but that doesnt change the fact that he needs to learn how to treat people and he hasnt in the seven years hes been home maybe the titans can teach him

Me: So what? We’re supposed to just ship him off to be someone else’s problem like his mother did? That’s BS!

Timmy: no of course not! we’re still his family! him being a titan won’t change that!

Me: Exactly! We’re his family! It’s our job to teach him and him not learning anything is on us.

Me: We didn’t send Jason off when he was sick from the Lazarus Pit and we’re not sending Damian away just because his mother messed him up so bad.

…

Jaybird: your right but if we tried to help him he wouldnt let us

Timmy: so what’re we supposed to do? I mean even if we did help him you know dad would see right past us.

Jaybird: then he gets sent away anyway and the demon spawn will hate us forever

Timmy: (shrugging emoji)

Me: Maybe we could just subtly steer him in the right direction?

Timmy: find out what he’s getting us and tell him if it sucks?

Jaybird: that could work

Timmy: I still can’t find anything on his computer.

Me: I’ll get Babs on to go through his phone.

Chat Name: Babs

Me: Oh wise one I beg thee to help me!

Babs: what do you want me to waste my time doing for you?

Me: Can you search Damian’s phone for anything that might be related to Christmas?

Babs: no

Me: plz?

Babs: why?

Me: We want to help him stay…

Babs: …

Babs: give me a sec

Me: Thank you!

Babs: don’t thank me yet I helped him encrypt his phone this is all I got

Babs: (screenshot of Damian’s search history)

Me: That’s not helpful.

Babs: not my problem

Chat Name: The Boys (Minus The Demon)

Me: This is all she found…

Timmy: i’m concerned.

Me: I think we’re all concerned Timmy…

Timmy: who is he blackmailing?

Jaybird: really? thats the only thing here that didnt suprise me

Jaybird: i think we should be more concerned that hes trying to apologize to someone

Me: Best not to think about that.

Timmy: agreed.

Jaybird: yup

Me: So this doesn’t help us…

Timmy: maybe we should ask alfred?

Jaybird: nooooo

Me: It’s worth a try.

Timmy: or three…

From the phone of Alfred Pennyworth:

Chat Name: Master Timothy

Master Timothy: Alfred, has Damian come to you for help with Xmas?

Me: There’s coffee in the kitchen, Master Tim.

Me: Next time, don’t run.

Chat Name: Master Richard

Master Richard: Have you heard anything from Damian about Christmas?

Me: I am not at liberty to say, Master Dick.

Master Richard: Please, Alfred. We just want to help.

Me: Master Bruce specifically said that Master Damian must complete this task on his own. Even I am not permitted to help him much.

Master Richard: Much?

Me: Yes. For example, I am allowed to help keep his progress private.

Master Richard: I see.

Master Richard: Thank you, Alfred.

Me: Have a good day, Master Dick.

Chat Name: Master Jason

Master Jason: Hey what’s the demon spawn getting us for xmas?

Me: Master Jason, why is one of my plates missing? You know, the ones of the finest quality imported for China.

Master Jason: I ddont know

Master Jason: let me go find it

Chat Name: Master Bruce

Master Bruce: Alfred, has there been any developments with Damian?

Me: Yes. I believe everything is working out as you wished Master Bruce.

Master Bruce: Very good.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: November 2, 2021 6:30 P.M.

Subject: An Apology

Dear Ms. Dupain-Cheng,

In my desperation it seems I have acted quite far out of line. You see, a lot is riding on my ability to procure adequate gifts for my brothers. If I fail, my father may send me away in order to teach me a lesson in social skills. My brothers are huge fans of yours (I will also admit your artistry is very impressive) and have, not for a lack of trying, been unable to find out who you are. I have no doubt that if I get them MDC originals for Christmas then I will be able to stay.

This does not excuse my previous email however. I will ruefully admit that I’m often told I assume too much but few people have been so effective in pointing this out to me as yourself. I admit my methods were morally and legally unjust. I apologize and request forgiveness. Perhaps you could overlook my rather offensive first email and we could start again.

As for the blackmailing, I meant it when I said I have no desire to reveal your identity. I won’t. I realize now that would only make my own situation worse (my brothers would probably kill me on your behalf) but that is not my only motivator. In my research I learned about your situation in school. I will agree that I do not know the truth of the matter as well as yourself but I have no wish to make anything worse. I suppose you may as well have made the best choices you could’ve as it seems your classmates refuse to see reason. That must be inconvenient.

If this, my first apology, or the promised monetary compensation are still not enough to persuade you to still allow me to order my brothers MDC originals perhaps I may offer my help as well. I may not know the situation like you but I do have resources you might find useful. After all, they did allow me to find your identity.

I’m looking forward to your reply without any expectations of when it will come. (I’m told sleep is important though.)

- Damian W.

I’m not loving this formatting but I’m not in the headspace to change it so I will simply say that if you want better formatting, read this on A03. Okay! Chapter 3 is coming in a second!

Master List

#MariBat #Daminette #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Damian Wayne #FanFic

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

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Do you think that fics where Dick is in 24/7 Big Brother Mode and his whole existence is to take care of the other kids (which are most of the fics I've read, but I'm not sure how prevalent that trope is or or if those are just the types of fics I click on), are trying to make Dick essentially replace Bruce as a father figure when Bruce can suck a little at it? Not to try to justify that, just curious where the extremes come from, that Dick is either a raging jerk or a super soft caregiver.

Yes and no, I think.

On the one hand, I definitely think there’s a tendency towards that for that reason, because of this implicit idea in a lot of canon writers and fans that Batman can’t be Batman without emotional and mental health issues. With at the same time, a lot of inadvertent ableism accompanying that, because like….people overlook the fact that like….you can have mental health issues and be bad at various emotional and social interactions and STILL be a good parent, like, they’re not mutually exclusive. I mean, Bruce HAS been a good parent at tons of points in canon, and at no point has anybody said….that is an impostor, that’s not Batman.

But still, there remains this idea in a lot of times and places, I think, that Bruce is just….resistant to change. That he is who he is, for better and for worse, and that there’s no point in trying to alter his behavior in in character ways, because it either won’t stick, or he for some reason won’t be “Bruce” anymore.

And this I think is where the tendency to slot Dick into that second parent role comes from. Like, I think that trend is already there to begin with in society, with it functioning that way in a lot of families, where this expectation is placed on eldest children…but then add on top of that this unspoken view I feel a lot of people have, that there’s just no POINT to trying to address where Bruce’s parenting is lacking, because he wouldn’t get it, or whatever….but Dick’s right there, so just have him step up and pick up the slack, even though that shouldn’t remotely be his role or responsibility in the family…

And you’ve got there a recipe for Dick being the super soft caregiver 24/7.

BUT.

Then you have to factor in the Good Dad Bruce Wayne fics, the ones who discount his worst tendencies and canon instances of being abusive or neglectful, because understandably, a lot of fans don’t want to see or have to deal with that in their content when writing Batfam. Its not what they’re here for, they don’t stan an abusive father, so why should they have to write the character in a way that’s fundamentally opposite to what they view as him at his core, the Good Dad that drew them to him in the first place? And they shouldn’t have to!

No fan should be hampered in writing positive, wholesome Batfamily content simply because a bunch of dumbass edgelords over the years wrote Bruce being abusive to his kids without these canon writers GETTING that they were writing him as being abusive….and so they didn’t address it as such ever, and it continued, or reoccurred.

BUT.

Here’s my issue with how this tends to play out…..because the fics that COMPENSATE for Bruce’s shitty canon parenting or ignore it entirely to focus only on the good parenting in canon or Bruce’s characterization at those periods….

This is where we most often see Dick the raging asshole, who causes strife and conflict in his family, or is too stubborn and hot-tempered when interacting with Good Dad Bruce.

And this is where I get so so frustrated….because they’re ignoring or choosing to disregard Bruce’s worst parenting, which is totally their right….BUT at the same time, making no adjustments for how a LACK of those shitty canon parenting moments would in turn result in vastly different characterization and behavior for Dick too….especially around the times of their greatest canon conflicts.

If you change Bruce’s behavior, or omit the times he’s been a bastard to his kids….BUT you do nothing to change Dick’s behavior in turn….THEN Dick inevitably tends to look like a spoiled selfish asshole….because here’s Bruce being this perfect, doting father….and yet, their conflicts still exist….and those conflicts still have to come from somewhere….enter Dick The Asshole.

I’m ALL FOR changing, addressing or compensating for Bruce’s worst canon writing, in regards to his children. Where people keep losing me is they fail to consider the ripple effects of a Bruce Wayne who never let his children down the ways he has in canon….and thus never would have given Dick in particular cause to have the trust and abandonment issues and anger he has towards Bruce a lot of times. And I say Dick in particular, BECAUSE this is where its so important to acknowledge the way fandom and canon have chosen to willfully disregard a lot of what Bruce has done to him specifically….because it doesn’t fit the narrative of “Dick is the favored son” or whatever reason may be for that.

Like, this isn’t as much of an issue with Jason, for example, because nobody’s overlooking the ending to UTRH or RHATO #25. Nobody’s forgetting to consider that take away Bruce’s shittier writing, and voila….he and Jason have a MUCH better relationship…..because, that’s what we get in Good Dad Bruce Wayne fics. Its a lot of the reason FOR those fics.

In comparison, the unwillingness to engage with things like Bruce hitting Dick and throwing him out after Jason’s death….by being so willing to gloss over that or making this one of the specific things people ignore, but WITHOUT compensating for how the absence of this particular story would in turn affect Dick and his stories…..like look how that breaks down in comparison:

Because in NTT #55, the issue where all that happened….Dick went to see Bruce, to try and console him and grieve with him over Jason…even AFTER Dick had already dealt with the realization that Bruce had made no effort to contact him about what happened and the funeral had been held while Dick was still offworld. So, those were already issues that Dick had acknowledged and been shown willing to put behind him to focus on the bigger picture and be with his dad while they grieved for their brother and son….with Dick, upon Bruce finding him in the Batcave, making NO attempt to start a fight, and clearly expressing that he wanted to be there FOR Bruce, to grieve WITH Bruce.

The only reason it didn’t play out that way, and Dick and Bruce weren’t both in the Manor in the wake of Jason’s death, helping each other cope and move on AS A FAMILY….is because Bruce instead tried to instigate a fight with Dick, hit him, blamed him for Jason’s death, and threw him out.

This is important if ONLY because….this is the ONLY reason Dick - who HAD made an effort to reach out to Bruce and be there for him - WASN’T there, by the time Tim came along. Was the REASON Tim had to come along, and seek Dick out in another city and beg him to come back because Batman needed him.

So see how easily it gets flipped? By refusing to acknowledge or address BRUCE being the one to drive that canon wedge between them there, BUT still making no effort to compensate how the absence of Bruce’s part of NTT #55 would change Dick’s stories and choices….Dick inevitably looks like the one who just…isn’t there for Bruce, makes no effort to be, or just doesn’t care or prioritizes his own anger or guilt or whatever you want to pass that off as. But bottom line is, Dick’s the one inciting conflict, because Bruce has been given a fandom pass on….inciting the conflict. And nobody’s making any effort to factor in that without Bruce hitting Dick and throwing him out…DICK WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE FOR BRUCE AND WITH BRUCE. Like he initially tried to be.

And this is the sort of thing we get in a ton of Good Dad Bruce Wayne fics, even though its the extreme opposite of Caregiver/Substitute Parent Dick Grayson in Bad Dad Bruce Wayne fics.

Its because no matter how much people cite Dick being the heart of the Batfamily…Bruce is still the central pillar everything else revolves around. And the real issue isn’t the extremes for Dick’s character….its the extremes for BRUCE’S character, the sheer scope of the difference between Good Dad Bruce and Bad Dad Bruce…..with everything else rippling out from that.

And Dick, by virtue of being the closest to Bruce in length of history, age, various other ways….will additionally ALWAYS be the one to take the brunt of those ripple effects, for better or worse. Be the most affected, the most changed, by extension of the changes made to Bruce.

Or at least, he SHOULD. Except that’s not how it works out, when people only change Bruce.

So we get all these fics where Bruce is the kind, supportive, understanding dad we WANT him to be, and so choose to write him as….but Dick meanwhile still has his canon Daddy Issues….but now COMPLETELY without cause. When if you think about it, the MORE you change Bruce from his shittier moments in canon, into a better parent, specifically…Dick SHOULD in all respects be perfectly positioned and poised to benefit from that the most….and have a lot of HIS canon issues and insecurities and such….basically negated by Bruce’s positive parenting, in stark contrast to the stories that shaped Dick in so many negative ways.

Le sigh.

Anyway, back to how at the beginning I said yes and no in answer to your question….the no part is that there’s only so much I think its JUST because Dick’s a convenient substitute for parent when Bruce is written as being bad at it in various ways. Part of it I think also just has to do with Dick’s core characterization as being such an empathetic and supporting character for those around him pretty much any time.

As I’ve mentioned before, there’s a big problem in ALL our media, across the board, with these kinds of character archetypes being taken advantage of for their caregiving tendencies, without reciprocation….because its just in their nature to not demand or make a big deal about not receiving the same care and attention from others in turn……which, if nothing else, saves writers a hell of a lot of story time and space…which they can then devote to even more focus on the characters they’ve chosen to center as more dynamic and essential to the core narrative.

To support my stance on that front…..look at age swap fics in Batfandom. Notice how even in fics where Dick is repositioned to be the ‘baby of the family’ and the one who needs to be protected and cared for…….there’s no real tendency or trend towards making any SPECIFIC one of the older boys responsible for the others in the way Dick is in caregiver/substitute parent type fics?

Sure, there are a lot of plots about how Damian as the oldest in these fics SHOULD be more responsible for Dick or his younger siblings….but its his failure to do so, specifically, that drives the conflict of a lot of these stories….because in none of them is there ever the implicit understanding that Damian, as the eldest, should be fully capable of stepping in to compensate for Bruce dropping the parenting ball, the way Dick is in the normal dynamics of the family.

Like, all the age reversal fics I’ve read, yes, all his brothers are shown looking out for Dick at various times and in various ways….but I rarely ever see any single one of them CEMENTED in that stand-in caregiver role, where its EXPECTED of them….the way its frequently expected of Dick in canon.

Because, IMO, there’s this understanding and ACCEPTANCE, that this just isn’t their character type. And rather than address the discrepancies this creates between these fics and ones where Dick is the eldest, per canon, and expected to parent his siblings….people just kinda…roll with it.

And that would be my take on why we so often and so easily see Dick flip-flopped between extremely opposite takes.

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rogsclogs · 5 years

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A Kind Of Magic (Roger Taylor x Brian May x Reader); Part 2.

Y’all this is pure filth, please don’t read if you’re under 18. 100% smut and nothing else, part 3 will be pretty much the same.

Enjoy!

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They all got to Brian’s apartment in record time, speeding through traffic like Roger never had before, he couldn’t wait anymore and Y/N looked hot as hell in his backseat (admittedly he’d taken his eyes off the road to look at her a couple of times).

Brian had his lips on Y/N’s before they even closed the bedroom door, astrophysics books were scattered all over the floor and she almost fell over a bunch of times, her heels and the alcohol in her system not helping her keep her balance.

“Leave some for me too, Bri.” Roger was getting increasingly impatient with the lack of physical contact, especially considering his two friends had not taken their hands off each other the entire drive there and he’d had enough.

“I’m sorry Rog, I’ll make it up to you, I promise” Y/N purred into his ear as she detached herself from Brian and wrapped her arms around Roger’s neck, grinding on him and finally giving him some of the friction he craved so badly.

“You better, baby girl” he said back to her as he pressed a deep and harsh kiss on her lips. Meanwhile, Brian had taken off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants, and while his two friends made out, he took Roger’s jacket off his shoulders and did the same with Y/N blouse, not wanting to waste any time.

“Someone’s a bit eager, aren't they?” Roger couldn’t believe he had agreed to having sex with a girl and one of his best mates, he’d had naughty thoughts about Brian before, but he was sure he’d never actually get to experience his soft, intimate touch in real life, and he’d always kept his fantasies to himself. He couldn't wait to have a taste of both of them, and his whole body was on fire, causing his erection to become more and more prominent through his leather pants.

Y/N took notice of the discomfort in his lower region and immediately dropped on her knees, sliding the sticky material of his pants down his skinny legs, realizing he wasn’t wearing any underwear.

“Roger, you naughty boy, going commando in leather pants?” She had a mischievous smile on her face, not even trying to hide how pleased she was at his choice and at his impressive dick size. Not that she’d doubted that before.

“What can I say, I was hoping I’d get lucky maybe” that was all she allowed him to say before she spit some saliva on the tip of his dick and took it in her mouth as deep as she could, causing him to groan from the pleasure.

She pressed her tongue flat on his shaft and bobbed her head slowly, to make sure he could feel her mouth around him inch by inch.

“Fuck, I’m already about to come, I feel like a fucking fourteen year old virgin, you’re so good Y/N” he said as he threw his head back and ran his fingers through his long blond hair.

Brian took advantage of the situation, sliding his own pants and underwear down his legs and tossing them somewhere in his room, then attaching his lips to Roger’s, caressing his soft face with his rough and callous hands. He’d had wet dreams about a similar scenario months before, and he wanted to bring every fantasy of his to life.

Roger intertwined Brian’s fingers with his own and took his other hand away from Y/N’s hair to place it on Brian’s semi erected dick, pumping him with slow and sensual moves. He'd never had experiences with Brian before, but he remembered talking to him about some of his sexual adventures and Brian confessing to him that although he was into rough sex, he loved the slow and passionate act of making love. Roger had laughed at him back then, calling him a bunch of names and whatnot, but he had to admit that he found it kinda hot now, and he was ready to take it slow with him.

Brian was over the moon about the way Roger’s hand felt on him and he wasn’t sure how things would be between the two of them after the night was over, he probably wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes anymore, but he tried not to think about it too much.

After a minute he felt himself getting too close to his orgasm for his liking considering they had only just begun.

“Stop it Rog, I don't wanna come yet” at his words Y/N stood up from the floor, cleaning her mouth and face with her and taking the rest of her clothes off, except for her panties. She wanted her two gentlemen tear them off her body.

She walked over to Brian’s bed and threw away all the shit that was on it, including various books and leftover food from god knows how long ago, then she laid on it. She started teasing herself, rubbing her hands all over her soaking underwear then pushing them aside to run a finger along her folds and the sight drove the two men insane.

“Do you have a spare condom I can borrow, Rog?”

“You can always rely on me for that, Bri” all three of them laughed at his words as he went to remove a bunch of condoms from his wallet, passing one to Brian and keeping a couple for himself.

“We might need more than one for tonight” he said while looking straight into Y/N’s eyes and stretching the sticky material on his length, Brian doing the same. The two boys looked so gorgeous to Y/N, they were standing there in all their glory and she thought she would come just by looking at them touching themselves.

Roger was quicker than Brian at putting condoms on, it almost came natural to him, so he took advantage of the few seconds he had to himself and quickly hovered over Y/N on the bed. She looked stunning like that, naked and ready to take him, all he wanted to do was please her over and over.

She spread her legs for Roger while Brian kneeled on the mattress beside her head, pumping his dick and watching their friends interact.

“What do you want baby?” Roger’s voice had dropped at least an octave from his usual bright tone and the slight roughness of it turned Y/N on even more.

“I want you to use your mouth on me, please Roger” he didn’t even let her finish before he tore her panties to shreds and attacked her clit with his rough tongue. She wasn’t even phased about her panties and let out a very loud moan, probably waking up the whole apartment complex, then opened her eyes again trying to fight against the pleasure coming from her lower abdomen to take Brian’s cock in her mouth, wrapping a hand around what she couldn't fit down her throat.

Brian tugged at her hair with his right hand and kneaded her breasts with his left one, paying attention to her nipple area and slightly scratching it with his nails, making sure he left marks.

Meanwhile, Roger was still eating her out like a starved man, brushing his nose on her clit every time his tongue parted her folds and driving her absolutely wild. She knew about his reputation about how skilled he was in bed, Tim had talked to her about it a couple of times, and she could finally understand what the fuss was all about, the boy definitely knew what he was doing when it came to pleasing women. She tried not to let it distract her too much from pleasuring Brian with her mouth and she allowed herself to moan on him every time Roger hit a soft spot inside her, knowing the vibrations of her voice would only make the experience even more pleasurable for Brian.

“Are you ready, baby?” Roger let his tongue take a break to talk to Y/N but slid a couple of fingers inside her to compensate, feeling her tight and soft walls around his fingertips, making him want to waste no time taking her.

“Yes, please take my body and do whatever you want” she was talking to both Brian and Roger, letting them know she was okay with whatever they wanted to try and they didn't need to worry about it.

“Is it okay if I go first?” Brian asked Roger, he was getting so impatient and so impatient it was starting to hurt him physically.

The other boy nodded, he was okay with waiting for his turn knowing it would be worth it anyway.

Brian didn't need to be told twice as he grabbed Y/N’s thighs, spread them apart and pushed himself inside her entirely, not giving her a second to adjust and sighing from relief. Her body was thrusted back and forth on her bed as he put all the energy he had in his body into fucking her well, leaving her a moaning, sweaty mess as he pulled one of her legs over his shoulder so he could reach a deeper spot inside her.

“Right there, oh my God Bri, right there” at this point she was seeing stars and she wasn't the only one.

Brian’s hair was sticking to the back of his neck and there was sweat running down his whole torso, and for whatever reason Roger thought that that was the hottest thing he'd ever seen. He started to jerk off while staring at his best friend fucking Y/N like that was his only purpose in life, watching his cock pushing into her deeper with each thrust. This was better than any porno magazine he’d ever bought himself, and he wished he would have brought his camera to take a picture of that moment. He was about to come and he could tell, but all he wanted to do was come inside her so he forced himself to stop pleasuring himself and he went back to kissing up Y/N’s neck and torso, leaving love bites on her breasts and collarbones.

“Is it okay if I take the condom off? I want to come on your beautiful boobs” Brian was almost begging, but he didn't care how desperate he sounded, watching his friend leaving marks on her body had made him want to release all over them.

“Yeah... yeah go ahead” she was barely able to talk at that point, her mind consumed by the infinite amount of pleasure she was experiencing. Brian then quickly pulled out of her and slid the condom off, throwing it away carelessly, then pumped himself a couple of times and spilled his come on her upper body, making sure to force every last drop out of himself.

“Holy shit this is so fucking hot” was all Roger was able to say and as Brian let himself fall on the mattress beside Y/N out of exhaustion, he licked some of the cum off her boobs while maintaining eye contact with him and making him blush profusely.

“Do you want me too, Brian?” He didn't know if he was misinterpreting the flirty side of Brian with something else, but somehow he knew that he wanted to try it too. He was just as curious as Roger was.

“I.. I don't know if I can...” Brian was intrigued by the offer, but also scared that it would hurt and scared that it would inevitably ruin their friendship forever, and he didn't want to lose one of his best mates.

Roger pumped himself for a bit before pulling Y/N towards himself by her ass and pushing his dick slowly inside of her, trying not to overstimulate her.

“Well, think about it, my offer will still stand in a while”

#roger taylor x reader #roger taylor #brian may #Brian May x reader #queen fandom #queen x reader #queen imagines #imagine #fanfiction #writeblr

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itsworn · 7 years

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Artist Kenny Youngblood, the Michelangelo of Motorsports

Kenny Youngblood is a complicated guy. He’s most recognizable as the premiere motorsports artist. You’ve seen his work even if you’re not into art, because he’s done race-car graphics for more than 50 years, including a lot of early Funny Cars needing an artist’s touch to mimic headlights and grilles on flopper bodies. His art, posters, and prints have been around for decades, and you probably have some framed in your house. He also drove A/Fuel dragsters in the 1960s. He has managed numerous racing teams, including a couple of Top Fuel efforts. He started a Christian counseling ministry called Always An Answer. He says, “I love the Lord, but you’d have to knock me out and drag me to get me into a church.” See what we mean? He’s represented major companies with his hand-drawn, personalized, giveaway drawings at many races and events. He most recently put his online Fuel Coupe Magazine on hiatus, a project he churned out monthly for two years. And he’s an author. He’s finishing up his first book on relationships and has more on his list. He’s got lots of stories from the golden age of drag racing, too, so we’ve included a few along with how he ended up being the Michelangelo of Motorsports.

HRM] Let’s start by asking about your first dragster in the mid-1960s, an A/Gas dragster…

KY] A/Fuel! A/Fuel, please! When I started building my first dragster, I thought it would take a while, so I thought I’d start with A/Gas. It took a year or so to finish, so in my mind I’m going faster and faster, so by the time I finished it had to be with nitro.

HRM] Were you any good?

KY] I believe I was great at driving, but not so good as a mechanic. Deep down I knew it wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing. I felt like the kid with his hand in the cookie jar, but there was nobody else to drive the thing and it was like being in the Army—I did it, but I wouldn’t do it again.

HRM] But you love drag racing—isn’t driving the ultimate?

KY] Yeah, but that’s not what the good Lord wanted me to do. I got out of it in 1969. But I had another opportunity; with my partner from the 1960s, we built a beautiful nostalgia dragster in 2002. I was fitted for the car and it was tempting, but all along I knew I shouldn’t do this and Tom Poindexter drove instead. There’s nothing like stepping on that tire, putting my legs down into a slingshot, and sliding down into that seat with my legs over the rear end—it’s a real sensual experience.

HRM] That sounds like you feel you should have stuck with it?

KY] To me, there’s three kinds of drivers: there’s guys like me having fun and doing a good job. I really didn’t care who won or lost, and if they beat me it didn’t bother me; then there’s guys that want to win but don’t have the talent or the money; and then there’s what I call killer-instinct drivers, the Parnelli Jones, Shirley Muldowney, Don Garlits of this world that have to win. Second Place means nothing. They have a need for speed and an intense desire to beat the other guy, and that certainly wasn’t me.

HRM] What was your first dragster like—maybe a little crude?

KY] I found a used, sturdy Pete Ogden chassis with an Eddie Potter aluminum-tailpiece body, 150-inch. It didn’t have a motor plate, it just had a piece of body aluminum, which I thought was unusual at the time, but I left it that way. I’d go to Blair’s Speed Shop and buy parts and pieces. My technical knowledge came from advertising and articles I read in HOT ROD. If a product had a name I recognized, I’d buy it, but my enthusiasm far exceeded my knowledge. Unbeknownst to me, I was buying either the wrong parts or junk parts for the engine I was putting together.

HRM] Were you and the car any good?

KY] With the help of my partner, Fred Smith, we got the car running pretty good. One day we go to Irwindale and Fred had her tuned even better, and I knew we were going to go 180 mph. But not only did I not have a motor plate and had junk parts in my motor, back then fire boots weren’t mandatory—you had to have aluminized fire suits like a cooking bag, but I had on street shoes. I got to half-track pulling hard and I’m thinking about 180 mph and—wham!—the rods come out of the block, cut the pan in half, and I’m engulfed in flames. When it blew up, it was like, “What do I do now?” I waited until I got to the finish line and hit the parachute and it burned off. Then I hit the brakes and they’re hot Olds’ drum brakes and they didn’t work. Fortunately, I wasn’t going that fast. When you’re in a fire, it burns and stings like hell at first and then goes away because it burns the nerves. So with no motor plate, the fire is coming right at me like a chimney blowing up my pants leg. I get the thing stopped and skin is hanging from my sleeves and hands. The safety guy runs up and tries to unzip my fire suit and the zipper is hot and burns his fingers. Anyway, my ankles are cooked with third-degree burns. Steve Gibbs was the track manager at Irwindale and he came over to see me in the hospital and visited a couple of other times the week I was there. Back then, unlike today, your pit pass was your insurance policy, and it paid for any medical bills you incurred. About six months later, I’m healed up, but God works in miraculous ways because I got drafted to go to Vietnam in 1967. I had scars on various parts of my body, but the bad ones were right around both ankles, and they told me I couldn’t wear boots, so they wouldn’t take me. I believe the good Lord made that happen to keep me from going to Vietnam. If I had a motor plate, boots, or good parts, nothing would have happened—all three of those things had to be in place. But we weren’t done.

HRM] You didn’t stop after that?

KY] No. I think I hold the record for the longest start-to-finish run without crashing with no steering. While I was in the hospital, I designed another car. I couldn’t afford a Woody Gilmore car because that was top of the line, but a friend had a Woody chassis. I measured every tube and angle and did a blueprint drawing. I had Fred Crowe’s fabricator build the car from my drawings. It handled like a dream and we started racing again, although this time I got the best fire suit and boots, and if anything went wrong on a run, I’d shut it off faster than anybody because I didn’t want to have problems again. My inexperience almost got me again, but I dodged another bullet. This time I bought all the nice stuff, but I’m a bit of a fabricator myself. I needed a steering arm to go on top of the spindle to connect the draglink, so I made one out of 1/4-inch T6 aluminum to save some weight. But because the axle is laid back so far, if you turn hard left or right it slowly twisted the little steering arm I made. I didn’t know until I made the turn around to stage at Irwindale—the arm cracked and fell off. The draglink was laying on the tie rod. I dumped the clutch and, man, it took off, but started wandering around. I’m correcting and correcting and it’s not responding. I get to half-track and it starts taking a move to the guardrail. I’m correcting to the right and nothing is happening, so it was either get out of it or hit the fence. I lifted and it corrected back to the right, because we had the torsion bar tweaked to the right to compensate for the engine torque. Letting go of the steering wheel would slowly make it turn to the right by itself. I think I’m correcting it, so I hit the hammer again and go through the lights at more than 180 mph. I’m wandering through the lights going side to side wondering what is wrong. I hit the parachute, kill the motor, yank the steering to the right, and it just spins in my gloves. I got out of the car and my partner comes down and yells at me, “Why did you lift, you’re always lifting.” I pointed at the tie rod sitting on the ground and said, “Because of that!” He looks at it and says, “Well, Prudhomme wouldn’t have lifted.”

HRM] That was finally it for your racing career?

KY] Well, those incidents and a few others led to me thinking Fred wasn’t a good tuner and he thinking I wasn’t a good driver, so we split up. In the meantime, my buddy, Greg Messenger, had a B/Fuel Desoto dragster that belonged to Bob Brooks and he asked me to do the lettering after Dick Olson painted it. I painted a little hippie on the cowl because it was the late-1960s and dope smoking was cool. When he took it back to Dick for the clearcoat, Dick told me he was tired of waiting in line at Tom Kelly’s for lettering; at the time, Kelly was the man—still is, in my opinion. He asked me to do lettering there. That started everything for me. They did fiberglass repair and regular repairs, but did race cars, too. They built the “Beach City Corvette” and other cars right there.

HRM] Had you done lettering on the side before?

KY] I hadn’t taken any sign-painting classes, so I’m learning the hard way, watching guys like Jack Burr at Blair’s and Steve Fineberg, but things went well. One day there’s a call and the guy says, “Hey, it’s ‘Jungle.’” So it’s Jungle Jim and he wants me to letter his car, but I had to do it at his shop. In those days, lots of racers match-raced and then came out to the West Coast for the winter and worked on their cars over by Disneyland. They were building Liberman’s car at Jack “Bear” Green’s shop, and those two were both shaky characters. At Bear’s shop is Jungle’s old, beat-up Nova body and next to it the new one. He tells me he wants it done exactly like the old one with the big Jungle Jim in gold leaf. Tim Beebe and Tom McEwen show up—their shop was right across the street, they called it the “cave.” That day a bunch of drag racers were playing cards at the cave. They’d got paid in cash for match racing and they had wads of cash. So Jungle started playing cards and every 20 minutes or so he’d check in to see how I was doing. I got done and it came out beautiful—Jungle walks in and says, “You’re going to have to take that off.” I ask, “How come?” He says, “I told you I wanted it to be just like the other car.” I said, “It is.” He says, “No, it’s a quarter-inch too low.” On the side of the body, there was a break line in the door and the bottom of the “J” on the “Jim” on the old car was right to that break. Sure enough, on mine it was a quarter-inch below that line. Technically, he was right, so I say, “OK, you’re right, I’ll take it off.” I get out the paint thinner and start taking it off and he whips out this giant wad of cash and says, “Here’s for your gold leaf that you’ll need” and hands me more than I was going to charge for the whole job. I tell him I’ll get more gold leaf and come back Monday and redo it. So Monday I go back to the shop and walk into the office. He’s leaning back in a chair with his hands against his head and sees me and just about falls backward. I say, “Hey, Jungle,” and he says, “I didn’t think you’d come back.” I don’t know whether he was testing me or what, but if he was I must have passed because he became my new best friend. He’d call me all of the time and in the middle of the night.

HRM] You did a lot of lettering and airbrush work at different shops, then what?

KY] About 1970 Don Kirby, another painter I did work for, wanted me to meet Bob Casner. Bob was a marketing genius and had a great idea. He wanted to put a creative group together under one roof to service motorsports. A racer could get a proposal, photography, press kit, rendering, all of that. He rented a place in Long Beach and I was his artist. It was called Racing Graphis—Bob was German and graphics in German is “graphis.” Everybody always corrected us telling us graphics was spelled wrong. Bob knew everybody, Mickey Thompson, Parnelli, all of the big racers. He was my mentor and taught me how to collect on bad checks and important things like that. I had two jobs for a long time; I’d get up early and go to Racing Graphis, then go to Kirby’s race shop and letter cars in the evenings. In the morning, I’d do the same thing. I knew at some point I’d have to make a choice, and as much as I liked painting cars—and I still love the smell of a paint shop in the morning—my artistic talents would be better spent on the drawing board, so I told Don and soon he brought Nat Quick in to take over for me. I moved into my own studio in Santa Ana and there have never been enough hours in the day to do what I like doing. I guess I was the first fulltime artist doing art and graphics for motorsports.

HRM] When did you start doing the limited prints and posters?

KY] In 1978 I started doing the paintings. I had done some paintings in the 1960s and never had a problem selling them. I thought there was this popularity of motorsports and drag racing that if someone had a choice of what they could hang on their wall it would be a race car instead of a flowerpot or landscape. I started making prints of some of the paintings of cars I lettered. I had done the art-gallery thing and thought it sucked, so I started a mail-order deal selling direct to the customer. It was great and the more time I gave to it the better it did. Finally, when it started to trend off a bit and the economy changed, I sold the print inventory I had in the late-1980s and moved to Vegas.

HRM] That’s when you started the personalized art for corporations?

KY] I came up with the idea to get corporate sponsors to use my art as giveaways. John Ewald was working for Firestone at the time, and they were doing 18 to 20 shows a year. I showed him my idea for doing four or five prints with Firestone on the tires, and then go to shows with markers, personalize it for each person, and give it to them. I started doing that and people lined up out the door waiting to get my drawings. Everyone liked that I was giving somebody something personal. I call it the “ultimate marketing tool” because people take them home and frame them with the client’s logo on them. It appeals to all ages, and even though people don’t know me, they watch me do it for them and it’s personal. So far I’ve worked for three of the top companies in America: Toyota, Firestone/Bridgestone, and PPG Paint. I still do paintings for affluent clients, what I call “Monuments on Canvas” (MonumentsOnCanvas.com). They’re expensive, and it’s tough finding customers for expensive stuff—you’ve got to find the guy that can afford it, but also likes art, and they’re becoming few and far between.

HRM] And you have a counseling ministry?

KY] Yes, I’m a drag-racing Jesus freak. It’s called Always An Answer (AlwaysAnAnswer.org). I’ve been counseling for 40 years. That’s the one thing on my bucket list, to get the good information out there. In this computer age, you can reach the world, so I want to take advantage of that.

HRM] You’ve been involved in drag racing for decades, so what would you do to make drag racing better?

HRM] It’s a simple answer and it amazes me that this is the last thing they’ll do, but the first rule of business is the law of supply and demand. When you give people what they want, the business thrives. It’s the same thing for racing: Give people what they want. Unfortunately, it seems like the last person racing organizations think about is the person who paid the money to sit his butt in the stands, so that’s the general problem. This is why we’re seeing the tremendous resurgence of nostalgia drag racing, because it’s what people liked in the beginning that is lost—Cacklefest, push starts, cars that look like real cars, Fuel Altereds, Gassers. It’s giving people more of what they want. When you look at drag racing now, they have taken away so much of the things that made it so great. A few months ago, we did an interview with Don Prudhomme in Fuel Coupe magazine, and I asked him what he thought about modern-day nostalgia Funny Cars. He said, “Yeah, it’s good, but they need to be putting on more of a show like we used to do, like doing dry hops.” Back in the day, there were no rules about how many burnouts you could do, so Funny Cars came up and did a long, smoky burnout and they backed up and did a dry hop. You had two cars doing a dance, and that was part of the entertainment. Then it went away. Did it go away because NHRA got letters from fans complaining? No, they did it because they wanted to get home sooner. Same with Fuel Altereds. Were fans sick of them? No, they took them away because they said they were unsafe. Well, everything out there is unsafe.

HRM] Can it go back?

KY] Sure! Will it? Doubtful.

HRM] Why did you stop doing your online magazine, Fuel Coupe?

KY] Fuel Coupe was a labor of love. I did it for two years and loved it. It was paying for itself and making some money, but the reason I stopped was because it took a week out of my month to put together, and also because I hate deadlines. I put myself under a deadline every month, and that pressure for me is just no fun, so I did it for two years and that’s that.

HRM] Is there a certain team or driver you like today?

KY] I’m a huge Don Schumacher fan, and I know he’s hard to love. I tell people I’m his only fan, but I love and respect the guy because he’s a great white shark, he’s a total business man. He wants to win and dominate. When I was crew chief for Gillman, I realized there was a higher goal than winning. If you go to a race, everybody out there wants to win. But there’s a higher goal, and that’s total domination. That means not only winning today but winning every race forever—you win everything. That’s total domination. You can say, “Well, that’s not going to happen,” which is true, but I believe if your goal is total domination you’re going to win more than the guy whose goal is just to win. The first person I heard use that total domination phrase was Austin Coil. I believe when the dust settles, if he lives long enough, Don Schumacher will be the last man standing. Nobody wants it more than John Force, but Force is too emotional, whereas Schumacher is strictly a business machine. Force is an amazing guy and I have great respect for him and nobody wants it more than he does, but my money is on Schumacher.

HRM] Finally, what words of encouragement do you have for young artists interested in drawing or painting cars?

KY] First thing I tell budding artists is there will always be a place for hand-done, traditional artwork, and if that’s what you want to do, keep doing that. Today almost 100 percent of everything is digital, so you’ve got to know Photoshop and other digital software because that’s how things are done today. For a guy that has a good eye, even if he’s not great at art, the computer becomes your tool. Just because you can’t draw doesn’t mean you don’t have an eye for it—a lot of people that can’t draw a straight line know good art. That’s why I always listen if somebody has a critique about something I’ve done because they might see something I missed. I also tell them the creative process is fixing what’s wrong. When you start a painting, it’s completely blank, so you start drawing things onto it. I believe the good Lord tells us to darken this or highlight that, so we start fixing what’s wrong, and when we can’t see anything else wrong, we say it’s done. So the bottom line is the artist must always look at his work critically because if they don’t they won’t see what’s wrong and can’t get better. I look at my work critically and know the parts I don’t like. Practice makes perfect and every time you do a drawing it’s an aggregate of everything you’ve learned. People tell me they want to get into doing art and I’ll ask to see something they’ve done, and they’ll say, “Oh, I don’t want to show you, it’s not very good.” I’ll look at it and sometimes it is good, and they have talent and they’ve been looking at their work critically, which they should. You need to keep things in perspective—you’re always going to find people that can do things better than you, but there’s more that can’t do it as well as you, so you need to remember that.

The post Artist Kenny Youngblood, the Michelangelo of Motorsports appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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