#bruce is an okay dad who is trying his best and loves his children | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

arlana-likes-to-write · 11 months

Text

Second Chance - Chapter 2

Masterlist

Warning: mention of chemotherapy and symptoms, mention of death

Word count: 3.3k

Tony held open the door for you to head back into the tower. Exhaustion was the best way to describe how you were feeling. Every part of your body was sore. To your surprise, a small body ran into your legs. You looked down at a young girl with shoulder-length brown hair and eyes identical to yours and Tony’s. “Hi,” you smiled. She blinked up at you. You could see the gears in her brain trying to figure out who you were. “You must be Princess Morgan I’ve heard so much about.” It was a little white lie. The CEO and billionaire kept their daughter out of the limelight as best as possible. But they did announce her birth. She took a step back, glancing behind you to look at her mom and dad.

“Who are you?” She asked. You smiled. Now that was a complicated question as it wasn’t a simple answer. How do you tell a child that you were her sister?

“I’m a friend of your dad's,” it wasn’t a total lie but not the full truth. You didn’t like lying to kids just because they were younger wasn’t a good enough reason to lie to them. “We haven’t seen each other in a long time.”

“Why is that?” One of the reasons you loved kids so much was their thousand and one questions. You heard hurried footsteps walking behind the younger girl. It was the Black Widow.

“Sorry, Pepper,” she said. “This little nugget is very sneaky.” She attacked Morgan’s sides which made the girl dissolve into a fit of giggles.

“Don’t worry about it Nat,” the CEO said. “We are done talking.” Morgan gasped suddenly, bringing the attention back to her.

“If you're friends with my daddy, does that make us friends?” She asked. Ah. The minds of children were so simple, you envied them.

“Do you want to be friends?” You questioned. She nodded, jumping on the balls of her feet.

“New friend, new friend. Let’s go play,” she grabbed your hand.

“Morgan,” Pepper’s voice was stern with a hint of amusement at her daughter but Morgan stopped in her tracks. “You have to ask before you drag someone off.” She sighed, dropping her hand.

“Can you play with me?” She asked. Oh, it was so hard for you to say no to little kids. You saw Pepper speak with eyes, ‘You don’t have to.’ But you nodded.

“Lead the way, Princess Morgan,” she giggled, grabbing your hand again and dragging you off.

Pepper watched with a fond smile on her face as the duo ran off. She was surprised by how well you handled everything. You had to be no more than 25 but you walked around with such grace and a positive outlook on the world. She looked at her husband, who has been oddly quiet since they learned of your condition. “Are you okay?” She asked, rubbing his arm. Her gentle touch seemed to snap him out of his trance.

“FRIDAY, please call all available Avengers to the conference room,” he ordered the AI. “Tell them it’s urgent.” He took off towards the conference room without another word. Natasha raised her eyebrow, questioning his odd behavior but Pepper shook her head. It was better to explain it once. She and Natasha walked to the conference room in comfortable silence. There weren’t many Avengers in the tower. Kate and America were on a mission, Yelena was in St. Petersburg, Bruce took a short trip to New Asgard, and Rhodey was in DC with Maria and Nick. Once the fight with Thanos was over, the Avengers went back home and tried to help those who came back. Her mind seemed to wander back to you. Were you part of the population that Thanos’ snapped away?

She remembered reading about Jessica’s passing. Their paths crossed once at a conference in DC and Pepper would have never guessed she had a daughter. A daughter who shared half the DNA with her own. It was a small world.

When Pepper entered the conference room Tony was already standing up front. She chose to stand next to him, offering any support she could give him. “I appreciate all of you coming on such short notice.”

“What’s going on Stark?” Steve questioned.

“It has to be serious. I’ve never seen him like this.” Sam mumbled.

“That’s because it is serious,” he snapped. The Avengers looked at each other, having a silent conversation with one another. They’ve done enough missions together to speak without saying anything. Tony sighed. “Sorry,” he apologized. “As many of you know, Y/n claims to be my daughter. Her mother and I were together before Pepper and I.”

“Where is her mother?” Bucky asked.

“Dead,” Pepper answered. “She died in a car accident a few years ago.”

“She has cancer,” Tony told the team. Pepper could hear the slight shake in his voice showing how much this was affecting him. It was a lot. A stranger showed up, claiming to be his daughter, and telling them she needs help. “Chemotherapy isn’t working anymore. She needs a bone marrow transplant if not she has 6 months to live.”

“Jesus,” Sam mumbled.

“I’m sorry, Tony,” Natasha said. “But I’m a little confused about why you called a meeting to tell us this.” Pepper was with the Black Widow on this. It made sense to tell the team all at once but she saw Tony chew on the inside of his cheek.

“My guess is Mr. Stark is going to ask if you all can see if you are a match for Miss. Easton. Only 2% of the entire population are registered bone marrow donors,” Vision said, leaning back in his chair. “It’s a 1% chance for a parent to match their child, 50% for siblings, and 29%-79% for everyone else.” Tony nodded, resting his hand on his chin.

“I’m asking a lot,” he said. “Especially to help a total stranger but I’m all she has left.”

“You're wrong, Tony,” Wanda smiled. “She has us.” Pepper looked at the Sokovian.

“I’m guessing you knew,” the CEO said. A slight blush rose on her cheeks as she nodded.

“As soon as she introduced herself. For someone so young, she’s not scared.”

You glanced over Morgan’s shoulder as you heard footsteps approaching. It was Pepper. “Come on, come on,” she tugged on your arm. “You have to continue the story!” All her toys were laid out in a makeshift battlefield, two sides facing each other. You smiled at the CEO before returning your attention to the young girl.

“So there they stood, the king's men facing the Swarm’s army. The king’s army were strong men who were called forth to protect their homes. But,” you picked up a stuffed animal. It was a dragon, a gift from Natasha and Bucky that Morgan informed you of. “The Swarm didn’t just have men but a dragon that breathed fire,” you noticed Pepper being more interested in the story. You set the plushie down. “The king’s hand steps forward, with the spellbound sword ready to fight the dragon. But a voice in the crowd told him to stop,” Morgan was bouncing where she sat. “The king’s daughter, Princess Phoebe stood forward and took the sword. She faced the army,” You choose one of her Barbie's as the princess, maneuvering her arm to mimic she was holding a sword over her head. “And she said, ‘I will kill the dragon and lead this army to victory. Who will join me?’ But no one stepped forward.” Morgan gasped. “The princess wasn’t worried. She knew she would have to earn the men’s trust. So, she faced the dragon,” You grabbed the plushie. “Alone.”

“What happened? Did she win?” She asked. You sighed.

“It was a long and hard fight,” you paused for dramatic effect. “She killed the dragon, led her father’s army to victory, and became the first Queen to sit on the throne of Krucia.” Morgan jumped up to her feet and cheered at your story's ending. She saw Pepper standing in the doorway.

“Mommy, did you hear?” She ran over to her, throwing her body at her legs. “The princess won! She won!” You smiled at the interaction, it made you miss your mom.

“I did,” the CEO smiled. “What do you say to Y/n?” She let go of her mother’s legs and ran back over to you. You were surprised when she hugged you tight.

“Thank you for playing with me,” you hugged her back. “Can you tell me another story?”

“Maybe tomorrow. I have to come up with another one. Now let’s clean up your toys,” the pout that formed on her face made you laugh. “If Princess Phoebe can beat a dragon you can clean up your toys,” you said, tapping her nose. She sighed but nodded. It didn’t take long for you both to put her toys away and the playroom was soon spotless.

“Morgan,” Pepper said, once the last toy was put away. “Your father wants to see you in his lab.”

“Am I in trouble?” She asked. You stifled your laughter at Pepper’s reaction, not expecting her daughter’s question.

“Did you do something to get in trouble?” Pepper countered. Morgan shrugged, skipping past her mother. You giggled, slowly standing, and ignored the ache in your body. “Not many people get her to clean up her toys. I may have to steal that story.”

“Go for it,” you said, placing your bag on your shoulder. “I have a ton of them.” You smiled. “I draw comic books,” you answered Pepper’s unasked question. “I learned that I can hold a child’s attention longer with pictures instead of words. I bet I’ve made up stories about all of you.” She laughed.

“You’ll have to show us them. I’ll show you to your room.” You followed the CEO to the elevator. She told you that she was taking you to the floor below her and Tony’s. You were grateful they were giving you a place to stay, especially with how tired you were. She must have seen it in your eyes as she rubbed your back and opened the door for you.

You were shocked, yet not surprised to see a small apartment. The door opened to a personal kitchen and a living space. Pepper walked into the living room which consisted of a dining room table, couch, and TV, and opened up the blinds to show the view of the city. “Tony knows how to spend his money for the best views,” you mumbled, walking over to the window.

“You aren’t wrong,” Pepper said, glancing over to you. “He rented out the top of the Empire State Building for date night.” You smiled.

“Romantic.” It was. If you had a partner and the money to spoil them like that you would do the same thing.

“Your room is over here,” she said, leading you down a hallway, past a small closet, and into a bedroom. It was simple. A queen-sized bed was pushed against the wall with a private bathroom and closet. “We’ll make a trip to your apartment to get your things and if you need anything ask FRIDAY. She’ll order it for you.” You nodded, sitting on the bed.

“Thank you,” you said. “I know I came here and turned everyone’s life upside down so I appreciate it.”

“Your family,” she said simply. “Besides with this group it’s the most normal thing,” you laughed which quickly turned into a yawn. “Get some sleep and come find me if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Pepper.” She smiled and left your room. When you heard the door close, you let out a slow breath. You felt a weight lifted off your shoulders on how well today went. But you knew you had to be realistic. Even though they agreed to help doesn’t mean they will be matched. It was a small percentage that Tony would be a match. There was a Plan B. It took a very long time for your doctor to convince you to reach out to the billionaire. Doctor Lucas Carpenter. He was a family friend and he had the honor to watch you grow up, something he liked to remind you every single day. So Plan B was to increase your chemo dosage and the frequency of the treatment.

You rubbed your forehead and emptied your bag onto the bed. You plugged in your phone charger and attached your phone. The pill counter you used was put on the bathroom counter and the rest of your belongings were thrown on the floor to be dealt with later. You climbed underneath the covers, taking off your beanie and throwing it on top of your bag. It wasn’t long before the exhaustion of the day caught up with you and you fell asleep.

“Daddy!” Morgan ran into her father’s lap. Tony had just enough time to set the swabs down before catching his youngest. “Mommy said you wanted to see me.”

“And what has Mommy said about running in my lab?” He asked. She smiled.

“But she isn’t here now.” Tony sighed, shaking his head with a soft smile on his face. The billionaire sat Morgan down on his workbench.

“I need you to use your best listening skills,” he tickled right underneath her ears. Her laughter echoed in the quiet lab. It was music to Tony’s ear and a wonderful reminder of the life he had. But it made him wonder what he missed with you. “Y/n needs our help,” he continued once her laughter calmed down.

“Help?” She repeated back to him. “Is she okay? I was just playing with her.”

“She’s sick,” Tony simply said. He wasn’t sure how to explain a topic like cancer to his youngest. He and Pepper tried to shield the darker parts of the world from Morgan and they did their best. But she was smart and knew that sometimes her daddy, aunts, and uncles had to go away to keep the world safe. “And we could help her. Do you want to try?” She nodded. He grabbed two cotton swabs, he purposely didn’t do it with the others so he could show Morgan. “I’m going to do a swab of your mouth like his,” he made sure to get the inside of both of his cheeks. Once he was done, he put it in a bag. “See simple. Are you ready?” He wasn’t going to force her to do it if he didn’t want to. She stared at the cotton swap.

“Will it hurt?” She whispered. Tony shook his head.

“It’ll just tickle,” he said. He wasn’t going to go into detail about the procedure if they were a match. They couldn’t get ahead of themselves. Morgan opened her mouth and Tony quickly swapped both of her cheeks. “There,” he sealed her sample and labeled it. “All done. Thank you, sweetheart. You're my hero.” Morgan shook her head, hugging her father.

“I’m not a superhero, Daddy, you are.” At the moment, Tony didn’t feel like one. He was angry that Jessica kept you from him. Tony kissed the top of her head.

“I love you 3000,” he whispered.

“Love you too Daddy.”

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” you heard a calming voice pull you out of your dream state. “Come on. We can’t sleep anymore.” You were awake but you did not want to be. Groaning, you buried your head deeper into the pillow.

“Don’t wanna,” you mumbled. Someone giggled. You opened your eyes, peeking to the side, and saw that it was Wanda. “What time is it?” You asked, flopping onto your back.

“7 o’clock,” your eyes widened. You got to the tower around 1300 and fell asleep around 1430, you did not mean to sleep for that long. “You’ve had a busy day and we wanted you to rest. But dinner is ready and you need to eat.” That was true. You had a small breakfast due to your nerves and the crackers she got you for lunch.

“Thank you,” you said, sitting up. “Give me a second and we can head down.” You walked into the bathroom, splashing cold water on your face.

“We are having lasagna,” she told you. You opened your pill container and pulled out an anti-nausea pill, just in case. “We weren’t sure what you liked.”

“That’s fine,” you stepped out of the bathroom and picked up the beanie on the ground, whipping it off before placing it on your head.

“I want you to know you don’t have to wear a beanie in front of us,” you shrugged.

“It’s second nature to wear it,” you told her as you walked out of your room and to the front door. “Most people stare at me and I get uncomfortable. So who lives on this floor?” You asked her as you waited for the elevator. Wanda explained each floor had 4 apartments and a common space to share. Peter, Kate, and America were on your floor.

“But America is usually in Kate’s room. They’ve been dating for a few months.” Cute. You were excited to meet them. When the metal doors opened, the smells hit you immediately. You scrunch your nose, hiding your disgust as you scratch your nose. It was the worst part of chemo. Not the hair loss or the fatigue, your taste buds and sense of smell changed. Going to grocery stores was a nightmare. It was a common side effect of chemotherapy and it would go away once the treatment was over. But now it was killing you especially since you loved cooking. Cooking was a way to communicate when you didn’t know the language or the way to learn about a different culture. It was a beautiful art form and it was impossible to cook when your senses were out of whack. It changed from day to day. Some foods made you nauseous but a week later it was your comfort food. It was annoying.

Natasha went to hand you a plate but you held up your hand, showing her the pill in your hand. She nodded, placing the plate on the counter. You quickly filled up a glass of water and took the pill. It was the tomato sauce and garlic that were causing your stomach to twist and turn. “Are you okay?” Tony asked. You nodded, filling up the glass.

“Worst part of chemo,” you smiled. “My sense of smell and taste gets all weird.” You put some salad on your plate and opted out of the garlic bread, which hurt because you loved garlic bread. Tony smiled sadly.

“We’ll figure it out, kid,” he said, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. It felt a little weird, receiving comfort from a man that was missing your entire life. You placed your hand on top of yours.

“Yeah, we will.” Morgan wanted to sit next to you. So you sat next to her and Tony and Pepper on the other side of Morgan. Natasha sat in front of you with Bucky next to her. You kept out of the conversation, trying to focus on keeping the food you were eating down.

“So,” Natasha said, directing the table to you. “Tell us about yourself.” You whipped your mouth with a napkin.

“Like what my favorite color is?” You questioned with a teasing smile. Natasha rolled her eyes, mumbling under her breath, ‘Great now there are two of them.’ You laughed. “I was homeschooled until I reached college. I double majored in marine biology and mechanical engineering then I got my doctorate in marine biology. I lived on a sailboat for a little bit.”

“By yourself?” Steve questioned. You nodded, taking the last bite of your salad. You wondered if they noticed your untouched lasagna.

“Aren’t you a little young to be living on a sailboat and getting your doctorate?” You shrugged. Probably.

“I graduated college when I was 15,” you simply said, cheeks burning at their impressed looks. You didn’t like to make a big deal of your accomplishments because you knew you were lucky to have the resources to accomplish everything. But you didn’t miss the proud smile on Tony’s face. And you smiled back.

218 notes · View notes

ghost-bxrd · 5 months

Note

Ok so I’ve seen your thoughts on Talia being a good mom to both Jason and Damian and generally being a better person vs when she’s morally gray and really only good to Damian, but how do you feel about Bruce being a bad dad? Like personally I don’t like him being abusive but unfortunately…canon does not disprove it 😕🫠. Like do you have hcs or prompts where he switches from one interpretation to the other? Genuinely curious bc my thoughts on him going between these two have me conflicted bc I don’t LIKE him being a bad father, specifically in regards to Jason, but it does kinda fuel some ‘Jason leaves the batfam to go find himself’ stories I’ve seen, but you could argue that Bruce doesn’t NEED to be terrible for that to happen. Idk maybe modern comics have poisoned my ability to ignore Bruce’s history of abusing his children in some way by cranking up that abuse to a solid 20/10 (I’m sure I don’t have to mention what I’m referencing lmao), but it just makes me think. So much would be nicer if he was just a flawed father, but that’s not what his character fully is y’know (this is why I brought up Talia, just realized I was rambling without making that clear lol)

Phew ok, I’ll try to answer this to the best of my abilities!

So keep in mind that these are my personal thoughts and I’m actually not that well versed in comic lore (the comics I’ve read can be counted on one hand sadly but I’m trying to get my hands on more ksksks), and majority of my knowledge comes from research and fanfic.

Okay back to the topic at hand!

Generally I write/read fanfic for some fluffy family feels (and angst) and the occasional romance, hence why I prefer to write Talia and Bruce as being good parents and likable characters in general. I enjoy reading about it, so I enjoy writing it that way.

In regards to Bruce and his canon actions… well, that’s a tough one to answer ngl.

On one hand he’s displayed as a loving adoptive father who absolutely adores is children, on the other hand he’s shown to be ruthless when they violate his no-kill rules (reference to the Batarang incident).

To me this kind of juxtaposition makes little sense, but I’m afraid there are quite a number of character inconsistencies in the franchise from what I’ve seen so…. I don’t know. It’s just such a 180 turnaround to the early concept of the Batman who considers everyone to be redeemable regardless of their crime. Why would that suddenly not apply to his child?

I don’t think I could ever stomach writing him as a genuinely bad father, most I could do to mix it up a little and have him struggle to reach an understanding with Jason regarding his rule over Crime Alley and dealing with his own inability to communicate properly.

Batman was always supposed to be a protector, the “good guy”, but he’s also human. A human with significant trauma that he’s never properly worked through which… can screw with your people skills significantly.

So that’s usually the way I try to look at it whenever I want to write a Bruce who isn’t the World’s Best Dad at the moment. He’s trying, he just doesn’t know how to show it in a way that others can understand, especially his kids. (Yes tho I take full liberty with the more heinous stuff Bruce pulls/pulled in the comics and discard them as if they’re expired candy >.<)

To sum it up, I’m afraid you won’t ever find a fic where either Talia and/or Bruce are genuinely, irredeemably bad. Simply because I personally don’t think that’s how people work in general and because… well, I’m soft and I need some soft parenting in there somewhere. Sorry dear 🥺

Phew ok I think I was rambling a bit here, but I hope that answers your question somewhat? But if you’d like I could totally cook up a prompt for you that deals with Jason and Bruce struggling to come to an understanding and making compromises to be a family again. Feel free to let me know or send another ask if you’d like to stay anonymous 💚💚💚💚

#I’m not sure if this was the answer you were looking for anon but I. tried 💚💚💚💚💚#look I’m soft and I WILL cry if I read/write bat dad Bruce #I just—- can’t #I’m weak #🥺🥺🥺🥺#jason todd #batfamily #batfam #bruce wayne #batdad #Talia #fic #prompts #ask and answers #musings #rambling #dcu #Batman

34 notes · View notes

aceofshitposts · 2 years

Note

reverse robins au :)

okay i kinda have a writeup for a reverse jaytim au written up already but yknow what this is easier LMAO anyway it's just a jason and tim swap instead of all the robins but hope you enjoy. putting most of it under a cut cuz it uh got real long.

-. Tim is a very intuitive kid but his parents tend to abide by the "children should be seen not heard" principle. They're not around that often but when they are they bring Tim around to show him off. Adults tend to ignore and even forget his presence, which results in Tim overhearing some nefarious plot that his parents won't listen to him about when he tries to tell them. Okay then, Tim thinks and goes to the next adult he feels like he could trust: Batman. Batman saves the day! And Tim even helps! Dick is long gone, off making a name as Nightwing, and Tim is smart and a quick learner. It's almost natural to give him Robin. Dick is not pleased.

But that's okay, Tim gets to be Robin! And after his training, he's damn good at it. He loves spending time out as Robin and is grateful for the times Bruce lets him stay at the manor after a hard patrol. But he also lives for when his parents come home, trying desperately to get any positive attention from them.

-. Bruce desperately wants to adopt Tim, or at least get some kind of official guardianship for when his parents are absent but... Tim loves his parents. And Bruce still has a kind of reverence to the idea of parents and doesn't want to do anything that might interfere with Tim's relationship to his. He almost brings it up several times, the last being the time Tim excitedly tells him his parents told him he'll be joining them on their next trip. Tim is so happy, Bruce decides to shelf the idea for now.

The trip goes poorly. Drake Industries deals in some pharmaceuticals and apparently Joker has developed a bit of an obsession with the idea that they might help him. Tim contacts Bruce the moment Joker shows up, Bruce asks Tim to wait for backup, Tim does not. When Jack and Janet both refuse to help Joker he kills them. Tim lasts longer with his training and Joker even remarks he's particularly slippery for some rich boy but eventually Joker manages to nail him with some acid to the face, blinding him.

Batman is far too late, Joker gets away and Tim succumbs to his injuries in Batman's arms. Before he dies he manages a weak, "I'm sorry, Dad." Bruce doesn't know if Tim was aware of who was holding him in the end.

-. Batman and Robin have obviously tangled with Ra's before and he definitely took an interest in the young Robin. When he hears about the Drakes untimely demise, well, he's simply an opportunist. Getting the body and resurrecting Tim is essentially child's play.

The pit heals the damage around and to Tim's eyes, mostly. They come out of the pit almost white, the irises ringed in green; pale discolouration splashes across his eyes and forehead. His eyesight is pretty good but he finds bright lights irritating and often opts to wear a mask with light filtering lenses.

Ra's trains Tim up to be his best assassin, playing into Tim's insecurities quite easily. Especially since dying, Bruce has adopted a new kid. Actually adopted, unlike Tim who was clearly never wanted to begin with. Not by his parents, not by Bruce, but Ra's wants him. Clearly, Timothy belongs here with him.

He stops thinking of himself as Tim after a while, instead adopting the moniker Echo.

His main weapon is a guandao.

-. Bruce has Regrets. And through those Regrets, when he first finds Jason trying to steal his car tires, he decides he's never letting an opportunity slip through his hands again. He adopts Jason and absolutely throws himself into trying to be the father he should have been for Tim. Jason honestly finds Bruce kind of overbearing 😂 but once he gets used to it it's... nice to have someone so invested in his well being. Jason, of course, learns about the previous Robin and the few times Bruce brings himself to actually talk about Tim it's always good things.

-. Echo isn't exactly pleased about the new Robin, necessarily, but why should he care when Batman clearly didn't care about him? The longer time goes on, though, the more he also begins to realize he's been manipulated by Ra's and it becomes a matter of him feeling like he can't leave now. He's not the person he was when he died, he's not even really sure he counts as a person anymore; instead feeling like he's merely an extension of Ra's's (ouch, hate typing that) will.

He starts to feel a little more like his own person once Talia enlists him to start training Damian and is eventually the one to suggest that nothing good was going to come of Damian staying here.

Ra's has Echo post up in Gotham on occasion to keep an eye on Damian, not always, but he's around more than he was before.

-. Jason's met Echo before, they've tangled on several occasions since Ra's is a continued thorn in many people's sides. He doesn't think much of him at first, just another one of Ra's assassins but when Echo ends up in Gotham more often he becomes a little... obsessed. No, really, he just has this gut feeling Echo just needs someone to help him!

He gathers as much intel as he can, which is mostly from Damian, and just sort of... ends up bothering Echo any time he shows up.

Echo isn't sure what to make of the now former Robin or his olive branch of friendship and when Ra's requires it they still end up fighting on opposite sides but Jason is sure he's getting through to him. Definitely. Echo does start to become fond of Jason.

-. Damian eventually puts together the link between Echo and Tim. He eventually decides to take matters into his own hands because Echo helped keep him safe and brought him to Bruce, Bruce clearly misses Tim and Echo is clearly not going to reach out himself.

It wasn't necessarily planned, but Damian gets in over his head with Killer Croc and Echo comes to the rescue, critically injuring himself in the process. He tells Damian to just leave him because Ra's will heal/resurrect him but Damian knocks him out and gets Bruce to bring him to the cave.

The revelation that Echo is Tim is.. a lot. Echo completely shuts down with his secret revealed, he only gives the barest of explanations and mostly refuses to speak to Bruce while he's still recovering. Jason is preferable, he's currently furious with Damian and isn't afraid to show it, but mostly he spends any time he's not sleeping just staring blankly at a wall.

Echo flees Gotham the second he's able to but he won't be gone forever ;)

#astrix answers #astrix au ideas #this is the idea where echo first came from lmao i have no real story in mind but i enjoy the worldbuilding

92 notes · View notes

romanticizingmurder · 2 years

Note

i know ur blog has more of a jason focus not a dick focus but since u posted NTT it unlocked a memory: at some point (i think batman year 3?) dick compares loving bruce to loving an alcoholic father, like directly compares bruce's dependency on crime/he can be a good dad sometimes but he just... gets wrong sometimes! it's a take that i personally am obsessed with but idk what ur thoughts on it are/were, maybe esp w/r/t say, jason's backstory? >:3c

I've seen that page!! I really like it. So I think this is one where I have to make the disclaimer that I think actual canon on Bruce as a parent is incredibly inconsistent. Especially wrt Jason, his post-crisis time unfortunately was just so short I don't think we had time to see how that dynamic might have played out. The Cult has some interesting stuff in it (and gorgeous art) with Jason having to be in charge at points while Bruce is unable to be but that's only a 4 issue series.

So! Headcanon central:

I tend towards the idea that Jason was the kid Bruce most acted like a parent towards as a child. I don't think the level of parentification that Dick had was nearly so present for Jason and I think that kind of reflects in how they think about Bruce! Dick has this fear of disappointing Bruce but also of his absence harming Bruce. He feels like he needs to be there to watch out for Bruce and be his support.

Otoh, Jason's major post-resurrection crisis is fueled by this belief that Bruce has failed him as a father by not avenging him. In some ways I think part of why Jason can hurt Bruce so badly is that Jason doesn't feel that obligation to protect Bruce or be in any way the bigger or more mature person - that's his Dad.

I think one of the tragedies of Jason and Bruce is that they can't go back. Some things change who you are so completely you can never turn the clock back. Jason is still Bruce's son, but they'll never be like that again. I actually desperately want canon to have them both acknowledge that - that they're both grieving the loss of each other, and the loss of the boy Jason was who will never return. And maybe they can't have that story back, but they can write a new one, figure out how to exist with each other in ways that don't hurt, how to fit their sharp edges together. Okay sorry that was a tangent I have a lot of thoughts on changing and mourning re: Them.

In terms of the alcoholic analogy I honestly think Jason could go either way with it? Something I was thinking about with this is I think out of the Gotham vigilantes, Jason, Cass, and Bruce are the least likely to put down the mask. I'm not going into Cass because I'm not qualified but! For Jason, his civilian life is...over. He's been removed from the non-cape world for years. I don't think he's ever going to build it back up in a meaningful way - even when I picture him retired, I can't really picture him with non-cape friends. That's just me, though. But Bruce... Bruce can't stop, because he can't. He has a life outside Batman, but the guilt and fear and shame and sense of duty won't let him leave the cowl behind. So I think on one hand Jason might agree with the alcoholic analogy because his situation is different to Bruce's, on the other hand he might kind of just view them all as dependants on this lifestyle. They're all going to die in their masks (some of them twice).

And just in general, my preferred Bruce is deeply flawed but trying Bruce. I think Bruce is at times a pretty terrible father, in canon. Not for lack of love, but because he's a man with severe mental health concerns who refuses to get help and spends his nights in an endless and largely futile quest fueled by survivor's guilt. That doesn't make the best formula for a stable father but, at least for my headcanons, I like to think that he tries so damn hard. He loves his children. The tragedy is never a lack of love.

Sorry I don't know if I really answered your question but I guess here's a long ramble on Bruce and Jason's family dynamics?

53 notes · View notes

romanarose · 2 years

Text

I'm on Fire

Bruce Springsteen X OC

My masterlist here

I'm drunk, sorry if the intro doesn't make sense. I wrote the story sober, I promise. Shout out to Calista for proofreading despite not knowing a thing about Bruce Springsteen.

I love Bruce Springsteen, I love him so much. Bruce Springsteen drinks respect women juice.

Takes place after the I’m on fire music video. Kate is a 21 year old college student with a rich dad who is an asshole. She’s taken a liking to Bruce, the mechanic at the shop she goes to and started taking it in for minor repairs, asking for him by name. Last night, Bruce dropped the car at her place late at night. She saw him, and unfortunately so did Kate’s dad

Best if you watch the music video beforehand.

The name Kate is taken from the song My Hometown. "Last night me and Kate laid in bed, talking 'bout getting out"

I know theres not a lot of desire out there for Springsteen content, but I love him. If you are here from Sunshine, Starlight Sweetheart Brightside this is a cute fic, but not Moon Knight.

WARNINGS: Excessive drinking, man trying to take advantage of a drunk girl at a bar (not Bruce), parental abuse, not shown just mentioned. P in V sex, unprotected sex, oral (f receiving, m receiving), pretty basic shit, good times

Bruce was working on a beat up Buick when he heard the unmistakable sound of her heel’s clicking in the shop. I just fixed the car yesterday. He hoped he had done it right. He rolled out from under the hunk of junk “Did it stop running again?” But when he saw her face, he knew something was wrong. Instead of her calm, classy, smile, she looked mad. He stood up and whipped his forehead, wishing he wasn’t a grease monkey right now. “Something wrong, miss Kate?”

She held up her keys to his face, looking upset. “What was this about? I told you I’d come get it.”

“I’m sorry miss Kate, I thought I’d save you the trouble.”

“Well you didn’t save me any trouble. My dad saw and now he thinks…” She trailed off.

Bruce realized what she was too polite to say outright “Ah… I’m sorry”

She calmed down a bit “It’s ok Bruce just… don’t do it again. I think maybe it’s best if one of the other guys work on my car for now” She looked genuinely sorry. “Gosh, it’s hot in here.” She took out a blue handkerchief and dabbed at her temple. That’s when Bruce noticed it.

“Is everything all right?” Bruce noticed her bruised temple.

Kate saw him glance at her temple and panicked. When she looked down at her handkerchief, she saw the makeup had whipped off “oh gosh…” she murmured.

“Did someone hurt you?” His concern was genuine, taking a step closer to look.

She stepped back, making Bruce stop in his tracks. “Shoot. Everything is fine, I just hit my head this morning. I’m gonna be late for class just…” She began to leave, putting a hand up “Don’t come to the house again, okay?”

“Yes ma'am”

~~~~~~~latter that evening~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~Bruce’s Home~~~~~~~~~~~~

He feels guiltier than shit. He knew her dad was an asshole, everyone knew. Their family was fairly prominent in town and her dad, Rich, had been coming to the shop since the senior of Jacob’s and Son’s had first opened. Mr. Jones was not a man to be messed with. People had talked, as they always do, of Mrs. Jones disappearing for a few days, returning to social events attempting to cover up with makeup. Bruce wasn’t very interested in town talk, but he didn’t care much for men who hurt women and children, it was cowardly. It seems Kate had learned tricks of the trade. Sometimes he wondered why she stayed with him, but he supposed it was hard to leave while going to the school he was paying for.

Kate really was beautiful, with her long hair in perfect curls. She was well dressed, but he wondered what she would look like in a tee-shirt and jeans. Probably just as beautiful. He didn’t like how the other men talked about her, he had to tell them to knock it off.

“I hear she’s an easy lay, Bruce”

“She might even take mercy on you and give you a pity fuck”

He didn’t care for that talk about ladies in general, but especially not Kate.

Bruce looked at the clock and it was only 9 pm on a Friday. Time was going too slow, he decided to hit up the bar and see who was around.

~~~~~~~~~Kate’s home~~~~~~~

Kate winced as she applied more make up to the bruise on her face. This was hardly the worst she’d seen, but the feeling of her dad's fist in her hair as he tossed her into the wall made her wince a second time. One more semester of school and she was out. Luckily, she was out tonight too. Her mom and dad were out of town. She knew she couldn’t go to the bar’s around there, word couldn’t get out to her dad. But if she went farther out, to the bars on the edge of town, she could get a drink.

~~~~~~~~~~~At a bar on the outskirts of town~~~~~~~~

Kate had, perhaps, a few too many drinks. Everything was feeling fine, until Edge of Seventeen came on and she downed her drink to go dance. She worshiped Stevie. She admired her freedom, her ability to be who she was and how she wanted. She admired the way she seemed to claim her sexuality. It was hers. She’d sleep with whomever she wanted, because she wanted to. Not to get men off, but herself.

The song ended and Kate made her way back to the bar, trying to order another cranberry vodka, wondering what she had to do to the DJ to get him to play more Stevie.

“Hey sweetheart, here, I got one for you already” A handsome young man handed her a cranberry vodka.

“Oh wow thank you!” She took only a sip, seeing how it tasted. So far so good. He was handsome, maybe she’d go home with him tonight. She took another sip, feeling the vodka practically replacing her blood.

“What’s your name, beautiful?”

“Uh, my name’s Kate, and you?” The way the man was staring at her made her uncomfortable. Like he was just… waiting…

“Jack, it's a pleasure” He put a hand on her thigh, making her stiffen.

She moved his hand off her, “I think I’m going to go dance” Kate stood up to go.

“It’s Phil Collins, maybe we can dance together?” He didn’t give her a choice, grabbing her waist with one hand and her wrist with the other.

“No, thank you, please just let me go” Kate started to panic.

“Just one dance” he pulled her close.

“Hey, the lady said no.” A voice came as a hand attempted to push the man away from her.

“Bruce?” Kate recognized him, despite being drunk off her ass.

The young man didn’t relent.

Bruce continued “Listen buddy I’m gonna give you one more shot.”

“What are you gonna do about it?”

Bruce was hoping he’d say that. Before the man had a chance to see it coming, Bruce punched him in the nose, causing blood to come out and Kate to scream.

The bartender shouted over the loud music “BRUCE! What did I tell ya about getting in fights?!” He threw his hands up, annoyed.

Bruce shouted back, smiling a cheeky smile “ONLY WHEN THEY DESERVE IT?!”

“NO! GET OUT AND TRY AGAIN TOMORROW” The bartender waved him away.

“ALRIGHT SEE YA DAVEY” Bruce waved grinning. He looked at the groaning man covered in blood on the floor. Bruce had walked in 10 minutes ago and only had one drink, but the punch was worth it. When he saw Kate, he was surprised to see a girl like her at a place like this. He watched her for a few minutes, he didn’t want to be a creep, but he was curious. He watched her get all excited when Stevie Nicks came on and dance like no one was watching. She was stunning, her brown curls slightly teased for more volume and her dress was black and tight around her torso with no sleeves. It was simple, flaring out at the hips, but the woman inside the dress made it captivating. She was clearly drunk, still downing the cranberry vodka the man had given her as she stared at him on the ground.

He sat two seats down from the man who had given her the drink, hearing him ask what “That drunk chick” was drinking. He watched the drink, making sure nothing was put in it. Although Bruce was a little jealous of the attention the handsome man was getting from Kate, he wasn’t going to interfere when he saw him touch her leg. However, when Kate tried to leave and the man wouldn’t let her go, that’s when Bruce stepped in. Not out of jealousy, but because his mama raised him to protect women, and his dad taught him to fight. When he was a kid, he hit his dad with a baseball bat after his dad was screaming at his mom. To little Bruce’s surprise, his dad didn’t hit him, but started laughing. His dad told him “Bruce, don't ever let anyone hurt your mom, not even me.” Bruce took this to heart and treated all women the way he would’ve wanted his mom to be treated.

When Bruce turned back to Kate, she looked like she was going to be sick “Oh my god”

“Come on, let's get you outside”

Bruce had to half carry her out the door to the alley where she threw up on his shoes.

“Shoot, this is embarrassing., I'm so sorry...” she muttered

Bruce reassured her, noting how she wouldn’t swear. “No it’s ok, I didn’t even like these shoes” That was a lie. The only nice pair of shoes he owned had pink puke on them.

“I felt fine until that last drink.”

Bruce held her hair as she threw up again “Is there a friend I can call or something? There’s a payphone inside, I got change.”

Kate moaned, looking at the puke. “I’m sorry, I’m humiliated.”

He straightened out her hair when she stood up “No, trust me, it's not anything I haven't done before… Maybe less pink…” he wiped the vomit from her face with his sleeve.

“And no, no friends I can call”

‘You’re not driving, can I take you home? I can drop you off nearby so you’re dad doesn’t see”

Kate laughed, “It’s ok, I’ll take a cab.”

“No cabs come out here, Sweetheart. I really don't mind”

Kate smiled at him, “Okay handsome, whatever you say”

Bruce wondered if she was flirting like they used to, before he got her hurt. “I’ll drive your car”

“What about your car?” Kate stumbled to keep her footing as they walked to her car.

Bruce opened the car door and attempted to set her inside nicely “I came with a buddy, he can take my car home” This was a lie, he had come alone. He would get his car later. Bruce wasn’t entirely sure how he was getting home, but he figured he’d spend the night walking.

He made sure she was buckled in and drove to her house in the hills, she was silent. He looked over to see she was sleeping. The garage door was left open, he noticed no other cars were parked in the double garage “Hey Kate, you’re home” He gently shook her, wondering how she was going to get inside if he couldn’t risk her getting hurt if he was caught.

Kate groaned “No, I’m too tired” She turned over.

Bruce sighed and got out, going around to her side of the car, when he opened it, she was still trying to sleep. “Hey, little girl” Bruce gently took her chin in his hand and turned her face towards him to get her attention “Is your daddy home?”

Kate looked at him. Oddly, in the garage light, he still looked ruggedly handsome, like Harrison Ford. “No, he and my mom are away for the weekend.”

Good, no risk of her dad trying to kill him or hitting her “Is it ok if I help you get inside?”

Kate smiled, knowing what this would lead to. He wanted her, and she wanted him “Of course.”

He unbuckled Kate and helped her walk into the house using her keys, she couldn’t hardly stand on her own. He wrapped his right arm around her waist, attempting not to feel more than what was necessary but it was hard in such a tight dress. He opted to curl his fingers into a fist around her waist so his fingers couldn’t feel anything.

“My room is down this way, end of the hall” She was hanging off his arm, leading him to her room, stumbling, but he stopped outside the doorway “What’s wrong?”

Bruce smiled shyly “I don’t think it’d be proper for me to go into a lady’s room, miss.”

“Come on, how you gonna know I made it safely?” she was looking at him innocently and she took his hand and pulled him in.

“Alright, just till you get settled.” Bruce didn’t want her to get the wrong impression in the morning “I’m going to grab you water, you’re gonna want that”

Bruce went to get the water, worried that at any minute her dad would burst in and beat his ass. When he walked back to her door, he knocked.

“Come in” Kate called

“Oh Jesus,” Bruce muttered. Kate was in her underwear and bra standing by her bed, but she walked over to Bruce as he averted his eyes from her. The image of the skimpy underwear and the body inside it was seared into his head, she was stunning. Kate attempted to touch him, and it took everything Bruce had to not touch her back “Sweetheart you’re drunk, let's just get you to bed.” He grabbed the robe from her dresser top and put it on her as she tried to land a kiss.

“It’s fine, come on” she pulled him onto the bed on top of her, loving the weight of him on her, drawing in his smell.

Bruce took her hands in his and pinned her to the bed to stop her touches “Kate…” He looked at her underneath him, this beautiful girl wanted him, and he wanted her, but he knew he couldn’t have her.

She looked disappointed. “Don’t you want me?”

“That’s not really the point.” He got off the bed

She sat up “Do you think I’m pretty?”

Bruce sighed “Of course I do. But I don’t think I’m any good for you”

Kate pouted, but then he face went bleary again “Oh god”

“Shit” Bruce realized she was going to throw up again “Come on, up” he took her to the bathroom and held her hair back while he puked. When she was done, she sat by the toilet “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to sleep with me after seeing all this either” she looked exhausted as she leaned against the wall. Bruce wetted a towel and cleaned her face “Hey, that’s not it at all. Trust me, I’ve been here and way worse.” He was careful around her temple, taking time to gently take off the makeup and took a moment to look at the bruise, suppressing the anger he felt.

He found some mouthwash and figured it would easier than getting her teeth brushed “Here”

Kate took a swig and swished it around, Bruce had to help her lean back into the toilet “God, I feel like crap” and leaned back onto the wall.

Bruce smiled, even drunk off her ass, she didn’t swear. “Stay here” he stood up.

“I don’t feel like I’m going anywhere for a while” Kate muttered

Bruce grabbed the water he had left on the counter and brought it to her “Here, this will help with the morning”

Kate drank the glass and thanked him, she began to slump against the bathtub adjacent to her. “I’m just gonna sleep here” she murmured

Bruce chuckled, she looked very different from the well dressed woman he knew only earlier today.

“No, you’re not.” He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed as she leaned her head against his chest.

He gently laid her down in her bed, pulling the blanket over her. “Goodnight Miss Kate” he brushed the hair from her face. She looked angelic, so peaceful resting against the white pillow. He placed a glass of water on her bed stand for the morning and put her trash can beside her bed, just in case. As he walked to the door to leave and turn off the lights, he heard her call out for him, oh-so sweetly “Bruce?”

He turned around to see she was still awake “Can you sleep here tonight?”

“Miss, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She sat up a bit “Please. It’s been a bad day. I feel safer with you here”

How could he say no to that? He looked at her in the soft light coming in from her window, her eyes were lidded, he thought of her dad and how he might come home anytime. But she said he made her feel safe, and that’s what he wanted. He wanted to protect her from every man who might hurt her, for the rest of her life. “Sure. Yeah.” he laid down on top of the covers and crossed his arms so they didn’t wander, making sure to stay on the far side of the bed.

“Relax, you can get under the blanket. I won't bite” She muttered.

“I think I’ll just stay here, thank you Miss Kate”

“Bruce?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you”

“Don’t worry about it Sweetheart, you saved me from a boring night”

~~~~~Kates perspective~~~~

Kate woke up that morning feeling like shit. She attempted to piece together the night. Shit, Bruce was there? She looked around the room and landed on the Settee sofa in her room. Oh shoot. Bruce is HERE. She recounted the night. Bruce rescuing her from the man at the bar, punching him, taking her home, refusing to have sex, holding her hair while she puked… carrying her to the bed… He even moved to the much less comfortable couch once she was asleep. He only was in the bed because she begged him… What was wrong with him?

She wrapped her robbed around herself and walked over to him, taking in the sight of the man who she had only previously seen full of grease and dirt, curled up on a small couch. It was really a picture. He looked so young and innocent like this. Kate wouldn’t exactly say it was a contrast to how he normally was; it wasn’t, Bruce was kind and warm. But there was something about having the mechanic sleeping on a pink couch warmed her heart.

She admired his curls, small mouth and kind eyes while she considered what happened last night. He took her home, that alone had led her to the assumption that they would sleep together. She came onto him, she was there in her underwear before him… and he refused her. He had insisted that he found her pretty, and the way he looked at her, she knew he was tempted… So why not? Well, the obvious answer was that she had been drunk, but that never stopped men before.

It’s fascinating. all her life, her body has belonged to men. To her dad, who dressed it up to the version he wanted and told her she had to eat a certain way to look a certain way. Her dad, who hit her body when it wasn’t doing what he wanted. Every boyfriend who wanted her a certain shape, every one night stand who essentially used used her body to masterbate, who didn’t even look at her while fucking… Bruce is the only one who treated her well and expected nothing in return, and had in fact refused her attempt to return his kindness. Least she could do was make him breakfast.

Her family out of the house, Kate was free to put on her own music. She chose, of course, her favorite album of all time; Rumors by Fleetwood Mac. Kate supposed she could make eggs and toast (she was not a good cook; it was all she could do)

~~~~ Bruce’s perspective~~~~

Was that Fleetwood Mac? Who was playing Fleetwood Mac in his house? None of the guys listened-oh that's right. Bruce opened his eyes and attempted to stretch but was stopped by the small couch. He looked over to the bed; she was gone. He ran the night through in his head, namely her coming onto him. God, he wanted to take her up on her offer, he really did. It was hard when a girl that pretty was offering herself to him. But his mama raised him right.

Bruce sat up, stretching out his stiff limbs before standing. He wondered if her dad had come home, should he make an escape out the window? No, he wasn’t a coward. If Rich wants to beat women, he’s going to have to be prepared to fight a man.

He walked out the door and followed the sound of music to the kitchen where he found Kate dancing in her robe to “You make loving fun”. Even though her hair was a mess, she still looked beautiful.

“Morn’n, Miss Kate”

She turned around, looking embarrassed “Oh! Morning, just in time!” She was holding two plates. “I was going to bring it to you, but we can eat at the table.”

Bruce glanced at the door involuntarily, “Uh, I think I should be going”

“My dad won’t be home today if that’s what you’re afraid of…”

“Well, I’m not afraid” He was a little afraid. He had gotten into his fair share of fights, but it wasn’t something he relished.

“Didn’t you knock out the guy at the bar? And the bartender talked like you had gotten into fights there before”

Bruce laughed a little. He had gotten into several fights there. If Davey didn’t like him so much, he was sure he’d be 86’d. In his defense, they always deserved it. “Knocking out a drunk man who isn’t expecting it is very different from being in an evenly matched fight.”

She smiled “I think you could take him. But please sit. Let me repay you for last night.” She set the plates at the table. Bruce noticed that the bruise on her temple wasn’t nearly as prominent, did she put makeup over it already?

Bruce considered for a moment. She had already gone through the effort of making him breakfast, so it would be rude to leave. “Okay Kate, I’ll eat with you. Thank you”

Kate beamed as they sat down and ate. There was an awkward silence. Bruce thought maybe it was best to eat in silence and just leave, but if his grandma ever heard he was rude to a lady, he’d have an earful, God rest her soul.

“You a Fleetwood Mac fan?” Bruce asked, making conversion.

She looked up from her plate, lighting up “I worship Stevie Nicks. I adore her.”

“That’s understandable, I’m more of an Elvis man myself”

“Beatles or the Stones?”

“Beatles, no question”

“Excellent taste.”

"Tom Petty or John Couger Mellencamp?"

"Melloncamp, no question. I mean, no disrespect to Petty, but, like Jack and Diane? God, iconic."

They spoke of music as they finished their food. Kate stood up to take their plates, but Bruce stopped her “Please, allow me” . He washed their dishes and put them on the drying rack.

She walked up beside him “You could stay the day, if you’d like…”

Bruce paused then turned to her “I don’t think that's a good idea.”

She frowned “You keep saying that. Why? If I want to spend more time together… is that a bad thing?”

Bruce wasn’t much taller than her, they were probably about the same height, but somehow it felt like she was looking up at him. Maybe it was her brown doe-eyes and pouted lips that made her look so innocent. “I don’t think I’m a good idea for you.”

Another step closer “But why not? You made me smile, you’re a good man, you’re hot…” She dodged her eyes to the side before returning to his, blushing, right side of her mouth quipped up into a half smile.

Bruce felt his heartbeat speed up. She thought he was hot, him! Someone like her looked at him this way? “I’m no good for you…” He repeated, but he was getting closer to her, yeah, there was make-up covering her temple.

“You don’t get to decide that for me…” she muttered, taking another step closer.

Bruce spoke lowly, looking at her lips, but his actions didn’t match his words. “I can’t give you nice things, I can’t give you what you want” One more step, wrapping an arm around her waist chastly.

“I just want you.” Kate pressed her body flush against him, feeling his body, hardened from the physical work “Can’t we try?”

He still didn’t think this was a good idea, but here she was: beautiful, sober, and asking for him? He smiled at her “Yeah, yeah we can” Kate smiled back.

He finally moved in, taking her lips in his as he pressed her back against the counter. He could feel her chest rise and fall as he grew hard against her. His hands roamed her body, savoring the feeling he worried he might never get again. Bruce moved his lips to her neck, placed his hands underneath Kate’s ass and muttered “Up” She hopped up into Bruce’s arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, he carried her to her bedroom. Gently, he laid her down on the bed and moved his hips between her legs, eliciting a gasp from her against his cheek. He continued the motion as he cupped her ass, grabbing and pinching as he went.

When Kate was worked up enough, he slid himself off the bed and untied the robe she was wearing. He kept it on, for now, because he liked how she looked in the pink, fluffy material. Standing above her, he drank in her body, perfectly curved and moving against the bed, anxious for him. When Bruce took off his shirt, Kate sat up, running her hands on his chest “Beautiful” she murmured hazily, mesmerized by the tan Italian body before her. He leaned over to kiss her again; she kept her hands on his as he explored her mouth, his hands snaking around her neck, making her shiver. His hands landed in her hair, giving a small tug “Lay back down.” It was a request, but his gruff voice made Kate clench for him.

She did as she was told, and he knelt before her, fingers running along the lines of her underwear. She looked at him under her, eyeing her. Kate sat up a bit on her elbows. “What are you doing?”

Bruce paused, straightening up to look at her “Sweetheart, has no one ever gone down on you before?” Kate shook her head. What kind of men has she been with? “Just lay down and relax, you’ll like this, I promise”

She trusted his word “Okay” she laid back down as he pulled down her underwear, hearing him mutter swears under his breath.

Knowing that no one but him had ever tasted her, he made it a mission to make her come from just his mouth, no fingers involved. When he latched onto her, he heard Kate gasp. She moved beneath him, responding to every touch, every lick, every suck. He wanted to keep her like this forever, the sounds she made were heavenly and he couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight.

“Can I touch you?” Kate asked above him.

Bruce chuckled, “Of course.”

Her hands found his hair. She took his curls in her fists, loving the thick texture and being able to guide him to where she wanted him to be. She could feel herself getting close, hips bucking against the scuff on his face.

The muscles in her stomach were tightening. “F- hmmm god, fu- God!”

Bruce pulled away for a just a moment, noticing she was still stopping herself, he teased “You can swear here honey, I won’t tell anyone”

Kate pulled him back to her sex “Shut up” she muttered, but she was smiling. Bruce moved to focus on her clit, he knew she was almost there by how tight she was pulling at his hair.

When Kate came, he could’ve sworn that she took out a chunk of his hair, not that he minded “F- god, FUCK” She finally swore, the strength of her orgasm wracking through her body. He continued with his tongue inside her, licking her up as he held her hips to the bed.

When he crawled back onto her, she looked spent. Bruce tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, kissed her cheek, and asked “Do you want to keep going? It’s okay if-”

She pulled his lips to hers again, kissing hard and giving his lip a bite before she answered “Don’t stop” she whispered, touching his thick arms.

“As you wish.” kissing along her mouth, chin and lips, he took off his pants and underwear, his cock finally free from the constraints. Bruce heard her moan when he placed to fingers inside her, he just had to feel inside her today “Fuck, so soft…”

Kate reveled in the feeling of his rough, calloused hands working her, as his 5 O’Clock shadow rubbed against her cheeks. Fuck, she had never had a man like this, a man like him.

When Bruce lined himself up at her entrance, he kissed her, entering her slowly, carefully. Kate took matters into her own hands, bucking her hips up to take him fully, adoring the sounds that spilled out of his mouth. “Fuck me.” she demanded, and he obliged.

The headboard rattled against the wall as Bruce vigorously pumped into her, focusing on the feeling of her taking him so well and the little sounds that she made. If he thought nothing could be more beautiful than the sight of her body as he went down on her, well, he was eating his words. Bruce sat back, a hand firmly gripping her to keep her from moving up the bed with every hard snap of his hips into her. Now this, this might be the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. He realized that he had never even gotten to taking off the bra she wore under the robe from last night, nor the robe. But man, did he love how she looked like this.

Her pink robe was sprawled out beneath her, mirroring the mess of brown curls on the pillow. The way her breasts looked in that bra? Shit. He would take it off next time and really, look at her, but right now, he wasn’t stopping. The fluff of pink at the end of the robe tickled his legs. She reached up to touch his chest, obsessed with the feeling. He laid over her, gripping the headboard for a new angle that she seemed to really love. “Fuck, fuck Bruce, just like that.” Hearing those little swear words spilling out of her pretty little mouth did something to him, knowing he did that to her… He wondered what that mouth would feel like, taking him… Another move for another time. There would have to be another time now, he hoped.

“Bruce, I’m gonna… I’m gonna-, fuck, no one has made me come twice, please make me come…” She pleaded up at him with those beautiful brown eyes.

He didn’t want this to end but how could he deny her another orgasm? Not when she was begging him. With one hand still on the headboard, his freehand moved to her clit, working the bundle of nerves as he rammed into her, hard. She yelled out for him, he inadvertently slammed the headboard into the wall, breaking a part off from the top. Kate paid no attention, feeling the orgasm roll through her body, the wave of pleasure pulsing through her.

When came out from the haze of pleasure, Bruce was still fucking her. “Sit up” she ordered, he did as he was told, Kate felt empty as he left her. She crawled onto her stomach, taking him in her mouth.

“Fuck, fuck Kate…” He entangled his fingers into her hair.

Kate briefly pulled herself off Bruce “Come in my mouth.” She went back on him, working herself up and down his shaft.

She was so wet and warm, he couldn’t hold off anymore, emptying himself into her mouth as requested.

When he finished, he pulled her and himself to lay on the bed, Bruce felt the silk robe beneath him. Kate was entranced with Bruce’s hair, playing with the curls, feeling the sweat on his scalp.

“I’ll fix the headboard” he assured her. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be sorry for a single thing that just happened…” she moved to place her head onto his chest that she was so entranced with, tracing along each muscle.

He laid there for several minutes, until the bruise on her pretty face caught his eye. Most of the make-up had either rubbed off or came off from sweat. He gently touched around the bruise, careful not to graze it “No one will hurt you again, I promise.”

REBLOGS HELP A LOT BC NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOKING FOR THIS!!!!

Come read part 2!

#bruce springsteen #bruce springsteen fanfiction #bruce springsteen smut #smut #i'm on fire #born in the usa #80's girl #springsteen #springsteen fluff #bruce springsteen fluff #Bruce springsteen fanfiction

16 notes · View notes

ameba-from-space · 2 years

Note

I hope you don't mind me asking but i just went through all of your batfam/batman recommended fics and wondered if you had more? I'm super new to the dc fandom and finding good family/friend focused fics has felt like a challenge

Bestie it's not a problem, doing these lists has been loads of fun, I'm re-reading all my favorite fanfics and rediscovering all over again why I loved them in the first place

Let us begin

Of Bats and Robins (and Families) - is it too obvious that I fucking love fanfics where the league meets bruce's kids?

dying dream - Jason finds out what changed in the cave since he was gone

Trending - Tim is a sleepy baby

hit 'em up style - Bruce Wayne vs tampons: battle of the century

falling in love (is hard on the knees) - I know this sounds like smut but I promise it's not

Anything Like Me - Louis and bruce bonding

Reservations - The kids try to set bruce up for a date. Clark mopes.

I Measure Every Grief I Meet - What if Jason was not the one who died in Ethiopia?

We Alley Kids - Jason gets recognized and returned to where he belongs

Billionaire Down - Bruce and Oliver are asshole best friends

and it comes back around - Sometimes Brucie is a hero too

Bundle of Joy - Damian is a baby. Literally

sneaking into the Batcave seemed like a good idea until a bunch of bats glare at you - Guess what bitch, it's another fanfic where the JL meets the kids

Waynes? More like Wayne-kers - The Waynes are assholes and I love them so much

A Children's Story - No better words to describe it other than what the author said "Four batkids walk into a bank"

Hearth - Angst in my rooftop tag? It's more likely than you'd think

A Touch of Concern - Cuddle piles and overprotectiveness

The Bedtime Chronicles - Bruce figures a way to make Jason go to bed

Perils of a Job - Dick gets hurt, bruce worries

what a privilege to love you (to teach you all that I know) - A fucking masterpiece, beautiful and perfect, a story about the word "dad" and what it means to the batfamily. FUCKING BEAUTIFUL GO FUCKING READ IT

Their Five (Unexpected) Dates - The kids try to get bruce set up, fucking guess how well that goes

Clark Kent Reports - Brucie Wayne my beloved

Photos - Damian's baby pictures are found, feelings happen

The Arrangement - Bruce Wayne supports sex workers

Put My Money Where Your Mouth Is - Batman hears the league talking about bruce Wayne, pranks happen

A Day in the Life: Gotham's King - Lois lane writes about bruce Wayne

children of dust and ashes - Bruce avenges Jason

...And To All, A Good Night - Happy Chrismis, merry crysler

That the Ripest Might Fall - reverse robins short story about dick and his tendency to climb chandeliers

bad people don't live in our house - Baby dick is adorable

things kept hidden - Meta!dick Grayson is a ray of sunshine

The Superman Onesie - Dick Grayson owns my heart

What would you do, if it all came back to you? - Bruce makes video diaries after Jason's death, Jason finds them

The Jason Project - Bruce finds the bucket list of a dead child and finishes it

No Matter What - Queerness? In my Dick Grayson? It's more likely than you'd think

Hi Bi, I'm Dad - Bisexuality? In my Tim Drake? Its more likely than you'd think

Dad...I’m Bilingual - Bisexuality? In my Dic... Okay you guys already got the idea

Thinking back to the Season Before - Alfred is a fantastic grandpa

Proof - The boys meet each other before ever meeting bruce

Running Headlong into My Arms - In another universe with no superheroes, bruce Wayne still finds his family

In For a Pound - What if Damian entered Bruce's life much earlier. A GODDAMN MASTERPIECE BY @cdelphiki

I walk the streets at night (with monsters in my mind) - Bruce Wayne is a dragon, his hoard? Children

The Dark Knight Strikes Back - Bruce finishes Minecraft and the boy figure out how much he changed

Bat Out Of Hell - The batfam are a bunch of weirdoes

the lost sidekick society - The obligatory group chat fic

Slumber - sleepy robin

one shot, two shots in the night - Bruce writes a memoir, it makes me cry so hard, fuck, best shit ever

a hat fashioned from tin foil - conspiracy theories straight from Gotham

Anti-Social - Social media is a blessing

Not All Kidnappings are Bad - Bruce Wayne kidnaps a kid, no biggie

I'll Make the World Safe and Sound for You - Robins and band-aids

Built Together - Pillow forts! Pillow forts!

Oh god this list is way longer than I thought it would be, anyway enjoy my rec, just so you guys know I still have 4 more pages of bookmarks

Here are the links to the other ones I made: first part second part

2K notes · View notes

a-reader-and-a-writer · 2 years

Text

The Green Stuff

Febuwhump 2022: #7. Used as an Experiment

Fandom: DC, Superman, Clark Kent, Superman's Daughter!Reader

Word Count: 3052

TW: Torture, Pain, Burns, Suffocation, Drugged, Kidnapped

@febuwhump

It has never been easy having Superman as a dad. Of course, you love him to death, and he has always been the best father a person could ask for, but trying to live up to his legacy has always seemed like a herculean task. And it wasn’t helped by the fact he constantly refused to let you venture out on your own. Though you had been working with him for years as his sidekick, he put his foot down when it came to letting you go out on solo missions. You thought maybe now that Jon was old enough and he had been joining the two of you on rescues, things might change. But if anything, it had seemed to make your dad even more reluctant to let you go off on your own.

To make matters worse, your godfather was no help on the subject. You would have thought a man who raised multiple children from a young age to be his partner in crime would be more open to the idea, however, Bruce was just as adamant as your dad that you stuck by his side. Which really wasn’t fair since Dick left to go solo and become Nightwing around your age! But they both claimed that your powers needed more supervision, more oversight, more – blah, blah, blah. You were sick of it!

So, one day when you are walking home from your day job and you hear a cry for help coming from an alley a few blocks over, you jump at the chance to prove everyone wrong and show them you can handle a crisis on your own. Quickly dumping your belongings and street clothes behind a dumpster, you fly towards the sound of the distress call in your costume. Landing carefully, you peer down the darkened alley but you can’t see anyone.

“Hello? Did someone call for help? It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” You take a few steps further into the alley.

Suddenly, you hear a sound behind you, and something sharp stings the back of your neck. Whipping around, you knock a syringe out of the hands of the masked man who is now standing a few feet in front of you. Looking down at the needle on the ground as it drips a single green drop from the end, you smirk smugly. While you had to admit you were surprised that the needle had been able to pierce your skin in the first place, you know that you were immune to practically every poison or knockout drug known to man, so the little jab meant nothing to you.

That is until you try to take a step towards your attacker and almost fall over as you lose your balance. Trying to steady yourself against the wall of the alley, you realize your vision is beginning to blur and all of your strength is slowly draining from your body.

Weakly, you look up at the person in the mask and ask, “Wh-what did you do?” But you don’t get a reply.

Trying to take another step, you collapse into a heap on the ground. Your entire body feels as if it is being filled with wet cement and it is getting more difficult to move. Somehow, you manage to raise your right hand to your chest and press down on the communication link hidden there.

Almost immediately, your dad’s voice rings out slightly concerned but more curious as to why you are calling him. “Hey, are you okay?”

“D-dad… help-p…” you manage to stutter.

Instantly, the confusion in his voice switches to fear as he hears you struggle to get the words out. “What happened? Where are you?”

“…messed up……” Whatever had been injected into your system finally overtakes you completely as your hand falls away from your chest and your eyes flutter closed.

The last thing you hear as the darkness swallows you is your dad screaming your name through the link.

When you finally wake up an indeterminate amount of time later, you feel weaker than you have ever felt before. Even just opening your eyes and shifting your head slightly to look around at your surroundings takes almost everything in you to accomplish. The dim red lighting makes it hard to see anything, but you spy a row of test tubes with various colored liquids on a table by the wall. There are also a few men with guns circling the spot where you are laid out, eyes never leaving you and fingers twitching near the triggers. This is slightly concerning. Under normal circumstances, you are just as bulletproof as your dad. But in your current state…

Glancing down, you realize that you are strapped to a long steel table by thick metal straps across your torso and over each wrist and ankle. You can feel a soft buzzing coming from the restraints, a tell-tale sign they are infused with magic. You and your powers are extremely susceptible to magic. This is not good.

Suddenly, the red lights disappear as a blinding clear examination light shines directly in your face. Blinking at the sudden brightness, you see a figure enter the room and move between the armed men heading directly for you. You sneer defiantly. “Luthor. I should have guessed.”

The supervillain grins as he approaches you. “Hello my dear. I must say this is a surprise. I was expecting to capture your father or perhaps even your brother, but you will serve my purposes just as well. For you see, I have a few little experiments I have been hoping to run, but I have just been waiting for the perfect test subject. And you will do nicely.

“After my many years of confrontations with your father, I have managed to learn about some of his weaknesses.” He gestures to your cuffs. “Magic for one has always seemed to be outside the might of your powers. Also, these red solar lights.” He points to the lights that had previously been shining on you. “They seem to sap your strength to essentially human levels. As does this.” He pulls out a piece of green kryptonite from his pocket and you flinch. He smiles at your reaction. “Yes, this has always been my greatest weapon against you Supers. And yet, none of these individual elements have ever been enough to stop you by themselves. Which had me wondering…..”

Luthor walks over to the row of test tubes. “What would happen if I were to combine these elements into a single weapon? Would that finally be enough to stop you? And so, I have had my research team working on this very question for almost a year now and they have come up with some very interesting results. The only problem was, I needed a test subject first. A little trial and error if you will. Which is where you will come into play.”

You gulped nervously. Luthor might be an evil maniac, but he was also a genius with the money to be able to hire all the top medical minds to help him. If he thought he had a weapon to use against you, there was little doubt in your mind it would work or, at the very least, slow you down immensely. But you still have one hope left.

“If I were you Luthor, I would forget your little experiment and start leaving town now. I managed to make a distress call before your man grabbed me. My father will be coming for me at any moment,” you sneer defiantly, trying to hide how scared you really are.

But Luthor just grins. “Don’t worry, I planned for that. You see, the bottom six floors of this building, which we are on the bottom of, have each been lined with a three-inch layer of lead so he will not be able to see you down here. Then, both the walls of this room and the outer rooms surrounding it are covered with these red solar lamps. I have temporarily turned these off but the ones in the other room are still on at full charge. Plus, I mixed green kryptonite into the glass of each of the bulbs for extra protection. So even if he manages to find you, in theory by the time he gets into this room he will be too weakened to save you. Call it another experiment.”

Your heart sinks as the last of your hope evaporates. Luthor was right. Even if your dad found you, it would be too dangerous for him to try to save you. You are on your own.

Luthor sees your expression drop as the realization hits you and his smile widens. Cheerfully, he says, “Now that all of the explanations are out of the way, I believe it is time for the experiments to begin!”

He grabs a small beaker full of thick, slime-like green liquid off the table next to you. Using a small pipette, he drips a few drops onto your arm. The second the liquid touches your skin, it begins to burn like acid. You can actually see smoke streaming up from the bubbling puddle on your arm. You try to fight through the pain but within seconds, you are a screaming, quivering mess as you try desperately to wipe the liquid from your arm. However, all attempts to do so just spreads it around more, increasing the area that is burning. Just when you think the pain can’t get any worse, Luthor places a few drops on your leg this time. You jerk and strain against the bindings, but the magic infused within them makes them impossible for you to break. You are forced to lay there and just endure the pain.

Three more drops are placed in various other areas of your body. By this point, you are half-delirious from the pain and the smell of your burning flesh is making you nauseous. Finally, Luthor takes pity on you and has one of his assistants wipe the liquid from your skin. While the burning doesn’t go away completely, the intensity does decrease to some extent. Cautiously, you glance at the burn on your arm and immediately wished you hadn’t. If the smell had been bad, the sight of your raw, half-dissolved flesh is a hundred times worse.

You only feel half-conscious right now as exhaustion, disgust, and pain all swirl throughout your body. But at least it is over…. or so you think. Before you even have a chance to recover from the first experiment, Luthor approaches you with a glowing green syringe. You struggle weakly again, even though you know it is pointless. Before you can even mutter a weak plea for him to stop, he jams the needle into your arm and presses down on the plunger. Immediately, it feels like fire is burning through your veins. You can feel the exact spots where the poison has reached as it travels through your system, carried by your overactive bloodstream. Soon, your entire body is in flames. You jerk and twitch as the poison begins to mess with your nervous system. And as your mouth suddenly begins to fill with blood, you realize you have bitten through your tongue.

Luthor is saying something as he hovers over you, but your brain can’t comprehend the words. However, you see him grab another syringe and inject you in the same spot. And just like before, you can feel the liquid traveling throughout your body, but this time, it is like an icy wave quenching the flames that are burning within you. You let out a shaking sigh of relief as you lay panting, weak and aching, on the table. Silently, you beg for your dad to show up to save you even though deep down you know he can’t. This room would be just as dangerous to him as it is to you. Yet, you can’t help imagining him busting through the ceiling and taking you away from this hell.

Once again, Luthor approaches you, this time with an oxygen mask. As you weakly try to struggle away from him, he says, “Don’t worry. This is the last one. After this experiment is through, I will have no more use for you and your pain can end. However, in the meantime…”

He slips the mask over your head and tightens it around your nose and mouth. You try to fight back, but at this point you are too weak to do much more than rock your head back and forth. Luthor smiles as he turns on the nozzle of the tank that is connected to your mask. You watch helplessly as green gas begins to travel up the tube and streams into the mask. You try to hold your breath, hoping you can outlast whatever is in the tank. However, you are just too weak to hold out for long. As soon as you gasp your first breath, the gas is sucked down your throat and into your lungs. You immediately struggle to breathe as the gas burns like volcanic smoke, scorching whatever it touches. Within seconds, your throat and lungs are in searing pain as your chest heaves violently, struggling to get the tiniest bit of oxygen from within the green gas. But it is a fruitless effort.

Soon, your vision begins to blur and darken, unconsciousness finally coming to rescue you from your pain. But on the very edge of your awareness, you hear a crash, followed by the sounds of a struggle. Seconds later, the mask is ripped off your face and thrown across the room. You gasp wildly, struggling to breathe through your ruined throat and lungs as you feel your restraints being unlatched. As your vision slowly returns, you look up at the familiar shape of your rescuer.

“-uce.” is all you can manage to wheeze out as you gaze gratefully at your godfather.

Batman stares down at your brutalized, tortured form. In all the years you had known him, you had never once called him Bruce while he was in costume and this fact worries him almost as much as your appearance.

He places a hand gently on your head, running it softly over your sweat-dampened hair. “Don’t worry. You’re safe now and everything’s going to be okay.” He hits the button on his intercom and speaks into it. “Superman, I found her. Luthor escaped but I managed to round up most of his men. She’s alive but…. she’s in bad shape. You need to come get her.”

“-o… no… t-trappp… don’t.. let… him…” you agonizingly squeeze out in a jagged croak. Besides just the traps you knew about, who knows what other surprises Luthor might have set for your father in case he tried to save you. You couldn’t risk him coming here even though Luthor was gone and all you wanted in the world right now was your dad.

Somehow, Bruce understands what you were struggling to say, and he speaks back into the intercom, “Change of plans. Just meet me on the street right outside the building. We will be up there in a minute.”

As he clicks off, you nod softly in thanks as he gathers you carefully into his arms. Every muscle, every bone, every cell in your body aches and you can’t hold back the moan that escapes your lips as you settle against his chest. Moving as quickly yet as carefully as possible, Bruce carries you from the lab. As he enters the next room, you flinch deeper into Bruce as you are bombarded by the multitude of red sun lamps. He notices and picks up his pace.

As soon as you are out of that room and headed up towards the surface above, you feel your muscles slightly relax. Already you can feel the draw of the yellow sun high above you alleviating some of the agony that still courses through you. And as soon as Bruce opens the front door of the building and you feel the first rays of the sun on your skin, it is an instant relief. And that relief is only intensified when you feel Bruce transfer you into your dad’s waiting arms. As they wrap tightly around you, you weakly look up to his tearstained face.

But he gives you a small smile as he says, “Hey, baby. It’s okay. You’re safe now. I won’t let him hurt you anymore.” He nods his thanks to Bruce before gently lifting off into the air. “This should help you feel a little better and heal faster.”

He quickly soars up higher and higher until the two of you are hovering just on the edge of the atmosphere. And he was right. The radiation from the sun is much more intense up here and it feels like a wave of cooling air across your injuries. While it isn’t instantly healing your wounds, it is definitely easing some of the pain.

You burrow your face into the “S” on your dad’s chest as you manage to squeeze out, “.. I’m… s-sorry… Da…”

“No, baby. This was not your fault. I should have been there for you when you called, and I wasn’t. But I am so proud of the way you dealt with everything. I think I’ve been wrong this whole time to try and hold you back, keep you close. You are more than capable of handling yourself and I should have let you branch out more on your own a lot sooner. I’m sorry.”

You blink in surprise. You had assumed this experience would have made him want to keep an even tighter grip on you instead of giving you more freedom. “I ‘ppreciate it… but ma-maybe no… solo missions… for a while.”

Your dad smiles down at you before placing a light kiss to the top of your head. “Take as long as you need. But just know when you feel you are ready, I believe that you will be one of the greatest heroes this world has ever seen. But for now, get some rest.”

So, with your dad’s praise ringing in your ears and the sun’s rays warming your skin, you let yourself drift off to sleep, finally escaping the nightmare you had been through.

#febuwhump #febuwhump 2022 #febuwhumpday7 #used as an experiment #fic #superman #superman x reader #superman & reader #clark kent #batman #batman & reader #lex luthor #dc #dc x reader #whump #torture tw #pain tw #experimentation tw #suffocation tw

246 notes · View notes

ragingbookdragon · 3 years

Text

Batsis Meet The Batboys

Batsis x Batfamily One-Shot

Word Count: 4.1K Warnings: Explicit Language, Angst

Author's Note: Y'all, I am slowly but surely making good on that promise to get all my stories reposted--also editing them so they're nice and neat! Enjoy! -Thorne

Dick:

She hummed in amusement as her father grunted and begrudgingly passed over another five into the man’s hand. “You know…it’s good to know that my perfect father actually sucks at something.” She turned and popped a piece of cotton candy into her mouth. “And it’s carnival games.”

He grunted again when he missed the balloon, and he handed her the darts. “Why don’t you try it, sweetheart?”

She handed him the cotton candy with a grin and took the darts, holding one up and making the repeated motion of throwing it. She couldn’t help but feel a little cocky as she asked, “Dad, if I get this, what toy do you want?”

She nodded to the bat in the corner. “I was thinking about the stuffed bat. Eh, dad?” He glared at her, but she laughed as she tossed the weighted dart, watching as it hit center and she pointed to the bat. “I’ll take that one.”

The man handed it to her, and they walked off; she held it up to her father. “Here. A bat for Batman,” she quipped, and he grunted at her.

“That isn’t funny, (Y/N).”

She shrugged and retorted, “It’s a little funny. You just have no sense of humor because you’re a stick in the mud.” (Y/N) shoved the stuffed animal in her backpack before reaching up and taking her father’s hand; she glanced down at her wristwatch on the opposite hand and said, “The performances don’t start for another twenty minutes. Want to go look at something else? I saw one of those spinning car rides. We could do that.”

When he didn’t give her response, she looked back up at him to see him staring off into the distance, his eyes set on the Wayne Enterprises tower. “Dad? You okay?”

He blinked as if startled from his thoughts and he directed his gaze down at her and after a few moments, he nodded. “Just thinking.”

“Penny for your thoughts.”

“I haven’t spent a lot of time with you.” He frowned and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, (Y/N). I haven’t been a good—”

She cut him off with a ‘pfft’. “Dad, it’s alright. I’m not angry.” (Y/N) squeezed his hand in return. “I might be young, but I’m not an idiot. I know being a dad is new for you, especially since you didn’t get to watch me grow up the first decade of my life. But what matters is that you’re here now, and you’re doing the best you can. And that’s all I ask of you.”

At her little speech, he was stunned, and after a moment he knelt down and hugged her. “I love you, sweetheart.”

(Y/N) returned the hug, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, though they were so big and broad that she couldn’t meet her hands around his back. “I love you too, dad.”

Happening to glance over his shoulder, she immediately gasped. “Dad!”

He let her go, immediately moving to protect her. “What? What is it?”

(Y/N) pointed towards a costumed family walking and greeting the people. “It’s the Flying Grayson’s!” She grabbed his hand and tugged him along in their direction. “Let’s get a picture with them!” She could hear her father chuckle behind her, but he followed, and they stepped up to the family.

(Y/N) waved at them. “Hi Mister and Missus Grayson! Can we get a picture with you?”

The man and woman smiled at them and nodded, and a boy a couple years younger than her stepped up.

He stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Richard Grayson. But you can call me Dick.”

(Y/N) took his hand and shook it. “(Y/N) Wayne. Nice to meet you, Dick.” She gestured to her father. “This is my dad, Bruce Wayne.”

Her father smiled and tipped his head towards the boy before handing the camera to someone and stepping beside her. She and Dick had become friends instantaneously as they slung their arms around each other’s necks, their grins cheesy and wide.

The camera flashed and the man handed Bruce the camera, and (Y/N) nodded to the family. “Thank you for taking a picture with us.” They started to walk away, but she stopped them, motioning to her dad. “Can my dad take a picture of the three of you? I know it seems a little weird, but it’d be cool to have a picture of you guys, and one with you.” They nodded at her request and she gestured to her father, watching him take the photo of the family. “Thank you!”

They waved and walked off, leaving them, and she turned to Bruce. “Wanna go find seats?” He nodded, and they began moving in the direction of the tent.

***

Time seemed to grind to a halt as (Y/N)’s heart stopped in her chest as she watched them slam into the ground. Chaos filled the tent in mere seconds, people screaming, children crying, and her father grabbed her arm. “(Y/N)—”

She nodded and pulled her arm away, already starting to make her way from her seat. “I’ve got him. Go.” She didn’t wait for his reply, hopping the seats until her feet hit the dirt ground and she broke into a sprint towards the sobbing boy in the center.

She twisted her feet and slid on the ground next to him, her heart tightened when he gazed up at her, sky blue eyes wide in agony. (Y/N) reached out, wrapping her arms around him. “I’ve got you Dick. I’ve got you kid.”

She felt his arms come around her middle as his head burrowed in her shoulder; his entire body shook with every heart-wrenching sob, and (Y/N) raised one of her hands, running it through his hair as she whispered repeatedly, “I’ve got you.”

(Y/N) heard GCPD officers shouting, and she looked up, seeing her father standing beside them. “Batman,” she whispered softly.

He glanced at her before kneeling beside them and blocking the way of the fallen couple. “You two shouldn’t look at this anymore.”

She nodded and squeezed the boy on the shoulder. “Dick. We need to get away from here.”

“I can’t…leave them.” He pulled back, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I’m…all alone.”

(Y/N) shook her head, and placed a hand on his cheek. “I’m here, Dick. You’re not alone.” His face pinched as a new round of tears sprouted in his eyes and he lowered his head, the sobs wracking his body, and she gazed up at her father’s face, knowing the agony behind the white slits. “You’re not alone.”

Jason:

She walked alongside her father, tugging at the collar of her suit. “Can’t we make a suit that doesn’t choke me as much as this collar does? I feel like I’ve got one of Ivy’s vines wrapped around my throat.” He didn’t say anything and she rolled her eyes. “Fine. Fine. Ignore me. I see how it is.”

“You’re the one who designed your suit, Batgirl. I told you to choose breathable fabric but you refused and said you wanted adequate protection like mine.”

She blinked and glared at him. “Do you get some sick pleasure from repeating my apparent failures?” He chuckled lightly, and she looked around. “Whatever…I still think you shouldn’t have parked in Crime Alley. You know there’s always trouble here.”

“The Batmobile is fine,” he said, voice tired as if he’d answered the question a hundred times before—he had.

(Y/N) hummed, nodding to the car a few feet ahead of them and quipped, “Oh, so the kid jacking the tires off it is completely normal?”

Her father looked at her split second before turning to see it, his eyes widening in disbelief as he muttered, “I don’t believe what I’m seeing.” He moved soundlessly towards the boy, her following.

“Got to give it to him. It takes some big balls to jack the Batman’s ride,” she admired and he grunted, though she knew he was in agreement, and they walked up on the oblivious boy.

She watched her father pull his ‘Put-The-Fear-Of-Batman-Into-‘Em’ stance and he cleared his throat with an exaggerated, ‘ahem’. (Y/N) snorted at the way the boy jerked, twisting to see them staring at him; she swore he’d shit himself the way the fear bled into his eyes.

Her father glared at the kid. “You do realize that’s the Batmobile, right?”

The boy’s face pinched, and he tipped his head up, his voice haughty. “Duh. You do realize you parked your car in Crime Alley, right?” (Y/N) barked a laugh, but quickly coughed when her father turned his glower to her, and he turned back to the boy just in time to see him swinging the tire iron.

“Bad move, hotshot.” Her words fell on deaf ears as she watched her father catch the tool and grip the boy by the front of his hoodie, picking him up off the ground a few feet.

He squirmed, legs kicking out for few seconds before spitting, “You want to beat up on a kid, go enlist in the GCPD like every other bully in this city.”

(Y/N) saw the gears turning in her father’s head as he leaned in, his face inches apart from the boys as he demanded, “I’m only going to ask you this once…So give some serious thought to your answer.”

The boy craned his neck, eyes narrowed as he asked, “What it is?”

Her father gave him a smirk. “Are you hungry?” The boy’s brows furrowed in suspicion, and within the next ten minutes, they were sitting on the hood of the Batmobile eating burgers and fries and sipping on milkshakes.

At one point, she’d reached over and grabbed the boy’s hands; he looked up at her and she nodded to his burger. “Slow down, Jason. You’ll eat your hand at this rate.”

He snorted but nodded, eating a little slower than before as he said, “Sorry. This is the closest thing to a home-cooked meal since I’ve had a home.” He paused and looked out at the city. “It’s funny…I was here once, looking for Wayne Manor.” He looked between them. “I was trying to case the place, but I got lost.”

Bruce looked down at the boy and questioned, “Why do you think it’s okay to steal from people?”

Jason scoffed at his question. “Are you kidding me? Look at this view.” He motioned to the buildings in the distance. “Freaking ‘Billionaire Playboy’ thinks he’s the king of the world. Pfft.”

(Y/N) elbowed him in the ribs and quipped, “Oh honey, he doesn’t think he is. He knows he is.”

The two of them cackled, but the solemn look from her father made their laughter fall short and he said, “Sometimes you just have to give people a chance Jason…they’ll usually surprise you.”

Her father’s words made Jason pause, and she saw him sink into deep thought. After a few moments, she leaned across Jason and nudged her father.

He looked at her and she tipped her head to Jason. “Does this mean he’s coming home with us?” Her father looked at him and back to her, then nodded and she shifted her arm, grinning as she wrapped it around Jason’s neck. “Well then, welcome to the family…little brother.”

Tim:

She could sense the boy following her, and after a few moments, she realized he wasn’t giving up. It wasn’t just some coincidence that they were on the same path—he wanted something from her. She glanced over her shoulder before ducking into the shadows of an alley, waiting for him to follow.

Sure enough, he stepped into the opening of the alley, looking for her, then he shook his head and stamped his foot on the ground. “No-no-no. I was so close to finding her.” He sighed and his shoulders fell in defeat as he visibly deflated.

She stepped behind him and gripped his shoulder in an steel-tight grasp, inquiring, “Why are you following me, kid?”

The kid gasped like he’d been shot as his knees collapsed beneath him, falling from her grip and to the ground. He rolled and gazed up at her with a mixture of shock and wonder as he breathed, “Batgirl.”

She glared down at him and demanded, “Answer my question before I call GCPD for you being out past curfew. Why. Are. You. Following. Me.”

He swallowed thickly before nodding rapidly. “Right. You see, I’ve been looking for you, Batgirl.”

“Yeah, I got that from the tailing. What I wanna know is, why?”

“I need to talk to you about Batman.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion at the mention of her father. “What’s a scrawny-ass kid like you, need to talk about Batman with me for?”

His mouth opened, then it snapped shut and he seemed to think on his answer for a moment. He looked at his hands and whispered, “It’s about your brother…Jason Todd.”

Hearing her deceased brother’s name knocked the air from her lungs and she barely managed to get the word ‘what?’ out without sucking in a breath.

He glanced up at her. “I know who you are Miss Way—”

(Y/N)’s hand shot out and she slapped it over his mouth before shaking her head. “Don’t say my name. You don’t know who’s listening.” He went silent as she removed her hand and held it out for him. “C’mon. If you know who I am then that means you know everyone’s identity.”

He nodded mutely and she clicked a button on her wrist; A few moments later, her bike pulled in front of the alley. “Get up. We need to go have a chat.” He took her hand, letting her haul him to his feet, and they walked over to the bike. (Y/N) climbed on before nodding to him. “Get on and hold on.” He followed her order, sitting in front of her, and she took off.

***

A few minutes later, they were stepping into one of the safe houses her dad set up around the city. She closed the door and flicked on the light, pulling the cowl off before gesturing to the table. “Sit.” He obeyed and she opened the refrigerator, pulling out two sodas. (Y/N) turned, taking the seat across from him and sliding his drink over. “Now. Who are you and how do you know about all this?”

He nodded and pulled out a giant book, placing it on the table. “My name is Timothy Jackson Drake, I’m thirteen, and I’ve been following the exploits of Batman, Batgirl, and Robin since I was two.”

(Y/N) cocked a brow at that. “Two’s a little young to be able to remember us.”

Tim looked at the book and nodded. “I know…but I have a photographic memory, and I remember the first time I saw Batman.”

“And that was?”

He paused and his voice quiet. “The night Dick Grayson’s parents were murdered.” (Y/N)’s eyes went wide, and he drew his eyes to hers. “I remember Dick swinging to the ground as his parents climbed the ladder. His mom went first, and his dad followed. Then…the rope snapped, and…they fell.”

Tim quieted considerably and she had to strain to hear him as he recounted, “I got scared, and I looked away. I couldn’t watch…then I heard the crash and Dick sobbing. And I saw you run down and hug him.” He met her gaze. “Then I saw this giant, dark shape falling towards you, and I thought it was going to hurt you two. But then I realized Batman wasn’t trying to hurt you…he was trying to help you both. And he went from being a monster…to becoming some great Dark Knight.”

Tim looked at her. “From them on, I’ve been having the same dream, over and over. I—”

(Y/N) raised a hand, stopping him. “When did you find out who we were?”

He nodded. “When I was nine, I was watching TV and I saw you and Dick, well, Robin and Batgirl. You—”

“Batgirl and Robin. In that order.” She pointed to herself with a face that could only be something akin to the ‘first-child-syndrome’. “I was first.”

A smile grew across Tim’s face and he nodded. “Right, Batgirl and Robin. Anyway, I saw you two on TV, and I watched Dick perform a quadruple somersault.” He grinned rather proudly of himself and declared, “I knew that somersault like I knew my own name. About six months later, Robin made his first appearance. And if Dick Grayson was Robin and Bruce Wayne’s ward, then Bruce Wayne was Batman, and you were Batgirl.” (Y/N) stared at Tim in shock, too stunned to even form words.

He shifted nervously under her gaze. “Um…Miss (Y/N)? Batgirl? Are you alright?”

(Y/N) blinked and shook her head as she muttered, “Holy shit, kid. What are you?”

“I—I’m sorry?”

She huffed a laugh and grinned at him. “You’ve got some damn good detective skills to have figured all that out.” Tim smiled sheepishly under the praise, then (Y/N) stood up from the table, stretching her arms over her head until she heard her joints pop, then she stared at him. “You got a place to sleep tonight?”

“I…no. Not at the moment.”

(Y/N) placed her hands on her hips and hummed. “And why’s that?”

“Well, in the course of looking for you, I’ve also been looking for Dick. But I can’t find him. He’s good at disappearing.”

She nodded and pointed to a room. “I know where Dick is. Go sleep in the guest room, and tomorrow we can go find him.”

As she walked past him, heading for her room, he questioned dubiously, “You’d do that for me?”

(Y/N) stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “Isn’t that what family does?”

Tim’s jaw went slack and he gaped at her as she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her.

Damian:

She shut the door behind her and locked it, though there really wasn’t any reason to considering the fact that no one could get into the manor, let alone across the front lawn without anyone inside knowing.

Hauling the bag up and over her shoulder, she found it odd that no one had greeted her yet and her oddity turned into unsettling when she didn’t hear anything.

She dropped her keys in the silver bowl on the side table and looked around the foyer. “Hello? Dad? Alfred? Timmy?” She stuck her head in the kitchen door. “Anyone home?”

There was no response and she hummed questioningly, knowing that on a Sunday, everyone was home relaxing. She made her way to the study and shifted the clock hands, watching as the entrance appeared, then she descended the steps into the cave. It was even quieter than usual, and she felt the hairs stand up on the back on her neck as she made her way to the Batcomputer.

She pushed a button on the keyboard, watching as the screen came to life and said, “Give me the most recent update.”

“Confirmation?” It replied.

“(Y/N) Wayne, Batgirl.”

The computer beeped for a moment. “(Y/N) Wayne. Batgirl. Access level high.” It paused. “Access granted. Welcome Batgirl.”

“Give me the most recent update.”

“Requested.” It processed the request then told her, “Talia al Ghul entered Gotham Bay approximately two days ago, leaving behind Damian al Ghul in Batman’s custody.”

Damian al Ghul? Who the hell is that? (Y/N) raised an eyebrow as she pushed another button. “Who is Damian al Ghul.”

“Damian al Ghul is the biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. Conceived…month and day unknown…year was two-thousand-three.”

(Y/N) stared at the screen, not sure if she should feel shock that her dad had a second biological kid, or disgust that he slept with Talia to get one. All the sudden, her training kicked in and she felt someone behind her. She spun around, catching the blade of a sword coming at her. She looked down at a young child, no older than ten, glaring up at her. She’d seen pictures of her father when he was a child, and though he had Talia’s emerald green eyes and olive complexion, there was no mistaking the resemblance between him and her father.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she shoved him away. “The hell are you doing?”

He raised the sword again and said, “Testing you.”

(Y/N) crossed her arms, her gaze curious. “For what purpose?”

He ran at her waving the sword. “To see if you are really father’s daughter.”

She chuckled at that and dodged each attempt to cut her. “Trust me short-stack, I’m Bruce Wayne’s kid.”

Her insult seemed to set him off and he swung the sword wildly. “I am not short!”

(Y/N) grunted as the blade grazed her arm, and she clenched her jaw. “Alright. I’m done entertaining you.”

She let him come to her, then she twisted, wrenching the sword from his grip before tossing it away and coming back around. She gripped him by the collar and used the momentum to slam him to the ground before pulling his arms behind him and putting her knee in his back.

It all happened within seconds, and he didn’t know how to respond other than to cry out in anger. “Let go!”

She pulled his arms tighter until he stopped squirming and she leaned down. “Take a chill pill, runt.” He still cried out in rage at the name, and she heard someone grunt a few feet from her.

“Let him up, (Y/N).”

She looked up to see her father and Alfred walking towards her. She obeyed, rolling away from the boy and to her feet. “I was wondering where you were.”

Bruce nodded to Damian, who was pulling himself off the floor in a rather heated fashion. “We were trying to find out where Damian had gone.”

(Y/N) eyed him for a moment before murmuring, “So, he really is your kid?”

Damian cut Bruce off, spitting, “Are you jealous?”

She looked at Damian and snorted. “Not even an ounce short-cake.” (Y/N) laughed at the way his face pinched in rage, and she turned to Bruce. “You just can’t help collecting them, can you?” He glared at her and she laughed, walking over and nudging him. “Smile a little, Scrooge. Your face will get stuck like that if you don’t.”

He sighed, and muttered, “I don’t know what to do with him.”

(Y/N) glanced at the boy who was picking up his sword. “Too angry?”

“Belligerent is more like it.”

She chuckled and patted his back. “Don’t worry. I’ve got him.”

“(Y/N) I don’t think—”

“Relax, dad. I handled Dick’s anger, didn’t I?”

“Damian’s got Dick beat by a longshot. I don’t think he knows any demeanor other than attack.”

(Y/N) waved as she walked towards Damian. “No one’s able to beat Dick’s anger. No one in a million years could reach the level of pissed off Dick Grayson stays at.” Bruce grinned as he watched (Y/N) take the sword and move Damian towards the stairs. “C’mon pint-sized. We’re going to explore Gotham.”

“I do not want to go.” He retorted, pulling away from her.

She grasped the back of his neck like a puppy and held him firmly as they walked and she quipped, “I don’t really give a fuck whether you want to or not. You’ve been raised by homicidal psychopaths since you were born.” She looked down at him. “You need to see the real world.”

“My grandfather and mother aren’t psychopaths!”

“Oh really? So killing people for money or because honor demands it, isn’t psychopathic traits? What about when Ra’s kills people because they disrespect him?”

“That is different!”

“I mean you don’t see me poppin’ caps in people’s asses when they call me a whore, do you?”

Bruce watched the two of them climb the stairs, arguing, and he sighed, sensing Alfred walk next to him.

“Almost reminds you of Master Dick and Miss (Y/N), doesn’t it Master Bruce?”

He looked at Alfred, then smiled and nodded. “In every way, shape, and form.”

Alfred smiled. “It is such a good thing that Miss (Y/N) is the oldest. The boys have needed her.”

“She’s their protector.”

Alfred paused, resting a hand on his shoulder; Bruce met his gaze and saw such a solemnity in them as he said, “She is everyone’s protector, Master Bruce. Even yours.” Alfred walked away, then Bruce turned and looked at the photo resting on the desk. It was the first photo he and (Y/N) had taken in their suits.

He smiled at it and nodded. “That she is.”

2K notes · View notes

a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all · 2 years

Text

The Green Stuff

Fandom: DC, Superman, Clark Kent, Superman’s Daughter!Reader

Word Count: 3052

TW: Torture, Pain, Burns, Suffocation, Drugged, Kidnapped

“Hello? Did someone call for help? It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” You take a few steps further into the alley.

Weakly, you look up at the person in the mask and ask, “Wh-what did you do?” But you don’t get a reply.

Almost immediately, your dad’s voice rings out slightly concerned but more curious as to why you are calling him. “Hey, are you okay?”

“D-dad… help-p…” you manage to stutter.

Instantly, the confusion in his voice switches to fear as he hears you struggle to get the words out. “What happened? Where are you?”

“…messed up……” Whatever had been injected into your system finally overtakes you completely as your hand falls away from your chest and your eyes flutter closed.

The last thing you hear as the darkness swallows you is your dad screaming your name through the link.

Your heart sinks as the last of your hope evaporates. Luthor was right. Even if your dad found you, it would be too dangerous for him to try to save you. You are on your own.

“-uce.” is all you can manage to wheeze out as you gaze gratefully at your godfather.

You burrow your face into the “S” on your dad’s chest as you manage to squeeze out, “.. I’m… s-sorry… Da…”

So, with your dad’s praise ringing in your ears and the sun’s rays warming your skin, you let yourself drift off to sleep, finally escaping the nightmare you had been through.

78 notes · View notes

fantastic-nonsense · 3 years

Text

The Grayson Children (Or: Charting Every Child DC Has Given Dick Grayson)

Today, I thought I'd take a look at Dick Grayson's various children from across the multiverse. Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly, if you know anything about Dick's canonically rather sparse romantic history), Dick has no mainverse children and honestly doesn't even have that many children scattered around the multiverse.

Mariand'r "Mar'i" Grayson/Nightstar (Earth 22/Kingdom Come Universe): to my knowledge, this was the first child DC ever gave Dick in any universe. Since Starfire had been Dick's only major, long-lasting love interest at that point (Chuck Dixon would pair Dick and Barbara together for the first time in 1999's Birds of Prey #8, three years after Kingdom Come was published), it seemed like a no-brainer that in a universe where Dick had a kid, it would be Kory's:

"How do you feel, starshine?" -The Kingdom: Nightstar #2 (1997)

In the Kingdom Come universe, Dick and Kory split up when Mar'i was a child, and Kory went back to Tamaran to rule. Mar'i would occasionally spend summers with her mother growing up, but otherwise spent most of her life being raised by her father on Earth. She's also romantically involved with Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul's son, Ibn al Xu'ffasch (the spiritual predecessor to Damian Wayne).

Note: Ibn is not Damian, and neither Ibn nor Mar'i exist in the main universe. They can be found only in the Kingdom Come comics (Kingdom Come, The Kingdom, and JSA: Thy Kingdom Come) and, in Mar'i's case, a hallucination in the Season 3 finale of Titans (2018).

Jacob "Jake" Grayson (Nightwing: The New Order): Proving that DickKory children will never have happy childhoods (:/), Jake Grayson is the second (and final) Dick/Kory child we've seen. In this universe, Dick activated a device that would eliminate the powers of 90% of the world's metas during a human-metahuman war, believing it was the best cause of action to save humanity from the dangers of those with powers.

As Dick's role in the world's anti-metahuman crusade became more and more public, it caused enough friction between him and Kory that she would eventually abandon him and Jake and return to Tamaran. Dick raised his son alone. After developing powers as a teenager, Jake was detained by the Crusaders, an anti-superpower task force. He would later be rescued by his father, the Titans, and Kory, who had returned to Earth and agreed to give Dick a second chance despite their political differences:

"Jake! Are you okay?!" "D-Dad...M-mom...?" "Yes, honey. .....I am here now. I have you. Everything's going to be okay." -Nightwing: The New Order #5 (2018)

John "Johnny" Grayson II (Earth-2 universe): Our first and only Dick/Babs child! On Earth-2, Dick and Babs both eventually transitioned out of superheroing, becoming a journalist and a cop (respectively) and getting married. They were living happily with Johnny when Darkseid attacked (for the second time) and destroyed large sections of Earth-2, causing the Grayson family to become refugees:

"Here you go, Johnny. Try not to let him run away again, okay?" -Earth-2: World's End (2014)

This situation culminates in Babs being shot and killed and Dick captured while the family was trying to board a refugee train; however, Dick managed to hand off Johnny to Jonni Thunder. He escapes and finds John again only to have to hand him off (again) in order to ensure he's safe on an evacuation ship. While the ships successfully escape Darkseid's attacks, Dick (now Earth-2's Batman) sees only an explosion coming from his son's ship and assumes he's dead; Dick is then later pulled into the Pre-New 52 universe during the Convergence event, shot and paralyzed by the Joker, given armor by Telos so he can walk, and then transported to a new version of Earth-2. As of now, he and John have not been reunited.

John "Johnny" Grayson II (Titans (2018)): This Johnny is Dick and Dawn Granger's child and seen only in a Trigon-induced hallucination; he never actually existed:

Elianna Grayson/Batwoman Beyond (Future's End/Batman Beyond universe): Technically, there's two different versions of Dick Grayson in the Beyond universe: in one version, Dick retires from superheroing after being shot; that version wears an eyepatch and is very estranged from Bruce. Beginning with the Future's End storyline and the soft reboot of the Beyond-verse, we're introduced to a different end for DCAU!Dick: in this version, he retires from the superhero life on his own terms and becomes Mayor of Bludhaven, though he's still fairly estranged from Bruce and the Batfamily. At some point, Dick has a daughter, Elianna, with his unnamed (and as of the comic, deceased) wife. Elianna eventually becomes Batwoman Beyond alongside Terry McGinnis (Batman) and Matt McGinnis (Robin):

"It's Elianna, Bruce." "Your daughter? What's wrong?" -Batman Beyond Rebirth #40 (2020)

The "Could Have Been" Child (Prime Earth/Mainverse): Back in Nightwing Rebirth (2016) #16, author Tim Seeley abruptly revealed that Dick's girlfriend, former small-time criminal Shawn Tsang, was pregnant. The pregnancy announcement was controversial for a variety of reasons (including Shawn being introduced, becoming Dick's girlfriend, and announcing the pregnancy all within 6 issues). A few issues later, after Shawn was kidnapped and rescued by Dick and Damian, it was revealed that she wasn't actually pregnant and the test had been a false positive:

"It's negative. I'm not pregnant." -Nightwing Rebirth #20 (2016)

This is the closest we've ever gotten to a Grayson child in the main universe....but frankly, you won't find a lot of people that are particularly upset that this one never existed.

Bonus: Damian Wayne/Robin V (Main Universe): After Bruce "died" (he was really just lost in the timestream, long story), Dick became Batman and took Bruce's biological son, Damian, as his Robin. Together, they helped each other grow in a lot of really interesting ways. As Damian's primary guardian during this timeframe, Dick was something in-between a father and a brother for Damian.

After Flashpoint rebooted the DCU, Bruce became Gotham's Batman again and Dick returned to being Nightwing. However, Dick and Damian's close relationship remains one of the most heartwarming aspects of that era and even though it's now explicitly transitioned to an older brother/younger brother dynamic, there's still been a few in-universe nods to that original dynamic:

"When your dad came back, there was a moment I thought it would be btter for you if you stayed with me. As my partner. As my..." -Nightwing Rebirth #20 (2016)

Double Bonus: Rachel Roth, Dick's honorary child in Titans (2018): no, Raven isn't actually Dick's kid. But in many ways, Titans!Dick picked up his dad's accidental adoption habit and at this point in the show, they've had several interactions that indicate she might as well be:

#dc comics #dick grayson #nightwing #koriand'r #barbara gordon #starfire #shawn tsang #dc meta #batman meta #dick grayson meta #titans 2018 #hbo titans #long post #this is why I was putting myself through Nightwing Rebirth again btw #so I could grab the Dick-Damian panel and the Shawn panel #also DC hates me specifically for doing all that to Earth-2!Dick...he didn't deserve that ://////

282 notes · View notes

marauderundercover · 3 years

Text

Taking Chances Chapter 4: Unexpected (Bonding)

AO3

Bruce Wayne felt lost. This wasn’t an unusual feeling for him, but he wasn’t particularly fond of the events that led to him feeling lost. First, he found out he had a daughter. Yet another child that he hadn’t known of their existence. Then, he acted as Batman. He researched the girl and found that her school situation was...less than ideal. As was the supervillain situation in Paris. The girl- his daughter- had been targeted several times. Sometimes the Akuma went after her from the start. Other times, she was unfortunate enough to be in its line of sight when it was on a rampage. Any way you looked at it, she was in danger. No, the biggest mistake in researching her came with the phone number for the bakery run by her parents. Two lovely people who had raised her and taught her right from wrong. Something he hadn’t done. Their phone call was what left him feeling lost. They hadn’t demanded that he stay away from his daughter- from Marinette. No, on the contrary, they thought it was a great idea for the two to bond. Especially once Bruce had mentioned his other children.

“Marinette was distraught when the only information we could give her about her birth father was his name.” Sabine had said, adding to Bruce’s confusion.

“You had my name but didn’t reach out?” Bruce asked, trying (and failing) to figure out the situation.

“We didn’t have much to go on. Just your name and that you were American and worked in business. Bridgette didn’t give any specifics, and back then it didn’t really matter. I assumed Bruce Wayne was a common enough name, especially in the US.” Sabine replied simply. The rest of their conversation had gone similarly, with Bruce growing more and more lost until the end. They hadn’t even suggested a DNA test (though he was planning on asking Marinette, just so that they could be completely certain). They just wanted Marinette happy. Even if it meant meeting and bonding with the man who hadn’t known about her existence.

---

Marinette Dupain Cheng was not having an easy week. No, her week was sucky. In fact it was beyond sucky, it was shitty. So many things were happening at the same time, and she was just grateful that she wasn’t currently in Paris, since she was certain she’d be akumatized. From being attacked by the Joker for simply looking like a Wayne, to meeting Batman who was just as angry in person, and then figuring out Bruce Wayne really was her dad and accidentally calling him Batman, to fighting an Akuma by herself (one that she could barely handle) and then to top it all off, Adrien is Chat Noir. And Adrien has a crush on her, as Marinette. And apparently has for at least a month. Oh and now he knows that she’s Ladybug and so last night was filled with her Chat Blanc nightmares all over again. The cherry on the top of this mess was the fact that the class was practically ignoring her. She was sure they weren’t doing it intentionally and that they were just kinda distracted by Lila’s tall tales of Gotham. Tales that include her dating one of Bruce Wayne’s sons. She wouldn’t clarify which one, which was probably for the best. They two closest to their age were 12 and 19. Neither a great option for the 15 year old Italian. A shrill ringing tugs Marinette out of her thoughts. Glancing down at the unknown number attempting to call her, Marinette silently prayed that this would turn her shitty week around.

“Hello?” She answers, wincing slightly at the way her voice sounds after a night filled with screaming and crying from nightmares.

“Is this Marinette Dupain Cheng?” A deep voice asks. Marinette frowns.

“Um, yes?”

“Good. This is Bruce Wayne and well, I’m not sure how to-”

“You’re my dad.” She blurts out, face instantly heating up. “Oh crap, I mean, um-”

“Well yes. I do believe I may be your father. I was in contact with your parents earlier, to ask about boundaries and such. Your mother says that you had shown interest in meeting me and seeing how we’re similar?” He says, the question clear in his voice. Marinette opens her mouth to respond, then frowns.

“Just like that? We’re gonna meet, just like that?” She asks, hoping that her distrustful tone doesn’t push the man away.

“I’ll admit that I was going to ask if you would mind a paternity test. After speaking with your mother, I have no doubts, but I thought it might make you feel better. And of course, if you would prefer to just act as though I didn’t speak to your parents and go on with your trip, we can do that as well. I just- I was caught off guard, if I’m being honest.” Bruce Wayne- her father- says.

“I’ll do it. I- I would like to get to know you. I can’t have a relationship with Bridgette, but if my parents are okay with it, I do want a relationship with you.” Marinette admits, holding her breath as she waits for an answer. There’s silence on the other end for a long moment, but just as Marinette’s about to apologize and tell him he can go and pretend she doesn’t exist, he answers. His voice a little softer this time.

“I would like that.”

---

The paternity test came out positive, to no one’s surprise. Bruce had given Marinette the option of meeting somewhere more public (like a restaurant or museum) to bond, or coming over to the manor. Not quite ready to deal with the possibility of paparazzi and the rumors (no matter how true they may be) that would stem from a public visit, Marinette agreed to going to the manor for dinner. Which is how she ended up sitting in silence in a town car with a man who seemed like he knew more than he was letting on.

“So, you’re the one who raised Mr. Wayne?” Marinette asks, not quite ready to call the man “Dad” or any variation of the word. The man nods and she meets his eyes in the rearview mirror.

“Indeed, Miss. I am Alfred Pennyworth.” The man, Monsieur Pennyworth, says calmly. She tries not to let the frustration that she feels building show on her face. She feels like she should know this man, like there’s something important that she’s just barely missing.

“Have we met before?” Marinette finally asks, racking her brain as she tries to figure out why this man is so familiar to her.

“I don’t believe so, Miss Dupain Cheng.” He says, and for the first time since meeting him, it doesn’t feel like he’s all knowing. Instead, it feels like he’s just as confused as she is. Drat. She opens her mouth to question him more, when the huge manor becomes visible in the distance. Eyes widening, Marinette forgets everything else and turns her attention to the beautiful architecture. The giant fence and metal gates do little to hide the massive house. Sections of the house rise above others, almost as if there are towers. Dozens of windows are visible, as is the giant fountain at the front of the house. Ripping her sketchbook out of her bag, Marinette immediately starts sketching out the ideas that attack her mind. Dresses and suits and skirts, all using the architecture in front of her for the basic shapes of the outfits. As the car goes past the gate and the gardens come into view, Marinette can’t hold back her shocked gasp. Shaped hedges and flowers, hundreds of different colored flowers, and trees and- it was beautiful. Almost too perfect. Like something that belonged in a movie. She jumps slightly as the car door is opened, Alfred standing on the other side with an eyebrow quirked up. Right. She was actually getting out of the car. And going into this massive house. And spending time with her biological- nope. She can’t do this. She can’t-

“Miss Dupain Cheng, if it makes you feel any better, Master Bruce seems to have run into some traffic on his way back from the office. You’ll have a few minutes to gather your bearings inside before he arrives.” Alfred says softly. Relief washes over her and she nods, finally moving to get out of the car.

“Thank you, Alfred.” She says, smiling at the man. He nods back at her before leading her up the steps to the door. He opens it and then steps back, allowing her to take a tentative step into the house. Her previous panic is pushed aside as she realizes the inside is just as gorgeous as the outside. Immediately turning back to her sketchbook, she tunes out the world around her and just stands in the foyer, scribbling furiously into her sketchbook.

“Um, hi?” A voice says, making Marinette yelp and jump, eyes scanning her surroundings until they fall on a guy. A pretty tall guy.

“Hi.” She says softly, also confused as to who this guy was. Not her- dad-biological father-other part of her DNA-father-Mr. Wayne- not anyone she had ever met, that’s for sure.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Dick Grayson.” The man says, extending his hand, a smile on his face. Anyone else probably would have thought the smile was sincere, but Marinette had always been good at reading emotions. And she could tell that he was wary of her. Why would he- oh. Grayson. As in, Richard Grayson, as in this man was her brother. Or, well, maybe he wouldn’t want to be. Maybe he would think that she’s ridiculous or that she’s just here to get money or here to try and pull apart Mr. Wayne’s family or maybe he would think that she was trying to take his place and she would never but maybe he would hate her and- She takes in a deep breath, trying desperately to ground herself and wishing she’d taken up Adrien’s earlier offer of him coming with.

“I’m Marinette. Marinette Dupain Cheng.” She finally says, reaching out and shaking his hand. He nods, obviously still confused. So Mr. Wayne hadn’t mentioned her. Did he hate her? Did he ask her here to have her sign a NDA? Did he not want anything to do with her? Of course he wouldn’t, he obviously already had a family. A family that he chose, not one that he had by accident. His name was on her birth certificate, surely he would have found her sooner if he actually wanted anything to do with her? He chose Dick Grayson to be his son. He wanted him. He didn’t want Marinette. He-

“Ah, Marinette. I see you’ve met Dick.” The last voice she needed to hear says calmly as he walks through the door. Marinette swallows back the thickness in her throat, the one that tells her the tears will be starting soon.

“Uh, yes. Mr. Wayne. Um, hi.” She says, flinching slightly when he winces. What did she do wrong this time? Was he really going to tell her to take a hike? If he didn’t hate her before, he surely did now.

“Bruce, what’s going-” Dick starts to ask but is cut off by screaming voices getting closer to them.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Demon Spawn?”

“Not my fault your blocking skills are subpar, Todd.”

“Sub- you almost stabbed me, you little shit!”

“Almost, yes. But I didn’t. I’m sure Father will be pleased with my restraint.”

“You little fu-” “Boys!” Mr. Wayne finally yells as the two screaming walk into view. Both freeze and the younger one’s eyes instantly fall on Marinette, narrowing as he takes a defensive position.

“Another one, Bruce, really?” The older one asks, making Marinette flinch back. Of course. Two more of his sons-her brothers- who he chose. Another two that he wanted. Not like her, someone he was going to be forced to know. Unless he told her tonight that he never wanted to speak to her again and made her sign a paper saying that she would never contact him again and then they would never have to worry about seeing her again and- oh this is a lot.

“What were you two doing?” Mr. Wayne finally asks, and that’s when Marinette sees the weapons in their hands. And the blood on the older man’s shirt. The man turns slightly so that that part of his shirt is hidden when he notices her staring.

“Uh, bonding?” He says, not at all convincing.

“Who is that, Father?” The younger boy asks, the utter distaste clear on both his face and in his tone. And this is it. This is where he’s going to say that she’s no one, she’s nothing, and then he’s going to make her sign that stupid piece of paper and the last chance she has at knowing one of her biological parents is going to fly out the window. Poof. And then she’ll be so embarrassed, she won’t be able to go back on the trip and then she’ll have to change her name but she can’t completely run away yet because of stupid Hawkmoth and-

“This is Marinette, my daughter.” Well that was unexpected.

Tag List: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @toodaloo-kangaroo

#maribat bruce wayne #maribat #maribat marinette dupain cheng #maribat adrien agreste #maribat adrienette #maribat bio dad bruce #maribat bio dad au #maribat bio dad! bruce wayne month 2021 #maribat batfam #mbdbwm2021 #day four bonding #ao3fic

166 notes · View notes

marvel-preferences · 3 years

Text

How they react when they find out you’re pregnant:

Requested by @ohantonia

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Captain America/Steve Rogers:

Once you found out Steve had never heard of lottery tickets, you knew exactly how you were going to tell him. You had set everything up and gotten the lottery tickets for him. You explain to him how they work and he was so excited to try one. He ran around the house frantically looking for a quarter or something to use on the ticket. Once he finally found a quarter, he was jumping up and down with so much excitement. He scratched the ticket to reveal a secret.

He looked at you shocked, you bit your lip nervous on how he would react. “Really?” He asked so quietly, you could barely hear him. You nod your head slowly, unsure how he felt about the idea. After a while of thinking, he finally looked up at you and smiled. “I can’t believe I going to be a father!” You smiled and kissed him, “You’re going to be the best father ever.” He smiled and leaned down kissing your stomach. “Hey kiddo, it’s your dad. I know you probably can’t hear me but I just had to tell you how much I love you already. Me and mommy can’t wait to meet you!” You smiled at him, knowing he truly would be the best dad.

Iron man/Tony Stark:

You knew how much Tony loved alcohol so you knew that you wanted to involve wine when telling him. So you went online and searched for a wine label pregnancy one that work for yours and Tony’s relationship. You settled on the one that said, “You’re going to be a great father…Assuming your the father” You thought it was hilarious and you knew Tony would find it funny too. You brought him the wine bottle and waited anxiously for him to get home. Once he got home, you told him you had a gift. He was confused because usually he was the one who randomly brought gifts for you. You gave him the wine bottle with your hands shaking because you were so scared of his react. You both had talked about wanting kids but you also hadn’t been planning on getting pregnant so soon.

He looked at you. “Are you serious?” You couldn’t tell if he was mad or not. “….yeah”. You look at him to see his react to your words but he has none. He just sat that staring at the wine bottle without saying anything. You tried to get his attention multiple times but he wouldn’t even look at you. He finally snapped out of it when he heard you crying. He looked at you, “hey beautiful what’s wrong?” You cried more, “We don’t have to keep the baby if you don’t want to. I know we weren’t planning for one. And I know you have a lot going on with the avengers and-“ Tony wiped your tears, “it’s not that. Of course I want to have a kid with you. I’m just scared….what if I’m not a good father” You laughed, “are you being serious Tony? You are going to be an incredible father. I know what you’re thinking but you’re not your dad. This kid is so lucky to have you as it’s father, okay?” Tony nodded and smiled at you, putting his hand on your stomach.

Hulk/Bruce Banner:

Since Bruce was the best husband ever, he would always do the house chores if you were busy, so one day you asked him to do the dishes while you finished up work. While doing the dishes, he found an interesting surprise. You were trying to finish your work for the day but you couldn’t focus knowing he was about to find out. You were extremely nervous because you knew he didn’t want children. He was scared that his child would get the hulk gene so he told you that if you ever wanted children, you guys should adopt so you were horrified when you found out your birth control didn’t work. You heard the door open and you took a deep breath knowing he found the ‘I’m pregnant’ dish.

“Y/n? What is this?” He said trying to be calm so he wouldn’t hunk out. You looked at him, “surprise….” He took a couple deep breaths. You didn’t want to say something to make him more mad so you just mumbled, “sorry” He looked at you and sighed, “It’s okay. If they get the hulk gene, we’ll deal with it and if not, then we’ll get a cute baby out of it”

Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes:

You had thought about how to tell Bucky that you were pregnant but you had came up with nothing so you just left a note with the pregnancy test. Bucky came home and called your name, “Y/n?? Y/n where are you?” He saw a note on the counter and walked over. He read it and yelled excitedly. You came out of hiding and hugged him from behind. “Oh my god, we’re going to be parents!”

Later that night, Bucky was thinking about being a dad. Of course he was excited but he would also scared. It scared him that he could always easily be minded controlled with just a couple words. He never wanted to hurt you or your child. You rubbed his back, “what’s up baby?” Bucky looked at you and sighed, “I’m scared that my past will finally catch up to me one day.” You looked at him confused, “What do you mean?” He played with your hair, “What if I become mind controlled again? Or what if one of the people who I hurt come after us? I’m always going to be putting you guys at risk.” You looked at him, “ohhh so you don’t think I can protect myself? Do I have to remind you that I have beat you in training multiple times?” Bucky smiled, “yeah you are pretty badass.” You kissed his cheek, “everything is going to work out and you are going to be an amazing dad”

God of Lightning/Thor Odinson:

You knew how much Thor loved pizza so you decided that was definitely the way you wanted to tell him. You called the pizza place and told them exactly what you wanted. Once the pizza got there, the only left to do was wait. Thor wasn’t going to be home for another 5 minutes and you were dying. You knew it wasn’t long but you were so impatient and wanted to tell him now. Once Thor got home, you told him that you left him a few pieces of the pizza in the kitchen. He went downstairs to go get a piece.

Thor came running upstairs. “LADY Y/N” You looked at him when he burst through the door, “yes?” He picked you up and spun you around, “I love you so much!” You giggled as he spun you around. “I love you too my king”

Hawkeye/Clint Barton:

You didn’t know how to tell Clint that you were pregnant but you knew you wanted to tell him immediately. You weren’t nervous because you both had been planning on getting pregnant.

You had to go get his cake for his birthday and that’s when the idea came to you. You could get him a cake to tell him. You brought him the pregnancy cake and left it out for him when he got home. You were so tired from being pregnant so you fell asleep before he got home.

You were woken up by a frantic Clint. “Y/n! Y/n! Y/n!” He said shaking you. You woke up, “What? What’s happening? Is everything okay?” Clint smiled, “are we pregnant” You nod, about to fall back asleep. Clint kissed your forehead, “I’m so excited baby.” You tried to keep your eyes open, “same baby but I’m tired” you whine. Clint laughs and takes off his shoes getting into bed with you.

God of mischief/Loki “Odinson”:

Loki had never understood why you morals loved getting a stupid fake message with your dry cookies about your future but he always got the Fortune cookies because he knew how happy they made you. But little did he know, this fortune cookie was about to change his life forever. “These are always so dumb. I don’t know why you love these so much. The fortunes are always wrong and the cookie doesn’t even taste good.” You rolled your eyes, “Just try one more, please. This one will be good, I promise.” He rolled his eyes but grabbed the last one and opened it.

His eyes widened, “Ummm Y/n…..what is this?” You looked at him, “You’re having a baby with a moral. Surprise.” He looked at you, “How?” You sighed, “I think my anxiety meds threw off my birth control….” Loki rolled his eyes, “you morals get pregnant so easily” You looked at him, “Wow I’m so sorry Loki. Next time I’ll just deal with my anxiety on my own.” You said annoyed, getting up. Loki sighed, “That’s not what I meant. It’s just, I’m the god of mischief, how am I supposed to be a dad?” You looked at him, “How about the same way you’re the god of mischief but still find a way to be an amazing boyfriend.” Loki smiled slightly, “I hope you’re right. I want to be a great dad.” You kissed him, “you will be”

135 notes · View notes

scorpionyx9621 · 3 years

Note

Do you think Jason Todd fandom is kinda toxic? Because it seems like NO MATTER what DC do, there'll always be complains. Forget the bad adaptation like Titans. Even Judd Winick cannot escape the criticism with how he potrayed Robin!Jason. They just never satisfied.

SORRY, IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO RESPOND TO THIS. I just moved from Washington D.C. to Seattle, which, for my non-American friends, that's 4442km away. And I DROVE THERE ALL BY MYSELF. And now I'm trying to find new work in a new city and trying to stay mentally healthy and positive. Life is exciting but hard and scary.

*sighs*

As someone who was a fandom elder with V*ltr*n. I've seen some of the worst when it comes to fandom behavior. I'm talking people baking food with shaving razors and trying to give them to the showrunners. I'm talking leaking major plot details and refusing to take it down unless they make their ship canon (I am looking at you, Kl*nce stans) For the most part, DC Comics has had a decades-long reputation of treating their fans like trash and not caring what they think so from what I've seen, we all just grumble and complain in our corners of the internet about how we don't like how X comic portrays Jason Todd.

The challenge with Jason Todd is that he's your clinical anti-hero, the batfamily's Draco in Leather Pants, he's a jerkass woobie, and on top of all of that, he's a Tumblr sexyman. It's a perfect storm for a very fun but frustrating character to be a fan of. It doesn't help that every writer decides to re-invent the wheel every time Jason comes up so his canon lore is confusing at best and inconsistent as a standard.

I guess starting with a general brief on who Jason is and what is uniform about him with every instance he's appeared in comics/media.

Grew up in a poor family in Gotham with a dad who was a petty-mid-level criminal, and a mother who dies of a drug overdose.

Survives on the street on his own by committing petty crimes and potentially even engaging in sexual acts to keep himself alive.

Is cornered by Batman and taken in after Dick Grayson quits/is fired

Becomes the second Robin, but is known for being the harsher, more brutal Robin.

Is killed by Joker after being tortured, but somehow comes back to life and regains senses through the Lazarus Pit

Resolves himself to be better than Batman by basically being Batman but kills people.

Where there has been a lot of conflict in the fandom is the fact that Jason Todd is not a character that is written consistently. DC Comics loves to go with the narrative that Jason was "bad from the start" and was the "bad robin" when, yes, he has trouble controlling his anger, but he also still is just as invested in seeing the best of Gotham City and trying to be a positive change for the world as any other DC Comics hero.

Where I get frustrated with the fandom is its ability to knit-pick every detail of a comic they don't like while completely disregarding everything that makes the comics great and worth it to read. My example being Urban Legends. To which most people had pretty mixed reactions to. I was critical of the comic at first but as it went along I ended up really liking it. I have a feeling DC Comics went to Chip Zdarsky and told him he had 6 issues to bring Jason back into the Bat Family, and honestly he didn't do a bad job. Did it feel rushed? Absolutely. I wish there was more development of Jason and Bruce's characters and their dynamic as a whole. However, where I see a lot of people being angry and upset with Urban Legends is that they feel Zdarsky needlessly wrote Jason as an incompetent fool who needs Bruce to save him.

Whether or not that was the intention of Zdarsky is up to debate. However, and this may be controversial, but I don't think he wrote Jason Todd out of character at all. For as fearsome, intimidating, and awesome as Red Hood is. Jason is a character who is absolutely driven by his emotions. Why do you think he donned the role of Red Hood? As a response to his anger towards The Joker for killing him, and towards Bruce for not taking action against The Joker and for seemingly replacing him so quickly after he died. Jason didn't care about being the murderous Robin Hood or for being the bloody hammer of justice against N*zi's and P*d*ph*les. He only cared originally about making The Joker and Bruce pay. It wasn't until he trained under the best assassins in the world and realized most of them were horrific criminals who trafficked children and were p*dos that Talia began to realize that the teachers that she sent Jason to train under started dying horrific and painful deaths.

The entire story of the Cheer story in Batman Urban Legends was started because it finally forced some consequences upon Jason. Tyler, aka Blue Hood's father was a drug dealer who gave his supply to his wife and kids. And when Tyler's father admitted he gave the drugs to Tyler, it immediately made him fall within the self-imposed philosophical kill-list of Jason Todd. And Jason, well, he proceeds to kill Tyler's father. When this happens, Jason is in shock. Tyler's dad fit the bill to easily and justifiably be killed by Jason. We've never seen Jason having to deal with the consequences of being a murderous vigilante on a micro-level. When Jason realizes what he's done in that he's murdered Tyler's dad, he's shocked. He tells Babs the truth. He does a rational thing because he's in shock. He doesn't know what to do, he never has had to face the consequences of his actions as Red Hood and now the gravity of befriending a child as a vigilante hero who kills people just set in when he killed the father of the same child he was just introduced to.

(Oh here's a little aside because it had to be said, Jason would not have been a good father or a good mentor to Tyler and absolutely should not have been his new Robin. Jason is a man who is in his early 20's (not saying men in their early 20's can't be good fathers at all) who is a brutal serial killer using the guise of a vigilante anti-hero to let him escape most of the law. the complications of having the man who murdered your father adopt you and make you his sidekick are way too numerous for me to explain in a long-winded already heavy Tumblr essay post. There's a reason why we don't advocate for a story where Joe Chill adopted Bruce Wayne or one where Tony Zucco took in Dick Grayson.)

The next biggest argument is that they feel that Jason is giving up his guns as a means to just be invited back into the Bat-Family. To which I will tell anyone who has that argument to go actually read Urban Legends. Already have and still have that argument? Please re-read it. Don't want to? That's okay, I will paste the images from the comic where Jason specifically says that he doesn't want to give up his weapons for Bruce and his real reasoning down below since the comic isn't exactly readily accessible.

Jason gave up the guns because he felt the gravity of what he had done and knows how it'll effect Tyler. Thankfully his mom is alive and in recovery. But Tyler doesn't have a father anymore. And Jason killed Tyler's father. It may have been in accordance to Jason's philosophy, but it was a case where it blurred the lines. Jason Todd isn't a black and white character, just very dark gray. He doesn't kill aimlessly like the Joker. If you are on Jason's list you probably have done something pretty horrific, and also just in general, being in his way or being a threat to him. Mind you, in early days of Red Hood and the Outlaws (Image below) Jason almost killed 10 innocent civilians in a town in Colorado all because they saw him kill a monster. That being said, Jason isn't aimless in his kills.

(Also can we just take a moment to appreciate Kenneth Rocafort's art? DC Comics said we need to rehabilitate Jason Todd's image and Kenneth Rocafort said hold my beer: It's so SO GOOD)

That being said, the key emphasis in the story of Cheer asides from trying to introduce Jason Todd back into the Bat Family and give an actual purpose for him being there, other than him just kind of being there ala Bowser every time he shows up for Go Kart racing, Tennis, Golf, Soccer, and the Olympic games when Mario invites him, is that Jason and Bruce ultimately both want the same thing. Jason wants to be welcomed back into the family and to be loved and appreciated. Bruce want's Jason back as his son and wants to love and protect Jason. Both of these visions are shown in the last chapter of Cheer while under the effect of the Cheer Gas. It's ultimately this love and appreciation they both have for each other that helps them overcome their challenge and win.

Jason Todd is a character who, just like Bruce, has been through so much pain and so much hate in his life. The two are meant to parallel each other. While Bruce chose to see the best in everyone, giving every rogue in his gallery the option to be helped and give them a second chance, hence why he never kills, Jason has a similar view on wanting to protect the public, but he understands that some crimes are so heinous they cannot be forgiven, or that some habitual criminals are due to stay habitual criminals, and need to be put down. But at the end of the day, the two of them both try to protect people in their own ways.

I am aware that through the writings of various DC Comics authors such as Scott Lobdell and Judd Winick, the two have had a very tumultuous relationship. And rightfully so, I am by no means saying that Scott Lobdell writing an arc where Bruce literally beats Jason to within an inch of his life in Red Hood and the Outlaws, nor Judd Winick's interpretation of Under the Red Hood where Bruce throws the Batarang at Jason's neck, slicing his throat and leaving him ambiguously for dead at the end of the comic is appropriate considering DC Comics seems to be trying everything they can to integrate Jason back into the family. That being said, a lot of these writings have shaped the narrative of Jason and Bruce's relationship and have an integral effect on the way the fandom views the two. It doesn't help that Zdarsky acknowledged Lobdell's life-beating of Jason by Bruce at the very end of Cheer by having Bruce give Jason his old outfit back as a means of mending the fence between the two of them. That does complicate a lot of things in terms of how they are viewed by the fandom and helps to cause an even greater divide between the two.

Regardless, I want to emphasize the fact that Jason Todd is a part of the family of his own accord. Yes, he's quite snarky and deadpan in almost every encounter. However, Jason is absolutely a part of the family and has been for a while of his own will. There's a great moment in Detective Comics that emphasizes this. Jason cares about his family because it is his found family. Yes, they may be warry about him and use him as a punching back and/or heckle him. At the end of the day, we're debating the family dynamics of a fictional playboy billionaire vigilante whose kleptomania took the form of adopting troubled children and turning them into vigilante heroes. Jason Todd wants a family that will love and support him. This is a key definition of his character at its most basic. This was proven during the events of Cheer and is being reenforced by DC Comics every time they get the opportunity to do so.

Now, none of this is to say that I hate Judd Winick. I do not, I don't like the fact that in all of his writings of Jason, he just writes him as a dangerous psychopath, and Winick himself admits to seeing Jason as nothing much more than a psychopath. Yet Winick is the one who the majority of the fandom clings to as the one true good writer of Jason Todd because 'Jason was competent, dangerous, smart' Listen, friends, Jason is all of that and I will never deny it. However, what I love about Jason isn't that he's dangerously smart of that writers either write him as angsty angry Tumblr sexyman bait or that they write him as an infantile man child with a gun. There's a large contention of this fandom that has an obsession with Jason Todd being this vigilante gunman who is hot and sexy and while I definitely get the appeal. It is very creepy and downright disturbing that all of you hyperfixate on his use of guns and ability to be a murderer. It is creepy and I'm not necessarily here for it.

What I love about Jason Todd is that despite all of the pain, all of the heartache, all of the betrayal, and bullying, and death, and anguish. Jason Todd is one of the most loving and supportive characters in all of DC Comics. Jason has been through so much in his life, but he still chooses to love. He still chooses to see the bright side in people. Yes, he takes a utilitarian approach and chooses to kill certain villains, but at the end of the day he wants to see a better world, and he wants to be loved. It takes so much courage and so much heart to learn to love again after one has been abused or traumatized. I would not blame Jason at all if he said fuck it and just went full solo and vigilante evil. He has every right to, but he still chooses to be with the Bat Family of his own accord. That's something that I see a lot of in myself. I have been through a lot of trauma and yet I try to be a better person myself in any way that I can. It is extremely admirable of Jason to allow love back into his heart when he really doesn't need to. He kills and he protects because he has this love of society. It may have been shaped by anger and hatred, but Jason has found his place amongst people who love him and value him. I think Ducra, from Red Hood and the Outlaws put it best in the image given below.

To end this tangent, I love Jason Todd and all of his sexy dangerousness, but it's far more than that. As much as Jason may be dangerous and snarky, he loves his family without a shadow of a doubt. I look up to Jason Todd because despite all of his pain and all of his trauma, he still choses to love. Jason Todd is a character who is someone I love because despite all of his flaws and having a very toxic fandom, he still serves as a character filled with so much heart and so much passion. I wish more writers would understand that. But for now I will live with what I have. Even though the fandom may be vocal about it's hatred for his characterization, I choose to love Jason regardless because he is a character who chooses love and acceptance regardless of his pain. Jason Todd is by no means a good person in any sense of the word. He has easily killed upwards of 100 people by now. He is a character who is flawed and complex but ultimately is one who powers forwards and finds love and heart in a place from so much pain and anguish. That is what I love about Jason Todd. After all, to quote a famous undead robot superhero, "What is grief, if not love persevering?" Jason Todd chooses to love despite all of the trauma and pain and grief. Yes, he is hardened in his exterior, but inside there is a man with a lot of love to give and someone who deserves the world in my eyes.

#Long post GOD #Jason Todd #Red Hood #Bat Family #Batman #red hood and the outlaws #RHATO #RH:O #Batman Urban Legends #Red Hood Lost Days #TW Voltron #TW Death #tw murder #TW Klance #Gotta love how i am pouring my heart out onto jason AND calling out the Voltron fandom #Regardless love Jason Todd people

140 notes · View notes

liquid-luck-00 · 3 years

Text

Truth / Lies

Bio!Dad Bruce

Bio!Dad Masterlist ~~~ Ao3 ~~~ First ~~~ Previous ~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette slipped out of the apartment early the next morning. She ran through the city, the early morning air stung her skin, waking her up more with each step.

Last night was a whirlwind and she didn't let herself think about it. But now she was.

Three months, almost four.

She has only known she was a Wayne for four months.

If this had happened sooner. She shuddered at the thought, yet it still flitted across her mind. She would have married her brother had this happened sooner.

Would she have recognized Damian from the 10 seconds she spent looking at his photo that day. No, she wouldn't and that thought terrified her. If it happened before then, she wouldn't even know she had a brother.

Would Bruce have recognized her, maybe, but then again that was assuming he knew what she looked like. And knowing what and how this happened, they wouldn’t have even met until after the fact.

She didn't even realize she had made her regular circuit until she was back in front of their apartment building. She opened the door and made her way up.

Hopefully Tim was gone, and they wouldn't need to explain last night.

She opened the door and there was not only Tim, but also Dick, Jason, and Bruce. At the table was a statuesque Damian.

"How much did they get out of you?" She tentatively asked.

"They threatened to call Manhunter." Was his answer.

Okay they know nothing, but oh no, oh no, oh no. She sat next to Damian turning into statue number two.

"Mini, the two of you disappeared last night what happened." Dad tried to stay calm, but his patience must have been tested by Sol already.

"Two truths, one lie." She side eyed Damian.

"We were in Nanda Parbat." Damian started.

"We avoided one mind numbing wedding." Marinette continued.

"The order has a larger moral back-bone than the league."

"You two aren't seriously playing this game to stall, are you?!" Tim seemed close to a mental breakdown. Then again, he hasn't slept in a week, so them disappearing may be the straw that broke him.

"Nanda Parbat and the league are tied so 1 and 3 are true." Jason figured.

"I would agree if this wasn't the second time, they said they avoided a wedding." Tim sighed.

"But it doesn't add into any of the others." Dick added.

"This morning their excuse was they were avoiding a wedding." Tim supplied.

"The truths are 1 and 2." Dad spoke definitely.

"Care to fill in the rest of the class B." Jason scoffed.

"Mini looks down for a fraction of a second when she lies, and she didn't when she said 2. Leaving 1 or 3 as the lie. Damian doesn't have a tick but using what he said 1 is true." He explained.

"There is no way for them to make that round trip in such a short time." Dick thought aloud. "Unless the order is filled with magic users. Meaning it is possible. And kidnapping kids could count as a lower moral backbone."

"Okay, so you're right, but kidnapping isn't the reason the League has a larger moral compass." Marinette assured.

"Do we want to know why the League of fucking Assassins has a larger moral backbone than an order of supposedly good magicians?" Jay was the one to speak the question on everyone's mind.

"Well if not saying or attempting to stop marrying two underage people is any indication." Damian scoffed.

"I honestly think it was their idea in the first place." Marinette mused aloud.

"Please for the love of god tell me you two weren't the ones getting married." Tim finally put it together.

"We avoided one hell of a headache inducing wedding. What do you think." She confirmed exasperated.

In a second (4) Errors could be seen on the faces of their family.

"Mini how long will it take to get to the league with Kaalki?" Dad was the first to recover, but his voice was eerily level, scarier than his even tone as Batman.

"Instantaneously, but someone who knows it better should be the one opening the portal." She responded quickly.

"Give the glasses to your brother. Damian open a portal."

Neither of them put up a fight, doing exactly as they were told. Not 20 seconds later all six of them were back in the middle of the League of Assassins following a clearly pissed off Bruce Wayne.

Thank kwamii that everyone else seem to know exactly where they were going in this compound because she sure didn’t. She walked right next to Damian the entire time and they were both watching their fathers back.

Twist and turns one after another and they finally came to what she can only describe as a throne room. When she saw the piece of shit that is Damian's maternal grandfather once again.

"Ra's." Was all her father stated. It is no exaggeration when she says that the color drained from that man’s face. She apparently wasn’t the only one contemplating exactly what had gone down last night. And the inevitable reaction of her family. What she failed to notice however, but her father didn’t was next to him was the same monk, still there. "Name." He ordered.

"Su-Han." He still spoke with dignity, but fear crept into his voice and stance.

"What the fuck did you try to do to my kids." Bruce growled in that instant she stopped breathing.

"Holy shit did Bruce just..." Jason stage whispered to Dick. However, she still couldn’t breathe and just watched the exchange. If she didn’t know her father’s rule to not kill, she would think he would be about to kill both Ra's and Su-Han, but she did know that rule. She’s pretty sure her father my break it though.

---

Bruce immediately was in a state of shock.

As Batman he had contingencies and plans in place for everything and anything. But this, this never was a probable scenario ever.

Once his shock faded, he saw red, he was absolutely livid. Children, his children, were almost married, for what. A feud that neither knew even existed.

"Mini how long will it take to get to the league with Kaalki?" His voice was dead even, attempting and failing to keep his anger in check. Thank God Hawkmoth was no more.

"Instantaneously, but someone who knows it better should be the one opening the portal." She responded quickly.

"Give the glasses to your brother. Damian open a portal."

Mini handed Damian the glasses, who immediately opened a portal. He walked through with his kids in tow, but he did not stray from his warpath. He found Ra's and another man, who wore the symbol on Mari's box.

"Ra's." Was all he said, knowing he had the man's attention the moment he entered. He showed no attempt to be bored. or uninterested. In fact, if it didn't seem impossible, Bruce would go so far as to say he was scared. He then looked over at the second man. "Name." He spoke again.

"Su-Han." He still spoke with dignity, but fear crept into his voice and stance.

"What the fuck did you try to do to my kids." Bruce demanded.

"It is not like you to visit." Ra's seemed to dance around his question.

"Why my kids?!" His voice rose and patience dwindled. So much so he didn't notice his two youngest slipped out of the room. While the older three seemed to be eating cookies and pastries, watching the show.

"Them being related was an unforeseen factor." Su-Han answered. "For there to be peace the two organizations needed to be unified."

"And both of you rubbed your cumulative two brain cells together and thought marrying two kids together is a valid response."

It was Ra's turn to speak. "Both of your children happen to be the next in line to command both respective organizations. Marriage was simply a contract between the two individual organizations to maintain peace. Although that failed to occur."

"Why did marriage come before I don't know, a god damn Peace treaty." He stopped to breathe.

"Given our history." Su-Han tried to make a point, but he didn't let him.

"You want history, I hear they have been around since the time of the Ancient Egyptians and the Ancient Babylonian Empires."

Both men stood there seemingly trying to formulate any response that could work. “Marriage was the most reliable method to promote unity between the two.”

"Bullshit, you both wanted something quick and easy." An explosion was heard in the compound, sending Ra's into a fighting stance. "You both wanted to make it their responsibility to keep the peace. And when it would fail you would use it as an excuse to return to fighting one another."

A full minute of pure silence when no one so much as moved drawled on. Until the doors opened, and in walked his children, as a fox and a horse with two Kwamii in front of them.

"Are you two the ones responsible for the explosion?"

They looked at one another, then back at him. Damian was the one who answered. "Yes."

"What did you four do?" He asked, although he only did so more out of obligation than curiosity.

"We may have destroyed all the Pools of Miracles." Tikki flew forward and answered.

"You destroyed the Lazarus Pits / Pools!" Was shouted by Ra's and Su-Han.

"Yes, so it's magic cannot be further twisted." Mari stood firm.

"And for the monks to stop using it to extend their lives." Damian added.

"Can I spite them now?" A cat Kwamii he never met before asked him.

"I should be more disappointed, but I'm not." He sighed. "Go on ahead."

"Pigtails your family is the best." The cat cheered. "Now for you two."

The best way to explain what he did was that he phased through each of their hearts and floated on back. The entire time he were a grin that rivaled the cheshire cat.

"Plagg, what did you do?" Tikki tentatively asked.

"What's the fun in telling you now. Plagg cackled. With that they all left, back to Paris. Never mess with his kids, because one they can God damn take care of themselves and two, he may not kill but he will supervise if even one of them is hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~ Taglist: @mochinek0 @justafanwarrior @abrx2002 @ranger-gothamite @fantasiame @moonystars14 @mochegato @bigbeautifulandfullofsugar @maribat-is-lifeblood @iglowinggemma28 @miraculous-ninja @talutah0 @vixen-uchiha @danielslilangel @witchsblackfox @pawsitivelymiraculous @lizziejay @marinettepotterandplagg @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @dast218 @sassakitty @miyla-lokidottir @lilkymilky @tazanna-blythe @tired-butterfly @lozzybowe @smolplantmum @queencommonsense @loopingtangent @chez-pezeater @paintedhope7 @technicallyburninggarden @meme991001 @wannajointhecrabcult @melicmusicmagic @trippingovermyfeet @greatcatblaze @fidget-eep @miraculouslydumb @iamablinkmarvelarmy @laurcad123 @hauntedwintersweets @fc-studios @fusser90 @madking-warqueen @buginetye @little-lady-bird @thebooki3h @iamabrownfox @galla02006 @syrencall @gimpedmercy

#dc x miraculous #dc x mlb #maribat #mlb x dc #ml marinette #batfam #marinette #miraculus ladybug #bio! dadbrucewaynemonth2020 #b ! dbwm2020 #bio!dad bruce wayne #marinette wayne #miraculous x dc

118 notes · View notes