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#And you just KNOW that Clark probably made it all by himself
pseudo-hero · 5 months
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In the same spirit as the bottom of my "Comics!Clex Plot Connection?" post, here's another (sort of serious) Clex/SuperTie Translation:
Lex Luthor: "You and I could make a pretty lovin—I mean, great pair, I think. A wonderful not-couple. Don't you think? Pretty please say you do! We could save each other."
Superman: *Pretends to not have already made up his mind* "Listen Lex, I want to be able to hold you believe in you so badly...which is why I came here to ask you...if you would be...my partner in stopping crime?"
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Lex Luthor: "...What...? Oh...! I thought you'd never ask! I mean—I knew you'd eventually come around to see things my way...my love."
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c-nstantine · 2 months
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The Key to Marriage With Bruce and Y/N Wayne
Description: Interview with Mr. & Mrs. Wayne
Warnings: allusions to sex
Word Count: 0.9k
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Q: How do you guys spice up your marriage?
"I don't think we should say," Bruce said, looking at his wife with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"We could not name names," Y/N suggested with a shrug before looking at her husband. She always loved these kinds
"Alright, go ahead," Bruce nodded. That should be good enough.
"Sometimes we invite others into the bedroo- Oh, shit, are the kids watching this one?" Y/N realized as she slapped her manicured hand across her mouth.
"Dick and Jason, please make sure all of your siblings are asleep," Bruce spoke, looking directly into the camera. However, somewhere some woman's ovaries collapsed because she felt as if Bruce Wayne's eyes were piercing through whatever device she was watching the interview on.
"But, yeah. We invite others. Not in an open relationship way but in a community effort way," Y/N tried to specify.
"It's usually our friends. We have invited a few of our exes, though," He spoke fondly as he remembered the time they shared a bed with Clark and Lois or the other time with Oliver and Dinah.
"Do you remember your fiftieth?" For Bruce's 50th birthday, Y/N had arranged for a fivesome between her, Diana, Selina, Talia, and Bruce. At certain times, it felt like she enjoyed it more than he did but he was more than happy by the end of the night. Well three nights, considering that Y/N booked it on their private island.
"We had a time that night, as the kids would say." Bruce chuckled to himself. To him, it was one of the greatest presents ever.
Q: Y/N, why did you take Bruce back after finding out about Damian?
"That's a great question. I'm not going to pretend I wasn't hurt by his actions. We were separated for a little bit," She started to tear up when she remembered how betrayed she initially felt. She got over it eventually but it took some time.
"It was the worst five months of my life. I didn't deserve to be forgiven but she forgave me anyway. She never held it against Damian either. Even when she wasn't talking to me, she made sure he was okay with being in a new environment." Bruce reached for her hand and linked their pinkies. He never wanted her to feel that way again.
"Oh, don't worry. I had my fun during those five months but I do love my husband and he loves me," She nodded while looking into his eyes.
Q: When did you two know you were in love?
"The moment I saw her," Bruce lacked hesitation as he answered. He never had a doubt in his mind about Y/N. He loved her so much that it pained him to leave her.
"Bruce?" She questioned. She never knew that was when he fell in love with her. He didn't say 'I love you' until after eight months of dating and their first time having sex.
"What? It's true. The first time I saw you was in a coffee shop, and I knew then that one day, somehow, I'd be with you," He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Mine is a little less poetic. It was the first time we had showered together. It was just so perfect, intimate, and he wasn't afraid to be vulnerable with me," She said softly and began to twiddle with a knotless braid that framed her face.
Q: Do you guys have celebrity crushes or hall passes?
"Mine is Wonder Woman," Y/N said immediately. It was no big secret that both of the Waynes had a huge crush on Diana. Bruce was simply better at denying it.
"I don't have one," He lied but Y/N decided not to press him on it. His real celebrity crush was probably Zatanna and that's why Y/N was arranging that threesome next.
"You do know I would leave you for her, right?" She egged on.
"Oh I am well aware," Bruce admitted with a slight smirk playing on his lips.
Q: Do you have favorite kids?
"I don't think we do. I think the kids think we do, but we don't," Y/N looked to her husband for confirmation and nodded in agreement.
"They only really accuse us when they are trying to get out of trouble," Bruce admitted.
"Dick is somehow always around when someone is about to be punished and he's like 'You'd never let me get away with that'," She said mimicking her oldest son.
Q: Do the kids prefer a parent?
"I do think the kids have a favorite parent," Y/N said tilting her head while looking at her husband. Bruce snorted, before raising an eyebrow.
"Y/N is the favorite parent," Bruce said with a teasing smile.
"Maybe but Martha and Cass are total Daddy's girls," She rolled her eyes.
"They do have me wrapped around their finger just like their mother," Bruce gestured to his wife before ending the interview.
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Taglist: @flyestvenustrap @megamindsecretlair @blxckdesire @prettyvintageafternoon @lilbanas @certifiedloverwoman @melissa-ashe @hoyoooo
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astorianyxkings · 3 months
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Oldest Daughter Dick™ is probably one of my favourite things ever. And it always will be and here's why:
Of course Dick loves his siblings and of course he loves that they know Bruce as the father he is. But it won't stop the jealousy he feels. And no one gets it, not even Jason. They were all raised by Bruce Wayne, he was raised by Batman.
When Dick came to live with him, Bruce had no idea how to he a father. How to handle normal kid stuff like sicknesses and school events let alone the fact he was an acrobat. He was Batman and Dick was raised to be not just his successor but the only contingency plan he had against himself.
Bruce never held his punches ("That was a good block but I still got you, didn't I?" Bruce had said, rubbing cream into the blossoming bruise on Dick's side. "I'll get you next time," Dick had promised, young eyes challenging. "You better." Bruce had grinned back.) All attacks were to remind him that he was at a disadvantage strength wise and thus needed to re-evaluate his lines of defense and offense.
Dick was raised by the paranoid-in-his-late-twenties-probably-shouldn't-be-a-dad-despite-what-Marisol-said Bat. A fun game of catch? He was dodging Batarangs. Learning to drive? It was the Batmobile and he was age 14 (and a half). School events? He was fumbling, awkward and did not want to be there (but still was because he'll be damned if his boy didn't have his support.)
And you know that's fine, Dick was fine. It wasn't Bruce's fault he didn't know how to be a proper dad, despite Alfred's parenting books and videos. And he did try, he was always there. But it just really hits a sore spot everytime he sees Bruce hold a punch before he knocks Tim out cold or when he's behind the wheel with Steph telling her what not to do. Or even when he's at school with Damian and Duke making Marjory and her cupcakes look ridiculous compared to him and his coconut crumble cakes.
It also irritates Dick beyond senseless whenever the topic of sparring with Bruce is mentioned. ("We can all beat the old man Goldie, he's ancient." Jason shrugs off and Dick wanted to scream.) The only one who even tries to sympathize with him was Cass. More than likely because she'd seen him fight as Batman The Dark Knight before seeing him fight as Bruce The Father of Six-Almost-Eight.
And it just really stings because he can't relate to being raised by Bruce the way the others can't. Bruce changed for them, not him. And maybe that kind of hurts. But maybe he's overreacting.
What he doesn't realize is he's the reason why Bruce changed. Bruce saw the hurt and anger in Dick's eyes when he fired him from Robin (Think Shifu denying Tai Lung the Dragon Warrior scroll). He knew the second he saw the betrayal in Dick's eyes after seeing Jason as Robin, that he'd have to change. (The same way Shifu should've changed for Tigress but I digress, not that fandom).
Bruce pulls his punches because he hated seeing Dick limp away from their sparring matches—despite the fire and promise of a rematch in his eyes. He teaches them how to drive regular cars before the Batmobile because the one time Dick crashed (while trying to avoid some of Poison Ivy's vines) his heart rate skyrocketed so high Clark had called him up demanding to know if he was okay. He shows up for Duke and Damian and Cass and Tim because Dick's smile whenever he saw Bruce in the parent's lounge never failed to make him melt.
Bruce stands firm on the fact that while he may have made a hero out of Dick, Dick Grayson made a father out of Bruce Wayne.
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Superpham AU (part 6)
Masterpost
Lois prides herself at being good at rolling with the unexpected. Unfortunately, all of her experience with aliens and supervillains and magic has not prepared her for Danny.
Danny has a disconcerting habit of dropping disturbing or traumatizing information in an off-hand way, seeming to not even realize the implications of his own words. It started with what he said about the dimension he'd grown up in discriminating against people with powers, then with what he'd said about the red son and the lack of superheroes, but it just keeps happening.
Lois tries not to call attention to it, because she prefers it to the alternative, which is Danny shutting himself up in his room and refusing to talk to any of them.
Lex Luthor is on the nightly news-- as he so often is-- and Lois has to explain the man's many crimes to Danny. (No, Jon, it is not a rant.)
"Oh," Danny says. "He sounds like Vlad."
"Vlad?" Lois asks.
"Yeah, Vlad Masters. He's my godfather. He's a total fruitloop who wanted to marry my mom and make me his son."
Lois carefully does not react. She wants Danny to tell her things. She wants to know what his life was like when she wasn't in it. "That sounds..."
"Yeah, he tried to clone me. Well, I guess he succeeded, but none of them were stable except for Ellie, and she wasn't really that stable to begin with."
"Ellie?"
"Yeah, short for Danielle. She went by Dani-with-an-I for a while, but she decided she wanted her own name."
That is not the part Lois was looking for clarification on. She goes with it anyway. "Tell me about her," Lois says, and tries not to be concerned about Danny’s descriptions of a teenage girl who apparently lives and travels on her own because she doesn't like to be stuck in one place. Ellie doesn't even get the full benefit of being quarter Kryptonian, living in a world with a red sun.
The four of them are sitting down to dinner-- pizza again; one of them should probably cook sometime this week, but Lois and Clark are both on deadlines-- when Clark asks Danny more about his adoptive family, the ones he grew up with.
He looks sad, the way he always does whenever his adoptive parents come up.   Lois can hardly blame him, when he lost them in such a sudden and traumatic way.  
"They're scientists," Danny says.  "Or they were.  They studied, um, the Ghost Zone and the things that live there.  They didn't really understand it at first-- they thought all the-- um, everything from there was evil and needed to be killed, but they learned they were wrong eventually."
Lois meets Clark's eyes and knows he is as concerned about what happened before that 'eventually' as she is.  Still, neither of them comment, not wanting Danny to clam up again..
Jon, however, has no such reservations.  "That's really messed up."
Danny shrugs.  "Yeah, kind of.  They came around, though.  And I think they blamed themselves for how bad the GIW got because they were the ones who designed the weapons."
"The GIW?" Lois asks, instead of what she really wants to know, which is: Your adoptive parents designed weapons to be used against beings from another dimension??? Did they know what you were? 
"Guys in White," Danny says.  "I don't think that was their real name, but they were from the government."
"Your parents built weapons for them?" Clark asks, his tone deceptively light.  "I thought they were scientists."
"They dabbled in a lot of things.  But they were fantastic engineers."  Danny segues into a story about some of the modifications his adoptive parents made to their car, which is a topic only slightly better for Lois's heart.
Later that night, Lois is sitting in bed, checking her emails on her phone, when Clark sits down next to her and turns on the white noise machine they keep on the nightstand.  (It's the only way to have private conversations when your child-- children-- have super-hearing.)
"I'm concerned about Danny," he says.
"No shit."  The more Danny tells them about the dimension he grew up in, the more Lois hates it.  "But there's nothing we can do now except be there for him."
"I know people who have traveled across dimensions, you know," Clark says.  "I could always ask for a favor."
"You won't," Lois says.  "Because if you do, I'm going to end up committing felonies in another dimension."  
Clark smiles humorlessly. "What makes you think I wouldn't be there with you?"
"Because you're a better person than I am."  Clark never believes her when she says that, but it's true.  Clark is a fundamentally good person.  Lois tries to be a good person, but there's a reason she's not a superhero.  
-----
Kon intended to stop by Metropolis several days ago.  Or at least call Clark back.  But he’d gotten sidetracked by an earthquake in Southeast Asia, and then by Dr Light causing problems in California.  
He gets a few hours of sleep back in Smallville, then remembers that he’d planned on dropping by Metropolis and meeting Danny days before.  He walks the last few blocks to Lois and Clark’s house— flying would be way too noticeable in their neighborhood— and lets himself in.  He walks up to the living room and spots Lois there, furiously typing on her laptop.  
Kon is man enough to admit, at least within his own head, that Lois kind of intimidates him. Sure, Clark is physically stronger, but there’s an intensity to Lois that Clark lacks.  She glances up at Kon, and even though she’s smiling, he still feels pinned under her gaze.  
Kon shifts uncomfortably, reminds himself that unless he turns into a corrupt businessman or something, he’s not actually in danger from Lois Lane.  
“You here to see Danny?” she asks.
“Yeah.”  Kon shoves his hands in his jacket pockets.  “I figured I should probably meet him.”
“He’s in his room,” Lois says.  “He’s not… It’s not a good day, but maybe he’ll talk to you.  He hasn’t exactly gotten the chance to be around anyone his own age since he showed up.”
Kon knocks on the door to Danny’s room.  
“Come in,” a voice calls from inside.
Kon’s first thought is that he looks more like Clark than Danny does.  Stupid; of course he does.  He’s Clark’s clone.  But then, Jon resembles Clark almost as strongly as Kon does, so maybe it wasn’t a completely stupid thought.
Danny is sprawled on his stomach across his bed, phone in his hand.  There’s a video playing on it— someone talking about the history of the Justice League— but he’s ignoring it, watching Kon with a wary expression.  The room is still as bland as it ever was; other than the clothes tossed haphazardly on the floor, there’s no sign a teenage boy lives here.
“I’m guessing you’re Kon?” 
“That’s me.”  They stare at each other awkwardly for a moment.  
“Have you actually seen any of Metropolis, or have you just been hanging out in here?” Kon asks.
“Lois took me shopping for some stuff,” Danny says.
“Okay, no,” Kon says.  “You have got to get out of this house.”  
“You don’t even live in Metropolis,” Danny says.  
Kon shrugs. “Doesn’t matter; I’ve spent more time here than you.” There’s an old-school arcade he’s been to a handful of times, and a couple of places to eat.  Anything has got to be better than Danny hanging out and brooding in this sad bedroom by himself.
It's a warm day outside.  The sun shines down on the two of them as they walk in near-silence toward downtown.  The awkward silence doesn't quite break until they're at the arcade, competing on an old racing game.  
"I don't think we have this one in my dimension.  The other dimension.  Whatever."  Danny says.
"Yeah?"  Kon speeds ahead of Danny in the game, just in time to cross the finish line.  Danny groans.
"Yeah, but this world doesn't seem to have Doomed, either," Danny says as they start another race.  "There's a lot of little differences like that."
"That's gotta be weird," Kon says.  
"Yeah, Clark kind of freaked out when I told him the sun there was red."
Yeah, Kon can see why.  They talk more as they play more video games, and Danny tells Kon about his friends and what they'd do when they were hanging out in his hometown of Amity Park.  The main people he talks about are his best friends, Sam and Tucker, and his older sister, Jazz, but he mentions a few others.  
"Wait, who is Ellie again?" Kon asks, after Danny shares a story about a prank she pulled on another kid at Danny's school.  They've left the arcade, and are hanging out at the diner a few blocks away.  It's not the coolest place-- in fact, it looks like a grandmother decorated it-- but Clark introduced Kon to it, and it has great food.
"Oh, I didn't tell you?" Danny asks.  "She's my clone."
Kon chokes a little on his soda.  "You have a clone?"
-----
Danny is probably being paranoid.
Scratch that, he's definitely being paranoid. Lois and Clark have been nothing but nice, and they're clearly used to weird things happening. Like, even aside from the whole alien superhero thing, Lois just saw a kid fall out of a portal and decided to help?  Plus, Clark is an actual superhero.  
Even his— the Fentons came around on the whole “ghost powers” thing.  Eventually.  But he’s gotten used to hiding, to trying to blend in.  
(And what had them accepting him done for them in the end?  They’re dead, the GIW killed them.)
He’d rather hide than suddenly discover that Lois and Clark aren’t cool with their long-lost son being half dead.
Some of his powers he can pass off as Kryptonian— super strength, flight, enhanced senses.  He knows Lois saw his ghost form, and though she hasn’t asked about it, he’s pretty sure it’s just a matter of time.  
These thoughts circle through his mind over and over, only leaving him temporarily when he’s hanging out with the Lane-Kents.  
His bio family.  
That’s not much better, though; there’s a sadness in Lois and Clark’s eyes whenever they look at him, although they try to hide it.  Jon just a kid, and clearly doesn’t know what to make of the whole situation.  Lois keeps saying they are going to introduce him to more people, especially people his own age, but Danny shies away from that.  He doesn’t want to meet more people.  He doesn’t want to get comfortable here.
Still, he’s glad he came out with Kon.  An afternoon of videogames and greasy food hasn’t solved any of his problems, but it’s a nice break, and Kon has already promised to introduce Danny to his friends— a whole team of teenage superheroes.
“I can’t get over how many heroes there are here,” Danny says.  “Like, why do you even need that many?”  Sure, it would have been nice to have some more backup when he was Phantom, but in this world there seems to be at least one superhero for every major city, plus some extra.
Kon shrugs. “Natural disasters, alien invasions, supervillains, street crime… No one can handle all of it.”
Out of all the things he’s encountered so far in this dimension, this might be Danny’s favorite.  Even more than the proven existence of aliens.  Back home, Amity Park needed Phantom, even if they hated him.  But the world here doesn’t need Phantom.  
It’s kind of freeing, and Danny hates it.  He doesn’t want to like anything about this dimension more than his own.  
Would it really be that bad?  You might be stuck here forever, a little voice inside his head whispers.  
He ignores it.
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solar-wing · 2 months
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⚣ It's Not A Competition 🥇
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⚣👊🏻 A/N → SURPRISE! double post today! I've been wanting to do a Clark Kent post forever but never had any good ideas. Then, this popped into my mind. Also, I'm really trying to clear out my drafts and any old requests. WARNINGS: Canon-Typical Violence | Jealousy | Established Relationship
⚣👊🏻 Summary → Dark Knight this and Dark Knight that. What about Superman?! He's also a great hero! Better than Batman, at least. The guy doesn't even have powers. But that's what makes him more interesting and cool, according to Y/N. And frankly, Clark has had quite enough and intends to show him why Superman is way better than Batman.
⚣👊🏻 Words → 4.7K
REBLOGS & replies are greatly appreciated, please! 💛
⚣ ENJOY 👊🏻
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Clark just didn’t get it.
Why was it that Y/N was so obsessed with Batman and not Superman? All the young reporter ever talked about was the Dark Knight and how he was so cool and mysterious. Going on and on about his awesome gadgets and the fact that he had no powers, which made him so interesting.
Clark very much would beg to differ.
“You know, Superman can shoot lasers out of his eyes, and I heard he can move faster than the speed of sound,” Clark pointed out while walking with Y/N down the sidewalk. They decided to go out for lunch and since the Daily Planet was so close to one of Y/N's favorite restaurants downtown, he figured, why not just walk together?
“Clark, not this again,” Y/N chuckled while sipping his drink.
“I’m sorry, you just always talk about how great Batman is, and I’m not saying he’s bad, but I don’t get how he’s better than Superman?”
“You know, you’re starting to sound like Lois with all your Superman praise and comparison.”
“Well, she’s not wrong. I mean, come on. What can Batman do that Superman can’t?” Clark asked, looking down at his boyfriend while waiting for an answer.
“Batman’s quicker on his feet. He thinks of solutions faster and more creatively than what I’ve seen from Superman. Plus, he’s resourceful. The guy’s got a freaking jet. The only people I could think of that own jets and planes and all the crazy gadgets he has would probably be Lex Luthor or Bruce Wayne.”
Clark tried not to react to the irony of that statement, rather focusing on how he could combat that logic even though it was true. He had to admit that his comrade, whether in the field or in practice, was very good at analyzing a situation and using whatever he had around him to his advantage.
Still, it didn’t mean he was better than him.
“Well, Superman can also fly, and as many have witnessed, is crazy strong.”
“Yes, he is. But if Batman can afford a jet, I’m pretty sure he can afford a jetpack, too. Plus, we all know how strong Superman is, some more than others. Their insurance claims can definitely speak to how strong he is.”
That last line Y/N said was more so to himself than as a statement to Clark. However, it didn’t take away the slight sting from his words, considering how true they were.
“So you’re saying Superman is reckless and bad at his job or something?” Clark accused.
“What? No, I’m not saying that at all. Why are you getting so defensive about this? You’re acting as if you know the guy. Wait, do you know him?” Y/N asked, now looking up at his giant of a boyfriend.
Sometimes, he wondered what kind of genes ran in Clark’s family. It was a bit of a puzzle to Y/N why the six-foot-something man was in journalism rather than something that seemed more his speed, like fitness or athletics.
“No, of course not. I just don’t think it’s fair or even logical to compare Superman to someone like Batman, considering what each of them has respectfully achieved, not to mention the state of their cities and everything. I mean, have you ever been to Gotham before?” Clark asked, doing his best to not draw any more curiosity or suspicion out of the younger male.
Not that he was doing a good job of that in the first place.
Clark just wished he could’ve shown Y/N why Superman was better than Batman. They’d only been dating for a few months so it wasn’t reasonable or even smart for the Kryptonian to consider revealing his identity to him, no matter how much he wanted to.
“Clark, it’s not a competition. You know that, right?” Y/N said, placing his hand on Clark’s arm.
They paused in their steps, Clark looking down at the gentle hand lying across his forearm before looking up into the eyes that always put him under a spell. He smiled to himself, thinking of the fact that even if Y/N favored Batman over Superman, Clark was still the real winner, because he had him.
He took his hand in his own, doing his best to contain his excitement pulse at the feeling of his larger hand surrounding the smaller one in his grip. Y/N was still a male, so his hand wasn’t dainty or small by any means, but compared to Clark’s, it might as well have been.
“Yeah, I know. Sorry, I got a little bit crazy.” Clark apologized with a small kiss on the shorter man’s hand causing a slight blush to appear on the smaller male’s cheeks.
“It’s ok. Besides, I like a little bit of crazy. Keeps things interesting.” Y/N said before continuing their walk towards Clark’s place of work.
‘You have no idea,’ Clark thought to himself as he followed behind, letting himself be tugged along.
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They returned to the Daily Planet to find everywhere in a buzz, chattering excitedly with each other as various individuals were either running to the bathroom with pouches of makeup and skincare and others at their desks touching up their hair and clothes.
“What’s going on?” Clark asked aloud as he strode into the office while still holding Y/N’s hand.
“Was it like this when we left?” His boyfriend asked, chuckling at the comical movements and gestures of the rushing to get re-ready for whatever was happening.
“No, it was actually the opposite,” The reporter stated before eventually spotting Lois at her desk, who was also touching up her makeup and hair. He made his way over to the desk area, narrowly avoiding multiple people rushing while pulling Y/N closer to him to keep him from getting bumped into.
“Lois, what’s going on?”
“Oh, hey, Smallville. Hello, Y/N. Didn’t you both get the emergency email Perry sent to everyone earlier?” She said in her usual fast-paced, business tone while curling her eyelashes.
“No, We were at lunch. What was the email about?”
“Oh, Clark. Must I always have to save your butt?” Lois said before handing her phone over to the man, Y/N chuckling behind him at the comment.
Clark threw him a look while Y/N did his best to keep a neutral face before reading over the email.
“Bruce Wayne is coming to the Daily Planet?”
Y/N's eyes went comically large at the mention, immediately jumping to read the email for himself, “No way!”
Lois smirked to herself before grabbing her phone back from the man, while Clark just stared at his boyfriend in jealous shock from his excited outburst. “Yep. Wayne Enterprises has announced its support of various major liberal movements and is donating large proceeds to different organizations calling for massive change in the nation. And with this being an election year, many political figures and business entities are feeling a little uneasy at this sudden new support from the tech giant. And yours truly, landed the exclusive interview with him to get all the nitty and gritty details .”
Y/N’s eyes were almost bugging out of his head, before he ran to the bathroom himself, snatching his hand from Clark’s who looked desperately after him.
“Dammit, Bruce.” The reporter growled under his breath.
“You say something?” Lois asked while powdering her nose.
“No,” Clark responded gruffly, an irritated glint in his eye before walking to his own desk.
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After everyone has ridiculously made themselves extra presentable, including Y/N much to Clark’s annoyance, the pair stand outside the room with a few others, watching through the glass pane walls as the interview is broadcast live to the entire nation. Lois asked Mr. Wayne various questions, ranging from his real intentions behind his charitable donations to whether he was looking to begin any political endeavors and win the favor of the public.
Bruce answers every question with confidence and suaveness, leaving no room for questions about his actions, and denies any political motivations. Y/N watched impressed from the other end while Clark just looked around with a grim and irritated look, his arms crossed as he listened to the interview and watched his boyfriend fanboy over his secret comrade.
“Well, you certainly seem like the charming and noble benefactor, Mr. Wayne. I can see why you're known as ‘Gotham’s Favorite Son.’ I have to ask though, even if you truly have no political ambitions, aren’t you worried that these donations and announcements along with the unwavering stance you’ve taken on these political topics will inevitably place a target on you?” Lois asked, notepad and pen sitting with poise and precision, ready to take down every little thing the billionaire said.
“Wow, I can see why she’s so respected. She’s nailing this interview.” Y/N commented.
Clark nodded to that. Even if he wasn’t feeling the most agreeable at the moment, he’d always give hats off to Lois’ skills. The woman was a powerhouse when it came to this stuff.
“Well, first off, thank you for your earlier comment. I don’t think of myself as anyone’s favorite, but even I can’t control what the public says or does,” Bruce responded with his ever-so-billion-dollar smile, earning a laugh from Lois and probably every other American tuning into this broadcast, including Y/N.
Clark, however, wasn’t impressed. He’d heard funnier.
“But, to answer your question,” Bruce continued, “...any move in the business or even the political world I imagine can be considered a risky one. I’m not going to pretend that my decisions have made some very happy, and others very unhappy. That’s life. You can’t please everyone. But, to sit and accept things as the way they are for fear of retaliation or backlash is misery in itself. I believe anyone who doesn’t speak up for what they truly believe or want for fear of ‘rocking the boat’ is just content with living in their own misery. And, let me be clear before I’m canceled—I know the meaning behind that now thanks to my kids, particularly my two youngest sons—I’m not saying someone who’s genuinely content and happy with where they are is included in this. I’m specifically talking to those who want change, and want to create a better world, but are waiting for others to do it for them.”
Despite its clichéness, many in the hall gave a small clap to the CEO’s words, Y/N looking thoroughly impressed himself.
“Wow, he really is an inspiring man,” Y/N commented.
“He’s alright,” Clark said in response.
Y/N gave the taller man a suspicious side look, “Alright, what’s going on with you? You’ve been standing there pouting
since this interview started. What, do you not like Bruce Wayne or something?"
Clark sighed before looking down at his boyfriend. It was true, he wasn't really liking the guy at the moment. But, it was just because he was so jealous. He didn’t like how Y/N was looking at him, or how he was talking about him.
It wasn't fair.
The reporter wanted Y/N to be looking at him and only him like that, and he wanted his attention and affection, and he wanted him to only talk about him like that. It was petty, and it was selfish, but Clark didn’t care.
He just wanted Y/N to only admire Clark Kent. not Bruce Wayne.
Only Superman, not Batman.
Despite Y/N's earlier words about it not being a competition, Clark knew the truth. It was a competition, one he was not planning on losing.
"No, I don't not like him. I'm just not that impressed, is all. He's not a superhero." Clark said.
"Neither is Lex Luthor. But, that doesn't stop the public from making him the villain in his story. I'm sure there's a lot more to Bruce Wayne than the media is letting on."
"Oh, trust me. There's more to him than what meets the eye," Clark mumbled to himself as the interview was getting ready to wrap up.
"Well, on behalf of the Daily Planet, I'd like to thank you for joining us today. Your words are certainly ones that will not go unheard by many. I look forward to—"
Before Lois could finish speaking, the lights in the building suddenly went out, leaving the office pitch black. A few people in the hall gasp, Y/N instinctively grabbing Clark's arm, who in turn places his hand over the smaller man's own.
"What's going on?" Someone asks.
"I don't know. It's almost like a blackout, but it can't be because we have backup generators. They should've turned it on by now." Another responded.
"Clark, what's going on?" Y/N asked toward his boyfriend, who was holding the smaller male closer to him out of instinct.
"I'm not exactly sure..."
Just as he said that, the lights came back on, and everyone was looking around confused as to what the source of the blackout was.
"Oh my god!" One of the people in the hall screamed suddenly as everyone turned back towards the interview room. Inside the room, some members of the crew suddenly had masks with insignias covering their faces on them. One of them was behind Lois holding a dagger to her neck while another stood to the side, pointing a gun directly at Bruce's head.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt, Ms. Lane," The individual in the middle of the room said, "But, this interview isn't over just yet."
"Who the hell are you people?!" Lois asked, fear and anger in her eyes as the blade was held to her neck.
"Wouldn't you like to know? As for Mr. Wayne, we're going to have a little chat. I suggest you and your friends don't follow or intervene. Otherwise, this broadcast won't be the only thing getting cut" The masked individual threatened, nodding to Lois.
"Don't you dare touch her," Bruce warned, his expression serious, as he got ready to stand.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mr. Wayne. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen, now would we? Especially with all of America watching right now."
Bruce sat back down, knowing that his opponent was right. He couldn't let them hurt Lois, and he certainly couldn't risk any lives in this room.
"Don't worry, Mr. Wayne. We'll make this quick," The leader said as one of the other masked goons went to lock the door that led inside the interview room.
"Clark, we have to do something," Y/N said, his heart racing a mile a minute.
"I know. Stay here. I'll be back." Clark said before running off, leaving the smaller male alone.
"What? Clark, wait! Where are you going?" Y/N called after him, but the taller man didn't hear him, already too far away.
'What the hell is he doing?' Y/N thought to himself before turning his attention back towards the situation in front of him.
As Clark rounded the corner and made his way down the hallway, he made sure no one was watching him before he ran as fast as he could into the supply closet. Once inside, he quickly changed into his suit before taking off through the backdoor.
"So, how does it feel knowing that you're on the side of the wrong? How does it feel knowing that no matter what you do, you'll never be able to fix the mess you made? All the lives lost because of you," The masked man asked Bruce, who was sitting calmly in his chair, his eyes not showing an ounce of fear.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Of course you don't. None of you wealthy elites do. You don't know the pain and suffering your companies and your products cause to others. You don't know the misery you cause. Well, allow us to show you." The man said before signaling his partners.
One of them immediately moved and grabbed a hold of the camera, pointing it directly at the masked man in the center.
"Hello, Metropolis. And hello, America. If you're watching this, that means you're just as much a part of this as we are. if you've been sitting here listening to the lies and promises of a better world by this man and his kind, you are as much a part of his schemes as he is. It is because of people like him that we have the world we live in. It's because of people like him that so many of us suffer. It's because of people like him that the world will only continue to rot and decay until there is nothing left but a pile of ashes. But, we will not be the ones who burn. We will not be the ones who lose. We will not be the ones who suffer, not anymore. Today, we fight back. Today, we will show the world that we will not be silenced, we will not be oppressed. We will not allow the likes of him and his kind to continue to control us anymore with false promises of a better tomorrow while lining their own pockets. Today, we say enough is enough. Today, we rise. Today, we will take back what is rightfully ours. Today, we take back our freedom and our lives from the rich and corrupt." The man spoke, his words filled with conviction and determination, but also hatred and poison as he stared deep into the camera.
"And if any of you try to stop us, then you will be considered just as guilty as the rest of them. We will not be silenced. We will not be ignored. And if you think that the likes of Batman and Superman will save you, I wouldn't be too sure of that..."
As soon as the leader was done with his speech, the sound of the glass shattering was heard as Superman broke through the windows, flying into the room before stopping directly in front of the man holding the camera.
"But, I am..." The Man of Steel said, shooting a laser beam at the dagger being held by the goon threatening Lois. He immediately dropped the blade as it became too hot, giving the Daily Planet reporter the opportunity she needed to escape his hold.
"Bastards," She cursed, turning around and delivering a kick to the masked man's groin.
He groaned out in pain, falling to the floor before Lois punched him in the face, knocking him out.
Superman turned his attention back toward the masked man standing in the center, "I believe it's time for you to take a hike."
"Not yet. We still have unfinished business," The man said before signaling his other henchman. The man immediately aimed his gun at the Kryptonian, firing shot after shot into him.
Superman stood his ground as the bullets hit him, before eventually, the gun ran out.
"You're right. This is definitely the end," Superman said as he flew toward the man, knocking him out before he could reload his gun.
As Superman finished off the last of the henchmen, the leader turned back towards the camera, "Sorry, Superman. But, the damage has already been done. I hope you enjoyed this little taste of what's to come."
Before the Kryptonian could stop him, the man took out a smoke bomb, throwing it onto the ground and covering the room in a cloud of smoke.
"Crap," Superman cursed, unable to see as the man escaped.
As the smoke began to clear, Bruce took out his phone, "Alfred, I need you to track this signal."
"Understood, sir. I've also informed the police and they're on their way," Alfred responded.
"Good," Bruce said before turning back towards the room.
The actual camera crew was not out in the hall, hugging their co-workers who were all relieved at their safety. The broadcast was cut from the air, but there was no doubt every TV station from here to San Francisco was talking about it. Y/N was standing nearby, his eyes filled with awe and admiration as he stared up at Superman.
There was something oddly familiar about him.
...
Nah.
"That was incredible, Mr. Wayne," Lois said.
"I could say the same thing about you. I'm glad you're ok."
Lois smiled at him, "You were worried about me?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Bruce asked, a small smile forming on his lips.
Lois blushed slightly before turning back to look at Superman, who was now standing right in front of the two.
"Thank you for the save, Superman," Lois said, extending her hand out to the Kryptonian.
"My pleasure," Superman said, shaking the woman's hand before his attention was drawn toward Bruce who just gave him an appreciative nod. Though the look in his eyes signaled they would definitely be communicating about things later.
As Bruce and Lois moved towards the hallway, Lois spotted Y/N who was standing close to the door peeking inside.
"Oh Y/N, there you are! Thank goodness, you're alright." Lois said, walking over to him and hugging him.
"Yeah, I'm ok. Are you?" He asked, looking up at the woman.
"I'm fine. I'm tougher than I look."
"That's good to hear. And, it's good to see you’re okay as well Mr. Wayne. That was scary." Y/N said, turning his attention to the billionaire.
"Yes, I'm glad I'm alright, too," Bruce said, his attention on Y/N.
"Oh, Bruce Wayne, this is Y/N L/N. He's one of our upcoming new reporters along with Clark Kent, who you've met before." Lois said, introducing the two.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wayne," Y/N said, extending his hand out.
Bruce took it, giving the younger man a firm handshake, "The pleasure is all mine."
As the two looked at each other, Clark was standing nearby, his gaze focused on the two, his fists clenched.
'I swear to Rao...' He thought to himself, jealousy coursing through his body as he watched the two interact.
"So, Mr. Wayne, what do you think that was all about?" Y/N asked.
Bruce turned to look at the woman, an amused eyebrow raised, "He must be getting trained by you," He said, sparking a laugh from Lois and another eye roll from the Kryptonian before flying off, "And please, call me Bruce. Mr. Wayne makes me feel old."
"Bruce, then. What do you think that was all about?" Y/N asked again.
"Well, I can't be certain, but based on their words and their actions, I'd say they were a group of anarchists."
"Anarchists?"
"Yes. They're not an uncommon group. Many people are growing tired of the way things are in this country. With the state of the economy and the government, it's only a matter of time before things begin to boil over."
"So, you think this is going to happen more often?"
"I'm not sure. But, I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of them."
Y/N nodded his thoughts on the events that had transpired earlier.
"Y/N!" Clark called, interrupting the conversation.
"Clark, there you are! You had me worried sick," The smaller male said while hugging his boyfriend, missing the sharp look the taller man was throwing at the billionaire.
"I just went to alert the building security and the police. Seems everything turned alright though since Superman showed up," Clark said, wrapping an arm around the younger man's waist while still giving a side eye to Bruce who was watching with amusement.
"Yes, thank goodness he did. I'm sure we all owe him a huge thanks for his services."
"Yes, indeed we do. But, unfortunately, I must be going now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Y/N." Bruce said, extending his hand once more to the younger man, who took it, shaking it gently.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, too."
Bruce smiled at him before turning back to Lois, "And it was a pleasure seeing you again, Lois."
"Likewise, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce smirked, "I do believe we're a bit past the formalities now, Lois. Please, call me Bruce."
"Of course. Bruce." The woman replied, her tone flirty and her expression coy.
Y/N noticed this and turned to look at Clark, whose expression was blank as he looked on.
"Will do, Lois. I look forward to our next meeting," Bruce said before stopping in front of Clark.
"Good seeing you as well Clark, as short-lived as it was," Bruce said, extending his hand out for a handshake.
Clark reluctantly took it, the handshake lasting longer than was necessary.
"Likewise," Clark replied.
Bruce nodded, his eyes giving the reporter a knowing look before he was escorted out by security.
Once the billionaire was out of sight, Clark and Y/N decided to leave as well, making their way towards the elevator.
"Well, that was a crazy day," Y/N said.
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"Do you think Bruce Wayne knows Batman?"
Clark stopped mid-step, a shocked expression on his face as he looked down at his boyfriend.
"Are you serious right now? You can't be serious?" The taller man said with an indignant expression.
"What?"
"You're still thinking of Batman after Superman just came and saved everyone?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, he's a hero too. They both are. Besides, Superman is always getting most of the credit, don't you think? It would make sense if they were working together. You know, the world's greatest detective and the world's greatest hero, solving crime and catching the bad guys. Wouldn't that be so cool?" Y/N asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement at the thought.
"No, not really. I don't see why that would be a good idea," Clark said, rolling his eyes.
Y/N sighed, "Clark, remember what we talked about earlier about it not being a competition?"
Clark looked down at the smaller man, his eyes filled with frustration, "Yeah, but it doesn't mean you have to obsess over Batman. Superman is just as obsessed-worthy!"
"Clark, seriously, what is up with you? It's not like I want to marry him or something."
"You're acting like you want to," Clark mumbled under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Look, Clark. I'm not going to say I'm not a fan of Batman. I mean, I think he's cool. But, that doesn't mean that I'm not a fan of Superman either. I'm a fan of both of them. I think they're both great heroes, and I think they both do good work."
"But, you don't think that Batman is cooler, or that he's better than Superman?" Clark asked, his expression pleading.
"I mean, I guess. But, why does that matter? Why are you so hung up about this?"
"Because, I—" Clark started before stopping, knowing he was about to give away his identity.
"You what?"
"I just want you to think of me, is all," Clark said, looking down at the ground, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Y/N's heart softened at the confession, the older man looking like a little kid who just got his favorite toy taken away. He stepped forward, cupping the taller man's face in his hands, causing him to look up.
"Clark, I do think about you. I think about you all the time and I love how protective you are of me. Whether I like Batman or Superman more isn't going to change that" Y/N said, trying his best to ease his boyfriend's fears.
"Promise?" Clark asked.
Y/N chuckled, "I promise."
"Good," Clark smiled while leaning down to place a kiss against his boyfriend's lips, "You should still like Superman more."
Y/N rolled his eyes, "Sure thing, Clark. I'll work on that."
"Thank you."
"Whatever. Now come on, we now have a celebratory date to go on." Y/N said as he grabbed Clark's hand.
"What are we celebrating?" Clark asked with a laugh as he was pulled towards the elevator.
It was always adorable watching the smaller male pull Clark around like it was nothing.
"Surviving our first criminal encounter together," Y/N said while hitting the first-floor button.
"First?"
"Honey, we live in a city with sky-high insurance because a superhero lives here. You really think this will be the last?"
He definitely doesn't.
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☀️ | Clark Kent/Superman | ☀️
☀️ | Masterlists | ☀️
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p1nkshield · 9 months
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Hi 👋 This is chapter four of the Estranged Uncle Au!
Just a warning there is mentions of cults and a scene that has Damian being Damian (AKA knife child) Please take care of yourselves! I hope you enjoy!
Clark was sweating buckets.
“I promise you I’m not in danger! This is all a big misunderstanding! Bruce isn’t even that creepy!”
Jazz rattled off several reasons.
“He has a cloyingly sweet public persona, his personal computer has extensive information on all of the local rogues in the area and all the adopted sons we’ve met look practically identical to both each other and you and Danny! Not to mention they all seem trained for combat! How is that not creepy?”
Okay from an impartial standpoint Clark could see how it looked like he was tied up in a cult.
“I swear if another fruitloop billionaire obsessed with one of my family members tries to adopt me I’m gonna wail!”
How specific!
“Wail?” Clark began to ask but was cut off.
“Are you tied up in a cult Clark? Because we can get you out if you are! I … uh know a guy who specializes in taking down cults.”
What?
“I promise you I’m not in a cult! The blue eyes and black hair is a coincidence and I am not in danger! Also what do you mean you know a guy who specializes in taking down cults!?!”
Danny squinted.
“Hold that thought. Everyone stop talking!”
Danny reached towards Clark’s shoulder and picked out a small device, no bigger than a grain of rice out of his cable knit sweater.
“No one who plants listening devices into sweaters isn’t creepy.”
He then promptly threw it to the ground and crushed it with his heel.
“That’s the end of the recording.” Tim said while cringing.
“Sleazy?!? Me? Sleazy? I did a back handspring on hardwood floors for them and they call me sleazy?!”
Dick thought that he could win them over. Was he too heavy handed?
“It’s probably because you fell asleep in the pico de gallo timber.” Jason joked as he inspected the weapons vault.
“What? Me?!? I was the only one who made any headway! I was just up late trying to track whoever was hacking us!” Tim defended.
“Well good news! You found ‘em! Let me know when they hack my library account seeing as the Big bad bat computer is being hacked by a couple teens.” Jason said dismissively as he took a flamethrower fuel canister.
Bruce was experiencing a new amalgamation of emotions. He was both incredibly embarrassed, incredibly amused and incredibly impressed.
How embarrassing that the bat computer was hacked! He put so much effort into the protection of his data!
But then again Clark must be beside himself trying to convince them he wasn’t in a cult and that was incredibly amusing. He even said all the things that people said when they were in denial about being in a cult!
This was absurd! The only way to describe this was absurd!
“Fools! All of you do not truly understand the gravitas of the situation! If they believe that we are indeed weapons dealers they may snoop further and compromise all of our secret identities!” Damian huffed his way into the view of his family.
“We’ll be alright Dami, Tim is reinforcing our defenses for the computer and we’re going to try and disengage for a while. If we keep on trying we might make it worse.” Dick ruffled through Damian’s hair despite many protests.
Damian tutted at this suggestion. They needed to approach the problem head on and quickly rectify the situation lest it spiral into a larger one. Perhaps if they suffered an accident.
“Damian! I know that face! That’s the face you make when you go off and try to rectify the situation by yourself!”
“That is not true Grayson! I was simply thinking about confiding in my companion about how tedious my science project is.”
“You promise you’re only going to engage in age appropriate activities like science homework and book reports?”
“I promise.”
"I'm choosing to believe you" Dick began to walk away before pulling another sour face. "...Sleazy?"
Damian checked his hidden blades one final time before encroaching upon this Daniel Fenton who had foolishly entered an alleyway. He deftly held a knife to the throat of his target.
"If you continue to snoop into my father's business I will not hesitate to cut you down!"
Damian was expecting to me met with fear and copious apologies. He was a fearsome and terrifying warrior after all.
"Are you trying to hold me at knifepoint on your tippy-toes?" The target said in the same tone that one would use with a kitten trying to jump a bit too high. They should be focused on the clear danger Damian was posing. Or at least the danger he was posing. Between the moment Damian looked at his feet and the moment he looked back up to find a very unperturbed Danny.
"Did your father put you up to this?" He asked.
"No! I acted of my own accord!"
"Well are there anymore ineffective threats you want to say?"
Damian was about to say something when his stomach audibly growled. Curses! He could not bring a meal in order to maintain secrecy from Alfred! Damian slowly looked up towards Danny's face. He has that look that Grayson gets before he does something annoying like ruffle his hair.
"Are you hungry?"
Damian did not dignify this question with an answer and began to storm off.
"I'm having some friends over, we can spare you a plate! My friend Sam chose the menu though so its vegan."
Damian stopped in his tracks.
"What is it that you are making?"
"Cauliflower gnocchi with cashew cream pesto."
"And this is taking place in Clark's home?"
"yep."
"Fine. But I will not be lenient with you because you've offered me a meal!"
Danny laughed and texted Sam
"Hey get another bundle of basil Im bringing a guest"
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streetlamped · 1 year
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You ever wonder what Gotham thinks of the many many scars and injuries on Bruce Wayne?
Cmon, hes literally the most famous guy in Gotham. Everyone definitely knows how he looks. Theyve all seen how hes more scar than skin. How hes literally the ditzyiest yet biggest guy in any building. How right along his killer smile is so many pale lines across his face from seemingly huge number of surgeries, and a nose probably put back together more times than you can count.
His front chest "assets" are literally the dream of every adult in Gotham, but the crisscrossings of scar tissue across them, covered by makeup, but theres so much you can stll see them.
Do you think he photoshops his scars out? How much concealer does he use to cover up his face? How many times has he hidden stitches from the public? What does he say when people comment on it?
I think they just accept that Bruce is jacked and HUGE I mean his Kardashian house tour showed off his gym literally 4 times bigger than his own bedroom. They dont blame the guy. He looks good, and he can keep himself safe. The scars though? To the public, the numerous falling off whatever, crashed cars, kidnappings, muggings do not add up to the webbing of scarring this man is made out of. The most I think Bruce can convince the public is that his spine injury from Bane was from a car accident.
I know hes been shot at places skin is usually shown. How dows he explain that, huh? Bruce, your excuse isnt I dropped something and it broke and cut me for all of that. Ive never seen anyone ask. Is he just that good at hiding it? Or do people just look at it, think "eh, hes so rich, he can do anything. who knows what hes up to." Maybe it just looks to gruesome and painful. I wanna know. Has the press said anything? Maybe one Clark Kent asking?
Kent: Mr Wayne, on average, you break 8 bones a month, and during holiday seasons, 6. What do you say about that?
Wayne: Ahaha,, cant blame poor old me, im brittle, and theres too many stairs in the manor!
Kent, internally: you motherfucker you jumped out a burning building last monday
Kent: And your scars? Theres just so many. How did you get them?
Wayne: Oh, its nothing. I just got shot while in town by some random mugger. Its all good, im used to it!
Kent, from Metropolis, not Gotham, completely baffled while the Gothamite standing beside just agrees:
I think everyone just knows how dangerous this shithole of a city is lmao they accept their funny Wayne as he is.
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gffa · 11 months
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It has been a whole entire week since I posted my previous set of recs and guess who is still hip deep in BATFAMILY fic and really wants to cry about feelings about all the Bats and Birds, but most especially my beloved Dick Grayson? I enjoy fic of all the characters, there should hopefully be something for most fans here, I eventually spread my wings a bit (ha ha) through the fandom, but absolutely I feel I should warn you all that I play favorites and I’m not subtle about it. In my defense he’s really annoying in the most delightful way, how could I not love him the most? So, here, have week #2’s recs where I dump 60+ more fics on you because this fandom is on fucking fire with how good it is and how much I love everyone here. God bless fic writers, you are all doing the lord’s work of giving me three novels worth a week to read and knocking it out of the park while you do it. BATFAM FIC RECS - BABY DICK IS THE CUTEST FERAL ROBIN I’M NOT HEARING ANY ARGUMENTS: ✦ The Painful Truth by RascalJoy (DarkQuill), dick & bruce & wally & artemis & m'gann & conner & dinah, 6.2k      In a mission gone wrong, Robin finds himself being forcefully interrogated under…influence. “Now, you’re probably wondering why we haven’t just yanked your mask off and been done with this whole thing, hmm? It’s because this way is so much more fun.” ✦ a home not yet a home by Mayarenerose, dick & bruce, 1.1k      Dick just likes climbing to the roof sometimes. He doesn’t mean anything by it. He doesn’t. He just needs to be high up sometimes. He likes looking at the stars. Stars are hard to come by in the city and you need to be high up to even see them properly. ✦ Friends That Say (You’re Not Alone) by ProsperDemeter, dick & bruce & alfred & clark, 3.5k      Richard. The kid. Richard Grayson. Clark didn’t feel ready to meet the child that Bruce took in. What if he was a mini-Bruce? What in the world would Clark do then? ✦ Taking Flight: A Tragicomedy in Four Acts by WingFeathers, dick & bruce & alfred & clark, 48.7k      John and Mary Grayson die; Dick becomes Robin. This is everything that happens in between, a/k/a, how Gotham City ripped one family and identity from Dick and gave him another. An origin story in the Rebirth spirit, weaving together threads from Tec #40, Dark Victory, Robin: Year One, New 52, and more. ✦ Motion Sickness by Arwriter, dick & bruce & cast, 4.2k      A routine patrol is interrupted when Robin realizes he’s being followed. There’s no attack, no ambush, no weapons drawn. Dick doesn’t understand what this man wants, or why his gentle touch hurts so bad. But Batman seems to know, and Dick just wants someone to tell him what he did wrong. ✦ do as I say (not as I do) by daringyounggrayson, dick & bruce, 1.1k      “Don’t be mad.” Bruce has been raising Dick long enough to know that that sentence never bodes well. Especially when it’s the first thing to pop out of the twelve-year-old’s mouth when Bruce answers the phone. ✦ Burn Rubber by HoodEx, dick & bruce & roy, 3.5k      Roy couldn’t help but feel out of place like his presence was keeping Bruce from acting like himself. Whatever “himself” looked like. Bruce had always been a bit of a cold asshole anytime Roy had been around him. Even when Bruce talked to Dick, there was a barrier there that made their conversations seem strictly business. Some part of Roy had always wondered if Bruce was the same way with Dick at home. For Dick’s sake, he sure hoped not. OR the one where Roy gets to see Bruce act like a dad. Also, there are cars. Lots of cars. ✦ Surprise, You’re Adopted by CamsthiSky, dick & bruce, 1.8k      Dick gets kidnapped. Bruce gets worried. Things turn out alright in the end, though. ✦ without you i am surely the last of my kind by nosecoffee, dick & bruce & clark & j'onn, 6.6k      (Bruce Wayne also knows how it feels to be a scared little boy who just watched his parents die, telepathic mind meddling aside, and has had his eyes fixed on Dick Grayson since his parents fell, so of course he’s going to get him. It’s all he can do.) (Or, Dick Grayson is a traumatised alien empath with bad timing, and Bruce Wayne still needs to learn how to verbalise his emotions.) ✦ The Bone Road by scpnightwing, dick & bruce & alfred, 63.8k wip      By night, Robin was his partner in crime, but once the sun rose, all Dick could be was a mirror of his tragedy, haunting his halls and asking for more than Bruce had in him to give. (The early days of Batman and Robin, and the many mistakes therein) BATFAM FIC RECS - EVERYBODY LOVES DICK: ✦ The Shape Of You (Was Jagged And Weak) by WinterSky101, dick & bruce & jason & tim & slade & cast, 40.6k      Six months ago, Nightwing died. They never found the body. Last week, Deathstroke arrived in Gotham. He brought a partner with him. ✦ We Were Built to Fall Apart by CamsthiSky, dick & bruce & tim, 1.2k      Dick is hurt, tired, and ready to let go. Bruce doesn’t seem to be ready to let him. ✦ It’s a Wonderful Earth-218 by BeatriceEagle, dick & bruce & past dick/babs & cast, 7.4k      As Blüdhaven burns, Dick makes a wish that he’d never been born. He wakes up in a world where that’s true, being followed around by a supervillain who just really wants to get back to taking over the world. ✦ the higher fidelity by birdsofthesoul, dick & bruce & damian, 3.6k      Bruce goes sheet-white, looking like Dick’s just cut him to the quick, and Dick can’t help but think they should have booked a flight, discretion be damned. This — this is why they don’t do road trips. Cars are like confessionals, cramped spaces built for coercing confessions, and neither of them are good with words. ✦ Theory of Relativity by CamsthiSky, dick & bruce & jason & cast, de-aged!dick, 2.2k wip      In which Dick Grayson gets de-aged and everybody freaks out ✦ hold the fort (for i am coming) by deargalileo, dick & bruce & jason & tim & duke, de-aged!dick, 3.6k      Jason’s jaw dropped. The tiny human child toddled in front of him, gripping at his pant legs. Automatically, he bent his knees slightly. The child lost its grip, and fell flat onto its ass. They both froze. The child’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly. “No no no, don’t cry,” Jason rushed out. He leaned down and scooped the child into his arms. “Don’t cry, okay?” The child grabbed onto his shoulder as Jason settled it (him?) onto his upper hip. Big, blue eyes blinked up at him, shining with unshed tears. When the fuck did B have the time to adopt a new kid? ✦ There’s Always Another One by lapsedpacifist, dick & hal (& bruce), 2.5k      After Bruce kicked Dick out, there was a very particular place Dick decided to visit. Well, visit, hide in, it was all one and the same. He could do it without Bruce! Just a shame Hal was finished with his assignment a week earlier than anticipated. ✦ The True Sons of Batman by PandasandDucks13, dick & bruce & damian & jason & talia & cast, 10.8k      What if Dick Grayson was Bruce Wayne’s biological son? ✦ Hey! He Attempted a Coup! by PandasandDucks13, dick & bruce & clark & justice league & zod, 3.1k      What if Dick Grayson was a Kryptonian? ✦ Unsteady by 60sec400, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & barbara & cast, 14.8k      Nightwing is 22 when he’s hit by, well, something. They haven’t actually figured that out yet. But now he’s ten years old and a child and Damian struggles to see the man who he had looked to as a father forget who he ever was. De-aged fic. AU. BATFAM FIC RECS - DICK AND DAMIAN WERE THE BEST BATMAN & ROBIN, I’M NOT HEARING ARGUMENTS ABOUT THAT EITHER: ✦ Mirage (What I See In You) by SilverSkiesAtMidnight, dick & damian, 3.4k      Grayson’s gaze flicks upwards to meet his, and suddenly his expression softens. He smiles. “It’s okay,” he says, the movement of his lips clear even if his voice sounds like it’s coming through a broken radio. Suddenly, he’s pressing a rebreather to Damian’s face. His own rebreather, whole and unbroken. ✦ The Dog Days Are Done by fishfingersandjellybabies, dick & damian & cast, 3k      Dick is a good guy. He is. He knows that. Just like he knows that bribing your wayward, animal-loving, emotionally-traumatized brother to come see you with a puppy is exactly what all good guys do. That was a fact. ✦ To the Moon by theLiterator, dick & damian, 9k      A newly resurrected Damian Wayne does not believe Dick Grayson is dead. Spyral has been quietly helping to deal with the aftermath of Leviathan’s reign of terror and is wary of clones. Dick Grayson does not believe Damian Wayne is alive. (Together they fight crime, but’s always been true, hasn’t it?) ✦ Redemption Lies Plainly in Truth by SilverSkiesAtMidnight, dick & damian, 6.2k      Damian tries to pull his wrist out of his grasp. Any other time, Dick would let him go without hesitation, always careful to make sure his personal space is respected. This time, he catches his other wrist as well, gentle but firm as he crouches down to make eye contact. “Hey,” he says, smiling gently. “Do you trust me?” ✦ whether you’re high or low by Anonymous, dick & damian & jason, 1.9k      Dick’s first visit back to Gotham in a while ends with a shattered TV screen and more questions than answers for Damian and Jason. ✦ wrap myself in a thin sheet of ice by emavee, dick & damian, 3.3k      Damian falls victim to a witch’s curse, giving him a week to live before his heart turns to ice. There is a cure, but there’s no way someone like Damian would ever receive a kiss of true love. ✦ as love carries its strength, but not its labels by AlterHarpia, dick & damian, 2.7k      Bruce is on a trip beyond Earth’s Solar System for longer than he intended, making Dick and Damian fall into an old pattern. “I’m not Batman.” A mere reminder, perhaps, but when said to Damian it always sounds like an apology. BATFAM FIC RECS - BATKIDS ALL HAVE MANY SIBLINGS AND THEY’RE ALL PETTY ASSHOLES AND/OR WONDERFUL BABIES AND I LOVE THEM WITH MY WHOLE BEING: ✦ Say Uncle by Megaerakles, tim & jason & bruce & dick & steph & cast, 46.3k      Tim is prepared to take the steps necessary to ensure that Bruce will not feel obligated to adopt Tim when a comatose Jack Drake inevitably dies. But what could be better than preventing Bruce from ending up with a son he doesn’t want? Bringing back the one he does. Jason agrees to the Replacement’s stupid, stupid plan to invite some strange adult man he’s never met to come live with him, if only to keep the idiot alive long enough for him to serve his purpose in the Great Red Hood Revenge Scheme. Might this new roommate situation have an impact on either of their worldviews? Surely not… ✦ Ain’t No Compass, Ain’t No Map by ebjameston, tim & jason & dick & cast, outsider pov, 51.8k      A CPS agent gets sent to investigate a tip that Tim Drake has been abandoned by his parents and is living with the Red Hood. The CPS agent leaves with no Tim Drake, a date with Red Hood’s lieutenant, and an intern who’s promising to fix the IT systems at his office. It’s a weird day for Theo. ✦ The Longer You Stay by emiv, bruce/selina & dick & jason & tim, 64.3k      Bruce Wayne was never meant to be part of Selina’s clean slate. Then again, neither were a circus boy, a street rat or a rich kid. For a girl who didn’t like strings, Selina found herself getting attached. ✦ Falling, Catching by Freezer7, dick & jason/roy, 4k      The call comes in at two thirty-four am, on Dick’s first night off in three weeks. ✦ Piñata by Maximum_Quinn, bruce & dick & jason & tim & cass & steph & duke, 2.2k      “I found… something weird today.” “Weird how?” “I was checking out that half-destroyed apartment building today, and there was, like… papier-mâché everywhere? In Robin colors.” (Duke learns about an odd tradition between the Bats and the Rogues.) ✦ Five Times Dick Was Tim’s Safety Net and One Time Tim Was Dick’s by PrinceJakeFireCake, dick & tim, 5.2k      “Tim forced his gaze away from his phone, took a moment to breathe deeply, then tried to figure out the best way not to die anytime soon. For Bruce. For Alfred. For his friends. For Dick.” Dick has always been there for Tim, even before they knew each other. ✦ wet teeth, shining eyes, glimmering by a fire (who will i be tonight?) by lifetimeoflaughter, dick & jason & cast, 2.3k      They’re standing on a rooftop. It’s not very high up; only about ten floors, give or take. The moon isn’t out tonight. It’s dark. It’s too dark to tell if it’s blood that’s dripping from Jason’s gloved fists. ✦ smeared with oil (like david’s boy) by call_me_steve, bruce & dick & tim & damian, de-aged!damian, 2.1k      Dick’s leaning over the edge of the couch, watching a tired Bruce stare lovingly down at the baby cradled in his arms. The baby’s swaddled in soft green blankets, probably procured by Alfred at some point or another. It’s hard to believe that this is actually Damian- Damian, and his big, bright, brown eyes; his soft, baby hair; his pudgy cheeks and small fingers. Clear of a snarl and frown and, instead, reduced to soft babbles and the occasional giggle. In his chest, Dick’s heart flutters. He feels his breath stop for all of a moment- God, this kid already has him wrapped around his finger. “Can I hold him?” ✦ There in the Sudden Blackness by CamsthiSky, dick & tim & damian, 1.7k      Tim and Dick argue, and at the end, Tim’s not actually sure if either of them actually won. ✦ The Mechanics of a Hug by incogneat_oh, dick & tim & damian & bruce, 4.1k      “So,” Tim ventures. “It's… what, a cuddle pollen?” Bruce just shrugs. “Something like that.” ✦ Taking Care of Business by Nokomis, dick & tim, 1.7k      Tim (only somewhat reluctantly) accompanies Dick on an undercover mission at an Elvis convention. ✦ where were you when I was king in this part of town? by Cerusee, dick & jason & bruce, 4k      The teen sitting next to him had mostly polished off his pork noodles, and he was eyeing Nightwing’s. Nightwing handed them over without a word. “Why,” he said, more to himself than the kid, “why, oh, why do I feel like I know you?” Because you do, came the unbidden thought. ✦ head in the clouds by Alienu, dick & jason & tim & damian, 4.7k      “Hey,” Tim says out of the blue. “Has anyone ever noticed that Damian has, like, weirdly sharp canines?” Dick makes a face. “What?” he asks. Then seems to think about it a little more, and says, “Oh, I mean… kind of? I don’t really pay attention to his teeth.” He turns to Damian. “Robin, let me see your teeth.” The kid growls. “I’m not afraid to bite you, Nightwing.” “Furry,” Jason coughs. Damian throws a batarang at him. ✦ A little more heart and soul by ruesyblues, dick & jason & damian, 2k      What do you do when the brother you raised and loved and left now seems to be withdrawing and you want the best for him but you’re not sure if you did the right thing and oh fuck what if you made a mistake?? (Dick wants Damian to be happy. He just has no clue how to accomplish that.) ✦ To Reconcile by CasualDanger, dick & jason, 2.4k      “Babs slapped me at your funeral.” Jason goes to laugh, but it’s just a cough and his mouth barely even twitches up. “She hated me in that moment. I mean, really, really hated me, like I did Talia after I found out Damian had died. And I wondered,” his voice cracks, eyes glassy now, “did you hate anyone when I was gone? Because I was gone?” ✦ damian clone triplets!!! by drakefeathers, dick & bruce & damian, 2.1k      Bruce finds and rescues three baby Damian clones~!!! babies~!! ✦ fear toxin (◡‿◡✿) by drakefeathers, dick & bruce & jason & tim & cass & steph & damian & alfred, 3.6k      six drabbles about batkids crying and screaming after being dosed with scarecrow’s fear gas~ (⊙‿⊙✿) ✦ Two Birds, One Stone(d) by MichaBerry, tim(/kon) & bruce & dick & jason & alfred, 5.8k      After a drugs bust gone sideways, Tim is a very high little bird. Cue shenanigans and family bonding. BATFAM FIC RECS - I WILL DIE ON THE HILL THAT TIM DRAKE’S TRUE LOVE INTEREST IS CONNER KENT AND NOBODY CAN STOP ME, NOT EVEN GOD: ✦ Trust fall by Ididloveyou_once, tim/kon & damian/jon & dick & jason & bruce & cast, nsfw, 22.4k      Damian was… here. At Kent Farm. Dressed in the too-big Batman pajamas that Dick had bought him last Christmas as a joke. And- And- Tim was wearing Kon’s t-shirt and his hair was messy and his lips were swollen and- He wasn’t ready for this- He wasn’t- He couldn’t- BATFAM FIC RECS - TAKE THE ANGST DIAL, TURN IT UP TO ELEVEN, AND BREAK THE KNOB OFF, THAT’S WHAT I’M HERE FOR: ✦ Hard Truths and Other Realities by CKBookish, dick & bruce & jason & clark & wally & cast, 113.6k wip      Clark shifted his weight making the floorboards creak and groan under his feet. “Dick I hate to see you–” He paused searching for the right word. Dick snorted. “Wallow?” Clark sighed. “That’s not what I was going to say.” “I know. I can go to the barn and hang out there if I’m bothering you and Lois.” Dick pushed himself up. Of course he should have thought of that. Lois didn’t want some random teen laying around her home on Christmas Eve. ✦ You Won’t Wake Up Alone by DawnsEternalLight, dick & bruce & damian & jason & tim, 5.2k      Dick’s captured and drugged and probably about to die. The last thing he wants to do is die in front of his family, especially not his baby brothers, all he wants is to be with Bruce and feel safe again. ✦ The Robin Manual by lurkinglurkerwholurks, dick & bruce & damian, 2.3k      Bad days were nothing new. Most of the time, he could feel them coming the way a swimmer could feel the approach of something huge beneath the surface of the water. The pressure would start to build, tugging at him like undertow by the shore, and it was always a gamble to see how long he could tarry before the pull yanked him under. ✦ the world is ending and i’m still numb by Arwriter, dick & bruce & jason & tim & alfred & cass & stephanie & damian & barbara & duke & cast, rape aftermath/read the tags, 20.7k      She’s gone, and he’s home, but Dick doesn’t know how to move on. He isn’t alone, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to ask for help. ✦ Up High by CamsthiSky, dick & damian, ~1k      “Grayson, what are you doing up here?” Dick shrugs, a sad smile pulling at his lips. He’d stopped asking that when his feet first started to take him up here years ago. “I like the view.” ✦ here comes the rain again by pocketofsky, dick & jason & tim & damian, rape aftermath/read the tags, 14.1k      Dick doesn’t patrol when it rains. Not since Blüdhaven. And everyone knows that, but they don’t know why. Or: Dick slowly but surely confronts his trauma. Now featuring: a train, pain, and a lot of rain. ✦ Happy Little Bluebirds Fly Beyond the Rainbow (Why Oh Why Can’t I) by honeycombclaire, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & cass, 26.9k      After being subjected to the Mad Hatter’s dream machine, Dick gets stuck in a dream world where he finally has everything he wants. His parents are alive, his family is together, and he still gets to be Nightwing. Everything is perfect. Using the machine, the Bats invade Dick’s mind to bring him back. They don’t expect to find out just how much Dick has been hurting. ✦ Maybe, just maybe, he should call Bruce…Nah. by memearchive, dick & bruce & jason & tim, rape aftermath/read the tags, 5.8k      “Yeah, 34 deaths, 35 including Blockbuster, is a lot. Yeah, his home and everything he owns is gone. Yeah, his safehouses and everything in those are all ash, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he gets it- but he’s dealt with loss before, and maybe 34 is a bit high, and maybe he could have stopped Tarantula, but he’s never been like this before. Not even after his parents’ deaths, and that’s a terrifying thought. Was this really the thing that broke him?” ✦ right through my walls by wingdingery, dick & bruce & barbara & jason & alfred, 6.6k      Sure, yes, Bruce and Jason attacked Dick and left him injured—but they were under the effects of fear toxin, so it wasn’t really them. Dick’s gone enough rounds with fear toxin to understand that. He’s perfectly fine with what happened. Now if only the rest of the family would believe him. ✦ gray by iselsis, dick & bruce, 1k      Grief demands to be felt, but Dick doesn’t have to be alone. ✦ How Far Love Goes by BeatriceEagle, bruce & dick & jason & tim & cass & barbara, comics violence as child abuse/read the tags, 99.5k      Plenty of family reunions end in fighting. Not that many end in explosions. A mass Arkham breakout brings all of Bruce’s children home, and with them, all the drama, secrets, and anger they’ve been keeping for years. Amidst rising tensions and a mysterious new threat in Gotham, the family has to work together to round up the rogues—and confront their feelings about each other. BATFAM FIC RECS - THROW BABY DICK AT BATTISON, C'MON DO IT, IT’LL BE HILARIOUS: ✦ romanticize a quiet life by lwbones123, dick & bruce & alfred, 3.7k      it’s parent teacher conference day for battinson and his robin ✦ when i call you come home by lwbones123, dick & bruce & alfred & jim, 3.2k      ummm battinson and his robin and angst and hurt/comfort idk how to summarize this one so you just have to trust me ✦ Dark by Cant_Smoke_Eggs, dick & bruce & alfred, 1.9k      aka Baby Dickie thinks Bruce is a Vampire. Bruce thinks he’s figured out he’s Batman. Misunderstandings and Identity reveals ensue. ✦ Just Two Dads Having a Chat by red_jaebyrd, dick & bruce & clark & kon, 1.5k      “I’m not giving you an interview, Kent.” “You always say that, and I always tell you that I’m not here for an interview,” Kent laughed, not at all bothered by Bruce’s aloofness. “We’re just two dads at soccer practice having a chat.” ✦ I Don’t Think Like I Should by shipNslash, jim & barbara & dick & bruce & cast, 13.2k      Featuring unmasking vigilantes as a father-daughter bonding activity, awkward small talk between two dads (both at crime scenes and PTA meetings), and Babs and Dick’s natural progression from classmates to besties in the name of chaos. This is a direct sequel to I’m a Good Pretender but can be read as a stand alone.
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numinous-scribe · 9 months
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I’m seeing a lovely trend of recommending DPxDC fics going around so here I am throwing my hat into the ring lol
+++
Beauty lays behind the hills by Library_of_Chronos
Danny loses everything. He runs fast and he runs far, somehow ending up in a back alley known as Park Row, where a strange man with flowers in his hands changes his life.
While Danny does end up staying with Bruce and a much younger Dick, the story focuses more on giving Danny a good support system both within Wayne Manor and with the Justice League, as they all come together to help Danny fight against Vlad. Status: Incomplete
Law of Retribution by Michaelisunderatted
“The ghosts like you.”
Danny watched as Red Hood reeled. Now that he thought about it, that was probably a creepy thing to say. Danny hadn’t talked to living people in years though, so Jason really should cut him some slack. He was trying his best. It wasn’t his fault living people had such weird hang ups about things.
“Okay,” Jason said, taking a deep breath. “Okay kid, what the fuck.” ...
Jason starts seeing ghosts. Danny comes back to the Living Realm for the first time since the Incident.  He has a job offer for Red Hood
I have not caught up with this one myself, but so far I’m really enjoying the darker/more serious tone of the story. Jason sees ghosts, Danny fumbles the “how to human” ball, and Duke takes no shit. It’s great! Status: Incomplete
Sundials by AkelaNakamura
Damian Wayne is nearing sixteen and it's finally feeling like a future is something he might get to choose. He has a Soulmate, somewhere, who is no longer subject to Grandfather's judgement. He wonders though, how he's going to find him when he's unmarked. There's a thousand ways to find a Soulmate, he knows, but Damian has nothing physical to guide him.
Tucker Foley has always worried that Amity Park will be too much for his Soulmate, whoever they are. Soulmates are supposed to match each other, to walk with each other, but there's not many places that are as wild as Amity Park. The only mark he carries though, is the one that links him to Sam and Danny, so he's left to wonder how they might meet.
Damian turns sixteen and everything changes.
A really sweet Tucker/Damian soulmate au with wonderful lore and mechanics and just overall oozing with tender softness. 100% adore this one. Status: Complete
Bruised by DizzlyPuzzled
The Guys in White are preparing for war. The Justice League doesn't believe in Ghosts and wrote Amity Park off. And Danny just wants things to chill for a moment so he can enjoy his life. But now he is the only thing standing between complete reality collapse and peace.
Ghost King au + political drama + taking down the GIW and Vlad? Amazing, stunning, I’ve re-read this at least five times now. Status: Complete 
Ouroboros by Rhapsody_in_Pink
In the end, it was Jack and Maddie that caused Phantom. It was Phantom that caused the downfall of Jack and Maddie. It was Jack and Maddie that destroyed Danny Fenton. It was Danny Fenton who accepted Phantom. And so Ouroboros swallowed himself.
An alternate take on how Danny acquired his powers and interacts with the ghosts around him as well as well as dimensional travel. I genuinely don’t have the words to describe how much I love this one, it’s just so good! Status: Incomplete
Your City Loves You (And Your Home Was Always Here) by bongo_balderdash
After a meeting between the Reigning Monarch of the Infinite Realms and the Justice League, King Phantom asks Superman to stay behind for a moment. Superman is a little hesitant, but they’ve just agreed to a peace treaty between the lands of the living and the dead, and apparently someone on the king’s council has something they’ve been waiting to say.
Not just a message for Superman. A message for Clark Kent.
This one was so sweet and it made me cry. Status: Complete
A Vigilante A Day Keeps the Government Away by DeathlySilent13
Lucius Fox gets a phone call he'd never expected from a source even more unexpected. Now, he's got to figure out what to do with a betrayed child, a traumatized nephew, a protective son, and an adoption-prone Bat.
Very interesting choice in using Lucius as the main POV, and it provides a fresh look at the beginnings of coordinating a take down of the GIW. This is only the first part of the series, and while it is Complete, there is still more to come!
What’s a Spleen Between Friends? by Cielle_Noire
Tim gets Isekai'd a few times, which is really inconvenient. The guy (meta? ghost? half-ghost?) who keeps helping him is cute though, so it's okay. Well, it's not okay, but it could be worse. Probably.
OR
Five Times Tim Fell Through a Portal and One Time He Didn't
A very witty 5+1 Tim/Danny fic. Great lore, great plot, great jokes. 10/10. Status: Incomplete
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idkaurl · 2 months
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Getting Together
Bruce noticed the change almost immediately, it was hard to get anything past him and they weren’t being very subtle about it. The hand holding and public groping was a dead giveaway, he can’t say he was surprised though, Diana had never been shy and Clark had always been easily turned into putty by her.
 Still, though not surprising, the change was very different. The once inseparable trio was now damaged. It wasn’t really their fault; they still made an effort to be around him. It was him who had done the damage. He was happy that they had finally gotten together, but something inside him was tearing him apart. He felt too many things when he saw them together now; anger, envy, sadness, it hurt, so he did the thing he was best at and started tearing himself away from the source of the pain.
 It was easier said than done to pull away from his two best friends. It’s hard to avoid someone when you work with them almost everyday. Needless to say, they took notice. He knew it was only a matter of time before they began questioning his odd behavior, and he was right.
 ~~~
Bruce sat at the computer in the watchtower, he was going over some files, nothing super important, he had really just been trying to look busy. He tensed up slightly as he heard a familiar set of heels heading in his direction. Of course, Diana would be the first to approach him. 
He felt her presence beside him as he kept his gaze on the computer in front of him. She was quiet for a moment before her hand made its way onto his shoulder, “Bruce,” she said calmly, “why don’t you take a break? Me and Clark were thinking we could all grab dinner together.”
He huffed, “I can’t Diana, there’s too much to do,” he lied. He knew that was a dangerous game, lying to both Diana and Clark was an almost impossible task, still he did.
He heard her sigh beside him, “Bruce, there is no work to do. You’ve been avoiding us for weeks,” she stated. It wasn’t a question, it was an observation, “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“There’s always work to do Diana,” he stated simply, “and I haven’t been avoiding you, I’ve just been busy.” Against his better judgment he continued, “you two seem to be getting on just fine without me anyway.”
Silence filled the room, he internally cursed himself for putting it out there, he should have just let it be. He felt her grip tighten on his shoulder and for a second he prided himself for rendering Wonder Woman speechless.
That silence was soon filled with the sound of wind coursing through and suddenly Clark was there. A flash of anger crossed Bruce’s eyes, not that they could see it with his cowl still on, Clark could probably sense it through his heartbeat though.
He kept his gaze forward, avoiding them, hoping they’d just leave him be. No such luck. “Bruce,” Diana tried again, “please,” she turned his chair, forcing him to face them, “we miss you.”
He jolted at the sudden change of position, glaring at the two of them, but staying silent.
“Come on Bats,” Clark chimed in, “I know you have to be missing us too,” he teased. Those words stirred something within Bruce. He did miss them, he missed them so much it hurt, but it hurt worse to be with them and see what he could never have.
He huffed pulling himself up from the chair, “I’m taking my leave,” he stated, “you’re right Diana, work here is done for now. I’ll be heading home to check on Gotham then.”
“Let us come with you,” Clark chimed in, “it’s been a while since we’ve come to visit Gotham.” Bruce shot a glare in his direction, why wouldn’t they just leave him alone?
“Do what you want,” he said simply, making his way towards the zeta tube.
There was no surprise when he found both of them following him, and soon they were standing in the Batcave. Bruce immediately made his way towards the large computer to scan for surveillance, ignoring them as they followed.
He took a seat and started clicking through the cameras he had placed through Gotham. It seemed like it was pretty quiet tonight, just his luck. “Bruce, can we talk?” Diana asked after a while of silence.
“Talk about what?” he growled out.
He felt a soft hand reach out to caress his face, “I think you know,” she stated.
He heart stilled at the touch before quickly speeding up, he kept his words level though, “what is there to talk about? If you are referring to the nature of your developing relationship, I am well aware of it and it does not need to be discussed further,” he stated.
She hummed, softly stroking his face, “Clark, I think we might have given him the wrong idea,” she said sadly.
“It appears that way,” Clark agreed, inching closer to the two of them.
“You can’t think we’d want to have a relationship without you, can you?” she asked Bruce. He stilled, did he hear her right?
“What?” he asked dumbly.
He saw both their mouths start to turn slightly upward into the shape of a smile, “We love you Bruce, both of us,” she smiled. Clark nodding shyly beside her.
He felt her hands move to remove his cowl, reaching a hand out to stop her. If they removed his cowl his emotions would be on full display, he wasn’t sure if he could handle that right now.
“It’s okay Bruce,” she said calmly, “it’s just us, let us see how you’re feeling.”
He slowly dropped his hand away, allowing her to remove his cowl. He saw their faces drop when they saw his. He knew he didn’t look great right now, but their expressions only solidified that.
“We’re sorry Bruce,” Clark stated, “we didn’t mean to do this to you,” he started.
“Do what to me?” Bruce demanded, anger flaring up again.
“Hurt you,” Diana ran her hand through his hair softly massaging his scalp. He found himself leaning into the touch, he’d missed them. He felt tears threaten to prick at the corners of his eyes.
Diana slid onto his lap easily, pressing soft kiss to his temple, “shh,” she hushed, as she continued petting his hair. His eyes widened in alarm when he felt himself be lifted in the air, Clark had scooped them both up in his strong arms and was carrying them up to the manor. Bruce stilled, allowing them to do as they pleased. He was still confused, but he figured he’d enjoy the moment while it lasted.
It wasn’t long before the reached Bruce’s bedroom and Clark deposited them both onto the bed before climbing on himself. Bruce found himself stuck in the middle, between his two best friends. His two best friends that he was in love with. There, he’d said it, to himself at least. It felt good to admit, even if he knew it couldn’t be. He was sure this was all out of pity. They had seen the affect their relationship had on him and were feeling guilty, this was all this was. Even so, he was going to soak it in while he could as greedy as that might be.
~~~
He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew he woke up to the sound of the soft murmurs of conversation around him. In his comfortable, sleep-dazed, state he couldn’t quite decipher what they were talking about, but he was certain of one thing; it was about him.
He sighed, pressing his face against something warm and firm. He felt hands softly massaging his back, “go back to sleep darling,” he heard a voice whisper in his ear, “we’ll be here when you wake up, we promise,” and then he did.
~~~
When Bruce woke the second time, he was much more coherent. His eyes widened as he realized the position he was in. He had thought it was all a dream, but the proof lay right before him as he found himself still sandwiched between the two. His face had been pressed up against Clark’s chest and he felt Diana pressed close against his back.
He moved to try and pull away, but he found himself trapped under the weight of their strong arms as they each had one arm wrapped around him.
He looked up as he felt a sleepy kiss be pressed against his forehead, Clark’s sleep riddled eyes looking down at him, “good morning,” he smiled, and Bruce felt his heartbeat speed up. He felt the vibrations of Clark’s soft chuckle as he was still pressed against his chest and suddenly felt another set of lips on the back of his neck, “good morning,” Diana smiled, wrapping her arm around him more securely as if he might try and run away.
“Good morning,” Bruce grumbled out, his tone exposing his confusion.
“Did you sleep well?” Diana asked. He could practically hear her grin.
He made an affirmative sound, “Better than I have in a long time,” he found himself admitting.
He heard them both hum happily in response, “I’m glad,” she purred into his ear as she leaned over to give Clark a kiss.
Something stirred in him at the sight, want. He felt her hand start to trail up his chest, trailing over his muscles, all the way until her hand rested at his chin. She cupped it in her hand, encouraging him to turn towards her. He allowed it, looking into her eyes, “can I kiss you, Bruce?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” the words left his mouth before he could even second guess himself and she acted quickly, pressing a soft kiss to his lips as well.
She pulled away far too quickly in his opinion, but he found himself being pulled back in the direction of Clark, “me too,” he asked, “can I kiss you too?”
“Yes,” he found himself answering on instinct, once again being pulled into a chaste kiss before he could back out.
Clark pulled away and Bruce found himself blinking confusedly at what had just happened. Diana hushed him, “I can tell that brain of your is running a mile a minute,” she chuckled into his ear, “you don’t need to think about it, this is real, we promise,” she smiled, “we love you.”
“We love you,” Clark reaffirmed, kissing his forehead once again.
Bruce felt the tension leave his body at their words, a soft smile forming on his face, “I love you too,” he said. 
They held him tighter, pressing soft kisses against his skin and he let them. He didn’t know how long this happiness would last, but he decided he’d embrace it while he could.
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blackreaderfics · 9 months
Text
Coffee Run | Clark Kent x Black!Reader
↳ Pairing : MAWS Clark Kent x Black!Reader
↳ Rating : PG
↳ Summary :  Clark frequents Waid's Cafe to see his pretty barista crush
↳ W.C : ~1k
↳ Tags: college era, crushes, staring, clark is super shy and blushy, he’s a pure boy
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There was only one thing Clark enjoyed more than sweets, and that was the feeling of obtaining the last stamp on his loyalty card to Waid's Cafe. Who didn't like receiving free coffee? Especially coffee that was well-earned after a workout. Of course, not directly after a workout. He had already gone back to the dorm, showered, and thrown on another casual and freshly laundered workout outfit. After all, you were going to be there. He couldn’t just walk in looking like a sweaty gross mess.
“You’re working out again?” Jimmy, his eccentric roommate of two years, called out from his desk. He was writing a script for his conspiracy YouTube channel and a pile of crumpled pieces of paper were scattered at his feet. He eyed Clark’s sweater and shorts outfit up and down with suspicion.
Startled, Clark jumped. He had been looking intently at his reflection in the mirror, trying his best to flatten a cowlick jutting from his head. 
“N-no. Just going to Waid’s.” He hadn’t told Jimmy about his crush on you. He probably wouldn’t hear the end of his teasing if he did. 
Jimmy peered at him through narrowed eyes as if he could sniff out whatever truth Clark was omitting. It’s not like he was lying. He was going to get coffee, that was true. But he didn’t want to say he was also deliberately going at the same time every day to see a certain someone. 
“You’re not telling me something.” He swiveled around in his chair to face him directly, eyes still squinted. 
“I… get a free coffee? Do you... want anything?” Clark offered weakly. Maybe that would get Jimmy off his back for a while. His cowlick popped back up and Clark moved quickly to smooth it back down.
Jimmy had known Clark since freshman year and like the astute journalism student he was, he could tell almost immediately when his roommate was lying, or in this case specifically, when he had a crush. Jimmy swiveled back towards his computer, satisfied with his deducing skills.
“Sure, I could use an espresso. I’m running out of steam.”
Clark hoped that would be the end of it. 
“Oh and… get her number this time, man.”
“W-what?” Clark wanted to retort. He didn’t want to give Jimmy the satisfaction of being right, but he was already blushing too hard to be convincing. 
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Clark sputtered and escaped out the front door. 
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He got to Waid’s Cafe faster than he’d expected. Partly because of nerves, but also because he was rehearsing what he’d finally say to you. He made some progress since last week. Though you knew his name (you wrote it on his cup all the time), he had shyly introduced himself to you for the first time. Since then, you began to greet him with his name and a friendly smile.
“Hey Clark.” 
He felt his heart lurch. He didn’t think much of his name but hearing it from you made it sound much better. 
You had your hair up today, and your hair created a halo of curls around your face. He’d been so fixated on how pretty your eyes were, and how your plush lips curved into a smile just for him.
And it wasn't just your face—he had eyes. Your modest workwear didn’t do much to hide your figure. Unconsciously his eyes trailed from your lips and dipped lower to your chest. He gulped.
“Clark? You ok?” You tilted your head to peer curiously at the very broad-chested man who stood frozen, wide-eyed and breathless in front of the register. His hair was damp and he looked like he just finished a workout. Ever since you’d started working this shift, you’d been seeing him more and he’d come by every day at the same time loyalty card in hand. 
“H-hi Y/N. Sorry.” He immediately looked down silently cursing himself for ogling you so openly. What was wrong with him? He was worse than a sex offender. He hoped you didn’t notice.
Visibly flustered, Clark made a show of searching his pockets for his coffee card. Clark had a habit of staring at his crushes, but he was usually better about being discreet, much unlike now. He felt a blush creep back onto his cheeks. 
“I uh finished another one.” He brought a hand up to scratch sheepishly at his cheek as you inspected the card.
You punched the last stamp on the card and passed him back a golden punch card. 
“We might need to make a new tier at this rate.” You joked. “Vanilla Bean Frappe right?” You found it amusing that the most frequent customer at the cafe was someone who only drank the equivalent of condensed milk.  
“And a small espresso,” Clark added mildly with a small smile. Only you had the privilege of teasing him, Jimmy be damned.
“Someone’s graduating to coffee drinker today.” You arched a brow cheekily, meeting his eyes for a split second. 
You watched his eyes widen and look away once more. You could tell he liked you; it was a bit too obvious. Every time you met his eyes, his would dart away, but you could still feel his eyes on you when you weren’t looking. Call it a woman’s intuition or just a painfully transparent shy guy. 
The cafe was not as busy at this time save for two college students who were working quietly at some tables on the other side of the room. The sounds of beans grinding and blenders whirring filled the silence. 
Clark fiddled with his new gold loyalty card and Jimmy’s voice floated into his head. Get her number this time.
He could be fine with continuing like this for a while longer. He could come every day to collect stamps just to see your face, hear your voice, make small talk. But something told him he’d have to ask now or he’d never get another chance to do it. 
“One Vanilla frap and small espresso.” You placed the two cups on the counter in front of him.
“I know we don’t know each other that well but I’ve been meaning to ask if you had some time with me I mean to go with me to I mean if you want you don’t have to but I’d really like to—”
“Clark—” You interrupted his nervous rambling and turned the espresso cup around to show your phone number written in Sharpie under his name. “I’d love to.”
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©️ blackreaderfics // credit to cafekitsune for the dividers
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halfagone · 4 months
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So this prompt is that Danny and another teen hero from the DC universe trade stories, and the other hero realizes how scarily competent Danny is for his age. I know Danny made some stupid mistakes early on, but it truly is impressive how he’s dealt with world ending level threats all by himself when he was 14. I know other teen heroes have faced stuff like that, but they were either working with another hero or even a team of heroes y’know?
I won't pick a hero for this one, but some of the feats Danny managed to pull off are insanely impressive. Thankfully for him, he did have Sam and Tucker to lend a helping hand more often than not. Jazz joined later on too of course, despite her bumpy start.
I think the main threats that he had to face relatively alone were Pariah Dark, Undergrowth, and Nocturn (before he learned how to dreamwalk)? Although technically Danny had help with the Ecto-Skeleton for Pariah, which enhanced his powers (so it's debatable if the Ghost King theory even works here, but that's certainly never stopped us before lol). Even with Vortex, half the trouble was figuring out how to harness Danny's newly found weather powers and his friends helped him do that.
Now this isn't to put down Danny's achievements either, but more so to prop up Sam and Tucker who genuinely did help out. Like you said, they've all had their bumps and bruises, Danny isn't alone on that front.
I think the character this would have the most impact on would probably be Kon? And not Conner from the Young Justice cartoon, who was all edgy and broody and didn't really like to socialize. I'm talking Young Justice comics Kon, who was upbeat and sassy and, sadly, couldn't really match up to Superman. His Clark never treated him poorly, not like the cartoon version of him did, but it still stands that he had expectations by his creators that he could never reach.
I think it could be motivating for a character like him to see this fellow young hero who could do so much, who has all this power, and yet he still needed the helping hand of others. It's a lesson he could have learned from Clark as well, with a look at how the Justice League operates, but when with Danny the situation is a little closer to home. It's much more personal when you see a kid around your age doing it all and then some.
It could help make him realize that he's no lesser just because he couldn't come out the perfect clone CADMUS had hoped he would be. He can still do a whole lot of good, and he'll never have to be alone for a second of it if he doesn't want to.
(And yes, Young Justice cartoon Conner could have worked just as well here, technically speaking. But his personality doesn't really match Danny's, so Kon it was. lol)
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xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 4 months
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Is it bad that I want weird kid reader and Clark to become more than friends and just show Bruce that reader can live their best life without him
Here goes... something
Clark felt weird about leaving you alone. So he kept coming up with reasons to stay. And before long night was falling.
"Hungry?" you ask, wiping sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand.
"A little," he admitted.
You nod, "Come on. I'll feed you before you go home-"
"I saw a pizza place in town," Clark suggested. His manners made him feel bad about barging in on your day and then having you cook for him.
"It's probably better than anything I could cook," you tell him, smiling ruefully.
"I'll be right back!" And before you could protest, he was gone. On his way to get a pizza.
________________
Clark balanced the boxes on his arm and the bag of two liters opening the door. Distantly, he could hear the shower running and he nodded to himself, resolving to make a little noise when he heard the water turn off. Or at least call out to you or something so he didn't scare you to death.
But, thankfully he didn't have to x-ray your cupboards for plates. You'd gotten some out. And some glasses. And a pitcher of iced tea. Some napkins. Silverware. Odds and ends. It made him feel less like he was intruding.
You didn't really have a reason to be nice to him. The story he'd run about your brother had been... factual but not correct. It hadn't been the whole picture. Even the retraction and the whole story hadn't been all of it. Spending the day here surrounded by pictures and little mementos- your first pair of ice skates. Medals. A ukelele. A teddy bear made from a Hawaiian shirt. Photo after photo. A treasure trove. You and Bruce. Alfred eating a s'more. Jackie throwing both of you into the lake. Tabloids would KILL for awkward Teenager Bruce pictures.
Water shut off and he rattled around, whistling to himself as he set the table.
"I'll be right out," you call. "I was covered in grease."
"Take your time," he called back. And by the time you appeared, he was happy with his handiwork. And happy to see that you still look relaxed. You'd changed. Out of your coveralls and into a pair of cotton pants and a sort of top with little skinny straps.
"That's a lot-"
"I didn't know what to get so I just got a little of everything I guess," Clark said rubbing the back of his neck. "Thin crust though since all I've ever seen you eat is salad. And smoothies."
"I do like a good burger but it has to be a religious experience-"
Clark grinned, "Next time you come out and fix Pa's tractor I'll have him fix you up. The man knows how to work a grill."
"They just buy a cow every year don't they?"
"Half a cow now that I don't live at home," he said grinning.
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suzukiblu · 5 months
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WIP Wednesday Game
Taken from @kedreeva.
It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.
Here’s how it works:
In a reblog of this post (so people can find you in the notes) or new thread (w/ rules attached) if you want to play on your own, post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.
Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to play!
After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event or gift fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.
That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. I’ll be searching the reblogs to find people to send asks to!
If you’re reading this, you’re invited!
If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.
file names:
Kon is too trans for this pregnancy shit
the one where Clark is trans and Kon is not
transfemme Kon and her Amazon soulmoms
Cassie has a sexuality crisis, Kon has a gender one, and Circe makes everything worse
the one where Kryptonians have omegaverse genders, but nobody told Match
( why yes this week is WIP Wednesday: Sex And Gender Is Weird And Complicated Edition™ )
snippet from "Kon is too trans for this pregnancy shit":
Kon slams his bedroom door just shy of hard enough to crack the doorframe, melts the pregnancy test in his hand into slag with his heat vision, and then throws its remnants into his trash can and hides in his bed. Because he’s pregnant. Because he’s an idiot. An idiot who is pregnant. Pregnantly. 
Fucking Christ alive, how could he be this fucking stupid?! 
Just–Kon has fucked up a whole lot of times in his life. This time is probably the worst time that didn't get somebody else hurt, though. Well, like. Not hurt-hurt. 
Somebody is definitely getting hurt here. 
Kon kind of just . . . doesn't tell people that he's . . . that he isn't technically . . . 
He flirts? A lot? Like, a lot more than he really should. But he flirts with girls a lot. And he is very, very careful about how close he lets those girls get. And he . . . and he . . . 
Just–when he actually wants laid, when he really gets the itch, he doesn't go out as Superboy.
There's a reason he never got anywhere with Cassie, after all. Or with Tana or Knockout. Or with . . . anyone he ever actually, like . . . gave an actual fuck about the opinion of or was gonna see again. 
He’s not a real guy, after all, so . . . so how could he have? He’s not . . . 
When Cadmus was still a thing, he didn't have to worry so much. It wasn't hard to get treatment and whatever, and his files were all very firmly locked down. And when Cadmus went underground, Serling deleted all those files and hooked him up with a little machine that replicates hybrid-appropriate T before she cleared out, because Serling is the fucking best like that and literally the one true ally, as far as Kon's concerned, so . . . yeah. And the replicator has mercifully kept working for him, at least so far, so all he's ever had to do was hide the thing in the back of his closet and make sure the Kents never catch him pulling any of the blue K needles out of their little lead-lined case or injecting himself with said needles. Fuck knows what they'd think if they ever did. 
Probably that he was a drug addict or something. That seems like the most logical conclusion for them to jump to. They sure as shit know he's not diabetic or anything like that, so . . . yeah. 
They'd definitely think he was a drug addict. 
He's sure Clark would, if nothing else. 
Although that'd probably be less of a disaster than this, really. At least if he was an addict, he could go to rehab or something. For this . . . 
What is he supposed to do about this?
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Batman beyond the white knight is apparently a universe where jason??? Is the first Robin?? And dick uses the name as his stage name until he becomes Robin?? Am I the only one that thinks this is extremely disrespectful??? Like What were you fucking thinking writers??? Just where did the name come from then??? Like where did Robin come from then??? If Dick isn't the first??? Role reversal doesn't mean other people would somehow have a connection to that name. The connection comes from Dick. The meaning comes from Dick. You can't have Robin without Dick. Those two are one and the same. Everything about Robin came from Dick. Everything that made people look at this kid and go, 'What a Boy Wonder! He can do anything.' comes from Dick. Like you can't have Nightwing without Clark Kent because that's the origin. That's where it came from. Those are its bones. Is anyone else so tired of seeing things just get taken and taken and taken from Dick without any regard to his character or legacy?
Edit: there's a reply in the reblogs I'd like to address. The idea of jason being batman's first sidekick- it actually doesn't work. It won't work with Tim, Steph, or Duke either. The whole reason batman gets a sidekick is because bruce takes in Dick and the reason why he takes Dick in is because he sees himself in Dick in a way he'll never see himself in the others. Jason is a poor kid from the streets, bruce will never identify with that. Dick is a prodigious circus star. Bruce will also, never identify with that.
But.
Dick has just watched his parents get murdered right in front of him due to a senseless act of violence, his entire life changes in an instant in the worst way possible, and he's all alone and hurting and angry and shocked and will blame himself for not being able to save them and that- that Bruce knows intimately. That is why he takes Dick in. They are the same, 17 or so years apart. If you took Dick out of the equation, they never met, but jason still steals the tires off the batmobile- Bruce would just get those tires back and tell the kid to go home or take him to a shelter or something. Bruce would care about him the way he cares about all of Gothams street kids or orphans, but not anything more than that. There's nothing special about Jason until he knows and cares for Dick, because Jason reminds him of Dick. And Dick opens his heart up in a way no one else has managed since his parents died. The next closest is probably Clark.
And being the first sidekick, really being the first child hero, is obviously a daunting undertaking, a lot of responsibility, something that requires perfection in order to be taken seriously by the adult heroes and the public at large. If Robin had been mediocre, no, if Robin had been just 'good', there would've been a lot more pushback, an outcry, a dismissal of batman himself from the OG heroes. The first sidekick has to be Perfect.
Who is literally known for being a perfectionist? For working himself to the bone but seemingly effortlessly? For always knowing the answer, the right action to take, to read and adjust himself and others accordingly in order to produce the best team effort, who has an athleticism and physicality Bruce instantly realizes he, himself, does not possess? Who is known for being the poster child of the ideal child hero/sidekick that grows into the ideal adult hero as well? Dick is the only one that could've been the first sidekick. He was So Good at being a hero while being a child, he opened up the door for other kids to do the same.
You can't switch these roles up without changing something fundamental to the characters. And then. They wouldn't be those characters.
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missclementinex · 5 months
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Let the storm in.
//Strangers to lovers, meet cute, coffee shop au, fluff, f!reader//
You comfort Billy during a storm.
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He’d met you recently during a storm at this small cafe. You’d both waited out the storm together. He’d been drawn to your gentle personality. It kept Billy calm, who hated storms.
Something that stuck with him since childhood, there was no reason for it. But the minute the thunder rolled in he’d feel helpless. Afraid. He hated that weakness in him, afraid of a damn storm. But he didn’t know how to rationalize it.
His fingers drummed on the table to hide his shaking, watching you calmly flip through a book, a hat pinned to your head.
He thought you were really fucking cute, and sweet too. He wanted to kiss you, seeing if you tasted as sweet as you looked.
But you were quiet, and he knew the quietest people had the loudest minds. His legs bounced as thunder rumbled, sounding loud and close by.
Billy tried not to flinch, but he must have as you looked up at him from your book. And he felt ashamed of his fear.
“Did you know that thunder is created when lightning passes through the air?” You asked, sipping your cappuccino, your book laying open. It looked like Sylvia Plath’s unabridged journals.
Billy’s eyes turned to you, noticing silvery scars on your hands, that made them look painful, as though your hands had been cut. He wondered who hurt you, and couldn’t imagine who would. You weren’t exactly incendiary, but Billy knew you didn’t have to be for someone to hate you.
“No, I didn’t.” He said tilting his head, watching you. His heart stuttered at the way you looked at him gently. He was usually either looked at with lust, or with condemnation.
But the Castles always looked at him with love. He wondered if you could, too.
“Yeah. The lightning discharge heats the air rapidly and causes it to expand.” You explained softly, fingers looking stiff. You probably had arthritis in them.
Billy found himself relaxing now that he’d had an explanation, like a child soothed by science.
“Ma just… told me my fear was irrational. And Mr. Clark runnin’ the group home beat me for it.” Billy admitted bitterly, looking out the gloomy window as rain pelted it.
“Most fears are. That’s why I like to know things, it helps me rationalize.” You said, setting your cup down. “Daddy beat me, too. They only serve to make monsters of us all.”
You hadn’t shamed Billy like his mother had.
Your feet touched his playfully, toes teasing his ankles, your heels lying somewhere under the table, a smile playing on your lips. “We could read together until the storm passes. If you’d like, Mister Russo.”
God, no one had ever read to him, Billy touched your toes back, and it felt almost intimate. “Sure,” he said, ordering another coffee, and a cappuccino for you.
You grinned, and settled in, and so for the next hour you read Sylvia Plath’s journals while you played with each other’s feet, and Billy wondered if he might see you again.
And hoping the storm stayed just a little longer, if only to spend more time with you. He didn’t care how much coffee he had to buy.
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