#also all of this sort of has the opposite affect on bruce | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

helloilikepurple · 4 months ago

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I imagine it'd be right before Damian shows up. Suddenly, Bruce has a feral assassin child and a mystery toddler under his care and is not coping well. This man is stressed. God bless Alfred because he wouldn't be keeping it together without him.

It starts off really rocky. Danny's clearly traumatised from something, severely touch-starved and very clingy. Damian is prone to trying to kill his siblings and so closed off from how he was raised that they're like polar opposites. Not to mention how young they are. Danny's too young to even start self-defence classes, let alone know about their nightly activities.

Jason hates Bruce, but he misses Alfred and wants to look out for Damian and Danny because he's worried Bruce will ruin them. Besides, he may have never met Damian, but Talia spoke of him plenty. He can't help but feel a little protective of the guy.

So he comes to the manor. He tries to time it for when Bruce will be out and avoids Tim like he's contagious. He's brilliant with Danny. Danny feels something's familiar about him but can't place it so he's just extra curious about him. Damian is thankful Jason doesn't treat him like a kid or ridicule him for being a killer, though he'd never admit it.

Tim doesn't feel like he's part of the family. Damian tried to kill him, he's not Robin anymore, and there's two new little kids running about for everyone to focus on. It's like he doesn't exist. So he keeps to himself, running himself ragged working away with basically no supervision.

Dick is just trying to be a good big brother and keep everyone and himself together. It's not his fault he forgets to check up on Tim. He's stressed and exhausted and trying to be everywhere at once.

Cut to, Bruce "dies". Everyone sort of splits up. Tim is alone, naturally, Dick and Damian slot into place at each other's sides, and Jason is busy dealing with a bunch of unresolved trauma and being a crime boss. Alfred tries his best, but it's impossible for him to upkeep the manor and look after a five-year-old kid all at once.

So Danny's alone. Bruce died and everyone left. It wasn't purposeful, obviously, but everyone sort of assumed someone else would look after him and they've never been great at communicating with each other. Danny's confused. He knows ghosts are real, so why is everyone so sad Bruce is dead? He's not gone forever.

He's also so, so lonely. He got used to being actually cared for, and suddenly that care is gone. He becomes very quiet, drawing into himself and wandering the silent manor all alone. Damian and Tim still live with him but they're doing their own things, busy with their lives. They don't have time for him. Danny doesn't try to reach out.

Tim is convinced Bruce is alive. He's exhausting every avenue he can think of, distancing himself from everyone even further in the process. No one notices, because why would they? He's not resentful or anything. Just resigned.

And then Danny and Tim cross paths in the manor. Danny's crying because he's scared and no one's around. Was it something he did? Tim sees little Danny who he's barely interacted with one-on-one crying in a communal space and awkwardly tries to cheer him up. After that Danny attaches himself to Tim's side.

Tim's not sure how to treat him, but he tries to be a good brother. Alfred seems happy they're spending time together (and Tim's realising how overworked the poor man has been) and Danny's soaking up his affection like he's never known love in his life. It's familiar. He sees himself in Danny.

So he can't turn him away.

Danny and Tim become really close. Tim rambles to him about his theories, assuming Danny wouldn't understand because he's so young, and Danny doesn't get all of it but he believes Tim wholeheartedly. His input even helps pull Tim out spirals several times. Having someone, even if it's a five-year-old, believe him does wonders for Tim's psyche.

Tim was ready to kill himself to get Bruce back. That was his job; be Bruce's guardian. But suddenly there's a toddler who follows him around and looks at him like he hung the stars, listening to every word he says with wide, trusting eyes, and Tim can't just leave him alone. So he's less reckless. Just as determined, of course, but no longer downright suicidal.

Tim gets involved with the League. He's absolutely ruthless. You know how it went in the comics (with him blowing up bases)? Yeah, well it's worse now. Tim has to get back home to Danny. He can't trade his life for Bruce's or spend a long time away. He speeds up his plans and leaves an even bigger lasting impression as a result. Who cares about his kill count? Most of the family has one.

Yadda yadda, Bruce is back. Everyone slowly comes together again, and are surprised to see how close Danny and Tim are. They ask about how it happened. Danny says after everyone left when Bruce died Tim still loved him, which leads to realisations all around about how they've taken Tim for granted and sort of abandoned him and Danny.

This leads to them being an even better family. They all put in an effort to be there, especially for Tim and Danny. Tim is unused to people caring about him, and thinks it's temporary. Everyone goes out of their way to prove it's not. (Well, except Jason, who still has to be sort of dragged into family events and such.)

EDIT: it cut off my tags so let me include

Tim gets Danny a really fancy telescope for his birthday and Danny is over the moon. This causes Bruce to realise he doesn't know his kids' interests and stalks them to find out what they like because he can't communicate like a normal person.

Dick gets Danny a star teddy and Danny carries it around everywhere.

Danny is super affectionate. He says "I love you" and initiates hugs and so on. This leads to everyone else saying "I love you" back and it becomes normalised to just say "I love you" to each other whenever.

Tim has a panic attack the first time Bruce says he loves him. He assumes Bruce has been possessed or replaced or something. It takes a lot to talk him out of it. Bruce has a lot of realisations about his shitty parenting as a result.

Basically, Danny makes the family less dysfunctional by just existing.

Danny doesn't want to be a vigilante or hero and cries when he finds out his family are. He wants to be an astronaut so bad. Bruce is so relieved.

Danny still has his powers he's just hiding them because it's what he knows to do.

Cujo shows up and none of the bats can figure out what he is (a ghost) but deem him a non-threat and let Danny keep him as a pet following lots of pleading.

DC X DP - DeAged

The Nasty Burger explosion took a lot from Danny.

Stopping Dan meant nothing when Danny lost everything. His friends, his parents, his sister, his teacher - all gone. Danny, desperate to not become Dan, fled. He would not let Vlad destroy the only thing he had left; himself. He didn't turn human again if he could avoid it. Let Danny Fenton die with his family.

He did what he could, trying to keep it all together. Avoid Vlad. Catch havoc-wreaking ghosts. Try to not have a panic attack every time he saw his reflection. FentonWorks became out-of-bounds. No one was sure how to turn off the portal or any of the house's defence mechanisms so it was taped up instead.

Danny kept the GIW away. They wanted his parents' research, even if they had to bend the law to get it. Danny would not let them have it. Never.

But the GIW was persistent and Danny weak from nearly two months of being Phantom and nothing else. He was so tired. Tired from grieving, from fighting, from wandering around, completely lost and alone.

The GIW got a lucky shot in. Danny went down. He woke up, still ghost, somewhere white. He'd trained himself not to have to turn back. He was grateful he did.

The GIW studied him. Danny did not have the energy to fight back. The will to survive. Curled up in his cell, bloody and becoming less human with every passing day, Clockwork finally intervened.

He could not let the future High King wither away into nothing.

With Nocturn's help, he whisked him away. His world was dying anyway. With no one to maintain the portal, it would soon overload and explode. The radiation would kill all life on Earth, leaving nothing behind, and taking with it the potential for new life. One world among infinite realities meant nothing. But Danny, as High King, is a singularity. A unique existence, only found in one reality. Clockwork, for the sake of everything that lives and dies, could not let Danny fade away.

Danny slept at the Far Frozen, dreaming of his family, his friends, and the stars he would one day rule over. He healed, wounds knitting together into scars and fractured core slowly, ever so slowly, repairing itself. A future Ancient, bound to protect all that is and will be, was bound to be very badly hurt from such a loss.

Clockwork only wished he could have done more, but to remove Danny too early would have spelt disaster worse than the deaths of billions. This boy would someday be someone he'd proudly call his grandson. Seeing that future alone was enough to make his own core ache for the young one.

The Infinite Realms wept for its child, still but a babe yet having suffered so much. It embraced its future King, blessing him with its loyalty and adoration. The ghosts of the realms, spread far and wide over distant realities, timelines and worlds, felt the loss too.

Danny healed, unaware of how loved and precious he was to so many - how far he was from alone. The dead's sudden quiet unsettled many. Enemies froze in the silent mourning, animosity forgotten. Raging wars came to abrupt ends. So many, unable to bear the ever-reaching, unidentifiable pain in the air killed themselves. Good, kind people cried alone.

Magic users, like Constantine and Zatanna, hid, waiting out the Infinite Realm's despair for its child. No one spoke of it, for fear of disrespecting the dimension between dimensions. But they hid, and they waited, and they couldn't help but worry for themselves and everything and everyone else.

Danny got a lot of visitors. Ancients, regular ghosts, crowded around his bed, gifting him blessings and support. Danny slept, he healed, and his world died, taking with it all he'd known. He wouldn't remember or know of any of this when he woke - even the memories of his pleasant dreams will have left him. He'll awaken and think himself entirely alone.

But he'll know, someday.

Clockwork will make sure of it.

---

Danny doesn't know where he is or who he is.

He has a vague idea. His name. His life and his death. But so much is so distant, like impressions on sand, washed away by the ocean. He knows he should be bigger. He knows this isn't home. He knows there is no home anymore.

He knows there are people he misses, but he doesn't know who they are or where they've gone. He knows so little yet so much. White walls and orange hair, green (toxic, writhing green) and hazmat suits, white and black and orange and blue. Expensive, Packers-branded cologne, burning flesh, the scream of an alarm and laughter and fear and hope and love and pain and loss. Disjointed flashes, snippets of another life.

And this isn't familiar - this city and these people. These crowded, filthy streets aren't home, but there's no home anymore so of course they aren't. And maybe Danny should be afraid. He doesn't know where he is, or how he got here. There are people, so tall, walking around him not sparing him a glance. It's loud and smelly and so much to process all at once.

But Danny doesn't care because he's so tired, and he wants nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep the day away. But he doesn't have a home, so obviously he doesn't have a bed either. He looks around for somewhere else to sleep, rubbing at his chest subconsciously as he does.

There, a building, on the other side of the road. The windows are tinted, but the doors open and Danny, through the crowds and passing traffic, catches a glimpse of what has to be a couch. Maybe the people that own the building will let him sleep on their couch for a little bit.

So he crosses the street, sticking close to the legs of some lady with skinny heels that go tap-tap-tap so the cars don't go because they can't see him. The lady turns to go a different way after but it's okay because Danny is in front of the building now.

He pushes the door open and slips inside. It's quieter inside, and warmer. Danny wasn't cold outside but in here there's a nice heat that makes him feel even sleepier. He looks around at the fancy chairs and potted plants and lights, and is happy to see there are couches. Long couches, with lots of pillows and space for him to spread out.

He walks up to the desk. He's too short to see over it, and it makes him kind of angry because he's sure he's supposed to be taller. But he figures maybe he remembers wrong because people don't just shrink. Except, he's a halfa so maybe ghosts do?

"Hello?"

There's a lady here too, behind the desk, but unlike the one he followed across the street she has short, curly hair. Danny wonders if she's wearing skinny heels too. Leaning his head back, he can see her look up, glance around, and then look back down.

Danny pouts. Did she not see him?

"Hello?"

He waves an arm this time, reaching as high as he can to catch her attention. She finally sees him, eyes widening in surprise. "Oh, sorry! Hello." She has a nice voice.

"Your voice is pretty."

She smiles, and Danny decides her smile is nice too. "Why thank you. You have a pretty voice too. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Can I please sleep on your couch? Just for a little bit."

"Of course you can. Would you like a blanket? I could fetch one for you from the staff room."

Danny shakes his head. "I'm okay. Thank you."

"Alright. But if you change your mind, do tell me."

"You're very nice."

"Thank you, but it's really no problem. Not much to do today anyway."

"You should sleep too then. Sleep is good."

She giggles. "That is a very good idea. I just might take your advice." Danny nods. He has lots of good ideas. "Okay. I'm gonna' go nap now. Bye-bye."

"Sleep well."

There are a few couches, and for a bit Danny's not sure which one to sleep on. He chooses the one with the most pillows. It's very comfy, and the pillows are nice too. He puts one under his head and hugs another, curling up around it. He falls asleep in seconds.

When a toddler with black and blue eyes asked to sleep on one of the couches on in the reception hall of Wayne enterprises, May had assumed he was one of Bruce's boys. He certainly fit the type Gotham's favourite playboy liked to adopt, and it wasn't unusual for his wards to show up out of the blue.

Once she found Tim Drake passed out on the floor under her desk. Apparently, he'd been hiding from Dick who was visiting from Blüdhaven and forgot to bring his coffee with him, consequently falling asleep while he waited for her to arrive so he could ask her to go pick some up for him. That had been an interesting Thursday morning.

On another memorable occasion, Cass, Bruce's only official daughter, and her girlfriend Steph had shown up, said hi, went upstairs, then came back down after about an hour, giggling as they ran out with a wave goodbye. Not even ten minutes later, Bruce himself stumbled out of the elevator, absolutely covered in purple glitter. May remembers raising an eyebrow and asking if Bruce wanted her to have another suit brought in.

He'd ended up collapsing on one of the couches with an exhausted sigh, and said he'd have Alfred pick him up instead. He left a sparkly trail behind him when he walked, and the couch he sat on had to be replaced because, even after numerous cleaning attempts, no one could get the glitter out. He had glitter in his hair for months afterwards.

So, May hadn't bat an eye when the little boy came in. Well aware Bruce had several meetings scheduled that day, she sent him an email saying one of his kids was taking a nap in the reception hall and resolved to look out for the boy herself. Throughout the day, she made sure to check on him often, making sure no one picked him up ran (this was Gotham after all).

He slept soundly for most of her work day, barely shifting. She ended up putting a blanket on him herself during her lunch break and leaving him a water bottle and little snack for when he woke up. She also made sure security kept an eye on him whenever she left for whatever reason.

It was well into the afternoon when Bruce finally replied to her email and asked if his kid was still sleeping downstairs. She said yes, and not long after he arrived on the ground level. He walked up to her desk and asked if his kid had caused her any trouble. She smiled and assured him no.

Then Bruce asked where Tim was.

"Sorry? Tim isn't here today."

Bruce frowned, looking just as confused as she felt. "My apologies. You said one of my wards was asleep here. I assumed it was Tim."

"Oh! No, no, it's not Tim. Well, I don't actually know his name but the little guy has been here since this morning." She gestured to the toddler in question.

Bruce turned around, saw him, and frowned. "He's not one of mine."

"He's not?"

"No. Are you sure he's not an employee's child?" He kept his eyes on the boy, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Yes, I am. Only three employees brought in their children today, and all of them are ten or above. He can't be older than five." She frowned now too, turning to her computer to double check. "I'll send out a company-wide email to be sure. I should have done this sooner. I'm sorry, I was just so sure he was under your care."

"It's alright, May. I'm not upset. I'm just worried about him. When about in the morning did he get here?"

She glanced up, but Bruce was still looking at the sleeping boy. "A little after nine."

"And he's been sleeping all that time?"

"Yes, as far as I'm aware."

"Alright. Thank you for looking after him. I'll take it from here."

"Of course, sir. I'll reach out to you if anyone identifies him."

He nodded appreciatively and walked over to the boy. She watched, frustrated with herself. She's worked as one of Wayne Enterprise's receptionists for over four years. She should have known better than to just assume some random, black haired blue eyed child was Bruce's kid. She should have at least reached out to make sure that was the case.

She sighed as Bruce knelt down by the couch and gently shook the little boy awake, resting her head in the palm of her hand. This poor child. His poor parents. They must be worried sick.

She has to make this right.

---

#i love tim #give this boy some love #tim is danny's favourite brother #the batfam is extremely dysfunctional but they're trying #dcxdp #dc x dp #deaged danny #bruce is a shitty dad but he doesn't mean to be #dick is trying his best #jason does rally care about tim he just doesn't know how to apologise for trying to kill him #jason's insecure #he thinks no one wants him around #damian doesn't know how to treat a little kid so he just avoids danny at first #he gives danny a sword for his birthday #saying he had one at his age #insists danny learns sworsmanship #alfred is sick of everyone's shit #just talk to each other my god #he has the patience of a saint #i don't know how to write cass or steph or babs so i just didn't mention them #tuck's also been reincarnated #i forgot to mention that #yeah his soul is in like one of lex luthor's clones #he's older than danny cause his body's been aged up #he's looking for everyone else and eventually finds danny #no one else is there though #CW could only get tuck cause his soul is stronger since he's the reincarnation of a powerful pharaoh or something #everyone else is a ghost #we won't be seeing them rip #can you tell i spammed this out in like 20 minutes

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superbattrash · 3 years ago

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Superbat: Through the haze

Okay, so. Remember this post from, like, two days ago, about the Black Mercy affecting Superbat? Yea, well, I made it a fic. This is the first chapter (it’s on AO3 as well), and I’ll get back to you on that happy ending thing. (sorry)

Please send all angst-blame over to @clarkjk because I did not plan on it being this angsty. It just sort of... happened. Beware of: angsty feels and a very small sex-ish scene (nothing explicit) and uh. Author taking a lot of liberties with canon

Black Mercy. Clark can barely think the name without wanting to punch something. He would rather take on Darkseid that fall victim to another one of their visions. He still feels raw and wounded whenever he thinks back to his family– to the family they made him imagine.

At least this time they know what they are; they’ve been up against Mongul before, they know his tricks, knows how he’s twisted the alien plants into something dark and horrible. Clark can’t help but feel slightly relieved that it’s the original Black Mercy Mongul has brought with him this time. If they had to fight against them, he would rather it be the ones they know how to handle. Last time they had sprouted some sort of pollen and it had taken weeks for things to get back to normal even with Batman’s vast knowledge and quick work of an antidote.

The Black Mercy are still a challenge, no matter how many times they come up against them even if it’s the “regular” kind. It’s as if they get stronger each time. Logically Clark knows it’s because the images get stronger, the hold tighter, the longer the plant-like creatures are on a person. It’s ironic that the plant physically loosens its grip only when you’ve surrendered yourself to its visions.

It doesn’t help that there’s a longing for the images, the visions to be true. A longing that cannot be put properly into words because it is tinted in shame. They know they shouldn’t long for the slow death of a Black Mercy’s embrace, but there’s something about the hallucinations that tempt even the strongest willed man – or woman, Clark thinks as he glances at Diana. They’ve seen them before. They’ve felt them before. They’ve felt the happiness, fake as it may be. They should be prepared and for the most part they are. The Justice League knows how to defend itself – it is the people of Earth that are at risk, and it is those people they must defend.

Clark is on Mongul before anyone else gets the chance. He doesn’t want to risk anyone getting in between them so he keeps the fight to the air as much as he can. He knows the others are grateful, not only for the opportunity to work without dodging Mongul’s attacks, but also because they all know what happened last time one of the Black Mercy latched itself onto Clark’s chest. It had taken him longer than he would ever want to admit to see through the dream and because of that his team had been injured.

Sometimes Clark wishes they could say no or take a day off. Not for himself, he knows Superman doesn’t get to take breaks when there’s need for him, but for the rest of the team. Whenever he sees them get hurt, he feels their injury in his soul, wishes he could take it upon himself instead. There is nothing worse than watching the people you care about get hurt, but even more so when you know you can withstand most physical damage in a way none of them can. Clark would willingly put himself in harm’s way if it meant someone else didn’t have to.

This is especially true when it comes to Batman, to Bruce. The most human of all of them, the most vulnerable. Not that he sees it that way – or at least he’s not willing to admit to it. Clark understands now in a way he didn’t when he first met the Batman. Back then he’d been angry at this mere human who barked orders left and right, who took risks far greater than he was able to survive, should the worst-case scenario happen. Clark thought Bruce to be careless and selfish. He knows now that the opposite is the case. Bruce fights harder than any of them every single day; he's been Batman longer than most of them have been able to control their powers. Clark included. They may not be far apart in age, but Bruce has had control over himself in a way that exceeds any human abilities far longer than Clark has been able to shoot his laser vision straight.

The admiration Clark feels for Bruce swell in his chest as he sees him swing from his grapple, catching a young boy falling from a crumbling building. Clark has to work harder, fight quicker, to get Mongul to surrender or retreat, so that the civilians can be safe. So that Bruce can be safe.

Clark knows his feelings for Bruce are more than those of the other Leaguers. Not because he doesn’t care about them, but because he more than cares about Bruce. He loves him.

It has never been Clark’s plan to confess his feelings; there’s no point. He knows Bruce’s response before even talking to him. “Too dangerous”, “A liability”, “Threat to the mission”, take your pick. Bruce can have his pick of partners and Clark knows he wouldn’t be the first choice. He’s okay with that, because no one else is Bruce’s first choice either. Gotham is. His children are. The League even, to some extent, and that includes Clark. He can live with that.

Still, there’s always that little spark of hope. Clark knows he shouldn’t, but he feels happy every time Bruce rejects another relationship. Clark can live through the gossipy articles, the rumors, because he knows that Bruce sleeps alone. He knows that the mansion is Bruce’s alone and the only people coming in and out are those who Bruce treasure. His family, his friends. Clark.

Because they’re friends now. With the identity reveal a while back, it was hard not to look closer at the team’s civilian lives. Clark for one was very curious about Bruce Wayne. The actual man, not the playboy plastered all over the Gotham Gazettes’ front pages. He checked out Diana and Wally too. Hal wasn’t much of a mystery; the guy never shuts up about himself. J’onn, of course, is a different story all together.

Clark is jolted from his thoughts by a punch to the face. He’s long since realized it isn’t the real Mongul he’s fighting: if it was, Clark would’ve been beaten bloody by now. Must be yet another trick and Clark is getting tired of tricks. It might not be the real Mongul, but it most definitively is real Black Mercy attacking the citizens and the Justice League can only do so much if they attach themselves to someone. So far it looks like they’ve cut, punched and blown up most of them though, so Clark takes a second to access the situation (Bruce would be proud) before he turns to fake-Mongul.

It takes him less than a second to blast him with his laser vision. There’s a scream of pain and that’s the last proof Clark needs that this is a cheap copy. Mongul would never show weakness and he’s able to withstand Clark’s laser vision with no visible marks. It’s one of the things that Clark hates about him. Another one of the things he hates about him.

As soon as Clark blast not-Mongul away, most of his men scramble to get back to the ships and it isn’t long before the invasion is mostly over. There are still Black Mercy plants scattered around the area, although most of them have been incapacitated. Thank God the attack happened in Metropolis and not Gotham – at least Clark doesn’t have to focus much to locate the rest of the still moving plants. It would’ve been harder in Gotham’s ever-present fog.

Clark lands on top of one of the surviving plants, crushing it into the ground. It wiggles under his feet for a short moment. Clark looks up to find Diana smiling at him.

“They’re retreating,” she says.

Clark nods, happy that it’s finally over. Even though the enemy hadn’t been the real Mongul, he hadn’t been weak either. Clark doesn’t have broken bones or deep cuts, but he is feeling rather spent. He would like a warm meal and a hot bath. But first…

“Where’s Batman?” He asks Diana.

He can’t see Bruce anywhere in the nearest rubble. It’s not weird though, Bruce does have a habit of disappearing when he deems the mission done. He has been better at saying goodbye at least the past few months though. Clark scans over the area, listening for Bruce’s heartbeat. He’s probably busy with reassuring some civilians – or he’s well on his way back to Gotham already, the grumpy bat. Clark will have to go see him later…

Clark frowns when he locates Bruce’s heartbeat. It’s calm and steady, not something’s not quite right. It’s too calm, too slow, even for Batman.

Without waiting for Diana, Clark shoots off the ground, heading straight for Batman. He hears the echo of Diana calling his name, but he can’t wait, he doesn’t have time. Something’s off, something is wrong with Bruce.

When he lands, the ground crunching underneath his weight, Clark gasps quietly.

“No,” he says, because right there, next to a crying child and its mother, is Bruce. He’s on his knees, looking straight ahead and even without seeing more than his back, Clark already knows what’s happened.

The Black Mercy has attached itself to Bruce’s chest.

***

Bruce wakes up early, before his alarm. A sliver of light has fought its way through his heavy curtains, and he groans lightly as it hits him in the face. So much for sleeping in. He rubs at his eyes, surprised he’s not more tired. He sits up and stretches, a satisfied hum leaving his mouth as his back pops.

Somehow, he expects his body to hurt as he gets out of bed, but there’s no pain, except that weird headache he always has in the mornings. You need to drink more water, his mother would say. Bruce rolls his eyes. So, he’s not the best at getting the nutrients he needs; it’s no big deal. He’ll have an extra-large smoothie for breakfast, that’ll fix it.

Bruce lifts his arms over his head, reaching for the ceiling before bending down to touch his toes. Still no pain. Yesterday’s tennis match must’ve been easier on him than he’d anticipated but that’s just a pleasant bonus of the day. He stands up straight and head for the washroom. He splashes water on his face and eyes the shower. He’ll shower later, he decides, he did take one after the match with Harvey yesterday, after all.

Bruce gets dressed and then makes his way downstairs. The air smells faintly of warm bread and his stomach rumbles. Alfred’s probably baking this morning. Scratch that smoothie, Bruce is going to have warm bread with butter and eggs. He can’t wait to tell Alfred about the match yesterday, but when he gets to the kitchen it’s empty. There’s fresh coffee on the pot though, so Bruce pours himself a cup. He goes to add in sugar but then frowns. He doesn’t take his coffee with sugar. Does he?

Noise coming from the dining room draws his attention and he forgets to add the sugar. He sips his coffee, careful not to burn himself. He then makes his way to the dining room. He can’t quite shake the feeling that something’s off. Something isn’t quite right. He thinks it might be his clothes, he’s always had rather sensitive skin around his neck. Maybe it’s the wool of his sweater that’s irritating him, but he couldn’t find anything else in the closet. It was nearly bare.

Oh. Bruce suddenly remembers. He doesn’t actually live here anymore, that’s right. That’s why all his clothes aren’t here – they’re at his own house, his home. His home, which is… once again he’s hit with an off-putting feeling, and he pulls at the collar of his sweater as he enters the dining room. His home is–

“Good morning, honey,” Martha says, and everything falls silent in Bruce’s head.

He feels like he’s been punched in the stomach.

Mommy nearly spills out of his mouth until he remembers that he is in fact not nine years old anymore and that he sees his mother every single day when she stops by for lunch. Still, he has to swallow and grip his cup tighter before he can speak. There’s a dull ache in his chest.

“Hi mom,” he says, voice sounding odd to his own ears.

If Martha notices, she doesn’t say anything. She opens her mouth but a ruckus down the hall have them both turn their heads towards the door.

“Yo!” sounds loudly from further down the hall. The familiar voice has the dull ache in Bruce’s chest grow. The unsteadiness, the odd feeling he’s had since waking up eases up a little. Jason. Jason is here.

Of course, Jason is here. There’s nothing weird about his son visiting the manor; Jason is the only grandson out of college who still lives in Gotham after all. Dick lives in Blüdhaven and wasn’t here for dinner last night. Neither was Tim, he’s away at college, will be home for spring vacation in a few weeks, so he wasn’t here either. Jason and Bruce were.

Jason pops his head into the dining room, a piece of bread hanging from the corner of his mouth. He very clearly eyes the dining table behind them, filled with delicious foods. There’s the butter and eggs Bruce has wanted since smelling the bread earlier, but also bacon and pancakes and whatever else Alfred has been in the mood to make this morning.

“Mornin’ grandma,” Jason says even as he chews and then turns to Bruce. “Dad.”

That single word has Bruce’s stomach clench painfully. When Jason smiles at him, Bruce feels like his chest is on fire, like someone has reached in between his ribs and is squeezing his heart, and he doesn’t understand why. He has to gasp to get air into his lungs, but it doesn’t seem like either Jason or his mom notices.

“Jay,” Martha scolds with a smile. “I told you to wait for your father to wake before getting breakfast. We’re all eating together, isn’t that right, Bruce?”

“Right,” Bruce says instinctively. Of course, they’re eating together. They’re a family.

“Well, he’s awake now, isn’t he?” Jason grins.

Bruce isn’t quite sure why but when Jason approaches and reaches out a hand to pat him on the shoulder, he nearly flinches. It’s like his body is prepared for a fight where there isn’t one. He can’t remember ever being this jumpy. Jason’s hand on his shoulder is warm and strong, and Bruce finds himself choking a little on his own breath.

“Where’s–” Daddy? “Dad?” He asks, just to say something; to distract himself from the way his heart is hammering in his chest. Is he having a heart attack?

“Oh, he had an emergency surgery this morning,” Martha says. “An accident on the highway.”

“And Damian?” Bruce hasn’t seen sign of his youngest son, but he knows he’s been here recently. He knows he’s seen him although his memory is a little fuzzy this morning.

“It’s Talia’s weekend,” Martha says slowly. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“You gotta get that husband of yours to keep you up to date on your schedules,” Jason comments. “That’s why you keep him around, ain’t it? Dami won’t be back until next Friday, you should know this.”

Husband? Oh, that’s right. Bruce thumbs at the wedding band on his finger. It’s still new, that’s why he feels a little confused at the choice of words. Jason usually calls Clark Bruce’s boyfriend, but the meaning’s the same. He really should look closer at his schedule–

Husband? Clark? Bruce’s headache is getting worse. There’s something like a tugging in his chest and he rubs a hand over his heart, trying to ease the uncomfortable feeling. He would think he’s too young for a heart attack.

“Of course,” he hears himself say. “I’m a little confused this morning.”

“Do you want to go upstairs and sleep for another few hours?” Martha asks, worry clear in her voice.

“No, I’m fine, mom,” Bruce says. It’s probably just something he ate yesterday that doesn’t agree with him this morning. “I have to get home soon.”

“You’re still dropping me off at Roy’s, right?” Jason asks around a mouthful of mango.

“Don’t you have your own car?” Bruce asks instead of answering. Of course, he’ll drive Jason wherever he needs to go, even if that place it Oliver’s. It’s not like he’s got anything against his old school mate, but he does seem to have a bit of a secretive personality after coming back from that shipwreck.

“It’s in the shop,” Jason says with a shrug.”

“Again?” Martha frowns. “What did you do this time?”

“I didn’t do anything!”

Bruce listens to them bicker and the strange feeling in his chest subsides. He feels a smile tug at his lips as he sips his coffee. He ignores the itch at the back of his skull telling him something’s wrong. He really should be more careful with what he eats from now on. He settles back in his chair and listens as his mother scolds Jason for his reckless driving. This is what Saturday mornings should look like.

***

The Black Mercy is the wrong color, Clark realizes. He hasn’t noticed before, too focused on Mongul’s replacement to look at them properly. How the hell had he overlooked this? He pushes down his anger at himself to take a knee next to Bruce. He doesn’t touch him even though he wants to. His hands hover awkwardly in the air.

“Why is it yellow?” He asks, panic growing.

It’s not supposed to be yellow. It was purple last time; it should be purple. The yellow had been… oh no. The Golden Fury had been yellow. Bruce doesn’t look like he’s filled with adrenaline infused rage though. He just looks… wrong. His mouth is slightly open, his features relaxed, too relaxed. Clark feels like they’re all staring at Bruce naked, although knowing Bruce he’d rather they see him naked than this vulnerable.

“Batman has been through this before,” Flash reminds them as they gather around Bruce. Yes, he has. When he saved Clark from the Black Mercy nearly two years prior. “He woke up right away. What’s wrong?”

“It’s altered somehow,” Diana says as she studies the yellow vines curled around Batman’s torso. She frowns and Clark feels his stomach drop. If even Diana is nervous… He balls his hand into fists and lets them hang down by his sides. It won’t do any good to let the others see just how affected he is, but he can’t keep his hands from shaking.

“Just beat some sense into him,” Hal says with a shrug and Wally smacks him in the stomach. “Sorry.”

He receives glares from the entire League, so Clark doesn’t feel the need to say anything. He knows Hal is just trying to defuse the tension like he usually does. It isn’t working.

“Bruce,” Clark says quietly as he finally lifts a hand to place on Bruce’s shoulder. There’s no one close enough to hear but he knows Bruce’s rules; no civilian names in the field. He rests a hand on Bruce’s shoulder to no avail. He isn’t responding. Clark knows it’s futile to speak to him – Bruce has to find his own way out of the dream – but he still can’t help but try. “B, come on.”

There’s no response and even though Clark knew not to expect anything, he still finds himself disappointed. Wally’s right – Bruce should’ve fought his way out by now. They can’t know what alterations Mongul has made to these Black Mercy before they get Bruce to the Watchtower, have J’onn look him over. J’onn may not be able to penetrate the hold the plants have on people, but he is the one most familiar with how they work. Besides Batman, that is.

“We have to get him out of here,” Flash says, eyeing the crowd slowly gathering around them. The civilians mean no harm, they’re mostly there to thank the Justice League or to see what’s going on, but either way, they should get Bruce to a safe location as quickly as possible.

Clark nods and reaches out again, bring an arm around Bruce’s shoulders. He’ll have to pull him into his arms and although that thought might’ve excited him only hours ago, now all he can think about is how empty Bruce’s face looks.

“Careful not to jostle him,” Diana says as Clark pulls Bruce’s kneeling body into his arms.

“I can–” Hal starts.

“No,” Clark interrupts, too harsh. He tries again, softer this time. “No, I’ll do it.”

There is absolutely no way he’ll let anybody else touch Bruce right now. He knows it’s stupid. Hal would conjure a bubble around Bruce, the way he usually does on missions; it’s completely safe. And yet Clark doesn’t want him to. He needs to be the one to take care of Bruce.

Carefully he maneuvers Bruce properly into his arms and stands up slowly. He can’t help but frown when Bruce doesn’t stir. They need to get this thing off his chest and as soon as possible. There’s no way Bruce would allow Clark to carry him in his arms like this without protest, and Clark needs to hear that protest. He needs to hear Bruce’s voice.

Despite Clark’s outburst, he’s happy when Diana supports Bruce’s head until he’s safely tucked against Clark’s chest; one of Clark’s arms underneath his knees and the other around his back. His cheek rests against Clark’s shoulder and under normal circumstances Clark would have been thrilled to have Bruce this close. Not like this though, never like this. Bruce’s eyes may be open as far as Clark can tell (he curses that damn cowl and its bright lenses), but he’s not seeing anything. He’s limp in Clark’s arms, and this is not how he wants Bruce. He wants him alive and kicking, he wants to be able to enjoy Bruce’s proximity because he’s there, body and soul.

Now though, all he can do is look to Diana as he tries to swallow past the knot in his throat. She looks just as heartbroken as Clark feels, and he knows why. Diana knows Bruce just as well as Clark does. She knows that the visions Bruce is seeing has to be the closest to happiness he’s felt since he was a young child. Since his parents were murdered.

Bruce doesn’t talk about it much, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He feels guilt for every single thing that goes wrong not only in his own life, but everyone else’s. Big and small things, it doesn’t matter. Bruce will feel a way to blame himself for it all. If a mission goes awry, Bruce blames himself. If someone is hurt near him, teammate or civilian, Bruce blames himself. If Jason doesn’t talk to him that week, Bruce blames himself. If Clark’s articles aren’t printed, Bruce would find a way to blame himself for that too.

It's as if that guilt he felt at nine years old has bled into every other aspect of his life. If only he’d done more, done less. If his parents hadn’t died, he wouldn’t have become the Batman. If he hadn’t become Batman, somehow all of the evils of Gotham and the world would’ve disappeared. Clark is sure Bruce logically knows that’s not true, but it doesn’t mean that he believes it in his heart. He still blames himself for Jason’s death, for Dick’s parents getting murdered. He blames himself for dragging Tim into the vigilante life, and he blames himself for not being a better father to Damian. As if becoming Batman had put all of those events into motion, despite the fact that they would’ve most likely still happened even if Bruce had never put on the cowl.

Clark knows there isn’t much he can do for Bruce to lessen that burden, but he still tries. He likes to think that’s why Bruce lets him get so close. Because while Clark has long since stopped trying to convince Bruce every bad thing in existence isn’t his fault, he doesn’t let Bruce carry the burden alone.

The knowledge of Bruce’s guilt, his burden, is what makes Clark’s heart ache. Because in this dream Bruce never has any of those things. Clark doesn’t have to see his dream to know the essentials: his parents are still alive and there is no Batman.

No Batman means no Justice League, which in turn means no Superman. And no Superman means no Clark. Clark doesn’t exist in Bruce’s dream, there’s no reason for him to. Dream Bruce doesn’t need a teammate and friend to help with missions and crime. Dream Bruce doesn’t need him, and that realization hurts more than Clark is willing to admit.

Clark knows that despite whatever he feels for Bruce, however much he loves him, he cannot possibly give Bruce this kind of happiness. It may be a dream, but the happiness is real. The feelings are real. And he can’t give that to Bruce – he can’t be that for Bruce. He can’t give Bruce what he longs so desperately for that he is unable to fight himself out of the Black Mercy’s grasp. The kind of happiness only a child feels, a child that hasn’t lost everything in one single moment. A child who hasn’t been obsessed with shadows and darkness for so long he can barely make out the light anymore.

While Bruce may not be that scared child anymore, he’s in too deep to back out. It’s been too long, too many years, too many battles. There’s no way Bruce would ever hang up the cowl for good; because while Gotham may need Batman, Bruce needs him more. He needs the bat to function, to channel his trauma and anger. He’s not nearly as bitter as he was when Clark first met him, but that doesn’t mean Bruce will ever be ready to put the Batman away. Clark burns with shame as he feels grateful for Bruce’s obsession. As long as Bruce is Batman, he might have need for Superman, for Clark.

Clark can’t think about his own selfish needs now though. At this point he would give anything to have Bruce back, to be able to look into his brilliant blue eyes again. He needs to hear Bruce speak more than he needs the air he breathed. So instead of getting caught up in his own head, he nods at Diana and flies directly for Wayne Manor. Bruce has a transportation tube in the cave and while it might be hard explaining to Alfred what’s happened, it is safer for Bruce to be at the Watchtower than at the cave for now.

***

“B, come on.”

“Don’t call me B,” comes out of his mouth before he even thinks it. Bruce frowns as he looks over his shoulder at the manor. He knows it’s Jason who called him, but somehow, he feels another set of eyes on him. Another voice echoing in his mind. The ache in his chest throbs.

“Clark gets to call you B,” Jason points out as he throws his bag in the trunk of the car.

The car. Which is somehow… smaller than Bruce remembers. Underwhelming to look at. He might have to have his dad check him over one of these days what with how his memory is playing tricks on him. He’s almost certain his car is supposed to be larger. And black too. This one is silver.

“Clark’s my–” Bruce swallows then clears his throat. “Clark isn’t my son; you’re supposed to call me dad.”

“You’re not my real dad,” Jason says with a laugh. His tone is teasing, and he doesn’t look menacing at all, but Bruce can’t help but tense at the comment. Jason instantly notices and frowns. “Hey, come on, you know I don’t mean it like that.”

“I know, Jay, I know,” Bruce reassures even though the pain in his chest tells him otherwise. Why is Jason’s teasing affecting him like this? They both know Bruce isn’t his biological father, that’s never meant anything nor been an issue between them before. It has never been an issue with any of his children. Jason knows his real parents, he still sees his mother once a month, but Bruce is his parent. His dad. And yet Bruce feels a kind of… emptiness at Jason’s words.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yea, I’m– I’m fine,” Bruce answers although he really isn’t too sure. Maybe he should have Jason drive, just to be safe. He might be coming down with something. He’s about to ask when Jason points down the driveway with a happy grin on his face.

“Oh look, grandpa’s here! We get to say goodbye before we leave,” he says and starts waving. The childlike glee on his face in contagious and Bruce finds himself smiling as well.

A moment later Thomas opens the door of their family car, waving Alfred’s hands away. Thomas Wayne can open his own door, thank you Alfred, go inside to let Martha know he’s home. Bruce catches Alfred’s eye and sends him a grateful smile. It’s good to know Thomas is always in safe hands when going to and from the hospital. Alfred nods back at him and Bruce feel the emptiness swirl in his chest. Shouldn’t Alfred say goodbye to them as well?

“Bruce,” Thomas’ loud voice jolts Bruce from his thoughts. “Good to see you up and about. Cutting it a little close, don’t you think?”

“I’m sorry?” Bruce asks, confused.

“He’s taking me to Roy’s before going home, grandpa,” Jason cuts in, thankfully. “He’ll make it home in time, no worries.”

“Ah, alright,” Thomas says. “Do give my best to my son-in-law, will you? And I expect to see you both here next week. It isn’t the same without Clark at Friday Night Dinner.”

“Of course, dad,” Bruce says automatically. That’s right. Clark has been away at business. How could he forget? “We’ll be here at 6.”

“Great. Will you be joining us as well, Jason?”

“Nah, we’re going on a road trip next week,” Jason says easily. “Ollie bought a new car and Roy and I are gonna go to the beach.”

“Maybe Sunday dinner, then?” Thomas suggests. “We could have Dick come over as well, and that girl he’s seeing. We’ve been meaning to meet her.”

“Oh yea, absolutely,” Jason agrees. “I’ll talk to Dick, and I’ll call grandma later to iron out the details.”

Bruce doesn’t interject or comment as he watches his father and son talk. Once again, he’s left feeling perplexed. He feels warm and happy but there’s something nagging at the back of his skull, like something’s wrong even though it clearly isn’t. Jason is here, Jason is happy. His father is too – Thomas looks healthy and content. So why does Bruce feel like he’s missing something?

Bruce is once again jolted out of his thoughts. He needs to stop getting lost in his own head, it’s becoming quite a habit today.

“Take care, son,” Thomas says with a soft smile as he claps Bruce’s shoulder.

Images of Thomas and Martha Wayne’s portrait hanging over the fireplace in the manor flashes before Bruce’s eyes. He has to look away for a moment to blink away his tears. What is wrong with him today?

“You too, dad,” he says around the lump in his throat.

Jason doesn’t end up driving, but it doesn’t matter. Bruce drives just fine and as soon as Thomas is back in the manor and they drive out of the driveway, he feels better. Less empty. It’s a weird feeling but he pushes it away to listen to Jay’s plans for the next week.

When he drops Jason off at Roy’s, Bruce is worried he won’t be able to find his way home, seeing as he can’t recall his own address – he’s making an appointment with his doctor the moment he gets home – but it isn’t an issue. His body knows where he’s going even if his brain is a little foggy.

It isn’t far from the manor, not at all. It’s a smaller lake house; smaller than the Wayne manor at least. They picked it because Clark likes the way the sun hits the lake in the mornings. He’s got a thing for the sun. It isn’t weird, with him being from the South and all.

“Kansas isn’t the South,” Clark often tells him.

“It’s south of Gotham,” is Bruce’s consistent reply. It never fails to make Clark roll his eyes and smile. It’s south of something alright, but Bruce has never bragged about his A’s in geography. Now biology on the other hand… another comment that will have Clark smacking the back of his head but also kiss his cheek with a giggle.

Bruce pulls up to the lake house to find another car leaving. A taxi, which means that Clark is home. Finally. It feels like he’s been gone for months, even though Bruce knows it’s only been a week. A week is still seven days too long to be apart.

He parks the car and doesn’t bother with his luggage – it’s a small briefcase on the backseat, that’s all, he’ll pick it up later. He doesn’t get to the door before it swings open to reveal a disheveled Clark Kent.

“Hi,” Bruce says. Exhales. The ache is subsiding with every breath as he looks at Clark, at his husband. He barely makes it a step before he’s pulled into Clark’s embrace, his strong arms wrapped tightly around Bruce’s frame.

“Bruce,” Clark says, and Bruce melts in his hands.

This is where his home is, with Clark. There’s nowhere else he’d rather be, and that ache and tension that’s been bothering him all morning seems to have disappeared completely as Clark rubs his chin against his shoulder. They stand close together for a moment, before Bruce pulls back; not all the way out of Clark’s embrace, just enough to get a proper look at his face.

“How was your–” he tries but is interrupted when Clark’s lips press into his.

It is ridiculous. He’s kissed Clark more times than he can count; they may be married, but they are not old and boring just yet. Despite that Bruce feels as if this is the very first time their lips brush. His eyelids flutter closed, and he can’t help but lean into the kiss.

Clark hums against his lips and pulls their bodies impossibly closer together. Bruce’s arms find their way around his neck, his hands burying themselves in Clark’s thick hair. Oh, how he’s missed this. He’s missed is so much he feels like he’s never had the pleasure of sucking on Clark’s lower lip and so he takes the chance now. Clark’s breath is warm on Bruce’s mouth, and he never wants to let him go.

Eventually they have to though.

“We should, uh,” Clark laughs as his arms go slack around Bruce’s middle. “We should probably take this inside. Wouldn’t want the neighbors to catch us.” Bruce raises an eyebrow at him. “Again.”

The memory of that particular morning is etched into Bruce’s mind, and he can’t help but chuckle. They shouldn’t tempt fate too much and so he nods. He goes back to the car – Clark’s hand firmly in his, as if he’s afraid Bruce will disappear if they’re not touching at all times – and grabs his briefcase before locking it.

“Dad says hi,” Bruce says conversationally as they enter the house.

“How is Thomas? And your mother?” Clark asks, releasing Bruce’s hand to hang up his own jacket.

“They’re good.”

Bruce knows where to put his shoes, his briefcase; this is his home, their home, but as soon as Clark’s hand isn’t in his anymore, that ache is back in his chest, and he stutters in his movements.

It must be that he’s missed Clark more than usual. He feels empty when they’re not touching. There are ways to make up for that though and it doesn’t take Bruce more than two minutes to pull Clark towards their bedroom, polite small talk be damned. Bruce has never been good at that anyway, and Clark knows it.

Despite the physical contact Bruce still feels off. A soft desperation overwhelms him, and he knows he needs to touch Clark, to have Clark touch him. To be closer. He feels on the verge to tears as he pushes Clark onto their bed – covered in the blue bedspread that Clark’s picked out because the color reminded him of Bruce’s eyes – and straddles him.

“What’s gotten into you?” Clark laughs but he takes one look at Bruce’s face and goes quiet.

Bruce is sure the desperation is clear on his face and that Clark must be worried, but his chest is throbbing and feels tight. The itching at the back of his skull is back and all he knows is that being with Clark will help. He’s missed him, he misses him, he needs him.

Why does his chest hurt so bad?

Why does it feel like he’s running from something, like he’s not got enough time?

Bruce pushes the confusing thoughts from his mind – who knew he’d be so pathetically in love still, even after a year of marriage? – and pulls at Clark’s clothes instead. He needs to feel closer and there is no reason Clark should wear this many layers.

Even now Bruce is impressed with how fit Clark is underneath his plaids and ill-fitting suits. He’s tried convincing him that buying new clothes won’t even make a dent in their account, but Clark refuses to spend their money. (“Your money, Bruce. I didn’t earn them, you did. And I didn’t marry you for a joint account, I married you because I love you.”)

Another nagging feeling creeps up on him as he traces a hand down Clark’s chest. He doesn’t work out much, but he’s still so strong… Bruce shakes his head, trying to chase this wave of odd thoughts away too. He needs to do something with his hands, with his body, that doesn’t require him to think. There are too many thoughts in his head and all he wants is quiet.

Quiet and Clark.

When they’re finally chest to chest, Clark flips them over, pressing Bruce into the bed. He kisses him with such intensity that Bruce feels his head spin.

Clark’s hands are gentle on his skin, tracing over his hips, ribs, chest. Searching and exploring as if they haven’t done this a million times before. His movements are soft but whenever he hears Bruce’s breath hitch, he pays extra attention to that particular area. He doesn’t have to listen for Bruce’s breathing to know where he’s sensitive – something stirs in Bruce’s mind at that thought, but as soon as Clark thumbs over one of his nipples, he forgets it again.

Clark has them both naked in record time, and his hands are warm as they run up Bruce’s thighs. His lips follow his hands as he makes his way up Bruce’s body, licking and biting after every other kiss. When he reaches Bruce’s neck, he looks into his eyes.

Bruce can’t look away from the intense blues of his husband. It is Clark who moves, kissing him gently on the lips, until he can slot their hips together. He slides his lips over Bruce’s cheek, catching his earlobe between his teeth.

Somehow Bruce can’t quite catch his breath. Clark’s touches make it feel like there’s a fire slowly licking up his body, and a soft moan escapes Bruce’s lips. He grasps at Clark, trying to touch every part of him he can reach at once.

Clark kisses him again, hard and rough, licks into his mouth, sucks at his tongue, and Bruce can’t think. He tries to pull air into his lungs, but it feels like he’s paralyzed. He reaches for Clark’s arm, hand wrapping around his wrist to ground himself.

“Please, B,” Clark gasps into his neck. “I need you.”

The words echo weirdly around the room and Bruce can’t breathe; he can’t see. Something’s wrong, something isn’t right. Clark’s hands burn where they touch him and Bruce struggles, trashes in his arms. He can’t get air into his lungs, his chest is tight, his head is throbbing, he cannot breathe.

***

Bruce’s face twitches, just a little when Clark sets him down on the bed in the medical bay of the cave. Instead of risking moving him around too much, J’onn has met them in the cave, but there isn’t much he can do. They have sent most of the others either to the Watchtower or home. They need to figure out what kind of attack today was, and they can’t do that sitting around Bruce’s sickbed. At least not all of them. Clark makes sure Bruce is as comfortable as he can get on the bed before he turns to the others.

“How do we get it off him?” He asks, hoping against hope that J’onn will have something they can try. If not J’onn then maybe Diana. They have to do something. They can’t leave Bruce stuck in a dream that slowly draining all his energy. He already looks paler than usual underneath the cowl.

“He is supposed to reject the dream, right?” Diana wonders with a frown. So she’s noticed it too; even if the Black Mercy is altered Bruce should’ve been able to see through the hallucinations. It’s Bruce they’re talking about. “Why has he not done so already? It has been over an hour.”

“It seems Mongul has altered the plants,” J’onn says. Even his usually stoic face is showing signs of worry, which makes Clark even more distressed. “They are stronger and more resilient than last time we encountered them.”

“What does that mean?” Clark asks even though he knows J’onn won’t have all the answers. If he doesn’t ask, he feels like he’s given up. And he won’t give up on Bruce, he won’t.

“It will be harder to see through the illusion,” J’onn explains. “It is the only reason I can see as to why Batman has yet to regain consciousness.”

Diana and J’onn exchanged worried looks and Clark can’t help but step a little closer to Bruce’s side. He knows Bruce can’t hear him, much less feel his presence, but it makes him feel better to know that he’s at least able to be there physically for Bruce.

“What do we do then?” Clark asks, voice quiet, more to himself than anyone else. He feels useless like this; if only there was something he could do to help, but so far all he’s been able to do for Bruce is bring him home and keep him safe while he’s out.

“It seems to respond well to you, Superman,” J’onn says after a short moment of silence. His voice has an odd tinge to it, but Clark isn’t sure why. All he can think of is how they’re going to get Bruce out of the dream before it’s too late, and how they’re going to explain this to Bruce’s children if they can’t.

Clark is jerked from his own thoughts at a tugging on his wrist. He snaps his head to the side, hope igniting in his chest, but Bruce hasn’t moved. He looks down at his wrist and flinches. He has enough mind to not yank his hand back, in case it’ll disturb the Black Mercy’s position on Bruce’s chest, but it is a close call.

One of the yellow vines have slid halfway around Clark’s wrist. It’s not tight or uncomfortable but Clark isn’t sure if it’s safe. He doesn’t feel any dreams invading his mind, not really, just a low buzzing at the back of his skull.

“Are you okay, Kal?” Diana asks, and Clark can see how tightly she’s gripping her sword.

“Is it affecting you?” J’onn adds curiously.

“I’m fine,” Clark reassures them, even as he keeps his eyes on the vine. It slides the rest of the way around his wrist. It doesn’t feel much different from a hand wrapped around him like this. It’s dry and warm, not slimy or wet, with little imperfections making it rougher some places than others. It reminds him of Bruce’s calloused hands. The thought has him swallow thickly as a burst of heat swirls in the pit of his stomach.

“I can’t feel anything,” he adds after a while. He really doesn’t. Just the low heat pooling in his stomach and the warm vine around his wrist.

“It reacts,” Diana says quietly. “When you speak.”

Clark looks to where the plant has attached itself to Bruce’s chest and he immediately sees what Diana is talking about. It seems to have shifted, leaning towards Clark when he speaks.

“They didn’t do this last time, did they?” He asks, never taking his eyes off the plant.

“They did not,” J’onn agrees. “But they were not yellow either.”

“When Hal and Oliver got stuck together–” Clark starts but he can’t finish the thought. He wouldn’t want Bruce to see the inside of his happiest dream, he’s certain Bruce wouldn’t want him in his either. Clark wouldn’t fit in, in Bruce’s normal life, after all. It would ruin the fantasy.

“You are not a Lantern,” Diana answers the rest of his sentence. “But perhaps you can lure it away from Bruce with your words?”

“It does not react to mine nor Diana’s voice,” J’onn adds. “There must be something in the way you speak.” Or the way you feel. J’onn is nice enough not to say that last part out loud.

Clark swallows and takes a small step away from Bruce’s side. The vine tightens for a short moment and then unravels a little. Clark looks to J’onn, who just stares back at him with a blank expression. He doesn’t know what to do either.

So Clark wets his lips and talks.

“Please, Bruce,” he says, quietly. It feels oddly intimate to speak to Bruce when he’s unconscious. It doesn’t help that Diana and J’onn are in the room. “You have to wake up. What you have here is worth it; the people you have here are worth it. You have people who love you. Come back to them, come back to us.”

J’onn and Diana try their best at giving them the illusion of privacy, but it doesn’t matter. Clark’s already begun speaking and he’s spurred on by the vine slowly wrapping more and more around his wrist. He leans even closer, grabbing at the side of the bed when Bruce’s eyebrows furrow. A reaction, finally.

“Come back to me,” Clark begs, throat feeling raw. He needs Bruce to hear him, to wake up. He can’t live in a world where Bruce isn’t there – where a stupid alien plant sent to take out Superman ends up killing Bruce instead. He can’t, he won’t.

“Please, B, I need you.”

***

Bruce blinks awake slowly, squinting against the sun in his eyes. Oh, no, not the sun. It’s the bright lights of the med bay shining painfully down at him. The cowl’s lenses compensate for the brightness the instant he’s fully conscious and he looks around to see where he’s at. It is indeed the med bay tucked away in a corner of the cave. Why is he still wearing the cowl if he’s at the cave, if he’s safe?

“Oh, thank God,” sounds a soft voice and he can’t help but look at the person speaking his name so gently. “You’re okay.”

Clark is looking at him with such an open expression, his eyes warm and caring, a small smile on his face. He’s clearly relieved. Bruce feels like he’s going to throw up. He looks away, looks to his chest. It feels oddly light as if there’s something missing. Realization comes fast.

Ah. Black Mercy. Of course.

And with realization comes the crushing truth: none of it had been real.

Bruce looks up at Clark again, daring himself to confront the pain blooming in his chest. He can’t help but close his eyes tight before they meet Clark’s though. Coward. Bruce can barely stand to look at him, his stomach turning. Because this Clark isn’t his, doesn’t belong to him. This Clark isn’t the one who touched him so gently, held his hand so carefully. This isn’t his husband, Clark. This Clark is Superman; is his friend and nothing more.

This Clark doesn’t love him back.

#Superbat: through the haze chapter 1 #misha writes #hooooo boy this got a lil long I apologize #wish I could tag that original anon now #ANON IF YOU SEE THIS PLEASE TELL ME WHAT U THINK #superbat #superbat fanfiction #clark kent x bruce wayne #clark kent/bruce wayne #Superman/Batman #superman x batman #long post

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paper--moons · 2 years ago

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Regressor!Bruce Wayne Headcanons

The majority of the time when Bruce regresses it's to a solid four, though most who are familiar with regression would probably peg him as being older. This is because he's stubborn and has trouble staying regressed or even just letting himself regress completely a lot of the time. Does Bruce know this is a healthy coping mechanism? Yes. Does it help him? Also yes, a lot actually. But most importantly: does it leave him feeling vulnerable? Yes. And that is where his hesitation comes in, because he's scared of what might happen if he lets go entirely. He's been bottling things up for so, so long that he would expect a break and he doesn't know if he's ready for it. But he has to bite the bullet at some point, whether he wants to or not.

Despite all his research and solo attempts at approaching his regression, it's Alfred that actually helps him accept it and settle in the most. He's been one of the few positive constants in Bruce's life, not to mention the closest thing to a father that he has left. So while he's apprehensive in telling him, worried that he might think less of him, there's one thing that he overlooks: Alfred knows all. Or at least, knows all there is to know about Bruce and can read him like a book considering the fact that he raised him. He's picked up on that far-away look that Bruce gets after spending too long staring at case files in the Bat Cave, notices the way he soaks up even the slightest affection. And of course, Bruce's concerns were unfounded as he's nothing but supportive; Alfred is more than happy that he's found something that can help him.

If Alfred thinks Bruce is pushing himself too far, then he quietly sets out a plate of fresh sugar cookies in the study and waits. This trap of his works nine times out of ten, with Bruce practically having a built-in cookie radar (that Alfred insists the boy was born with). Nothing makes Bruce slip faster than a warm plate of cookies and a glass of milk. Save except maybe cookies, milk, and the sound of Alfred reading to him. Reading is the second phase of Alfred's sinister scheme to get his charge to relax. He'll simply pluck a book off the shelf and sit on the loveseat opposite of Bruce, and begin reading aloud the moment the man has a mouthful of the sweets. By his third cookie—which, Alfred sees no reason not to spoil Bruce a little since he so often denies himself things, three cookies is well-deserved in his opinion—Bruce has moved to sit beside him, softly slipping as he hangs on the older man's every word.

When he's small, Bruce is terribly afraid of storms. A serious thunderstorm can even trigger his regression, should he be close to slipping already. Whenever this happens, Bruce makes a beeline for Alfred's room. Although he hems and haws outside of his bedroom door not wanting to be a bother, a loosely curled fist poised to knock on the solid wood, another bout of thunder that is enough to make the manor feel like it's shaking will spurn him into action. But he only manages to knock once or twice before Alfred is there, seemingly having expected him. He guides him in and towards the bed, a steadying hand on his back that rubs soothing circles between his shoulder blades as he promises how Everything is fine now, nothing will harm you. Why don't you keep me company tonight, hm? Needless to say Bruce eagerly accepts the invitation, curling up next to him as if he can hide in his side from the thunder.

Once Alfred has helped him settle into his regression more and regressing becomes more of a regular thing for him, he (quietly) updates his medical file for the Justice League; they're all supposed to give those things a read through every month or two, so there isn't any reason for him to make some sort of grand announcement or anything like that. And as much as he might not like to talk about his regression, Bruce recognizes that it's something they may need to know in case of an emergency and that it would be dangerous to keep it hidden from them. (However it does make it a bit easier to admit knowing that he's not the only one with regression marked down in his file.) He doesn't expect it to come up really, but one of the best tools in every hero's utility belt is being prepared for any and all eventualities. This aversion and belief that he won't regress while arond the other JL members, naturally, doesn't last long.

After a particularly tough mission however, Bruce finds himself slipping. He manages to keep it together until they get back to the Watchtower to regroup and debrief, but he doesn't last long once he knows he's somewhere safe. And while he could have gone to any of the others—seeking out Diana had been rather tempting—instead Bruce finds himself going to Clark, the last vestiges of his big self reminding him that Clark has a proven track record with kids of all ages and sizes, including regressors (and definitely not for any other reasons like he's fond of the guy or something, no never). Clark, for his part, is a little surprised when Bruce comes up behind him, silent as ever but noticeably different. Maybe it's the withdrawn and nervous posture that tips Clark off, or the quiet mumbling about needing help—no, it's almost certainly the fact that Bruce has grabbed Clark's cape as if it were a lifeline that lets him know the Batman has left the building.

Clark made it a point to spend time with Bruce outside of work before, but now? Now he sets aside days to visit Bruce while he's small as well. Of course he had worried his moment of vulnerability would cause him to think poorly of him in some way, but it hadn't (if anything it seemed like he now thought better of him). Still, Bruce finds it a bit embarrassing at first to let Clark see this side of him, but it does make him believe Clark's words about enjoying the time they spend together whether he's feeling big or small. And Clark likes to make that perfectly clear through gestures as well as words. Each time he swings by he'll bring him a small present, or take him out and treat the kid to a day of ice-cream at the park (though most of the time they hang around the manor). Small Bruce grows so fond of him that eventually Clark gets marked down in Bruce's JL file as one of the people to get, should he regress—it's just another big step in the right direction when it comes to accepting his regression, along with learning to let people in.

#sfw agere #dc comics #dc comics agere #bruce wayne #agere bruce wayne #moons hcs

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confusedshades · 1 year ago

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Yes yes yes yes yes to all of this.

Tim has a slightly more practical understanding to situations and honestly I feel like when it's his back against the wall, and there are innocent lives at stake then he'd absolutely go full murdering feral. So with that in mind...

At the GiW break in? He did commit the murders. He just weighed them against the life of his brother. The brother who'd already been killed once before. And the potential future victims they would target.

Those scientists were spouting hateful rhetoric. Tim's heard enough of it to recognise it even if it's nonsensical to him. He also still had that protect the innocent instinct that he was convinced came embedded in the Robin Legacy. So he stepped forward and shot them. Then he kept moving.

Jason was.... well, he wasn't bad, but he wasn't good either. And being strapped down to a table after being locked into a small cell had drudged up some stuff for him. He'd tried hiding it behind bluster but Tim knew his family well. So he played up the worried little brother with slightly teary eyes and bitten lip as he looked away and Jason folded like a bad hand of cards.

Once Tim had Jason squared away in an off the grid safe house that no one other than he and now Jason and Danny knew of, he realised that maybe.....that break in had affected Danny more than he let on.

Danny typically either was an absolute joking goofball or he was an ice wall. So to see him standing in the small kitchenette, holding an empty glass and staring at the taps with a faraway look in his eyes.

When the conversation between them happened where Danny told his story, Tim realised a few things. Or rather he figured out something that had been eating at him for a while but he always buried.

Batman's shtick of not killing is necessary because of what he symbolises. But for the people who got caught in the crossfire it didn't always end well. There's a handful who decided that becoming a vigilante or a a villain but for the vast majority they got trauma - big ones, small ones, micro sized ones. All of them piled up. There were studies coming out on how the people living in Gotham were being affected adversely by those and how in turn it was being passed on to not just the younger generations but also the way of life in Gotham.

Sometimes, rogues that rose to the levels of the Joker, who didn't care about the harm they caused, needed a more permanent solution. And Arkham wasn't equipped with dealing with it. Jason had already been working on it for a while and Crime Alley had had a reduction in the types of crimes. Dick had tried working it from the opposite side with the corruption amongst the cops in Bludhaven and that had also sort of worked.

But Tim knew himself and he knew that his own line wasn't as clear cut as Dick's or Bruce's. He's also willing to consider how the changing times means that a more thorough understanding of situations were needed, and sometimes even heroes made mistakes. And in their position - the fallout of their mistakes was bigger.

So Tim and Danny start working together. And Jason when he recovers also joins their movement.

The way that I’m brainrotting over a DCxDP crossover with a Danny who’s a vengeful villain rn

Like, let’s just say that the GiW finally get into contact with the JL. They need help neutralizing a threat, you see, and they’re on their last limb trying to keep civilians safe.

They have video evidence! They have studies to back their claims! The JL have to help them!

Unfortunately, the JL believe them. They join a fight against Danny, and defeat him due to being far more experienced than he is. Danny is locked away and experimented on by the GiW.

That would CHANGE a person. Your heroes turning against you and seeing you as a monster, being experimented on for who knows how long, not knowing if your friends and family are safe.

Danny gets out due to a simple mistake on the GiW’s part; having Blüdhaven as part of their transport route.

Of course the trucks were attacked, they’re government property!

So now, whoever decided to raid the government transport trucks (the Penguin or something) has a ton of experimental weapons with no idea how they work, and a heavily traumatized teenager.

Danny knows how they work. Danny can be useful! They won’t throw him out if he’s useful! And so, now Danny is working for the Penguin, altering the ectoplasm weapons to make them work on humans.

It’s a good deal for both parties. Danny gets to neurotically imprint on the Penguin like a small baby animal, and the Penguin gets a brilliant mind who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

But eventually, Danny finds out what happened to his family in his absence.

Jazz is in Arkham. Not as a psychologist, but as a “patient.” Apparently, she snapped and completely destroyed the house, leveled a few blocks of Amity Park, and conducted organized attacks on government bases (mostly GiW) for months.

Sam and Tucker helped her, eventually splitting once Jazz was captured. Sam travels to areas of extreme pollution, completely overgrowing them with her plant powers. Currently she’s in the Amazon rainforest, engaging in an ongoing feud with logging companies. Sam is winning.

Tucker faked his death, and Danny has no idea where he is. He only knows that the death wasn’t real because of a code that the three of them made together, just in case.

Ellie’s trapped in the Infinite Realms. Danny had a failsafe in place so that if she was ever cornered by the GiW, she would be sent to her haunt in the GZ. However, with the portal destroyed, she can’t come back. Danny just hopes she’s okay.

His parents are now top GiW scientists. They’re traveling the country giving speeches. They’re working on a battery powered by ectoplasm, but apparently started “having difficulties” around the same time that Danny escaped.

None of it is fair. None of it is right.

The Justice League destroyed his life, the lives of his friends, and they’re doing as good as ever. The GiW is respected, and his parents are happily working away for them.

Danny takes up some of his more experimental weapons and breaks Jazz out of Arkham. She’s a little different now, colder and more quiet, but she still loves him all the same. It’s an unimaginable comfort to him to see his sister again.

He can’t use his powers anymore. He’s so used to associating them with pain that even transforming into his ghost form is enough to take him down for hours.

However, he understands ectoplasm more than anyone else in the world. He knows how to use it in virtually everything; how it can become a weapon, how it can be used as a supplemental ingredient in poisons and nerve agents, how it can twist and distort the mind if applied correctly.

He doesn’t care what happens to him. He’s going to take down the GiW, and destroy the lives of the JL members who helped lock him away, just as they did to him.

No matter the cost.

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forgetmenots0250 · 2 years ago

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Platonic Finney Blake x Will Byers

When he went to Hawkins

After the grabber incident, Terrance decided all the bad shit happening in Denver is getting to him so he decides that they should leave for a town in Indiana, almost across the country

Finney thought it wouldn’t be so bad since his father had been laying low on the alcohol since the whole grabber stuff

Finney wasn’t over the incident, he could still feel the electric wire in his hand flowing up and down

He could still hear the boy's whispers and after he got something from each single one of their bodies they could speak to him as if they were right in front of him

Finney eventually got used to the boys that attached themselves to him, telling him test answers, interrupting class with loud bangs, getting things for him off tall shelves, and other abnormal things

Slowly Finney could see their outlines and soon the boys clearly and even other ghosts but they were very much faded since he had no connection to them but he could if he made contact

Finney had Griffin’s bike lock, Bily’s letterman jacket, Vance’s vest, Bruce’s baseball cap, and Robin’s bandana and necklace

Finney had gotten emotionally connected to each one of these objects

Vance, Billy, and Griffin are the strongest of the ghosts and can do the most like moving objects (people too), speaking to others, messing with electronics, and manipulating emotions. The others struggle with doing it but still do it but once they run out of energy they don’t speak and do nothing but float around Finney

Robin can remember the most out of everyone and told them about themselves so they remember but over time he’s forgotten what his cat looked like the only thing he remembers is that he has a cat and not its name or anything

Finney eventually made books for the Casper crew on themselves, about who they were specific details that they have forgotten and all he could find out from their families, he made an excuse that it was a memorial sort of thing. All the Casper crew had to do was ask and Finney would take it out and they could flip through it

Finney still plays baseball and actually even practices fighting and is helped by Robin and Vance, he even got a sandbag

He carries a knife and brass knuckles with him always because of the grabber and the feeling of safety that comes with them

Finney can’t handle sudden noises and touches, especially the sound of doors opening, the sound of a belt whipping, or glass breaking, and when someone grabs him suddenly, he goes into flight or fights and it's usually fight

Finney has scars from abuse and from home and from the kidnapping, he also has some from practicing with his knife as well as rope burn scar on his hands. In conclusion his hands are scarred and the opposite of soft

Finney naturally takes out his hand while in the kitchen and a mug or can falls in his hand because he needs it and one of the Casper crew obliges and just pushes over it

Finney had long accepted that he is not normal and he doesn’t mind it because he’s not alone even if he had a choice, he likes being able to ask for a cup of water and getting it without a second thought or when he has too much stuff in his hands and the door closes on its own, it's fine

When he makes it to Hawkins he noticed how many ghosts there were and even sees one in the middle of the road wandering. It made him think that Hawkins was hiding something, much more than it was letting on

Finney had met a boy named Will Byers who kinda sat on his own so Finney decided to talk to him, Finney told him how he had just come from Colorado and was looking for someone to show him around

Will practically lit up and accepted immediately taking Finney by the hand, Robin whispered how friendly this guy was for just meeting, Griffin whispered at how the boy looked a bit sick, Billy did not say a word and only observed, Bruce noticed how skinny he was for a boy their age and wondered if this sickness was affecting him and if it was infectious, Vance didn’t comment on the boy and only said to Finney how he should try for the baseball team at the school painting to a flyer on the wall

Finney held Will’s hand and let go when he pointed at something subtly

After school Will invited Finney to his house to play a game and Finney asked what it was, he answered D&D and Finney hadn’t played so he asked Will to explain it. It took some time to explain how D&D isn’t a nerd game but really cool and how to play it. Finney said it sounded cool but asked if he played any sports. Will said no and asked if Finney played any sports which he said yes, he also said he played baseball and would probably join a team in Hawkins

Finney and Will walked together as they talked, finding out each other’s interests and disinterests, and Will scheduled a meet up for Wednesday after school where he’ll teach Finney how to play D&D and Finney would teach Will baseball on Thursday

Though they didn’t hang out too much they hang out sometimes after school, Finney found clicks in his baseball team and Will sometimes went to his games where he met Gwen who he didn’t expect to call him scrawny bowl cut but she did and Finney apologized profusely but Will just put it behind him since she is younger than him

When Will is at Finney’s house some stuff happens.

“Hey could you get me a glass of water?” Will was in the living room of Finney’s house and Finney was in the Kitchen at the moment getting snacks

“Sure!” Will could see Finney since it was an open kitchen that let the living room look into the kitchen

Finney reached for a glass that was too tall for him but slowly the glass was pushed off and Finney caught it, “Thanks” Will didn’t believe his eyes as he saw the glass cup move on its own

“F-FINNEY YOU HAVE POWERS!?” Will immediately stood up as he stared at Finney

“No I’m just haunted by helpful ghosts” Finney put it plainly as if he was talking about taking out the trash

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HAUTED!? YOU JUST MADE THE CUP FALL INTO YOUR HAND!” Will walked over with wide eyes and tried to rationalize what happened, was Finney an experiment like El?

“I know it's hard to believe but really I can just talk and see ghosts that’s all, I don’t have powers even though that would be cool sadly I don’t I have to rely on Casper the friendly ghosts to help me” Finney tried to downplay himself so Will would chill out

“Then you’re not an experimented kid with superpowers?” Will kinda chilled out as he asked calmly trying to understand

“Yes, I’m just some kid with Casper the friendly ghosts as friends…. even though it sounds crazy I can prove it if you would like?” Finney was willing to help Will understand and Will was down for

“Yes! I would love to!” Will was excited since this was kinda like magic and since the only “magic” he knew tried to kill him he wanted to know how Finney did it

Finney took a book from his bag and placed it on the floor in between him and Will, “Go to the one with your family” the book somewhat violently turned pages to a page with numerous pictures of a boy with long curly hair with others who looked similar

At the top right of the page with big letters in marker had the name “Vance Hopper” and with small pen said “Pinball”

“Now go to your interests” Finney said as the pages flipped quickly to a page that had in blue marker “Interests of Vance” Finney smiled as he closed the book taking it back in his hands

“What do you think? Interesting isn’t he? If you couldn’t tell his name is Vance” Finney smiled as he explained and Will looked in awe

“So that’s your ghost’s name, Vance?” Will was amazed but kinda concerned, if Finney had a ghost does that mean he is technically haunted?

“I said ghosts Will, there's more than one” Finney said in a cheeky tone

Finney continued to instruct the ghosts to do things and they obliged until they got tired and Griffin even played ball in Finney and Will

#finney blake #black phone #the black phone #the black phone 2022 #spoilers #will byers #Will #william byers #stranger things #st #will stranger things #tbp #finney x will #Finney Blake x Will Byers #Platonic #not a ship #crossover #casper crew

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ocw-archive · 3 years ago

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New York Times, Men's Fashion of the Times; March 2004

Piazzaman

By Josh Patner

''Could I have some more ah-gua, per fah-for-eh?'' Owen Wilson asks the waitress in a restaurant just off Piazza di Spagna in Rome. His Italian is 100 percent Texas tourist; you almost hear President Bush speaking Spanish. ''I don't know why they can't make the Italian food at home taste like here,'' Wilson says, eyeballing a piece of tuna in his salad. ''Go into any dive, and it's the best Italian food you ever had.''

As the wonder rises in his flat, twangy voice, it's hard to imagine anything more charmingly American than Owen Wilson in Rome. He flops down at a cafe table with all the formality of a guy about to pop open a Bud. Certainly the shaggy blond hair, baseball cap and blue jeans do their part. Or maybe it's because he's bowlegged: he always looks as if he has just jumped off a horse. ''Can you imagine how I felt, coming here from Dallas?'' says Wilson, 35. ''I mean, it's so beautiful!'' The actor, who co-stars in ''Starsky & Hutch'' opposite Ben Stiller, has been in Rome for the last five months working on ''The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.'' Directed by his best friend and college roommate, Wes Anderson, it tells of a father-son conflict between Bill Murray's Jacques Cousteau-like man of the sea and Wilson's airplane pilot. When Wilson talks of living among the wonders of Rome, he speaks elliptically, stymied, like a suburban guy who has landed on a dazzling new planet. ''After being in Rome, flying into Dallas/Fort Worth and driving by the Dairy Queens and the 7-Elevens . . . it's sort of . . . Europeans must find . . . here they are with all this beauty . . . the churches with the Caravaggio paintings . . . it's so . . . different.''

Movie stars in Rome have long enjoyed the affections of a city that loves celebrity. But Wilson reverses that equation: he has thrown his arms open to Rome. ''It's not like I'm Bruce Willis,'' he says with a sheepish grin. ''He probably has a hard time going outside.'' But Wilson is everywhere: watching American football at an Irish pub near Piazza Navona, buying cheese at an outdoor market, zooming past the Vespas on his bicycle. ''I tear around Piazza del Popolo and then go down to the Colosseum, and I ride around that, and then I hit that place -- what is it? The Circus Maximus.'' You might think Wilson -- the handsome brother of the handsome actors Luke and Andrew, and Sheryl Crow's ex -- was on his junior year abroad.

But Wilson is no wide-eyed hick. Writers have called him a ''big-popcorn movie star'' and ''bankable headliner.'' He is an actor who has it all: down-home folksiness and art-house weight, megaplex sex appeal and a deep sense of complex characters. His peculiarly deadpan delivery (he sounds like an old-time character actor playing a boozy cowboy) and versatile presence on screen (he can be ironic and naïve) have made for a charmed career. ''Bottle Rocket,'' his first film, a crime caper written with Anderson, who also directed, was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 1993. ''It's kind of incredible,'' he says, a toothpick twirling in his teeth. ''Wes and I were friends in school; we'd go see two movies a night. Wes worked in the projection booth, so we went for free. And here we are at Cinecittà, where Scorsese filmed. It's good, man.'' The two continued to work together on scripts for ''Rushmore'' and ''The Royal Tenenbaums,'' which received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay in 2001.

Wilson's first major roles, in ''Shanghai Noon'' and ''Zoolander,'' showed his finesse with action and comedy. In ''Behind Enemy Lines,'' his portrayal of a military pilot shot down in Bosnia and on the run revealed an equal gift for drama. Now, with his character in ''The Life Aquatic,'' he has another chance to broaden the goofy screen persona that isn't far from his real self. ''This character is a lot less of me. He's very innocent and sweet-natured. A lot of characters I've played are rife with insecurities. But he seems happy.''

With three new films in the works, he could be dizzier than a rodeo pony. (He has roles as a villain in ''The Wendell Baker Story,'' written with Luke, who co-stars and co-directs with Andrew, and a romantic lead in ''Wedding Crashers.'') But as our lunch ends, he kicks back with one foot on a stool and talks of leaving Rome. ''I think the thing I'll miss most is the feeling I have here -- feeling really relaxed and just kinda riding around on my bike, seeing stuff.'' After a polite ''Thank you, and see yuh,'' he zooms off on his bicycle, so deeply American that the grandeur of Rome seems to shrivel in his wake. You imagine for a moment that you are on some college quad, not before a palazzo made of stones dragged from the Colosseum.

Ah-ree-ve-der-chi, man.

#2004 #photoshoot #interview

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awhitehead17 · 3 years ago

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Batfam Alphabet: J - Joker Junior (JJ)

Summary: When Dick is joined by his brother’s alter personality he struggles to complete his case work. JJ can be rather distracting especially when Dick has to keep a constant eye on him because he can’t be trusted to be on his own.

A/N: This story references to torture and self harm, nothing in graphic detail but please don't read if that makes you uncomfortable. This story is based where Tim had been kidnapped by the Joker and turned into Joker Junior.

Enjoy! :D

“Don’t. Put it back. Now.”

There’s a few beats of a silence and without looking he could tell his orders haven’t been followed. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

Seconds later there’s a clanging of metal which indicates he’s been finally listened too. Dick takes a deep breath in and slowly lets it out before turning his focus back onto the task at hand.

He’s currently re-reading old case files looking for any names, locations, alibies that could possibly be linked into the current case he’s working. It’s a tedious task but it needs to be done. That being said it would be a lot easier if current company wasn’t present. It was rather distracting having to split his focus two ways so he could try and work as well as keep an eye on the kid at the same time.

This time Dick’s read no more than a paragraph when the sound of moving metal could be heard yet again.

Sighing in resignation, he shuts the file and turns around to face the rest of the cave. His eyes instantly drift over to the weapons table where his companion currently is at. The kid is frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at Dick knowing he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing. It’s like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, only in this situation the cookie is a dagger rather than an edible treat.

Opposite him the kid silently blinks owlishly, it would actually be an adorable sight if it weren’t for the creepy ass grin stretching across his face. It’s the grin that reminds Dick who he’s dealing with. It isn’t Tim who is standing in front of him but rather his alternate personality, JJ.

JJ first appeared about two years ago after Tim had been captured and tortured by the Joker. The best explanation they could come up with for his appearance is that JJ is Tim’s way of detaching himself from the traumatic experience he had. JJ is the result of the horrendous torture Tim went through.

It’s certainly taken everyone some time to adjust to this development. Even now, years later, everyone is still getting used to it. Tim is here, he’s still present and is the core identity, but JJ occasionally makes an appearance especially when Tim is feeling threatened, extremely stressed or emotionally unstable.

The whole thing has been a learning curve for everyone involved. Even Tim had to learn to deal with it. At first he understandably didn’t accept what was happening but over time he seem to concede with it and even come to some sort of agreement with JJ, apparently the two identities can communicate no matter who’s in control. Tim’s tried to explain it to him in the past but it’s pretty mind boggling so Dick simply believes what Tim is saying and doesn’t ask questions.

He can’t help but feel a little disturbed by JJ’s presence, it’s an unfair feeling because it’s not JJ’s fault – or Tim’s – but being reminded of what his little brother had to endure at the hands of an insane psychotic man is unnerving. It’s like a reminder of how he didn’t protect his little brother and how he failed him by not being good enough.

He knows the others also share similar feelings. Jason simply stays away from JJ, he doesn’t even enter the same room as him. Damian is constantly on edge when JJ is present, he often carries his katana around with him when they’re near one another. Cass happens to be the one who handles JJ the best, her calm demeanour seems to bizarrely settle JJ a little. Bruce… well Bruce has similar thoughts to him of how he failed to protect Tim, but both as a father and a mentor. He’s sat down with JJ and has had a conversation with him, they seemed to come to some sort of agreement which Dick doesn’t know the details of. Alfred, god bless him, takes it all in stride as he does with everything. Everyone else is weary of him but are civil towards him as much as they can be.

“JJ, I told you to put it down. Why did you pick it back up?” Dick questions after a long drawn out silence.

JJ plays with the dagger in his hands, twisting it this way and that with skilled precision. He blinks again and lets out a giggle. “Timmy needs to be punished.”

Dick frowns at the answer. That’s not what he had been expecting. “Why does Tim need to be punished? What has he done?”

“He failed us.”

JJ says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world but Dick has no idea what he’s on about. How has Tim failed? All Dick knows is that recently Tim’s been busy with the Titan’s and how he’s been working on his Neon Knights programme.

“What happened?”

JJ doesn’t respond and continues to play with the dagger in his hands. Seeing the sharp blade being toyed with makes Dick feel tense, he knows what kind of damage can be done with a weapon like that and he doesn’t want Tim – and by extension JJ – to get hurt.

“Timmy needs to be punished!” JJ repeats agitatedly. He stops playing with the dagger and grips it in both hands, Dick couldn’t help but wince when he sees the blade dig into the skin of his palms. “When someone fails they get punished. When they are bad they get punished! Timmy has to be punished for what he did.” JJ trails off with a high pitched giggle like the idea of punishment is hilarious.

Dick runs a hand over his face, he’s not getting anywhere here. Where’s Cass when you need her? She’s usually better at dealing with this side of JJ than he is.

“You know that physically punishing Tim also means you hurting yourself, don’t you?” Dick suggests evenly, trying a different tactic. “There are other ways than physical pain to deal with these sort of things.”

Dick has an inkling he knows what this is all about but he doesn’t want to jump to conclusions just yet.

JJ lets out an uncontrollable giggle. “Silly Big Bird, I don’t feel pain, Uncle J made sure of that. Timmy on the other hand needs to pay for what he did and physical pain is the best way to teach a lesson so he remembers not to do it again.”

As if to prove a point, that’s when a drop of blood drips from JJ’s hand and lands on the floor. JJ doesn’t even notice. Dick tries to not flinch at the sight it, he hates the idea of his little brother hurting, no matter what it is it’s always hard to witness.

“I understand that you may be frustrated JJ, but why don’t you try talking to Tim instead. Tell him how you feel about whatever it is that he did and explain why you’re upset with the situation.” Dick suggests trying to sound as reasonable as he could.

JJ violently shakes his head, he seems to be getting more riled up as the conversation continues.

“No! Talking doesn’t work! He ignores me and doesn’t listen. The mission failed and he put us in danger for no reason, we could have been killed for nothing. He needs to remember to not do that again. I’ll make sure he remembers not to.”

Dick lets out a hum in acknowledgement. Something they’ve come to notice since JJ’s appearance is how protective, and even possessive, he is of Tim. The key thing is how no one is allowed to hurt Tim in anyway whatsoever, if they do then JJ will go on a vengeful rampage against whoever was responsible for it. That includes Tim himself.

To JJ, Tim putting himself in danger is essentially Tim hurting himself and he really doesn’t like that. It’s happened a couple times in the past, so in response to Tim putting himself in danger (often during missions) JJ feels the need to punish Tim for it.

Taking a deep breath Dick stares at the kid and wonders how he should proceed. He can’t just turn around and say “no” or retaliate because JJ will only get defensive and probably go do something much worse as a result. While Dick ponders, JJ stands there opposite him still gripping the dagger tightly in his hands with a small puddle of blood forming at his feet and grins creepily at Dick. To make the scene worse JJ tilts his head to the side just a little, adding to the creepy affect even more.

Thankfully he’s saved from trying to decide what to do when another body soon joins them in the cave. Dick’s attention turns away from JJ and onto Cass who casually strolls towards them with a light bounce in her step. Dick smiles warmly at her, feeling relieved for her appearance. Then immediate guilt hits him because he really shouldn’t be thinking that, Tim is his brother and what’s happened is by no means his fault and he should try to be supportive where he can, though sometimes it can get difficult.

Cass silently comes up to them and stands next to JJ. Dick watches with amusement as JJ’s grin slowly disappears from his face and is replaced with a scowl, his eyes narrow in what he would say is a challenge as he stares at her unmoving. Cass simply raises an eyebrow, she places a hand on her side and cocks her hip while she holds out the other in silent demand.

The two stare at one another for a long time, clearly testing the other’s patience and if Dick’s being honest he has to give JJ some credit for how long he’s with standing Cass’s pointed look. However it seems like JJ can’t out last Cass because he soon drops his gaze and relaxes his grip on the dagger but doesn’t let go of it yet.

“Timmy and I just want to have some fun. Why is that wrong?” JJ pouts, actually seeming disappointed and confused for why they’re saying no to him.

Dick catches himself from saying anything at the last second. He wants to question the ‘fun’ part of punishing but thinks better of it, it’s best that he stays quiet and lets Cass handle the situation.

Still staring at JJ, Cass keeps her hand out waiting for JJ to give her the dagger. After more staring he slaps the weapon into her hand with an exaggerated huff.

“Fine.” JJ huffs with a stomp of his foot. He scowls and crosses his arms over his chest. “I guess I’ll have to find another way to punish – oops! – I mean play with Timmy.” He lets out a hysterical giggle at his own words.

Cass shakes her head and moves towards Dick. They make eyes contact and Cass sends him a soft smile, when she gets close enough with the hand not holding the bloody dagger she reaches up and cups his cheek. “Finish work and rest. I’ve got this.”

Dick places his hand over hers and sends her an appreciative look. “Thank you.”

Standing up Dick grabs the file he had abandoned earlier and makes a move to leave the desk, it’ll probably be best to head to his bedroom in the Manor where he won’t be disturbed, but when he turns around he finds JJ now over by the weapons table yet again.

“JJ!” He snaps harshly. The kid startles and looks up at Dick before a wide grin stretches across his face, he’s not even ashamed that he’s been caught with his hand hovering over another dagger. He soon retracts his hand and places them both behind his back, he sways side to side like he’s an innocent kid.

“What? I’m not doing anything.”

Dick couldn’t help but eyeroll at the blatant lie. He sends JJ a pointed look. “Behave.” JJ’s response to that was to blow him a raspberry. Sending Cass a nod he leaves the desk with his folder tucked under his arm and makes his way to the stairs.

Unfortunately it wasn’t that simple. He should have been expecting something to happen really considering that nothing is ever easy with the kid, it’s only thanks to his reflexes and instincts that he hadn’t been impaled by the dagger JJ had just been eyeing up moments ago.

The weapon is now lodged in the wall in front of him from where Dick had luckily dodged it. The situation takes a moment to process in his mind and once it does he spins back around to witness JJ giggling hysterically and a wide-eyed Cass who had a hand over her mouth in shock. She’s clearly just as caught off guard by JJ’s actions as he was. Dick takes a deep breath and steadies himself, at least it didn’t actually hit him, not that the sentiment really helps with anything.

Deciding it’s really not worth it, he continues his journey to the stairs and proceeds to climb them, but not before grabbing the dagger buried in the wall along the way. JJ is Cass’s responsibility now, one he’ll happily pass over to her.

The last thing Dick hears when he gets to the top of the stairs is JJ calling out to him in between giggles.

“Bye bye Big Bird! See you soooooon!”

#batfam alphabet #dick grayson #Tim Drake #cassandra cain #JJ #joker junior #implied torture #torture #tw: self harm #bit angsty #cass cain is the best #This is not my best work #i really struggled writing this one #I've gotten to the point where I'm done with it #here have this mess #batfam #fanfiction

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liquid-luck-00 · 4 years ago

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My Life is One Complication After Another 3

Cursing Ahead 🤬

Ao3 *** First *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since Mari's classmates stopped talking with her, they also stopped asking her for favors. Along with a blocked and rotating schedule for patrols meant that she actually had a sleep schedule. Sure she didn't get nearly enough but that was what coffee is for.

That was how she found herself down in the bakery with her papa. Roy had called her and the four of them talked and it was comfortable. Mari was the one who opened and was watching the front. She was still talking with Roy, but now it was on a headset, as he was out patrolling In Starling City.

"So as I was saying before we were oh so rudely interrupted." came Roy's voice in her ear. "So Ice cream and movies?"

A soft laughter escaped her and a smile on her lips.

"Sounds gre..." the bell at the door chimed. "Hey guys come in," she greeted the Waynes.

"Let me guess the bats?" Roy supplied as Dick bounced towards the counter.

"Good morning Marinette!" Dick practically sang loud enough for even Roy to hear.

"God how the hell is he so chipper so early." she heard Roy grumble.

"God damn morning people," she grumbled. That elicited laughter from both Roy and Jason.

"Amen to that!" Tim seconded in a monotone lifting a coffee cup. "Maman I'm going to take the Waynes up." she called poking her head into the kitchen. Her Maman nodded so she picked up her phone and walked towards them.

"I'll Let you go," Roy was about to hang up.

"Wait how about we give the Bats a heart attack." she smirked changing to the ancient language of miracles.

"I like the way you think, I'll catch you later." he responded in the same tongue.

"See ya then." she smiled, switching back the language. Ending the call and removing the ear piece. “Are you guys coming or do I have to drag you guys?" she turned back already at the door. Granted most of them showed confused faces and side eyes, but she smiled. They followed her without saying a word.

Once they were in the apartment she excused herself to change into more appropriate gear. She activated Kaalki’s miraculous, who then silently portaled out.

That being said she changed into a pair of black skinny cargo pants with red combat boots. A black long sleeve shirt under a cropped red sleeveless hoodie. Her hair was half down with red and pink streaks and a mini white gold backpack with three patches in the same white gold finished her outfit. She grabbed four parcels and went down.

"So we can either do the boring ground tour or," she held up the bundles. "we can turn up the speed."

"I like the way you think Pixie Pop." Jason stood and she handed him his.

"Roy sent me you guy's sizes, so I altered and customized a few things." she smiled. "bathroom is over there and the guest room is next to it." Dick looked torn between excited and horrified when handed his stack.

Tim seemed awake, but she knew better, "go change and I'll have a fresh pot of coffee ready." He nodded robotically as he got up.

She set the last bunch next to Damian, who was looking like an angry kitten. She sat down next to him and leaned in.

"What are you.." he started but Mari whispered in his ear.

"The jacket has a hidden sling for a katana, which will be practically invisible when on." His eyes widened slightly and there was a bit of slack in his jaw now. Before turning into an amused smirk. "Use my room up the stairs and through the hatch." she finished as he headed up the stairs.

"I'm impressed he let you close without struggling," Bruce broke his silence, as she finished prepping the coffee maker.

"Well he would have if," she began as Damian practically crashed down the stairs and all but tackled Bruce before rushing out the door. The closest she had ever seen her baby brother smile, which effectively made her smile.

"Holy crap! What are you?!" Dick made himself known.

"More importantly what the fuck did you do with Demon spawn!" Jason shouted from next to Tim, who was being propped up by both Jason and Dick.

"Tt. I am right here Todd." The scowl reappearing on his features. "It is adequate Dupain-Cheng."

"I'll take it as a compliment on one condition."

"And that is?" he rose a brow.

"You call me Marinette not Dupain-Cheng. I'm your sister aren't I?"

He seemed to war with himself for a moment before stating. "That is acceptable, Marinette."

At this point all the bats in the room were playing a game of ping-pong between Marinette and Damian. They were trying to figure out what magic spell Marinette must have used, when in reality she just seemed to fall into Damian’s good graces automatically. OK so maybe Marinette being the holder of the ladybug miraculous as well as being the great guardian of the order has that affect on most people, a sense of respect and trust that seems to permeate her aura.

She was handing Tim a huge mug as the front door swung open to reveal her Maman.

"Hello Bruce," Sabine greeted.

"It is good to see you Sabine," was his response.

“Maman," Mari pulled her mother's attention from her biological father. "These are Bruce's boys and my brothers. Tim, Jason, Dick, and Damian." she motioned to each one respectively.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Sabine smiled, "why don't all of you get something from the bakery before you go."

After finishing their small breakfast in the park Mari pulled out a map and a marker.

"So what do you guys want to see?" They listed off places that she marked down. She added a few to the list to fill it out, marked the route and took a picture and sent it to Roy. "Okay so this will work." she glanced at her phone. A quick look on social media showed no one has found Andre yet. She pulled out a case of comms and added, "Also keep your eyes out for Andre."

"Who is that?" Dick asked taking the earpiece.

"Andre's Ice cream cart, the best ice cream in Paris." Marinette answered.

"Then why must we look for him?" Damian added.

"Well he changes locations daily and turns it into a game of tag of sorts."

"Alright, lead the way Pixie." with a smirk she dashed off her brothers close on her heels.

Yes this is the best way to get to see the city, but this was also a test to see how the bats did without their toys.

Getting to Notre Dame was uneventful. Dick kept up a steady conversation with her, just a step behind with Damian, Jason brought up the rear but would constantly toss in quips and questions. Damian and Tim were mostly quiet, unless they were trying to get one of their brothers to stop a particularly embarrassing story.

Getting to the Louve was even more entertaining. Now that Dick had a feel for the Parisian roofs he would do flips and vaults to make her laugh. In the Louve is another story.

They had accidentally ran into some of her classmates, quite literally. She and her brothers were taking goofy 'walk like an Egyptian' group photos on the second floor of the Egyptian exhibit, the mini Ladybug camera was reattaching to her phone charm when Tim began asking her questions about it.

"Well my best friend loves anime, and we kinda sorta binged the entire Dragon Ball series and when we saw the ladybug camera. He said it would be impossible to create and maintain the quality of the image. So I kinda sorta made it out of spite." she mumbled the end.

"Hell if you weren't my sister I would beg Bruce to adopt you," Tim stated. "Do you have the files I would love to look through them. Maybe send them to Babs or Cy!"

"Sure I think I have it on a flash drive." That was when a tall body, walking backwards slammed into her, pushing her into Jason. "oof."

"You okay." Dick was in full mama hen mode fretting over her.

"I wasn't watching where I was going." the figure spoke as he turned around. "I'm sor." the words died on his tongue, Kim.

Max, Alix, Nino, Alya, and oh kwami no Lila, who were now all snickering.

"I'm fine Dick," she smiled to reassure him. However her classmates were shocked.

Lila of course was the one who broke the silence, by beginning to cry. "I'm so sorry about her. I know she hates me but to be so rude to a complete stranger!" her sobs breaking the sentence while her lackeys went to console her, glaring daggers at Marinette.

"Seriously girl," Alya began to scold her. "Your little out burst not only made Lila cry. Your insulting someone who is just trying to be nice."

She and her brothers were now standing awkwardly being scolded by a teenager. After three minutes of trying to figure out what they were being scolded for and why the guys hadn't apparently left.

"What the fuck did she do that your yelling at her for?" Jason finally broke Alya's rant. Now it was the five Parisians and the Italian to stand there confused.

"She called him a dick," Alya sighed exasperated.

"Yes." Dick answered confusing them further.

"Dick."Tim now called.

"What?!"

"Dick!!" Damian, Marinette, Tim, and Jason all called, and immediately began laughing.

"What? Oh, oh," a sheepish smile now on his face. “Names Richard but I go by Dick,” he explained to those who weren’t laughing, smiling at them.

"Tt. this is why I call you Grayson." Damian rolled his eyes. "Besides this one still has not apologized." he jabbed a finger to Kim.

"It's not worth it Damian,” Marinette shook her head. "We should head back to the bakery anyways. Maman has probably finished scolding Bruce." she smirked.

"Damn I wish I was a fly on the wall for that conversation" Jason lamented.

"Well..." she held up the ladybug charm and flipped it over showing an empty space.

"Two!" Tim shouted.

"Anyone who beats me back gets a copy," she smiled.

"Your on." Jason nodded as he vaulted over the safety wall from the second floor. Damian and Dick sprinted in opposite directions.

"Sorry Mars your gonna loose." Tim shouted as the last to leave.

"We'll see," she shot back. "Bye," She turned to her classmates as she grabbed the railing above and flipped up and over to the third floor, running to one of the secret zip lines the miraculous team set up.

"What the fuck" was faintly heard behind her, all but Lila and Max shouted by the sounds of it, as she jumped from the window.

She made up quite a bit of distance and seemed to be on Damian's heel. She had passed Tim and Dick was a few steps behind. Jason was just out of arm reach. So with a burst of speed both she and Damian were shoulder to shoulder with Jason.

The three of them simultaneously practically crashed into the side door of the bakery.

"I won."

"In your dreams Todd."

"I beat both you and Pixie"

"Check your eyes, or do you need the camera installed in your helmet." Jason's gaze hardened at Damian's words.

"How about we call it a three way tie and you both get a copy." Mari interrupted. "We should head up." Laughing Marinette opened the door and went up.

Lunch was rambunctious, but she was coming to expect that with her brothers.

“Too bad we couldn’t find that ice cream guy Mari,” Tim spoke up once everyone had finished eating.

“Oh let’s see if anyone has posted where he’s at today!” She went to check her phone but a message ended up distracting her.

Andres in your favorite spot I’ll meet you there at 7 your time.

"Cool he’ s in my favorite spot in all of Paris which just happens to be the last spot on our list today," she announced, sending off a text, setting her phone down, screen up.

Can't wait Katniss

"Why don’t you all go and Mari can get to know Bruce," Sabine offered.

OK granted it’s a good idea, maybe I should get to know my biological father but am I ready to? Do I want to? Am I yes, yes I want to get to know my biological father, yes I want my family to grow, my brothers are such protective goofballs and I love them already.

"Sounds good," she smiled.

That was when her phone lit up from a message. She went to pick it up, but she was to slow.

Jason was the one who snacked her phone. "Message from Katniss says see ya then Peeta. So who's Katniss Pixie."

"Well..." she started but she began to blush furiously.

"That would be her boyfriend," her Maman decided to add before heading back down to the bakery with Papa.

Dick pounced asking a million and one questions, Bruce physically froze but she could tell his mind was racing because that look was much the same as hers. Jason was pensive, while Tim and Damian just seemed bored or tired.

So that was how she found herself talking about Roy, blushing furiously. While simultaneously avoiding his name and details that would tip any of them off. After about a half hour of her answering questions did Dick start telling her about his fiancée. How they were planning on setting a date for the wedding.

After that the next few hows was spent sharing stories and tidbits of themselves.

However, thanks to Dick a design was swimming in her mind. so she did the only logical thing and ran up to her room. Grabbed three drives, her tablet and pen and ran back down. She tossed the red drive to Tim, and Jason and Damian each a black drive. Plopped down and began stretching out an Italian suit with a nock lapel. A rough coloration of a midnight blue offset by a sapphire. Accents of golden thread, emerald buttons and an Osiria rose in the lapel. She signed the design 'Mira Luck' and handed Dick the tablet.

"So I couldn't help myself," she begun to fidget. "But in my defense you told a designer about a wedding and my brain wouldn't stop screaming at me until this was on something. So what do you think? I know its rough but."

"Holy Shit your Mira Luck as in M, Jagged Stones personal designer. You are M as in the designer for the Lucky Spot!!" Tim screamed lunging to take the tablet from Dick.

"That's me," a blindingly bright smile lit up her features.

"So what do you think?" she asked again.

"It's amazing we were actually hoping to talk to you about Kori’s dress." Dick smiled. "I could call her it's not too late there."

"Perhaps it would be best to discuss it in person when Marinette next goes, that way she can get to know Gotham." Bruce interjected.

"That actually might be sooner than you think," she responded.

"I was actually accepted to be an exchange student for the next semester at Gotham Academy."

"Wait you’re willing we going to Gotham to study! You ’re going to Gotham willingly. Bruce I think your daughter might be a little crazy." Jason surprisingly brought up.

"I might be but but it’s no crazier than Paris and it’s a Akumas. Besides I would love to design your fiancée’s dress and we should head over to Andre’s ice cream before the sunsets that way we can watch the lighting of the Eiffel tower." She got up and called out. "Hey Jason mind passing me my backpack."

"Yeah sure," he went around he couch to grab it and toss it to her but before he did he finally seemed to notice the patches. "Wait are these The Outlaws."

"Yeah Red Hood, Arsenal, Star Fire, and Bizarro." she was smiling.

"Why choose The Outlaws?" Tim brought up.

"Honestly it was because Roy mentioned something about Arsenal and Red Hood and I ended up liking of the logos, so I made them into the backpack," she shrugged. "Besides unless you’re looking at it close enough you can’t tell which is always fun to see if people pay attention to it, let’s go."

At that the six of them walked out of the apartment, away from the bakery towards the Palais de Chaillot.

"So what's so special about Andre's Ice cream?" B asked.

"Personally I think he is a meta. But what he does is he can either see your true reflection or that of the person best suited to you."

"So he sees souls?" Tim added.

"Not quite, more like he sees the main qualities of you or your go." she tapped her chin.

"But he is meta,” Tim tried to figure.

"That's the only explanation I can come up with but I have no idea." Marinette shrugged.

"So how does he do it." Tim was now fully invested in this.

"Well you either ask for love or self and he usually does three to four ice cream flavors and gives a short reason."

They were now at the top of the stairs at the Palais de Chaillot looking out at the Eiffel Tower. They stood there as the last of the light faded from the sky. The city was dark for a moment as the Eiffel Tower lit up and slowly the lamps lit up.

"So that's why this is your favorite spot Minnie." A voice behind her chuckled. She turned around and nearly tackled him.

"Hey speedy." she pecked his cheek.

Not a second later did Jason scream, "Roy!"

"Ready for that movie?” Roy asked her an arm around her shoulders.

"Of course," she smiled. "See you guys around."

"What the fuck are you doing in Paris Roy!?" Jason screamed.

"Um... Date night," he answered. The Waynes were now practically surrounding the couple.

"What?" Apparently it was Dick's turn to yell.

"Seriously. I thought you said the bats and birds were detectives." she spoke just loud enough for them to hear. "It's kinda hard to believe with the big bat having a heart attack over there." Sure enough Bruce was seriously hyperventilating.

"Oh mind giving this to LB?" He handed her a small nondescript red box.

"Sure," Marinette took the box, "Au Revoir."

From there they left and oh kwamii did she wish she could replay that again, oh wait I can.

~~~~~~~~~~

Permanent Taglist: @itsmeevie01 @miraculouspenta

Taglist: @dolphin-ghost @unabashedbookworm @bookgirl14 @laurcad123 @mochegato @vixen-uchiha @jjmjjktth @deathwishy @toodaloo-kangaroo @stackofrandomstuff @megaafangirl @trippingovermyfeet @chocolatecatstheron @nathleigh @nyx-in-line @indecisive-mess-named-me @ichigorose @maribat-is-lifeblood @user00000003 @gimpedmercy @el-zabethh @mickylikesstuff @a4-machete @stainedglassm @greatcatblaze @lady-bee-fechin @adrestar @moonlightstar64 @corporeal-terrestrial

#dc x miraculous #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #miraculous x dc #maribat #roynette #bio!dad bruce #MLiOCAA

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bisexual-rebekah · 3 years ago

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i finally watched the first three episodes of the new season of titans and ooooooh boy do i have some thoughts! spoilers abound for those who haven't seen the episodes yet, though the major ones i think are pretty much common knowledge at this point.

i got so much joy out of watching the opening fight scene in the first episode. they are truly a well-oiled machine at this point and it's great to see them so confident in their abilities. dick made me the happiest though, because it was so clear how much he was enjoying himself, and i don't think we've seen much, if any, scenes of dick being truly at peace in the series thus far. also, i truly delighted in his somewhat unnecessary gymnastics during the fighting-- it reminds me of teen wolf and that makes me happy, lol.

i knew from the second episode that hank was gonna bite it because he, too, seemed so content, even in spite of the breakup angst with dawn. he's sober (ish? he was seen reaching for a beer but otherwise he seems good), working his police job, and seemed to be in a good place mentally and physically, so of course he had to die at the height of his contentment, especially once he and dawn had kind of reconciled there before she set off to do the heist for the gold bars (which, in a slight topic change, was either super badass on her part or the bank needs better security, because managing to get all those gold bars on her own with no backup is quite the feat!)

kory looks SO GOOD this season. that's all, really-- superficial, I know, but it's true. i noticed that anna's been wearing green contacts when her eyes aren't glowy-- is that new? if so, i did catch scenes in the second ep where she wasn't wearing them, i don't know if that was a goof or intentional, but it's something i picked up on. yet another thing that reminds me of teen wolf, because they had that problem in their third season, too.

even if i didn't know that jason was the red hood, his dialogue would have absolutely tipped me off anyway. when he was like, "come on, man! you know the quote!" i immediately pictured him in my mind. i'm interested to learn more about his motives-- i watched batman: under the red hood last night after i finished the episodes, and while this season seems to be following that storyline pretty closely, whereas that jason was working out of anger that bruce never killed the joker, this version of jason is clearly different, both because bruce already killed joker, but also because he's going after his allies/friends (i.e. hank) just as much as his established foes, which makes me think that dick's mention of the titans not having the patience to help him is right on the money. i'm also intrigued by the drug he made-- it's clearly some sort of opposite of the scarecrow's fear toxin that instead takes away all fear, and i wonder how it's affecting him.

i neeeeeeeed to know how jason was resurrected. are they gonna bring in r'as al ghul and the lazarus pit or are they going another direction?

bruce shaking when he came in and the tone of his voice when he asked dick if he wanted to be robin again KILLED ME DEAD, and then again when he came into dick's room after he killed joker. ian glen nailed that performance, i felt all the guilt and grief and fear in his voice and body language.

vincent kartheiser is a great scarecrow (his payment of good weed in exchange for his assistance is hilarious to me) but the knowledge of his behind the scenes/on set antics keeps me from fully enjoying his performance. i wonder that the context of his disciplinary actions entailed. is he another jared leto wannabe trying to be method while playing a psychopath?

i miss rachel so, so, so much and i am intrigued where her attempts to resurrect donna will go and how much she's grown and improved as a person and a warrior since she's been trained on themyscira. i hope she's learned more about her powers and how she can apply them to her work as a titan.m

i like the actress playing barbara gordon but i'm just not feeling much, if any, chemistry between her and brenton, tbh. though, that may be more my shameless need for some good dickkory interactions, though.

poor gar needs some love! i hate how little attention he's given, in the show and in-show by the other characters. i do love his friendship with conner/superboy and how much the latter has grown and evolved in the time between seasons 2 and 3.

i think that's all for now, but i would love to hear what y'all think about the season so far-- i don't know anyone who watches titans irl so i would love someone i could talk to about it!

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bigskydreaming · 3 years ago

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what are dick's love languages?

Y'know, I do think a lot of the usual suspects do apply here, like he is a tactile person, he does like verbal affirmation of feelings, both giving and receiving.....but one that I see as fairly unique to him, is like, I think trust is one of his love languages in a way that's a little tricky to explain but makes total sense in my head, lol.

I THINK I've written a whole post about that already, it was one where we were talking about Dick having/needing flaws and I was going on about how narrative flaws don't have to be inherently negative, they just need to sow conflict, and one of the examples I raised was that I feel like trust is one of Dick's love languages, and so back in the early years with Bruce, the fact that Bruce seemed to trust Dick so completely, not just in the usual senses but also trust IN Dick to be capable of the things Dick did as Robin, much like his parents had put their faith in him from a very young age, that he was capable of doing all the things he ultimately came to be capable of on the trapeze....like I think that sort of total and complete trust goes hand in hand for Dick, because for as long as he can remember, that and unconditional love were a packaged deal. He never had one without the other, so they were kinda one and the same.

And initially with Bruce, this just got reinforced albeit without either of them realizing it, because Bruce might not have been quick to say I love you or hug Dick, but he demonstrated the same total faith in Dick and what he was capable of that Dick had received from his parents, BUT very rarely anyone else in life, like a marked difference from the way people outside of his two family units treated him. And for a long time, this WORKED for them, but the problem in never realizing what trust meant to each of them and how it could be so similar but yet so different, like.....the problem was, as long as Dick HAD that kinda unconditional faith in him that Bruce showed early on, he didn't NEED the verbal or physical affirmations of affection as much. He had this at least, and it said 'I love you and trust you' in a language Dick unconsciously understood.' But then seemingly take that trust AWAY, such as when Bruce fired him and seemingly had no faith in Dick's skills or competence after years of putting total trust in them, like....even though the issue was never that Bruce stopped loving OR trusting Dick, WITHOUT the verbal and physical cues as to how Bruce felt about Dick, and without the reassurance of longer lasting ties than just his original wardship, suddenly to Dick it might have looked like Bruce literally just DIDN'T care anymore, that for whatever reason, he'd lost Bruce's faith in him, and his love at the same time.

And meanwhile from Bruce's side of things, the issue was always just his fear of losing Dick and letting his own trauma and issues get the best of him and come between them.....BUT in addition, like, assuming trust works as one of Dick's love languages, then for years it'd been quietly existing as a stand-in for all the other more usual displays of affection. But if Bruce didn't realize the significance of Dick knowing that he had someone's total trust or at least faith IN him, not necessarily like that he was right about everything, it isn't like an oh I think this kid never makes a mistake thing, its more a I fully believe that you're capable of overcoming this issue before you and every other one after it kinda thing....

Like, if Bruce never had reason to fully grasp just how much the trust inherent in their partnership as Batman and Robin like, made UP for the lack of other plainly evident displays of how he felt, so that Dick didn't need those things from him that much as long as he had THIS, instead.....

Then of course he'd by extension, just, totally miss that a huge part of the divide between him and Dick was that WITHOUT Bruce knowing to make up for the lack of plainly evident trust between them and compensate for the shake-up there with OTHER kinds of reassurance as to how he felt about him, Dick wasn't JUST reacting to the idea that Bruce no longer trusted his capabilities as Robin and then Nightwing. That it actually went much deeper for him, in ways Dick probably himself has never fully verbalized. That it shook the very foundations of their relationship, and Dick’s confidence that they even HAD one, because the entire relationship had pretty much from the start been ROOTED in that foundational bedrock that was Bruce’s seemingly complete and total faith in Dick and what he was capable of, so reminiscent of what he’d had with his parents, and the first hint he’d had of anything LIKE that with anyone since them, or even the first spark of hope that he ever COULD have something similar to that again. And which again, he DID for a time have.....and he never truly lost it, its just having not prioritized growing other support pillars for their relationship that didn’t revolve around the Batman and Robin partnership, too much of their relationship had rested on that partnership’s existence, had basically NEEDED it, to shore up the gaps in other aspects of their relationship.

And I argue that you can see other instances of this pattern with other characters as well. Like, in complete reversal of Bruce not realizing the disconnect between he and Dick because of their differing love languages, it could easily be posited that this was a problem with Dick and Tim after the Robin thing as well. Because see, if Dick was trying to learn from Bruce's mistakes specifically, to project himself into Tim's shoes and use what Dick knew from his OWN past experiences....Dick would have run into the exact same problem as Bruce, just from the opposite angle. Because see, for as long as Dick has known Tim, he's made supreme efforts to show Tim that he sees him and appreciates him OUTSIDE of Robin just as much as in the mask. He's always made a point to hammer home that his brotherhood with Tim may have originated with Robin, but it was never conditional on it, and in contrast to how reserved Bruce often is with him, Dick made SURE to express his affection for Tim in all kinds of plainly evident ways, for as long as he'd known him.

So then, see, if Dick on some instinctive level pairs unconditional love and trust on equal footing, like he never really has one without the other because all the people he loves are people he trusts with his life, literally, and vice versa.....by the same token that had him once upon a time fear that Bruce no longer loved him, because it seemed Bruce no longer trusted Dick, and in Dick's eyes you couldn't truly have one without the other......THEN the reverse of that, in order to try and make sure that his siblings always KNOW that Dick loves and values them.....Dick tried to always make sure that was a priority.....BUT neglected to consider that love/trust aren't as innately interchangeable for other people as it is for him.

So on a gut level, it might have never really even OCCURRED to him that Tim might see that as Dick no longer trusting in his overall capabilities (even if Dick didn't believe him about Bruce, believing IN someone doesn't actually mean you have to think they're right about every single thought or idea they have, and just because Dick had doubts about that doesn't mean those ever translated for HIM as doubts IN Tim, the person, the brother, what he was capable of, his overall capabilities and competence and heroism).

But like, you see what I mean? Bruce underestimated the impact that seemingly no longer having Bruce's full trust would have on Dick, and not knowing to buttress that shift in their dynamic with compensating displays of his feelings in other love languages that Dick recognized.....he also made Dick doubt he still loved him.

In contrast, and likely in his very attempt TO avoid repeating the same mistake, as HE saw it from HIS eyes....Dick always made sure to express his love for Tim at every possible opportunity.....and so BECAUSE he was so consistent in expressing his feelings there, HE failed to buttress the shift in his dynamic with TIM, and didn't prioritize showing Tim he still trusted him and had faith in him in other ways....because by virtue of how closely Dick links love and trust, it would totally make sense in his mind that well, how could Tim NOT think Dick still has total faith in him, when he had all this evidence that Dick loved and valued him REGARDLESS of Robin and always had? Why would not being Robin take away that trust, when Dick had always made sure to reinforce his faith in Robin with verbal affirmations of loving his little brother?

But like, even though I think his first parents were always affectionate with Dick in a variety of ways, I do think it all goes back to that root, like, FAITH that you have to show in a kid, make a kid BELIEVES he has, on every single level.....in order to learn to do the things Dick did from a very early age. Flying was a family thing, only family could do it, and thus flying, and all the trust that went into making it possible, into helping each other achieve it as a GROUP.....like, it all added up to love, in Dick's experience. There'd never been any NEED for him TO separate the one from the other and mark a distinction. And even when he ended up in Gotham, he and Bruce had issues connecting at first, with them only really gelling once Dick became Robin....at which point, this is when Dick probably started to BELIEVE he could trust this man when he said he cared about him....because he wouldn't be so willing to put his full faith in Dick and what he was capable of, when everyone else Dick encountered had nothing but doubts to show him.....like, in Dick's eyes, Bruce couldn't possibly put the trust he had in their partnership of Batman and Robin if he DIDN'T care, right? Because that's a family thing. That's what that level of intimate trust and faith in each other MEANS, to Dick.

And then when that seemingly went away, Dick floundered, because it ALL seemingly went away at once....you take away the one, you can't possibly still keep the other, that's not how it works. Which is why its so important to him to always make sure everyone else in his family knows just how he feels about them, with words and actions, because that way the heartache he'd felt when he was younger and doubting his place in Bruce's heart would never repeat with them, hopefully....because as long as Dick was showing them his affection at every opportunity, how could they doubt his total trust in them, his family, at the same time?

Anyway, like I said, I definitely think I wrote a whole post about it before so I'm gonna go and try and find that instead of getting into all that here for a second time. Because that's definitely not what I already did. Nope, this was just me making a quick summary of my thoughts on this matter as a placeholder while I went hunting around for that other post that I can reblog so that I don't have to expound on this idea in depth a second time. Since that would be silly of me. So I obviously did not do that. Yeah. So.....anyway.....

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