#ocd bruce

[brucie-baby]

pls share your ocd Bruce thoughts. as in your thoughts about Bruce having ocd. Pls and tanks

[big warning for intrusive thoughts, compulsions, paranoia. i do list specific ocd thoughts in this post. please be careful and don't read if those might affect you in any negative way.]

his compulsions mostly lie around keeping his family safe. he spends a while each night after patrol doing a perimeter check and ensuring all the security is online/working (one night he accidentally fell asleep in the cave and didn't wake up until morning - alfred woke up startled to see bruce checking his pulse because you fell asleep without checking and now he's dead he's dead and it's your fault).

he struggles a lot with intrusive thoughts; they're quite difficult to combat because he knows they aren't real but also a fair few of them are based on things that have happened to him in the past so he's more than aware that they're still possible (e.g. your son is dead somewhere, go find him; your friend has turned evil, check you have your defence against them and get ready to use it). he often just gets incredibly graphic images in his head, and he digs his nails into his skin until it goes away.

another thought he struggles a lot with is 'this person is an imposter. they are wearing someone else's face. this is not the person you know'. this is one that he definitively knows isn't true but also it's happened before so it can happen again. it makes him feel a little silly whenever this happens, because his way around it is to find somebody he does trust in that moment and stay near them whilst keeping a subtle eye on the 'imposter', and it makes him feel like a little kid hiding behind his mother's legs at a gala all over again.

there are some positives though!! he's not too sure why but these paranoid thoughts aren't often in regards to j'onn, so occasionally he'll request for j'onn to scan someone's mind to check if they are who they say they are, and j'onn does it with no questions asked. j'onn doesn't fully understand why bruce needs him to do this but he does recognise the spike in anxiety just before bruce asks and the relief bruce feels after, and so he does it because he knows it helps his friend, even if he doesn't know why.

(sometimes, when it's just him and the 'imposter' in the room, he just leaves. he doesn't explain. he doesn't say goodbye. he just leaves. he tells himself that it's to ensure his own safety. he ignores the way it feels like fleeing.)

he has a lot of little compulsions too, like rapping his knuckles against a specific part of the wall before using the zeta tube (if he doesn't, the transport will rip them apart). whenever somebody questions it, he says it's for luck. this leads to the team believing batman to be incredibly superstitious. the only people that know the truth are dick, jason, tim and alfred. eventually he does tell clark and diana, and he stops trying to hide it around the rest of the batfamily, but he does not like people knowing about it.

[ferritins]

PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ | B. WAYNE

SUMMARY: You’re Bruce Wayne’s long suffering personal assistant. On a time crunch, you (re)teach him how to apply cologne.

NOTES: belligerent tension, Bruce is characterised more on the socialite side than Batman, though Batman is alluded to. Suggestive ending.

For all the years that you’ve been his PA, you’ve never quite understood the borderline hysteria surrounding Bruce Wayne.

The perils of having a pretty face and old money, you suppose; sex appeal sells, and the prestige of an established name and old money that lend him an air of modern-day Gilded Age aristocrat surely can’t hurt.

Not that it's of particular interest or importance to you; you're a member of the hoi polloi through and through.

The closest to celebrity you've ever come is being mistaken as Bruce’s latest paramour in some of your more extravagant efforts trying to prevent his sartorial and interpersonal disasters before they happen.

Speaking of which; as he goes to apply his cologne, you drop the lint roller you're passing over his broad shoulders and the elegant lines of his Kiton suit and grab his wrist before he can douse himself in the strong scent, aghast.

“You’re not putting cologne on like that, surely?”

Bruce quirks a dark eyebrow. "Unless you're expecting me to break the bottle over my head, sweetheart, there's not really another way to apply cologne."

“I am choosing to ignore that nickname, because unlike you, I am a consummate professional.” You inform Bruce, tone somewhere between haughty and resigned. “I know you know how to wear cologne. Mr. Pennyworth is the gentleman’s gentleman, there’s no way he didn’t teach you.”

“Oh, Alfred gets Mr. Pennyworth, but I get Bruce?”

“Mr. Pennyworth doesn’t tear loaned formal wear, disappear at inoppurtune moments, or make a tit of himself at networking events.” You huff. “You, however…”

Bruce chuckles, all baritenor delight at your insouciance towards him.

You roll your eyes.

Spray some on your wrists and dab them together, then come here and loosen your tie."

“Not that I'm not flattered, but I really don’t think we've got the time." He teases, daubing the cologne on his wrists, long fingers of his unoccupied hand working the Windsor knot of his tie loose.

Immune to his affected charm through long exposure, you sigh.

“Keep it in your trousers, Bruce. Tonight, you're learning how to wear cologne properly, again. Do you mind if I unbutton your collar?"

Bruce hums a permissive note, gaze hawkish as you step into his personal space.

“Right. So, as you already know, you want to put cologne at the pulse points on either side of your neck; your body heat will help the alcohol carrier agent evaporate faster. If you're using a lighter fragrance or a perfume oil, you'd put it behind your ears." You explain.

As you speak, you pluck the bottle of fragrance from his grasp with your unoccupied hand, and spritz his neck with it, swapping hands to hold his collar away and do the same the other side of his neck.

Finally, you spray the base of his neck; the mist of cologne gathers into a single small droplet that traces down into the hollow of his suprasternal notch.

“(All done.” You announce, stepping back.

Bruce buttons up his collar, works the silk of his tie back into a Windsor knot with infuriating ease.

“I still think it would have been less fuss to just spray it on over the fabric.”

“Lazy. Just be thankful you don't have to do your ankles." You say as you turn to put the bottle back on the dark oak of his dresser.

Heinously late, cognition kicks in, and the realisation of what you’ve just said strikes you like a thunderbolt. You close your eyes briefly, hoping against hope that Bruce’s more airheaded tendencies have kicked in, and the context has flown over his head.

When you finally steel yourself enough to turn back to face him, you find that the universe has not been so merciful; Bruce is staring at you, a wicked glee in his expression.

"Anyway! That’s specifically to perfume." You obfuscate. "The car is probably out front by now; if you're done, let's head out."

“No, no; you’re going to explain that delightful little tidbit before we go anywhere.”

Heat floods your face.

“You clearly know exactly what I meant. Let it go, it was a faux pas.”

Bruce says your name in a low rumble.

You parrot his name back at him in a faintly beseeching tone, begging him not to choose this moment to be a petty tyrant.

Bruce’s response is to raise an expectant eyebrow.

The standoff lasts as long as it takes you to check your watch, your resolve fracturing at the first hint of threat to your meticulously crafted schedule.

“Fine!” You snap, stepping close and dropping your voice to a murmur, to minimise the odds of anyone overhearing the frankly mortifying disclosure.

“You spray perfume on your ankles so that when you've got them over your partner's shoulders, they'll associate the perfume with you."

A faint flush floods the high planes of Bruce’s cheekbones, even as his smile turns gloating and distinctly carnivorous.

C Caught up in your own humiliation, you push past him, out of the dressing room, and quite miss the way his eyes trail down your legs to where the jut of your ankle bone is emphasised by your heels, and the considering smirk that his mouth pulls into as he follows you.

[mysterycitrus]

from what ive seen dick grayson having bpd is a pretty popular idea on twitter but i dont think ive ever seen anyone on tumblr mention it...was wondering if you might have any thoughts as the resident dick expert. sorry thank you

so sweet! imo the trifecta for dick graysons diagnosis is ocd + bpd + psychosis, though ur mileage may vary. i know some people read him as audhd but that’s not a personal preference for me. ive talked about it before a while ago but i think all of bruce’s kids show very clear compulsive behaviours and intrusive thoughts, and i think dick grayson in particular — as both a professional acrobat and considering the circumstances of his parents deaths — would have rigorous compulsive habits wrt safety and personal equipment. there’s also the idea that treating ocd in part comes from exposure therapy, and it’s kinda hard to argue against the logic of someone obsessively checking his grapple as a unpowered superhero lmao. like bruce inflicted these neurosis on people for a reason, which makes it very hard to unpick

wrt bpd i also think that fits well with how he’s been written traditionally — the compulsive thoughts, how he isolates himself, can struggle with sudden shifts in mood, has self-destructive habits, etc. i do also think he has a history of canonical psychosis in some capacity, which could be exacerbated by his history in the spotlight, or his intense observation by bruce. i imagine he was probably diagnosed into adulthood, where maybe someone like bridget clancy or the metropolis therapist picked up on some of his behaviours.

overall i think the idea that someone with bpd or ocd — or whatever other lens he can be analysed through — is beloved and trusted and capable is very important! the nature of bpd in specific is so isolating so like…. yeah i think it’s neat that someone with those symptoms can be reflected in a positive way. i try to incorporate my personal diagnosis in little ways regardless — there’s a part in persephone where roy’s emergency bag has a bottle of clozapine — and it’ll be shown more explicitly in some of the other stuff i eventually work on

[toobytoobs]

Autism: Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne/Al Ghul, Cassandra Cain.

OCD: Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake.

ADHD: Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson.

Neurotypical: Alfred Pennyworth.

None of the above: Jason Todd, Duke Thomas.

[shadebloopnik]

This is gonna sound SOOO off or smthn but

Was the Perfect Family Harmony planned to be a weapon against the Bergens?

Long post ahead bc brain is rotting

Ok so as we know, the Perfect Family Harmony is smthn that's so powerful that its capable of shattering diamonds. Not just that but its one of the only thing capable of doing so(according to Floyd it was the only thing but giving the benefit of the doubt)

So we know its strong, and we saw it blasting off Velvet and Veneer off their platforms when they performed it, and they weren't even the targets, they were blasted away by just the shockwave that came with using it.

"Its that powerful."

Ok, so its definitely powerful enough to be used as a weapon right? Yeah it was relatively safe enough to use in front of a crowd, else they wouldn't have tried to do it during a concert, but that could just be when those harmonizing aren't targeting anything.

If it could shatter diamonds, how easily could it break cages? What would it do if it was used to target a Bergen? A whole Kingdom of Bergens?

Lets also go back to that concert, to that time John was obsessed with them getting it right. They were in the Troll tree, in Bergentown, a place where any of them could die during Trollstice. The Bergens were a huge threat, something that trolls, at their size, couldn't fight back against normally so they had to run instead right?

But what if they COULD fight back? What if they had a weapon so powerful that it might finally be able to free them? To defeat the monsters that tortured their kind for centuries?

What if John Dory found a way to help make sure nothing would threaten his brothers' safety ever again?

Like, it'd make John Dory's obsession make SOOO MUCH MORE SENSE

Like yea he clearly has OCD and anxiety and some bossiness and that definitely added to it all, but imagine if it was more than that?

Look at him during that performance. He was in deep. He had a wild look in his eyes, a sort of deranged obsession to have everything be perfect no matter what. It wasn't healthy, it was scary, maybe even downright terrifying for his brothers who had to be subjected to it.

But you know what else he looked like?

Terrified

Man was scared out of his mind. His anxiety and stress levels were through the roof. He probably was one wrong tune away from hyperventilating.

What if it was bc it was so much more than the fans? What if he put the salvation of the entire troll-kind on his shoulders?

One wrong step meant they were nothing.

One wrong step meant disappointing the fans.

One wrong step meant letting down the kingdom.

One wrong step meant another troll getting eaten.

Thats why when they failed, John blew up. He took all of that self-hatred of failing to use that weapon to defeat the bergens and poured it all onto his brothers.

"I know we can reach the Perfect Family Harmony."

"What if we don't want to."

John Dory, blind to how and WHY his brothers didn't want to follow his lead, felt betrayed.

To him, all he's ever done was to ensure their safety, everything was for the greater good. He'd done everything he could, his goals slowly twisting him into a crazed obsession. To hear his brothers say they didn't want to help anymore might've struck a cord too much. If you'd noticed he actually looked really sad and hurt when they started bringing up how much they hated being in the band, but it slowly twisted to anger instead. Kind of in a like, "I tried doing everything for these shts and THIS is how they repay me???" way. He was so stressed and stuck in his own head with his failures that he just couldn't see what his brothers were trying to say.

So in a fit of impulsive rage, he left. To him it probably was like that rlly childish way of saying "Yea im leaving, good luck dealing with the Bergens while im goneee." You know? Like how kids runaway from home when they get angry or upset over every little thing but come back when they realize how stupid that was?

"Im not allowed to change."

And he DID come back. Who knows how long, but he did. Imagine how he must've felt seeing their empty pod in an empty tree, with the knowledge that he could've done something about it. The Perfect Family Harmony could've saved them. They could've used it to break the cage, to fight the Bergens. Hell, it could've been powerful enough to wipe out all the Bergens if they do so wished.

"Im the oldest, I have to be the leader."

He and his brothers were the only ones who'd ever gotten close to getting it right.

"Why do you think I moved into the middle of nowhere? So I didn't have to be in charge of anyone."

The village was counting on them. Counting on him. He let them down. He failed.

"Freeing the village Four little brothers is a lot of responsibility."

They could've gotten it. If only John did it right. If only John did it differently.

If only John Dory was Perfect

[toytle]

as the prophecy foretold

i’ve actually wondered if i had ocd for a while now, but hearing other ppl’s experiences with it never resonated for me. the puzzle pieces didn’t start clicking until i found out batman has ocd too, and what luck, it’s the same kind that i have. bc ofc it is.

[pocketramblr]

Please... Give Harvey Dent one of those 2020 quarter dollars with two Samoan fruit bats on one side... I'm sure absolutely nothing could go wrong with giving Harvey a 2020 quarter with two bats on it...

[bats-and-birds-24]

Okay, for the Marked AU, I've come up with a game plan;

Tim Drake acquires 3 siblings

Tim basically infiltrates the league to bring back Jason, but along the way picks up Cass and Damian as well. It also has Bruce and Dick growing closer after Jason's death.

I'm thinking it will have roughly 20 chapters, may add a few more depending on how the plot ends up being.

Gotham Gang War

Follows the batfam directly after Tim's story. Focuses more on the world building of Gotham and Jason's reaction to the growth of the Joker Gang and the underground black market in general.

Barbara get's shot by the Joker and Tim gets kidnapped by the Joker.

Also introduces Harper, Cullen, Duke, and Stephanie to the batfam.

Cullen's decision (One Shot)

Follows Cullen's pov as he stays back at the manor to help Alfred. Ends with Cullen training under Alfred so that he can support the vigilantes alongside him.

Gotham's history

Is an in depth history of the Marked AU's Gotham. We get to know previous bearers of the mark and how they coped with the curse.

We also learn more about the curse itself and how it's spreading.

Family Chaos

A rare day off in the batfamily where everyone's at the manor and don't have cases to complete.

A fluff instalment detailing each of the batfamily members hobbies.

Tim and Jason Casefic

Tim and Jason try to clean up a weapons smuggling ring based on Paris island. Involves brotherly bonding and Jason reconciling with Bruce.

Bruce Wayne's OCD

Bruce becomes so overbearing that the batkids stage an intervention after he has a mental breakdown. Bruce ends up getting therapy from Harley and begins to heal.

Bat Training (One Shot)

A look inside the average batkids training at the manor. Also Cullen's training under Alfred. Happens at the end of the year.

Red Hood's Street Kids

Set 4 years after the Bat Training one shot. Jason's 21 during this fic

Jason discovers that he has been adopted as the official father figure of the street kids of Gotham.

The rest of the batfamily promptly decides that they're the kids various aunts and uncles and shenanigans ensue up until Black Mask makes the very stupid mistake of infringing on Hood's territory, and breaking the bones of the kids who live there.

May create more fics but these are the ones I know for sure that I'll write.

[amethyst-halo]

all of the brozone bros have ocd thank u for ur time

[starzwithapen]

OUR HCS FOR THESE GOOBERS USING TEMPLATES FROM @koppaitepaladin !! Plus bonus creek because I'm uhhh normal about him . They're All autistic 2 me but Branch and Poppy r most important to me <33

[batfamfucker]

There are four main types of Batfam fans in regard to how people interpret Bruce Wayne as a dad (/Joking. This is mostly satire and should not be taken seriously):

Fans that think Bruce is emotionally constipated and isn't the best at being a parent but still tries (Differs per person). Don't necessarily think he's absuive but thinks he can be toxic or have unhealthy expectations for the Robins. Can smell the Oldest Daughter Syndrome coming from Dick and have Family Line (By Conan Gray) as their top song on their Dick inspired playlist and Daddy Issues (By The Neighbourhood) for Jason.

Fans that choose to believe Bruce goes to therapy in their own canon. Love B:WFA. Thinks the comic can be cheesy at times and so find a balance between B:WFA Bruce and Please Go To Therapy BruceTM as their middle ground. He struggles. They advocate that Bruce is not a bad parent, he just has bad writers that seem to forget Bruce wouldn't hurt kids, especially not his own. Love the humane moments and scenes he has in BTAS and the early JL cartoons. He may not be perfect but he's not literally abusive. Whores for Bruce being able to admit when he is wrong and for Jason and Bruce reconciling. I recommend Grow As We Go by Ben Platt for this one.

A mix between the first two. Was fine-ish when Dick was younger. Didn't help him in the healthiest way but eh. Still emotionally constipated but that happened more so after Dick left and Jason died. Started getting better when Tim came back but was still closed off. Should probably go to therapy with the kids so they can drag his ass about all the things he's done that have actually affected them negatively. Understands his mistakes and is also able to admit when he's wrong, eventually. It's not easy but he starts to do better and learns to be more emotionally available. Still has to get chewed out by Alfred sometimes but definitely better than he used to be and it shows. Reconciliation is slow and gradual but progress is made for everyone involved.

The one's I personally avoid for my own sanity and wellbeing:

Think Bruce is a complete bastard and abuser. Want him to choke. Hate any and all interpretations of him. Some of which will refuse to understand how anyone could have a different interpretation. Will point out comics where, in all fairness, he is a dick but forget that characterisation can significantly differ from one series to the next, as comic characters are constantly passed around to different writers and have been for decades. Not to mention movies, shows, etc.

[house-of-slayterr]

Random OCD Headcannons:

An: cause I’m still in the process of getting diagnosed and I relate to these characters heavily

Mary Kathrine Blackwood:

I’m like 95% sure this is on purpose and intended to be cannon. Her obsessions and compulsions are so obvious in both movie and book it’s hard to ignore them. And she gets massively distressed when she can’t complete one of her “rituals” or something is in her space that shouldn’t be. She speaks in her racing thoughts and ruminates almost constantly.

The Mad Hatter: more specifically Jarvis Tetch

I think there’s a lot going on with this character but he does have some quite odd compulsions. And he certainly has a control problem. I think there’s a lot of darkness he tries to hide and controlling that darkness inside of him is one of his obsessions. I see it in a lot of the version of him but Jervis is the most egregious example. His obsession with Alice and the Tetch virus cause him to do things without thinking often.

Jonathan Crane:

It’s not uncommon for mental health professionals, especially in this universe to be mentally unwell themselves. Crane thinks he hides it well but it obvious to Harley and Batman both that this man has his obsessions. He obsesses over Batman, people watching, fear… specially making people feel his fear. The fear his compulsion tried to drive him to get rid of in himself. Compulsion that drive each of his crazy schemes and attacks. Jonathan would be nothing without the Scarecrow, just a sad broken man locked up in Arkham himself.

Batman & Damian Al Ghul:

Batman has morality OCD, he’s obsessed with appearing morally superior at all times. Going as far to ruin his reputation as Bruce to make Batman seem better in comparison. He cares about all his villains but he has the most unhealthy obsession with joker. Bruce feels like he’s better as Batman, making him fear and avoid just being Bruce Wayne, or ever confronting who that man truly would be.

Not to mention he may have a small obsession with saving children like he wished someone had saved him, he refuses to have a repeat of his childhood. Man is running a damn mini orphanage in his house. Poor Alfred has so much work cut out for him.

Damian got hit with the genetics stick hard. From both sides, he had no way of escaping this in all honesty. He struggles with his morality to, it just comes across as more egotistical then his father. He’s obsessed with being good and being different from the bad guys. He judged daily based on how good he is to family, how good his is as a hero, the type of pet owner and student his is. If he didn’t give into his compulsion he would quickly go insane having no sense of direction without his golden rules he must fallow.

Hannibal Lecter:

Hannibal’s obsession first and foremost is cannibalism, then the human Psyche, then William. Hannibal feels small without his psychiatric knowledge, and he must be the most intellectual person in every conversation. He hates keeping his “equals” around as he sees no one to be truly equal to him but Agent Graham.

Without his cannibalism he would also be nothing. Hannibal has a black or white, kill or be killed mindset, it’s a survival tactic. Become the biggest predator, nobody can hurt you again. Even if he tried to consciously change and get “better” he’d eventually fall back on the compulsion of consuming human flesh to feel safe and superior.

And his obsession with Will, will drive him to do anything necessary even to the extreme, disregarding his own safety to go through with whatever compulsion his brain is telling him at the time. And of course he’s unmedicated through all of this because Hannibal genuinely believes he is controlling himself and in control of his own actions, he’s delusional ontop of it all. Will consumes a lot of his thoughts and time, to way beyond an unhealthy point.

The Riddler:

I think it’s fairly obvious he has an obsession with Riddles. He can’t even do something as simple as have breakfast alone without his riddles. But nobody knows why he’s afraid of the silence without them. But I also firmly believe he has the double Whammy of it being paired with Autism. Special interests can easily be turned into obsessions by the brain and become unhealthy.

An: I know a lot of these are comic hero/villains, leave me and my hyperfixations alone 😤 and if I’m forgetting anyone else you think should be on here let me know.

Tag: @mothmans-kingdom @oceansrose2002 @kados-of-chaos

[dickgreyson]

hmm! super duper interesting how OCD is actually not super heritable, that its pretty directly tied to stressful events, the environment in which you're raised, and just a general feeling of loss of control at a young age. super duper interesting how its closely linked with impulse control disorders, anxiety disorders, and particularly avoidant behaviour as a means of harm reduction. really makes dick's sisyphean dedication to tearing his life apart brick by brick and isolating himself from everyone around him make a tonne of sense

[trafficlightchild]

rip to the wayne (they’re not dead there is just an ocd medication shortage all across the united states)

[maniacwatchestheworld]

Thinking about it, Two-Face would be the weirdest person to date sheerly due to the fact that he would want to be #2 with everything. He can't try too hard with his romantic gestures. It always has to be at least a little disappointing lest he loses the #2 spot and becomes #1.

Can you just imagine. Two-Face and Bruce are dating and Bruce can't help but to tell his partner how much of a good time he's having.

Bruce: Harvey, this is the best date I've ever been on. Harvey: *Screeches* Harvey: Take that back! Say it was the second best date you've ever had! Bruce: But… It wouldn't be true… D': Harvey: Bruce, do you know how fucking hard you make it for us to be your second best relationship when you never fucking go outside and interact with people like a normal human being!????

[unrestrainedbalderdash]

Batman's experience with Joker in Arkham Knight is pretty relatable to my OCD (for anyone who hasn't played it: he has infected Joker blood in him, and after being dosed with Fear Toxin he hallucinates Joker being with him and talking to him). It's like you're stuck with this horrible person living in your brain who you can't get rid of and says the shittiest things (except at least Joker is occasionally funny). You're terrified that you will become this person, that you might be becoming this person, that one day you will start doing the horrible things it says you want to. You're plagued with thoughts of killing the [thing that triggers you, is your brain's "enemy"] It's sometimes at the point where you can't tell what thoughts are "yours" anymore, is it the intrusive thoughts or do you genuinely think this way, are you turning into a horrible monster?

Everyone's reactions to Batman are what you fear society might start acting like - will they shun you, lock you in a cell to stop you, because they think you're turning into the monster?

But the important thing - the Joker doesn't win. Batman doesn't end up killing people. He does manage to get rid of Joker in the end, which might not be that possible in real life, but more importantly, even when Joker is saying these horrible things, Batman keeps going, keeps moving through life, he doesn't let it stop him from being a hero.

It's hard living with someone saying horrible things in your head, but to anyone with OCD reading this: They don't define your real thoughts/values/opinions. You are strong enough to get through this, I believe in you. You're not a monster.

[also disclaimer: if you have (or are questioning if you have) OCD and your experience doesn't match up with this, that's ok, peoples' experiences of the same disorder can be different! (putting this disclaimer because OCD self-doubt is a pain)]