#the riddler slowburn

[punkeropercyjackson]

Robin!Duke Thomas headcanons/rewrite because i'm in my feelings about him.If you think Duke's not a 'core Batkid' DNI and take your segregation somewhere else

He's the 5th Robin instead of Damian and The Riddler plot still happened but Elaine and Doug got jokerized during it so Bruce adopted Duke way earlier and he was 11 at the time

He is also trans,autistic,femme and afropunk!!2nd and 4th are canon coding but it's explicit here.Egg cracked pre-meeting Bruce so trans Batdad gets trans Batson gender affirming care like puberty blockers and makes sure nobody misgenders him.His Robin suit is Tim's Btas suit for proper repurposing,though it's adjusted from tighties to shorts and the pants/leg parts are ripped and the gloves are fingerless for that alt look

Alfred loves feeding him sweets and Duke always gives him the most adorable star eyes and thanks him because he may be rude but he'll be damned if he's mean to his granddad(his favorite sweets are lemon flavored frosted animal crackers)

He was pretty traumatized by loosing his parents and resisted Bruce's parentage at first due to it but came to embrace it as ultimately he's still a little boy who needs a parent to love and care for him.Bruce's reveal of his own orphan status certainly opted him to give him more of a chance but like a true Batkid,he never stops rebelling despite his unstoppable love for him

He arrives post-Under The Red Hood(movie compliant)but during Batgirl 2000(less racist and gayer)timeline wise so he bonds with Cass,Stephanie and Tim and they invite him on hangouts with 'the big kids' and Young Justice takes in Duke as an honorary little brother similarly to how Traya is treated as their little sister.Stephanie shows Duke all kinds of cool funky/cutesy/edgy things she's into which rub off on him per black siblings bonding and Cass seeks to protect Duke in addition and in thanks to him for teaching her some stuff about 'normalcy',like introducing her to arts and crafts and candy bars.Duke's Batgirl is not Babs,although they do get along-It's Tam and we'll get to that in a bit

Duke employs his powers in his Robin work and it earns him the nickname 'The Robin Signal' in reference to how often he uses his light to guide citizens to safety after him and Bruce take out the danger

His first solo/Year One Run is 'Robin 2007',literally,to distinct from Tim's run that wouldn't end for two more years.They got a crossover mini ofc ofc and it was called 'Robins 2009'

Robin 2007 had 53 issues and featured the introduction of Duke's love interest,albiet her debut as her own character was a good while before it in Aquaman:Luna 'Aquagal' Vásquez!!Luna is the Starfire to Duke's Robin i.e a black non-human girl who's bubbly,soft and princess-y but also extremely hardcore,well-hardend and lowkey mean and his longtime best friend from his sidekick days he's a slowburn perfect MADE soulmateisms couple with!!Their ship name is Thomquez but they're purely platonic until their mid-teens when new feelings ignite and riple into existense.Luna had her own run,Aquagal 2007 <3 Robin/Aquagal:Pals in Disguise was a super cute jumbo issue too!!(Notes:Luna is afro-argentinian,half atlantean half human and has white parts in black hair in a pattern that make her look like she has a constant moonglow halo on her)

Also Duke ships Stephcass so hard😭He was ooo'ing and making cheeky comments as soon as he figured out what was going on when Tim pointed it out to him and NEVER stops until they actually get together,which dosen't happen until Duke-yes,11-12 year old Duke-is an adult.He gives Cass tips on how to rizz up Stephanie after talking to Stephanie to figure out what would work best(turns out Stephanie really likes goth x pastel dynamic images/videos,mocking cheesy flirty memes,whimsical love quotes and X-Ray Spex lyrics)

Duke owns a walkman Tim gifted him and talks into it as a 'Robinlog' and it pops up frequently throught his entire existense as a character as soon as he gets it.Duke is also a big fan of My Chemical Romance,hip hop and disco music,black indie shit,classical literature(canon),video games,writing poetry and 'cutesy' diy(bedazzling,scrapbooking,homemade stickers,etc)!!As he grows up he takes up solarpunk bit by bit and same with glamrock!

Duke got exactly one year as Batman's Robin.On his one year adoption anniversary,him and Bruce had a fight over a case that scared him so bad he thought he was gonna fire him like he'd done to Stephanie so he ran away in the dead of night,straightup out of Gotham City(he was also smart enough to pack an oversized backpack of essentials to carry with him).He was found as the sun set as he tried to sleep in a cat alley with a family of fat calico cats he'd been taking care of on his lap by a 20 year old Jason,his departure taking place during Volume 2 of Red Hood and The Outlaws,a 2010-2020 release 120 issues run that takes place over 3 in-universe years.They have a short conversation that leads to Jason finding out Duke is his brother and combined with knowing he has nowhere else to go at the moment and Summer's(my dcsona)yapping about him thanks to their friendship,takes him with him to The Fortress,The Outlaws' base.Duke joins the team and finally makes friends his age in the other Kid Outlaws(which includes other black kids of all genders!!)but Jason is the member he's closest to

Luna comes in a significant amount of Rhato issues and even enough to be an honorary Kid Outlaw but mostly sticks to Aquafam stuff to avoid reducing her down to Duke's love interest.Duke isn't forced to kill but is a brutalist in his tactics thanks to growing up beating up bullies,Bruce's training and the influences around him and it scares him sometimes so he vents and asks for reassurance and they all gladly give it to him,including Luna,who tells him:'You could never be a monster or evil,Duke.You'll always be my best friend in the ENTIREST MULTIVERSE.And even if you were a monster or evil?I'd save you.You saved me when i didn't know i needed somebody to be heroes with to go on.I'd go there-ANYWHERE! for you too'Least to say,Duke is pretty sure this is the point he started seeing Luna in a different light(a girlfriend light.From 'I need her' to 'I need her to be my babygirl')(in the aave way.don't be weird)

The Kid Outlaws are a bunch of punk ass kids with a thirst for anarchistic justice,the fall of the crime system and extra thick milkshakes.They got the punk drips(including piercings done by the adult Outlaws!!)and everything and call eachother siblings and Duke is their leader despite being the youngest as he's the most capable and suited for the job.The KO includes Thad so they're kinda a 'sparkly sunshine boy/bad but sad boy' buddies duo and their inhereted powers and legacies are a source of bonding along with just liking eachother as people.Duke calls him 'The Thadman' and Thad had no choice but to warm up to it and Thad gets Duke to try out energy drinks with him and they collect trinkets and graffiti public property together and them and Jason are Prime Earth's variant of that picture of three black trans guys who just got their top surgeries all smiling together with bandages on their upper bodies

Duke and Jason are so inseperable.They do soul bounding over soul/dominican food(their 'this and yap' /hj),help eachother with hair care(Duke has a twists out and Jason is a dreadhead),are inside jokes lockout between them and their girlfriends,share a bed more often than not,play Animal Crossing religiously together and even got matching icons in The Outlaws group chat(set to Aang and Zuko because they're literally them!!'If we knew eachother back then,do you think we could have been friends,too?' is how Duke feels about Robin!Jason to Red Hood!Jason,,,,,).Jason loves Duke so fucking much and can't stop himself from doting on him and hyping him up nonstop and encouraging him to stop holding back his rage and impulses and jumping people for him and stealing/diy'ing gifts for him a lot and Duke does the classic 'i make fun of you to show you i think you're the coolest ever and how important you are to me' little brother moves to Jason and is protective of him back as he feels he deserves it after all he's done for him and will eternally do for him,most of all making him feel secure in his Robinhood(ha!!)

All the overexposure to so much and such intense science-y proterties and magic jazz and trazz caused Duke's powers to mutate from just dark and light powers to straight up reality warping(to add onto them-he still has his og power palette,it's too iconic to leave out).He gets stuck in a pocket dimension for a hot sec but Summer and Jason pull him out with Thad's help as an expert on that situation.The universe was trying to create the New 52 but Duke's Robinhood was stopping it so in a 20 issue arc to symbolize the 20 core Outlaws aka the 'Outlawed Robin Arc',even the slimest posibility of the N52 ever happening is erased headfirst headon by our titulary gang!Including Honorary Outlaw for two and a half months at the time Tam aka Batgyal!She awoke from her RR2009 coma and it lead to escapades of adventures with both Tim and Stephanie and she was given her own mantle by Luke,who thought it was about time she joined him officially and was her secret keeper on her vigilante life and sneak offs to reunite with Duke as her initial only motivation

In issue 39,Jason snarks he was just 'The Replacement Robin' and Duke defensively cuts him off with 'You were always my favorite Robin when i was little!I never even got to see you in action but you're my favorite for good now!' and Jason is struck clueless,completely unable to come up with a response but touched beyond words on top of his shock.And in issue 110,Duke sadly says '.........I was never a real Robin.I've been with you guys way longer than i ever was with Bruce-' and Jason cuts him off with 'Yeah,no shit you were never Batman's Robin.You're The Outlaws' Robin-You're my Robin and you always have been and you always will be' and Duke gets extremely teary but does a toothy grin too as they're happy tears so Jason smothers him in a hug in comfort and Duke's face takes up most of the final page and a text box reads on the same one:'Duke Thomas is happy.Jason Todd is happy again,thanks to him.They're eachother's Robin,on purpose and by choice'

When Rhato concludes(and The Outlaws stay in touch forever),Duke comes back to Gotham to discover Damian's now Robin and literally laughs at the ridicilousness of the situation,quipping he's glad he already had a new mantle in mind and offers him a hat he thrifted when they meet,along with a smile and affection in his eyes.Damian snatches it from him,huffy and embarrased over the unexpected warm welcome by him but appreciate it and liking the hat only in secret(a yellow one with floppy cat ears strings and an edgy styled strawberry charm).Robins and Batgirls(2022-2023)was a helluva run starring Dick,Jason,Tim,Stephanie,Duke,Damian,Maps,Babs,Cass,Tam,Alysia and Nell and Jason's the only one who got thirst trap covers as it should be(Okay that's a lie,there were Stephcass thirst trap covers too LMAO.Faggot rights!!)

Duke has two core runs post-Robin:The Signal(2020-)and The Lights(2021-),the latter of which is his own team!!The members are Luna as Moonguide and his right-handwoman,Kiran Singh from the Wonderfam,Tanya Spears aka Power Girl ||,Jenni Ognats/XS,Mar'i Grayson/Nightstar,Jennifer Williams/Batika,Sin Harper as Arrowette ||| and the team baby,Darla Dudley as Shazam Girl and two upcoming ocs,a black male Star Sapphire who had his heart broken by a white girl💔and an X-Gene mutant from Earth 616 who ran away from their home dimension!!Duke's reputation as Robin proceeds him as it increases the shenanigans both in his civillian life and as The Signal and Thomquez are my fave classic black love tropes:'Thick baddie who stays keeping her mans fed' and 'Cocky ahh and playful but sweet and soft black dude who accidentally comes across as mocking x Nerdy feminine black girl who's not mean but pretends to be annoyed by his flirting with her because she's too embarrased to admit she actually likes him'.They do matching superhero names as adults to show they're married:Eris(Duke)and Selene(Luna)

Naturally,Duke is enrolled at Gotham Academy at now 15 and he mentors Maps when she comes along,including playing his game of Batwingman for her and Damian.Big hit with the GA girlies but unfortunately for them he only likes Luna and dudes who're mean to him(Woah,he's bisexual!I knew that!Also a Sonic The Hedgehog fan and his faves are Amy Rose,Shadow The Hedgehog and Sticks The Badger and he stans Penny Parker and draws gijinka fanart.Before i forget he also had his own youtube channel pre-Rhato and all his subscribers thought he died and he became a Creepypasta-)

And Batburger is his childhood happy place dating back to pre-Jokerization.He still visits Doug and Elaine and met Gnonom in Rhato only to pull a Percy Jackson and be spiteful and tell him off for his abandonment with zero forgiveness but realistically was still sad and hurt over his neglect so he let himself cry when he got back to The Fortress so Jason and Summer took him to Batburger to cheer him up and that led to his first visit to his parents in a long ass time.It and Batburger trips are part of his lifestyle obligatorily bi-monthly now

Oh the Gotham Police still hate him btw.He does all the work they gaslight people into thinking they do and none of the racism and assaults😔

[daedalusdavinci]

My Riddlebat Recs

ive read most of the stuff in the riddlebat tag. most of it. i dont really read any batman 22 stuff, but ive read just about everything else. that said, heres a list of some of my favorites ive read!

first of all, jovialJuggernaut and fromjannah write my absolute favorite riddlebat fics of all time, so theyre gonna be on this list a LOT. i dont think i put all of their fics on here, tho, so im just telling you right now that you should 100% check out everything both of those authors have. i will link some of my favorites below tho along w some of my other recs

baby lose the costume

by @fromjannah

"Hey," Eddie says, impossibly soft. The lights are so bright. "C'mon, Crusader. You're here. Listen to my voice." Bruce can only oblige. Easy as breathing.

Bruce, Eddie, and a late night visit to Arkham that goes a little sideways.

read all of fromjannahs unburied fics. do it. immediately. rn. they are all devastatingly good and frankly some of the best riddlebat fics out there. this one in particular is so melancholy and aching and it wrecks me every time yes i reread it all the time i reread ALL of their unburied fics

once more to see you

by @fromjannah

The Riddler has been missing for over a year -- that is, until tonight. Bruce Wayne has very normal feelings about this.

shortened version of the summary bc im just reccing everything from fromjannah and you need to just start accepting that theyre all good. the way they write eddie is so perfect

ghar aaja pardesi

by saheeli (@sa-heelies on tumblr i think?)

Bruce gets the news on a Tuesday. The letters start coming on Wednesday. Or; Eddie escapes from Arkham again. He leaves a trail of clues behind him so that Bruce and Barbara can follow.

ohh this one is so good. i think its the longest of the unburied ones and i think it was the first one i read?? the set up and eventual payoff is so good and sweet and barbara and eddies relationship OFC is iconic. this was the fic that made me realize i desperately needed to listen to unburied

a dreaded sunny day

by @lesbiantriphosphate

“Who do you think I am, Bruce Wayne?” He smirks. “Or should I be asking: do you know who you are?” Bruce takes his time to decide whether to continue the banter or answer truthfully. He can’t tell whether Eddie wants to continue their comfortable Riddler-versus-Batman game of talking around in circles, or if he’s just searching for an entrance into a more geniune conversation. “I think…” he starts and stops again. “Far too much, in my humble opinion,” Eddie quips as he makes his way over and sets two steaming mugs on the table.

more unburied bc the unburied dynamic is the best dynamic. this one is really fucking sweet ;;;;;;; i love it so much its very short but its such a good read

Unasked

by penguistificial

Edward had thought the only flaw in his perfectly planned crime was that nobody would ever be able to appreciate it - apart from himself. And yet, Batman had deftly deciphered all his clues, seen the solution Edward hadn't thought anyone would ever find. Doesn’t a correct answer deserve a reward? But, what to offer? What would be both acceptable and accepted?

this ones good! its a different take on their dynamic than the fics i usually read but its a very good take

Kings, Knights, Pawns

by jovialJuggernaut (@jovialjuggernaut-draws on tumblr)

riddle man gets to smooch the batman but its a slowburn so thatll be checks watch in a while updated summary when i can think of a good one update: it took 12 chapters but we made it, they smooched

the summary doesnt do it justice, honestly. as far as comics riddlebat goes this is THE riddlebat fic of all time as far as im concerned. this is the blueprint. this is It(TM). liam has such a way of writing eddie hes so irritating and whiny and fidgety as hell you just HAVE to love him. this fic is peak adhd4autism and the way they write bruces autism in this honestly totally influences the way i write bruce all the time. gamechanger of a fic, youve GOT to read it

Hurricane

by jovialJuggernaut

A hurricane hits Gotham and something (someone) washes up in the Batcave.

eddie w eds!!!! yes!!!!! one of my favorites of liams fics. that said, you should read ALL of liams riddlebat fics. they all go hard as fuck and honestly if i looked any further into my bookmarks itd all just be liam all the way down

[rec-a-fanfic]

Loading and Aspect Ratio

By JUBE514

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34977802

Batman/DC

Rated M, but tbh probably could've been T.

Slowburn Batman/Superman

45k words, complete

Author's Summary:

"So, it didn’t start out like this.

Alfred would scoff at the statement, about how Bruce was trying to justify the whole situation to himself. It had started out as a simple design, black everything with black outlines and black hood. It got a little more intense as the world went on, got wind of his ghost on the streets, and became scared of The Bat . So Bruce got a little more creative with it, Alfred and him had a good laugh over the name, the scare, and Alfred had a vicious streak of humor that he had passed onto his ward-

So now the suit had a visible bat-theme, an insignia to drape in the shadows and to paint across the streets of Gotham.

It only took a year into the whole charade of heroism for Bruce to overhear a conversation between some goons- some low level thug hired by the Riddler this week- about nothing at all pertaining to what the hell the Riddler was doing in the sewers but instead:

“The Batman can fly, you know, I’ve seen his wings.”

--

A world where nobody has wings, but people think they do, and that changes everything."

Wingfic (kinda), Everybody Lives

- 🐦‍⬛

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34977802

[caffine-addict-living-in-gotham]

Earth 2, T-universe

Name : Christeline Judith

Age : 15-16

Backstory : youngest daughter of a rich family, goes to Gotham Academy and just finds herself being surrounded by misfits. Is stuck in a slowburn enemies to lover arc with damian Wayne. Mother (gone?) transferred her witchcraft to her.

| Christel's photographs |

| Character info : One Two |

________________________________________

• BATFAMILY MEMEBERS :

Tim Drake, one of her friends along with Bernard.

Damian Wayne, her rival in academics | Robin, her friend-rival.

Nightwing, How they met | Nightwing steals her cereal sometimes, meets her because of E or Robin | Dick Grayson, meets her during gala's or because of E & Damian.

Batman, they know each other | Bruce Wayne, one of her father's rich friends.

________________________________________

• VILLIANS:

Catwoman, [good] accidentally got street adopted by her. Now she is her catmama.

Joker, once stole her camera took a selfie and returned it.

Riddler, met him while he was drunk on the streets.

Clayface, long story short her cat.

________________________________________

• RP BUDDIES:

@gotham-witch hecate, best friend and their family.

@refined-gotham-magic delenn, her (favorite) history teacher.

@local-gotham-cryptid Evan, a friendly cryptic.

@posts-from-gotham E, is dating dick/Nightwing, cool fella.

@demetria-wayne Demetria, Damian's sister from another universe, her friend.

________________________________________

The lore :-

[ Cain & Abel storyline ]

Damian & christel's rivals to lovers ARC with mystery on the side [ part 1 ]

Christel's magic journey [ part 1 ]

➡ Battle of stone.

Damian & christel's rivals to lovers Arc. But they are friend now [ part 2 ]

Judith / Grelitia / Wayne family moments [ part 1 ]

Damian & christel's rivals to lover's Arc. But they are lovers now. [ part 3 ]

[lilyflowerrs]

Omg, guys, today I watched Batman (2022)

Well, first, Riddler is autism coded I don’t make the rules

Second, Robert did such a great job 😭. I have problems to describe all of my impression from this movies since English is not my first language, but…

I really like soundtracks and camera work, especially the diner scene and church(?) scene. Also Robert, from my view, is very canon as Batman. He’s just…dull, but not as dull to be empty completely. He shows so much emotion even if he’s looking emotionless.

I still feel a bit disappointed at Riddler himself. It was interesting to observe him at the beginning, but for me he got too weak in the end. I feel like I expected more from him, I don’t know. It’s also feels like his motivation to destroy Gotham and kill people isn’t big enough, but maybe I just got used to villains that I can idolize. Riddler isn’t one of them even if he’s having a sad background and some sort of motivation .But the movie is still fine. Catwoman herself is perfect, but for me there wasn’t much of a chemistry, maybe it’s because I prefer slowburn more than…well, what the movie gave me. So yeah

Also, there are some of my outfits from the previous days. I bought eye earrings because the magnus archives vibe and my friend gave me glasses chain. I also thrifted outfits and it only costed me 680 russian roubles. For your understanding, its about 7 dollars for ALL. The dress also has apple buttons. The first one outfit gives off female horror protag or coraline lol

Won’t use stickers for the photo because I’m to eepy, sorry 😭

Also my boyfriend @le00o0 and I remembered how I got a meltdown only because we missed the train(we didn’t have tickets, so it wasn’t bad for us but it was unplanned) so he did the video about that but with Riddler’s screams because he’s so me fr 😭

[creativeroleplay-ads]

Sup roleplay community 👋 I'm crooks (alias), and I have a pretty specific plot in mind I've been craving to do. I am 18+, so minors do not interact.

I am looking for specifically semi-lit to novella 18+ roleplay partners to play a Riddler (Batman 2022) x Muse smut slowburn that will involve kidnapping, stalking, and potential Dubcon elements. The plot and more info is down below;

( 🕊️🔪 ) Secret Admirer: Muse A has been getting mysterious love letters and riddles for the past coupling of weeks. Little do they know that Riddler had been obsessing over them for a long time. After maybe another week, Riddler kidnaps Muse A to finally confess his love..

I do CCxCC and OCxCC roleplays. I also have no preference for gender, so F/M M/M and F/F are in the table. Other fandoms I do are Marvel/DC (obvi), James Camerons avatar, ATSV & ITSV, and Creepypasta. I will play as Riddler, though I would prefer finding somebody else whom could play him.

Please interact if you are interested: my Discord is candy.crxsh, and Tumblr is here. I have no preference which platform; I am just desperate to find another person whom may be interested 🙏 more info may provided when contacted :-]

-

[theshadowrealmitself]

Do you have anymore henchmen ocs fleshed out enough to share or just the riddler and scarecrow ones?

Also the scarecrow henchmen being all dramatic and convinced they're in an enemies to lover slowburn while the riddler henchmen is just like "Please just let me do my job man. I just wanna see up these TVs in peace" is so funny to me.

I had. So Much Written. And Tumblr deleted it. God Damn It. Okay gonna retype my stuff, hopefully I don’t forget anything 😭

First: All notable rogues have a “henchman” who either resembles them greatly, or matches their theme, almost none of these rogues or even the heroes know this tho, because the henchmen keep sabotaging each other and creating a net zero impact on things

Whenever I think of a storyline where Batman or someone finds out about these henchmen, the plot is usually that the rogues start disappearing and their henchmen start neatly sliding into their places, of course Batman or someone would pick up on that fact quickly as the rogues look different, but also they’re just so good at sabotaging each other that everyone’s going to notice when Gotham’s become peaceful because the different schemes start canceling out

I have a little bit of stuff for each “main” rogue henchmen, but I keep rethinking it, so the only ones who are actually stable characters (other than the previous two mentioned) are Joker’s henchman, Alice (who’s not actually a henchman but is also extremely obsessed with wonderland and keeps trying to kill Jervis because of his characterization of the mad hatter, but circumstances keep stopping her), and Cat Woman’s “henchman” who also, once again, not really a henchman, but is also obsessed with cats and keeps stealing the strays around Selina’s apartment to take them to the vet

When I originally typed this up I had gone into depth on those three, but tumblr deleted it 😭 so I’m not gonna rewrite that again on this post but if you’re interested I don’t mind making a separate post talking about them!!!

Also!! For 11 and Scarecrow’s henchman, what’s really funny is that the latter’s design includes gloves with needles on each knuckle to inject people with fear toxin, like terrifying claws, and 11’s terrified of needles, so it’s more like one’s doing a terrible job of flirting while doing an even worse job at being an enemy (cause they keep protecting them from the chaos happening from the nearby fight including the other henchmen), while the other one is trying to set up tv’s and keep a certain amount of space between them

Just trying so hard to plug things in while trying to maintain a healthy distance from Murder Claws over there who keeps following them and using bad pickup lines about “fear” and “attraction” showing the same symptoms or whatever, 11’s not actually sure what they’re saying they just really need them to stop coming closer with those damn gloves-

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

i wish you could see me dressed for the kill.

by L11NK Edward hates Wayne.. batman is okay though.   high school au agahhhhhh this mihjt be very cringe 😭😭😭 i hope u like sorry i haven’t posted since may LMAAOOOO Words: 460, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: The Batman (Movie 2022) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Edward Nygma, Bruce Wayne Relationships: Edward Nygma/Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Batman - Freeform, thebatman, Edward Nygma is Called Edward Nashton, highschool, totally cringe, slowburn?, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Maybe - Freeform, i haven’t decided yet…., Riddler Year One - Freeform, oauldano via https://ift.tt/gZWXVc2

[writingsofmax]

Disarm pt. 3

Words: 1,764

Story Summary: Y/N reflects on her somewhat disastrous meeting with Edward. Edward reflects on his meeting with Y/N and decides to stalk look up her social media presence online to learn more about her.

Tags: slowburn, chronically ill reader, anti-social Edward, Edward stalks Y/N online a bit, emotional distress

Part 1 Part 2

Chapter 3- I Don't Know Just Where You've Been

Holy shit. That was a complete disaster, Y/N internally cringed. Not only had he seemed uncomfortable the entire time, she had also managed to upset him and then spill coffee all over herself. Great going. First, you force the guy to drive you––a total stranger––home at 3 am. Then you waste his time, offend him, and make a fool of yourself. Amazing! Really! 

Y/N made it home after a few blocks. Luckily, the place Edward wanted to meet at had been close to her apartment. As she made it up the stairs to her apartment, she stopped, resting on the railing for a bit. Ugh… my heart is pounding. Taking a deep breath, she continued inside, pulling off her wet clothes and flopped down on her couch, covering her eyes with her arm.

She hated that just walking a few blocks took almost all of her energy these days. Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander over the events of the other night. She had known it was stupid to go out walking at night, especially in Gotham, especially living where she lived, and especially with her chronic illness. Maybe that’s part of the reason she started doing it. 

Sleep never came easily to her. She was restless, her mind would race, sometimes her body physically would not allow it with all of its aches and pains. She hated it. She just wanted it all to stop. To be somewhere that wasn’t in her own head, somewhere that wasn’t in her small crappy apartment so she would find herself just walking. Walking with no destination until her chest hurt. 

She kept walking around the city at night when she couldn’t sleep with no problems… until the night of the incident. When her careless actions finally caught up with her. She had to run as hard as she could for several blocks to get away from those gang members. She honestly thought she wasn’t going to make it when she saw him there at that red light. A miracle. In the car the adrenaline kept her up, allowed her to keep moving but once she had gotten back to her apartment… well. She had completely crashed. 

She lifted her arm to look at the absolute state of her apartment. Dirty dishes everywhere, laundry on the floor, she just hadn’t had the energy to clean. The fact that she had even made it home at all was due to Edward. That’s why she made the effort of asking him to get coffee with her, even if she couldn’t have any due to her faulty heart. 

Being someone with heart issues, fatigue and other symptoms already made things hard. And then when she actually saw Edward in the light of day he was cute, which didn’t help her heart rate issues. He was quite tall and had beautiful green eyes with messy hair.  He was also obviously very intelligent which added to the attractiveness. It had been a little intimidating. Ugh, I totally creeped him out. Why do I have to be so weird and gushy when I get anxious?  Why can I not just be normal? And then the heart monitor thing… Ugh. 

Y/N tried hard to act normal, especially in public. Throughout the years of dealing with her illness, she knew that sickness made people… uncomfortable, to put it kindly. They didn’t like to hear about it and they certainly didn’t like to see signs of it. It was easier to just try and pretend that she wasn’t sick at all. 

She sighed, getting up off the couch to go put some clean clothes on. Well, at least I will probably never see him again. That thought, Y/N realized, was equal parts disappointing and relieving. —---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edward was socially exhausted. A full work week and then having to talk about himself in such a detailed way was tiring. He went to his desk and pulled out his journal. 

That’s AMAZING! Y/N’s words echoed in his mind. Wow, you must be really good with numbers. 

“Amazing” he wrote down in his journal. He continued writing the word over and over trying to clear his mind of the uplifting feeling her words gave him, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect. 

Amazing

Amazing 

Amazing 

As he continued to write, his mind went back to the heart monitor. Was there a connection between her medical equipment and why she was no longer working? “Who Are You?” He scrawled in the margins, repeating the question marks all over the page.

Despite the fact that they had only met briefly over coffee, Edward Nashton was still processing his and Y/N’s meeting. For the first time in his life, someone had wanted to know about him. It was a new feeling that confused him. 

Other people had never really interested Edward, and he was so close to setting his plans in motion so, why start now? I shouldn’t be thinking about this right now, I need to be working on my disguise so it’s ready. Edward closed his journal, opened up his old laptop, and typed in “heart monitor usage.” 

He was disgusted with himself.

Edward glared at his computer screen over steepled fingers. Against his every instinct, he wanted to know more about her. He debated against meeting with her again, because that would take up more free time that he did not want to give. However if she was already distracting him this badly he might as well meet with her again, he just needed to be certain that she was worth it. 

Looking through the various articles he confirmed what he had suspected, they were mainly used for people that had irregular heartbeats or other symptoms related to poor heart function. He wondered how many children at the orphanage should have gotten tested with them. How many kids he had seen struggling to breathe, children complaining of tingly feelings in their limbs when they were too young to understand what was happening to them. Children with weak hearts because of poor sleep and malnutrition. 

He got up, and paced around his apartment a bit, to walk the rising feeling of anger off. He needed to be focused. He sat down again, took a deep breath and searched Y/N animal shelter. 

Nothing came up. He tried a different approach in the search engine: Y/N art.

Once again, nothing. 

She gave me a fake name. Everyone always lies to me. The angry feeling was rising again, this time mixed with self loathing. A pretty girl smiles at you and you just believe anything she says? Typical. This is why we don’t talk to other people. 

Edward took a few calming breaths, and listed prime numbers in his mind until he was less angry. He decided to try one more time by typing in her name and the address he had dropped her off at the other night. 

The first result was her full name listed under her address so he tried it. Edward relaxed back into his chair when he saw that using Y/N’s full name actually had results. 

He clenched and unclenched his fingers, wiping his sweaty palms on his legs, embarrassed that he was getting so worked up over nothing. It was just some random person, anyway. Some random person that had needed him to save her. 

Her social media accounts came up and he pulled them up on different tabs, scanning through them as he analyzed them. He noticed right away that there were no group photos, and very few photos of herself. Her pictures were mainly of nature and art she had made. Hm. It’s actually good too. He thought to himself. Paintings of landscapes, still life drawings, comic book characters. He actually smiled when he recognized a character he had liked as a kid. Interesting. 

The rest were pictures of animals, flowers and books that she had read. Edward felt himself warming to her when he recognized a few titles he had on his own bookshelf. Finally someone with good taste, he thought. 

They were definitely on the same side of the political spectrum too, she had many captions about how wealth was being distributed unequally in Gotham, Oh, Y/N if only you knew the extent of it. There were more posts about protests to go to, free shelves in the city, and community centers that were open to the homeless. He went back on her various accounts as far as he could go, taking in everything he could about this person. 

And then…

Oh. 

Edward felt a strong pang in his chest and his stomach twisted. She had been one of the volunteers for the orphanage relocation when it had “mysteriously” burned down. Back when I torched that godforsaken place, he remembered. She had posted about where to send funds to build the new orphanage, where to drop off clothes for the kids that had lost their belongings in the blaze. Pictures of her handing out water and meals. 

Edward was frozen in place, his mind going 100 miles an hour. When he had burnt it down, most of the coverage was about what a tragedy it was that the Great Thomas Wayne’s humanitarian project had been lost. There was nothing about the actual children that had lived there. But here it was. One person in Gotham that had actually cared, and not only cared, but had gone out of their way to help. Edward’s breath caught in his throat and his eyes stung. 

Slamming the computer lid down he paced about his apartment again, willing himself to not get so worked up! Over a random woman no less! He slumped down on his couch, and ran his fingers through his hair. He stayed on the couch for a minute, glaring at nothing in particular, tapping his fingers irritatedly on his knees. 

Fine. In his eyes she had definitely proven herself worthy of deserving another meeting with him, and he found himself actually wanting to talk to her again. 

What demands an answer, but asks no question?

He pulled out his phone.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N had been laying down for hours and at some point had fallen into an uneasy sleep when her phone buzzed. She groggily checked the message, sitting up quickly when she saw who it was from. 

Hello Y/N. I would like to have a discussion with you again.  Would you be up to meeting with me another time this week? Let me know promptly.  Sincerely,  Edward. 

Part 4

[stillsimpinforfanfiction]

What can be Cradled but Never Held? Chapter 1

Paul Dano!Riddler x f!Reader NSFW Slowburn

18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Word Count: 3882

Warnings (not all in this chapter): Umm tbh everything at one point or another, this is Riddler we're talking about. Assault, murder/death, blood, harassment and sexual assault attempt (not by Eddie), abuse mention, neglect mention, sex/masturbation, mental illness (I'll try to depict this as well as I can), weapons, torture, kidnapping, BDSM themes, and more! lol

Summary: After meeting the girl of his dreams, Eddie is confounded in his new feelings. When he is supposed to be focusing on his Riddler agenda, as he had planned for the last two years, but finds himself thinking about you day and night instead, what will he do? Should he let you go and move on, force you to stay with him and learn to accept him as the Riddler, or stop his plans altogether?

A/N: Hey guys, I've been working on this one for a while, and have quite a few chapters ready already. Idk when I'll post them though since I may go back and tweak things depending on how the plot progresses. Also, I've never seen/read any other batman besides the newest one and was just obsessed with Dano's Riddler. So, I apologize if this isn't entirely canon, especially since I imagine I will have to write after the events of the first movie before the sequel is out. Any tips (good or bad) would be great. Thank you!

Despite loving your old town, getting to see your best friend in-person every day, and having a good connection with many of the locals, you decided that taking up a job in the city Gotham a few hours away would be good for you. The "good" parts, of course, being that it paid about 1.5 times the amount your last job did, and you had secured a decent apartment with lower than average rent. So even though you would be leaving behind your old life in a way, you could still talk to your friend online and visit every now and then, especially with the bank you were about to be pulling in.

You took up a position as a clinical lab tech at a prestigious animal hospital in the city. The job had its perks as you occasionally got to see cute animals going by and knew that your work was going to a great cause: saving animals. I mean, what could be controversial about that? The best part, though, was getting to work in a lab where no direct customer consultation was usually required as it was done through the veterinarians. I.e, you didn't have to deal with customer service drama. Everything seemed to fit into place almost too perfectly and you moved to Gotham with a naive but optimistic view about starting your new life.

The first few weeks were nerve-wracking but exciting. Getting used to your new job was difficult, and finding places for everything to fit in your apartment was as easy as a blood cell trying to flow through a blocked artery, but you managed, for now. After finally having being moved in all the way and having a good handle on your job, you decided to explore the city, albeit not venturing very far the first time.

After work one night, you walked to a nearby cafe, about 5 blocks from your apartment, to get something not hand-cooked by you for once. As you walk in, you can tell the diner is much larger than can be seen from the front window and had a retro-urban vibe to it that felt very comforting. Considering it was as late as it was, the only other patron was a man sitting at the bar with his head in a book and illuminated by one of the few dim lights left on.

As you drew closer, you could hear some faint sounds coming from the back, indicating that the place was definitely still open and you didn't just enter into a closed restaurant accidentally. Still a little wary, you decide to sit a few seats away from the man, but still at the bar in the best position for a waiter to hopefully notice you and get your order soon.

Trying not to look awkward, you scroll through your phone absentmindedly but definitely see in your peripheral vision the man sneaking glances at you over the top of his book. One time he glanced, you look up at him and smile which makes him immediately look back at his book with tinted red cheeks. Cute, you thought.

"Do you have any suggestions on what tastes good here?" you ask, setting your phone down on the counter to give a more direct presence.

"Oh, um....I really like their pumpkin pie" he stammers out sheepishly. You nod, giving your thanks and letting him get back to reading.

After a few minutes, a waitress finally notices you and scrambles out, apologizing for not hearing you come in and asks for your order.

"Oh, it's okay, I just got here! And could I get a burger, fries, coke, and....a slice of pumpkin pie?" you smile to the man at the last part. The waitress smiles and heads to the back as you give your thanks and go back to reading whatever smut you had pulled up on your phone.

After a few minutes, the waitress sets down your food and you thank her. Deciding to pay then, you try not to become feral when you finally can gobble the food down from your hunger. You're about halfway through your meal when you glance to the man again, this time focusing on the book he's reading.

"Is that Into the Wild?" you ask enthusiastically, although rhetorically since you would recognize the cover anywhere.

"Ah, um, yes...you know it?" The man peers surprisedly at you through his clear-rimmed glasses.

"Yes- I mean- well, it's one of my favorites. Jon Krakauer is...an incredible writer. Is this your first time reading it?" You blurt out, a little too excited at the opportunity to share your passion for the book.

"It is. I've never read from him before, although I have to agree this is an incredible story so far. Especially knowing it's true." He exclaimed, his knee slightly bobbing on the footrest of the bar stool.

"I know right!? It makes it so much more thrilling knowing that you really can just...slip away from society. Makes you wonder why we decided to make this corporate world at all huh..." trailing off, you go back to eating the rest of your food, finally starting on the slice of pie.

The man hadn't responded to you after that, but you could feel his stare on you like a hawk the whole time. In normal circumstances, it would be creepy, but for some reason, you didn't feel like it was with him, more just that he struggled with social cues, which hey, you could definitely relate to that. After the first bite, you closed your eyes from how good the pie tasted, savoring the flavor before swallowing and looking at him again.

"You were right, this really is good, wow" you beamed at him. He smiled back shyly and attempted to push down a cowlick in the middle of his head to clear the air.

"I'm y/n by the way, what is your name?" you pushed further, leaning your head on your hand and tilting it as you stared back.

"It's-uh...it's Edward" he paused long before telling you, almost like he was deciding whether to say it or not.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Edward. You'll have to let me know how you like the book if we happen to see each other again."

"Yeah that...that sounds good" he smiles again, watching you grab your things and head back out into the night.

Little did you know, that interaction would completely change both of your lives forever.

It had been a few days since that night and work was starting to take its toll on you already. The higher pay wasn't just due to the prestigious level the animal hospital operated at, you discovered, it also came with many more duties than your previous job where you shared much more of the work. There were more tests that the lab ran compared to others within hundreds of miles, and that meant that you had to deal with tests being shipped and people travelling with their pets from all over. You also had to learn how to operate the new machines that were capable of such tests and interpret the data intervals for each kind, and so on. In other words, every time it seemed like you were getting used to your job, you found out something you were doing wrong.

Trying to relieve your pent-up stress, you took to driving before heading home after work. Both to explore the city more and to clear your head before getting into your comfort mode; you didn't want to bring that negative energy home. You had found quite a few odd but interesting places you planned to check out on the weekends, but your favorite spot was actually out of the city up a large hill to a long-forgotten park. Whilst kind of creepy at night, it had an amazing view that overlooked the city and reminded you much more of your old rural town, being able to hear crickets and see the stars rather than honking and air pollution. At some point, coming to this spot became ritual for you after work and you would destress in the cool breeze.

This night, however, the park didn't seem to be cutting it after a particularly bad day at work. See, your manager had gotten switched with one from another lab within the hospital and the new manager was...forward, to put it nicely. From the get-go, he had asked you in private if you had a boyfriend, to which you of course lied and said yes. This did little to dissuade him, however, and he had still taken to you in a way that was entirely unprofessional.

At one point, while preparing a specimen, he came up behind you and grabbed your hands, using his fingers to show you how to prepare it in a way you were quite literally already doing before his unwelcome presence. After declaring that you would prefer vocal instruction to physical in the future, he just laughed at you dismissively and continued his provocations.

Every time another lab tech or delivery person came in, he of course completely stopped his actions and put on the most charismatic persona equivalent to a devious politician. It ground your gears, knowing damn well that he had plenty of other work he should have been doing rather than bothering you.

Sighing, you tried to let the negative stress go but found it unbearably difficult and decided some food would help. Returning to the same diner you met Edward at, you were surprised to see it packed much more than last time, with about half the booths filled and only a few seats left at the bar. It was a Friday night, you supposed.

Despite your previous defeated thoughts, you perked up a bit at seeing Edward in the same spot he was before, with an open stool next to him. This time, however, he had a computer on his lap rather than a book, which he was currently typing away at almost in a frenzy.

You sit at the stool next to him, waiting to see if he notices you and smiling down at whatever it was he was so preoccupied with. You could only get a slight view with the now-glaring dining lights reflecting off the screen, but it looked like some sort of coding.

"Hey Edward! It's y/n, do you remember me? How have you been?" you ask, hoping you aren't bothering him too much.

"Yeah, I do. I've been fine" he forces out, not even looking up from the furious typing he quickly resumed with.

"That's good! Well did you end up finishing the book? I'd love to know what you thought of it" you try harder, hoping your first, much more friendly, encounter with him wasn't abnormal behavior for him.

"I did. Look, I'm not trying to be rude but I'm just really busy right now" he finally looks up at you, clearly annoyed with having to stop whatever he was working on twice now.

"Oh, okay, sorry" you mutter, feeling humiliated. Opting for a booth far from the bar instead, you head over and spend the rest of your time there looking out the window as you eat, feeling even more down than when you walked in.

The next time you enter the diner, you feel extraordinarily depressed, even compared to last time, and are solely going because you didn't have the motivation to cook. This time, the diner is mostly empty with only a few patrons in now, and, of course, Edward in his normal seat. You head for the same booth as last time and, after ordering, put your head down to cry silently despite telling yourself you wouldn't do so in public.

Edward obviously noticed this and felt his heart drop for some reason, which he knew was silly. The last time you had been here, he had been dealing with covering up some of the traces that he left when getting intel for his Riddler plan. Normally, he would do this from the safety of his own home, but, by the gift of Hades himself, his apartment's internet had decided to go out and his hotspot wasn't working. Thus, his best solution at the time was to just use a VPN and go to the closest place with free wifi: here.

Of all the days for him to get to see you again, of course, this was the day it happened to work out. His frustration with everything going on at work, the internet issue, and having to cover up his mistakes in the first place, made him quite agitated already. So when you innocently tried striking up a conversation with him like when you met, he regrettably took out the stress on you more than he meant to, instantly feeling terrible at your dejected expression and decision to leave.

As atrocious as it was, he took that opportunity to hack your own phone that night, once his own work was finished. It was easy, since you didn't have a vpn on and were the last to connect to the wifi. He didn't want to be too invasive, though, so he decided to simply find out your name and do a background check anyone could do, rather than snooping through your photos or messages like a total creep.

From this, he had found your previous work history, family, and university which all seemed pretty normal. You also didn't have any social media accounts, at least, none tied to your name, which he was surprised by. Really, all he could find on his "normal and not at all creepy" background search was a few newspaper mentions of you with honor roll, awards, etc. However, he decided to look a little deeper, just out of curiosity as to what you were suddenly doing in Gotham, and found that you worked for Tariel Animal Clinics, a corporation that he had the unfortunate experience with digging into, as they were infamous for money laundering off the ingenuine business of some of their patrons.

This immediately sent a red flag through his brain, completely disheartened that you, who seemed so sweet and rejecting of society, based on the little he had talked to you anyway, could be involved with this dark scheme. He couldn't say he was surprised, of course, considering this was Gotham, but it still sucked.

He thought about it, your background, the fact that this job was so similar to your last one, and wondered, did you know? Maybe you were just a naive outsider not prepared for the horrors of this city and not aware of the evil corporation you were working for.

Regardless of the self-preserving voice in his head telling him not to have hope, he couldn't help but keep that spark alight that his suspicion was true. But first, he had to be sure. He'd talk to you next time you were there.

Well, unfortunately, you didn't look any more elated than the last time he saw you, which was already not a high standard. In fact, you were crying, and that made him want to stop his investigating right then and there just to comfort you, which scared him. But maybe he could do both, he thought, starting to head over to you.

Once he was only a few steps away, your head perked up from the sound and he stopped in his tracks, seeing your eyes red and puffy made him want to cry, too.

"Hey...y/n...I am so sorry about how dismissive I was last time you were here. I had something urgent I needed to do but I could have been much nicer about how I communicated that, can I sit with you?" Edward gestured to the other side of the booth you were draping your arms across.

"Hi Edward...yeah, you can. And it's okay, I totally understand. I shouldn't have been so pushy." You apologized back, wiping your eyes and straightening out your shirt to look more presentable across from him.

"No no no, please don't be sorry, this was on me but....are you okay? I don't mean to pry but you seem quite down. Did something happen?"

"Ha...yeah I guess. It's a lot of things, really, but I don't want to dump it all on you and ruin your night" you said, watching the headlights of passing cars through the window.

"Please, by all means, it's the least I can do to listen" he half smiled, rubbing his thumbs nervously in his closed hands.

Sighing, you took a drink of your water before starting.

"Well, I'm new to Gotham and I guess altogether I just wasn't ready for the city life like I thought I would be, you know? Where I grew up, I only had a few friends and even in my college town there wasn't much to do so I usually kept to myself. But I could always go outside whenever I wanted and it was mostly safe. Here, though, it seems like crime happens around every corner and I'm constantly on edge about getting mugged or raped or killed or god knows what else. I guess I just really miss my friends and I hate how cold and lonely this city feels-" your sentence is choked off with a sob as the tears you fought to control came back down your face.

Edward immediately reaches out on instinct to comfort you, a sensation which was foreign to him, and realizes what he's doing. Right before going to touch your shoulder, he stops to gauge your reaction that it's okay. You answer silently, leaning into his hand and feeling the heat of his palm warm your skin through the fabric of your shirt. He tries to rub you reassuringly, but his labored breathing gave away his inexpertise in even the most subliminal touching.

"I'm so sorry y/n. In a way I understand since I've always lived in Gotham, but I've also never known anything else so I can't imagine how difficult that transition is. How come you decided to leave everything and move here?" He questioned softly with his head lowered to meet your eyes.

"Well, I moved for work. It's essentially the same job I had as before but it pays much better and I guess I just wanted to make that sacrifice so I could save up, if that makes sense." You mumble, trying hard to keep the tears at bay once again.

"Yeah, it does. Do you mind me asking what you do?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer. He wanted to lead the conversation towards determining whether you were someone even worthy of the comfort he had already given.

"Oh, I'm a clinical lab technician at an animal hospital. I essentially just run different tests on specimen samples to help vets determine the health complications of animals." He nodded his head, acknowledging this like it was news.

"What got you interested in that kind of job? Do you like the new one more than the last?" He found that the previous job you had worked had no shady fraudulence, at least as far as he could find, which meant pretty much guaranteed.

"Well, it's complicated. The job itself I like because I love being in a lab setting and knowing that my work is used to save animals lives gives me...some sort of purpose that I can do good in this world. And I do like that my new job has more tech and tests for me to use is exciting but..." you trailed off, not sure you wanted to share this yet.

"But?" Edward pushed. Given what you had just said, it was safe for him to assume you definitely did not know about what was going on at the company. Which was both relieving for his sake and worrisome for yours.

"It's just that um...I got a new manager. The first one I liked and she really helped with my introduction to the lab but the new one is...a bit unprincipled." He watched as you bit your bottom lip, not making eye contact with him anymore. This news hit him like a freight train as he felt...protective. He definitely shouldn't, he barely even knew you yet.

"In what ways?" He almost whispered, trying to look up into your eyes with his head lowered down, worrying about your change in demeanor.

"He's been quite...forward with showcasing his advances towards me...." screw the formalities, you were just going to be blunt, you decided "multiple times he has grabbed me, made perverted comments towards me, and is incredibly condescending whenever I make the simplest mistakes. I would go to HR about it or something but he's from higher up in the company and I think if I did that I'd just end up getting fired. I can't lose this position, not after everything I gave up."

"That's so terrible, y/n, I'm sorry you're having to deal with that, I truly am." After giving your shoulder a squeeze, Edward drew his hand back and stared at you for a moment. Outwardly, he looked nonchalant but inside he was attempting to quell the burning anger he had for your despicable manager and everything this city is that has made you feel so downtrodden. He had to breathe deeply through his nose to calm down the side of him about to start the Riddler attacks.

In this time, you stared at him, seeing his jaw tighten slightly which you imagined had to do with anger in some way. Realizing you had made this whole conversation quite negative since the beginning, you decided that it was time to try something positive.

"Do you know the East Gotham Library downtown?"

"Huh? Oh uh...yeah I've been, why?" His trail of thought about how he was going to take out every corrupt person in this city was quickly stunted.

"I saw they were going to have a book sale this Saturday and wanted to go see if they have anything good, would you like to go with me? As friends, I mean?" you held your hand in your palm, your hair locks falling freely onto the table in a way that he wished he could picture and save forever.

Then, the weight of what you just asked him set in. Holy shit. You asked to hang out. Granted, it was as friends but he couldn't believe it. Someone as alluring as you was asking...him...the weird loner guy...to be friends? His face turned red against his wishes as he nodded a little too vigorously.

"YEAH! I mean yeah, I would absolutely love that" he stammered out

"Okay great! Would you like to meet up here around 1? I can pick you up if you'd like to go together"

"Yes, I would...I would love that" Edward was still fumbling over his words.

"Alright, well give me your number" Tossing your phone over to him, you saw his fingers effortlessly glide over the buttons despite his obvious nervousness.

"I'll see you then, Eddie, thank you for talking with me!" you beamed down at him as you grabbed your things, leaving the awestruck man sitting in the booth, still contemplating how this was even happening.

[cr0w-28]

Finally finished chapter 2 of Hatters and Caterpillars! Please give me feedback, it helps fuel my motivation to write lmao-

[zimtdraws]

flirty flightless bird 💜💜

[goldenrazzmatazz]

Birthday Boy

Description:

What’s next, Eddie?” “Huh?” His voice was deep, ragged. He was coming undone. His pupils were dilated to the point they were black, and his eyes flickered to your mouth at least once a second. A red flush had crept above the collar of his shirt. His tongue darted between his lips, wetting them. “What’s the next puzzle?” You smiled, ignoring his arousal, “What was in that lockbox? Are you getting us out of here, or what?”

Alternatively; you take Eddie to an Escape Room for his birthday.

Pairings: Dano!Riddler x Female!Reader

Word Count: Three Chapters, 8k [Total]

Warnings: Slowburn, Female reader, Teasing, Smut, Penis-In-Vagina Protected Sex, Oral (male receiving), Slight Dom!Reader x Sub!Eddie, Swearing, 

Read it on A03

[reminem69]

alright what is my nygmobblepot college au??

title's self-explanatory, ed and oz are college students who slowburn fall in love

they're both freshman who end up being dormmates

ed's there for a bachelors in forensic science and oswald's getting a bachelor's in wildlife biology

edward also is minoring in psychology and oz is minoring in business

basically two autistic queer guys with a shit ton of baggage try to get through college together

also the riddler and the penguin arent things in this, ed is very much like s1/pre-riddler ed and oswalds basically the same just. less crime and killing djfghfkdhjg

i dont wanna spoil actual plot bc i wanna turn this into a fic, but here's ed and oswald's backstories <3

ed's a 20y/o nonbinary trans man who uses he/they

he's also autistic and has anxiety and deals with chronic pain (he's just like me fr <3333)

his mom left when he was really young and his father was super abusive

he doesn't remember most of his early childhood due to abuse and memory issues; memories get clearer around highschool

he met kristen in freshman year

she was stuck in an abusive relationship at the time

her father was really misogynistic and terrible to her mother, so she learned those kinds of behaviors from her parents

ed wasn't out at the time (but knew he was trans) so kristen was a lot kinder to him than when they met in canon

she still thinks he's weird but they kind of become friends

long story short, ed starts to help her realize the abuse she's going through and the unhealthy patterns she's learned

through their early high school years, ed helps her unlearn that and get out of the bad relationship shes in

he also finally comes out to her and she accepts him (after being kinda weird abt it at first bc. transphobic dad gkjfhgk)

in turn, she helps ed realize the abuse he's going through

ed also gets really attached to kristens mom

kristens mom is actually a really nice lady, she just has a shit husband and was taught she should be treated like that

kristen getting out of that mindset actually helps her mom get out of it too and she kicks her husband out of the picture

did i mention kristens parents are stupid rich

even after her husband leaves, her mom still is pretty wealthy

when ed finally turns 18, he gets the fuck out of there and lives with kristen and her mom

through all this, ed and kristen try dating and its good for a while

but they realize they're better friends

kristens mom becomes like a mom to ed

she ends up paying for ed's college, hormone therapy, top surgery, name change, and therapy

he's eternally thankful to her

he goes to community college and gets his associates in forensics

kristen goes with him and gets an associates in english

after they've gotten their associates, ed goes to an out of town four year where he meets oz

kristen stays in town, but they still call/talk often

now time for oswald heehee

he's a 21y/o trans guy who uses he/him

gertrud raised him alone, claiming his father was dead

she was extremely overbearing and heavily attached to her son to an unhealthy level

he was bullied a lot as a child

he's also autistic and has adhd <3

he still has his limp, but he gets it in middle school after some kids broke his ankle and gertrud took care of it herself instead of taking him to a doctor

he has a cane which he uses most days

he realizes he's trans very early on in his life and gertrud was very supportive

she let him transition socially and changes his name legally around high school

if she had the money for it, she would have absolutely payed for surgeries and such

at the time of the au, his names changed legally and hes on T (payed for himself)

he has a special interest in penguins and wants to be an ornithologist so he can work with them

he focuses a lot on science in school and always gets A's in it

usually gets b's and c's in everything else (and only gets that high of grades bc he doesn't wanna disappoint his mom)

he goes to community college for an associates in biology

right after his senior year of high school, gertrud starts to get really sick

she refuses to go to a doctor so oswald is balancing taking care of her, having various part time jobs, and getting his associates

its a big rough patch for him and his mental heath takes a huge dip at the time

when he gets his degree and finds the college he wants to go to (which is out of state), he realizes he cant leave his mom the way she is and cant go to college financially yet

so he takes a gap year to earn money and keep taking care of gertrud

he finally gets her to go to a doctor and gets her on medication

when the end of his gap year rolls around, he has enough money to get by on financial aid without any loans

he finally moves out, still talking to his mother often and keeping a eye on her health (though she doesn't tell him much)

now theyre both in college and the au actually starts dfjghfdkjhg! yes i have more backstory for the au than actual plot for it leave me alone <3 basically i love them

i have no idea how the other characters fit into this btw jghkfjdgkdfjhg they will exist at some point but for now they dont heehee

@monarch-max tagging u since u replied to my post <3

[vamprisms]

can't believe someone walked into a tv studio one day and was like hey this is my 500k slowburn penguin x the riddler enemies to lovers fan fic. it has 5 kudos on ao3 and i think it will be a good television show please greenlight me. and they actually did it. the balls on that man.

[riddlerhymes]

okay so slowburn/fake date/enemies to lovers: riddler, scarecrow, and mad hatter

oh thats kinda tough shkjlfs

slowburn scarecrow for sure and uhhhhhh enemies to lovers riddler, fate date mad hatter