A makeshift writer who is just really bored. All pronouns, 21 and open nearly all hours. :) Profile Picture- https://picrew.me/image_maker/112842/complete?cd=rBNVJH0vos Background Picture- https://picrew.me/image_maker/950793/complete?cd=WcEiO6AWI7
Will write headcanons, one shots, reader inserts, yandere scenarios, ships, a long series, alternate universes (AUs), angst, fluff, smut and sfw/nsfw alphabets.
Do not request any taboo topics.
Transphobic, homophobic, LGBTQIA+ phobia, sexist, racist and ableist comments or interactions will not be tolerated.
Hi I’m back. I’m gonna make this short and sweet. I’ve been depressed and had a high amount of writers block. I’ve only just gotten back into writing and because of that, I’m gonna focus on a few small projects at a time alongside one long project. This means I will be re-writing the ex-fiancé batfamily fic as I didn’t like the chapters I’ve done for it. I find I’m much better at writing headcannons and dribbles than actual chapters so I want to be able to write it and do it justice. Thank you for your time. :)
- Writing for Kratos has actually proven to be a really difficult feat. On one hand, he’s such a complicated character with so much depth. But on the other hand, he has very simplistic motivations throughout all his journeys. I would even go to say that he is peak character design.
- But anyways, onto the general romantic headcannons!
- Kratos is not a man of many words (I think the modern God of War instalments really show this) and I think he wouldn’t be too fussed with whether his partner was chatty or quiet. Though you would have to be interesting in some fashion in order to at least interest him. I can see this relationship between the two of you developing during the first game concerning the Norse pantheon, where we first meet Atreus, and after the death of Feyre. I think in this scenario you would be a Valkyrie, maybe even a disgraced one later on. You originally were ordered to accompany Baldur to the home of Kratos and the young Loki, not as a bodyguard because who could hurt Baldur? But rather as a reliable set of eyes to report back to Odin, without the bite and bitterness of Baldur and his situation.
- The Greek doesn’t even register you as a threat, despite the very obvious weapons you carry, and keeps his focus on Baldur. Maybe its a little sexist, but Kratos tends to focus on one threat at a time. He seems to ignore you completely as he and the Norseman wreck the nearby landscape.
- A mistake on his part as you began to investigate his home. Unlike a lot of the other Nordic deities, you actually respected and secretly admired the giant Feyre, not only for her battle prowess but also her wisdom. You had encountered her once or twice many centuries ago, where you arrogantly challenged her as a fledgling Valkyrie, and whilst you lost she used it as an opportunity to teach you invaluable information about battle tactics and defence. Your ego wasn’t the only thing bruised but it lit a fire in your mind, pushing you to challenge yourself in training and beyond to become the best of the Valkyries possible. If you didn’t defect in the near future, then you would surely inherit the position of Captain of the Valkyries, taking the position from Sigrún (whose was cursed by Odin to be insane and unpredictable as a punishment for letting you and a few of your sisters doubt him and challenge his rule).
- Within their home, you see a very cosy hunter lodge-like atmosphere. The small, open flame braziers swung gently with an unseen draft and casted wobbly shadows across dense wooden walls and thick fur decorations. Dotted around the home was evidence of people living there, a couple homemade bedrolls, used tools waiting to be cleaned and dried herbs lining the walls where shelves accumulated dust amongst bottles and jars of unknown products. The dry air smelled like ash and something metallic, the type of smell similar to when fresh game is immediately put upon a fire, still bloody.
- Your sandalled feet clicked across the worn floor in short, certain steps as you took it all in. The sound of the ongoing battle, the very ground splitting, faded as the two combatants moved farther and farther from the homestead. Nature claimed the silence as hesitant bird song and insect calls slowly filled the air. And if you strained your hearing, you barely picked up a small, ragged breathing coming from somewhere below you. False floors perhaps? Or maybe, a trapdoor?
- With a nonchalant attitude, your eyes swept over every crack in the floorboards and attempted to make out any shapes the weak lights would allow you to. The Valkyrie headpiece made it difficult to angle your head the right way but as you inclined it towards the hidden cellar, eyes catching the faintest of movements belonging to a small frame. That made you pause. Odin had knowledge of Feyre’s death, yes, but there was nothing on another inhabitant. And with them being so small, and hidden…
- With the slam of the door, Kratos came heaving into the small enclosure and stared you down. His body, pale save the tattoos, dirt and blood of Baldur, was tense as he took a step forward. You must admit, seeing him like this, with that crazed look in his eyes… It screamed danger. But you had clear orders to not engage, only reconnaissance.
- Kratos shot forward like a viper and his muscled hands barely grazed your side before you leapt under them and spun around, backing out of his home. The further you went from his home, the less he wished to chase you as he stood by the edge of the forest and stared at your retreating form. You had chuckled, for he reminded you of a bear protecting its young in the dead of winter. Any other time, you would have engaged in battle and shown him the true might of the second most powerful Valkyrie of your era but for now, you have an Aesir Prince to pluck from the deepest cracks of the Earth and return to Odin with some new, promising information. So, with Baldur slung over your shoulder like a wet piece of cloth, dripping with blood and writhing not in pain but anger, you returned to the Great Lodge.
- We may be playing with cannon now as it was after you gave your testimony about the fight, their lodgings and the unexpected addition of a potential godly child that the fate of the other Valkyries was shared with you. Odin was deceptive though, as he played into your ambition and used your years long mission of accompanying Baldur to plant small ideas into your head. You heard rumours and whispers of your sisters being disobedient and acting out of term. Odin even hinted that he may be looking for a new leader of them, you would go from a potential Valkyrie Captain to maybe even the Valkyrie Queen. It was like he was a drug, one that got you coming back for more as his promises and suggestions seemed to overtake you.
- Let’s be very clear, the reason that Odin retaliated against the Valkyries was because of their connection to Freya. He was anxious that they would betray him. However, due to you being a relatively new addition, with strong Aesir roots due to becoming a Valkyrie as a part of the marriage deal, he didn’t want to waste the potential he saw in you. And by potential, I mean something like a puppet because that’s kind of how he sees you. Something that he can control and shape to the needs of his regime. So he made you feel important by pairing you with his son, the very son of the woman you once sworn fealty to. He warped the rules slightly, saying that you could still be loyal to Freya by being loyal to her son. Who was, naturally, loyal to Odin.
- The Aesir Lord spoke with deep anguish and regret about how the other Valkyries failed him and that he had to teach them the faults in their way of thinking which you understood, they had always had a sense of disconnect about them when the realms needed unity. But then Odin spoke of their punishment in more details: he bound them in corporeal forms. That made you pause.
- Valkyries are beings not fully physically there, on any which platform. Their essence mainly exists outside all realms until it is time to collect valiant heroes and bring them into the halls of Valhalla. To say you were disturbed was an understatement. Hell, to say you were disgusted was too little of a word. The man whose word that you had followed for the majority of your life had just admitted to your face that he had banished your family to the worst fate imaginable. The only way it could be described, in my opinion, is cramming every inch of your body in a small box with the lid closed. It’s physically impossible and would feel absolutely torturous. There’s also the sense of awareness in it too, like you can feel every nook and cranny of the imprisonment and the awareness of it would drive you crazy.
- Odin must have a lot of faith in your loyalty to him because he didn’t question your silence, just praised you for the reconnaissance and dismissed you for the rest of the day. You blindly wandered to your quarters, pointedly looking away from the doors and corridors that would lead you to your sisters’ chambers. A cold sweat had built on the back of your neck as your jaw clenched and then unclenched in a staggered rhythm. You didn’t sit down when you got in, instead deciding to pace back and forth as you tried to come up with an excuse for your Lord’s behaviour. But you couldn’t find any. Sure there was the small rumours of insubordination and disrespect but thats all they were, rumours! You didn’t hold much credit to them, at least not any more.
- You remembered Sigrún’s look of fondness when you first dressed in the Valkyrie uniform, how she called you ‘little one’ and how you fought tooth and nail to be able to stand by her side, not only as family but as equals, as someone worthy of the Valkyrie title. The training sessions she used to indulge you with, where you would try your best to disarm her with new and creative ways only to end up lying flat on your face after two minutes. She had accepted you with open arms when the others had taken much longer to warm up to you. If you had a mother, you hoped she was like Sigrún.
- It didn’t take long for reckless thoughts to develop in your mind, you were the most rash of all the fighters at the end of the day. And it was surprisingly easy to get past the guards, as all it took was a lie. A very probable lie. You had said that Odin had sent you on another mission, and at the mention of the Aesir the guards all but ran to do as you wished. Had you been like that once? Hanging onto every word he had said and doing anything he wanted at the drop of a hat? How far would you have gone? You have already killed for him, what else would he have had you do? You had stupidly thought he had seen you as an equal, not as the obedient soldier he had forged you into.
- Oh, how you wanted to run your blade through his blackened heart though you would not dare tarnish your blade. Nor should he be granted such a swift end. Perhaps a rusted axe to lop off his engorged head would do the trick?
- You weren’t stupid, someone would notice your less than present attitude and would surely report it to Odin. And with the shiny, bejewelled armour you were currently donning; it would be easy to spot you. You had to do something quickly.
- With a clenched jaw, you channeled yourself onto Midgard. It hurt, but only for a moment as your form shifted to fit your vision. It was like a similar enclosure to that of your sisters, but with looser boundaries. Your essence was concentrated enough on Midgard that you could not be sensed outside the realms, and with enough effort you would not be sensed within the realms either.
- Your armour was surprisingly easier to deal with, having discovered a travelling blue Dwarf named Brok who reforged your armour to fit your needs. You had paid him with the very jewels you had once worn with pride. A small price to pay for survival, and revenge. There was something off about the fellow, you could tell that he wasn’t completely all there spiritually. It was a sad thing to see, as the soul was split between the physical and spiritual plains. Though there was nothing you could do besides offer the occasional companionship.
- It was through Brok that you encountered the Greek and his son once more. The Dwarf had requested they meet with his business partner (you) and deal with Fafnir, a dragon who had been plaguing the Midgard realm for many, many years. By bringing him to peace, not only would you be releasing the many souls tied to greed but also rescuing the mountains of valuable materials and loot. Word had come through the Dwarf’s Yggdrasil portals that you would be expecting some help, something you weren’t opposed to per se but something you weren’t used to.
- The stare down between you and Kratos when you met again was charged. Old instincts told you to take flight and charge him with your weapons but you held off, instead choosing to introduce yourself with your name and explain how you were once a Valkyrie who had defected. The older man hadn’t taken his eyes off you but Atreus, ever the curious little boy, began hurling question after question at you. He had been stuck with his brick wall of a father for weeks and barely had the opportunity to have a proper conversation with another person. You regarded the boy with something akin to curiosity and amusement, as if you were judging him for the actions he had yet to take. The conversation came easily though, as you answered most of his questions and deflected where you felt necessary. He didn’t dare get close to you, probably due to his father’s lingering paranoia, but you could see him eyeing your legendary weapons with barely contained awe.
- As the boy was yapping away, you had made eye contact with the bare chested man. A beat of something passed between you, perhaps recognition or respect, and you nodded your head and he grunted in return. A man of few words it seemed. Though you doubted he needed words when you could sense the sheer power radiating off his form. The upcoming fight with the dragon Fafnir was becoming more doable by every minute.
- And it was. The dragon had been vanquished in less than ten minutes, with Kratos’s heavy blows and Atreus’s accurate piercing arrows. There wasn’t much you could do besides offer aerial support and act as a distraction by flying in the dragon’s face and capturing his attention. But this provided essential moments for the others to regroup and stage the next round of attacks, making short work of the beast.
- It seemed that after the fight, Kratos regarded you with something positive. Not friendship or trust, nothing so heavy. But perhaps his eyes saw potential in you, and perhaps he wasn’t so opposed to fighting with you again.
- Brok was delighted with the many goods you had retrieved for him, promising upgrades for all parties involved. He got started on the Leviathan Axe first thing as the rest of you relaxed around his travelling stand. It was here that you learned of their quest to scatter Feyre’s ashes atop the tallest peak in all the realms. A lengthy journey for certain, but one you have no doubt they can accomplish.
- And from there, you continue to come across the duo as you journey through the nine realms yourself. You often battled alongside them or acted as a diversion so they could escape from potential enemies, like the other Aesirs.
- Once, when Kratos had stumbled across a chained Valkyrie, he had spotted you discretely placing food and drink near them so that they were taken care of, even in the midst of their madness. He did not speak of this to you, nor did he mention your tears as he freed each one from their physical bonds. He pretended to not notice as you approached their fallen form to give them their last rites and blessings for the afterlife in Valhalla. And he would never mention how you guided each and every one across from the mortal to the spiritual world. A soldier never says anything when another is hurting. Instead, Kratos shows you a rare kindness. He cleans your weapons. It happened once, after Sigrúns passing, where he wouldn’t give it back until it as done and whilst doing so, he offers a rare chance of a conversation. He shares a story about loosing a comrade during a war, all the way back in Greece. He spoke about their haunting presence and the poison that is revenge. The words he spoke lifted a weight from your chest, not fully as grief will never leave you but it softened the edges and made it easier to breathe each day. It was the ease of understanding that flowed between the two of you which the basis of a friendship was built upon.
- Okay, so now we have the basic sort of backstory built up we can talk about the start of a romance. I’m sorry, I know i got carried away here but I’ll actually get to the request now!
- I don’t think Kratos would really consider relationships until after God of War: Ragnarok, as he would be too preoccupied with protecting Atreus from Odin and his lackeys. But post Ragnarok Kratos would be different. With Atreus going travelling and discovering himself, the older man is left with an empty home and not a lot of positive relationships. I feel that most of his connections with others usually stem from Atreus, so one of the only people he could really connect with or tolerate would be you. You weren’t connected to him through his son, no. You were entirely his friend. It was odd for him to have friends, people to care for outside of blood but you were one of the only exceptions.
- The romance that would bloom between the two of you wasn’t an immediate or quick thing. It was slow and steady, each step feeling natural and going at its own pace. You didn’t even realise what the two of you were forming until it was too late to go back.
- It started with random visits. You were lonely, with your sisters gone and not feeling comfortable with the new order of gods, you decided to spend most of your time exploring the nine realms. This meant you would often pop in to visit Kratos, see how he was doing with his hermit lifestyle. Sometimes you would come bearing gifts, like fresh game or strong mead in which the two of you would indulge in that night. Once, you had brought him a set of horn mugs from Svartalfheim which were painted with miniature renditions of his Nordic adventures. They were never used, and were left to sit on a shelf for decoration when you realised they were much too small for his big frame. One of those cups looked as though it was meant to be for a child in his hands. He appreciated it regardless, even though he never actually told you.
- This then evolved into going on hunting or foraging trips together. Which became more frequent when he realised that you would often pick up any forgeable and eat it, not caring if it was safe or not as you trusted your Valkyrie powers to deal with the aftermath. This meant that more times than not, you would be curled up under some furs as your stomach cramped violently. You were used to prepared feasts and had little to no knowledge of self-provision beyond hunting. It often gave the Greek a headache.
- Kratos slowly started to teach you more about the local flora, not trusting you to forage by yourself either. It was like you were slowly giving him another reason to live. To keep you alive, or well more accurately, to keep you from accidentally killing yourself as you go exploring. You may be a Valkyrie, a being of some immortal strength and origin, but in his eyes, you could barely fend for yourself in the wild. Though, he supposes he could sympathise. You had so much new freedom, having never really explored the realms whilst under Odin’s rule. You had quotas to hit and missions to enact, there was little time for relaxation and joy.
- May-haps this is why the two of you seemed to work so well together. You were both learning how to live without a purpose. Kratos had no revenge to exact, and no son to protect and train. You had no orders to follow nor any title to defend. You both existed in this quiet companionship, as equals. As friends.
- Things began to shift when you didn’t visit for a while. He wouldn’t admit it, but not having you in his sights made him anxious. He was getting used to your presence and to not have you there left him stress and a little paranoid. He was worried that something had happened to you, though he would never say that out loud. At least not yet.
- Weeks passed and he didn’t even hear a peep from you. He even approached Sindri who affirmed that you hadn’t reached out to anyone.
- He would be out of his house more often than not, as though he was running from his shared memories with you. You had carved out a place for yourself in his home and neither of you realised it. It felt natural at this point for him to return home and find you lounging on a bedroll or drinking from his stores. He would huff but never get mad, just accept the cup you would hand him and sit with you by the fire. It was a routine he was beginning to expect, enjoy even. And to have it snatched away without any explanation was disconcerting.
- Then one fateful day, you returned. Though you were…different.
- You explained that Freya, the new leader of all in the nine realms, had called you to a meeting concerning the fate of the Valkyries. She had asked you to rejoin them as the leader of a more peaceful, democratic force. And you had spent the last month or two organising the training, hierarchy, recruitment, etc. It was in the dead of night, when you were nursing the last of your drink in front of the long-extinguished brazier that you admitted to Kratos that you wished to retire. These new responsibilities thrust upon you were giving you nightmares as echoes of Odin’s rule clung to your subconscious. You admitted, almost bitterly, how you envied him. He had no pressing matters. He was practically living life to enjoy it, not working towards a goal.
- You had begun to rant and pace, letting years of unspoken frustration, anger and guilt pour forth from your heart as you spoke about your sisters, Odin’s cruelty and the life you wished you could have but couldn’t afford/feel like you should have. There were no tears, you had used them all when each of your sisters had been free from their binds but there was a lingering tightness in your throat and a heaviness behind your eyes that threatened to become known. Your breathing was heavy and laboured as your eyes flickered about almost manically.
- And Kratos sat there. He sat there and let you release it all, you clearly needed to. And when you finished? When you slumped back into your seat, body limp and exhaustion haunting your every twitch? He picked you up and laid you in a bedroll, and, against his better judgement, he let you cling to his arm as you settled into calm sleep.
- In the morning, he didn’t offer any answers or words of advice. He just gave you a look and everything just seemed to click in your brain.
- That day, you travelled back to Asgard and declared your retirement. You explained to Freya how you didn’t have a place in this new order and how it was okay. You offered a few recommendations to fill your position, selected from the limited recruits who appeared after Odin’s defeat before returning to Midgard. (Freya was not happy, you were an invaluable asset to her sovereignty. She may or may not have sent a strongly worded message to Kratos for stealing her best advisor from right under her nose. He pretended to have not recieved it).
- Like I said earlier, there is no concrete start of your romantic relationship but what I can say for certain is that after this point, he becomes a lot more touchy. It’s not everyday that someone chooses him out of free will (and forcibly moves into his home, under the guise of keeping him company in retirement so he doesn’t go crazy). It’s the type of touch where you can’t tell if it’s platonic or something more. Like, holding your waist and tracing shapes onto bare skin when he cheekily slides his hands under your shirt. Or when you’re talking and he brushes your hair out of your face, and promptly ignores your flushed face and stuttered sentences. Neither of you mention it, lest you break the spell of comfort around you.
- I’m not too sure when it comes to a head, but all I know is that one year where Atreus visits, you guys are just close friends who like to drink together, and then another where you and Kratos share a bedroll, call each other names of endearment and stay close all the while claiming you are just really good companions. It drives the kid crazy! He’s not necessarily against his father having another partner after Feyre, but at least have the decency to say exactly what it is.
- For the two of you, you don’t need labels. Everything just seems to fall into place right when it needs to.
- So let’s talk about how the two of you act once you get to this relationship stage.
- The way Kratos shows his affection, I think, is through two main ways:
Acts of service:
He will ensure your weapons and armour are polished and repaired to better-than-new quality, often spending hours polishing them himself or paying Sindri a large sum to get the best service possible. He also likes hunting for you, it scratches that provider instinct deep in his mind. It’s like he’s ensuring that you’re safe and healthy when he’s around, reinforcing the idea that he can be a good partner when he gets some trauma bubbling to the surface. Once, he tried to do something a bit more detailed, like cooking you a nice meal in the kitchen area of his lodge rather than over a campfire, and lets just say if it wasn’t for your quick thinking, then he would have to reinforce most of the walls with extra logs.
Contrary to what most might think, Kratos has a steady hand and he can be gentle when it comes to it. Which is why he’s the best at helping you maintain your wings. Since they’re so large, they are plenty of areas where you cannot reach and plenty of old feathers that need to be plucked. At first he is kind of hesitant, afraid he may hurt you by mistake or tug of the wrong feather but with your guiding, he is able to remove most of what needs to be done. He actually finds it relaxing and grounding with the repetitive motions ensuring a chance for his mind to slow down and take a breather. He also may or may not have kept a couple of feathers in a persona stash, sometimes he takes one for when he’s away from you to remind himself of why he needs to return.
Gift giving
He would 100% make you little wooden carvings of random animals he has seen that day, and you always keep them. There’s a shelf hanging above your shared bedroll that’s just crammed full of random animal statues. It become an obsession for the both of you, so much to the point where Atreus will gift his father foreign wood as he knows that it will bring more joy to him than any blade or beer will. Sometimes, for rare occasions or when Kratos wants to spoil you, he will approach Freya when she is not busy and request her help in selecting an outfit for you. He often worries, silently, that he cannot provide you with the luxuries you deserve so he tries his best. He simply cannot get over the fact that you left a position of power and luxury to retire in the forest, on Midgard, with him.
- Any arguments you have are very short lived. He is a stubborn man and his main way to diffuse a situation like this is to leave and go on a hunting trip for the rest of the day/night. Is it healthy? No. But it sure is effective. You will have to get used to it. It’s his way or the highway, especially if it concerns anything to do with your safety because thats when his over-protective streak comes out.
- When it comes to sleeping, he is a big spoon through and through. And you’re practically his teddy bear. No matter how tall or thick you may be, he is significantly larger and will lift you up to sleep on his chest no matter what. He sleeps astronomically better when you’re with him and he loves the sight of sleeping face when he wakes up hours before you. It brings him a sense of calm and certainty, like yes, this is his life now and boy, does he love it.
- Nightmares do happen. And often between the two of you. When you’re not dreaming of Odin’s cruelty or your sister’s agony, he’s dreaming of loosing his family over and over again. Sometimes he sees you dying at his hands, or Lysandra or Feyre. Sometimes all your faces seem to bleed into each other as his past nips at his heels. Those nights he spends awake, not daring another second of sleep, preferring to instead watch you breathe in and out as he reminds himself that you are alive and well. Should you have a nightmare, it’s like he senses it and wakes up with you. He lets you talk about it you want, tracing small symbols on your skin with his thumb. If you have trouble sleeping then he may even offer to hum or sing a Greek lullaby like he did for Calliope and Atreus once upon a time.
- Any bedroom activities are rather relaxed. He’s not going to choke you or be extra mean. He’s a retiree, he just wants slow sensual moments with his partner as they enjoy each other’s bodies. Though, there may be a moment or two when he feels invigorated and makes love to you with the passion of a man half his age. His favourite thing is when you are on top and he gets to marvel at your beauty in the soft morning light, it’s the best way to start a day in his opinion.
- I can’t really see the two of you getting married, or at least having a ceremony. It just isn’t the way of your relationship dynamic. Kratos isn’t bothered with last names or official titles or anything like that as he knows his is yours, just as you are his. He doesn’t need no one’s permission or declaration to decide that. If you are really hung up on having a ceremony, then he might be willing to cave. It would have to be a very small ceremony, like the people who would be there would include Atreus (naturally), Freya (for your side of the ‘family’) and then Sindri who would either be there to officiate or just because he happened to be there when you mentioned it and basically took over planning it. If this happened before Brok’s death, then he would also be there. And he would totally let out a few manly tears before making a toast and providing a lot of alcohol. Actually, scratch Sindri officiating, it would be Tyr. He would just turn up, regardless of Kratos’s wants. He would have a beautifully vague speech about union and cry a little. (Atreus would be the ring bearer, and you would definitely have to ask his permission to marry his father. Also, there is no way that Kratos would be proposing).
- In regard to kids… I don’t think Kratos would want any in his retirement to be honest. Like, he killed his first one and his second turned out to be the secret to starting the apocalypse. I think he wouldn’t be all that interested, like he had his chance and he doesn’t want another one… unless you (if you could get pregnant) got pregnant with a daughter. I think this would change a lot. It wouldn’t a redo of Calliope nor would the new baby girl be a replacement for her, but rather it would prove to him that not everything he touches would be damaged in any way. She would grow up without violence due to Freya’s new reign and policies, and she wouldn’t have a crazy destiny like Atreus. He feels guilty for feeling happy but the moment anyone in the family, including the friends we made along the way, gets a glimpse of her, they all understand. He would also be so protective during pregnancy, like he wouldn’t eve let you sit up by yourself kind of overprotective. Freya would totally be your midwife and I can imagine labour happening when Kratos has to go do something important, like warding enemies away from his home, leaving Sindri and Freya to help you with your labour. Sindri fainted like six times.
- Atreus would absolutely adore his new little sister. He would spoil her so much and promise that once she’s old enough, he will take her from the region she was born in to go on adventures in different countries and cultures. Kratos was not too pleased.
can i request general headcanons for a romantic kratos from gow?
Ello!
I’m so so so sorry that it took so long for this to be published. I actually rewrote it like, three times as I didn’t know how to approach it. I’m pretty happy with this, though it could probably be expanded upon in some areas! But I’ll just drop it down here-
hi, this is your gentle reminder and PSA: there are ELECTIONS happening in November 4th. PLEASE GO VOTE. Trump is the most unpopular he has ever been, but does that mean your average independent, or republican will vote for a dem this time around-likely no- they probably will just skip the process entirely if they don’t have a candidate they feel strongly about. this is why i’m asking YOU SPECIFICALLY to make sure to go vote. and i don’t wanna hear any doomerism shit about how voting is a waste of time bc of whatever, guys voting is the last of anything we have it is clear most of these people who represent us do not actually care, HOWEVER trump currently has the house, senate and courts and making it even slightly harder to do anything or having a large enough group to speak out against what he’s doing will help hundreds of thousands of people in the US. now more than ever is it important to make sure that they know that we do not stand for this
What is your opinion on using ChatGPT to help you write? I myself use it for moral boosters and when I'm doubting myself and ask it if something makes sense, nothing more as I'd never want a word of my novel to not be my own. But I've seen some hate online recently from writers saying that anyone who uses it at all isn't a writer? Which does make me awfully sad
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It's not hate – we're scared and frustrated. Not just for ourselves, because AI is a genuine threat to our livelihoods, but also for the next generation of writers, like you. It's going to be a lot harder to get discovered or published with AI-generated content flooding the Internet and the book market.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Meta trained Llama 3 on a massive body of pirated work. You can read more about it here. Meta employees knew this was morally wrong, but they did it anyway, because (1) they didn't want to pay anyone for the use of copyrighted work, and (2) they knew they could get away with it, and they have. They took our stories, born of real human experiences, and used them to feed something that's designed to be able to replace us. There are other reasons writers may be anti-AI, like the impact on the environment, but hopefully that gives you some context for why writers, specifically, are reacting to this so strongly.
You've said you wouldn't use ChatGPT to write your novel, which is great to hear. If you did, I would tell you that you weren't, in my opinion, a writer – just as I would never claim to be an artist if I used ChatGPT to create images, or a musician if I used it to generate a song. But I would also gently question why you feel like you need it to give you morale boosters or tell you if something makes sense. ChatGPT is not a human reader; unless you specifically instruct it not to flatter you, it will say what you want to hear. It isn't reacting to you, or to your story, with a human gut or a human heart. To me, any praise or encouragement it offers is empty. There's nobody and nothing behind it.
As for asking it to help you work out if something makes sense: I really do understand the temptation. I'm chronically ill, so I write at a slower pace than a lot of my colleagues, and it might help me churn out books faster if I asked ChatGPT to help me unpick a knot in the narrative, or fix a plot hole. But I don't want to surrender the ability to think and problem-solve for myself, and I would caution you against doing that – not just for the sake of your writing, but for everyday life. In this era of disinformation and propaganda, our ability to think, interrogate and analyse the world around us is more important than ever.
I can't stop you from using AI. But ask yourself: what would you have done before ChatGPT? Could you have figured out for yourself if something about your story makes sense? I think you definitely could have. It might have taken a bit longer, but you would have worked it out. I would encourage you to hold on to that ability. Cherish and nurture it. Rather than relying on artificial intelligence, trust your own.
Alright, I extremely enjoyed the silly villain reader posts, and my mind just thought about this, how would the heroes and villains react if Reader just slept on their lap?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I originally wrote Silly Villain! Reader as sort of a refresher, a palette cleanse. Something I could return to and daydream about to get my mind off more darker requests. So I hope you enjoy this! I’ve included a few more characters because why not?
Aquaman -[ROMANTIC]
He would freeze as you slumped into his arms, before rearranging you into a more comfortable position whilst ignoring all the jealous stares he’s getting from his coworkers. He would bundle you up and just carry you around in like a baby sling. You are encompassed by blanket and beefy muscle, where he goes you must follow. He even takes you with him on missions, but by then he’s rearranged the blanket sling to be on his back. Arthur Curry is like softly obsessed with you, not yandere, but like obsessed in the way that he just wants to be close to you and will ignore anything and everything if you so much as stir. Speaking of you stirring, this man doesn’t really care if someone wakes you up. His focus is on you, calming you with soft whispered words and gentle touches to the face, brushing away loose hair. Like I said, the man’s enamoured.
Bane -[ROMANTIC]
Would not move. He could easily bring you with him wherever he goes but to him, your comfort is his priority. And to be fair, you’ve used him like a jungle gym so this isn’t really that crazy for his goons. Bane would take all meetings and updates from right where he had sat before you climbed into his lap. Unlike a lot of the others on this list, you didn’t accidentally fall asleep on him. You did it on purpose. No one can blame you, he gives the best cuddles and is just the perfect balance between warm and firm that just knocks you the fuck out. You need sleep? Bane’s arms are already open, waiting for you. Though if anyone woke you up or was being too loud, he would kill them with one hand. Like snap their neck whilst cuddling you close to him, no one disturbs his sunshine. His goons have learnt to whisper their reports and tiptoe down corridors.
Batman -[PLATONIC]
This might upset some people, but I think Batman just has a platonic neutrality with you, not romantic. He gets a headache when he’s working with or against you because he knows he’s got to baby-proof the Batmobile and holding cell you’ll eventually go to. However, you also lower his walls which is super rare for Bruce. He is your number 1 snuggle buddy, against his will. For some reason, your yawns (perfected with the cartoonish snot bubble that pops and wakes you up) are like chloroform to him. As soon as he hears it, it takes like two seconds before he’s gone to sleepy land. This has happened so much that whenever he is on a mission concerning you, he has to have a chaperone so he doesn’t sleep. If the two of you happened to fall asleep next to each other, Bruce is most likely laying his head on yours with his arm around your shoulders. His kids try and bribe you to record your yawns so they can get him to have a regular sleep schedule.
Catwoman -[ROMANTIC]
She is the one grabbing you and putting you in her lap. Most likely you were walking past her and she just grabbed your waist before pulling you into her body. No matter how much you squirm you can’t evade her hold. She all but purrs as you give in and bask in her attention. She pinches and pokes you occasionally, just to hear your reactions. When you eventually get bored enough to sleep, she just watches you breathe. Like Arthur, she’s lowkey obsessed. Again, not yandere. But more kind of her checking you’re alive. Though her counting your breathes is a bit overkill. She doesn’t stop you from being woken up because it’s not like she’s going to let you go any time soon. Plus it gives her a chance to tease you over drooling or sleep talking. Would absolutely hold it above your head if you mumble her name whilst asleep.
Constantine -[ROMANTIC/PLATONIC]
I can kind of see this being either way, just because you would be the type of little freak that I can see Constantine being attracted to only to have his inner monologue go ‘WHY?!’. He’s just kind of confused but decides to just go along with it, he’s seen worse. He’s another member of the Chronic Insomniac Club. It’s always just another case or just another spell, wearing himself thin until he just collapses on his sofa and sleeps for like 4 days straight. Having a snuggle buddy that has physically attached themself to his body helps. It weighs him down, he can’t move off the sofa unless he wants to wake up the little clown (not Joker-adjacent) he’s basically taken in. I feel as though you wouldn’t necessarily fall asleep in his lap, but probably crashed at his place. After a long day of being a nuisance you crash at Constantine’s home, because in your words ‘it smells nice’, and fall asleep on his sofa. And not long after you turn up, an equally exhausted if not more so sorcerer gets home and collapses on top of you, asleep before he even landed. You probably don’t care, using his trench coat as a blanket and in the morning he’s probably more confused than annoyed. Anyone attempting to wake you up would be met with a very grouchy British man ready to send them to Hell for disturbing his sleep. Oh, and you’re here too.
Deathstroke -[PLATONIC]
This man hates you. Loathes you, in a mostly comical way. Any time he works with you, he is audibly complaining and groaning because he thinks you don’t take things seriously enough. You know he hates you, so you do everything in your power to annoy the shit out of him. I imagine you hug him, arms like rubber as they snake around him multiple times, every time you see him and really up the exaggeration in your emotions and reactions. It’s definitely a love-hate relationship but deep down, Deathstroke does car. Another one who wouldn’t directly cuddle. Though I imagine if you ever got super hurt to the point you needed to be hospitalised, he would fight tooth and nail to sit by your side. He would hold your hand until you woke up, not letting go even to sleep himself. He would kick out anyone too loud, including nurses and medical staff. He would vehemently deny it but can’t help himself as the worry bleeds through. Don’t go dying on him yet, he needs his daily dosage of annoyance.
Flash -[ROMANTIC]
Barry absolutely adores you. Like this man enjoys jokes and pranks so having you around is more of a blessing than a nuisance. He’s probably one of the few people that you won’t be sleeping around. Both of you are too excitable and hyperactive to really slow down and feel your exhaustion. He’s usually the first one turning up to any of your crime moments, most of the time cheering you on or just watching the chaos unfurl. If the two of you did end up sleeping together (NOT LIKE THAT), then you would be a nightmare to live near (this sounds so bad, I swear it isn’t). Both of you would snore really loud, like so loud that it can be heard through walls. And neither of you would be able to stay still as you sleep. Barry is a chronic kicker in my opinion and you would probably roll around a lot. Somehow, you both consistently wake up without the blanket, you star-fishing on an angle and Barry half off the bed. No one would be able to walk you up through the cacophony of your shared sounds.
Green Arrow -[ROMANTIC/PLATONIC]
This could either way because he would be super protective and vigilant no matter the type of relationship you have with him. If you’re romantically entangled then he would stop you from cuddling with him anywhere other than your home because when you do cuddle, he lays on top of you. This isn’t just to feel close to you but also to protect you from any intruders. If anyone wanted to get to you, they’d have to get through him first. Try to ignore the knife under your pillow, he needs it within grabbing distance just in case. If you were platonically intertwined, then I can see him indulging in hugs and cuddles so long as it doesn’t restrict his limbs. So if you wanna nap on him, go for it. He wouldn’t sleep with you, though he desperately needs it, but he would stroke your back and ensure that no loud sounds would disturb you. Oliver won’t deter anyone from coming in the room but should they start shouting or making loud noises unnecessarily, he will send them a sharp look to tone it down.
Green Lantern -[ROMANTIC/PLATONIC]
I definitely think that this man is desperate for someone to adore him. He wants to be your hero, a guiding light. He needs this, man. If romantic, then I see him super eager for nap time except he won’t shut up about how great he is. You want to sleep, he wants to yap. Two lovers doomed to fall apart. However, all it takes is a threat to go to someone else for your much needed beauty rest to get him to buck up and settle into the quiet with you. If platonic, similarly to romantic, he needs to be wanted. He wants to be that cool, older brother figure to you. I imagine you would prefer this version since he would just lift you up into a piggy back ride where the gentle jostling will lull you to sleep. Occasionally he may use his Ring to make you a blanket or a stuffed toy for extra comfort. Hal is so paranoid that someone is going to wake you up though that he becomes the person who wakes you up, leaving you to fulfil your threat and find comfort elsewhere. He is heartbroken and falls to his knees in shame.
Harley Quinn -[PLATONIC]
Do not fall asleep on or near Harley if you don’t want the life to be squished out of you. She has a case of cuteness aggression and it’s bad. You fell asleep by yourself, and woke up to be fully engulfed by Harley and her two pet hyenas, with her using you as her personal teddy bear. It’s warm, cosy and honestly addictive. Anytime you do wake up, it’s pretty easy for you to fall back asleep. Harley snores a little, and she’s quite active when she’s asleep, but if she’s rolling she’s taking you with her. Anyone who dares interrupt the smallest bit of serotonin that she holds close to her gets to meet her beloved hyenas up and close. A few poor delivery men and cold callers have been chased through the streets of Gotham multiple times. Some have tried bribing them but they’re too loyal to the cuddle pile.
Joker -[PLATONIC]
This man is not your friend. I put platonic because I don’t see him pursuing you romantically because all he’s interested in is seeing how far he can push you before you break. One of his favourite ways to do so is through sleep deprivation. Anytime you are paired together for a mission, you get no sleep. From playing trombone music, to insisting the lights stay to even shocking you with a cattle spike to keep you awake, he’s trying anything and everything. Because of this, you’ve been turning down a lot of opportunities to do crime with him so he’s been following you from place to place. Probably the number one reason why you crash at Constantine’s, you don’t want to go home to a psycho maniac clown who has a penchant for an Eminem-Metallica blend. However, I will say that in the very rare moments the Joker lets you sleep (probably like a hour or two before the mission plan starts), he will absolutely beat the person who woke you up. He beats them to a pulp with a crowbar and then hands you the crowbar as a gift. Only he can disturb you. Only he can torment you.
Lex Luther -[ROMANTIC]
Lex hates it, especially when it happens in public. He pretends he doesn’t know you and calls security to ‘take care of you’- .i.e. lock you up in your shared quarters. He questions why he’s with you every day. Similar to Constantine, he’s just in a constant state to ‘WHY THEM?!?!’. It’s almost like a blow to his ego and intelligence. The only good part is that he can show off to Superman and watch as the Kryptonian struggles with his jealously. That’s the only time he would publicly indulge your clingy habits. In private though? There are some rarer moments where he lets himself be encompassed by you. You practically bear hug each time, and each time he breathes in like he was hurt before forcing his body to relax, muscle by muscle. It’s not easy, his walls are as tall as the Great Wall of China is long. If anyone interrupts him, he’s quick to toss you off of him before addressing them, remembering their face and name so he can have them ‘dealt with’. No one should see him in his most vulnerable moments… But can you come continue cuddling him? He’s getting cold.
Martian Manhunter -[PLATONIC]
I think he’s very intrigued and amused by you. Kind of like a human to a cute puppy or frog, if that fits you more. Like he’ll indulge you here and there but is very neutral most of the time. However, he is kind of a secret sower of chaos. He would absolutely pass you candy so that you become so hyperactive, that the others are a bit scrambled. If he has the time, he will sit by you as you sleep and listen in to your dreams. With your consent, of course. It’s the best way he can learn about you since your powers prevent him from using most of his on you. A pair of oddities you are. Should anyone attempt to wake you, he just calmly says something like ‘That is not the best course of action. Please reconsider’. If they don’t, then he just picks you up and moves into the next room. Also another person to accidentally wake you up whilst chasing others away, but unlike a certain lamp guy, he learns and doesn’t do it again.
Mister Freeze -[PLATONIC]
Why are you sleeping on him? He is quite literally deathly cold. You say it’s perfect for a nest of blankets. He calls you weird. You call him old. That silences Victor and he grumbles but lets you do as you please. You know that type of dad that doesn’t express their affection through words, but rather actions? Yeah, thats Victor. The next time you come to seek refuge from a child drawing of a clown come to life, there’s extra fluffy and better quality bedding and pillows. Oh, and they so happen to be in your favourite colour. If you ask him, he’ll tell you some story about having them back in his old home and he was going to get rid of them, but if you like them so much, you can keep them. You ignore the tag still on the sheets. When he thinks you’re asleep, he brushes your hair out of your face. Sometimes as you fuss in your sleep, he hums or sings a soft lullaby. If anyone attempts to disturb you in his laboratory, they wouldn’t even make it to the inner door before one of his inventions dealt with them.
Nightwing -[PLATONIC/ROMANTIC]
Similar to Green Lantern, this man is begging you to sit in his lap for cuddles and naps. Dick is super touch starved and lacks like really good intimacy skills, both platonic or romantic. As soon as you sit in his lap and fall asleep, his whole body locks up. He freezes and has to remind himself that he needs to breathe. Dick probably shed a tear and feels blessed/chosen. He barely touches you but once he becomes comfortable enough, he’ll trace small circles on your back. Definitely one of the few who would accidentally wake you up and he feels so betrayed by his own body. If someone tries to wake you or makes noise, he instinctively grips you tighter and shoots them a glare. It’s his cuddle time, not anyone else’s! I see him as the type of person to try and plan the nap sessions though, because he can’t really deal with spontaneity quite well and after the first few random times, would want a designated time for it. He would also try and force you to wear matching pyjamas.
Penguin -[PLATONIC]
This man is so comfy to sleep on. The only issue is, he doesn’t like to sit still for long and loses his temper quickly which means he is very loud most of the time. However, should you attempt it he won’t dissuade you. He would prefer you do it whilst he’s attending paperwork with minimal distractions. Oswald just kind of sees you like a nuisance he has on a leash, almost like a pet but without the dehumanisation. If any of his goons try to interrupt or say something to him, he puts a pair of noise cancelling headphones on you or covers your ears before shouting. He wouldn’t sleep with you, valuing his time much more and would probably feel too vulnerable to do so. He would provide you with sleeping attire and would insist that you get changed before snuggling because he wouldn’t want any dirt or Gotham grime on his freshly pressed suit. You wouldn’t really visit him that often because he’s way too close to the Joker, both geographically and sometimes on missions.
Poison Ivy -[PLATONIC]
Let’s be real, Pamela probably drugged you. You are way too hyperactive for her sometimes so in order to keep you calm around her plants and not excite Harley too much, she drugs you. Nothing serious but just enough to make you sleeping. It’s probably just an intense chamomile and lavender extract. She sometimes cuddles you but it’s not really her style. She adores you but she also values her personal space sometimes. If you do it during a mission, she’ll humour you but not for long because she wants to get back to her greenhouse and lover (Harley) as soon as possible. She would definitely be the type to brag about it, subtly though. And her main victims? Batman and Nightwing. Anytime she crosses paths with them, she drops a couple of lines about you not being afraid of her and how willing you are to return to the home she shares with Harley. They don’t need to know that she drugs you for it most of the time.
Ra’s al Ghul -[ROMANTIC]
This man is babying you. If you’re napping, or even climb into his lap, he’s cancelling what he has planned for the day. He’s lived far longer than his enemies and he’ll live long after they died, so he can spare a few hours to dote and cuddle you. He definitely makes you get changed into the most luxurious sleep ware, silk with encrusted diamond and ruby enamelling as well as gold thread details. It’s probably worth the same as a small European country. If he’s feeling cocking, Ra’s will have you in his lap during meetings and overseeing training. Damien has more than once questioned why you’re there but has soon gotten used to it. Ra's wouldn't sleep with you, but he would be more than happy to just watch you doze and ensure you stay wrapped up.
Red Hood -[ROMANTIC]
The second you lay in his lap, my man is freezing up and having an inner panic attack. He's so touch starved yet touch avoident that he sort of glitches and says nothing, staying absolutely still. Its a bit difficult for you to hug him but you try to make it work. Jason feels as though he destroys everything he touches so it'll take a while for him to relax and settle. It becomes a drug to him, he needs your presence to sleep. When his goons point out you're a nuisance, he just sighs and looks dreamily at you like 'my nuisance'. He doesn't care if his goons see you cuddling, its just something they have to get used to but as soon as a family member or another rogue swings by, he's all dark and brooding. Times like these he unceremoniously drops you from his arms before acting all militant. But don't worry, he'll make it up to you with cuddles later.
Riddler -[ROMANTIC/PLATONIC]
At first Edward is fully against it. He pushes you off of him and berates you for doing something so childish and unseemly, brushing invisible dirt of his custom tailored suit. It’s fine, you get your revenge by not giving him an ounce of your attention. First, you refuse to partner up with him for missions, then you decline his calls, you ignore him when he speaks to. You do all of this before he basically begs (though he won’t ever admit to it) for your forgiveness and pulls you into his arms. Edward thought he was above it all and now he won’t make that mistake a second time. His goons aren’t allowed in the room when you cuddle though, so they have to communicate through very awkward rushed scribbles on paper that are then stuffed under the door or window. Many a times they have conducted raids like this, and it wasn’t until Batman invaded their base that someone suggested text messages or some other easy when to communicate. Riddler will actually pout if you wake up or move away before he’s had his daily dose of you and will immediately kill anyone who wakes you up.
Scarecrow -[PLATONIC]
He loathes physical touch and how silly you are in what is supposed to be a serious endeavour. Jonathan would absolutely use his Fear gas on you, just to see what happens. What he didn’t expect was for you to become extra clingy as you saw things you couldn’t explain and used him to ground yourself. He hated it, you wouldn’t let go of his arms as you sobbed. You wouldn’t let go, couldn’t. Your grip was ironclad and left dark purple bruises on his skin. At some point during your awful psychedelic trip, Jonathan Crane got used to you. It wasn’t a huge switch. It was gradual and slow, building to a neutrality. He didn’t hate you touching him, but he didn’t love it either. However, by the time he got used to your presence, you were flat out cold. The gas had scared you so much you spiralled yourself into exhaustion and fell asleep. On him. He would feel bad but you’ve basically anchored him down to one spot and now he can’t do his work.
Superman -[ROMANTIC]
First I got to say, choosing Clark Kent for cuddles and naps is the best choice here. That man is southern hospitality and sunshine all wrapped up in a beefcake who loves puppies and flowers. He is so down for cuddles, like almost desperately so. He gets so giddy and giggling when you begin to climb into his lap. Let me just say that you won’t need any blankets or pillows, this man is warm enough. If someone tries to wake you up or if he wants to annoy the other members of the Justice League, he will just make sure you’re all secure (probably as a bear hug) and then just fly in the air. He’ll use his laser eyes to cut around walls to make sure its quiet enough for you before floating high above whatever city he was in. This definitely pisses off Bruce and the Flash. He would wake you up with sweet innocent kisses across your face until you stirred and then gently fly you to Paris or Smallville for a nice ‘breakfast’. He would never wake you up accidentally because he has your heartbeat on his radar at all times.
Talia al Ghul -[ROMANTIC]
Much like her father, Talia absolutely spoils you. Matching sleeping attire? Check! 5 star facial treatments for the both of you? Check! Silk sheets in an European palace? Check! As for who falls asleep on who? It could go either way as Talia adores cuddling you, it gives her the perfect opportunity to pinch and poke you and have you whenever she pleases. She’d probably drug you a little bit, just to keep you nice and complacent. She coils around you like a snake and she’s so soft that you don’t even feel the set of daggers she’s strapped to her body in case of intruders. It’s somewhat similar when she’s the little spoon as she’s always armed and loves to just lounge on you. Talia would wake you up with sex or slow kisses across your face and upper body. She’s the boldest with her claim and would shoot someone dead for attempting to take you away from her, before cooing over your sleepy mumbles.
Two-Face -[ROMANTIC]
Harvey is a man who thrives on the chaos you bring. But rather than scold you for sleeping on the job, he would probably see it as you recuperating your energy. He would feel blessed that you, basically his God at this point, would choose to sleep on him. The very level of vulnerability you have shown him is all but a marriage proposal. He would guard you with his life and would kill anything or anyone in the perimeter, regardless if they made noise or not. To him, he can’t take any chances. He also wouldn’t sleep with you, too paranoid and alert to relax. It may even be that he puts you in a secure safe room which has been done up to be your bedroom. It has over 60 different types of locks and most of them have answers that only Harvey knows. He would stroke your face whilst you slept and whisper some sort of ranted prayer. The only way he would wake you was if the compound was under attack and he needed to move you. Any other time, he is actively trying to soothe you so you return to your slumber.
Wonder Woman -[ROMANTIC/PLATONIC]
For Diana, it could go either way as she’s going to hold you in one arm or on her hip like a baby because to her, you’re her baby. If your relationship is platonic, then she’ll indulge in your clinginess and use it to brag to Bruce. (Both her and Clark like to watch him struggle a bit). She’s another one that wouldn’t nap with you, but would stay awake just to ensure you’re safe and sound. Plus, I imagine as a demigod she doesn’t really need that much sleep. If your relationship is romantic, then she may be clingy too. If you nap together in the safe space of your shared home, then you aren’t going anywhere. Her arms are like iron bars once they find purchase around your waist. She also doesn’t really care for matching pyjamas but she does adore you when you wear her sweats. No matter your size, she has a version of hers in it. She doesn’t wake you up either. But Diana definitely wakes up before you and just stares at your face until you wake up. She likes to memorise these moments because she doesn’t know when they may end. If someone wakes you up on accident, she gently chides them before doting on you as you are extra cute to her when you’re sleepy.
Hope you enjoyed! This came out as more of sleeping headcannons but either way I hope it was a good read.
Hey guys, you might’ve noticed that I’ve been really inactive recently. And that’s because of two things. First, university. I’ve moved back home and have to write my dissertation which has been really time consuming alongside getting a job. It’s kind of my priority right now as once it’s done I can graduate and get a job in my dream sector. Second, my mental health has really declined for the past year or so. I have so many requests and no confidence in my writing at this moment in time. So I might go on a hiatus and work on some stuff until I come back. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone or if anyone will really care as there are plenty of amazing authors here on this website. But it is definitely something I need to do. I hope you can understand and that you don’t resent me too badly for it. But for now, it’s important for me to become settled so that I’m in the right headspace to be writing. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you later.
Hey guys, you might’ve noticed that I’ve been really inactive recently. And that’s because of two things. First, university. I’ve moved back home and have to write my dissertation which has been really time consuming alongside getting a job. It’s kind of my priority right now as once it’s done I can graduate and get a job in my dream sector. Second, my mental health has really declined for the past year or so. I have so many requests and no confidence in my writing at this moment in time. So I might go on a hiatus and work on some stuff until I come back. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone or if anyone will really care as there are plenty of amazing authors here on this website. But it is definitely something I need to do. I hope you can understand and that you don’t resent me too badly for it. But for now, it’s important for me to become settled so that I’m in the right headspace to be writing. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you later.
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NOTICE: As more and more fanfic writers are using generative AI for their works (you uncreative dweebs), I hereby swear on everything I hold dear that I have not and will NEVER use generative AI in ANY of my written work. Everything I post will be organically and creatively my own.
It's scary to be transgender in the world right now but if you're transgender I love you and we have to stick together and keep fighting and keep living and keep loving
The grandfather clock maliciously imposed upon the parlour’s silence, each grating click and sway of the pendulum ringing out and causing Alfred to twitch every now and then. His throat was a tad dry and a thin layer of sweat began to form along the back of his neck, the weight of his sins shifting uncomfortably on his chest.
He had to steel himself at the door before knocking, mindful of the tray balanced in his other hand. The food which was upon it, a lovely roast chicken with vegetables (your favourite, if he recalled correctly), now laid cold and untouched on the very coffee table he had placed it. At the back of his mind, a small whisper confirmed his fear- you hadn’t touched a bite of it, much less moved from your spot by the window. Not to eat. Not to drink. Not even to sleep, though Alfred had a sneaking suspicion that you were barely conscious at any one point.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
His heart beater slowly and almost lazily as he looked at you, your question still hanging in the air as he took in your stiff frame and sunken face. He makes particular note of your eyes, once so bright and full of sparkle now dull and empty yet wild and untamed as though you were one second from becoming a raving beast, untethered from your morality. He swallowed. Maybe in another life, where tragedy did not follow you and where you were allowed to grow strong.
‘Mx. Lord, I…’
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
It was not like Alfred to hesitate, much less lose confidence. But those eyes… They stared past him, no through him, seeing something lost. Your lips, dry and cracked and bloodied, parted and he could hear your visceral gasps of breath. Your voice, somehow stale and broken, strained with stagnation as you spoke.
‘M-My boy, my lovely little b-boy… Tell me Alfred, has my sweetling come back from school yet? I haven’t seen h-him in so long…’
A small shiver ran up the butler’s spine, sending frost through his veins and numbing his nerves. His gloved hands clenched softly at his sides and he stared back at your distant face, trying to hide his discomfort and grief. And maybe his guilt.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
‘Mx. Lord, I regret to inform you but Master Jason was severely injured and… passed away whilst on patrol with Master Bru-‘
You wailed out an ear-splitting, glass cracking scream at the mere mention of your fiancé’s name.
‘DON’T SAY HIS NAME!’
Alfred startled as a rage came about you, his blue eyes darting to your face. You were crying, long streams of tears streaked down your cheeks with your mouth twisted in an ugly snarl and strands of snot hanging from your nose as you wailed into the open air.
‘Do not say his name! A-Alfred, I beg of you, I cannot stand to hear his name. Please don’t say it, I-I can’t… I just can’t. He took my baby boy, my sweet boy… My baby… My Jason…’
Alfred took a step back and watched in horror as you began to twitch and scratch at yourself, leaving long slices across your forearms as you began to rock. You were obviously going through a mental break but he could only watch with a deep fear and helplessness. Your eyes were darting around, lips muttering and hands scratching- a constant cacophony of noise and pain in the room. His hands twitched, the urge to reach out to you snuffed out as you stared at him once more.
Tick. Tick.
‘A-Alfred, what’re you d-doing here? Is it Jason? Has he come back from the Academy? I feel as though I haven’t seen him in so long… My sweetling…’
Alfred swallowed his saliva, bile and guilt before collecting the tray and leaving the room with the silent flourish of a butler, abandoning you to rot with your memories and ghosts.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
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Damien Wayne did not do chores. He was the son of the Bruce Wayne and the grandson of the Ra’s Al Ghul. To do chores was to act below his station, that’s why they had Pennyworth. The elderly man was more than happy to take care of the manner and those who inhabited in cold, weathered corridors. Why should he lower himself to dusting? Just because he treated a brute a little more callously than his father wished. He wasn’t salty about being benched and subsequently further punished when Drake went and ratted him out for attempting to sneak out for patrol. Definitely not.
Okay, maybe just a little.
But that’s not the point! What matters is getting this done quickly and to Pennyworth’s standards, lest he spend the whole night with a feather duster in hand instead of his sacred katanas.
Richard had laughed loudly when he heard, called him an ‘eager beaver’ (why is the beaver so eager?) and ruffled Damien’s hair a little too roughly. He even called him ‘buddy’ and ‘kiddo’. Safe to say, if they were back at the League, Richard would not have both hands nor his tongue. Payment for his disrespect, the little assassin mussed but deep down he knew that he would hardly raise his blades to the older man should push come to shove. Plus, his mother taught him that one should never maim or kill their family. It’s in bad taste.
And on top of all the humiliation he was the victim of, Pennyworth had handed him an affront to the eyes. The feather duster, which he holds far from his body like it smelled of anything but roses, was striped with a vibrant, almost neon, purple and a muddy dark red. It hurt his eyes and made him feel nauseous but the butler had handed it to him with a kind smile and an even kinder order to go dust the west wing, where the bedrooms are. Damien was not permitted to go into the bedrooms but the corridors and empty rooms were in dire need of a good dust.
With a dramatic look over his shoulder, Damien stormed through the foyer and cursed the others who were allowed to go on patrol. He had thought his status as the biological child would garner him some favouritism but it seems that Bruce would be harder to appease.
So began his evening of clouded air and loud, yet high pitched, sneezes. Each corridor had ornate, detailed skirting boards and tall side tables crowned with overly detailed silver candelabras and bowls of artificial fruit. And each piece needed to be dusted by the young boy.
‘Do it thoroughly’, Alfred had said, ‘I’ll know if you don’t.’
Damien wondered if the Englishman had some form of telepathic abilities and even brought that up to his father, who had only chuckled, not taking the young boy seriously, and said ‘It sure does seem like that, doesn’t it?’ Sometimes, in the night, he wonders what his mother ever saw in the Gothamite who would just leave the question unanswered.
He dusted the area outside his father’s room, then the area by Richard’s old bedroom, and then he barely touched Drake’s but made some sort of effort before moving onto the rest of the wing. It was easy, almost meditative, work that let the young boy practice his breathing techniques and think on new training procedures. He didn’t want to admit it but he could feel a sense of calm settling in his bones, maybe Pennyworth knew something he didn’t. Maybe he knew it would help the younger boy with emotion regulation. Or maybe he felt that by treating the child like that, a child, would ultimately help Damien in the long run.
The vacant rooms weren’t too hard to clean either. They had minimal furniture which would mostly covered by sheets of cotton, creating a sea of pale fabric and dimming natural light. It felt so serene and quiet each time Damien entered a new room, like each space was a whole new plane of existence separate from the new life he was thrusted into. Something clean, as opposed to the bloodied one he was living.
The discontent wormed under his skin, the feeling of not belonging raged in his head, a cacophony of thoughts and instincts screaming at him to leave. But through gritted teeth, Damien persevered. Room by room, one by one he dusted them and attempted to ignore the siren call of the elegant artistic furniture.
It was in one of the last rooms, the furthest from his father’s chambers, where the young child took note of something he had previously ignored. All the rooms lacked artwork, not a single large frame or even a small one in sight. All rooms…except this one.
In fact this room seemed to actually be an entrance to a series of rooms, with a few doors going off to equally abandoned rooms. Damien quirked an eyebrow at the lack of dust in the air. It was weird, like this place was somewhat lived in or at least visited like a dark and ancient altar to a long forgotten rural deity, where a child visits to light incense daily. Its quaint. And quiet.
He bit back some bile and approached the central piece of the room. In the middle of the furthest wall from the entry door was a tall, pale fireplace. If he had to guess, it was carved from a dramatic yet elegant marble and shipped thousands of miles to Gotham only to sit unused and forgotten in an equally unused and forgotten room. It was uncovered and shone beautifully in the dusk light filtering in from the windows, casting soft tinges of orange and pink across the bare wall. It looked too empty however, the grand piece was missing an equally grand decoration above it. Damien noticed the slight discolouration and soon found the culprit.
To the side of the fireplace stood a clothed square. He reached out and felt the texture of the cotton, almost memorising the feeling of the strands and threads woven together. It had a hint of warmth from the day’s briefest bout of sunshine. But he could feel the cold press of glass beneath it and with a flourish, flicked the sheet away. A beat of silence passed before he uttered a word.
‘Huh.’
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Clark Kent has always been of a nervous disposition, it’s engrained in his nature. Something left over from his survival instincts maybe? Or perhaps his trauma from being bullying showing up in interesting ways once he reached adulthood? Maybe thats why he’s constantly fidgeting too…
His hands smoothed his suit and played with his notepad, ensuring the pen was secure and that the pages were blank before repeating it again and again. The wait was killing him, each second dragged on like a slug along the pavement. And even though he knew he wouldn’t be waiting for too long, he still pleaded for time to go quicker.
Lois called it a nervous tick, and let’s be honest, who wouldn’t be nervous when meeting with a member of the American aristocracy? A person whose net worth was a hundred, if not a thousand, times the worth of the land his parents’ farm sits upon. Yeah, no biggie.
Was it too late to bail?
But as soon as that thought entered his head, he was collected and corralled through the bare bones of the museum before being deposited in front of a pair of redwood doors. Tall and imposing, and definitely cost more than the rent of his old apartment. But beyond them lay a figure whose value superseded his comprehension. And a knock was all it took for him to enter the lion’s den.
‘Come in.’
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A/N:
So what do you think? I know it’s not the best, I’m still trying to grapple with writing dialogue because it’s difficult!!!! I also felt that my work couldn’t be considered on the same level as some of the other authors here on this hellsite but I just pushed through and pressed the post button. Fun fact, I originally wrote the last scene with Lois Lane in mind instead but then Tumblr did something so so so nice! It deleted the latest edit I made so I had to rewrite a small chunk and decided that Clark being nervous made more sense than our girl boss Lois. Also I know it’s quite short, I’m not used to writing in long format one shots or chapters since I’m so used to headcannons and alphabets but I hope to write more in the future. Let me know what you guys think! <3
Back on the Ex-Fiancé train because it has been slowly rotating in my head like a roast chicken on a skewer in a kebab shop. But specifically, obsessed with the idea that the Reader doesn’t know any of the kids post Jason, you’re somewhat aware of Damien through whispers throughout your social circles but everyone else? Nah, not an ounce of recognition. Which is so angst but also so funny to me. Like Stephanie or Tim calling you Mum/Dad/Parent by mistake in conversation, where you barely know them and are only attending the gala out of business obligations. And they freeze, embarrassed and mortified by the slip of tongue, but you’re just like ‘They’ve been adopted by Bruce, of course they have Mummy/Daddy/Parent issues’. If only you knew the extent of it. Like their obsession with you is so in-depth and intense, that they knew you as their parent before they even met you in person at the gala.
For Dick, it’s this desperate grapple on a slippery rope. He is so invested in being around you and in your space that he comes off as overbearing, condescending and just a tad insane. He’s hanging on by a thread and just needs you to ruffle his hair or pat him on the head to keep on going. He has so many issues but one hug from you would solve all of them.
He does not approve of your relationship with Bruce, which is so funny to me. Like thats his Dad but under no circumstances should you be with him, you’re too good for Bruce. He has plans to move you to Bludhaven, in a nice cosy penthouse with a balcony that can’t lock so he can come over whenever and relax with you. Any mention of Bruce is quickly dismissed, Dick is ready to forge the adoption documents. He’s so ready to abandon Bruce and have your name as his sole guardian on the certificate, not only to spite Bruce but to force you to legally acknowledge him as your oldest son.
On top of that, he would keep trackers on you and have cameras installed in your home (but not in your personal space, you deserve some privacy at the very least). But he rarely uses them because he’s hardly away from you when he’s not on patrol as Nightwing or at his day job. Speaking of his day job, Dick forces you to make him food and bring it to the police station so he can show his amazing parent off. Or, if he can’t convince you to do that or your schedule won’t allow it, he will crash your office or kitchen and force you to eat with him. Fully expects you to wipe his mouth with a napkin when he, purposefully, eats messily. Dick’s also not above locking you in your penthouse and taking over your professional responsibilities under the guise of you being sick. He may not be the most business minded but he can manage for a day or two. Would definitely force you to retire early and move in with him and his current partner. (I’m thinking Starfire/Koriand’r, because she’s either platonically yandere for you too or is not aware that this is not the usual human parent-child customs, and Dick isn’t going to tell her the truth. In fact he’s going to encourage the yandereness, two people are better than one). He would so love you to be the go to for his medical aid, something about having his parental figure taking care of his wounds heals his inner child and lessens the guilt of dismissing you when he was younger. Would so try and replicate the early milestones he prevented you from participating in. You would have VIP tickets to any gymnastic events he’s involved in, the first person he wants to take to any events (the public love hi, like Kianu Reeves taking his mother to the 2020 Oscars), the first person he’d go to for dating advice, etc. Dick treats everything you do as something sacred, and partakes in it all with a manic grin and deep desperation.
Good luck trying to date or go home with someone, anyone. Dick sees everyone as less than perfect for you, even those he sees as admirable like Superman. If Clark even tries, you suddenly have a Kryptonite amulet securely around your neck warding him away. The chain short enough that you can’t even pull it over your head, and with no clasp, making it insanely difficult for Clark to approach. If you try to et with anyone, Dick makes you feel unwanted. He says stuff like dating at your age is wrong, unnatural, nobody would want you, yo have to think about his kids/your grandkids, he doesn’t want a random old creep hanging around them, etc. He brings your self esteem right down, about six feet below ground down, and brings i back up by exaggerating how much he and Kori need you in their life. Fully expects you to centre your life around him and his growing family.
The second most likely to kidnap you, but wouldn’t drug you or even consider drugging you. After all, he needs the grandparent of his future kids to be coherent enough to babysit them if needed.
I’ve touched upon Jason briefly in the original Drabble but I’ll expand upon it here. As stated before, he’s so so scared to approach you. He sees himself as something corrupted, evil, dark, unnatural. And he doesn’t want to taint you, the last good thing in Gotham in his opinion. He just observes, his hands itching to possess but he never dares to reach out unless necessary. Jason is your constant shadow, the one who sits in the dark and protects you from your own nightmares because he thinks that whilst he can’t stand by you in the light, he can protect you from it. (And, to some degree, himself).
Vehemently against you being with Bruce, like any mention of that man is enough to put Jason on edge. Like Dick, he thinks you are too good for the Wayne man. He thinks that Bruce will only end up breaking his already weak promises and hurting you again, unnecessarily. To keep his anonymity, Jason orchestrates things in the background. Bruce and you attending the same gala? Suddenly Bruce can’t attend because Red Hood is stirring up some drama that the Batman has to see to. (The drama is severed heads, again). You happen to be at the same restaurant as his ex-adoptive father? Suddenly the waiter is spilling hot soup on Bruce’s date, causing the two to leave due to embarrassment. Just don’t ask why that waiter was wearing Groucho glasses and putting on a very obvious French accent, in a Kurdish restaurant. Jason is nothing if not petty and effective.
The way his obsession presents itself is subtle, like a creeping sunset making it darker and darker until the stars twinkle in the sky and you’re left surprised at how slowly it crept up on you. As Red Hood, he has his goons keep an eye on you. He has like a mini task force around you constantly, keeping tabs and protecting you all the while you live your life oblivious to his efforts. The goons begin to also see you like a grandparent/parent figure, seeing Jason as an older brother figure due to his effort concerning improving the quality of life for those in Crime Alley. They take pictures of you doing things they deem ‘cute’ or ‘adorable’ and share them amongst themselves, including you grocery shopping, cooking, knitting, crocheting, accidentally falling asleep, etc. Jason has a folder on his phone dedicated to you, full of these pictures, and his goons often trade them like they’re highly desired Magic the Gathering or Pokemon cards. I’m talking one picture of you baking is worth two pictures of you feeding the birds at your local park. It’s become a cult almost. Bruce tries to get involved, but Jason forbids his goons from even acknowledging Batman and his attempts. Like they full on bank him every time he tries to get information from them. Jason also, kind of, lives with you? Without you knowing it? Like, I imagine that whilst he trusts that his goons can take care of many problems that may pose a threat to you, he also believes that he can be the last and best resort should it come to that. He’s the sort of yandere that ‘lives inside the walls’ in a sense. Like if you have an attic, basement or even a spacious crawl space, he’s renovating it whilst you’re out and moving himself in. You don’t even realise that the soft strokes of the wind isn’t actually the wind but Jason shuffling about in the small spaces. He also tries to take care of you in small ways, like restocking your fridge and cupboards without you realising that you even ran out of food. And if you do, you just chalk it up to your assistant doing it for you. Especially since that assistant is on Jason’s payroll, but you don’t need to know about that. He has a serious of cameras set up in your home, so he can watch from his room. He loves watching you sleep, where your wrinkles soften, the bags under your eyes seem a bit lighter, and you seem overall at peace. It causes his breath to hitch and his eyes to well up. You look so tired, old, frail. He’s missed so much because of the Joker, because of Bruce. It reinvigorates his anger, his resentment, his need for revenge. Jason keeps a picture of you with him, the one of you and him as a child in the garden, to remind him of his mission. Of his purpose.
Unlike Dick, Jason isn’t too opposed to the idea that you might get with some new, even at your age. He fully believes that you deserve something pure, romantic and happy. As long as it’s not Bruce. That’s his baseline. Depending on who you like, his top picks are either Wonder Woman or Two-Face. Wonder Woman because not only does he admire her, she also represents true justice and honour. He can assuredly believe that she would treat you just as you deserve and that you would be thoroughly respected and romanced. Diana definitely has her eye on you, she loves pissing Bruce off and she admires your mindset and resilience. Jason doesn’t discriminate either, you don’t have to end up with a superhero. Two-Face is someone that he has worked with before and actually sees him as a respectable gentleman that has ideologies that somewhat align with his. He’d push Harvey to reform himself, but not too much. Just enough that his crimes are more tolerable to you, as Jason doesn’t believe that you’d date a murderer or even tolerate one. But that may be his own insecurities coming to the surface. Harvey also has an advantage as you knew each other before his accident, and you’ve always believed in second chances. For everyone. Even Bruce?
The second least likely to kidnap you, but only in an event where you were in danger and needed to be moved to a more secure location so he can monitor your safety. Jason would definitely drug you in this scenario, but wouldn’t do so outside of it. Though he has been tempted when you have bouts of insomnia or when you overwork yourself, well into the night.
Tim, Tim, Tim. Oh, Tim. Part of me wants to say he’s the most disconnected out of the family but I think he’s actually the most riven one when it comes to ‘obtaining’ you. When he sets his mind to a goal, he will stop at nothing to achieve it. He will worm his way into every aspect of your life, attached to your hip at events, ‘coincidently’ running into you on the street, etc. He is the perfect Trojan Horse, appearing to be the overworked, unfortunate future CEO whose life has been riddled with tragedy and Parent issues. You don’t even get made when he calls you Mum/Dad/Parent by ‘mistake’, it just tugs at your heart strings and makes you want to hug him. Please hug him, he needs this.
Now for his obsessive tendencies. Absolutely the worst. Has trackers on all your clothes, cameras in your home, car, workplace, etc. (Currently in a ‘turf’ war with Jason, the two of them finding and replacing the other’s cameras and trying to outdo each other with security and surveillance measures). Like I mentioned above, Tim is basically everywhere you look. He presents himself as overworked and meek, mumbling things about how Bruce treats him or ‘accidentally’ oversharing and telling you about that one time Bruce called him Jason. He full on manipulates you into thinking of him in the same channel of Jason, so that whenever you think of the zombified Robin, you also think of him. Its so subtle that you don’t even think twice about it. And it gets to the point where you actively invite him to places. Whether you need an escort for an event, want to get coffee or food, whatever it is, Tim makes himself the only option you have or ever need. The media go crazy when they see the two of you out together, some calling you a cougar but when a video is leaked of you accidentally calling Tim your son, all their worries are blown out of the water. And the cause of the leak? Why Tim himself, of course. You worry about it, about how Bruce will react, how it might make Tim uncomfortable, etc. But with just a couple of words, Tim says something along the lines of ‘I wish you had adopted me, instead of Bruce’, paired with a pair of puppy dog eyes and suddenly you consider contacting the adoption office to make it official yourself. Don’t worry, Tim beat you to it and got it done the moment he met you. He invites you to all his events and gets Wayne Enterprises to constantly fund/collaborate with your institute/business just so he could have an excuse to see you more. He becomes so inter grained in your life that your home now has a guest room dedicated to him, with his clothes, personal laptop, hell even a Versace robe and slippers with his name embroidered on them. Tim often wakes up with Jason holding a gun to his head , demanding he leaves. However, he often doesn’t sleep. Instead he watches you sleep and sometimes slips into bed with you and emulates being held by a parental figure, all the while you’re unconscious. It’s a good thing he put those pills in your evening tea, otherwise you’d wake up to him and Jason threatening to kill each other in hushed shouts.
Tim wholeheartedly believes that the Manor would be the safest place for you and thus Bruce would be the best, and most convenient, partner for you. He dissects your failed relationship with his adoptive father and formulates run-ins, events and situations in which Bruce redeems himself for his past actions. He treats it like it’s an equation or a particularly hard firewall to get past, savouring the challenge and relishing in the eventual outcome. In a twisted way, he sees you and Bruce like his replacement parents. He was using your attention to negate his parents neglect and he was using Bruce and his crest as Red Robin to gain some sort of parental approval. He’s the most invested in your romantic life and has all dates, proposal and wedding options for you and Bruce all prepared and ready for the two of you to review.
He is the most likely to kidnap you, willing to do so as early as a week into knowing you and meeting you in person. Tim sees you as a vulnerable individual that could be exploited and believes that you would so much more happier and safer in the Manor. Hell, he even thinks that should you come back to the Manor, Jason would ultimately follow and that would lead to the bettering of his relationship with Bruce. He is also the most likely to drug you, to keep you complacent not only through the kidnapping but also in general. He likes physical affection and is unsure of how wiling yo’d give it to him so he takes it when he can, often orchestrating these moments with the help of drugs.
Next on the list is Stephanie. And her relationship with is a bit of a strange one. She knew of your existence before she entered the Bat family, seeing your name in the media and online. So she was quite dismissive of you at first. Of course the Bruce Wayne would leave a trail of broken hearts, with you being nothing more than a scorned lover. But then she met you, briefly recognising you whilst on an undercover mission as Spoiler. For whatever reason, she needed to infiltrate an intense gambling ring that you were present at. It was a surprise at first, seeing Gotham’s goody goody in such a dank and corrupted space as this, but then she sees how effortlessly you rebuke the men at the game tables, winning hand after hand after hand. Stephanie sees the way you deflect, attack and block with your words- remaining calm and collected under the pressure, at the same tables as the Penguin and Carmine Falcone. Suddenly you have depth to you. Suddenly she’s interested. She wants to learn, analyse and, in a way, become you.
Her obsessive behaviour is quite erratic, as though she can’t quite make up her mind about wanting to be close to you, close enough to almost become you, or close enough to be guided by you, like parent and child. Stephanie’s thoughts about you are complex. She claims to not like you or to not be too fussed about your presence, but on the inside she is flustered and fan-girling. She acts like she doesn’t know you or even remembers your name but she has pictures of you on her bedroom walls, has altered her fashion to replicate yours, changed her favourite cuisine (forcing herself to take bite after bite, even though she doesn’t like it. She can’t afford to let herself not like it). In many ways, she won’t be satisfied being the perfect daughter. No, she needs to be the perfect clone of you. Stephanie even attempted to change her physical appearance, about to get her hair cut at the salon that you go to but you had made an off-hand comment about how you liked her appearance. Your words had echoed around her mind for days after, as she absently played with her hair- the very thing you had complimented. She was so distracted by your comment that Bruce benched her from patrol for a week because he couldn’t guarantee that she would take it seriously. He’s wondering what’s going on with his children, are they sick? On top of copying certain aspects of your personality, she goes to the same places as you and ‘accidentally’ runs into you. Whether it be your workplace, the food truck that you stop by after work, the tailor on your pay roll, certain galas, etc, she’s there. And whenever you talk to her, she soaks up all your attention like a sponge and can’t help but beam like a proud child song off their macaroni art that they did in school. Stephanie invades your home whilst you’re away, as a way to become closer to you. She sleeps in your bed from short naps, surrounded by your scent. She steals pieces of jewellery that you recently wore, copies your personal scent/perfume to get for herself later, she even wears pieces of your clothes and wonders if you’ll let her dress in matching outfits. She’s not unhinged enough to do anything with your toothbrush or things like that, but she does end up collecting your hair from your hairbrush. Stephanie intends to either make a wig from it or get it turned it yarn which she can make a cardigan or scarf with it, so that she can be constantly surrounded by you without people considering her as odd.
Like Dick, Stephanie does not want you to be in a relationship at all. Least of all with Bruce. She bases herself off of you and having you be in a relationship shatters this perception of you. A partner would take your attention off of her, a partner would invade your perfectly curated space that she has memorised, engraved into her soul. If you did have a certain taste in partners, though, she would attempt to emulate that in her taste of significant others. She’d then sort of brag about it to other people. Stephanie would be like ‘look, I have the same taste in people as Y/N, aren’t I so cool?’. But overall, she’d prefer if you wear forever single because then she could be your devoted follower, your clone, without issue.
I don’t think Stephanie would kidnap you. Instead, I feel that she would move herself into your apartment building, house street or if the two of you are close enough, into your very home under the guise that she has nowhere else to go. Like Tim, she has injected herself into your life and this would be a natural extension of that. As for drugging you? She’s so down for it. Complacent you is affectionate you. She would have you all to herself, so she would be the second most likely to drug you but one of the least likely to kidnap you, tied with Duke.
Cassandra, or Cass, is a unique case. She’s like a combination of Jason and Dick, she thinks you’re way too soft for her world but she also wants you to be her parental figure so bad. On every level imaginable, Cass craves the softness of domestic life. She envies those that have it so readily and actively seeks it out in you. Like Damien, she is enamoured with the fact that she doesn’t have to earn your affection through violence and bloodshed. Instead the best way to your heart is through morality, academic success, and normality amongst other things. However, she doesn’t really communicate her desire to be apart of your makeshift family very well- often just appearing in your home or at events, with the expectation that you’ll just warm up to her.
Her obsession is shown through stalking and her never ending presence. Unlike Tim or Stephanie, she has no subtly or excuses. She’s just there, constantly and leaves you no choice but to accept it. And surprisingly it works, to a degree anyway. Cass often makes herself at home at your place, and just looks at you expectantly when you make food or drinks. She’s like an owl, wide and deep brown eyes that seem to see all. It’s unnerving, especially paired with the fact that she’s not very communicative. And from what she’s told you, you know of her connection to Bruce and that she’s not a threat. If anything, she’s an extra blanket of protection. She doesn’t really rely on technology to keep tabs on you, preferring to do it herself. Plus, should you ever be in danger, she can intervene quickly. If she relied on technology, it may be too late to save you by the time she gets to your location. Cass forces affection though. She just slips into bed with you, cuddles up next to you on the couch or just hugs/holds your hand randomly and fully expects you to reciprocate. But if you don’t, she’s not too fussed. Instead, she becomes more affectionate and attached to your hip that you probably can’t go to the bathroom without her either coming with you or waiting obediently outside. Her love language in this scenario would be acts of service and killing/threatening others. Someone bothering you at work? On the street? Online? Not anymore! Where did they go? Don’t worry about it, Cass won’t tell you. Need something picked up or done? Considered it done. She’s cleaned, cooked, emailed someone, organised something else. But don’t be fooled, she requires adequate payment for these acts. Her preferred payment type would be head pats, head scratches and cuddles. She is most likely willing to share you with Tim or Stephanie because their reverence is almost on the same level. She considers everyone else to be either too selfish or unable to understand how you should be worshipped/treated.
When it comes to your dating life, Cass isn’t that fussed. She’s not super obsessed with it like Stephanie but not super open to it like Jason. Cass thinks along the same lines as Tim in the sense that the Manor and its inhabitants would provide the best form of protection for you. And if being with Bruce is the mot convenient way to get you there? And to get others invested in your safety? Then so be it. Unlike Tim though, she’s more aggressive/ not so subtle about what she wants to happen. She goes as far as to lock you in the same room as Bruce to get something, anything, to happen.
Cass is in the middle of the list when it comes to kidnapping you, she could easily be swayed to either side as long as she is by your side. Let’s be real, I don’t think a locked door would stop her. I also don’t think she would be that opposed to drugging you but only in safe amounts. Drugged you equals affectionate you, something she shares with Stephanie. So she would also be in the middle of the list for this as well, but leaning towards drugging you if she’s being honest.
Up next is Damien. The blood child. The heir to Batman. His relationship with you is similar to Cass but much more complicated as he believes that he’s betraying his mother, Talia, by desiring a parent-child relationship with you. His obsession with you stems from his jealously, he sees these traces of how you once acted with Jason. This love that cannot be earned through blood and violence, how it’s given freely and openly just because you saw a child and chose to love them. He’s very hot and cold with you, one moment he’s demanding your attention as he’s training Titus or showing off is fencing technique. And then the next moment, Damien’s giving you the cold shoulder and shouting that you’re not his parent, something he regrets later when he sees you sad frown. You don’t really see Damien as anything but a child, and you certainly won’t punish him for his parents’ crimes. No matter how much it hurt for Bruce to lay with Talia and disillusion you about your betrothal, there’s not a bone in your body that would take it out on him.
As I mentioned above, his obsession stems from his jealousy and his complicated feelings about you. There’s also a touch of condescension and patronisation because he sees you as weak and vulnerable, after all you willing left the safety and security of the Manor for something that even an amateur of the League would be able to infiltrate. Damien definitely watches you at galas and when he’s on patrol, eyes always trained on you. You actually confronted him about it, asking why he’s so focused on you at the galas when he should be talking with other guests. He refuses to admit that he was envious of people taking your time and states something along the lines of staying by you because these ‘buffoons’ (aka Gotham’s elite) often overstep and he cannot let the Wayne-Al Ghul reputation diminish if he does nothing about it. But the way he tugs on your sleeve to get your attention and the way he stays longer at galas just to be with you, despite his drawn out yawns, says otherwise. He probably uses technology to track you but prefers to see you in person with his own two eyes. Which is difficult because he has to attend school and then go out on patrols, leaving him with little to no time to see you. However, if we go down the route of your being a museum curator, he would always, always stop by your workplace father school to look at the gallery collection at your institute. Sometimes he brings one of his brothers, or Jon, but most of the time Alfred comes with him. It’s an easy way for you to engage in conversation with an old friend and it naturally develops to include Damien who gets to pick at your brain about the art. He sees this a moment of bonding, getting to know you through your favourite pieces in the collection. Maybe he’s judgey to some degree too. And when he gets back to the Manor, he tries to paint something to your tastes to give you a gift eventually. However, its as he’s paintings that the guilt and feelings of betrayal trickles in, leading Damien to destroy his pieces before they are finished. He’s yet to even give you a sketch because he feels like it’s not good enough nor should he consider you as worthy of a piece, as his family. It’s a good thing there’s plenty of holidays each year that revolve around gift giving.
Ultimately, Damien would want you to get with his parents. I feel that he would be accepting of the relationship mainly because he couldn’t live without his mother or father or you. And he couldn’t betray one to support the other’s endeavours in romancing you. He sees it as something quite simple, his parents love you and you’ll learn to love them. That’s final. The fact that both his parents are more than capable at protecting you is a bonus, plus the family are full of highly trained professionals who could protect you with a moments notice.
As for drugging and kidnapping, I actually think that he’s not that fussed. Like he won’t b the one to enact it first but he is the one that suggests both as solutions. In Damien’s head, it’s the only viable options. I’d say his just above Cass, like he’s definitely leaning towards kidnapping and drugging you. He just won’t be the one to do it unless he feels that the others went about it the wrong way way/ were too cowardly to do it. Damien probably works with Tim to ensure it happens and, despite their differences, works with him to ensure you stay in the Manor. Having you drugged also allows him to freely take his ‘deserved’ affection without the worry that you’d reject him or tell his parents.
And last, but not least, Duke. The shining star of the family and arguably the most normal about you, to an extent. His relationship with you is somewhat similar to Damien’s one, in the sense that Duke has his parents alive but not well. He doesn’t want to replace them in his mind, especially after their Jokerisation, but he’s still a kid looking for guidance and family after a traumatic event. Most of the time Duke just dismisses or ignores what the Batfamily are doing because he benefits from your presence as well. You’re like a drug or his anchor, something that keeps him invested and grounded in reality and more specifically Gotham and its crimes. I fully believe without you and the rest of the Batfamily, Duke would become more of an anti-villain/anti-hero where he would use deadly force to eradicate the problem, think Red Hood or Injustice Superman. He sees you almost as an aunt/uncle, maybe a parental role at a stretch, only because he feels that he failed to protect his parents and doesn’t deserve to have that sort of relationship with you, even though he definitely deserves to be loved. He’s my favourite.
His obsessive tendencies are quite tame, in comparison with the rest of them, if you can call stalking tame. His position as Signal, a daytime hero, is quite beneficial for him as he can use his x-ray vision and his telescopic vision to always keep an eye on you. Duke goes a bit hard core/haywire and brutally deals with any issues or criminals near you. If someone as much as attempts to pluck a hair from the top of your head, they’re being dragged out of Gotham to be dealt with and never return. Batman can’t enforce his no-killing rule if the killing happens outside of his jurisdiction. Duke will take any opportunity to meet you and become your favourite amongst the Batfamily because in your eyes, he’s soft spoken, youthful and innocent. He glares daggers at anyone who tries to take your attention off of him and ‘accidentally’ burns their hands during handshakes, blaming the fact that he can’t always control his powers. Plus, meta humans in Gotham? Do you think Batman would allow that? Duke is extremely intelligent too so he’s a master at manipulating the situation and painting the other person as the bad guy in your eyes, smugly smiling at them from behind your back. He plays up his inexperience in the higher elite circles just so you can take him under your wing and teach him the ropes, all so he can get closer to you. He’s super possessive at times and will deal with any unwanted interruptions with either manipulation, gaslighting or violence. He often has you involved in the more mundane aspects in his life, like asking you for advice on school work, university choices, internships with your business/institute, etc. In a similar way to Tim, he starts to formulate his life and world around what you do.
I think Duke would be somewhat invested in your dating life, but fully believes that you should end up with Bruce or another superhero. If you so much as look at a morally grey person or supervillain, they’re suddenly a no show for your next meeting as he’s dragged them to the deepest, darkest depths of Arkham Asylum and erased all evidence of their existence outside of it. He fully believes that you need someone to protect you and will actively manipulate, gaslight and stage certain events to get you interested in certain people or to become disinterested/hateful to others people he deems below you. The fact that the Manor is so securely protected is just a plus in his book.
However, when it comes to kidnapping and drugging, I feel as though Duke would be the most hesitant. He wouldn’t want to put you through unnecessary stress and believes that his manipulation tactics will get you there in the end, so why force it? Plus part of why he’s obsessed with you is the normalcy you can provide, the day to day life he observes. He wouldn’t want to disrupt that.
Bonus thought, Barbara would be so for you dating her dad, Commissioner Gordon because she really doesn’t think Bruce deserves you. She would also tap into all your electronics and have folders and folders of information about your personal preferences, tastes and schedule.
Back on the Ex-Fiancé train because it has been slowly rotating in my head like a roast chicken on a skewer in a kebab shop. But specifically, obsessed with the idea that the Reader doesn’t know any of the kids post Jason, you’re somewhat aware of Damien through whispers throughout your social circles but everyone else? Nah, not an ounce of recognition. Which is so angst but also so funny to me. Like Stephanie or Tim calling you Mum/Dad/Parent by mistake in conversation, where you barely know them and are only attending the gala out of business obligations. And they freeze, embarrassed and mortified by the slip of tongue, but you’re just like ‘They’ve been adopted by Bruce, of course they have Mummy/Daddy/Parent issues’. If only you knew the extent of it. Like their obsession with you is so in-depth and intense, that they knew you as their parent before they even met you in person at the gala.
For Dick, it’s this desperate grapple on a slippery rope. He is so invested in being around you and in your space that he comes off as overbearing, condescending and just a tad insane. He’s hanging on by a thread and just needs you to ruffle his hair or pat him on the head to keep on going. He has so many issues but one hug from you would solve all of them.
He does not approve of your relationship with Bruce, which is so funny to me. Like thats his Dad but under no circumstances should you be with him, you’re too good for Bruce. He has plans to move you to Bludhaven, in a nice cosy penthouse with a balcony that can’t lock so he can come over whenever and relax with you. Any mention of Bruce is quickly dismissed, Dick is ready to forge the adoption documents. He’s so ready to abandon Bruce and have your name as his sole guardian on the certificate, not only to spite Bruce but to force you to legally acknowledge him as your oldest son.
On top of that, he would keep trackers on you and have cameras installed in your home (but not in your personal space, you deserve some privacy at the very least). But he rarely uses them because he’s hardly away from you when he’s not on patrol as Nightwing or at his day job. Speaking of his day job, Dick forces you to make him food and bring it to the police station so he can show his amazing parent off. Or, if he can’t convince you to do that or your schedule won’t allow it, he will crash your office or kitchen and force you to eat with him. Fully expects you to wipe his mouth with a napkin when he, purposefully, eats messily. Dick’s also not above locking you in your penthouse and taking over your professional responsibilities under the guise of you being sick. He may not be the most business minded but he can manage for a day or two. Would definitely force you to retire early and move in with him and his current partner. (I’m thinking Starfire/Koriand’r, because she’s either platonically yandere for you too or is not aware that this is not the usual human parent-child customs, and Dick isn’t going to tell her the truth. In fact he’s going to encourage the yandereness, two people are better than one). He would so love you to be the go to for his medical aid, something about having his parental figure taking care of his wounds heals his inner child and lessens the guilt of dismissing you when he was younger. Would so try and replicate the early milestones he prevented you from participating in. You would have VIP tickets to any gymnastic events he’s involved in, the first person he wants to take to any events (the public love hi, like Kianu Reeves taking his mother to the 2020 Oscars), the first person he’d go to for dating advice, etc. Dick treats everything you do as something sacred, and partakes in it all with a manic grin and deep desperation.
Good luck trying to date or go home with someone, anyone. Dick sees everyone as less than perfect for you, even those he sees as admirable like Superman. If Clark even tries, you suddenly have a Kryptonite amulet securely around your neck warding him away. The chain short enough that you can’t even pull it over your head, and with no clasp, making it insanely difficult for Clark to approach. If you try to et with anyone, Dick makes you feel unwanted. He says stuff like dating at your age is wrong, unnatural, nobody would want you, yo have to think about his kids/your grandkids, he doesn’t want a random old creep hanging around them, etc. He brings your self esteem right down, about six feet below ground down, and brings i back up by exaggerating how much he and Kori need you in their life. Fully expects you to centre your life around him and his growing family.
The second most likely to kidnap you, but wouldn’t drug you or even consider drugging you. After all, he needs the grandparent of his future kids to be coherent enough to babysit them if needed.
I’ve touched upon Jason briefly in the original Drabble but I’ll expand upon it here. As stated before, he’s so so scared to approach you. He sees himself as something corrupted, evil, dark, unnatural. And he doesn’t want to taint you, the last good thing in Gotham in his opinion. He just observes, his hands itching to possess but he never dares to reach out unless necessary. Jason is your constant shadow, the one who sits in the dark and protects you from your own nightmares because he thinks that whilst he can’t stand by you in the light, he can protect you from it. (And, to some degree, himself).
Vehemently against you being with Bruce, like any mention of that man is enough to put Jason on edge. Like Dick, he thinks you are too good for the Wayne man. He thinks that Bruce will only end up breaking his already weak promises and hurting you again, unnecessarily. To keep his anonymity, Jason orchestrates things in the background. Bruce and you attending the same gala? Suddenly Bruce can’t attend because Red Hood is stirring up some drama that the Batman has to see to. (The drama is severed heads, again). You happen to be at the same restaurant as his ex-adoptive father? Suddenly the waiter is spilling hot soup on Bruce’s date, causing the two to leave due to embarrassment. Just don’t ask why that waiter was wearing Groucho glasses and putting on a very obvious French accent, in a Kurdish restaurant. Jason is nothing if not petty and effective.
The way his obsession presents itself is subtle, like a creeping sunset making it darker and darker until the stars twinkle in the sky and you’re left surprised at how slowly it crept up on you. As Red Hood, he has his goons keep an eye on you. He has like a mini task force around you constantly, keeping tabs and protecting you all the while you live your life oblivious to his efforts. The goons begin to also see you like a grandparent/parent figure, seeing Jason as an older brother figure due to his effort concerning improving the quality of life for those in Crime Alley. They take pictures of you doing things they deem ‘cute’ or ‘adorable’ and share them amongst themselves, including you grocery shopping, cooking, knitting, crocheting, accidentally falling asleep, etc. Jason has a folder on his phone dedicated to you, full of these pictures, and his goons often trade them like they’re highly desired Magic the Gathering or Pokemon cards. I’m talking one picture of you baking is worth two pictures of you feeding the birds at your local park. It’s become a cult almost. Bruce tries to get involved, but Jason forbids his goons from even acknowledging Batman and his attempts. Like they full on bank him every time he tries to get information from them. Jason also, kind of, lives with you? Without you knowing it? Like, I imagine that whilst he trusts that his goons can take care of many problems that may pose a threat to you, he also believes that he can be the last and best resort should it come to that. He’s the sort of yandere that ‘lives inside the walls’ in a sense. Like if you have an attic, basement or even a spacious crawl space, he’s renovating it whilst you’re out and moving himself in. You don’t even realise that the soft strokes of the wind isn’t actually the wind but Jason shuffling about in the small spaces. He also tries to take care of you in small ways, like restocking your fridge and cupboards without you realising that you even ran out of food. And if you do, you just chalk it up to your assistant doing it for you. Especially since that assistant is on Jason’s payroll, but you don’t need to know about that. He has a serious of cameras set up in your home, so he can watch from his room. He loves watching you sleep, where your wrinkles soften, the bags under your eyes seem a bit lighter, and you seem overall at peace. It causes his breath to hitch and his eyes to well up. You look so tired, old, frail. He’s missed so much because of the Joker, because of Bruce. It reinvigorates his anger, his resentment, his need for revenge. Jason keeps a picture of you with him, the one of you and him as a child in the garden, to remind him of his mission. Of his purpose.
Unlike Dick, Jason isn’t too opposed to the idea that you might get with some new, even at your age. He fully believes that you deserve something pure, romantic and happy. As long as it’s not Bruce. That’s his baseline. Depending on who you like, his top picks are either Wonder Woman or Two-Face. Wonder Woman because not only does he admire her, she also represents true justice and honour. He can assuredly believe that she would treat you just as you deserve and that you would be thoroughly respected and romanced. Diana definitely has her eye on you, she loves pissing Bruce off and she admires your mindset and resilience. Jason doesn’t discriminate either, you don’t have to end up with a superhero. Two-Face is someone that he has worked with before and actually sees him as a respectable gentleman that has ideologies that somewhat align with his. He’d push Harvey to reform himself, but not too much. Just enough that his crimes are more tolerable to you, as Jason doesn’t believe that you’d date a murderer or even tolerate one. But that may be his own insecurities coming to the surface. Harvey also has an advantage as you knew each other before his accident, and you’ve always believed in second chances. For everyone. Even Bruce?
The second least likely to kidnap you, but only in an event where you were in danger and needed to be moved to a more secure location so he can monitor your safety. Jason would definitely drug you in this scenario, but wouldn’t do so outside of it. Though he has been tempted when you have bouts of insomnia or when you overwork yourself, well into the night.
Tim, Tim, Tim. Oh, Tim. Part of me wants to say he’s the most disconnected out of the family but I think he’s actually the most riven one when it comes to ‘obtaining’ you. When he sets his mind to a goal, he will stop at nothing to achieve it. He will worm his way into every aspect of your life, attached to your hip at events, ‘coincidently’ running into you on the street, etc. He is the perfect Trojan Horse, appearing to be the overworked, unfortunate future CEO whose life has been riddled with tragedy and Parent issues. You don’t even get made when he calls you Mum/Dad/Parent by ‘mistake’, it just tugs at your heart strings and makes you want to hug him. Please hug him, he needs this.
Now for his obsessive tendencies. Absolutely the worst. Has trackers on all your clothes, cameras in your home, car, workplace, etc. (Currently in a ‘turf’ war with Jason, the two of them finding and replacing the other’s cameras and trying to outdo each other with security and surveillance measures). Like I mentioned above, Tim is basically everywhere you look. He presents himself as overworked and meek, mumbling things about how Bruce treats him or ‘accidentally’ oversharing and telling you about that one time Bruce called him Jason. He full on manipulates you into thinking of him in the same channel of Jason, so that whenever you think of the zombified Robin, you also think of him. Its so subtle that you don’t even think twice about it. And it gets to the point where you actively invite him to places. Whether you need an escort for an event, want to get coffee or food, whatever it is, Tim makes himself the only option you have or ever need. The media go crazy when they see the two of you out together, some calling you a cougar but when a video is leaked of you accidentally calling Tim your son, all their worries are blown out of the water. And the cause of the leak? Why Tim himself, of course. You worry about it, about how Bruce will react, how it might make Tim uncomfortable, etc. But with just a couple of words, Tim says something along the lines of ‘I wish you had adopted me, instead of Bruce’, paired with a pair of puppy dog eyes and suddenly you consider contacting the adoption office to make it official yourself. Don’t worry, Tim beat you to it and got it done the moment he met you. He invites you to all his events and gets Wayne Enterprises to constantly fund/collaborate with your institute/business just so he could have an excuse to see you more. He becomes so inter grained in your life that your home now has a guest room dedicated to him, with his clothes, personal laptop, hell even a Versace robe and slippers with his name embroidered on them. Tim often wakes up with Jason holding a gun to his head , demanding he leaves. However, he often doesn’t sleep. Instead he watches you sleep and sometimes slips into bed with you and emulates being held by a parental figure, all the while you’re unconscious. It’s a good thing he put those pills in your evening tea, otherwise you’d wake up to him and Jason threatening to kill each other in hushed shouts.
Tim wholeheartedly believes that the Manor would be the safest place for you and thus Bruce would be the best, and most convenient, partner for you. He dissects your failed relationship with his adoptive father and formulates run-ins, events and situations in which Bruce redeems himself for his past actions. He treats it like it’s an equation or a particularly hard firewall to get past, savouring the challenge and relishing in the eventual outcome. In a twisted way, he sees you and Bruce like his replacement parents. He was using your attention to negate his parents neglect and he was using Bruce and his crest as Red Robin to gain some sort of parental approval. He’s the most invested in your romantic life and has all dates, proposal and wedding options for you and Bruce all prepared and ready for the two of you to review.
He is the most likely to kidnap you, willing to do so as early as a week into knowing you and meeting you in person. Tim sees you as a vulnerable individual that could be exploited and believes that you would so much more happier and safer in the Manor. Hell, he even thinks that should you come back to the Manor, Jason would ultimately follow and that would lead to the bettering of his relationship with Bruce. He is also the most likely to drug you, to keep you complacent not only through the kidnapping but also in general. He likes physical affection and is unsure of how wiling yo’d give it to him so he takes it when he can, often orchestrating these moments with the help of drugs.
Next on the list is Stephanie. And her relationship with is a bit of a strange one. She knew of your existence before she entered the Bat family, seeing your name in the media and online. So she was quite dismissive of you at first. Of course the Bruce Wayne would leave a trail of broken hearts, with you being nothing more than a scorned lover. But then she met you, briefly recognising you whilst on an undercover mission as Spoiler. For whatever reason, she needed to infiltrate an intense gambling ring that you were present at. It was a surprise at first, seeing Gotham’s goody goody in such a dank and corrupted space as this, but then she sees how effortlessly you rebuke the men at the game tables, winning hand after hand after hand. Stephanie sees the way you deflect, attack and block with your words- remaining calm and collected under the pressure, at the same tables as the Penguin and Carmine Falcone. Suddenly you have depth to you. Suddenly she’s interested. She wants to learn, analyse and, in a way, become you.
Her obsessive behaviour is quite erratic, as though she can’t quite make up her mind about wanting to be close to you, close enough to almost become you, or close enough to be guided by you, like parent and child. Stephanie’s thoughts about you are complex. She claims to not like you or to not be too fussed about your presence, but on the inside she is flustered and fan-girling. She acts like she doesn’t know you or even remembers your name but she has pictures of you on her bedroom walls, has altered her fashion to replicate yours, changed her favourite cuisine (forcing herself to take bite after bite, even though she doesn’t like it. She can’t afford to let herself not like it). In many ways, she won’t be satisfied being the perfect daughter. No, she needs to be the perfect clone of you. Stephanie even attempted to change her physical appearance, about to get her hair cut at the salon that you go to but you had made an off-hand comment about how you liked her appearance. Your words had echoed around her mind for days after, as she absently played with her hair- the very thing you had complimented. She was so distracted by your comment that Bruce benched her from patrol for a week because he couldn’t guarantee that she would take it seriously. He’s wondering what’s going on with his children, are they sick? On top of copying certain aspects of your personality, she goes to the same places as you and ‘accidentally’ runs into you. Whether it be your workplace, the food truck that you stop by after work, the tailor on your pay roll, certain galas, etc, she’s there. And whenever you talk to her, she soaks up all your attention like a sponge and can’t help but beam like a proud child song off their macaroni art that they did in school. Stephanie invades your home whilst you’re away, as a way to become closer to you. She sleeps in your bed from short naps, surrounded by your scent. She steals pieces of jewellery that you recently wore, copies your personal scent/perfume to get for herself later, she even wears pieces of your clothes and wonders if you’ll let her dress in matching outfits. She’s not unhinged enough to do anything with your toothbrush or things like that, but she does end up collecting your hair from your hairbrush. Stephanie intends to either make a wig from it or get it turned it yarn which she can make a cardigan or scarf with it, so that she can be constantly surrounded by you without people considering her as odd.
Like Dick, Stephanie does not want you to be in a relationship at all. Least of all with Bruce. She bases herself off of you and having you be in a relationship shatters this perception of you. A partner would take your attention off of her, a partner would invade your perfectly curated space that she has memorised, engraved into her soul. If you did have a certain taste in partners, though, she would attempt to emulate that in her taste of significant others. She’d then sort of brag about it to other people. Stephanie would be like ‘look, I have the same taste in people as Y/N, aren’t I so cool?’. But overall, she’d prefer if you wear forever single because then she could be your devoted follower, your clone, without issue.
I don’t think Stephanie would kidnap you. Instead, I feel that she would move herself into your apartment building, house street or if the two of you are close enough, into your very home under the guise that she has nowhere else to go. Like Tim, she has injected herself into your life and this would be a natural extension of that. As for drugging you? She’s so down for it. Complacent you is affectionate you. She would have you all to herself, so she would be the second most likely to drug you but one of the least likely to kidnap you, tied with Duke.
Cassandra, or Cass, is a unique case. She’s like a combination of Jason and Dick, she thinks you’re way too soft for her world but she also wants you to be her parental figure so bad. On every level imaginable, Cass craves the softness of domestic life. She envies those that have it so readily and actively seeks it out in you. Like Damien, she is enamoured with the fact that she doesn’t have to earn your affection through violence and bloodshed. Instead the best way to your heart is through morality, academic success, and normality amongst other things. However, she doesn’t really communicate her desire to be apart of your makeshift family very well- often just appearing in your home or at events, with the expectation that you’ll just warm up to her.
Her obsession is shown through stalking and her never ending presence. Unlike Tim or Stephanie, she has no subtly or excuses. She’s just there, constantly and leaves you no choice but to accept it. And surprisingly it works, to a degree anyway. Cass often makes herself at home at your place, and just looks at you expectantly when you make food or drinks. She’s like an owl, wide and deep brown eyes that seem to see all. It’s unnerving, especially paired with the fact that she’s not very communicative. And from what she’s told you, you know of her connection to Bruce and that she’s not a threat. If anything, she’s an extra blanket of protection. She doesn’t really rely on technology to keep tabs on you, preferring to do it herself. Plus, should you ever be in danger, she can intervene quickly. If she relied on technology, it may be too late to save you by the time she gets to your location. Cass forces affection though. She just slips into bed with you, cuddles up next to you on the couch or just hugs/holds your hand randomly and fully expects you to reciprocate. But if you don’t, she’s not too fussed. Instead, she becomes more affectionate and attached to your hip that you probably can’t go to the bathroom without her either coming with you or waiting obediently outside. Her love language in this scenario would be acts of service and killing/threatening others. Someone bothering you at work? On the street? Online? Not anymore! Where did they go? Don’t worry about it, Cass won’t tell you. Need something picked up or done? Considered it done. She’s cleaned, cooked, emailed someone, organised something else. But don’t be fooled, she requires adequate payment for these acts. Her preferred payment type would be head pats, head scratches and cuddles. She is most likely willing to share you with Tim or Stephanie because their reverence is almost on the same level. She considers everyone else to be either too selfish or unable to understand how you should be worshipped/treated.
When it comes to your dating life, Cass isn’t that fussed. She’s not super obsessed with it like Stephanie but not super open to it like Jason. Cass thinks along the same lines as Tim in the sense that the Manor and its inhabitants would provide the best form of protection for you. And if being with Bruce is the mot convenient way to get you there? And to get others invested in your safety? Then so be it. Unlike Tim though, she’s more aggressive/ not so subtle about what she wants to happen. She goes as far as to lock you in the same room as Bruce to get something, anything, to happen.
Cass is in the middle of the list when it comes to kidnapping you, she could easily be swayed to either side as long as she is by your side. Let’s be real, I don’t think a locked door would stop her. I also don’t think she would be that opposed to drugging you but only in safe amounts. Drugged you equals affectionate you, something she shares with Stephanie. So she would also be in the middle of the list for this as well, but leaning towards drugging you if she’s being honest.
Up next is Damien. The blood child. The heir to Batman. His relationship with you is similar to Cass but much more complicated as he believes that he’s betraying his mother, Talia, by desiring a parent-child relationship with you. His obsession with you stems from his jealously, he sees these traces of how you once acted with Jason. This love that cannot be earned through blood and violence, how it’s given freely and openly just because you saw a child and chose to love them. He’s very hot and cold with you, one moment he’s demanding your attention as he’s training Titus or showing off is fencing technique. And then the next moment, Damien’s giving you the cold shoulder and shouting that you’re not his parent, something he regrets later when he sees you sad frown. You don’t really see Damien as anything but a child, and you certainly won’t punish him for his parents’ crimes. No matter how much it hurt for Bruce to lay with Talia and disillusion you about your betrothal, there’s not a bone in your body that would take it out on him.
As I mentioned above, his obsession stems from his jealousy and his complicated feelings about you. There’s also a touch of condescension and patronisation because he sees you as weak and vulnerable, after all you willing left the safety and security of the Manor for something that even an amateur of the League would be able to infiltrate. Damien definitely watches you at galas and when he’s on patrol, eyes always trained on you. You actually confronted him about it, asking why he’s so focused on you at the galas when he should be talking with other guests. He refuses to admit that he was envious of people taking your time and states something along the lines of staying by you because these ‘buffoons’ (aka Gotham’s elite) often overstep and he cannot let the Wayne-Al Ghul reputation diminish if he does nothing about it. But the way he tugs on your sleeve to get your attention and the way he stays longer at galas just to be with you, despite his drawn out yawns, says otherwise. He probably uses technology to track you but prefers to see you in person with his own two eyes. Which is difficult because he has to attend school and then go out on patrols, leaving him with little to no time to see you. However, if we go down the route of your being a museum curator, he would always, always stop by your workplace father school to look at the gallery collection at your institute. Sometimes he brings one of his brothers, or Jon, but most of the time Alfred comes with him. It’s an easy way for you to engage in conversation with an old friend and it naturally develops to include Damien who gets to pick at your brain about the art. He sees this a moment of bonding, getting to know you through your favourite pieces in the collection. Maybe he’s judgey to some degree too. And when he gets back to the Manor, he tries to paint something to your tastes to give you a gift eventually. However, its as he’s paintings that the guilt and feelings of betrayal trickles in, leading Damien to destroy his pieces before they are finished. He’s yet to even give you a sketch because he feels like it’s not good enough nor should he consider you as worthy of a piece, as his family. It’s a good thing there’s plenty of holidays each year that revolve around gift giving.
Ultimately, Damien would want you to get with his parents. I feel that he would be accepting of the relationship mainly because he couldn’t live without his mother or father or you. And he couldn’t betray one to support the other’s endeavours in romancing you. He sees it as something quite simple, his parents love you and you’ll learn to love them. That’s final. The fact that both his parents are more than capable at protecting you is a bonus, plus the family are full of highly trained professionals who could protect you with a moments notice.
As for drugging and kidnapping, I actually think that he’s not that fussed. Like he won’t b the one to enact it first but he is the one that suggests both as solutions. In Damien’s head, it’s the only viable options. I’d say his just above Cass, like he’s definitely leaning towards kidnapping and drugging you. He just won’t be the one to do it unless he feels that the others went about it the wrong way way/ were too cowardly to do it. Damien probably works with Tim to ensure it happens and, despite their differences, works with him to ensure you stay in the Manor. Having you drugged also allows him to freely take his ‘deserved’ affection without the worry that you’d reject him or tell his parents.
And last, but not least, Duke. The shining star of the family and arguably the most normal about you, to an extent. His relationship with you is somewhat similar to Damien’s one, in the sense that Duke has his parents alive but not well. He doesn’t want to replace them in his mind, especially after their Jokerisation, but he’s still a kid looking for guidance and family after a traumatic event. Most of the time Duke just dismisses or ignores what the Batfamily are doing because he benefits from your presence as well. You’re like a drug or his anchor, something that keeps him invested and grounded in reality and more specifically Gotham and its crimes. I fully believe without you and the rest of the Batfamily, Duke would become more of an anti-villain/anti-hero where he would use deadly force to eradicate the problem, think Red Hood or Injustice Superman. He sees you almost as an aunt/uncle, maybe a parental role at a stretch, only because he feels that he failed to protect his parents and doesn’t deserve to have that sort of relationship with you, even though he definitely deserves to be loved. He’s my favourite.
His obsessive tendencies are quite tame, in comparison with the rest of them, if you can call stalking tame. His position as Signal, a daytime hero, is quite beneficial for him as he can use his x-ray vision and his telescopic vision to always keep an eye on you. Duke goes a bit hard core/haywire and brutally deals with any issues or criminals near you. If someone as much as attempts to pluck a hair from the top of your head, they’re being dragged out of Gotham to be dealt with and never return. Batman can’t enforce his no-killing rule if the killing happens outside of his jurisdiction. Duke will take any opportunity to meet you and become your favourite amongst the Batfamily because in your eyes, he’s soft spoken, youthful and innocent. He glares daggers at anyone who tries to take your attention off of him and ‘accidentally’ burns their hands during handshakes, blaming the fact that he can’t always control his powers. Plus, meta humans in Gotham? Do you think Batman would allow that? Duke is extremely intelligent too so he’s a master at manipulating the situation and painting the other person as the bad guy in your eyes, smugly smiling at them from behind your back. He plays up his inexperience in the higher elite circles just so you can take him under your wing and teach him the ropes, all so he can get closer to you. He’s super possessive at times and will deal with any unwanted interruptions with either manipulation, gaslighting or violence. He often has you involved in the more mundane aspects in his life, like asking you for advice on school work, university choices, internships with your business/institute, etc. In a similar way to Tim, he starts to formulate his life and world around what you do.
I think Duke would be somewhat invested in your dating life, but fully believes that you should end up with Bruce or another superhero. If you so much as look at a morally grey person or supervillain, they’re suddenly a no show for your next meeting as he’s dragged them to the deepest, darkest depths of Arkham Asylum and erased all evidence of their existence outside of it. He fully believes that you need someone to protect you and will actively manipulate, gaslight and stage certain events to get you interested in certain people or to become disinterested/hateful to others people he deems below you. The fact that the Manor is so securely protected is just a plus in his book.
However, when it comes to kidnapping and drugging, I feel as though Duke would be the most hesitant. He wouldn’t want to put you through unnecessary stress and believes that his manipulation tactics will get you there in the end, so why force it? Plus part of why he’s obsessed with you is the normalcy you can provide, the day to day life he observes. He wouldn’t want to disrupt that.
Bonus thought, Barbara would be so for you dating her dad, Commissioner Gordon because she really doesn’t think Bruce deserves you. She would also tap into all your electronics and have folders and folders of information about your personal preferences, tastes and schedule.
