*a/n: this fic as most of mine usually do, will divert far from canon. My friend @cardierreh15 unintentionally encouraged me to write this, Ben Affleck is fine as hell(little miss daddy issues), and I did enjoy his version of Bruce Wayne/Batman. I hope you enjoy…if not please keep it moving. Reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated, but reblogs are strongly encouraged. (This was supposed to be posted months ago)
Pairing: Bruce Wayne x black(fem) oc
Feature: @cardierreh15
Word count: 2k
Part One: Dive
Deep Dive
Helena Richards stood in the back of the crowded room, half emptied champagne glass in hand, and a bored expression on her face. Her hazel brown eyes scanned the sea of rich white people, the only reason they showed up was to kiss Bruce Wayne’s ass; but, the reason she’s there is because Cardíerre Lane—her best friend— talked her into it. Cardíerre is also the person responsible for her job at Wayne Enterprise, though she’s never personally met Bruce Wayne, apparently he can’t be bothered to do his actual job.
“Damn, look at that ass.” Someone’s voice purred huskily from behind Helena, her lips curled into a smirk, she knew only one person that would talk to her like that.
“Excuse me miss, don’t you have a boyfriend?” She teased, her body finally relaxed upon seeing the Metropolis reporter, Helena didn’t like any of her colleagues. Not enough to pretend to be interested in anything they have going on outside of work. Cardíerre grabbed a glass off a tray as it passed by her, she sipped it slowly, her mouth curving into a devious grin.
“I wont tell if you wont?” The two women cracked up in laughter, the buzzing of everyones conversations swallowed their voices, that didn’t keep Clark Kent from hearing them as he walked through the large archway of Wayne Manor. He snuck an arm around Cardíerre’s waist, a warm smile stretched across his lips, he stuck his hand out, and offered it to Helena. She shook his hand, her lips parted, intending to crack a joke, but the sound of a glass tapping cut her off. A middle aged man dressed in an expensive looking suit walked out into the middle of the floor, he smiled charmingly, the guest began the quiet down at his call for attention.
“Ladies, gentlemen, thank you for joining me, this is a special evening. Wayne Enterprises 100th birthday, so I decided to throw this party to not only celebrate that, but also the people responsible for keeping the lights on.” He paused, and the crowd laughed on cue, Helena rolled her eyes, “well, at least he’s handsome.” She mumbled to herself causing Clark to chuckle, she looked at him, then looked at Cardierre who hadn't heard a word of what Helena said. When he realized her eyes were on him, he let out a small cough as he awkwardly turned away from her gaze.
“Anyway, I’m going to bore you, please, everyone enjoy yourselves, and please no talk of work tonight.” Bruce swallowed the champagne in one gulp, he handed his emptied glass to a server that was standing nearby, and made his way around the room idly chatting everyone up. Cardíerre turned to her friend who had found interest in her fresh set of acrylic nails, a disgruntled look etched onto her face, Helena isn’t one for social gatherings. That’s the main reason she pitched the idea for Cardíerre to attend the party as the plus one.
“Don’t look too pouty, billionaire incoming.” Cardíerre whispered, she leaned towards Helena as she eyed Bruce’s movements towards them, Clark tightened his grip on Cardíerre. Bruce Wayne, his only reason for being here tonight, this really isn’t the time to cause a scene, but this would be his only time to get a word in.
“Babe you okay?” Cardíerre turned to him, she gazed up into his beautiful cobalt irises, worry settled deep within them. He momentarily glanced at her, a quick hint of what he thought was a reassuring smile, but it did not look genuine. When she followed his line of sight to Bruce Wayne, she huffed in frustration, a conversation they had a while ago came to mind. ‘I just don’t like him, Cardi, he seems like a prick.’ Clark complained, to which Cardierre let out a breath of laughter. ‘Well duh, he’s rich.’
“Thank You.” Bruce had tried to hand another champagne glass he picked up, and halfway drank on his way over, to Helena; when Cardierre witnessed the expression on her friend's face, she almost choked on her drink.
“You really think a server girl would look this good in a dress like this?” Her tone sounded sharp, and disappointed. Bruce turned to get a better look at the woman beside him, his eyes drank her in, her curves accentuated, and her long copper orange hair falling over her dainty shoulders. His gaze trailed their way up to her face, she did her best to control her facial expression.
“How embarrassing, I’m sorry your name is?” Bruce offered a feign apology, one that seemed rehearsed, because of course he doesn't know the name of his employees. She mirrored his expression, mocking him, Cardíerre thought this to be a bold move considering this is her boss, ‘there she goes getting all hot headed.’ Cardíerre thought to herself. Clouds quickly settled into the sky, at only 7:30 pm on a summer's eve, the outside world darkened, and a bright flash of lightning crackled. Followed by a clap of thunder.
“Helena Richardson, PR department, I’m one of the people responsible for making your company look good while you’re never there.” Her incisive remark didn’t affect him at all, Bruce is aware that he's made an enemy out of most of the staff under Wayne Enterprise, but he knew his priorities as Batman would get in the way of his civilian life. A sacrifice he was willing to make.
“Helena.” Cardíerre gently grabbed her by the forearm, Helena didn't have to bite so hard, she’s always been more sensitive between the two of them but she’s acting like a toddler tonight. This isn’t her usual behavior, Cardíerre knew her friend to be much softer, tender even, but lately Helena has been acting more attitudinal.
“No, it’s fine, she has a point.” He took a half step closer getting into her personal space, his eyes dropping to her full, luscious lips. The smell of her perfume engulfing him, the neck of her dress dipped lowly giving anyone a great view of her perfect full breast. Suddenly Helena is out of steam as she shifted the her weight from one hip to the other, her gaze found interest in her diamond studded bracelet. Bruce notices how the skies cleared up, and the little bit of sun that was left came back out to shine on them. His gaze lingered on the view outside Wayne Manor for a moment longer, then he turned his attention back to her. He committed her face too memory, there’s no guarantee he’ll actually see her again after the party is over, if she works with PR, she’s no doubt a busy woman.
“Forgive me for my absence?” Bruce offered, he spoke in a hushed voice, his tone sending shivers down Helena’s spine. She wanted to hate him, hate his perfectly handsome face, and the way his eyes watched her every move. She wanted to hate how good he smelled, and how perfect his stupid house was. But her hate held nothing, there wasn’t a real reason to be so upset. Though, something is nagging her, but it has nothing to do with Bruce Wayne.
Instead of clamoring to find an even witter response, she finished off her drink, sat it on the bar top next to her, then took his glass from his hand, and finished off his before placing it back in his hand. She threw Cardíerre a small smile over her shoulder before walking off in the opposite direction. Bruce’s eyes remain focusing on her as she watches her swaying hips; he admittedly had a hard time tearing his gaze away from her retreating form.
“Mr. Wayne I’m—
“Cardíerre Lane, and Clark Kent from the Daily Planet, I must do a better job with security.” Bruce looked down at Clark’s extended hand, him refusing to meet him halfway only aided to the tension between the two men. Cardíerre who is standing in the middle of the two cursed to herself wishing she’d left with Helena, Clark, and Bruce’s glares evenly matched, she let out a huff of air no longer being able to take the ridiculousness of their unnecessary hate for one another.
“We didn't mean to cause trouble Mr. Wayne, we were actually invited by Helena as her plus one.” She spoke up, an apologetic smile on her lips, when she extended her hand, he held her gently, but did not look away from Clark.
“No trouble at all, two inquisitive journalists is nothing I can't handle.” His face smoothly transitioned into a warm, beguiling expression. Clark wanted to punch the smugness off the billionaire's face, but he composed himself, Cardíerre would be disappointed by his actions. That, and he’s not sure if he’s in the mood to hold his punches tonight. Cardíerre laughed off Bruce’s rude remark, people had said far worse things, she momentarily turned to Clark who appeared to be calming down. Bruce said his goodbyes to the couples, and walked off in the same direction Helena left.
“What the hell was that Clark? We’re here as guests.” Cardíerre hissed through a smile, she tried not to make a scene in front of everyone.
“I’m sorry.” As all Clark managed, he had a good reason for being so hostile, it’s just not a reason he can share with Cardíerre, not at this moment. He hated keeping secrets from her, but he didn’t want to bring her into more drama. Her knowing about Superman was bad enough.
“Helena invited us here to have fun, not to work, or cause fights.” She would have chewed him out more, but a sudden downpour of rain caught her attention. The water droplets smacked against the glass angrily.
“What kind of fun can we have with people like this Cardi, I mean really?” Clark continued to rant quietly to her, but the way the lake started to unnaturally stir when it was just clear skies not too long ago made her feel uneasy.
“Cardíerre, are you listening to me?” Clark asked, she rolled her hazel eyes, and grabbed onto his arm.
“No, but you sure are listening yourself aren't you.” She replied sarcastically.
“What?” He looked at her confused.
“Ugh, never mind, look at the lake.”
“It looks nice, because of course Bruce Wayne would have a house right off the water…prick.” Clark grunted, before he had a chance to go off again, Cardíerre cut in.
“Not that damn it, get your ego out of your ass, it was just normal skies out, and the wind it’s storming? You don't think that’s weird?” Cardíerre watched as the water continued to stir as if fighting for control.
“Huh, guess you got a point, now that you mention it, it has been storming on and off since we got here. Maybe we should leave before things get ugly.” Clark is already pulling Cardíerre off in the direction of the makeshift coat room/guest room when she stops him.
“Wait, what about Helena?” Cardíerre could assume she’d be fine, she usually always is, but her gut is telling her differently. He wants to argue, but the perturbation in her eyes softened him.
“You find Lena, and I’ll find our stuff, sounds cool?” Clark offered, Cardíerre broke their huddle with a nod to the head, then split up and went their different ways.
Helena sat in the living room of Bruce’s home, one leg crossed over the other, and her phone in hand as she scrolled through twitter. A painful pressure began to build behind her eyes, she tried to blink it away, the more she blinked, she began to feel compelled to continue. Soon the pressure moved to her head, suddenly a migraine pounded in her head, she groaned in pain. That would make the second one this month, she shifted her head to one side while keeping her eyelids shut, sometimes it helped. Her face scrunched up as the sound of whispering hissed in her ears, and slithered into her head. She couldn't make out anything of what they were saying, this is a new development for her, maybe she really is going crazy. The winds outside howled, and cried. The rain had turned into hail, the party guests scurried around trying to find their belongings in hopes to leave in enough time to beat the storm before it became worse. Bruce swiftly turned the corner into the foyer where he found Helena hunched over, pain stricken, and whispering things to herself.
“Ms. Thálassa? Are you alright?” He carefully approached her, at first he thought all the strange weather had something to do with Arthur, but Aquaman has been AWOL for quite a while according to his file. The constant downpour only started a month after Helena came to Gotham, so what was she here for?
“What’s wrong with her?” Cardeírre came rushing in, after she caught her breath she assessed the situation, naturally she went to comfort her friend, but Bruce stopped her.
“That may not be a good idea.” He mumbled, he looked around for a weapon of any kind, he couldn't protect himself, and Cardíerre, not without revealing himself.
“The hail, it stopped.” Cardíerre smiled thinking that things were going to turn out for the better, Bruce paused, the weather hadn't gotten any better, the sky was still dark, and gray with clouds. The water outside had begun to whirl, his eyes widened as the realization had hit him.
“Go find Clark, tell him that a whole lot of people are going to need saving.” Bruce turned a confused Cardíerre in the direction from which she came, she began to fuss when Helena suddenly rose from her seat.
“Goodness Lena, you were giving me a heart attack—” Cardíerre’s words caught in her throat, she was shocked by what she’s seeing, the woman she called a best friend appeared a bit unfamiliar.
Helena turned to face them, her facial expression void, and her irises turned to a seaweed green hue. Bruce held Cardíerre with an iron grip, the house was eerily quiet, the sound of exploding water pipes made her jump out of her skin. It was too late when they noticed it, the oceanic tide had come rushing into Wayne Manor instantly flooding it. Cardíerre stood there, her full lips parted and her eyes glazed over with fear as gallons of water burst through the walls. ‘CLA—‘ she managed to get out before she was knocked out of the way by the blast of water. Fortunately, Bruce’s suit shielded him in just enough time to save himself, but Cardíerre had gotten swept up in the tide.
Chapters: 13/?
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s), Tony Stark/Jeanette Rhodes
Characters: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s) of Color, Obadiah Stane, The Fates (Marvel), Jeanette Rhodes, Roberta Rhodes, Maria Stark, Howard Stark, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Phil Coulson, Thor (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Kang the Conqueror | Nathaniel Richards
Additional Tags: The Fates - Freeform, Siblings, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Doctor/Patient, Mentions of Myth & Folklore, Marvel 616 References, Creepy Obadiah Stane, Romance, May/December Relationship, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 1, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 2, Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012), Not SHIELD Friendly (Marvel), meet-hate, Interracial Relationship, Past Drug Use, Addiction
Summary:
The Fates are tired of seeing Tony's fate come to the same conclusion. They decide to even the odds for him.
Meanwhile, on earth, Rhodey decides to have someone look after Tony when he comes back from being held hostage in Afghanistan. His baby sister Jeanette Rhodes is the light of his life, responsible, smart as a whip, and the most responsible 25-year-old he knows. If anyone can help Tony it’s her. It’s not like Tony would do something crazy like fall in love with his sister that’s almost 20 years younger than them…right?
people DESPERATE in the notes to explain why the way THEY engage with harry potter is morally pure. It's like white people talking about rap music in there! Libraries buy the books! Fanfiction maintains a conversation around the IP! There is NO WAY to enjoy harry potter in 2025 without publicly supporting JK Rowling!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 9/?
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s), Tony Stark/Jeanette Rhodes
Characters: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s) of Color, Obadiah Stane, The Fates (Marvel), Jeanette Rhodes, Roberta Rhodes, Maria Stark, Howard Stark, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Phil Coulson, Thor (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Kang the Conqueror | Nathaniel Richards
Additional Tags: The Fates - Freeform, Siblings, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Doctor/Patient, Mentions of Myth & Folklore, Marvel 616 References, Creepy Obadiah Stane, Romance, May/December Relationship, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 1, Canon Divergence - Iron Man 2, Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012), Not SHIELD Friendly (Marvel), meet-hate, Interracial Relationship, Past Drug Use, Addiction
Summary:
The Fates are tired of seeing Tony's fate come to the same conclusion. They decide to even the odds for him.
Meanwhile, on earth, Rhodey decides to have someone look after Tony when he comes back from being held hostage in Afghanistan. His baby sister Jeanette Rhodes is the light of his life, responsible, smart as a whip, and the most responsible 25-year-old he knows. If anyone can help Tony it’s her. It’s not like Tony would do something crazy like fall in love with his sister that’s almost 20 years younger than them…right?
I’m thinking about writing an AU about Tony with a OFC of Rhodey’s sister. I feel like I would need help with it though because my first story is a mess that needs severe edits.
I’ve been going through immeasurable grief and loss and I’m trying to break out of it so I can start writing again and get back to my Sarah/Bucky community. I miss y’all and I’m trying so hard. I will get there soon. I can feel it.
I said this in a much longer post, but I wanted to dedicate a post to it... but a lot of y'all's hatred towards Luke is just racism. You're racist.
The show's refusal to address race and y'all's obsession with Nick being with June is having an effect on y'all. I mean, you were racist before ever seeing the show, probably, but the show's refusal to just say it outright isn't helping. Its touched on in the book, but not so much in the show or movie... I'll solely address the lack of understanding towards Luke's circumstances and just... leave the whole Osblaine thing alone.
In the book, the racism is just as clear as the misogny. JUST as clear. You barely see black people (and nonwhite people in general, but I'm talking about black people and the book actually touches specifically on black people as well) in this setting simply because in Gilead black people are not allowed unless their ovaries are promising. Black women didn't become handmaids. They were just killed or sent to the colonies, and if they were lucky maybe they'd get to be a Martha. Its silly and naive to think the gendered slavery or horrids stopped at just forcing women to be bastardized surrogates when there's room for so much more horrendous realities, whether it was shown on screen or not. This isn't something you had to read the book to get a grasp on. Its just... heavily implied either way. This isn't saying much because there were few, but most black women we've seen on screen at once is when we saw Unwomen...
Some of us have noticed the few times the show has hinted to how race is being handled and how it affects everything. To some of us, even without those hints, its obvious... The racism of it all is implied actually. Its so implied, it almost, doesn't need to said. However, to most of you? You're oblivious, so it should've been said. Over and over, actually.
Luke is doing the best he can in a system that was literally built to go against him. Even the current system, where the focus is mainly on women, is built against him despite the fact he's a man... he's still black. Imagine the fear of living as black man of America... Now take all the worst parts of America and put them into their own country... Now imagine the fear navigating that... Imagine what the level of fear does to you... Again, this isn't something you'd have to read the book to wrap your head around... There's a lot of pressure on Luke not only as a man, but as a black person and he's clearly just very very scared, as he should be.
With all things considered, he's doing great. He's been doing great this entire time. He didn't ruin anything this episode, nor has he ever. He did what needed to be done. He didn't need permission or extra context. He has never had the time or space to pause, consider context, and be gentle with his wrongdoers the way people like June or Serena has... This being a hard time for women, doesn't erase the reality of how black people are treated. In fact, with so much freedom to treat people however, it just heightens the racism towards black people. Again, not necessarily something you needed to read the book to grasp.
Either way, Serena is a literal war criminal and a serial rapist that stepped foot out of her allowed space. Whether he called or not, immigration was coming for her ass, and he did the right thing by speeding up the process.
After being kidnapped AGAIN... calling immigration and the police on the woman that helped enslave, imprison, and rape his wife was the only option... How do you see that and then still rage? What else was he supposed to do? What are your expectations of him? Not just in this episode or the last, but this whole time... What the hell was he supposed to do as a black man? Try to save her and stick out like a sore black thumb and end up getting himself and June killed?? He's not Nick. There was no helping her. The anger literally doesn't make sense and its getting to the point I have to assume its simply racism.
The inability to understand his circumstances... How harshly he's judged... yeah...
Luke was just as "useless" in the book and 1990's movie, yet its only when it comes to the show, where he's portrayed as a black man, do I see any commentary on how truly "worthless" he is. Its interesting.
I’m thinking about writing an AU about Tony with a OFC of Rhodey’s sister. I feel like I would need help with it though because my first story is a mess that needs severe edits.
there is a special pain children with abusive parents feel when their parents pass.
first, there is relief because now they are permanently free from the abuse. This relief intermingles with the grief felt over the parent's death.
but only a small part of this grief is from the actual loss of life. instead, most are mourning the loss at a chance for reconciliation with their parents. (I highly recommend watching the Bojack Horseman episode titled "Free Churro" (S5E06). it gives a really good perspective on mourning an abuser and you don't need to watch the show to understand the episode)
many people aren't aware of their subconscious hope that their parent's will acknowledge the pain they caused and show remorse. when the parent dies so does their ability to redeem themselves and the child is left with the knowledge the parent will never apologize for what they did.
this is the pain that marc is experiencing while standing in the street, contemplating whether to attend his mother's shiva. he is processing grief, anger, relief and the realization that he will never get closure. his mother died believing her son was a murderer and now marc will never have the chance to prove her wrong.
it makes sense that this is marc's breaking point. these emotions are magnified by marc's own beliefs that he is dangerous and unworthy of love. this moment was the culmination of a lifetime's worth of guilt and shame. marc does not want to live as marc anymore. he feels his chance for redemption passed because the person he was seeking redemption from passed.
P.S. for anybody who related to marc's trauma in this episode, please remember the words of steven grant "it's not your fault, you were a child"
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