Talia (either gender) asking Damian if he wants a biological sibling while eyeing Ex Reader (either husband or wife), it doesn't matter if they're both the same gender, Talia will get to have a cute baby that shares Reader's face and maybe communanally raise it with Bruce or Selina (plus Reader obviously)?
Talia: "Damian, do you wish for a companion, perhaps a little sister or such?"
Damian: "Mother/Father, as much as the Bat is-"
Talia: "With Ex Reader"
Damian:"-screw the Bat, I wanted a little sibling due yesterday"
Side note: is it possible for you to not use Talia (either gender of Bruce or Bryce) as assaulter? It was from one retcon (no longer canon) comic line by Morrison years ago, a very racist and sexist one that was used as character assassination because they fetishized both Damian and Talia as "exotic, savage, Middle Eastern/Asian heritage killers" that needed to be "tamed" by a white savior father. In most canon comics now, Talia is written to be a morally gray woman who was a pacifist forced assassin who wishes the best for Bruce, her son, and has to battle between her love for Batman and her whole upbringing and love for her father. Damian in your AU, could have been born during a period where Reader was angry at Bruce/Bryce, likely Jason/Jasmine death era since in most comics, Damian is an infant or toddler when Jason trains her, and Talia was there as "emotional support"?
She's also canonically a victim herself due to her past relationship with Bane. Which Bane does things like kisses her forcefully, manhandle her and has threatens to kill her. In Legacy, after the everything she had endured, Talia lost her will to live.
If you wish to have Reader deal with victims of SA, there's one's like Talia (forced relationship with Bane and likely had to use her body in missions), Tim (due to Ra's sister, though that was attempted), Stephanie (her teen pregnancy being by an older man who she considered too bad to be in the baby's life plus her father's friends were creeps), Richard (Tarantula), Barbara (Joker took photos of her body but canonically didn't rape her), and maybe even Richard or the other Robins from Slade in your genderbent AU since he did assault/groom Terra and canonically has a lot of creepy dialog about Richard and Damian.
I do hope this isn't read as a hate comment, I'm simply trying to ask if you can not place a woman of color as an evil assaulter- from a woman of color who has experienced and seen a lot of assault or fetishization due to my gender and ethnicity because I especially enjoy your gender neutral content that balances yandere and humor incredibly well!
Note: Hey Anon! Firstly, thank you so much for writing this and I also want to apologize for writing male Talia as an assaulter. I am a bit behind on what is and isn't canon anymore in the DCU and when I wrote that piece with male Talia I was using the outdated canon that I remembered, but that doesn't excuse that I should've double checked to see if it was still canon or not. Again thank you so much for bringing this up to me, I will keep this information in mind for the future.
While I have always viewed Talia as someone who is a victim of what a cult can do to a person and how cults can warp someones mind and reality to the point that they committ horrible actions (not an excuse, just an explanation) and I have always thought it was important to show that even men like Bruce (strong, wealthy, smart, etc.) can also be victims of assault, not just by men but also women, but I don't want to purpetuate the racist and sexist ideals of Morrison.
I have been around 'religous' people who got indoctrinated into cult like churches and places of worship my entire life. In a way I have always found a odd sense of comfort in Talia, she's a complicated person who has done horrible things, but in the same breath she wants to get better, wants to be better, she gives me hope that people I love might be able to snap out of whatever has a hold on them. I'm not saying this as a way to excuse anything, just wanted to explain my thought process.
I'm sorry if I am getting repetitive, but again thank you so much for correcting me and keeping me accountable for my writing. I hope that my work continues to bring you joy and thank you so much for the compliment!
As for communal raising of a baby, the ex that I think would be the easiest to convince (after 9 months of convincing) would be Ex Husband reader. Shocking, I know but hear me out! Ex Husband has never had a real 'family', being taken in by a uncle he never knew existed and being turned into a delivery boy for his uncles drug deals. He would be walking downtown and see a family together, smiling and laughing and feel jealous and heartbroken. He had that and then lost it.
So of course he would want his child to have a family that loves them, sure he would've preferred people who don't stalk him and constantly break into house, but his kid is already on the way and he's badgered them into getting some form of mental health councelling.
Unfortionately though, this resulted in family therapy between him, Bruce, Selina, Talia and the kids. Now hewouldn't have minded doing family therapy between him and Talia, him and the kids, hell even between him and Bruce, but all of them together? Grievances will be brought up.
Dick, sitting on the couch between Bruce and Ex Husband with his arms cross and frowning: "I'm not calling her mom."
Ex Husband, nodding and patting his son's back: "No one is asking you to."
------------
Damian, eying Ex Husband, clearly wants to ask something: "...."
Therapist: "Is there something you want to ask him Damian?"
Damian: "Yes actually"
Damian, turns to ex husband: "Will this be yours and Mother's only pregnancy or will there be multiple? How many siblings should I expect?"
Ex Husband: "We didn't plan this one, your guess is as good as mine."
Don't be fooled, he wants more but needs to discuss his relationship with Talia first and also needs to see if he can split his attention fairly among his kids.
---------------
Bruce: "I- I just can't get over that you and Talia got together right after our divorce, didn't I mean anything to you??"
Ex Husband, struggling to not point out that Damian was literally conceived while they were still married: "Bruce. Look to your left real quick."
Bruce, looks to his left and looks right at Damian: "...."
Bruce: "That's different-"
Ex Husband: "TWELVE YEARS. WE WERE MARRIED FOR TWELVE YEARS--!!!"
---------------
Ex Husband, explaining how he and Talia met: "So I wake up, knife against my throat and shes whispering how shes going to 'get rid' of me--"
Talia, smiling and trying to not giggle and the memory as she and Ex Goon hold each others hand.
-----------
I think out of the ex's, ex husband has the best chance at 'de-yandereing' bruce. The kids are not yandere so they aren't feeding his delusions, in fact they are actively telling him to chill, and because of that Ex Husband feels semi okay with Bruce being in his life.
I say semi okay because Bruce still sneaks into his house and sleeps in bed with him.
The person who will have the biggest problem with a communal parenting is the reader I call Pretty Little Psycho. I haven't written much for her, but she and Bryce are my toxic Yuri pairing where they are both cruel and toxic to each other. She is married to Bryce and is a yandere who has attempted to kill both Thali and Sylvester multiple times, has almost suceeded multiple times as well.
She and Bryce have the shortest marraige. Thali thinks she's crazy, but admires her battle IQ and ferocity. Sylvester is scared of her in a sexy (?) way.
Ex Wife and Ex Goon are a mixed bag.
Ex Wife doesn't want a constant reminder of how low she has stopped by having Bruce in her life. She also doesn't want to think about how masochistic she acted in letting Bruce do what he wanted while married to her. Yes she is aware that what she did was bad, but 20 years of letting Bruce and the kids humiliate her as a form of repentence has made her not trust them.
She would introduce her baby to Damian, but it would take a lot of reassurance and Jason being there to comfort her, since out of everyone, Jason is the only person she truly trusts.
She knows she will play favorites, she thinks that would lead to more heartbreak than needed. She would need a lot of bias therapy tbh
Ex Goon? If he didn't hate Thali with a white hot passion and they somehow got together, he would want his baby to know Fem Damian and Jasmine, but he is afraid to be around Bryce. Bryce is like a drug to him, he could be completely over her and yet still would want to please her.
He's well trained.
He is the most likely to become a single father tbh.
If we go the mpreg route, the moment he finds out he's pregnant he's leaving Gotham and moving to a place that rarely gets any visits from heroes.
He would live that "I accidently slept got pregnant by the assassin prince, years later he shows up" manhwa life.
How Bryce react if among the many people trying to hit on Ex Goon Husband, Sylvester was one of them?
“How to get your cheating, rich ex wife to become obsessed with you in 3 easy steps.” — Written by Ex Goon Ex Husband M. Reader
Step 1.: Let her experience the pain, don’t try to comfort her.
Bryce would be heartbroken, absolutely heartbroken. She can't believe it, she doesn't want to believe it. She doesn't want to believe her eyes as she watches Sylvester smile at her ex - who was currently trying to leave the bar that Sylvester found him in - the same way he did to her.
She’s so heartbroken, crying and barely able to be Batwoman because she doesn’t want to run into him – not yet at least. Not after seeing him follow ex goon to Howard's house after ex goon finished pratrolling as the Hound. Practically purring in delight as he watched Ex Goon strip himself of his vigilante suit, exposing his body all while unaware of the eyes that hungrily watched him through the window.
His eyes warm and fond.
Happy with a longing that should not be there.
Not while she's by his side.
Not when she shares her bed with him.
His eyes taking in every bruise that he gained through patrol, every scar that told held a story of his life and beauty mark that adorned her ex's body. Drinking in her ex husband's visage as if it were the wine she and Sylvester would share on their dates.
She can't tell what she felt when she first saw the invasion of privacy.
Disgust, anger, confusion... possessiveness.
With all these feelings, she begins to wonder if this is what Ex Goon felt when he’d catch her and Sylvester kissing in rooftops, or when they would 'work' together on cases.
She wonders how he was able to function after each time he caught her with him, after she’d return home with hickies on her neck and his smell soaked into her skin.
How was he able to love her after making him feel like this? So insignificant and used. Did Sylvester ever like her? If so, when did his feelings change for her? Was she just a stepping stone to get closer to ex goon? How long has Sylvester wanted her husband?
How long has he looked at ex goon with warm eyes? Eyes that track his every move, that hold a longing that makes her feel sick to her stomach to see.
If that’s how she’s feeling after this betrayal, how has she made him feel for the past 20+ years?
Step 2.: Try to avoid your ex wife and her affair partner *side note, you will fail.
Ex goon is trying to avoid them both, for his kids well being - he doesnt want them to see how weak he truly is, how he's finally hit his rockiest of bottoms - and for his health (the stress is not good for his heart or his hairline), but it seems like everytime he went out in public, he'd see Bryce, doing some kind of work with an organization, the kids who were accomping her, or - ugh - Sylvester.
He wants to talk to them, wants to know how they are doing... but everytime he sees them its like a wave of anxiety washes over him. He can feel his muscles twitch and spasm underneath his skin.
He... he just can't. He's not ready. He's not ready to be the bigger person, not ready to be the mature one that made everyone except himself feel better.
He couldn't hold their worlds together while his was crumbling all around him.
A spoiled cat trying to play with what it thinks is food.
He hates it.
He hates it all.
He hates how they try to talk to him. His children looking at him with concerned expressions - especially Jasmine. Her green eyes always looking for him when shes in a crowd, always looking for him when she's out on patrol and it hurts him - and asking the questions that Bryce won't answer herself.
He feels so selfish staying away from them, but he doesn't know what to do. His confidence as a father completely shattered, how can he be a good father when he couldnt even be an adequate husband? He's trying to ease their fears, reassuring them that he still loves them and wants to still be their father, but he doesn't know how to anymore.
Is being in their lives doing more damage? Has he damaged them by accepting Bryce's cheating? Has he ruined their view of love and relationships by forcing Bryce to be with him?
He feels like such a hypocrite now looking back, especially since he knows that he would murder anyone who dared to trap his little princesses and princes in a relationship they didn't want.
I can't be around them, I'm not a good person.
Hates how Sylvester tries to flirt with him, sultry eyes trying to pin him down - as if ex goon was some weakling in need of his attention - and purred words that attempted to lull the ex criminal into a sense of safety. It truly disgusted him, his stomach churning as bile tickled the back of his throat uncomfortably as the dark haired man kept trying to talk to him, kept 'running into' Ex Goon 'randomly' on the streets of Gotham.
Hates how that piece of shit feels comfortable enough to touch him.
Hates how Sylvester's slender hands keep trying to touch his arms and shoulders, hates how Sylvester is trying to comfort him - acting like he's ex Goon's friend - acting like a lover instead of the monster that contibutes to his declining mental and emotional health.
Lately, that spoiled cat has been getting bolder. Sylvester thinks he's so sly, but Ex Goon sees him. Sees that little creep stalk him from the shadows of the streets as Ex Goon does some errands for himself or goes out with old friends he's been reconnecting with. He can feel the manic delight in the thief's eyes as they trail ex goon's body every night as he change, making the former criminal wonder how much trouble he would get in with Bryce if he gauged out the thief's pretty pale green eyes.
It's honestly just creepy.
He starts to look into moving out of Gotham, the stress of this situation causing him health issues, the jealousy he's beginning to feel towards Howard and his husband's healthy relationship causing him to feel like a horrible friend, and how Sylvester just keeps showing up, keeps smiling at him and asking him how he's doing - all of it accumilating in him, a unstable bomb that's ready to go off.
Step 3.: Try to not lose your shit, fail and lose your shit
Ex Goon started journalling during his separation with Bryce. He wanted to express his feelings in a way where he wasn't burdening Howard, but it backfired when he started to see how much of a pathetic loser he really is, and how Bryce is just like the other elites.
She's just like those cruel, life draining vampires that turned Gotham into their dollhouse, with her people as their dolls. How could he be so fucking stupid to not see that? How could he love someone who could never see him as anything other than a doll? How could he expect her to love him when he couldn't even see himself as human?!
His emotions are all over the place during this time, with him going through each emotion to its extreme.
At first, he missed her. I mean, how could a husband not miss his wife? How can anyone stand being away from the person they love... isn't hell being separated from God's divine light?
But, he forgot how blinding light is, but now that he's in the dark, he can see again.
And he begins to hate.
He loves her.
He loved her.
He misses her.
He hopes to never see her face again.
...
....
.....
He loved her.
Loved her to the point of destroying himself for her benefit. He loved her to keep her in heaven all while he suffered in a blinding hell without even noticing.
He LOVED her and she never even cared about him!! He gave her his heart and she took it a long with his soul!!
He lost himself in trying to be worthy of her love!!
He doesn't know who he is anymore. He looks into the mirror and doesn't recognize the man in it.
But he does recognize the woman who lurks behind him, he knows her.
And he hates her.
"Get out."
He doesn't want to talk to her, he doesn't want to see her, he just wants to disassociate until his emotions are manageable again. But she doesn't. She stays, taking a cautious step towards him, her eyes never leaving his face. Her attention feeling like sun light on his skin right before it starts to burn and blister.
"Go away Bryce."
He hisses, begining to feel the hate infecting his heart like a leaded poison, feeling it spread through his body further with each eractic beat of his heart as she step closer to him.
He hates her.
"For fucks sakes Bryce, go away!!"
He began to back away from her, feeling a familiar lump in the back of his throat as his vision blurred from the tears that were threatening to rain down. He didn't want to cry, not here, not now in front of her, not in front of the woman he his mind hates but his heart loves with a septic passion - turning against him instead of the infection before him.
He hates Sylvester.
He's about to tell her leave again when she touches him, gently caressing his tear stained cheek in her warm, gloved hand. He froze immediately from the contact, his dull eyes sparking back to life for a brief moment as he looks at her masked face that blended into he darkness of the room a little too well, her sapphire eyes the only feature he could make out.
Its shameful the sound he made once she touched him, it was like a scared and abused animal was experiencing kindness for the first time. A strained, pained sound that he tried to catch in his throat, but it somehow managed to slip out past his dry and cracked lips.
For a moment, he relaxed, letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding for the past three months and leaning into her palm, like any good mutt would do. Like what her mutt would do. He cant help but close his eyes, feeling warmth spread from his cheek to the rest of his body. He could have fallen asleep right then and there truthfully.
He hates Sylvester and Bryce together.
But then he smelt it.
Smelt him. Smelt the scent of expensive soap and cat fur.
A scent he knew too well by now. The scent of the man who has spent so many nights with his wife. The scent of the man he would always smell when he would hug his wife. The scent of the man who enjoyed tormenting him even more now that he was divorcing Bryce.
He wanted to bite her in that moment. He wanted tho be the ungrateful mutt, disgusting, unworthy mutt she saw him as and bite her hand. He wanted to sink his teeth far into her skin, rip apart her flesh and see if his beloved devil bled.
"You saw him tonight, didn't you."
It wasn't a question. Why ask a question when you already know the answer? To make a point?
He could feel her immediately tense, hesitant to tell him the truth.
"...Yes, I saw him tonight to aquire some int-"
"Shut up."
His voice came out harsh, harsher than any tone he has ever used towards or around her.
He pulled his face from her hand, delibritly taking his time to stand up to his full height, looking at her in the eyes, letting her watch as that spark of passionate love he had for her finally die.
Leaning in close - letting her feel his warmth for the last time - as he grabbed her shoulders firmly and pushed her towards the window she used to enter his room, making sure she wouldn't escape him as he hissed into her ear, "get out. I never want to see you again."
"Wait-!" he didn't let her finish, pushing her out of the window onto the fire escape, climbing out after her as he grabbed her arm and began to drag her to the apartment's rooftop. He was making sure she left, it was the least he could do for Howard and his family.
"You don't get it do you? I hate you. I hate you Bryce. I hate that I met you, I hate that I fell in love with you, I hate that I waited for you to return to Gotham, I hate that I blackmailed you, I HATE that I still-" He stopped himself, shaking as he let her go once they got to the rooftop.
He hates himself.
He hates that he's so weak. He hates that he still loves her. He hates that he wants to run into her arms, only to be strangled by her hands.
"I didn'tt ask for you to fall for me. I didn't ask for you to stalk me. You did this to yourself." Bryce spat back at him, her emotions raw from Sylvester's betrayal and ex goon's a sense.
"Yeah... Yeah I did.. So tell me, why are YOU here? I left. I finally freed you, so why. Why are you here, huh?.. People who divorce don't caress the others fucking face." He spat back, feeling confused and angry. Unsure of what he wanted anymore.
Bryce was silent, thinking over his words and her actions.
"The kids miss you. I'm only here for them, that's it."
ex goon let her words sink in, letting that familiar feeling of disappointment settle over him like an old, worn out coat.
'What did you expect? She doesn't love you. She will never want you.'
"...."
He took a deep breath in and let it out, a bitter task settling over his tongue a long with fatigue.
I'm so tired.
"Okay," he mumbled, turning his back to her and climbing back down the fire escape, back into the cold room of Howard's home.
'I hope I never see you again,' is what he wanted to say, but he knew it would be a lie.
He can't escape Gotham's sweetheart BB Wayne, nor it's hero.
And in his heart, he didn't want to never see her again, he still loved her too much.
And hated himself just enough.
If ex goon had it his way he wouldve probably given in and asked her if there is anyway they can salvage thier marraige, but being around Howard and his family has forced him to look at things in a new light.
Howard and Maverick love each other, they aren't on thier knees proclaiming thier love to each other every day, but its obvious that they have a good and healthy marraige. They smile at each other everytime they see the other, they always give the other a peck on the lips before departing.
They love being around the other, even if they aren't doing anything together, they want to be around the other. Alone together, but never lonely.
Even when they argue, its not really arguing! Just minor disagreements that always get resolved, they respect each other and the other's opinion too much to try and show how 'right' they might be.
That's what ex goon wants, he thought he wanted something else, something more akin to a priest worshipping a goddess, but after seeing the other alternative he realizes how lonely he is.
He wants to be a husband that is loved. He wants to be with someone who respects him.
He doesn't have that and its his own fault. He constructed himself a prison and now it's his responsibility to deconstruct it.
His first step? Staying away from his addiction;
Bryce Martha Wayne.
His suitors (minus the obvious) are very pleased seeing their darling distancing himself from Bryce and divorcing her. They can use his emotional distress to wiggle into his life and keep him for themselves.
I think Bryce would start to become yandere for ex goon after seeing how far he's truly fallen - hitting absolute rock bottom - but instead of running back to her, like he has always done - always desperate for scraps of her affection -, he pushes her away.
She's used to her loyal hound always returning to her, its what he's always done. She's the one that pushes him away, shes the one that tells him to leave, shes the one that breaks his heart.
He's the one that chases her, he's the one that stays, he's the one that picks up the pieces of his broken heart, tape it back together and presents it to her again.
She's used to his unconditional and unwavering love and obsession for her, something she has taken for granted and used for so long.
Its funny, the one thing she has hated for so long is now the thing she is beginning to miss, she feels like a traitor to herself. After all, who could she love the pathetic monster that caged her with a wedding ring?
But now.. she's not happy. She's not happy that he trapped her and now that she's 'too difficult' now he wants to open her cage door and abandon her.
It's not fair.
He doesn't get to just walk away from what he started. He doesn't get to walk away until she says he can.
So now she begins to make a cage just for him.
Its only fair after all.
Sylvester. Oh Sylvester you cunning lil kitty.
I want to use this section to write some Headcannons about Sylvester being obsessed with ex goon.
Sylvester knew ex goon before Brycce returned to Gotham and developed a little crush on the man with dull eyes and kind gestures.
Back then, before he became Catman, Sylvester was a thief for hire and he met ex goon during one of his heists that went sideways. Sylvester was hired to steal some weapon shipment details from one of gotham's most ruthless Dons and accidently tripped off an alarm and got caught by Ex Goon.
Ex goon had him cornered in a storage closet, no windows and no way out, holding a gun. Sylvester was positive this was going to be his last heist. But instead of shooting him or alerting the others. Ex Goon's dull eyes softened, mouthing to Sylvester to "destroy them" before closing the closet door and yelling to the others that Sylvester got away.
Sylvester never forgot that. Never will forget that. Ex Goon could've snitched and moved up the ladder in the Don's family, could've just killed Sylvester and called it a night, but instead Ex Goon kept quiet, hell even telling the others that he thought he saw someone running in a direction away from the closet. Only asking him to destroy the information, delaying the arms deal by a couple weeks to a couple months.
Ex Goon does not remember that interaction at all.
Sylvester would see Ex Goon from time to time after that, but Ex Goon would always been working, being with the other grunts as they did what their boss told them to do, keeping Sylvester from trying to get to know him.
So while he did develop a crush on Ex Goon, he was unable to really try to cultivate it and moved on, doing what he could to earn (steal) money.
Sylvester did not get with Bryce to get close to Ex Goon, he genuinely finds her attractive and liked being around her, but being around the former criminal felt like a great bonus.
The delight he felt seeing how jealous Ex Goon was of him being with Bryce was honestly addictive, especially since Ex Goon couldn't do anything but watch, and Sylvester loves having Ex Goon's eyes on him. Loves how intense they are, loves how honest they are. He doesn't even care if they are fully of hatred for him, Sylvester loves them and want's them to stay on him.
Sylvester likes touching Ex Goon, absolutely loves it, with his favorite activity being throwing himself at Ex Goon and - if ex goon is able to/willing to - being caught by the former criminal.
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This took me longer than expected! Sorry if I wrote too much or rambled. I really think Ex Goon is interesting and I'm still messing around with his and Bryce's relationship, especially how her obsession with him started. I think it would be interesting if her obsession with him began with her wanting revenge against him.
PLEASE GIVE EX GOON HUSBAND A DAD BOD IT WOULD SUIT HIM SO MUCH 😫😫😫😫😫😫
On that note expanding on that. I could see ex goon!husband having to work out and keep up with his physique due to expectations of society and due to insecurities. But after he leaves Bryce in the divorce, he can finally let go and not have to worry about his physical appearance.
RANDOM DISCLAIMER: Ex Goon Ex Husband has no canon body type... BUT
If you give me a chance to be a lil freaky, I can go into DETAIL about how I *PERSONALLY* imagine him. Like, I think during the marriage he is built like a rugby player, I mean he had to due to being a vigilante along with Bryce and the kids, but after the marriage, he moved out and was living with Clara Kent for a couple weeks as he looked for a new place to stay. Due to staying with her and visiting her parents, he definitely gained some pudge, but he, just not as much.
I also imagine him with body hair, like a medium hairy chest with a nice thick happy trail, that man is not a waxed Calvin Klien model. Sure, he would wax if his partner had a preference, but in general he's a little hairy body wise.
God but I cant stop thinking about ex goon just relaxing in his own apartment, drinking a beer while watching twin peaks (just started watching it myself), wearing baggy sweat pants with no shirt.. [hehe] his once hard muscles relaxed and softening, looking good enough to bite [kicks feet and twirls hair]
Ex goon ex husband’s nicknames for his favorite daughters are Princess (fem Damian) and duchess (fem Jason). The nicknames he gives his favorite sons are Mr. Son (male Stephanie) and Moonpie (male Cassandra).
