Bit of a pivot from Little Bishop (just wanted a change of pace tbh, fic's still on) but what about a Black!Spider!Reader that still has a living family and is just living their best life. Like one of their moms worked at the research facility that the spider was in, and Reader didn't even kill the spider. They just put it back in their enclosure they knocked over. They didn't tell their mom because they knew their one rule was to not go running around in the lab.
Eventually (when Reader is about 16), their moms might find out. But until then, maybe even after, they mostly spend their time in New York (and later Gotham when they move) swinging around as Spiderman.
I got a book back when I was a child about Anansi, the African Trickster god, and I think Reader would name themselves Anansi after that book. (Yes I know about Kwaku Anansi. I'm using the justification of Their Names Are Technically Different)
They're quite the trickster, too, so it fits. They capture villains with extremely sticky traps, trick them into surrendering their weapons, get them to fight each other, etc.
When they eventually move to Gotham, the villains start to prefer them to the Batfamily. Anansi doesn't need to pummel them out of their devices. Granted, being outsmarted by someone who goes on to talk about how they're glad they don't have to hide their bruises during PE again sucks, but ego damage is preferred to physical damage.
Reader hits the Batfam's radar faster than sound. Your good rapport with the villains despite being a vigilante intrigues them. When Barbara brings up some videos of you tricking the villains into disarming themselves, trapping themselves, otherwise neutralizing them without causing more than a few bruises in the span of weeks, they reach out to try and work with you.
Reader, through no attempt of their own, has that mischievous yet relatively sweet side that complements what I call Cute Kid Chic; a trait that makes people older than them want to adopt them. Bruce's adoption problems are put to the test when Reader mentions their mom.
They already fit into the Batfamily so well, bantering with Red Hood, pranking Nightwing, tricking Robin into having fun. You're practically part of the family already!
Meanwhile, Duke is obsessed over a classmate of his that's in Mathletes, chess Club, and does ballet. Damian notices them through a match of Capture the Flag their high school has, their way of using trickery rather than pure speed or brawn like his teammates is... refreshing. Admirable. Fascinating.
You know Cass through ballet, and you're probably closest to her outside of your spider suit. Signal is who they're closest to in suit, and they usually end up working together since they're the two heroes that work during daytime.
How do you think the other heroes (X,Queen etc...) reacted to Linling? Especially after the spectacle he put on on TV.
omgomg i love this question, anon! and as much as i love it, i feel like i don’t have a super solid answer as of right now…. bc Lin Ling’s character is heavily reliant on Nice’s character, which we still don’t know much right now, but i’m so certain it will all be revealed in next week’s episode!! but i love theorizing!! (i rambled so hard that i didn’t even answer your question at first lol, so here’s my answer and like a whole essay analyzing episode 19 surrounding our heroes. i’m so sorry lol)
in terms of reacting to Lin Ling’s reveal, i feel like there’s gonna be a lot of skepticism. like almost all but three heroes were involved in the spaceship crash site, and Luo Li fought him, and i feel like a lot of our top 10 heroes are aware of how publicity and media can spin a hero’s persona to the public. like why would the real Nice be dead? and why is it now just revealed two weeks before the tournament that Lin Ling has been impersonating Nice this whole time?
on Lin Ling’s part, it truly is a coincidence, but to the other heroes, it could be seen as a publicity stunt to gain even more trust value from the general public or as a way to remove Nice from his superhero “Nice” persona (in the event the spaceship mission scandal ever comes to light, Nice and Treeman are removed from the situation). like in a way, they could see him as Nice impersonating Lin Ling, mirroring the whole plotline of Lin Ling’s arc.
i can honestly see all of them being skeptical, but Lucky Cyan and the Johnnys have had their time in a negative public eye, and would totally warm up to Lin Ling pretty quickly, i think. maybe they see in his eyes that Lin Ling’s pure of heart lol. Queen would be similar, though i think it would take her a little longer to ease up around Lin Ling. but she’d appreciate Lin Ling’s honesty when it comes to defining what makes a hero in his eyes. Luo Li’s totally holding a grudge regardless, i think she’d be the hardest to persuade. she was so ready to beat Nice’s ass, and now this bullshit happens? c’mon she was so ready to kill him. Ghostblade would not care lmao, E-Soul? realistically wouldn’t care. i feel like he’s just so emotionally numb and just a pathetic (affectionate) pawn to Rock. but maybe seeing that spark in Lin Ling… reminds him of a better time, a long time ago :( he sees Pomelo and his past self in Lin Ling’s blind naivety and heroism. but then again, he goes and kills moon??? also how tf does he find them? anyways, maybe he has some vendetta against Nice…
i genuinely dont know about Ahu or Dragon Boy i have no idea how they move so not doing them. but i think X would enjoy Lin Ling, like a breath of fresh air, and they’re both just some guys that also happen to be heroes.
i do have this theory that X was involved in the spaceship crash site and rewired how that situation went down. everyone forgets, so in that regard, Nice wasn’t there. so when it’s revealed that Lin Ling is Nice, maybe it’s slight shock and confusion, appreciation in Lin Ling’s meaning of being a hero (though i still think Ghostblade and E-Soul wouldn’t care)
here's essentially my analysis of episode 19 that came from rambling so much on this ask
anon, if you have any other questions or wanna chat, plsss feel free, i love thinking about to be hero x so much
part of the reason i was able to get back into the swing of writing my crk fanfic was by drawing art of my placeholder for what i envisioned my insert to look like, and i think i promised to post it for those who wanted to see
i still consider myself a beginner when it comes to my art tbh (you can tell bc i only really draw my characters standing one really specific way, its my ver of the american lean, LOL), and all of these following works are just mock ups of my ver of first star, but i hope u enjoy her anyway <3
