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hollandorks · 3 years ago

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Tumblr really said "I'm not giving you anymore notifications you check this page all the time".

Shelby bestie I love you. This chapter just made me smile so much. I'm just gonna get right into it.

“–what you were thinking!”

I straight up thought Bruce was yelling at the reader at the moment and I was like "yeah okay" and then it was at Alfred and I was surprised. It's this thing I was talking about last time, and that you touched on too, about Bruce not wanting to be seen as weak. He was so worried for Alfred that he just yelled at him.

And Alfred yelled back and I loved it. He deserves it. He dealt with Bruce's shit for sooooo long, so he gets to yell and he gets to be the boss of the manor. Bruce gets to spearhead things everywhere else, but Alfred is basically his father, so "as long as you live under my roof, Bruce Wayne, you live with my rules" is completely well-deserved. Besides, we know Bruce doesn't even give a flying fuck about the Wayne estate and business.

She never realized how…attractive she found it until she’d seen him in action.

Stan Horny Reader. I love her return.

EVERYONE IS BOSSING BRUCE AROUND THIS CHAPTER AND I LIVE TO SEE IT.

Alfred was yelling at him, now the reader is not only not listening to the man, but actively telling him what to do. I'd feel a little bit of pity for Bruce if he didn't, you know, boss everyone else around 99% of the time.

I also love how basically since the moment the Reader found out about Bruce being Batman, she stopped thinking about him as her employer. She's clearly no longer worried about getting fired (or, rather, not as worried). It just makes sense because she spent so much time with Batman as a partner and teammate. More time, I'm presuming, than she spent with Bruce, period (with his angsty ass avoiding her all the time). So, it makes sense that the Batman-is-my-partner mode would just carry over to the Bruce/Reader dynamic once the bat was out of the bag.

One of the men on the floor groaned.

FIRST OF ALL, SIR, YOU BROKE IN. You don't get to complain about the PDA and cockblock a kiss. You have 0 jurisdiction here. So. Rude.

Alfred has to enroll all these men in a Good Manners class because how dare that man groan and interrupt that moment. After breaking in, no less. Tsk.

"I think our friend has a soft spot for you"

YES. HE. DOES.

Shelby, I love this trope that everyone in Gotham basically knows how in love Bruce and the Reader are except for Bruce and the Reader. I'm living for it.

I hope, at some point, that Gordon realizes Bruce is Batman just so he and Alfred can team up for cupid. And also tease them relentlessly.

“He does,” he said in a low voice. Stepped closer to her.

YES, SIR.

“I’ve been given permission to get some breakfast going, as long as I don’t get in the way,” Alfred’s voice said as he pushed the door open.

ALFRED—

Alfred, I was just talking about how you have to teach the kidnappers proper manners for this very reason. WHY, oh, WHY would you do this? *curls up in a ball and cries*

The coffee moment with Gordon and Bruce cracked me up. Poor baby Bruce. I love him so much. He doesn't know anything.

Alright, I know I was just talking about Lena and how I was suspicious of her. I also know you're probably not gonna comment on this little section to not spoil anything and that is a wise decision.

I AM STILL, if not MORE, suspicious of her. She is absolutely being blackmailed by the bad guys and they're using her son as bait. 100%.

A fury burned behind her dark eyes. “Just promise you’ll stop them.”

Dead giveaway.

“Do you trust her?”

No.

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t,”

I do.

Moving on so I don't end up spoiling things for people in the case that I am right (and I think I am).

I appreciate Bruce asserting his need for the reader to be safe and to not return to the Iceberg Lounge. AND!!! CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!!! SHE LISTENED! (sorta—she wouldn't risk her life to go back there, she knows it's a super stupid idea, BUT I'M COUNTING IT AS A WIN)

Times Bruce Has Listened To Reader - 99999999

Times Reader Has Listened To Bruce - 1

That's all I have bestie. I love it. I love you. I know I already said that, but I just wanna make sure you got the message. Also I love your cats. Would die for them.

⌨

***CH 24 SPOILERS***

Hi bestie!!! Hope your finals and such have gone well! (And your short film!)

I had to make Alfred yell back, I had to! It made me happy to imagine dad!Alfred tbh. Love how you put it: "as long as you love under my roof," it made me laugh. That's 100% how it is, even though technically it's Bruce's roof.

Horny reader will make a comeback later on too, just so you know 👀 No spoilers though!

Poor Bruce in this chapter can't catch a break from being bossed around! But you're right he deserves it for bossing everyone else around 99% of the time. It had to come back to bite him at some point. She definitely is more focused on the partner aspect than the employer aspect! You definitely nailed it with that. She has spent more time with Batman than Bruce, so now that's how she's primarily seeing him.

Good manners class 😂😂 that made me laugh. And poor Alfred feels very very bad about interrupting!

Yes everyone knows they're in love except for them. I bet even the random cops/ EMTs/ etc that were there know how in love they are because it's so fucking obvious. A Gordon and Alfred cupid team up would be so much fun to write! I might just have to sprinkle that in.....we'll see. (Not really a spoiler but I have a very fun Gordon scene planned for the very end of the sequel. I'm saying this now because it's so far away hopefully everyone will forget I said it. But trust me it's fun)

Awkward Bruce being forced to interact with Gordon was something I planned from the very beginning. I knew I had to include it somehow. I'm glad everyone loves that scene because I laughed when writing it 😂

"I also know you're probably not gonna comment on this little section to not spoil anything" yep you're right! 😂 See my response to the 🦇 anon about the two things that happen in my brain when I see everyone's theories!

Yes character development!! She finally listened for once! He had some character development too, a little: he actually sat down when she told him to 😂 If only for a few minutes.

Thanks as always for the ask bestie!! It is my FAVORITE to see people dissecting each chapter. Can't get enough of it. Ever. As you said, I love it and I love you! 🥰 Also, sorry if my response is a little short, I'm at work 🥵 But also spoilers.

#asks #anon #motn spoilers #⌨️ anon #⌨️#my bestie ⌨️

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hollandorks · 3 years ago

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Right when I was saying the reader never listens to Bruce, she proceeds to continue never listening to Bruce. But let's Break! It! Down!

Bruce absently rubbed at a spot on his chest.

It must be that mysterious nonexistent bruise—It be love, my dear boy!

Because that’s what it meant, wasn’t it? That she didn’t have faith in him? Since he hadn’t done better? You should have let me die

No, Bruce!! That's not what she meant!

She didn’t know that he would die for her, a thousand times over, and gladly.

THIS is what she meant! Just in a different font!

Also if it isn't that, I don't want it.

This couple needs to learn how to communicate with each other, Bruce and Reader. It's so interesting that when they're fighting, they move in sync because they can anticipate what the other person wants to do without necessarily speaking it, but when they're not fighting, shit like this happens. I mean, is that a statement about trauma? Yes. If you're too familiar with an unsafe environment, safety feels dangerous. So, it makes sense that, with what the two of them have experienced, they almost flourish in dysfunction. Everyone in Wayne Manor needs therapy.

But also, this is exactly the shit that keeps shit from happening. You put words in the other person's mouth, thinking that's what they meant when you may not necessarily be right. And instead of talking about it, you take your interpretation as fact, leading to misunderstandings.

Do I love it (in a story)? Absolutely. You're doing fantastic, Shelby. We love the dramatic tension that comes from it.

Bruce rewound the footage to earlier in the night. To her coming outside, frantic, afraid. To their kiss. God, he wanted to kiss her again. It terrified him.

Proving my point about how safety feels dangerous. You're rich, Bruce. Get a therapist ffs.

There was no use to daydreaming about her. She wasn’t his.

But she wants to be!!! Just talk to each other. Figure it out. Kiss, cuddle, sleep with each other (in every sense of the phrase), get the oxytocin you both deserve.

Bruce cursed again and snapped the laptop shut.

HAHAHAHA

Didn't you just answer an ask that said he would do this? I'd like to know if you wrote it in after answering it or if it had already been there.

It's always good to see Bruce's pov. The two of them are literally so in sync, so on the same page with each other, but they just refuse to talk about it and acknowledge the fact they are both dealing with issues. Poor Alfred is gonna have such a hard time getting them to talk to each other. I bet they're both talking to him too and it's like he's having the same conversation twice, multiple times, with two separate people talking about each other. He's probably so done.

OKAY SHELBY—

The way you wrote about the way she woke up with the fragmented thoughts 10/10. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.

It's so immersive because that's literally how someone thinks waking up from a nightmare. It's like two sides of your brain trying to figure out which one was real and trying to reference what you know happened vs. what just happened and letting it fight itself until you can figure something out to break the repetition.

The routine of going to watch Bruce and make sure he was okay? Makes. Me. Soft. Matching her breathing to his? Talk about a literal image of being in sync with each other. (Also I've definitely had nightmares of similar fashions and have done that. Except I'm single. So instead of Bruce, it's my dog.)

“What are you doing on the floor?” His voice was the gentlest she’d ever heard it.

This made me audibly whine and aw. It'll make me cry if I'm not careful. I love soft Bruce with every fiber of my being.

I truly, with my entire self, believe that Bruce is the softest man on earth. That, if he got the proper therapy after his parents died, it would just show up in more conventional ways. Even as Batman, the man is soft. He doesn't wanna kill anyone, he just wants the world to be better and he believes that it can be better despite everything. I can imagine there are nights when that he feels incredibly disheartened, where something happens he didn't intend, where that belief feels challenged, but I don't think it ever wavers.

I also believe that he hates how soft he is and would rather die than admit it, but I don't think it's a matter of image. I think he's afraid that if he admits his gentle and soft nature, it makes it real, which makes him vulnerable. Of course, not admitting it doesn't make it not real—he still has that nature—but it just allows him to not think about it and not feel so vulnerable all the time. He just doesn't wanna hurt the way he has before.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

This makes me think about what an incredibly healing process falling in love with the reader must be for Bruce, especially because they're so similar. He has to confront the same demons he has, but instead they're haunting the person he loves. It's a little hypocritical (because he still thinks everything bad that has ever happened in the world is his fault when it isn't), but he'll learn to apply the same values to himself. And the reader helps by telling him the same thing.

So why was it so quiet now?

This just highlights how smart the reader is and how much she's learning from helping Bruce's vigilante work. I really hope she eventually gets a suit of her own at some point.

Bruce was there in an instant. “Are you hurt?” he asked. His voice was a deep rasp. He grabbed her chin and tilted her face towards the meager light.

SOFT.

Also, Bruce, how rude of you not to ask Alfred how he's doing??? It's not like the man raised you /s

I know it's because he reasonably knows he's fine, but still. Rude.

Gordon let out a long breath. “You sure do seem to get in a disproportionate amount of trouble, y/n.”

Yeah, Gordon, Bruce, and Alfred can all complain about it. I hope they have a tea party or something where they just talk about all the trouble the reader gets into.

All in all, fantastic chapter!!! I can't wait for the next one. You're amazing. I, however, have to write my paper (I'm totally not procrastinating whaaaaaat). I hope you're feeling better, bestie!

⌨

***CH 23 SPOILERS***

Hi bestie!! First wow thanks for all the direct quotes 🥺🥺

I think you nailed it re: trauma and communication! They definitely all need therapy. Alfred needs to quit playing cupid and just kidnap them and force them into therapy tbh. And he probably needs to go too because he's a terrible enabler 😂

I thrive off of angst and dramatic tension which is why none of my characters are ever good at talking about their feelings! Oops! They really do need to talk/ kiss/ fuck it out. All three. Over the course of several days.

And as for that shower/ video scene--I'd imagined it but didn't write it! This chapter actually didn't have a Bruce POV at all until a few days ago. And then I specifically wrote that scene into his POV after getting that ask!

Poor Alfred is definitely so done. Every time one of them comes to him with a problem I imagine his sighing, breaking out some sort of meds for a headache, and pinching the bridge of his nose. I may make this canon at some point who knows (not me because I decide stuff on the fly!)

So glad you loved how I wrote the nightmare part 🥺 When I originally wrote it I had actually had a nightmare the night before! Which turned out to be a weirdly good thing because boom inspiration (even though my dream was about spiders and not the love of my life being dead😬)

Grounding yourself is 100% the best way to deal with waking up from a nightmare, whether it's syncing your breathing with someone (or a dog or cat), or focusing on what you can touch etc

Soft Bruce is my favorite too tbh! I know for a fact he's a lot more actions oriented, so how do I show him being romantic? Him comforting her after a nightmare instead of telling her nice things. He is definitely absolutely the softest man on earth. You nailed it. I really think this Bruce is so afraid of vulnerability, especially because in his mind he thinks that it leads to weakness, which in turns leads to people he cares about getting hurt. And yes I kind of am headed that direction re: falling in love being a healing process! Because with the right person it really can be. Not because someone can save you/ make you better, but because they see the good in you and can show you that. He still needs therapy though. Badly

Obsessed with the idea of a support group for everyone in the reader's life where they complain about all the trouble she gets into. Because then there'd also be one for Bruce/ Batman.

Thanks as always for the response!!! You're the best!! Good luck on your paper bestie ❤️ (and yes definitely feeling way better today!!)

#asks #anon #motn spoilers #my bestie ⌨️#⌨️ anon #⌨️

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hollandorks · 3 years ago

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Hi sorry I've been dying. Finals are still happening. I'm also doing a short film and I'm writing this on set, so I may not be able to quote and really dissect it like I normally do.

The last two chapters were amazing. Dealing with the aftermaths of action and transitioning from one thing to another are my jam. It really tells you a lot about the characters and how they think and process emotion.

Both the reader and Bruce fucking RUN. Like they RUUUUUNNNN away from anything that makes them vulnerable. Like the reader initially not telling Bruce why she asked him to leave her behind, insisting to go to Gordon, then going to Lena. It already happened in the beginning but Marie's death really put her over the edge and she literally has not taken a moment to even BREATHE since (because pain no no).

What makes Bruce and the Reader different though is that Bruce would stop running if the reader asked him to. Also you could see that he's so used to the running he slows down a little bit more than the reader. The reader has literally never listened to Bruce 😭 the poor man—

The first time Alfred left them alone? I knew. Cupid. Alfred's having fun playing cupid. I'm here for it.

I think Lena's sus. I don't trust her AT ALL. Why? Can't really put a name on it. She opened up to the reader so fast and, I know the circumstances would make it plausible because 5 of her co-workers are dead, but still. I don't think she's straight up evil. But I do think someone on the other side has something over her. I could be wrong.

Alfred also absolutely KNOWS the reader was lying, but he also knows he can't do anything about it. He's learned from handling Bruce for so long. All he can do is be there. HE STILL NEEDS A HUG.

And back to what I was talking about earlier, the reader running. She finally told Bruce the reason why she told him to leave him behind and literally FLEED THE SCENE. Bruce being more worried about her going to the Lounge than the information. He's literally taking in the moment and breathing (a rarity, I'm proud of him) because of the reader, but she isn't doing the same. I feel so bad for him right now.

Of course, I'm not mad about it. She's traumatized and going through everything. And she isn't used to it like Bruce is, so she's trying to figure out how to cope. She's evidently, at this point in the story, not ready to be with anyone because she's terrified at the idea of getting hurt so she won't wanna be vulnerable just yet. But she's trying. We appreciate that.

⌨️

***CH 22 SPOILERS***

Hope you do well on your finals!! Also, how cool to be doing a short film!! Good luck on that too ❤️🥰

The reader & Bruce definitely do not have healthy coping mechanisms. Talking about emotions? Being vulnerable? Taking time to process? Never heard of it. But yes poor Bruce, she never listens to him about anything ever 😂 I like to think of it as karma for all the times he never listened to Alfred.

Alfred is 100% having fun playing cupid. He's taking a more subtle approach though because I think he really knows Bruce runs from emotions/ emotional vulnerability, so Alfred is playing the long game (she says as if she isn't the writer and doesn't make these decisions 😂) But yes Alfred does need a huge. As another anon put it, he has to deal with "two chaotic dumbasses" now

Thanks for the response even though you're busy!! It really means a lot. Again, good luck with everything!! Hope it all goes well! ❤️ Sorry my response isn't longer because I'm both still scared of accidentally spoiling and also still a little sick so my brain is not at 100% 🥵

#asks #anon #my bestie ⌨️#⌨️ anon #⌨️

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hollandorks · 3 years ago

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SHELBY MY MOTHER IS *STILL* WITH ME

Do you know how relieved I was that chapter 30 was scheduled for tomorrow (when she’d be leaving) EXCEPT SURPRISE?

I mean I love it but thank god my degree is in drama because the way I had to act like I was doing absolutely nothing but being a perfect catholic angel when I was reading THIS

You’re amazing. The chapter is amazing. I love you.

And no, we’re not mutuals

⌨️

WHOOPS SORRY!!! Especially about the having to act like a catholic angel part 💀😬 my bad? (Also the way this ask made me laugh though!)

Okay question #2: uhhh my mind went blank. Okay okay. How long have you been following me? (Roughly) (also how funny would this be if you were like nah I just check your blog for updates 😂 I wouldn't even be upset because it'd be so funny)

Love you bestie!! Sorry I ruined your reading plans 😂😂

#asks #anon #motn spoilers #my bestie ⌨️#⌨️ anon #⌨️

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hollandorks · 3 years ago

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I have my first day of intense screenacting classes tomorrow so I'm hoping I can do this before my human battery dies. I know this is shorter than usual and I'm sorry, but I feel like I'm gonna sneeze and I'm not SNEEZING—

He had died a thousand little deaths at her hands. Every touch, every kiss, every time she had moaned his name like a prayer and a plea, he had died all over again. A thousand little deaths at her hands in the span of minutes.

Okay, Bruce, I know you and I have had our differences over your stupidity, but same. I died too. Shelby's just an amazing writer.

Bruce blushed. “I–I didn’t know sex could be like…that,” he said truthfully. Embarrassment washed through him, but he tried to squash the feeling.

Adorable. Bruce is so cute. The embarrassment is so wholesome. And I really appreciate it because Bruce has been trying so hard to be Batman (despite not being able to around the reader) and all I-am-vulnerable-to-nothing that him being so outwardly embarrassed is so endearing and it's such a great payoff.

For her, he would try to be more open, even as much as it scared him.

You're doing great, sweetie!

He was always doing that–losing himself to his thoughts and forgetting to say any of it out loud.

Big same.

“Um. Yes. I know, I’m a freak, but–God. Seeing you fight–” She stopped. Swallowed. Kept her face covered. “It was–hot. Alright? Sue me.”

SUE ME TOO BECAUSE IT WAS HOT.

Listen, at that point the reader had gone through so much and had been torturing herself over Marie's death for ages that of course it was fucking hot. Here was a man, fighting to keep her safe and had been for ages, even when she didn't believe herself to be worth it. This time with the added bonus of being SHIRTLESS, no less (and YES, I checked. Chapter 23. He was shirtless. I not only remembered but I double-checked). AND IT WAS AFTER THEY WERE JUST LITERALLY SLEEPING TOGETHER IN BED. He had comforted her, assured her, and was then fighting for her SHIRTLESS!

Of course it was hot!

He had to admit, there was a certain allure to seeing her fight, too, as much as he was always simultaneously terrified for her safety.

This made me laugh.

God, he would be super fucking distracted with her fighting in a suit next to him.

And of course he would do what she asked. Always.

...i know that he means from this moment on, but I'm just gonna give him a liiiiiittle more shit because are we gonna pretend that he wasn't doing the EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT SHE ASKED BEFORE THEY SLEPT TOGETHER?

"Talk to me" avoids her for six weeks

"Don't brood" broods intensely

i'm gonna grab myself some leftover wine my mother left me hold on

girl didn't even leave me a whole glass, mother—

So, the sex. Shelby, I don't even know where to start. Like, I don't know what role your personal life plays into writing this fic, so I'm not gonna assume anything, but damn—

That's some hot sex. Now, I am by no means any sort of expert considering I have only slept with enough people to just be considered not a virgin, but you can feel the physical heat in the way that you write. You can picture the sweat, the quiet of the house, and how it feels like, in that moment, it's just the two of them in the entire world. And it's sweet and it's loving, and Bruce is being the best partner by making an honest attempt at learning what the reader likes (and succeeding!). And the EXPLICIT CONSENT!! Very hot!

You're just an amazing writer. Also:

His dreams could never come close to the reality of her.

THE MAN DREAMT OF HER?

I'm dead

Did she know how much he needed those words? How terrified he still was of losing her? How glad he was that somehow, by some miracle, she was here next to him, loving him, her heart beating?

Bruce is a little cinnamon roll who deserves to be protected at all costs. The boy is dumb, but he means well. Like a derpy golden retriever dressed in a batsuit.

So it was either shout and curse, or let Batman handle it. And since he hadn’t been wearing the armor, he chose shouting and cursing.

AM SOFT

BRUCE WAYNE, YOU DERPY LITTLE GOLDEN RETRIEVER (yes, that's just what I'm gonna call him now)!!!! That's so stupid of you, but so cute. It's very appreciated. He's so kind. Like I said, he can be a little confused, but he's got the right idea!

The same way my dog desperately spins around instead of doing deep pressure therapy when I'm having a panic attack because she thinks it's my favorite trick of hers since I make her do it every day. Like, it's not the most effective way of accomplishing your goal, but hey, it accomplishes it a little bit and it's adorable. Warms my heart.

Something in his chest squeezed painfully.

Bruce, if you think it's that nonexistent bruise, I swear to god—

But, no, seriously, I think he's learned that it's love. He accepts it now, and, not only does he accept it, but he's so at ease with the idea that he drifts to sleep.

“I love you,” she whispered, in case he had forgotten. She would spend every night reminding him of that. She would ease every nightmare he had with the words. She would make sure he always knew she felt safe with him.

I love these quiet moments of love. It's so easy to get swept up in the infatuation, the lust, the crush—and it's so nice to have these moments of just pure love. I want to make you feel comforted love, I want you to feel safe with me love. It's so nice.

It's so great to imagine someone who does that in a more normal way, in contrast to my real life, where my approach is: no matter how stupid you may feel, I guarantee you that I am stupider.

“Oh man, I can’t fucking believe it. Some kid pushed you off of a roof. And Batman was hit with a bat.” She laughed harder.

Big same.

“I had decided to conveniently lock you two in a room together somehow,” Alfred said. He snapped the newspaper shut. There was a glint of mischief in his eyes. “I have an extra master key that I was going to break off in the lock, since I know Bruce can pick them.” [...] “Or,” Alfred continued, ignoring Bruce’s pleading look for him to stop. “I was going to handcuff you together to the stairwell and conveniently leave for several hours. I’d already checked–nothing around the stairwell for Bruce to use to pick the lock.”

ME TOO ALFRED!! ME TOO!

Also, the reader seeing Bruce for the date and just wanting to cancel to have sex with him? Same. Settling for sex anywhere, as long as it's with him? That's the cutest thing I've ever heard. And Bruce is so cute for wanting to do things "right". It's so adorable.

And then to end with sex in the kitchen? Where they would have had sex the first time, had she been sober? That's such a nice way to clean things up!

Okay, I have to keep writing before I fall asleep!!! I JUST HAVE THE EPILOGUE LEFT I CAN DO THIS

(WHICH I READ VERY SLYLY ON THE SUBWAY RIDE HOME, MIND YOU)

⌨

Okay first I read these last night when I was supposed to be sleeping and felt weirdly emotional 🥵😩

I had to include some vulnerability here! Bruce needs to learn to open up!

And you're right, it was hot seeing him fight shirtless. Love that you remembered but also double checked 😂

Not me imagining Bruce getting fucking nailed upside the head because he's so busy watching the reader fight in a skintight suit 💀😂

He deserves to be given shit for this though. He would do anything she asked.....but hasn't. But at least he'll make up for it? 😂

Love the little callout to your mom for not leaving you enough wine lmao

As for the sex, I am definitely not saying it's inspired by my personal life because my husband would be horrified and offended that I said such things, but--

Okay wait yes that actually is what I'm saying. All writing has to be inspired by something, right? 😅

Also explicit consent is so hot!!! Consent is everything!! Listen if a smut scene (fanfic, book, movie, show, etc) doesn't have explicit consent it's a huge turnoff for me. No thank you.

Of course Bruce had sex dreams about her

"The boy is dumb, but he means well." You nailed it. Bruce Wayne in a nutshell! Also the derpy little golden retriever. He's an angry golden retriever who can fight but he is still a golden retriever

Also omg your dog spinning around?? Love it. I love her. Tell Stash I love her. (Also just some more stuff to warm your heart: my parents rescued another dog yesterday named Xena and she's the fucking cutest. She is also an agent of chaos. I love her already.)

I love love, what can I say? I always enjoy seeing these moments after all the pining etc when I'm reading, so I wanted to include some. Especially because love is so complex! There's so many types of love!

Alfred was this close to losing his fucking mind. I honestly was also this close to making him actually do these things, out of sheer desire for hilarity. But alas, I wanted to make it more natural. Maybe next time:

I had to tie it all together somehow! Glad you liked the little parallel! 🥰

Thanks bestie!!!! See you in the epilogue ask which made me cry when I read it last night!

#asks #anon #my bestie ⌨️#⌨️ anon #⌨️

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hollandorks · 3 years ago

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Chapter 30! We are almost at the finish line!

God, I'd say I need coffee, but I have ADHD, so it would just make me sleepier.

Bruce was dying.

Me too.

Every time he woke, she was already awake. Already gone. He knew she’d been in his room, could smell the lingering scent that was so utterly her, and had even caught her asleep in the armchair across from the bed. He avoided her even as much as he craved being near her.

So just carry her to bed and cuddle her, you coward.

But he couldn’t stop watching her die.

Boo you suck

Again, I'm kidding. It makes sense he's running away from the vulnerability, but it's still annoying. It's flight, fight, freeze, or fawn, and now he's just using flight and fighting other people instead of the one person he wants to fight for, the idiot. I love him, but Christ almighty (and I'm not even religious), get it together and talk to her.

His fault. It was all his fault. Everything he touched withered and died.

Non-seriously: that would be such a helpful tool though. Imagine gardening and you just have weeds all over your garden. All Bruce would have to do is touch them and voila! No more weeds!

Also Alfred is offended. He may be older, but he's still very much alive, Mr. Wayne.

Seriously speaking, see a therapist. But I've already said that.

But also, I imagine this instagram post is Bruce.

“Please, just think about what I said. She loves you, and you love her. That’s as simple as it should be. I’m tired of pretending it isn’t.”

Alfred speaking nuggets of gold in this entire conversation. I get it, I do. Bruce is struggling. He's scared and he's traumatized and he loves her. He wants to protect her, even it that means from himself, but as Alfred alludes to, it's hurting her. By punishing himself, he's punishing her. Woman has had to sneak into Bruce's room just to sleep without nightmares. On an armchair. After getting stabbed and breaking ribs, no less! The girl needs a bed! And cuddles! She went through a majorly traumatic event too! Bruce, she wants you. If you're so mad at yourself that you can't let yourself get what you want, then could you at least try and make amends by letting her get what she wants?

But he wasn’t so sure he did. He wasn’t so sure he ever could.

Good thing it's not up to you, then.

“If you don’t talk to me I’m going to–I don’t know, put itching powder in your armor. Paint your mask pink. I don’t know! Look at me.”

Do it! Do it! Do it!

I totally would. Give him hell.

“No! I’m not done.

Yes! Give him hell! I'm living for it!

“All these people I’ve been trying to save, and I would have let all of them die if it meant saving you.”

Her breath caught in her throat.

She kissed him. Hungrily, like it was her last act on earth.

YES!!!! FINALLY!!! Thank god.

Okay, I'm getting sleepy, I might have to speed this up a little bit.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He was staring at her with something like wonder in his eyes.

Yes!!! He finally gets it! Thank the gods! I'm gonna cry.

“If I had known that bullying you into talking about our feelings would–” Her words cut off with a moan as his bare hands glided up the skin of her ribcage beneath her shirt. “–lead to this, I would have been bullying you every single day for weeks.”

Madam, are you telling me that stealing Bruce's keys, getting yourself nearly killed multiple times, never listening to him, forcing him to give Gordon coffee and making fun of the way he did it wasn't flirtatiously bullying him? Girlie, please—

The smut is amazing. So amazing. Love the fact Bruce is a virgin, which, of course he is, the amount of times he's almost gotten into a car accident because of the reader. Choked because of innuendos.

“Extraordinary creature,” he said just to make her smile. It worked.

YES!!!

I love it! I would die. I would absolutely die if I got called that. It would be the most endearing thing in the entire world. More endearing than my dog passing me my black stiletto in an attempt to hint that I should meet people BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MEET A PERSON LIKE BRUCE "EXTRAORDINARY CREATURE" WAYNE

“I met you once and created a job posting for you.”

She bit her lip. “Oh?”

“I bought you a coffee maker because you love coffee. I follow you everywhere to make sure you’re safe. I–I would kill for you. I have gotten so close to–” He stopped. Swallowed. Rinsed his hair so he could take a moment.

Good. Bruce is telling the reader how stupid she's been too. We love a couple that points out each other's density moments.

Bruce choked. “Batman is not hiring.”

I'M TELLING YOU SHE'S GETTING A SUIT TO WORK WITH BATMAN WHETHER BRUCE WANTS HER TO OR NOT

He's just gonna have to learn to stay focused.

So, Shelby, I just wanna say you're an incredibly amazing and talented writer. You have so much imagery in your fic and so much humanity in your characters. Everything in this fic happened so organically and I hope you're immensely proud of that (because you should be). It's all so natural and you can trace back all of the little bows that you're starting to tie together at the end here, and I honestly can't think of anything where I've been like BUT WHAT ABOUT because you've done really well in keeping everything tight and coherent.

Okay, so I know I'd write all five reviews, but I'm tired, and I'd like to sleep. So I'll write the next one tomorrow along with the epilogue, if that's okay! I love you bestie! You're amazing!

⌨

"But I have ADHD so it would just make me sleepier." Me though.

You continue to crack me up. Love how done you are with Bruce. It's perfect.

"And I'm not even religious" you just make me laugh so much 😂 But yeah Bruce needs to get his shit together and that's why he gets ganged up on in this chapter!

A too painful reminder of my feelings 💀💀 your mind is incredible. That post is 100% Bruce but that sign is on the Batmobile 💀

Alfred is trying to show Bruce how dumb he is by avoiding her! She needs him, Bruce needs her love, etc. This bit between Alfred in Bruce is one of my favorite scenes in the whole fic. It felt so natural when I wrote it, like I was merely writing down a conversation I was overhearing. Again, Alfred keeps stealing scenes he's in.

She may have been flirtatiously bullying him up to this point but now she's actually bullying him by yelling at him and being mad 😂 You're right though she's bullied him a lot up until now.

I love all the love the extraordinary creature line is getting. I'm very proud of it 😅

"He's just gonna have to learn to stay focused." YEP. He will. He needs to learn how to work distracted around her 👀

Also thank you bestie 😭 How are you gonna end the review like that being all nice to me and making me get stuff in my eyes 😭 I am proud of this fic and I love it with my whole heart. Just, thank you 🥺🥺🥺

Also don't blame you for sleeping instead. I also went to sleep 😂 Thank you!! Love you bestie!! 🥰

#asks #anon #motn #my bestie ⌨️#⌨️ anon #⌨️

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hollandorks · 3 years ago

Note

Chapter 29!!! I am ready to sift through 7324 words!!! Bring it on! *attempts to chug my orange juice but the glass is apparently now empty*

“I’m sorry,” Alfred said. The man was crying.

ALFRED—

The poor man just wanted to protect his surrogate son! He must feel horrible. He probably thought he's failed Bruce and that's just so heartbreaking. Alfred is gonna have to talk about more than just Bruce and the reader in therapy now

Bruce headed for the Batmobile. Had she come up with that name, or had he? He couldn’t remember. She had been calling it that, though, so he called it that too. Found it endearing.

Isn't that just a moment?

I feel like that really speaks to the human experience, particular about any sort of grief. Like my mom just flew out last night, but I remember going back to my apartment after helping her into her Lyft to the airport and I had a minor freak out because I just saw her everywhere (it didn't help that she literally rearranged my entire apartment)

It's just a thing. After someone who was so present in your life is no longer there, for whatever reason, you see remnants of them in your physical space more than you saw when they were. Like you're so busy by the fact that they're present, you don't notice how they changed names for what you called things and how you went with it, how they moved an object from point A to point B. Little fingerprints of where they once were just become way more visible. So, Bruce freaking out and tossing everything around? Perfect sense. He doesn't want to think about her strongly-felt absence, so it's easier to move everything around and make a mess than come to face things that they moved. You replace their fingerprints with your own.

Also, he's just pissed off. He was forced to kill her and, in that moment, he thought he actually had. He doesn't want to kill anyone, much less her, and the one time that he (thinks) does, it wasn't even his choice.

Rather, he was slumped head-first onto the bed she was on. Limp with sleep. Her hand in his. Even in sleep, his grip was strong.

Bruce please—

The grip to make sure she's still there even when he's asleep.

Killing me.

His whole body shuddered. He pressed her knuckles to his cheek with a soft moan. Turned his head away as a tear slipped from one eye and then the next.

BRUCE WAYNE NEEDS A HUG

HE NEEDS MANY HUGS

Good lord, someone help him.

Alfred laughed. Bruce stopped. Tilted his head towards them but didn’t turn. He looked kind of nice with an almost-beard, she thought. “Oh, she’s going to be fine for sure,” Alfred said with another laugh. “More worried about the coffee than the stab wound.” He chuckled again.

Okay, first, I was also this person. After I had knee surgery when I was fourteen, I had to walk around school with a cane and a knee brace. Then, I slipped on the ramp in front of the cafeteria and people were panicking like "omg are you okay", as people do, and I just started laughing because I, a disabled person, slipped on a ramp made for disabled people. It even had the wheelchair logo on it. It was ironic, so I laughed. And, once my friends realized I was okay they laughed. Though, people I was not friends with just seemed to continue to look concerned.

This was funnily enough the same knee surgery where I started walking literally right after surgery because I wanted to go to the bathroom and my dad was asleep. So I just hopped out of bed with my IV and did it myself. The nurse caught me when I was trying to get back into bed, super confused, because apparently people don't normally just walk after knee surgery.

ANYWAYS!

I just hard relate to this.

Second, Bruce breaks my heart. He's torturing himself. I understand why, but it just fills me with the urge to give him a teddy bear and force him to hop and dance around with him so he starts feeling better. Or, at the very least, so he could laugh.

He was leaving details out. A shadow in their midst. Alfred on the ground, blood on his leg, fear and desperation in his eyes. Had Bruce–?

Poor Alfred. That must hurt. Physically and emotionally.

I know the two of them don't blame him, but I wonder if where would be a teeny tiny part of them that feels anxiety around Batman, specifically. Of course, it wasn't Bruce's fault, but the image of Batman stabbing you is still there, you know? So I wonder if the suit itself would cause a physiological response out of the memory of being hurt? I mean, maybe it's just me, but I've definitely had moments where my brain and thoughts don't necessarily agree with physiological responses.

“Bruce,” she said. He finally looked at her. The anguish in his expression wrecked her. She started crying without quite knowing why. He hurried over to her side. “Are you in pain?” he asked in a hoarse whisper. His voice sounded like he’d been sick recently. Used up. Scratchy. “Should I get the doctor?”

You can want to avoid people like the plague and still love them.

What a moment. I love it.

Alfred, on the other hand, brought her books, flowers, coffee, card games. They spent hours and hours together, usually with him staying until the hospital staff kicked him out for the night. He kept her entertained with war stories, stories about Bruce as a child and angry teenager, and his competitiveness when they played card games together.

OH TO HAVE ALFRED AS A SURROGATE PARENT—

A woman can dream.

While she was glad she had done it, glad she had saved Bruce, sometimes she woke at night remembering the way Maxwell’s flesh had given way beneath the blade. The way the light had leaked slowly from his eyes.

YES!

I'm sorry, that's probably not the appropriate reaction, but I love seeing the consequences that characters go through out of the snap decisions they have to make. Anyways, I'm sure I've already talked about how great you are at doing that enough for you to understand how much I love it. I just do.

Y/n wanted to cry. “Oh,” was all she said. Bruce had kept his promise to her and paid off her debts. She’d thought he’d forgotten with everything that had happened these past few weeks. But he hadn’t. Even now, he was protecting her. The tears burned as she struggled to keep them at bay. “He even had some choice words for the Penguin on how he runs his business and how he treats his employees. If you don’t marry him, I think I might,” Lena joked. Y/n laughed. It hurt, but she did it anyway. “I don’t think he likes me like that,” she said, because she had no idea anymore. “And thank you. For the flowers.”

I know you said Lena was cool and I think she is too, but I still think she was being blackmailed it's just now my personal headcanon

I don't know what it is exactly about this specific moment, but it makes me wanna write a script with you. That is all.

There was a constant mix of pride and guilt whenever she thought about it. She was proud she had done it, but the cost had been so steep.

I love the general move our culture's had toward exploring the downsides of being a hero. I really do. Like it used to be just "doing good is good enough", but now it's "no, there are consequences even though you do the right thing."

But this also makes me think that there might be a chance of her getting her own suit and being a vigilante one day, much to Bruce's distraction chagrin.

Zora had asked her point blank if they were dating. Y/n hadn’t needed to lie. The answer was no.

Disappointing. Get your shit together, Wayne.

Also! Nurses are the best! They don't get enough credit for all that they do within the medical system, but they can be so amazing. A lot of the nurses I've had have been so friendly, making the entire experience of anything medical so much easier.

Bruce opened the car door for her. She crouched to get in and grunted when the movement pulled at her stitches and her ribs. He took her arm and helped her gently lower herself into the seat.

What a nice contrast to how in sync they are when they were fighting bad guys together. Now they're in sync in helping each other heal. I love it.

“I didn’t have major surgery. Or broken ribs,” Bruce pointed out.

Bro, I know you feel super guilty right now, but take the joke, wouldya?

A miracle, they said. A fighter, they called her. Lucky, they murmured every time they looked at her chart.

Personally, that's the worst. I would rather die. Every time someone comments on whatever medical shit I have going on like that, I want the earth to swallow me whole. I get the good intents, but it really just minimizes whatever experience you have in your life to one moment, which is just bullshit, honestly. Especially, when the one person that you do want to talk to and make jokes with is, for whatever reason, being a little bit of an ass. No matter how valid the reason.

In fact, I make jokes precisely so they forget to comment on it. Whenever I talk about fainting because of my medical condition, I just say that I was so surprised the amazon guy came on time that I just fainted from shock. When people ask me why I use my wheelchair, I say it's because it lets me cut the line because people get so scared of the wheelchair, they panic, and let me enter whatever ride/space/elevator without thinking that they were there first. Obviously, that's not actually why I fainted nor why I use the chair, but it's better that they laugh rather than look at me with the whole inspiring/medical enigma/curiosity/pity face.

Also, I've been told I'm horrible at taking compliments.

“Apparently my comment about your, um, assets in the bathroom that night made it onto social media.” The car swerved slightly. She giggled at the blush in his cheeks. “You’re welcome.”

YES!

A joke. A reaction from Mr. Bruce "I don't feel anything" Wayne himself. We love to see it.

I love how flustered the reader makes Bruce. I live for it. Bruce should not be allowed to drive around the reader—he'd get into an accident with how much he swerves.

“You can take me to bed anytime, Bruce Wayne.” She peered over the edge of her coffee mug at him and watched him flounder.

Do it, you coward.

He made her feel safe. Even now, even after everything. She wished she could convey that to him.

BUT DOES THE SUIT—

I'm kidding. She probably associates the suit with Bruce, ergo no stress, but it's still interesting to see. Like I just wonder if her heart would just skip a beat (for a reason other than love or lust) when seeing the suit. Probably not, but it would be interesting.

“I–It wasn’t anything important,” Bruce said, but that was a lie too. He didn’t look her in the eyes when he said it.

BRUCE IT'S BEEN ESTABLISHED THAT YOU ARE A TERRIBLE LIAR

It's not news!! Just tell the truth for the first time in your life, would you? Just for another moment?

She stood over Bruce’s bed for a long moment, letting the sound of his breathing soothe her. She wouldn’t be able to sleep. So she stole an extra pillow from the other side of the bed and propped herself up in the armchair by the dark fireplace. Rested her head on her hand. Watched him breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

You know what, I respect how nice the reader's being. Letting Bruce sleep even though he's being a bit of a jerk. I would be like Mushu waking Shang up in Mulan 2.

It may not be your fault you stabbed the reader, Bruce Wayne, but refusing to comfort her because you feel bad is a decision you are making.

I know I'm giving Bruce a lot of shit. Listen, I understand. He wants to protect her and he has trauma and everything and I sympathize I do. But the man cannot go "I want you tO STAY AND THEN IGNORE HER"

“Me neither,” he said softly.

This makes me so curious. Because he doesn't ask her to stay after, and he doesn't say anything else. And maybe you were speaking strictly on volume "softly", but I don't know. Maybe it was the first time he actually started to reconsider his choice to ignore her.

⌨

Oh, and I didn't have a sparkly mask at my graduation. I had a white one lol You can ask me as many questions as you like, you know! Or rather 17 more? I think you asked me 3.

Let's do this!!! I fell asleep last night then had to be An Adult this morning when I got up and like....do laundry so I could have clean clothes this week yuck. But I'm ready now!

Also you're so funny. Like how are you so funny??

Alfred 100% is upping his therapy visits to twice a week after all of this, poor guy.

You're so right about grief though! The physical space becomes such a huge reminder after someone is gone. Even if it's just gone back home and not gone for good. "Little fingerprints of where they once were just become more visible." OOF. Stealing that from you. If you ever see this line in a book of mine or another fic, I'm not sorry, because it's so good. You're so right. "You replace their fingerprints with your own." ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I can tell you're a writer.

Love that you find levity in your life. And also that you apparently just got up and walked after a knee surgery. Badass. Bad. Ass.

So much hurt in this chapter yikes! Why was I so mean to everyone??

Very good point about the suit! I should have explored that but, alas, I am not that smart 😂 It'd be very very interesting though to see if they would react. I imagine at least partially!

Alfred is the best chaotic orphan dad!

I love seeing consequences too! I hate when people just gloss over things that happened. I want to see them suffer.

Sorry about Lena bestie....she's cool. But you can have whatever headcanon you want! 😂 If I hadn't needed her for the sequel you would have been right. Does that help at all?

Let's write a script together. I'll bring the angst, you bring the humor, we'll make a killing in Hollywood.

I love the exploration of the consequences of being a hero too! Because things really aren't so black and white. Like, doing good doesn't necessarily mean you make good choices. Or you might have to do bad things in order to do good. Anyways, I love it too. Obviously had to include something like that.

Nurses are the best! I work at a doctor's office and I love the nurses at work. They do the most work for the least amount of appreciation. Had to throw in a little nod to the cool nurses.

In sync helping each other heal 🥺 what a nice way to put it.

Again, you're so funny. Love that you just make jokes to deflect attention because I do that too (even though I am an abled person). So surprised the amazon guy came you fainted 💀 what a great joke.

Like the whole thing with my parents' house burning down. Any time it comes up I have to joke. Trauma who? We don't know her.

Poor Bruce gets so flustered around her and she knows it. He probably needs to invest in a safer/ more roll-proof car around her because of all the swerving. Good thing he has good reflexes I guess

I do think for the reader at least that Batman and Bruce are so synonymous that she wouldn't be stressed! Again, I am not that smart, so I did not think about including it.

Listen when I become a published author I'm going to need to hire you as a beta reader because you just catch so many things.

Mushy waking Shang up 💀💀💀 I am dead. (Also Mulan is my favorite. You just get cooler and cooler I swear)

Bruce needs to be given a lot of shit. He deserves it.

Also in that moment he's definitely reconsidering his choice to ignore her. I think her suffering is finally brought directly in front of him and he can't ignore it, and he feels a little bad. However, he's still an emo jerk and wants to punish himself so he doesn't ask her to stay because he would like that too much. At least that's my line of thinking when I wrote that bit!

Also the sparkly mask was for the salute livestream not the graduation! Also also, I literally have no idea what questions to ask RIP 💀 Might be the monster headache I have, but it's probably because, as I have said, I am dumb and not a good internet sleuth 😂

#asks #anon #motn #my bestie ⌨️#⌨️ anon #⌨️

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hollandorks · 3 years ago

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Chapter 27!!!! Sorry in advance to Shelby bestie's other followers. I'm gonna spam her inbox and then maybe your timelines for good measure.

They were rushing head first into danger with a drug that could make them do anything, armed with nothing but the knowledge of some of the key players, a location, and some gas masks.

As if you haven't rushed head first into danger with less—

She feared for Gotham.

I know I've been saying this for ages, but girlie needs a suit. Get on it, Bruce. It's interesting to see the progression she's made throughout the series though. Like this used to just be for the girls and Batman, but now it's an entire city-wide worry.

I talked before how Reader and Bruce are very similar in that they do things out of love, no matter how misguided. But here, we see a way that the Reader has grown to be a bit more like Bruce even more, which happens when you're interested in someone. Plus, after all she's gone through, it makes sense that she wants to save everyone else the trauma.

Even though she and Bruce had barely spoken for the past several days, she still woke up from nightmares every night and silently crept into his bed to sleep.

You can love someone, be upset with someone, and still have a need to be around them when you're scared. Likewise, you can love someone, be upset with someone, and still want to comfort them.

Man, I love soft Bruce Wayne.

I need me some soft Bruce Wayne in my life.

She was resigned to a life of no sleep after she left. And with Bruce Wayne as reclusive as he was, she would have to accept that she might go long periods of time without knowing he was okay.

Or, you could go to therapy. You know, that's an option. A very recommendable one, at that.

Take the entire family with you, even. Alfred and Bruce.

She snagged the Batmobile keys from the desk right as he reached for them. He sighed. “You can take the motorcycle but I’ll just follow you.” She dangled the keys in front of him. Snatched them back with a grin when he reached for them.

LMAO are you five?????

But also, I love this moment for many reasons. Other than the fact it's super snarky and hilarious, Bruce Wayne's childhood effectively ended when his parents died. I know you and I spoke about love being a healing experience in regards to this fic, and I think this moment really encapsulates that. The Reader is absolutely being a complete immature child for this one tiny second and Bruce is experiencing this childlike moment by participating with the little shenanigan. It's like, before the reader, Bruce's psychology had been on pause since his parents died and, through the reader's many shenanigans, he's able to grow again and move past that wall he's been stuck pushing against for so long.

“Fuck!” Y/n wanted to hit something.

I wonder who else likes hitting things when they're mad. I wonder... who... I am... thinking of...

Certainly not someone whose name sounds like Ruse.

wait though now that I say that, I'm thinking about the fact that Bruce actually lives in a constant ruse. Constantly tricking people to his advantage (most of the time)

“Have you found anything useful, detective?” Bruce’s voice was dangerously calm. She knew what he was thinking, what he would say to her the moment they were alone.

This whole interaction really shows just how much these two balance each other out. When the reader gets super emotional and explodes, Bruce reigns things in and vice versa.

He closed his mouth. “If there is anything I can do to talk you out of it,” he said quietly. “I’ll do it. Anything.”

Anything than confront my feelings and confess my undying love for you. Then, I'll just jump off the roof.

She wanted to dance with Bruce Wayne, just once. Just one dance before shit hit the fan. Before she left Wayne Manor behind.

Gotham: about to fall apart

Reader: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dzf4T3RbEc

Her outfit was her own armor that night, flimsy as it was.

SEE BRUCE YOU SHOULD HAVE MADE HER A SUIT—

Bruce just doesn't wanna make her a suit in case it upstages him or it distracts him because the reader just looks so delectable in one—get over yourself, Mr. Wayne, pull it together

His eyes roved over her, head to toes and back up again. His mouth parted. His lips formed her name but no sound came out.

am soft.

He was in a carefully tailored tuxedo that hinted at the muscles underneath. His hair was clean and just slightly slicked back. Still slightly messy.

Very hot.

If Gotham's fate didn't rely on the success of these two idiots, maybe they'd actually be able to confess to each other already.

He wet his lips and tried again.

I can't help but notice that Alfred is conveniently missing. Like, he wasn't there to help Bruce with his cufflinks. I love that for him. Very smart Alfred.

See, Alfred doesn't want them to save Gotham either, he just wants them to get together. A man with a goal. I respect that.

“This was my mother’s,” he said as he opened the box. Inside was a delicate pearl necklace. “She said–she said every woman needed a set of pearls.”

BRUCE WAYNE—

*loud, ugly sobbing*

He ignored her and lifted the necklace from the box. Gently brushed her hair out of the way on her neck. She couldn’t hold back the shiver this time. She closed her eyes and imagined his lips touching the same place.

Bruce is—

I'm sorry but my dog chose this exact moment to take my black stiletto heel from my shoe rack and hand it to me. I thought it was appropriate to add that. She's totally not telling me to dress up, get out of the house, and find her a father in the form of one Bruce Wayne

Anyways, Bruce is such a flirt. Even when he's trying not to be. The man gave the woman his credit card to buy a dress, she could have easily bought herself some jewelry too, but instead he's like HERE'S MY DEAD MOTHER'S NECKLACE. Sir, you are not subtle just like my dog.

“We should go,” he said after a moment. As he walked away, she took a split second to collect herself. Her breath was shaky.

The closest Bruce Wayne can get to jumping off a literal building to avoid feelings in this moment is abruptly walking away.

It looked vintage. It suited him, somehow.

Maybe because Bruce, like the car, is frozen back in another time.

"How are you going to fit in that?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

That's one way to comment on his size, I guess—

Ma'am you are not subtle either.

The lie came easily to her tongue. “I’m nervous because I’m not a good dancer.”

OH MY GOD—

JUST TELL THE TRUTH

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

For the world's greatest detective, the man is shit at detecting BLATANT LIES.

“Wow,” she said with a laugh. “Finally something Bruce Wayne can’t do.” “I can’t sing either.”

Yeah, you know what else you can't do? Talk about your feelings.

She didn’t miss the way he said we and not I.

Neither did I!

Look at that character development from Bruce Wayne. He is slowly, but surely, becoming less of a lone wolf. If only Alfred were here to photograph this moment. He'd be so proud.

I should note: in case you can't tell, my allergies are making me drowsy, which makes me significantly less serious. It's hard to be serious when you're making faces, trying not to sneeze. I'm gonna keep making an effort though.

My alumni sweater will remind me of the many dollars I spent on my BFA and two minors and push me through this.

Something that I kind of noticed early on that Bruce seems to make bigger steps in character development and healing in comparison to the reader. This does make sense, though, because the reader had an extra struggle of her best friend dying and witnessing crime firsthand for the first time, whereas Bruce had that when he was eight years old. So, really, it took him forever to develop, but in the scope of the story he seems to be progressing faster.

Also, Bruce has had the extra pressure of his character development sometimes literally keeping the reader alive. Like the man has to accept the reader will be involved, otherwise she'll just involve herself without him and she'll be in more danger. So there's that.

The mantle of Batman settled between his shoulders. Tonight, he was only pretending to be Bruce.

Hang on, there's something here I want to comment on but my trains of thought are moving too fast for my allergy-ridden brain—

*cue the jeopardy music*

Firstly, what an amazing line.

Secondly, I think that what's interesting about this line is it frames it as something new. Batman pretending to be Bruce. When, arguably, Bruce's entire struggle is letting go of the Batman mantle and living as the person he is rather than the vigilante. It's the whole reason why he's not telling the reader about his feelings—because he can't, even for a moment, drop Batman.

That being said, it makes sense that the reader does see it as new, because Bruce has always been Bruce with her. It's just that it's only toward her. He's Batman with Alfred. He's Batman with Gordon. So, it's endearing that the reader sees this as something novel simply because its novelty is only applicable to her.

I don't know if that's very coherent, but I'm doing my best

The entryway to the venue was covered in huge gold drapes that hung from the ceiling, most of which was a glass skylight. There were flower arrangements everywhere, and small advertisements for the silent auction in the ballroom before them. Double doors were propped open underneath a huge staircase that curved upwards on either side.

Oh my god. I'm pretty sure if I ever walked into a venue like that, I'd be struck by lightning.

“Me too,” he murmured back. His fingers tightened around hers.

I LOVE THIS.

I love, love, love, loveeee this. This is exactly what I mean. He wouldn't show this level of vulnerability with anybody else except the reader. This is Bruce bleeding through Batman for her. He's nervous too and she is the only one who is ever privy to that information. At least, in a way where Bruce would voluntarily let someone know that information. Alfred is also involuntarily privy to Bruce's feelings.

“You are causing quite the stir. I knew the moment you arrived from the absolutely frantic screams from outside. It was like the Beatles had come to America again.”

Thank you, Shelby, because not only are you very good at humanizing Bruce, but this makes Alfred so human too. Sometimes, I've noticed, it can be pretty easy to be swept away by the role Alfred plays and forget that he's a person with his own experiences. So, Alfred becomes a plot device and not a proper human character. But you do so well at side-stepping that and making him human.

He seemed distracted and only put two strawberries on his plate as he kept peering around the room.

lol because that's totally not suspicious

Good on the reader, making him look normal by filling his plate.

“Of course you didn’t. Just think about how embarrassing it’d be if you passed out in the middle of dancing with me,” she said with a grin. “Or if you passed out–later.” Fighting, she meant. As Batman.

I love that you needed to clarify what later meant. It's hilarious.

She almost fainted when he absently licked a bit of juice off of one long finger. Fuck.

BRUCE WAYNE WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU

OUTRIGHT FLIRTING LIKE THAT

What would the people say? It's obscene!

(I'm kidding, in case you couldn't tell)

She let out a little sigh of pleasure as she ate. Bruce gave her a sharp look.

HEY!

You don't get to give the reader shit for sighing when you seductively licked your finger after eating a strawberry! She didn't give you shit for it, so return the favor, would you? How rude!

The flames from the candles softened the angles of his jaw and cheekbones.

The same way love softened his hard exterior and/or made it harder

Excuse me, I'll let myself out—

“And…I wanted to say–whatever I’ve done–I’m sorry.” He tightened his hold on her, inadvertently causing her to stumble even closer.

It makes me so soft how he tightens his grip on her because he's afraid of losing her. He does it in so many ways, figuratively speaking, but seeing it in literal form just makes me soft.

Bruce crushed her to his chest in one abrupt movement that stole what was left of her breath. Both of his hands slid up her bare back. She shuddered at the touch. Trails of fire blazed up her spine where he’d touched her. “No,” he said into her hair. “That’s not–I didn’t–” He made the same frustrated noise again. “It’s okay,” she said. “Don’t feel guilty. I know I came in and messed up your whole life and–” Bruce’s arms tightened around her even more. She barely noticed that the song had ended. “No,” he said again. “I didn’t mean it like that. At all. I fucked up saying that. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

SHELBY—

I'm so soft!!!!!!!!!

Look at this!!!!!

This whole interaction is just so adorable and shows the thing I was talking about! Bruce is Bruce around the reader. This is probably the only time he's ever willingly hugged someone, let alone initiated a hug, since his parents died. And of course, it's with the reader, who he loved more than anybody else in the entire world. I love that. Where are my tissues tell me I didn't run out of them because of my allergies

She sure wished Mayor Williams and his ilk would get on with threatening Gotham, because she needed Bruce to finish this conversation.

SHUT UP

Relish in the fact he started a conversation!! Stay in the moment! It's a nice moment! Don't ruin it!

GOD, these two idiots and their incessant need to run away from scary feelings—JUST TALK—

Sorry, sorry, I'll calm down. It's just the allergies.

His tone was almost…regretful.

Me too, Alfred.

No, she wanted to say. Let’s go home. Let’s forget Gotham and go home

Me too, reader.

“I have no idea what you could say to make me pissed off like this,” she told him in an angry voice. “But hopefully no one questions it too much.” He opened his mouth to say something but she hauled back and slapped him hard against the face. She winced internally. She probably should have pulled back a little.

Okay, this makes more sense toward the second read through, because I misunderstood that she was just talking to him privately. I thought that she yelled out "I have no idea what you could say to make me pissed off like this" the first time I read it and it made me tumble over with laughter because that's one way to lie without lying.

But now it makes me laugh for a completely different reason because Bruce was going to say something like—

I wanna know what he was gonna say! Was he gonna be like "what do you mean"? Was he gonna be confused? Was he gonna try and say something to make her upset? Like, just to go along with the show? I wanna know!

Poor Bruce was probably so confused, but he deserves it because he's been so silly this entire fic with his desperate avoidance of feelings

“So let me hold you.” “I’ll see you back at home, you asshole,”

I noticed this with the first song, but I love how you make the songs essentially say what the words they actually want to say. Like it's been very clear that Bruce wanted the reader to Stay and it's been very clear that the last thing the reader wanted to do is slap Bruce and tell him to leave when she wants to be around him the entire time and talk to him.

“Well, it was very convincing,” Alfred said. She could hear the laughter in his voice.

ALFRED—

Alfred cracks me up.

Then a thought came to her. Might as well have some fun on the way to saving Gotham. “He’s lucky he’s huge, if you know what I mean.” There was a choking noise in her ear.

THIS ALSO CRACKED ME UP

Bruce has been tortured every single time he wears an earpiece and the Reader's around. First, he's on the motorcycle and gets jumpscared and now this.

That being said, I assume it was Bruce who choked and not Alfred, who was likely trying to contain his laughter.

Alfred was laughing softly.

YES I WAS RIGHT!

She sucked in a breath and whirled away from him, only to come face to face with the mayor and two members of his security detail.

I just wanna know what went through the reader's mind when she decided that the best course of action would be to walk away like perhaps he wouldn't pursue her? It's hilarious.

“Me,” she said, and then she punched him in the face.

AS! YOU! SHOULD!

Shelby, this must be the most hilarious "shit's about to go down" moment in the history of ever. I love it so much.

I love how you've contrasted the bad with the good throughout this entire fic. With every bad moment is a good one and vice versa. Good, be it romantic or comedic. I love it and I love you.

⌨

P.S. Another hint is that I was the only one using a wheelchair during the salute of my particular school. And, to find my tumblr, you just have to go through my IG highlights. It's there. It used to be my old username. And if you find out who i am, you can certainly find my instagram and therefore my tumblr.

But honestly if you find out who I am we can cut out those two extra steps lol You'd still have figured me out

Anyways, I'm gonna write my Ch. 28 review in a second. I think I just need something to wake me up a little bit first.

OKAY YES I'M READY FOR THIS. Sorry to everyone who follows me because I'm probably going to be long winded on all of these catch-up reviews whoops 😅

No comment on the very first part. Just no comment. 👀

Yes exactly re: her being like Bruce! And soft Bruce Wayne. I love him too.

These characters really really need therapy. I might just have to write it into the sequel because damn. They need it.

Ugh wow okay you pointing out the childlike behavior and it being healing for Bruce etc! I didn't even know I was doing that tbh! But yes, I was going for (at least) a few moments where Bruce just gets to be silly with her. Even if it's mostly just her being silly. Wow my subconscious is so smart. Good job me 😂 (I'm kidding, but I did want this to be about Bruce learning to heal through love etc, even if I didn't set out do it in this particular way!)

Ruse=Bruce. Yes. Of course. His parents set him up for this didn't they....

Bruce did jump off the roof once to avoid confrontation so, you know....plausible.

Idk what I expected with that youtube link but that wasn't it😂 Perfect.

He definitely would be distracted by her in a suit

Literally the whole inner monologue of the reader this chapter is like maybe we should say fuck Gotham and just....fuck it out. And she was right.

Alfred too is like, fuck Gotham, you two should fuck it out. (See the ch 30 scene where Bruce admits to buying condoms before the gala)

Your dog is trying to be your wingman/ woman/ wingdog? Love that for her. It's like she knew this was about the gala scene

I can't even comment on all of your little comments because they are 1) so fucking funny but 2) so fucking accurate

That's one way to comment on his size RIP 💀

Allergies are the worst and I love that it's making you be less serious even though you're suffering!

The sweater comment 💀 college in a nutshell!

I think Bruce needs a different type of healing though because he hasn't opened himself up in so long. Seems faster in this because we're only getting a snapshot of his trauma--whereas, like you said, the reader is currently experiencing trauma, and also lost her mom not too long before. So she's had less grieving time with all of this! But, true, Bruce kind of is backed into a corner and has to be the Smart One and The Adult because the reader is kind of a chaotic dumbass and forces him to be 😂

Yes yes yes to all that re: Batman and Bruce! I think instead of one being the alter ego, he's both, but sometimes he is one pretending to be the other! Glad you caught that in this moment! He's kept them very separate from the reader but now he 1) doesn't want to pretend as much but also 2) is forced to press the two sides of himself into one man just simply because of the events taking place. He's letting himself be comfortable with her with both parts of himself. You're so right.

"Bruce bleeding through Batman for her" yes exactly 🥺

Also thank you about Alfred 🥺 I try very hard to humanize him! I also think the movie does a good job with this and wanted to include some of that dynamic. Like, we first see Alfred in his role (solving riddles with Bruce, telling him to shower, keeping things running with Wayne Enterprises but also keeping Bruce running). But after the Riddler's attack, Alfred in the hospital is so humanized. He has his own trauma over the Waynes' deaths, his own baggage, and they did such a good job incorporating his very human emotions and experiences in this part of the film. Obviously, I was very inspired by this and fell in love with this Alfred so....here's what we ended up with 😅

The reader is totally not thinking about fueling up for sex. Nope. That's not on her mind at all. She 100% only means that he might need energy to fight as Batman later and that's it. (She's lying to herself)

Poor Bruce licking his finger is like "why is she looking at me like that am I gross do I have something on my face oh god she's embarrassed of me I forgot all of the manners Alfred taught me" while the reader is imagining everything that finger could be doing if you know what I mean

You're truly killing me with all these comments I love it 💀 😂

Thank you I love that interaction with them too 🥺 It also made me soft.

Poor reader just wants the conversation over so she can find out if Bruce wants to get it on with her or not

Also yeah no she was talking privately to him 😂 Would've been hilarious the other way too though.

I was really nervous with the song lyrics and I may or may not have like read the fic aloud listening to tje songs to make the timing match up with everything 😅😅😅

Alfred in this chapter....stealing the show. As usual 😂

Bruce is rethinking ever letting her have an earpiece again 😂 Yes Bruce choked because he was about to die of embarrassment, Alfred was keeping his mouth shut so he didn't let Bruce know how fucking hilarious he found it 😂

She was definitely hoping he didn't see and or recognize her 😂 She's kinda dumb but I love her!

And thank you 🥺 I constantly know how much angst I'm putting readers through and try really hard to balance it all out 😂

Okay. Okay. Is your particular school the one Adam Sandler spoke at? I still have no idea how to find you in particular through that because I am not a good internet sleuth 😂 Let me just say, it's good that I've been with my husband so long because I would never be able to properly social media stalk a man I was dating and would probably end up with either a dickhead or a psycho or both 😂

This is so much fun. I'm so excited you're catching up on all the chapters and I don't even feel that bad for spamming everyone!

#asks #anon #motn spoilers #my bestie ⌨️#⌨️ anon #⌨️

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