Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Bruce Wayne is autistic (obviously) but only a few people know about it. I think he was diagnosed early in life, definitely before his parents died. I also believe they were autistic, but that's for another time. I feel like Bruce is more likely to be underestimated than overstimulated. Don’t get me wrong; he definitely gets overstimulated in high-stress situations, but I think those situations occur during mundane activities like going to the store or attending events, not while crime fighting. The reason for this is that he has to mask as Brucie Wayne, but he doesn’t have to mask as Batman. He can just walk off and disappear when he doesn’t want to talk; he doesn't have to speak at all if he doesn't want to.

I definitely think he has some sort of AAC device that he uses at home with Alfred and eventually with the Justice League after going nonverbal during a mission (I might write more about this later). Bruce also knows sign language, but he finds the AAC device easier and faster to use.

Back to the under-stimulation thing Bruce stims a lot. He’s constantly finding something to stimulate his brain, either physically or mentally. If he’s not fidgeting with something, he’s running case details in his head or counting floor tiles. He often rushes to bathrooms or private rooms to let out his stims. He enjoys jumping and spinning a lot there is a trampoline and swings in the Batcave that he uses daily. He gets sad because Alfred can’t push him on the swing anymore, but he’ll never tell Alfred because he doesn’t want to upset him. He eventually gets Clark to push him when Clark finds out about Bruce likes swings. The Justice League starts taking pauses in missions at parks whenever they need to gather information or just regroup. If they can be at a park, they will be, and Bruce is always on the swings. He says it's just to focus on the mission, but he’s always slightly moving the swing.

A lot of these have Alfred in them I just love him. He’s basically Bruce’s dad. (Bruce still calls him dad but he’ll never tell anyone else and will threaten you if you see it) Sometimes, after a really bad night, he’ll get Alfred to hold him. He doesn’t ask for it he just plops down beside him and clings on. Alfred would never turn him away he holds Bruce for as long as he needs it because Alfred needs it just as much after worrying about whether Bruce would come home or not.

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I've been thinking about Alfred and baby Bruce. I feel like, at first, Alfred didn’t really know how to raise a kid, especially one that had gone through a traumatic experience. However, he was determined to raise Bruce right. That being said, Bruce was a "cereal-for-dinner, popsicles-for-breakfast" kind of kid—not because Alfred can’t cook; he cooks very well. Bruce is just so picky about everything, especially food. He would rather starve than eat something he doesn't like; it’s mainly a texture thing. He prefers crunchy food, and soft things are okay, but soft items absolutely cannot have any crunch to them. He also can’t stand mushy textures, which is unfortunate for Alfred, who adds mashed peas as a side to everything. But as long as Bruce is healthy and full, Alfred doesn’t care.

As a kid, Bruce would make uncomfortable amounts of eye contact, similar to the way Wednesday Addams does. As he got older, Alfred had to teach him not to make eye contact, as he couldn't achieve a normal amount; it was always one extreme or the other. As an adult, he still finds himself making too much eye contact with the Justice League. They all have different reactions to it. Barry and Hal think it's creepy (which is the main reason Hal calls him spooky) Clark and Diana also find it weird, but they don’t mention it. Instead they try to make conversations quick when he starts doing it.

I’ve been going back and forth on what hyper-fixation Bruce would have as a kid; it’s either dinosaurs or natural disasters, so I combined them. It started off as dinosaurs after sneakily watching Jurassic Park at 7 (Alfred didn’t let him watch ‘scary’ things), and he was instantly hooked. Even though he was grounded for a week after that, he started obsessing over dinosaurs. He became hooked on natural disasters after learning about the meteor that caused the extinction. He constantly talks to Alfred about it, mostly just dumping a bunch of facts on him. Alfred always listens like it’s the most important thing in the world. When he warms up to the Justice League, he starts telling them too.

Bruce’s favorite dinosaurs are any of the ones with long necks; he just loves them, loves how big they are, loves all the facts, and loves the bones. He likes all dinosaurs; they can tell you thousands of facts about them, but the long necks have a special place in his heart. As for natural disasters, his favorite is volcanoes; he loves visual stims, so the lava bubbling and flowing is very satisfying for him.

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Bruce is a brat. not in a ‘the world revolves around me’ way, and he will never throw a tantrum (in public at least), but as soon as Alfred utters the word “no,” he's getting huffy and throwing a fit until he says yes or makes it up to him. Admittedly, Alfred doesn't say no often, and he's always looking out for Bruce. He won't let Bruce skip meals or stay up for more than three days, but as soon as Bruce wants something, he's getting it. Bruce wants new tools? Alfred's getting the best ones. Bruce wants a blanket? Alfred has three to choose from a life-sized dinosaur? Well, how could Alfred say no? It's never been a problem until he joins the Justice League, and he demands things, not asks. He’s not trying to be rude; he’s just used to getting what he wants when he wants it. He tries to say please and thanks, but he forgets so often that it doesn’t really matter anymore. It keeps up the dark and mysterious look anyways.

Bruce’s parents had multiple connections with mafia leaders to the point that he had multiple godfathers and mothers. When his parents died, the funeral was huge everyone wanted to pay their respects. This also means Bruce can get away with a lot; he hit a roadblock in a case and can’t get answers from someone (very rare). He’s calling Papa Vincent (OC) with fake tears and he has answers in the next hour. This happens with almost everyone. He got in a little legal trouble. He calls Harvey for help; they're still friends when Harvey is the one in control, plus Harvey knows Bruce would do the same in a heartbeat despite two face's reluctance. Clark doesn’t agree with something, and Bruce is pulling out fake pouts until Clark relents. The point is Bruce knows how to get what he wants; even if he has to fake a pouty, teary expression or a tantrum, he will always get what he wants some way or another.

I'm not sure if this one makes sense, but I love the idea of the Justice League in a pinch needing information soon before something bad happens and Bruce, the ever-so-stoic, no-nonsense Batman, grabbing his phone and dialing up his mafia leader godfather like, “Papaaa, I need help” in the most petulant, whiny voice he can manage while the Justice League just stares in shock. It's even better if he’s only with one person, and after the call, he looks at them and says, “No one will believe you,” and just disappears.

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Alfred is a pick-your-battles kind of dad. He’d let Bruce go to the store in his pajamas with his hair a mess as long as he got dressed properly for school the next day. He’d also let Bruce carry whatever emotional support items because it wasn’t worth the tantrum. He would let Bruce swear, but only at home because he’s not judging; he feels like swearing too, but as long as Bruce knows time and place, it’s fine.

Bruce loves his routines; he would keep the same routine Alfred had for him as a kid, but with the Batman thing, he ends up staying up for multiple days and not being able to sleep much. He sleeps when he can and drinks way too much caffeine to get through the day, but sometimes when he doesn’t have anything to do, he follows the routine Alfred made for him.

As an adult, Bruce still carries emotional support items, usually something small and easily concealed, but where he could grab and hold if he needed to. Rocks are great for that, but he also carries marbles, coins, lids, and smallish toys. It changes constantly.

Alfred is scared of frogs. It's silly, but he is Bruce loved scaring him with them as a kid. He'd find frogs, doesn't matter if they were real or not, and would chase Alfred around with them. Alfred hasn’t been scared of them since Bruce was five, but he always acted like he was to hear him laugh. Bruce stilll leaves frog related things where he knows Alfred will find them.

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Bruce is like a cat when it comes to physical touch; he normally doesn’t like being touched, especially by strangers, but if it's someone he knows, he tolerates it; if it's someone he trusts, however? He’s all over them. He constantly wanted to be carried by Alfred in public as a kid when Alfred physically couldn’t pick him up anymore (Alfred hates that he can’t); they held hands. Papa Vincent (OC, I'll make a chapter about him soon) can still pick Bruce up even as an adult, so Bruce is getting piggyback rides whenever he asks for them. When it comes to the league, he knows he can’t just jump on them like he does with Papa or expect them to initiate like Alfred does, so like a cat, he does it randomly. He and Clark need to get up some place high; Bruce lets himself be carried instead of grappling like usual. Barry is sitting and watching TV; Bruce is climbing onto the couch and laying his head on Barry’s lap so he can sleep while Barry silently freaks out. He’ll lay his head on whoever’s shoulder is next to him. Grab hands when walking or just randomly hold onto someone’s arm; no one can say anything about it because then he’ll stop and disappear for a while, so they either freak out or celebrate (Clark) silently.

Bruce’s cape is just a weighted blanket perfectly weighted to his comfort level. He has multiple blankets just like it that he uses all of the time. His whole bat uniform is made for his sensory issues. Gloves are a specific material cowl has noise-canceling and an eye mask built in for blocking out lights. It's very helpful during high-stress situations or boring meetings.

Bruce also loves music; he’ll listen to any genre; he doesn’t have a preference, but he does like classical (from Alfred) and divorced dad music (Vincent). He can play certain instruments like the electric guitar, and Alfred put him in piano lessons as a kid as well, but he doesn’t play either of them as much when he grows older.

Bruce loves animals; they love him too because he doesn’t try to make them come to him; he lets them be in control of situations. Bruce hates when his boundaries are crossed, so he’s careful not to cross anyone else’s, especially animals. He’s had tons of pets growing up: cats, dogs, lizards, frogs (Alfred hated that phase), and even a few bugs. He still keeps pictures of the ones that have passed around the house.

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Vincent is Bruce’s godfather. He was very close to Thomas; they considered each other as brothers. He was crushed when he found out about his death. All he could do at the funeral was hold Bruce and cry while staring at the lifeless bodies in the caskets. He never got over their deaths and soon turned to alcohol as an escape, which led to his wife divorcing him. One day when he drank a little too much, he fell asleep with Bruce in the house, and he ended up getting hurt so bad they went to the ER. Vincent never forgave himself. He went cold turkey that night and is now thirty years sober.

Vincent doesn’t really like kids all that much he thinks they’re loud and annoying but he loves bruce more then anything he had to babysit a lot while alfred took care of funeral arrangements Vincent has always been the “cool uncle” he let bruce break the rules alfred made all the time during their sleepovers he only got the nickname papa after bruce’s parents died but now its what he mainly goes by

He is the leader of one of the biggest mafia’s in Gotham but he does have a no kill rule implemented after he knew about bruce being batman they have an agreement if Vincent doesn’t kill bruce will leave them alone the justice league don’t approve of it but they understand it enough to just ignore it

Vincent doesn’t really understand bruce’s autism he’s just old and doesn’t get it but he tries to make bruce feel supported and comfortable plus he’s learned things from alfred

Most of bruce’s favorite shows/movies/songs are considered really old since he gets it from vincent and alfred the justice league joke that he’s really eighty years old instead of thirty

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Clark is very bubbly; he gets energy from the sun, so he’s always naturally inclined to be as close as possible to it. He loves being outside and near windows. He doesn’t like Gotham as much because there’s not enough light for him, but he still goes for Bruce.

He adores all animals even though most of them don’t like him, he still saves them any chance he can, but he’d end up with scratches all over.

Clark is really good at reading people; he’s a journalist, after all. He actually really likes his job and prefers it over being a superhero, but he likes helping people too, and it’s not that much of a hassle to do both. But Bruce absolutely hates being a public figure; he hates all the attention and responsibilities. He would rather just be Batman or at least not have so much attention on him.

Sometimes Clark has to squeeze Bruce when he’s feeling overstimulated. He doesn’t really understand the point of it or how it helps, but it does, so he’s never asked Bruce about it; he’s always just done it.

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I feel like most of the rogues have a way to contact Batman, probably a phone number. Bruce has multiple phone numbers: one for business, one for personal use, and one specifically for Batman. The way they got his number is from Harvey; he still talks to Bruce even after becoming Two-Face and ended up giving out Bruce’s number when working with the others. They all know to only use it if it’s absolutely necessary and they need help. Bruce always comes when they call, or sometimes he’ll just stay on the phone with them.

Bruce obviously cares somewhat about the rouge’s he’s cannonly been with a lot of them but most of them being insane and villains they have no boundaries so yes bruce is absolutely stopping mid fight to help Harley fix her hair so it didn’t get in the way or stopping to sneakily get them food because he knows they haven’t had a decent meal in a while since he’s so used to them and a detective he obviously learns about their habits it gets a little more complicated when the league is formed and he has to explain that no Harley Quinn isn’t having a psychotic break she’s just excited to show off a new weapon or that they have to relocate because someone is getting upset at the lights or sounds and its making them more violent or when he has to stop everything and help Harvey through a dissociative episode

The league will always be confused at the manner of relationship he has with his villains because one minute Bruce is fighting them and taking them down the next he’s having conversations and helping them with things. But does Bruce care? Absolutely, he’ll do whatever it takes to help them turn to a better path, even if it’s a very slow and difficult process.

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It’s widely known across the fandom that Bruce does not get enough sleep. He’s too busy being Batman to sleep, and he has the additional nightmares and insomnia to deal with. That being said, he does like to nap; he’s one of those people who can fall asleep anywhere when his brain would let him. Alfred has found him in many strange and uncomfortable-looking positions. He tries to get Bruce to bed sometimes, but it's hard to get him back asleep once he's been woken up, so most of the time Alfred just leaves him there with a blanket.

Bruce is constantly cold; his skin is freezing to the touch. That's one of the reasons he chooses a blanket as a cape. Other than the weight, he sleeps on top of his partner in any ship; it doesn't matter. He's sleeping on them and stealing their body heat and hogging the blankets.

Bruce is honestly a terrible person to sleep with; he hogs blankets and moves constantly when asleep. He doesn’t snore, thankfully, but he talks in his sleep, and it’s always something weird or creepy. The only way to get him to be still is by holding him or letting him sleep on top of you, and he’s heavy, so it’s very uncomfortable.

He used to sleep with Alfred as a child. Especially after his parents' death, he became really clingy and couldn’t be more than five feet apart from him without having a panic attack, but after many talks with psychologists and Alfred himself, he eventually was able to get over it. He still is clingy, but it's much more manageable now, especially since he’s had extensive training as a teenager.

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Okay, in honor of Pride Month, these are my JL sexuality headcannons!!

Bruce is bisexual; he doesn’t really have a preference, but he gets crushes easily but doesn’t fall in love unless he has a strong connection with his partner. He gets flustered easily when he is in a relationship and is very clingy.

Clark is pansexual. This man loves everything and everyone. When he falls, he falls hard. He can be very romantic when he wants to be and enjoys teasing his partner and making them flustered. Physical affection is one of his favorite things.

Wally is straight. He loves the ladies but is very open-minded and supportive of everyone else. He doesn’t really get crushes; he tends to dive straight into relationships but will slow down if asked to.

Diana is either a lesbian or aro/ace (probably both). I haven’t really made up my mind yet, but she’s not interested in men at all. It also takes her a very long time to build romantic connections.

For Green Lantern, it depends on which one it is. John is straight and doesn’t fall in love easily, but when he does, he makes his partner a top priority, but if it’s Hal, he’s bisexual with a preference for women; he gets crushes easily and falls in love even faster, but they don’t usually last long unless he has a really good connection with them.

J'onn is straight since he had a wife and kids. After they passed, he never found anyone else that had the same connection. He also never found anyone else attractive. He misses his wife and kids too much, but he is supportive of the others after it was explained to him.

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Elementary school-aged Bruce was very creepy; he made uncomfortable amounts of eye contact, and for a while after his parents died, he was obsessed with death. He was picked on quite a bit until he punched someone so hard it knocked out their teeth. Alfred was very proud; the principal, not so much. That's when he switched from private school to public school, and he met Harvey, who was his best and only friend. They became friends quickly. Harvey was the only one who didn’t mind Bruce's stares and weird movements and lack of words, and Bruce liked that Harvey was relatively quiet and enjoyable to be around. Alfred has many pictures of them together.

When they got to high school, however, they went through rebellion phases at the same time and encouraged each other's trouble-making. To this day, it was the hardest period of Alfred's life. Not only did he have to stop his baby from getting into too much trouble, but he also had to stop Harvey since his parents didn’t really care about it. Still, they had fun together, and Alfred hadn't seen Bruce smile like that in years, so he can’t be too mad.

I fully believe Bruce is goth. When he was a teenager, he went the whole nine yards when it came to his clothing. He either looked really cool or really dorky, no in-between, but he still listens to the music even when he is an adult. I mentioned before that he can play the guitar. This is when that started. He used to write really angsty songs that were honestly kind of good. Harvey can play the drums. They tried to start a band, but it never went anywhere, but they still look at the pictures and laugh about it as adults.

Bruce first started training at eight under Alfred as a coping mechanism after his parents' death, but when he was fifteen, he ventured out under different mentors. The whole thing lasted a good eight years and left him severely traumatized, but he started being Batman shortly after that, so he never questioned how good that training really was. Alfred wishes Bruce never did it sometimes, but he also knows it’s just in Bruce’s nature, so he tries to help when he can.

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Bruce was and always will be bitter. When he was a kid, he would bite anyone and anything; he wasn’t very verbal. He could talk, but he didn’t like to, so when someone made him mad and they were close enough, he would bite down and not let go. Until someone made him let go or he got bored. He would bite himself as well, mostly as a pain stim whenever. He got overstimulated. He did eventually get chewelry for whenever he feels the urge to bite. He uses them more often as an adult but still occasionally bites the inside of his cheeks or lip. He has quite a collection, but his favorites are a bat-shaped necklace, a lightsaber-shaped one that feels amazing on his back teeth, and a silicone beaded bracelet. All of it is made to be discreet, but all of the league have seen Bruce chewing on them at some point or another.

Sometimes bruce gets distracted while staring at certain things like fans or lava lamps. He’s a really big visual stimmer; he likes watching flash run around so he can see the red and gold trail that follows behind him. he likes seeing wonder woman use her lasso as well simply because it’s glittery. He really likes glittery things. He watches asmr a lot, mostly at night; it helps him sleep but he won’t ever tell anyone about it.

Bruce always keeps a notebook on him to write down ideas or plans; it's all written in code that only he knows. He journals too but he keeps all of those at home and he will never reread what he wrote because it's a little cringe to look back on and alfred is under strict instructions to burn them if he dies.

Bruce absolutely loves fruit; he likes watermelon and oranges the best but he’ll take any type of fruit or berry. Bruce actually refused to eat at the watchtower until clark brought in a fruit salad and bruce demolished it. Flash called him a fruit bat. Bruce tried to glare but it was hard to take him seriously when he had watermelon all over his face. Alfred makes sure the kitchen is stocked full of fresh fruit for Bruce

Bruce gets very territorial; he hates when people messes with his stuff. He won’t allow anyone on his computer or in his bed. He only lets certain people (alfred) touch his stuffed animal and he once gave flash the most deadpanned stare after he joked about eating Bruce’s food. As time went on and he got more comfortable around the league, he eased up a bit but he’s still very strict about his stuff.

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This is what i think the justice league would dress up as for Halloween since it’s October. ^^

Wally/barry would be something fun and silly, probably in one of the others suits (definitely Superman's), but I also think him in a sonic costume is hilarious

Diana wouldn’t really be into dressing up but would be easily convinced; she would dress up as something simple but nice maybe a witch or vampire

Superman loves all holidays, but I think he’d dress up as a horror movie character like Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees.

For Green Lantern, if it's John Stewart, he’d dress up as one of the characters from his childhood comics, but if it's Hal, he'd wear a matching costume with Barry; he’d probably be Tails or dress in Batman's costume.

Bruce wouldn’t dress up or participate in holidays besides decorating the manor with Alfred until after he gets his birds (robins). He usually has villains and criminals to deal with, but if he does have time, all of his kids are wearing matching costumes. They all take turns picking, and they go all out. One year it’s circus-themed (for Dick), the next they’re all assassins (Damian). They still laugh at the time Barbara forced bruce to dress as an actual knight for her ‘fairytale’ theme and yes, Alfred also matches

j'onn J'onnzz doesn’t really get Halloween but after it was explained to him, he would participate. He doesn’t dress up, though; he just transforms into his real alien look

Shayera dresses as an angel every single Halloween. They have tried to get her to dress up as something else; she never does, but she makes slight changes to her costume every year.