#ALFREDS ARE ACTUALLY THE MOST BRUTAL

[leofrith]

finished the last kingdom s1 and my feedback is...... it's fine

[theerurishipper]

I feel like people really underestimate the importance of Dick being the first Robin. Like, reverse Robin AUs are interesting and such, but I just hope people realize that in the context of canon, they would never work. The reason Batman and Robin ever works is because the first Robin was Dick Grayson specifically. Because Bruce would never have taken in any child if Dick's tragedy hadn't specifically happened to mirror his own experience. Dick Grayson was the only one Bruce truly saw himself in first, because the fundamental event that defines them is the same. And he sees the opportunity to help someone the way he was never helped, to make sure that Dick didn't go down the dark path he did. So, my point here is that the only one Bruce actually made the choice to take in, the only one who could kickstart it all, is Dick Grayson, because he is the only one with whom Bruce could immediately empathize and connect with.

This never happened with any other Robin. He took in Jason because he missed Dick, he took in Tim because Tim forced himself into the role, he took in Steph because he was trying to make Tim come back to being Robin, and Dick made Damian Robin. Of course, he loved all of them, and they all have their unique relationships with Bruce that are very important and inform their characters, and he does need them too. But he specifically formed this connection with Dick that made Dick the only person he ever considered taking in. It took a very specific set of circumstances in Dick's backstory that made Bruce commit an impulse adoption that just isn't really present in any other Robin's story. And the reason Jason or Tim or Steph or Damian or anyone else whom Bruce has taken under his wing even got that chance is because of the work Dick Grayson put into Bruce Wayne.

Before Dick, Bruce was reckless and didn't care at all about himself, to the point of almost being borderline suicidal. He was more brutal, more violent, etc. The reason all this changed, is because of Dick Grayson specifically. He was the one with whom Bruce opened up, with whom Bruce was forced to grow up, to take responsibility and learn to take care of both Dick and himself. Dick, to Bruce was the one who brought "color to their [his and Alfred's] monochrome lives." Dick Grayson's specific brand of happiness and joy changed Bruce for the better. Dick gave Bruce hope. This is true for other Robins too, but only because they followed the precedent that Dick Grayson set, only because they slid into his role (they have their own interesting relationships with Bruce, but this specifically is from Dick that other Robins carried on. A legacy, if you will). Dick Grayson turned Bruce into the kind of man who would become a serial adopter.

Without his influence, without his precedent, there would be no Batfamily, because Bruce would never have gotten to the point where he would be able or willing to take in someone else and care for them properly (It took living through his trauma again to get him to take Dick in lmao). Hell, there would be no Batman because Bruce would have gotten himself killed a long time ago if Dick hadn't helped him learn self-care. Dick knows Bruce best, because he understands him on a fundamentally deeper level than anyone else in the world. And he's the only one who can make Bruce open up at his rawest, most downtrodden state. He is the only one who can give Bruce at his lowest that kind of hope. There is no Robin without Dick Grayson. It's literally a tribute to his parents, using their colors and the name his mother called him. He created that identity as a symbol of hope. He helped Bruce become the kind of man who could and would let other people that he had to care for into his life. Without Dick Grayson, you can simply forget about any other Robin or the Batfamily as a concept even existing.

[anotherramblingfangirl]

I actually think this Dark Knights of Steel twist-reveal with Alfred as martian manhunter was a really fascinating one (I genuinely loved it).

An Elseworlds continuity which really took advantage of being able to take different interpretations of a character, by the writer of the Nightwing series where the presence of Alfred is felt throughout, despite his pre-series death

Here we have him as the last survivor of a genocide, who lost absolutely everything. Felt he failed in the worst possible way, as his fatally wounded child died in his arms - unable to even offer him any comfort, with both being telepaths.

He flees a dead world. Gets to try again. Martha and Thomas Wayne know what he is, but conceal the secret. Have him as one of their most trusted retainers, friends.

He gets to try again.

A smile on his face, he gets to see another boy grow.

Even as Martha and Thomas are murdered, he stays with their son, looking after him no matter what. Having faith in him. Loving him. To the point where a man who had his adored son brutally murdered in the dark, able to do nothing but watch him die, looks at this orphaned alien child and says -

-as he holds the lasso of truth.

It adds an additional, really interesting factor to the paternal relationship he has with Bruce in this particular setting. I wish we got to see more of it. Perhaps if they ever do more "Tales of the Kingdom", we may get to see it in a prologue manner.

[galaxymagitech]

Batfam Kill Counts

I believe that the kill counts for the Batfam are in the following order: 1. Jason (~500); 2. Tim (100-300); 3. Alfred (20-100); 4. Damian (~50); 5. Bruce (5-10); 6. Dick (1-5); 7. Cass (1)

However, based on the absolute certain facts and not just speculation, kill counts are as follows, I believe: 1. Jason (83 confirmed); 2. Alfred (many); 3. Damian (3+); 4&5. Cass & Bruce (1); 6. Dick (1-ish); 7. Everyone else (0)

These aren’t counting vampires or pre-crisis early Batman characterization. I have probably missed some stuff because I have only read some comics, but from what I’ve read and Google this is my general understanding.

Reasoning explained:

1. Jason — Jason has 83 confirmed kills, but honestly I don’t buy that he hasn’t killed more than that. I’m interpreting “confirmed” as in “we have absolute proof that the Red Hood killed them” whereas his actual kill count is much higher. I headcanon it as somewhere around 500 people, but the number could be in the thousands.

2. Tim — This one’s controversial…I personally think Tim killed people when blowing up the League of Assassins bases, but not nearly as many as people often say. He definitely blew up the bases BY blowing up their computer systems, and there are explosions shown. Probably around 100-300 people, as a side effect and not the goal.

3. Alfred — Served in the military, but people SEVERELY overestimate the number of kills a soldier would have from that, especially as he presumably wasn’t dropping bombs. In WWII estimates for average number of kills per soldier range from 5-20. Alfred was likely exceptional, but I doubt that he killed more than 100 people. He may actually be #4 on this list, with fewer kills than Damian.

4. Damian — Confirmed kills are Spook and Nobody, and he did those so easily that he has DEFINITELY killed routinely, but again, I think people attribute far more kills to him than he actually has done. He was raised in the League of Assassins, but they don’t just kill willy-nilly. He’s probably killed <10 people to prove he’s capable of it and <100 people (maybe even 0) for the League. Overall, I don’t buy that Damian has killed more than 60 people.

5. Bruce — I think he has accidentally killed a significant number of people. This one’s also controversial, but his methods are brutal and he’s been working for a long time. It’s likely that he’s done enough damage that the criminal dies in the hospital multiple times. He’s also done things like leaving KGBeast to die trapped underground or bleeding out unable to move in the tundra by his hand. I don’t think he’s watched someone die by his hands, but…yeah. He has also killed Darkseid for sure.

6. Dick — Killed Joker (who was revived soon afterwards, so it half-counts), has also worked with Batman so long that I think he has killed other people by accident too. Has also displayed disregard for if his actions result in a criminal being killed by other criminals, especially early on in Nightwing (1996). Considers himself to have killed Blockbuster, but…yeah no.

7. Cass — 1 confirmed kill. After that, she ran and put in a large amount of effort to avoid killing ever again. She became evil, but I’m pretty sure this has been unwritten and most people refuse to accept it anyway.

To my knowledge, Steph, Barbara, and Duke haven’t killed anyone, and likely have not accidentally killed anyone either due to their methods.

Of course, feel free to disagree!

[quindread]

Constanstine starts acting sober on important missions/meetings for the JLD; he has a sanity-potion dealer

Zatanna reports this odd behavior to Batman, they interrogate him when his veins are swamped with alcohol.

C: … I-I know what yer doin’ [hiccups]

Z: We care for your well-being. You have bouts of sobriety that you seem to have control over.

B: Are you on something new?

C: M’yeah… is called a pwoz—piss—poise! Poise potion, yeah das it!

B: And who makes this “Poise” potion?

C: My dealah, my busniz. G’way! [stumbles out the door]

Z: … That went as well as expected.

Sober Constantine is actually more reasonable. Batman catches him after a meeting.

B: [observes his brushed hair and very high-quality, new trench coat] You’re sober… Congratulations?

C: Uhuh. Did you need something? I have some business elsewhere.

B: With your dealer?

C: [affronted] Wha—Who in their right bloody mind would dare call Celest that?

B: You did.

C: ….

B: Who’s Celest?

C: Oh, fuck me!

Constantine gives him an address - it’s in Milan, Lombardy (Region of Italy). He specifically instructs him to come as a civ along with Red Hood and Robin with the threat that he will erase their memories if they so much as go into detective mode.

Bruce Wayne and his two wayward children enters the teahouse and is led by the hostess to a private room. They are served with tea and light snacks that they know even Alfred would more than approve of.

A door opens - they didn’t even know it was one with the way the molding blends into each other seamlessly. And out came one of the most enchanting woman Bruce has ever seen. He’s seen his fair share of attractive females but he has never been star-struck like he should be - as if he were back to his pre-pubescent days.

M: Constantine said you’d be here.

B: [realizes that this person was Constantine’s dealer and was 100% magic] You’re his dealer?

*Jason and Damian who saw the look on their dad’s face snicker at his opening line*

M: [raises and elegant eyebrow at Bruce] And you must be his work associates?

J: Something like that, lady. I’m Jason, kid’s Damian, and the one who can’t stop staring at you is our Dad, Bruce.

*Bruce grumbles and Marinette smirks*

M: I’m Marinette. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

D: [gestures at Bruce] Pleasure is all his, Marinette.

B: [red at the ears] Their Grandfather thought them better, I swear.

M: Mhmm. I guess he didn’t teach them how to not die then?

The guys: ….

Jason gets a more potent version of the potion Constantine consumes - it’s a prescription that he has to come for every month. Damian gets a charm; ear cuffs because he does whatever her wants, a spontaneous orbital piercing is nothing. And Bruce gets Mari’s number.

(Tim also gets forwarded in his fave fashion label’s waitlist from the near thousands to the fourteenth - his first consultation coincides with Jason’s next appointment.)

AN: Some posts/fics call Mari Celestial Guardian. Idk where and when that happened - I have abandoned canon a long time ago. These are all pulled from my days in the maribat blackhole (still kinda stuck there). I basically pulled this out of my archives so they at least get the chance to see the daylight.

Addressing Brucinette: I have a whole re-written MLB plot in my archives where everything is more brutal and the miraculous aren’t actual pieces of accessories. Like there’s an initiation to the order and stuff like that. I normally don’t enjoy aging up characters in crossovers but Brucinette just works. I have a secretary AU somewhere (it’s tragic and I’m considering scrapping it if I find it). And I also have deep-rooted issues that wants me to write Good!Dad Bruce who has Mari breathing down his neck when he so much as raises his voice at his children (Muminette/Mominette is another breed scary). And those tropes where Mari sees right through Brucie? Has a second sense for the when the batkids are in/causes trouble? Love those. I WILL FIGHT FOR THIS SHIP. (Jk people are free to dislike this. I get it.)

[boy---interruptedd]

Alfred's Playhouse Commentary.

Alfred's playhouse is a vent show I recently discovered made by Emily Youcis. I will be addressing the actual content of the show before I move on to my opinion on Emily herself so please hold fire until the end because I KNOW what you're thinking.

TRIGGER WARNING - CSA, SH, CHILD ABUSE, NAZISM, GRAPHIC IMAGERY.

(Not all these themes are discussed in my post but you should be aware of these before watching the show)

Alfred's Playhouse features main character Alfred, who is a dog described in the introduction song as desperately attempting to escape his painful reality. I agree that it is genuinely disturbing, but I'd like to address its vague poignancy and how it deals with its themes.

In the first episode, we see what I think (as a survivor myself) to be the most accurate representation of how it feels to be sexually assaulted I've ever seen. The moment where everything is odd and numb and quiet followed by pure panic and rage.

The first episode also displays mental instability incredibly well. I've struggled with my mental health for the past six years and honestly the scenes where Alfred just rambles about essentially nothing at all, addressing an imagined audience, accurately represents what feels like the descent into madness many mentally ill people are convinced they go through. The thought that you've lost your mind is an extremely painful one and Alfred's Playhouse depicts that with surprising levels of accuracy.

Episode two, however, is essentially just this massive showcase of Alfred brutally harming himself. Though it portrays the very common desperate desire for attention many people experience when they struggle with self harm, myself included, I feel the level of gore is a little gratuitous, displaying Alfred almost bleeding to death from the wounds he's inflicted upon himself. That being said, it is a vent show so I see why Youcis made the decision. She never really made it for other people it was a way to make herself feel better. Then again, it was her decision to post it publicly.

Episode three essentially explains the whole show from a weirder perspective and honestly I don't want to go into it since I have so much to say and it's quarter past 11 at night and I have college tomorrow, but it is a good episode with the context of the show.

Overall, though it is important for assault victims and mentally ill people to have content in which they feel seen, I feel Youcis should have toned her work down a little before posting it. However, the Internet was a wild west in 2007.

Now onto Youcis herself, I feel it is incredibly unjustified to attribute her current political views to the show. She fell down the alt-right pipeline after publishing Alfred's Playhouse. This is almost definitely because of her downward spiral. It's not uncommon for groups like the alt-right to target vulnerable people like Emily. She has so clearly been crying for help for years and, though there's no excuse for her words or actions, I feel you should take her art for what it is rather than apply a made up meaning to it. The depictions of Nazis in the show - I think - are more a commentary on her childhood trauma and the themes of the show, Alfred feeling his life is dictated by someone/something else. While there's definitely better content in the genre and in general, the massive controversy surrounding Alfred's Playhouse is - in my opinion - unwarranted and really just watch it with an open mind and separate it from current Emily because she wasn't like she is now when she made it. Instead of hating on the present, understand the past and don't be overly shocked when mentally ill people do fucked up shit, especially when they've received the kind of backlash Emily Youcis faced.

Final disclaimer- I don't support her actions I hope she burns I just want people to understand things how they actually happened yk?

[bigskydreaming]

And I fully acknowledge that a BIG gripe I have with how willing people are to ignore or invalidate scenes where Bruce is abusive with his kids because it doesn't fit into their preferred view of him as a character....

Like, I have my issues with how people interact with abuse as a topic and trope in media, granted, but I've always additionally taken issue with how matter of fact a lot of Batfandom is about being willing to look the other way about many of Bruce's worst moments because they're like That's Not MY Bruce...

And its like, okay, I get that, I can sympathize.....

But its both weird and OBNOXIOUS to me how at the same time, so much of fandom is so much LESS willing to extend the same kind of allowances to Dick's worst moments, even when....as I was just talking about....many of THEM have brainwashing or amnesia or other contexts that a ton of Bruce's worst moments just flat out do not have!

Whatever you may think about Bruce's scenes of abuse, it can not be denied that like....NTT #55? A hard, brutal story, but the Bruce in it was still in possession of his own faculties. He was grieving. Absolutely. But he was Bruce. Nobody ever tried to claim he was possessed, that someone was mind controlling him. He did that.

The Bruce who knocked out Dick's tooth in the Court of Owls story.....again, just Bruce. I don't even like citing that particular scene because I find it so gratuitous but yet again....this is not a possessed or mind controlled Bruce. Bruce with Jason in too many stories to name...Just Bruce. Etc, etc.

Now juxtapose that with the FIXATION so much of fandom has always had on the subject of DICK'S temper....even though....he has never actually tried to beat his family members to death, or punched them in a fit of anger (he's usually the one on the receiving end of Jason or Tim's punches, if not Bruce's)....

While at the same time citing things like.....Dick's scathing words to Donna in their fight while....he was brainwashed.....or his attitude towards Kory or Alfred in....the exact same story time frame. Rinse and repeat for the Ric Grayson era, or his attitude around the time of his intended wedding to Kory, when he was very much initially characterized as being all over the place and talking about feelings of violation in the aftermath of everything with Mirage....his fight with Roy over leadership of the Titans did NOT happen in a vacuum, and let's not forget about how completely twisted people have made Dick and Tim's dynamic during the Red Robin era when so much of what's claimed about Dick's behavior towards Tim is just...not even accurate, let alone without context, but all of this context? Across all of these instances? Lost completely when these specific moments in time are plucked out of their larger stories and stitched together to form the tapestry of Dick Grayson's Infamous Temper and Bad Acts Towards Friends & Family.

And that's so....ugly to me.

There's no escaping that juxtaposition, in my mind. The allowances that are made for Bruce's character, and many other Batfamily members like oh say, being able to see Jason as the one who values Tim the most out of all his siblings, never mind that time he almost beat him to death in Titans Tower, etc, etc.....

At the exact same time as these allowances are made, the exact OPPOSITE energy is displayed towards acknowledging and cataloguing the context of these various events upheld as proof of why Dick's Not So Great, Actually.

And that will always be at the heart of my issues with this fandom.

I'm actually fine with people not wanting to view Bruce as an abusive father. I GET IT. I can sympathize even as I personally do see value in exploring the dynamic that's resulted from many of these stories that others shy away from as its not what they want to see in these characters' stories.

But what I will never be fine with is how the character who has DEFINITIVELY been on the receiving end of more instances of physical abuse from his family, let alone Bruce himself.....is continually judged with an intense scrutiny on his temper, attitude and behavior towards the very friends and family who so often dole out harm to HIM.....that no other fans EVER subject their own faves to.

When the character continually abused in various stories is held to a higher standard of behavior than those who continually are shown hurting him just to make themselves feel better, all because nobody is willing to even hold those stories AGAINST the characters dishing out the abuse THERE.....

When fandom has so twisted and skewed things that he's commonly cited as being just as capable of being cruel and cutting to his various family members and friends as they have ever been to him, with this always taking the form of things he's said to them (usually under VERY extenuating circumstances, up to and including amnesia and mind control) even as his family members and friends continue to have instances of outright physical violence towards him (Jason & Tim punching him post Spyral, Bruce in NTT 55 and others, Donna punching him through a wall in the Brother Blood stories)....

And its not even framed as 'he can be just as bad as them' but it actually ends up being more like 'he can be worse than them actually' because nobody wants to bring up, let alone linger on all of those things I just cited about them doing to HIM....

I have a Very Big Problem with that, actually.

And frankly, I think more people SHOULD have a Very Big Problem with that.

Because some of those things are not like the others.

Not that you could tell from the way fandom talks about these characters.

[zahri-melitor]

And...done with New 52 Gotham

There's a handful of additional titles I'm finishing rounding up (at the last minute I decided to go back and read Batwing, and I'm going to read the Poison Ivy mini) but I have now completed my main read.

The good: I've got a list of comic recommendations coming for what I would actually suggest reading in here if you want an entertaining story, or runs that I think are crucial in that they establish character traits that will continue to be heavily used from Rebirth onwards.

But for now, some general comments on what I've just finished up:

Batman - Snyder is very, very interested in making a statement. And with set pieces interrogating the 'mentality of Batman'. Which gets tiring reading in such a big chunk - he needed more time letting the story breathe and the tension come off. Where's my fill with Bruce chasing Mad Hatter? Not everything needs to be a deep interrogation of the psyche of Batman, and how his presence transforms Gotham city. Jim Gordon as Batman was certainly a thing that happened, and probably didn't need to happen.

Detective Comics - Manapul & Buccellato's run remains the highlight for me. Tomasi, who had the final run (45-52) was incredibly uneven. The first story, about Jim!Batman and the Justice League, was relatively boring. The second story, The Bronze Age, was a compelling mystery and probably the best Jim Gordon as Batman story of the lot. The third story, Our Gordon At War, was a deadly dull piece of military propaganda.

Batman & Robin Eternal - what worked here I think was the extensive supporting cast. It reminded me of the glory days of the early 2000s when Dick and Babs used to run Bat events together with no Bruce. On the downside was that Mother was simply uninteresting to me as she twisted everyone's character to make everything about her. No, I don't actually believe that the Order of St Dumas would let a rando be controlling their potential Azrael. Also way to eliminate basically all of David Cain's autonomy and decisions. It was nice to get Cass back. Shame about how it was achieved. (The incredibly frustrating part about this run is on paper it looks amazing, and there's a handful of decent scenes people like to reference)

Batgirl - ugh. Was ever 'right ideas wrong characters' more embodied than during Burnside? If it was a different character, or a prequel, or I had hit my head back in 1987 after reading the Last Batgirl Story and then picked up Burnside...I could almost cope. But it's just aggravating to read about a character I love so much. I actually don't mind the work to add additional diverse side characters, however I'm sorry, I will remain irritated by Frankie until the end of time. The number of times I have had to sit through reinventions of the Oracle role during n52 because oh no we can't use the REAL ORACLE... because running around as a street hero is clearly more important than Oracle's actual role.

Robin: Son of Batman - I think I'm going to make a lot of people mad when I say, while this is a very interesting Damian Wayne comic, it's a moderately dreadful Robin comic. I can see why people heavily recommend it for Damian, because it's probably the most generous and thought through portrayal of his childhood and relationship with Talia. The word 'Son' there in the title really should be the focus. This is about Damian as a Son of the Al Ghuls, Damian making choices over what he's learnt as Bruce's son before his death, and applying what he learnt from both to find who he is. It's something Damian needed. But it's got nothing to do with being Robin at all.

We are Robin - I loved the brutal groundedness of this comic. It smacks you in the face to pay attention several times. It's about teens, yes. It's about Alfred facilitating children to try and help them survive trying to become vigilantes. It's about what the concept of Robin means to the children of Gotham.

Grayson - I don't think it was using Helena-in-name-only, or the constant objectification of Dick or even the way my brain couldn't slot exactly how all the different secret agencies in DC were revolving around each other into place for this story that irritated me the most. It was how obvious, blatant and unadapted a rip off of James Bond (among other spy properties) it tended to be. I could see the file marks, and a lot of it didn't even feel like a loving homage, it was just "oh my favourite scene was" sort of stuff. Oooh St Hadrian's is a cheap St Trinian's knock off. Whoever would have guessed. Trinian's girls would have run circles around the Hadrian's ones.

Gotham Academy - Look, this is lighthearted fluff that enjoys picking up threads from all over Gotham to reference. I'm not particularly a fan of Brendan Fletcher's general approach to DC storytelling - it's a bit too tween and lighthearted for me - but this is a title where that style was an asset rather than a burden. It didn't require high levels of canonicity because people flitted in and out and the main cast were all original creations for the story. I can see why it's well-loved.

[stargirlfics]

Head empty, only thoughts of reader riding Alfred nice and slow on his chair. Alfred's let's you ride him, hands on your hips, pulling you up until only the tip of his cock stays in you before sliding you down again, balls deep, repeating the process over and over, "nice and slow, sweetheart". Your breath all hot and heavy against his neck while you're scrambling with your hands wringing his vest (you're naked while he's completely dressed ofc), begging for more, and so more he'll give you. "Alright, sweetheart. Let's give you more." queue Alfred sliding his hips forward, readjusting his grip on your hips, spreading his legs and planting his feet into the floor before proceeding to ruthlessly fuck you, practically jackhammering up into you. The sight of you caught in an overwhelming onslaught of pleasure makes him pull you down to bury your face against the crook of his neck, holding you in place to drool and sob as he maintains a breakneck pace. At the feel of your fluttering cunt, he groans "That's it, sweetheart. Is this what you needed? Someone to fuck all those thoughts away until all you can think about is coming? Well, then come for me, girl. Come on my cock." sliding a hand between your legs, mashing your clit at an equally brutal pace. Someone's gonna squirt all over his clothes and ruin the seat for the umpteenth time, but it's okay. Alfred will be there to take care of it.

Actually dying right now at the “is that what you needed? someone to fuck all those thoughts away until all you can think about is coming.” because that’s just the most perfect touch of like mocking/condescension that I think is so fucking hot!! 🥵 and thinking of Alfred growling that out while ruining you like that?!!! Please I’m gonna scream! I really love how he’s a touch more in charge in this, and that he starts out slow till you’re begging him and then he gets a little rougher with you like it fits so well, he’d take such good care of you, wanting to make sure you’re good and fucked out for him!

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Okay I’m dying to know more about the cult batmom was in so maybe her explaining or talking abt it w her kids?

"So," Duke rubbed the bac of his neck and watched Dick working out, "Was Y/N really in a cult?"

Dick paused for a second, considering how to answer that. He knew you weren't super thrilled about your stories being told through games of telephone. Some of them were bad enough without being exaggerated.

They didn't need it.

You'd fought your way out. Burned. Killed. Struggled. It was horrible, brutal, and bloody.

"Yes," he said finally. If only because, it wasn't the story. It was a detail most of them knew- if you were asked direct questions, you gave direct answers. BUT the actual story you wouldn't tell until you thought someone could handle it. And having heard it when he wasn't ready... Because he pestered you and begged and pleaded until you relented. It gave him nightmares.

Duke nodded thoughtfully and Dick swung down on the floor. "Word of advice?"

"Sure," Duke said, uncertain.

"If you ask her about it," he said, "Don't ask in front of anyone else. Not even Alfred or Bruce. And just- if she doesn't tell you don't take it personally. It's either a bad day or she doesn't think you're ready."

Duke nodded again, frowning. "When did you ask her?"

"I was 11," Dick snorted. "Thought I was big enough and bad enough to take it. I kept asking and she just- gave in. Didn't even edit. Just gave me every dirty detail. And it gave me nightmares."

Duke cringed.

"She still has nightmares too," Dick said, almost absently.

"Doesn't everybody?"

"Some more than others," Dick said smiling just a little. "Just don't do what I did- Or what Damian did."

"What did Damian-"

"He went through my desk," you answer, walking by with a water bottle to take to Tim.

Both boys jumped and Dick mock scowled, "I still don't know how she does that."

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Hello, I have ceased functioning. You have actually ended me this time. Also I have done the thing where I pick out the best lines and it turns out to be huge swaths of the fic again.

“Be quick and be safe!” Matt tells them. It’s a benediction as hoarse as his prayers are when he thinks there is no one around to hear him. They’re just as futile, too. The time their slaughter brought them is at a standstill, and Matthew’s bullets are gone.

I just... the comparison of "be quick and be safe" to prayers, both in how Matt sounds and how much good it'll do, combined with the hard stop of "Matthew's bullets are gone", absolutely set the tone and tension in the most beautiful, terrifying way. I was instantly heartbroken for the three of them stuck in that hell, and on the edge of my seat.

But she’s ahead of him. It’s the way the world works. Zee sailed into a new day ahead of him on their spinning planet.

I love the way you include these little mentions of their geography! It makes sense for them to perceive themselves/others that way, and it's also absolutely gorgeous imagery.

“Look at me!” She said, this time harsh and sharp. “We do these things together, right? That’s what we said. My balance is your balance. You watch my back, I cover your arse.”

Sobbing I love these two. I couldn't grab everything because then I really would've grabbed most of the fic, but the constant drumbeat of "they belong together, they are the most important person, they're two halves of the same whole" - it's so good. So much of their existences is brutal and lonely and terrifying, but they have each other.

Arthur and Alfred are together, already half aware, and Father looks relieved, openly so. Not a good sign. Alfred looks bewildered. Less empire than boy startled out of bed. Because he still tends to sleep in one of those, even now. Because he is precious and held in reserve.

Okay, the juxtaposition of Jack recognizing that Arthur is relieved to see them vs. the resentment of Alfred having a bed, because he's precious and held back... perfect encapsulation of Arthur's shit parenting. He loves his kids, he does, but Alfred is the favorite and the rest suffer for it. (Also kind of shows the fundamental horrors of the "family." Sure, Alfred's the favorite, but Arthur loves them all and isn't happy that Matt, Jack, and Zee were/are out there - but the three of them are colonies. The purpose of their existence is to sacrifice lives and resources for Arthur's goals, how he feels about them as people won't save them. If Alfred wasn't an empire in his own right he might well be out there too, because being the favorite wouldn't save him from the facts of life as a colony.)

“Enough!” Arthur slammed his hands down on the map-laden table and tugged Zee away, shoving one arm between Alfred’s chest and Jack’s, curling so he was in front of her. But he couldn’t break the grip Alfred had on Jack’s collar. “Get your hands off your brother, boy!”

Without losing sight of the shit parenting, I do appreciate Arthur trying to shut Alfred down and defend Jack.

“I was here, watching his back while you were home turning a fucking profit! We were here when it was all for nothing! You only showed up for what? For what? To take credit? Aunt Bridgie always said you were brave, that you were brilliant. She forgot to mention what a bastard you are!"

GET HIM JACK. I know Alfred's worried about his brother, but Jack is damn right - he doesn't get to ride in 3 years late and then accuse Jack and Zee of being the ones who don't have Matt's back. (Arthur is an entirely other story.) And Brighid telling Jack about how great Alfred is gave me... a lot of feelings. I have not sorted through them all yet but it's a lot to do with that line you wrote (paraphrasing) - "It was my magic that protected you too. Remember that as you take my people and make them your own." Alfred and Jack have this connection through Brighid that feels really powerful but I can't figure out what I'm thinking about it.

“You shut your mouth. I’m not the one who just abandoned Mattie.”

“Ah, my dear boy, but you did that first.”

AND IT'S ARTHUR WITH THE STEEL CHAIR. I mean good lord. He's not wrong, and I'm not even mad at him because Alfred's being a dick, but Jesus Christ. I was yelling at my phone at that one. Arthur is absolutely not entitled to be making that argument, but I feel forced to admire the precision. I also can't tell if that's meant to be on Jack's side or if Arthur just couldn't resist making the jab. 10/10 bastardry, I hate him but am forced to admire the audacity.

“Want another first?” Alfred wasn’t facing them now. This was an argument older than both of them, conducted in shouts muffled from the other end of the house. “I took his head off his shoulders at Yorktown. I shot our dear lord father’s jaw from his fucking skull and his skull from his shoulders and the lobsterbacks surrendered. And then they left. And when the gutters overflowed, you were born.”

I fucking... okay, first, "an argument older than both of them" is so powerful, as is the image of Jack and Zee hearing this argument that's had such a huge impact on the empire - and thus their existence and how they're treated - from the other end of the house. Like, they know it happened/continues to reverberate, and it very much affects their lives, but they aren't allowed to be part of it or witness it, they just deal with knowing it's there and whatever the aftermath is. I'm reminded of the Cromwell fic, where I can simultaneously see kids experiencing a family thing and also colonies experiencing imperial policy.

Second, what the actual fuck Alfred. POS. I know he's upset about Matt, but that's such a fucking horrible thing to say. (Also, a not insignificant portion of your birth was from the "gutters overflowing", asshat.) I felt even worse than I already had for Jack and Zee right then.

“As flattered as your brother would be to see you defending what little of his honour he hasn’t left in a brothel, I rather think we should get to the task of finding him first, no? And perhaps, if you lot can manage more than one task at a time with the single wit I seem to have left you to inherit, we could perhaps even turn back what looks to be an entire German offensive that’s just caught us with our cocks out.” He paused and glanced at Zee. “Barring you, dear girl.”

Arthur, Matt's missing. Maybe refrain from calling him a whore until he's back.

I'm not going to call him just as responsible for the fight, but there must've been something he could've said other than "hey son, I know you're worried about your baby brother, but remember that you abandoned him during the event that's negatively defined our relationship for over a century." Like, he does not get to say that and then act like it's just the kids that are distracted from the tasks at hand here.

"caught us with our cocks out... barring you, dear girl" fucking killed me. You have such a knack for humor, both writing the jokes and knowing where to insert them/how to maintain the balance with the drama. It's so good.

“Excuse you,” A note of laughter in a gravelly voice, still half-ruined by gas. “I am Father’s best knife. Only the finest for when the Krauts come for dinner, eh Dad?”

Matt correcting Alfred from "favorite" to "best" is... I have feelings. On the one hand it's kind of Matt bragging ("I'm not the favorite, I'm the best"), but on the other hand there was the reference to Alfred being the favorite earlier so I'm simultaneously reading it as "I'm not the favorite, I'm the best." Also, this felt very cinematic - we're all focused on the argument, Matt's missing, how are we going to find him, and then bam! He joins the conversation without missing a beat. I love that kind of stuff.

Jack nearly elbowed Dad in the face as Arthur tried to look at a particularly large blood stain oozing from Matt’s shoulder but had to settle for turning his cheek and looking him in the eye a moment before he and Zee nearly got bowled over entirely by Alfred rocketing through. He practically picked Matt up.

Again, Arthur's parenting sucks but I do appreciate him immediately trying to get a look at Matt's injuries (and I wish Jack had actually elbowed him in the face.)

All of the talk/examples at the end of the fic about how the two sets are really similar was so wonderful in a heartbreaking way. They're separate pairs, they're only brought together by the external force of empire - but their dynamics are so similar, right down to the older carrying the younger around everywhere. Jack and Alfred are so similar, but that disconnect in experience and treatment is such a wall between them nonetheless.

I am tired and this fried my brain with feelings and thoughts, so I don't have anything particularly interesting to say - I just absolutely adored this fic and the way you handled all these dynamics. You're such a wonderful writer <3

Thank you 😭😭😭 I can't just 🥺 thank you.

[providencehq]

(ShrikeAU) Yo, so I'm guessing that post-reveal that Batman and the batfam still kind of handle Danny with the kid gloves since they don't have a clue how experienced he actually is. His powers are probably pretty useful in certain situations, but I still don't think Danny is totally honest about his double life, how powerful he actually is, and everything he's been through. They know some things, but Danny is still pretty cagey about his life in Amity and how he came to be Phantom. (1/2)

[2/2] Then one of Danny's old rogues comes to town and starts ripping shit up, and the batfam witness their first REAL ghost fight. They tell Danny to get back and let them handle it, but Danny's had enough and just throws himself into the fight. It's one of the most brutal and vicious battles that they ever witness, and then they realize how little they actually know about him. After the fight, they see how ripped up he is, and actually get a glance at his battle scars and realize he's no greenhorn.

Yea! After things get smoothed over with the less than stellar accidental reveal, the family as a whole do still generally treat him with kid gloves. They know Danny is good enough to be a vigilante, after all they did train him but the whole ghost/meta aspect of him, that has to be a newer development right? They've only been seeing Phantom around Gotham for maybe a year at best, that's not a lot of time to understand new powers. After all, it took Clark Kent years to get a hold of his powers and Duke Thomas has been with them for a few years and is still learning about his powers and how to master them. Because of this, they think he maybe developed his powers just before coming/running away to Gotham.

I can easily image someone like Shulker or Freakshow showing up in Gotham and wreaking havoc. The bats think they might have an up and coming rogue in Gotham and due to unknowns, they leave some of the less experienced members out of the fight, namely Danny. They don't want him to get hurt despite Danny claiming he can easily help, that he knows he can be of use. But his protests don't work and he's kicked off from helping, of course he doesn't listen to them anyways and gets tangled into the fight anyways.

The Bats don't know the full extent of what Danny can do, he is very cagey about his past and hadn't budged much about his time in Amity and later, about being Phantom. They get to see a pretty good picture of what Danny used to be, what Phantom used to be. It'll be a brutal fight for sure, partly because he's trying to prove he'd capable of fighting against rouges but also that he shouldn't be treated like he doesn't know what he can do. The Bats never really see Danny/Shrike/Phantom in fights, he usually tries to talk his way through before fighting, so seeing him go directly to fighting and to an intensity they've never seen before must be a little scary, at least to the point where they failed to know the extent of what Danny, their newest ward, is capable of.

I like to personally think the only one in the whole family who would have seen Danny's scars in any regard would have been Alfred when helping with medical things but he wouldn't say anything to Bruce in order to keep what little trust Danny has with them. So after the fight and getting his costume destroyed, they finally see the damage a teen, a teen who managed to survive by himself until they forced him to accept their help. Must be gut wrenching to realize how hurt he was in the past and to never notice.

[bb-bare-bones]

How We Make Our Psychos: A Psycho Retrospective

By Rebecca Smith

Artwork by Dy Dawson @xgardensinspace

Psycho. For a great many people, that single word is enough to conjure up Bernard Herrmann’s iconic screech of violins and Janet Leigh’s screaming face as a knife arcs towards her in the shower. Whether or not a person has actually seen Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 psychological thriller won’t spare them – in the more than six decades since its release, Psycho has become a cultural touchstone for America and the horror genre. The pivotal spoilers Hitchcock went to much effort to conceal – if you didn’t know, the conventions of cinemas having start times and no late admissions policies are thanks to Psycho – are now so well entrenched in our collective cultural psyche that I wouldn’t be surprised if newborns’ shrieks these days are actually baby speak for “IT WAS NORMAN!!”

It's perhaps unsurprising that Hitchcock’s Psycho, which was named the greatest movie ever made by Variety in December 2022, is not exactly unexplored territory when it comes to analyses. Whilst the legendary shower scene is one of the most famous movie scenes in history, virtually every shot of this suspenseful masterpiece is familiar to us and, as such, has had interpretation after interpretation, and symbolism after metaphor after allegory, applied to and teased out of it. Fortunately, I’ve still been allowed to write something about Psycho anyway, so do indulge me and read on.

At its twisted roots, Psycho poses the question of how well we truly know other people, and this unsettling thought is where its lasting horror derives from. Lila Crane, Sam Loomis, and Mr Lowrey are all shocked to discover Marion Crane has run off with $40,000 because this isn’t the Marion they thought they knew; likewise, the entirety of Fairvale are shocked to discover Norman Bates has been murdering people while dressed as his mother – who he also murdered – and for years has been looking after her preserved corpse as if she was still alive. This isn’t the Norman they thought they knew, either. As the audience, we’re positioned to be shocked by this reveal about Norman too, as we’ve been encouraged to feel sorry for him as the dutiful, unworldly son of a cruel and possessive mother. Instead, we discover the brutal violence in Psycho is a part of Norman and we were just taken in by Anthony Perkins’ innocent smile – which, of course, was one of the many reasons he was chosen for the role.

In the real world, the people of Plainfield, Wisconsin, probably felt a similar shock in 1957 when it was uncovered that one of their locals had killed and mutilated two women and was living in a house full of stolen human body parts, many of which he’d morbidly fashioned into pieces of furniture. It is widely known that this unassuming local, Ed Gein, was a source of inspiration for Robert Bloch’s original 1959 Psycho novel, of which Hitchcock’s film is an adaptation. After the initial horror of Gein’s crimes, there remained the uncomfortable realisation that something like that could happen right under a community’s nose. A story not a million miles away from Psycho can, and did, happen somewhere it would be least expected to.

In a bold move for its era, then, Psycho explores why its killer kills. Psychoanalysis – the legacy of Sigmund Freud – was popular in America around the time of Psycho’s creation, and both Bloch and Hitchcock incorporated it into their respective works, most obviously through the character of Norman. As well as being one of the most recognisable poster boys for the Oedipus complex, which Bloch actually highlights Norman’s self-awareness of early in the novel, a significant portion of Norman’s dialogue in the Hitchcock film functions as Freudian slips about the horrible truth his unconscious is repressing. The inclusion of psychoanalytic elements in Psycho is an important component in making Norman a complex horror villain rather than one who kills for the sheer evilness of it. We could spend an entire essay debating exactly which mental illnesses Norman is supposed to be suffering from, and it is clear in retrospect that their depiction does not quite hold up to the reality in any case, but the fact that Norman is not well and has been spiralling for some time – while no excuse for murder – means we understand why he is where he is mentally and why he stays in his “private trap” rather than facing reality.

Of course, it is all very good understanding the psychology behind our so-called proto slasher, but Psycho hints towards the external as well as the internal factors that go into making a deranged killer. I am referring here to the place where Norman was allowed to fester: the fictional town of Fairvale, California. In its depiction of the small town, Psycho is critiquing the type of society and community attitude that unwittingly enables someone like Norman. American society in the 1950s was repressed – look what happened when Elvis wiggled onstage – and it is this repression that has disastrous consequences in Psycho.

It is Lila who summarises the issue with Fairvale in Bloch’s novel, in a disappointed observation about Sam: “He had that slow, cautious, conservative small-town outlook.” This outlook, exhibited by both Sam and Sheriff Chambers in their insistence on waiting and not bothering Norman, is perhaps best typified by Mrs Chambers in the Hitchcock film. When Lila and Sam learn Mrs Bates supposedly poisoned herself and her lover in a murder-suicide some ten years past, Mrs Chambers adds, “Norman found them dead together. In bed.” There is a disapproving emphasis on “in bed”, as if this is the most shameful aspect of the incident, which serves to highlight the still dominant conservative Christian outlook on sexuality and marriage prevalent at the time. This societal outlook on sexuality is shown throughout Psycho to be detrimental to its characters: at the beginning of the film, Marion is unhappy she and Sam are unmarried and must meet in hotel rooms for sex; and Norman, of course, has internalised disgust and guilt with his own sexuality to such an extent that, in a misogynistic twist, he projects that disgust and guilt on to any woman he finds attractive, allowing ‘Mother’ to surface and kill her.

In addition to this, Mrs Chambers has two other lines that provide insight into the community Norman grew up in. She mentions she helped Norman choose the dress his mother was buried in, remembering that it was “periwinkle blue”. Then, a few scenes later, she invites Lila and Sam for a meal to make reporting Marion’s disappearance and theft “nicer” for them. Both of these are kind acts, but are they inordinately helpful ones? Neither of these gestures would have illuminated what Norman had done; they were more like putting plasters over gaping wounds. This, it seems, is the Fairvale way: don’t ask, don’t know.

It is true that this effective silence around difficult or taboo subjects was a society-wide issue, but I think we can assume Fairvale, as a small town, was supposed to have its own distinct, concentrated flavour of it. If most people knew of the Bates family who lived like there was nobody else in the world, did no one ever think to query why that was? Did anyone know what Norma Bates was like? Didn’t anybody notice that Norman had lived in near isolation all his life, and wonder what effect that might have on a person? The answers are clearly no, because that was the Bates family’s business. The warning signs were therefore missed or ignored. At this time, and in this kind of place, the structural forces simply didn’t exist to avert crises of mental health, or abuse, or violence before they escalated. Psycho is pointing out the dark side of contemporary, as it then was, American society. The sort of situation that led to Gein. The story of Norman Bates is in part a warning about how pretending something isn’t happening and being unwilling to face reality – and that’s literal reality, in Norman’s case – only causes more harm in the long-term. And, once again, these external factors also do not excuse Norman’s murders. However, they do help explain how he was able to get away with them, unsuspected, for so long.

            This is not to say there is one single set of circumstances which would enable the story of Psycho to play out in some way. The whole point of Psycho is that it could happen next door, to anyone, because we might not know someone as completely as we think we do. The story could only critique the world it found itself in at that moment, but the passage of time prompts the question: could Norman Bates exist today? After all, not only have taboos around sexuality and mental health weakened considerably in a general sense over the last six decades, but there have also been huge advancements in the technology used to catch criminals. Giving your bloody crime scene a quick wipe down with some water and a mop might not cut it now. The internet too is encroaching further and further on our lives. It is fast becoming impossible to exist without at least a small online presence – and once you have an online presence, there is something about you there for people to pry into.

Then again, while the internet can be a tool to help people in bad situations, we all know what a double-edged sword it is. Never mind the overtly dark corners of the web, someone as well-established in presenting a false state of affairs to the world as Norman is would surely excel in doing the same thing in the supposedly safer online places. In fact, doing it online would be child’s play in comparison to real life. And, inescapably, security cameras would be a modern-day Norman’s scopophilic dream, there is no denying that. There are also still parts of society that cling harder to the values and social etiquette of the past. Who is to say Fairvale would have kept to the average rate of progress?

            Thus, the exact circumstances Psycho painted as aiding Norman’s murders in a small 1950s town might well have been altered in some way in the years since Hitchcock’s untouchable film first hit cinema screens, but the central fear in Psycho about how well we truly know other people remains. In Psycho, the two key characters of Norman and Marion, so often compared as two sides of the same coin, are being dishonest with those around them. Norman is even being dishonest with himself. Today, in our world of chronic oversharing, I’d wager there are still very few people who would – or even could – reveal every part of themselves to other people. Should that really be an aim for anyone? I would argue no, definitely not.

The inevitable consequence of personal privacy is that, in our imperfect world containing messed up people who sometimes do terrible things, there will be a few Normans. Likewise, not everyone can be the Lila who exposes and stops them. We can only exist inside our own heads; we can’t ever truly know the entirety of another person. In the end, the perversion of the familiar, of the people we tell ourselves we know – such as Norman – and the places we think are safe – such as our showers – is what continues to frighten and unnerve us in Psycho.

And Norman’s creepy smile at the end, of course; although that’s my favourite bit.

[envihellbender]

yandere zelkov and kagetsu?

Fire Emblem: Yandere

Zelkov

Zelkov treats you like his hobby, it’s sweet at first - he watches you almost constantly and makes notes on everything you do. He knows precisely which foods you prefer on which day, he knows your favourite colours, he can predict what clothes you will wear, and he knows who you enjoy speaking to. That’s when it starts getting a little off. He gets into the habit of following and observing you. You find yourself constantly looking over your shoulder, and finding new ways to throw him off your trail so you can have some peace and quiet. It never works.

You do find however that when he actually speaks with you, he is very loving and attentive. He hangs on your every word and shows you plenty of affection. You start to dismiss his stranger habits as him coming across a little strong, he seems harmless and does adore you so much. He takes you to his room, the one where he collects all of his hobbies and special ways to kill time. You rummage through his things, it’s odd that his plants are all the herbs you enjoy the most on your food. The books he collects are your favourites. The strangest part is when you look at his paintings and sculptures you notice they are all you.

You start to avoid him after that, unsettled by what you’ve seen and unsure of how to go about it. You don’t want to make a big deal out of nothing, or ostracise him. He seems well intentioned, you suppose. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take well to you trying to distance yourself. He notices that you start getting up earlier to avoid him at breakfast so you end up waking up with him at your bedside. He doesn’t simply watch from afar anymore but is stuck to your side, sometimes keeping a tight grip on your arm. He starts growling angrily when you speak to anyone but him, and finally one morning you wake up in his room, surrounded by his collection with the door padlocked shut.

Kagetsu

Kagetsu came across very strong to begin with, but he treats everyone that way so you didn’t think much about it. He asked everyone a thousand personal questions and made a lot of assumptions about their friendship. So when he stood a little close to you, staring at you with excited, bright eyes, as he asked you all about your childhood and past friendships. It was alarming, but you didn’t want to offend him. Plus, he was sweet in a way, like an excited puppy. When you ate dinner with him he stared at you instead of eating, as if trying to commit every single thing you did to memory.

He often sparred with you, hardly strange since he challenged everyone he knew. What was strange is how brutally he fought with others compared to you. When Alfred ate dinner with you, he demanded to spar him immediately… and it was brutal. Normally Kagetsu was careful, he didn’t want to actually harm his allies after all, but this time he didn’t hold back. He covered Alfred’s face in nasty bruises and had him on his back quite quickly, it resulted in Alfred not wanting to spend time with you and it didn’t take long for that to become a common opinion amongst your allies.

You tried to get him to stop, you sat him and down and demanded he stopped harming other people. He looked at you with puppy dog eyes, hurt carved into his face. He’s just so fascinated with you, he adores you, and he cannot physically get enough of you. He wants you all to himself, he can’t separate himself from you, and he feels an ache in his chest when he sees you with anyone else. When tears fall down his cheeks you feel your resolve break, you try to compromise - so long as he doesn’t hurt anyone else… maybe you could focus your attention on him and spend less time with your friends and allies.

[glittering-moonlillie]

Damian Wayne x non-binary! Reader coming out headcanons!

Word Count: 753

Warnings: To be honest, I'm not sure how good this is! I tried my absolute best though.

Summary: As you struggle with your identity, you also worry about how your best friend might react.

The constant anxiety you felt in your own skin could be compared to an army of ants crawling along your flesh, never going away, never leaving

You were never comfortable in your own body, never truly being happy with the gender you were assigned at birth. Sure, you still loved wearing dresses and skirts, but it made you uncomfortable to think that you were forced to be a girl because of that. 

It took you a long while to accept that you were non-binary and an even longer time to decide to come out to your friends. 

Damian had always been there for you in a way no one else had been. He was critical and brutally honest, but he did his best to be kind and loyal to you. You were allowed to be vulnerable with him and he never once took advantage of that. 

He was always so talkative too, never missing the opportunity to state his opinion even if it wasn’t always necessary, but once you realized who you actually were, you suddenly became worried about what he would say - what he’d think. 

As much as you loved him as your best friend, you were worried that his overly critical views would ruin the relationship you guys had. It was the main reason why it took you months of building self-confidence and pep talks in your mirror in order for you to muster the courage to walk your way to Wayne Manor. 

Your plan, ideally, was to: Go over, hang out with Damian and the rest of his siblings for a bit, casually bring up the fact that you were non binary and hope and pray that it all went well. 

Of course, you weren’t foolish enough to believe this plan would be executed perfectly. Being friends with the Wayne’s came with the fact that you would never be able to perfectly plan everything. 

Alfred had let you into the Manor once he saw you outside on the doorstep, slowly nodding and briskly stepping to the kitchen to presumably fetch you some tea. He had always said that tea could cure everything, but you were sure it was just a British thing. 

Damian was in the vast living room where he and Dick were engaged in a high stakes Smash Brothers battle, Jason on the sofa reading (probably rereading) To Kill A Mockingbird. Tim was most likely hiding away in his room under a pile of blankets. 

You made your way over to the two brothers, sitting down next to Damian and watched as he demolished Princess Peach with his Charizard. 

Damian greeted you with a quiet hello while the eldest pulled you in for a hug.

The underlying anxiety you felt finally resurfaced as the main problem sat right next to you. You fidgeted with your pleated skirt, running your hands through non-existent folds.

Damian must have noticed your nervous behavior since he had shooed away Dick and Jason and turned off the TV. He always took great care in paying attention to when you were feeling anxious, knowing how important it was to take care of your needs. 

He was quick to ask you what was wrong, but you failed to formulate a coherent sentence. All the words you had been dying to tell him dried up immediately in your throat, never seeing the light of day. 

You began to overthink once more, wondering if this truly was the best idea. Your friendship with him was not worth breaking over something like this. 

Damian’s eyes twisted in confusion, noticing how shallow your breath was and how your fingers continued to fray the ends of your sweater. 

“Tell me.” He said softly. 

Whether it was because of his upbringing or if it was because of genetics, Damian had always carried a commanding voice with him. No matter how soft it was, his voice was hard to deny. 

“I’m…it’s just…” You let out a shaky breath. “I think I’m non-binary.”

You waited for Damian’s reaction, expecting him to cuss you out and cease talking to you forever, but instead he just blinked. 

“And…you were nervous about telling me this?” 

You silently nodded your head. 

“They/Them, I’m assuming?” You hesitantly nodded again, a little shocked at how calm he was acting. Was he not disgusted? Was he not weirded out? 

“If it helps,” he added, “This doesn’t change my opinion of you. You will…you’ll always be my number one.” He reached for your hand and gently squeezed it, managing a small smile.

"So you aren't freaked out about this?"

Damian shrugged at your question. "Why would I be? You're still you, and I'm not an idiotic fool to risk losing you over something like this, especially if it makes you happier."

A smile found its way to your lips and you couldn't help but to pull in Damian for a hug. Looking back, you felt silly for being nervous about telling the boy wonder. It was Damian after all, and he would always want to make you happy.

I had to research a bit to do this request accurately. Thankfully, my best friend is non-binary and they helped me a lot when it came to writing this. So, everything that the reader feels is based off what my friend said it felt like when they came out. I feel like being inclusive is really important and I tried my hardest to make this decent, but I'm not sure if I am the best account to go to for this sort of thing! By no means am I saying to not request anything like this again, I would just rather someone get a really well written oneshot instead of something that might not be as accurate. Let me know if you guys liked this (since it's something new!) and if you have any critics I am willing to hear those out too!

[headingalaxys-spicy]

* Breaking your window and come out of nowhere *

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.

WOPPA!! HELLO LOVELY

I GOT YOU REQUEST or most likely a Brabble{i think that what it call} , lately i been watching Hetalia and ofc My head be like "what if i make M/N that is country and they BADASS " Reader is A country that's have separate as peace ngl like russia They From Another planet and Universe OFC CUZ EARTH FULL OF COUNTRY AND YEAH WHY NO MAKING ANOTHER PLANET FOR READER RIGHT and sheesh ngl they hot 😔 they're planet is not to far from the sun But Colder than Russia about -373 degrees like Neptune that's like BRUTALLY COLD WHETHER but of course like the planet Kepler-452b not too hot not too cold it's like planet Kepler-452 b and planet OGLE-2005-BLG-390L b combine together , aside from Being human species like animals just combine Human and animals then we got a half-furry XD, M/n Is a half dear , is Pretty and Have the best taste on Outfit, kind ,loveable,Calm and Wise but there history is Brutally Scary , the can change into maniac killer who show no mercy control by the voice of god , like russia { geez how many i say russia } russia say "Become one with me" {okay that's line i saw on YouTube i don't know how he gonna say it} but for M/n is " You know you're one of us, There's no escaping us, There's no one you can trust ,So leave them all for dust " That mean you, him and The Voice btw that's olso line from Yt form Voices - Derivakat { btw reader is really powerful than Russia } { i actually will Make this a story from now on hehehe when I'm done i will give it to you first}

SHORT WAY HIRE :

So how Would Yandere America and Russia and Germany look at this M/n Wise and calm but olso a Maniac killer who show no mercy control by the voice of god Would it be Deadly sights of drama or maybe another way around a romantic way hahaha This will be fun Dear💕

I won’t lie I did get VERY confused by the content of your ask it’s really daunting; it was a lot so I had to simplify it so it could at least be answered. I hope you like it and again I’m really sorry that I don’t hit the mark. It’s definitely one of the more difficult asks I’ve ever tried to tackle.

America, Germany, and Russia with a powerful manic alien killer.

(Yandere Male x Nation because, yes, I acknowledge there isn’t enough of that on here.)

Alright warnings mentions of death and blood so this post is not for everyone. Read at your own risk!

Introduction

The reports were disturbing about the extraterrestrial destruction that happened whenever the sun disappeared in the forests of the midwestern United States, the densely wooded area of the German Bavarian forests, or the wild Russian Taiga forests. It was a hellish sight of mangled bodies of animals, trees that had been pulled out from their roots, and even their own citizens who’d been caught up in the rampage of these incidents.

However, because their bosses are assholes, they did request that they investigate with their specialized teams to see and try to confront the chaotic being that was wreaking havoc on their beloved forests and people

🇺🇸⭐️ America⭐️🇺🇸

Standing at the edge of the dense forest with sturdy stick-like trees that dared to try and scrape, the sky loomed over Alfred and his team ominously. Normally he wouldn’t hesitate, but his heart dropped into his stomach. It was the feeling of his ‘heroism’ and ‘bravery’ dropping to 0. But, that’s what heroes did: Do the scary thing even when they themselves didn’t want to be brave but had to. He sucked in a large breath filled with hope and tension he could feel from some of his FBI agents.

“Alright, fan out. Keep your radios on and request backup if you guys find any unusual clues or find the damned thing that’s been causing all of this. Return back here at 21:00 hours and leave cameras behind just so we can actually get some footage to study.”

“Understood.” Five groups of 10 people each head out into different forest directions. America heads in and goes to the Northernmost part of the forest. It was 17:00 in the middle of summer with plenty of sunlight to spare. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up the moment his military boot crunched down on some of the faded grass of the Chequamegon-Nicolet forest. He bit down on his lip harshly but continued anyway and incisively had his left hand on his pistol. Eyes roamed the forest and he and his agents surveyed the damage that became increasingly more severe the deeper they went in. The large inhuman and not that of any animal that was native to the Wisconsin wilderness. Some agents began to take photos and take samples to be studied in the labs, and others' mouths were agape at the wreckage.

“How in hell can there even be claw marks this big?” He overheard one of his agents say to another.

Just as Alfred was about to reach a nearby river, he was halted in his tracks when he had a sudden oncoming migraine that grated at his nerves. It brought him to his knees. He could hear voices in his head chanting:

“You can escape us. You can’t escape us. You can’t escape us.” It felt as though his ears were being scraped from the inside of his brain.

Just from the other side of the river, hidden beneath the shade of the trees, was the manic alien killer with the ears of a black bear emitting his signal to the humans through his telekinetic ears. With his wide black voids for eyes and smile as wide as the Cheshire cats, he was certainly not something of earth.

‘This is getting fun. There are some cute humans, especially the one with hair from the sand next to the sea. He should definitely come to me. Oh, sweet human, come to me.~’ An inhuman giggle that sounded like the gurgling of water seeps out from his wide mouth. It could be heard from at least a mile away. This caused some more of the animals to scurry away, alerting some of the teams, including Alfred’s of its position.

“Sir, up ahead just across the river ….” One of his agents placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I know I heard but I have this major headache and it’s killer.”

That was the being's trigger words that made it go wild. It loved the thrill. It loved the word. It simply made it want to rampage at the sound of the uttered word, and so it did. With great force, it leaped far above the northern pin oaks to get a physical visual of his prize.

“THERE YOU ARE~” It’s voice was loud and shook the knees of even the strongest trees.

Sounds of surprised panic reached the male aliens' ears. It was like music that soothed its soul.

“Come here cute one~” It reached out with a long spider-like arm that looked as if it was made out of thin stardust and could break easily. But that was far from the truth. One of Alfred’s Agents moved him out of the way just in time before he could be caught. This made him angry.

“Keep away, FLESHY SLIME.” It barked out in that gaggled, inhuman voice. It created sharp ice from the lake below to begin killing off his agents one by one in a painful manor. The shrieks filled its cute bear ears with joy. As Alfred’s blue eyes could only watch in horror as one by one he saw and heard bodies collapse to the grassy ground. Screams filled the air until it was dead silent. His migraine grew worse and he was incapacitated all he could do was cover his ears and be rolled into a ball. Hoping that all of this was some sick nightmare he’d soon wake up from.

To his horror, it was all read because he came face to face with the terrifying being with it’s wide vanta black eyes.

“Hello dear~” it cooed. Before it gently placed it’s lips on his and with that his vision faded and Alfred was never to be seen again.

🍺🇩🇪Germany🇩🇪🍺

Marching through the compacted parts of the first filled to the brim with spruce, beech, and fir trees, Ludwig became increasingly concerned and irritated. There had been odd half-human and half-animal tracks that sparsely littered throughout the forest floor. It was challenging to try and pinpoint what exactly he was looking for since there were no reference photos of the damned thing. Ludwig gritted his teeth as he came close to one of the long marks that seemed to have cut an entire tree in half. With that, there was a plethora of dead deer, wolves, owls, and other animal bodies among the wreckage.

“Sheiße!” Was all he could think to shout. He began to examine the dreadful scene. He ran his hand through his hair frustratingly. Messing up his once neat hairstyle to look frizzy. Not that it mattered.

Y/N, the male alien, was having a jolly good time having the annoyed German try to hunt him down. It was all going according to plan. His wolf tail wagged in the soft breeze of the late summer day. He was obviously having fun with the new set of prey that decided to investigate the ravaged forest.

“Time to up the ante.” With a giggle that sounds like that of a joyful child at Christmas getting all the presents that they desired.

All the hairs on Ludwig's body stood at attention.

“There’s no way in hell that a child should be anywhere near this forest. It’s been blocked off to the public for now until all of this chaos is over.”

Another thunderous laugh ravaged the forest once more. This time the laugh sounded way more sinister and filled with malice. Ludgwigs heart sank, but his body began to kick into high gear. It was time for fight mode. It was time to end this.

“Funny. He thinks he can defeat the like of me. Silly human. Or somewhat. Cute but not as smart as me.” He used his phone that he rigged to send out a signal to draw the poor German in.

Ludwig’s phone had buzzed to life.

“KACKE!” (Shit!)

Once he calmed down a little bit he fished the buzzing phone from his pocket. It was from one of his men in the Bundesnachrichtendienst. While already on the edge his nerves wouldn’t be able to sustain this wild goose chase for long. This normal solid as a rock German became like a slightly hardened jello form. Once he realized it was just his phone, his hands still continued to tremble. When he concentrated his nerves to read the incoming message it read:

COME QUICK! WE’VE FOUND SOMETHING THAT YOU NEED TO SEE! WERE NEAR THE NORTHWESTERN BORDER WITH THE CZECH REPUBLIC.

Taking in a few short breaths to calm down. He simply texts back a quick “Okay. On my way. I’m about 15 minutes off.

When he started to make his way toward his other men, he was really headed toward his impending doom. He began to get hit hard with a ringing in his ears. He continues on anyway, even though the ringing started low and started to crescendo. When he began to reach the clearing close to the border. “There’s no escaping me. There’s no escaping me.” Began the chants that he heard in his head.

“Was zur Hölle? Verpiss dich!” (What the hell? FUCK OFF!) As he began to become entangled within the vicious extraterrestrial entity. Fight mode began to kick in once again.

“My time to shine~” Y/N descends downwards into the clearing. Coming face to face with Ludwig. He jumps backward at the sight of the alien creature with black voids for eyes and a half-human and half-wolf body.

“Come with me cute Ludwiggy~”

“Du spinnst!” (You’re nuts) This shit can’t be real.

“Oh it is sweet, strong Ludwig~” Y/N coos at the disturbed German.

Ludwig was quick to aim his gun at the creature that had caused so much destruction and killed many of his people.

Ludwig's eyes had fizzled out with television static. He couldn’t see a thing but he felt the creature have its lips engulf his. It was the last thing he was aware of before he completely blacked out.

Ludwig couldn’t stop this crazy thing, there was that no doubt.

🇷🇺 🪆Russia🪆🇷🇺

He’d been wandering through the snow for hours. It was not its usual pristine white, some of it was splattered with different shades of scarlet. Tainting the purity of his precious landscape. Bodies of people, animals, and sunflower beds that were set to bloom for spring had all been defiled in the most awful way, and someone was going to have to pay for these sins. He marched onward with a few of his own agents pacing 10 paces behind him picking up evidence to research later.

Ivan had wandered to an area that had half-human half-polar bear tracks where one foot was that of a polar bear and the others strode with a bare human foot.

‘This has to be some elaborate prank that someone created. None of this even makes the remotest amount of sense.’ He thought to himself. He gripped his trusted rusted pipe a little tighter.

‘OOOOOOh Ivan dear does it have to be?’ A voice appears to begin talking to him within the tight confines of his mind.

Iavn’s scowl deepens. He’s annoyed greatly at the idea of having someone be in his mind. No that can’t really happen. He’s just tired of looking at the blinding white snow and the bodies, blood, and decorated flower beds that now decorated it like a Fyodor Dostoevsky novel actualized in reality.

Shaking his head he denies what he heard and continues onward. He just wanted to be back in his warm cabin to knit. He hated this mission to search for the source of the destruction that’s what he had special operatives and government officials for.

‘OOOOOh poor Ivan not having fun looking at my masterpieces?’

Ivan simply continues on with his agitated march. Continuing to look for reasons as to why there is a mismatch in these tracks.

‘You really want to find me how cute. Soon enough, cutie.’ Ivan doesn’t react to that last comment. He stopped in his track when in the distance, he saw something with an inhuman body that was fused with that of a polar bear, the body of a tall human with eyes that were large pools of black. Starring right at him. Unnerved but not undeterred from being able to finally reach the end of his mission.

“Nows a good time to come out and you may not die.” He readies himself to charge at the being that was lurking behind the trees.

‘That’s cute, but, I’ve already poisoned your mind.’

Ivan rolls his eyes at the dreaded thought and decides to charge for the demented thing anyways. Milliseconds before he tried to make a blow at Y/N he missed and slipped on some of the snow that had melted. When he fell all he could see were the mangled faces of some of the men that were behind him.

‘No, no! I’m hallucinating it can’t be.’ As Ivan tried to reorient himself and wriggle himself free mentally from the aliens' grasp, it was all hopeless. As he rolled over to look back from where he came all he could see were the bodies of his agents who all entered the deeper part of the forest with him. All twisted and contorted in inhuman shapes.

As he tried to stand and reorient himself, he has hit hard in the back of his head. His face was driven back into the snow. As his head throbbed in pain all he could hear in his head was chanting of:

‘Become one with me. Become one with me! Become one with me! You know you’re one of us! One of us! One of us! One of us!’

These were the last things that Ivan remembers before he blacked out and was taken to another dimension.