#alf slander

[harrison-abbott]

Alf

Alf got sick of his back of house supermarket job and the boss that kept yelling at him and so he quit one Thursday afternoon, mid-shift, and walked out of the building, with the boss shouting after him, perplexed over what he was doing. ///// When Alf got out into the cold sunlit street he suddenly realised that he didn’t need to come here anymore. He’d been working here for six years and nobody had ever quite appreciated him. You can still appreciate a nobody, he thought. He’d never put in a bad shift. Whereas that boss was all extroversion and flak, slander and ego. Alf had let his abuse go so many times. Fantasies of taking an axe into the workplace and caving the man’s skull in had grown a little too poignant for reality … they were lurking on becoming a fact. Alf had quit – yes – he had just fired himself from his job and now he was going home. ///// His home was not far away. By the time he got through the front door there was sweat under his clothes, despite the brittle weather. Alf boiled the kettle. When he poured the water into the cup he thought about pouring some of it over his wrist, or what it would be like if he dropped the whole thing on his foot. He drank the tea, some of it, with half a spoonful of sugar. The taste made him wince and he emptied the cup into the sink and then he went into his garden. The wind blew through the bushes, and overhead in the wavy air he heard some children screaming and the sound of chainsaws. The men were cutting down the trees in the park for some reason. Alf always thought that they should be paying people to do the opposite of that: that they should be employing folks to plant rather than sever trees, since it would help everybody out. But, Alf had never been popular with his ideas and he wasn’t strong or confident enough to be listened to. Alf grew uncomfortable in the garden so he went back inside.

///// He thought he would make some toast. After a few bites he discovered that he had no appetite. So he thought he would head outside. He put his coat on and in a bag he packed a bottle of water and a pair of apples and without quite knowing what he was doing he left the house and was walking down the street and at the end of the road he decided to go to the far side of the road – to wait at the bus stop that would take him out of the city. He could have gone into the city centre but figured he wanted to go the other way for some reason. And the bus came within a few minutes and this seemed like destiny. He sat upstairs and the bus whirled him out and away into the fields and low hills. The fields were emerging with colours, the crops burgeoning. ///// Alf got off at the last stop on the line. Which was in some gnarly provincial town, these barren houses clung to a hillside, looking like they might be blown off at any instant. Alf went into a local newsagent. It smelled of warm bakery stuff. Macaroni pies and doughnuts floating in an orange screen beside the counter where an old woman looked tired, and said Hi to him. Alf bought some bread and a jar of peanut butter, and there were some wooden knives, and he got a box of oatcakes, and picked up some newspapers. Tabloids, because they were cheap. He had no intention of reading them. At the counter he asked the lady for a lighter, for a pair of lighters. Paid for the stuff, thanked her, and left. And then he walked on up the streets. Fifteen minutes of walking through the housing and then the buildings drifted away and the road arose and then he could see out across the landscape to the hazy countryside. It really was still cold and Alf regretted not bringing extra shirts with him. But, he was sure he was doing something right now and that this was the proper thing to do. /////

He verged off the road down by the valley and waged across a plain of ferns and heather and he came out into a woodland of birch trees. As he ventured the sound of the world dipped off and he began to calm and to forget about his past and there didn’t seem any immediate threat. He was only a man in a woodland, and not even that. For a long while he walked and at length, it started to rain. So he stopped by a group of bushes and sat under them to hide from the rainwater. And as he sat under the short canopy of the leaves he felt like a boy again, and he hadn’t really thought of childhood in quite some time. But then the rain picked up, intensifying, and the bush he was under wasn’t going to last much longer, so he ploughed on into the woodland searching for somewhere else to stay. ///// Alf came upon the river. It was a proud, hurtling affair, and he followed the bankside. The sound of the rushing water grew hypnotic and he liked it. The land started to depress in a new valley, and the river wound down the valleyside in curls and turns. And at the bottom there were crags and rocks that hung over the water in thick yellow stone. Alf found a spot under the hanging cliffs. He dried his hair. And sat there, watching the rain pound the river in millipede dots. He fell asleep. ///// When he awoke, he was quite chilled. And realised he needed to make a fire. He got the newspapers – the tabloids – from earlier and scrunched up blobs with them, and then set about making a circle of rocks on the floor. And then he scoured in the woods to find some lumber and twigs dry enough to make some fodder with. Alf was staying in the forest tonight. He would be part of this woodland … and the non-human magic of it was already channelling his mind.

[catboybatman]

Hi, do you mind talking more about Alfred's mistakes? I think my annoyance with him is because people dump on Bruce's parenting skills but praise the guy who raised him.

This ask has been here forever im so sorry i just couldnt find the moment but! Lucky for you i ranted in the groupchat:

Reasons i dont like alfred pennyworth:

Reason 1: fans over use him constantly. He is perfect, he is god etc. It just annoys me lol. Especially because he is not which brings me to reason 2:

he is a very flawed parental figure/guardian to bruce. He was in control. He could have send him to therapy but he didnt. And dont give me that "oh but bruce didnt want to-" bruv he was like 9 i doubt he even knew what therapy was.

He has been very neglectful both emotionally and just parental. Like Bruce didnt get into fights constantly because alfred was such a kind and perfect father. He is shown to only give attention when bruce does wrong, which causes behavior like that.

Bruce didnt want to put himself in electro shock therapy because he had such a great childhood. In fact i think that alfreds neglect and focus on bad behavior are the reason bruce is so emotionally constipated. Its because alfred is too.

And then! And this is why i hate him rather than dislike- he proceeds to shame Bruce for being like that. He makes sassy comments about bruce about how he needs therapy about how he is this and that. Like bro that your fault?? Act right pls

And tying reason 1 and 2 together we get all the fics and incorrect quotes and etc where alfred is the saint while bruce is the silly/stupid/evil/weird one. For example: a post from a beloved friend of mine: @frostbittenbucky , the one where bruce doenst notice his kids symptoms bc to him they are normal? See how alfred is like: mhm its bc you're neurodivergent something something, and its just alf vaguely shaming bruce for not noticing his kids are ND because he doesnt know he is ND. And why is that? Its bc alfred didnt get his ass diagnosed, or to therapy. Like bro?? Are you really surprised??? Are you shaming him for not knowing something he could have known if you pulled your head out of your ass?? (No hate to you bestie ily, its a good and funny post its just an example i trust most people will know)

Reason 3: you know how alfred is a good parental figure to the batkids but not bruce? How he is present in their lives but wasnt in bruces? Ya whats up with that

Reason 4: hes british

Conclusion: a lot of bruces and his kids struggles could have been avoided/minimalized if he just payed attention to the kid he had to take care of

[c-vs-the-world]

Jdkdjdjsjd bruce angst with alf slander dhjdjdjdj *does a gross little laugh*

Dhjdjdjdjd

"-so that's how my week went. Had to scrub shoe prints off the ceiling again but what's new about that, right? What about you, Bruce?" said Lois, crossing her right leg over the left as she looked at her friend.

Refilling his glass and taking a sip of the rose colored wine, the billionaire replied, "oh, nothing much, same ol' same ol'. Dicks off in Blüdhaven, Jason's in his rebel phase, I don't even know what's going on with tim to be honest. Duke and Cass pretty much do they're own thing and Damian is trying to live up to Jay's nickname of "demon brat", he shrugged. He looked over when his reply was met with silence, his eyes being met with a worried and judgmental gaze.

"Is everything okay, Bruce? You and your kids don't seem very....close? No offense."

The 36 year old spoke without thinking, internally cringing as he heard himself speak, "we're as close as any family. I don't see any difference between my kids and I and when it was just Alfred and I."

The brunette reporter thought, perfectly manicured eyebrows scrunching together. She hesitated before asking, "How close we're you and Alfred, Bruce? When you were younger?"

He thought a moment. How close were they? He has plenty of fond memories, mostly birthdays and holidays, but he doesn't really recall any alfred-centric memories beyond that. He was mostly left to his own devices as a kid and teen during the day, meals were silent, and when Alfred wasn't cleaning or cooking he was doing paperwork and required silence.

He loved Alfred, he really did. He was a tough old man, but he practically raised him. Not as much as the streets of gotham had, but he was still mostly there, right?

Bruce's thoughts spiraled from 'yeah he was a great dad' to 'every parent gets critical of what their kid is doing' and 'did he really not want me' to 'i wonder what happened to Rose?'

He didn't notice when Lois left and he was finally alone with his contemplation and wine.

[annecoulmanross]

Top Ten Historical Figures Done Dirty by The Terror (2018)

So, we all know and love Dave Kajganich and Soo Hugh’s beautiful show, right? Of course. But it’s important to set the historical record straight, especially when there are real people’s life-stories and legacies on the line. 

(NOTE: this list is biased heavily toward upper-class individuals because the historical record does a better job preserving those voices for us. Was the real Cornelius Hickey as nasty a person in real life as he was in the show? Almost certainly not – which is why we’re given “E.C.” as a nod to the fact that we shouldn’t assume these characters represent real historical villains, even when the narrative makes them antagonists; HOWEVER, not everyone in the show was given the same courtesy as the OG “Cornelius Hickey.” Which is why this post exists – to show you the best sides of some people you might not otherwise appreciate for their full humanity. That being said, keep in mind the sources used – and, for instance, who has surviving portraits and who doesn’t.)

Thus, below the cut, I give you this list, (mostly) in order from #10 (honorable mention, only somewhat slandered) to #1 (most hideously maligned) – my list of characters from The Terror who deserved better. 

(Please don’t take this too seriously – I know there are reasons why choices had to be made in order to make this show work on television, and I do very much love the end product. But I also genuinely think it’s a good idea to remember the real people behind these characters, and think critically about how we depict them ourselves.) 

Bottom Tier – The Overlooked Men of the Franklin Expedition

#10. Richard Wall – & – John Diggle

We’re combining these two because they had a lot in common, historically speaking! Both were polar veterans, having served as a Cook (Wall) and an AB-then-Quartermaster (Diggle) on HMS Erebus under the command of Sir James Clark Ross in the Antarctic expedition of 1839-1843. Certainly we do get some good scenes with them in the show, but there was plenty more to explore there – for instance, Captain Ross was apparently so taken with Richard Wall that he hired him on as a private cook after the Antarctic expedition. (One imagines that Sir James may have regretted letting his friends of the Franklin expedition steal Wall out from under him.)

(If you want some more information on Diggle, the brilliant @handfuloftime​ found this excellent article on him – fun facts include the detail that Diggle’s only daughter bore the name Mary Ann Erebus Diggle.) 

#9. John Smart Peddie 

Now, I don’t think we should go as far as the Doctor Who Audio Drama adaptation of the Franklin Expedition, which makes Peddie into Francis Crozier’s oldest friend, someone “almost like a brother” to Crozier (no evidence of ANY prior relationship between the two existed, contrary to whatever the Doctor Who Audio Dramas would have you believe!) but Peddie probably earned his place as chief surgeon, however fond we may all be of the beautiful Alex “Macca” MacDonald, who was, in fact, the Assistant Surgeon, historically speaking. It’s hard to find information about Peddie, but someone should go looking! I want to know about this man! 

(If you want to know more about the historical Alexander MacDonald, there’s a short biographical article on him from Arctic that you can read here.)

#8 James Walter Fairholme

The only one of the expedition’s lieutenants who doesn’t really get any characterization in the show, which is a travesty! The historical Fairholme (pronounced “Fairem”) was, as they say, a himbo, and the letters that he wrote home to his father are positively precious. He loved the expedition pets (lots of kisses for Neptune!), and he needed two kayaks because he couldn’t fit into just one with his beefy thighs. Fitzjames loaned him a coat when all the Erebus officers had their portraits taken, and then called him a “smart, agreeable companion, and a well informed man,” and Goodsir singled Fairholme out as “very much interested” in the work of naturalist observations. Just a lovely young man who could have gotten some screen time, you know? 

(Also, as @transblanky​ discovered, four separate members of the Fairholme family gave money to Thomas Blanky’s widow when she was struggling financially in the 1850s, making them, combined, the most generous contributor to her subscription.) 

Middle Tier – Franklin’s Men Who Didn’t Deserve That

#7. William Gibson

Alright, I want to talk about how uniquely horrible the show’s William Gibson is: this is a character willing to lie and accuse his partner of sexual assault that didn’t happen. I get there were extenuating circumstances, but if I were a historical figure who died in some famous disaster and someone depicted me doing something like that? Let’s just say I’m deeply offended on the real Gibson’s behalf. 

What do we know about the historical William Gibson? Not much – but we know a little. Gibson’s younger brother served on an overland exploratory venture across Australia in the 1870s… from which he never returned. (God, the Gibson family had the worst luck?) This description of a conversation that young Alf Gibson had with expedition leader Ernest Giles only days before his death is VERY eerie: 

[Gibson] said, “Oh! I had a brother who died with Franklin at the North Pole, and my father had a deal of trouble to get his pay from government.” He seemed in a very jocular vein this morning, which was not often the case, for he was usually rather sulky, sometimes for days together, and he said, “How is it, that in all these exploring expeditions a lot of people go and die?” 

I said, “I don't know, Gibson, how it is, but there are many dangers in exploring, besides accidents and attacks from the natives, that may at any time cause the death of some of the people engaged in it; but I believe want of judgment, or knowledge, or courage in individuals, often brought about their deaths. Death, however, is a thing that must occur to every one sooner or later.” 

To this he replied, “Well, I shouldn't like to die in this part of the country, anyhow.” In this sentiment I quite agreed with him, and the subject dropped.

(From Giles’s Australia Twice Traversed which you can read here) 

Beyond that, one thing we do know is that William Gibson was probably friends with Henry Peglar – they had served on ships together before, and Gibson may possibly have been the poor fellow found cradling the Peglar Papers, according to researcher Glenn Stein. So we might imagine the historical Gibson as a much kinder man than the show’s depiction of him – this was someone who befriended the clever, playful Peglar we all know and love from the transcriptions of his papers, so full of poetry and linguistic jokes. It’s a shame we didn’t get a chance to meet this real Gibson, who actually knew the Henry Peglar whom we love so well.

#6. Stephen Stanley

Look. There’s that one famous line in James Fitzjames’s letters to the Coninghams about how Stanley went about with his “shirt sleeves tucked up, giving one unpleasant ideas that he would not mind cutting one’s leg off immediately – ‘if not sooner.’” And certainly Harry Goodsir had some mixed opinions of the man, saying was “a would be great man who as I first supposed would not make any effort at work after a time,” and that he “knows nothing whatever about subject & is ignorant enough of all other subjects,” whatever…. that means…. 

But Fitzjames also had some rather nicer things to say about him, that he was “thoroughly good natured and obliging and very attentive to our mess.” Also, the amputation comment? Very likely had a quite positive underlying joke to it – Stanley may not have been much of a naturalist, but he was actually an accomplished anatomist, who won a prize for dissection in 1836, on account of his “bend of the elbow,” which was “a picture of dissection,” according to Henry Lonsdale, who also called Stanley his “facetious friend” and “a fine fellow” (Lonsdale 1870, pg. 159). So, the real Stanley probably was rather droll, but the perpetually cruel Stanley of the show misses some of the real man’s major historical virtues and replaces them with historically unlikely mass-mercy-murder. 

#5. John Irving

Now we’re getting into the territory of characters who did get some good development, but are missing a bit of historical nuance. As I’m sure many of you know, the historical Irving was indeed very religious, but the flashes of anger (i.e. against Manson) we see from Irving in the show don’t seem terribly consistent with the Irving depicted in this memorial volume, where John seems more like a quiet, bookish, mathematically inclined young man, with a self-deprecating sense of humor and a gentle sweetness. It’s really not at all far off from the version of Irving we see with Kooveyook in the show – I just wish we could have seen more of that side of Irving. 

Top Tier – The Triumvirate of Polar Friends

So, these three DO have many good things to recommend them in the show, but because I’ve done such deep research on them, it can be quite jarring to watch certain scenes in which they behave contrary to their historical personalities, and I find myself pausing when watching the show with friends or family to explain that NO, they wouldn’t do that! 

#4. Sir James Clark Ross

First thing – we LOVE Richard Sutton. He did a beautiful job with the material given to him. (This is true of all the actors on the list, frankly, but it’s doubly true here.) But that scene at the Admiralty where Sir James tells Lady Franklin “I have many friends on those ships, as you know,” to shut down her argument for search missions? At that time (aka 1847), historically, Sir James Clark Ross was actively campaigning for search missions, planning routes and volunteering his services in command of any vessel the Admiralty even vaguely contemplated sending out. You could see this real-life desperation in Sir James’s morose attention to his whiskey glass in that scene if you’re really trying, but I think the more historically responsible thing would have been to make vividly clear that James Ross risked life and limb, as soon as he possibly could, to try to rescue Franklin and Crozier and Blanky, men he’d known and cared about and bitterly missed – and, in the case of Crozier, “truly loved.” 

#3. Sir John Franklin

The historical Franklin had plenty of flaws – his contributions to British colonial rule certainly harmed no small number of people, and we should question the way that heroic statues of Franklin are some of the only memorials that serve to honor the lives lost on Franklin’s expeditions – especially considering the steep body count of not only Franklin’s final voyage, but his previous missions in Arctic regions as well. (DM me and I’ll scream at you about counter-monuments! Is this a promise or a threat? Who knows!) With that said, most contemporary accounts agree that Sir John Franklin treated his friends, his family, and those within his social orbit with kindness, and his cruelties were systemic, not personal. In this light, the image of Sir John viciously tearing into Francis Crozier’s vulnerabilities in the show feels very off. Though there was certainly some friction over Crozier’s two proposals to Sophia Cracroft, historically speaking, there’s no evidence at all that Sir John discouraged her from marrying Francis – Sophia may have had many reasons of her own (*clears throat meaningfully in a lesbian sort of way*) for not accepting any of the several marriage proposals offered to her (from Crozier as well as from others), and we ought to keep in mind that she remained unmarried all her life. The notion that the real Sir John would have considered Crozier too low-born or too Irish to be part of the Franklin family isn’t grounded in historical fact.

#2. Lady Jane Franklin

Again disclaimer: the real Lady Franklin left behind a legacy with much to critique. Those who rightfully point out the racism of her treatment of the young indigenous Tasmanian girl Mathinna should be fully heard out. Observations of her own contributions to imperialism are important and valid. Though I tend to see her feud with Dr. John Rae as somewhat understandable – given that Lady Franklin didn’t have the benefit of our hindsight knowing Rae was correct – the levels of prejudice that she enabled and even encouraged in the writing of Charles Dickens when he attempted to discredit Inuit accounts of Franklin’s fate are inarguably deplorable. These things being said, everything noted for Sir John re: Sophia Cracroft goes for Lady Franklin as well – there’s no reason to imagine a scene where Jane would bully Francis Crozier within an inch of his life, seconds after a failed second proposal, when, historically, Lady Franklin felt the situation was so delicate that it required the quiet and compassionate intervention of Sir James Clark Ross, a dearly loved mutual friend to all parties. Tension does not imply aggression; conflict is not abuse. We know this can’t have been an easy experience for the historical Francis Crozier, but the picture is a lot more complicated than what can be shown in one small subplot of a ten-episode television show. Because of this complexity, however, Lady Franklin’s social deftness suffers in the show. (I could also write an entire essay about Jane Franklin’s last shot in the show, at the beginning of Episode 9: The C the C the Open C – TL;DR is that framing is very important, and, at the very last moment, the show reframes Lady Franklin as a mutilated corpse, a speaking mouth without a brain, which is….. a choice.)

And, at number 1, the person done most dirty by The Terror (2018) is….

#1. Charles Frederick “Freddy” Des Voeux 

Look. I’m biased here because I am fed daily information about the historical Freddy Des Voeux from @frederickdesvoeux​ so I’ve become, I think understandably, a bit attached. 

But this is very plainly the clearest cruelty the show does to a historical figure – the historical Des Voeux was a very young man (only around 20 when the ships set sail) known always as “Frederick or Freddy” to his family, and described by all parties as bright and sweet – Fitzjames said that he was “a most unexceptionable, clever, agreeable, light-hearted, obliging young fellow, and a great favourite of Hodgson’s, which is much in his favour besides,” and described him cheerfully helping to catch specimens for Goodsir. Des Voeux is named “dear” by Captain Osborn in Erasmus Henry Brodie’s 1866 poem on the Franklin Expedition (43) and Leo McClintock reported the young man’s well-known “intelligence, gallantry, and zeal” in his 1869 update to his account of the Franklin Expedition’s fate (xlii). None of this is consistent with Des Voeux’s behaviour in the show, especially in the later episodes. 

To reduce Des Voeux to an easily-detested figure, over whose death one might cheer, is not a kindness – the creation of a narrative where his death is satisfying does damage to the memory of a real person, a barely-more-than-teenager who died in the cold of the Arctic and left behind only scraps of a shirt and a spidery signature in the bottom margin of a fragmentary document. 

Television shows may need their villains, but it’s important to remember that real life isn’t like that. Surely the historical Frederick Des Voeux was most likely not a perfect person, and, as an upper class officer contributing to a British imperial project, he does bear some responsibility for the harm done by the Franklin expedition, but it’s not accurate to assume he was any less worthy of sympathy than the other officers who considered him a friend – those men whom we now venerate, like James Fitzjames. So as far as I’m concerned, Freddy Des Voeux deserves at least as much consideration, care, and compassion from us. 

[sohotthateveryonedied]

Yooo i dont want to start shit dont worry but i do have a question.

Why do you think Alf is a good parent?

I assume you have seen my points, if not its under the tag "Alf slander". In my opinion Alfred is a very flawed parent to Bruce and a very flawed person.

I know you think different and i'd like to know why you have that opinion.

You dont have to ofc, we dont have to be enemies just bc we have a different opinion on Alf.

Its fine to like Alf he's a fine parent a lot of the times but i'd like to know why you think he's such an amazing parent and why im wrong.

howdy!! i want to start off by saying that i didn't know you had these opinions on alfred and i hope you didn't think that post i made was directed at you, it was moreso at some general discourse i saw around and honestly i wasn't keeping track of who it was from and yeah. i'm sorry if you thought the post was a slight at you because it wasn't.

to answer your question, the main reason i think alfred is a good parent is because i don't pay attention. ❤ i don't read very many comics that just have bruce and alfred in them (or any at all lmao) because i'm here for the batkids mainly and idk i just don't find bruce-centric stories that interesting overall. all of the comics i've ever read have portrayed alfred as a gentle and caring individual to both bruce and the batkids, so that's just how alfred is in my mind. is it accurate? probably not, but i don't care enough to check. if the alfred i know is a good father and grandfather, why would i want to change that? just so i can feel morally validated that i'm enjoying the "correct" characters? nah.

i'm not saying that any abuse bruce went through was justified or anything, but you're talking to a gal who writes good-parent!bruce fics because i'm sick of seeing him written as a bad father in canon. it not accurate to write a bruce wayne who hugs his kids and is emotionally available to them (sometimes), but i do it anyway because i like it. if i spent all my time writing characters the exact way they are in the comics, it wouldn't be much fun anymore.

i don't think you're wrong at all, and honestly you're undoubtedly WAY more knowledgeable on this subject than i am. i'm just vibing my way through life here, liking the characters i want to like and ignoring the canon i want to ignore. i have no idea which of my opinions are correct and i don't really care either way because they're still just opinions. if i went through every comic ever written to make sure i was factually accurate in my opinions, there wouldn't be time for much else.

i run a dumb tumblr blog so i have a space to enjoy comic books and talk about whatever random stuff i feel like talking about. if you don't like alfred, that's your business and i love your dedication to the truth! sadly, i simply don't care enough to sift through dc canon to find the bits that back it up ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[sugarplumfairys]

“Why haven’t you told anyone?” (ozzy & nancy)

O nível de intimidade que sentia ter com Ozzy era suficiente para que abrisse o coração sobre coisas que não tinha coragem de contar nem mesmo a Naveen. De primeira, Nancy não queria dizer nada; ela sabia que os garotos teriam algum tipo de reação deveras exagerada, talvez, caso soubessem da história na íntegra. Entretanto, Ozzy costumava ser mais centrado que os outros — definitivamente mais centrado que Alf ou Slander — então não houvera nenhum mal em contar a ele sobre o ocorrido… até porque, no fundo, as palavras do editor ainda doíam na escritora, e ter tirado aquilo de dentro dela fora como aliviar semanas de um peso nas costas.

Para alguém tão inteligente, Nancy julgava a si mesma por afetar-se em quantidade drástica com a opinião dos outros. Pior ainda, opinião de editores nojentos, que acreditavam que ela precisava dormir com eles para ser publicada, já que “não tinha talento o suficiente”.

Ela não esperava ser confrontada por Ozzy tão de repente. Quando enviara a carta contando a situação para o amigo, a banda ainda estava em turnê nas Américas — lá no Brasil. E o tempo, que costumava arrastar-se sempre que eles ficavam afastados, passara tão rápido dessa vez que Nancy só se dera conta que a Fresh Poison estava de volta à Europa no momento que o baterista atravessou a porta rangente da livraria, sendo anunciado pelo sino, e ela largou tudo o que fazia para abraçá-lo e colocar o papo em dia. Mesmo que isso significasse finalmente conversarem sobre o acontecido. 

“I did tell you... But, I think…” Suspirou, largando a xícara de café em cima da mesa. A sorte que eles tinham era que a livraria onde a escritora trabalhava não era tão frequentada naquela época do ano. Pequena, antiquada, e afastada dos grandes centros londrinos, a maioria dos clientes eram da terceira idade ou trabalhadores interessados no café que serviam. Ninguém imaginaria encontrar um membro da Fresh Poison por lá. “You guys have so many things to deal with. Busy schedules, all those concerts and tours and music videos to shoot. I hate to bother…” Colocou uma mecha de cabelo para trás da orelha, desviando o olhar para uma das estantes, onde um dicionário havia sido colocado de cabeça para baixo. Precisava arrumar isso. “Besides, he’s right. I’m never getting published anyway. I should just give up my writing and accept that I’ll die an old librarian who’s never getting published, nor married, and will live in a small house with eight cats and lots of boring books.” O drama, é claro.

[catboybatman]

Okay, I'm curious. Why does Alfred piss you off?

TW- ABUSE

Ok ok so first off he is an neglectfull parent to Bruce i.e not noticing that Bruce was going to put himself in electro therapy, not putting Bruce in therapy after his parents died, encouraging violence as a response in Bruce (Gotham TV), just not raising him with the love and attention a child needs, especially after such a traumatic event.

In Batman Overdrive Bruce feels like Alfred is locking him up in the house like a prison but that might be teenage drama.

He has also said multiple times that he does nit want children and never did and that is why he left London, so he didnt have to take care of his daughter Julia. I think he also said it to Bruce once or twice bit im not sure about that. But if he did or not, if you dont want kids then you shouldnt have kids and you shouldnt raise them either. As simple as that.

He also hit Bruce (child at the time but also adult) multiple times which uh oh, is abuse. Like yeah Bruce was/is a brat but that doesnt mean that the abuse is justified (abuse should never be justified bc it cant but yknow). You should simply never hit kids especially not your own, no matter how old.

Then he proceeds to be an almost model parent to the batkids and shames Bruce for being a bad father?? Like he is doing his goddamn best with what YOU thought him, with how YOU raised him, and if we're ignoring ooc Bruce writing he is a better dad then Alfie.

Like why should he be praised for mediocre to bad parenting and Bruce shamed for being a result of his childhood. Like Bruce isnt an amazing dad but he's better than most and especially Alfie

Anyway thats why

[catboybatman]

Regarding Alf really interesting how people often say that Bruce is over controlling while Alfred is literally right there drugging Bruce and kids to sleep. Also my friend often was really pissed with him cuz he often tells Bruce "you can't do it" in situations where his faith in what he is doing is like the thing that saves him. That same friend also is very confused as to why everyone drag B through mood for leaving his kids but do not care about the fact that Alf left Bruce when he had his back broken. Tbh hard agree with them.

YEAH! I FORGOT ABOUT THE DRUGGING i cant believe y'all see a man drugging his "son and grandkids" and are like "haha funny" like no?!?! Do not ever drug people without permission, especially your "family". And y'all are wondering why Bruce has trusy issues?? Why this man never went to therapy?? Use you brain pls

[catboybatman]

Hi, your post about Alfred was interesting. I remembered reading somewhere else that Bruce had issues with Thomas Wayne when his parents died. IDK if it's just me, but I feel like it would make more sense for Bruce to have more issues with Alfred than his dead father. Do you know any comics or fanfics where Bruce (portrayed as a good dad in said works) actually has a strained relationship with Alfred and how he tries to navigate both his affection for Alfred and his resentment?

Damn you really came here with an intelligent ask uhm ok so

As far as Bruce's relationship with Thomas idk, i dont remember anything from like before age 9 so i dont know how much he remembers. Unless it was really traumatizing or just very often i dont think Bruce has a lot of bad memories with Thomas.

I think you're right, he has had Alf longer than Thomas and thus more memories/ a longer relationship.

Honestly man i wish, i've been looking but its hard. there is one i do know, not by name tho lmao. Its an abo (yeah ik, you can kinda skip over it) fic from like that universe with ultraman and owlman. It isnt dad Bruce more like teen/early twenties Bruce. Its superbat if you're into that. I dont know the name lol i read it like back when i was new to DC

[catboybatman]

Hi, I saw your post about why Alfred annoys you and I was wondering, what's your opinions about Leslie Thompkins then?

Queen, i only know her from btas and GOTHAM, and that time she was in James Tynions run, shes a queen for as far as i know but should not be Bruce's guardian, more like a godmother.

[catboybatman]

confession: the only reason batkids stans are annoying (for me) is how they're always all "they did nothing wrong!" and then talk shit about Bruce for being a parent that makes mistakes, I don't see you trashing Alfred for being a bad parent to Bruce?

it just majorly pisses me off whenever they talk shit about Bruce, just gives me the vibes of those dudebros who think Bruce abuses his kid and is all violence when he's nothing like that

Honestly yeah! I kinda feel the same

Tho i do critise Alfred (tag: alf slander) because i was tired of people seeing him as a perfect parent when he had a lot of short comings (its not really slander i just called it that bc its easy to spell)

I do think that Bruce can and must be critised but people are just making shit up or using terrible ooc writing. If they dont do that then they make him a confused dumb man thats just in the way.

Like have you ever read a batman comic? A batfam comic? One that isnt by Grant Morrison, Tom King, Devin Grayson? Any fucking comic that isnt rhato? A batman comic in general???

Sometimes it really feels like that is all you have ever read because ya'll dont know shit about Bruce character and it annoys me that you're preaching it like it is the only the truth.

Its fine to be critical of Bruce, obviously. You should be critical of every character and AU's are fine, its a way of exploring emotions and life but for the love of god. Stop making it the truth

If the batkids (jason especially) can be forgiven from bad writing, why cant Bruce? (Or Damian but thats another post for another time)