#cryptid batfam

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 289

While Bruce was lost in time, he made a Deal. 

He doesn’t exactly mention it to his family when he comes back- he was more than a little busy trying to figure out what he missed, where his children were, what the fuck had even happened. Besides, he’d put it in the report that he’d encountered some sort of primordial time being- even if he was still investigating that on his down time. 

So he thinks he can be forgiven for forgetting to mention anything until Clark drops a cup while staring at him with a pale expression and shakily asks why there’s a second, slower heartbeat in his chest. He just also wishes it wasn’t in the middle of a League meeting. 

[cookeybg]

Gotham Possesses

A cryptid Batfamily AU in which Gotham is the main character and follows its journey to consciousness as it follows its Bat and Birds. Chapters are short and a bit gloomy.

Main Characters: Gotham, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, The Joker (more characters pop up later, will add them then.)

No romantic relationships

Stuff to know: Cryptid Batfamily, grim, Melancholic mood, Angst, (let me know if I should add more tags)

Word Count: 584

[Here's my table of contents]

Chapter 7 - Gotham Transcends

She watched them swarm, at the behest of their white skinned jester whose hair was the same toxic color that painted her sewers. Born in a vat created by the corrupt, from the same poisonous liquid she tasted regularly. Whenever he appeared he stained her soil in the warmth of the living. Her Bat right behind him, protecting her, called him Joker. And the jester would laugh. A sound so chaotic, alluring, her attention captivated, ripped away from her Bat. Something in him resonated with the souls that walked her streets, that lived in her buildings, that wished for change. They would gather, hold him up and then recoil. He danced with her Bat unlike any other, fluid and unpredictable. His whispered thoughts, his actions, always directed towards her Bat. The jester needed him, loved him, loved her, wanted her changed. Her shadows played with the soundless song he wove. Enjoying their game. Nightwing, her oldest bird went too far, in protection of the youngest, in reaction to the second. Her Bat had been gripped by something indescribable. Fear was at the forefront, determination followed closely. Her eldest bird sat hopeless, her youngest shocked. With rhythmic movements her Bat pounded his chest trying to bring him back. Her Bat could not, would not, let the jester die. Like with the others, she gave her Bat what he wanted, a helping hand. She plucked a bit of shadow and when her Bat cracked the Jester’s chest, she slipped in. Disoriented and confused he shot up, clutching at his chest, his laughter echoing, filling her with new sensation. She had not known. She had been unaware. She? …I? I had not known? The excuse fell flat. Ignorance did not justify the consequences of that night. What would transpire would be devastating. How would I have known that it was not love, what the jester felt. No. It was love, but it was twisted. It was obsession but more consuming. It was jealousy, but it was sinister. He wanted my Bat. His full attention and our birds would, have, paid the price. Later, bound and imprisoned, he spoke to the shadows. He spoke to me in sweet hushed tones. Disappointed that his plan had failed, regretful. I could feel the thrill run through me, from him, when I would inadvertently respond. A flicker here, a subtle movement there. He saw me, followed me with his mismatched eyes and when he could, he would grasp the tether, trying to pull me in. The jester was dangerous and now he was aware, his connection to me, to my Bat. It was hard resisting, but I would not be swayed. He was not brought back because I wanted him, his life is held within the hands of my Bat. All he had to do was let me know and I would cut the string, let the jester collapse like a marionette. Though he did not know the power he held, though he did not speak to me directly, though I brought him nothing but torment. My Bat still had faith in me. Cared for me. I settled on him, dark tendrils wrapping around his neck, adoringly watching him work. I watched him fight, watched him run ragged for me. I curled in tighter, burying myself in his back. I smiled at the feeling, a laugh escaping, unheard. Gotham is me. I am Gotham and the Bat is mine, the jester an after thought. I had finally, fully, awakened.

This one was difficult to write. I like the Joker as a villain but now he has a bit of Gotham in him, like the robins, and that cannot bode well. Also, why does the last bit sound menacing? This is where the story led me T_T

I'm afraid to follow the path, but I must march on.

[escapismisaddicting]

You know that thing where we’re like “Joker shouldn’t have a backstory” because it ruins the mystery and whatnot? That but with Alfred.

Screw all the comics telling us that he’s an ex-intelligence officer or that he’s just a regular guy that got promoted to being a butler. I want Alfred to basically be a cryptid. He just kinda showed up one day and the Waynes rolled with it. One time when Bruce’s parents were still alive he asked them how they met Alfred. And they were just like; “…That’s a good question.”

And whenever Alfred is asked he always comes up with the most absurd lies.

“Oh, yes Master Bruce, I met your parents after a blood ritual gone wrong and now I am forced to serve this family forever.”

“I was an assassin sent to kill your parents and pilfer their riches but alas I grew to attached to them and their adorable little rascal of a son.”

“I tripped and fell from the heavens because of how distraught I was at your Father’s complete and utter lack of self-preservation”

And the Batkids will sometimes try to get the truth out of him but give up pretty quickly. Except Tim. Tim seems to have figured it out. That’s gotta be why both of them have seemingly stayed the same age all this time.

[veryrockyraccoon]

I think the Batfam acts differently outside of Gotham than they do in Gotham

They’re more intense in Gotham, lean more heavily into the cryptid/eldrich horror thing. They move in a way that’s not quite human, their words are just too close to chirps and whistles.

Outside of Gotham they behave like normal humans, well as normal as they can be with all their training.

This leads to theories that they’re all pretending to be human but because Gotham is their home or because of all the cursed/supernatural things there they can’t hide their own supernatural nature aswell. People also believe this is why they’re more aggressive in Gotham.

[pearlypeacepeacock69]

I'm still here is shadow batman hell. This time with ✨️Bat-Taser✨️

Part one

Part two : The babies

[phoenixcatch7]

Wayne doll house: demon children.

Idea: each of the batkids is theorised to have a different origin.

Thing is, there's so many of them. The oldest is actually the youngest in body. It seems to be able to share memories with those who follow. It changes design right before a new bat appears.

The hero in the town over is definitely one of them, but what's it doing over there?? Asking just gets non-answers.

What happened to the ones that the Joker tried to destroy? One - the oldest and smallest - came back, but different, whereas the other - the purple and orange one - came back for a while and then vanished again for good.

None of them seem to age??

The first, smallest, oldest, it seemed to be some sort of circus performer? It gave its acrobatics to the blue one when it arrived, grew clever and defensive. It gave that to the skull headed red one, focused on technology and detective work after the Incident. Then again, and again, and one time even the bat changed along with it, but though the bat returned to normal the little Robin didn't, and now it's just as stabby and creative as it is small and creepy.

It's a good sort of creepy now, after over a decade of beating up bad guys and comforting victims, Gotham has gotten used to it, but outsiders don't much like it.

The justice league have a different opinion.

They know, or at least can observe, that the... Souls? Brains? Programs? Switch around, that it's not memories but persons that bring the new bats to life.

They just don't know where batman gets them. The new one, especially, is very circumspect.

For all this talk of the blood son, all the bats calling it demon child with varying levels of fondness, the way batman doesn't deny the claims...

Thing is the bat doesn't have blood. Everyone's well aware of this by now. Whatever sulpheric black tar he and the bats leak probably-certainly isn't blood, or at least... Not anything with dna.

So... What blood?? If not the bat's, why does it tie the newest mind of Robin to him?

Captain marvel is the first to think of an idea.

A blood child of a demon for a blood ritual for a demon.

Constantine and Zatanna second the notion - it's perfectly possible. Reasonable, even. The bat admitted himself he had no way to procreate the way humans did, nor any interest in doing so. Wanting a legacy was perfectly normal.

Except he already had, what, seven, eight, nine kids? He loved all of them, it was clear, and he'd always seemed happy with them. He'd even sighed over how many he had, had rebuffed the teasing about getting more. The new Robin mind had been a surprise to everyone, and the old one in a new body had been a little salty about it.

So the new theory was that batman hadn't decided to get a new Robin. Maybe the old mind had been ejected unwillingly! It had happened at roughly the same time batman had gotten a new personality - maybe the incidents were related?

But if batman hadn't done the ritual... Who had?

Who would do something like that???

Cultists. Cultists would do something like that. But giving the bat a son unwillingly seemed... A very odd goal, even for that type.

So... Had they messed up? Had they tried to summon the bat with a blood sacrifice ritual, and summoned a demon instead? Had it partially worked? Was the bat susceptible to demon summonings?? Did the summoning damage his own mind/consciousness/soul in some way, and that led to the creation of the new demon child while the bat changed until he'd healed????

How kind of batman to take it in!

Tldr; the league thinks Robin V is a demon born/created through a failed summoning ritual involving blood sacrifice that made batman like puns until he healed. The truth is the canon events of Damian arriving at the manor only for b to get tossed into the time stream, becoming the Robin to nightwing-batman while Tim, who is much less annoyed about it than canon, focuses on getting him back. Lmao.

[analviel]

Cryptid batfam.

Robin playing with a baby while Batman deals with the criminals because they got injured and need to take it lightly: *making faces, quiet chirps, and soft growls*

Random nice citizen: Aw, goochikoochi baby~ you wike our Wobin fwiend yes~ Aren't they so bwight~ Wellow so nice yes~

Baby: *laughs*

Robin playing with a baby while Batman deals with the criminals because they got injured and need to take it lightly, bored:....... Aw, goochikoochi baby~ you wike our Wobin fwiend yes~ Aren't they so bwight~ Wellow so nice yes~

Random nice citizen:....

Baby: *laughs*

Robin, no longer bored, still in the same voice as the random nice citizen, secretly preening at the videos being taken of the first ever recorded instance of Robin speaking: Borrow. Thank you.

Random nice citizen:..........haha

Random nice citizen:......... That doesn't come with my soul, right, haha?

Robin, no longer bored: Just for a week.

[ahfrickenfrick]

love the idea that batman is thought to be a cryptid, and most pictures are really blurry and look doctored (most are)

and that tim is the first person to get a clear picture of batman and then robin. he always thinks about posting them; but then never does,

and then he soon becomes robin, slinking through the dark, leaving whispers and laughs in people’s ears, keeping the idea of the cryptid family alive

[moosieart]

More Cryptid sketches.

(Silent Hearts and Silent Knights)

[determined-ghostworm]

I am in need of cryptid Batman/batfam fics. Please recommend. :)

Based on this random doodle I did when sketching out ideas for my little comics.

[boxyblue]

Meme from beeg post of many memes by: puppetmaster13u I see it going down something like this.

Thug #1: "You're new here, so let's go over some basics." Thug #2: "Nah, I was here before. I moved to Central City for a while. I know how to keep outta the Bat's way." Thug #1: "Oh, no. There's more than just the Bat to look out for." Thug #2: "You mean Robin? Didn't that kid move to Bludhaven and put on pants or somethin'?" Thug #3: Just chuckles and flips the whiteboard. Thug #1: "Thank you, Jimmy. There have been some developments since you left town…"

~One Pepe Silvia later~

Thug #2: "So there's a Manbat, no relation, but also Batgirl and Batwoman? And they're both active? Robin and Red Robin? I just gotta avoid Red Robin, right?" Thug #1: "The kid is the one you gotta watch out for. I hear he's actually killed people and the Batman put him in time out. Red Robin…depends on the day. Red Hood though, he'll just shoot you." Thug #2: "Wait, I thought you said Red Hood used to be Robin? Why would a Robin use guns?" Thug #1: "You think I know? Guy's crazy, one day he's cutting off mob boss heads, the next he's running around pretending he doesn't kill."

[puppetmaster13u]

I have a great idea for cryptid batfam but like, liminals and halfas sort of thing, and I need y'all to remind me to actually talk about it and perhaps draw it.

[f4nd0m-fun]

I keep coming up with cryptid!Batfam ideas, and @hallowsden is a very helpful coconspirator.

This is the Hell-touched AU

Constantine paused as the figure coalesced into a human shape, though his magic sight was privy to the multitude of eyes and shadows that stretched as far as he could see. "Bloody hell," he muttered, pulling out a cigarette, only to pause as several eyes bore into him, shadows slinking over, refusing to let him light the smoke.

"Perhaps I should have brought the swear jar." While the voice seemed normal at its most audible point, there was echoes and screeches buried beneath the words.

Before John could finish processing the jar comment, Batman stepped fourth and spoke in some language not of earth.

Constantine may have been magically versed in many languages but even he could only catch a few words, one of which angled somewhere towards 'caregiver'.

"Bats?"

"Not now, Clark." Part of his words dipped into the incomprehensible tongue, almost an overlay before he cleared his throat. "An issue has come up in Gotham, I am needed."

Gotham... somewhere the hellblazer refused to step foot in, the land reeking of sulfur and rotting magic, the air stagnant with pain and hopelessness, a city chained by greed and insanity.

The monstrosity's form layered over itself and Batman, before the two were gone with hardly a sound, no hint but the lingering scent and magic showcasing that they had ever stood in the room.

John shuddered and finally lit his cigarette. "Bloody Gothamites, the whole lot is cursed."

In this AU, Gotham is a part of hell, whether it was originally so and rose to the mortal realm, or because of the demon chained to its land - Lady Gotham. Whatever the reason, curses run rampant, and Lady was already weakened by being forced into the mortal realm. Because of this, she cannot do much, but nearly everyone in Gotham is demon-touched in some manner, but some also have inklings of being angrl-touched, some more than others.

The Waynes and Kanes are among the most hell-touched due to their long lineage in Gotham, but there are those Gotham tries to welcome with open arms and, in doing so, warps them to be more demonic than they should be as a newcomer. This does not always turn out well, as the chains on her limit her control

Some who are hell-touched have demonic traits, usually very minor and easy enough to excuse as meta traits if anyone ever asks. Others have much stronger traits, and there's the lucky ones who can morph their form, though they will never fully lose the traits of their demon-blood.

----------

Alfred seems the epitome of a normal butler from the outside, until you realize how unflappable he was towards Gotham's chaos, or hear his tales of being a veteran in years long gone. Perhaps he's yet another demon, right? But no, not even that fits him. And perhaps you'll never be privy to the full truth, but the Waynes and Gotham herself know. Alfred is no mere demon, he is eldritch, from before the world was even a speck in the Creator's eye. And while the children are physically fighting for Gotham, he is there for them, but he is also there for Gotham, spiritually untangling what he can from her.

Bruce Wayne's appearance doesn't seem to relay his ancestry as much as one might think, but his fangs and claws are clear for any to see, as well a his piercing blue eyes, glowing life sulfur flames amidst a backdrop of black sclera. Batman, on the other hand, has stiffly curving horns arcing over his head, leathery bat wings and a sturdy tail, with digitigrade legs and talons, perfect for scaring enemies or for carrying what appears to be his young.

Dick Grayson was never truly one of Gotham's. She certainly granted him care and consideration and treated him as kindly as her curses would let her, but he was never able to accept more than the slightest blessings, if they could be considered as such. He never learned to fly like Batman did, but he became faster and stronger, his only visible demonic traits being nails and teeth slightly sharpened. Even so, he put forth as much effort as the rest of the colony, doing his utmost to help anyone he could.

Barbara may have lost her ability to walk, but that doesn't mean she's defenseless. She still has her claws and horns, and a unique affinity for technology that she's worked hard to hone after what happened to her.

Jason Todd had wings too small for much more than gliding, but his autumn rich curls hid the beginnings of majestic horns, his pale blue eyes shining with a hope few in Gotham could muster. But Robin had augments to his wings, enabling short flight to follow his mentor, at least until his grounding. Gotham could not let go of him for long, and dragged him back herself, but failed to do so completely, watching him be whisked away by Talia. Red Hood never regained his wings, not fully, more bone than flesh, what few feathers left struggling not to fall off. Pain arcs through his body from time to time, but he has a duty to Gotham and her people, one he would willingly choose any day. As for his pit rage, it is the equivalent of eating something you cannot process, as his system already had its fill of demonic energy from Gotham.

Tim Drake was born in Gotham, but his family's adventures dragged him throughout the world until the tender preteens. Before that only, he had been loosely tutored on the travels, but now his parents had deemed public school of importance, and also thought he could help organize their collections when he was not learning. One night, while cleaning up a gallery, he found an artifact he apparently had not put away yet, a statue that Catwoman would find quite fascinating. Upon interacting with it, pain ricocheted through him. When it finally stopped, his form had been twisted. For anyone else the statue would have merely given one the abilities of a cat, perhaps a curse to go with them, but his supernatural features were malleable enough for the power to take advantage of, turning him into a human feline. Eventually, he went to join Batman as Stray, knowing he needed a Robin but not wishing to take the name on himself. Many rogues seemed to think him a child of Batman and Catwoman, and they oft went uncorrected. He likes to perch on his family.

Cassandra is demon-touched primarily through the league and proximity to the pits, but nothing strong enough to truly take root until Gotham welcomed her to her new home. While her features are limited to black sclera and not much else, she is strongest in the ability department, able to literally move through shadows and hide in them at will, though she cannot speak while doing so and it can be hard watching for a shadow signing. Due to her past and being hell-touched, she is a bit stronger than Dick, though not as physically strong as those who grew up in Gotham.

Duke is more angel-touched than the others are, resulting in the enhanced strength of his light abilities and visions. That doesn't mean there isn't demon in him though, it just showcases itself more quietly.

Stephanie may very well have the sharpest claws and fangs of the family, but her razor wit is one of her best attacks depending on who you ask. Her and Cass sometimes seem joined at the hip, and, while their styles are somewhat opposite, they work quite well together.

Damien was created with the blood of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, grown in a Lazarus Womb. He looks like a tiefling, with skin dark like Talia but tinted the slightest bit red like his father, burning green eyes like Talia but black sclera like Bruce, and the very same Wayne horns and talons that dominate the generations. He does not have wings and it seems unlikely he will ever have them, but that does not stop him in his tracks.

[strawb3rryt]

Cryptid Batman and Robin designs! I’ve read a few fics with this concept and I think it’s really cool!

While drawing, I came up with a simple backstory on why they’re like this: basically, Bruce’s parents tried to do some weird cult-y/demonic things, but it they messed it up and became indebted to some demon which took their first born as payment. The demon turned Bruce into the weird cryptid thing and he would prowl the streets of Gotham, originally without purpose, but soon he would realize how shitty Gotham is and try to take down bad guys.

When Haley’s Circus is in town, Bruce stumbles upon it and watches, enamored. He watches and Dick and his parents fall to their deaths and once the crowd leaves he goes to Dick’s body and resurrects him by using his cryptid-ness or something. Then Dick starts fighting alongside him still wearing the colors of his parents.

I didn’t draw him, but I was also thinking about how Jason would be adopted as a human child after Bruce sees how much he’s struggling on the streets, after Dick becomes Nightwing. But, when Jason dies, Bruce resurrects him with more cryptid-ness and he becomes a version of like the Red Hood.

I might do some more drawings/backstory if this does well because cryptid batfam is really cool to me.

[sagaduwyrm]

I was looking at cryptid batfamily stuff, and I kind of created my own AU.

So the Justice League meets The Bat. Maybe they find him or maybe he just shows up, but either way there's a primordial mass of Shadow and Nightmare with glowing white eyes in front of them, and whatever it is clearly isn't impressed.

But then. It takes off it's mask. And it's strange, because it's not so much taking off a mask as slipping it's claws into the shadowed skin below it's face and pulling until the darkness slips away like rubber and it's. A human.

Green Arrow recognizes him. Chokes on his spit and whispers "Bruce?" with a face like everything he's ever known is a lie. And the man just looks at him, even less impressed than he was as a shadow monster and it's just.

The suit. It's not a suit but it has to be, it has to be because he's wearing it and yet it moves like skin and breathes like flesh and it's like a monster just opened it's mouth and a person climbed out except the person and the monster are one.

Basically, Batman is the monstrous incarnation of Gotham's Fear and Grief (think this) but Bruce Wayne is just a tired man, and yet they are the same. You look at Bruce from the corner of your eye and you see shadows and fangs. The Batman holds a child with the clawless hands of a kind father. When he is emotional in either form one can hear music: almost like funeral bells and almost like screaming and almost like the sound of a gun falling on the floor, torn from cruel hands before they can hurt.

The other Bats are other aspects of Gotham. Dick is Joy and Defiance, Jason is Sacrifice and Revenge, Cass is Empathy and Unknowableness, Tim is Wonder and Exhausted Determination, Steph is Hope and the Continued Fight, Kate (Batwoman) is Wrath and Mercy, Duke is the Sunrise at the End of the Long Night, Damian is those that are Bleeding but Still Giving.

The Justice League manages to get them all in a room once and it's a terrible, awful choir, Gotham's deepest soul sing-screaming in their ears.

[pearlypeacepeacock69]

Shadow Demon but

BABEE

Jim Gordon's pal, the Shadow demon describes baby Dick

The Shadow Demon and the Blue Jay describes baby Jason

Finding Tim(e) describes baby Tim

Part one: sketch

Part three: Taser