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sophiethewitch1 · 1 year ago

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What We Want - Chpt. 2 - First (Second) Introductions

In Which A Romantic Breaks The Universe

(Yandere!batboys x f!reader) 18+ MDNI!

SUMMARY

Another lonely birthday, another empty year. You miss your family. You're late for your bills and rent, and even then, you got robbed last Tuesday.

Still, you buy yourself a cupcake, because you need it. I mean, hey. What's dessert for if not to get over cheating boyfriends and dead relatives?

As you blow out the candle, watching the clock switch from 11:59 pm to midnight of the next day, you make a wish.

And because the world doesn't like to make much sense, it comes true. Your life is suddenly flipped on a dime, and you're stuck trying to catch up with it. Fantasy becomes reality. You're a Wayne now, apparently. Or you used to be. You're loved, you're rich, you're talented and powerful.

Well, sort of. Careful what you wish for, right?

(TRIGGER WARNINGS AND MASTERLIST HERE)

PREV - NEXT

Tim Drake was an obsessive creature by nature. Ever since he was little, he’d always been easily swallowed by his obsessions. His wants and desires, the little things that fascinated him. And, more than that, he never fought it. He gave himself into it, wholly. It was how he’d gotten this far in life.

He’d taught himself how to code, how to hack. He discovered Batman and Nightwing’s true identities. He’d learnt how to fight, how to keep the city safe, how to fling oneself off a building without fainting. He’s taped the family back together again and again after every splinter. He was one of only two Robins left, and that would soon be the only once Bruce retired and Damian graduated.

And this was all done through obsession. And it was obsession. He was self-aware enough to know that. While the rest of the family often indulged in delusions, he never had the time for them. He’d spent countless nights pushing his lagging body along with caffeine and sheer willpower. He’d often forget to sleep or eat even on the calmer days. All that was to say, Tim Drake was obsessive.

But, his obsessions never lasted. Sure, he’d keep the skills and the relationships he’d make, but when the dust settled, he’d find himself feeling empty. Tim Drake was obsessive yes, but his true obsession was the conquest. The rush he’d get when he finally claimed a new skill, a new person, a new piece of knowledge or wisdom.

And then, too quickly, far too quickly, the rush would disappear. The tingle in his spine would leave, the energy would disappear, and that feverish nature of his would flatten. Cool down. The others in the family knew it as one of his ‘moods’, but Tim thought it was probably more than that. Still, he was definitely in one of them right now.

It didn’t matter. None of it really mattered. The point was, right now, he was quite simply depressed. Bummed out, if you would. He’d finished a mission from Bruce, one that had taken him months of desperate, undying effort, and it was now done. And he didn’t have anything to do.

It sucked.

Boredom was a sinister demon. While Tim was by far the most emotionally stable of the family, he was still, well- not. Not by a long shot, honestly. The League’s mandatory therapy sessions had confirmed that. He just needed something to entertain himself, and quick. Usually, on a day like this, he’d be at home working on any random degree.

Unfortunately, he had responsibilities. He could not alleviate his boredom, because he was in the most boring place on earth.

A party. Not a party by any normal person’s standards, but one of his adoptive father’s galas. Even more horrifying, Bruce Wayne was in attendance. He was doing his billionaire playboy persona, and Tim couldn’t stomach it. It was no shock no one else had shown up. Even Dick was busy in Bludhaven, and he sometimes enjoyed these. Sometimes.

And once again, as every year, the birthday girl was nowhere to be seen.

Tim’s eyes rove over the very boring gala. Your gala, for your birthday. You weren’t here, because you never were. He couldn’t blame you. These balls sucked, even the better ones. This one was miserable, and the atmosphere was sombre. While it was your birthday, it was more than that, a day of death.

Your family had died, Bruce’s new wife had died, and all the siblings he never really got the opportunity to meet, gone in a brilliant flash.

And Jason. Jason, who now walked the earth again, flesh and blood. Jason, who tore himself through a wooden coffin and grave dirt. Jason, who even Dick couldn’t seem to bring back into the family. Jason, alive and well and probably spending the night at Roy’s house. It was still the anniversary of his death, and while Jason did his best to put on a front, anyone with half a brain could tell he found today… upsetting.

But, he was alive. That was more than Tim could say for your family.

None of these people knew that. They saw one of the great Wayne’s dead, and they mourned. They saw the new wife and step-children of Bruce Wayne dead, and they lamented. Tim was sure most of it was faked, at least in this gala. The rest of the city truly grieved the Wayne family's tragedy. Especially Jason, one of the princes of the city. But here? No, they just wanted to rub shoulders with Bruce.

The man you very clearly insisted had never been your father, and never would be, was… probably a little sad. Tim was probably a little sadistically pleased about that. He was bored, alright? Anyway, Bruce did not know how to deal with you, and you with him. Both of you were stubborn people, unable to communicate or reach a place of cooperation. You never showed up to the galas or the manor, you did everything in your power to never have to interact with anyone from the family. The only reason you even still lived in Gotham was to be close to your dead family. And above all, you made sure that everyone knew how much you hated Bruce. That the sight of his aging face made you nauseous. Everyone else found that hilarious, of course.

And Bruce, because he was stubborn, kept trying to reach you, despite your angry protests. Even if he had absolutely zero legal ties to you, he still kept trying. And so, another birthday party passes without its leading star. The memorial tomorrow would be missing you too. Christmas, easter, hanukkah, new years, Rosh Hashanah, you refused to show up to any of them.

Still, he had to agree with Bruce. They couldn’t just leave you. Not with the way you were.

You’d once quietly admitted to him that you hoped you’d one day go to sleep and not wake up. That you’d rot away in your room, disappear from the world entirely. That was one of the last few times he talked to you face-to-face. And then a few months after that, you’d blocked him on all social media.

He’d read hundreds of books on therapy, and he knew what suicidal idealisation looked like. Luckily for his sanity, he was not your therapist, nor was he your keeper.

That was poor old Dick’s job, and he was, hilariously, failing at it. Badly. Technically, you were the second massive failure Dick had taken on, and it was starting to show in his mental state. Old Dickie was spending more and more time in Bludhaven, preferring to patrol there instead of Gotham. Still, he insisted he could get through to you. Tim was doubtful. Dick had better luck with Jason, of all people.

Jason actually wanted to be a part of this family. You hated them all, viciously. And so, you’d obviously never show up at-

Wait. Wait, no. He definitely recognised that face. Why the hell were you here? Well, that was irritating. Tim prided himself on being prepared for any situation, for any unlikelihood. He was the son who would be taking over Wayne Enterprises, after all.

You being in the same room as Bruce Wayne was impossible. Completely impossible. At least willingly. You should be kicking and screaming, scratching like a hellcat at anyone who tried to make you stay. Instead, you’re standing in the middle of a crowd, chugging back champagne like your life depends on it. He could already imagine the chaos the media would be starting, to his misery. ‘Estranged ex-Wayne shows up at birthday gala and drinks like a fish’. Well, he had been complaining about being bored. Careful what you wish for, and all.

Shit. He was not prepared for this.

He was, despite it being your birthday, not at all expecting you to be here. He didn’t even have a present. Shit. He pulls out his phone and shoots off an order to his assistant, who would probably go to Dick’s for help.

He sees you over there, obviously uncomfortable, and realises he should probably rescue you. He tells himself he should, that he’s gonna get up and go do it.

Instead, he crosses his legs at the ankle, leans back in his chair, and watches. You won’t catch him off guard twice. He has his pride, after all.

You throw another glass of champagne back. Tim winces. Okay, maybe you might. This was all a bit of a shock. And the rest of the gala seemed just as surprised at your appearance as he was. They obviously didn’t know what to do about you, creating a wide ring of people who refused to step closer to you. And you seem oblivious to the social pariah you have suddenly become. Or maybe uncaring, as you’ve already claimed an entire buffet table and champagne tray for yourself.

Just… just drinking. You seem to only care about ingesting more alcohol and confectionaries. It’s your twenty-first, but uh… this definitely doesn’t look like the first time you’ve been drinking. Not that he cared if this was your first time drinking. He’d done his fair share of illegal activities. Sure, they were mostly superhero stuff, but still illegal. Frankly, it’s kind of impressive. You might even be able to drink Jason or Alfred under the table.

…Good for you, he guesses. A talent’s a talent.

He realises, after a few minutes, that you have absolutely zero plans of socialising. You’d showed up here of your own free will, and then just scared off anyone who’d talk to you. Not that there’d be many who’d be interested in talking to the swaying woman who looked like a threat to herself and everyone around her. No, you were still just drinking. You’d gotten halfway down the buffet table, trying every single cake and a few of the savoury items as well.

You kept circling back to have more champagne and Victorian sponge, and then you’d go back to wherever you were in the buffet and try something from there. Your choices seemed sporadic, and more than once you spat something back out into a napkin. You look at some of the dishes like you think they might be poisonous, taking wide circles around them.

He rests his elbows on the table, leaning forward to press his face to his intertwined fingers. He’s definitely past the point where he should go help you. You’re making a mess, both physically and socially, and yet, he still just sits there. He can’t help himself, it’s interesting.

“Tim.”

Uh oh, your knight in shining armor is here. Or well, dark. Bruce had never been known for pastels. Tim turns his head to the giant man blocking out the light, giving his father and leader a smile.

“Hey Dad,” he greets, in an open attempt at manipulation.

Bruce shakes his head, not caving begrudgingly like he usually did. Shit, that usually worked. Guess he must be actually mad. He glances from Tim to the object of Tim’s apt fascination. You. He turns back, looking down at Tim with his ‘I’m trying to be a good dad’ look. It’s not very convincing.

“How long has she been doing this?” Bruce asks, straight to the point as always.

“Twenty-seven minutes. You’re ruining my process,” Tim replies, telling B to screw off in the kindest way possible. He doesn’t take the hint, because he’s a bit of an ass. Even Batman fanboy Tim could recognise that.

“You can’t just count when someone is getting drunk in front of the public. You need to actually do something.” Bruce shakes his head, hand lifting to massage his brow. It was just that easy to give the old man a migraine. Poor baby probably needed some Ibruprofen. Tim had some in his pocket, but he wasn’t going to offer.

“I was going to eventually. And aren’t you curious? She refuses to show her face for months, and then pops out of the blue to… what? Steal from your liquor cabinet? She knows she doesn’t have to come to get whatever she wants,” Tim ignores B’s nagging, turning his gaze back to you. You’re having a love affair with that cake, honestly. Oh, you’re going for another shot… You do realise the stuff you’re chugging goes for millions, right?

You probably don’t care. You never had about money.

“It doesn’t matter. She’s here, and we should be taking care of her. This is obviously her reaching out for help, and she obviously needs it,” B insists, splaying his worn and scarred hands over the table. Tim has the same hands, everyone in the family does. Vigilante work left scars and callouses.

“Then why hasn’t she come over here, yet? My theory is she’s just trying to smear your good image. Which doesn’t need smearing in the first place, but who understands the minds of young, drunk and miserable women?” Certainly not Tim, as he had proven in his relationship with Stephanie.

“Tim, enough with the sass. Go and help her.”

“She’s not your responsibility anymore, B.”

“Her mother would disagree. Now go,” Bruce orders, his words final. Because they always are, in the end.

Tim groans, letting his head fall back. He glares at the ceiling and all the sparkling diamonds strewn about, and then he pulls himself to his feet. Cracks his shoulders, and parts the Red Sea with a glance. The crowd in the gala splits so the young heir can easily find his way through, and he gives everyone he passes a kind smile.

He strides up to your side, calmly waiting for you to notice him. You’re still imbibing, completely oblivious to his presence. It’s funny. And fascinating. Usually, you were so paranoid that he wondered how you weren’t always a single breath away from a panic attack. Like a feral animal, ready at a moment’s notice to fight or flight.

He sees that you’re dealing with those social anxieties in a way befitting the Wayne name. Which is to say, absolutely shit. His head tilts eyes flickering over you. You don’t look too good, which is no real surprise. Even with your people’s perfect styling, they can’t cover up the shaking and sweating in your form. It might just be anxiety, but knowing you, it’s probably not. He wonders if you even notice how sick you are.

You don’t look like you notice much of anything. Maybe the cake, but that seemed to be pushing it.

“Oh, so you actually showed up? Colour me surprised,” Tim starts but is unable to continue when you spin on your heel and drop your flute of champagne. It crashes to the ground, and he finds his socks becoming uncomfortably wet.

The two of you look up from the mess and meet gazes. Your mouth is open in horror, eyes comically wide. Tim has to bite the inside of his lip so as not to immediately burst into laughter.

“I’m so sorry,” you say, you do a weird crouch-pop-up movement, and then your eyes swivel around frantically, “I’m- am I supposed to clean this up? I can totally clean this up.”

You look just about ready to kneel into a pile of thin glass shards, so Tim stops you. Because God knows Bruce would hang him from the rafters if he didn’t.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Somebody else will handle this. It’s your birthday after all, right?” he says, giving you a charming smile. It’s sort of a shock when you don’t scoff at him, and instead just stand there with a deer-in-headlights sort of look.

“Hey, are you alright?” Tim asks when you don’t say anything else.

You startle, and then blink at him rapidly. Distracted and inebriated. Lovely. He doesn’t think you know what you’re doing here either, which was a bad sign for your mental health. Have you been refusing to go to your therapist again?

It wasn’t like he went either, so he couldn’t judge.

“I’m good,” you say, your words only slightly slurred. You blink again, your head cants towards the floor, and then you glance back up at him. You look like he’s caught you committing a crime. “Do you- uh, want some of the cake? Sorry for stealing it all, it’s really good.”

You were acting… really strange. Tim found himself with the undeniable urge to follow along with your strangeness.

“You know what? Yes, yes I would,” he says, taking one of the little plates of strawberry cake and a delicate three-tonged fork. He scoops up some of the cake, the cream and jam, and eats. Chewing he keeps staring at you, as you fidget awkwardly. It’s good, but all the food here’s good.

“Did you like it?” you try to smile at him, but it looks more like a grimace.

“I did. Javier did really well with these desserts,” Tim says, before waving over one of the staff to clean up the mess the two of you are ignoring. You look surprised when he offers an arm to guide you away, and he wonders if you’ll accept it. He can’t imagine a world where you would, but today seems to be full of surprises. In the end, you do, but it takes you a good five seconds of awkward staring before you take it.

He takes you over to one of the tables, careful to make sure you don’t slip and fall face-first into the spreading champagne puddle.

“Oh. Is he the chef?”

“He’s the pâtissier.”

You give him a blank stare. Right, you probably don't speak French.

“The pastry chef,” Tim clarifies, as he helps you find your chair. You slump down with zero grace, and for a second Tim thinks you’ll fall right off. You manage not to with a desperate grasp at the table. Good for you.

“Oh, cool. That’s super cool. I think I love this Javier guy, honestly.”

Tim snorts, taking his own seat, “He has that effect on people.”

You’re not looking at him, instead grimacing at the mess you made that two of the staff are cleaning up. Tim’s sort of surprised. It wasn’t that you had been particularly mean to the employees before, but you rarely acknowledged them. You had barely acknowledged anyone, completely unaware of your effect on the greater world. You didn’t care. To be fair, it didn’t seem like you cared about anything but your family’s gravestones and memorials.

Still, there was definitely something different about you, today. And he couldn’t blame it all on the alcohol. Today, you looked a little green about the whole accident. Like you actually gave a shit. Maybe you’d had a change of heart. He hoped you had, for Dick’s sake. You looked more alive, even if it was a confused, embarrassed, uncomfortable sort of alive. It was still an improvement. Usually, your expression was dead, a blank stare. It reminded him of Jason’s as he’d been lowered into the ground.

The two of you wouldn’t like that comparison. And it’s hypocritical too, Tim knows he sometimes resembles a zombie after one of his little sessions.

He can’t help himself. He’s curious, so damn curious. What had prompted this miraculous shift? And plus, you could still be planning something, even if it was seeming more and more like you’d stumbled in here drunk and confused, not able to remember you hated them all. Maybe you had a concussion or something. A head wound sounded like a good explanation for all this.

“Why’d you show up here today?” he finally asks, caving quickly to his need to understand.

You give him a weird look like he’s the one being strange.

“It’s my birthday.”

Tim tilts his head. “That it is.”

“Was that- that the wrong answer?”

“I don’t know, was it?” Tim knows he should stop playing with you. You’re making it far too easy, though. And he's bored, damn it.

“I don’t know either. That’s… that’s why I’m asking you.”

Before he can react to the strangeness of that comment some (awfully rudely, might he add) intrude on your conversation. One of the board members of W.E., someone he had to pay the proper respect to. When his hand slaps down on Tim’s shoulder, he has to suppress a withering sigh. There were less fun parts to his job, and this was one of them

“Drake! It’s so good to see you,” the old man greets, and it takes even Tim a second to remember his name.

“Lancaster! You as well,” Tim replies, noticing your barely there flinch.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you tonight. My project’s funds are running a little low, and everyone knows you’re the one to go to for an easier time. Bruce is a great leader but…” the man chuckles, and Tim grins at him. It’s fake, of course. When in Rome, they say.

“A bit strict, yes. I have struggled with his attitude before, too.” Understatement of the century.

Tim glances at your quiet form, eyes set on the tablecloth in front of you. Even still it’s obvious you’re listening to their conversation, head cocked just slightly to the right. The board member doesn’t even seem to notice you. Tim’s curious if he recognises you.

You’d been out of the public eye for so long he wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t. That’s the way you’d wanted it to be, after all.

“But let’s talk about this later, I’m entertaining a very tipsy birthday girl at the moment,” Tim says, hoping you don’t mind him using you as an excuse.

“Oh wow!” Lancaster cries, at your mere presence. Subtlety is not this man’s strength, “I didn’t see you there. Wow, jeez. Didn’t think you’d be here today. What made you change your mind?”

You give him a long, assessing look. Whatever you find makes you pull an expression like you sucked on a sour lemon.

“My assistant forced me to,” you answer honestly. Seems you’ve realised that ‘it’s your birthday’ isn’t an adequate reason. Not that you’ve never failed to reject any and all pressure to attend these events before. Like Tim had said, kicking and screaming.

“Ha! I know the feeling. Well, I’ll leave you two kids to it. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” the old man chortles, gives you a wink, and leaves. Your gaze follows him into the crowd, and stays there, even when he disappears behind it.

It’s quiet for a moment. Tim waits for you to speak first.

“Who was that man?” you finally ask.

“Charles Lancaster, one of the newest board members of Wayne Enterprises,” Tim says, surprised you’re curious. You’d never been interested in W.E. or anything involving the family. Surprised, surprised, surprised. He should just accept any odd behaviour from you at this point, start expecting it.

You slump in your chair, pressing your forehead against the table. Then, you let out a long, unhappy, groan. Tim gets it, he really does. He does not get what you do next.

Your hands slap against your cheeks, and Tim jerks in his seat. Okay, maybe Bruce was right, you probably do need help. He couldn’t imagine the big guy sending you to Arkham, though. It was obvious you were only a threat to yourself. You take a deep breath, completely ignore his confused stare and get to your feet.

And you immediately fall sideways.

Tim’s arm shoots out, grabbing yours before you crash into the shining marble floors. You look down at him, mirroring his shocked expression. You look down further down, and Tim follows your gaze.

Your stilettoed heel looks the same as it always does. Still, you stare at it like it’s a shark biting at your toes. Tim thinks this is one of the first real emotions you’ve shown in months, and it’s desperate fear of your shoes.

“I told her I can’t wear heels,” you say, more to yourself than him.

“What? Yes, you can. You wear heels to all these events,” he replies anyway.

“What- Well, I meant… heels this tall. They’re really tall.”

He just blinks at you, at the inanity of your statement. They were really tall, but Tim had seen you wear taller. Why were you lying about something like this? Had you drunk too much and were too embarrassed to mention it? Or maybe you’d hurt yourself?

He looks down at your ankle again. No, the flesh seems unharmed. And you hadn’t been walking with a limp earlier, you were just stumbling around now. Must really just be too much champagne. You’d already dropped a glass earlier and had been obviously embarrassed by it. Even if Jeanine had swept in just like she was supposed to, fixing the situation. You’d apologised profusely.

He’d never heard you apologise before. It’s… well, it’s strange. That’s the only way he can describe this encounter.

“You can let go of me now. Please?”

Tim lets you go, and you rub your arm. Shit, he grabbed you too hard. He knew you were on the delicate side, wasting away both mentally and physically. You didn’t take care of yourself and rarely even left your apartment. Even now you looked oddly sickly.

“I’m going to uh- I have to go pee,” you say, and immediately wince at your words.

Tim, without thinking, replies, “Go piss girl.”

You make a shocked choke of laughter, nod at him, and then run off as fast as you can while grasping every piece of furniture in your reach. You look genuinely ridiculous. Well, it’s not the first time a Wayne gala has turned into a clown show. Compared to Dick’s younger years, this was completely unnoticeable.

Bruce still loved to complain about the chandelier he’d broken in an impromptu trapeze show. It’d been diamond, and over a hundred years old. The ones above him now were just as expensive, but not vintage. Jason thought it was hilariously funny, and was always trying to get Dick to do it again. Luckily, Dick had matured, if only a little bit.

Speaking of which, this is a perfect opportunity to mess with Dick. He pulls out his phone and the secure channel they use to communicate. Dick was in Bludhaven right now, probably on patrol. Doing something fun. Sure, tonight had gotten more interesting, but you’d just run off and with you his only entertainment. Tim was bitterly envious of Dick’s fun, and because of that, he had to make Dick just a little more miserable. Just to make things even, of course.

‘Smartest_Robin’: guess who just showed up to her own birthday party?

‘Underwear_guy’: you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. why?

‘Smartest_Robin’: hell if I know. she’s drunk as hell lmao

‘Underwear_guy’: please don’t let her do anything stupid.

‘Smartest_Robin’: yeah, yeah. i’m the idiot who has to deal with the fallout anyway

‘Underwear_guy’: how’s it feel being the ‘favourite son’?

Tim snorts. The media often called him that, purely because it was well known he was the one inheriting W.E. It was hot gossip that it was Tim and not Damian, the proudly stated ‘blood son’. They didn’t know Damian was inheriting an even greater responsibility. And it wasn’t like he particularly wanted it, he just knew he was best for the job and it helped the time pass in between missions. It was fun sometimes, too. He enjoyed giving Luthor Corp a good thrashing every now and then.

‘Smartest_Robin’: same as always. im bored, anything interesting going on over there?

‘Underwear_guy’: bludhaven’s my city, dickhead. go do taxes or something

Tim sighs, and puts the phone back down. He had to try, at least. When it becomes obvious you are absolutely not returning from the bathrooms anytime soon, he gets up, adjusts his cuffs, and walks back off into the fray.

He greets and shakes hands, he takes photos and makes deals. It’s all a blur, really. He does it with half his attention, the other focused entirely on you. Amidst all this pomp and splendour an intriguing new mystery has been born. A puzzle to hold his attention, just for long enough till he gets to the next one. And your sudden shift in personality is more than enough. And if he focused on that, he could get through all this politics.

He’s talking up a chairman of a rival company when the lights go out. When the windows shatter inwards, his heart starts to race. And when familiar masked thugs break in through the wide open doors, guns up and ready, he’s already prepared for the fight. People start screaming, scrambling, and even more gunmen follow through the side exits. While guards raise their own firearms, everybody knows they’re completely outnumbered.

The Joker’s here, and he’s brought his army. Well, shit, all this excitement, and Tim left his suit upstairs. Guess he’ll have to improvise.

MASTERLIST - NEXT

#Series:WWW #yandere batfam #yandere x reader #yandere dc #yandere batfamily #dick grayson x reader #nightwing x reader #jason todd x reader #red hood x reader #tim drake x reader #red robin x reader #damian wayne x reader #robin x reader

1K notes · View notes

fancyfeathers · 2 months ago

Text

The Fruits

Yandere!Villain/League of Assassins Damian Al Ghul x Robin!Darling

Yandere!Batboys as Villains with Robin!Darlings AU Masterlist

T//W- drugging/poisoning, forced feeding, paralyzation, nonsexual & nonconsensual food play, nonsexual & nonconsensual knife play, nonsexual & nonconsensual blood play, slight/implied cannibalism (but not really), Damian is early twenties in this and Robin!Darling is implied to be in her late teens

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who has never met his father, instead being fully raised by his mother and grandfather and being named the heir of the Demon’s Head. He is practically a Prince in the League of Assassins.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who hears about the little sidekick his father from his grandfather, the little bird had thrown a knife through Ra’s Al Ghul’s hand to protect the Batman. He is angry, no one should do such a thing without consequences for their actions.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who goes to Gotham to find the so called Robin who did such a thing and finds a young lady who is nothing like he imagined. He wants to hate her, but no matter how hard he tries he cannot seem to such a thing, let alone put an end to her miserable life. He wants to kiss her and make her bleed at the same time.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who gets a rush of euphoria hearing her scream when he finally pins her down on a rooftop one night on her patrol, her screams and cries ringing in his ears as she begs for mercy as he carves into the delicate skin in her back in a language that is old and she’ll never be able to understand it, it roughly translates to ‘Bird With Clipped Wings/Helpless Little Bird’

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who lets her live and get away with the carving on her back, after all his plans of killing her have suddenly changed and he needs to receive permission from his mother and grandfather for what he wishes to do.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who after a number of months of planning and preparation has his little bird kidnapped by assassins he trained personally for this specific job, assassins told to use a particular poison to knock her out that will temporarily paralyze her for however long Damian wishes for her to be immobile, assassins he has no problem killing after the job is done because he felt sick to his stomach with the knowledge that they were the ones hurting her.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who lays his darling’s head on his lap and lays her body on a stone bench in a courtyard garden in a hidden League of Assassins base. It is far away from Gotham, after all Gotham had no weather that one would only find in the desert.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who holds his darling’s head up when she begins to wake up, lost of her body completely numb, who can only blink and move her jaw, not even talk or move her head up and down.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who feels a jolt of excitement when he sees the fear in his darling’s eyes when he takes out the same knife he used to carve into her flesh, only for him to reach where she can’t see and grab a piece of fruit, an apple, and cuts into it. Carving it up into small bites he can easily slip into his darling’s mouth, prying open her jaw and pressing the piece of fruit and his fingers against her tongue, nearly making her gag around his fingers…

“Oh you are doing so well, my beloved…”

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who, despite all his cruelties towards his little Robin, is being surprisingly gentle with his darling, one hand feeding her, the other hand is running his fingers through her hair while he whispers soft praise to her.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who cannot believe that the same girl who is practically lapping at his fingers, albeit against her will, is the same girl who his father, who has never known that Damian is his son, has chosen to be his partner, his sidekick…

“You are such a pathetic little thing, are you not?”

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who’s cruelty returns in the blink of an eye, reaching for another pieces of fruit, or rather a handful of twelve pomegranate seeds, and pushes them to her tongue, but even when she swallows he doesn’t move his fingers from her tongue, instead they come around to pinch it and pull it past her lips…

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who hold his knife to her tongue, the blade threading to cut through as it leaves a soft red line in its wake…

“Let me make this clear my love, try anything, anything at all, test my patience or put a foot out of line then you will never speak or taste again, do I make myself clear?”

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who knows she cannot respond but the look of pure fear in her eyes is enough of an answer so he pulls back the blade which has collected the smallest bit of her blood.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who brings the blade up to his own lips and makes his darling watch as he lick of her blood from the blade, cutting his own tongue slightly in the process which he collect with his finger, getting a taste of the juice from the pomegranate he forced on her tongue.

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who forces his darling to swallow his own blood, because what is more romantic than having a piece of the one you love most inside of you?

Yandere!League of Assassins Heir Damian Al Ghul who will absolutely cut off his darling’s tongue if she does not behave herself and swallow it whole like the fruits he feeds her.

#yandere dc headcanon #yandere dc x reader #yandere dc #yandere batfam #yandere batfam x reader #yandere batfamily x reader #yandere batfamily #yandere damian wayne x reader #yandere damian wayne

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emil1863 · 1 year ago

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More for the au!

The basics, Gods, Demigods, Devil Fruits, all exist.

World Gov + Marines try and keep the whole concept of gods and demigods under wraps. Because I'm working with "D's" carry divinity. And having a good chunk of them outright despise the government isn't a great look.

Luffy is a god while Garp and Dragon are demigods. Luffy can shift between physical and 'divine' form whereas demigods don't have that ability.

Luffy is the successor/inheritor of his predecessor's will and own divinity. But not through reincarnation necessarily. One in the same but they are very much so different. His devil fruit and promise to Shanks cemented his place as the successor to the sun and freedom. When gods and demigods start out, there isn't a wholly set future for what will they will have, or the ideals they will embody. Luffy has always had his cloudy/intangible form.

Imagine Garp's surprise when his grandson, who was supposed to join him in the marines, is set to embody freedom and the sun. He was pissed for a solid week about that. Garp also had to deal with questioning where Dragon had even gotten Luffy from, he still doesn't know.

Ace and Sabo were very adamant that Luffy not show off his divine form to everyone, especially if he wanted to become a pirate. He can't be a pirate if the government tracks him down and hides him away at the ripe age of like, 8. Also because having a full god is pretty uncommon, Sabo has heard horror story after horror story of what nobles and those in higher society would do to a god. Sabo is the most vocal about Luffy being careful about that.

Luffy meets Koby, and does an absolutely terrible job at keeping his form hidden. It's harder to control which form he's in when he's excited. Koby was a human with no divinity and big dreams that Luffy adored. So, already excited with a new friend, and the two on their way to Shells town, Luffy sneezed and immediately sold himself out. Koby is a terrible liar and so just elects to never speak on this topic ever. If anyone asks why he has so much knowledge on gods, specifically sun gods, he just doesn't answer. Helmeppo thinks it's funny and immediately pieced together why, because Koby cannot keep anything from him. And Garp has to respect how hard that kid is trying to not completely sell out his grandson, even if the brat kind of deserves it for being a pirate.

Luffy is going to be the Pirate King, divine or not. His crew quickly find out about his side quirk/form in varying ways. Zoro woke up one day with a cloudy demon from hell cutting off his airways. Nami was trying to explain clouds to Luffy and that 'no, they cannot just spawn on your person, that's stupid,' and so Luffy shows her that he is in fact, correct.

Usopp got jumpscared early in the morning, before the sun had risen, when Luffy just appeared behind him and asked if he wanted to watch the sunrise. Sanji was cooking dinner and Luffy got so excited he phased out of his physical body.

Chopper found out while asking Luffy if he had any medical conditions he should know about, he thought it was kinda cool that Luffy can change forms. And is only a little jealous that Luffy has a fully human form. Luffy always makes sure to tell Chopper he's exactly who he needs to be.

Robin found out after talking about 'Nika,' who is thought to be long dead, but is not. And is the captain of the crew she is now apart of. Luffy knows the name is important and it has a certain weight when it's said. He physically feels when someone says his name around him. Robin thinks this is very fascinating. (Also can add some context into poneglyphs, that there is a lot to it, even if Robin doesn't yet know and Luffy wasn't alive/doesn't have that knowledge)

Franky was showing off cool shit he could do with his robotic body, and Luffy was like 'me too!!!'

Brook found out when Luffy fell asleep listening to him play a song, and Luffy slipped back into his resting form of cloudiness.

While both forms have their uses and limitations, Luffy is most comfortable in his intangible form, even if his physical one is the default. He cannot access his divine form after a certain point of exhaustion hits.

Im going to end that there before I have an entire novel in this. But that's the general thought throw up I'm smacking down right now.

Sorry if this is incoherent and not easy to understand lol. I will flesh it out more later and when I have actually thought more about it. Might change things later too. Then I'll probably make a good post about it with actual wellish made context and lore.

#one piece #monkey d. luffy #one piece luffy #op koby #cobylu #kobylu #my art #god au #I HAD THIS WHOLE THING WRITTEN OUT AND DONE AND I DELETED IT LMAO??? I WANNA CRY #ENJOY MY INCOHERENT SCREAMING YALL #LOVE YALL LOTS HOPE YOUR HAVING A GOOD DAY

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phoenixcatch7 · 2 years ago

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Originally, he didn't, but idk... I think he should have one. Like oracle, an emergency backup, but unlike her he's made little to no modifications to it. It's still in its stylised goth Victorian outfit, painted face, all joints and wooden body on display. Lots of frills and lace and a huge tailcoat.

It likes the attic, so that's where it lives, close to the window hidden behind thick drapes to prevent damaging the things stored up there. They're pretty sure it moves up there, but they've never caught it and tbh they don't really want to?

Alfred never uses it. Doesn't need to. Sure, it's in a good position should anything happen to make Alfred need the doll but digging it out is a pain and he could just grab a mask for anonymity if he needs to.

So, 100% yes, Alfred remains human (though he fits right in with the rest of the terrifyingly competent bats, and with his old fashioned dress they're pretty sure he's one of them somehow). Batman brings some wounded jl after the watchtower was attacked and the first thing they see outside of the cave's... everything... Is a tart 'and what time do you call this, master batman?' and everyone turns to see the back of this giant demon dude hunch further. There's a weird clicking, and then Robin scuttles out from behind batman (they've long since given up on figuring out where they go under there) cackling but gets a clearing of the throat and freezes. So you've got these two demon.. Robot cyborg vampires? Getting very politely-but-ruthlessly chewed out by an old man and just. Cowering.

(Robin has school the next morning and is up far too late. Yes his body is currently asleep but he's a growing boy!)

Robin gets a shoulder pat and sent to the box stand to sleep (like an antique doll's) but batman just gets more reaming before Alfred finally introduces himself and brings the jl medical supplies (they don't really have an infirmary. It's a lot smaller). And batman just lets him! Normally getting between injured jl members and care would have batman inches from ripping your face off but he's just... Quiet. Yes, nobody's too injured, but really...

And everyone's pretty sure batman is artificial in some way, with his constant self upgrades, his lack of pain, his logic, his... Well there's not really anything else concrete, but they're pretty sure they're right.

And this Alfred, a mysterious old man dressed like the bats do for formal events, identically, expensively old fashioned, walking around comfortably in a cold dank cave in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by tools and screwdrivers and too dark shadows and display cases filled with empty dolls, calling batman to heel like a disappointed father...

They think they might have found who created him.

And records of batman stretch back centuries... Is Alfred immortal?

@phoenixcatch7

I have a very important question about the Possessed Doll Au Does Alfred also have a doll or do the Justice League see this old man who looks human scolding the most terrifying member of their group- and it's somehow working

#Damian: I am the blood son of the bat!#Bruce: *exhausted* we don't have blood. Robin. We do not have blood. In doll form.#Damian: well the masses need to know somehow!#Bruce: *heavy heartfelt sigh*please consider alternate phrases at the very least. We're made of wood.#Jason (hollering from where he's doing routine doll maintenance in the background): chip off the old block!#Dick; immediately picking up the call: CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK #Batkids; excited: *chanting*#Bruce: *stares at the table with the full knowledge that he's going to have to live with a pun for the rest of his life but it makes Damian #happy* Acceptable.#He's going to regret it when the jl approach him about their 'made by Alfred' theory. So much.#The Alfred thing appeared out of nowhere but you know what I like it XD #*someone* needs to think he's immortal after all #If you did a wip I might collapse into a puddle on the floor I'd be honored ^o^!! Don't feel you have to ask!#The jl: does it count if its not like... Dna blood? Like. Came FROM batman?#Cap marvel: what; like the 'it is blood it is mine therefore it is my blood' vampire joke?#Flash (the only other jl member on tumblr) oh I hate that it might be.#Cap *nervously*: do you think batman might have stolen some blood for a demon child ritual? Like a blood sacrifice?#Wonder woman: he might well have. There are many ways to make your own child after all. I can hardly fault him for alternate methods.#Lantern: yeah but he's already got like. TEN. He did NOT need ANY more!#Hang on new idea I'll make a separate post #batman #bruce wayne #dc comics #possessed doll au #Haunted doll au #batfam #alfred pennyworth

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thekitsunesiren · 2 years ago

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hello mind if I drop off a prompt?

Damian let's his family know he is going to hang out with a friend.

a bat bugs Damian to find him hanging out with one Danni Fenton.

adult Danny/Sam/Tucker parenting a 12 year old Danni.

The trio earn Auntie/Uncle/Uncle privileges from Damian.

Oh, this will be fun!

Okay, first things first would be the absolute disbelief from the batfam from Damian's announcement. Because Damian. Damian "Demon Brat" Wayne, had a friend. A friend that they didn't have the knowledge of knowing until just then.

With Damian springing it on them, they didn't have the time to ask any important questions, let alone do a background check on the kid and their family.

From what Damian told them, the kid they were meeting was named Danielle, but she preferred to be called Ellie. She and her parents had moved to Gotham not too long ago. He met her on a pure coincidence. And of course, with how paranoid the Batfam was, that didn't settle well for them. The parents could've sent their child to get close to the Wayne family for the money. Or kidnap Damian!

Tim walked up to Damian and ruffled his hair while teasing the younger Wayne about how he finally made a friend that wasn't an animal. With a scoff and a swat as a way to get rid of the opposing limb, Damian turned and left the manor while slamming the door behind him.

As soon as it closed, Tim raced back to where he left his computer. There was no way he wasn't going to let his little brother go anywhere unknown without at least two trackers on him. And with how the others quickly scrambled behind him to get a look on his computer, the others had the same thought.

------

Damian, however, was excited to visit Dani and her family.

The two had met when he was leaving school and waiting for Alfred to pick him up. And she wasn't that far from him, standing near the road waiting for someone to pick her up as well. At first glance, she looks like she could be someone adopted by father. Black hair tied to a ponytail and shockingly bright blue eyes. Immediately, he saw her as someone that his father would try to adopt just off of appearance alone. With her seeming to be around his age, he could claim that he could have a sibling to interact with more.

Of course, it wasn't long before the stranger took notice of his staring and turned to look him dead on. Her eyes meeting his in a serious stare down where neither of them moved.

When Damian made the move to speak, a car pulled up in front of the girl. The passenger side window rolling down and someone talking to the girl. She responded in turn before opening the passenger side door and getting in. Damian could only stand and watch as the car soon pulled away from the school and drive away into the distance. Not long afterwards, Alfred arrived to pick him up and he rode in silence on the way home while contemplating the other student that he met.

Okay! Here's how I feel like it would go down with their so called meeting out of the way.

Damian would see Dani and would immediately assume that she would be some sort of clone of either his father or one of the other bats. Was she sent to his school to watch and observe him? Did she know who his alter ego was?

After that, he would be watching her every move during class, surprising himself to find out that she was even in a few of his classes. Suspicious.

Does he approach her? No, because that would put too much on him and probably give her the opening she was expecting. He was ten steps ahead of her in every way!

Day after day, he watches and takes note of everything that she does, trying to notice any oddities in her behavior. Or any sign that she was spying on him.

While she didn't seem to be spying on him directly, Damian did notice her personality of being strong willed, stubborn and having a love for puns. Hm, a clone of the Robins maybe instead of Batman?

Dani, on the other hand, is wondering why the young Wayne seemed to be following her from a distance ever since they've seen each other that day on the end of school. From what Danny told her, it was the older Wayne's that she was supposed to avoid in case she was forcefully kidnapped, though it seemed that the younger Wayne was just as bad as the older ones.

How did Dani end up going to Damian's school, you ask? Well, it was simple:

Not long after Danny defeated Pariah Dark and took up the mantel as the next King of the Infinite Realms, Dani had returned from her travels around the world and decided to spend a bit of time with Danny as things calmed down. Maybe even get to know the others a bit better, seeing as she was never properly introduced to them.

She found out that he was dating both Sam and Tucker. Had been for a while now. Huh, go figure. And during that time of dating, she had arrived to catch up and spend a bit more time of all of them. Maybe even try to find a good reason to stay in Amity for a bit longer (even though she really loved to travel).

But not too long after that, a reveal gone wrong left Dani standing in a room with a frantic Sam packing up everything she owned while Jazz treated a barely conscious Danny's wound on his side. A gunshot wound that was from his parents no doubt.

One rushed explanation from Jazz about how the reveal went wrong, and how they had to leave Amity Park. Now.

With a quick meet up with Tucker, the five of them were huddled in a car and pedaling out of Amity as fast as they could. Dani staying in the back seat with Jazz to watch over Danny and make sure that he didn't pass out again on their way to-wherever it was they were going. Her core wouldn't allow it.

The clone didn't know how far they've been driving and for how long, but she knew that they were out of Amity and that was all that mattered. But the question bouncing around her head was: what happens now?

And the answer was to drive all the way called Gotham city and lay low for a while. Thankfully, a lot of the buildings were no questions asked. So when they find a place that could fit all of them (small and cramped as it was) while planning on what to do now. Of course Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all pretty much up and left without much except for some spare clothes and their ghost hunting gear (and a credit card Sam managed to snag from her mom's purse. Her own card didn't have as much on it.). But Danny was out of there and they were safe from both the Fentons and the GIW. For now.

Now, several weeks have passed. Jazz had managed to find a job to help with the money, while Sam and Tucker were both on the way as well. Which left Dani pretty much alone in the apartment with a slowly healing Danny. And while he was healing, he was kept on house arrest, much to his ire. Though he did help out with the cooking and other house chores while the others were out doing their own thing. And if the two of them occasionally floating outside their apartment during the night, who would tell on them?

When about two months passed, the older teens realized that Gotham would be their permanent home until further notice, so it would only be right that they allow Dani some time to get out as well.

So, they enroll her to school! Gotham U no less (Thank you, Tucker). Sure it was a bit stuffy for their tastes (mostly Sam's), but they were sure that Dani would fit in fine! What's the worst that could happen?

Unfortunately, Dani was a clone of Danny, so she was off to a bit of a rough start. And she hadn't really interacted with someone of her (supposed) age before, so it was all plenty new for her. So she really didn't know where to start.

It wasn't until she went to class that she met a kid in the back row facing the window, who looked like he didn't want to be in this class either. And during attendance she learned that his name was Damian Wayne. Odd, wasn't that the name of that rich family that Sam talked (more like complained) about? Oh well, coincidence maybe.

Throughout the entire day, Dani would notice that if they had the same class, he would be looking in her direction for moments at a time.

It was about the last class of the day when Dani pieced together as to why he could be doing that.

Oh..

He was shy!

Well, Dani would make sure that wouldn't last long. And maybe he would approach her soon.

So every day, Dani would work on getting to know him better. Even when he would brush her off and try to make her go away. She was as stubborn as Danny for a reason!

When the two finally became friends and Dani told that her new friend invited her to her house and also offered her parents, she forgot on whether or not that was truly the rich Wayne she was supposed to stay away from.

Dani had spoken about her friend plenty of times, and all of her parents seemed to like him.

Danny laughed every time Dani spoke about doing something or possibly pranking Damian, thinking that she was doing good with socialization and that the kid had to enjoy their friendship to some degree.

Sam was a bit more cautious of the friend, asking more of his likes and dislikes. Was he really bullying Dani? Did he say anything mean to her? Did she have to go to the school and fight a kid? All and all, Dani slowly convinced her that Damian was a good kid and she let it be. Telling Sam that Damian was a vegan may or may not have helped.

Tucker was a bit more lenient than the other two. The kid was nice to her? Didn't bully her? He was smart and knew his way around tech? Good

But as they stood in front of Wayne Mansion dressed in their more casual clothes, they all thought that they should've asked more questions about Dani's friend.

(All in all: neither of them have truly interacted with someone their age, your honor.)

Confrontations, miscommunication, and possibly a lot of bonding could come from both sides, and I would love to see it!

#Kitsune Kounters #danny phantom #dc x dp #dp x dc #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc prompt #dc×dp prompt #danny phantom crossover #dp crossover #this was in my drafts for literal MONTHS

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kissedbyaphrodite · 4 months ago

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Damian Wayne al Ghul has magic, canonically, and I don't see it being used the way it could be

So, before I talk about this, yes, I do know that the continuity in DC comics is shaky to say the least and that they have characters change every other comic run, but this is something that has been used in three different comics (To my knowledge) made by different authors! Thus, I'm taking it as canon and I won't accept any word against it.

Okay? Okay! Now let's go. Spoiler alert:

So, to talk about Damian's magic use, we will need to go back some time, specifically, to his great grandmother, Rúh al Ghul. Making her first and only appearance in Robin volume 3. Ruh al Ghul is the mother of Ra's al Ghul, and the head of the League of Lazarus, which originated as a splinter organization of the League of Assassins, lead by Ra's, however, Rúh spread her faith and worship of a demon that inhibited the Lazarus Pit. Taking over the League of Lazarus. After this, the League of Assassins and the League of Shadows, teamed up to fight the League of Lazarus, which resulted in the defeat of the League of Lazarus. To ensure his mother couldn't escape, Ra's himself used magic to keep her locked in the island.

Of course, this could be just the fact that they lived multiple centuries (In Ra's first appearance, it's declared that he's around 700 years old, meaning he was born around the 1200's, though in Batman and Robin (vol 2) #30, he's said to have been looking for Themyschira for over 1000 years.) This means that, over the multiple centuries they've lived, they were bound to learn magic, but stay still. Because now, it comes to Damian's maternal grandmother and the fourth known partner of Ra's, Melisande al Ghul, the mother of Talia al Ghul.

To talk about Melisande, I will have to mix two canons from two different comics, since pre-crisis, Talia was said to have been older than 150 years old:

But this was later changed by Danny O’Neil changed this in 1992 with his Birth of the Demon storyline. In this one, Talia said she was conceived at Woodstock (1969), which would’ve put her birthday around May of 1970. Which made her 22 at that time. However, I follow the logic of "What is shown first, is canon", so let's say Talia is +150 years old, meaning she had to be conceived around 1821 (Since her first appearance was in 1971).

So, Melisande story differs in various universes and comics, in Batman: Son of the Demon, her and Ra's foster Ra's nephew, Qayin, who killed Melisande when she caught him in the room where the early version of the Lazarus Pit was being held. When Qayin saw Melisande he got frightened and started running, Melisande was pushed and she fell into the Lazarus Pit and met her death. All of that happened in front of Talia's eyes. But I'll take the Batman incorporated canon for this (And only this) argument. Where after Talia's birth, Melisande was cast out by Ra's and forbidden to see her daughter or from using the Lazarus put. She eventually meets a young Talia years later in her new role as a fortune teller. Of course we can say that she was maybe just doing the typical fortune seller scam to make money, but hey! Considering Ra's and Ruh did dip into the occult, why not consider that maybe Melisande also did learn some magic during the time she was with Ra's?.

Finally, we get to Damian.

Damian seems to be like Rúh, in which he learns/obtains magic by making deals with the devil/a demon, even though it's only been said twice. The first time we see Damian using magic is in Batman 666 (Even if it's written by my racist and sexist enemy G. M0rris0n). Where it's shown to us that Damian exchanged his soul in order to become immortal; of course, this may seem useless to some, because of the pit, but look, if we have to choose between being immortal and having to travel to an undisclosed location in the Middle East to dip into the pit and risk madness, I'd also choose immortality, and it also seems to make him invulnerable or have extremely rapid healing:

The next time we see Damian use magic is in WAY LESS dire situation, in Batman vol. 3 #77, when he's chasing Gotham girl

Again, we see that Damian explains he exchanged his soul (Or made a deal involving his soul) with a demon to obtain magic, however, it seems he's unable to use magic unless he's using a wand. And since wands are used as a way to channel magic from the user's core to the outside world, it's safe to say here, he's only obtained magic very recently, and needs the wand to use it. Or, it could be that he's simply joking, as he does tend to have a very dry and sarcastic humour, even early on, which makes many think he's being serious.

Finally, the most recent time we've seen Damian use magic, was in Wonder woman (2023) #13, where he makes a summoning circle to summon Zatanna (While also roasting Superboy)

Now, while we do only have three cases (Or at least that I remember) we also have another case that I think could be a sign of Damian's incline for the occult. His pets, specifically, his pet dragons. Goliath the dragon-bat (Robin: Son of Batman) and Wiggles (Nightwing #42)

The fact that he seems to be able to tame and even domesticate literal dragons cannot be just a "wink wink, nod nod" from the writers, especially since his name literally means "To tame". He also rides Wiggles almost as soon as he meets him, and I really doubt a dragon just lets people mount him easily.

Also, there are so many more occasions that I left out where Damian does something strange, such as the time he admits he's able to willingly move his organs around his body, or how he can imitate voices just after hearing them once, not to mention he managed to climb snowy mountains at four years old; plus, his strength that has allowed him to beat people three times his size and four times his body weight, as well as letting him kill hundreds of dragon-bats at age six.

And nowadays it is a pretty popular headcanon, even if I still think it's unpopular in the fandom. But it's still almost unused in the comics and in most works of fanfiction. Here we have a kid who has two dragons and twelve pets total, can imitate voices, move his organs around and has magic (Among other skills), yet his magic is almost never mentioned in fanfic that doesn't center around his magic, and his dragons are almost/often never shown at all! Come on people! You can like or dislike Damian, but you cannot deny that this kid clearly has magic.

Not to mention the potential for canon events, since Bruce does express a dislike towards magic, claiming it is unstable, and unexplainable by science and logic. Imagine all the potential it has! Especially since Bruce has been a pretty crappy dad to say the least towards Damian, since he first met him and even now (Except for that comic where Damian loses all his melanin and all trace of al Ghul from his blood and just looks like Ian Wayne). Imagine having him and Damian having the strained relationship they currently have, but trying to work towards a better one, only for Bruce to discover Damian's.agic and going back to square one? Or Damian becoming a vigilante of his own, since he has expressed desires to maybe stop or pause on being Robin. We already have Duke as a meta being (in my opinion) not used to his full potential, imagine a run where we see Duke and Damian bond due to Duke knowing the fear that lies when you are something Bruce himself disapproves of, since Bruce is also not the nicest to metas. Or Damian having his own team (The friends he made in Lazarus island + Maya and Colin) where he can finally explore his magic.

There are so many things you can do, yet nobody is even scraping the surface of it all.

#damian wayne #batman #dc comics #dcu #batfam #damian al ghul #ra's al ghul #melisande al ghul #rúh al ghul #talia al ghul

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rekuram1n · 2 months ago

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‼️Batman and Robin (2023) #18 SPOILERS 🦇 and also my thoughts on the issue

HELLO??? Ugh... What's with Bruce and creating misunderstandings 💔💔 Wayne family actually communicate your feelings properly challenge, GO!

"Damian stands to be the best of us."

PLEASE TELL HIM THAT 💔💔💔

Pretty sure he was at the end, but Damian spoke first 💔💔

But also if Damian actually isn't going to he Robin anymore (which I doubt), TIM IS STILL FUCKING ROBIN ARE YOU SERIOUS??? DC GIVE HIM A PROPER STORYLINE AND OWN TITLE😭😭😭 also give him his luxurious longer hair again... Also three cheers, Damian's spiky short hair is BACK. Also new pet alert lol. Add that to the inordinate list of unusal animal companions.

Damian considering being in the medical field is very interesting... But why did that revelation have to come within a fight with Bruce? Why does everything have to be a fight with him?

Anyway, bringing up Damian's 'unremarkable' grades sounds very out of character with my, and pretty much everyone else's, understanding of his character. Is this the same kid who showed off his knowledge when he was going to Jon's school in Super Sons? The same kid who demanded points to be added to his PERFECT SCORE? Unremarkable grades??

Also, the "normal" life problem doesn't really fit for Damian. Son of the Bat, Damian? Son of the DEMON? Maybe for Tim, since his upbringing was arguably the most normal in the family, as well as his indoctrination as Robin. But it feels out of place for Damian, at least in my opinion.

ALSO! Wow they're actually talking!! It's nice seeing Jason again, but he wasn't really necessary for the comic... BUT BUT BUT it's interesting to see their dynamic as compared to Bruce and Damian's. I love Jason's dialogue. Very very double edged. I also like how the story is portraying him as someone willing to help, as someone who says thank you lol

Great art as always! Robin teen angst is mandatory, stop drawing Jason's hair like THAT, Bruce please talk to your children more often. All 6 of them. Please and thank you!

What are your thoughts on the story?

#batfam #dc #damian wayne #batman #robin #jason todd #bruce wayne #red hood #batman and robin #dc comics

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queermentaldisaster · 5 months ago

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I've only seen the batman trilogy, The Batman, and the kids cartoon with the riddler who had the epic green question mark suit.

I have the comics SOMEWHERE in storage since I'm scared to ruin them when I take them out to read 😭

When did batman acquire fifteen million children

Okay, so...it's not exactly 15 million. It just seems that way. And I only have knowledge of 8 of them.

Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, Cass, and Duke, and technically Barbara and Steph.

Starting with the Robins.

Dick was the first. The first Robin, the first ward, currently Nightwing. He first appeared in 1940.

Jason Todd came second. The second ward, the second Robin, now Red Hood. He first appeared in 1983.

Tim Drake is known as the self-adopted Robin, and he came third, and is currently operating as Red Robin. He first appeared in 1989.

Stephanie Brown was the fourth, and the only female Robin. (she's often brushed off for this, pisses me off.) She currently operates as Spoiler, and she first appeared in 1992.

Damian Wayne, the fifth and the blood son, as well as the current Robin first officially appeared in 2006, but he appeared in Batman: Son of the Demon as an infant in 1987, despite this not being considered canon for the longest time.

Now the others.

Barbara Gordon operates mostly independently but still associates with them, either as Batgirl or as Oracle. She first appeared in 1966.

Cassandra Cain, operating as Black Bat or Orphan most notably, first appeared in 1999.

Duke Thomas, operating as Signal, first appeared in 2013.

Now this isn't accurate to when they actually took up their mantles, but here's a starting point for you, Bat-Anon!

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cyanide-sippy-cup · 1 year ago

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People who complain that Bruce Wayne is a bad person cause he "doesn't do enough" are so annoying fr.

"He just dresses up and punches mentally ill people" yeah and sends them to a facility to help them (of which many HAVE gotten better [see Waylon Jones]). A facility that has had the corruption ripped from the roots up purely for the sake of helping his own enemies. No matter how many times they break out and try to kill him, he sends them back to be rehabilitated. He only fights them because they have ice rays and mind control and all that. But even in fighting them, he usually only goes all out on the clown. He canonically tries to be soft with Harley and even temporarily gave her a job.

"He doesn't do anything with his money" bitch?? What do you think Wayne Enterprises does?? What do you think the Jason Todd Foundation is??? Why do you think he's poured his money several times into fixing Arkham Asylum??? Like bro there's literally an entire cult of other billionaires who unironically spend their time and money dismantling Bruce's efforts. He's doing the best he can with what he's got.

"He brings children into his war" Dick, Jason, Barbara, Harper, Stephanie, Duke, and Lance all either did or tried to do vigilante work without Bruce's help. Other characters like Tim and Damian refused to accept a no. He instead gave these kids a support network to do vigilante work safer and more efficiently and have them people to call family.

"The kids die or get hurt" Jason died after being betrayed by his own mother, Stephanie "died" after directly going against his orders, Tim was blown up by drones controlled by Steph's dad, Barbara was paralyzed in an attempt to upset her father, and Lance died after taking the costume and getting shot all without Bruce's knowledge (hence why it's important he takes the kids under his wing).

"He doesn't affect crime rates" in Gotham maybe, but see the Court of Owls mentioned above. He works with the JLA and JSA to take down crime all across the world and galaxy. He founded Batman Inc, a network of Batman ripoffs across the world who keep in touch, use each other's resources, and get backup from each other to fight crime in their corners of the world.

Hell, even "he's a bad father" is just bad writing. He's actually a very caring father, even if he does maybe struggle. He gave Jason his own damn library and he allows Damian to keep a whole army of weird pets (including a literal demon). He took Damian in upon learning about his existence, allowed him to express himself as Robin, sent him to school, taught him morals and compassion, and LITERALLY WENT TO HELL TO RETRIEVE HIS SOUL WHEN HE DIED. He took in Cass despite knowing Shiva would retaliate. He taught her to speak and he encouraged her to learn ballet. He even officially adopted Dick, Jason, and Tim in 3 separate emotional moments. And also bro literally adopted a piece of an alien hivemind (Jarro best Robin).

Like he was raised by Alfred-motherfucking-Pennyworth. There was never a chance he would turn out as corrupt.

#bruce wayne #batfam #batfamily #batkids #batman #jason todd #dick grayson #cassandra cain #tim drake #damian wayne #PLUS in earth 2 he had Helena and she loved her father #batman incorporated #batman fandom

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apoloadonisandnarcissus · 1 month ago

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"Our spirits are one, ever-eternally": Ellen and Count Orlok in “Nosferatu” (2024)

“Nosferatu” (2024) is filled with unreliable narrators, including Ellen herself. As Robert Eggers tells us in several interviews, Ellen “has an innate understanding about the shadow side of the world that we live in that she doesn’t have language for. This gift and power that she has isn’t in an environment where it’s being cultivated, to put it mildly. It’s pretty tragic”. Robert Eggers tries "to stay in the worldview of [his] characters” in every way; time period, beliefs, behavior and way of thinking. The dialogue doesn't reflect the "true" story (exposition), but what his characters believe to be the truth. Which means: while Ellen possesses this gift (mediumship; enchantress), she lacks the language (and consequently the knowledge) to understand her power, and who she truly is. As a consequence, Ellen is confused, filled with inner conflict and a deep identity crisis.

What Ellen says about her connection with Orlok, during the first and the second act of the film, it's what she believes to be the truth (what Victorian society tells her): because she doesn’t understand herself, nor her own power. Like Robert Eggers tells us, Victorian society doesn’t provide her with the answers nor the knowledge she needs in order to fully know herself, because she keeps "being shut down, and corseted up, and tied to the bed, and quieted with ether. Misunderstood, misdiagnosed"; and "she's isolated [...] and people consider her melancholic and hysterical [...] a woman who's a victim of 19th-century society". Which is why it’s a character outside of this society (outcast) and versed on older wisdom (Alchemy, mystic philosophy, the occult), Professor Von Franz, who begins to unravel the mystery around her “sickness”, and provides her with the language she needs.

The other character who also gives Ellen this “language” is Count Orlok himself, because he’s a representation of hidden knowledge and ancient truth. And as such, he’s the only truthful character in this entire story, he's the character who tells the audience the true story, and, as a ancient Pagan force, he’s demonized by Christian organized religion as a "devil worshipper". He recognizes Ellen for what she truly is: an enchantress, a necromancer, who can command the elements with the power of her voice. He gives her this knowledge before she’s ready to hear it because he wants to trigger her spiritual transformation and liberation, and for her to accept her true power (death). But more on this later.

Orlok's Shadow

The first and second acts of the story are all about Orlok’s shadow. At the prologue, he appears at Ellen’s window as a shadow (asking for entrance); the Transylvanian characters warn Thomas about Orlok’s shadow, Thomas feels the heaviness of Orlok’s shadow before even arriving at Castle Orlok, and then he’s lost in Orlok shadow even after being exorcised by the Orthodox Nuns. His hand is a shadow accross Wisburg. He appears at Ellen's window as a shadow, twice. And even in the third act, he’s a shadow walking through Ellen and Thomas apartment when Ellen herself gives him entrance into the house. This “shadow” isn’t aesthetic; this has deep meaning in the narrative.

This is connected with Orlok being a strigoi from Balkan folklore (with origins in Dacian mythology). In some legends, strigoi possess astral projection powers, being able to appear as shadows or ghosts. This is Orlok’s case in “Nosferatu” (2024), as he haunts Ellen, because strigoi don’t haunt places or communities (as a whole), but one particular person (and others as unfortunate collaterals); after she resurrects him (a fact confirmed four times in the film; twice by Orlok, and twice by Ellen herself).

At the prologue, Ellen is in her teenage years, she's 15-years-old (confirmed by composer Robin Carolan in an online interview, alongside Robert Eggers), and, through her prayer, she commands “a guardian angel, a spirit of any celestial sphere, anything” to come to her (enchantress). She unconsciously brings Orlok back from the dead (necromancer). There’s an immediate recognition from Orlok’s part: he not only knows what she is, but who she is (reincarnation theme: strigoi haunt the one they loved the most in their life).

Next, we see Ellen walking outside of her family manor, and, in garden of lilacs, she starts to moan, in obvious sexual pleasure, as she swears to be one with Orlok ever-eternally. However, he’s not touching her in anyway, because when he does touch her, she has a violent seizure. He grabs her neck, and almost suffocates her in the process. This scene isn't merely symbolic of sexual awakening (sex), but her power (death) has awoken, as well; both through Orlok.

Robert Eggers established several things at the prologue of "Nosferatu":

Orlok and Ellen's communications are telepathic (he talks to her inside of her mind);

Ellen was masturbating;

If Orlok does touch her during their spiritual communications she almost dies (which is something we never see happening again in the film);

Ellen didn't gave Orlok entrance (invitation) into her family manor (Orlok having to be invited in is very-well established in the narrative).

While on his way to Wisburg, Orlok says to Ellen: “Soon I will be no more a shadow to you. Your spirit was never enough. Soon our flesh shall embrace and we shall be as one”. This is the confirmation to the audience Orlok was no more than a shadow at Ellen’s window during her teenage years (because she never gave him entrance into her family manor, which will be confirmed later in the narrative). This is also connected to the "Wuthering Heights" inspiration behind this story: like Catherine's ghost to Heathcliff, Orlok was also a shadow, a ghost, at Ellen's window.

Conjuring and Communicating with Orlok

Fast forward a few years, Ellen is married to Thomas Hutter, and Victorian doctors have diagnosed her as “melancholic” and “hysterical” during her teenage years; she was a sleepwalker, had “epilepsies” and “nightmares”. Everything went away when she met and married Thomas, to the point she believes it was their love that made her “normal”, and she’s also under the assumption that Orlok “took her as his lover” in the past.

Like Robert Eggers tells us, Ellen doesn't understand her power because Victorian society doesn't give her the language for her to be able to. And her and Orlok were, indeed, lovers, but 300 years in the past (late 16th century), not in the 19th century (and maybe she does have memories of this).

“Melancholia” was a fairly common medical diagnosis in the late 18th and 19th centuries. In this time period, “melancholia” wasn’t connected with depression or depressive episodes as we know it today. In the 19th century, the diagnose “melancholia” was used to describe “abnormal beliefs”, such as hallucinations and delusions. Which is what Dr. Sievers tells Professor Von Franz after his examination of Ellen: “I have myself seen women of nervous constitutions invent any manor of delusion.” And why every Victorian character dismisses everything Ellen says as “fancies” or “foolish dreams” (delusions, things of her imagination, not real);

During the Victorian era, “hysteria” was an umbrella diagnosis, which was used to label almost every single female "medical disorder” of the mind; and it could go from faintness, nervousness, insomnia, muscle spasms, irritability, loss of appetite to a “tendency to cause trouble”. Hysteria was a mental disorder and was exclusive to women, and was believed to be caused by a “wandering womb” (connection to female sexuality).

In the first act of the film, Herr Knock (Orlok’s fanatical servant) performs a Solomonar Sex Magick ritual (masturbation) to conjure and communicate with Orlok, and inform him that Thomas is on his way to Transylvania. This scene gives the audience two bits of information:

It’s sexual energy that conjures/summons Orlok;

Orlok has to be summoned (invited) for these communications to happen.

And now we have the answer to what Ellen has been doing in her teenage years: she was masturbating, and Orlok’s shadow would appear at her window (because he's summoned by sexual energy). He was a haunting, and he might (or not) have talked to her on occasion, telepathically, inside of her mind. This is a spiritual connection, not a physical one.

And her father caught her masturbating and shouted “sin!” and threatened to have her institutionalized because masturbation was considered the “ultimate sin” in Victorian society. It was called “self-pollution” and “self-abuse”, and both a moral and physical evil. Medical manuals adverted against this “evil”, for both men and women. In the early 19th century, female masturbation was considered a “anti-social behavior”, a form of insanity (“lunacy”) and epilepsy, and was believed to increase the risk of hysteria in women. Which is aligned with the Victorian diagnose of Ellen's character.

Which is what Ellen says to Professor Von Franz: “At last Papa found me once laying… unclothed, I was… my body… my flesh… my.. Sin, sin, he said… He would have sent me to someplace… I shan’t go… I –” She uses the term “Papa” here (after previously addressing her father as “father”) because she wants to project an image of innocence and naivety, as she’s discussing sexual matters in front of men; and in the early 19th century women weren’t supposed to know about such things, nor have sexual pleasure/desire at all.

Ellen’s communications with Orlok are very sexual in nature because, as the narrative has established, it’s sexual energy that conjures him. And so, when Ellen is having sexualized body spasms ("hysteric fits"), she’s channeling her sexual energy to summon Orlok to her, and talk with him telepathically, inside of her mind (like we saw at the prologue and with Herr Knock ritual).

Ellen is the one who controls their entire connection through her spiritual power, and she calls out to him, always. Because Orlok needs an invitation (summoning) to reach others (unless he feeds on their blood/soul like he did with Thomas). It was Ellen's spiritual power that put an end to their communications; she stopped masturbating and conjuring him when she met Thomas, and that's why the "haunting" ceased.

The “maiden’s token” she sent with Thomas was meant for Orlok, and an invitation for him to haunt her again. Ellen has premonitions (she had a dream just after the prologue); and she knows Thomas will be sent to Orlok. She does this token in front of her symbolic window, and the next scene after this is Herr Knock’s conjuring Orlok.

These sorts of gifts were considered a sign of love and devotion. However, during the Victorian era, it was also common to keep locks of hair from deceased loved ones in pieces of jewellery, especially lockets, which is another symbolic connection with Death (Orlok). And this interpretation is also supported by the "Wuthering Heights" inspiration behind this story.

When Thomas is already in Orlok’s castle in Transylvania, the count notices his “maiden token”, and asks to see it. As he opens it, and smells it, he immediately notices the scent of lilacs on Ellen’s hair. To Orlok, this is a confirmation that Ellen remembers their past life together, because like costume designer Linda Muir tells us, lilacs remind Orlok "from when he was alive” and in connection with Ellen. His passion and desire to merge souls with her is the only humanizing trait he was able to keep in his cursed strigoi self (who stripped him of all his best human qualities).

Orlok, then, uses this maiden token to perform his Sex Magick ritual to divorce Ellen and Thomas in the spiritual realm; he already tricked Thomas into signing the covenant papers (divorce papers, where Thomas forsakes Ellen to Orlok), and Orlok pays for Ellen dowery by giving him a sack of gold; they are divorced in the physical world. And he compels Ellen to “dream only of" him, for this specific occasion, in order to perform the ritual, which is why we see her sleepwalking and having visions of herself as Orlok. "Your husband is lost to you." = "You are divorced now".

"It is not me. It is your own nature."

Like any “regular vampire”, Orlok has to be invited into places, he has to be given entrance, and the film establishes this with all the windows, and the narrative itself:

At the prologue, Orlok appears at Ellen’s window: asking for entrance;

The Orthodox Nuns tell Thomas “remain here. His evil cannot enter this house of God” (it has nothing to do with God, but with Orlok not be giving entrance, because, he keeps his sarcophagus in the chapel of Grünewald Manor, to symbolize his yearning for higher spiritual realms and his desire in breaking free from his Nosferatu curse);

Ellen opens a window at Hardings household for Orlok to enter (she also gives him entrance into the city);

Thomas tells Ellen at the carriage scene (when she asks to go with them): “Of course not, Ellen. You must be kept safe away" because Orlok does not have entrance into their apartament;

After finding Harding dead, Dr. Sievers says to Von Franz and Thomas: “But Orlok… Will he not have already risen? Should we not return to our homes?” Where he can’t enter and they are safe from him;

Ellen opens the window of her own house at the end, asking Orlok to come to her and giving him entrance.

However, when Ellen gives Orlok entrance into the Harding household, she doesn’t know this; and opens the window to him, unaware of what this implies (dooming everyone inside). And this is, yet, another confirmation of how Orlok was nothing more than a shadow at her window during her teenage years. And this entire scene also proves how oblivious of her own power (nature) Ellen truly is, because Professor Von Franz has only now recognized her mediumship, her ability to communicate with the spiritual realm.

Ellen believes these communications only happen with Orlok specifically (and not with the spiritual world as a whole). And, now, she thinks Orlok possesses her like a "demon", because of what Professor Von Franz said, but he talked about her being "obsessed" of some spirit, most likely a demon (spiritual obsession).

This is the first time they are meeting "in the flesh", and Ellen appears to have never seen his physical appearance before, as she uses the term “feel”. She says, in a both sexual and accusing tone: “I have felt you like a serpent crawling in my body”, meaning, she believes Orlok, like a demon, has been possessing her this whole time and forcing her to have sexualized body spasms ("hysteria"). And she accuses him of corrupting her innocence ("I was but an innocent child"). Ellen calls herself "child" in this context because the concept of "teenager" or "adolescence" didn't exist in the 19th century (only created after World War II); people would go from "childhood" into "adulthood" with no phase in-between. All of this is connected with Victorian views of female sexuality; in the early 19th century, women were believed to have no sexual desire whatsoever, and their sexuality was owned and controlled by their husbands, which is why she refutes Orlok (“It is your own nature”) with “No, I love Thomas”.

Ellen doesn’t understand her own power and Victorian society tells her she doesn't have sexual desire (or if she does it's evil and demonic), and, as a consequence, she can't take accountability it is her whom has been summoning Orlok to her this entire time. Which is why Orlok asks her: “And thought you I would not return? Thought you I would not? Your passion is bound to me.” For his part, he is under the impression Ellen knows what she's been doing, because she keeps conjuring him to her, and her hair smells of lilacs. Which is why he accuses her of being false when she claims to hate him ("l abhor you").

Ellen also accuses him of being a "villain" ("evil"), to which he replies "I am an appetite, nothing more", denying being the villain she claims him to be. He’s a strigoi who has to feed on blood/souls in order to sustain his wrecked existence, but he takes no joy, nor pleasure, in this. An existence she cursed him with, as he’ll elaborate next:

"O’er centuries, a loathsome beast I lay within the darkest pit ‘til you did wake me, enchantress, and stirred me from my grave."

During this scene, Orlok gives Ellen hidden knowledge about her true nature (power): “I told you, you are not of human kind.” He calls her an “enchantress” (or “incantrix”); a practitioner of feminine magic (a witch), who uses words, incantations, songs, spells and prayer to shape reality, gifted with magic power and authority to command the elements by the power of her word. He also discloses her being a necromancer, who brough him back from the dead (“you did wake me, enchantress, and stirred from my grave”), and she's connected with him being a strigoi (“you are my affliction”). “Affliction” as in “sickness”; “disease”, “plague”, "sorrow of all sorrows".

The reincarnation theme is introduced in this scene, as Orlok says: “Yet I cannot be sated without you." In 16th century English, the term "sated" is connected to the verb “sit”, as in “rest” or “lie”. Which translates to: “I cannot rest without you”. Which explain their covenant of being together ever-eternally. He can’t find peace in death without Ellen's spirit at this side.

This scene culminates with Orlok giving Ellen a “three nights countdown”. This was the first night where she denied herself, because she denied taking ownership or even acknowledging her power/nature (death), and, as consequence, she will suffer him, the monster of her own creation, to bring death (her power) to those she loves (the living; Victorian society).

If Ellen doesn’t submit to her power (death) on the third night, Orlok says he'll destroy her "called husband", and she thinks he means Thomas. Orlok attacks Anna Harding, first, to show Ellen how she gave him entrance into the house. On a symbolic level, Anna Harding is the perfect “Victorian woman ideal” (God-fearing, devoted wife and mother, living exclusively for and by her husband and children). Orlok's true purpose with this threat is to destroy Ellen's Victorian self-deception ("you deceive yourself"), and force her to see what he told her twice already (“you are not for the living, you are not of human kind”). He wants her to see that her nature (power) will never be accepted by Victorian society.

"Another night has passed..."

The next morning, Friedrich Harding (the “Victorian patriarch”) expels both Thomas and Ellen from his household, because he blames Ellen for Anna’s sickness. Anna is the “Victorian woman ideal”, and she spent the night with Ellen (the "hysteric melancholic"), and now she’s “sick”: Ellen’s contagion is the one to blame. Ellen tries to reason with Friedrich to let them stay. She also mentions Professor Von Franz, which indicates her desire to speak to him, and get advice from the Professor (but this won't happen until the next day).

Friedrich Harding scolds Ellen for her behavior (nature): “Find the dignity to display the respect for your caretaker” and calls her a social embarrassment to Thomas because of it: “And for your husband’s sake, I pray you might learn how to conduct yourself with more deference".

At home with Thomas, Ellen reveals her personal history with Orlok (“I know him”), and she has accepted she was the one who unleashed him into the world ("I have brought this evil upon us") with her prayer ("I called out..."), because she wanted company and tenderness. However, and since she didn't got the opportunity to talk with Professor Von Franz, Ellen doesn’t understand her power, and she still thinks of Orlok as a demon possessing her, and that it was Thomas’ love that drove Orlok away, and not her withdrawing her invitation of him.

Ellen says she dreams of Orlok every night, and it’s very shameful to her (which implies these are sex dreams): "He stalks me in my dreams, all my sleeping thoughts are of him, every night–" And this can’t possibly be Orlok compelling her to have “dreams” because he, as a strigoi, can only create nightmares, fear and terror in his victims, and the film itself established this with Thomas himself, and even Anna Harding, as they both collapsed mentally in Orlok's presence in absolute horror because that’s his lore as a strigoi. When Orlok compelled her to “dream only of him”, she sleepwalked but she didn’t see his physical appearance (because this was before the first night at the Harding household, when she actually saw him for the first time ever) and her "dream" was, in fact, a nightmare of her feeding on Thomas because of the "divorce ritual".

Whatever Ellen has been dreaming about, Orlok himself can’t be the one who’s forcing her to have these erotic dreams of him. They might even be flashbacks of her past life, and of them as lovers then, because the narrative has proven that didn't happen in the 19th century (he has been nothing more than a shadow at her window, until the first night at the Harding household).

Ellen takes upon herself to show Thomas her true nature, her mediumship, as she starts her communication with the spiritual realm. And given the context, she probably believes Orlok will appear and possess her like a demon, to make Thomas understand. And this is why she talks about what Orlok has told her about Thomas, in the hope of conjuring him in the process. But that's not what happens because the narrative has established it's sexual energy that summons Orlok, and he can't possess her either because he has never fed on her blood (soul).

The importance of this scene to Ellen’s character arc is that, at the end, she realizes three things about her own power:

Her trance mediumship allows her to communicate with the spiritual realm as a whole (not only with Orlok);

Orlok isn't "a demon possessing her body", it's all on herself;

It’s her who has been summoning Orlok this entire time, which is why she says she'll become a demon without Thomas (without her husband owning and controlling her sexuality) and "I'm unclean!".

Concerning Thomas, Ellen is now aware that he doesn’t recognize her power (nature), and will never accept it. He will always call the doctors to deal with her, and if he manages to destroy Orlok, he might even have her institutionalized like her father. Before, Thomas saw Ellen’s power as a consequence of her “melancholy” and “hysteria” (Victorian diagnose), now he believes it’s Orlok who’s making his wife “sick”, and once he gets destroyed everything will be back to normal, and she will be the perfect Victorian wife to him, then: "I’ll kill him! I will. He shall never harm you again. Never!" But Ellen just realized it's not Orlok, it's her own nature (power), and that he was right about everything he told her, but she's still conflicted. Nevertheless, she says she must go to Orlok, and even uses his threat of him killing Thomas for her husband to allow it, even though Orlok doesn't have entrance into their house.

"More blood shall stain thy hands, another night has passed. Tomorrow night, the third, shall be his last."

And, as Thomas is asleep, Ellen awakes to Orlok's shadow, placing intentions inside of Thomas' head in his sleep. He doesn't have physical access to this house, and he can only reach Thomas. However, Ellen appears to be able to hear him, probably due to her supernatural powers. Orlok is influencing Thomas into killing him; which is why Thomas feels Orlok’s grasp on him in the next evening ("I feel his hold upon me this night") and he won’t wait until morning to destroy Orlok ("No. I will not wait ‘til morning! We must stop him now."). Orlok had no intention of killing Thomas if Ellen didn’t summoned him on the third night. And he would allow himself to get killed by the vampire hunters, in a subversion of the "Dracula" novel ending.

And this explains Thomas’ behavior during and after the funerals. As Friedrich Harding tries to expel Professor Von Franz (also Ellen, too), Thomas intervenes, and begs for his forgiveness, because he truly believes it’s his fault ("more blood shall stain thy hands"). As he says so himself: "Please, it is my fault! Forgive me my dear, sweet friend!"

What does Count Orlok want?

In an interview to Robert Ebert, Robert Eggers revealed: “I think that what ultimately rose to the top, as the theme or trope that was most compelling to me, was that of the demon-lover. In “Dracula,” the book by Bram Stoker, the vampire is coming to England, seemingly, for world domination. Lucy and Mina are just convenient throats that happen to be around. But in this “Nosferatu,” he’s coming for Ellen. This love triangle that is similar to “Wuthering Heights,” the novel, was more compelling to me than any political themes."

In "Nosferatu” (2024), Count Orlok, like Robert Eggers says, isn’t interested in world domination or spreading his plague, he wants Ellen’s soul by his side for all eternity. For her to “be one with [him], ever-eternally". And he also wants her to break the curse of Nosferatu, for that to be possible. Which is what Professor Von Franz discovers when he finds the Solomonari codex of secrets in Herr Knock’s office; codex (a book of laws), and Orlok's final assignment at the Solomonărie school to become a Solomonar, and this is his "book of wisdom"; the source of his power, according to Romanian folklore.

"The compact commands she must willingly re-pledge her vow. She cannot be stolen.", Orlok tells Herr Knock when he offers himself to kidnap Ellen. In this context, the "compact" Orlok talks about is the brief text (instructions; rules; laws) from the Solomonari codex of secrets where the word "willing" is also mentioned, marked, and written in it's Latin form "voluerunt", because codex were usually written in Latin. The root for “volontario” (Italian); “volontaire” (French), “voluntario” (Spanish); “voluntário” (Portuguese); and “voluntariat” (Romanian). In English, “voluntary”, or “willing” as it is used in the film.

Orlok also has his sarcophagus at the chapel of Grünewald Manor, beneath a rose window; while he's resting on his sarcophagus during the day, he’s bathing in sun light from the heavens. Which symbolizes his desire for his spirit to be set free from the Nosferatu curse, and the rotten corpse it's trapped in, and to ascend spiritualy (yearning for higher spiritual realms; which aren't a monopoly of Christianity): "Deliverance." as Herr Knock final words, or Professor Von Franz: “Go forward Thomas, set the daemon’s spirit free!” when they enter the chapel and see the sarcophagus.

“When the sun’s pure light shall break upon the dawn: Redemption! The plague shall be lifted! Redemption!”

"Behold the third night"

The next day, Ellen wants to speak to Professor Von Franz, because she seeks his counsel. She has accepted several things about her power (nature), but she’s still conflicted about whenever accepting Orlok covenant, or not. But not before Friedrich Harding attempts to expel Von Franz (and possibly Ellen, too), from Anna and the children’s funerals, driving home how neither of them has a place within Victorian society. Von Franz is seen as a laughingstock and a charlatan, and Ellen as a “melancholic hysterical” who should be institutionalized.

“Take that blackguard from this place! Your diseased mind has brought all of this outrage– Your very presence does me wrong!”

In the meantime, Von Franz already knows what Orlok wants, and as the Victorian characters come together to devise a plan to destroy Orlok, Ellen grows restless. She has yet not had a chance to speak to Professor Von Franz, and she offers to come along with them, which Thomas, obviously, declines because she must stay home, where Orlok does not have entrance and she’s safe from him. Thomas says he'll "drive a spike of cold iron through him" like he saw it done in Transylvania. And this is how a strigoi is killed in Romanian folklore, but the Solomonari codex of secrets speaks about "freeing", breaking the curse of Nosferatu. And when confronted with Orlok's destruction is when Ellen intervenes, as she tells Professor Von Franz: "Professor, allow me to walk you to your door" but her voice sounds different. We can't forget she's an enchantress, after all, she has the power of commanding the elements with her voice.

As she walks Professor Von Franz to his home, Ellen says she must be the one to do it, because she wants to accept Orlok's covenant and she wants the Professor to take Thomas out of the house. Von Franz never told her nor anyone about the instructions on the Solomonar codex of secrets ("Do not reveal what is sacred to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine"). And he tells Ellen she was born into the occult, and it’s a rare gift. And Ellen feels comfortable sharing her attraction (pull) to Orlok with him, because he recognizes and respects her power (nature). But she’s conflicted about it, still: “yet my spirit cannot be evil as his”.

And Professor Von Franz finally gives her the answer to her question when they first met (“Does evil come from within us or from beyond?"): “We must know evil to be able to destroy it, we must discover it within ourselves. And when we have, we must crucify the evil within us, or there is no salvation.” And this sparks something in Ellen because she says “I need no salvation” (and she doesn’t need to crucify any evil within herself either), because “my entire life I have done no ill but heed my nature”. And her "nature" is dual, she's both good and evil, a Pagan elemental spirit, like Orlok himself.

And Professor Von Franz doesn't talk about "destruction", anymore. But redemption, because he knows what Orlok seeks (to be free from his curse): "I believe only you have the faculty to redeem us." Von Franz is an alchemist; in Alchemy “redemption" is connected to the “Philosopher’s Stone”, the “Stone of the Wise”, the “Magnum Opus” of transformation and enlightenment: “gold-making”, Chrysopoeia, transmuting common metals into gold; which was what Von Franz himself was attempting when we, the audience, are introduced to him: "I had nearly unlocked the final key of the Mysteriorum Libri Quinque. [...] No... no matter. I miscalculated the stars. Hermes will not render my black sulfur gold this evening."

And what this means it's that Professor Von Franz is telling Ellen only her can transmute black sulfur into gold, only her can redeem Orlok (break his curse), and himself (because he's seen as a charlatan and a fraud). All she needs to do in order to accomplish this is be faithful to her nature, her power, fully embrace herself. And this is no coincidence, because Orlok has the alchemist symbol for blood on his personal sigil, which indicates he was an alchemist himself in the late 16th century, and Von Franz recognized him as such, after reading the Solomonari codex of secrets. The Professor also diagnosed Ellen with having "too much blood" (sanguine temperament) and the cure is bloodletting, being drained of the excessive blood; Ellen and Orlok's are each others' cures.

Von Franz is not only giving Ellen her agency back in this scene, but also validating her power (nature), one for which she has been medicalized her entire life and one she has been trying to understand this entire story, like Robert Eggers tells us in one interview: “She's an outsider. She has this understanding about the shadow side of life that is very deep, but she doesn't have language for that. She's totally misunderstood and no one can see her [...] this demon lover, this vampire [Orlok] who is the one being who can connect with that side of her."

And Professor Von Franz confirms what Orlok has told her twice already ("You are not for the living. You are not for human kind"), by telling her that in Pagan times she could have been a great priestess of Isis, Queen of the Underworld (whose "myth of Isis and Osiris" finds reference in Ellen and Orlok's story). Her power is death (necromancer, mediumship). Neither Ellen nor Professor Von Franz has a place within Victory society, they are both “relics” of a different time, a different place, with a different way of believing, thinking and behaving. In Pagan times, they would have been respected as priestess (Ellen) and physician (Von Franz), but in the modern world they are demonized. And the same is true for Orlok himself; who’s the personification of demonized Pagan beliefs, and wants to be free from his curse. Still, she's their salvation.

Professor Von Franz vows to keep Thomas at bay for the night as they'll go on their fake "vampire hunt", but Ellen is still worried that he might return and stop her from breaking Nosferatu curse, as she also makes him promise: “You promise you shan't return to me ‘til he is no more? Promise you won’t return.” She knows the “vampire hunters” are set on destroying Orlok, and are armed with spikes of cold iron. If they arrived at the house before dawn, they would destroy Orlok and prevent her from breaking the curse and be one with him, ever-eternally. Which is why Ellen has a “fiery reckoning” in her eyes at dawn; the "vampire hunters" didn't arrive in time to stop her. And they sure tried. She won.

Orlok symbolizes everything Ellen, as a Victorian woman, isn’t suppose to desire nor have. He’s not merely passion, erotism and sex, he’s also hidden knowledge and education, as a Solomonar who studied at the Solomonărie (germanization Scholomance). All the things that were off limits to the average woman in the early 19th century, who should confide herself to the domestic and whose destiny was marriage and motherhood (Thomas). Passion is not the only thing Orlok has to offer; he’s a pathway to Ellen’s true nature and destiny as enchantress, Pagan priestess to Underworld deities, the secrets of life and death, and immortality. Which is why she accepts him; he also represents her freedom and liberation. Which is why Robert Eggers calls Ellen a "dark, chthonic female heroine" who "makes the ultimate sacrifice, and she’s able to reclaim this power through death". "Chthonic" is related to spirits and entities from the Underworld.

Breaking the Curse of Nosferatu

As Lily-Rose Depp reveals in one interview, the point of the final scene is: "she’s [Ellen] doing a good deed and she’s breaking the curse”. The goal is to break the curse of Nosferatu Orlok has on himself for his spirit to be set free. And Ellen herself has to die, as well, because that's the only way to break the curse and for them to be "one [...] ever-eternally". And, as Bill Skarsgård, stealthily confirms in the same interview: "maybe that is what Orlok wanted all along.”

To Robert Eggers, "it was always clear to me that Nosferatu is a demon lover story” and "a tale of love and obsession and a Gothic romance". Ellen is "totally misunderstood and no one can see her […] this demon lover, this vampire, who is the one being who can connect with that side of her" and “the only person who can understand and fulfill a part of Ellen”. Bill Skarsgård calls Orlok "the romantic lead" and describes this story as "a very heightened fairy tale/dark story, but also it’s two people potentially falling in love. It isn’t love, it’s something else, but love is maybe the closest thing to it that you can kind of relate to."

The breaking of the curse is a Solomonar Sex Magick ritual: “with him lay in close embrace until first cockcrow” indicates sex (which is what we see happening in the actual scene, because the first penetration can be heard in the sound design, so the audience has no doubts about what’s happening). Orlok drink Ellen’s blood (soul), as their spirits are merging together inside of his rotten corpse (strigoi myth). Orlok is a psychic vampire, it's souls he feeds on (soul trapped in the blood; life force), and that's what sustains him (which is why Thomas had to be exorcised, and he said to Ellen "I will drink upon thy soul" in the first night). At dawn, when the rotten vessel (Nosferatu) is destroyed, their united souls are set free as the blood comes out of it (“freed them from the plague of Nosferatu”). The "willing sacrifice" is Ellen allowing Orlok to kill her, obviously.

"You are mine."

What breaks the curse is sexual energy, and that’s the power Ellen and Orlok are harvesting to manifest their will into being (break the curse). Near the end of the ritual, Ellen has an orgasm as the dawn begins to remove the decay from Orlok’s face, and he starts to resemble his human-self, indicating the Nosferatu curse on him is being broken. At the end, the ritual is confirmed to have been successful (according to the Solomonari instructions), by Professor Von Franz, as he places their symbolic lilacs around their bodies.

And that "last look of love" is not about Thomas' at all, because Ellen is fully possessed by Orlok, as her soul is joined with his and being set free from Nosferatu, which is now an empty shell because Ellen and Orlok's souls have been liberated into the Afterlife. Their souls were separated by death, and are now united by death, forever.

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