I bite at the hand that feeds me, slap at the face that eats me, some kind of animal cannibal.
Monster Harlequin!reader x yandere Batfamily.
Warnings- blood, perhaps meaningless words, maybe nonsense on some words.analog horror, mention of physical abuse, mistreatment, and detailed info about wounds or blood. Tfc/The freak circus inspo.
It had always terrified you, ever since you could remember the lowest point of your thinking, the youngest part of your mind... The most fallen part of your mentality.
How the red filled the patches, or how the smell of iron filled the surroundings whenever it splashed out of the wound
Or maybe fear was what happen after it wouldn't stop running.
Perhaps that was your terror. The fear of a mistake.
Perhaps that was it, because from a young age blood had a strong impact on your childhood, perhaps because that's what you saw when your mother lay on the ground, her face deformed by a bullet to the forehead.
Blood and parts of that pink brain decorating the mint green walls of your small house, the smell of iron and maggots emerging from the lifeless body...
It had been... So ugly... So... Disgusting.
All you could do was cling to her wet lap and cry on ice-cold thighs as the worms slowly crawled up your body, leaving trails of blood on your pale skin. Flies buzzed above you as an eyeball fell onto your head, rolling along the ground until a rat picked it up and happily carried it off to eat it later.
Your scent was overwhelming, just the smell of blood and decay that you'll remember for years.
The fire started very suddenly.
You ran across the ground in bare steps, your hair leaping and your horns gleaming in the white moonlight hitting from above, fire and screams.
Humans walked with flails and fire, stabbing and burning any monster that came near them, spitting poisonous obscenities and disgusting saliva at bodies slowly burning alive. How paper-white skin slowly turned pink, penetrating that thin layer of skin and reaching the insides, causing unbearable screams and raw marks on throbbing skin.
A hand tightening on your wrist and pulling you back, the sharp edge of a something dangerous pointing at your neck making you swallow in pure fear while a human looked down at you with something even more terrifying than hatred.
That day, not only were you taken away, but five other monsters almost your age, older by a year or two.
You could feel it, in every step you took, in the stares focusing on limbs forced to work to entertain a crowd. In those eyes, glued to every movement. How saliva formed from the base of the tongue, enough to spill over the edges of grotesquely pink lips.
You could feel your body getting weaker and weaker, the food was scarce, almost nonexistent, that human came every night, stroked your head... Then pulled on your horns to force you to entertain.
But you had to endure it, you would do anything to prevent others from going through the same thing... But it was in vain. That girl, the only monster girl in the group, was taken to different rooms.
You knew what was happening... And yet... You did nothing, cover your insistent ears under palms still stained with dark, musty-smelling paint... Your breath would always catch in your throat whenever you heard it. Every time you smelled the scent of iron drifting from the farthest reaches of this incredibly vast place.
Your eyes widening every time they threw her back in the cage, how that pretty pink dress they forced her to wear always arrived scratched and full of that incredible smell of fresh iron.
Humans... disgusting humans full of greed and lust for things they couldn't understand, even when explained with flowers and little bees.
She succumbed to love's weakness with those golden eyes of a silent monster that had come with it. But you weren't happy for them.
Envy gnawed at your gut, spinning on its own axis and hitting against your gastric acid until you felt the urge to expel it all in their faces to watch them burn and be destroyed by your actions.
You approached her slowly, always playful, always offering smiles unlike the silent monster, and yet she never chose you.
The day of the fall had been the most majestic act of kindness that any human could be capable of in their life, the self-sacrifice for the survival of the fittest.
The darkest day, where the night struck like the darkest night, where four monsters tore apart and buried their long, sharp claws in tender skin, devouring and swallowing blood with desperation.
Where only that silent monster wept in silence as it watched the others devour its beloved.
Not many humans came out that day; most had their heads rolling on the ground and their screams muffled by their own blood as five creatures devoured everything in sight.
Where at the end of the night, when the sun rose... There was only silence and dried blood on the ground.
The night in Gotham was slow and cold, the sky dark with gray clouds full of tears ready to spill at any untimely moment, where only time itself was the answer.
The tents slowly rose, yellow lights filling the surroundings of Gotham's edge, where a circus slowly opened its doors, ready for its next hunt.
You walked through the new streets with secret interest.
Dark place, a city full of corruption and pollution, your favorite kind of meat to decorate between sharp claws and motionless masks
You were alone, of course you were alone.
The others had stayed behind to get the circus ready for tomorrow, the grand opening of the traveling circus of horrors and freaks... You were the youngest in the group, so clearly... They didn't satisfy your natural chaos timer that you had to fill every single day without fail.
The bells on your hat jingle with every step you take, the place is dark... You dare to compare it to that day so... memorable, the darkness, the cruelty... Everything was so the same. So much so that you made your tongue pass over your teeth out of sheer hunger.
How many pathetic humans could roam these streets, so defiled by the sin of their race?... Curiosity gnawed at your stomach, that familiar feeling that made you stop in the entrance of one dark hallway.
Your eyes focusing on the darkness as a second nature, seeing that human leaning against a wall with a pistol resting in his hands, waiting for young souls in torment to pass by.
You smiled and walked, getting closer while your fingers trembled in a familiar way, you were so hungry... But a movement stopped you in your tracks.
You remembered something.
Gotham... It was the city of bats, humans dressed in familiar ways who fought crime at night.
Just ordinary humans trying to discipline their own kind.
But... You were curious by nature.
So you took a step back, letting the darkness of the place envelop you as you watched the human take a step forward, a gun emerging from his pocket and his finger moving towards the trigger...
Humans... Always so naive and greedy.
You licked your own lips slowly and waited.
A dark shadow appeared in the air and fell upon the back of the human with the weapon, making him groan in pain and utter obscenities into the air as if this were not his fault.
Fun, no doubt... The bats were really interesting.
It was exactly your favorite kind of chaos.
You saw Batman leave the guy lying unconscious on the ground and silently walk away towards someone else.
You stayed back, watching... You tilted your head slowly... Then you crouched down and widened your sharp claws on the calves of that disgusting human lying on the ground.
Green tentacles emerged from the clothes you were wearing and grabbed the human, surrounding his head enough to prevent him from speaking.
You looked at him, then looked to where Batman had disappeared... And you smiled, showing the sharp whiteness of your large teeth before vanishing into thin air as if you'd never been there.
Tonight, you and your companions would eat the flesh of a wretched human, devour every last bit with your tongues and tear off every piece of skin until only bones remained.
And while doing that, you would thought about how interesting this city was going to become.
Because now they had new residents.
And they wouldn't leave this city without taking rations of human flesh for the journey to the next city.
"Come, m'dam! Come visit our circus tonight! I assure you, you won't be disappointed! "
The morning wasn't much better than the night in this beautiful city; gray clouds covered the sky, though rain wasn't expected yet. People were outside, yet they looked at them with wary feelings... It made everything more amusing.
It couldn't be that they were really so quick to suspect new visitors. They weren't stupid humans... Or maybe they were. Maybe it was just instinct. Like the one animals used to escape predators fiercer than themselves!
You turned around while handing out pamphlets to passersby, your white mask always concealing a sharp-toothed grin, bells dancing in your hat with every little spin you gave on your on heel.
Your nose twitched and you could tell something was familiar.
That smell... It was the smell of the human from the night before, yes... Batman. He had such an... interesting scent, it irritated his nostrils enough to make him smile wider.
He walked towards him and gave a slow bow.
" Hello sir, would you like a pamphlet from our visiting freak show? " He was undoubtedly a tall human, with black hair and white skin... Blue eyes like two ice cubes; you wondered what they would taste like on your tongue, how his unmarked skin would melt under your poison filled mouth.
He slowly took the pamphlet in his calloused hands.
You smiled wider when you noticed the calluses; it meant you hadn't been wrong, it really was him.
You were so excited to try him.
" Why don't you come for a walk tonight? I assure you... you'll find it interesting. "
You took a green ticket from your pocket and handed it to him slowly, letting your fingers brush against his as you watched him smile pleasantly at you. But you noticed how those eyes analyzed beneath retinas, how his mind worked to try to discover what you were, if you were human... Or perhaps something he shouldn't approach.
" I'll be there." He said as he turned around... and got into his limousine.
You stayed behind and raised your hand, watching the car drive away... You let your tongue out and licked the tips of your gloves where they had touched that bare unflawled skin.
Good flavor... It just needed the good marinade that the blood gave to the insides.
You turned around and walked away, getting lost among the streets while you thought and handed out pamphlets with amusement.
By the time night had fallen, you were already prepared for your performance tonight. You walked slowly towards the stage as you watched it slowly fill up; after all... It was one of the stupidest qualities of humans, that morbid curiosity to see what it was all about, like "freaks" and "circus of horrors" in the same paragraph. They'd probably never even been to a circus like this.
The mere thought of it made you laugh as you walked out to introduce yourself to your crowd, but you stopped when you saw him, so Batman had indeed come. It was clear, this was something to investigate... And you? You were ready to devour it, with all that curiosity that made humans so delicious and delicate to chew.
" Good evening, my dear monsters... How about we start the show? "
They were all immersed in the story being told... Six hungry monsters, only one falling in order to survive, then the end... Everyone left, except him.
Batman was frozen, blue eyes staring into yours with black sclera that made him shudder in ways he never thought possible. You weren't human... Then... Why your story had been raw enough to move him. Him. He, who had seen the worst of the world, of humans... Of any alien race even. How had that been possible?
You approached, heels hitting the ground before stopping in front of him, eyes looking down at him seated on those chairs that the audience was forced to sit in.
" Oh my dear monster... Did you enjoy my story? Or was it, perhaps... too much for you? "
Your hand slowly rose, lifting his chin to make him look you in the eyes, your own lips smiling at seeing him so out of it.
You looked around, there was no one there... You could really devour him right now, bury your sharp teeth in that veiny neck and simply feast on his blood.
But you didn't. Not yet anyway.
You'd enjoy this human a little longer for now.
" good. " He said, finally snapping out of it and standing up.
Suddenly you noticed that this guy was taller than you, almost as tall as Pierrot... It was surprising in one way or another; not all humans grew that tall.
" It was a good performance... You have... skill with your hands. "
You took your time and crossed your arms under your chest, looking up at him.
" You think so? My fingers are more skillful. I assure you. "
He looked down slowly, watching your fingers wiggle slightly after you lifted them a little.
They looked at each other for a moment before Bruce's cell phone rang. Your eye twitched slightly before you turned around and walked towards the stage, feeling his gaze behind you. You smiled to yourself.
" Well, you seem busy, dear. Come back next time, and maybe this time I won't let you get away safe. "
You told him, your tongue peeking out slightly to lick your lips as you disappeared behind the curtains of your own tent.
His blue eyes remained locked on the place where you had been, the faint smell of caramel apple and circus filled you like a second skin, it was clear that you were not new... Nor human.
So why... did he feel this way?
It wasn't like he was just flirting with actresses normally or performing naturally as a playboy; it had felt different.
He kept his gaze fixed on where you had been while answering the call, before turning around and slowly leaving the tent.
Harlequin... That was your role and nickname.
