#ghost reader au

[cheust]

Ghost Reader Shenanigans

I like to think about Ghost Reader and what they do on a regular basis since no one can see them right? I like to imagine them going around the manor and doing little things to piss people off.

Tilts the paintings in the hallways and when Alfred fixes it and puts the step ladder away, tilts the painting again.

Slaps bruce's face to wake him up when they are mad at him (had to stop bc he started to sense when they would come into the room and start waking up)

When Tim is gaming, ghost reader will mess with his wifi and make him lag (his gamer ragequits are so funny)

Since Jason is able to see them, they blackmail him into spending more time with Neglected Child Wayne, which honestly has been helping him with his mental health? Like he and Neglected Child Wayne will color and watch TV together and its actually pretty relaxing for Jason.

Will open the cabinets in any room and leave them open (its drives Tim and Alfred crazy)

Teaches Neglected Child Wayne how to catch lizards, frogs and toads so that they bring them into the manor. Its fun watching Dick jump onto a coffee table and point at the frog that Neglected Child Wayne has named "Pubert"

Stands in the corner of a room that Titus is in and makes faces at him, causing him to bark.

No one knows what he's barking at. Everytime Selina is in the manor and she and Bruce are flirting, Ghost reader will boo them. It always sounds distant, like its coming from down a long hallway. Its also very exaggerated sounding.

Has been leaving little messages for Neglected Child Wayne in their mirror every day. Just cute little things like "Good morning little light", "I wish for you to have a prosperous day", "I adore you little light" and "don't forget your lunch, little light". Will write "go to bed" on Tim's bathroom mirror, but when that doesn't work Ghost Reader forces Tim to go to bed by messing with his electronics.

Has always loved drawing with the children of the manor throughout the years, but when they saw Dick and Jason playing Slender: The Eight Pages, they got inspired and drew their own version and started putting them in the woods where the boys would find them.

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

Deja vu is a strange thing, ain’t it? Wonder how it would feel for a robot

[cheust]

A mutual and I love to ship Ghost! Reader with Jason. He just loves seeing period accuracy, you know?

But, in the beginning he does not like you. Hell, he thinks you're a demon at first, which made you so mad.

"Thou dare call me a demon?! Thou not even brushing the shoulders of the lowliest sinner in thine chapel pew!!" *uses ghost powers and smacks him in the head with the stupid little crucifix that he keeps threatening you with*

[cheust]

Lore on Ghost! Reader:

On the Wayne property, deep in the woods, there is a tree that is covered in old coins. Its by a creek creek and there's a rumor that the area is haunted by the ghost of children.

The reason the tree is covered in coins is because everytime someone who knew about Ghost reader's existence leaves the manor, they hammer a coin into the tree, a sort of goodbye gift to the spirit that watched over them during their time in the manor. The tree serves as a living memorial to all of Ghost Reader's children who have long since died and moved on.

Because the tree is a living reminder of their children, Ghost Reader is very protective of it, earning thier place as one of Gotham's oldest cryptid. Ghost Reader thinks its a bit silly, especially when teenagers sneak onto the property to see if they can 'summon' the Hellbeast of the Wayne Property, but they do think its fun to scare them.

Nothing that would give Ghost Reader away, but they will rustle some trees and bushes when there is no wind, make weird noises that could be brushed off as an animal, maybe blow some cold air against thier neck and whisper unintelligible words in the wind. Its so funny watching them getting spooked and running away, it reminds them of when they were alive and they'd scare their six younger siblings with Ghost stories before bed.

the irony is not lost on them.

Its all good and fun, something that continues to amuse Ghost Reader throughout the years. However, there are individuals that visit their tree that... frustrates Ghost Reader.

People who try to cut down their tree.

Not so long ago, back in the 30s, a small group of men discovered Ghost Reader's tree and came up with the 'brilliant' idea that if they cut it down and harvested the centuries of currency from it, they could get rich quickly.

Unfortionately for them, ghost's are possessive beings.

Especially when it comes to graves and memorials.

Ghost Reader feels a little bad about what they did, but only a little. After all, didn't their parents teach them the dangers of trespassing on someone's property? Didn't they know there are risks to tying to steal from a memorial??

Actions have consequences.

And their consequences were coming face to face the Hellbeast of the Wayne Property.

I love monster designs, with one of my favorites being the bear in Annialation.

I'm not making anything canon, but I like to imagine the monstrous form that Ghost Reader takes is similar to a bear. A large, towering body, long and powerful claws and teeth capable of snapping bones as if they were brittle twigs. However, what they change is making their body longer, thinner and sickly looking, with its stomach clinging to their 'bones', as if its starving. They also like to make their eyes appear as if they are glowing, after all, nothing scares humans more than knowing they are being watched by something they can't comprehend.

Imagine Ghost reader in that form, standing on thier hind legs and reaching a height of 12 ft tall, staring down at them, their eyes glowing and their body shifting between tangible and intangible as they let out an unnatural, animalist growl:

"Hello."

The police found two of the men hiding in storm drain the next day.

They were in shock, shaking and stare at nothing, only speaking when the police try to take them out of the storm drain.

"Please don't! Don't make me leave! I don't want to die -- please I don't want to die --!!"

A week later the third member of their group washed up in the Gotham harbor. His back sporting four long claw marks...

People started to avoid the woods around Gotham after that.

Especially the woods around the Wayne Manor.

[cheust]

I think Ghost! Reader would have a panic attack if they saw a modern city. Everything is just so... large... and looming... and oh lord they need to sit down for a moment.

Imagine you get resurrected for a day and discover you have a mild form of megalophobia? I'd demand a refund.

[cheust]

I think ghost reader would turn themselves into a “monster in the woods” on the property so that they can prank the teenage trespassers that come around every Halloween.

It’s kinda a tradition, they’ve done it since the 70s, they are the “All Hallows Beast” because they only appear in the week before Halloween.

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

They say in moments of great pain, the human mind can conjure up a comforting memory to escape the trauma of the present

You all asked and you have received!! Here is the full page those two little doodles from last night came from :) thought this was a cute song and decided to make a little Ghost Reader AU bit to go along with it <3

Bonus, a cut to several months later:

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

omg your ghost reader au strip made me so sad😭😭 i have to ask, is there a continuation? do sun & moon remember them/what they did? does the reader get to speak to them again or is it all angst no comfort?? agshjahslk sorry for the bombardment but i'm so curious what u think! :0

idk if i'll write anything for the idea, but the general au is angst as a whole jhjdhjs mostly it's about Sun and Moon slowly getting sentience back and struggling to make sense of the bits and pieces of memories they have, and trying to track down that quiet, sad, but somehow comforting, stranger they only ever catch glimpses of

if i was gonna try to give it a happy ending,, maybe i'd go for a "ghost-reader-possesses-an-animatronic-that's-going-to-work-in-the-daycare" thing?? or if i wanted to go sadder i'd say the boys never fully remember anything and Reader's ghost haunts the Plex for years to come, forever lonely and longing for the happy life they never got to have