Help the environment
The interaction between the damians has me WHEEZINGđ
I donât think Iâm gonna actually write it but I felt like sharing the outline and ideas for the story. This is a mix of a few continuities because I do what I want, and have trouble keeping everything straight. Feel free to add stuff or make suggestions. Now strap in cause I have some thoughts.
So this guy in Gotham is experimenting with transdimensional technology. Oracle discovers what heâs doing and how dangerous it is so she sends the bat family after him. Nightwing, Red Hood, Spoiler, Red Robin, Black Bat, and Robin go after this guy but he sets off a machine and transports them to a different dimension. The main difference of this dimension is that the Graysons never died which set off quite the chain of events, but our heroes donât know that yet. Cut to this universeâs Batman finding a gaggle of people ranging from early teens to their twenties dressed in weird costumes smoking in a crater. Not to mention a few of them have bats on their chest. This Batman never had a partner outside of Alfred so when they try to explain who they are it doesnât go great because Batman canât even imagine working with one kid let alone six. Then he starts to realize a few of these people seem familiar.
In this universe, Dick would have lived with his parents a bit longer but would have eventually been taken by the Court of Owls to become their Grey Son and new talon. Bruce recognizes him after a while because heâs fought him before. It takes a little because he acts drastically different from his unfeeling counterpart in this universe but Bruce probably figures it out after seeing him do some acrobatics, or hears one of the others call him âGrayson.â The realization is pretty jarring for Bruce and itâs really unsettling to see the cold soulless assassin he knows so full of life. He doesnât tell the bat family that he knows his universeâs Grayson, because thatâs totally something Batman would do and fun plot stuff later.
He doesnât know who Jason is AT ALL. He still meets him the same way in this universe but doesnât take him in. Thereâs no role of Robin to fill and he has no idea how to care for a child. Bruce does send him to the wayward school for boys but doesnât really check up on him after that. The whole event becomes a sort of weird story like âremember that one kid who tried to steal tires off the batmobile?â What happens Jason afterward is harder to figure out. Maybe he became a low-level street criminal or a gang leader or ended up in jail. I canât quite figure it out. What Batman does know is that the boy he meets is using the Jokerâs old alias, carries a lot of guns, and looks like he wonât hesitate to use them. None of which is painting a very good picture. This could lead to a cool moment where Bruce, unaware of Jasonâs Tragic Backstory⢠and fragile truce with his family (Jason is gonna be a lot closer with his siblings in this au), yells at him for this and the others defend him.
Batman probably recognizes Spoiler first. Stephanie would have still gone after her father and created the spoiler persona, even without the inspiration of Robin. However, she wouldnât have anyone to train her and Batman would be actively discouraging her from going out as Spoiler. Thatâs not going to stop Steph from being Spoiler but she probably doesnât operate on a large scale like she does as part of the batfamily. Not only does she have to avoid villains in this universe but also Batman because he doesnât think she should get involved in vigilante work and tries to stop her when he can. So he sees this version of Steph in a higher tech version of her Spoiler costume and is just so exhausted.
Tim still totally knows who Batman is in this universe. He may not have had Robin to compare to the Graysonâs acrobatics but he would have figured it out somehow. Thatâs where a lot of the similarities end though. Tim would still live with his parents (who are alive) and never really get involved with Batman directly. He became a vigilante because Batman needed a Robin, but here the role of Robin never existed. Tim probably still takes pictures of Batman and that hero worship never really went away. Heâs also still an amazing detective even without any formal training. Bruce knows of Tim but doesnât figure out how much he knows, or that Red Robin is an alternate version of him.
Bruce also doesnât know who Cassandra is because he never met her. Her origin stays pretty much the same except she never joins the batfamily. Sheâd just be out on the streets doing her own thing, on the run from David Cain.
Now with Damian, things get interesting. Another slight change Iâd like to make to the universe the batfamily land in is that Damian never left the League of Assasins. Damian has met and fought Batman on a few occasions but Bruse doesnât know that Damian is his son. Partly because Damian keeps part of his face covered so he canât see the resemblance. When he meets Robin he has a feeling heâs familiar but canât quite place it. He realizes this is Taliaâs son a little after he recognizes Grayson. Then thereâs the really intense exchange of âYouâre Damian Al Ghulâ âNo Iâm Damian Wayne!â This is extremely shocking for Bruce because of the realization that he has a son. That son is in the League of Assassins! His mother is Talia al Ghul! He has met said son and didnât even know it! It sets off all sorts of emotions.
As for the actual story, aside from just the general shenanigans of Bruce interacting with the children of his alternate self and trying to get them home, I was thinking that it would start with the alternate universeâs Tim. In this universe Tim is still a genius detective, heâs just not as good because he doesnât have the training. So he would start poking around in Gotham and discover a huge conspiracy linked to the Court of Owls and decided to figure out just how powerful they are and how deep the conspiracy runs. Cause investigating an all-powerful organization completely on his own with no training is the type of stuff Tim does Batman or no Batman. He only recently discovered the court and is still investigating it when the batfamily show up so Batman isnât aware Tim knows about the Court or that heâs been looking into them. The Court finds out about Timâs investigation and send Talon to kill him. The bat family then have to protect this universeâs Tim from Talon, who is Dick. This causes a lot of angst, drama, and family bonding as the batfamily figure out how this universe is different from theirs. Iâd love for the other members of the batfamily to get roped into the story somehow too but Iâm not sure how. I feel like this story has a lot of potencail and couldnât just leave it in my head.Â
Random Funny Stuff for this au
Dick named a lot of the equipment and stuff Batman uses so in this universe things would probably be named very differently.
Tim: Weâll need to use the bat computer.
Alt Bruce: The what computer?
Tim: You know? The large computer set up in the cave?
Alt Bruce: Yeah but you called it the bat computer.
Tim: Well what do you call it?
Alt Bruce: The computer.
Tim: âŚ..that just feels wrong.
Damian: Yes I know this part of the cave. This is where we keep Batcow.
Alt Bruce: Where you keep what?!
Alt Barbra: My name is Detective Barbra Gordon. Give me one good reason I shouldnât arrest you all right now.
Jason: Looks like Babs is a Badass in every universe.
Dick: Did you expect any less?
Jason: Honestly? No.
Alt Jim Gordon: *Sees the batfamily* Oh dear god theyâre multiplying.
During the Talon fight
Talon: I am the Grey Son of Gotham.
Stephanie: Dick, sweetie, I know you like wordplay but this is low even for you. Get some better material.
Jason: Damn Goldie! When you go dark you donât fuck around!
Tim: I thought if one of my siblings was going to kill me itâd be Robin. But not you Nightwing, never you.
Dick: I appreciate the attempt at humor but can we please focus.
Alt Bruce: I think my alternate self has a problem with adoption.
Jason: THATâS WHAT WE KEEP SAYING!!!!
Alt Damian: I heard the bat was working with new warriors but looking at you now I doubt you are even worthy to die by my blade.
*Entire batfamily is silent for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter*
Damian: Do I really sound like that?
Tim: Heâs even worse than when the brat first showed up! I didnât even think that was possible!
Ugh, ok. I didnât want to have to say this, but⌠I keep seeing those cheeky posts going around like âTee hee, I sure hope no protesters know that-â or âIt would be a shame if anyone were to-â
Guys, PLEASE STOP SPREADING THOSE. Those posts are going to get someone hurt.
You should NOT trust unverified advice from strangers on the internet. Honestly, some of the advice Iâve seen is so bad I almost have to wonder if it was created by plants to try to get people hurt. Speaking as someone whoâs involved in multiple martial arts, improper self-defense techniques will get you hurt; Speaking as someone who is familiar with plywood, it ainât going to do shit to block a heavy projectile and WILL fill you with horrible splinters. Unless you know for certain advice is trustworthy, you should be neither listening to nor spreading it.
If you see any attempt at combat or self-defense advice online, you should ask yourself:
Who is posting it?
What are their qualifications?
Where did they get this information?
Is it being explained in a clear, detailed, and easy-to-understand manner?
What are the precautions? How might this go wrong?
If you donât have good answers to these questions, then itâs bad advice and should not be followed or spread. Sure, maybe some of it might be genuinely good advice- But it might not be, and unless you know for sure, then itâs far better to err on the side of caution than to risk getting hurt.
Be safe, be smart, and always check your sources.
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readerâs pronouns: they/them
the reader's race and gender are ambiguous; no physical descriptors are used.
summary: âI couldâve caused you irreversible harm,â Bruce says. Itâs almost a practiced recitation at this point, and you have to wonder if he truly believes thatâor if heâs just been conditioned by everyone around him to believe he is only capable of inflicting pain. âYou didnât,â you maintain, for what feels like the thousandth time. Bruce is so caught up in the hypotheticals that he refuses to see the success right in front of him: the fact that he didnât so much as lay a finger on you.
word count: 2.9k | ao3 version
warnings: canon-typical violence
Being an Avenger means you have to be ready for anything at all times. That spontaneity is difficult to adjust to at first, but as time passes, you grow used to it. You grow used to sleeping lightly; to stashing weapons just about anywhere you can keep them; to having few restful days and many restless ones. The moment your powers manifested, you knew you would be a hero: not because you wanted to be one, but because it would be your responsibility to protect those who needed protecting.Â
You werenât always an Avenger. At first, you were just a rogueâkind of a vigilante. But then the attack on New York happenedâLoki happenedâand everything flew out the window. Suddenly, you were out on the street in broad daylight, trying your best to keep the civilians safe. That was how you crashed into Iron Man of all people. You exchanged banter and insults, but when it came down to it, you protected him, and he protected you. And Tony is extremely persistentâit didnât take long for him to sink his claws into you and drag you back to the Avengers Tower.Â
From there, you gradually get to know the other Avengers. Steve and Clint are relatively friendly right off the bat. Natasha is a bit more difficultâyou have to earn her trust before she starts to open up to you. But eventually, somehow, you manage to bond with all of the other occupants of the Tower. At least, all of them except Bruce Banner.Â
Bruce is an interesting case. He almost immediately dismissed you when Tony first introduced you, instead deigning to focus on his experiments. You hadnât taken offense to Bruceâs reclusive behavior, nor had you taken the hint that he didnât want to get to know you. Instead, you had all but forced him to acknowledge you. This manifested in a multitude of ways: from going out of your way to talk to him to offering to help with his research. Bruce is extremely protective of his laboratory, but somehow he deemed you capable enough to serve as his laboratory assistant. You were more than content to hand him capsules and adjust minor things, while he did the brunt of the work. You took the gifted opportunities to attempt to get to know him better. At first, it was like speaking to a brick wall. But somewhere along the way, his cold and uncaring façade began to crack. You slowly worked your way up to meaningless small talkâand, later, casual conversation.
Truthfully, you really enjoy spending time with Bruce. But heâs rather unpredictableâsometimes heâll push you away, and other times heâll play along. You know that he has a lot of baggageâwhat with his childhood and his alter-ego. Youâve been trying to convince him that you care about himâthat youâre not going to abandon him or villainize himâbut he doesnât ever seem to believe you. He always conducts himself with some semblance of suspicion and doubt; it almost seems like heâs waiting for you to wake up to reality and run away screaming.
Still, progress is progressâno matter how slow. Youâre happy with how youâve slowly bonded with him, and you can only hope that thereâs more on the horizon for the both of you.Â
âŚYou never consider the possibility that something could happen to make things worseâto destroy your progress and send you right back to the start.Â
âWe need you for something.â
Youâre brutally torn from your reverie, forced to slowly come back to yourself. Youâre sitting in the living room, staring ahead at the blank wall. How long have you been sitting here? All you know is that itâs no longer light outside, and that Natasha is standing in front of you with a firm expression.Â
âI- what?â You stammer, still processing whatâs happening. âNat-â
âItâs important,â she says. You get to your feet before she can continue speaking. âTrust me.â You do trust her. Natasha isnât one for over-exaggeration or dramatics; when she says something is important, she means it. And the grave expression on her face is only worrying you more. You follow after her as she walks down the hall and towards the elevators. The two of you step into the space and she presses a button, before the elevator slowly rises.Â
In hindsight, perhaps you shouldâve been a bit more suspicious. Why would she be taking you to another floor in the Tower? Typically, when thereâs a new development or an imminent threat, youâll be directed to another locationâeither to combat the threat or to strategize. Furthermore, thereâs a strained silence in the air between Natasha and you. Natâs shoulders are drawn tight and sheâs staring ahead pointedly, as if avoiding your eyes.Â
The elevator dings and you breathe an internal sigh of relief, hoping to get rid of this needless tension. But before you can begin to take a step, youâre being roughly shoved out of the elevator and into the hallway. It takes you several moments to get your bearingsâat which point you recognize the telltale sounds of the doors behind you closing, and the elevator dropping back down to where you came. You stare at the closed doors in disbelief, before turning to look back down the hall. One of the recreational rooms is straight ahead, and you hear yelling.Â
Once youâre standing in the doorway, youâre able to place the inexplicable noises you were hearing. Bruce is in his Hulk form, green and raging as he throws anything within his grasp at the walls around him. Youâre willing to bet Natasha brought you here to do something about this. Why she thinks youâre the best person to calm Bruce down, youâre not sure.Â
âBruce,â you say slowly. Bruce promptly freezes, an exercise machine lifted over his head. He stares down at you; you stare up at him. Heâs momentarily distracted by you. âItâs okay.â Heâs silent. You hold your hands out at your sides in mock surrender. âIâm not here to hurt you,â you continue. âYouâre safe.â
Silence. You take a slow breath. The machine heâs holding over his head drops a fraction of an inch.Â
âItâs okay, Bruce.â You repeat, pushing as much conviction into your voice as you can. Your effort seems to work, as his eyebrows furrow. For a moment, thereâs nothing but silence as the two of you stare at each other. Then, his visage shifts and youâre suddenly looking at Bruce Bannerâdisheveled and exhausted.
âAre you alright-?â Youâre compelled to ask. The scientist is back in human form, wearing nothing but a tattered pair of pants; bruises and scratches litter his skin; and thereâs a distant expression on his face. He seems to snap out of his trance when he hears your voice.
âWhat the hell are you doing?â Bruce then spits. You immediately flinch at the unexpected anger. âSeriously, what the fuck are you doing here?â His gaze is flitting about the room quickly, before settling on you with fevered intensity. Youâve never seen Bruce look so irate before. Heâs a remarkably composed man (although you suspect he bottles up anger and rage and lets it out in bursts as the Hulk). Indeed, this kind of fury is typical for the Hulk, but exceedingly rare for Bruce.Â
âI didnât-â You choke out helplessly, glancing back at the hall and, by extension, the elevator. âThey-â Itâs inexplicably difficult for you to get the words out.Â
âThat was our doing.â A voice confesses from behind you. You turn around to find Nat and Tony standing behind you. The two of them approach and come to a stop at your side.Â
Bruceâs gaze locks on them with fiery focus. He brings a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. His glasses are nowhere to be seenâhe mustâve dropped them somewhere as he transformed. âI expected better from both of you.â
âBruce-â Tony tries to say, an apologetic expression on his face.Â
âWhat on earth made you think that throwing them out as bait was a good idea?â Bruce interjects furiously, motioning towards you. âYou couldâve gotten them seriously injured!â He exclaims. Tony has the good grace to look embarrassed; Nat is staring ahead with a flat expression and her arms crossed over her chest.
âBruce, Iâm fine-â You try to say, quickly growing uncomfortable with the tension settling in the air.Â
âI couldâve harmed you,â Bruce is quick to assert. âEasily.â His voice is cold.Â
âBut you didnât,â you maintain. Heâs not giving himself enough credit. More troubling is the idea that he has faith in his own crueltyâthat he only sees himself as capable of harming someone. You donât know what else to say, donât know what could possibly be said to repair the evident years of damage done to this manâs psyche. The entire world has treated him as a weapon at best and an uncontrollable, irredeemable monster at worst.
âThat doesnât matter,â Bruce says with unshakeable certainty. He retreats from the room, leaving you to stare after him in confusion and shock. You turn to face Natasha and Tony, who are both staring at the doorway with complex looks.Â
You want to tell them off, but the words that leave your lips are far different than you intend them to be. âShould I go after him?â You ask instead. Bruce is the primary concern right nowâyou can chew Tony and Nat out later. Youâve known him for a bit now, and have grown to interpret his expressions fairly easily. Youâve seen Bruce express a lot of emotions⌠but the look on his face just now is completely foreign to you.Â
âProbably,â Tony admits.Â
âI donât think we should,â Natasha says, motioning towards Tony and herself. âHeâs mad at us. And⌠rightfully so.â She exchanges a glance with Tony, whose lips are pressed in a thin line. Itâs clear they didnât give enough thought to their whole plan.Â
âYouâll be fine, though,â Tony says with unfounded conviction. Nat places a hand on your shoulder and grips it reassuringly. You take a deep breath and come to a decision, walking down the hall and towards the elevator doors.Â
Moments later, youâre walking out of the lift and down the dim hallway leading to Bruceâs bedroom. Heâs entirely alone on this floor of the tower. You pause in front of his door for a few seconds, wondering if you should walk away. But you canât. Instead, you knock on the door four times. âBruce?â You ask. Despite the clear sturdiness of the door, heâs able to hear you.Â
âGo away.â Bruce responds. His voice is a little muffled, and you have to strain to hear him.Â
Youâre hurt for the briefest of moments. Then you shelve the feeling and resolve yourself to tackling it later. âIâm coming in,â you announce, placing your hand against the scanner at the edge of the doorway. The scanner flashes green and the door slides open, revealing Bruceâs bedroom. Youâve never been here before. Itâs modestly decorated, with mostly monotone shades. Nothing particularly strikes you, save for the giant desk in the corner of the room. Papers litter the entire surface of the desk, and a few are covered by Bruceâs arms.Â
The man doesnât look up as you approach. âI donât want to see you,â Bruce says. His back is turned and youâre unable to see his expression.Â
âI donât care,â you respond, taking a few steps into the space until youâre a short (yet seemingly insurmountable) distance from Bruce. Heâs sitting at his desk, rubbing his hands over his eyes roughly. It doesnât take long for you to remember your guilt. âBruce, I donât want you to torture yourself over this.â Maybe you shouldnât have interfered in the first place.Â
âI couldâve caused you irreversible harm,â Bruce says. Itâs almost a practiced recitation at this point, and you have to wonder if he truly believes thatâor if heâs just been conditioned by everyone around him to believe he is only capable of inflicting pain.Â
âYou didnât,â you maintain, for what feels like the thousandth time. Bruce is so caught up in the hypotheticals that he refuses to see the success right in front of him: the fact that he didnât so much as lay a finger on you.Â
âNo, I donât think you understand,â Bruce says with a shake of his head. He pushes himself out of his chair and gets to his feet, turning around to face you. Your eyes widen as you notice the torn expression on his face, the dark circles under his eyes, and the determination written in every line of his form. âMy eyes locked onto you and, for a split second, I envisioned harming you. Deliberately.â The confession clings to the air like a vice.Â
âBut you didnât act on that impulse,â you assert. âYou suppressed it.âÂ
âSo?â Bruce argues. âI still had the urge. You should be disgusted, afraid-âÂ
âIâm not afraid of you, Bruce,â you interrupt. The statement lingers heavily in the air between the two of you. For a long moment, thereâs nothing but the faint hum youâve grown to associate with the Tower itself. Â
âYou should be,â Bruce then mutters. And suddenly heâs standing in front of you, staring at you with a dark gaze. His fists are clenched at his sides and you see his skin flicker with shades of green, before it returns to normal. The man maneuvers you to the side and shoves you, until youâre hitting the wall behind you. Bruceâs hands move up to your shirt collar and he clenches at it, his fingers almost spasming as he tightens his grip. You just stare at him. âI could ruin you.â He murmurs, so quietly that you have to strain to hear it.Â
You want to argue with him so badly, but that strategy hasnât been working so far. For some reason, Bruce has convinced himself that he not only has the capacity to hurt you, but that he wants to. You know that canât be true, but how can you convince him? If he thinks he can ruin you⌠âThen do it,â you challenge him. He meets your eyes once more and you stare back unflinchingly, trying to convey how much you trust him.Â
If you thought the tension was suffocating before, itâs practically ripping the breath from your lungs now. Everything around you seems to fade into obscurity. All you can see is Bruce; all you can feel is Bruce. His fingers twitch and his grip falls from your collar. For an awful moment, you think heâs going to walk awayâturn his back on you as he has done so many times before. But he doesnât. Instead, he leans closer. If heâs trying to get you to back down, then it isnât working.Â
At first, you want to think that Bruce is testing you. But the way heâs regarding you right nowâwith glittering desire in his eyesâmakes you think otherwise. His hands move from the wall to your shoulders, back to the nape of your neck, until he gently tugs you forward. Itâs hardly a strong pull, and you understand the choice heâs giving you.Â
But, you think fondly, there was never much of a choice. From the moment you locked eyes with him, you knew he would dominate your thoughts. And indeed, he has. You think about the hard-won look of approval in his eyes when you make an astute observation; the way he almost frantically looks across the battlefield, his posture instantly relaxing once he sees you; the contradictions written all over his skin; the rare smiles you feel privileged to see.Â
You lean forward and press your lips to his. Bruce is quick to reciprocate, his hands lingering at the nape of your neck before slipping down to your waist. You lock your arms around his shoulders, practically trapping him in your embrace. But from the strength of his grip, you can ascertain that the gesture is more than welcome.Â
Later, when you break apart, Bruce has a disbelieving expression on his face. He looks slightly dazed, as if suspicious of the reality he now finds himself in. You grasp his wrist gently.Â
âYou canât get rid of me, Bruce,â You murmur insistently, â...no matter how hard you try.â
He stares at you for another long moment. âAnd I have tried,â Bruce admits through a dry huff. You want to be offended by the comment, but you know itâs true. Bruce is stupidly self-sacrificingâhe purposefully keeps his distance from people to protect them. But the reality of the situation is that people will come to harm regardless of his presence. âBut youâre too stubborn.â That statement is spoken with a significant amount of fondness, and his hand comes up to cradle your cheek. You bring your hand up to rest on top of his.Â
âIâll always be here, even when you donât want me to be.â You promise. And maybe that promise isnât yours to make, because one can never truly predict what will come next. But somehow, deep down, you know it to be true.Â
Bruce brings you close once more, an uncharacteristic note of boldness in the fluid movement. When you step back moments later, you find that he has a hint of a smile on his face. âI know,â Bruce says, the traces of apprehension on his face breaking and cracking to reveal a rare sight: unrestrained affection.
thanks for reading! <3
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Janus + slytherin
hey TS stans, iâm testing out a theory. reblog and put ur favorite side + ur hogwarts house in the tags, pls and thank u. itâs for science.
I want someone at the fbi to have a whiteboard tally of all the times one of the Wayne kids said something on live tv that resulted in a federal investigation being launched.
I want a separate tally of the number of convictions linked to one of those investigations, and another tally representing the number of times the Waynes implicated Luthor on national television.
I want the Wayne kids to be able to be on some talk show sharing a hilarious story of such and such a time and oh yeah Lex was there and doing this thing that was probably fine I donât know law lol and someone in the fbi is watching and goes, âwe got another one,â to the collective cheers and groans of those who placed bets on the outcome of the interview.
My friend from Lebanon wrote up a really good thread on Twitter I thought I should share here, just to clear up some of the inaccuracies floating around:
And here are some of the links they provided:
https://www.supportlrc.app/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/prevent-suicides-due-to-poverty-and-unemployment
https://www.gofundme.com/f/medical-relief-to-lebanon
https://www.gofundme.com/f/hope-for-lebanon
https://www.gofundme.com/f/lebanonneedsorg
http://www.caritas.org.lb/get_involved/donate
https://beitelbaraka.net/donation/pay/
https://gogetfunding.com/beirut-emergency-relief/
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lebanon-relief
https://www.givingloop.org/offrejoie
https://www.gofundme.com/f/beirut-explosion-emergency-disaster-relief
anonymous leaked bolsonaroâs private info including his credit card number and someone on twitter bought a whole ass macbook pro with it. yes. a person bought an macbook pro with the presidentâs credit card. this country really isnât for beginners
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