#Talia's Downfall

[gothamite-rambler]

Game Show Host: All right, we asked both couples what is their oddest nightmare? First couple—

Bruce (doing this game show not by his choice): We're not a couple.

Talia: We're twin flames that can never truly be together, but our love will forever burn.

Bruce (frustrated, voice low): That's herpes, not love! Just answer the question!

Talia held up her cue card.

Host: He worries that his bedwetting will return and he'll lose his reputation as the strong, handsome man he is, leading to his downfall. And he wrote down this answer assuming I’d get it wrong so he could pretend it was a lie.

Bruce sighed, holding up the cue card with the answer: 'Bedwetting at my current age and ruining my reputation. This is a totally lie.'

Host: That's another correct answer from the Al Ghuls!

Bruce (enraged): You used your last name?!

Talia: We can combine ours when we get married, don't worry, baby.

Bruce: I hate you so much!

Talia (mischievously sweet tone): Do you want me to help you find the you-know-what, or can we leave? Your choice.

Bruce growled, biting his card while Talia kept up her winning smile. The game show host smiled, blissfully unaware of the obvious disdain Bruce had for Talia. The other couple watched the two, with the husband turning to his wife.

Husband: Why aren't you like that with me?

Wife (flatly): I'm not insane, for one thing.

[damian-lil-babybat]

DAMIAN WAYNE IS A GREEK TRAGEDY

When I say Damian al Ghul Wayne has almost all the ingredients of a classical Greek Tragedy, it is not an empty claim.

1. Tragic Hero: The hero facing his destiny with dignity. His virtuous character forms a bond with the audience, while his tragic flaw results in the audience’s fear for him, and his terrible punishment reveals a sense of pity.

Damian is the hero of his own story. In his mind, he was given a destiny, a standard to live up to. It came from his grandfather, as Hafid al Ghul, son of the Demon. It came from his mother, as her Alexander, with Talia deluding herself as Olympias. It came from his father, as the son of Batman.

He thought himself perfect on all those role, mighty ones they might be, heavy and overwhelming even, but he persevered in ways that should be impossible and ultimately achieved the pinnacle of a perfect heir for all of them.

2. Tragic Flaw: The human limitations of the hero or an error in judgement leading to the downfall. He attempts to escape from his destiny; however, he unknowingly runs toward it. His attempt leads him to his “damnation”.

But what he thought was perfection, was his downfall. For even if he was designed and raised to be perfect, those roles are fashioned by imperfect mortals. As the son of the Batman, he was all too much of a monster to even be treated as child, let alone a son. As the son of the Demon, he was too soft, kind, and all too human, to sit upon the al Ghul's immortal throne. As the great Alexander, he was deemed as a mere pawn, a victim of circumstance, and not a victor of his own fate.

He was set up for failure before his story even began.

3. Catastrophe: The horrible ending of the play: death, suicide, ruin etc. Upon the truth being revealed about Oedipus’ origin, Queen Jocasta commits suicide by hanging herself, Oedipus stabs his eyes with the pin on Jocasta’s dress and pleads to be exiled from the city.

And just like all tragedies, it ends up in death...so many deaths and sacrifices. Repeat and rinse, the cycle continues with each redeeming arc punctuated by his death or ruin.

And just like Sisyphus, one must imagine him to be happy. For how else could he endure these unending trials?

4. Central Belief of Destiny: The belief of the fact that the actions were preordained by the gods and the flaw was inevitable. Even though Oedipus attempts to flee from his preordained destiny, the belief in inevitable destiny becomes the reason for his destruction.

How else could he keep harking on to his destiny? Desperately clinging to it like a promise gold once he touched it like Midas' cursed hands? But no, everything he touches turns to dust, every height he scale would be pushed down reverting him back to his old bare bones of an unwanted worthless child from both side of his parents, even how much he tries to make things right. Every person or thing he treasured is another ammunition for plot purposes to make him more tragic than he already was.

Damian had tried to flee before, but fate always brings him back. Because Batman needs a Robin. But Bruce already has a Robin, doesn't he? Because Damian needs to be Robin? Just cause, who would he be then? When all those titles he earned has been discarded and thrashed in the light of Batman's justice?

And the only one title he could be proud of is always threatened to be taken away if he just as much cross an invisible line that keep on changing depending on whims of the doomed narrative.

5. The Chorus: Approximately twelve masked men, forming a specific group, make comments on the ongoing play by singing and dancing.

Due to its form of media, Damian has no twelve singing and dancing masked men. XD

BUT If I have a say on this, I'll give Damian his own set of bardic troupe narrating his life story, and maybe somehow DC writers would finally admit he was loved and wanted, and was never alone and actually have family, companions and friends along the way!

https://www.byarcadia.org/post/ancient-greek-tragedy-101-the-introduction

AND THAT IS WHY it makes more sense for writers to like and, or dare I say, even love Damian's character.

A lot of great fanfictioners in AO3 actually root for this little guy. So it's nice ✌️

[brucewaynehater101]

So turns out that while Talia and Bruce were on an off stage in their on and off again, why won't you join the evil cult? why won't you leave the evil cult? relationship, Talia happened across an absolutely lovely archaeologist who was looking into local folklore in an effort to find some hint regarding a lost tomb. Talia was intrigued because when she listened to the archaeologist's findings, she realized the archaeologist was veering very close to not a tomb but one of her father's back up pits.

Now, Talia could just kill the archaeologist, destroy the research, and move on. She could sabotage the research and move on.

But the archaeologist was really, really pretty. Talia was feeling a little low and in the mood for a rebound.

So Janet and Talia had a fling. Talia adjusts Janet's research so that rather than leading Janet to a lazarus pit, Janet will be led to the tomb of one of Ra's old enemies that her father respected but also disliked enough that he left the enemy dead. He'd stopped sending ninja to maintain the tomb a few centuries ago so Talia figured it was fair game.

Janet becomes Talia's regular rebound when Talia and Bruce are between dramatic semi relationship. Janet breaks it off after she found out she was pregnant with her husband's child. Talia sulked but respected the break up since fortunately it was at a point when Talia was back on her thing with Bruce. She figured that she could always seduce Janet again later.

The later come but Talia discovers Janet's death. She is incensed. Janet was not her Beloved but Janet was hers. She would decide when one of hers was allowed to die!

So Talia does some casual grave robbing. Some magic may be involved in restoring the body.

And sometime later during the Brucequest, Tim finds his mother, dressed in silks, having been living as Talia's prisoner/girlfriend/head researcher of the LoA for the last few years after Talia brought her back from the dead. His mother is going to need some deprogramming but she's very happy to see her son and annoyed enough at the whole captivity thing, as well as the discovery of the downfall of Drake Industries which it turns out Talia lied to her about and had told her that Jack had been keeping things steady while Tim was studying to take over, to be very willing to help Tim blow things up. Janet is also very much not a fan of Ra's in general.

Okay okay. But now I'm imagining the conversation between Talia and Ra's.

Talia: "Father."

Ra's: "Yes, Talia?"

Talia: "I require LoA resources to bring back my lover."

Ra's: *assumes she's talking about Bruce* "Alright. Here's some tips as well."

Talia: "Thank you, Father."

~~ Later ~~

Talia: "Father."

Ra's: ".... And who's this?"

Talia: "My lover."

Ra's: *blinks rapidly in Janet's direction but won't admit he gave Talia resources under an incorrect assumption* "What about the Detective?"

Talia: *grimaces* "Beloved is... preoccupied."

Ra's: "He's occupied with that cat woman, isn't he?"

Talia: *glares and stalks out of the room with Janet*

Anyways, Talia then spends a lot of time doting on Janet in her own ways. This includes them traveling together (though Janet has no access to outside technology, information, or people to ask for help). Janet probably could've escaped, but Talia reassured her Tim and Jack were fine.

Drake Industries went under, Jack is dead, and Tim is Robin (or now Red Robin). This is not what Janet would describe as fine >:(

[neatlystackedrats]

Batfam as things me and my friends have said:

Alfred: You can’t just OBTAIN a child

Bruce: VENGEANCE

Selina: your kneecaps seem very easy to steal

Talia: I like treating them like little rats in my maze experiment :)

Kate: i punch all the time, i’m going to punch tonight, and on wednesday

Barbara: Me? Ya, I’m such a nerd. Maybe I can learn how to hack the government.

Dick: YOWZAH!

Cass: these bones have a nice crunch to them

Jason: I would not beat a 15 year old to death with a crow bar

Steph: I’m so porched I’m a patio

Tim: gaining consciousness was my downfall

Duke: I need to photosynthesis

Damian: (about whoever) He doesn’t even have a purpous… i don’t understand 😐

[lvrslvt3]

LOVE IS A CHOICE | h. lewis

main masterlist | youtuber masterlist

pairings : harry lewis x reader

summary : harry’s insecurities causes the downfall of his own relationship.

warnings : swearing, arguing, just a whole of sadness.

notes : thanks for all the love on my first harry fic (and my first fic ever) i greatly appreciate it!!

“walk out of that door,” you pointed your finger in the direction of your flat door, “and we’re fucking done. i mean it, harry.” you threat with your voice very audibly shaking with the overwhelming emotions you were experiencing.

he felt awful, seeing you in this state, but his mind was set. this would be better for you no matter how much it hurt at first. you would come to your senses quickly and live a better life and he was willing to sacrifice his own happiness for that.

harry stopped just as he was about to walk away from you, from your life together, to prepare himself for the heavy lie about to be forced through his lips — one that would break his heart just as it will yours.

slowly, he turned his head back to face you. “you can’t end anything that was never there.” your face immediately broke, and his heart broke so violently he was surprised it didn’t create any noise. there was no coming back from this.

you shook her head and opened your mouth but nothing came out except a small, choking sob that you quickly covered up by closing your mouth again. you weren’t going to break down infront of him, you wanted to look strong.

he didn’t deserve to see that he had so clearly hit a nerve, that he had just broken down the girl he had previously built back up. you just needed him to leave so you could be alone.

finally, he turned again and left your flat with a loud slam of the front door. your sobs echoed through his head as the door closed behind him for good — now he had to face the future alone.

the more harry didn’t want you, the harder you tried. however, the harder you tried the more he didn’t want you. you didn’t know what you had done to deserve the treatment you had received from him that night. there was only thing you knew for sure; you couldn’t let it break you. atleast not on the outside.

so, in hopes of proving to everyone you was coping well you had agreed to a brunch date with talia in which you both sat at the back of a restaurant and spoke of your feelings. you had tried to avoid the topic but talia knew you to well.

she was the only one you could confide in. she was the only shoulder you let myself sob into when you couldn’t pretend to be okay anymore. she was your rock through it all. talia understood it was more than a breakup you were experiencing; it was grief of losing harry lewis.

your closest friend, sat across from you, swirled her plastic straw around her glass cup, glancing up at you after taking a sip. “do you still love him?” she questioned in a gentle tone that made you want to start crying again.

you didn’t answer properly at first. you hummed just before you took a large sip of your drink infront of you to try and delay the inevitable. talia would not leave you alone until she knew you were okay.

a mere three seconds later, a hand landed on top of yours, rubbing over the skin on top and taking you away from your own consuming thoughts. talia held your hand until you finally found the courage to answer out loud truthfully.

“i don’t think i’ll ever stop.” you words seemed to upset talia. it only proved how much she cared for you — that she felt your emotions with you to let you know you weren’t alone in this. “i just don’t know if we’re meant for each other.”

talia gave your hand a reassuring squeeze, “you should speak to him.” she advised you, “maybe you’re not meant for each other now, but end it in good terms just incase.”

you weren’t sure wether or not to go along with her advice, but at the end of the day you knew that you couldn’t move on from him properly without knowing what you had done to destroy your relationship.

harry answered your late night text straight away and agreed to come over to yours only the next day. infact, he arrived an hour earlier than you both had agreed upon. mostly because he was too nervous to wait around.

now, you stood across from your ex boyfriend with only the kitchen island to separate you from eachother. you leaned against the counter in hopes it would keep you upright throughout this tough conversation that neither of you were ready for.

“did i do anything to make you stop loving me?” the questioned rolled off of your tongue as if it was a casual conversation topic, like you were talking about what to have for dinner instead of why your relationship fell apart so quickly.

harry couldn’t meet your eyes. instead, he was fixating on the ground beneath him. “i never stopped loving you.” finally he met your adamant gaze, “i just…” he shrugged as he tried to find his words, “if i don’t like who i am, why should you?”

you hung your head down onto your hands. you was beyond stressed. you had finally pieced it together — he didn’t stop loving you but instead stopped loving himself, which led to lots of miscommunication. however, you felt that surely he loved you enough to not let you go.

“but how could you leave me so easily?” you pestered him once again, causing his jaw to clench tightly and his eyes to move away from you once again. other than that his body was rigid, as if he was afraid to move.

he had planned this whole conversation out. he knew how this needed to end for your sake and he was willing to do anything for it. even if that meant going through this.

“it’s not easy, y/n, but it’s for the better.” harry finally looked up at his ex girlfriend that had been staring at him the whole time — looking exceedingly dejected. “you have to understand i don’t want to do this, i need to.”

“harry—“

“please, y/n.” harry interrupted you with an begging tone in his voice, “you don’t deserve me, you don’t deserve this,” he used his hand to gesture between the both of you, “i love you, i always will, but this doesn’t feel right.”

he began to grow frustrated. he shook his hands while he spoke in a way to try and get his correct emotions across without making this situation any worse than it already was. “please, y/n.” he turned desperate.

you didn’t want to argue anymore, he wasn’t changing his mind no matter what you said or did. his mind was set on leaving you no matter how much it hurt you to admit to yourself. you didn’t know if what you both had was true love, but it was the closest you had ever gotten.

“okay, harry.” you spoke with a despondent glaze over your eyes, you had lost all hope. you walked over to the other side to stand by harry, “whatever you need.” your voice broke through the sentence.

harry stood there, looking at the woman he loves, his heart heavy with longing despite their current situation. you looked back at him, your eyes locking, and you both knew what the other was feeling. despite all of it, you still had a feeling of mutual respect and understanding for harry.

he leaned closer, to try and kiss you, but before he can you pulled away. “i can’t.” your voice was merely above a whisper. the words still left harry speechless while you turned and walked away. leaving him in the kitchen staring at where you had disappeared to, looking mournful.

love is just not a feeling. it’s a choice that people made every day, and you had to chose to stop expressing your love for harry so he could learn to love himself properly. he needed to be there for himself to enjoy what you two had.

nothing compared to harry, but you would wait for him.

[grandisknight]

thinking thoughts / rafayel, verona, and omnipotent perception

+ note: mostly just ramblings, take them with a grain of salt if you please ♡

+ will contain spoilers for both the 「omnipotent perception」 story and 「siren’s song」 anecdote

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i wonder if rafayel’s 「omnipotent perception」 takes place in the city of verona that his third anecdote「siren’s song」

(1) rafayel mentions how the city they’re in has a theater ; 3rd anecdote has a play taking place in the royal opera house — so it could be the same one?

he does know their touring city pretty well, as we come to find out from the beginning of the memory alone ; plus, he was a former performer in verona so surely he must be intimately familiar with the city anyhow from years spent alone (even with the presence of aunt talia)

(bonus: talia mentions how verona’s hosting an art exhibit and how he would be interested? though he ultimately brushes it off. coincidentally, rafayel and mc are in town due to his business concluding with an art exhibition)(wink wink nudge nudge)

(2) not only that but it’s interesting to note the significance of bathtubs for rafayel in relation to his past — a reminder of his sins, consequences of bearing them and witnessing the dwindling downfall of lemuria and its people. he’s both been the dealing hand and the perceiving eye ; rafayel’s kindled for 「omnipotent perception」 takes place in a bathtub, where he’s vulnerable in expressing himself and in such an intimate setting as well

furthermore in 「omnipotent perception」, rafayel tells the antique owner that MC thinks she understands him but doesn’t. later on, in the bathtub asks MC if he would still like her no matter what became of him.

i think it’s an interesting nod towards his character, more specifically the lemurian history and experiences that he has yet to fully reveal. there’s more to him than what meets the eye — but he is definitely willing to welcome MC into his world once more, ending the kindled with

“Join me. Let’s drown in the ocean. Together.”

also side note for the majority of the 3rd anecdote, rafayel stays in verona — it’s only at the end when he embarks to linkon city and presumably has a photo of MC (could also be a nod to his second anecdote in chapter 4 ‘bait’) ;

so in the end, i’d like to think that the pair traveled back to the city after all this time 🙂‍↕️ it’s somewhat of a bittersweet memory/time for rafayel and i’d like to think the memories he made with MC in omnipotent perception could act as a bandaid to those sorrow-laced tabs in his past

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tldr: i headcanon that rafayel’s 「omnipotent perception」 memory takes place in the city of verona and really appreciate the ties to his lemurian lore and anecdotes! hope to see more of it moving forward love u fishie ur character fascinates me <3

(if this has already been debunked pretend like this post never happened /lh /j)

[aalghul]

hiii @bitter-hibiscus i accidentally deleted your ask about the al ghul siblings and then forgot to post this from my drafts....

dusan: the eldest child we’ve been introduced to, around 800 years old. he’s said to have accompanied ra’s as the first white ghost for centuries (we don't really see him until very late into the game ofc). ra’s didn’t claim him openly because of dusan’s albinism, and only realized he had lost his most loyal child when dusan gives his body to ra’s after talia refuses to let damian’s be used. this is off the top of my head but i don't remember his mother being mentioned.

nyssa: she's a few hundred years younger than dusan, lived (and suffered) through WWII and followed ra's for a while before she went off on her own. she and her mother are jewish and russian, though we never actually meet the latter. nyssa was sort of part of the downfall of the al ghuls in a meta way though since death and the maidens was what led us to the most racist era of al ghul writing. terrible stuff. anyways, nyssa manipulated talia for a while and led the league after she killed ra’s (and almost killed talia). and then she died. she is an interesting character but she'd have to be overhauled heavily to not be a detriment to either ra's or talia.

talia: in the main timeline, she doesn’t extend her life in any way. she wants an average human lifespan. her mother, melisande, was arab and chinese (no further details provided, naturally). there are two versions of her death: mike w. barr’s is that melisande was pushed into a lazarus pit by qayin, and denny o’ neil’s is that she died of a drug overdose and ra’s chose not to save her (i prefer the former).

bonus: unnamed fetus whose mother has been forgotten because this entire story happened in the son of the demon timeline dc didn't want to be canon for the longest time (because of damian. sotd is vaguely canon now but the chances of bride of the demon being canon are low lol may as well mention it though)

[dandelionlinolinaline]

ok rant time, stick with me.

the reason i don’t like damian wayne is not that i don't enjoy him as a character, it is that he feels like the final nail in the coffin that is 'robin'. now what do i mean by this? dick grayson as robin is obviously fantastical. he is an interesting foil to bruce/batman, he i tragic and complex, but his backstory is very much not real. he feels like a fictional character, so it isn’t a stretch to suspend disbelief and 'buy' him being robin, so to say. the family dynamic he has with bruce is NOT like father and son (argue with the wall on this one), it's paternal, but regardless of age difference in different interpretations, it is very much an unconventional family dynamic.

now, i've never really had a major issue with jason todd as robin (maybe because he has been red hood for basically my entire lifetime), but he was the first step in a direction of a more traditional family; son, father, grandson (and older brother), which i strongly dislike. now say what you will about jason todd, but he was arguably the most 'real' of the robins (in terms of backstory). he has a much more plausible family background (not counting sheila working with the joker) and feels less like the fantasy of dick grayson and more like wish fulfilment of a poor kid (ultimately this is what i think led to his downfall at dc - they couldn’t sell the 'fantasy' of jason todd in the way they could the other robins).

tim drake is where i kinda take issue. he is the 'normal' robin, but is very clearly an 'upgrade' from jason todd. he fits into the socialite life, bruce is significantly older than him (enough to be his actual father), and dick also takes a much more active role as a 'big brother' than he did with jason. tim drake, as neither dick or jason did, seems like the successor to bruce wayne, as well as batman. he is a genius, brilliant detective, rich and well-versed in the upper echelons of society. he is a HUGE leap in the direction of this sort of 'born for the role' idea i really despise for robin.

(i will take the liberty of following dc's example and overlook stephanie brown's robin)

lastly damian. not only is he batman's biological son, he is a prodigy who has trained since birth to be the next batman and is the heir to the league of assassins (i also hate what his creation meant for talia as a character, but i'll let that rest). he is now amalgamation of this slow trajectory towards robin as an heir who is divinely 'destined' to become batman (evidenced by the fact that damian is the only robin to consistently have the surname wayne).

don’t get me wrong, i greatly enjoy damian wayne and think he has an interesting dynamic with a number of characters and has some really lovely character devlopmemt and arcs, but i hate hate hate how robin went from 'orphans make do' to 'the heir apparent to not only batman but bruce wayne' and i. idk, i just wish dc had kept more of the charm and choice that the relationship between bruce and dick.

[sasheneskywalker]

dc/marvel crossover fic recs

Dark Matter by mysterycyclone The last thing Peter sees is Tony's horrified, heartbroken expression leaning over him. The guilt in his eyes is almost worse than the burning pain that's taking Peter apart piece by piece. The world starts to go dark.

There's a flash of gold and green. For one moment, he finds himself standing amongst the Guardians and others. And then darkness again. It feels like blinking; an extended period of nothingness that ends as abruptly as it begins. One moment there’s nothing, the next there’s light.

“Easy,” a woman says. Her words are gentle, and carry a slight accent that he can’t place. "I'm called Wonder Woman. What's your name?"

Not Rated | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence | Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Clark Kent & Peter Parker, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Peter Parker, Gotham City & Peter Parker, Tim Drake & Peter Parker, Batman & Spiderman

Revenge is a Word I Haven't Yet Defined (I’m not sure I’m worthy of such theatrics) by OliOcelot After the Lazarus Pits and a year of training with the League, Talia sends Jason to Gotham for revenge. Except Jason isn’t as deep as she thinks. The thing is, he expected to see Bruce - Batman - and be livid. He let him die, replaced him. He should be mad.

He isn’t.

In the end, it’s hard to think of yourself as being replaced when you died. So yeah, he’s angry, but he’s not angry enough for revenge. Not like Talia wants him to be.

So he focuses on Red Hood and cleaning up Crime Alley, and scraps any ideas of revenge he had left. They’re unnecessary. Counterproductive, in fact, because now that he’s actually seen Bruce, all he really wants is to go home. Maybe have a conversation or two about how bad Bruce and Dick messed up, but at home.

Instead, he gets caught up in world altering magic from some criminal in over his head, and Jason finds himself tumbling through universes into a New York filled with heroes that he’s never even heard of and a lack of Gotham and Metropolis that can only mean one thing. This isn’t the world he knows.

All he wants is to get home, to make amends, to try again. Too bad none of them know he’s gone. Not that anyone would think to look for a dead boy.

T | Graphic Depictions Of Violence | Batfamily Members & Jason Todd, Peter Parker & Jason Todd, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark

To Dig a Grave in Winter by OliOcelot The Winter Soldier isn’t the only Asset that Hydra has. This will be their downfall.

Or, Jason Todd rose from his grave only to be taken by Hydra and turned into a living weapon, known as the Gravewalker. Meeting the Winter Soldier might just make it worth it.

T | Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply | James Bucky Barnes (Marvel) & Jason Todd (DCU), James Bucky Barnes (Marvel)/Jason Todd (DCU)

in labyrinths of reflections by blackkat With the incursions imminent, Khonshu steals his avatar away to another dimension, where there's little risk of the universes colliding.

Marc is unprepared for Gotham, but it's probably safe to say that Gotham is equally unprepared for Marc.

M | Graphic Depictions Of Violence | Bruce Wayne/Marc Spector, Marc Spector & Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Marc Spector & Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne/Steven Grant

no map to my own treasure by blackkat “I think this is yours.”

Bruce doesn’t even have to look up. He already knows precisely what this is about. Containing a sigh, he rubs the bridge of his nose, and says, “If he bit you, I can pay for the emergency room visit—”

“I did not bite him,” Damian says, outraged.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Marc Spector/Bruce Wayne

Knaves All Three by Ginevra_Benci After Ultron, Avengers Tower hosts a good-will gala to fundraise for post-Incident NYC.

Local lawyers Nelson & Murdock, fresh from saving Hell's Kitchen from the ravages of Wilson Fisk, get an invite.

And.

Bruce Wayne’s in town.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Tony Stark & Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Bruce Wayne, Steve Rogers/Bruce Wayne, Matt Murdock & Foggy Nelson

The Spider and the Samovar by Ginevra_Benci There's a new player in Eastern Europe: the Spider has been making a name for himself and has caught the attention of the Outlaws.

Jason Todd makes contact.

Well. He tries to.

G | No Archive Warnings Apply | Roy Harper & Koriand'r & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Natasha Romanoff

Bats Out of Hell by Jedi_Olympian Dick and Tim find themselves in a bit of trouble. Multiversal trouble. Needless to say, their boyfriends are not happy about it, and the universe they find themselves in is unlike any they've found themselves in before.

Or Dick and Tim get thrown into the MCU and meet the Avengers.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne

If It's A Highway by there_must_be_a_lock Bucky’s been running for a week when the supposedly-untraceable burner phone he stole from a HYDRA warehouse starts ringing. He’s in a gas station bathroom off a remote highway close to the Croatian border, getting ready to bleach his hair; the ringtone bounces shrilly off the bare tiles and makes his jaw clench tight.

[Or: the one where Bucky is hired to train Jason, and he ends up learning a thing or two himself.]

E | No Archive Warnings Apply | James "Bucky" Barnes/Jason Todd

There but for Grace go I by AutumnHobbit Frank Castle comes to Gotham on the trail of some human traffickers who picked the wrong city. Imagine his surprise to find he isn’t the only one out for their blood. When things turn sour he decides to get involved, which leads to a lot of unexpected drama.

And he thought New York’s costumed paraders were bad.

Not Rated | Graphic Depictions Of Violence | Bruce Wayne & Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne & Frank Castle, Dick Grayson & Frank Castle, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Frank Castle

The Five Stages of Neighborly Affection by AlannaLioness, phonecallfromgod, youshallnotfinditso Between Matt being back from the dead, Nelson & Murdock 2.0 and a fancy Manhattan apartment from his (former) sharky boss, Foggy feels like he's doing pretty well keeping the vigilante nonsense in his life to a minimum.

Or he was until he moved next door to Tim Drake.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake (Minor), Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent (Minor), Minor or Background Relationship(s)

running in the shadows by dukeaubergine Jack Drake dies during one of Tony Stark's "taking responsibility" phases. The Bats aren't happy about this.

Tim is pushing to come home, and in the meantime be an NYC vigilante right under Stark's nose, when the Sokovia Accords knock over the whole board.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Batfamily Members & Tim Drake, Avengers Team & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Tony Stark, Tim Drake & Wanda Maximoff

Shake the Devil Out of Me by thepartyresponsible The first time Jason sees Phil Coulson, he sees him in the soft, flickering light of a warehouse fire. It’s romantic, he thinks, later. Like candlelight.

E | Graphic Depictions Of Violence | Phil Coulson/Jason Todd

The Dawn Will Break Before You by thepartyresponsible “Okay, heartbreaker,” he says, “how much to put the tires back on the car?”

Jason rolls his eyes and gestures at him with the lug wrench. “Why don’t I just beat you up and steal your money? Is this the first time you’ve been to a bad part of town? Don’t show me your wallet, asshole. Come on.”

The man heaves a heavy, aggrieved sigh and starts pulling out bills. “Five hundred?” He tries. “Six? We can go to an ATM.”

“You are mugging yourself,” Jason says, oddly impressed. “Holy shit.”

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | Tony Stark/Jason Todd

Give Thanks to Broken Bones by thepartyresponsible The bodyguard is incredibly well-respected in the superhero single parent community. He is also, Tony’s realizing, something of an asshole.

M | Graphic Depictions Of Violence | Tony Stark/Jason Todd

birds fly (why can't I?) by SafelyCapricious The apartment in Gotham that Natasha gets — all cash and no ID required — is a shithole.

But it’s her shithole.

Well, hers and the cockroaches’, she supposes, as she turns on the flickering light in the bathroom and at least a hundred of them scurry out of view.

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | Natasha Romanov (Marvel) & Jason Todd, Natasha Romanov (Marvel)/Jason Todd

Five Supersoldiers Walk Into a Bar by bittercape He spots him through the binoculars, far away and disappearing fast. Logan is, more than anything, a hunter. He knows how to watch, and he watches the sniper moving away, after a single well-placed shot. He moves just like Barnes did. Everyone has a particular way of moving, if you know how to watch. And Logan, as mentioned, knows how to watch.

Logan knows it cannot be him, knows he died, falling from a train. No normal human could survive that. And yet …

He drops down from the watchtower. He’ll catch hell for this, sure. But he has to know.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Logan (X-men) & James "Bucky" Barnes, Logan (X-Men) & Natasha Romanov, Logan (X-Men) & Slade Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Slade Wilson, Natasha Romanov (Marvel) & Slade Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Slade Wilson

five, six, just for kicks by bittercape “Good evening,” Jason says, because he does have manners when he wants to use them. “Talia al Ghul sent me for training.”

“Right,” the man says. “You’re here for training with Deathstroke.”

“Yeees,” Jason says. This seems more than a little eccentric. “And you are Deathstroke?”

“Yes indeed!” the man says. “It is I, Deathstroke!”

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | Jason Todd & Wade Wilson, Jason Todd & Slade Wilson, Jason Todd/Slade Wilson

In The Oddest Places by withthekeyisking After pulling Steve Rogers out of the water, there's not a lot that the Soldier knows. But going to ground? Yeah, he can do that.

If only there wasn't another super soldier trying to get in his way.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | James "Bucky" Barnes & Slade Wilson

[gece-misin-nesin]

Just thinking about how Jason Todd trusts both too much and too little. How this is his downfall and how the narrative punishes him for both.

As a kid, he trusts Catherine. He trusts Willis to help their family. Willis is thrown into jail and Catherine can't function and Jason has to tend to her to keep her alive. He trusts them too much and he becomes an orphan and is homeless.

He trusts Batman to do what is right for him and he sends him to Ma Gunn's.

He trusts Bruce and Bruce hides his father's nurder from him.

He trusts Batman's methods to work and they don't. Women are found dead in dumpsters and the perpetrator gets away and the person who stops him is one of his victims. Gloria dies and Felipe Garzonas is triumphant. He trusts Bruce to believe him about Felipe and Bruce accuses him of murder.

He trusts Sheila because she's his mom and she wants the best for him right? Sure, she left him but she had a good reason to do so. And then she betrays him. She leads him to his murderer like a lamb to slaughter.

He trusts Bruce, Batman, to save him.

He doesn't.

He trusts and trusts and keeps putting his trust in people and they all fail him one by one. His willingness to trust is met with contempt by the narrative and he is punished for it over and over again.

So when he comes back and sees Joker,out of prison, killing even more people and more vioelnt than ever, he looks at all this and says "Fine. I won't trust anyone ever again."

Fine. He's no one's son. He believes in himself, trusts himself and his skills and that's enough. He never fully opens up to Talia, covers up his reluctance to kill Bruce with fake bravado.

After all this, how can he just trust Bruce again? Trust the man who told him he was his son and that he loved him without a thought like he did before? Of course he doesn't.

So he demands proof. He tells Bruce what to do if he actually loves him. He doesn't trust anyone again, he can't trust anyone again so he asks for proof. For validation. Even in Hush, he questions Bruce's supposed love.

And yet, it is this very distrust that causes Bruce to think of him as unnatural. In Hush, Bruce says that the real Jason would have never questioned Bruce's love for him and that he would be assured in Bruce's belief in him. Because of this Bruce says that it can not possibly Jason. Because Jason trusted Bruce above all else.

Perhaps it is this distrust Jason has that causes Bruce to clock him as a threat. To never listen to him. To, in the end, kill him. Because Jason wasn't like this. Jason trusted Bruce so how can this be Jason?

Even so, Jason may says he doesn't trust anyone, he may even think that that's true. But inside of him, there's a small part of him that fundementally trusted Bruce to not kill him. To let Joker die. Yet, this trust was in vain too. Because in the end Bruce slits Jasons's thoat, killing him. And Jason's expression is that of pure, unadulterated shock. He's well and truly surprised because he never expected Bruce to kill him. Because he trusted Bruce to not kill him.

And once again, he is punished for it.

How can Jason assume that Bruce doesn't love him? How can he not trust Bruce's word. Ignore the fact that Joker is running free, that there is another Robin, that another Robin died after him, how DARE he not trust Bruce. How can he possibly question Bruce's "love" for him, huh? So Jason MUST be in the wrong.

On the other hand, how could Jason not possibly expect that Bruce would obviously save Joker? He was a fool, he was selfish to expect Bruce to choose him first. Surely he must have anticipated Bruce saving Joker? He MUST be wrong for how could someone be this selfish?

Because it doesn't matter what Jason does, not really. It doesn't matter if he trusts too much or too little, if he is too forgiving or too spiteful, if he's too calculating or too "reckless".

Because no matter what Jason does, he can never seem to do the right thing.

[opheliawillowbrook]

Ophelia that ending roiled my heart out

Rose finding jay dead ?? And then losing her eye ? What’s gonna happen to her ? What will she do?

Don’t even get me started on Talia - I hate her so much and my heart breaks for Damian. I understand what she was doing and your writing explained it perfectly - I almost feel sorry for her but it’s not enough to excuse her actions

Raven is gone and now so is Damian - that mercy kill by rose literally made me jump ! I never thought that would happen.. and yet it did. I really don’t think Damian would’ve had anything worthwhile left if he lived. He might’ve just become a broken man forever reliving the past and spending all his time in pain

I knew hamlet was gonna end with a lot of loss but this much was totally unexpected. All the batboys minus drake are dead, and rae is dead, and so is Talia and slade. What a story !!!

I'm sorry, but that is what I was going for lol.

Honestly, one of my favorite shows is Son of Anarchy and one of the thing I appreciated about it was that Jax's mother Gemma was a "Sympathetic villain." She to was drawn from that cloth of Gertrude and Lady Macbeth. Every decision she made had her son, her organization, in mind. I wanted Talia to be that sort of villain complex and character driven, her choices drive the plot, not the other way around. Like Gretude and Gemma she needed to be instrumental in her son's downfall hens the line "We could have been happy, but you, were you."

Anyway thank you for reading, and thank you for the feedback I do appreciate it. Here's to getting one of the burner!

[cafe-melanion]

Day 1: Introduction

Please allow me to introduce two Ancients of wealth and taste:

The first image is Lycoris Anados, Head of Concept Validation at the Bureau of the Architect and a close friend (occasionally more) of Azem's. She is direct, no-nonsense, and dependable--much like a certain sorcerer of Eld I could mention. What can I say? Talia has a type.

The second is Ajax Telamonian, a man who, by the time of the Sundering, holds the distinction of being one of the longest-tenure Words of Azem alongside his friend Solis. He is kindhearted, shy, and loyal to a fault--which ultimately proves to be his downfall.

[handsofred]

Unpredictable

Reading on AO3

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: teen wolf - Fandom Relationship: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Characters: Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Stiles Stilinski, Jackson Whittemore, Lydia Martin, Allison Argent, Chris Argent, Peter Hale, Talia Hale, Cora Hale, Melissa McCall, Sheriff Stilinski (Teen Wolf), Isaac Lahey Additional Tags: Time Travel, Fix It, Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Pack Beta Derek Hale, Everyone Is Alive, Redemption, BAMF Stiles Stilinski, Mates Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, from Scott's point of view

Scott shakes his head as he stares towards Stiles. He doesn’t recognise the person in front of him anymore, doesn’t understand why he would lie so much and so hard. Donovan wasn’t the monster that Stiles was trying to make him out to be. He had listened to Theo’s accounts of what happened, had seen the scene for himself before sending Theo off home and it sounded and looked like it made so much more sense…after all, why would Donovan want to go after Stiles of all people.

He was nothing, a nobody.

Turning, Scott left Stiles standing there in the rain, the fat drops sliding down over his skin as he walked away, ignoring the shouts and begs that came from the teenager behind him.

It was Stiles’ fault.

Everything that had happened over the past few years, now that Scott thought about it, it all led back to Stiles. Every bad thing that has happened to him, every time he has gotten in to trouble, Stiles was right there by his side, guiding him through the motions which led to each downfall and scolding.

Afterall, it was Stiles’ fault that he had been bitten by Peter Hale in the first place. He had been the one to drag him out in to those woods that night, he had been the one who dragged him through the darkness and the trees until they came across Laura’s body. It was Stiles’ fault that Allison and so many others were dead now, cut down in their prime, stopped before they could live their lives to the fullest. He and Allison could’ve found so much happiness together, could’ve gone on to grow old together and have kids one day maybe.

It was all Stiles’ fault.

And now there has been another death, another unnecessary death at the hands of the person he had once called his brother. And Scott couldn’t deal with it anymore, he couldn’t deal with the human that had brought so much pain and misery to his life. As he moved through the street and back to his bike, his mind was full of things he could change before they landed on the one thing that he had remembered Deaton mentioning in passing. A way to go back and change things in the past. Deaton had mentioned that it was dangerous to cast, that time travel could be a fickle thing to play around with. He hadn’t had any good stories of people who have been known to meddle with the past but Scott didn’t care. He had decided on it by the time he started the engine up.

He would go back in time and stop Stiles.

Read on AO3

[thenonbinarydetective]

Why do u think joker still remains most popular villan of batman? He's iconic even as a separate character. Why didn't court of owls or even ra ghul be as popular as him?

As boring as I find him, he is actually more entertaining than many of the other villains. Remember his whole thing is supposed to be “commit a crime but be funny about it” but one of the major reasons he’s failing in recent years (AKA my entire life basically) is that they’ve tried to take away the funny. It’s like writers are trying to “out edge” each other which I understand can easily sound sexual. But I’m right lol. It’s like sometimes now he just does something horrible and laughs, and we’re not always laughing with him.

But yeah other villains should get more time in the spotlight as villains even before they’re redeemed or killed. It’s a little too late for two face but the world would’ve been better if it was him and not the joker.

Honestly, the court of owls is a mixed bag of reactions. I don’t think it deserves more spotlight. It’s technically currently getting it but it’s so…much and so little at the same time. I don’t have a better way of saying it but it’s pretty meh when you look too close. On top of the antisemitism of secret elite societies. Which happens a lot whether you realize it or not because that’s a fundamental aspect of conspiracies like that. Even though people fully ignore that when they like them, but a lot who do, don’t like them as they are played out. I think too many people are in love with the concept over the execution. And the execution is weak so it falls flat.

Ra’s is a different story. I mean the quickest answer is racism. He’s a Chinese/Arab man so honestly he has to do so much more to get recognition as more than Damian’s evil grandpa. At least nowadays, but also with nonwhite villains that have lasted for so long there is also the big issue of combating stereotypes and not every can do that. Either out of care or ability. Considering Talia’s major downfall came after years of solid characterization, it’s an ongoing battle.

But additionally with Ra’s, he’s not exactly a villain of the week. The Joker is. You can throw Joker into Arkham and forget about him until he breaks out. But Ra’s is so much more. You can’t just throw him in willy-nilly. The only time he’ll ever be in that position is when he’s crossed over with Scooby doo and he lets himself get kidnapped because he was bored.

Third thing cause I do love Ra’s, he’s a bit more complicated. In his motives, in his relationships, in his actions, and in his everything ig. This could either be intimidating or give people more of a conundrum. He’s not evil for evil’s sake.

[unofficial-estonia]

Just a well mwaning ex-hetalian here: the sunflower symbolism theory isnt true. The russian character likes them because the author wanted to show russia as a big producer of sunflower oil.. also no, the baltics actively hated being in 'the household of ussr', and the three have been drawn very resentfull and hating of the russian, having bern harmed physically and bearing scars, laughing at his downfalls and being afraid. Nothing like countryhumans - definetely more mature even if STILL very bad. There are very many problems in portrayal of baltics, of ukraine, belarus, poland, the relationships with russia, and the fandom CERTAINLY has driven it into overboard (The horrors I have seen are better left in silence) but what previous anon said isnt true.. If we want to tackle the hetalians and ch fans we must know them or else they have ammunition "they dont even know what they are talking about, they are blowing it out of proportion". Cheers and i hope the estonian dashcon goes well! I wonder, will there be video, maybe clips of most important events? Live posting? I think you should also invite general estonian users, like the people who contributed to the "goncharov is estonian" propaganda a few months ago XDDD

re dash-con: that's all up to @estonian-is-horrible, I will just be there

the h*talia part: Fair enough. Having been on this site since 2012-2013, I have seen my fair part of crap h*talians have thrown around. I even remember the period where "lolololol estonia wants to be teh nordick1!!1" got so bad that h*talians thought making fun of our national symbols and history was a free game ... you know, estonia, a country with a relatively ...shit history which has few national symbols which are highly treasured. Thinking back it must have also been partial xenophobia against Eastern Europeans.

that being said there are lots of respectful h*talia fans who have taken relatively bad base material and made something out of it.

[teratalia]

time for some of Talia's Ramblings, where I waffle on about something ridiculous that I need someone, anyone, to see

so I've been playing Cookie Run: Witch's Castle here and there and two of the new cookies are Sachertorte and Marble Danish. I was already kinda obsessed with their designs (bc LOOK at them) and then I saw their interaction in the story and good god there's some history there and I need to know what it is

they're like. rivals or something, I'm thinking they betrayed each other but it was a huge misunderstanding or something. Sachertorte's bio includes something about bitter chocolate and looking for revenge. Marble Danish's also mentions a hint of bitter cocoa and wanting to reverse his prestigious family's downfall. Sachertorte is part of a gang called the Apricot Jam Syndicate (apparently the original dessert traditionally has apricot jam too) and one of Marble Danish's special items is an apricot candy.

do you see my vision. idk what it is yet but I'm kinda invested in them and at this point I'm continuing to play in the hopes of learning more