#plushcrowverse

 ──   .✦ 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐑: I finished the game two years ago & though my memory is relatively sharp, some details might slip through my fingers. My goal with this rewrite is to make the game more psychologically pronounced, focus more on Scarecrow ─ & expand the character roster to make an overall fun yet fulfilling game. P.S. This is all purely subjective, though I tried my best to be fair. Happy endings if u squint??? Just more gritty & realistic lol.

𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 ! 5k words.

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 ─ 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆; 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅. #plushcrowverse

 ──   .✦ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒 & 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐏𝐄:

─ This rewrite treats Arkham Knight as a closed text; Arkham Shadow is not acknowledged for the sake of this rewrite & its characterizations.

─ Batman is not affected by Joker Blood; that entire plotline has been scrapped. At the end of Arkham City, he was cured of his illness.

─ I am introducing certain key characters from the main continuity / past games that will further serve the narrative. Specifically, Cassandra Cain as Batgirl. Stephanie Brown as Spoiler (background). & Talia Al Ghul (Haunting the narrative.); Batman: Arkham Knight, canonically has only 4-5 women in the entire game, and each one was held hostage at a certain point. I seek to rectify that mistake & return the women their agency.

─ Gameplay-wise, I believe the game will be more entertaining if you're allowed to play as more than one character in certain sections, as such, certain villain missions will be delegated to other characters exclusively (Nightwing / Robin / Batgirl / Spoiler, etc)

─ Above all else, I want this game to have actual stakes & consequences; Jason does not overcome his trauma at the drop of a hat & a (late) but well-meaning "sorry" when it's convenient for the plot, & Selina is more independent in her role.

— As such, given all this, there will be 3 arcs in total.

──   .✦ 𝐏𝐑𝐄-𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐒𝐘𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 ( 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐍 ): While Batman does not have the Joker's blood in his veins, he has lots of complex emotions surrounding grief, trauma, & failure. Joker's death weighs heavily on his soul, yes, but what truly haunts him is the death of his ex-lover, Talia Al Ghul. Having lost those around him, Batman's mind begins to torment him. This persists in the form of hallucinations. ─ Batman, throughout the game, continues to see Joker's corpse at various intervals, as well as hearing Talia's disembodied voice condemn him. These projections are a result of his own insecurities & deteriorating mental state, not the actual characters themselves. As the story progresses, Talia's voice transforms into Batman's very own, because on some level, he is aware that the cruel words & indictment his mind subjects himself to is something his lover would've never said.

 ──   .✦ 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐎𝐍𝐄: 𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 !

╰┈➤   𝐆𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐌'𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆:Just like in the official game, Scarecrow demonstrates fear to Gotham, warning them to evacuate the city before Halloween night. Everyone takes his warnings seriously: GCPD, the civilians, Batfamily ─ Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Spoiler & Batgirl help evacuate the city. However, at a critical moment, an explosion is broadcast.

─ The buses meant to evacuate the civilians from Gotham City were destroyed by Harley's thugs. Trapping the civilians in Gotham City. This wasn't originally Crane or Arkham Knight's plan, but Scarecrow allows Harley quinn to have free rein, because her structured chaos creates an anticipatory fear state that serves him. The civilians are panicking, waiting for what they know is sure to come. The Batfamily is divided, stretched thin & attempting to ensure order while trust in institutions such as the GCPD rapidly degrades by each hour as Crane / Harley quinn / Riddler utilize the broadcast system to project terror & antagonize Batman.

─ The city is taken hostage, the militia roam the streets, bombs have been rigged & the civilians hide inside their homes. Batman & Oracle focus exclusively on tracking down Scarecrow & the Arkham Knight, while the rest of the Batfamily aids in capturing other villains / helping the GCPD and civilians.

╰┈➤   𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐒: Batman captures a minor villain (deacon / firefly / etc, doesn't matter ) & after interrogating them, he learn of Scarecrow's plans at ACE Chemicals. Batman, with the help of Oracle, breaks into ACE chemicals & begins fighting against the militia to put an end to Scarecrow's plans. Eventually, he confronts Scarecrow & while the two converse, the Arkham Knight arrives, giving Crane enough time to wire ACE Chemicals into a meltdown capable of covering the entire eastern seaboard with his fear toxin.

─ While Arkham Knight & Batman fight, Scarecrow is extracted, but not before the facility slowly starts to fill with fear toxin. This worsens Batman's hallucinations of Joker & Talia; Struggling between the toxin, his mental collapse, shutting down ACE chemicals & fighting the Arkham Knight, Batman is compromised, albeit not for long. To make matters worse, as Batman engages with the Arkham Knight, he reveals his identity to be Jason Todd. Bruce's mind stutters, unsure if this is really his son or if Scarecrow's toxin is manipulating him.

─ Batman struggles with his fight against Jason, his words failing to get through to him, & Bruce's own reality being under scrutiny. Soon, Batgirl arrives at the scene, having been directed to act as backup by Oracle. Batman focuses on stopping ACE Chemicals rather than fighting Jason, not trusting his own impaired judgement ─ While Cassandra Cain (& you as the player) fight against the Arkham Knight.

─ Arkham Knight vs. Cassandra Cain has no emotional weight; neither means much to the other, however, this match-up serves to exacerbate Jason's insecurities ─ He trained hard to win against Batman, Bruce is his entire goal, yet now as he fights Cassandra, he realizes that she cannot be baited, she reads his movements, & she is singularly focused. As the fight drags on, an uncomfortable feeling surges. He struggles against facing Batman's personifications of "healing", while he was left to rot ─ Bruce rebuilt himself, & the proof is in her. In all those who ally themselves with him. Irritated, Jason extracts himself from the fight with Batgirl mid-battle. His heart is at war with feelings of competency, legacy, & jealousy. He has a plan to destroy Batman's support network.

─ After Jason's departure, Batman is partially able to contain the fallout blast from ACE chemicals, just as in canon, yet he knows this is far from over. His guilt & grief over Jason also push him into isolating and distrusting his allies significantly more, as his hallucinations of Joker's corpse & talia's disembodied voice continue to condemn him.

╰┈➤   𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐋𝐄: Determined to destroy everything Batman holds sacred & put off by his encounter with Batman & Batgirl, Jason returns to Scarecrow & sells out Oracle's identity to Crane. Scarecrow, rather than kidnapping Barbara Gordon, seeks to do something even more insidious: Destroy her reputation.

─ Scarecrow publicly leaks Oracle, the shadow vigilante, to Gotham City as Barbara Gordon ─ The one & only commissioner's daughter. This move simultaneously corrupts the public's trust in the Batfamily & as well as the GCPD (the GCPD is a corrupt institution, having failed to protect the city for many years now, the people hold them accountable. A cop's daughter working for Batman ─ whom the city partially blames for the never-ending chaos around them ─ sours opinions quickly.)

─ Civil unrest dominates the streets, all the vigilantes in the field (Nightwing, Robin, Spoiler, etc) are soon met with distrust & caution from the civilians, arrogance & violence from the villains. The people seek a scapegoat for their misfortune. Some blame Scarecrow & the villains, others, however, turn their gaze towards institutions & authority figures such as Batman & the GCPD.

─ All the while, Harley Quinn reigns chaos in the streets of Gotham, forcing civilians to barricade themselves in their houses as her gang controls one of the largest chunks of Gotham City. Harley's men continue to target GCPD cars & hold every officer they find hostage ─ Interrogating, torturing, & extracting information from them at every turn.

─ Batman attempts to bench Oracle for her own safety as she deals with external danger and a conflict with her father over her superhero identity; Barbara refuses Batman's commands & continues to aid Gotham (particularly turning her attention towards Selina Kyle ─ Who has been kidnapped and is held hostage by the Riddler)

 ──   .✦ 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐓𝐖𝐎: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐍'𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋 !

──   .✦ 𝐏𝐑𝐄-𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐒𝐘𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 ( 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐍 ): Joker's death weighs heavily on Harley's heart. Lost now, she oscillates between nihilism, suicidal ideation, revenge, & choas. Her anger overwhelms her, her grief directed in various directions ─ outwards & inwards. She blames Batman, she blames Gotham, & yet she wishes to honour the chaos that she loved, believing it to have freed her. Harley agrees to work with Scarecrow as a way of avenging Joker & the Gotham she feels slipped through their fingers. It is also an opportunity to punish Batman for having killed Joker.

╰┈➤   𝐖𝐀𝐑 𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐂𝐏𝐃: Her primary target is GCPD; Harley understands systems & how they collapse. When the people are scared, they often look towards authorities & institutions ─ GCPD is the perfect target for fracturing faith. Her goal is to collapse the faith of the citizens of Gotham in their Police department. To achieve this, she stages ambushes, propaganda, public interrogation of officers, staged humiliation & forced narratives.

─ She forces officers into situations where their life is on the line & weighted against the lives of civilians, forcing them to "be heroes" or show Gotham "the pigs they are." ─ Only, the choices don't ultimately matter; If corrupt cops fail to be heroic, that footage is utilized as propaganda to cause civil unrest & sow distrust. If they do act heroically, then Harley still punishes them, driving home the helplessness of the situation. There is no correct way to 'win'.

─ To drive it all home, there are certain groups of civilians who seek safety by joining Harley's side. They function primarily as bait. Reluctantly working with her to lure more GCPD officers into traps, to spread her message subtly across Gotham City, etc. The motivations for these people vary, but some seek safety, others seek chaos, and some just wish for change that isn't the current status quo.

─ Most importantly: Harley destroys the GCPD building. There is no safe space to hold the criminals that the players capture during the other side missions. There is no safe space, period.

─ Even though Harley's plans do not follow Scarecrow's instructions, he doesn't interfere because her strategy ultimately benefits him by creating higher fear yields than discipline ever could.

─ This entire segment manifests in the sense of mini side missions, where the player has to dismantle Harley's network of propaganda messages, corrupt cops, & Scarecrow's militia reinforcements. The side missions range from stopping "turned" civilians, dealing with corrupt cops publicly (to build trust with the citizens of Gotham & provide hope to those lost in the propaganda), taking down Harley's thugs & the militia reinforcements.

─ There is a part of the game that would allow you to sow distrust between Scarecrow + Arkham Knight & Harley, mostly done through the use of jacked comms. But this plan is dismantled by Arkham Knight, further showcasing Jason's talents in reading & countering Batman.

╰┈➤   𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄: Boss Battle with Harley Quinn is less about one-shotting her & more about outlasting her while she utilizes her gymnastic skills, unique fight style + cannon fodder men as her defense. Throughout the fight, Harley doesn't diagnose Batman (+ one additional character) clinically, but rather she pokes at his obvious weaknesses ─ she points out patterns in his behaviours. She outwardly blames him for Joker's death. She points out how he's always late, how he always fails, how he always attempts to control & tighten the leash.

─ Batman, still under the residual effects of fear toxin + suffering from his guilt-induced hallucinations of Joker & Talia, tries his best to block out Harley Quinn, yet her words deepen his desire to protect those close to him, especially after the reveal that Jason is the Arkham Knight & is actively terrorizing the city with Scarecrow.

─ Gameplay-wise, Harley forces Batman into hard choices, especially those where his usual tools & strategy fail him. This includes: unpredictable movement, civilians in motion, & timed moral choices where every option worsens public perception. The Batfamily member with him (player's choice, can be Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, or Spoiler) actually helps him, noticeably so.

─ There is a moment where Harley has the upper hand & aims at the companion as a way of "teaching Bats what it means to lose the one ya love," she spreads a lie that infects Bruce's mind: Arkham Knight has put a hit out on the Bat with Batman; Bruce knowing that Arkham Knight is indeed Jason Todd, does not find this lie too farfetched, it ensares his heart in fear & caution.

─ Harley's attack on Batman's companion occurs when she detonates the floor below Batman, separating him from the Batfamily member. Harley then exposes the separated duo to toxic gas (not fear toxin or Joker gas. Think carbon monoxide).

─ The player must switch between Batman & the companion to stabilize the environment. Each time the player switches, the worse the other gets, bringing them dangerously close to death. Worsening Batman's self-blame, hallucinations, & guilt

─ At this point, hallucination-Talia's voice fractures, sounding more & more masculine ─ resembling Bruce's own voice, because deep in his heart he knows, the condemnation that "Talia" is forcing him to hear, is something his lover would never actually verbalize in all its true cruelty.

─ After Harley Quinn is subdued, Batman makes the wrong choice. Pushed to the edge of paranoia, with blurred vision & an unsteady heartbeat. He locks away the Batfamily member who aided them. Vowing to defeat Scarecrow from now on, to minimize damage, the emotional victory of the fight is hollow. Harley is defeated, yet she still got into Batman's head & pushed him to act on his fears, something Scarecrow finds eternally satisfying.

─ Harley's arc annihilates the city's trust in the GCPD & even Batman to an extent (some praised her as someone exposing the true rot about a corrupt system; the citizens are radicalized) for stopping her, others are grateful to Batman, but safety is still an ephemeral thing that slips through the fingers of the city. Unable to keep Harley (and the other villains the players have been defeating so far) at GCPD, Batman keeps them at Pasadena Studios.

╰┈➤   𝐂𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐋𝐄: Throughout the Harley Arc, Catwoman has been trapped & held hostage by the Riddler. The player plays as Selina to solve puzzles, & Catwoman refuses to wait for Batman's aid, citing that as she "got into this mess", she would get out herself. More importantly ─ Revenge against the Riddler is hers & hers alone. Selina acts independently.

─ Eventually, when her back is against the wall & the bomb on her neck is about to explode ─ Orcle interferes. Selina & Barbara work together to defeat the Riddler bots. Barbara, through hacking them outright. While Selina rips them apart.

─ Selina faces Riddler alone in her fight against him & eventually blinds him in one eye during the fight, freeing herself for good.

 ──   .✦ 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄: 𝐒𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 !

╰┈➤   𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐃: While Batman fought against Harley Quinn — Scarecrow & Arkham Knight stole the cloudburst from Stagg Enterprises. Batman discovers this when Oracle informs him of a disturbance— Scarecrow's latest movements spotted at Stagg's airships. By the time Batman arrives on the airship & fights the militia stationed on the scene to rescue Stagg, Scarecrow & Jason are already departed from the scene.

— Batman attempts to find Scarecrow & fails. He’s running out of time. Gotham is overrun by militia tanks, and the Batfamily is struggling with other villains who are on the loose. Additionally, the Batfamily is also in disarray because one of their own (the player who was with Batman during Harley's boss battle is suddenly offline; Batman imprisoned them & refuses to provide a clear answer to their location when questioned by the others.)

— Under such dire circumstances, Batman has to forgo detective work altogether & focus on research and countermeasures. Research (interrogating Simon Stagg) reveals what the cloudburst does; Countermeasures is where hypotheticals & probability math come in: In the canon game, Batman observed that Ivy was unaffected by Scarecrow’s toxin at the start, hence why he utilized her. In this rewrite, he doesn’t know for sure. He is gambling, putting his faith in Ivy & convincing her to gain her cooperation.

— His alternative focus ( or rather the Batfamily' ) is on getting the civilians of Gotham out of the city; He can't allow Scarecrow's toxin to rip these innocent lives to shreds. The Batfamily manages to evacuate the children to higher ground; however, many adults were not so lucky & end up suffering dearly when the cloudburst occurs.

— A thick fog covers Gotham City in fear toxin, at least 12-24 ft high. As depicted in canon, the people give into their fears & begin to tear each other apart, destroying themselves and their loved ones.

— Batman, meanwhile, is in the Batmobile & helping Ivy dig out the old roots buried underneath Gotham City. These are his last hopes of stopping Crane & reversing the damage. He manages to dig out two; Arkham Knight manages to kill one of the plants before the bark hardens. This significantly weakens Ivy, yet not one to give up, she insists on helping regardless, risking her own life in the process.

— To aid Ivy, Batman needs to stop the cloudburst from generating more fear toxin. Batman fights Arkham Knight. Cloudburst vs. The Batmobile. This particular part follows canon & remains accurate to the story, except for the absence of the emotional weight. Batman is aware that he is fighting against Jason Todd. Bruce's attempts to reach Jason over the comms fail — It's too impersonal to matter.

— In the end, Batman is able to destroy the cloudburst (Jason evades capture), the cloudburst is not creating any more fear toxin, but the residue is still present, & so is the paranoia, fear, & despir surrounding Gotham like a dense fog. It is a small victory, yet not one he's capable of celebrating long term.

— Batman soon realizes that Ivy is too weak to purify the toxin on a city-wide scale due to the loss of one of those plants. He is haunted by the lives he has already allowed to slip through his fingers (Joker, Talia, even Jason); He knows now that even her death would not be enough. This loss wouldn't meaningfully amount to anything; Ivy cannot save Gotham. So, Batman prioritizes her safety & chooses to stop her. Forcefully separating her from the plant — the aggressive nature of separation puts her in a comatose state, though she does not perish.

— As the toxin is only halfway purified, rather than people mauling each other to death, they feel an overwhelming sense of despair, anxiety, depression, & fear. Some are paralyzed (freeze response), some lash out (fight response), some run (flight), & some are obedient (fawn response); Reports come in faster than Batman can issue commands.

— All of this ultimately further exacerbates the city’s unrest. Scarecrow is disappointed & angry with Arkham Knight, but this is a result he can partially capitalize on.

╰┈➤   𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐍: Seeking to rectify his mistakes with the cloudburst — Arkham Knight utilizes the drones, comms interception, & the city infrastructures to create & spread city-wide propaganda regarding Batman. To Jason, this isn’t sabotage — it’s correction. Fear failed because Batman was allowed to frame it.

— The previous instance of Batman trying to bench Oracle, of Batman impriosning a batfamily member (during the Harley arc), of him deciding for Ivy & pushing her into a coma, the actions are all broadcast around Gotham City & framed as the actions of a controlling authoritarian brute. The message is clear: Batman has lost his way, he has turned on his allies (who have, throughout this game, been helping the citizens of Gotham City), & he's siding with the corrupt GCPD (by defeating Harley Quinn); Batman trains successors, but never trusts them. Jason recognizes the pattern instantly. Because Bruce doesn’t lose allies — he cages them.

— This broadcast by Jason is how the Batfamily learns of what happened to their missing comrade. Oracle confirms the footage isn't doctored & Batfamily begin to question Bruce's judgement. Jason doesn’t need them to hate Bruce. He only needs them to doubt him.

— Following this, Batman begins to withhold further information, he cuts off communication with the others, & gives them false orders that send them further away from Batman, Jason & Scarecrow; Bruce becomes unreliable to his allies.

— Trust in Batman is beginning to shatter from all sides — From the civilians to the allies. All the while scarecrow broadcasts a message: If Batman wants his city & ally to be safe, he must give up his cowl; Gotham has outgrown the need for the Dark Knight. Jason listens for Bruce’s response. Crane listens for compliance.

— The final nail in the coffin that pushes Batman's wavering spirits is when he goes to find his imprisoned ally, only to learn that Jason has already kidnapped them. There is no one there. Jason knows exactly which wound this will reopen. He chooses it anyway. Bruce is flooded with memories of loss once more. Loss of Barbara's autonomy, loss of Jason's life, loss of Talia's warmth, loss of Joker, even. Batman decides to put an end to this, & he finally goes to confront Scarecrow & Arkham Knight.

— Rather than relying on Oracle for this, Batman (& the player) utilizes his detective skills to narrow down the location of Crane & Jason. As Batman arrives on the scene, he's greeted by the sounds of his companion's screams — Scarecrow is injecting them with fear toxin. This painful symphony serves as a backdrop & a time-limit, urging Batman to finish this as fast as possible.

— Jason is instantly on Bruce in an instant & they fight. Emotions are flaring everywhere. Batman tries to reach jason, but it fails. Jason points out: Batman still feels guilty over the Joker’s death. & Arkham Knight treats that guilt as proof of everything wrong with Bruce's ideology; It is why Jason & Bruce will never see eye to eye, why Batman has been abandoned by all — His city, his friends, how his lover is dead yet he mourns Joker instead. Jason drives home the point that Gotham needs reform. Batman is outdated. (“You still think remorse makes you good,” Jason spits. “It just makes you slow.”)

— As the batfamily member's screams ravage the arena, the time limit is almost up ( there is only so much they can take before their mind permanently shatters & they die; Jason doesn’t look at the hostage. He watches Bruce. ), Bruce does not want a repeat of losing his loved ones, so he ends up surrendering to Crane & Jason. Scarecrow stops his torture of Batman's ally & instead focuses on him.

— As it is canon accurate (to a certain extent), Scarecrow unmasks Batman, he makes Jason remove Batman’s mask from his face, while broadcasting to the whole world that it’s Bruce Wayne. suddenly the myth that Batman is unstable simultaneously fractures & gains its legs. Those who know Bruce for good work & charity recognize his heart; those who use his past as trauma porn, recognize the logic (“of course he’d dress up like a bat”)

— Before Crane can inject Batman with fear toxin, the Batfamily finally arrives, too late to stop the reveal, yet they take down Crane, Jason holds them off, & fights — A mini boss battle, but already exhausted from wearing down Bruce, he eventually escapes with Scarecrow; Crane says nothing. Jason interprets the silence as expectation. The Batfamily free Batman & their comrade who Scarecrow tortured, but they soon learn that they must now face Bruce.

╰┈➤   𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: When the Batfamily arrives & saves Bruce, it is already too late. Batman, having paid the ultimate price, is now disillusioned by his own choices — He activates the Knightfall protocol. Bruce is calm. Resolved. Final. That’s what scares them. Systems are warming. The cave is preparing to burn. Gotham will lose Batman forever — not symbolically, literally. And Bruce believes this is the only way to end Scarecrow’s thesis. The Batfamily doesn’t arrive angry. They arrive panicked, not yet ready to part with what has defined their lives.

— They try to talk to Bruce, who explains lucidly: Batman can't exist anymore. He’s become a fear amplifier; his presence destabilizes the city & Scarecrow won because Batman stayed central. The city's faith in the symbol has long since crumbled; a man with a face can be tainted.

— The Batfamily draws a hard line. Nightwing states, “You don’t get to end this alone.” Cass doesn’t argue. She positions herself between Bruce & the control point. Tim tries to override Knightfall & fails. Steph understands one thing very clearly: Bruce is trying to disappear. This is when Bruce realizes they’re not here to stop Scarecrow anymore. They’re here to stop him.

— & So they fight. They fight him because talking won’t stop the protocol. This isn't like their training; this is an integral ideological break; Bruce is still incredibly skilled, but he’s slower, exhausted, fractured. He anticipates them — and they anticipate him back; Everything he taught them is now being used to stop him. No one enjoys this.

— Ultimately, Bruce surrenders to them, his family. Bruce doesn’t lose because he’s beaten; he loses because he hesitates. One of them is about to get seriously hurt because of him — & for the first time in the game, Bruce stops himself. He realizes: This isn’t sacrifice, this is control dressed up as martyrdom.

— Bruce disengages; he shuts down Knightfall. But the point stands: he can’t regain Gotham’s trust. He can’t undo what’s been done. But he can choose not to make the same mistake again. Bruce chooses trust in his successors & his family.

— The myth of the Batman dies, but his students flourish. Scarecrow still proved that Batman cannot function as a singular symbol, that fear reshapes systems, that Gotham outgrew him — Batman's refusal to surrender hope & faith despite all that is adaptation in its own right.

╰┈➤ 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐒𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐒: Gotham City does not return to what it once was. Scarecrow’s fear toxin cannot be fully purified, & the residue lingers — not in the air, but in the people. The architecture of the city changes accordingly. New buildings prioritize visibility, exits, & redundancy. Neighborhoods establish informal safe routes. Therapy becomes infrastructure. Processing fear is no longer a private affair, but a civic necessity. Some citizens adapt to the constant low-grade paranoia. Others take the escape funds offered by the city & leave Gotham behind entirely. Survival becomes a choice, not a mandate.

— The militia is not eradicated. Neither is Scarecrow, nor the Arkham Knight. Their absence is conspicuous, unsettling. & sightings are sporadic; signals intercepted, a coup deferred, not dismantled. The Batfamily understands this reality intimately. & they operate knowing the war was not ended — only restructured.

— Jason Todd is not written off as an enemy, nor as a lost cause, by his family. He is named what he has always been: one of their own. Retrieving him becomes a long-term objective. For Bruce, it is the only thing that still aches like an open wound. Though there are those who hold grudges, such as Barbara Gordon (as her identity as Oracle was compromised) & Tim Drake (for the whole mess in general)

— Batman no longer patrols Gotham’s streets. The cowl is retired, not destroyed. Bruce Wayne recedes from the public eye, working quietly behind the scenes. He trains, advises, & investigates with the Batfamily. He lends his mind to the Justice League when needed, but refuses centrality. Gotham belongs to his children now. They argue, they disagree, they fail & they learn. They continue without him at the center of it all.

— The Wayne Foundation bleeds money in the years that follow. Reconstruction is slow & unglamorous. A significant portion of funding is funneled into reforming the GCPD from the inside out — oversight, restructuring, accountability. Trust is not demanded. It is rebuilt, brick by brick, or not at all.

— Fear did not make Gotham evolve the way Scarecrow envisioned. It did something quieter. It taught the city to live without a singular symbol. The myth of the Batman ends, not in fire, not in disgrace, but in dispersal. What remains is not a legend, but a network. & for the first time, Gotham survives not because one man stands above it, but because many choose to stand together.

──   .✦ 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 !

— Thank you to those beautiful people who read this long ass post & thank you to my traitorous mutuals & friends who I KNOW did not in-fact read all that 🫵😠. this was fun to write n i probably forgor a lot of it but i am tired. anyway here are some discussion questions for u all if u wanna exercise idk.

— How many characters' fandoms did i enrage? 🎤

— Do u think scarecrow will adopt me? be honest — unless the answer is no, in which case 🥺

— did harley feel like a villain, a revolutionary, or a mirror Gotham didn’t want to look at?

— if u were playing, which batfamily character would u choose to play as? n why?

— which Batfamily member do you think Bruce hurt the most in this rewrite?