#FREE MY GIRL FROM BEING BATGIRL

[casscainmainly]

Gender and Sexuality in Batgirl (2000)

While Kelley Puckett's opening run on Batgirl (2000) deals with Cass experiencing human connections and human life outside of fighting, issue 37 onwards takes a hard turn into gendered experiences. For sure there's some problematic elements (Cass gets sexualised a LOT more), but Horrocks' run does explore Cass' view on gender and romance in an interesting way. I'll be focusing on issues 37 - 57, essentially Horrocks' run but including guest writers (Gabrych, for instance, is our starting point). By the way I'm not a gender studies expert so feel free to disagree with any of these readings.

Riot Girls

Issue #38 (written by Gabrych) opens with this Batman conversation, which sets up Horrocks' run perfectly. Cass has never experienced a close female friendship (Babs is more mother/daughter) until Stephanie. Yet Bruce strikes a nerve here: she's not like you, and she never will be. He tells Cass something she already suspects - there's something she lacks that Stephanie has. (Bruce is, ironically, trying to say that Stephanie's the one lacking, but that's not what Cass hears).

This leads into the iconic Steph-Cass conversation:

Steph reveals she's had a baby, and this is Cass' reaction. She realises how much she doesn't understand about her body, romance, and gender in general. Stephanie has "finally beat [her] at something." She has experienced 'girlhood' in ways Cass can only dream of.

At the end of the issue, Stephanie asks if Cass thinks "he's right" (referring to Bruce), and Cass says yes. By siding with the male perspective (Bruce, or the he), Cass falls out with Stephanie, losing her first female friend. The whole of Horrocks' run should be understood in the context of this issue, with Cass searching for an understanding of her gender/sexuality.

The Superboy Saga

When Babs takes her on vacation, she makes Cass put on a bikini. Cass ends up meeting Superboy, getting grossed out, and delivering this excellent speech. It's Cass' first proper encounter with the male gaze, and it's especially disquieting for her because a) she knows the power of vision and b) she's brushing up against sexism and systemic injustice, something she hasn't really experienced before. She's encountering a power that can't be defeated with fists, and she is struggling to understand it.

She eventually does kiss Conner, and decides to take a trip to Metropolis. The decision occurs after this panel. Cass' desire to be with Conner stems from her desire to understand these feelings of passion, to want/need and be wanted/needed by others. The top panel here is interesting, too; she sees sexism playing out with other people ("check me out, girls!" / "Jerk."). Her anguished expression indicates she's having trouble reconciling the harmful forms of passion (top panel) with the sweeter forms of love (bottom panel).

At the end of the Superboy saga, Cass learns to distinguish between her romantic and platonic feelings. This taking place after the fallout with Stephanie (who explicitly repudiated her friendship) makes this extra intriguing - Cass calls the creature they're fighting "lonely," clearly meant to show insight into herself. Without Steph, she felt 'lonely', thus sort of falling into this relationship with Conner. Conner, however, is unable to fulfil that loneliness. Which leads us to...

Bruce Wayne Strikes Again

I noted in my other post how Bruce is super disapproving of Cass' love life. While it's hilarious, it genuinely impacts Cass' ability to express her sexuality freely. Here, Bruce pits Cass' sexuality against Batgirl; he implies that these attempts to understand herself harm her vigilante career. The way Cass responds ("I want to. I need to") is strikingly similar to the passions panel ("I want you. I need you"). Instead of being directed to another person, Cass directs her passions to Batgirl as a career. She's sliding back into her early mindset where Batgirl was all she was.

Again, another contrast between her and Stephanie: Stephanie fought for recognition in the suit, but Cass has to fight for an identity outside of it.

The Tai'Darshan Tale

But the real motivator for Cass' sexual awakening is, of course, Tai'Darshan, the semi-racist-caricature metahuman terrorist from Tarakstan. He flirts with Cass constantly, and makes a lot of gendered references ("easy, girl," "I don't understand why a woman like you," he calls her "beautiful") (#39, #40). He is the first significant character to take an interest in Cass as a girl, and without his flirting Cass probably wouldn't have kissed Conner (she kisses him after fighting Tai'Darshan twice).

Tai'Darshan does a big tornado thing and Bruce, intent on not letting him kill, knocks him aside, killing him. I'm low-key mad about this plot point, but that's okay 'cause so is Cass! In an echo of the Steph-Cass situation above, Bruce entirely disapproves of Tai'Darshan, but Cass likes him. Unlike with Stephanie, however, Cass doesn't side with Bruce. Instead, she keeps her feelings "secret" from Batman. It's the start of their relationship fracturing, as well as the start of Cass prioritising her own feelings and self-development over Bruce's perception of her.

No Soul

After all of this boy drama Cass understands romance a bit better, but is still in the dark about her gender. When a woman tells her she has "no soul," Cass goes to Barbara, who tells her the following:

Barbara connects 'soul' with Batgirl and femininity. Cass believes her, putting on Barbara's old suit (which one panel associates with "girl power!") and heading into the streets. What's interesting is that to achieve girlhood, Cass discards her suit in favour of Barbara's. Once again, there's this belief she's not 'feminine enough'; she's not like other girls, and she never will be.

But the suit obviously doesn't match Cass' fighting style, and in the end Cass returns to her old one. We get this great speech from Babs:

Cass is asleep here, but I do think she's learning that there's no 'right way' to be a girl - that she doesn't have to be Stephanie or Conner's girlfriend or Batgirl or Barbara, but just Cass.

The Dick Debacle

Cass gets hit with a drug called 'Soul' and has these hallucinations. This mostly male group sexualises her, criticises her for being sexual, calls her ugly, calls her hot; Cass is visualising the overwhelming contradictory standards applied to women everywhere, a compression of all her experiences thus far. Even Babs has fallen victim to pushing Cass towards stereotypically feminine experiences, and Cass' anguish is not so much at these people but at the patriarchy she's finally beginning to understand.

Dick, in particular, seems to represent this anger:

Finding out Dick broke Babs' heart seems to be the final straw. Here, her hallucinations paint her rage as feminine; the devil repeatedly calls her "girl," and Soul is being peddled by an all-female group who were 'tired of being girlfriends'. Then Cass kicks Dick out a window.

The Dick incident represents a culmination of her negative gendered experiences, beginning from her fallout with Steph and ending with another one of her close female companions (Babs) being hurt by a man.

Fallout

In the final issue before War Games, Cass essentially loses both Barbara and Steph (after making up with her and seeing her as Robin). I just like the parallel between Cass looking at Barbara as she leaves, and Stephanie looking at Cass - in a way, this is the most 'like' Stephanie Cass ever gets.

There isn't really a satisfactory conclusion to the explorations of gender or sexuality in Horrocks' run, or even in Gabrych's after. I think there's a lot to explore and I hope whenever Cass gets her next solo they look into all this a little further!

[indulgentdaydream]

I love most of the reader tropes we have for Jason.

we’ve got catwoman sidekick!reader, batgirl!reader, kryptonian!reader, vigilante!reader, ex-vigilante!reader. The whole works.

But what I’ve always thought about is…

Wonder Girl!Reader who…

Is wonder girl while Jason is Robin, after Donna, before Cassie.

The only other hero/sidekick his age at the time

Wonder Girl!Reader and Robin!Jason who quickly become friends, even if they’re not allowed to know each other’s identites

Jason who lowkey has a bit of a crush on Wonder Girl!Reader

Reader who is oblivious and is mostly just having fun hanging out with other sidekicks/heroes

I don’t know!! It’s an extremely cute concept to me. I absolutely adore the childhood friends to lovers trope. ESPECIALLY when they get separated for an extended amount of time, then reunite and they’re older and essentially different people, but still find a way to bond.

Has anyone written anything like this before? I’ve never seen it and I think it has the capacity to be so cute + interesting!!

Some more thoughts on how I, personally, would write/interpret this:

Wonder Girl!Reader stopped being wonder girl shortly after Jason’s death.

Whether she just disappears, willingly throws in the rag, ALSO dies/fakes her death to get away from the scene is entirely up to interpretation

Though i do lean towards faked her own death. (More angsty and more to work with)

Jason comes back, but she doesn’t know that. All she knows is a whisper of a new crime lord in Gotham. Nothing she’s worried about.

(now ex-) Wonder Girl!Reader isn’t even from Gotham.

I imagine reader kinda drifts back into the hero scene a little, although she tries her best to stay away and live a normal life, a little bit after Jason comes back to Gotham

He finds out she is actually still alive and active

She doesn’t find out who he is right away

Shenanigans ensue

Feel free to send asks for more thoughts of this. Either of my own or your own thoughts. (NOT requests. But like a conversation.)

[coupleoffanfics]

I might write about this one day. Maybe. Probably.

Random things about y/n with the batfam

Based on First Post

Bruce Wayne

Bruce never knew how to deal with y/n’s emotional outbursts even before they drifted apart. Out of everyone y/n was hands down the most emotional out of all the kids. Like what he is supposed to do when she’s crying about stray cats that don’t have a home. Or those times when she’d tear up over failing a test.

Just gives her a pat on the back and tries saying that it's not the end of the world. Not really helping as it invalidates her emotions. She makes a mental note to not go to Bruce after getting the same “reassuring words” from him every time.

Nearly spat out his coffee when she called him Pa for the first time. It was only after a couple of months of living there. Seeing the shocked reaction, she quickly tried to take it back until he reassured her with a small smile.

“You won’t be my dad, but you can be my pa. So when I have kids you can be called peepaw.”

Bruce isn’t sure when y/n stopped calling him Pa, but he remembers how he felt hearing her call him Sir or Bruce. How unnatural it sounded. It was too formal, but what hurt the most was how she said it without a second thought. Acting like it was the norm.

What happened to him being Pa?

What does he have to do to get his Pa status back?

Hopefully he doesn’t learn that y/n gave that title to someone else.

Dick Grayson

Kinda regrets not getting to know y/n before he and the whole family start going off into the deep end. It's not like they never interact or anything. Dick had trained her when she was working toward becoming Batgirl, but it was Bruce who mainly trained her.

Dick wasn’t nearly as close to her as Tim or even Jason. He didn’t have the time when juggling the Teen Titans, establishing himself as Nightwing, and being a Wayne. It was a stressful time of his life.

But he has much more free time now. Meaning he has much more time to make up for not being a big brother for y/n.

Slightly jealous that everyone except for him and Damian know or at least knew y/n. Some more than others.

So to gain an edge he read her diary. Only once he swears and it wasn’t like he went searching for it or anything. Didn’t know she had one. It was just sitting there in a box under her bed. Anyone could have found it really.

Reading the neat handwriting and discovering the personality of y/n was interesting. Kinda expected something along the lines of teen angst constering how aloof she comes off when around the family. Instead he found words of an insecure yet optimistic girl.

Dick uses his newly acquired intel to make it easier for y/n to talk to him. Brings up media that she likes to bond over the “same” interests they have. Uses her insecurities against her.

If she gets mad at him for trying to plant the idea that her best friend was a bad person, he’ll act like she’s overrating. Say that she was yelling even if she wasn’t. When asking if there was any validity to his bullshit, he’ll bring up one of her insecurity.

“You’ve always been slow when it comes to everything, but good thing your favorite brother is always there for you.”

“Yeah, good thing I’ll always have Tim.”

“Yeah, wait-”

Jason Todd

They were somewhat close before he died as they trained and sparred with each other. He wished he was able to see her put on her suit for the first time as he knows how hard she worked for it. Could practically hear her squealing when she looked in the mirror.

Unlike the others, Jason avoided y/n on purpose. He felt ashamed for beating and having snapped her arm when he was trying to kill everyone. She wasn’t even fighting back. If it wasn’t for Bruce and Tim, y/n would have ended up in a casket.

When hearing that she quit being Batgirl, he was kind of surprised. He remembers the younger y/n trying so hard to meet Bruce’s expectations. Despite failing more than he could count, she always got back to work. Always trying to improve. Never being satisfied with herself.

Wanted to know what made her quit, but decided against it. It wasn’t his place to ask and he doubted that she’d tell him. It wasn’t like she told anyone though.

Was kinda glad that y/n quit. Jason always felt queasy when seeing or even thinking of her getting hurt since it reminds him of when he was so close to taking her life. And he always felt that she wasn’t made for this kind of work.

She was too soft to fight the Killer Croc or face Scarecrow. Even though Jason always felt that way, he’d never say it aloud. He couldn’t bring himself to dampen that twinkle in her eyes.

“I saw how hard you hit the punching bag, why are you holding back now?”

“I don’t know…I don’t want to hurt you or anything.”

“y/n, you're supposed to come at me with everything you got.”

“But I don’t like hurting you or anyone.”

Tim Drake

Tim and y/n were close even though it was a bit awkward at first. They geeked out about the latest games and shows. Staying up late enjoying whatever type entertainment with junk food much to the dismay of Bruce and Alfred.

y/n admired his intelligence and how patient he was when explaining something to her. Whether it was homework or something else entirely, he was the one she felt most comfortable asking for help from.

She was low-key jealous of how quickly Tim was able to gain the title of Robin while it took her years of training to become Batgirl. But the jealousy would later be admiration for a time.

Tim always felt privileged when y/n showed her artwork to him. She never likes showing it to anyone and hates when someone tries to look at what she was drawing. So when she asks for his attention and flips her notebook/tablet around he can't help smiling.

Even when they were on good terms, he wasn't sure how to approach her when going through a low. She either needed to be alone, talk, or push. The thing is Tim doesn't know how to appropriately react. He just doesn't want to make anything worse, so he ends up having her sit outside to absorb the sun rays. Since he noticed how that had brightened her low mood.

When y/n quit being Batgirl he gave her some space before asking about it. Surprisingly he didn't get much of an answer. She was usually so open about everything, especially with him.

Realizing that they were getting nowhere with this he backed off. Assuming that she'd tell him when she was ready.

Overtime they began hanging out less and less. He hadn't realized how far they drifted apart until one night. Just making a quick run to the kitchen for some coffee. It was pretty late and he didn't think any else was or would be awake.

Yet there was y/n sitting at the kitchen island writing on a paper with notes scattered around her. Homework. When Tim made his presence known with a simple hi, he noticed how…tense she got. Like she got caught stealing from the forbidden cookie jar.

When asking what she was working on, she gave short answers. He'd expected a monologue of how frustrating learning this new material is. Then asking if she needed help, he saw her jaw slightly clench. It looked like she was going to say more, but only declined with a no.

It was odd, but he didn't think too much of it at the time. He had…He didn't want to admit it, but he had more important things to deal with. If he knew of things that were going to happen, he would've done so much differently.

"— Really? I think this is my worst one yet."

"I don't know what you're talking about, it looks great. I couldn't ever draw something that good."

"Just because you can't draw doesn't make my drawing better. Wait, you were just shitting on me for comparing myself to others."

"Yeah, but that's different."

Damian Wayne/Al Ghul

Never liked y/n from the start. Before she even opened her mouth, just that smile looked so wrong. Damian couldn't put his finger on it, but didn't like it. It seemed so fake because it was.

There wasn't anything that made him feel like he needed to respect her like the others. Sure, she was Batgirl but only for a few years.

She never helped them with anything. She's never there to help in the first place. In his opinion she wasn't anything more than dead weight.

When insulted there was never an insult thrown back. He can tell when he struck a nerve when her lips move to the right and her eyes slightly harden. Maybe her nose will flare up if he hit hard enough.

Then she just responds with a hum before ignoring him or leaving the room. If she didn't respect herself enough to defend herself then why should he even bother with her.

When the family slowly/is yandere he'll reevaluate his view of y/n. Still thinks she's weak and cannot do anything, but less hateful. Which is a good thing until he's trying to have her attention whenever they're in the same room.

Or when he's digging through all her artwork while Dick is giggling to himself when reading her diary. Finding out their interest in the arts, he's forcing her to paint. Doesn't care if she doesn't like it, they're painting together.

"Why can't you carry your weight around the house? All you do is sit in your room."

"Hm."

"I don't even know why you're still here, Father should have kicked you out after you stopped being useful."

"Mhhm."

"I know you can hear me. You just don't know how to respond because it's true."

"Hmm."

|*|*|*|*|

Dear Diary,

Today my family tried to talk to me.

It was weird.

[bloomeng]

You complain about the mischaracterization of dick yet continue to mischaracterizatize cass. Because if you actually READ or cared about the character you wouldnt have her with 1. No bat symbol and 2. With the orphan design

Hey so this is the exact etiquette I was referring to. I’ve addressed this multiple times already so this will be the last time I address Cass specifically.

Can’t believe I have to say this but mischaracterization is not drawing a character in a canon outfit. Even if you don’t like that canon it doesn’t make it mischaracterization. I talked about this awhile back but one run/ver of a character doesn’t make the others more or less canon (referring to the main tl in DC). Just because I don’t love Nightwing in Year One doesn’t make his actions less canon. We all have our favorite versions of the characters and ignore what we want.

When I was originally designing Cass I actually was referencing her Black Bat design which I think looks super cool. But I was struggling big time with how to translate the stitches around the mouth and after a few days and a conversation with a friend of mine, I scrapped it. I went back to what I knew about her character and I was reminded that she enjoys dance and I thought that was a better jumping off point. I used her Orphan design because it leant better to that idea.

The Orphan design already has boots and metal plating that leans into a magical girl design. Not to mention it has a distinctly different silhouette than everyone else. I personally really like the pants. I went into detail about this when I responded to this comment initially.

Everyone in the au gets one version of their costume that I reference. The Orphan costume has no bat symbol, which is why I didn’t include it. I also wanted to make her distinctly different from Batman, bc in magical girl shows they often try and give each character their own “brand” and I was thinking ahead and I was trying to make her stand out next to Bruce. I understand she’s super loyal to the bat and will probably be the next batman however I personally don’t like that everyone basically boils her character down to “girl Batman but even more badass,” bc she’s her own person, not to mention she’s not like Bruce. Giving her the Orphan outfit isn’t ooc. Leaving out the bat symbol is canon.

I’ve stated several times that I want to go back and draw a Black Bat design for her. I still have intentions to do so.

I’m going to be blunt now. This sort of rude behavior is the exact reason I was complaining. I cared that Dick was being mischaracterized because someone was in my comment section accusing me of not making the design to their taste. I don’t go into the comments of say a fic and tell the author I thought their characterization of Dick is ooc, because they made this for free. I’m doing this au for free. This is my au. You are not paying me. You are accusing me of false things. I have read Batgirl (Cass and Babs) runs, some of them specifically for this design. People demanding free art of me, with intense turn arounds, without even checking my account further to see if I’ve done the character in question, makes this not fun anymore. It makes me not want to draw or talk about her, because quite literally every time I do someone is rude to me. I put a ton of thought into each character especially the ones I’m less familiar with. I actually spent the least amount of time on Dick. Cass got three iterations before I settled and I’m still not happy with it, but this whole project was supposed to be light hearted and quick.

The first time I answered this question right after I posted Steph and Cass I responded in good faith, bc I’m trying not to be mean back, but it makes me wonder where the creator etiquette has gone.

[chiefatticcreator]

"Let go of us!" Barbara snapped as the three heroines tried their best to break free from their bonds. The red head grunting as her skintight grey suit showed off her every curve

Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown. The three heroines who share the code name Batgirl, also being known as Oracle, Black Bat and Spoiler respectfully.

It had been a... A flurry. Gotham suddenly attacked by creatures. The three had all did their best to defend the city, to fight off their opponents, but one by one the three had been captured.

Now they where all bound, glaring at their foes and the woman leading them who had called herself 'Oboro'

"Just wait till we get outta here, we're gonna kick your ass." Stephanie, the blonde Batgirl, snapped. Arms tied behind their backs, legs and ties similarly wrapped up. None of them able to move a muscle

Cass, the one wearing what appeared to be a latex gimp suit, just glared up at their captor behind her suits vacent eyes

"My my~ We caught ourselves some interesting girls for a first catch, didn't we?" oboro ignores their words for a moment, instead she walks from one girl to the next, her retractable claws leaving tears in the girls' outfits while she examine their bodies.

"And very feisty ones too!"

The monsters, a group of a dozen or so orcs, start looking lecherously at the three girls now that the fighting is over.

"Kicking my ass, uh? Do you like it so much?" Oboro teases Stephanie. "You can have fun with them boys, just leave them good enough to interrogate later."

On cue, the orcs' hands, purely retraining until now, start gropign the three heroines, toying with their breasts, tearign at their suits.

[lobotomydaughter]

ik i could just ask this on discord but it’s not urgent so i didn’t wanna like. @ you or anything

i just had a couple of steph questions!! first: i swear i remember reading that steph was a vegetarian or had attempted being vegetarian at some point? but i can’t find anything about it & am starting to think i imagined it shsjjdkdjd

& then my second question: is she mentioned to like. enjoy any particular shows/movies or genre of shows/TV??

(these are for fics but like… minor, single sentence details so. def not urgent <333)

also feel free to throw any other interesting steph facts at me!! esp things you feel ppl forget / leave out 💞

ahhh you know i am always happy to talk about my girl <333 it’s after midnight for me so i am sorry that this isn’t the most eloquent answer and i am sure i am forgetting some things (i’ll add to this later/dm you if anything hits me) but to the best of my knowledge:

yes, stephanie is/was(?) a vegetarian. not sure off the top of my head if it was stated anywhere else but i dug up this screenshot from batgirls #13.

(for clarification this was when steph and cass body-swapped)

so no, you didn’t imagine it! though i can’t recall if she is still a vegetarian now, sorry.

now, your other question was much harder lol. i actually went and skimmed through all of the comics i have marked down as my favorite reads for her (+ a few non faves that i thought might have smth relevant) and most of the time when stephanie is shown watching tv or in front of a computer, all that’s ‘on’ is the news.

but! for you, livvy, i didn’t give up.

in nightwing #106, stephanie, cass and dick are all sitting down for their movie night. it’s cass’ pick that week but since steph did stay to watch, i think we can go on a limb and say that she at the very least doesn’t mind horror/sci-fi.

i know that she’s also referenced harry potter throughout her comics— usually just a throwaway line like ‘accio’ so from there we can infer that she does like fantasy/adventure as well.

(took some digging but i found an example in batgirl #18)

she’s referenced star trek as well, and at least in one conversation has been shown to know enough about game of thrones and star wars to joke about it with cass in batman: urban legends #5

i know that’s toeing the line of pulling at straws but given her more delved into interests in the action and fantasy genre i feel like it’s okay to assume that she does like those shows :) and if not who is going to tell me i’m wrong :) stephanie brown would love arya stark

all of this to say that stephanie has been shown to enjoy and understand pop-culture. a good portion of her civilian friends are alt as well, and i’d go so far as to say that given that, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that she would enjoy independent films.

she’s a self-confessed music snob with an interest in art. i could easily see that playing into a joy for film festivals.

(didn’t include because this is already so long but after this panel — i already had it screenshot but i believe it comes from batgirls #1 — was her saying that they were looking for models and steph did consider it so i’d argue that she would enjoy fashion shows as well, though probably ones that are entirely student-run or by small designers)

(she hung that poster up on her bedroom wall next to her bed later on)

i know this isn’t covering everything, but i hope it’s enough to help!!! so excited to read your upcoming fics 🫶🏻 and as always if you have more steph questions or need a panel dug up, i am your gal

[madge-nius]

for the fandom asks: 2, 11, 16, 20, & 23

2. Hc i wasn’t sure about but changed my mind on: Steph being obsessed with purple to a weird degree! There was a period where I hated it but I do actually know someone who has purple everything- socks, nails, hair, phone case etc and now I really like the idea bc it feels realistic yk?

11. Favourite art I’ve made: It took me a while to decide this lollll but I narrowed it down to 2:

This one I really like for a couple reasons. It’s probably the largest digital piece I’ve done entirely without references (nothing wrong with refs but it just makes me proud bc my internal anatomy knowledge is improving). They both look really cute to me in this which also makes me love it (I’m a simple lesbian at heart). Also, and this is kinda a random aspect, but cass’s knee turned out exactly how I wanted it too and that makes me rlly happy.

Steph from the she-ra au as well just because as I have said before, I love women.

16. Detail I Like and think others should appreciate:

This (in batgirl 2000 #5, I think). Cain thinks that if he had tried later he would have succeeded in making cass the ultimate killer. I find this detail really interesting bc I think he could have done it at least to an extent. She would still have gotten our but later, deadlier and far mor desensitised to violence. I would explore it in a fic if I had confidence in my writing abilities lol I have a whole idea about it (like a Stephcass “enemies” to lovers fic with babs still ending up a mother figure but a lot more antagonism. I don’t think Bruce could ever fully accept cass in the au either which would be fun to explore!!! Hmm maybe I’ll draw snippets for it when I have free time again)

20. My first fandom: Huh I think this was marvel? At least marvel is the first one I can remember being hardcore into. Some of it kinda makes me cringe now, but I still have interesting convos with ppl about it now so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ including a girl I kinda like who cosplayed marvel a few years ago

23. Ship I’m curious about thanks to a mutual: @/franollie has reblogged so much farcielle art (I think that’s the name?) that it’s made me curious about that fandom and ship

Lmao this was a long answer but I enjoyed it anyways!!! Thank youuuu

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics (this is the best week of the month, no lie)

Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1: this is fun. I like the way Bruce and Damian are written together. I am annoyed Babs is out as Batgirl. I'm amused that Tim is very specifically excluded from the story that involves real Santa given he'd not be wondering 'ooh oooh is Santa real' like Dick is here.

Someone had better give Darkseid some coal, is all I can say.

Batman #139: …so we really are running Batman and Batman & Robin with contradictory plots right now. Cmon. There was even a way to finagle this so that Damian could be living with Bruce and have Zdarsky’s plot still work! Grump.

“I’m coming for you, Joker. I’m coming for all three of you. For the last time.” (actually there’s a printing error in this line and the letterer has ‘For the the last time’) I disbelieve this Zdarsky, sorry, though if you could figure out a way to get Joker out of the Bat books for a few years I think everyone would enjoy that.

Now that aside, I do want to note that apparently my decision to (re)read all of Henri Ducard’s appearances seems to have been prescient, given Zdarsky has just referred to ‘manhunting’, ‘training when I was young’ and ‘Paris’ all together. That’s Ducard. That trio is 100% Ducard. Sounds like I need to finish Henri Ducard’s post-2016 appearances, which I was delaying. So Batman: The Detective and Batman: The Knight are jumping up my reading list. (And a quick look at ‘Lucie Chesson’ says she’s from Batman: The Knight, so yep, gotta read)

Joker + dolls always makes me think of NML Endgame, personally.

Birds of Prey #3: Damn this continues to just be a solid read. Thompson keeps hitting yet another 'look I can be trusted' target every issue.

I could do with at least 30% less Harley commentary in this book, but I do acknowledge that at least half the team are unlikely to talk much in a combat situation. Future!Maps is cute and as I slowly approach Maps content I’m excited to meet her more. Also… SIN MY SWEETHEART. I have been waiting for this hug for SIXTEEN YEARS. (Literally. I was in DC fandom in 2007 when they were torn apart). Also loooooooooool Ollie got curbstomped by Diana, sucks to be you Ollie.

Blue Beetle #3: Oh I couldn’t help myself (in terms of how many panels I already posted), but Blue Beetle is doing such interesting things right now. Victoria’s finally being acknowledged on page as being super sus and villainous (rather than just slinking around being sus and concerning me deeply). I’m getting more and more worried about the identity of the Red Beetle. We got Traci back! Which from what I hear means that Trujillo is glossing over some of Traci’s recent characterisation, but we’ll see how this tracks (and in any case, re-establishing Jaime’s connections to the magic/dark side of DC via Traci is helpful if we’re about to do a Dan Garrett story).

Free my girl Dani Garrett if we’re doing a Dan Garrett storyline, she’s an autistic mildly amoral archaeologist and I desperately, DESPERATELY want to see her arguing with Victoria Kord over who ‘owns’ the scarab while Jaime’s standing in the middle going ‘excuse me nobody owns Khaji Da, it’s its own being! And my friend!’

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #3: hello Jimmy Olsen! Hello Turtle Jimmy lore! (I love how silly this book is. I do enjoy JLI stuff that doesn’t take itself seriously) I’m getting attached to a few of the new villains, particularly Linka Grodd.

Shazam! #5: MARY SIGHTING. Darla remains tiny and adorable and I love her too. This comic remains committed to ridiculous fun villains (and Waid and Mora have apparently been off raiding the ‘underused weird Silver Age villains’ list). Mr Dinosaur is an amazing addition to the canon. (And yes. Billy rebuilt the moon. Oh Shazam!) Also I see we are still back firmly in the ‘jealous Freddie’ plot that’s been hanging around for a while.

Warlord #25: this week we check back in with Tara, Mariah and Machiste. Grell’s done some fabulous art for the splash page that I really really like.

Travis is fighting *checks notes* snow giants as he's still too ashamed to come hang out with his friends and partner after the whole 'I killed Joshua' incident a few issues back. He's also cutting all sort of things with his Damascus Steel sword which I have to remind everyone and note is highly suspicious damascus steel, because it's made from a RIFLE and there is no way the type of steel used was able to be worked as damascene, given it likely was alloyed wrong.

I love Ashir here (the guy actually wearing clothes) as firstly, look! A rare appearance of someone with most of their skin covered! Secondly, Travis' burn of "I didn't know you had character".

Anyway, Travis is moping a bit here about being a lone warrior. You could go and hang out with your friends any time you want, Travis. You're the one who left, not them.

[martygraves]

I’m constantly thinking about my own gender and what the fuck I am because people keep making that a big deal, and so I’m doing lots of introspection.

Am I a woman? Not to you. Maybe I’ve still got a little bit of that in myself, but it’s not something I want to be referred to as. I like thinking of myself as “the weird girl” at times. I was one for a really long while, at least. Or at least that’s what I was told I was, and for awhile, I believed it. I never did let that part of me go. But she isn’t here anymore, or when she is, she wants to wear the clothes she was told were “unladylike,” unbecoming of the kind of girl everyone wanted her to be. Like her sister. Not like herself. She still enjoys the long skirts, though. Just not the way everyone wanted her to wear them.

What about a man? Not quite that, either. More boy than a man, if anything in that category. Maybe part of that is because I was never allowed to be one. I tried quite a few times. I saw myself in the Boy Wonder more than I did the Batgirl. I always wanted to be the wisecracking youthful sidekick. The funny skater kid who was ambiguously stoned most of the time. More like my brothers. But they got punished for being this way, yelled at, hurt for it, told it was the wrong way to be a man, so I stayed as far away as I could from that identity. At least until I couldn’t take it anymore. Apollo eventually claimed me again, creative, youthful, boyish. But I fear I won’t be able to stay that way forever. I’m an adult. I can’t get away with being a boy for much longer.

And then there’s the question of nonbinary labels. Do any of them really fit me? I still identify with the binary sides of me from all those years ago, even if I’m outgrowing them. Nonbinary somehow feels too broad. Not to mention the way people tend to envision a nonbinary person in their minds usually leaves me feeling diminutive. Less than. I could claim agender, but that would be disingenuous to those aspects of me as well. Genderqueer? Maybe. I feel quite peculiar. Androgynous? Definitely, if it weren’t for my physicality. My chest gives away the girl I don’t want anyone bringing attention to. Bigender would be too simple. There’s another aspect in me that transcends the boy and girl that take up space inside my chest. What is that? What the fuck is that? What am I?

And then I realized something.

I really don’t give a shit.

I just want to be, without all of the stress and pressure of defining myself. They want to be free. So do I.

I’m just here. Just here.

[jenn0wow]

Batgirl: Ignite

Grayson’s back in Gotham and Nightwing meets Batgirl for the first time

Link to part two: https://www.tumblr.com/jenn0wow/737515489538064384/batgirl-ignite-part-two

After discovering a 100 year old university secret and taking down a cult of brainwashed sorority girls, Barbara Gordon has set her sights on off-campus crime this school year. However, her investigations on a mysterious string of arsons gets interrupted by Nightwing, who has a job to figure out who she is and stop her. Meanwhile, Barbara’s school life gets interrupted by Dick Grayson, and her quiet life on campus gets disrupted.

——————

There’s always something burning. Like breath, like life, fire persists in small ways until one day the whole world ignites.

Something invisible yet thick and sticky like gasoline and cigarette tar hit Dick Grayson as he walked off the plane.The airport was miles out from the city, but the feel of Gotham lingered in the air and felt like poison to his body. After months of fresh Turkish air, this was a shock to his system. However, he couldn’t help, but feel comfort in its familiarity.

It wasn’t shortly after Dick Grayson walked into the terminal that his phone started to buzz. Unknown caller. He rolled his eyes and held the phone up to his ear.

“You’re using a burner phone,” He said, there was a dryness to his voice. “So what do you want?”

“You don’t normally pick up my calls.” Bruce said. He was right. Dick usually wasn’t one to pick up his calls, at least not anymore. “How was your trip?”

“Good. Wish it was longer. If you wanted to do small talk, you should have called me on your personal phone.” Dick said, a bit harsher than he wanted to come out, but he didn’t totally regret his tone. He kept walking through the terminal to baggage claim, not slowing his pace to focus on the phone call. He didn’t feel like giving Bruce all of his attention.

There was a pause. A clearing of the throat. “I need you to do something for me. If you do it, I’ll let you disappear into oblivion like you seem to want to do nowadays.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “I’m not trying to—I’m done with that, remember?”

“I know you’ve seen the news. That girl.”

“Batgirl? I’m surprised you haven’t done anything about it by now.”

Dick slowed down, trying to remember what he read about her. The sorority bloodbath at GCU was the only thing of note, but that was months ago. Bruce wasn’t a person to let things go or get past him.

“The Justice League and larger events in Gotham have taken up my time….It’s harder to do things when--,” He cleared his throat. “She’s too dangerous to keep roaming around for too long. I don’t have the time to do it myself. I don’t trust Jason to do anything by himself yet. You can do it however you want to, but find out who she is and put an end to this whole batgirl situation.”

“How much of an issue is she, really?”

“It’s not really about the issue she is now, but about the issue she will be later. We don’t know who she is, her intentions using that name, and how inexperienced she is. She’s a liability, Dick.”

Dick paused, staring at the baggage carousel, unsure what to say. After everything that went down last year, he swore to never wear the Robin suit again. He wouldn’t put on a mask ever again. Truthfully, he didn’t want to see Bruce again. He sighed, knowing the price he had for the work he was being asked to do.

“This is the last thing I’m doing for you.” Dick said. “And I’m not doing it for free.”

“I’ll send you the details.” There was a pause, quick but sustatianal. Like Bruce has to convince himself of what he was about to say. “Glad to have you back in Gotham.”

Click.

The call ended. The usual.

However, that was one of the longest conversations they’ve had in years.

—

Bruce sent him the basics about this girl. At first, she was on his minor watchlist as it seemed she was just taking over petty crimes like minor assault, in a homemade costume.

But, then she uncovered the biggest scandal at Gotham University and stopped a mass murder of a whole sorority. It was pretty high profile. The only way someone could do that is if they hacked into the school’s system.

Now she’s leaving the small area she once patrolled around the college area up north and expanding into side streets, neighboring areas, taking on more than just campus crime. And she did it all under that name…

Batgirl.

Commissioner Gordon wasn’t very happy with a rogue vigilante that Batman didn’t have under control.

From his reports, she’s violent, making robbers and creeps unrecognizable by the time the cops got there. Not great PR for Batman especially with this new Robin he recruited. His relationship with the cops is already shaky.

It takes a crazy person to willingly put on the mask at such a grown age—without much or any connection to Bruce at all. It had to be craziness and a stupid amount of hope motivating her. Some blind yet perfectly calculated sense of Justice. A tragedy that follows them like a shadow.

Dick knew the type pretty well.

He watched her from an adjacent roof top, just above the one she was perched on. She crouched on the edge of the building, looking through a dinky pair of binoculars-probably bought from a hobby store. Not rich or tech savvy, check. That doesn’t really narrow anything down.

“Last week, two bodegas caught on fire after attempted robberies. Unsure if anything was stolen as nothing could be recovered.” He heard her mutter.

Was she talking to someone or herself? Perhaps a “man in a chair,” someone behind the scenes. He then caught sight the voice recorder in her hands. Herself.

“These bare similarities to fires last month, but unsure if they’re related.” She kept muttering.

He jumped down to her roof and walked up behind her. If she’s distracted, it would be so easy to just…

He crept up closer to her and ready to grab her cape.

She snapped her head around quickly at him and dropped the binoculars. “Shit.”

He went to reach for her and She quickly tumbled out of the way.

She started to climb up the small ladder that went up to the next door building, but Nightwing pulled on her cape. She’s yanked off the ladder and slams her back on the roof. Nightwing pulls on her cape again to restrain her, but one button by one it snaps off.

“Smart.” He said.

She stands up, rolling her shoulder out to release the pain.

“Who the hell are you?” Batgirl turns towards him, posturing herself up a bit.

“I’m actually here to ask you the same thing.”

“That’s an obnoxious answer.”

“Look, I’ll make this really easy for you. I have orders from Batman to get you stop doing this whole batgirl thing. If you just stop, I don’t have to out who you are.”

She seemed startled by him saying Batman as if she forgot he existed.

“You said that like you know who I am, but you don’t know who I am, though.” Batgirl said that unsure if that was true.

“How do you know? You don’t know what I know.” Dick said, studying her whole get up. It was impressively made, for someone doing it by herself.

“Okay then who am I? Who do you think I am?” She sort of stood there, pretty confident.

“Well, I know you’re a student at Gotham U.” Dick said, knowing that was his only lead.

“Okay and out of all 1,560 students attending Gotham U, who am I?”

“Can I get three guesses? 20 questions? Okay you called my bluff. I don’t know exactly who you are, but probably by tomorrow I’ll figure it out anyway. It would just be easier for us both if you just tell me now.”

Batgirl nodded, knowing that was also a lie. “So who are you? Like what’s up with this whole get up? Should I call you bird man? Bird boy? You work for Batman so Robin 2.0? Dark Robin?”

“Wow, why didn’t I think of Dark Robin? How original and not stupid. Right now I’m calling myself Nightwing so you can call me that.”

Batgirl cocked her head to the side. “Nightwing?” She scoffed. “Okay…”

“What? Nightwing is a cool name. Nightwing is awesome. At least it’s original, unlike Batgirl.”

Batgirl looked him up and down. “Oh, I know who you are.” She said. “You’re the old Robin.”

“Old Robin?” Somehow he felt offended by that word choice.

“I realized that little back flip you did earlier was suspicious. There’s not many heroes who really know gymnastics like that and the new Robin is a little clunky, more about scrapping than theatrics.”

“I wouldn’t say a flip is theatrical. It’s about style and it helps with the force behind your movement.”

She rolled her eyes and turns around to walk off the side of the building. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing, but obviously you’re insecure about it.”

He caught her by the arm and she instinctively swung her leg up, but he dodged. “That was unnecessary.” Dick said, “I’m trying to give you a chance out of this.”

“You say that like I have a choice.” She said, something burning in her voice like it was burning down deep within her. “I don’t wanna stop. So we’re gonna have to do this the hard way… if that’s okay with you.”

Those last words sounded vulnerable, exposed, juxtaposing all earlier interactions.

There was a pause in the air where he didn’t know what to do. “Yeah, that’s fine with me.”

“Good.” She then twists his arm and pushed him away with her foot.

He stumbles back and catches his step. He smirked. Admittedly, this was fun. He hadn’t fought someone who wasn’t a homicidal maniac in a long time. Well, he wasn’t actually 100% sure if she wasn’t one though. He took out his escrima sticks and went to charge at her, but she was already charging towards him.

Batgirl swipes her leg at him again, and he ducks. She then jabs her hand at his neck, but he’s able to block her several jabs with his escrima.

To his surprise, she grabs onto the ends of the escrima and uses what force she has to connect them together. Nightwing looks down at her confused.

“I thought that’s how it worked.” She studies it for a moment and he pauses a bit confused. She then grabs onto it and hops up, kicking her legs into his stomach.

Nightwing lets go of his escrima from the shock and she grabs onto it before it can fall to the ground.

“Okay, so I’m a little out of practice with this fighting thing.” Nightwing said, picking himself up off of the ground.

Batgirl was fiddling with the stick, trying to pull it apart to make it two again. He could tell her hands were shaking. Was she nervous? She didn’t seem like it.

“You gotta twist it and then pull.” He said.

She twisted and pulled. “Oh, thanks.”

“Can I have them back?” He said, hoping she’d be reasonable.

“Oh, yeah.” She threw one real quick and he caught it. But, before he could process that he had the first one, the second one was flying towards his face.

He ducks, but the stick hits him right on the forehead. He winced and then opened his eyes to find her gone.

“Great work, Nightwing.” He said to himself, picking up his other stick.

Even with his defeat, he wasn’t mad nor truly disappointed. He wasn’t sure was he was feeling, he just couldn’t help, but smile.

That night, he got back to his apartment and iced his forehead. He opened up the laptop that Bruce lent him for this mission. He had set up a database of all the students. He took off all the legacy students, all the students with any sort of money in their family, and then looked at the list. Still too many to narrow it down. At some point he’ll have to go through and study this list, but he’d rather wait until it’s shorter. He looked at the time. He has three hours until his first class.

[rpking99]

Break The Batgirl

Closed with @spiderben2011

Continued from here

Selina Kyle aka Catwoman had captured the other when she got involved in her little thief night. She had been bested before, but that was all on purpose. So, she could have some bit of fun with her like with the others. But this one is so serious, so she's looking forward to calming her down.

She walked over to Cassandra and begins moving her left hand along her masked face. "Comfortable? Sorry, but you're being such a bad girl~ So, I need to punish you before I go on to take you to my room."

"Now then, time for me to put you in your place~" said Selina as she licked her lips.

Cassandra flared at Selina through her masks lenses. The material of her suit obscuring het eyes, but the pure rage she was radiating was almost palpable

The Batgirl tried to wiggle free of her bonds, the skintight latex bulging as she did her best to use her powerful muscles... To no avail

Cassandra hissing weakly under her breath as she realised she was stuck like this

[pinkipeachiikeen]

And The Stars Will Guide Us Home: Chapter 4

A Batfam/BSD crossover series, Dazai x Fem!Reader

Chapter three <------- Chapter four-------> Chapter five

Up past the stairs, she passes room after room until she finds the the door to the study. With no regard for the room’s inhabitants, she bursts open the door with a loud “HEY DAMI LOOK AT THIS WEIRD ASssss-” 

The words slowly die off her tongue as her eye meets the ones of someone she banished to her past, begging to forget along with all of the mistakes she could never make right.  In that moment she could only pray to any god within range that he couldn’t recognize her. 

It’s been fourteen years.

 Fourteen long, painful years.

 Fourteen years of life. 

fourteen years of death.

 Fourteen years of change. 

She’s  not that scared little girl anymore. She refuses to be.

But she can already see, just from that single glance, that that’s all he sees.

“Kanako..?” he whispers, eyes wide, but knowing.

And just like that, she was the scared little girl again. One look takes her all they way back, and she does the only thing she remembers how.

She ran. 

BACKSTORY TIME! 

Content Warnings:  All canon typical again, dissociation from past (?), panic attack (I think, i don’t quite know what the boundaries for that term are) mentions of death, gunshots 

WC: 2258 (small baby chapter, the next one won’t be)

The damp, cool air bristles and pricks her face as she picks up speed, each street and city light meshing with the smog forming a seamless haze of color and fumes that pass her as she speeds by. Her engine roars as her bike catches speed, tires zooming through the muddy puddles of Gotham’s alleyways, caking mud into every crevice of her tires.

A stream of lights meet her back, the purr of an oncoming engine following her.

Others would never dare to roam the streets of Gotham at night, aware of the terrors that outsiders only see in nightmares, but not her.

She smirks, adjusts her cowl and hits the gas. 

For the past seven years she’s be holding down the role as one of the protectors of Gotham, the golden bat across her chest being a beacon of light for others and a promise to herself. 

Skillfully, she dodges through an army of trees and rides off a small cliff leading to a beaten rocky path heading straight towards a gaint horde of rubble, only picking up speed….

As long as she dons the title of Batgirl, she’ll be the protector of those who cannot protect themselves, and save those who cannot be saved. 

..and rides straight through the hologram into the batcave, finally brining her bike into a halt. 

Pulling her cowl off with a gentle tug, she shakes her head, freeing her messy hair and smirking as she hears the purr of incoming bikes. “Took you guys long enough.” she teases as turns to sources of the noises, cockily leaning on her mounted motorcycle. “What is this, six to zero?”

“Five to zero, actually.” the latest rider to enter the cave responds, removing his cowl in a similar fashion and shaking the jet black bangs framing his face that weren’t matted down by sweat. 

She shrugs. “‘Eh, big dif.” she waves the statement off.

Wheezing, the second rider, pulls dow her hood and mask, revealing a mop of blonde hair that contrasts the array of eggplant purple that makes up her suit. “DID Y’ALL SEE THAT?!” she asks, throwing both pieces of gear onto her bike. 

“I did,” Y/n replies. “Congrats, Steph.” she pats her shoulder. “But you still didn’t beat me, though.”

The blonde shushes her and shakes her finger. “Don’t shit on my parade, buddy boy.” she retorts, still catching her breath. “Let me have this one.”

Y/n backs up, chucking as she holds her hands up in surrender. “Okay, sure.”  she relents. “You did good. But are you sure Tim didn’t fall asleep at the wheel again?”

“Hey that was one time!” he intervenes.

“Two times, actually.” Stephanie corrects. “You are forgetting that one time after you tried making instant coffee with Red Bull instead of water.” she shook her head in disapproval. “You already have the ability to stay up for a good majority of a month, I don’t know why you decided to torture your poor body like that.”

“You had both Alfred and Bruce on your ass after that stunt.” Y/n chuckled. “I think that was the first time I heard him yell..”

Tim grimances. “You think angry Bruce is scary, but you don’t truely know fear until Alfred gets on your case.” he shakes his head. “That was the first and last time I did that.”

“Speaking of, aren’t you still technically banned from riding any of the bikes?” Y/n asks.

“That’s none of your business,” he spoke “... but if Bruce asks, I rode with you, alright?”

“Sure, sure.” she agrees. “But you still lost and you know what that means.” 

“Free waffles for me!” Stephanie cheered.

“For us.” Y/n corrects.

“For us, whatever! I’m just happy i’m not buying breakfast again!” she shares. “I always have to pay, which honestly isn’t fair since you both have very high paying prestige jobs and i’m just a college student.” 

“Please, you act like you don’t reap the benefits of being in Brcue Wayne, billionaire’s inner circle.”  Tim jabs.

“Tim you literally run his company.”

“Not all of it!”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Y/n intervenes. “We are all nepo babies in some way or another.” she shakes her head in disgust. “That felt gross to say, but thats besides the point.” 

“The point is, Tim lost the race so we get free food.” Stephanie declares, childiishly sticking her tongue out at Tim

“Well I was gonna say the girl that is gonna be going on vacation in London for three months should pay, but that’s just my opinion.” y/n said.

“HUH?” stephanies head snaps back to Y/n as Tim chuckles.

“She has a point.” Tim points out. 

“First of all, no one asked one you!” she points at Tim, “And second, this isn’t a vacation! It’s a mission! I don’t want to go to no snobby college!” 

“Yes, because being surrounded by girls in cute uniforms and short skirts sounds so bad for a women–obsessed bisexual.” Y/n playfully retorts as she puts her bike away, ignoring the tomato-faced, stuttering blonde. “I’m just teasing ya. Breakfast’s on me today, consider it a ‘good luck on your mission’ gift. You guys go get dressed, and i’ll meet’cha out front.”

“W-where are you going?” she called.

“I need to show Dames something!” she called back.

“Oh was it that weird bird thing we saw?” Tim asked. “I’m still not sure that wasn’t a drone..” he murmured. 

“Drones don’t nearly bite and attack you, Tim.” Steph commented.

He shrugged. “You don’t know that. Drone technology has been rapidly improving over the years and it wouldn’t be out of question for one to be specifically made and crated to look like a  bird and attack when approached…” he murmers, while Stephanie lets out a cough that sounds suspiciously like ‘nerd’ 

“I don’t know what it was, but just be glad Damian wasn’t there, he’d try to adopt it.” she comments, walking towards the exit. “I already got roped into setting a stupid alarm and  waking up early and feeding his cow, I don’t wanna even imagine what Dames would try to con me into doing with that weird freaking bird thing.” she said, unbeknownst to the conniving look they shared at the mention of an ‘alarm’. “I’ll see you in ten-” she starts before she nearly bumps into someone.

“Master Y/N,” an eldery gentleman greets.

“Oh hello, Alfred.” she responds. “Do you know where Damian is?”

“Last time i checked he was in his fathers study trying to convince him why he should be cleared for patrol.” he shares.

Y/n sighs and shakes her head. “Of course he is. He sure isn’t taking that broken arm lying down is he?”

“Seems not.” he replies, but shes already half-way up the stairs, bounding to Bruce’s study, unable to hear Alfred’s warning. 

Up past the stairs, she passes room after room until she finds the the door to the study. With no regard for the room’s inhabitants, she bursts open the door with a loud “HEY DAMI LOOK AT THIS WEIRD ASssss-” 

The words slowly die off her tongue as her eye meets the ones of someone she banished to her past, begging to forget along with all of the mistakes she could never make right.  In that moment she could only pray to any god within range that he couldn’t recognize her. 

It’s been fourteen years.

 Fourteen long, painful years.

 Fourteen years of life. 

fourteen years of death.

 Fourteen years of change. 

She’s  not that scared little girl anymore. She refuses to be.

But she can already see, just from that single glance, that that’s all he sees.

“Kanako..?” he whispers, eyes wide, but knowing.

And just like that, she was the scared little girl again. One look takes her all they way back, and she does the only thing she remembers how.

She ran. 

Past every door frame and down the hall, barely registering the voice calling, begging for her. Each step felt heavy on her feet, the weight of her past dragging her down by her soles of her feet. She’s made it so far. She’s changed so much, she can’t go back. 

She won’t. 

Then a call of a name stopped her dead in her tracks, pulling her to a halt as if she was pulled taut by a string.

“What?” she wheezed

The man behind her catches his breath and she feels it dwon her neck, despite the five feet of distance. 

“I never stopped looking for you or Kazumi. Even after…” he stops 

“Even after what?” she presses on.

“Even after…I heard what happened.” he shares, tip-toeing around every word, carefully. “I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it.”

“Why not?” she said, turning around to face him, but not meeting his eyes.

“Why.. not?” he repeats, confused.

“She died.” she spits out. “She died in that fire. That’s it. It’s not hard to believe.”

“Well.. I didn’t want to believe,”

“IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU WANT TO BELIEVE, SHE’S STILL DEAD!” she chokes out, taking the man aback.

“Is everything fine-” a boy intervines, peering from the hall.

“I’m fine Damian.” she sniffles.

He squints as he eyes the man.“You don’t-”

“Just go!” she yells.

“Come on, Daminan, let’s go.” A man says, leading the boy  away, but not without looking back in worry. 

“The fire, the fire was hot enough to burn bones.” she states, stumbling on her words. “There should be no reasonable doubt that Kanako is dead.”

The man opens his mouth to speak, but she continues. 

“Does he- does he think i’m dead?” she asks slowlly and quitely, like each word was a dagger digging deep into her flesh. 

She looks into his eyes for the first time since they met in the study as she clutches onto his olive green kimono. “Tell me. I need to know, he can’t know i’m al- he can’t.”

Slowly, the man takes her hand in his. “He has a beautiful gravestone dedicated to you, layed next to your sisters.” he confirms. 

Y/n clutches her chest as she heaves air, knees buckled and eyes shut tightly as a twisted sense of relief flowed through her veins. 

Then the man does the unexpected, when Y/n opens her eyes again, his head was touching the ground in a deep bow. 

Instantly alert, she wipes her eyes. “Wha- what are you doing?”

“I am so very deeply sorry.” he apologizes. “I have guided you down a path of harm and suffering when I promised you asylum. I cannot apologize enough for how i’ve failed you and not a day has passed without regret for-”

“Stop.”

“Excuse me?” he says, peeking up.

“Get up, please.” she asks. “This-” she sighs. “This isn’t necessary. We already have one father figure with a guilt complex in this household we don’t need two.” she shares, holding out a helping hand. “God, now I know how Jason feels.” she mutters as she helps him up. 

“Look, Fukuzawa.” she starts. “I blame a lot of people for what I went through. My mom, my dad,” she prepares to say another name, but chokes on it and skips it entirely. “mostly me. But I never blamed you.” the man’s eyes widened. “Not once. If anything, I feel bad that you had to live with this on your chest for so long.” she chuckled humourously. “Honestly, the only thing you did wrong was pass us by on the street that day.” Fukuzawa chuckled at that remark. Sighing, she reveals, “We would’ve ended up on his doorstep sooner or later. Luckily for us, we got a free meal out of it.” she jokes. 

“Now,” she wipes her eyes once more and straightens up. “I wish I could say it’s nice seeing you again, but god, it really hasn’t been.” she admits. “So, i’m going to say this as nice as I possibly can,” she claps. “What the hell are you doing in my house?”

“Son of a bitch!”

Several passerbys give y/n a side eye as she sheepishly apologizes

Y/n believes she’s a patient person. It’s hard not to be when one impulsive move on a mission means certain death for you and all those involved. But if she passes by the same goddamn dumpling place she is going to lose it. The little dumpling mascot seemed cute and inviting the first time she past it, but by the fourth its cheering gaze just seems mocking and y/n can’t promise she wont rip it down after the tenth.

Accompanying someone to the train station is one thing, (even if Ranpo was a horrible guide, there were enoughsigns to point them in the right direction) but finding an a particular office building in a city this large and chaotic is like finding a miniscule needle in a stadium sized haystack. 

“Yes, send the girl who hasn’t seen the city in a decade to guide the man-child….What the hell was that old man thinking..”  she grumbles as she turns another corner, hoping to find her way out of the labyernith but was frozen still when an too familiar sound rings through her ears.

Gunshots.

To most people the sound who be too far and too faint to hear, but she knows exactly where they are coming from. Like a trance, the noise calls to her, a sirens song calling her to action, she does what she’s been trained to do.

She runs into action. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally some background! In an upcoming chapter you will see Fukuzawa POV of this encounter, and that will probably be the last chapter taking place in Gotham. I’m so excited for whats up next, i feel like everything is about to be put into motion!

If you enjoyed this chapter please make sure to like, reblog and comment! especially the last one, since yalls thoughts and opinions are writing fuel!

[luvly-writer]

“But oh…cara mía”

Dick Grayson x Latina! Reader preview

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Author’s note: SO SO SO SO I FINISHED BIIIIIG PART OF THE SKETCH FOR THIS NEW FANFIC AND I JUST HAD TO WRITE A FEW SNIPPETS TO GIVE YOU SOME SORT OF TRAILER FOR WHATS TO COME! OMG I AM HELLA EXCITED. I literally stayed up last night cause sketching the storyline and already have ideas for the songs. This one will be more fanfic that SMAU cause like I said, I am truly motivated to write more but it will still have a few elements of social media au to balance the heavy angst and drama with light hearted fun and fluff! Enjoy!

Taglist: If you also want to stay for the Dick Grayson x Latina! Reader fanfic, there you are most welcomed to! If you don’t, feel free to tell me and I’ll maintain your name for all the Jason Todd x reader related things.

@lorosette @nanas-teatime @izukuisbaby @writing-for-the-hell-of-it @unofficial-jaytodd-wife @graywrites5567 @addictedtothefictionalworld @halleest @randobeetlehouse @prettyacademia00

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“Kid, I’ve dealt with all the robins and batgirls, Batman in all his stages and more, trust me ya can’t scare me away easily”

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“What would you truly know of being a fighter, Grayson!?!?! You haven’t died, you weren’t trained from birth, you aren’t a meta, or a prodigy, WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU?!?!” said Damian harshly, it had been a rough week for all of them, and Damian, oh Damian was being careless with his words because of his anger. Dick got tense and everyone in the cave swore it got colder.

“ I may have not been born a fighter, Damian, but I was crafted by the burn of my survival. A good part of my skill comes from practice. The rest? From the attempts of destruction to my soul” Dick seethed in between teeth.

Damian tensed up at the harsh tone Dick had. Jason’s eyes widened, he hadn’t heard Dick be so cold in years. It reminded him of the fights between Bruce and Dick when he first got here. Tim’s back straightened, knowing that side of Dick very well because of his arrival after Jason’s death, he knew Dick had a darkness within him that only one person was able to soothe. Bruce felt his heart stop. “He hasn’t been like that in a long time…” he said stiff as a board. Alfred placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “she is here, master Bruce….”

——————————————————————————

“I should go apologize to Grays-“

“No..I’ll go” said YN softly

Damian looked at his father, who nodded that her going would be for the best.

——————————————————————————

“It is said that when you dance the waltz with the perfect partner, a candle can be held by the two, and the dance will be so smooth that the flame will never blow out.”

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“We have all been through things, YN, you can’t make excuses for him”

“And you can’t use your trauma as an excuse to treat each other like shit!” said the girl sternly, making the other six give her their whole attention, “ I have had it! We ALL have trauma, it’s not fair we make it even worst for each other….”

——————————————————————————

“HE WAS MY BROTHER BRUCE! HE KILLED MY BABY BROTHER”

“AND HE WAS MY SON!”

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Grayyyyyysoooooon, it’s time to plaaaay, come on no-

Dick woke up with a jump, hyperventilating, sweating, the shadows danced around him and he felt a pair of eyes on him. He panicked even more, feeling as if Slade had come back and his breathes started getting shorter,

“Hey hey hey, sh sh sh sh Dick it’s alright, you’re home, you’re safe, I’m right here” YN said reassuringly

“I keep seeing him in the shadows, he is still there, he is coming back”

“Dick look at me” she says grabbing his face in her hands “he will not harm you, for as long as there is breathe in my lungs okay?” She reassured him and he nods softly, her presence always calming him

——————————————————————————-

“YN and I don’t have anything between us, we aren’t even friends, just coworkers who happen to have an understanding”

“That sounds like friends with benefits, Dick” said Steph muffling her laughter

“WE ARENT! I can assure you there is nothing romantic OR SEXUAL -STOP LOOKING AT ME THAT WAY- between us!” He finished giving a pointed look at Steph and Jason, who were holding back their laughter with a smug grin

“Never?”

“Never.”

——————————————————————————

“UGHHHH BARBARA LO ODIO LO ODIO LO ODIO!!!” said the young girl sobbing in her friends arms, “I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM!!!” she wailed and little by little her sobs started to subdue, “oh…querida mía..how I love him” she said softly. Barbara could only look at her with sympathy and stroke her hair as her friend calmed down from her cries, “I know sweetie, I know”

——————————————————————————-

“You know, I wanted to hate you, resent you for being so perfect, almost like heaven sent you from above for him, but I couldn’t….not when you always were so you…so sweet and kind with me and everyone, I couldn’t”

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Hope you guys are as excited as I am!

I had to scratch the itch of simply writing something out and showing you guys before I finished “you are my sunshine” (which writing the part has been so difficult since I got so excited for this one and just needed to write something out to get you just as excited as I am AND because I don’t want to say good bye to the story since I love it so much but at las, little by little it has to end ;-;)

[it doesn’t have tags yet because it’s only a preview, once i start the story as a whole, the tags will begin ]

ALL MY LOVE

-you lovely writer

<3

[coupleoffanfics]

same person who said teehee(batfam related again xx)

so anyway!!!

you also mentioned that Selina likes y/n, and I seriously need a small drabble w their interactions! I bet that's why y/n likes cats so much! cause she was hanging out with Selina or with Selina in almost all her patrols hihihi

I hope you enjoy this anon. I just made them into HC, I hope you don't mind. Though if you aren't satisfied with it feel free to send another ask. 😊

Selina meets y/n when she takes the role of Batgirl. It's an average night for Gotham. Stealing jewels and whatever catches Selina's eyes. Then there's a little squabble with Batman.

She puts down her bag of stolen goods to fight. She is so focused on fighting with Batman that she almost doesn't notice the figure taking her bag and starts trifling though it. They take whatever they're looking for and place it back to where it belongs.

Batman and Selina are fighting while Batgirl! y/n is trying to put everything back to the way it was.

Oh, no there's some broken glass! Batgirl! y/n goes to the janitor's closet to grab a broom and sweeps up the glass. She might have pulled out the mop if she didn't notice an opening for her to strike.

The kick to the back didn't hurt Selina in the slightest, it just caught her off guard. Though Batgirl! y/n acts like she just stabbed Selina.

Blabbering about how she's sorry and hoped that it didn't hurt too much. But Selina fondly remembers how Batgirl! y/n admitted that she thought her cat ears looked cute.

After that they'll have little interactions every so often.

Maybe if they have a fight or something Selina will say, "You don't want to get hurt do you, Kitty?" Then young Batgirl! y/n smiles. Slightly puffs out her chest, "I'm no Kitty. I'm a Chickadee, that's what my Mama called me." Selina then just calls her Chickadee after that.

Young y/n finds out about Selina's real identity when at a Gala. She's probably goofing off with Tim or just sitting alone bored when she hears a familiar voice call her Chickadee.

She thinks it's a big secret knowing who Catwoman really is. Doesn't tell Bruce or even Tim even though they knew long before her. Thinks she hot shit with this information and believes she's just best friends with Selina than the other two. No, y/n you aren't supposed to befriend the criminals!

Honestly a few villains might hear about the little nickname y/n was giving and mock her. "What are you going to do about it, Chickadee?" She always pouts a little before saying, "You aren't allowed to call me that!"

If there was a big fight going on, Batgirl! y/n was severely injured Selina would jump in. Depending on how bad the injury is she'll either defend y/n from anymore harm or just kidnap her.

y/n wakes up in a cozy bed with some cats laying around her. She's convinced she's found haven. Spends the rest of the night with Selina as she introduces y/n to all her cats.

They just have a little soft spot for each.

y/n wants hugs. She's a touch starved goblin, but she's too scared to ask. Though if she just asked Selina, she'd gladly give her as many as she wanted.

At the start y/n isn't given too much "freedom" during patrols. She's still young, inexperienced, and not to mention she can be a bit innocent. Though when she has a few years under her belt, I could see Bruce begrudgingly letting her patrol on her own.

This isn't where the family neglect starts, so Bruce is pretty connected to her. Not to mention that Jason was probably still in the back of his mind.

I couldn't really see y/n being one to skip patrol duty. Too much of a goody-two-shoes to really do that. Though I could see Selina coming by to play around and distract her from her duty.

Selina could be doing this from boredom or wanting to see the girl relax. A kid shouldn't be so serious. They should be growing up and being care free. She'd also like for y/n to grow up and not become so brooding like her father. Though thankfully y/n is willing to entertain Selina from time to time.

If things are calm, they might sit in alleyways to pet stray cats while chatting. Their conversations are nothing serious and quiet mindless honesty, but it's nice.

They can both just take a breath and bask in the cuteness of the alley cats.

[fancyfade]

9 12 and 14 for the dc ask game?

9. Superman in space or Superman in Metropolis? Does this change if I say Smallville instead?

I think Metropolis is an incredibly strong background against which superman stories can be told, so I like him in Metropolis. But he does deserve a fun angsty space era where he has a mental breakdown and goes into self imposed exile and gets kidnapped into a fight ring.

12. Pick up to 7 characters to star in a Teen Titans ongoing (any era or generation you like). What tone do you envision for this series?

hmmmmmm

Ok so NTT is like. It's own thing in my head that already has the perfect lineup, so to make a new lineup:

we're gonna build off what was possibly intended before new 52, but add rose :P

Rose Wilson Worth (ravager)

Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle)

M'gann (Miss Martian)

Damian Wayne (Robin)

Stephanie Brown (Batgirl)

Kara Zor El (Supergirl)

Cassandra Sandsmark (Wonder Girl)

They had Virgil Hawkins, but I like Milestone not being combined with regular DC universe*, and they had Irey, but I don't know much about her, so I'll have the 7th member by Cassie Sandsmark/Wonder Girl b/c I feel she could do well on that team.

*mostly b/c I feel like when Milestone characters are folded into DC, they never really are given the same time to shine as they are in Milestone universe. Like the writers could choose to do so, but frequently we don't see it.

14. Speaking of JLA discourse. Should Diana have killed Maxwell Lord?

I don't enjoy when writers treat Diana as if she has no problem killing people, like 'Oh wlel you haven't heard of my villains b/c I take care of them', and do like these quote for Diana that emphasize her desire for peace

There is no human conflict which cannot be served better with words than with the sword Wonder woman 119

“the only real strength comes from kindness and mercy! You know that, roger!” - wonder woman annual #3

i swear by the dead gods of my heritage, this will be a warrior's death. my only regret is that my epitaph should be one of peace. and man will remember that my life ended in blood and violence. Wonder woman 148

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT i'm still fine with her killing Maxwell Lord. like. "I have completely infiltrated Superman's brain and can make him kill anyone when I want and the only way to permanently free him from my influence is to kill him or kill me." Like. Max. What did you THINK was going to happen*

like I think she made a call she rather would have not made, but it made sense for her in the circumstances.

*yes I know he was lasso of truth'd and had to say that

ty for asks! Asks from here (link)

[harleyincrisis]

Part 3: Scars

“𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐞𝐧,𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞.”

𝔽𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜:

[[My body slammed into a roll over the concrete floor of the steel mill. Joker’s steps echoed as he moved closer. “ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕖𝕪, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝔹𝕒𝕥𝕤 𝕓𝕦𝕤𝕪.” I felt his grip as he jerked me up by my hair. My boot scraped the floor with a squeak as he brought me up to stand. Blood trickled down my nose and trailed over my lips. The last hard slap was one that sent me across the room. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕝 𝕞𝕖. 𝕆𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕆𝕧𝕖𝕣.”ＣＲＡＣＫ a collision of his knuckles hit against my face. The tears rolled down my cheeks as I crumpled to my knees. He reached for my chin to lift it.“𝕆𝕙 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕪 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕡𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤." The wall exploded just as Joker reached for his buckle. Bats and the Justice punks crowded into the room.“𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨, 𝐉𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐫!” Batman tried to sound big and bad. His tone spoke lies to my ears. He didn’t want to save me. He just wanted to catch his prey. I felt the hard jerk as I was tossed aside like a rag doll. Every muscle of my body screamed in pain. A failed battle with Bats just to come back for the sling around treatment with Joker. I was tired of men treating me like I was worthless, weightless, and nothing to them. My hands shifted beneath me to help prop me up to see the commotion. Bats had Joker, threw him across the room making him drop his gun. I reached out for what I thought was the real steel. It seemed the room wasn’t paying any attention to me. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺? 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘑𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘑𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩. I managed to grip the gun in hand and raised it, aiming for Joker. With shaky hands I managed to stabilize as I prepared myself for the squeeze of the trigger. Joker somehow managed to pick the gun he lost from his grip. He raised it to match my stance. I squeezed the trigger, the toy flag with the word 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆 printed in bold, popped free of the gun. Before I could fully feel the disappointment. A loud 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆 sounded. I gasped at the sharp pain that shot through my shoulder. My eyes looked down at the hole it left behind. Blood surfacing and pouring from the wound. I let out a shrill scream and lunged for the gun. Girl Bat and Doucheface Robin tackled me to the floor, preventing me from completing my mission of ridding the world of that piece of shit clown. My eyes glared ahead as Batman and Joker resumed their fight. I groaned as metal slapped and trapped my wrists behind my back.I was jerked to my feet AGAIN. My boots scraped the concrete as  I screamed in pure anger. The pain in my shoulder disappeared, replaced with the rage I felt. The last image I had seen was the gun being tossed and Batman continuing his fight with Joker. I felt my body lift again. A wave of  lightheadedness moved over me. I pulled to lean against Batgirl as the junior bat brats carried me out of the room. My vision darkened as my head bounded against Batgirl’s shoulder. That was the last time I had seen him.]]

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲: 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝟐𝟑𝟏: 𝐇. 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐧.

[[The warm spray of water streamed through the showerhead as the soap filled loofah moved over my skin. My palms pressed against the shower walls as I let Batgirl scrub me up and down. I moaned at the gentle sweeps she took as she brushed the bubbles over my scarred skin. I looked up to let the warm stream wash over my face. I felt Batgirl’s soft lips along my shoulder. Whispers of me being safe caused soft moans to escape. Lost in the ecstasy of her gentle touch. Suddenly her soft touch began rough, her grip tightened and jerked me back. I felt a hard muscle body and something rod shaped against my ass. “𝕐𝕠𝕦’𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕖 𝕞𝕖.” I jumped back and opened my eyes as I reached to turn off the water that had run cold. I was alone, naked and shaking. I reached outside of the glass for a towel and  wrapped it tightly around me. I combed my fingers through my hair to brush it away from my face. Another night of no sleep was imminent, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺? I pulled clothes free from the small dresser I was provided. I dressed quickly before slipping from my room to try and tire my body in the simulation chamber. I set the controls to what I needed today. My reflection was caught in the mirror, the scar against my shoulder from years ago radiated a phantom pain. My fingers moved over the keys as I set the room to replay the last memory I had of Joker. The only change being that I had the gun he shot me with. Joker would be the gunshot victim this time not me. He wanted to be in my mind, fuck with my thoughts and daydreams? He was in for a show. The different way I would destroy him as he had destroyed me.]]