#bfengekgekeyk there's so much to read and so little time and again I'm still reading books too

[evilwickedme]

I'm currently reading yj98 and slowly collecting robin, robin ii, and robin 93, and I have the first three volumes of Nightwing... 95? I don't remember the year right now but the original miniseries + ongoing, so like, very seriously trying to catch up on the 90s - it just seems like the most interesting period in the batfamily?? Even though my fav Jason isn't there. I know that Helena was a big part of the batfam at the time and I haven't read a single issue with her, plus no man's land seems like a big deal (plus it's Cass's introduction?? I think??) and the only thing I've read of that is the yj tie in (which was a lot of fun and I get the impression not an accurate representation of nml's tone). I'm also reading a bunch of older marvel stuff right now so like, obviously all of this is going to happen at whatever pace I get to it, but I'm working really hard at it jstjsfhetjta

Any other major characters I probably don't know? I've mostly been focusing on Tim and Dick's supporting casts and less Bruce himself

What does Alfred call Cass? Do you know anything about their relationship?

First of all, they are HILARIOUS together. Very incompatible ways of communicating affection and priorities. Amuses me endlessly.

Alfred calls her 'Miss Cassandra', if I'm remembering correctly. That's simple enough to answer. But their relationship!

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So Alfred is this reserved old man who shows affection through acts of service, and prefers it returned through restrained verbal affirmation ('thank yous'). Cassandra is a half-feral street kid who DOES NOT VALUE THINGS, and both shows and receives affection through physical contact and/or large body language.

They're both smart enough to understand that they're missing a lot, but they just don't GET each other.

Alfred invisibly cleans Cass' space, provides her with clothing and food, and otherwise attends to every comfort he can think of (including TRAVELING TO BLÜDHAVEN TO DO SO REGULARLY while she was living there). Cass doesn't notice or care about clean spaces, and just assumes food and clothing exist in a ready state in houses.

He obviously doesn't want hugs or shoulder punches. All his emotions are bottled up. He disapproves of costumes in the Manor; and, like Babs, thinks The Mission is secondary to living. From her point-of-view, he doesn't really VALUE her.

Meanwhile, Cass never thanks him for his work. She rarely tries to make things easier for him, or adapt her behaviour to fit her context. She doesn't request physical contact, so neither gets the chance to find something that works for them. His dry humour goes completely over her head, so both attempts to bond, and to express his desire for things to change, are missed. She obviously doesn't care that much about him.

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They like each other.

Alfred snarks at her pretty frequently. She blithely takes him seriously.

They bond over how OBLIVIOUS strangers are. (Especially when people just don't notice anything weird about her. They both find that funny.)

They aren't HURT by the other's behaviour. But they both exist in the other's blind spot, and have missed most of the attempts to bond. They're okay with the relationship they have, but both think it's like this because that's what the other wants.

(This is all based off of memories that are a dozen years old. I mostly remember stuff after Steph's death, when Cass was in Blühaven. Before then she lived either with Babs, or in her own Batcave, and I can't remember them interacting. Though they had a good scene in the Gotham Knights issue where a social worker is investigating Bruce about Jason's death. Such a good issue. Anyways, they may have grown closer in things like Gates Of Gotham, which I've only skimmed.)