#cass spinoff

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

I couldn't put them in the tourney since they're not from anime, but I've been falling back into one of my earliest hyperfixations lately, so... here's an appreciation post for Disney Princess horses.

Row 1, Left to Right: Astor (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Major (also called 'Frou' in some books) (Cinderella), Prince Charming's Horse (Cinderella III: A Twist in Time), Cinderella's Riding Horse (Cinderella III: A Twist in Time), Samson (Sleeping Beauty), Buttercup (Sleeping Beauty: Buttercup the Brave)

Row 2, Left to Right: Beau (The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Baby Beau), Philippe (Beauty and the Beast), Philippe's Friend (Beauty and the Beast: A Friend for Philippe), Sahara (Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams), Midnight (Aladdin: The Desert Race), Rolfe's Horse (Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World)

Row 3, Left to Right: Khan (Mulan), Shang's Horse (Mulan), Maximus (Tangled), Fidella (Tangled: The Series), Angus (Brave), Elinor's Horse (Brave)

Row 4, Left to Right: Kjekk (also called 'Havski' in some books) (Frozen), Sitron (Frozen), Fjøra (Frozen II: Forest of Shadows), The Nokk (Frozen II)

[cassmouse]

The amount of times I have rewatched episode three of Scott Pilgrim is absolutely ungodly

Like, that Ramona and Roxie fight scene with all the different films?? I have NEVER seen anything like it and I love it so much it's probably now one of my favourite moments from any animated show ever

[redhead-reporter]

EHEM.

º ✧ 。 @spiderz0mbie thinks she's mj's type !

"see? look how far a little EFFORT gets you - i'm not even mad your taste in television isn't RIGHT... yet"

[disneyfanatic1993]

Cass Appreciation Week: Adventure

Wherever she goes, I think the continuous love of her friends is what keeps Cass going while she's out on her adventure. Can you tell who each of the letters is from? There are four in all (and yes, Owl is delivering them to her).

I participated in an appreciation week for Cass back in May 2022.

[alto-tenure]

me connecting my blorbos together with a single thread: is this a media parallel?

[theflashjaygarrick]

Cassandra Cain is groundbreaking as a character because she wasn’t invented as a supporting character to a white man but her own protagonist. Sure, in the broader DC universe she was a part of the Batfamily but almost immediately she was given a solo ongoing where she was the titular figure. Batman was made a recurring side character in her own narrative. This is super rare in big 2 superhero comics. Most of the time women (especially women of colour) are introduced as a supporting character for a male character story, or as part of a white male dominated team, before organically gaining the popularity to ‘earn’ her a spinoff.

But with Cass they trusted that this stubborn, neurodivergent, Asian teenage girl was badass and compelling enough as a superhero to sustain her own solo series. And you know what? They were right. batgirl 2000 (her original run) is the first and longest individual batgirl run in DC comics history. Comic readers loved her.

And this only was possible because of a diverse writers room with a drive to push creative boundaries and a willingness to fight with editorial if necessary. Joe Illidge (the first black editor for Batman) recalled that the Bat creative team had to fight to have a non-white Batgirl. But they fought for it, they won, and Cass demonstrated that risks and moves towards more diverse comics pays off. And the fact that after countless attempts to silence her, ignore her fans, and pretend she doesn’t exist, Cass is back with a vengeance and a new solo only further proves they were right. Despite what the anti-woke crowd may cry bold, progressive storytelling can and does work, especially when the creative team believes in the character and plot and the people with the money let them do their thing.

[ladywuvly]

barry sloane +au. +characters rec list!

masterlist. socials. recs.

head canons |

dbf!price boys your age by @captainfern dbf!price shotgunning his cigar by @inkbybambi dbf!price sugardaddy; part.2 by @faith369 bf!price headcanons by @empresskylo landlord!price moving out by @gatorlovebot

fics & imagines |

Honesty by @gatorlovebot - John doesn't like liars. Fixing your bad self-image by @sweetiecutie - You’ve been feeling a bit self-conscious lately, so John decides to fuck some sense into your head. Truth or dare? by @soapyghost Don't disobey by @jawabear - A risky move on the field leaves the captain less than happy with you. Steady girl by @jawabear - John loves when you help him trim his facial hair. And he loves what comes after as well. Genesis by @moondirti - It’s the first time you truly see him – this much of him, anyway, and he’s startlingly younger than you would’ve thought. The progression of a spite-fuelled relationship. Eye contact by @kungfubarbie101 Two is hardly a crowd by @grippingbeskar  How to disappear by @fawnpires - After a failed attempt at a date, you unexpectedly find yourself in the hands of comfort of your dorm-mate, also known as your captain. Bartender by @sky-is-the-limit Rings by @glossysoap What’ve you done this time by @captainfern inspo; @bleuu-moon Just the tip, love by @floralpascal Home is the feeling of you by @maryangelex - You’re Price’s fiancé back home and it’s been months since you’ve seen him. He’s been on deployment and days have been getting lonelier the more days pass. Until you get home one night from work to a more than pleasant surprise. Taking his time by @empresskylo Neighborly advice by @sky-is-the-limit - Your neighbor price takes matters into his own hands to finish what your incompetent ex could never. all in the name of good neighborly solidarity, of course. Cigar smoke and good sex by @lxvvie Helping hands by @deathsimage Break the rules by @bonitanightmxres - Months after breaking up, you and price agree to a “no strings attached” relationship to fill the void in your lives—but it proves to be harder than anticipated when you both start to catch feelings again. How you deserve by @manmuncher777 Inspo; @sky-is-the-limit

series/multi part |

Never let me go 5/5 by @maryangelex - You worked at a coffeehouse, your life is filled with mundanity and you wouldn't change it for anything else. That is, until one crisp autumn morning, you meet the handsome Captain John Price and there’s an immediate, undoubted connection between the two of you. Neighborly 5/5 by @391780 inspo; @hereforthepedrofanfic - You and your neighbor, john price, slowly getting to know each other over the holidays. The rear window 5/5 by @391780 - spinoff! neighborly!pricepov stalker!price. Soft 9/9 by @391780 - Soap says dumb shit in a bar, Captain Price falls in love with a fat girl. Songs That Sound Like Sea-Foam 2/2 by @halcyone-of-the-sea - fisherman!price x mermaid!reader. Take me home, country road 17/20 by @ceilidho - 1800s!price. reader flees to his town where Price is the sheriff after a murder in her previous town. only to be mistaken for the mail order bride that Price just sent for ….and he’s not interested in hearing any of her excuses when she tells him that he’s got the wrong girl Callsign: zero 12/12 by @cass-the-mess - 2 years ago you saved John Price from an untimely death, only to disapear without a trace before he could thank you properly for getting him back home safe. You show up again 2 years later to help the task force defeat a new enemy. Marigold 7/7 by @captainfern - Price is your dbf and he is suddenly asking you to meet him upstairs during a party. pretty much anything from their masterlist!

disclamer! none of these are my works all credit to the authors. I just loved them so much figured I'd give them a shoutout!

[casscainmainly]

Kon fan! I haven't had the chance to read much of his later stuff but early on? Yea absolutely he talked like that.

One of my favorite panels with him is from this spinoff series he had in the 90s (Superboy and the Ravers) where he joins an illegal interdimensional space rave and has some adventures with the people he meets there. One such friend comes out as a gay man, and another starts being loudly homophobic about it. To which Kon's immediate response is just "why are you being so uncool about this?"

And now the idea that Kon's first response to bigotry is to call the offender a wet rag lives in my head rent free.

Oh my god I love this so much. You heard it from Superboy himself - homophobia is uncool!

Also the way he talks is, like, absolutely incredible. The more I read the more I love him:

This is TRUE comic book writing. This is TRUE allyship. This is the man Cass chose for her first comphet relationship for a reason!

(Panels from Superboy & The Ravers #19)

[dailycass-cain]

2023 was another big stepping stone with Cass. The character was featured in A LOT of stuff this year amongst a few negative antics.

But unlike prior years the good really outweighed the bad. BY A LOT.

So let's take a look back one final time #CAINAISSANCE2023...

The year started STRONG with the release of Batgirls #14 aka the BEST solo story that involved the character this year.

I've gone in LENGTH on how AMAZING this tale was. If you haven't read it DO SO. You don't need any context but to just take in the masterpiece given.

Writers Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad gave artist Jonathan Case just this canvas of an issue to tell AN EPIC mostly silent issue.

If there's a tale Batgirls will be remembered for it'll BE THIS ISSUE.

I've lost count to just taking in the gorgeous art Case delivers here and just letting the actions and emotions tell the tale.

The only regret is well no full payoff to what is fully learned within this issue.

It just hits EVERY mark and is something any Cass fan CRAVED, but never got in Batgirl Vol. 1. Batgirls #14 was a worthy issue that should be talked about amongst fans of Cass for quite some time.

February gave us Cass's grand entrance to Ram V's Detective Comics run (#1069) and what an entrance it was! Literally, I can't let it go of how AMAZING it was.

And the run itself? It just keeps delivering as THE Batman book out currently.

It's a slow burn and when the run lays the payoffs IT HITS THOSE PAYOFFS. The series just ended an exceptional bi-weekly event that featured Cass and well, I'm extremely curious where this run goes with the character.

If anything, I just want MOAR from Ram V or a smaller secondary story involving Cass. But given the various characters he's been rotating and given next year is 2024 (more on that later) I'm keeping my fingers crossed for ALL OF THIS.

This run does work in trade but I digress you'd be missing the GORGEOUS covers this series has been shelling out. If anything BUY the single issues and read the run this way until you get to the present.

Or reread them like I've been doing. 😋

The early half of 2023 marked Cass's surprise return to an actual role in mega crossovers. She took part in the final issue of Batman vs. Robin being one of the random factors to stall the possessed Batman until ALL of DC's magical users came to cast it out of him.

The weakest of the crossovers the character was involved in I have to say was Gotham War. It was a nothing burger that made me swear off the Chip Zdarsky run of Batman completely.

Honestly, I feel more rewarded reading Tec more. Unless Chip pulls off a miracle turnaround in 2024.

But I digress Zdarsky was only half of the problems with the other being Tini Howard and yeah, if you were a Bat Family member who wasn't Jason Todd (how did that mini turn out to be more entertaining then the ENTIRE event?!)?

This story SUUUUUUUUCKED. Quite possibly the worst Batman event story since War Games/Crimes for me.

Sadly, the most disappointing stories I'd have to say are on equal ground in Beast World and Knight Terrors. As there was interesting concepts with Cass involving them, and both stories just go NOWHERE.

I feel more so robbed with Knight Terrors as the design for Cass within it went hard. It's just that you give us THIS design and tease us with this little nugget and give us NOTHING?

COME ON!

Beast World was a whole nothing burger as well, save the pretty art and a full confirmation that Cass's old NML is now canonically her defacto one again.

Even if we had it mentioned earlier last year and again in the best crossover event involving Cass...

WHICH WAS IN LAZARUS PLANET: DARK FATE #1. It gave us Alyssa Wong returning for a THIRD time to write Cass and they were joined by Haining on art which introduced us to the world of Xanthe.

That in itself led to a spinoff mini-series that had Cass in it with SPIRIT WORLD. It did more with the new character Xanthe and laid out their origins and powerset nicely while also laying some seeds for MAYBE future Cass stories.

Again, I feel like a repeating record on how GOOD this series was. Like, I can't wait for the trade next year to take it all in again. But besides the creative team delivering it gave us Dustin Nguyen AND Marcio Takara drawing Cass again OFFICIALLY AS BATGIRL!!

Even when this series ended, I STILL WANT MOAR!! Like what memories did Cass lose? What the heck happened with Spirit World twisting her memories of Batgirl Vol. 1 #72?! How will Xanthe be with the Jade Court?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

Something else that left me with MANY questions was DCeased universe as even though the story ended back in April.

I still crave more starring Cass, because let's face it STEPH/TALIA DESERVE CLOSURE!! Cass could be the gateway to that.

Doing so would tie up the final loose ends as well. Let's see how Rose is raising her kid with Jason. Silent Olsen. Harley/Ivy. Ollie/Dinah. Jim Gordon.

But I digress. It gives us more Cazzam. We need more Cazzam.

But an alternate universe Cass just didn't pop up there we had a Cass show up in various other comics. Knights of Steel which also had me hankering for MOAR and Harley Quinn & the Legion of Bats.

I know some didn't like it, but me? I think it was LEAPS and BOUNDS better than what we got in the actual season of HQ.

Let us never talk about that season again…

Now something we SHOULD talk about more is the first actual appearance of Cass in a DC ANIMATED MOVIE!! Yes, Kai Li Cain from Batman: The Doom that Came to Gotham.

I was blown away at the extended role they gave the character in the film (to the, "Oh right Tim is here and alive." role in the books).

Kai Li voiced perfectly by Tati Gabrielle gave a balance of innocence and reason with the batshit craziness this film throws at us.

Like, I really REALLY want a sequel. Just to see what she'd do now given full access to Bruce's fortune? Will she follow his path? I mean yeah we want steampunk Bat!

Speaking of which artists we need designs for this stat still!

It just adds that anchor where you want to see more of this universe and the characters that inhabit it. I mean that's the sign of a REALLY good Elseworlds. Where you want more and sometimes you get just that.

But with all this good came the sad, and that was the canceling of Batgirls. I know many were against the series (especially after #7-8), but the series found its footing with #9 and ran into something I hope more positively can be talked about it.

It's true failing wasn't the creators behind the series, more just elements outside that just slotted it's end (Batgirl movie getting canned making #7-8 more wasteful), Evil Oracle #4 aka the pitch, and just being something it couldn't be).

I'm grateful for each and every creator who worked on this book because it was a GIFT that I'll always be appreciative of.

I'll say it again, THANK YOU TO ALL! 🙏

And its spirit lived on in the Nightwing back up a few months ago. It was something that was TRULY needed after the garbage fire that was Gotham War. It gave us this Cass/Dick sibling stuff and GIVE ME MOAR!!!

Unlike the past where we'd be done, DC brought us back up giving us the current BIRDS OF PREY ongoing which has Cass in it.

Really the series is a revelation of giving us things I always wanted that I'd never thought we get. Cass with Dinah? CHECK.

Cass meeting Big Barda and the two having a bond? HELLS YEAH CHECK! Anytime that bond grows I squee even more.

Just give writer Kelly Thompson ALL the time and ideas she has to churn this out to the proper conclusion she has envisioned. Just give me fifty-plus issues of her, Leonardo Romero, and Jordie Bellaire.

Finally of course there was Batman: Wayne Family Adventures which gave us THREE banger Cass stories. One where she and Steph are a MENANCE (as they should), Cass scaring the crapbaskets out of EVERYONE and of course...

Season 2 gave us A LOT of things I wanted in general (her interacting with Damian) and just showing the world why I really really love this character. Why I talk about her daily.

Really as 2023 closes and 2024 is about to begin... Well, it's the character's TWENTIETH-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY. 25 years of kicking ass and ripping our hearts out.

It's been a journey for sure.

really REALLY hope DC honors this anniversary and continues to mend the bridges burned all those years ago.

Give us that Omnibus. Give us a mini or SOMETHING to celebrate this character. If not, I'll take whatever Ram V and Thompson give us.

#CAINAISSANCE2023 may be over, but #CAINAISSANCE2024 will be the most important year yet.

25 YEARS OF CASS!! LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN ON JANUARY 1st!

[elainsgirl]

I dont get it.

Cassian had those sexual desires about nesta before acosf but when its azriel, its just lust??

make it make so much sense.

But anyway, I believe Cassian and Azriel had many parallels in the books.

Acosf/Chapter 16

• Cassian hadn’t slept well. It was hard to sleep well when he’d been so aroused he’d had to pleasure himself not once but three times just to calm the hell down enough to close his eyes. But he awoke before dawn aching for her, her scent still in his nose, and another release had barely taken the edge off. •

then azriel's bonus chapter

• Sleep, they seemed to whisper in his ear. Sleep. I wish I could, he answered silently. But sleep so rarely found him these days. Too many razor-sharp thoughts sliced him any time he grew still long enough for them to strike. Too many wants and needs left his skin overheated and pulling taut across his bones. So he slept only when his body gave out, and even then only for a few hours. •

Acosf/chapter 58

• “Because I was fucking jealous!” he roared, wings splaying. “You looked like a queen, and it was painfully obvious that you should be with a princeling like Eris and not a low-born nothing like me! Because I couldn’t stand the sight of it, right down to my gods-damned bones! •

Az bonus chap

• He left the rest unspoken. Because her mate was here, sleeping a level up. Because her mate had been in the family room and Azriel had needed to stay by the door the whole time because he couldn't stand the sight of it, the scent of their mating bond, and needed to have the option of leaving if it became too much. •

Also when they both mentioned how they felt envy or jealous when seeing their brother(s) in love.

this is just me saying random stuff below lol

I really don't get the hate for elriel at all. Saying theyre sibling coded is just forcing it. Nothing about them is sibling coded, especially after that bonus chapter. (they really gave strangers-friends-lovers) This author's writing is not that hard to understand. why are majors coming to the internet about this book and to mostly just hate on elriel? like... please stop.

I have nothing to say about gwyn or lucien because what is there to say? theyre good characters but not those characters I am so interested about. I would say im more interested in emerie! She deserves more attention!!



BANG ON, ANON

👏👏👏

The spinoffs are explicit NA novels. ACOSF quite literally was filled with explicit scenes, Nessian agreed to a physical relationship only for most of the book. No one batted an eye. No one said nessian isn’t endgame bcs Cass only lusts for Nesta. Yet god absolutely forgive Azriel for having explicit thoughts on the woman he’s literally interested in and said woman - just like Nesta - WANTED HIM BACK. If it wasn’t mutual - if Elain didn’t want to kiss Az back, then it’s a different matter. But she wanted him without hesitation.

I think elriels hatred from the bonus comes down to a matter of things:

. Whether they acknowledge it or not - some antis see Elain more “childish” & “pure” compared to other characters due to her being more feminine. To see Azriel have such thoughts towards her, made them uncomfortable bcs they don’t see Elain as an adult but a child. In other words they infantilise her - which is why they complained about the bonus.

. Instead of taking elriels bonus as part of the development of elriels’ relationship in previous books, they view it as a standalone event. They see it as the only “major” elriel interaction- so for those antis, they wanted to see Azriel show and tell us readers how much he cares & loves elain him staying away from her and buying her a beautiful necklace which symbolises her personality isnt enough Its like everything he’s done for elain previously doesn’t matter. Him giving her TT doesn’t matter, him spending his solstice night listening to her talk doesn’t matter. None of it does bcs they’re only focusing on his bonus. They’re only focusing on Azriel’s thoughts that particular night/time - Oh Az didnt confess his undying love for her right then and there? Clearly he doesn’t care about her. Thats their way of thinking - which is limited and takes a lot of things out of context

The last factor ill share for now, Antis hold Elriel to a different standard then every other ship. Elriel have always been hated, more then every other couple bcs some say Azriel deserves better and the other half want Lucien to be relevant & happy. When you have to accept the reality of something you hate - naturally you’ll hold it to a higher standard then the norm. You’ll nitpick at every single thing bcs you dont like it and want to find faults to justify this dislike. Thats what happened with elriel especially when its compared to ships like Gwynriel and Elucien - who are “perfect” in comparison (bcs they’re not developed in the least therefore easy to mold them to your preference) and make up for everything elriel lacks.

Elriel have so many parallels to other couples - you’ve mentioned some above. Sjm has a clear pattern for acotar- elriel fit this pattern in every way, shape and form. But when you dig deeper into elucien and gwynriel they don’t fit this pattern & parallels.

Anyone that says elriel is platonic- even before that bonus - honestly deserves a rlly big side eye with a side of judgement.

anon, anyone that says they have a major in x and proceed to share the most basic analysis known to man and then further proceed to use the wrong context and purposely act obtuse when it comes to elriel makes me laugh. “i have a degree in english lit and its clear Az only wants a mate 🥸” - Azriel then falling in love w a fated woman that quite literally defeats the purpose of him solely wanting a mate…

I was 14 when it first read these books. At that ripe age, elriel were blaringly obvious to me. I kid you not when I learnt of these ship wars I was genuinely flabbergasted at how people where actually doubting elriel. I didn’t have a degree in anything bcs its not needed. These are basic books with basic cliche tropes and plot. Everything is right there for you to pierce together.

I love Lucien - Im interested in his story. Gwyn didn’t stick out to me. - She was just a typical fantasy side character. I loved the companionship she gave Nesta but even in SF i was invested in elain. Noting everytime she came on page, paying extra attention when her name was mentioned etc. i also love emerie - she definitely deserves more love and recognition as well as her own story of reforming Illyria.

[lovemyromance]

What people seem to be forgetting is that main characters need a plot line that solely depends on them. They can't just be the sidekicks on the mission, they are the leading force. They can't just tag along as someone's boyfriend/girlfriend. They need a reason to be there beyond love interest drama.

Lucien, despite being nonexistent from ACOWAR on- is a main character. I might not be his biggest fan recently, but even I can agree with that. He was in every single book, has been Feyre's friend from the start.

Gwyn? I don't see it, sorry. Her story was told. She trained, she healed, she fought, she went back to the library. The end. She was Nesta's friend in ACOSF, and that is her role in this series.

To say Gwyn will get an entire book is insane, and an entire book before Elain-a main character and the third Archeron sister-is absolutely off the rails.

Why would she get a book? Is she tied to any plot? Emerie, at least, is a Valkyrie who is Illyrian so if anyone is getting an Illyrian plotline, it's likely the Illyrian woman who had her wings clipped by a misogynistic society and lives in Illyria.

But people don't seem to be very vocal about Emerie getting a book. I wonder why that is - when she is more tied to the ACOTAR plotline (not that I think SJM will even explore Illyria, but just saying), when she is also a Valkyrie, when she is also Nesta's friend.

And I'm really not trying to elevate Emerie to diss Gwyn. I'm saying neither will get a book, because they're literally side characters in ACOTAR.

ACOTAR is not TOG or Crescent City. It is not multiple POVs of multiple characters we just met. We follow Feyre for 3 books, with occasional Rhys POV. We then get a fun little novella with Feysand, Mor, and Cassian POVs. Then we go back to the dual POV pattern with Nesta & Cassian. And one bonus chapter with Azriel POV.

People seem to be forgetting SJM herself said she started planting seeds for the spinoffs in ACOFAS.

Let's look at what ACOFAS set up:

Elain avoiding Lucien, Lucien avoiding Elain

Feysand bonus chapter about Elain

Cassian got a POV

Cassian & Nesta's current state of hostility

Nesta's struggle

So Cassian got a POV, and then Nesta, his love interest got a book.

In an interview about ACOFAS, SJM said she knew Nessian was next, and even started doing research for Elain's journey.

Elain's Journey.

And in recent interviews she's spoken about Azriel's journey.

In ACOSF, we see the first ever Azriel POV.

My bet is, the next book will be Elriel. It follows the pattern. We know Elain's book is next, but if she were to be paired with Lucien- why didn't Lucien get a POV?

Why did Azriel of all people get a POV?

It's because it follows the pattern. Cass/Az got POVs, so the next book is their love interest, Nesta/Elain.

SJM has only talked about Elain and Azriel's journey. She has not talked about Gwyn's journey. She has not talked about Lucien's journey. She's given us all the pieces to this puzzle,

Of course she thought it was obvious 🤷🏻‍♀️

[cassmouse]

S2S1 of Upright watched and I wasn't fucking wrong about the plot being dodgy but the writing still being good lmao

Will return for more in depth thoughts after another episode because I feel like yknow... Considering how perfect and very very standalone the first season was maybe that first episode was just the awkward meandering to an unexpected season two who knows?? I am giving the plot time to sort itself out lmao

[tparadox]

Recent events in this season's Midnight Burger spinoff miniseries have me convinced that somewhere in this universe there's a character with Cass McPhee's voice feeling ill for no apparent reason.

[zahri-melitor]

I don't know if it's just me but it feels like alot of the points people use to criticise Tim are things that can actually be seen with early Damian writing. The too smart, dangerous, over-competent and slightly murderous character doesn't really fit Tim as a character even though he's ascribed to that and criticised for it but it can easily be seen with Damian.

I don't hate Damian as a character, but I get what you mean about it being tiring that DC keeps pushing him to the top of the totem pole especially since the way the do that is by making other characters seem incompetent and by ignoring other characters. Also correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Cass, Barbara or Tim have been on the Justice League but Damian as a teen younger than them technically is/was?

Oh boy. Late response on this, but I've been playing with it for a while.

Starting with the last point first: Tim’s actually the only one of those three who hasn’t been on a main universe Justice League at any point.

Barbara was a member of the JLA after the Morrison reboot for quite a while between 1998-2000. She’s also got the tendency to pop up in JL stories and events as one of the computer folk helping maintain their systems. She’s certainly more focused on her OWN team and I don’t think she’s ever been a member as Batgirl, but as Oracle? As Lian Harper says in Titans #1 (1999), she’s secretly running the League.

Cass was a member of Justice League Elite, a morally ambiguous Justice League spinoff coming out of one of the more confusing JLA arcs. She was placed on the team undercover as ‘Kasumi’ by Bruce essentially as a spy. In tone it feels like DC trying their hand at a The Authority ripoff before they gobbled Wildstorm up. Is it a good series? No, but it does mean Cass has been on a Justice League team with Wally, Ollie, and a bunch of Z-listers you’ve never heard of. (Someone is now going to defend oh Manitou Dawn to me and while I DO like her, she's a Z-lister, sorry)

Digression aside!

I think a lot of the time when people are arguing against a character, they are frequently complaining about the flanderised, fanonised version of that character that they trip over in fic all the time more than the character on page in comics. Not always! But those do tend to irritate people more.

In terms of "what people want to argue fanon Tim to be, Damian already is" sort of? I mean there are multiple fanon versions of Tim, but yes, "too smart, dangerous, over-competent and slightly murderous" is a common one among people who want to really insist Tim killed lots and lots and lots of people in Red Robin #8 (a reading I do not subscribe to). It is equally an okay but not great description of Damian, in that I would mostly place even early Damian as 'dangerously violent' not 'murderous' by BFTC.

I don't think it's great in terms of complete accuracy for either of them, but yeah, if you boil things down, it's closer to Damian's actual character than Tim's.

In terms of DC pushing them: yeah, Damian by being THE Robin between 2009 and 2019 or so got a solid editorial pitch as a central character, because 'Robin' as a title has that extra cachet outside of intense comics nerd circles. There were events and storylines that centred his position as The Robin, but equally it comes out in basic things like...which characters are prioritised to appear in anthologies! If we are writing a Batman Christmas story, let's have it feature Bruce and Damian, or Bruce, Dick, Damian and Barbara. And so on.

Now whether Damian's getting prioritised over every other 'kid' of the family is a murky discussion - there's a place for the conversation that certain writers in particular had a tendency to focus on Damian being Bruce's biological kid, over and above the adopted children - but generally it comes and goes in waves and with what stories are pitched. It's very clear when you read comics that some writers just like using particular characters more than others. There's often stories written where to make the story work, someone has to be left holding the idiot ball or being needlessly aggressive, to provide conflict, and writers who do this obviously have to choose someone to do it for them. If a story is centring Damian, generally he isn't going to be the one who finds out he's wrong after providing the conflict. If it's centring say Tim, then Damian might be used to push the narrative forward. And when a writer does like one character more than another, they might choose the one they don't intend to write often as the one who gets stuck being idiot ball.

TL;DR: on some occasions Damian might be being prioritised. On others he isn't. He got a lot of spotlight to himself during the 2010s; that's been more balanced since then (honestly Dick has been the one hogging spotlight for the last few years, if anyone).

[nerdasaurus1200]

Imagine if a Cass spinoff had a theme song that was a happier version of waiting in the wings

[r0ryy]

Happy Secret Samol everyone!!! This is my gift to @alicesalias ! I just think Cass and Mako deserve a shoujo manga spinoff. 🐟🛹💖