#god i love batgirl 19

[casscainmainly]

you’re soooooo right for the cass and jason stuff. i am obsessed with how their views make them behave in their own separate selfish ways. cass needing to believe people can change and be redeemed because she herself needs to believe she can be redeemed…… im thinking specifically in batgirl where she tries to save a murderer from death row. saying “maybe he changed” to the victims mother….. and then everything with jason really, the way he can’t see beyond how he was a victim to see how he has hurt and victimized others. how he has made himself into someone who really can’t see beyond his own tragedy in many ways… how he sees bludhaven literally blow up but refuses to let bruce leave to find Dick

YOU'RE so right because it's easy for people to side with Cass or Jason only, but it's more interesting to see it as neither being 100% in the right. That issue in Batgirl is literally so good - as this post points out, the crime the guy was in prison for was most likely a hate crime. The motive doesn't matter to Cass, since her belief is that no one should die, but it's deliberately disquieting that she doesn't stop to consider the victim until the victim is actually in front of her. Her point of view is focused around redemption and absolutes, to the detriment of justice and specific circumstances.

Jason, on the other hand, is so focused on justice that he has trouble making room for redemption. His is a situational ethics (in contrast to Cass' moral absolutism), which can be good in certain instances (like, debatably, killing the Joker), but can lead to really muddied actions and reasoning. Jason, like Cass, is fundamentally compassionate, but his actions are calculated in a way Cass' is not, leading him to sometimes lose sight of saving lives as the original goal.

Bruce, Jason, and Cass form a really interesting triangle of people whose views on murder are irrevocably tied to the perspective they witnessed the defining murder of their lives in. It's why none of them (yes, even Cass and Bruce) can ever truly understand each other, but also why they have a lot in common. Idk it's just very interesting to think about!

[dccomicsbracket]

Batgirl (2000)

Perhaps my single favourite piece of writing in the comic book medium. This was my introduction to Cassandra Cain, and is the perfect place to get into her. Everyone should read Batgirl #19, and bask in the way it lays out the core of Cass' character with surgical precision. Puckett's Cass is fascinating: a fine balance of absolute confidence in her ability, crushing guilt about her past, a desperation for redemption and to see others redeem themselves, and a fundamental belief in the preservation of life. 1st batgirl on going, very good overall run, do it for Cass everyone its quite literally required reading for cass, babs, and steph. the way kelley puckett is able to explore cass’s character through her relationships with the other bats and the parallels between her and bruce is actually insane. theres so many little details in the visual story telling as well that just make the experience that much better. the fluidity and expressiveness of the art also adds on to the overall experience. it is literally DCs magnum opus Life changing series.

Young Justice (1998)

It's 6-8 fifteen year olds living in a cave, and their only adult supervision is a robot wind machine one of them graffiti-ed all over within the first five minutes of meeting him. The only two with anything even RESEMBLING normal childhoods are the demigod and the son of two billionaires (literally just some guy). They have an alien motorbike and at one point they save the world from aliens by playing baseball. Everyone in it is just so stupid all the time and I love that for them (god bless 🙏) Never has a comic quite that batshit and quite that sincere graced my presence I just love it and I enjoyed reading it

Blue Beetle (2006)

Just a good introduction to a character with a satisfying conclusion. I love you, Jaime, a guy who's just trying to do his best for his loved ones and his local community. I love you Khaji Da, scrungly lil dude speaking in glyphs. I love you, Brenda, and your complicated relationship with your aunt who adores you, but is also a crime lord. I love you Paco, a genuinely good friend. I love Jaime's family and the way they all adjust to Jaime being a superhero. I love the effort made to portray Jaime as a person with community and connections. i looove jaime sososo much he's such a fun protagonist and the developement of his character + his relationship w khaji da is sooo interesting and well written. i love seeing him bond with his little alien bug parasite !! all of the side characters are also so great like brenda and paco are so fun and la dama is suuuch an interesting character. jaime's family is also so lovely they clearly care abt jaime so much and its nice to see a kid superhero with parents who respect and also deeply care abt their kid. the art is also very fun overall its just a really stellar run Quite honestly one of the best written comic runs I've ever read, DC or otherwise. It flips so many standard comic book tropes on their heads and does it well. The main character is the epitome of just some guy and he is my favorite of all time. AMAZING characters. Fresh perspectives on comics tropes that are so overused it's hard to imagine comics without them. Everyone is worthy of respect and treated with dignity, even the villains. Khaji Da's character arc is amazing. And the adults make me laugh so much. Guy and Peacemaker as mentors who IMMEDIATELY recognize this kid is FAR more emotionally mature then they are, so they're not going to bother with that side of mentoring!

[kara-zor-els]

3, 12, 19

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

"The batfam is so much better than the supers because they love each other and talk about their trauma, unlike Clark who refuses to even acknowledge Kon as his kid"

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

Orion. Please read New Gods by Jack Kirby Orion is literally the original "daddy issues guy trying his best even tho he sees himself as a monster"

Natasha Irons: canonically lesbian genius with ADHD and trauma. She was the first member of the superfam to come out as gay in canon. Jon Kent wished he had what she has

Jessica Cruz: keeping up the trend of underrated queer WoC, Jessica's social anxiety and agoraphobia are very important to me

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Jaysteph. I don't want them to be canon but I have this AU in my head where they meet post war games/pre UTRH in Africa and bond without knowing that the other is a fellow dead robin. May or may not involve meeting again while Steph is Batgirl and having to deal with being enemies now.

[fractualized]

hi!! i hope you don’t mind me asking this but i recently read harleen (specifically issue 1) and wondered if you might know of any other comics that have an outsider perspective of batjokes? thanks !!

I don't mind at all, anon! I also enjoy in-universe outside perspectives on Batman and Joker's relationship (and I've included quite a bit of it in fic). Harleen #1 does have a pretty great one:

The most common commentary on Batman and Joker from other characters is the ol' "why haven't you killed him yet?!" but that reflects more frustration than any inkling of the connection between Gotham's most famous nemeses. So with the help of @distort-opia, I wrangled panels from a couple dozen comics that show characters having a better (even if incomplete) understanding of what the heck is going on there.

Many of these may already be familiar if you've been around batjokes fandom long enough. Regardless, spoilers abound!

I've ordered these (mostly) in cover date order.

June 1996 - The Batman Chronicles #5

This is a flashback that takes place shortly after The Killing Joke. Barbara is understandably bitter about being fridged, and it's clear that officers who saw Batman and Joker laughing together have spread the word, because heyyyyy wtf?

October 1996 - Catwoman (1993) #38

Selina knows releasing other rogues is a good distraction; Batman is always more concerned about Joker than her.

May 1997 - Batman: Batgirl

Before this, Joker was firing his gun willy-nilly, hitting his own men, and he hit Batman accidentally. Barbara doesn't seem to think he fully understands the consequences of killing Batman, especially given the surprise he shows when Batman goes down.

Five years later, this story gets retold (with a worse rendition of Joker's fantastic oufit):

July 2002 - DC First: Batgirl/Joker 

In this version, Barbara more actively realizes she needs to get at Joker by laughing at him, because he's caught up in a reality where Batman is the only other real person. (Not sure if this is the first comic to posit that idea, but it has shown up elsewhere.)

February 1999 - Catwoman (1993) #65

Joker has been terrorizing Catwoman for Batman-related reasons for a few issues, and she knows that saying she's killed Batman will devastate him. (You know, the more stories like this I see, the more I see Tom King actually didn't have too far a walk to jokerize Selina.)

August 2001 - Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1989) #144

Alfred has noticed that Joker's presence affects Bruce's behavior. 

September 2003 - Batman: Gotham Knights #43

This take from Barbara is set before TKJ and meant to foreshadow (aftershadow?) it. Here she shows a better understanding of Batman and Joker's relationship than Bruce does.

October 2003 - Outsiders (2003) #3

Luthor knows just how to get under Joker's skin.

March 2011 - Streets of Gotham #19

Hush also knows how to get under Joker's skin.

March 2011 - Gotham City Sirens #19 

Selina and Harley are thinking more about themselves here, but it's not hard to connect the dots. Joker is part of the criminal morass that Bruce is focused on fighting, and Joker's focus is constantly on how to best the Batman.

November 2011 - Batman: Noël

Bruce has been told that Catwoman has information about the Joker's whereabouts. Note that Selina isn't saying she's aware that Joker is up to something right now; she implies that Batman is always thinking about Joker. It's a fact she can bank on.

May 2013 - Injustice: Gods Among Us #4 (digital release #11) 

Perhaps the most infamous example. This is related to the "why won't you kill him?" trope, but Clark's accusation takes it further by directly saying it's because Bruce loves fighting Joker more than he loves his friends and family.

Clark says something similar about Joker being Bruce's playmate in another comic:

August 2014 - Adventures of Superman (2013) #14 (digital release #41

Even outside of the Injustice universe, Clark knows Bruce's priorities are out of whack when it comes to Joker.

January 2013 - Catwoman (2011) #14

Selina just stating the obvious here, again after a now-faceless Joker has tormented her for Batman-related reasons for a couple issues.

April 2016 - Batman (2011) #49

Heartbreaking example from Alfred here. He watched Bruce's obsessiveness and understood that Bruce, consciously or subconsciously, saw dying with Joker as his destiny. He probably suspects that Joker didn't really die either and knows they're going to end up back on the same track.

April 2016 - Batman: Europa #4

These panels sum up Europa. Bane, always looking for fresh ways to break the Bat, saw Joker as a clear catalyst (even if he had to make up a convoluted plot to make Batman see it first).

January 2017 - All-Star Batman #4 (backer)

Duke is pretty much repeating Bruce's soliloquy from Death of the Family here, so he's not saying anything Bruce doesn't really know, but he doesn't know that Bruce knows. lol Interestingly, this happens before Dark Days: The Casting, in which Duke watches Joker demonstrate his love in a more positive way by trying to stop Bruce from blundering into everything that happens in Dark Nights: Metal and beyond.

January 2018 - Batman: White Knight #2

White Knight is problematic from a batjokes standpoint (and other standpoints!) but poor Harley presents another infamous outsider perspective here.

October 2018 - Harley/Gossamer Special

She's right and right to say it!

August 2020 - Birds of Prey (2020) 

This take is interesting in how it posits that Joker already felt unfulfilled by Batman by the time he met Harley and that she was kind of a rebound.

August 2020 - The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular

This is from "The Last Smile," in which Harley reveals Joker's recurring nightmare about Batman mocking him as he's put to death. Joker didn't picture Harley appearing to save him, but perhaps he felt like Batman's respect was "saving" him all the long.

September 2020 - Batgirl (2016) #47

Nooooo! That's the thing he's sensitive about!

April 2021 - Batman/Catwoman #3

I have… a lot of thoughts about Batman/Catwoman, few positive, but if you can push past the muddling storytelling technique (and the batcat if that's not your thing), Selina has a lot to say about Bruce and Joker's relationship, like in this and the following example.

May 2021 - Batman/Catwoman #4

Catwoman describes how Batman treats all his rogues and then equates that with how he treats his lovers. How much do you know, Selina? Who is Joker's main competition?? It's Harvey, isn't it?!

May 2022 - Detective Comics (2016) #1058 (backer)

Even newbie F-level antagonists like The Forgotten know what's up!

Well, that was a lengthy but surely not exhaustive account of what other DC characters think about the vibes between the Dark Knight and Clown Prince of Crime. (May they be bewildered for years to come!) I hope you spotted some comics that caught your interest, anon.

[apopcornkernel]

ur dinahbabs posting has infected me, what runs should I look up for Peak Vibes?

!!!!! please note that im not done reading but I've been using this reading order! the ones without numbers are oneshots separate from the main BOP comic that began publishing in 1999 🫶

—————

Foundational. Also whenever you're reading issues by Dixon please remember that he's a homophobe which makes all the queerness 10x funnier

Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey

Showcase ’96 #3

Birds of Prey: Manhunt

Birds of Prey: Revolution

Birds of Prey: Wolves

Birds of Prey: Batgirl

Birds of Prey (1999) #1 to #11

The one where Dinah gets blasted to Apokolips and Babs moves heaven and earth to get her back (aka she contacts Power Girl who is absolutely her ex)

Birds of Prey #12 to #13

Misc. (u can try ur luck here but i don't remember much sticking out to me)

Birds of Prey #14 to #18

The Hunt for Oracle (this is the one with the gay panel of dinah cradling babs, this one is really really good!!! this is where they finally meet f2f)

Birds of Prey #19

Nightwing #45

Birds of Prey #20

Nightwing #46

Birds of Prey #21

The one where Babs gets her ex-fiance who is still in love with her to stalk Dinah, because Dinah's new boyfriend is Ra's al Ghul (please read this the last issue is.... askdjfbjfjfjfkf)

Birds of Prey #31 to #35

After this there's a lot of crossovers but you can just keep reading on if you like (which I still did HAHA i'll take whatever i can get)

Birds of Prey #36 to #41

Okay!! Now this is the issue that finally explains why Power Girl keeps acting like Babs' jilted ex!!!!

Birds of Prey #42

—————

Skipped some here because I'm just ehhhh about them like they're okay but not spectacularly Dinahbabs!

After this is where Gail Simone's run begins. I actually have,, opinions about it it's not as super duper amazing as it's touted (like yes it's good! i did enjoy it! but it's not like. god level the way other people talk about it idk. and i have some Thoughts on the feminism but that's a whole other post)

Of Like Minds, Feeding the Game, Sensei and Student — from here on out Huntress is more or less a permanent part of the team! ft. Shiva and Cheshire in the third story arc

Birds of Prey #56 to 67

The three birds & growing pains

Birds of Prey #68

Between Dark & Dawn — Trippy. Features Vixen. Also, Dinahbabs gets a classic type of scene, of which I will not spoil but it was very (screams!!)

Birds of Prey #69 to #73

—————

and that is until where I've read 🥲🥲🥲 i hesitate to continue if i havent read the comic itself yet! and i may have missed a few but this is what i would read for dinahbabs vibes personally <3

[discocactusblogs]

About Me

Hello, I'm Disco (I also go by Nat), and I am 23 years old. This blog is mainly for personal use but I do sometimes share my fanfics on here and I'll post the link to my AO3 down below.

I don't think I've done an "about me" thing in a good long while, so sorry if everything is out of format.

To get started, I love Classical music. My favorite composers are Tchaikovsky, Bach, Paganini, Chopin, Schubert, Vivaldi, and Handel.

I absolutely love superheroes and their symbolism (do what's right, no matter what). Some of my favorite superheroes include Captain America, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Nightwing, Wondergirl, Orphan, Batgirl, and Green Arrow.

I also love true crime and forensic science. My favorite podcasts are Listening To The Dead, Killer Psyche, Morbid, and Casual Criminalist.

Some of my favorite movies include The Lost Boys (1987), Labyrinth (1986), The Indiana Jones franchise (minus the two newest ones), The Lego Movie, Pride And Prejudice (2005), and Batman (1989).

What I Believe As A Christian

I believe in the Holy Trinity (Matt. 28:19; John 14:26) . I believe the Bible is the God inspired Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16; Romans 15:4; Rom. 10:17), and there is only one God (Is. 44:6; 1 Cor. 8:6; James 2:19). I believe in salvation by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ and by Christ alone (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:12; 1 John 2:2; John 14:5-7; Col. 1:19-23; Col. 2:13-15; Rom. 5:6-11). I believe in the perseverance of the saints (Rom. 5:3-5; Gal. 6:9; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 5:8-9; 2 Cor. 4:16-18). I believe there must be a change in our lives when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior and we must turn away from our sins (Luke 9:23-26; Luke 6:46-49; John 14:23- 24; Josh. 24:14-25; 2 Cor. 6:17-18; 1 John 1:5-10; Romans 6). I believe we are given a new start when we accept Christ (John 3:5-7; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:17-32).

My Hobbies

My side hobbies include crocheting, writing, art, cooking, baking, and video gaming. Oh, and reading! I love reading!

My favorite writers are Alexandre Dumas, Victoria Lynn, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Currently Playing...

Stardew Valley, Project Zomboid, Lego DC Super Villains, Gotham Knights.

Other

My fandom list is found here, and my AO3 where my fanfics and oneshots are is here.

I do not take requests at the moment due to my schedule being hectic.

Current WIPs

I am currently working on a Jason Todd x Blue Lantern OC redemptive fic that is primarily focused on growth, forgiveness, and hope, with the end goal being Jason finding a new start in Christ. The title will be There Is Beauty In The Way Of Things.

I'm also working on a manga panel redrawing of Hawks from My Hero Academia.

[quotidian-oblivion]

Your turn!

17. Teen Titans or Young Just Us?

18. Favorite animated show?

19. Favorite superhero family?

20. Young justice(show) or Teen Titans(show)?

21. Do you watch Teen Titans Go?

22. Favorite Robin?

25. Batgirl or oracle?

26. Whos your favorite batgirl?

27. Batgirl and the birds of Prey or Redhood and the Outlaws?

OKAY WOW NOW THESE ARE A WHOLE LOT OF QUESTIONS TYSMMMMM

DC ask game

17. I've answered that and I'll link it here

18. Favorite animated show?

See now, I have to think for this one.

Okay, all my favorite DC shows in no order are:

Teen Titans (original)

Teen Titans Go

Young Justice (only the first season, the second season's okay)

Batman: The Animated Series

Justice League: The Animated Series (I'm gonna combine Justice League Unlimited with this one)

DC superhero girls (the new one)

Justice League Action

I highlighted some of them in purple cuz they're just silly little goofy shows with the occasional life lesson and I love them. Special shoutout to the DC superhero girls for doing Bruce Wayne right. Batman, yeah he's a fun goofy guy, but Bruce Wayne? That man is a himbo surrounded by cameras 24/7 and acts like a real billionaire and who would ever suspect that man to be Batman? WHO???

But for my favorite... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hefrsodun

I'm gonna say Justice League Animated Series. Just because that was the first piece of DC content I consumed and also because all the episodes were available on YouTube for free for a brief period of time before they got taken out and I watched the first two seasons (which was not the Unlimited ones) like, 3 or 4 times.

I havent watched enough of Batman TAS, just a few episodes, and I havent watched all of Teen Titans either and Young Justice went down after season 1 and I'm bitter about more than a few things in there.

19. Favorite superhero family?

Are you kidding? You have read my ao3 account. You know this answer XD

It's the Batfamily. Found family, sibling shenanigans and protective brothers galore. I love them all so so much.

But another family which I especially like is the Flash family. But it's not my favorite cuz I haven't consumed enough content on a lot of the characters there and I can't relate very well to some characters in there. But I love the Flash family because it is an utter mess. At least with the Bats, you know that all of them are connected to Bruce on some level. But the Flashes? God, they're all disasters and I love them. I'm mentioning the Flash family under the category of superhero family favorites because of Bart, Max, Barry, Wally and Nora (XS).

20. Young justice(show) or Teen Titans(show)?

Took me a bit to notice that this was different to question 17 😅

The Teen Titans show. All the way. Young Justice crashed after season 1 and there are more than a few things that I am bitter about. And those things just drive me up the walls with anger like- vfgeyhhwblaeiehildsbfgfh veger asbhvid fwrdhbdw

I also love the whump in TT!!! Like the Renegade (Dick being a forced mentee to Slade) arc? FEVRGWHEUOAN BEAUTIFUL.

21. Do you watch Teen Titans Go?

Heck yeah I do! My sisters and I, every time it comes on TV or one of us puts it on the tab, all shriek at each other to get and gather around already and we all laugh and scream at the episodes. It's so goofy and silly, I love it. (Other than the butt-related jokes)

22. Favorite Robin?

EVIE YOU KNOW THIS TOO AND THANK YOU FOR ASKING THIS QUESTION BECAUSE NOW I'M GONNA RANT ON IT

Not a too big rant cuz there are other questions and this post is already long (i love it, thank you)

SO. You obviously know it's Tim Drake. But before, I used to like Dick Grayson. Why? Because of Young Justice season 1. The kid was smart, sly, cheeky, badass, and a dangerous joy to be around. But he was a combination of comics Tim and Dick. Not- Dick. I realized that later when I read...

That's right, Red Robin. Red Robin was the first Tim Drake content I consumed (other than the Batman: TAS one with Tim, though that was Tim and Jason combined).

I read Red Robin and fell in love with the utter trash this kid was. I read about him in his lowest point and fell in love. I understood him on a deeper level. I especially loved-

You guessed it, the speculative element. I love mysteries, riddles, puzzles. And Red Robin had some good speculative elements to it. That fight against the Council of Spiders? Chef's kiss. I also love how Tim went behind everyone's backs and came up with the best fucking plans to defeat the bad guys, and I especially love how most of the time it included him getting hurt. Am I saying this boy is self-destructive? Absolutely. I love that shit cuz I can relate to it (on a level).

But you know what sealed the cake when I read his Robin run?

THIS WAS A FUCKING CHILD WHO WAS A FUCKING DAMN GENIUS AND HE CHOSE THE SUPERHERO BIZ AND HE IS GOOD AT IT.

I once saw a post that talked about how Tim Drake is the Robin that everyone knows, not Dick, not Jason, not Damian. Tim. Tim built the whole brand of Robin. That signature 'R'? That was all him. And you can see that in the comics. When he can't reach his batarangs (or birdarangs), he uses the 'R' fixed to his chest as a weapon to escape multiple times. It's not just branding. It's strategical. Before, Robin was all "Holy crimes, Batman" and scaly panties (love that for Dick), but Tim came and rebranded the whole Robin legacy. His backstory isn't well-known but it was him who removed Robin out of Batman's shadow. Now, Robin is still a protegee, but an independent protegee. Sure Dick's Robin with the Titans already showed that, but it was Tim who came and fully established that. He's the only Robin who had his own comic run that went around 200 issues and he's the only Robin who appears the most in other comics. Nightwing doesn't count cuz he moved on from Robin.

I like Tim because he's a normal kid who chose something and worked on it till he became good at it.

My dad likes Batman because he was a normal guy who chose something and worked on it till he became good at it. And now I like Batman because of that.

DO YOU SEE THE PATTERN?

DO YOU??????

I can go on for much longer, but this rant proved to be too long once again. Timothy Jackson Drake is one fucking badass character and I am so mad that he's so ignored and tarnished badly in the comics, but I am so fucking ecstatic that the fanfiction and the fandom community is celebrating him and have so much fanfiction with him. Especially how he joins the family early.

Edit: OH!!!! HERE'S ANOTHER REASON WHICH @sardonic-sprite POSTED ABOUT A WHILE AGO: yebif

*takes deep breath* Okay, next questions :)

25. Batgirl or oracle?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. THIS IS SO HARDI CANT DECIDE FVBHGEWFHDUBHVFDH

I'm gonna sayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Oracle. Cuz that means that Cass and Steph get their moments to shine.

26. Whos your favorite batgirl?

I've already answered this! And it's over here ^^

27. Batgirl and the birds of Prey or Redhood and the Outlaws?

Ooooh, now this is tough cuz I haven't read much of either. I have read some, but not much. Very little in fact.

But I'm gonna say Red Hood and the Outlaws cuz I love it when Roy appears in fanfiction, especially to egg and annoy and push Jason when he and Tim are bonding. And also cuz I fucking love Lian.

OKAY. DONE. THANKS SO MUCH EVIE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[deadletterpoets]

sending hugs from a fellow starving batgirl fan! i need cass to get her flowers. i need steph to get her flowers. i need bette to get some flowers. but i think cass really needs it the most right now. she deserves it. anyway, i send love and god i hope we get some good cass content or at least some cool panels/art

I've said before, since I'm a bigger Cassandra Cain fan I tend to mention and talk about her more than other characters (back on twitter this would upset ppl to the point of blocking me it was weird) but the Batgirl brand as a whole needs a revitalization that DC is refusing to do.

I know some people think Batgirls is that, but for me it wasn't. Maybe in more competent hands it could've been, but they decided to do what they did instead. I'm shocked it made it 19 issues if I'm being honest.

But as you say these women deserve their flowers and some depth of character again. Or just to be remember in Bette's case (I heard she was in the Legion of Bloom anthology which is nice).

In Cass's case I'm always setting my expectations low, even going into Spirit World due to her role I'm not gonna expect any game changing character development. If we can get like, one cool action sequence to gush over that'd be cool.

[lapislantern]

Batgirls 19

God i love them i love them I love them I love them

[dykesbat]

I think you should list out reasons to read Batgirl (2000) anyway, to encourage more people to read it

on it boss 🫡🫡

basic info first:

name: batgirl (2000) features: cass, steph, babs, bruce, tim amount of issues: 73

list of my personal reasons!

become a cass understander (real) it's cass's first solo series and one of her first comics after her introduction in nml! it also continues to the start of evil cass arc (which messed with her characterization and potential so bad goddddddddd) meaning you get her last real characterization pre-didio. bg (2000) explores her motives, her wants, her past, her relationships, etc and, imo, it's just her best. + if you only know her from fanon and want to get to know her better, this is your sign!! the way fanon cass is written heavily depends on sinophobic stereotypes partly due to fandom's tendencies towards racism and partly due to how cass's bare bones backstory falls very easily into those stereotypes. but the difference between cass's actual character and those stereotypes is the other parts to her character which the series obviously depicts.) and. honestly. the fact that she's an asian lead who's visibly asian/mixed is kinda? super? important to me?? especially since a bunch of my asian faves from this time period were not handled with grace. (also she has issues with communication but i'm not too keen on how they end up addressing that ://)

if you like themes of family, identity, change, and compassion then you'll probably like bg (2000) cass's story deals heavily with these!! and they're written really really welll!!!!!!! god.

cohesion bc the series is rather short, and themes are continually revisited, bg (2000) feels really cohesive to me in a way that other series don't typically feel. and i like that!! i like being able to read a later issue and be able to find it's footholds in an earlier issue and in other characters! (ex: cass and wu san in #25 vs #72. rose and slade's relationship in #64. the build up of the theme of family and her ans steph's relationship vs that scene at issue #73, etc.) ofc there are some things that fee lout of place (esp if you're nearing the part where they introduce her love interests) but it's all so!!!!!! HNNN.

dynamics introduced god honestly even if you think you know enough about cass i feel like the dynamics introduced in this series are worth a read for. a lot of them are unfortunately not revisited but goddddd the things we could have had.. the parental dynamics between cass and babs and cass and bruce and the way the latter is often times paralleled to the parental dynamic of cass and david cain. cass and onyx's mutual understanding of each other turning into a friendship versus cass recognition of herself in rose and their role as enemies. and ofc steph and cass's entire friendship!!!

issue 19 cheers 2 silent comic issues <3 issue 19 is heavily praised (you might recognize it as the "no one dies alone" issue.) and i think it's a really good example of utilizing comics as a medium because of it's heavy lack of dialogue. if you've ever felt annoyed by too much dialogue in action sequences check this issue out!!

okok small list bc it's been a while since i've read it but o7

[aniquinade]

"It is to laugh, huh Mister J?"

Harley Quinn, created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, was once intended to serve as a one-and-done character for an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. However, due to the charm of her voice actress (and real life inspiration) Arleen Sorkin, audiences around the world quickly grew attached to the jester and her antics. Harley would make her first comic appearance in 1993 with The Batman Adventures #12, a series which tied into the beloved cartoon. It wasn’t until 1999 that the Cupid of Crime made her main continuity debut in Batman: Harley Quinn. Since then, Harley has starred in a surplus of comics, television shows, video games, movies, and more. There are also several different interpretations of the character within this collection of media.

Under the cut is an extensive list of recommended content that captures the true essence of Harley Quinn, as your official QUINN-tessential reading and watching guide! For easy navigation, the guide has been divided into six main categories: BTAS Verse, Pre-Flashpoint, Post-Flashpoint, Elseworlds, Television + Film, and Other Media.

Basic Content

Batman: The Animated Series

The New Batman Adventures

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love (1993)

Batman: Harley Quinn (1999)

Harley Quinn (2000) #1-25

Gotham City Sirens (2009)

Please note that this guide does not contain every appearance of Harley Quinn. Most notably in the Post-Flashpoint, Elseworlds, and Television + Film categories. What it does contain, however, is a carefully constructed collection of what is essential when it comes to learning about Harley as a character.

Moreover, this guide is also quite lengthy! For a shortened version, follow the options which are bolded.

BTAS VERSE

First Appearance

The Batman Adventures (1992) #12 [This is Harley’s first appearance in a comic!]

The Batman Adventures

The Batman Adventures (1992) #28

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love (1993)

The Batman Adventures Annual (1994) #1

The Batman Adventures Holiday Special (1994)

Batman and Robin Adventures

Batman & Robin Adventures (1995) #1

Batman & Robin Adventures (1995) #8

Batman & Robin Adventures (1995) #18

Batgirl Adventures

Batgirl Adventures (1997) #1

Batman: Gotham Adventures

Batman: Gotham Adventures (1998) #10

Batman: Gotham Adventures (1998) #14

Batman: Gotham Adventures (1998) #29

Batman: Gotham Adventures (1998) #30

Batman: Gotham Adventures (1998) #43

Batman: Gotham Adventures (1998) #53

Gotham Girls

Gotham Girls (2002) #1-5

Batman Adventures

Batman Adventures (2003) #1

Batman Adventures (2003) #3

Batman Adventures (2003) #16

Batman: Harley and Ivy

Batman: Harley & Ivy (2004) #1-3

Harley Quinn and Batman

Harley Quinn and Batman (2017) #1-5 [This serves as a prequel to the “Batman and Harley Quinn” movie but is better when taken out of context as a stand-alone story. Ignore the film.]

Batman: The Adventures Continue

Batman: The Adventures Continue (2020) #15-17

PRE-FLASHPOINT

First Appearance

Batman: Harley Quinn (1999) [This is Harley’s first main continuity appearance!]

The Code

Batman (1940) #570

Detective Comics (1937) #737

No Man’s Land

Shadow of the Bat #93

Batman (1940) #573

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #60

Detective Comics (1947) #740

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #126

Batman (1940) #574

Detective Comics (1937) #741

Harley Quinn vs. Mercy Graves

Action Comics (1938) #765

The Cat and the Harlequin

Catwoman (1993) #81-84

Catwoman (1993) #89

Gods of Gotham

Wonder Woman (1986) #164-167

Kryptonian Encounter

Supergirl (2005) #0

Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn (2000) #1-11

Harley Quinn: Our Worlds At War (2001) #1

Harley Quinn (2000) #12-25

Release from Arkham

Batman (1940) #663

Detective Comics (1937) # 831

Birds of Prey (1999) #105-108

Detective Comics (1937) # 837

Batman: Hush

Batman (1940) #613-614

Gotham City Sirens

Gotham City Sirens (2009) #1-21

Gotham City Sirens (2009) #23-24

One-Shots

Harley & Ivy: Love on the Lam (2001)

Joker’s Asylum II: Harley Quinn (2010)

Other Stories

Batman: Gotham Knights (2000) #14

Batman: Gotham Knights (2000) #30

Batman: Black and White (2013) #1

Batman: Black and White (2013) #3

POST-FLASHPOINT

Dr. Quinn’s Diagnosis

Legends of the Dark Knight (2012) #49-50

Convergence

Convergence: Harley Quinn (2015) #1-2

Harley Loves Joker

Harley Quinn (2016) #17-25 [Only read the backup story, which is the nine part introduction to “Harley Loves Joker”!]

Harley Quinn: Harley Loves Joker (2018) #1-2

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red (2020) #1

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red (2020) #7

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red (2020) #9

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red (2020) #11

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red (2020) #14

ELSEWORLDS

Batman: Thrillkiller ‘62

Batman: Thrillkiller ‘62 (1898)

Batman: The Dark Prince Charming

Batman: The Dark Prince Charming (2017) #1-2

Harleen

Harleen (2019) #1-3

Bombshells

DC Comics: Bombshells (2015) #4-6

DC Comics: Bombshells (2015) #14-18

DC Comics: Bombshells (2015) #26-33

Bombshells: United (2017) #6-7

Bombshells: United (2017) #17-19

Arkham Series

Batman: Arkham City (2011) #1-5

Batman: Arkham City Exclusive Digital (2011) #4

Batman: Arkham Unhinged (2011) #7-9

Batman: Arkham Unhinged (2011) #17-19

Batman: Arkham Knight - Batgirl & Harley Quinn (2015) #1-2

Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis (2015) #4

TELEVISION + FILM

Batman: The Animated Series

Joker’s Favor [First ever appearance!]

Almost Got ‘Im

The Laughing Fish

Harley and Ivy

The Man Who Killed Batman

Trial

Harlequinade

Harley’s Holiday

Lockup

The New Batman Adventures

Holiday Knights

Joker’s Millions

Over the Edge

Girls’ Night Out

Beware The Creeper

Superman: The Animated Series

World’s Finest, Part I

World’s Finest, Part II

World’s Finest, Part III

Batman Beyond

Return of the Joker [This is a film!]

Static Shock

Hard as Nails

Justice League

Wild Cards, Part I

Wild Cards, Part II

The New Frontier [This is a film!]

The Batman

Two of a Kind

Rumors

The Metalface of Comedy

DC Universe Original Movies

Batman: Assault on Arkham

OTHER MEDIA

Novels

Harley Quinn: Mad Love

Video Games

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham Origins

Batman: Arkham Knight

[allthingsbatfam]

updated batfam (mostly speculated) ages!!

my old one was a weird mix of pre rebirth and rebirth lol

pre-rebirth

alfred is God.

bruce is, i’d love to say 50, but i think he’s mid to late 40s pre52. ie he has been batman for too long.

dick and babs are roughly the same age, though i know babs is slightly older than him. they’re probably 27 and 30 respectively or something along those lines (they are not 25 idc)

jason’s age is messy due to being resurrected but i think ranges from 21 to 23. some say he’s in his very late teens but i find that hard to believe.

cass was 18 by the end of her 2000s batgirl run so she should be 21 at the very least. she’s supposed to be 8 months older than jason but him being 21 barely makes sense. her being 23 doesn’t seem so impossible, i guess.

duke… did duke exist pre-rebirth? i really don’t know, i’ve only read his detective comics stuff.

steph’s 18, i think. i know she’s in college and depending on the comic has already graduated (but i think those are future arcs). 19 makes the most sense, however we must take into account her relationship with timmy.

tim’s usually headcanoned as 17 because i don’t think he has ever said he is any other age, but i feel like he’d be older than that by now. ignoring the fact that he’s drawn as a grown man in most comics, i think he’s 18.

damian is… 12-14, i think. i read somewhere that his aging was sped up?? is that real?? is that pre-rebirth?? anyways, he is still the baby of the family and always will be.

post-rebirth

alfred is… dead.

bruce seems more likely to be in his 50s now.

dick and babs are probably still the same age as pre-rebirth but possibly aged down by 1 or 2 years (or maybe it’s just the drawing style).

jason has to be mid to early 20s, no less.

cass is 18 now. she’s supposed to be around tim’s age, and she just has 18y/o vibes.

duke is probably 17-18. i think he’s in high school and is cass’ age. i haven’t read his we are robin run.

steph is 18, like before. i so want to say she’s older but stupid tim won’t grow !!

tim is back to 17. at least in some comics he actually looks his age now.

damian’s still 12-14, he is baby.

[poisonousquinzel]

Hi! What good Poison Ivy comics/TPBs would you recommend? I wanna avoid anything in "she breasted boobily" type male writing.

Haha, hi!! KDJDJDJDJKSJDJS wow a mood lmao

I'd try n go through and read more but I'm getting a migraine from staring at my phone too much skfjskdjsks ❤️ but I hope this helps some ❤️

🥀 Poison Ivy Comic Recs 🥀

Batman: Poison Ivy

This has a bit of the "she's totally in love with Batman cause obvi absolutely no lady can resist this absolute hunk of a man right???" writing but like other than those moments, it's good! she's badass and frankly 100% in the right as always 😌 skdjsks

Joker's Asylum: Poison Ivy

There's a a few of sexualized shots of her, and Joker just existing skdjks, but other than that I enjoyed it!! It goes into her back story and how she's fallen into villainous ways, like murder and such. And again, ngl, on her side again skdjksks

Poison Ivy: Thorns

Oh my god >>>>> a beautiful redone backstory comic for her, it's set during her teen years and her love interest is a girl 🥺

Genuinely like wow this is an incredible comic and I love it sm 😭

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death

I haven't reread this since last year, but from what I remember it was pretty good!!

Batgirl (2016)

#6

Batgirl and The Birds of Prey

(I focused more on parts with Ivy, so idk about like characterization for everyone else ya know skdjks)

#12, #13, #14, #15, #17, #19, #22

some of her appearances aren't like super long, but I really love her moments 🥺

(and Selina calls her ivycakes in #22 and I think that's precious)

Batman Black and White (2013)

#1

Justice Is Served

3rd story

#3

Role Models

Final story

[redhairedwolfwitch]

A String of Hearts (7) - Pick Your Poison - Mary Hamilton x Fem!Reader - Batwoman

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Summary: a string of hearts, or ceropegia woodii, is a trailing plant characterised by its heart shaped leaves, but what happens when the string of hearts between you and Mary, grows poison ivy?

Sipping your coffee, you stared at the Batcave computers, the Batgirl costume untouched in the display case.

You'd been combing through all of Batman's files on Poison Ivy, trying to figure out how you could save Mary from Poison Ivy's infection. Maybe it could even save Pamela Isley too, since you'd figured out where Bruce hid her over a decade ago.

Running your hands over your face, you glared at the empty cup of coffee as tears brewed in your eyes.

You just wanted the love of your life back, but trying to be Batgirl wouldn't work. Mary didn't want Luke suited up, and you knew you had nowere near the amount of training to suit up.

But you could work the Batcave computers under Wayne Manor a lot easier than the ones under Wayne Enterprises.

Even Batman's notes pointed it out. Poison Ivy's infection was something unseen since Swamp Thing.

///

"I didn't exactly go home last night..." Sophie hesitated, seeing the look on Ryan's face.

"Great, so Mary's in the wind, and now Alice is making a run for it. Has anyone heard from Y/n?" Luke asked, frowning at Ryan's question.

"You don't think Mary is with Alice, do you?"

"Y/n's car's parked near Wayne Manor... didn't Y/n try to hint that there was more than one Batcave?" Sophie reminded them, leaving Ryan and Luke to exchange looks.

///

"But don't worry, it's not nearly as bad as what you did to Ryan... and poor Y/n too..." Alice leaned over to look Mary in the eye.

"Oh god, I'm gonna be sick." Mary gagged, her eyes widening, "is Y/n okay?"

"Oh, well, you're in luck! Our new ride has a toilet! Oh, and last time you left your darling Y/n, you left her in a pollen-induced slumber... fingers crossed that's all that the pollen did." Alice remarked as Mary made a beeline for the toilet in the motor home.

///

"You don't happen to know a doctor who can do a full blood transfusion, do you?" Alice asked, knowingly whilst Mary frowned.

"But then you'd go free."

"Sometimes, you need to pick your poison, dear. Who do you trust more right now? Your friends, who will surely lock you away! Or, your sister, who's trying to keep you free?"

A soft sigh left Mary's lips as your name left them.

"Do you seriously think she'll love you anymore, after what you've done?" Alice reminded Mary, leaving Mary to frown.

"What's your type?"

"Tall, dark and brooding... whereas your type is Y/n, it seems-"

"Your blood type." Mary glared, not liking how Alice kept talking about you negatively.

///

"I've got Alices' popping up all over the map, what the hell is going on?" Luke asked over the comms as he monitorred in the Batcave.

"Isn't it obvious? You're not tracking Alice anymore, you're tracking the nanobots in her blood. Mary thinks everyone but Alice wants her in Arkham." You stated, your voice somehow coming through the comms.

"Y/n? How are you coming through the comms right now? Did you- where did you get Batgirl's motorbike?" Luke asked, as Ryan and Sophie exchanged looks in the Batmobile.

"Luckily, it's electric, and I've not had enough lessons to suit up as Batgirl, but I can drive an electric motorbike... borrowed it from the bigger Batcave. You know there's Two-Face's giant penny in there?" You explained, humming slightly as you drove.

"So that's why Alice kept calling you Batgirl?" Sophie double-checked, hearing you hum slightly in response.

///

Ryan, Sophie and Luke were waiting on the cute from Jeturian, whilst you continued to drive around, looking for anywhere that Mary could have stopped at, with Alice.

/// 42 minutes to sunrise ///

"Okay, well, you better give me the good news." Ryan sighed, as she drove the Batmobile around looking for Mary.

"Well, 19 of our trackers are down, so we're down to four, Y/n's checking two, so you've got the other two." Luke explained, grimacing as Sophie helped patch him up after Marquis beat him.

"So, you've got a 1 in 4 chance of picking the right one." Sophie added, taping Luke's bandages.

///

A yawn left your lips as the coffee you'd drank hours ago was wearing off, your eyes widened as you remembered.

"Luke, coffee!" You exclaimed over the comms as Luke began to type.

"Mary used her GC Jitters reward card two hours ago outside Metropolis. Nearest tracker is closer to Ryan-"

"Ryan, I'll meeet you there!" You exclaimed as Sophie and Luke tracked Mary and Alice down to Brownsville Pub.

///

"You'd be a lot easier to trust if you weren't a serial killer." Mary admitted, holding back her tears as Alice pointed out something.

"A serial killer who hasn't left you, doubted you, or ignored you... or gave up on you, like your darling-"

"Stop talking about Y/n. I haven't given her a choice yet." Mary interjected, meeting Alice's eyes as Alice frowned.

"Do you really want to be alone right now? Or do you want help from the only family you have left?" Alice asked, resting her chin on her hands.

///

By the time you pulled up to where Mary, Alice and Ryan were having their confrontation, Alice and Ryan were fighting over Mary's soul.

"You know how we found you? Y/n realised you can't resist collecting your GC Jitters points. Y/n loves you-"

"Y/n gave up on you, just like they have-" Alice began to argue, but a revving caught the attention of Mary, Ryan and Alice.

"Is that... a Batbike?" Mary murmured, watching as the individual walked over, approaching them all from behind, helmet hiding their identity.

"What will you do to me if I don't take the cure?" Mary asked, stepping closer to Ryan.

"I would have to keep you confined until we figured something out. We can't just let you hurt people." Ryan said blankly, no hesistation.

"What?" Your voice broke the tension as Poison Mary turned her head, watching you remove your helmet.

"Mary please-" You begged, but you went unheard.

"Mary, I am trying to save you!" Ryan exclaimed, tears in her eyes as she gripped the cure desparately.

"Well, maybe I don't want to be saved." Poison Mary retorted, glaring at Ryan, before looking at you, her glare softening.

"You shouldn't have come here Y/n."

"I needed to know that you were okay." You held back your sobs, but your voice cracked, eyes widening as Ryan was trapped in roots growing out of the tarmac, the cure smashed.

"Well I am, and now I'm giving you a choice. Come with me, or let me go." Poison Mary stated, leaving Ryan to be confined by the roots, whilst Alice unhooked the grappeling hook from the motor home.

"What about option three?" You whispered, looking at Mary through glassy eyes.

"There is no option three." Poison Mary frowned, but you raised your gloved hand, removing the glove and running your fingertips down her cheek.

"There's always another option, Mare. Please don't go." You whimpered, but Mary sighed, her hand resting yours where it lingered over her cheek.

"I can't stay here, Y/n."

"I love you, Mary. Please, please don't go." You begged, tears falling as Mary sighed.

"If only that was enough, my sweet sweet Y/n. You were always the one who saw the real me, but I want to flourish, and that means I'm leaving, with or without you." Mary stated, her fingers twitching as she felt the urge to wipe away your tears.

"I'm not going to stop fighting for you, Mare, I love you too much to let you go without a fight." You affirmed, leaning in to kiss Mary one final time.

"Goodbye, Y/n. It's over." Poison Mary pulled away from the kiss, walking back onto the RV as Alice drove away, leaving you sobbing in the middle of the road.

///

"I barely had time to activate the lockdown. We have the batsuit, the batmobile, and not much else. Y/n's not divulging how to get into the other Batcave either."

"I'm so sorry Luke. I traded away the Wayne legacy for nothing." Ryan apologised, as Luke let out a breath.

"You did it for Mary. That's not nothing."

///

Poison Mary smiled as the sunlight ran over her face, but a tingling on her lips had her fingers running over them. Thoughts of your kiss ran through her as the tingles continued, lingering feelings of how you made her feel rising to the surface.

///

"Good morning citizens of Gotham! I am honoured and proud to introduce myself! As the new leader in business. See, as times are changing, it is time that we see the big money makers follow suit. Now I know this town sees me as a bit of a, serial entrepreneur, but as the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises, I promise you a front row seat to the bleeding edge of the industry. But you're not only seeing inspiring innovation from visionary thought leaders, but you'll see that we're gonna have a whole lot more fun."

You glanced up from where you were laying on the mat, watching the screen as Marquis Jet's announcement was replayed over and over.

"My main mission is to put a smile, on everyone's face."

"Try it again. This time, try not to slip and fall on your ass." Sophie advised as Ryan offered you a hand up.

"Do we have to have that on repeat?" Luke asked from a few plants over, why you were all training in Mary's plant clinic was beyond him.

"I'm analysing it, you guys see it right? He's Joker 2.0." You pointed out, letting out a yell as Ryan knocked your feet out from under you.

"And you're not the newest Batgirl yet, there's a lot of room for improvement. Let's go again." Ryan stated, watching as you got up into your stance again.

///

[imonthinice]

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 21/?

Word Count: 1.5k

Author's Note: Y/N - Your name

Hello! I'm back! Time for drama!

Idk if this is coming out at the right time, I deadass forgot what day it is and ughughughyh

Warnings: Swearing, Discussion of Mental Illness (undiagnosed), Injury Description, Taunting, Attempted Gaslighting, Attempted Manipulation, Kidnapping, No beta bitch we die like Jason Todd (I've missed saying that<3)

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20) (Part 21)

Jason was stumbling over his words after telling Y/N that days were blurring together. When a decently loud crash was heard from the lower level of the Wayne Manor. Jason perked up, getting up and trying to stop Y/N from following him down the stairs.

Which was too late. When they turned to go down the hallway, they were both whacked off the back of their heads. Knocking the two of them out almost instantly. Y/N took a few seconds to catch up to Jason in being out, catching a glimpse of the fight going on down the hall. She thought it was Stephanie trying her best to fight off her attacker. But soon enough her vision blurred and blacked.

She fumbled herself awake in the room. She couldn't even take away anything from the room, it was just sawing and turning colours in front of her. She didn't notice anything in the room, the lights were blinding, she didn't even know if it was lighting.

"You're awake," she said.

And then it clicked. That was Aria's voice.

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

Days before the kidnapping of the Waynes.

Aria sat in her office. Clutching the book her twin gave her for Christmas. It was a journal, with details talking about the schedules of the Waynes. If only Y/N had known that the journal she lovingly gave her sister would end up the way it would.

She had doodles, floor plans, schedules. Everything. She wrote it all down from extensive stalking of the Waynes. She was not going to fail at kidnapping the Waynes. She was going to do it, get the ransom from Bruce, and possibly meet heroes. She was going to fight everyone to death who tried to rescue them.

She knew the morning after a Wayne Gala that the entire family would be off-guard. She knew they owned weapons from the fact of the attacks from September. So she had to catch them fully off-guard to pull off their plan.

She looked at her mask. She knew her sister had seen the mask, the cloak. She was still considering off-handedly that she should revamp it all, make it so her sister couldn't call her out. Maybe add a voice changer? She really didn't know.

If it came down to it, if she had the time, she would do it. If not, she would just hope that her sister didn't recognise anything. Crazy? Yes, she was. The brightest lightbulb in the box? Not a chance.

She went over her plans again, adding them to the massive board she already had of the Waynes. The red lines linking all of them, the paparazzi photos. She didn't realise she was that crazy. She didn't realise that she was that much of a cliche.

She thought this was normal. She thought this obsession was okay. She looked at the photos on the wall and the red lines thinking that this was perfect.

She didn't think her sister would even be bad at her for this. She thought her sister would understand, she would get it. She would forgive her and move on. She would understand her need to get close and with the vigilantes and the heroes. She would understand the need to befriend the villains and crooks.

She would. Aria swore she would.

She heard of the Wayne Gala occurring in a few days. She would prepare her weapons when she found out. Shine her scythe. Polish her guns. Polish her daggers. Clean her cloak. Only touch her mask with gloves on. Hour barely appeared in the sight of the vigilantes. They knew she was planning something.

She hoped that fact would make them come for her further.

"Ma'am?" one of her goblins asked.

"Yes. What do you want."

"Lexcorp is hiring," they shook.

"And? Relevance."

"Alter ego, ma'am."

"Noted."

"Ma'am?"

"Get... out!" she screeched.

"Yes ma'am," they said as they hurriedly closed her door.

Yelling was normal for the army she led. She would yell at them at any moment. For no reason.

She thought this was normal, too. She didn't realise people didn't yell at each other for no reason. She was raised to be yelled at. Y/N and Aria were always yelled at.

Y/N used the yelling to turn herself for the better. She thought of it as good parenting that she wouldn't replicate, ever, but she understood it.

Aria had a god complex. She only felt like she was worth it for 30 minutes of the day. And those 30 minutes were thrown into her work as Hour. She refused to work unless she was feeling her best, but if she was planning on kidnapping the Waynes, she'd have to learn to fake it.

Fake it all, fake nothing, fake everything. She was going to do what she wanted, maybe she'd extend those few and fatal 30 minutes of power into hours, into days. She didn't want to feel like this anymore.

She thought about how she was going to kidnap her own sister, her own flesh and blood, and possibly hurt her.

She pushed those thoughts away.

She refused to acknowledge the pain she was going to cause. She hoped there was none.

Y/N would understand, right?

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

Aria groaned, getting up in her childhood room, the one she shared with Y/N. She blinked and tried to cling to her sleep, but to no avail. She was visiting their parents.

She looked over to Y/N's side. Her favourite colour painted the walls she had, all the woods matched. It looked far less messy than Aria's side. She figured it was because she was mentally ill, but not Y/N. But then she thought she wasn't mentally ill, and that Y/N was. Aria couldn't be mentally ill, she was doing the right thing.

The thought still pained her. In a few days, she'd be putting out a ransom for her sister in the news. She'd be threatening her life. She'd be putting her under stress and their parents under stress. If she was caught-

No, she thought. No chance.

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

Present-day.

"Aria?" Y/N questioned, basically in disbelief.

"Shut up!" Aria boomed back at her, "You," she said, lifting up Y/N's head with her long claws. "You are my prized possession."

"Prized," she echoed back.

"Don't worry, love," she said. Y/N winced, she knew her sister called her that. She didn't want to think this was her sister. "You will be just fine. If your parents pay up, that is."

"My parents don't-"

"Did I say you could speak?!"

She shut up. Fuck, she thought. Fuck this. Fuck you. I know that's you, Aria. If you can hear me, I hope you rot.

She didn't even know if that was how she felt. Her brain was spinning, like someone put her on a merry-go-round and left her there, to pick up the pieces. She didn't know how to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. She didn't want this to be her sister, her flesh and blood, the person she shared a womb, a room, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles- she didn't want it to be true!

"Maybe you want to know why I'm doing this," Aria asked the air while pulling Y/N's head up again. "Well, love.

"This is what happens when you date a rich man.

"This is what happens when you flip off the press.

"This is what happens when you find yourself wrapped up in the mess known as the Justice League Association, do you know who they are?

"Of course you don't. They're Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Superman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Aquaman and more.

"And their proteges, oh my God! Their proteges! You have Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Robin, Batgirl, Spoiler, Orphan.

"And then Kid Flash and Impulse.

"Arrowette and Speedy.

"Superboy, Supergirl.

"Miss Martian.

"Wondergirl and Artemis.

"Aqualad.

"These people, my dear. These people are my nemeses. And I want them gone!" she maniacally laughed, "Dead! All of them!"

"You're... You're Insane!"

"So be it!" she yelled back, striking Y/N's face with her claws. The blood running down her cheek along with her tears. "If I'm insane, then at least I get paid!"

She laughed and left the room.

And there Y/N was, alone in a room where she couldn't even make out details, with blood running down her face. While she was aware that her attacker may even be her little sister. She was terrified. Petrified. Scared.

She wondered where the Waynes were, maybe they were all together? So that she could use them for ransom, maybe she couldn't use Y/N for ransom, so she was left alone in the room.

She wanted to know if they were all safe. Jason and she had only been dating for 6 months, but she did care- love- every member of the Wayne family so much. And she knew that most of the kids struggled with mental illnesses.

She knew them being alone would be detrimental to their mental health.

She also knew that she had no way, no way, of getting to any of them.

[verymuchimmortalcat]

Maribat March Day 18: Protect

ao3

part 1, part 3

@maribatmarch-2k21 

Ages of the Batfam approximately in the fic:

Dick-25

Jason-19

Cass-19

Marinette-18

Steph-18

Tim-17

Damian-11

Babs is around Dick's age and Alfred's immortal.

Also since this pre hawkmoth's defeat Adrien is currently Mr. Bug and fighting Akumas with the help of the rest of the team.

Dick and Damian had been injured on patrol. Unsurprising really. They were still getting used to being partners. So, Lady Noire was covering both hers and the dynamic duo's patrol routes.

Marinette had joined them on Patrol as Lady Noire the day after her return to Gotham. Alfred had refused to let her join them the first day. He had said that it had been way too much for her to handle and that she should go to bed. Alfred was right. But Marinette didn't see the need to admit it. She and Dick had drawn up the patrol route the next day. They were a lot more extensive than the ones they had followed the last time she had been in Gotham. But it was a crime ridden city with around half its protectors left.

She also happened to be one of the only members of the family who had managed to keep in contact with everyone. She and Babs had spoken and Marinette now had Oracle to back her up and by extension Batgirl. She and Steph had spent some time together but given that Steph was handling both college and vigilantism, they didn’t see each other all that often.

She called Cass regularly and might or might not have bullied Jason into accepting her calls.

Surprisingly, it had been Tim who had called her. He had needed to go to Paris on his search and Marinette had set down rules on other heroes entering Paris. Family or not they were supposed to let her know, and knowing better than to anger Marinette, Tim had called. He probably wouldn't have if he knew she was in Gotham, the idiot would have just tried to get away with it. She had been angry either way. He hadn't even bothered to talk to her before leaving Gotham. But Tim had retorted, "it's not like anyone believed me."

"I do. I saw your research there's a large possibility you're right. "

Tim had nearly cried then, telling her everything. She had immediately forced him to promise that he'd check in once a week at the least.

As she leaped across roof tops, she heard a little kid say, “look Mommy, it’s Catwoman.” You cannot throttle kids, she reminded herself. It wasn’t even the first time she had been mistaken for Catwoman. The first time it happened, Marinette had turned blank and Barbara had laughed, while Dick could be seen visibly holding in his laughter. Batman doesn’t laugh after all. Selina herself had teased Marinette about it endlessly.

Patrol had been quiet so far, which might have been a good thing if Marinette wasn’t sure it would take a turn for the worse. And wasn’t she right.

Alfred had just called telling her that Damian wasn’t at the pent house and the Robin suit was missing. His tracker led to one of the warehouses by the docks. Marinette cursed. On a normal day Robin could take down a decent number of goons and come out unscathed. Injured? Marinette didn’t want to find out.

She headed to the docks as fast as she could. It was honestly fairly obvious where they were, almost as if they were trying to bring attention to themselves. It was probably a trap for Batman. Taking Robin as bait almost as if it had never been done before. Except it had been done several times before. One would think they’d at least get a little more original.

Looking around, there were about fifteen goons. Damian must have been more out of it than he let on. God only knows why the kid would sneak out in such a state. Marinette had an inkling that it had to with Talia and his upbringing. What Marinette would give to have a conversation with Talia right now.

Sneaking in carefully, Marinette starts to formulate a plan. Taking them all down was not an option, some of them might try to harm Damian. She didn’t need him to over exert himself. They could take the Batmobile back, she’d already asked Alfred to bring it to their location, but he clearly had been downplaying his injuries and Marinette didn’t want to test his limits.

He could untie himself. He was definitely capable of doing so. Marinette couldn’t see if he had done so or not from where she was standing but she doubted that he hadn’t. He was also taunting them and sneering at them constantly. Marinette had no idea if he had a plan or not. However, before Marinette could do anything, one of the goons spotted her. Damian who had seen her at the exact same second, freed his hands and took down the man nearest to him. Before he could fight more, Marinette used her staff to vault over to Damian and grabbed him. She dragged him behind her to where Alfred had promised the Batmobile would be waiting, ignoring his protests of how he could take them on his own and that he had a plan.

Once they were seated in the Batmobile and headed back to the penthouse, Marinette spoke up, “why did you sneak out?”

“Tt, I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

“All of us are, but Bats protect our own.”

They made the rest of the journey in complete silence. Both Dick and Alfred were waiting at the cave. Once Dick had finished fretting over Damian, he benched him for the next week and sent him to bed. Marinette had begin to walk out so she could finish her Patrol when Alfred called, “Miss Marinette, I believe it’s time we all returned upstairs.”

Dick laughed and Marinette sighed and detransformed. Once they had returned upstairs, Marinette pulled her brother aside.

“What’s up?”

“Why did Damian think he had to sneak out when he was injured?”

Dick sighed, “I don’t know Nette, or rather I have no confirmation of my suspicions. But he seems to have an in built need to prove himself, thinks we’ll send him back and that failure is unacceptable.”

“I would love to have a very strongly worded conversation with Talia.”

“I would too, Alfred probably already has a speech drafted.”

Marinette chuckled, “that definitely seems like him.”

“Going to bed? Or are you gonna stay up working on your commissions?”

“I’ll check up on Damian and then go to bed.”

“Night Nette.”

“Night.”

Marinette made her way to Damian’s room. He was still awake when she went there, sitting on his bed and glaring at the wall. He was pointedly ignoring her presence. Marinette cleared her throat, all she got in return was a “tt.” Taking that as an invitation, Marinette sat down next him.

“I know Talia didn’t tell you about me, and with all the teachings of the League you think that our Family follows a hierarchy of the same sort.”

He didn’t respond but she knew he was listening.

“You’re part of this family too, ok? You don’t have to fight for a position here.”

Damian turned to look at her, clearly vulnerable. Marinette had just smiled him and wished him good night. She had meant what she said earlier today. Bats protect their own and Marinette would protect her little brother.