#i love the batboys but the girls need some love too y'all

[erinwantstowrite]

Could you tell me what you like about Stephanie and Cass as characters? I haven't read any of the comics so everything I know about the characters has come from fanfiction and every time they are in a fic they always feel so one dimensional and it really bothers me. Stephanie is always just talking about waffles or pulling pranks with glitter or being super nosey. And all Cass ever does is sneak around and pat people on the head and the only dialogue she ever has is something that feels like the author is infantilizing her. So many people like them and I know there is more to them as characters I just rarely find a fic they are included in where they feel as fleshed out as Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, etc.

OH BUDDDYYYYYYY i was in the same boat for a while. i genuinely had no idea that they were far more involved in bat stuff than what they were in fics. they're so often overlooked (so is Duke) and it makes me crazy because they have SUCH amazing character concepts!!! they're still on my to-read list so i'm not an expert and this is just what i've gathered from my pre-requisite research, but!!!

stephanie is the daughter of one of Gotham's villains, the Cluemaster. she became the Spoiler because she wanted to be his opposite, wanted to be better than him. he was an abusive asshole, both physically and mentally, and Stephani even hates her blonde hair because it's the same color as her father's. she has a close relationship with her mother, who is still alive. Stephanie is incredibly intelligent and she deserved so much better when she took up the Robin mantle when Tim's father made him put it down. at some point in the comics, she got pregnant as a teen (not Tim's, but they were dating when they figured it out?? i think? she didn't cheat on him). she wanted to be a mom so badly and she loved her baby so much. the panels where she was dreaming of playing with her baby make me feel ill because she deserves the world. she had to give the baby up for adoption because she was so scared her father would find the baby and hurt/kill them, and she didn't let herself see the baby after they were born because she knew she'd want to keep them if she held them. she didn't even know if it was a born or girl. I'm pretty sure Bruce was the one who found the baby a good home somewhere where Stephanie's father can't find them. at some point, she "died" but it was really something she had to fake? for some reason? and she trained with a doctor i think (was it Leslie?) for a WHILE. Tim had no idea that this was faked and it kind of fucked him up but this ain't about him right now. she did actually die at some point and i'm pretty sure Cass was there with her, though i am hazy on if she was revived right away or later on

and Cass. god,,,, she was also a victim of her father, David Cain. her mother is Lady Shiva, who you might have seen mentioned in Tim fics. both are highly trained assassins and considered the best of the best. David raised Cass to not understand any spoken language, so she could not speak it for a very long time. the only language that she did know was the art of body language, and she had the ability to see things that so many other people can't. that's how she's able to pick up on most everything, so she was still incredibly intelligent. one day her father made her kill someone, her first ever kill, and what she saw in the man's dying body was so agonizing that it forever changed her. she was so horrified by what she had done that she refused to kill. (in my opinion, this makes her the best candidate for taking up Batman's position but the writers are cowards.) she either ran away or was sent away by her father? (this is where it starts getting hazy for me because i still have comics to read). i don't know what happened in between for sure, but she did end up learning how to speak and understand words, and i think it's a popular headcanon that it can sometimes overwhelm her so she sticks to one words or sign language for communication, but she CAN speak now. she considers Barbara to be like her mother, as Babs was the one who mentored her and took care of her. she's a very loving person and i think her friendship with Stephanie is sweet. even if you don't ship them, they're soulmates of some kind

that's about as much as i know but i'm still learning!! if any steph or cass fans want to add on to this, feel free to infodump here and mayhaps leave your comic recommendations? :3