#project-fit-as-batgirl

[cologona]

Why does everyone love Red Hood so much?

If I were to continue this pattern with the girls I’d say…

Cassandra is Batman the penitent.

Steph is Batman the unyielding.

Babs is… Batman the vigilant I suppose.

(To be honest I don’t know Babs very well. I do get the impression that she has a similar thing about control though, hence the surveillance. Ah.. the limits of my vocabulary. )

It’s interesting that the boys all work as extensions of Bruce, and were all “built” by him in some way. Even Damian, who arrived at Bruce’s doorstep already a formidable combatant, had to learn how to be a Hero✨ from Dick and Bruce.

The girls don’t work this way. Damian’s female counterpart in this analysis is Cassandra, and not only did she arrive in Gotham already a fighter she had her own no-kill principles completely independent of the Bats. The girls have similarities to Bruce as people, but they’re ultimately separate from him.

[casscainmainly]

Bruce Wayne & Cassandra Cain in Batgirl (2000)

My last post covered the top 10 moments overall, but I had to skip a lot of my favourite moments involving specifically Batman and Batgirl. So here's a non-comprehensive, chronological list of great Bruce & Cass moments!!

Who Does She Remind You Of?

One of the most interesting things about their relationship is that initially, Cass doesn't have a name and doesn't know Bruce's name; they are purely Batgirl and Batman. This lack of alter ego allows Bruce to identify very heavily with Cass, and sets up the foundation for why Bruce acts the way he does later. He views Cass as a mirror of himself, which has both positive and negative repercussions.

You Can't Understand A Word I'm Saying

EXTREMELY underrated Bruce and Cass moment from Issue #2. Though I believe they fundamentally understand each other, there's still a disconnect between them (a disconnect Cass shares with everyone). But this disconnect goes both ways - Bruce is the one having trouble communicating here, saying 'I don't know how to say this' and pausing frequently (this speech pattern is very reminiscent of Cass' inner monologue towards the end of this run!). A great example of how neither of them are fully able to express the depth of their feelings towards each other.

Denial

A pivotal moment in Bruce's conception of Cass. When confronted with evidence that she killed a man, Bruce goes into complete denial. She's 'gentle', fully understanding his rejection of murder; how can she be a murderer? It's indicative of just how much he's projecting onto Cass, but also how much he genuinely cares about her. The second panel is underrated too - like David Cain, Bruce sees Cass as 'perfect', a word that will haunt Cass for arcs to come. This is where we start to see how Bruce's belief in Cass' perfection and morals negatively impacts her self-conception (as a perfect tool/weapon).

Good Answer

An incredible moment that's classic for a reason. Perfectly encapsulates both Cass' instinctive desire to protect, and Bruce's recognition of how similar Cass is to him. Also how his belief in her, however unintentionally, feeds into her death wish.

Jason Todd

Another underrated moment!!! This is the first major instance of conflict between death-wish Cass and no-more-dead-kids Bruce, and it's delicious. Bruce willingly opens up to her about Jason's death, and moreover, by comparing Cass to Jason, positions her as his child as well. It's sweet and sad and explains some of Bruce's more overprotective moments.

Denial 2

Not really denial but thematically it fits. When Bruce is framed for murder, the Batfam try to figure out what really happened. Cass sees that Dick has doubts, and helps him re-enact the murder so that he can believe in Bruce again. Not only is it a super sweet Dick-Cass moment, but it also shows how Cass believes in Bruce just as much as Bruce believes in Cass.

Good

A short and sweet moment that showcases how similar these two are. Bruce isn't exactly being a good dad here, but Cass genuinely DIDN'T enjoy that vacation. They just get each other. This is one of many, many times that Cass answers one of Bruce's questions perfectly (and makes Bruce smile).

Overprotective Dad Mode

In the second part of Batgirl (2000), Cass begins to explore her sexuality. This leads to issues of varying quality, BUT we do get tons of overprotective Bruce. A nice showcase of Bruce doing typical dad stuff, and Superman looking SO done. Also Cass in that first panel is hilarious.

Realisation

After lots of (rightful) heckling from Babs, Bruce finally realises that the way he's been using and treating Cass isn't right. Though this speech is couched in a lot of dismissive language ('disobedient', 'she was loyal'), I think that's just Bruce's inability to communicate. He cannot admit how much he cares for her. So he decides to fire her and tells her she jeopardises the MISSION (which, obviously, makes Cass feel terrible). Even when he's trying to put her first, his lack of communication skills only hurts her.

He Never Let Me Touch Him

The Bruce and Cass scene to END all Bruce and Cass scenes. Each panel is loaded with meaning. The first shows that despite Bruce's similarities to Cain, he still IS different; he is willing to be vulnerable around her, and allows her to do the same around him. The third panel is particularly interesting. Underneath all the ideological sniping between him and Babs, Bruce is jealous - he wants to be the centre of Cass' life and loyalty. Cass, however, doesn't fall into the trap. By pointing to the Bat, she both affirms her loyalty to his mission but also refuses any box he can put her in. She is his daughter, but she is not only his daughter, and never will be.

Honourable mention: the only reason I didn't put the Father's Day panel here was because I've already written about it. Also the scene where they mutually touch each other's faces and turn away of course!

[avayarising]

Deaths of Cassandra Cain

Part of the Batfam Death Project.

Cass has two very definite deaths and one implied death. She also spent several days in the Spirit World. Total time dead: up to a couple of days, plus Spirit World time.

Verifiable deaths

1. Beaten in the chest by Lady Shiva (Batgirl 1:25, 2002)

Cass asked Lady Shiva (her mother, though at this point she didn’t know that) to train her because she was losing her ability to read body language. Shiva agreed, but in return asked for Cass to come back in a year and duel her to the death. Cass agreed to this. When the time came, they fought on a rooftop, and Shiva quickly killed Cass with what looks like a pre-cordial thump.

Cass was raised to life again by Lady Shiva some unspecified time later through some unspecified technique (though she did say she had prepared for years to be able to do it) involving punching her in the chest again.

Time dead: Unclear, but probably of the order of hours. Since the location where Cass was resurrected was not where she died, Shiva must have had to move her corpse, so probably at least a few hours, plus however long it took for Shiva to do whatever she did to resurrect Cass.

2. Took a sword for someone else (Batgirl 1:72–73, April 2006)

So before Cass was born. David Cain made other attempts at creating the Perfect Warrior, and he started out by taking existing children (from Ra’s Al Ghul) to train, rather than attempting to breed one. One of these became known as Mad Dog: very skilled but almost mindless and uncontrolled. In a forest in the middle of nowhere, he attempted to stab someone, Cass leapt in front, and:

Even though it looks from this picture like that big fat knife goes right through her ribcage, heart, and spine, she still managed to kick Mad Dog in the face before collapsing and dying.

After Cass died, she awoke being carried by Steph.

Steph told Cass something she couldn’t have known (that Blüdhaven had just been destroyed), indicating she was really present and not just a near-death hallucination.

Of course, it later turns out that Steph was never actually dead at all, but at this point in time she is dead, and her presence is meant to be an indicator that Cass is truly dead.

Lady Shiva raised her (again), this time via a Lazarus Pit. (At this point, Cass has only very recently found out that Shiva is her mother.)

Cass came out angry with Pit Madness, but Shiva trapped her in a net and coached her through it. Cass calmed down in a matter of minutes.

Time dead: between several hours and a couple of days (Shiva had to carry her out of a forest on foot and get to the Lazarus Pit before she could resurrect her).

Bonus extra deaths

(Implied, inferrable, ambiguous and arguable deaths)

1. Probably died in Death Metal along with everyone else (Death Metal 7, 2021)

Cass probably died in battle when the Dark Multiverse invaded and destroyed all the worlds of the multiverse. All the remaining heroes came together in a hopeless fight against an army of their worst nightmares, including an apparently never-ending swarm of groblins (mindless evil Jokerised Robins led by the Robin King, an evil child Bruce Robin).

Cass’s death isn’t shown on panel and neither is her dead body, but she is definitely in the group of Bats standing ready to fight (far right, in an oddly ill-fitting Orphan outfit):

And later Evil Child Bruce Robin tells Batman that everyone else is dead, so that seems like Cass is dead too.

On the other hand, Evil Child Bruce Robin probably doesn’t know what’s going on away from his immediate vicinity, so it’s possible that Cass was drawn away during the battle earlier on and is still out there fighting in a different part of the field.

After this, Wonder Woman persuades the Creators to remake the world and everyone is fine again.

Time dead: unclear; might be up to an hour, or longer if it takes longer to remake the world.

2. Perhaps was shot by Lady Shiva at some point (Spirit World 3, 2023)

Thank you to @fantastic-nonsense for pointing this one out! During Cass’s trip to the Spirit World (see below) she was bitten by a kitsune spirit and regained the memory of a previous encounter in the Spirit World when she was dead. The flashback montage panel shows Shiva shooting Cass in the chest, followed by Cass’s revival in the Lazarus Pit in Batgirl 1:73 with its very distinctive hook and chain.

Although it’s most likely that this is just a conflation and reinterpretation of Cass’s previous two deaths and resurrections, the new method of death suggests that this could be an additional, off-panel, death and resurrection.

More details in @fantastic-nonsense’s original commentary here.

Afterlife visits

1. Pulled into the Spirit World (Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate, 2023; Spirit World, 2023)

When the Lazarus Volcano erupts and rains down Lazarus Water on the whole earth, it stirs up a lot of undead. In a graveyard in Gotham, Cass joins John Constantine and Xanthe Zhou (a ’spirit envoy’ who died as a child and was partially resurrected and is now both living and dead) in a fight against hopping vampires (jiang-shi) and a ‘ghost collective’ (a big ball of angry ghosts).

With Constantine’s and Cass’s help, Xanthe exorcises the collective, but on its way out the collective grabs Cass’s ankle and pulls her into the Spirit World with it.

In the Spirit World, she more or less gets adopted by Xanthe’s granny, who has also adopted another ghost, Bowen. (It’s not clear in this panel, but Po Po is tiny and only comes up to Cass’s waist.)

A kitsune spirit she meets there tells her they have met before, when she was dead, though she clearly doesn’t remember her time dead. (The spirit doesn’t clarify which of Cass’s deaths it is referring to, but since she was with Steph all through her second death, it is likely to be her first – but it might be a completely different one; see above.)

Of course, John and Xanthe go in after her and they eventually reunite. After a great quest, the freeing of the ghosts from their collective, and major reorganisation of the politics of the Spirit World, they all leave together through a portal.

Time in afterlife: several days.

Batfam Death Project Masterpost

[batgirlzine]

LEGACIES: a Batgirl zine has come to a close. While it technically wrapped up in November, there were severe personal complications before the holidays that resulted in the late conclusion of this project, so I apologize immensely to anyone who might have been waiting on another round of leftovers that I had not already touched base with.

For those of you who I have not already spoken to via email this month: this is Kye's mother, and I am finalizing things on my daughter's behalf as she has not been fit for the responsibility. I apologize wholeheartedly for the delay and unfair communication issues this has resulted in.

All remaining physical leftovers were shipped out at the end of October, and have been safely delivered by mid-November at the latest, as far as tracking and communication with customers indicates.

Digital Bundles were emailed out at the start of November, so if you have not received it, check spam, junk or promotions folders for your goods.

If you have had issues receiving either of the above, do not hesitate to reach out at batgirlszine@gmail.com with questions.

With that, the project is a wrap. It has been a long one, for which we cannot apologize enough, or thank you for your patience and sticking with it, and ultimately supporting this project and its showcase of the Batgirls.

Please remember to give all the writers and artists involved love on the pieces they have posted, and the incredible work they put into this. It would not exist without them, and they worked hard not only through the project itself, but through several months of a difficult wrap-up process wherein they were forcibly left to wait without updates as well. Please send them your kind words on their pieces, as you have done through the project's email or direct messages throughout its run.

Thank you for your time, and for your support.

S.

[malfiora]

Characterization Compendium

Key

Star sign: (canon vs. inspiration) traits from that sign that fit with this character

Canon = this is the character's sign based off their official/generally accepted birthday

Inspiration = this is the sign that this character reminds me of, and here's why

Colors are based off the elements each sign could be:

Air • Water • Fire • Earth

Batfam

Bruce

Walks the razor's edge between light and dark and develops an unhealthy but necessary dependence on his kids (particularly Dick) to stay grounded in the light.

Loves his kids, loves being around them, will never say this to them unless he's on the brink of death but there are signs. Loves them all equally but treats them differently based on personality, age, and background, which is often mistaken as him playing favorites (it's not).

Immutable personal moral code but demonstrates mental flexibility (or cognitive dissonance) toward others, especially his allies.

I go back and forth between Catholic, Jewish, and agnostic for him.

Pisces: (canon) works well with any other sign, creative, deeply emotional and intuitive, hates being inauthentic, shuts down when hurt or slighted, nonconfrontational (in relationships not in the field lol – he'd rather ignore the problem than have a difficult conversation about it)

Dick

Extremely observant, which manifests as intuition. This means that both his deductive reasoning skills and ability to read others are par excellence. In social settings, he won't vocalize this process (depending on the context he may not even realize he's doing it) but will react to whatever he reads. Others read this as charm (or intimidation).

Talent for leadership despite working more efficiently alone. Both his charisma and experience make people naturally turn to him, and a deep seated compulsion to meet others' expectations means he often does take the lead.

Relationships: Barbara is one of his best friends before anything else; Jason is his (the one he gave the mantle of Robin to, the person who first shifted his identity toward mentor/big brother); Tim is the first he got to mentor; Damian is the son-brother (the one he raised and dotes on)

Scorpio: (canon? inspiration) [I will die on this hill] charismatic, manipulative, deeply and darkly emotional (some may say broody), fiercely protective of loved ones to the point of avenging them, holds grudges probably longer than he should, will lash out when hurt but feel bad about it

Barbara

Used to dealing with men who have strong feelings about everything (i.e. Dick and Bruce) and not being taken seriously (first year or so as Batgirl, then later dealing with people's perceptions of her while disabled) so nothing phases her. Still, she has some insecurities, which she overcomes with sheer force of will that projects strength. Ultimately, she'd rather suffer in silence.

Doesn't completely agree with all of Bruce's ideologies (leading to some friction between her and Dick), especially around killing since her father's a cop. But they align enough to be allies. She respects Bruce and believes in Batman.

Aquarius: (inspiration) Follows her own inner compass, pulls away the more someone tries to control her, enjoys engaging in mental exercises

Jason

As Robin, he was constantly caught in the tension of living up to Dick's example and wanting to be considered his own person. He always treated Robin with reverence and tried to do everything by the book. His own trauma and Bruce's guilt have convinced them both that Jason was a "problem" – he wasn't. He took school and his material comforts seriously because he never had them, so he was a tidy kid and a great student. Critical thinking skills that he honed from reading classic lit.

As Red Hood, he's now torn between living his own life/principles and begrudgingly wanting to regain Bruce's trust/faith if not his love. (He's never lost Bruce's love, but he has yet to accept this.)

When he came back to Gotham, he was pissed that his death seemed to change nothing: Joker was still alive, Batman had a new Robin, and crime was still everywhere. He took matters into his own hands. He still believes his way is better than Bruce's but recognizes that it's futile to pursue his vision with the Batfam still around. If he thinks he can get away with it, he'll kill someone he thinks deserves to be killed (e.g. someone who hurts children, sexual assault perp)

Leo: (canon) headstrong, charismatic leader who attracts people to him even if he doesn't try/want to/understand why, can be insecure about why people like him (are they just using him/wanting something from him, or so they genuinely like him?), protective of those closest to him, he'll talk a lot of shit but it actually takes a lot to provoke him to act, but when he does it's vicious and you'll feel like you deserved it

(Additional context)

Tim

Burnt out gifted kid who was adultified as a teenager because he had to basically raise an adult (i.e. help piece together again Bruce's mental health). Middle kid syndrome – used to being ignored and uses it to his advantage. Often manipulates (or tries to) the others to enact some plan. Pretty shameless

Knows a lot of random stuff because it's helpful for a case but kinda clueless about anything else, great at deductive reasoning. Lives to terrorize Dick (sometimes) and Jason (always), while genuinely trying to be a good big brother to Damian and Duke.

I usually envision Tim as middle/upper class east/southeast Asian, which comes with a few features: private tutors, attending a private or magnet school, expected to go to college; additionally, some cultural practices that Tim doesn't take too seriously since his family is multi-gen American. He def has a jade Buddha necklace somewhere at home.

Libra: (inspiration) rigid sense of justice and morality, good judge of character

Cassandra

Doesn't speak often, preferring to listen and use nonverbals. Has strong opinions about things. Protective of her adoptive family, enjoys participating in shenanigans if only because she's included.

I want to learn more about Cass and think harder about how I want to write her, doesn't stop me from trying.

Taurus: (inspiration) strong opinions that take a lot of energy to change, reliable, trustworthy, stoic

Steph

Keeps things lighthearted but doesn't forgive very easily. She and Bruce have a shaky relationship due to his (perceived) lack of trust in her but she keeps things positive due to her love and respect for Barbara, Cass, and Tim.

Extremely resourceful, solid investigative and deductive reasoning skills, dedicated to the mission, fiercely loyal but also independent.

It can't be overstated how much I respect Stephanie's ability to fill a role, on top of her creating her own.

Sagittarius: (inspiration) down for adventure, has her own set of principles and doesn't follow people who don't adhere to hers or at least have their own, impulsive, good with money, regrets nothing

Damian

Projects self confidence, which is mostly authentic, but he has some deep insecurities around living up to the expectations and examples of everyone who came before him. Extremely independent but protective of those who rely on him / he cares about.

Inevitably acts like a child when it comes to mature topics, feeling strong emotions, and wanting to form connections with others (particularly caretakers). Strict vegetarian due to his respect for life, was raised Muslim and maintains some of the cultural practices.

Leo: (canon) Very much an August Leo – somehow attracts others to him regardless of how he feels about it, no need for external validation (although it's nice to hear), respects competence

Duke

Simultaneously has a lot to prove and needs no one's approval. He cannot sit by when he has the power to do something. Exercises probably the most emotional intelligence and self awareness of the Batfam. Doesn't fully see himself as part of the Batfam, and definitely feels guilty about being "chosen" when his other WAR friends were discarded. He looks up to Tim, who was mostly Robin when Duke was a kid.

Def uses his Black card when it makes life easier or funnier for him. Similarly, he plays up being a metahuman to garner sympathy or whatever from the others. Deep down, he's insecure about his powers because he doesn't know many other folks with powers who can help him train.

Leo: (canon) charismatic leader who attracts people to him, independent, doesn't care about what people think of him because he knows himself, knows exactly how to be annoying

Miscellaneous

How the sibs see each other (post)

[aingeal98]

Stephcass is like,heavily autistic4autistic-coded to me and imo there's as much evidence to it as comphet lesbian Cass.With autistic Cass i don't need to explain since you understand her so well but for Stephanie it's like.She has all the symptoms but also her gender presentation feels very autistic girl swag to me and the way she's treated by the narrative feels a lot like how not just girls but AUTISTIC girls are abused irl.This also increases the appeal of Stephcass to me because Cass is one of the few consistently kind and stable people in her life.Thoughts?I love your takes so i'd love to hear your opinions !!

I fully agree and honestly I've actually been thinking about autistic Steph a lot lately haha. Like reading comics Cass was obviously the first one who pinged my radar but reading more Steph, especially how she feels constantly on the outside despite trying so hard to fit in, made it click for me. That feeling of being too much, missing social cues, not being able to understand the layers to conversations, not fitting in fully no matter what group it is and how hard you try... Yeah I definitely see her as autistic. I think young Steph tried so hard to mask constantly but never quite fully managed to blend in perfectly. Especially in early Robin issues the way she and Tim both exhibit autistic traits but their socialisation as boy vs girl paints two different reactions to their autism. Tim is blunt and steps on people's toes sometimes and doesn't care at all because he's confident in his knowledge and his worth. People can be mad at him for missing a social cue but ultimately who cares, he's got his own mission and that's what matters.

Meanwhile Steph wants so hard to project an image of not caring. Like she wants to he confident and proud in being a bit "weird" but you can clearly see how desperately she wants to be accepted. And she's learnt that she won't quite fit the mold but she wants to keep trying anyway, keep showing that she can twist herself to fit in to whatever Batman/Tim/her school peers need her to be. She's just like Tim in missing social cues and getting hyperfixations but she gets even more anxious about social situations even though she tries really hard not to let it show because she's just a Totally Normal Girl with totally normal reactions to situations.

It's interesting because on the surface she can come across as far more confident and self assured than Tim, not afraid to be loud and messy. But there's so much insecurity behind it and her mannerisms and character beats come across as not just autism to me, but very specifically teen girl autism. Which is one of the reasons why I love her Batgirl series. We get to see her in all fully confident in her autistic girl swagger. And good for her!

Sorry if this is rambling and incoherent but I have a lot of thoughts on autistic Steph so thank you so much for the ask skshdshshh.

[association-of-ideas]

Working Titles for Current Works in Progress:

Prostitution is only illegal if you're getting paid — Tim develops an alternate identity as a prostitute to gather intel where the rest of his family can't. He gets way in over his head.

Home Alone, but with Bats — After watching Home Alone once in first grade, Tim makes the connection that he's just like Kevin McCallister and uses that to help Batman . . . by impersonating Batman.

Projecting onto a white boy — Literally what the name implies, including anecdotes from my life. Tim never stood a chance.

Mama Bear Bruce — Brucie Wayne and his journey through parenthood as told by the people of Gotham. Bear facts included.

Paging Dr. Hills — After realizing that pretending to be a med student in residency requires more than basic field medicine, Tim gets a doctorate.

Boys can be girls, too — Nothing Tim does seems to get through to Bruce. Being Robin isn't nearly as effective as he'd hoped. Being Batgirl, on the other hand . . .

Eldest Daughter Syndrome and Corresponding Symptoms — Dick gets hit with the Eldest Daughter stick™ and struggles so much. I am not sorry.

As the World Falls Down — Despite being welcomed back into the family with open arms, Jason doesn't fit in the space he left behind. Based on the Labyrinth (1986).

When my claws were close enough to hurt you — Selina Kyle isn't a mother, but life doesn't seem to agree with her. Instead, it throws the baby she gave up right back at her and she has Feelings™ about it.

Is this affection? — Bruce tells Damian he needs to stop trying to kill Tim and Damian interprets it in a weird way. Tim is even more convinced the kid is plotting his death.

[evilwickedme]

Do you perhaps have stephcass recs?

*shows up literally over two months later like a person who takes a normal amount of time to answer asks* yes hello I do have stephcass recs

unfortunately I have been known to answer these things too quickly and then read better fics that would have fit the prompt and then I can't get anon to send me the fic request again (smallville!clois anon I'm begging you to give me another chance) so when I saw my meager collection I decided to wait until I had something to pick from

and we all know what shipping a sapphic ship is like. hell, I'm not even exempt from this. so many phenomenal sapphic ships just get relegated to secondary or even tertiary pairing and never get their own quality stories. and I'm a picky reader as is, so...

anyway I've gathered a few of the best fics I've encountered that actually focus on our beloved batgirls I hope you enjoy!!

Meet Me Where You're Going is such an easy read considering it's the longest fic on this list. it deals with the batgirl mantle and the circumstances surrounding Cass giving it to Steph and also deals with you know just the drama of falling in love with the person who's most important in the whole world to you. it's plotty but not a casefic per se, mostly just using the plot as an excuse to move the emotions along

The Haunting of Wayne Manor is a historical au in that it certainly takes place before cellphones and depends on governesses being normal but I have no idea when it takes place otherwise. it's tagged as gothic horror but I feel like it's mostly atmospheric. idk how to describe this it's really good and the writing is really intricate I had a lot of fun and was on the edge of my seat the whole time

seven different kinds of light (welling up inside you) - autistic!cass needs to figure out if they're sisters before they make out, which is fair

lost in translation is sooo cute like Cass thinks Steph is afraid of her because she's never seen a crush enacted upon her before and so like nerves and butterflies are coming off all wrong lmao. Cass's bodyreading skills can't defend her against the useless lesbian pitfall of SHE LIKES YOU OH MY GOD

finally for today, sanctuary in haunted city #1 is a no-capes au where Cass has been off in Hong Kong for a while and Steph has somehow never even heard of her despite being incredibly involved with the Wayne family (still dated Tim, for example). Cass moves back to Gotham and Steph is immediately smitten. it also has a bit of the "are you my sister" angst but really only for like, six seconds. sooo cute

anyway more people should write stephcass fics. it's on my list after the bajillion of other projects I'm in the middle of but until I get my life together and write every idea I've ever had I beg of all of you to please just write something for stephcass they deserve it

[sroloc--elbisivni]

questions for ao3 writers

tagged by @secretlystephaniebrown and @radishhqueen! thanks!

i will tag @bobtheacorn @kithnkin @spectralsleuth @decepti-thots @desdemonafictional, and if you see this and want to please consider yourself tagged!

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 108!

2. what's your total ao3 word count? 895,129. (I started the year with vague hopes of hitting a million words--we'll see where I end up after finishing current major non-fic project.)

3. what fandoms do you write for? right now, I've got active WIP docs open for rottmnt, transformers, usagi yojimbo, and one piece.

4. top 5 fics by kudos? Deaged Batgirls, tried to raise you right, Universe Collision, words that it was forming, and Intelligence, or vision, or the truth.

5. do you respond to comments? I try to! Especially if I have something to say more than just 'thanks.' I love talking about my fics.

6. fic you wrote with the angstiest ending: Any way you go you lose, which was specifically written as a bad ending for a different fic.

7. fic you wrote with the happiest ending: Mmh. I write a lot of happy endings, but I think the most uncomplicated/least bittersweet one is probably Heart's still beating, guess I'm pretty lucky.

8. do you get hate on fics? almost never, fortunately!

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind? yes, trending towards kinky.

10. do you write crossovers? sometimes! arguably all the turtles/UY fic I've written is a crossover, though I don't think of them that way because it's usually about blending the canons rather than crashing them into each other.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge

12. have you ever had a fic translated? I've had requests, but nothing completed!

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! A few different ways--written bouncing back and forth, trading off scenes, each person taking one half of a story, each person taking a scene that fits in a larger narrative. it can be really fun.

14. all-time favorite ship? ooooooooough um. hm. hard to say. i've got the most words written for leo/usagi, so i'll go with that even though drifting out of turtles fandom has kind of taken a hard turn into absolute disinterest for me.

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? hahaha uh. let's say The Days That Follow, which was part of what i consider my first 'real' major fic project, for Young Justice. maybe if i ever get around to watching the post s2 stuff i'll come back to it.

16. writing strengths: I'm good at worldbuilding and I'd like to think that extends to detail and description/immersion in general

17. writing weaknesses: i basically never edit on a macro level and i think i tend towards glibness in a way that leaves holes behind the main action.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i used to, and stick the translations in the end notes! and now i probably wouldn't--I'd either indicate the language via dialogue or have the narrator say they don't understand. my priority has become making sure the reader understands.

19. first fandom you wrote for: there's a very old percy jackson oc fic somewhere in the depths of my hard drive from when i was like. 12.

20. favorite fic of yours: i recently reread 'Fathomless' and I'm still so fucking happy with it.

[clownprince]

Batjokes Timeline

This is based in Rebirth/Infinite Frontier but it overlaps with other eras cause yk. Comics. Where possible I tried to put the original comic/arc instead of the Rebirth comic where it was referenced or shown in a flashback, since most of the Rebirth timeline prior to like Year 16-17 is shown via flashbacks or references. Cause again. Comics.

Also this is almost entirely based on info from the Batman Chronology Project I just pulled out the Batjokes bits.

Please correct me if any of this is wrong because I am Not going through every single one of these to double-check. Also lmk if there are any other comics that can fit in a certain place on this timeline.

YEAR ONE

Zero Year: Secret City

Zero Year: Dark City

Bruce adopts Dick as his ward (Nightwing Vol. 4 #32, Nightwing Vol. 4 #69, Batman Vol. 3 #54, Strange Love Adventures #1 Part 6)

Dick begins training, which lasts six months (Detective Comics #1000 Part 9)

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

First instance of the monthly birthday present ritual occurs in early December (Detective Comics #1027 Part 3)

Bruce visits Arkham to meet with Joker and shows him the playing card he found in the Batcave, revealing his identity to Joker (Batman Vol. 2 #17)

Note: Dr. Harleen Quinzel has been Joker's therapist since his first stay at Arkham Asylum

YEAR TWO

Dick debuts as Robin (Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet and Batman and Robin Vol. 2 Annual #2)

Batman saves Joker from Deathstroke (Batman Vol. 3 #122-123)

War of Jokes and Riddles

YEAR THREE

Dr. Harleen Quinzel, having fallen in love with the Joker (gotta love the horrifying medical malpractice), breaks him out of Arkham Asylum, becoming his girlfriend and sidekick Harley Quinn (Harley Quinn Vol. 3 #17, Harley Quinn 25th Anniversary Special #1 Part 4, Batman Vol. 3 #42)

YEAR FOUR

In March, for Batman’s monthly “birthday present,” Joker sends a crudely drawn picture of himself and Batman with the words “Best Friends” written on it (Detective Comics #1027 Part 3)

I Am a Gun

Note: Batman admitted he underwent those sensory deprivation tests in an isolation chamber so he could experience hallucinations and psychotic states to see a glimpse of how Joker's mind worked (Batman Vol. 1 #673)

YEAR FIVE

Barbara debuts as Batgirl (Batgirl Vol. 4 #0)

Batman chases Joker down to Blüdhaven, Gordon and the GCPD shoot their way through their former co-workers into a warehouse filled with piñatas. Inside each piñata is a corpse (Joker Vol. 2 2021 Annual)

Note: for the past year, Joker had only been pulling pop-crime pranks and small time heists

YEAR SIX

An escaped Joker decides not to commit any crimes for once, instead following Batman around, simply trying to get the grim Dark Knight to laugh (referenced in Event Leviathan #2)

YEAR SEVEN

In February, an escaped Joker defeats the Teen Titans (Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven), leaving them bound, unconscious, and underwater as Batman’s monthly “birthday gift" (Detective Comics #1027 Part 3)

Dick turns 18 and quits as Robin (Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular Part 1)

Bruce meets Jason Todd and starts training him (Batman #408-409)

Dick debuts as Nightwing

Joker unveils his "Laughing Fish" gag (Detective Comics #475-476)

Jason Todd debuts as Robin (Truth and Justice #10)

YEAR NINE

Batman: The Killing Joke

A Death in the Family

Tim begins training as Robin (A Lonely Place of Dying)

YEAR TEN

Tim debuts as Robin

Knightfall

Rock of Ages

Batman fights Onomatopoeia and saves Joker's life (Batman: Cacophony #3)

YEAR ELEVEN

Cataclysm

Aftershock

No Man’s Land

Tower of Babel

Note: Batman appoints Cass Cain as Batgirl during No Man's Land

YEAR TWELVE

Under the Hood

Tim stops being Robin, Stephanie Brown takes over temporarily before she is fired and Tim is reinstated (Robin Vol. 2 #124-130)

YEAR THIRTEEN

Batman R.I.P.

Bruce meets Damian for the first time (Batman and Son)

YEAR FOURTEEN

Harley breaks up with Joker for good (Gotham City Sirens #1)

Bruce makes Damian his full-time official partner (Batman & Robin Vol. 2 #1-8)

Joker buries Simon Hurt alive, which is the same way Hurt tried to kill Batman. Hm (Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6 and Batman & Robin #13-16)

Joker removes his face and goes into hiding (Detective Comics Vol. 2 #1)

Death of the Family

YEAR FIFTEEN

Endgame

Superheavy

YEAR SIXTEEN

Duke joins the Batfamily (Batman: Rebirth #1)

Batman locates Joker (presumably still amnesiac at this point) and apprehends him, incarcerating him in Sub-Cave Alpha. in exchange for information about Dionesium, Batman tells Joker about his “dark energy” investigation and covert use of the Outsiders and “Black Sites.” He even shows Joker his cloning machine and the “Meta-File” on the Bat-computer (Dark Days: The Casting)

Batman proposes to Catwoman, presumably while Joker is still in his basement (Batman Vol. 3 #24)

Hal and Duke find Joker in the Batcave cell (Dark Days: The Forge)

Batman teams up with Joker to defeat the Batman Who Laughs (Dark Nights: Metal #4-6)

YEAR SEVENTEEN

Joker finds out about Batman’s engagement (Batman: Prelude to the Wedding Part 2 Nightwing vs Hush #1)

The Best Man

Batman and Catwoman call off the wedding but stay engaged (Batman Vol. 3 #50)

YEAR EIGHTEEN

The Batman Who Laughs #1-7

YEAR NINETEEN

Their Dark Designs

Joker War

YEAR TWENTY-ONE

Failsafe

The Man Who Stopped Laughing #1-4

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Given Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's recent presentations at Lightbox Expo, it seems their slate is...

THE CAT IN THE HAT (3/6/2026)

BAD FAIRIES (7/23/2027)

MARGIE CLAUS (11/05/2027)

MEET THE FLINTSTONES (TBD, possibly 2026/27)

DYNAMIC DUO (TBD, possibly 2028)

UNTITLED LOONEY TUNES FILM (TBD, possibly 2028)

THE LUNAR CHRONICLES (TBD)

OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO (TBD)

THING ONE AND THING TWO (TBD)

MEERKAT MANOR (TBD)

And some of those TBD films might be closer than not?

They all have directors, for starters. Some films had finished footage, others had reels and such. Sometimes just logos. Nothing from MEERKAT MANOR was shown other than the title.

Those who attended the presentation have reportedly seen footage from MEET THE FLINTSTONES, THE LUNAR CHRONICLES, and OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! (Which now has two people attached, Jill Culton as director and Jon M. Chu.) The reports on FLINTSTONES indicates that it's particularly farther along, as it and its crew were announced quite some time ago. I can imagine Warner slotting it somewhere in later 2026, as their only 2026 release right now is the spring slotted CAT IN THE HAT. (Whoever blinks in that chicken game will be interesting, as CAT currently sits next to Pixar's HOPPERS.)

While it's nice to see Warner building a seemingly robust slate of different animated films, some based on their long-standing IPs and some relatively new stuff (like BAD FAIRIES), I'm still not over David Zaslav opting to lock COYOTE VS. ACME and SCOOB! HOLIDAY HAUNT away. Usually in a merger, when a leader hasn't much regard for stuff put into production before they came to the place, it's decided to quietly get that project out and move onto the next thing.

Like they were ripping a band-aid or something. When MGM acquired United Artists in 1981, the new brass seemingly saw little use for the in-production THE SECRET OF NIMH and just kinda dumped it. THE BLACK CAULDRON and THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE got similar treatment from the then-new Eisner brigade at Disney. Turner Animation's CATS DON'T DANCE got left out in the cold after Turner got folded into Warner Bros.

A very "we didn't make it, it doesn't fit our agenda going forward" mindset...

But the Zas cranked that up to 11, and just straight up said "Nope, you can't even SEE these movies."

This 2028 "Super Secret" Looney Tunes movie is basically Zaslav-Warner's way of saying "This is OUR Looney Tunes initiative going forward, and ACME, DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP, and BYE BYE BUNNY! didn't fit that." You coulda still at least released them, though.

I'll still support a new Looney Tunes movie, as I would hate for this film to also get scrapped towards the end of its completion and made into an unreleasable "tax write-off". I extend that to any Warner movie, given how the Zas just straight up did that to not only two Warner animated movies, but also BATGIRL, and a TV show like FINAL SPACE... And it seemed like the new SALEM'S LOT almost got black-holed, too, but miraculously made it out alive. It just feels weird, because it didn't have to go down that way at all.

So yeah... Looks like they have a ton of stuff in the works now, and a clear road ahead. Hopefully. Some of this stuff sounds like it could be a lot of fun, especially DYNAMIC DUO and BAD FAIRIES.

[takadasaiko]

20 Questions For Writers

I was tagged by the lovely @illegalcerebral !

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

303

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

2,425,506

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Are we talking about right now or overall? Right this moment I'm actively writing on a Star Wars fic and I have been poking at both an old and a new Once Upon a Time fic. Send help. Somewhere in here I need to write on my own project.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Second Chances (Avengers)

Howl Until it Hurts (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency)

The Price to be Paid (Once Upon a Time)

A Flicker of Light (Star Wars)

Everything Back to You (The Blacklist)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! I'm much better at responding to comments on current projects (especially the most recent chapter that's been posted).

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I really don't know... While I count a story a success if you're reaching for the kleenex box, people that read my stories know they can count on what I refer to as an earned ending. It's a good/happy ending with a ton of pain to get us there, but all in all I have a strong and proven habit of bringing characters back from the dead and giving the ships in my stories a solid ending.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Again, most of them are.

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

Oh sure. I'd say the most I received was in the Blacklist fandom. I got everything from asking me to change the name of my fic because it was the same song lyric the other author had chosen to being told I was an abuse condoner because I shipped a Mr and Mrs Smith styled couple. That was a truly wild fandom back in the day.

9. Do you write smut?

I don't. I'm very much a fade-to-black kind of writer.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not really. Every great once and a while something might line up, but in general I keep things in-world.

I will say that one of my favourite fics ever was a crossover between OUAT and the Hunger Games that @toseehowthestoryends wrote.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Maybe? I feel like someone posted fics over on a site without my permission. If memory serves, they left my pen name on it though, so there are worse things.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've had people ask if they are allowed to, but if they ever finished the project I don't know.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yep! I used to co-write very reguarly.

14. What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

Listen now. That's like asking me to choose a favourite child. What kind of rudeness is that? :P

I'll go with some of my longest running and ships I've loved for many years, how does that sound?

SkyJade (Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade from Star Wars)

Keen2 (Tom and Liz Keen from The Blacklist)

Dick Grayson/Robin/Nighting and Barbara Gordon/Batgirl/Oracle from Batman

Rumbelle (Rumplestiltskin and Belle from OUAT)

Romy (Remy LeBeau/Gambit and Rogue from X-Men)

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I keep looking at Burn the Worlds (OUAT) and thinking about picking it back up again. It was such an interesting and, dare I say unique premise that I'd love to finish it. I actually poked at it a bit the other day, so there's hope yet.

16. What’s your writing strengths?

I've always leaned into dialogue. I enjoy it, I've been told I'm pretty good at it, and when it flows it can make a scene. You can learn so much through what's said and all the little spaces between those words.

Interestingly enough, I think one of my weaknesses has become one of my strengths over the years. I used to be terrible at fight scenes, but I forced myself to write them and found that, eventually, I became better. Now I really enjoy them. They're fast pace and snappy and flow oh so nicely if everything fits into place :D

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

For the life of me I can't keep a story contained? I'm also very bad at 'killing my darlings', as they say. Unless it's either a character I hate or a super minor character, I'm not fond of killing them.

I'm looking forward to Palpatine's eventual demise in AFoL....

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I guess it depends on the situation and how much dialogue. There are characters that littler foreign phrases regularly like Remy from X-Men and his sporadic French, but I wouldn't be comfortable in trying to write blocks of French dialogue. The opportunity to screw it up is just too large and it's too difficult for the audience to read.

Saying that, I have a vague recollection of doing it for a story and adding the translations at the bottom of the chapter. Can't remember what story it was for, but in general I try not to make a habit of it unless the story demands it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh wow... I was going through some old stored documents the other day at my folks' place and found a collection of pages for what kiddo me was referring to as Lion King 2. Does that count?

I think Gundam Wing is probably the real answer. You know, when I knew what fanfiction was.

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Again, you're asking for the favourite child. Rude.

I have some that have a very special place in my heart:

Everything Back to You (The Blacklist), Such Great Heights (Wynonna Earp), A Flicker of Light (Star Wars), Second Chances (Marvel), and Courage of the Stars (Once Upon a Time)

Thank you again for the tag! No pressure tags going out to:

@theherothechampiontheinquisitor, @rebelmeg, @nimata-beroya, @jedimordsith, @clawedandcute, @ice-whisper, @intricatecakes, @exlibrisfangirl, @strivia, and anyone else!

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Fathers of the Night

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/Z2nMv9g by Kelseyalicia I want to rework a scene from the DCAU to fit the Batclan better I created. This scene is from the second part of the first season of Justice League Unlimited, where Batman receives a huge surprise, not Green Lantern. Words: 1059, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 549 of one-shots, Part 4 of Batgirl Beyond Universe, Part 207 of Therapy stories, Part 401 of Awareness stories, Part 23 of DCAU and Marvel, Part 498 of gift fic, Part 484 of collection stories Fandoms: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Bruce Wayne, Terry McGinnis, Original Female Character(s), Ace the Bat-Hound (DCU) Relationships: Maxine Gibson & Terry McGinnis & Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Ending, Short One Shot, Two Fathers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Twins, Family Secrets, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Time Travel, Project Cadmus, Grief/Mourning, Closure, Found Family, Wish Fulfillment, Season Finale, Surprises, Brother-Sister Relationships, Father-Son Relationship, Father-Daughter Relationship, Love, Family Bonding, Far Future, Mental Breakdown, Crying, Gift Fic, Voice Acting read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/Z2nMv9g

[sing-me-under]

So about that “Bruce didn’t adopt Jason” dream I had. I think it was mildly influenced by the “robins were never taken in by Batman” issue (can’t remember which issue it was, I think there were two), the pre-crisis Nocturna storyline, and also my own obsession with Stephanie as Robin.

I think it started with Bruce getting launched back in time by some sort of divine entity but it could also have been Bruce shown visions of the future by a divine entity. Wasn’t very clear. I think the logic in later events might lean towards the latter. Either way, the actual story begins before Bruce finishes filing Jason’s adoption papers.

Bruce wakes up from whatever future thing happened. He hugs Jason and rambles out apologies and tells Jason that he can’t adopt him. He doesn’t explain anything in any coherent, sensible way. All Jason understands is that Bruce, the person who is supposed to be his dad, is sending him away. Jason gets officially adopted by Natalia (Nocturna). Bruce and Jason never see each other in person, but they still exchange letters every so often just to keep in contact.

Despite the fact that the Observatory is fully sponsored by Bruce, Nocturna is still a semi-active thief to fund her luxurious lifestyle. Jason himself isn’t involved in the capes and masks business, preferring (and highly encouraged) to stay in school and work on charity projects using the Knight name. (Jason is legally Jason Knight here)

Meanwhile, Bruce is just sadly being Batman. Since Bruce didn’t keep Jason, Dick never barged back into the manor to yell about being replaced. In fact, Dick’s appearances in the manor become more and more rare until eventually he just never comes back. Bruce stops attempting to reach out since their interactions always end up in an argument, and Dick cuts off all connection to Bruce. No one except the OG Titans knows that Nightwing had any connection to Batman. Barbara is also semi-retired from Batgirl to focus on college.

For the next few years, Batman is well and truly on his own (technically, if you don’t count Agent A on comms). There are still a small handful of independent vigilantes scattered about, but Batman works alone. Thankfully, Gotham isn’t the worst. Most of it can be handled on his own or with some assistance from a local vigilante or, in worse situations, backup from an available League member. Bruce is running himself dry, but he’s not self-destructive either. He’s just sad and lonely.

One day, Cluemaster makes his debut and Spoiler appears shortly after. Bruce has been on his own for three years, and Spoiler is just intrusive enough to be endearing. Bruce is fond of Spoiler’s company, being reminded of Dick’s playfulness and Jason’s crassness, and more or less allows her to stick around. Once it becomes obvious that she’s going to continue to do vigilantism even after her father is locked away, Bruce decides to take her in and properly train her. (Stephanie doesn’t become Robin. She stays as Spoiler while following after Batman)

Cluemaster escapes Blackgate and seeks revenge on Spoiler. He knows that Spoiler is his daughter and attempts to kill her. When those efforts prove futile, he kills his ex-wife and Stephanie’s mom, Crystal. Stephanie, in civilian wear, kills Arthur is a fit of vengeful rage. Later that night, Batman finds Spoiler sitting on the roof of her apartment complex crying. Batman gets a grasp on the situation. He is kind to her and allows Stephanie to grieve as necessary. Bruce ends up fostering Stephanie... and like clockwork, Batman ends up with a new partner.

Batman and Spoiler work together extremely well. It’s a bit reminiscent to Batman and Robin except at Stephanie’s age (15), Dick was already distancing himself from Bruce.

Steph asks to go to the Observatory for a class project. In a moment of spontaneity, Bruce decides to go with her. There, Bruce is soon confronted with Jason. It’s the first time they’ve spoken face to face since Jason was adopted by Natalia. Bruce and Natalia have interacted a handful of times (outside of the cloak of night) since they’re both socialites, but Jason mostly kept to himself. Bruce was under the impression that Jason resented him. Turns out that Jason had thought it was the other way around.

“I couldn’t wrap my head around why you gave me up. You were supposed to be my dad. I had just worked up the nerve to call you my dad, but then you told me you couldn’t adopt me. All that effort fighting with the courts and mom to keep me with you, then suddenly, you gave me away anyway. For years, I looked for a reason. Blackmail, gossip, whatever. I couldn’t find a single thing. It’s not like you had a change of heart. You cried when you told me you couldn’t adopt me, so why?”

Bruce says he’ll explain one day. He just doesn’t know how to. He doesn’t even know if he can. Still, Bruce never intended for Jason to think he didn’t want him. The manor is and always has been open to Jason. Bruce promised that it would be his home no matter what all those years ago, and that hasn’t changed despite what Jason had believed. They talk more. Jason is a pretty happy teen, all things considered. He’s thinking about becoming a teacher. He invites Bruce to his high school graduation.

Bruce talks to Natalia for a bit. They’re more than old acquaintances but not quite friends. They get along well, catch up, talk about their work, their kids. This seems to be the case for most of Bruce’s ex-lovers. Bruce is glad that Jason is safer with her than with him. However, apparently, Natalia’s brother tried to kill her some years ago and Jason was almost caught in the crossfire. No one’s heard from him since. What rich person doesn’t have a skeleton or two in their closet anyway?

Barbara finds Cassandra and Bruce ends up taking Cass in. Much like with Jason, Bruce and Cass immediately click as parent/child. After a whole debacle with David Cain, Bruce starts the adoption process for Cass. Stephanie is kind of mopey through the whole thing. After a heart to heart, Bruce decides to adopt Cass and Stephanie at the same time.

Jason is very unhappy about this. He‘s even more confused by Bruce’s decision not to adopt him. Still, he loves his mom, so he can’t say it was for the worst. Jason starts spending a lot of time at the manor. Jason doesn’t actively get involved with the vigilante life style, but he’s something like the Lucius Fox to Steph and Cass’s Spoiler and Black Bat.

Tim has nothing to do with vigilantes, but he also befriends the Wayne kids through normal means. (Tim moved into the neighboring plot and Steph’s class shortly after Cass’s adoption and after his parents died overseas.) He’s very good friends with all of them and is basically a staple in their household as much as Jason is. They’re pretty sure Tim is aware of their identities, but no one is going to say anything about it. They’ve also never met Tim’s uncle and they’re almost convinced Eddie Drake doesn’t even exist but there’s no way anyone could have forged all the documents and paper trails and emails so like—

For a while, life continues. It’s Batman and Agent A and Spoiler (new name pending) and Black Bat. It’s Bruce and Alfred and Stephanie, Cassandra, and Jason and Tim is also there. Barbara has finished college by now and is considering picking back up the Batgirl mantle, but she’s also found her calling in information and computer sciences. Barbara is only sometimes in contact with Dick, and she hasn’t held a full conversation with Bruce in awhile.

At some point, Jason starts an internship with Wayne Ent under Bruce himself. It’s not official, but Jason is Bruce Wayne’s heir. Neither Stephanie nor Cass want to inherit the business, Jason has been raised in the Gotham elite scene since he was 12, Natalia inherited her adopted father’s wealth but not his business, and Jason has aspirations.

One day, the JL gets wind of a planned attack on the Wayne household. The specifics are unknown, so they determine that the best course of action is to just lock down and keep close security on Bruce Wayne and related companions. (The JL doesn’t know Batman’s identity. Batman has been a part-time member since they’re founding, and they only know that Bruce Wayne is their benefactor.) The JL partners with the Titans to watch over the Wayne household while the league members track down their enemies.

The Titans have never really hid their civilian identities, mostly because they don’t have any to begin with. (Wally inherited the mantle of the Flash and transferred from the Titans to the JL. Roy is only kind of an honorary member nowadays, having long since fallen out with hero community. Dick… doesn’t really have a civilian life. When he became Nightwing, it was like putting on a new mask over the Robin mask. As far as anyone is concerned, Robin is his secret identity.)

The Titans introduce themselves to Bruce as an undercover task force posing as a security detail while the JL deals with the rest. Despite their frankly lackluster disguises, Bruce immediately recognizes “Rob”. He’s honestly surprised that the Titans agreed to babysit the Waynes on behalf of the JL considering they’ve always been independent frontline players. This isn’t there usually MO.

Dick, Bruce, and Alfred all sort of tip toe around each other, none of them wanting to call the other out and acknowledge their pasts and their real identities. Eventually, Dick gives in first. Over the years, he’s matured and realized that Bruce may be controlling and overprotective, but it had always come from a place of love and good intentions. Once Dick got over his anger and teenage angst, he realized that he had long since drifted away from his family and didn’t know how or even if he could return. His place is with the Titans, but he missed Bruce and Alfred and his childhood home. He found himself homesick a lot, especially in recent years as he compares himself to Bruce/Batman. He’s the same age Bruce was when Bruce took him in.

Once the threat has been neutralized (in a rather fantastic spectacle involving the Titans and a mini battlefield on the Wayne Manor’s front lawn), the Titans prepare to leave. Bruce, who has settled into his role as a father, reaches out to Dick and tells him what he told Jason: the manor will always be open to him, no matter what. Once the Titans have all left, Dick stays behind for a little bit. He properly introduces himself to the new kids only to be taken back by their sheer starstruck. After all, Dick was Gotham’s boy wonder, Robin! They all grew up with Batman and Robin. He was their idol, the reason they became what they were! Sure, they knew from B that Robin grew up to become Nightwing, but they didn’t think they’d ever get to actually meet him!

And then my dream ends there.

I like to think that Dick leaves, his heart a little lighter. He’s more settled into himself in this world. He doesn’t carry the burden of eldest sibling. He’s never had to deal with Bruce’s grief or the fear of being replaced. He’s got his own problems, but none of them have forced him to keep a smile. He and Bruce used to be two birds of a feather, soulmates in every way that mattered. That hasn’t changed. Even after all these years, they still work together like a perfectly oiled machine. Nightwing moves into Bludhaven. Sometimes he crosses into Gotham. Dick visits the manor every so often. He’s more like an estranged uncle than an older brother.

I think that Stephanie is always weighed down by her father’s blood on her hands. Bruce would find her sitting on the rooftop, and he’d hold her hands and rub circles in her palms until she’s ready to go back to sleep. Stephanie often worries about never being good enough, but her dad cares and loves her unconditionally. Batman may not kill, but Bruce will help her hide the body. For that alone, Steph wants to at least do right by him. It’s strange, but they bring out the best in each other because they are kind to the worst parts of each other.

One day, Bruce will tell Jason about a prophetic dream he had years ago. If Bruce kept Jason, then Jason would die. It feels anticlimactic. All these years searching for a reason, and it was as simple as that. It’s alright in the end. Bruce isn’t his dad, but the spirit is still there. At the end of the day though, Jason will go home to his mom and kiss her on the cheek.

I like to think that Talia will drop off Damian at the manor to hide him from the LoA’s civil war. Without a clear line of succession in the form of the Robin mantle, Damian won’t feel inclined to fight anyone to assert his status. After all, Bruce’s heir is Jason Knight, a civilian not even related to him. Bruce’s first partner, Robin, has become the leader of the second generation of heroes, but Nightwing is mostly unrelated to Batman (with the exception of the few times Dick took up the cowl in recent years to cover up some identity shenanigans). Batman currently works alongside his daughters, the two Batgirls, who more often than not constantly undermine his authority. There is no heirarchy in the Bat clan. Damian is satisfied with being the biological son, but he’s also lost in how to assert himself when nothing follows traditional rules. Hell, there’s even a random civilian neighbor that sleeps in the family wing every other night.

Damian doesn’t get the chance to understand the relevant dynamics before Bruce “dies.” The bats completely fall apart in their grief. Jason throws himself into his work at Wayne ent. Stephanie steps up as The Bat, adjusting her uniform to look as terrifying as possible (cryptid style). Cass leaves to Hong Kong. Tim goes on a worldwide tour to prove Bruce isn’t dead. Damian gets handed to Dick of all people because no one else is suitable to handle him. Dick is the only actual adult with any experience handling kid supers (hero or otherwise). In the year that Bruce is lost in the time stream, Dick becomes Damian’s pseudo-parent. When Bruce returns, they co-parent. They’re closer than they have been in years.

[leatortilla]

hi!!!!!! i put it all under the cut so it’s easy to scroll past (so many pictures….) but here's my batfam fit roster! sources in the alt desc :)

batman must never have the black undies and must always have long cape, ie arkham knight batman. OR…… any iteration of batblob

nightwing is the iteration of nightwing with the blue going down the arms and hands & his hair eternally looks like this in my mind (everyone say thank you dan mora)

red hood is usually helmet hood (smooth helmet with eyes) with jacket and bat symbol (obligatory chair pic)

red robin is always yost run but with a domino instead of that god awful cowl

also jumpscare warning for the cowl in question

damian is tricky for a few reasons, but it mostly boils down to his fluctuating facial features and skin tone in the comics/other source material. to ME, he should look confusing (aka racially/ethnically ambiguous) and pale in winter, tan in summer. am i projecting? maybe. but that is not a crime. anyway damian’s first robin outfit is the best obviously but if he’s stated to be a teen than i imagine him in the newer robin outfit (the gray one where he is stripped of childlike wonder and whimsy)

signal actually has two outfits, but his most memorable one is his outfit with the white batsymbol and the absolutely adorable baby bat ears :) it’s most likely his most popular since it’s the one used in wfa but he does have another one! i put it there so you can compare the two

barbara gordon is ALWAYS oracle and a wheelchair user unless specified otherwise

cassandra cain and stephanie brown are batgirls to me :) im biased since i own this but omg i love them sm…… they're my girls……..

and last but not least (for batfam characters more commonly seen in maribat fanfics) alfred!!! i think my fav iteration of him has to be from batman: the animated series

anyway that's it i hope i answered your question :)

So I was just thinking about all the Marinette gets left in Gotham fics and it got me wondering as everyone has their own "canon" outfit for the batfam well except Signal he only has the one costume, but maribat fandom what is your batfam outfit roster look like? To clarify what I mean when you read a fic that the batfam shows up in and no description of costume is given what do they wear? i.e. New 52 or animated series.

[thattimdrakeguy]

for what it's worth, you're not alone with feeling like this for dc comics nor the upcoming movies. I lost 99% of my interest in the dceu too when I saw the line up and I've seen a fair few others express the same. I'm mostly just having fun going through the old comics atp and appreciating what I've always loved about the universe, but I'm not about to settle for mediocrity just to fit in to dc's current fandom. celebrating what we enjoy and leaving the rest seems a good way to move forward

I genuinely thought James Gunn was gonna fix some stuff up, 'cause I loved his Guardians of the Galaxy, and laughed hysterically at all the jokes in The Suicide Squad no matter how immature a lot of it was. So I thought 'Oh, okay so this is great'.

Losing Henry Cavill sucked, but ya know, I don't feel like a strange one thinking "Well, if everyone's being recast I guess that makes sense."

Now it's just "Well, okay, fuck you James Gunn. I love your movies that I've seen so far, but also fuck you. This new shit is insulting"

If the movies end up being a big success, I won't be surprised. I know most people don't really give a shit about characterization. You can literally write the characters as anything and little shit-munchers will do some mental gymnastics to defend it. It really doesn't matter.

But oof I've just had enough. I blocked a lot of stuff on Twitter, so I won't even get updates on anything anymore. I'll check out the casting and costumes probably, but anything beyond the Superman project, which I must admit I do have an interest in, because I feel like that could still be good, I'm checking out of.

Then with the comics it's like, oh boy, Tom Taylor? Woo-weee, can't wait to read severely out of character characters people praise because it did a lot of fan service no matter if it makes sense or not.

Like what is it, and modern comic book writers, and being unable to successfully write a satisfying book that gives something people wanna buy without relying on out of character fandom shit? Are they that incapable.

Dick's just a sitcom character, you wouldn't even recognize him if you were a time traveler that came from back when Dick was actually treated seriously, like who he was as a specific character mattered.

Tim's stuck in someone's fan fiction--like him calling Damian his baby brother? Bernard looking like that? That thin writing? Hahahaha give me a damn break, it's sooooo freaking bad. And his comic is so ugly. I know that artist would be perfect for something else, but not Tim, jeezus.

I was pretty excited when I thought Tim was going to be gay, because in my head I assumed it really took someone that new Tim's character well, and saw all the moments other gay people did that really connected to them and their experiences and let them relate to him.

Instead nah, it's instead "I really shipped Tim and Conner, and I wasn't sure if they let me do Conner. So I heard about Bernard, I don't know much about him, but he'll do I guess". Like there is no shame what so ever.

I don't even have a clue what's going on with Jason but I don't care, 'cause he hasn't been a good character since Under The Hood. I'm not down this this retconned filled copycat they've been peddling for over a decade. I want the actually interesting, stand-out Jason that had some of the biggest potential for character arcs. Not the one they fucked up time and time again.

Batgirls sucks. Like admittedly I haven't read it, but come on, don't pretend like enough hasn't been shared for it to be obvious. I know the characters well enough. There's a difference between 'Bad Faith' and 'Their is literally a massive gaping flaw right fucking there, look at it'. It has ruined them for the time being. I don't need to buy the entire sofa to inspect it further, when the massive coffee stain is RIGHT fucking THERE.

Damian hasn't been a consistently good character since Morrison. I seriously don't care what anybody says. If you have to put the character in situations and moments that would never happen or make no sense to make them likable, I think you're a bad writer, because fuck off, the original Damian as he grew was a great character, and I'm not here for this babified version made to appeal to the easiest common dominator. There is a difference between a character growing and just being out of character. I heard his solo wasn't that bad with him, but I still have no interest in it regardless.

So I can't read any of the Bat-Family. I thought about reading 'Batman' 'cause I heard after that really messy, badly paced, awkwardly written first arc it got better. But then again, I heard Teen Titans (2003), Tom Taylor's literally anything, Steph's Batgirl run, Super Sons and Red Hood and the Outlaws were all good, and those were some of the most frustrating reads of my life because they all changed the characters so much, or bad some of the most logic-less decisions that I was at a total lost at what made people like them.

I wanna read a comic the same way I enjoy a movie or TV franchise. Enjoy the stories, characters, arcs, and simply being able to enjoy it.

Reading and going "Okay that makes no sense" or "They so wouldn't do that" again and again feels like being grounded and punished.

Plus, old comics aren't even flawless, not that something has to be for me to like it. But when I read it so much that the flaws start sticking out more, then I'm making myself miserable again.

Like I used to be able to read Dixon's Robin run despite his shitty way of being, because it was good, and it still is, but those moments were Dixon projects parts of his own personality into the characters stick out to me way more now.

And the way fan's treat Bart made me too sad to read the good part of Impulse, and Cassie never had a solo I liked.

At least the mighty Ultimate Spider-Man is there, that never fails. But all this other stuff has me timid to read it.

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Apologies for the rant and all, but all things considered what else do people do on Tumblr? Have polite conversation?

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And for a long time just trying to share what I liked was enough for me, but I think I literally eventually simply said all I could say, and I felt I was repeating myself for ages.

Then there was seeing other fans just be total weirdos and lie about what happened, or at the very least stretch and hide details of the truth, just to make their favorite or what ever look better just to make people believe their desires:

Which is fucking creepy. Yeah you, who does that, in the event that you read this, it's fucking weird. Who does that, and why? Move onto something you actually like you kraken.

It's inevitable I might remake old posts for the sake of newer people, because some of the best vibes I've ever had was when I was making long informational posts for people to learn about the characters in easy to understand direct ways.

It satisfied my Autism and got me some praise, and compliments that made me feel like "Hey that mental thing I have isn't all bad!"

But when the people who used to care about that kind of stuff stops, and you're eventually left alone. It's pretty much back to the bottom for me, and my mental quirks are back to being a thing that causes me to be yelled at, by people who don't understand how I actually function.

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I don't understand Ben 10 Alien Force in hindsight, why is everyone so different in a way that doesn't seem plausible within 5-seemingly-uneventful-for-the-most-part-years.

It felt like more of a reboot then the actual reboot looking back at it. And I loved it as a kid, and would probably still love reading it, but I feel like people don't talk about that enough.

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Also the Eleventh Doctor makes me sad because I felt like he could've been the best, but when he stopped being "Old Quirky, formerly senile man in a young energetic intellectual body" and started treated more like a child it sort of ruined him. How you gonna give him moments where he's treated like the ultimate bad ass, he's just quirky, and then completely drop all of that to make him a joke. That's sad.

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I also like WWE, but can't think of anything to say besides I think Roman Reigns is the worst part of the Bloodline and that he'd be better not being champion, because he doesn't make the titles feel like they truly matter. They're set decorations, rather than a plot point that feels important anymore.

Love the Sami stuff, and Roman's character work, but his matches without someone against him that's super great are really boring ignoring any storyline shenanigans that happen in them. It's a drag to have to wait to those moments.