#tim being the way he is in context of Dick being his favorite and the robin he aspired to be like the most makes a lot more sense

[spacedace]

You ever think Dick overhears someone say Jason was the most violent Robin and just gets so mad about it?

And it's not even about like, defending Jason's honor or anything. It's purely because he's just so incredibly insulted that people somehow forgot how much of an unhinged ball of rage he was as a child.

Like I'm imagining him storming into the cave and yanking on his now way too small Robin costume and muttering angrily about I'll show you the angriest Robin

Barbara is facepalming about all the nonsense that's about to pop off that inevitably she's gonna have to clean up. Bruce just starts sweating profusely and desperately trying to talk Dick down because he suddenly remembers that time Dick kicked a criminal so hard they ended up in a coma for a week and smiled so brightly while doing it that the other goons there at the time just chose to jump off a three story building into the suspect sludge that filled Gotham harbor rather than face the unhinged ten year old on bright colors and pixie boots.

Duke: But wasn't Dick the nice one?

Tim, who idolized Dick Grayson's Robin like his own chaotic god: Don't ever insult my favorite Robin that way again. Here are my top thirty photos of him reigning deranged chaotic violence upon his enemies. I'd show you more but this album just has the photos from the first month I started following him and Batman around.

Jason: The hundreds of dead assassins and all the shit I've heard about you and Young Justice suddenly make a lot more sense

[clearnachopirate]

Terry and the batfam. Terry and the batfam. their dynamics have so much potential and i would LOVE to see it explored in any way at all

Terry and Dick: older brothers, trade stories of how they embarrass and get back at their younger brother(s), anger issue twins, "oh you were batman too??" "yeah, but its only bc one of my parents was murdered" "omg thats how i became robin no way"

Terry and Jason: the second most destructive duo, second only to terry and steph. not bc they fight or blow things up on patrol (thats tim and jasons thing) but bc anytime there a new gadget to try, terry will volunteer to use it, and jason will volunteer to 'spar' with terry to test it out. okay, maybe its bc they fight and blow stuff up, but its only ever in the batcave under supervision! "the tim from my dimension actually killed the joker" "no shit? did bruce stop me over there too?" "... about that--" sometimes they grab the others leather jacket by accident and both have given up on caring

Terry and Tim: terry "from the technological future" mcginnis and tim "designs loads of bat tech" drake talk shop, "my younger brother was made robin without my consent" club. tim listens to the works elcectro pop music ever and it just so happens to sound exactly like what they play at terrys favorite club. tim introduces him to (kon or bernard, take your pick) and they hit it off so well that they hang out without tim

Terry and Damian: ace the dog. terry invited damian to his AC island. both are bruce's bio kids and mamas boys. damian calling him "Terrance" and terry never recovering from it. terry knows damian from the future, kind of, and uses that knowledge to his advantage EVERY DAY

Terry and Duke: team "everyone thinks we're the normal one, they are wrong" they totally do movie marathons you cant tell me otherwise, their favorite thing to do is make bets abt the rest of the fam w cass. they never win against her. on any given day you can find them whispering about everyone else "duke, why the fuck were damian and tim staring each other down over breakfast" "hes mad dick said he can't poison him again" "what" "i know i thought they were over it by now"

Terry and Cass: cass sees him for the first time and sees that he rivals tim and dick in terms of being a mess and is determined to bond. terry hears about what she was trained for as a child and shrugs bc "i was supposed to be a second bruce, things change" cass will make him give her piggybacks when shes tired and terry has never dropped her

Terry and Stephanie: the most destructive duo. something happens to their braincells when they patrol together, buildings fall, bones break, civilians are crying, theres about ten minutes where everyone else thinks theyre both dead. they both are waiting at the cave for the others, terry is teching her how to make really shitty friendship bracelets (dana taught him, and stephanie is pretending she doesnt know how). they dont know why everyone else is so stressed "i texted you that we were fine, old man. steph and i just ran into black masks trafficing ring and took care of it-- why is dick crying?"

ALL of them have asked about the future before and the ONLY thing he ever reveals is out of context sayings and trends "yeah actually luigi and bowser have so much chemistry, well, i guess that movie isnt out yet huh" "???" (they think luigi and bowser are a cononical couple in the future and wonder where the world went so wrong) and (while interrogating smon) "watch out, you're not acting like the sigma you are, batman, try rizzing 'im up, then he'll talk."

him and bart meet (everyone tried to keep in from happening) and theyre from similar enough futures that when they talk, not a single person around them can follow it, they teach each other the different versions of different tik tok dances and terry goes back to the manor and teches them to steph, cass sees them do it once and has them memorized, duke thought it was funny, dick thought it was adorable (eventually they ALL know them, and it becomes an inside joke) tims prized possession is a video he got of damian doing the most dispassionate renegade the world has ever seen bc jon asked and he cant say no to him)

TL;DR:

terry mcginnis interacting w the other bat kids has a lot of potential for chaos and family bonding

[coupleoffanfics]

Part 2- y/n becomes a child

Part 1 Here

She seems to be a big fan of cats. Anything with Hello Kitty on it she wants. Will run up to stray cats trying to pet them no matter how many times they tell her not to. “They could have a disease.” “But they’re so cute!”

Doesn’t fully understand when she says, “I’m looking for my parents. We’re playing hide and seek, I don’t really like playing it. I wanted played sequence. My dad must have helped my mom with her hiding spot because I can usually find her first. Once I find them we’ll go back home to my baby and older brother.”

Hearing this Damian goes to Bruce for answers. He knows of everyone’s upbringing, but he often overlooked y/n in the past. Something about her mentally blocking her parents' death. Bruce only says parents, so it makes him wonder whether or not…It doesn’t matter. He just makes sure that he won’t bring up her parents or try to convince her that Bruce was her father anymore. Or that he and the others were her real brothers.

Dick will bring y/n to the water park, zoo, etc for some bonding time. Trying to dethrone Jason’s spot of being her favorite. When going out this usually results in Damian tagging along. Though surprisingly y/n doesn’t like going out as much, so Dick tries to find another way to connect with her.

It's getting late and while in her pajamas jumps down each step of the stairs. Dick notices the book in her hand and offers to read it to her before bed. Look him straight in his eyes to say no and ask if he knew where Jason was.

He lied by saying that he already left even though he was down in the cave and he’ll just take Jason’s place as bedtime reader. She reluctantly agreed. Everything is fine until the story ends. She looks like she is going to burst into tears and he panics. The story didn’t have a sad ending or anything. It was just a frog and toad book.

Asking what was wrong, y/n looks at him. “They’re gone and they’re never coming back are they?” He doesn’t respond, the look of pity in his eyes was enough for her to start balling her eyes out. Crying for her parents. When he is going to get up to get Bruce she eminently freaks out.

“No! Please don’t leave. I don’t want to be left alone. Don’t leave me alone again!” Dick gets so emotional seeing his little sister desperately begging him to not be all alone. He stays behind and comforts her. Not leaving her side once.

The context of how they unintentionally neglected her when she got older made guilt build up.

After that y/n is more open with Dick and starts to follow him around a bit. Jason raises his eyebrow but doesn’t say anything. Dick would be a better influence than him regardless of how bitter it made him feel.

Tim doesn’t go out of his way to interact with little y/n. Though she does come up to him to share what food she has. She will not leave him alone unless he has some of her snacks. Reminding him of when she was done cooking/baking, she’d force him to take a taste test before anyone else.

She’ll go out into the garden to catch butterflies. Will not take a net no matter how many times it's offered. Damian sits back watching her as she creeps up on butterflies like a cat. Every time she goes up to him and asks if he knew what butterfly it is.

Doesn’t have a clue, but after that, he’ll look up all the different butterflies. Their names and small facts about them for next time. y/n inadvertently made Damian a butterfly wiki.

There will be sudden fits where she wants to paint someone’s nails. Goes up to the first person she’ll see. Place the Hello Kitty nail polish bag on the table and ask them, “What color do you want? Sparkly or no sparkle?” There isn't anyone that can say no.

So everyone in the manor will have painted nails. Bruce is in a business meeting, everyone sees his black-painted nails but doesn’t say a thing. If anyone were to ask he’d hold up a hand to show off and explain that his daughter wanted to paint his nails. He is expressionless the whole time, but if they looked hard enough then they could see the smile in his eyes.

Babs and Dick definitely take a few photos of y/n and send them to each other. It’s not every day that adult y/n allows others to photograph her. Now that she is a child without too many insecurities this allows them to take as many photos as possible.

Speaking of Babs, she’s just like Tim and Bruce. Doesn’t go out of her way to interact with her because she doesn't see the reason to do so. It’s fine after a few days until she starts missing adult y/n. The one who brings up random topics and has late-night texts with.

Wonders if she should inform y/n’s friend and boyfriend about this since they’ve been reaching out a lot. But decided against it. y/n is in a vulnerable state of mind and having even more “strangers” interact with her should just be avoided. Barb tells them that she’s broken her phone and is taking care of her sick auntie who is overseas. She makes up an elaborate lie and now y/n’s friend and boyfriend think she has an Italian auntie named Bianca Bellagamba.

One day Dick gets a drawing that he’s always dreamed of. A crayon drawing of his hero persona that had My #1 hearo! Everyone can see him internally squealing.

Everyone got a similar drawing, but she handed his drawing to him first. So obviously he’s the favorite brother and she clearly put more effort into his drawing.

Only Dick and Damian have thought of sabotaging the progress of returning y/n back to normal a few times. They’d be able to keep her in the manor safe and be able to rewrite their mistakes. Jason has thought of this too once, but he knew that it wasn’t right for y/n if they kept her like this.

The only reason Dick and Damian didn’t do anything as everyone was dead set on getting adult y/n back. Even if they were to sabotage their progress, it would just slow them down.

When y/n is turned back to normal she doesn’t remember anything after she was turned into a child. This breaks Dick’s heart more than it does Damian’s. Dick was making so much progress with y/n and now it's completely erased. Damian took this more as a way to understand and learn more about y/n.

y/n awkwardly thanks them before shuffling out manor. Babs will send the pics of little y/n to her later.

Most of the family’s view of y/n doesn’t change except for Dick and to a lesser extent Jason’s. Dick will see y/n even more as a child now. That one night when she begged to not be left alone again will motivate him to reach out to her. Spend more time together to make up for his absence.

Jason might view her a little more like a child, but he already saw her as one. Though this whole fiasco has made him a bit more protective of y/n. When out, he’ll check on her apartment just to make sure that she’s safe at home. If he finds her out for whatever reason when he’s on patrol then he’ll follow her until she gets back home safely.

Damian knows that little and older y/n aren’t exactly the same. It would be stupid to do so because she could grow out of things and has developed as a person. When he breaks into her apartment for a visit he’ll have a type of Hello Kitty memorabilia. y/n clearly hasn’t grown out of her love for the cat with a bow as the next time he breaks in, he sees that she kept the gift.

[kevin-day-is-bi]

Beginner's Guide to Batman (and Batman-related) Media

(based on my knowledge and the things I enjoy)

Live action Batman movies are very hit or miss. Most of them are fairly middling, but the Dark Knight Trilogy is generally pretty bad. Poor Bruce characterization, white-washing, inaccurate representations of Gotham, etc. I have several thousand words written on that trilogy, and many more on live action movies in general (all of which are accessible thru my pinned post). The Batman (2022) is pretty widely regarded as being good and accurate. It has a much more emo depiction of Bruce. A major pet peeve of mine is that I, personally, don't think it's a very good Riddler, but everything else is good.

As for shows, those are generally less accurate but more enjoyable. Gotham is not technically canon I don't think but it has better aesthetics, canon accuracy, and character design than every live action movie imo. It starts with Bruce seeing his parents' murder and goes up until he first decides to become Batman. Gotham Knights is a much more AU-style show, detailing the death of Bruce and how his adopted son (invented for the show) handles it. It also has Stephanie, Harper and Cullen Row, and Duela Dent, plus great queer rep. Heavily recommended for people who want to know more about general character personalities or who enjoy AUs. Titans has Dick, Jason, and Tim, and while I personally don't think that they did well with the characterization of the other Titans, the Robins are well-done. If you want a good idea of Dick right after he became Nightwing, you want to see Jason as Robin, or you like Tim pre-Robin, this is the show for you.

As for animated shows, the usually widely loved ones are Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman: The Animated Series. B:TAS is largely accurate to the comics at that time, though it plays a little fast and loose with the Robins (goes straight from Dick to Tim). Plus, it's the first appearance of Harley Quinn! Additionally, I enjoy The Batman (2005), though it plays with the timeline a little and targets a younger audience. Batman Beyond is amazing if you want to get into the future of Batman/Terry McGinnis universe. The accompanying movie, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker covers Tim becoming Joker Jr.

Speaking of animated movies, there are a Lot. Standouts include the Batman Unlimited movies, which are some of the only ones to include Tim. They're very futuristic, so if you enjoy AUs or the science side of Batman, these are the ones. There are a lot of AU style ones, like Gotham by Gaslight (which I personally really love but don't think is anything particularly special outside of being interesting for characters), The Doom That Came to Gotham, and Batman Ninja. Batman Ninja isn't one of my favorites, but it is very good and has general good characterization. If you want to know more about how Barbara became Oracle but you don't want to read one of the most sexist comics ever, watching the Batman: The Killing Joke movie is a good way to do it. It frames the movie from Barbara's perspective and focuses on her story. If you want to know more about Damian, Son of Batman and Batman vs Robin are good. They detail him becoming Robin and his brush with the Court of Owls. Batman: Under the Red Hood is absolutely necessary viewing for anyone who likes Jason, as it details him coming back to life and becoming the Red Hood (along with having one of the all-time most depressing lines in-context ever).

When it comes to media that doesn't have Batman in it but is Batman-affiliated, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn is a really good post-Joker pre-Ivy look at Harley, and it has Helena Bertinelli (Huntress), Dinah Lance (Black Canary), Detective Renee Montoya, and an AU-ized Cassandra Cain. The show Young Justice, particularly the first season, is a really good look at Robin!Dick in non-Bat teams, as is the animated Teen Titans. Both take slightly different routes when it comes to his personality, but both are equally good (especially if most of what you know about Robin!Dick is "holy dental hygiene, Batman!" or his vague backstory). They also both provide introductions into other team families, particularly Young Justice, so if you've just gotten into DC via Batman and want to know more about other characters, YJ is the way to go.

My personal idea of best piece of media for any character:

Bruce Wayne

Pre-Batman - Gotham

Batman: The Animated Series

Alfred Pennyworth

Batman: The Animated Series

Barbara Gordon

Batman: The Animated Series and The Killing Joke

Kate Kane

Batman: Bad Blood

Dick Grayson

As Robin - Young Justice

As Nightwing - the Son of Batman/Batman vs Robin/Batman: Bad Blood trilogy

Jason Todd

As Robin - Titans

As the Red Hood - Batman: Under the Red Hood

Tim Drake

As Robin - Batman: The Animated Series

As Red Robin - Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem/Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts

Stephanie Brown

Gotham Knights

Damian Wayne

Son of Batman/Batman vs Robin

Feel free to send an ask about a specific movie or show (or if you want a detailed list of everything a specific character has ever appeared in!) - I'm currently watching every Batman movie in existence and writing reviews literally so I can provide better recommendations to people (on part 41 rn). I will gladly provide more details about any movie or show. Also if you want to know more about specific media or what media a specific character has appeared in that is Bat-affiliated but is not a Bat, I probably have info! Anyone who's ever been a Titan, most Supers, most of the JLA, etc.

I can do another of these for comic recommendations if anyone wants bc I Do have opinions, I've just had some folks ask questions about specifically non-comic media recently!

[ghost-bxrd]

I think the one that concerns me most that I really want to know more about is "little birds in little graves" because, given context, one bird is for sure Jason. So who the other, or others, is, has my morbid curiosity. I'm also hoping this is mostly a metaphorical title.

It could be Dick. We've all seen how well you write those two being brothers. It's wonderfully heartbreaking. The 'grave' of his being depression, guilt, or regret of not saving Jason, or being distant with him, whatever, pre-death.

It could also be Tim. I haven't seen much of him from you, which is a lil sad, he's probably my favorite. This isn't pressure to write him more, you're doing fantastic! I just have a lot of thoughts on his character. The 'grave' for Tim being his personal mission to keep the Batfam on track in the wake of Jason's death. Something he never really digs himself out of.

The last real option I'm seeing for our second bird, is Calvin. You've been focused on him, you've had thoughts! And I'm really thinking "Screaming sounds a lot like birds singing" might be a more Calvin focused WIP. But it could be Calvin! This is a much slimmer chance than Tim or Dick, but it could be! I think it was an ask, but someone mentioned Calvin saving Jason from Joker after the Court had him watch Joker. So it could very well be inspired off that.

Damian or Steph could technically also be the other bird, but I really haven't seen you mention them, so really low hopes on that.

Personally, the most interesting, and most complicated, way to explore the "little birds in little graves" thing would be to explore how that applies to ALL of them. How being Robin is a sacrifice, a burial, of youth and innocence had before. I know Gotham isn't a great place, but the Robins have definitely seen more than the average Gotham kid.

I have many thoughts on this title, and what it could mean. I do know for sure, it will probably make me cry.

Hehe yes my first thought reading through half of your ask was “awe, why assume there’s only two birds and two graves?” Especially because Bruce has so many birds flying around. 🤭 although, arguably, we could say that Dick wouldn’t need his own grave because he’s .1 seconds away from crawling in beside Jason anyway. 👀

I love your thoughts on the title btw! And I’m DYING to share the contents with you guys but first we need to build some more suspense 😩

Rest assured though, Tim is going to feature a lot more frequently in the series from now on. ✨ I’m really going to put our poor “Replacement” Robin through the (proverbial) wringer, wahahahaha!!! 😈

As for Calvin… well, we’ll just have to wait and see. But one thing is for sure, the Court of Owls isn’t as “destroyed” as everyone suspected 😌🦉

[sunflowersandink]

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

awww man. this is legit an impossible question for me to answer, there are SO many I love for so many different reasons.

I think if I had to pick one artist it would be @silk-scarlet-ribbons - the way they capture movement and character and expression is just absolutely unparalleled to me, every work of hers just slots into its own little spot in my brain that I didn’t realize was empty.

A lot of my favorite works of theirs are discord exclusives that won’t make a lot of sense without an entire AU’s worth of context, but here’s a great one that lives rent-free in my head - featuring Jason dressing up in his old Robin outfit at the request of de-aged/clone baby Dickiebin. The sharp affection in Jason’s face? The absolutely cherubic energy Dickiebin is exuding? The way Dick’s little hands wrap around Jason’s wrist? The pixie boots? Perfect. Showstopping. Incredible. NO one is doing it like Scar is.

I also think I have to include @ky-landfill in here - there’s absolutely no way I can pick one favorite piece (true for every one of these artists tbh), because everything they draw makes my heart ache in the very best of ways, but I have a ton of love for this piece

I’m just so attached to Jason and Cass getting to be siblings. I love how small she is beside him, I love the way his hair curls and the scars on his cheek, I love that he looks like a battered young man and looks so soft at the same time, with his arms held awkwardly like he’s not sure how to respond to being hugged. It’s just so. *ugh.* you know? I could stare at this for hours

And finally I’ve gotta shout out @amorkuku. this was the first work of theirs that I remember seeing, and oh my god I have not stopped cackling about it since

everything about it just catches me right in the funny bone. Kon’s stupid little delighted face and Tim’s entire everything as he gets dropped on his ass. Both of their •_• faces as the adults in their lives stare at them in disappointment. The way Clark looks so concerned and Bruce manages to look so tired with minimal facial expression. It’s a piece of comedic genius, and everything else this artist has ever done, especially a lot of their recent Dami and Jason comics has been an absolute goddamn delight. If I could buy a collection of their works in a physical book like I did with Wayne Family Adventures I would do it in a heartbeat

God there are SO many more works that spark joy but if I keep going we will literally be here all day <333

[fantastic-nonsense]

i don't know if you've already made a post about this but what comic(s) do you think have the best characterisation of cassandra cain and dick grayson?

My instinctive response to this ask was to just answer "Prodigal and Batgirl (2000)" and be on my way. Instead, I took a little bit more time to think about what my answer should be and what information might be useful to people looking for comics featuring a well-characterized Dick and Cass. So, with that said:

Dick:

Robin: Year One (2000)

New Teen Titans/Tales of the Teen Titans (1980 & 1984)

Batman: Year Three (1989)

Batman: Prodigal (1997)

Titans Vol. 1 (1999)

Nightwing/Birds of Prey: The Hunt for Oracle (2000)

Gotham Knights (2000) #1-12

Peter Tomasi's run on Nightwing (1996)

Batman: The Black Mirror (2010)

Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

Listen. All of these comics have their flaws. Many of them feature dated and occasionally poor treatment of various characters/social issues. I'm still holding a grudge against Devin Grayson for her Nightwing run and will until the end of time, and thus the inclusion of Titans Vol. 1 and her first Gotham Knights arcs might seem a bit odd. But I also think this is a pretty solid list of comics that portray Dick in ways that feel consistent and faithful to his core characterization; they're also some of the comics that feature Dick at his best.

Cass:

Batgirl (2000): specifically the Puckett/Scott run (#1-37) and the Gabrych run (#38 & #58-73)

Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive (2003)

Gates of Gotham (2011)

Tynion's run on Detective Comics (2016)

Batman and the Outsiders (2019)

Batgirl Vol. 1 was and continues to be the golden standard of how to portray Cass. She's never reached those heights again. Other comics featuring Cass wish they were Batgirl Vol. 1, but it was a true "lightning in a bottle" run that has yet to be replicated. That being said: Murderer/Fugitive (which takes place during Cass's Batgirl run) is great, and Gates of Gotham features the only solid pre-reboot Cass characterization post-Evil Cass arc.

Post-Flashpoint!Cass is a bit of a different animal, but within the context and limitations placed on her appearances until Dan Didio's departure from DC in 2020, she's best characterized and treated in Detective Comics Rebirth and Batman and the Outsiders.

Honorable mentions: these comics either weren't quite on the same level of "good characterization" to make the list or just didn't highlight the character as much as they could have, but I still really like what the creative team did with them in the space they were given:

Dick: Nightwing (1996) #6 (for being a fun depiction of Dick and Tim's early-days relationship), Teen Titans (2003) #6 (great characterization of Dick. So-so characterization of...several other characters), The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul (I love Dick's characterization here, and it's one of my favorite Bat books, but he's just not in it all that much), and Batman & Robin (2009), which...I'll get into my complicated feelings about Morrison's B&R run some other time, but generally: I like Dick's characterization in this comic a lot in isolation. It becomes much more difficult to square, however, when you take everything else going on during the Reborn era into account.

Cass: Mariko Tamaki's Shadows of the Bat: The Tower (2021) event and "Sounds" short from the DC Asian Superhero Celebration (2021) anthology. They're nice and have some great Cass moments, but they're either too short (Sounds) or too focused on other characters/the overall plot (The Tower) to truly do her justice.

[temperamentalaquarius]

any thoughts on batman: black mirror? i really enjoyed it (as a non-batfamily fan) but i'm wondering if there is a difference of opinion with people who are actually acquainted with the context behind black mirror, i guess. which parts did you find the strongest + which parts did you find the weakest?

anyways, im a huge fan of your comics-posting (which is both, in the best way, entertaining and insightful). have a great day!

Ahhh thank u!! I'm glad I'm not the only one having fun 😁!!!

Thank you so much for sending this, I loved the dick!bats era and I liked The Black Mirror!!

I thought it was a decent Dick story, and I loved that it had Babs and Tim as the supporting cast. It was good to see them back(mostly) in their 90s early 2000s element.

I thought that the A plot was better than the serial killer B plot-; it had a lot of personal connection for Dick without being about the Graysons and orcas(which are some of the most vicious and borderline cruel predators that terrify me to my core and it was really cool to see them get some use)- even if I didn't find the ending super satisfying.

I thought James was interesting, and his story was more linear but the addition of the Joker into the situation was kind of just...messy and not entirely necessary? It kind of killed it for me. Idk I might just have Joker fatigue. I did like the coloring and a good portion of the art better in that part of the story, tho. I thought the mood they set was really cool and a little scary.

My high points were all (unsurprisingly) character based:

I loved the way Tim saving Dick from his own shit here

Kinda paralleled this scene in NW 96

But more mature. Watching them go from Dick mentoring Tim to them having a much more balanced relationship where Tim can fully have Dick's back has always been super satisfying and seeing it making a come back after their little fallout was cool

I also like the attention paid to the differences in Bruce and Dick's philosophy (specifically here:

) and the difficulty that Batman presents Dick because of it. Part of the appeal of Dick being Batman is the reluctance and the chunk of flesh it takes out of him and I think this story really got the tone of that right. He's making mistakes that he wouldn't normally, he's not sleeping; you can really tell that everything is getting to him. He feels like the walls are closing in on him with no way out (sometimes literally) and it makes the whole story kind of..weary? It's as much man vs man as it is man vs self. Love that many of the action sequences in the book happen in enclosed places that have an unstoppable deadly force converging on him with no way out and how that emphasizes the theme

OH and my absolute favorite analogy for the mindset that dick operates w/ is in this book

And how that works with his parents rules for survival

There's like... a debate on whether Dick plans or if he acts on instinct and I like the way that this breaks it down to: yes, he's planning from the start and if it seems like he isn't it's because that's what he wants you to think- but he understands that leaving space to bob and weave is a part of that process. Ultimate planner that is liable to start behaving erratically as fuck at any moment is such a fun look

Favorite fight was probably the horror forward snap at the auction, with honorarable mentions going to Dick v.s the compactor, Dick v.s. the orca, and of course Dick v.s. The bends

Worst was by far this one:

There is no way he should've been able to waltz into Babs' hideout without her knowing I'm so sorry it's just not realistic, like, that's Barbara Gordon???

[wormsin]

if tim’s favorite robin is jason now, does this mean he was no longer present in the canon of watching dick grayson’s parents die? i always thought it was offputting how they shoehorned tim into dick’s trauma event in such a voyeuristic manner to make him relevant to the story….he saw the first robin’s parents die and decides later that jason todd will always be his favorite? can you just imagine tim thinking “yeah it was so traumatic for ME to watch ur parents died and robin was originally a petname ur mum gave you when you were a little baby but jason is my fave robin hehe 😉 “

I don't actually have the context for Tim saying his favorite Robin is Jason but tbh. it's fine. Jason died a horrible death as Robin, he can have this.

it doesn't make sense for Tim to be at the Grayson's deaths, he would have to be like 2-3yo and that's still stretching ages. but iirc, he figures out Robin is Dick Grayson because he recognized an acrobat move Robin did as the same Dick Grayson did. Tim figuring out their identities is pretty important so we have to make this Fixation on the Flying Graysons make sense. I HC Tim was there, didn't really remember it more than a few impressions, researched the Grayson's when he was older and found some rare footage, voila. he had a crush/obsession with Dick Grayson of the Flying Graysons and that translated to being very starry eyed with Dick Grayson when they actually met, in a way that was definitely uncomfortable for Dick, but Tim was a child and I don't see Dick holding that against him.

anyway I don't think there's really a contradiction to Tim being present at the Graysons' death and thinking that Jason is his 'favorite Robin'. what I think is weird is writers pushing *even more* people into that death scene retroactively. like. come on.

[zeroducks-2]

Reading your answer on why Clark is still friends with Bruce despite everything is depressing, despite all the meta reasoning to know that the symbol of hope and optimism takes abuse and won’t stop abuse is….sad.

It is, right? I agree that it is kinda depressing. But ultimately comicbook characters are influenced by who writes them.

There's a lot of stuff my blorbos did that I don't like. From Tim being sexist to Stephanie, to Slade being creepy and weird to Rose, Dick making racist jokes, Bruce arguing that his violent approach is the only one that works, Clark himself being condescending to Lois when she does "foolish woman things", and many more.

I highly recommend anyone not to hold their favorite character as paragon of morality, regardless if they're heroes or villains. Characters don't have agency and are subjected to what their writer will want them to say and how they will want them to act, and we can argue that "it's OOC" all we want but at the end of the day we WILL be disappointed if we treat fictional people as role models.

Seriously anon, the secret of fandom happiness - beside blocking bullies - is to stop wanting our blorbos to be paragons of "good things", whether it's hope, justice, righteousness, what have you, because ultimately these concepts change according to the time period, the context, the writer(s), the interpretations, and are influenced by a million other things. They're treated like sempiternal concepts but in fact the precise definition of them will vary from person to person, even in the exact same context and time period.

And by the way, like it happens for many other things, Clark not preventing Bruce from abusing his Robins isn't Clark's failure, it's the writers and executive's failure in creating a good narrative around the fact that Bruce is a toxic douchebag who hurts the people he loves.

[gffa]

10, 13, 14 for DC? My answers are pit madness, Tim Drake or Jason Todd, and Cass using ASL. I’m curious to hear your hot takes lol

10. worst part of fanon Ohhhhh, how do I choose. I oscillate a lot with various ones, but my current least favorite fanon thing is the hyersexualizing/objectification of Dick Grayson. A lot of fandom is really, really good about not doing this! But the focus on his ass as a selling point of the character is not suddenly great and wonderful just because we're doing it to a man now instead of a woman. The character himself is not overtly sexualizing--he's flirty (but how much of that is just that he's friendly and charming?) and he clearly likes sex, but he does so in the context of genuine relationships, and neither he nor the other characters really focus on his body parts, and I'm not super comfortable when fandom does it. (To be fair, I think we need to unpack the way women are treated in comics waaaaaay more than we need to focus on Dick's character's treatment, but also I just don't think I'll ever be onboard with it, either.) 13. worst blorboficiation YOU ARE GOING TO GET ME IN TROUBLE but it absolutely is Tim. And I'm not entirely opposed, in the sense that my Blorboifcation is my jam when I'm doing it, you know? So why shouldn't the exact same thing apply to other characters? Let them Blorboize their Blorbos to their hearts content! But I do find myself sliding right off a lot of Tim fic that doesn't let him be a horrible little gremlin man who is just as obnoxious and stubborn as the rest of his family, who is capable of making mistakes or doing some really fucked up things because he knows they're necessary. Tim is allowed to go through rough patches and not come out having handled them perfectly, he is allowed to push people away, to be unfair to people, to have his entire world upended and be less than perfect, while still being sympathetic because baby boy was Going Through It and needs more love. There's a lot of fic that I've read that has great Blorboification of Tim, I am so down for exploring his issues with self-worth, I've just also seen it go overboard a lot in a way that's not for me. (And they would probably say the exact same thing about my Blorboification and they'd probably be equally right! 😂) 14. that one thing you see in fics all the time Sooooo many fanon nicknames! And that's not necessarily a bad thing, many of them are ones that I enjoy (I will fight anyone who tries to take away "baby bat", SHUT UP, I LOVE THAT ONE), I just kind of want to side-eye people sometimes and check, "We all know we're making this up and it's not really how the comics characters usually talk to each other, right?" before we get right back to using them anyway because they're fun.

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

Battle Royal

First posted: June 8, 2018

Focuses on: The BatFam as seen by Clark Kent

My favorite bookmark: "Good grief this is perfect"

Tier: Bottom half at best in terms of metrics

This is my "behind the scenes" series where I indulge myself frightfully by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Thoughts below the cut.

The title is on purpose. It's a pun. Not a battle royale but a literal battle royal, since it's a battle of pop princesses.

I got the idea for this one at work. I don't remember if it came from a conversation with my single coworker who also loved BatFam (and didn't know I wrote fic), or if we had a separate conversation and the creative juices kept flowing after I went back to my cube. I just know where I was when the pieces came together. (And then I had to jot note in my phone and wait because there was no time to write at work.)

Clark Kent was a firm believer that a home was imprinted by the emotions of its family. Step in the front door and the atmosphere of a place would fill your lungs and whisper secrets in your ear about the lives of the people who claimed it. Not all buildings could speak like this, or even all houses, but homes? Homes spoke.

This was my first time writing Clark. This was not my first time—or last—starting a fic with a bunch if philosophic rambling. It's kind of my thing at this point. Sorrynotsorry I guess.

Clark had felt the change again when Dick had left, storming off in high dudgeon to Bludhaven and Nightwing. 

I still haven't figured out how much of Dick's growing-up involved fights and tension and genuine falling out vs. just... the regular strain of adulthood and change. I waffle. In many ways, the Manor was far more expressive than its owner, and Clark appreciated the aid it gave in decoding the veritable sphinx he called a friend. In times of crisis, the bits Clark gleaned from the Manor gave him context and insight. In times of tranquility, he basked in the confirmation that all was well.

I like fics that play with the Manor as an Entity. This is as close as I've gotten to doing that myself. Bless Clark, he needs all the help he can get.

Clark and Bruce sat in the den, quiet conversation forgotten, as they listened to the brawl happening several doors down and a floor away.

I hate spatial orientation. Hate hate hate it. Trying to figure out where things and people should be and then keeping track of it all is such a headache.

It was a source of endless mystery to Clark how Bruce could stalk out of a room in chinos and a turtleneck and still somehow leave the impression of a cape billowing in his wake. Clark had asked Lois once if he was capable of doing the same thing. Lois had laughed herself nearly as blue as his tights.

So much googling of what rich people wear. And also what colors on Superman's costume go where.

There's a typo in this fic. I see it. I am not fixing it because that would tempt me to fix other things. But I see it. My fingertips itch.

Clark had once had the misfortune of pulling Damian out of a brawl. Damian had bit him. The bite hadn’t even left teethmarks, of course, but both Damian and Clark had been so embarrassed that it had taken weeks before the Waynes and Kents could get together without the teasing driving both participants into a full-body blush.

I forgot about this part. I am delighted with myself.

Clark raised one eyebrow, one Kon often used and Tim would be able to decipher with ease. What in the world? Clark was less fluent in Wayne-speak—Bruce wasn’t known for his communication skills, verbal or non—but he caught the gist as Tim widened his eyes slightly, gave his head a small shake, and then shrugged one shoulder eloquently. No frikkin’ idea.

My whole family is decently skilled at this. I remember being little and watching my parents communicate across a room and being so intrigued by the entire exchange. So of course I gave it to the Waynes and of course if Bruce does it, Clark would have learned at least a little.

Though not shouted, Bruce’s command was forceful enough that all four boys startled. Clark came close as well but managed to stop himself. When Bruce sounded that much like a dad, sometimes it was hard not to react like a kid.

I like this line, too.

Honestly, there were sometimes when Dick seemed like the metahuman instead of Clark. After all, Clark might be able to lift an airplane over his head, but could he bend over backward and look between his own feet? No, no he could not.

I just looked. Zootopia had been out a couple years by now, so the cadence makes sense. But also, this is just how I gripe at myself sometimes.

Dick shrugged and shifted his weight. Jason howled with rage as a window-rattling fart blasted in the general direction of his face. “Boys!” Now Bruce sounded more exasperated than stern, and Clark choked down laughter. “Dick, get off your brother. Jason, don’t stab Dick.”

This may be the most juvenile and cartoonish of all my fics. I am unashamed.

“Do you mean to tell me that you destroyed your grandmother’s Neoclassical coffee table over a disagreement over teenie-bopper pop stars?”

More googling about expensive furniture. Likely while sitting on my own IKEA couch.

I also had to do so much pop star googling. Dick's and Jason's points are pulled directly from some article somewhere that was trying to argue who was the best. But also, note, my first profanity, because "It's Britney, bitch" had to be done. It just had to.

To the side, Tim lifted a finger. “Uh, I like Mil—”

Obviously, Dick and Jason are the two older children, and at the time I wrote them at closer in age than the others (not what I do now), so they got the 90s pop queens, which meant Tim's and Damian's picks needed to be more modern. Tim's had to be cringe, so tada. Miley Cyrus.

“Miss Grande has a four-octave range and more class in her perfectly sculpted pinky finger than you have in your entire stunted body, and you will speak of her with respect.”

Now in 2023 I wish I'd given Damian a less problematic idol, but she made sense at the time. Also the aforementioned coworker was a stan, so it felt appropriate.

A solid hour of yelling was a therapeutic experience, much more so than, say, getting into a fistfight with a chainsmoker dressed like a flightless bird.

Gotham is such an absurd place, when you really think about it.

“I don’t understand modern music anymore. It’s all double-step and rat traps.” 

Dubstep and trap music, Bruce. Dubstep and trap music.

“Give me Debbie Gibson any day.” “Huh,” Clark mused as he passed his friend. “I always preferred Tiffany.”

More googling to find out who the Britney vs. Xtina were back in the day.

From somewhere deep in the Manor, Cassandra trilled, “Shakira, Shakiraaaaa!”

[spneveryseason]

so curious about batfamnatural! would love to hear your thoughts on comparing the brothers to the robins

Well predictably for me the sibling relationships are both my favorite bit and what I think is the most interesting bit of both stories. I think there are so many interesting points of comparison here, like the fact that essentially all these siblings aren’t just siblings right? They’re coworkers and colleagues in the holy war their fathers are fighting against the nature of evil & were recruited as children due to their specific interactions with & consequences of those Evils, & anything with these kinds of traumas makes familial relationships kind of fraught. “Kind of fraught” is kind of an understatement with both the batkids & the Winchesters so that’s always fun and interesting to explore.

And if we’re going with more specific comparisons to just the robins I think there’s a lot there we can talk about. If there’s one example that sticks out to me, I’ve said before in my dms to Tristan (hi bestie) that I think Dick & Jason is what happens if Sam was the eldest sibling and Dean the younger, not necessarily because those character match up one to one but because I think their roles & reactions to those responsibilities track. Like I think Dick is famously The One Who Leaves (And Comes Back More Devoted Than Ever) and Jason is famously The One Who Dies and Sam and Dean both slot really well into those roles wrt the at they react to their roles in the family and in the larger mission that they find themselves needing to grapple with. Of course Jason is also the “this life is kind of fucked up” guy and Dick is the “this is the necessary evil” guy so like I said it’s not one to one but if Sam had been the eldest I think he would’ve had a very similar journey in his relationship to his dad & siblings as Dick did, and vice versa being the case with Dean. This also makes Tim Adam I guess which is also kind of hilarious to think about in a haha funny and a haha sad way.

I also think the very concept of sibling hood/brotherhood is interesting to compare bc Sam and Dean being raised from birth together in the same house at the same time & having a very solid and specific definition of siblinghood versus the batfam (if we’re talking robins: dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, Damian) essentially arriving independently of each other and different points in the story and intersecting at very different times in their lives with very different relationships with Bruce provide a different context for being siblings. Like all these people definitely don’t have the same definition of family & also don’t necessarily see everyone else as family (Steph, for example, probably does not consider herself part of that inner batfam, and Bruce never really treated her like one) and so this impacts the way they view everyone else. And when compared to the winchesters very specific definition of family and what that means, there’s a lot going on there what it comes to duty and conflict and family etc etc

[cleromancy]

i love this issue (gotham knights 15) for tim, bc the way it plays with a lot of the major tim character elements at the time (tim not wanting to be a superhero forever, tim navel-gazing about what he can even *do* for the bats, tim struggling with the fact that he has a stable home life with jack and dana and what that means for his place with the bats) while also exploring one of my favorite things about tim as a member of the team--

the context here is that bruce told ivy he wasn't going to negotiate with her, refused to engage with any of her talking points, and gave her an ultimatum. this obviously did not work. he then sends tim out instead, and tim immediately does the exact opposite:

tim can be *flexible*.

we do see bruce knocking ivy out after this, but the impression is that if he hadnt shown up in time tim would have let her go to save the hostages. moreover, where bruce was unwilling to entertain her arguments just bc shes "a terrorist" and "has hostages" or whatever, 🙄, tims willing to meet her where shes at and accept that plant life is as important to her as human life.

the issue also explores tims insecurity which like. i do want to disclaim to you, dear reader, that tim is also pretty confident. tim is at times a cocky little jerk. normally when im talking about what's in one story i dont try and disclaim every characterization choice every other writer has ever made, but rather focus on what that specific writer was doing with the character. (character analysis in terms of the larger narrative and collective whole is also fun, but thats not what im doing rn.) but i do think its important context here that tim does not have an especially low opinion of himself at this time, but rather understands that the others are extraordinary in a way he himself was not.

the context is just that tim accidentally sent this email to bruce and asked if he could go delete it before bruce read it.

you may also note, dear reader, tim saying the thing about bruce having "enough to deal with" without having to read tims email; tims done this repeatedly in gk, where he downplays his own emotions or apologizes for bugging someone with his concerns. what it comes down to is being *highly* preoccupied with his place on the team, his role among them, what he was bringing to the table, and not wanting to let--or drag--anyone down.

(there is also context that bruce told tim he sent him after ivy bc he believed tims approach would work bc it would be different than bruces own, and an issue or two before this dick and azrael talk about how much they like him. tim is not actually uniquely underappreciated or anything.)

anyw. good stuff.

[lazaruspiss]

your ship, character and fandom opinions are so based. i'm also a poly robin shipper so it's nice to see there are more of us here. anyway, i'd love to hear what are your all time favorite dc ships and why, and if you have any headcanons (sfw and nsfw) about them. or you can just ramble about any fic ideas you have, the ones you've mentioned already are very interesting.

thank u for the compliments and also the many things to talk about!! <3 mwah! (readmore added bc of length)

picking a favorite ship is so hard, because im a multishipper and real big on leaving my options open so that i have the most opportunity in any given story!! like, brudick and sladick are both ones i love for dark stories, but they each give such different angles and paths that you can take. all combinations of robins are dear to me for different reasons. and even within the context of one ship, i can usually come up with a lot of different directions that they can go it!!

i can't even say "X is my favorite for Y types of stories" because with a good pairing theres so much you can do with a variety of types of stories!! so. def cant pick a favorite, but i can list some that i like! they mostly involve Dick, bc my biases are quite obivious, lol.

Dick ships: Bruce, Slade, Talia, Slade/Talia, Tim, Jason, Steph, Damian (but it depends a lot on context, i see Dick as being very careful about not taking advantage), any poly robins combo, Slade/Rose, Tara

other ships: Slade/Rose, Slade/Talia, any robins together, Bruce/Talia (but only if Talia is having daddy issues about it), Nyssa/Talia (Nyssa repeatedly kills and revives her to make her understand her anger at Ra's. the rituals. they're intricate i swear-)(but also in arkham knight Nyssa compares her love for Talia to Bruce's explicitly romantic love for Talia and i've never been normal about that), any combo of the Al Ghuls tbh they're so mentally ill about each other

so uhhhhhh. really you could pitch any Dick ship at me and get me talking. if anyone wants to ask about that list ur welcome to lol

fic ideas!!! i have some shorter ones, like a Blackfire/Robin non-con based on that one scene from tt03, but i kinda wanna take this chance to ramble about my longer ideas!

u may have seen some of these, but i have a series called "days without incident" which is a bunch of shorter than usual fics stringing together random semi canon compliant scenes of Dick being in dangerous sexual situations, which are eventually going to end in a rlly angsty fic of Dick being assaulted and just accepting it. it sounds dark, and it is, but due to the length and format they really just serve as quick writing warm-ups more than anything.

DIDick AU. a friend of mine has been on the receiving end of so many DMs of me fleshing out these alter OCs, to the point that it would feel weird if I didn't write anything for it. the problem is that when I think about it, it all revolves around characters and there's no real plot line to use for it. I could just rant about it, bc figuring out what I want to do for a story about them is really tricky. it's also tough bc it's a teeny bit more personal than I usually go for. do /I/ have DID? unclear. I probably wouldn't tell you either way. anyways, it's an idea i want to more with but it's just more complicated to work on than most others.

suicide fic. "Where The Dead Stay Dead", title in reference to this being in a "Jason Stays Dead AU". i want to take a sort of dark comedy direction, but i have trouble controlling how the tone ends up when I write. Dick tries to kill himself post Jason's death + many other bad times but Slade just happens to pop in to try and bother him that day, and is uh. he doesn't know how to feel about it, the kid dying in front of him, but he drags Dick to a safe house and does some made-up comic book science fuckery to give Dick his healing factor. Dick is not very happy about this when he wakes up. the rest of the story follows an arrangement where Dick searches for a way to perma die and is generally a depressed grumpy bitch about everything, and Slade secretly tries to get him to stop doing that while trying to figure out a way to revive Jason. whichever ends up being easier. a lot of it would probably just be about Slade feeling lost with this "new" version of Dick, as well as the two of them swapping stories about dead loved ones and learning how to mourn.

timcel fic. that was the placeholder title, before i settled on "Nature's Order (As Told From Alpha To Beta)", but i still call it the timcel fic for short <3 the alpha in that title is Ra's, and the beta is Tim. the kick off for the story is that Ra's kidnaps omega Dick to use as a human incubator bc he and Talia had a spat that's left him heir-less, and he kidnaps Tim to make Dick more compliant. it's a really extreme take on "right wing alpha male pipeline, but omegaverse". it's gonna be a lot of bad times for Dick <3 i've talked about it so much with my friend that one time they mentioned basing smth partially off of Nature's Order Tim, and I think that's a good sign that I should really be writing this properly at this point. I have started chapter one! but bc it's gonna be a long one I want to get three chapters done before I start posting, bc having a few extra chapters written will help with my nerves a bit.

[incorrectbatfam]

Okay okay if you insist, sheesh.

The thing about most batkids band AUs is that they either 1) exclude half the family or 2) try to cram everyone onstage. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with the second one—a number of real bands work that way—but in this case, it feels forced and becomes a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. So I'm gonna give you my take, because this is literally my world.

We'll divide the roles into three groups: the ones in the limelight, the behind-the-scenes musicmakers, and the non-musical crew. All are equally important, so don't take this as favoritism or me sidelining anyone. Also, keep in mind that none of these are mutually exclusive. A lot of roles are cross-disciplinary and people go back-and-forth or fulfill multiple roles.

Let's actually start with the crew. These are the non-musicians that, realistically, would be a full crew of people, but let's just ignore that for now.

Tim would be all over the visuals. Yes, the music is first and foremost, but things like album covers, promo material, and merch design are just as important—the merch is actually a huge portion of revenue in the industry. Yes, you could argue that Damian is good at drawing, but this is really about visual arrangement, and who better than a photographer? I can see him drafting different designs and playing with Photoshop to capture the band's vibes. I could also see him doing something adjacent like concert photos/recording or editing music videos.

Harper isn't the only one good with gadgets, but I'd argue she has a unique perspective when it comes to engineering, making her perfect for practical effects, such as in music videos or onstage. More importantly, though, she can think on her feet and come up with the exact fix before the problem unfolds. This is especially important during live shows, where a minor mishap can quickly spiral. I think that her knowing her limits can actually lend to her getting creative and having more fun with confetti cannons, pyrotechnics, or animatronics if she so chooses.

Now to the second group: the ones behind the music.

Damian would be the key songwriter. Being a classical musician means that he'd have a solid grasp on composition and music theory, and all songwriters play an instrument of some kind. But that's not the main draw. Damian comes from two different worlds—the League of Assassins and Gotham. I think that would reflect in his songwriting style, combining tradition with modern influences. It would additionally reflect the band because everyone in the batfamily has similarly distinct before-and-after stages of their life. Also, I don't think he'd enjoy performing outside a narrow set of contexts, and a rock band wouldn't be on his list.

Duke is a poet, so I think he'd make sense as a lyricist. In canon, he and Damian work really well together, which is an important part of the process. The key to good lyrics, though, is knowing who you're speaking to. Duke takes his time to understand each batfamily member, so even if he hasn't lived their experiences, he can translate them into song. And although music is about self-expression, there is still the audience to consider. Duke has his ear to the ground. He knows what people care about and what needs to be said, and he's also not afraid to call out the powers that be.

Barbara would be a good producer, and not just because she's tech-savvy. As Oracle, she is coordinating a ton of moving pieces without losing her cool. She has to keep track of tiny details without losing sight of the big picture. As a librarian, she has to catalogue meticulously and often do the same repetitive tasks. Being a producer is essentially a combination of the two. A lot of people would get overwhelmed with the toolbox a producer has, but I can picture Barbara taking one look and knowing exactly what to do.

Finally, we have the band itself.

Dick would be on lead guitar. And yes, I know every AU puts him in this role, but there's more. Canonically, he plays the guitar, but I think his personality is ultimately what would lend to his artistry. He'd have no problem taking center stage with guitar solos and would have the most memorable riffs. Also, he's not afraid to try new things and go big. Like, Discowing, much? Now imagine that energy channeled into experimenting with pedals, distortion, or alternate forms of picking and tuning. (EDIT bc I forgot: Dick would totally troll people with the Buddy Holly riff.)

Jason would be the bassist. Now, a lot of people view bass players as simply secondary to lead guitarists—some musicians even think this and it's kinda annoying. The way I see it, the bass and lead guitar fill in each other's blanks, and you could describe Jason and Dick's sibling relationship the same way. Jason isn't outwardly flashy like Dick, but he likes to show off on occasion, which a good bass hook allows for. Dick and Jason's dynamic is also built on contrast, which I can see Jason accomplishing through the right harmony or countermelody.

Cass would be the drummer. She is highly observant and physically coordinated, so the drums would come as second nature to her even when all four of her limbs are doing completely different things. Cass doesn't need to be in the spotlight for everyone to see her importance, and like a mission, a song wouldn't be as effective without her. Also, speaking as a drummer myself: we're actually the ones in charge—if I feel like playing at 200 BPM, the song is now 200 BPM.

And lastly, we have our vocalist: Steph. The difference between a good vocalist and a great one is confidence. Steph brings that. She's confident, upbeat, and can turn the energy of a room. A good stage presence and knowing how to interact with the audience is important—reading the room, getting them excited, and injecting humor or seriousness into the right spots. A lot of vocalists also play another instrument (the synth seems to be popular), so I can totally see Steph doing that as a way to augment the sound and have fun.

One note and I'll give you my longwinded take on the batkids rock band AU concept