#also Cass should be here somewhere

[horsechestnut]

Reverse Robins!

But specifically Stephanie and Tim (with a little Jason added when it's relevant).

Note: I'm of the opinion that in Reverse Robin AUs they wouldn't actually use Robin as their code name, but for convince and clarity's sake I will be using it here.

Damian is gone. He left in a blaze of anger. They'd fought before, but this time came with a finality Bruce doesn't known how to handle.

Batman is spiraling. Without Damian around there's no need to be Bruce Wayne, no reason not to follow one more lead before turning in. No young eyes looking to him to be an example. Nothing to keep him from beating the bad guys into a comma.

Tim Drake has been watching Bruce Wayne for awhile. He's been watching Batman for longer. He saw the turn, the way the Wayne Foundation is slowly being corrupted without Bruce's over site, and the more extreme injuries criminals are coming in with. He looks at Bruce Wayne and Batman, and the man behind them both and thinks "Yeah, I can fix that." Maybe it's teenage nativity, maybe it's a drive to do something good, maybe it's the need to be in control of something in his life. Whatever it is, he acts on it.

Bruce doesn't want to let Tim be Robin. Damian was his son, and a trained assassin, Tim is a random kid with no formal training. But Tim is a random kid who figured out his identity and is actively blackmailing him with it, so he doesn't have many options.

Batman and Robin are back together. Bruce Wayne is back in board meetings. The criminals are getting a lot less bruises. Robin is far more impressive than Batman ever would have guessed he could be. Tim is falling asleep in math class, but he already knows it all anyway so it's barely worth mentioning.

There's a new vigilante in Gotham. One who sets a dangerous precedent. It's one thing for Batman to have allies, it's another for outside agents to start taking matters into their own hands. Especially when they're untrained teenagers who are looking for personal vengeance.

He does everything he can to get Spoiler to quit. He tells himself it's not just about his personal dislike of her, it's for the sake of every other misguided kid who might try to follow her lead.

He fails.

The Joker attacks Robin. He doesn't kill him, he has a worse fate in mind. He takes Batman's prodigy and makes him his own. Tries to prove that even the Bat's closest ally can be corrupted if he has a bad enough day. He succeeds, and for one terrifying night The Batman faces off against Joker Jr.

Tim survives, but he's not the same. It takes months for his injuries to heal, and even then he's haunted by what Joker turned him into. Terrified that he could snap again at the wrong moment. He tells Bruce he can't be in the field anymore, it's to big of a risk. He promises Batman he'll find another way to help.

Cluemaster is dead. He died on a suicide mission. No matter how Steph feels about it personally, logically she knows Gotham is safer without him around. Part of her can't help being relieved, and she doesn't hate that part of herself as much as she knows she should. There's no longer any need for The Spoiler.

There's an opening for Robin and Steph wants the job. Wants to prove she can do it. That she's just as good as Tim. That she's not her father. That she can make a father proud.

Batman doesn't want Stephanie. He wants Tim. But maybe Stephanie is a way to get there. To make Tim jealous enough to come back.

Bruce tells himself it's for Tim's own good. Stephanie's too. Tim needs the push, needs to be Robin again so he can overcome his fear about being the field. And Stephanie needs the training, and the focus now that Cluemaster is gone.

Robin tries, she really does. She does everything Batman asks of her, always. Except once. And once is all it takes. Robin is fired, but as she leaves the cave Stephanie grabs on to one last desperate chance to prove herself. Batman never intended for the file to be used, but Stephanie doesn't know that. Batman didn't tell her. He never told her anything.

The war that erupts is unlike anything Gotham has ever seen.

Damian comes home. It's not for Bruce. It's for Gotham, for the city that took him in despite everything.

Batman isn't listening to Oracle. He's cutting him off, overriding his systems, and treating him like nothing more than a glorified phone operator. Tim can't just do nothing. Not when his city is burning.

Black Mask captures Spoiler, and nobody notices.

Robin is back on the scene. He's reluctant at first, but once he starts it's like a switch flips. The moves are second nature, the danger is exhilarating. It isn't a game, but part of him can't help relishing it all the same. He can't remember why he stopped.

Spoiler manages to get free. She manages to ambush Black Mask. She manages to pin him to the ground, gun pointed at his head. But Steph can't pull the trigger. Two months ago she would have, but now Batman's voice is in her head. She can't let him down. Not again.

Stephanie hesitates, and in that moment Black Mask breaks her hold. He gets his gun back. There's no moral code running though the back of his head. He doesn't hesitate.

Gotham is safe. Batman did his job. Damian is back. Robin is in the field again. But Bruce is haunted by what happened. Damian is injured, Tim has nightmares, and Stephanie...

Jason Todd isn't new to being poor. He knows how to be hungry, how to fend for himself. But he is new to being homeless. The gang war left lots of kids in the Narrows orphaned, of course some of them were going to fall through the cracks, and Jason happens to be one of them. Maybe it's for the best. He's heard how the Gotham Foster System treats kids. Maybe he's better off on his own. He just needs to find a way to make some money.

Batman descends with all the furry he's been holding in. But instead of an overconfident car thief, he finds a twelve year old boy desperately clutching a tire iron, trying to seem angry instead of scared.

Bruce recognizes something in him that he can't fully explain. He takes Jason back to the manor. Gives him a home. Does everything he can to keep him away from the cave.

That lasts about two weeks.

Jason wants to give back to his community, to make sure kids don't have to deal with the shit he had to deal with. He wants to thank Bruce for helping him. He wants to be nothing like his dad. He wants to make his new father proud.

Damian is against it. Tim is against it. Bruce is against it. Jason is insistent. He decides to take matters into his own hands, to steal an old Robin suit and sneak out after the others have left. It doesn't go well. He thinks he's blown his chance, but to his surprise Batman relents. If he doesn't Jason will find a way to do it on his own, and he won't let another kid go out untrained.

Tim goes back to Oracle. The way he felt the night of the gang war still scares him sometimes, reminds him to much of Batman back when they first met. Guilt washes over him whenever ever he thinks about it. How happy he'd been, all well Steph...

He should have been in the Clock Tower that night. Should have been keeping better tabs on all of them. He should have known she was missing in action, should have been monitoring her suit's location or trying to reach out instead of just listening when Batman said not to involve her. So if there's a new kid running around in the suit, their suit, he's going to make sure this one is safe.

Robin is good. Really good. He's to angry, he's rash, he's impulsive. But he learns fast, and he seems to almost fly over Gotham. He fits the role in a way Tim never truly did.

Black Mask is dead, and someone else is using his name. Someone who's dismantling the Gotham underworld piece by piece.

Steph has a duty to the people she hurt, a duty Batman will never understand, and one she has to handle her way. Batman stopped the war, but he didn't stop the gangsters. He didn't stop Black Mask, or Scareface, or any of the others. It's not about what they did to her. She deserved it. It was her own fault. But so many others suffered because of them, because of her, and Batman did nothing to stop it. So she will.

Black Mask isn't planning to confront Batman. She doesn't care about him. She's done seeking his approval and following his rules. Doing that got her killed. It got other people killed. But there's another Robin running around, and someone needs to explain that. Steph knows by now that she was never really Robin, it was all just a trick to get Tim back. A trick that worked. So who the hell is this kid? Is he like Tim, someone Batman will keep safe, or is he just another pawn he'll sacrifice the second it's covenant? And when she finally gets around to asking, she lets more slip than she should have.

Batman knows the truth, but that's okay. It was only a matter of time before he did, and it doesn't change anything. Bruce tries to appeal to her, but what can he possibly say that could make a difference? That he's sorry?

He is, but it's to late for that. Stephanie knows the truth. She knows he never took her seriously. She knows he never trusted her. She knows it was all a game, and that in the end Batman got what he wanted even if not in the way he intended. And Bruce can't argue, because she's right. He created her, and he knows it.

Stephanie Brown is dead. She died in Leslie's clinic. She died because her doctor decided teaching Batman a lesson was worth more than her life. A lesson he didn't even bother to learn. She died because she listened to Batman even though he never bothered to listen to her. And she died because Batman used her as a chess piece. Because he wrote her off before she'd even properly begun.

Black Mask is not Cluemaster. She refuse to ever be her father. But she's not Batman either. He never gave her the chance to be. She's something else. Something between those two extremes. Something that's fully hers. She's going to protect the people Batman's to busy to care about, and if she has to kill a few people along the way, so be it. She's not playing by his rules anymore. She never will again.

Black Mask is Batman's greatest failure. Not because she died, but because he never took the time to teach her how to live.

Stephanie is Bruce's biggest regret. Not because she died, but because he didn't care about her until she did.

#stephanie brown #tim drake #reverse robins #red hood stephanie brown #oracle tim drake #reverse robins au #spoiler #the spoiler #robin iii #robin iv #red robin #bruce wayne #batman #jason todd #sorry for the length it kinda got away from me #i just have a lot of feelings about red hood/black mask Steph okay? #also Cass should be here somewhere #but there was already a lot going on and I wasn't sure what to do with her that would be different than canon #happy to answer questions if any part of this wasn't clear #it makes sense to me but I'm also aware it's been rotating in my head for two weeks so i've got insider info #batfam #batfamily #batfam au #batfamily au #fan fic #fan fiction #batfam fan fic #batfamily fan fic #i'm a rambling #dc

[vinelark]

I do this thing when I’m excited about a fanfiction where I start making fanfiction FOR the fanfiction

ANYWAYS I imagine that when the bats find out kon turned Tim down it goes something like

Batman - You turned him down?!

Hood- permission to kill him

Batman- no absolutely not …… I am going look this way and close my eyes tho so if something were to happen I couldn’t stop you 👀

HA yeah i imagine that in a world where tim did not get kidnapped and somehow did not have time to Pull Himself Together before facing everyone again, there would be a colony of bats making this their problem now.

#really i think the first thing bruce would do is show up outside clark’s window like What do you know about this. #dick would be like ummmmm something isn’t adding up here tbh #cass would be like put me in a room with them :) i will sort it out :) #meanwhile to borrow suedeuxnim’s phrasing bart is somewhere to the side chewing on furniture #also i did have to google what a collective of bats is called. should have known that one probably #asks #my fic

[villainanders]

what ages do you guys truth for the companions btw (idk which ones have canon ages i forgor <3) sound off in the tags or replies or w/e

#4 ME.... i think like 20 y/o ali and maybe like 25/26 year old zev and leli. im controversial i think morrigan is like 27 #and just emotionally stunted. i think wynne is late 60s early 70s and canon genuinely make a math mistake. sten and oghren are prob both #in their 40s #for da2 as of act 1 i put anders somewhere in 29-31 age range. bela at maybe 27/28. fenris around 25/26 and seb around there too. #merrill maybe 24ish and varric and aveline both in their mid-late 30s #for inq josie in her late 20s dorian at about 30 and sera at like 19/20 and cole also around there. bull maybe late 30s #solas early 40s (or so he seems..) cass like 45/46. and i know blackwall is probably on the older side of his 40s but i put him on the #younger side bc he already has an insane age gap with my trev lmao #if i forgot anyone here obviously i don't care about them and you should probably send me hate mail

[softersinned-arc]

@xfindingtrouble said: [ GLANCE ]:          cassandra glances at astoria while in a public setting to assure them they aren’t alone, and ground them in doing so.

Age and experience mean little, she has learned. Death is still death, and a wound will still bleed.

It might have been easier to bear if she could remember how to pray, but she has nothing to offer except the shamelessness of grief. Bargaining. Begging. As if the gods care what she has to say, or what she's willing to give. Death is still death. The wound keeps bleeding.

She feels sick and sore, all too aware of the earth beneath her, cold and hard and silent. How cruel, she thinks, how hateful. All the decades she's spent learning how to hear, learning how to understand, but the only sound to decipher now is the nervous movement within the temple. She hears the thunder of Pike's footsteps as though she were there with them. She hears the tremor in Keyleth's voice. She hears the rustle of wings.

And she still doesn't hear him.

Astoria draws her knees to her chest and bows her head. (Give him back, she wants to demand, give him back to me, to us, but the only god she knows how to address wouldn't listen.) The sun continues its climb through the sky, casting the world in a warm golden glow, and she pulls the hood of her coat up to protect her from its light.

She has no place here, so near to holy ground. Her back burns against the outer wall of the temple, and she wonders if her own death is a rot infecting the stone, the soil. If he won't have enough of a foothold to return because he's been touched so tenderly by a dead thing already. Trembling, gloved fingers interlace behind her head, elbows tucked in around her as if to create more of a shield.

"He's in there?"

The question startles her from her stillness; Astoria lifts her head, squinting in the early morning's light. She could recognize Cassandra by sound, by scent, before sight, and she notes belatedly that there are others here, too. Yennen. Guards.

Four in total, and she somehow missed their arrival.

Better things to listen for.

"Yes."

"Is he—?" Cassandra chokes before she can get the last word out, and Astoria aches.

"Yes."

"Oh." She swallows, hard, then looks towards the closed door. "Oh."

Astoria waits for her to scream, to wail, to collapse, but she only stands still, opening both hands as wide as she can before clenching her fists tightly enough to pierce the skin of both palms. The sweet smell of blood hits the air, and Astoria hardly notices.

When Cassandra speaks again, her voice is hoarse. "You didn't—?"

"I tried. I wanted to. I couldn't go through with it. He wanted to die human."

"Oh."

Say something else, Astoria wants to demand, hate me, blame me, scream at me, do something besides this, but Cassandra is every inch a leader. What space is there for grief in a crisis? It takes her a moment to realize that she wants the anger because she wants the absolution that follows.

"It wasn't my death to take away from him," Astoria says quietly, a little desperately, and when she lifts a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight, Cassandra wears an expression of absolute understanding.

How does that make it worse?

"Thank you," she says, so softly, so gently that Astoria thinks she might break.

The rising sun beats against her. She hasn't yet shaken the pain from crossing the temple's threshold to lay his body out on the table, and there are smears of blood dried and flaking under her eyes. (Take me instead, she wants to offer, but the only god she knows how to reach would never trade for something she's already deemed worthless.)

Thank you? For what? What has Astoria done worthy of thanks?

I didn't save them. I didn't avenge them. I didn't fulfill my promise to them. I held them while they grew cold. I smelled the decay in their body. Do you know what that's like? Smelling the person you love most in the world rotting in your arms? And I couldn't move. Couldn't cry out. I didn't save them. I can't even be in there with them now.

The sun still rises. Time still passes. The world doesn't have the decency to end when hers has. She closes her eyes, tips her head back against the wall, feels the unpleasant itch where the sun's light hits her face, albeit indirectly. Cassandra hesitates, then closes the distance between them, reaches down just enough to brush her fingers over Astoria's shoulder.

"I know." She's stepped away by the time Astoria opens her eyes, back towards Yennen and the guards, and for once Astoria doesn't want to be alone.

I have nothing to offer. She isn't even sure who she's addressing, only that she has to address someone. I have nothing worth so much.

In the temple, she hears Keyleth's voice quivering.

But Whitestone needs him and Cassandra needs him and Vox Machina needs him and all the world needs him.

Under one of the trees, she hears Cassandra let out a quiet, shaking breath.

I need him.

The light burns against her skin and she addresses the dawn, the creeping sun, the unseasonable warmth. What else is there to beg but this? Him? In Whitestone, where he planted the tree? In Whitestone, where Percy was born and changed and reborn again?

Please. She swears that for a moment the sunlight feels almost like a caress on her battered skin. I hadn't felt the sun without pain for years. Not until that night in my library. My laboratory. Drinking wine. Hearing him laugh. I felt so warm.

She hears panic in the temple but still she cannot hear the sound of his heart. She hears a soft cry from Cassandra but still she cannot hear the sound of his breath.

I'm so cold. I need them. I can't bear to lose them. I can't bear to be so cold. I'm not ready. Bring them home. Bring them back. Please. I need them. They're the sun, to me. They're summer. They're home.

She listens for an answer. She hears only silence. For several long minutes she doesn't move, and then she hears it.

The sound, fainter than any she's ever heard, the most beautiful thing in the world.

The warming of his blood.

The quiet and pained beating of his heart.

She lets out a strangled sound, inhuman and pained, and she covers her face with her gloved hands and she gives in to the dry, wracking sobs that shudder through her. At once Cassandra is moving, and she kneels in front of Astoria, fingers curling around her wrists, trying to pry her hands away from her face.

"What is it?" Cassandra pleads, and Astoria rests her hands against the girl's gaunt cheeks, meets her eyes, listens.

"His heart just beat." There is a breath, shallow and rattling. There are sighs and sobs of relief, and laughter, and Astoria closes her eyes for a moment. "He's breathing. Go. Go."

Cassandra scrambles to her feet and moves towards the door to the temple; she's about to throw the door open when she stops, takes several long breaths, tries to compose herself. She is the leader Percy knew she would be. She is the leader this place needs. She is the leader they all need. She will enter the temple composed (as much as she can manage). She will contain herself until she is alone, so that Percy needn't bear the weight of her grief. The moments pass, and she squares her shoulders, nods as if to herself, and Astoria feels herself pulled to her feet, hood falling as she stands.

They're speaking, inside, though Astoria finds she can't make out the words just yet, overwhelmed as she is, and she stands stock-still, stares at the wooden door, tries to quell the shaking in her hands.

The door opens. Cassandra bursts forward, and the heavy tangle of her emotions pushes at the limits of her control. Astoria swears, as she steps as close to the open door as she can without feeling as though she's about to be torn limb from limb, that for a moment the sunlight on her skin feels like a kiss to her temple.

"Where is he?" Cassandra speaks with one voice, though she speaks for the both of them. "Is he alright?"

And then, his voice: "I'm going to throw up."

Astoria presses a hand to her lips to silence a desperate laugh. Cassandra, ever the younger sister, answers at once: "Oh, he's alright."

Her legs shake beneath her. She sees a vague shape moving—Cassandra, her footsteps clear, walking towards a smaller shadow. Pike. She looks at her, first, then back over her shoulder, and even through the painful morning light Astoria knows that Cassandra is looking at her. She feels them make eye contact. She feels so much less alone. After a beat, Cassandra looks back at Pike. "Thank you."

It takes what little is left of her strength to keep herself upright. The voices blend together; all she cares about now is the stuttering beat of his heart. After a moment she realizes that Casandra is leaving the temple, no doubt to give them a measure of privacy, and she stops in the doorway.

For a long moment, they simply look at each other. Astoria is a frightful sight, hair tangled from her own fingers, streaks of blood drying against her skin, inhuman eyes shining with unshed tears. Cassandra is regal, and fragile, and terribly young. Astoria feels the most absurd urge to wrap her in her arms and call her sister and promise her a moment's reprieve.

The moment passes—but Cassandra slows as she passes her, catches one of Astoria's hands in her own and squeezes, much in the way a sister would.

#xfindingtrouble #xfindingtrouble ( cassandra de rolo ) #i. here's the truth from my red lips. ( answers ) #(utter fucking wreck) #(i may write another version of this more focused on cass?? this was simply Stuck In My Brain and if i didn't put it somewhere) #(well. i would simply have perished.) #(also i know she's not yennen in the stream but idk what they're doing given the [redacted] reveal in-show so. idk man.) #(lmk if i should change anything!!!) #(and for organization purposes) #iii. when i feel this cold you're like the fucking sun. ( percy x astoria )

[azrielsdove]

Hi!! I was hoping I could request something for Azriel or Cassian. I saw this post somewhere about someone being super calm and content in prison, maybe she was taken along with the home carver because of her powers. I’m thinking she is kinda like an old god but instead her powers feed off sacrifice and while she doesn’t want that life, she’s too powerful to be free until Feyre/Rhys lets her out because Feyre thinks she won’t hurt anyone. Then she can find her mate with Az or Cass?? And it’s revealed that she hates her powers because the person has to matter to her for the sacrifice/power. and she could’ve been part of the war that Mor fought in and went kinda crazy after because she lost that person but is fine now that it’s been so long.

You can change whatever if you end up doing it, I just thought it was a cool concept. It also does not have to be that detailed lol but thank you if you do it!!

Old God: Cassian x Reader

Warnings: Angst, Some Alcohol

***

“No, Feyre. It’s too dangerous.” Rhys didn’t look up from the paperwork on his desk while he spoke.

“Have you gone down there recently? She is kind, Rhys. You said to not trust the Bone Carver as well, and look how beneficial he was to us!” Feyre was pacing angrily around the room, having formed an attachment to the Death Wielder.

“We were in war, that was a dire situation. You want to release her for no other reason than you think she won’t harm anyone.” Rhys ran a hand over his face, looking up to his mate. “The beings in the Prison are there for a reason, Feyre. We can not go around releasing whoever we please without justification.”

Feyre huffed, crossing her arms and facing her husband. “You should go speak to her, Rhys. Understand what I mean. Amren came from the Prison, did she not?”

“Amren is different.”

“How?!” Feyre did not like arguing with her mate, but something was telling her it was wrong to keep the so-called old god down there. Especially after the war, after the Bone Carver sacrificed himself to fight for them. She knew the Prison held some of the nastiest beings Prythian had to offer, and that trusting any of them was a risk. Yet something was different about this one, she just knew it.

“Amren got herself out of the Prison. You have no idea how powerful the Death Wielder is. She is unlike anything you have ever seen.” Rhys stood from his desk, crossing the room to hold Feyre’s hands in his own. “It is too risky.”

“So if the Death Wielder got herself out, that would be fine?” Feyre shot at him, upset that he wasn’t agreeing with her.

“That’s not what i’m saying.”

“That’s what you’re insinuating! She isn’t what you think. Please, Rhys, just go talk to her.” Feyre pleaded, holding tight onto his hands. He sighed, reaching up to brush a piece of her hair back.

“Alright. I will go tomorrow evening, and if what you say proves true we can further discuss a release.”

***

Rhys did not enjoy coming to the Prison. He especially did not enjoy coming here to meet with you.

Unfortunately, he would do anything to make his mate happy.

He reached the door to your cell, placing his hand on the heavy stone. He breathed in deeply as he stepped forward, walking through the door like it didn’t exist. He looked around the room, shocked at how bright it was.

“High Lord,” you spoke, standing to greet him. “What brings you down?”

Rhys carefully looked at you, watching for any signs of a trick. “The High Lady requests to have you released. Do you know why she would ask such a thing?”

You gave a small smile, having grown quite fond of Feyre. “She visits me rather often, your mate. Brings me things,” you gestured to the faelights above you, the warm pillows and blankets on the floor. “She is different than any other. Full of hurt, yes, but an undying hope runs through her veins.”

“Are you coming to care for her?” The question was an accusation, thinly veiled anger behind his words.

“If you are asking if I plan to sacrifice her to escape, High Lord, then you would be mistaken. You should know better than anyone that I do not revel in my power.” There was an infinite sadness in your voice, an age-old pain.

“How am I to trust you?”

You shrugged. “I wouldn’t expect you to. We saw what happened with the war 500 years ago, what I had to do to save so many. Those kind of choices do not come without consequences, High Lord.”

Rhysand pondered over your words, violet eyes reading every movement you made. “You sacrificed the love of your life to save everyone. That is not something to be frowned upon.”

You gave a sad smile. “Yet here I am, locked in this pit of despair with the worst Prythian has to offer. Do not credit me, High Lord. I was willing to let the world suffer. He convinced me to do it, to use him to activate my power. I did not wish to do so.”

Rhys hummed, seeming to understand the level of devotion you held for your old lover. “I could understand. I would do anything to protect Feyre. Do you understand what I mean?”

You did. He would not allow your release from this prison, not even if you may be a harmless being these days. He would rather you suffer needlessly down here for millennia than risk anything harming his mate.

***

Feyre was angry. No, she was furious. Rhys had informed her that he would not be releasing the Death Wielder, even if he had picked up nothing bad in their meeting. She left his office without speaking, upset that he was being so difficult.

However, Feyre was not so naive as to not think her husband would try to stop her. She had planned for this. After all, he had made her High Lady, his equal. She had every right to make the call herself.

She found Cassian easily, purchasing donuts at one of the bakeries in Velaris. “I need your help.” Feyre was straight to the point, eyeing her friend as he stopped mid-bite.

“Uh, okay?” He said, placing his donuts back into their bag. “With what?”

“I need you to take me to the Prison.”

He laughed.

Feyre scowled, glaring at the General. “I’m being serious, Cassian.” She stood tall, letting power radiate from her. “As your High Lady, I command it.”

His laughter ceased, face growing serious. “As you wish, then.” Cassian knew better than to question her any further.

***

The pair stood outside the gates of the Prison, the ominous darkness beckoning them in. “May I ask who we are here to see?” Cassian pried, wanting to be prepared for what they would encounter.

“The Death Wielder.” Feyre didn’t give him a chance to protest, marching down into the endless dark. Cassian followed dutifully, wondering why his High Lady was so determined to meet with her. Feyre pushed in without hesitation when they reached the door to her cell. Cassian went after, growing more curious by the second.

“High Lady,” you greeted, welcoming the female you almost considered a friend. Not that many had ever gotten close enough to you for such a title. Feyre greeted you by your name, something very few had ever called you. “The High Lord was here as well, i’m sure you know.”

You could feel the simmer of displeasure come from the High Lady. “Yes. I’ve chosen to disregard his opinion on this matter. I do not think it is right to keep you down here.”

You gave a soft smile, lightly surveying the room that had caged you for so long. “Ah, but this is my home now, isn’t it? Where I came from has long been gone, anyone I ever knew with it. What else is there for me? It is no harm to keep me here, truly.”

Feyre huffed, seemingly having an argument in her head. “I will never force you to leave, you know that. I simply believe there is more for you out there, out in my home.”

You moved closer to the young female, inspired by her endless hope for all that is good. “Who is to say your people would allow me to walk among them? The old gods are not favored in your time, especially not one who’s known for Death.” It was then that you noticed her companion, the long haired male standing in the shadows. You cocked your head, surveying him curiously. Something about him was…different than any others you had met.

“This is Cassian,” Feyre introduced, waving him forward. He came into the light, nodding his head to you.

“Cassian,” you mused, tasting the name on your tongue. You observed his armor, his wings, the strong power radiating from him. “The General. How do you feel about your High Lady’s idea?”

He seemed shocked that you would ask for his opinion, looking carefully between you and Feyre. “I trust what my High Lady thinks best.”

“The diplomatic answer,” you hummed, moving to look at him closer. “That is not what I asked. What would you, as an innocent in this world, think of someone like me wandering through your city?”

He blinked at you before clearing his throat. “I would not consider myself an innocent. If the High Lady deemed you safe, I would trust her. As would many in this court.”

You waved your hand dismissively. “You are all innocents to me.” You turned back to Feyre, a smile ghosting your lips. “Very well, High Lady. If you deem it fit, I will accept the release you are granting me.”

***

You stood with the General on the outskirts of Velaris, feeling uncomfortable for the first time in a long time. You had grown content in the Prison, safe from your power. Your deadly, terrible power.

“What would you like to do?” He was watching you, hand on one of his many blades. You felt vulnerable by that action, a reminder that you will always be perceived as Death herself.

“I do not know.” Your voice was quiet, a weakness pulling through that you did not enjoy. You were easily the most powerful being here, there was no reason to feel so small. Cassian noticed the change in you, the contrast from the ancient confidence he encountered in the Prison.

“Hey,” he soothed, releasing the hold on his weapons, “no one has to know who you are.” You wanted to give him a thankful smile, but the darkness in your mind was clouding around you.

“No,” you whispered, “they’ll know. Perhaps this was a mistake.” You turned to face the mountains behind you, feeling the dirt beneath your feet. It had been so long since you had seen the outside, since the fresh air had touched your skin. You startled when you felt gentle fingers around your wrist, whipping your head around to meet the kind eyes of the General.

“Come with me. My own friend Amren is like you, and she lives here happily.” There was a calm in his voice that washed away any apprehension you felt, something about him making you feel like you could trust what he said. “Stay with me.”

Your heart ticked at his words as he pulled you down to the glittering city below.

***

You had spent a few weeks with Cassian, learning all Velaris had to offer. The High Lord had come to find the two of you early on, angry that you allowed his wife to set you free.

“She is the High Lady, her word is as equal as yours, is it not?” You had asked, pointing out his hypocrisy. He had grumbled at your words, but allowed you to continue on.

“As long as you are with Cassian, I will accept that you roam free. Do not make me regret this,” he had threatened, still not trusting you.

You couldn’t blame him.

You knew he had an underlying fear that you were growing too close to Feyre, that you may grow close to Cassian. You didn’t know how to explain that you would never use them to activate your power, that you would never allow anyone to become that special to you again.

Unfortunately, you were growing worried yourself. Cassian drew you into him, a simmering desire to learn everything there was to know about the male. His stories captivated you, his jokes made you laugh in ways you never had. He pulled out the true version of you, the being beneath the danger.

You needed to stop this.

Cassian had a little cabin on the edge of the city, a cozy place he had leant to you. He stayed with you most nights, sleeping on the couch while you took the bed. You knew it was due to his High Lord commanding it, but a part of you wished he was staying for you. That he enjoyed being around you as much as you did around him.

“We are going out tonight,” he informed you, tossing a dress onto the bed. You looked up at him in shock, unsure if he was joking or not. “It is time you let loose a little, enjoy yourself.” There was a teasing smile on his lips, a brightness in his eyes. You pulled the blood-red fabric to you, fingers trailing over the delicate fabric. You had never ‘gone out.’

“I don’t,” you started, looking up to him, “I’ve never, I, what if I embarrass you?” You tripped over your words, heat rising in your cheeks.

He gave a reassuring, slightly cocky smile. “You can’t be any worse than Az, trust me.”

***

You were nervous standing outside Rita’s, a cold intruder on a warm night. You hadn’t yet been around so many fae in such a tight setting, the worry that they would notice who you were drowning your mind. You tugged the bottom of your dress down a little, fidgeting with the hem. “Stop,” Cassian chided, grabbing your hand in his. “It’s going to be fine.”

He dragged you up the steps into the bustling bar, making his way through the crowd to a table in the back. His friends were all there, the High Lords stare cold as he noticed your hand in Cassian’s. You quickly pulled away from him, ignoring the look he sent you. He slid into the booth and you sat next to him, careful to keep your distance.

“Drinks?” The stunning blonde you immediately recognized asked, a knowing look in her eyes.

“She needs something strong, Mor.” Cassian answered for you, a laugh in his voice. You nodded in confirmation to the Morrigan, the sight of her bringing up memories of the war all those centuries ago. You were going to need several strong drinks.

“So, Death Wielder, how have you enjoyed your time in my court?” Rhysand asked, your title coming out like an insult.

“It is a very beautiful place, High Lord,” you answered honestly, having grown to quite enjoy the city.

“Hmm.” He leaned across the table, hands clasping in front of him. “And how have you been enjoying my brother?” You looked at him with wide eyes, taken aback by his accusation.

“That’s quite enough, Rhys. We are here to have a nice night, not interrogate our guests.” Feyre cut in, shooting you an apologetic look. Rhys mumbled something about not trusting you as he sat back in his seat.

Cassians hand found your knee, thumb rubbing soft circles into your skin. “Don’t listen to him,” he said, loud enough for High Lord to hear. “He doesn’t think I can handle myself around you.”

You flushed at his words, feelings running through you that you hadn’t felt in centuries. You were thankful that Mor chose that moment to return, gladly taking your drink from her. You busied yourself with it, allowing normal conversation to resume around the table.

Cassian did not move his hand.

You were feeling a pleasant buzz from the drink, a state of relaxation coming over you. You found yourself giggling at something Cassian said, leaning further into him. He smiled back at you, his hand sliding a little higher as your dress began to ride up. For the first time in 500 years, you were able to feel a sense of happiness.

“Better be careful, General,” came a slurring voice, all eyes turning to the fae that had approached the table. “Death here will be quick to sacrifice you next. You should know better than anyone that she lures her lovers into traps, killing them to make her power stronger.” You froze in place, terror spreading through your body.

Cassian moved the hand from your knee, a split-second heartbreak occurring inside you before you felt his arm wrap around your shoulders. “Maybe you shouldn’t speak on what you don’t know.” His voice was hard, causing the other male to take a step back. “Do you wish to continue telling me about things that you think I, General of the Night Court Armies, do not already know? Do you truly believe you know more than me?” The male slunk back, angry and embarrassed.

“Don’t say we didn’t try to warn you.” He shot out before disappearing into the crowd, leaving a thick silence over the group. You took the opportunity to slide out of the booth, taking off for the door. You heard a faint call of your name, along with Rhysand calling his brother back to the table. You pushed out of the building, sucking in deep mouthfuls of air. A horrible choking sensation was taking over your throat and lungs, a full panic controlling your body. You stumbled down the street, blind to the concerned expressions of the passerby.

You needed to go. You couldn’t stay here any longer, you couldn’t risk Rhysand putting you back in the Prison now that you knew free life again. You ripped the heels off your feet, discarding them where they landed. You began running, bare feet slapping the pavement below. You felt the skin tear as you ran, too soft for the rough ground.

You didn’t care.

You ran all the way to the cabin, lungs burning. You grabbed your few meager possessions, mostly clothes Cassian had bought you. You stuffed them into a small bag, not noticing the tears running down your face until they splashed onto the fabric. When was the last time you cried?

Loud, shaking sobs overtook your body. You sunk to the ground by the bed, curling your arms around your knees and burying your head. How could you be so stupid? You knew better than to fall for him, for anyone. You cursed yourself, the crushing weight of despair becoming too much to handle. You felt tendrils of your power come out, wrapping themselves around your skin. It burned where they touched, an anguished scream tearing from you.

A voice was yelling your name, holding tight to your arms. You cried harder, certain that the burning of your power must be hurting them too. “Leave me!” You screamed, the pain of the last 500 years ripping from your body. The voice calling for you was growing hectic, desperate. You couldn’t focus on anything except the tendrils of power on you, certain they were melting the skin off your bones.

You felt arms cradle your body, lifting you off the ground. You knew you were suddenly outside, a sensation like flying taking over. The wind was harsh against you, a welcome cold to the burning power suffocating you. You felt a jolt as whoever was carrying you hit the ground, more voices joining in the chaos. You heard one stick out above the rest, and then an endless darkness took over your mind.

***

Your head was heavy, your body was sore, and your throat was terribly dry. You pried your eyes open, wincing at the daylight flooding the room. You blinked a few times, looking around at what you could see. You didn’t recognize anything about the bedroom, but you did know the large male passed out in the chair next to the bed.

Cassian.

He shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t be here. You needed to get out, get away from him. You forced yourself up, crying out in pain as you did. He shot up out of the chair and was at your side in a second. “No, lay back down,” he commanded, pushing you down gently.

“I need to go,” you croaked out, voice hoarse.

“Why do you think that?” He asked, looking at you like he already knew the answer.

You felt tears prick the corner of your eyes. “I don’t want to put you in danger.”

He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close to his chest. “Never,” he whispered into your hair, “will you hurt me.”

You couldn’t help the tears spilling out as you clutched onto his arms, wanting to stay here forever. “I killed him,” you sobbed, holding tighter onto Cassian.

“You didn’t,” he argued, “he sacrificed himself. For you, for all of Prythian and beyond. If we had lost that war, none of us would be here. He knew you didn’t want to do it, that you wouldn’t do it. He made that choice, not you.” You cried, shaking in his arms at the memory of your past love. He had been your heart, your soul. You will never forget the pain and anguish that came from losing him, all so you could use your power to its full extent.

A curse, your power was. Only able to be used if someone you loved died. Died for the sake of the power. You despised it, you despised the title it had earned you. Death Wielder. You had never wanted to be that, to become a horror story. To be classified as an ‘old god’, a force to be reckoned with. You had been a gentle spirit before the discovery of your power, before you were told how to use it.

You shook your head. “I won’t risk it, Cass. What if war comes again?”

“If it does, you will be better trained. Rhys has been doing some research while you were out, talking to some of the other High Lords. They believe your power is misunderstood.” You stilled, pulling back to look at him.

“Misunderstood?”

He nodded. “He believes you can access it without a sacrifice. With the way it was acting when I found you that night, I think he may be right.”

You remembered the horrible pain of your power then, looking down at your arms. You were surprised to see they were bare, no damage from the force of whatever you released. “It hurt me,” you said slowly, eyes moving back up to Cassian’s.

“He believes with proper training it won’t hurt. All we can do is try.” He raised a hand to your face, thumb brushing away the remaining tears. “I don’t think I can live without you.” Your breath caught at the honesty in his words.

“I don’t think I can live without you either,” you said, voice barely a whisper. His gaze flicked from your eyes to your lips, a heavy tension growing in the air.

“Please, may I kiss you?” He asked, voice soft.

You nodded.

He leaned down, cupping your face as his lips touched yours. The kiss was slow, hesitant. You hadn’t kissed anyone in over five centuries, certain you would be abysmal. Cassian lead you perfectly, bringing your head up to create a better angle. You sighed softly, lips parting just enough for his tongue to delve in. He took his time learning every inch he could reach, kissing you breathless and then some.

You pulled apart, gasping for air. Your eyes caught his blow-out ones, and a string of gold erupted between the two of you. Mate, mate, mate, sang around your head, everything except Cassian disappearing. You could tell he felt it too, hands tightening on you. He came closer again, lightly kissing your lips.

“Mine, aren’t you?” He said. You smiled, a real, true smile. You kissed him again, hands sliding under his shirt, needing to touch him.

“Yours, always.”

***

I hope I was able to pull off what you wanted!! It took me a while to figure out how to write this. Please let me know what you think <3

#acotar x reader #cassian x reader #cassian x y/n #cassian x you #acotar x y/n #acotar x you #acotar #cassian #old god #requests

[fluentmoviequoter]

A League Christmas

Day 11 of 12 Days of Ficmas

Pairing: Dick Grayson x fem!reader

Summary: A Justice League Christmas party overwhelms you, so you sneak off to find a quiet place. Dick finds you and keeps you company.

Word Count: 1.5k+ words

Warnings: fluff, brief discussions of insecurity and anxiety, brotherly Jason Todd slander, Hal Jordan (he's a warning by himself) and a GLTAS reference.

A/N: I didn't specify which Dick Grayson this is, so feel free to pick your favorite! I just like Young Justice's Nightwing suit. Also, I love Hal and Razer in GLTAS if anyone is curious. Friendly reminder that I write for several DC characters in this fic, if you'd like to request something with them (request rules & character list)! :)

The first annual Justice League Christmas Gala. Wonder Woman’s idea meets Batman’s money.

Your apprehension about attending has only increased since you got the invitation a week and a half before the gala. The mix of insecurity, fear, and knowing that you’ll be overwhelmed causes you to question whether or not you should RSVP.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Are you going to the gala?” Nightwing asks, landing beside you.

“I don’t know. Probably not? It’s not like a party of that size will miss one no-name vigilante,” you answer, not looking at him.

“You’re kidding, right? You have to go; who else will keep me sane?”

You glance at him before saying, “One less mouth to feed. I’m doing it for Bruce.”

Nightwing stays quiet, walking beside you until you reach the end of the alley.

“What if we go together? If I’m your date you won’t have to deal with any of it alone. I’ll be stuck by your side the entire time,” he offers.

“I- that would be nice,” you answer quietly, hopeful that being beside him will improve the night.

“Then it’s a date,” Nightwing says, his usual energy back as he jumps onto a dumpster. Extending a hand down to you, he adds, “Now, let’s find Harley, she owes me 20 bucks.”

✯✯✯✯✯

“Alfred!” Dick calls as he enters the Batcave, pulling his mask off.

“Yes, Master Grayson? Another injury?” Alfred replies.

“No, of course not, I’m not Jason,” Dick answers.

“Heard that!” Jason yells from somewhere.

Dick shrugs as he smiles at Alfred. “I need you to do something for me at the gala.”

“Anything, Master Grayson.”

✯✯✯✯✯

Stephanie and Cass invited you to go shopping for the gala and found what they (and you) deemed ‘the perfect look.’ It is a combination of your suit colors and Nightwing’s. You feel good in the dress but still wonder if you made the right decision by agreeing to go.

When you enter the venue, you hear a sharp whistle and turn to see Dick Grayson walking toward you. His suit is a deep blue, with elements of the bright Nightwing blue you’ve grown to love. A domino mask covers his eyes and cheekbones, but you still know how beautiful he is.

“You look amazing,” you tell him.

“Seriously? You look like a princess,” he gushes, running a finger over the fabric of your outfit. “You look really good in blue; better than me, maybe.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” you argue, laughing as he brushes a piece of hair away from your mask.

“You ready?” he asks, offering his arm.

You loop your arm through his elbow, and he lays his other hand on your arm.

“You’ll do amazing,” he whispers as you approach the top of the stairs.

“Mr. Red Hood and Artemis Grace of Bana-Mighdall,” Alfred announces.

“Mr. Red Hood?” you ask, looking at Dick. “That makes you…”

“Mr. Nightwing, yep. Bruce doesn’t seem to care that everyone here already knows who we are.”

Alfred says your name first, flipping the expected script. You look at Dick and smile brightly, whispering your gratitude for making you laugh. When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you nod at Alfred and he sends you a quick, encouraging wink before reading the next set of names.

Your arm stays looped through Dick’s as you make the rounds, saying hello to the heroes you know and introducing yourself to those you don’t. Dick was serious when he said he’d be by your side the whole time. Even when you go to get drinks, his hand stays on your lower back as he orders for you.

“Nightwing? A word?” Superman asks, smiling as he looks over at you.

Dick’s face drops toward yours, and though you can’t see his dark eyes looking at you, you know what he’s asking.

“Go ahead,” you say with a nod. “I’ll be around when you’re done.”

He nods once, gripping your hand before he leaves with Superman. You accept the drink and walk to a secluded area, taking a seat and a deep breath.

“Hey,” someone says. “This seat taken?”

You’re prepared to lie to avoid a conversation, but when you see who it is you smile and say, “No, help yourself.”

✯✯✯✯✯

Dick’s eyes stray to you as he listens to Superman and answers his questions, nodding and laughing when needed. He sees someone approach the table and hopes that they don’t ask to sit down. When you smile and gesture to the seat, the man turns and Dick releases a sigh, turning his attention back to Superman.

✯✯✯✯✯

“And then Razer said, ‘Do you share my opinion that the sweet embrace of death would be welcome today?’” Green Lantern Hal Jordan finishes, laughing alongside you. “Hate to leave so soon, but thanks for the company,” he adds before standing to visit the other Green Lanterns, who were fashionably late (courtesy of Kyle Rayner, no doubt).

After he leaves, and you’re alone as your anxiety begins to grow as the music, the overlapping conversations, and the extravagant gown overwhelm your senses. Abandoning your seat, you back toward the door, smiling at Diana as she passes, before turning and leaving.

✯✯✯✯✯

Dick hasn’t checked on you since Hal sat down, but he feels a sudden urge to look over. When he sees you backing toward the door, he knows something is off.

“Sorry, Supes, but I need to go,” he interrupts.

Superman looks over his shoulder and smiles. “Take your time.”

Dick nods and rushes through the ballroom, following you up into a small sitting room with large windows. He closes the door, muffling the sounds of the party. You sigh as the quietness washes over you. Turning to him, you begin apologizing.

“I didn’t mean to ditch you, I just got overwhelmed, and…”

“Hey,” Dick interrupts, grabbing your hand and leading you to the couch.

He sits first, then pulls you down beside him, letting you lean against his side while he intertwines your fingers.

“Don’t apologize for leaving a situation that made you uncomfortable. Is that all that’s bothering you?”

“Yes. I just- it was a lot,” you answer.

“I get it. We can stay here as long as you want, or we can really ditch and go get ice cream or hot chocolate or something,” Dick offers, rubbing his free hand up and down your spine.

There is a small clicking sound just before the lawn outside the window is illuminated with thousands of Christmas lights. You stand quickly, pulling Dick to the window with you, looking at all of the decorations and the intricate light display.

Unbeknownst to you, Alfred looks up into the window and smiles when he sees you standing so close to Dick. “A Christmas miracle,” he mutters before returning to the gala.

“I’d say this is a pretty good first date, all things considered,” Dick says, wrapping his arms around you from behind.

You pull your hand from his and turn in his arms to ask, “This was a date?”

“Of course it was.” He rushes to add, “Unless you don’t want it to be.”

“No, I do,” you answer quickly. “I just thought you offered to go with me because I was nervous.”

Dick brushes his fingers against the bottom of your mask as he says, “I wanted to go with you because you’re the best part of my life.”

“Take it off,” you whisper.

Dick smiles as he pulls the mask away from your face, freezing as his eyes look into yours. He drops your mask on a nearby table, keeping his head turned away as he peels his own off and drops it beside yours.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Grayson,” you tease, looking into his eyes.

“Too long,” Dick agrees, running a knuckle along your cheekbone. “You really are the best part of me.”

“You’re the best part of me,” you parrot, pushing your hands under the lapel of his suit blazer to rest on his chest.

Dick smiles, opening his hand so his warm, calloused palm rests against your cheek. He tilts his head to kiss you, his lips moving slowly against yours in the best slow dance you’ve ever experienced. You lean against him as you follow his movements, more than happy to let him lead.

“Thanks for being my date,” you whisper as he pulls back.

“I got the good end of this deal,” he replies.

The door opens suddenly, and Dick pulls you against his chest, keeping his face to the window as he asks who it is.

“You know the masks are supposed to stay on for this reason, right?” Bruce asks.

“Then why are you using your real voice?” you respond playfully.

“Besides, I can’t kiss her in the mask,” Dick adds, turning to face Bruce.

“Your mask only covers your eyes,” Bruce argues.

“But his eyes are pretty,” you say, smiling.

“I just came to tell you that you can leave if you want to,” Bruce explains, smiling at you. “I’m glad you both came, though.”

He closes the door behind him as Dick looks at you, the Christmas lights reflecting in his eyes as he pulls you closer.

“Me too,” you both say together.

#fluentmoviequoter12daysoffics #dick grayson x fem!reader #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson fluff #dick grayson fic #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson fanfiction #justice league #fem!reader

[aingeal98]

I think there's a misconception among some fans who mostly get their characterisation from ao3, that the reason Cass and Jason wouldn't get along is that Jason kills people and Cass hates murderers. And like. You're 50% right but the key context being ignored is that Cass would literally fight to defend the right of a serial killer to live and change like she believes desperately in second chances no matter how far gone the killer is. She'll knock a man out and break his hand so that he can never shoot and kill someone again but if she sees someone feel bad about their kill or even like. Hesitate to hurt a child. She is all over that like she will fight the world just to save this one kind of shitty assassin and give them a second chance at life where they can do better.

Whereas Jason believes that sometimes there are bad people that are simply too far gone, too much of a force of evil hurting and draining actual innocents. And the best way to deal with scumbags like that is a bullet. He feels that some people don't deserve to live, and he's comfortable ending their lives. Judge, jury and executioner. Because no one else is going to kill these people and they deserve to die so that they can never hurt any victims again.

Of course all of this is kind of irrelevant in current canon since dc basically skipped over the reconciliation and development and went yeah Jason is a batfam member and he doesn't kill anymore. So currently in canon none of this conflict of ideals is likely to be addressed. But a lot of people are interested in writing fics that actually detail the steps of reconciliation which is great and I love those fics. I've just also noticed a trend of fumbling a little when it comes to Cass.

Because the root cause as to why they wouldn't get along is not just because Jason kills people. If Jason was a random crime lord Cass would probably try to help him get free of Gotham and start over somewhere else. Killing people and having conflicting emotions about it is the easiest way to get Cass willing to be your number one sponsor at murderer rehabilitation anonymous. It's Jason being someone personal to the family, and someone who believes that some deaths need to happen, as long as the person is sufficiently repulsive enough to Jason. Or even just as a means to an end to prove a larger point, if they're pathetic and evil enough. That's what would make Cass see red, because she projects herself on every single killer and Jason dismissing the possibility of redemption for them, writing them off as deserving of death, clashes fundamentally with not just everything Cass believes in, but also her whole sense of self. Of course it's not that deep for Jason like he's not going to believe Cass should die because she killed someone as a child. But for Cass is simply IS that deep and you throw in the fact that they're both Bruce's kids and yeah. They can maybe be civil in a room together with the family right up until one of them actually talks. Because like 99% of what they could say is guaranteed to touch a nerve for the other.

It's like: Damian says something hilarious and rude towards Jason and Jason jokes about that time he shot him and Cass immediately connects that with him not feeling bad about shooting Damian and starts grilling him as to why. Because Damian's Bruce's son? Or because he's a killer? Or just to get to the rest of the family? And Dick, Duke and Tim are so tired like Alfred cooked a nice meal can we all just eat pie for one night without having to listen to you two go at it.

Tim: I've literally shot you before do you think maybe we can cool it on fighting about Jason's personal ethics tonight. Because generally that ends with me in pain even if I do nothing but sit here.

Cass: You shot me with consent. Different.

Jason: How are you even more obnoxious than Bruce? Do you ever get tired of being so exhausting to be around with your bullshit righteousness?

Cass: If you're tired I can knock you out. Nice nap for you and fun for me.

Dick: And that's ten minutes in a room together before any threats of physical harm start flying around! Great job you two, a new personal record.

#dc #cassandra cain #batfam #dc rambles #jason todd #Ironically enough if Jason didn't focus on killing “bad” people #And instead was just a regular murderer with no greater point except Yeah I need this person to die as a means to an end #Cass is way more likely to look at him and go: Oh hell yes personal improvement project right here #Going up to Bruce like trust me dad he feels bad about killing that guy I saw his hand hesitate for 0.5 seconds before pulling the trigger #Whereas if Jason is like I'm killing this guy to prove a Point. The world is better off without him in it #Cass sees red like congratulations you triggered a solid 70 of her trauma buttons. Hope you like broken bones.

[formerheroeswhoquittoolate]

okay so for those of you who haven't met me (most of you) I really like thinking about the way people talk (tone, inflection, accent, speech patterns, et cetera) and I'm tired so I'm extending this to the batfamily here we go here's my thoughts, unrequested and only slightly edited:

dick: sounds a bit like a male pop singer (think brendan urie but without the whining or busting his voice with drugs and bad technique). dude has a killer falsetto and can hit some of the highest notes in the house, beat out only by steph. saw a headcanon somewhere about him growing up speaking romani because of his parents and having an accent as a child that comes back when he's hurt or tired and honestly 100/10 it's part of this headcanon (and if you know where this post is please tell me! it's not mine and I'd love to give credit). you can also hear it in the way he says a couple less common words but his accent otherwise sounds exactly like bruce's.

jason: doesn't have the deepest voice of the batfamily; he's third deepest after bruce and duke. his tessitura (comfortable vocal range) is big though and his voice pitch changes a ton with his mood. he's got a soft r that the other bats don't have (think ny or boston) that he learned from his mom. his falsetto is trash but he is one of the better singers in the family. all low notes. you should hear him do the song the dwarves sing in the beginning of the hobbit.

tim: his voice is a little scratchy but it's not too noticeable. damian is the only batboy with a higher voice; tim and cass are at about the same pitch. he's a tad self-conscious about how he sounds in general and heavily mimics so he's got bruce's crisp ts and a softer r like jason's. he says "ahm" instead of "um" and that's not really common in gotham so nobody really knows where he's gotten that from. he's definitely more monotone, for a lot of reasons, and tends to emphasize his words by changing in volume rather than pitch.

damian: he's like twelve so his voice hasn't dropped yet but he wants it to be lower like his brothers. he's got just a touch of an arabic accent so his speech is a little more melodic and much like tim he's a mimic so he has bruce's ts and a few sporadic romani and aave quirks from dick and duke respectively.

duke: second lowest voice of the batfamily. the kid's quiet and his speech is usually peppered with aave although he's often a little self-conscious about it around the primarily white batfamily and especially white upper-class bruce. doesn't sing in public but he's good at it (he refuses to acknowledge this)

cass: okay she hardly ever talks but when she does it's slightly lower in pitch than what people expect. she typically speaks in broken english (well that's canon not headcanon) and it's always the same way as someone else in the batfamily speaks, usually babs, steph, duke, or jason since she spends the most time with them. she's barely ever louder than a kitten sneeze.

stephanie: holy shit the girl talks fast. she's got the highest speaking voice too by a few steps. gorgeous soprano but only about fifty percent of the time. loses her voice completely when she gets sick and turns into a raspy old lady. has an absolute knack for impersonations, not necessarily in terms of pitch but in speech patterns/rhythms.

barbara: right in between tim/cass and steph in terms of pitch. she uses very precise language and there's often random hacker lingo in there. she's also surprisingly loud and can out-shout any of them except for alfred.

and finally, bruce: deepest voice by a step or two. his batman growl is actually slightly higher in pitch if you listen closely enough which jason finds hilarious. he's got very crisp ts as a result of being raised primarily by the very british alfred and he often takes his time speaking especially in meetings.

#batfam #batfamily headcanons #headcanon #bruce wayne #batman #dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #tim drake #red robin #cass cain #orphan #oh my god there's SO MANY OF THEM #stephanie brown #spoiler #damian wayne #robin #duke thomas #signal #barbara gordon #oracle #hopefully that's all of them #look one of the things I love about comics is you get to decide what these people sound like #and as you can see I have decided

[ravcns]

Runaway

Batfam x batsis!reader

summary: at the gala regular shenanigans with friends ensue and after bruce confronts the reader about their antics threatening to take away the mantle of batgirl

part 1 2 3 4

The manor was quiet when you woke up, Cass was also gone from the spot next to you. Retreating to your bedroom you checked your phone to see what you had missed; a few good morning texts and just a random conversation they were having in the group chat. Technically you didn’t have to do anything today until four when you had to start getting ready for the gala, going back to sleep was the best choice.

When you woke up again you decided to get ready; the black dress you were going to wear already on display, hanging on your closet door. You took your time getting ready since there was no rush and it would benefit you to be meticulous with your appearance for this event; after all it would reflect on your family. Speaking of family things looked quite tense in the moment; the group chat was dry, you couldn’t hear any noise in the manor which was uncommon since someone was almost always screaming, peeking out the window you noticed Cass’ car was gone, and most importantly you felt like you were on eggshells since Bruce would be speaking to you after the gala.

Later the ride to said event was quiet; you and Dick just sat in his car neither of you uttering a single word. This would be your first time seeing Bruce and the nerves were practically eating away at your soul like it was the last meal. Finally when you arrived your brother spoke, “Loosen up we’re about to go through the paparazzi.” As if that would do anything to help, but you knew if there was a slight insight that something was off in your expression they would have a field day. Like many times before you stepped out of the vehicle with a fake smile plastered across your face, following behind the other members of the family who had arrived. You deliberately chose to stand by Cassandra for pictures also she happened to be further away from Bruce so it was a win win situation.

It was a long line of people approaching you, pretending to be interested in your life and well-being. By the time the whole ordeal was done a bad idea had blossomed into your head to help ease the nerves and boredom. One hit wouldn’t hurt plus what’s the point of sitting through a gala if your not on something. You retreated to the safety of one of the bathrooms at the furthest end of the hall, knowing that most people didn’t bother walking this far and even if there was a line at the other ones they would still wait. Your phone buzzed and when you opened it you realized that Marie, Kim, and Jake were here. “meet in the girls bathroom at the far end.” You texted. “Should I even be in here?” Came the voice of Jake a few minutes later. “Hurry up and go in before someone notices.” Kim scolded him. “Love open up.” Marie said knocking on the stall door. The four of you crowded into the medium sized stall, thankful that there was no crack at the bottom of the door.

The thing is being with friends causing you to lose track of many things like time, the sounds of your phone, how many hits you each took, or how much you all drank out of Jakes alcohol stash. You stood in front of Marie as she had her arms around you, engulfing you in the smell of her floral perfume as you looked at Kim. She was currently arguing on how even though these events suck you all still had to be careful. Kimberly James always came prepared because she had perfume on hand and had a bottle of water. “We should have just skipped and hung out somewhere.” You said. “Y/n, your family would have your head if you didn’t show up.” Marie reminded. “Oh shit don’t you still have to talk to your dad after this?” Jake asked. You went to take another hit when Marie stopped you. “No more let’s just spray the perfume and walk back. We can just sit at a table.” She said. You obliged to your friends request and once everyone was presentable the group left, snagging a table in the corner.

As time went on eventually the night was coming to an end; even snotty business men couldn’t brag about how rich they were forever. You all conversed but also watched how the size of the crowd slowly shrunk. “Eunwoo asked if we wanted to go on his parents yacht tomorrow since it’s a sunday.” Jake mentioned. Everyone agreed that it was a sound plan and they would be down to go. “Are you sure Y/n, isn’t your dad super mad?” Kim questioned you. “Since when has that stopped me. He probably won’t even be around to say no.” You responded. “She could take a weekend vacation to Italy and that man still wouldn’t notice.” Jake said, causing you to laugh. Finally it was time for you to leave and say your goodbyes. You knew not to hug Jake so you guys just did your handshake; people gossip it’s an activity of most Gothamites. Kim and you shared a quick hug, “Make sure to update us.” She said. Then it came to Marie and when you guys hugged she patted your back, “Please don’t say anything stupid when he talks to you. I know your upset but don’t worsen whatever punishment he may dish out.” She whispered. You thanked her in return. “Stay safe out there pookie.” Kim said as you walked away.

It was stupid to think you could embrace the comfort of your room when you arrived back at the manor. “My office, now.” Bruce said with an even tone. You followed behind him, heels clicking on the floor. He took a seat in his big chair and you stood in front of him. The silence wrapped it’s hand around your throat, causing every breath you took to feel strained. “Are you gonna tell me why you were smoking on school property?” All the air rushed to your lungs and you almost felt dizzy. “I have no excuse and I’m sorry.” Came your response, remembering Marie’s words from earlier. “Not only have you embarrassed yourself you made this family and me look bad Y/n.” He stated. You didn’t know why but the way he worded it pissed you off. “This family?” You scoffed out then continued, “What about our family or what’s even left of it?” Bruce took a sip of a drink he poured himself, “You are apart of this family and I don’t know what you’re trying to get at here Y/n but get your act together.”

You should have left it at that you know you should have. “I fight the most dangerous criminals in Gotham day and night but you draw the line at me getting caught smoking. You guys are acting like I committed some heinous crime when I did something that I’m sure other people in our family have done.” Bruce was visibly showing that he was upset now, “That doesn’t matter you’re supposed to be setting an example as an eighteen year old I shouldn’t be hearing about stuff like this.” You wanted to crawl out of your skin and go anywhere but here. “You only care because I got caught not that I’m smoking weed in general because you’re absent but you aren’t that absent to the point where you can’t smell it on me. You just choose not to say anything and only care when it’s convenient for you or I’m putting your so called reputation in jeopardy.” You grit out. He slammed his hands on the desk, “Gotham doesn’t need a hero who acts irrationally and irresponsibly.” That one stung and you couldn’t bite your tongue any longer, “Well news flash that’s majority of all vigilantes and the Justice League.” “Keep this up and I’ll have Stephanie be Batgirl again.” He taunted. Oh but he had to have known that was a sour spot he knew how much you loved being Batgirl and included in the family’s night job. “And there won’t be a new mantle for you to pick up if I do so. Do you hear me?” He asked. You didn’t think you had paused for even a minute before he said it again, “Do you hear me?” “Yes, loud and clear Bruce.” You answered. “Go to bed it’s late.” He instructed you.

Being the petty person you were you slammed the door on the way out. “Shit!” You jumped when you were met with Dick, Tim, Damian, Jason, and even Cass eavesdropping outside the door. You didn’t even want to bother picking apart the emotions displayed on their features. So you just pushed past them, ignoring the multiple shouts of your name. When you got to your room you locked the door not bothering to move an inch from your bed after you got changed and multiple knocked sounded.

a/n not my best work although i do appreciate how many people have been interested so here we are i hope you enjoy and i will release the next chapter soon hopefully also i wanted to tag other people but for some reason it wouldn’t let me and i don’t know how to fix it

tags

@agent-nobody-knows

#dc comics #dc imagine #batfam imagine #batfam x reader #batfam x batsis!reader #batfamily x reader #batfamily imagine #batfam x batsis #batfam #batfam x fem!reader #batfamily x fem!reader #batfamily x batsis!reader

[heroesriseandfall]

Canonical Batfamily Birthdays

Here are all the birthdates I know of that are canon somewhere in DC, with a preference for the main comics continuities. I have included exact sources and image references when possible. I am not including character introduction dates, just actual birthdays.

If you find any other sources for Batfamily birthdays, please do share!

A moment of silence for Batfamily characters who don’t have canonical birthdays yet, so far as I know. This includes Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, and more. :(

Summary

Source images will be further down, but here’s an overview in roughly age order (I’m not sure of Kate vs Selina’s ages) with the dates the birthdays were introduced and used:

Tim Drake: July 19th (from 2003)

Jason Todd: August 16th (from 2004)

Cassandra Cain: January 26th (from 2002)

Helena Bertinelli: February 14th (in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold universe, from 2010)

Helena Wayne: September 7th (from 1984), potentially October 20th or the 22nd of unknown month or maybe October 22 or maybe Feb 28th (all the New 52 on passports from 2011-2012). These could also be New 52 Helena Bertinelli’s birthdays or nobody’s birthdays. who even knows.

Dick Grayson: March 20th (from 1995), October ~24th ish (from 1990), November 11th (from 1976), December 1st (on Earth-16 in animated Young Justice universe, from 2012)

Barbara Gordon: September 23rd (from 1976), sometime in fall (from 1987)

Selina Kyle: March 14th (from 1976)

Kate Kane: January 26th (in Batwoman TV series from 2020), March 21st? (word-of-god by J.H. Williams III from 2012)

Bruce Wayne: October 7th (from 2021), February 19th (from 1970s various to more recently), April ~7th (from the late 1940s)

Jim Gordon: January 5th (from 1976)

Alfred Pennyworth: April 8th (from 1976), August 16th (in the Injustice: Gods Among Us universe, from 2016)

Note: in this post when I say “main comics continuity(s)/universe” I’m referring to anything that’s been a “home” continuity for the comics at some point. For example, pre-Crisis Earth-2, Earth-1/New Earth, and Earth-0/Prime Earth, as opposed to Elseworlds or DCEU earths that are still part of the broader DC multiverse but have never been the primary continuity of the comics.

Below are further details and source panels.

Details and Sources

Tim Drake

Tim has only been given one canon birthday. He turned 16 on July 19th in Robin Vol. 2 #116 (cover date Sep 2003).

Robin Vol. 2 #116 (Sep 2003)

Jason Todd

Jason turned 18 on August 16th in Detective Comics #790 (March 2004). This is his only canon birthday.

Detective Comics #790 (Mar 2004)

In post-Crisis/preboot (1986-2011) continuity, there was a gap of six months between when Jason died and when he was resurrected (Batman Annual 25). Jason died April 27th according to his death certificates in Batman Annual 25 and Batman Files 2011, so he would’ve resurrected near late October.

Batman Annual 25 (May 2006)

So, it could be that post-resurrection Jason is biologically 6 months younger than he chronologically should be. But honestly, do we even really know what multiverse-breaking resurrection punches and then a Lazarus Pit on top of that do to someone’s body??? Either way it’s just much more simple to just use his chronological age.

Cassandra Cain

Much like Tim and Jason, Cass has only ever been given one birthdate: January 26th from Batgirl Vol. 1 #33. With that birthday, she turned 18 in Batgirl Vol. 1 #37.

Batgirl Vol. 1 #33 (Dec 2002)

When Jan 26th actually comes, Bruce suggests David Cain could’ve lied about it, but Cass denies that idea and continues to treat the day as her birthday.

Batgirl Vol. 1 #37 (Apr 2003)

Why it's likely her real birthday: Bruce initially believes Cain must’ve lied because he doesn’t think Cain could’ve known her birthday. However, we later learn Cain had lied about her origins and was actually her biological father. Batgirl v1 #62 and #73 show he was there for her birth and could absolutely know the date.

On top of that, in Batgirl #37 Cass remembers celebrating her birthday with him as a child, so he did seem to actually keep track of it. I honestly don’t see any reason to believe he’d lie (Bruce is just a jealous spoilsport).

Helena Bertinelli + Wayne

I’m combining them here because the New 52 gives me a headache.

Helena Bertinelli celebrated her birthday on February 14th in a spin-off comic from the animated Batman: The Brave and the Bold series. This is obviously not part of regular comics continuity and the characters differ from the usual comics in many ways. And yet, for reasons that will soon be clear, it’s my favorite for actually being about Helena Bertinelli the Huntress and for not being an utter mess.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14 (Apr 2010)

In a character profile at the end of Infinity Inc. #7 (Oct 1984), Helena Wayne’s birthday was September 7th, 1959. Calculating back from October 1984, that would make her 25 at the time.

During the New 52, Helena Bertinelli was initially portrayed as a long-dead (secretly alive but don’t worry about it) mobster’s daughter and replaced by Earth-2’s Helena Wayne who got stranded on Prime Earth. This H. Wayne stole H. Bertinelli’s identity in the form of several forged passports and IDs, which had hints toward birthdates. The question is, can we take any of those birthdates seriously, and if so, which birthdates and for which character? (Cue my headache.)

Skip ahead to Dick if overthinking fake passports sounds boring.

When comparing to a real Italian passport, the date on H. Wayne’s fake Italian passport appears to be a birthdate. Note that the fake name is Carol Bertinelli, not Helena. H. Wayne said her IDs were inspired by H. Bertinelli but clearly she’s taking liberties for the IDs so that’s a point toward these being useless for H. Bertinelli birthdays.

Huntress Vol. 3 #1 (Dec 2011)

I don’t recognize the month abbreviation as a real abbreviation, but from the visible letter O I’m going to assume it means October. If it is, then the date is 20 October 1985. Sidenote: a 1985 birthdate during 2011 could put her age at about 26, which is actually quite close to how old she could’ve been based on pre-Flashpoint! 1985 has been given as Helena Wayne’s death year before, so it’s an interesting choice of a birth year for her. (Thanks to DC’s sliding timescale, though, birth years don’t actually mean anything in the comics.)

They don’t show her complete US passport, but I can see a “22” in line where the day of the month should be for her birthdate. This already contradicts the previous passport. This one uses Helena Bertinelli’s actual name, though–does that make it more relevant than the Carol one or this all still ridiculous because of the discrepancies?

Worlds’ Finest Vol. 1 #1 (Jul 2012)

We can try to glean the US passport birth month from the passport number at the bottom. The first two digits (“12” here) indicate the agency that issued the passport. 12 means the Honolulu agency. Right after “USA” is supposed to be the birthdate plus an extra number, in the order of year/month/day with the year being the last two digits of a year. Here we encounter another problem. It says 810228. This would imply her birthdate is 1981/02/28. That’s February 28, 1981. Since the earlier line indicated her birthday fell on a 22nd, this already contradicts itself.

Interpreting a Machine Readable Zone (MZR) on a Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD)

However, I’d bet comic writers and artists aren’t always well versed in passport numbers (it’s already a stretch for me to bother checking it…). If they put the extra digit before the birthdate instead after, and the date is formatted month/day/year (the most common format in American English, so probably their first instinct), then we can drop the first 8 and it’s 10/22/8[?] with the last digit unknown. This would put her birthday as October 22, sometime in the 1980s. The 22 matches the earlier line, the October might match the previous passport if that really did say October (but contradicts the 20th), and the 1980s year could be 1985 to match the Italian passport.

At the end of the day I’m personally just going to let Helena Bertinelli be a Valentine’s born baby and call it a day, unless/until she gets a better one in the comics. For Helena Wayne I’d easily pick September 7th.

(My question is: did they give the crossbow vigilante a Valentine’s birthday as a Cupid joke??)

Dick Grayson

Dick has probably had the most birthdays of everyone (unless Bruce has more I don’t know about). All of them have their drawbacks.

In a main comics continuity, his most popular and most recent is “the first day of spring” so probably March 20th. This comes from Robin Annual 4 when his mom says she calls him Robin because he was born on the first day of spring. That presents some problems since there are other explanations given for the origin of “Robin,” including that his mom said he was “always bobbin’ along” (Dark Victory #12, page 17) or the original inspiration of Robin Hood (Detective Comics #38, p3).

Robin Annual 4 (Jun 1995)

Before that, in Secret Origins Vol. 2 #50 (Aug 1990), Marv Wolfman wrote a version of Dick’s origins where Dick turned 10 a week before his parents died on Halloween. That would make his birthday October ~24th (presuming that “a week” before Halloween literally means 7 days here).

Secret Origins Vol. 2 #50 (Aug 1990)

The first drawback of the October birthday is that it’s tied to Dick being 10 when his parents die on Halloween. Dick’s age and the date his parents die change a lot depending on the writer (Nightwing Vol. 1 #1 says his parents died June 27th, Dark Victory #8-9 says May, etc.). The second drawback is that few people remember this version of his birthday even exists.

Dick’s birthday is November 11th in Super DC Calendar 1976. Note: Despite being a non-diegetic calendar from almost 50 years ago, this source remains well known and used among comic enthusiasts (including those working at DC). Generally, I would say it should mainly apply just to pre-Crisis continuity, but it is also useful for characters that haven’t gotten updated birthdays ever since (like Roy Harper, Barbara Gordon, or Selina Kyle, for example).

Super DC Calendar 1976

Sidenote: Since Damian doesn’t have a canon birthday, November 11th is favorite to steal for my own fan canon Damian birthday. Dick has plenty birthdays to share and I think it’s cute. @ DC, give Damian and Steph birthdays, they’ve been birthday-less for decades!

Indeed, DC writer Tim Sheridan and editor Mike Cotton debated whether Dick’s birthday was in March or November. They favored March 20th and wrote a birthday scene in Teen Titans Academy #1 (published March 23rd, 2021). The publishing time near Dick’s birthday was intentional, though the date isn’t mentioned within the comic itself.

Link to tweet

The above birthdays were all meant to apply to a main comics continuity at some point. However, Earth-16, better known as the animated Young Justice universe (therefore outside of main comics continuity), says YJ Dick’s birthday is December 1st.

Young Justice Vol. 2 #20 (Nov 2012)

Unlike Helena Bertinelli, Dick has plenty of comics birthdays to choose from, so personally I’ll only count Dec 1st as being the birthday for YJ animated/Earth-16 Dick Grayson until or unless it’s ever mentioned to apply to main comics continuity.

Barbara Gordon

Super DC Calendar 1976 says Barbara’s birthday is September 23rd.

Super DC Calendar 1976

Since then, the only time I recall her birthdate hinted at is in Secret Origins #20 when her adoptive mom says her birthday is in the fall. This could support her birthday being September 23rd.

Secret Origins Vol. 2 #20 (Nov 1987)

Although she has celebrated her birthday on panel since then (the end of Nightwing Vol. 2 #153), she hasn’t been given any other actual birthdate. So I’ll keep September 23rd and call it a day.

Selina Kyle

Super DC Calendar 1976 says Selina’s birthday is March 14th. Once again, although it hasn’t been mentioned within a comic, it’s stuck around in popular consciousness (see: Catwoman actress Zoë Kravitz wishing Selina a happy birthday on March 14th).

Super DC Calendar 1976

Selina celebrated a birthday on panel in Catwoman (2002) #37 but the date was never mentioned. I don’t know of any other reference to her birthday, but my reading of Selina is thus far more sparse than my reading of the others.

Kate Kane

Kate’s birthday options all come from outside of the comics themselves.

In “An Un-Birthday Present,” season 1 episode 11 of Batwoman, a parallel version of her twin Beth had a driver’s license showing her date of birth as January 26, 1990. She and Kate later celebrated their birthdays on an episode aired Jan 26th, 2020. I don’t keep up with live action DC shows so I unfortunately can’t offer a screenshot (if anyone has one or the timestamp, please let me know!).

(I kinda wonder if somebody looked up Batwoman’s birthday for these episodes, saw Batgirl’s (Cass’s) birthday, and just ran with it. Batwoman and a Batgirl sharing a birthday is just. Ughhh.)

In 2012, one of her comic writers tweeted to choose a random date for her birthday and picked March 21st, which so far as I know has never been used as her birthday in comics.

Link to tweet

Bruce Wayne

Bruce’s most popular birthday is February 19th, but his most recent one is October 7th from the digital-only comic Legends of the Dark Knight. I believe that’s the only time October 7th has been referenced, but I’ve heard the animated show The Batman said his birthday was in October (can’t confirm, haven’t watched it recently).

Legends of the Dark Knight #10 (Jun 2021) - Note: two pages have been combined into one for this post

Still, even associates of DC seem to remember his February 19th birthday better. In February 2023, Warner Bro’s Gotham Knights game did a sale for Bruce’s birthday. I’ve also heard the birthday was used in the Gotham TV show, but again, I don’t watch much live action DC shows.

The February 19th birthday appears to come from the 70s and 80s. It’s his birthday in the Super DC Calendar 1976, and in Batman Family Vol. 1 #11: “Suprise, Suprise!” (May 1977). Bob Rozakis (known as DC’s “Answer Man”) said Feb 19th was Bruce’s birthday in the letter column of Detective Comics #494 (Sep 1980).

Letter column of Detective Comics #494 (Sep 1980)

Batman Family Vol. 1 #11: “Suprise, Suprise!” (Jun 1977)

Super DC Calendar 1976

Way back in the 40s, his birthday was in April, possibly April 7th. During a birthstone murder mystery, Bruce says his birthstone is a diamond, which is traditionally the April birthstone.

World’s Finest Comics #33/6 (Mar-Apr 1948): “The 5 Jewels of Doom!”

Star Spangled Comics #91 (Apr 1949) might imply the exact date was April 7th but we’d have to assume the party is on his birthday and that “this month” refers to the publishing month of April. I believe this is where people get the April 7th birthday when they bring it up.

Star Spangled Comics #91 (Apr 1949)

Early April also shines in Batman: Year One where it shows Bruce’s first night out as Batman being either the night of April 6th or the early morning of April 7th (Batman #405). So although the April Bruce birthday hasn’t been used in decades, it’s still a Batman birthday in a way.

I have also heard people say Frank Miller considered Bruce’s birthday to be in November. However, I have yet to find an original source of him saying that, and honestly (just like the “March 21st” birthday for Kate) if he never used it in any canon material I don’t put much weight in that.

Jim Gordon

The only birthday I’ve ever seen for Jim is January 5th from Super DC Calendar 1976.

Super DC Calendar 1976

Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred’s birthday in Super DC Calendar 1976 is April 8th.

Super DC Calendar 1976

In the Injustice: Gods Among Us universe (an alternate reality where the video game of the same name is set in), they show Alfred’s birth certificate, where it says his birthday is August 16th, 1943.

Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Five #26 (Jun 2016)

Maybe you’ll notice that August 16th is Jason’s birthday. A little funny considering the issue features Alfred refusing to share his birthday only for us to learn it’s the same date as Jason’s. Still, annoying. There are so many days in the year! Stop choosing the same ones!

This Alfred birthdate runs into a similar problem Helena’s birthdates did: it’s not part of main comics canon, it’s an alternate universe, so it may not be applicable to the main comics universe.

Note: if we calculate that 1943 birth year from Jun 2016 when the comic was published, that’d make Alfred 72 soon to be 73. Does that mean anything in canon? Probably not, but oh well. Also...token British character born by Windsor Castle? …of course.

Personally, I would rather go with the April 8th birthday than the Injustice one, since Injustice is an alternate universe. Also, outside of the humor of it, the idea of Alfred and Jason sharing a birthday is a bit too much for me. Still, it’s up to people’s own cherry picking.

Chronology

The birthdays in publishing order alongside notable reboots. A soft-reboot refers to reboots that only changed a few details with minor consequences, keeping the overall continuity mostly intact. A major reboot has significant effects on continuity (too many to list).

1935-1986: Pre-Crisis era (Golden Age begins ~1946, Silver Age runs from late 50s--early 70s)

Mar-Apr 1948: Bruce’s birthday is in April

Apr 1949: Bruce has a birthday party on the 7th of “this month”

Skipping a good three decades because I barely even know what’s in there. Sorry lol

Mid 70s to early 90s: Bronze Age era

1976: the super dc calendar says Bruce’s birthday is February 19th, Alfred’s is April 8th, Dick’s is November 11th, Babs is September 23rd, Selina’s is March 14th, Jim’s is Jan 5th

Jun 1977: Bruce celebrates his birthday on February 19th

Sep 1980: letter collumnist says Bruce’s birthday is February 19th

Oct 1984: Helena Wayne’s birthday is on September 7th, 1959

Mar 1986: the major Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot (begins post-Crisis/New Earth era, many previous comics are now considered Earth-2 instead)

Nov 1987: Babs birthday is in fall

Aug 1990: Dick turns 10 a week before Halloween (probably October ~24th)

Sep 1994: Zero Hour soft reboot (Batman and Robin become urban legends so Robin is not allowed on video, Bruce’s parents’ murderer is changed to unknown instead of Joe Chill, Selina is no longer a once-prostitute)

Apr 1995: Dick’s birthday is the first day of spring (probably March 20th)

Oct 2002: Cass learns her birthday is January 26th

April 2003: Cass turns 18 on January 26th

Sep 2003: Tim turns 16 on July 19th

Mar 2004: Jason turns 18 on August 16th

Jun 2006: Infinite Crisis soft reboot (Joe Chill is restored as the arrested Wayne family murderer, Superboy-Prime's punch retroactively resurrects Jason)

Apr 2010: In the Batman: Brave and the Bold universe, Helena Bertinelli celebrates her birthday February 14th

Oct 2011: the major Flashpoint reboot (end of post-Crisis/preboot, begins the New 52 and changes the primary universe to Prime Earth; significant character/timeline changes and erasures)

Dec 2011: Helena Wayne’s fake Carol Bertinelli passport seems to list October 20th as a birthdate

Jul 2012: Helena Wayne’s fake Helena Bertinelli passport lists some 22nd unknown month, Oct 22nd, or Feb 28th birthday

Sep 2012: Batwoman writer J.H. Williams III randomly picks Kate’s birthday as March 21st on Twitter

Nov 2012: Earth-16/YJ animated Dick Grayson celebrates his birthday on December 1st

Jun 2016: In the Injustice: Gods Among Us universe, Alfred’s birth certificate says his birthday is August 16th

Jul 2016: Rebirth reboot (restores some pre-Flashpoint continuity, some characters regain previous histories but now semi-synchronized with the New 52 era)

Jan 2020: Batwoman TV show Kate celebrates her birthday on January 26th

Mar 2021: Writer Tim Sheridan says he & his editor chose March 20th as Dick’s birthday, between the March or November birthdays

May 2021: Infinite Frontier holds all previous continuities as potential canon, restoring more of pre-Flashpoint

Jun 2021: Bruce says his birthday is October 7th in a digital-only comic

Feb 2023: Gotham Knights game has a sale for Bruce’s birthday

#batfamily #batfam #tim drake #dick grayson #bruce wayne #dc continuity #heroesriseandfall #cassandra cain #dc comics #jason todd #helena bertinelli #selina kyle #barbara gordon #jim gordon #alfred pennyworth

[gamesception]

Sception Reads Cass Cain #32

Batgirl (2000) #14 writer: Puckett pencils: Scott

Different inker this time, John Lowe instead of Campanella. I'm not enough of a connoisseur of comic art to really notice the difference. Honestly, I've been favoring pencil art in this series in general and not really mentioning inker & colorist. Should I be crediting/calling those out specifically? Let me know.

Anyway, we're back to the main series. Last time Cass was riding high after saving a repentant assassin from government agents. It fit more or less right in with the sort of one shot story we've seen a few times in her series, so there really wasn't a reason to expect any follow up from it, though the tone was a notable break from the usual Batgirl benchmark somewhere between sombre and miserable. This time is a return to form.

Before we get into the issue, that note about the tone does tie into that DCWomenKickingAss post that's been making the rounds again recently (link), the one with the interview with Scott Peterson where he describes the original instructions he gave to Kelley Puckett for designing the new batgirl as:

“Hey, new Batgirl. Young–late teens, I think–and Asian. And cheerful and chipper and always up and good natured and she has a complete and total death wish.”

As much as the Cass we got ended up being my favorite comic character ever, it's unfortunate that the 'cheerful, chipper' aspect - which is definitely there in the character, I've talked in previous posts about how much she loves being Batgirl and how critical that is to her character and to the overall themes of the book - is rarely the dominant tone of her ongoing. The quote from Puckett above implies book that on the surface is bright and cheerful, with a subversive undercurrent that fades into the background only to rear up and slap you in the face unexpectedly, where as what we got is an unrelenting 'long darkness of the soul' situation, punctuated by brief flashes of light that more often than not turn out to be the headlights of an oncoming train.

Which brings us back to the current issue.

We start with some government suits watching video of Cass and debating whether she's a metahuman or not, before being surprised by the fact that they have no matching info for her. Still pretty fun and lighthearted, but it does establish the idea that these guys are going to be a problem.

we also re-do the goodbye scene from the end of last issue...

Only this this time Puckett adds this bit where the assassin realizes he'll never get to see his family again, dampening the mood, setting up for what happens to him later, but also putting this divide between himself and Cass. Last time this guy could be read as a sort of self-surrogate for her, someone parallel to her situation as a former assassin, and by saving him Cass was sort of getting the chance to save herself.

Here, though, the guy establishes himself, however briefly, as his own person, with a life and a family. All the things that Cass's unique history and circumstances have denied her.

Things that Barbara is extremely concerned that Cass may have permanently cut herself off from ever having in the future by letting herself be recorded by the government outside of costume.

Cass, of course, can't imagine a future for herself. Because she's going to die within the year when Shiva returns. And because she doesn't want to be anything other than Batgirl. But mostly because deep down she doesn't believe she deserves a life or a future, and doesn't want to think about why that is.

As it is, Cass doesn't think she has any connections, so isn't afraid of losing them.

Bab's dialog implies that she's going to go to Bruce about this thinking maybe he could get through to her, but Bruce, consciously or otherwise, has been actively isolating Cass, so can he really be counted on to prevent her from isolating herself even further?

There's this transition page where Cass wakes up to find Bruce instead of Oracle in the Tower. I don't talk about color much, but Jason Wright does a good job here, the colors not just conveying a transition to night but also the switch to a darker emotional and narrative tone, despite still being all smiles, not knowing what happened.

Just like John way back in issue two, we have another guy who Cass thought she had saved, and let herself feel happy about, only to find out that the villains had come back for them later. And once again it's a pretty gut wrenching twist.

Cass asks Bruce's permission to hurt these people, not just take them down and capture them, but to personally punish them, and he grants it, which is a pretty gross dynamic all round.

Remember this bit from issue 4, when Bruce is talking about how 'perfect' Batgirl was?

Better even than himself, not just as a matter of skill, but more importantly for how she was untainted by any excess cruelty. It's why he was so shocked to find out she might have killed someone, despite knowing Cain had trained her from birth to do just that. It wasn't something that the Cassandra the he knew was capable of. But a few short months working for Batman and...

This isn't 'gentle'. This isn't someone you'd be shocked to find out had killed someone.

Remember this bit from issue 4? Bruce all high and mighty about what David Cain did to Cass. But for all the painful and potentially lethal extremes of his training regimen, and for all the evil he intended her to do, David raised a girl who, once she understood what killing was, chose to abandon her life and her father - despite loving both - rather than kill again.

A few months exposure to Bruce is eroding away the humanity and compassion that compelled her to seek atonement in the first place.

Bruce, his methods, the way he treats his friends and family, he's actively making Cassandra worse.

On the way home Bruce says he's sorry, but it's about what happened to the assassin, he's not sorry for what he's doing to Cassandra himself, what he's taking from her. He's not even done taking things from her this issue, as he doesn't take her back to the clocktower.

Of course. Of course he's fine with throwing away even the possibility of a future independent of him and his mission. You can just imagine how the conversation with Babs went too, at first trying to appeal on Cass's behalf, Bruce just not getting it, switching to practical threats to the mission, how Cass's exposure potentially exposes Oracle, in the hope that he'll respond to that - only for Bruce to respond by taking Cass away entirely, severing the one lonely link to someone who at least tries to care about her as a person in her own right.

When Babs was trying to appeal to Cass earlier, she brushed her off, convinced that she didn't have anything to lose anyway. You can feel the realization dawning on her that yeah, she really did have something to lose.

And the issue ends with this panel that makes her tiny to emphasize how completely isolated she is now.

This issue is a major emotional low point in Cass's early series, maybe *the* major low point. Bruce at his worst, Cass at her most alone.

Things will slowly improve from here, though sadly never in quite the way they needed to, with a direct confrontation of Bruce himself.

#cassandra cain #sception reads cassandra cain #batgirl

[horsechestnut]

Batfamily Chronological Reading List

Here it is, a massive list of Batfamily comics all sorted by issue release date so you can read them in the order they were originally intended to be read in, or easily reference back to what happened when. Do you want to know what Dick was up to during A Death in the Family? Need to know if Cass was around yet when Steph had her baby for your fan fic? Just a completion-ist with too much time on your hands like me? Then this is the list for you!

About six months ago I was trying to read my way through some old comics and getting insanely frustrated trying to figure out the order they went in. There are lots of reading lists online, but none of them gave me what I truly wanted: the order of individual issues rather than comic runs or collections. I also couldn't find any that featured all of the Batkids. So I took all of the reading lists I was using, found the On-Sale-Date for each of the issues mentioned, found a few other lists to fill in some gaps, and complied them into chronological order.

This list features what I consider to be the main 8 Batfamily members: Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne, and Duke Thomas. It is by no means every appearance of these characters, but it is hopefully all of the important ones and then some. By no means do I suggest reading all of these (unless you're slightly insane like me), it's more of a reference guide than a read list.

Some Disclaimers:

This is still a work in progress. You'll notice that the first third of the list is much more detailed than the more recent entries. That's because I haven't read them yet. As of now I've only reached Batgirl 2000 #15, but will continue updating as I go through (I'm hoping to finish sometime within the next 12 months).

This is not a Batman list. I have included some issues about Bruce that I feel are important to the overall story, but if I were to include all of his important issues it would make the list unusable. You should still be able to follow his character arcs through his role in the comics listed here.

I needed to cut off somewhere, so anything released after December 31, 2023 was not included. I may go back and change this later, but not any time soon.

I do not want to discredit any of the Batfamily members not included here (ie Kate, Helena, Jean Paul). They are all important to Bruce and Gotham in their own way, but again I needed to cut it off somewhere or I never would have found an end.

For any edits you wish to suggest, please do so through this form. Any suggestions given not through this form will not be considered, and as it says in the form, I also will not consider any that don't have an explanation.

Finally I need to say thank you and give credit to the people who's reading lists I used to create this:

cazzam - New and Improved Cassandra Cain Reading Guide Comic Book Herald - I used both their Complete Robin and Complete Batgirl Read Order Lists. The Comic Book Treasury - I used both their Robin Reading Order and their Duke Thomas Reading Order Comic Book Wire - The Signal Reading Order Daily Jason Todd - Jason Todd's Reading List Stephanie Brown Wiki Chronology Page

The Unoffical Guide to the DC Universe was also an incredible help with sorting out timelines, and all of my On-Sale-Date information comes from Grand Comics Database (GCD).

I hope you guys enjoy and find this useful! I'm happy to answer any questions, and if something isn't clear feel free to let me know!

#slightly terrified of posting this but hopefully it goes well #if nobody uses it that's fine I mostly made it for me anyway #but hopefully other people find it helpful #batfam #batfamily #robin #batgirl #batman #dc comics #dick grayson #nightwing #robin i #jason todd #red hood #robin ii #tim drake #red robin #robin iii #barbara gordon #oracle #batgirl i #cassandra cain #black bat #orphan #batgirl ii #stephanie brown #the spoiler #batgirl iii #robin iv #damian wayne

[lavenderdreams205]

spn thoughts as requested

tw & spoiler warning

they should have kept the grungy filter and aesthetics from the early seasons

bring back the southern / midwest gothic vibes

dean would've listened to and loved 90's & 2000s grunge - I know that the whole "there's no good music past '79" is a key part of his personality but pre series/early seasons dean is soo nirvana / Weezer / smashing pumpkins coded

there is too much flannel in the later seasons - I miss the carhartt and leather jackets so bad

BRING BACK DEANS JEWELRY

there's so much about cas that we don't know. there's all the episodes where he just isn't there and they never tell the viewers what he's doing or where he went

on the same note, cas's personality isn't nearly as flushed out as sam's or dean's are. who is his favorite musician? what's his favorite place to travel to? why does he like the pimpmobile so much? does he actually like the trench coat or does he wear it just because it's there?

so many people characterize cas as a little guy, and while he is cute, it's important to remember that he's also an incredibly powerful eldritch horror who leads angelic armies and brands Michaels vessel just because

dean is bisexual and in love with cas - I won't take the time to list all of the reasons here, but you can definitely find those reasons somewhere

i would've loved for them to use the handprint as a physical manifestation of their bond instead of having it be just a scar that fades with time

i'm actually really ok with the way cas dies, I think it makes sense for his character and provides closure (for him, at least, not for dean)

the parallels of cas and dean meeting in a barn and then dean dying in a barn

cassie is deans first love, cas is his last

the imagery of the empty as cas's wings in 15x18

why do the subtitles spell cas as cass, its awful

there's a few lines in the early seasons that seemingly reference dean getting roofied / sa'd and are subsequently played for laughs, Jensen Ackles confirmed that dean would've done underage sw when John didn't leave them with enough money. I believe that this trauma is a major reason that dean never accepted his sexuality

the way deans alcoholism is overlooked and joked about is actually insane

having dean be completely ok after 15x18 is also insane, especially after the widower arc where the show specifically shows it's viewers how deeply dean grieves cas when he dies

deans death is literally so stupid. I get that the show is trying to make a really meta point about the characters not having plot armor anymore because chuck is gone, but dean deserved to find peace. if the events of the show had never happened and pre series dean had never gotten pre series Sam back into hunting it would've ended the exact same way - dean dead on a hunt and Sam dying from old age

dean spends as much time on earth as he did in hell, and while he would never be the same, I like to believe that if he had been allowed by the narrative to live longer he would've gotten back a little of the twinkle in his eyes that he had before hell

in 15x20 Bobby says that cas helped rebuild heaven but if he was there he would've gone to see dean. additionally, there's no way cas should have been able to escape the empty. this is such a glaringly obvious plot hole and it drives me nuts

I would've liked to see cas's wings in the show - not just the shadow of them

the only time I tolerate serious discussion of wincest is in the context of ethel cain

i am a Sam disliker - while he does have many positive qualities, I have a really hard time getting past him not looking for dean when he was in purgatory and him joking about deans alcoholism and other traumas

i like Sam the best when he's with Eileen, I think they're adorable together and I'm mad they killed her off

I am a chronic jack defender, that boy has done nothing wrong

it would be interesting to explore cas and jacks relationships with their respective genders

there's no way being forced to murder the dean clones didn't affect cas, we only saw him kill the last one but the first few he had to kill had to have been devastating

i'm really disappointed by 14x13 Lebanon, we get the scene with John and Sam but I would argue that dean has significantly more reasons to be upset with John and it's unfortunate that the episode just glossed over this - I believe a screaming match between the two would have cleared the air a bit and been at the very least cathartic for dean

i'm fairly sure that it's canonical that John sent dean away on his 17th birthday to kill lesbian ghosts. my personal hc is that John suspected that dean was bi and sent him to teach him a lesson

i saw a post on here comparing hunting culture to biker and cowboy culture and viewing those things through a queer lens and I thought it was fascinating - there's so much spn could've done if it cared about the show more than money and losing viewers

every time cas and dean beat the shit out of each other, it serves as further proof of their relationship rather than discrediting their relationship - ie demon dean and cas fighting in the library is used to parallel Cain and Collette. it could even be assumed that their love is stronger because Cain killed Collette but dean left cas alive

The purgatory love triangle was so silly

once dean worked through all of his trauma and toxic masculinity he would've been a swiftie

all of the main characters have old / vintage cars but in like season 13/14 dean sam and cas just collectively own and use this really ugly silver truck from the 2010s. its such a small detail but it absolutely ruins my viewing experience every time I see it

dean is actually really smart but most of the fandom overlooks it because Sam is characterized as the smart one. if you know anything about cars you know it takes an insane amount of brains to build a car from scratch (he did this with baby multiple times throughout the show) also he just makes an emf meter using basically nothing. if dean had been given the same opportunities he gave Sam, he would've been an engineer or something

i will always be a John hater, if this man has 0 haters, I am dead

#spn #supernatural #dean winchester #castiel #sam winchester #destiel #ethel cain #grunge aesthetic

[teainthesnow]

@somerandomdudelmao has absolutely destroyed me with that latest Cass Apocalypse update so my brain decided to spit this out in return.

- - - -

Looking back, he realises that he knew – in some small defeated way – when he woke up that morning and his legs refused to leg that this was it.

There were many thoughts and emotions that ran through his scarily sluggish brain at that realisation.

Why here?

Why now?

He still had so much to do.

So much to prepare for.

This couldn’t... He couldn’t...

But he also knew that he could only accept it at that point because what else could he have done?

He still puts up a fuss when his brothers carried him into another room and bundled him up in blankets and pillows. They set him down onto Raph’s arm, and Mikey and Leo settle down on either side of him.

And that’s where he finds himself now. In a familiar yet vastly different turtle pile. And he is warm and cosy and comfortable despite everything.

He stares up at the ceiling and if he tries hard enough, and lies still enough, he can almost pretend that the crumbling roof above him is actually the chipped tiles of their old sewer home.

He takes a breath and he can feel the rumbling breaths of an alive and not robotic Raph beneath him. That there is no hair upon Mikey’s head as he presses against his side. And finally that the two hands that Leo clutches at him so desperately with, are both of equal size with familiar warm and unscarred scales.

He releases the breath. Barely paying any mind as to how long it had been since he breathed in.

The lair's ceiling is a comfort and the softly glowing green lights lull him further into peace.

And in the morning they’ll all wake up and get into their usual shenanigans again. They’ll go fight some villains or cause some chaos. Perhaps even get some pizza after.

And nothing is wrong.

And life is simply a slightly messy joy.

He would give everything to have it all back.

To not be where he is now.

Weak and usualess and... and dying.

He blinks, having to force his eyes back open, and he is back in the resistance base. And brothers are still clinging tightly to him.

They’ll be okay, he thinks to himself.

And, sure he is worried, and scared, and filled with so many other emotions that he doesn’t even have the time to try and describe or make sense of.

Despite that, however, he believes that he can trust his brothers.

Trust that they’ll keep themselves alive.

Keep the resistance strong and victorious.

And that they’ll beat the Krang and make them pay for every little thing that they did.

For all the loss, and destruction, and pain, and fear.

And then Raph would live again.

He would eat his honey, surrounded by his family.

April would keep them all going, keep them grounded while living the life she deserved.

Casey would grow up to be strong and brave.

Mikey would be a fantastic mystic warrior.

With Leo a beloved leader and respected ninja.

And it would all be okay.

There’s a slight bitterness, a simmering anger, that he won’t be there to see it. Won’t get to enjoy that well deserved rest, to see what freedom could bring or even live the life that he could barely even imagine anymore.

But at least they will.

And, to him, that’s all that really truly matters.

He closes his eyes, letting himself become enveloped within the warm embrace of his brothers.

He knows that his time has come.

Faintly he realises that he should say something. Some cheesy goodbye or emotional last words. Perhaps a grand gesture or maybe he could even steal Leo’s trademark and go out with the stupidest pun imaginable.

But, maybe, nothing is needed.

Perhaps, lying here, surrounded by his family, is the best goodbye he could give for now.

And maybe some part of him hopes, somewhere deep down, that this isn’t truly the end. That he’ll see his family once again.

He smiles.

Yeah, he thinks, this is enough.

He hears faint whispers in the air.

A comforting voice. Another friendly face.

Two softly glowing green hands reach out towards him.

He lets out a breath.

And reaches back.

#cass apocalyptic series #rottmnt #Im having to many emotions right now #thank you cass #but also why cass #but genuinely thanks #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tarts&crafts

[meteortrails]

saw someone somewhere say ‘idk what the story in cass becoming Batman would be’ and literally since that day I’ve thought about it. NON FUCKING STOP. I’m on an amusement park ride where the operator has not only refused to let me off but wholesale left the fucking building. bc fundamentally, Cass becoming Batman is a culmination of her choosing her own ideals and beliefs and rejecting those she was raised with, and it is also Cass learning new dimensions and strengths within herself. it’s both a logical next step and a transformation of what it means to be Batman, what Cass is capable of as a hero, what Cass is capable of as a PERSON.

to tackle this from one angle to begin with: to be Batman is to be the lynchpin of Gotham’s vigilante and crime scene. to be Batman is to be the sun around which everything else orbits, the gravity well that distorts everyone else’s behavior. you are responsible for both Gotham as whole, and wrangling/keeping tabs on/assembling all the personalities therein. Cass is someone who is so fiercely independent that I think this could become a really fun point of conflict in her Batman run! she’s only ever been a member of the team or an independent agent, she’s never been RUNNING HERD on everyone else.

how does her relationship with Barbara and her siblings change as a result of these shifting roles? how does she grow into these new responsibilities?? these are things that take her out of her reliable comfort zone of martial ability and explore the way her strengths translate into different arenas; her ability to read body language is something that will both serve her well and trip her up as she learns the shape of her new role (think that one episode of Wayne family adventures - you can see what people are feeling, that doesn’t mean you know how best to react to it). this all also allows a reinforcement of a fundamental truth: Cass’s strength and value both as a person and as Batman has so little to do with her physical capabilities and everything to do with her strength of conviction and commitment to doing good.

now, building off of that and also coming in from a different angle: as Cass becomes Batman, her relationship not only with her siblings will change, but with the roles that they inhabit. she’s an adult who is discovering new depths of what she is capable of and prepared to be responsible for - how does this shape her relationship with the mantle of Robin? it’s something that could be a really interesting later plot point, is her finding that connection that Bruce did to the children of Gotham, and finding her feet as a mentor and a guardian to the next generation. show me Cass rediscovering the ways in which her guardians failed her through her attempts to do right by those she has tasked herself to take care of. show me Cass trying to set these new generations free of the cycles of violence that have defined her life, even as she herself struggles to even find self worth outside of them.

and to look at that from yet another angle, there is an incredibly poignant story here about Cass finding herself as she takes on the symbol that she chose and makes it her own. she rejected the ideals she was raised with because she realized that she, as a person, values human life above all else. she choose the symbol of the bat because it reflected those ideals, and in doing so she chose Bruce as her father, and his family and ideals as the ones she will let hold sway in her life. her becoming Batman would be a commitment to that choice and to her core values, and I think any storyline worth it’s salt would at least on some level be about Cass seeing and learning to believe that the traits she values so much in Batman are things that are intrinsic to who she is as a person. she doesn’t need to contort herself to fit other’s expectations of what Batman should do or act like or look like or be good at, she just needs to be her, because Cass already is and was always going to be an embodiment of exactly what the Bat symbolizes. she doesn’t need to sacrifice herself to be perfect! she just needs to be herself!!! that’s valuable enough all on its own!!!!!

and if all of that wasn’t enough to convince you on its own, any story about Cass acting as a bat is a continuation of the idea that like. everyone who has ever been even a little bit important to you has shaped you, whether you liked them and wanted them to or not. and you’ll never truly escape that influence, but that doesn’t mean you’re a slave to it either. so many people have tried to twist Cass to their agendas, but none of them can ever change or touch who she is as a person. once you acknowledge the impact someone has had on you, you also have the power to respond to and determine the shape of that impact, and Cass is such a beautiful example of that! David Cain and lady shiva may have raised her and shaped her, but she’s her own person, and she gets to decide what of that influence she takes with her going forward bc at the end of the day she’s the master of her own life!! how is that not some of the coolest shit you’ve EVER HEARD.

anyways. in conclusion. there’s all KINDS of story folded into the idea of Cass becoming Batman, she’s so fucking amazing. can someone please let me off the carnival ride now.

#fucked up that my posts keep just getting longer and more unhinged :/ #pls talk to me about this if you have further thoughts/arguments I’m genuinely so interested #cannot believe this was me trying to be CONCISE you could write a whole book of meta analysis about her character alone. #batman #cassandra cain #batgirl

[thedawningofthehour]

Galois Room Post!

I made Gale's room in the Sims! It took a ridiculous amount of time for such a tiny room. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out-it's faithful to what I was picturing, and the places it's not can be blamed more on the limitations of the Sims 4. One thing I struggled with was the size. It's supposed to be a pretty small room, most of the living areas in Draxum's house are, but I definitely had trouble placing everything I wanted in there. Sizing it up 1x1 made it feel too big though. (Sims 5, please let us build walls on half or quarter tiles, I'm BEGGING you) In the end I couldn't fit in a real bookshelf, which was my only real gripe, but he still has plenty of space for books. (plus Draxum has so many bookshelves, he can offload some if he gets too cramped)

I wanted to have it mostly Galois but not 100% Galois. He's a teenager and wants to decorate his bedroom to the nines because that's what teenagers do, but I also wanted to keep in mind that this furniture was not bought for him and was mostly left over from its last occupant/bought when Draxum viewed Donnie as his new science slave and not his son.

Without further ado, here we go!

It's...yeah, it's white. Nothing else really looked good. It was Bella's room first and Draxum didn't bother to repaint. She probably had this place papered with posters and cringey 90's wall hangings when she lived here. In retrospect pale purple walls were a trend in the 90's, but whatever it's done now.

(I also forgot to paint the walls originally so I might have just gotten used to the white)

Also just imagine the ceilings are a little lower, the wall height needed to be on medium for the rest of Draxum's house to work and due to how the Sims 4 works I couldn't give just Gale's room shorter walls. The top of the cabinet should be touching the ceiling.

Other side! Gave him some nice plants, he's got some hanging ones around his bed and computer area. :) I'm not sure how I feel about the rug but I was feeling a circular rug and the colors worked. Left door is to the bathroom.

Huginn and Muninn 100% made that knitted turtle for him.

Did I give him one of those fairy light canopies every movie and sitcom character had in the 2000's? Yes. Yes I did. Look, I wasn't planning on it, but I saw it in the lighting section and I had to give it to him. I know I'm terrible to him but he is my baby and I will spoil him.

Better view of the bed. (the canopy kept fading from existence) Got the salt lamp and the lantern Cass gave him, I'm so happy I found those. I'm probably the least happy here, he needs more stuff on his shelves and more pictures under them. There's so many goddamn pictures in this room but HE IS A TEENAGED BOY and this is how they express themselves.

Also the clutter under the bed. In-fic that platform is actually storage space, so it works. Please enjoy how he's hiding his fashion magazines behind the pillow.

His little computer corner! The Draxum family stays pretty unplugged when they're not at work, (Draxum would like them to be anyway) but Gale's allowed to have all the tech he wants in his bedroom as long as it stays in this corner.

Swing back again and-

Just pretend that the vampire doll is Atomic Lass, okay?

So that bookcase thing. Is NOT a bookcase. It is a thing of evil. It drove me absolutely nuts because I wanted to fill those shelves in with clutter. Those are not snap points. But the bookcase has snap points. So I couldn't alt-move stuff there or use 9-0 keys because they'd just snap to the bottom there. So now they just look empty and stupid while he has books on the floor.

But other than that, I like this corner. He's got some binders for schoolwork in the cubby there, got some artsy stuff for relaxing and his box of vinyl records with no record player. (Draxum probably has a record player somewhere) It looks like how an actual teenager would organize his shit. I'm not sure how I feel about him leaving a stack of books on the floor, but overall Gale is a very good book owner so I'm sure he's careful.

He doesn't get a window so I gave him a nice picture with curtains so he can pretend.

On a side note, I absolutely fucking hate the curtains in this game, that was the only set that looked good and didn't cover up the whole damn picture AND THEY DIDN'T COME IN PURPLE. Really, there's such a lack of purple in this room. Blame the color swatches, because I tried. God I miss Create-A-Style.

Again, please use your imagination and imagine the bulletin board filled with pictures of him with Cass or Pax and loving notes from the goyles. There's also a watch on his dresser-before he recreated his tech gauntlet, Draxum gave him a really nice watch to wear. He doesn't wear it anymore because having his gauntlet on hand is a major source of comfort, but he still loves the watch. I also realize this looks more like a girl's bedroom, but to be fair Donnie is very gender and Galois inherited that from him.

(I was SO tempted to put that box of kleenex behind his computer)

Close-up of the clutter in his corner. I know Donnie's canonically not into geology, but this game really wants you to use rocks as decor. Also purple.

I don't know what that orb thing is supposed to be. Maybe like a mini version of the orb Draxum was looking into during the Goyles episode? That sounds like something a Yokai teenager would have in their room.

I wanted to give him a stereo too but my game glitched out and wouldn't place any, so I put a mixtape there in honor of that. We'll say Cass made it for him.

I did make his bathroom too, but it's not the most interesting because

Yeah, pretty small.

God, doors in this game look so silly when they're up against a wall.

It was looking way too white so I gave him the fishies and the plants for a splash of green. That sink is also SO not the style I was going for but everything else was clashing with the other counter. We can say this bathroom was remodeled at some point when vessel sinks were in fashion. I don't know why because no one was living here when they were. (Huginn and Muninn probably did it as a weekend project just for fun) I feel like he needs a rug and a big piece of art on the opposite wall, now that I'm looking at it.

I definitely went overboard with the bathroom clutter. I was just very excited that I was able to squeeze in a whole counter just for decoration. Seriously, I just wanted to add in that eyebrow pencil so he could draw on his eyebrows, then that evolved into the blush palette and the makeup brushes and the lotions and the nail stuff. He doesn't even fucking wear blush.

He did make his electric toothbrush, though Draxum makes him keep a backup because he's skeptical about how that works.

And that's the build! I'm also building the rest of Draxum's house, but it's taking a while due to the absolute utter ridiculousness of the layout. (I mean, it's my own fault, I'm the one that chose this layout)(and also because I need to use the curved wall tool for his mushroom house, and by god curved walls are impossible to work with) Decorating should be quicker though, the only place with this level of detail should be the lab and maybe the greenery. I'll probably revise his room a little, maybe paint his walls an actual color. I also want to do something more with the cactus he has on his counter. Maybe I'll download some more CC so I can give him purple curtains.

I also have no idea if this is actually playable. Probably not, I feel like a Sim wouldn't be able to figure out the platform bed thing. But whatever, I didn't make this to actually play in.

#doth #donatello #BEDROOM MASTERPOST #i have no idea how to tag this so people can retrieve it for reference #i'll probably just link it to the masterpost? yeah that'll probably work better