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#make her and cass both batgirl if you want to change the batgirl scene!
havendance · 7 months
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Scattered Batman: War Games thoughts
It honestly wasn't as bad as I was afraid it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of parts that were bad, but it also moved at a quick pace and I have definitely read comics that were way more of a chore to get through
Still way too much torture though. I purposefully skipped all the scenes where Steph got tortured but other people also got tortured in this and why is there just so much?
I do like that Bruce actually asked for help/called in the cavalry at the begining of the event rather than running around making things worse a bunch of times. Of course the only help he called in was Batgirl and Nightwing, but baby steps!
I actually enjoyed most of the entire first act of war games. It was focused mainly on chaos exploding on everyone being on the ropes and doing damage control. It was quick moving and I like seeing the bats on the ropes. Plus, there was the
I did like both Cass and Tim's storylines throughout.
And then of course, act II onwards just went downhill. Look, I wish Zeis had succeeded in killing Black Mask when he was disguised as Oprheus because he just sucks.
Anyway, I already talked about the torture stuff :/
The thing is, I think because I skipped the bad parts and I knew both that Steph was going to die and that she would eventually come back going into this arc, her death actually made me less made than say, Sarah Essen's death in No Man's Land which is in some ways much less egregious (I'm still annoyed about that). If I HAD been a comics reader in 2004 and not a possibly-illiterate child whose mom wouldn't let them read comics at that age anyway, I probably would've been pissed! But context is everything.
But to backtrack a little, Bruce was like "I was never going to implement the war games plan" but he also had Orpheus going undercover to get control of the hill? It certainly looks like you're laying the groundwork my dude. I mean, he still could have been planning to not go all the way and made the contingency plan in question recently, but still. Out of universe, it's clearly laying groundwork for the War Games event.
Hmm, what else did I want to bring up. Oh yeah. Bruce, trying to take control over the entire GCPD is definetly a major overstep. You deserve to be wanted by them after that. Seriously dude, you didn't even have control over the GCPD during No Man's Land where there was no goverment. Your whole stchick involves acting outside of the law. You can't just do that dude.
Also, him hijacking Oracle's systems was also an asshole move. I think it is interesting the way that they had the interection of the urban legend batman mythos with the event. He's out during the day, being captured on camera for the first time in ages and it's in the middle of a major disaster. Terrible PR all around. The batman is real and this is his fault. I do think that's a fun move.
I am here for Barbara beefing with Batman, he was a dick to you during the event! But also the whole tower blowing up thing at the end was clearly because it was required by editorial. You're telling me you don't have knockout gas or batgrade tasers in there? Your only option was to blow up your home base?
Like, he also was a major presence during No Man's Land, but that was No Man's Land.
Anyway, this was clearly an event that was designed to make some major changes to the status quo. I will probably have more opinions on these changes as I read more comics, but for some initial thoughts:
Batman & co wanted by the GCPD. I'm a big fan of this one. Make him have to face greater odds with fewer resources than he's used to!
Stephanie dead. Lame :/
The Birds of Prey no longer based in Gotham. I am tentatively optimistic about this. I did like the era of Oracle being a key player in Gotham, but her being an idependent force not tied to them is defintely something she deserves! Of course, if this just results in her being exiled to Birds of Prey rather than playing a major role in the rest of the universe that'd be disappointing.
(Of course I also primarily only read Bat books, so uh, I don't think I'd see this either way.)
Tim and Cass in their Blüdhaven era: why not? I've heard good things about this.
Black Mask being a key play: grump grump grump I don't like him.
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brutaliakhoa · 2 years
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7, 15, 44 for salty ask
7. What “throwaway” character could they have done more with?
okay i've beat this horse to DEATH and now i'm making purée with its cadaver now but brenda from batgirl (2000),,, the coffee shop owner in blüdhaven that reached out to cass at her most isolated <33 when i say cass had more chemistry and interesting dynamics with her in like. 3 issues than any of the other love interests horrocks tried to pair cass with i mean it. also, all of cass' siblings have civilian friends whereas she's very isolated and in current canon doesn't interact with anyone who's not family,,, i wish we could have had more of their friendship shown on paper (especially because we got to see another side of cass during that party scene!! she dresses sooo y2k street punk <333 i love her i love her) but yea it's pretty much implied she died in the bombing of blüdhaven and i will never not be salty about that
15. Tell me about a plotline that could have been interesting if anyone else wrote it.
i haven't followed robin 2021 at all because i love pre-morrison talia too much and if i don't read anything new with her in it these bad writers can't hurt me <33 but i HAVE seen that panel where talia stops damian from trying to fight her and asks him to come with her. to end the cycle of violence perpetuated in their family. like,,, that's exactly what i wanted!!! i want talia to find her independence but also determined to bond with her son because she sees so much of herself in him (the sense of duty they have towards their blood family [loyalty to bruce/ra's]). i want damian to live with talia for a while and actually acknowledge how similar they are; i want canon to acknowledge talia loves her son so much that she had to give him away at birth because she was scared she couldn't be a good enough mother that he deserved (though this decision killed her inside!!! because all she ever wanted was to have a family!!)
but apparently williamson wrote something really condescending where damian had to teach talia how to let go?? and talia was like "oh i need to kill this guy because he destroyed ra's' empire and legacy" like what. shut the fuck up that's not talia.
44. Any characters you used to like but grew to dislike?
not really characters but i used to like dickbabs a lot (mainly because of the nostalgia factor of reading/watching them as batgirl & robin :)) and also their dynamic in birds of prey (1999) #8 was ideal [more than friends but they can't be together anymore, too much has happened between them and to them that they've both changed so much as people. pieces that used to fit are jagged around the edges now. they both love each other but it can't work]
but current canon is really,,, making me despise that pairing :)) also when writers shit on kory because she is viewed as "a threat to dickbabs" rather than her own character??? rancid.
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danny-chase · 2 years
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What are things generally accepted as canon that you disagree with?
Damian being the angry violent one (he had character development DC literally makes him repeat the same storyline over and over y'all just don't take the end into account, and also conveniently forget the times TIM started their fights), Tim being the smart one (they're literally all smart, Damian has a phd equivalent in economic, Dick has more emotional intelligence and street smarts, the smart one title is dumb), Jason being the best tactician of the group (hello does Dick leading the Titans for decades and being set up to lead the JLA mean nothing???). Cass, Steph, and Barbara's current canon personalities are garbage and boring and while technically it is canon I disagree on principle because you're choosing the worst version of canon to replicate and spread.
Dick taking Robin away from Tim is a big one i disagree with because while it's considered canon it's just blatantly untrue and skates by as true because no one reads Battle for the Cowl in the first place and the panel of Alfred giving Damian the Robin costume is easy to miss/forget. Tim's the one that pushed people away after Bruce died and I guess fandom collectively forgot that he told Dick not to call and physically attacked him to make a point?
Pit madness existing. It doesn't, it was never canon. On a similar note I disagree with the autopsy scar headcanon which made its way onto a variant cover iirc, because Lazarus pit does some stuff and I think scar erasure has more interesting story potential (especially for Cass, who had a significant amount of scars inflicted by David Cain). In a different vein with Jason something that used to be canon that isn't considered canon anymore that I wish was still canon is the red hair because it gave him a Dr. Doof style backstory and i was there for "my own father made me dye my hair red to look like my brother" black and white monologue directed at a platypus wearing a fedora
On Bruce's parenting. I feel like the general perception of canon is he was good as a parent up till Jason died and then was shit from then on. I disagree because it partly has to do with which crisis continuity you're at. He was was pretty shit with Dick post-crisis onward both in flashbacks/stories told in the past and being physically abusive in the present, was still decent/good with Jason, was actually surprisingly good with Tim from what I've read, wasn't exactly parental with Steph but as a mentor was a fucking asshole, and with Cass was pretty sucky - there's a scene where he gets high and fights her because it's "the language she understands" and he also fires her from Batgirl multiple times (which isn't really his place, it's Barbara's mantle) and is in general overprotective and a bit of a shotgun dad. It's not like Jason dying changed everything about his crappy/non crappy parenting, from my perspective at least
Raven as the goth one and Kory as the naive space princess are both considered canon and are written into canon at this point and fr i hate it. Both of their personalities were streamlined for the cartoon and butchered by comic writers who skipped ntt
The general unimportance of the Titans and lack of any current writers to read their earlier stuff is sad rip
Idk if these were the types of things you were looking for but let me know if you wanted something more specific
Edit: with Tim i mean good by Bruce standards, he's not winning any awards, he still makes mistakes (telling Steph Tim's identity, leaving him with Jean Paul Valley as Batman and the advanced training thing) but he genuinely seems like he's trying and wants to be there for Tim, which for Bruce is good
Edit 2: wait i have another one, the idea that Jason is good at cooking and Dick sucks at it. Jason let's Bizzaro cook for the Outlaws and Dick has been shown cooking multiple meals across canon and teaching Tim how to do homemaking stuff in Batman: Prodigal
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much-ado-about-exy · 2 years
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some shenanigans
Uploading… BatCave >> Ongoing Cases >> Evidence >> Red Robin. IMG. 75 KB. NAME: Pick up your goddamn phone, Red.JPG [A gloved hand, middle finger raised.]
—-
Incoming call from Pain In My Assholes 🔴
“What.”
“It’s about fucking time.”
“I’m busy, Jason.”
“Too busy to talk about the case that I’m helping you with of my own good-hearted free will?”
“Busy enough that publicly shaming me on the Cave’s share drive isn’t going to work.”
“…”
“…”
“But it did work, didn’t it?”
“…”
“Don’t you fucking dare hang up on me, you asshole, I swear to g-“
Call ended.
Uploading… BatCave >> Candid Cuties. IMG. 86 KB. NAME: Batgirl this folder is an irresponsible use of cave resources.PNG [A selfie. In the bottom corner is the top left third of Damian’s stoic face. in the background, Batman stares disapprovingly down at Nightwing, who is in a one-handed handstand, using his free hand to gesture passionately]
Uploading… BatCave >> Candid Cuties. IMG. 56 KB. NAME: You’re still using it tho :).HIEC [selfie of Batgirl in a domino mask, blonde hair loose, cheekily throwing up a peace sign, sticking her tongue out, and winking]
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Snapchat group Poly-cool
Chat from Bart: babe
Chat from Bart: babe
Chat from Bart: babe
Chat from Tim: which of us are u talking 2
Chat from Connor: IT IS 2 AM BOTH OF YOU GO TO BED
Chat from Bart: i have a question tho
Chat from Connor: ARE YOU DYING BC OTHERWISE I THINK IT CAN WAIT 6 HOURS
Chat from Bart: if u rly think abt it we all are
Chat from Bart: maybe not u, ig
Chat from Connor: ,,,
Chat from Connor: so what was ur question
Chat from Bart: it’s for tim, actually
Chat from Connor: oh.
Chat from Connor: goodnight
Chat from Tim: rude
Chat from Bart: rude. anyway
Chat from Bart: why do ppl always call ppl named jim, jimothy, but they never call ppl named tim, tames
Chat from Tim: ,,,,
Chat from Tames: that is an excellent question
Chat from Bart: i am so in love
---
Snapchat group Wayne Family Disaster
Video from Jaybird. “Someone tell Tim his boyfriend’s in Gotham before he gets himself in trouble.” [Vid: Superboy floats a few feet off the ground, apparently in passionate discussion with some political fanatic behind a table that says “Sexism isn’t real. Change my mind.” Superboy’s face is red. The man behind the table is on his feet, leaning aggressively into SB’s space.]
Photo from Tames. “boyfriend retrieved” [Img: Superboy is become Leash Kid. He wears a bright red backpack with a canvas tether attached and sullenly holds an ice cream cone. In the bottom right corner of the frame, Tim’s hand holds the other end of the leash and another ice cream.]
Photo from Damian Wayne. “I would like chocolate in a dish.” [Img: A black background.]
Chat from Tames: u know the price
Chat from Damian Wayne: I do not want to get up.
Chat from Tames: u know. the price.
Photo from Damian Wayne. “With sprinkles.” [Img: Titus is curled up napping in one of his many plush rich-dog beds. On his back, lays Alfred the Cat, also dozing. The afternoon sunlight filters through the trees and in the window in such a way that makes the whole tableau look incandescently angelic.]
Chat from Tames: BABY TAX
Chat from D!ck: BABY TAX
Chat from Stephie: BABY TAX
Chat from Queen Cass: 👶💵
Photo from Big B. “I would also like chocolate.” [Img: Damian is now a part of the angelic scene, leaning against Titus and Alfred the Cat and reading aloud to them from a book titled “Bedtime Stories for Dogs”]
Chat from D!ck: BABY!!! TAX!!!
Chat from Tames: ugh. fine.
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thattimdrakeguy · 3 years
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I couldn’t finish Batman and Robin 2009. It was just... mentally exhausting and I stopped shortly after Bat Dick put fake Bruce in the Lazarus pit. Based on his appearances in Teen Titans, Bruce Wayne: Road Home, as well as his big fan base, I assumed Damian’s character development was executed nicely in his own series. But then again in Gates of Gotham (literally read it just for Cass) he’s impulsive, arrogant and rude to Cass both to her face and behind her back-even after she saved his life 1
Don’t get me started on the sexist things he’s said to Steph. I want to like Damian, but writers don’t make it easy. I got into comics because of batfam fanfics and he was a fave of mine. Dude was extra violent and displayed borderline sociopathic tendencies in his first appearances, cool beans. There’s a lot they can do with a character like that. I just felt like his bad behaviour was never properly dealt with before B&R, and I couldn’t muster the energy to see him through his own series. 2/2
IMO, Damian felt like a Gary Stu at times.
I don’t know if that last one was from the same person or not, but I just got the feeling it is, and if it’s not, then well it blends well enough and don’t feel the need to answer it separately.
Like all I can really say is that I don’t really like Damian. A lot of people confuse that for me thinking he’s an evil monster. I imagine cause I have a Tim icon and other Tims do rage on about that every now and again. As well as just plain taking things I say the wrong way (though I have probably said things in the moment I imagine). But I just plain don’t really like his writing, and if I can’t really read a comic he’s in that I actually like. Idk, I just find it weird to say I like him, when all I really like is what he could be. I don’t feel like that really equals me liking him, cause when I think about it, I kinda realized that meant the opposite, and didn’t wanna project the wrong idea.
But I wanna say this about Damian. He is insanely inconsistent as a personality and character. To this very day. So, as I do with every character, I start from the beginning, figure out what was meant to be by the writers that helped develop them, and figure out what’s in-character and out of character from there. I just feel like it’s the most objective way I can look at anything if I want to review things with standards that are more than just “I like this” or “I don’t like that”.
And in the case of Damian he’s never not been inconsistent. Like one of the main reasons I reread Batman and Robin (or at least Morrison’s run) was for plans of a post about flanderization in the Bat-Family, cause it was pretty rampant in the 00s and still continues often to this very day, and I think is the cause of a lot of lost sales and unhappiness and overall fandom diminishment.
However also to say it, I liked to see a lot of what Damian could be within B&R 09.
But anyways, basically just because I can’t really do a part of the post on Damian without trying to figure out what he was like to begin with, and what he was supposed to be per his creator.
Cause you can’t really tell in fandom. Cause his most popular comics are from stuff that isn’t in the main universe and was purposely a lot lighter, or in the main universe from writers that really surprisingly didn’t get the character despite the popularity--which continues my thinking on it was less about the quality of the writing and more about the lazy fan service. They honestly really flanderized him in a similar yet opposite way then what they did with Tim in the 00s.
And while I can’t act like the sexism and homophobia wasn’t an actual part of the character of Damian at the time--he shows both of those traits in the series (at least the homophobia, cause I’m now realizing that I might be thinking of another series for the sexism). He was flanderized even then by other writers from the different series.
Like how he’s written in Red Robin, is not freaking Damian. It’s not Damian to me. I don’t accept it as Damian. Even a lot of the content of him in Batgirl I even less feel like is Damian--besides unfortunately some of the sexist comments, but they never really proper developed him on that as far as like--actively showing that, at least that I can recall. So all I can really say is it’s uncomfortable, and how they don’t delve into it is the only real reason I say “That actually sadly does fit in with him”. But it’s not like it doesn’t make sense, he was raised to fight, not to handle emotions or feelings, he probably would do and say really creepy things when he has a crush--I just wish they’d actually acknowledge that what was going on rather than sacrificing a good story for more fan service.
The other writers make him too much of a bratty, snotty, kid. And I found that, that is an absolutely terrible interpretation of Damian, because beyond his origin, he isn’t a typical brat, and he doesn’t really act like a kid (in some ways yes, but general mannerisms and personality no). And even then he was a different kind of brat. He was entitled and bitchy in his origin, not immature (at least in the same way) and snotty. They have him act more like some spoiled brat from next door rather than a kid that was abused into being obedient to be what his abusive mother wanted (Talia shouldn’t be abusive, but like I said before, I think the series sucked overall for reasons like that and more).
(I also find that stupid line cutting scene in RR where I presume he was trying to kill Tim to be even stupider, cause Damian wouldn’t freaking do that at that point. They make Damian come off as so stupid in that issue, I hate it. Cause it was all just a cheap way to force sympathy for him, but it doesn’t even make sense when you think about it and is a huge stretch.)
Damian doesn’t make jokes when he’s written better--it’s like his thing. He’s got quite the temper, and understandably why of course. He’s violent with criminals, but he’s also mostly just stoic as his base state when not in a stressed situation, and even shows remorse (which is a big stretch from his origin, but I blame that on the writing which could be very rushed and lazy). He was treated like just another adult for the most part, and it had a weirdly endearing quality despite the maturity of it, and general edge of the series. It was Damian’s place and it worked really well. It just felt right for their dynamics. Damian’s a unique kid, and they respected him for who he was. He just needed help on his morals and stability.
But other series didn’t really get that. He would still be really rude like his origin, and not really the same tone of rudeness (I’m not sure if I can really explain what I mean by that), he’s aggressive, but putting him in Teen Titans never made sense to me, because I don’t see Dick doing that. Dick had a lot more respect than to force Damian to do something like that. Dick was more patient, and while he did lightly smack (not any kind to hurt him any. literally to demonstrate without pain. more taps really) him to teach him a point about aesthetical weaknesses in his costume like the hood, it was mostly done out of finding a way to teach him that would speak to him. So just forcing him to do something he didn’t want to do--which would clearly not work on him--was just contrived and plain bad writing wise. Something they did more as a stunt so they can say “TITANS NOW HAS THE SON OF BATMAN” than to use him well or continue his story in a natural way.
With Cass I can’t say anything, because that’s like the one time he talks to her, and that basically shows their dynamic. So that’s just them, I can’t really say anything on it. If he felt challenged by her I could see him being a total jerk. It really depends on the scenes themselves. I never read the series myself cause I genuinely really don’t like that Batman Reborn era of Bat-Family. Too much of it was just done for publicity and random changes, and for the most part didn’t work much to me.
But overall, at the same time, despite me singing the praises of what Damian could be, and was for a little while. The overall writing for the character arc was super lazy. Stuff just kind of happens, and way too quick to fit in with what they introduced. He just kind of goes “this is right, now”, which makes his whole brainwashing thing feel a bit--useless, and makes how he went from chopping heads off to that in very little time sort of cuts out depth that could’ve really made the series more rereadable. Damian actually comes off surprisingly as a very flat character for stretches of time in the issues because his character arc is never focused on as much as you’d think until they need to be like “Oh yeah...uh, here’s an emotional moment”. Which just felt really cheap to me.
So the series to me isn’t worth it if you want a good story. None of the stories were good to me, I think I was questioning each one cause it was either schlocky, out of character, or both. I know people like Grant Morrison, but they aren’t for me, I’m not a fan of their writing. Damian was a Gary Stu a lot, which they try to explain with the League thing--but having the League give him experimental surgery so he could walk the same day (or next) after being legitimately paralyzed was just way too freaking much to me. But he does make mistakes, so he’s not at base a Gary Stu really--the writing just really stunk badly sometimes.
This isn’t me putting in a bid to say “OH YOU JUST NEED TO READ THIS, AND YOU’LL FREAKING LOVE HIM”, because to be freaking honest, when you already have a bad taste in your mouth, it’s best to just wait a bit till trying again. I read the fandom recommended comics and felt there was so many problems that I couldn’t read Damian for literal months. And he still has a lot of the problems you said. I’m just saying Damian is surprisingly different when written by his creator than others, cause honestly nearly every single other writer for him has gotten him wrong. Like mind-blowingly wrong. He does not feel like the same character anywhere else. It’s nuts.
To put it another way, it’s a generally speaking bad series, but if you want to see what Damian was meant to be like before they kept regressing him, and diminishing him, and turning him into more a joke, and see what his dynamic with Dick and Alfred was meant to be like, it’s a brilliant and perfect series to read it for.
It’s better for learning about them--then it actually is to enjoy it. Because it’s most likely not a series I’m going to be returning too often unless to research something again.
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ellana-ravenwood · 4 years
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The Batfamily TV show I wish existed but that will most likely never be (wecanhopethough) :
I’ve been fantasazing a LOT lately about a Batfam centric tv show. Not a story just about Bruce and then the kids are somewhere in the background, or just about one of the kid, or one character of the “extended family”. Nope. A TV show, that would focus on everyone. And here’s a few of my thoughts haha :
We’ve seen enough of times Bruce’s parents murder so no need to have a scene of that again. Even people who never read a Batman comics or watch a movie/animated show, sort-of know how he ended up being Batman ya know ? It kinda became a trope, a classic scene, to see little eight year old Bruce screaming above his parents’ bodies, in an empty alley...We really don’t need to see yet another one of those. We all know the story. And for those who are not up to date, there will be hints of what happened dropped all through the show. Because it’s still about Batman.
The Robins and all though, often people don’t even know there’s more than one Robin ? Or at least don’t know how many there are really...So here how I would love for the show to start/be : 
The first few episodes would only be about ONE kid, and ONE “extended family member” (Like Babs, ya know ?). My absolute biggest dream would be to have the ENTIRE Batfam represented (or most, there’s some members from alternate timelines/world that I’m not sure would appear...or maybe just as a cameo ?), and each of them would have their moments, and be just as important as the other. My perfect Batfam TV show would portray how they are all linked, how they’re a family (albeit not always a very functional one) So. Here we are. Longer episodes than normal shows,more mini-series sort of things than the traditional 40 minutes episodes. I think an hour would be a good timeframe, at least for the “origin story” episode...so, yeah, longer-than-usual episodes about all the origins of the kids and all.
First episode start with Dick coming in young Bruce Wayne’s life. We quickly understand that Bruce just came back after years away from Gotham (and that it was to train to become Batman). He’s been back for less than a year, and already started to be a night vigilante...And here he comes. Little Richard Grayson. A boy in which Bruce sees himself a lot (because of the way he lost his parents). And so Bruce makes the crazy decision to adopt the kid (yeah yeah I know “ward”), and it literally changes the way he lives. And boom, Dick’s origin story. Maybe a little shenanigans across the Manor. Dick’s difficulty to adapt to living with Bruce now, and not having his parents. Showing how he can get so angry at times ! And how he isn’t just that jolly little boy who jokes around and hugs everyone he sees ? Basically, an episode that could show every faces of Dick Grayson. Because he deserves to have a show where an entire episode is JUST FOR HIM, and how he is.
Second episode would be Barbara Gordon’s introduction. Pretty straight forward. Who she is, daughter of who, how she came to become Batgirl. Her close relationship with the Batman and his sidekick(s). Showing all the dimension of Babs, her intelligence and such. She isn’t just “a badass girl” (she’d only be a girl at the beginning), but an extremely intelligent one who’s able to turn situations around that look desperate, thanks to her analytic brain etc etc. She’s essential in a lot of Batman stories.
Third episode would be Jason’s arrival. Completely different from Dick’s. the episode would focus on the few years he has with Bruce, and where he comes from. How Jason hasn’t always been “the rebel of the family” (and how actually Dick has that role more than any of his brothers really...in this episode, probably there will be a quick mention of how the “previous Robin” is sort of a taboo subject because he left Gotham to go with the Teen Titans and Bruce is still not over it...). How he’s actually really sweet, and so SO happy to be Robin, and finally have someone that cares ? Which will explain why he became Red Hood later on...The episode would end on his death.
Fourth episode would start with Bruce being depressed, still not over Jason’s death. It would show how he became even more violent, which he has fights about with Dick...At the same time, Dick came back to Gotham as Nightwing after Jason’s death to still be there as a support for Bruce. Dick is always there when his friends or family members need his help...Doesn’t mean they don’t fight though. Bruce is even tougher to get through to than he used to. Jason’s death really hardened him further, the guilt not helping, of course. And then...Here enters little Timothy Drake. “Hey, I know you’re Batman !” he tells him, smiling widely...A few of his (baby) teeth are missing, that’s how young he is. The episode would be about how Bruce refuses to take Tim in as first (even more so since Tim’s parents are still alive by then), and would show their relationship evolves, all the way up to Bruce officially adopting Timbo.
Fifth episode : Hey is that Stephanie Brown we see ? Yup it iiiiiis !! Her story. Her background. What’s up with her. This episode is all about her. How she’s an important part of Bruce’s life, however isn’t one of his adoptive kid (it would be weird anyway...it would mean she ends up dating her own brother...). I always viewed Steph’ as an important member of the “Batfam”, but not as one of Bruce’s kid ? Like, she’s most definitely cared for and loved, but she doesn’t permanently live at Wayne Manor, and isn’t officially his ward or adopted kid etc etc...Doesn’t mean she isn’t included and not sort-of-family ! But, ya know what I mean, extremely close friends can be family too (remember : this is only MY opinion and how I view the characters after I read comics with them, you can totally disagree...in that case do it nicely, please).
Sixth Episode would be Cassandra’s. Bruce is fighting against her father, and that’s when he finds that young girl that appears mute, and that just killed a few men in front of him. He learns of her story, how her father tried to turn her into a weapon since she was born, via some audio recordings he found in one of his hideout. And he feels utterly disarmed. What is he supposed to do ? He can’t let such a dangerous person out, at the same time, she looks so young...And it’s not quite her fault, according to the recordings...He can’t just leave her there, but he’s also sure that locking her up would do more harm than anything else. So he takes her in. Ensues the beginning of Cass’ evolution (the rest will be in other episodes).
Seventh episode would be the one where Bruce discovers that Jason is still alive, and that he HATES HIM. Fighty fights fight...Oh shit it’s my son. Flashback of how Jason got resurrected and his short time with the Al’Ghuls, and a little speech about why he hates Bruce so much. Very “Under the Red Hood”, I guess. Ends with a heartbroken Bruce, and an even angrier Jason (because he saw Tim and Cass and can’t believe Bruce still enrolls kids to be his little “child soldier”...of course, it’s more complicated than that).
Eighth episode, Damian’s dramatic entrance. “I thought you’d be taller”. He tries to fight every single one of his siblings (that he most definitely not consider as such yet) (and yes I’m including Cass because I want her to be part of it all...), and it’s obvious they let him win. Sure, the kid trained since he was born...But they’re all pretty old now, and trained by the Batman too. Damian couldn't overpower them that easily (yeah it’s a canon thing I’m not a fan of...). In any case, Damian’s first few days in the family are tough af...
Then after all those origin stories, a lot would happen before Duke’s episode finally comes (because he appears quite late in the Batfam). So an explanation about how he came to get in, what happened to his parents, etc etc. An episode about Duke ! He might come in only like, in a later season (again he comes really late into everything, although he appears before). But when he comes in, Damian is less of a brat now, and considers everyone his family etc etc.
I know there’s a lot more people that are friendly with the Batfam (like Luke Fox and all) HOWEVER, I wanna talk about the “core” Batfam, Bruce and the kids and all. Family. Now of course, Kate Kane would appear. Maybe have her own part of an episode about how at first she decides to become Batwoman of her own volition and isn’t even affiliated with Bruce. Her story at her military school. Why she decided to get into this business etc etc...Probably things about Jim Gordon too. Oh, and the villains ! But really, only full episodes about the ones that are really...family. Like, Kate is Bruce’s cousin and all, but...they always kinda had their own things going on. Now as I said, she’ll appear, but you know what I mean. Basically, allies and friends will most definitely appear, but they won’t all have a full episodes about them ? Maybe a story revolving around them, and therefor we learn the essentials. Also, lil introductions to all the pets the Batfam has (of course we’d have Batcow, Titus, Ace and other Alfred the Cat hehe). 
The narrator would be Alfred Pennyworth, because he’s the one constant in every story. He’s always there (or almost). First episode would start with Bruce as a little boy, after his parents’ death, training around the house, and then as the episodes unfold, more and more members appear, training with him (opening credits).
We’d just have episodes about their domestic life AND their detective life. A perfect mix of both World. And after all those introduction episodes, that would be all interesting because we all know those peeps have some wild backgrounds, then the audience would know everyone ! Now, it’s a lot of characters, so, once they’re all introduced, they don’t need to always appear. There would be episodes of all of them together, and sometimes of just two of them bonding over whatever ? Like, Dick and Jason. Tim and Damian. Etc etc.
And every episodes would talk about all the different facets of their personalities, and not only focus on stereotypes (like it’s often the case :/). Like, NONE OF THEM are one-dimensional characters. So, let’s show that Bruce is a caring man but also a total jerk sometimes, that Dick is the “carefree” one but also the “angry Robin” more than Jason is, that Jason isn’t just a killing machine and a rebel, but also very sweet. That Tim isn't just that coffee addict boy who never sleeps, but a selfless man who’s in it because he thinks he does the right thing. That Damian isn’t just a brat who hates everyone, but tries really hard to better himself and is actually extremely scared of becoming like the Al Ghuls and turning bad etc etc...Show their complex personalities, and not just boring and lazy cliches. 
Are you starting to see why this show would be impossible to exist, wether live action or animated ? Haha yeah, it’d be like, 300 seasons long hahahaha. Because there’s so much material ! ...But I’m pretty sure so many of us fans would watch every single episodes.
PS : This is an “adaption” I imagined, so of course not every subtlety about everyone are in the short synopsis of their episodes I gave, and there would be much more than that. And some aspect of the stories are switched a little. And it’s only snippets, small portions. My idea would be much more worked on. I just wanted to share the little things I thought about ^^. '
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incoherentbabblings · 4 years
Note
Fluff no.9 with timsteph in the red robin/batgirl era pleaseeee:)
Birthday Ask Game
Thank you for the ask!!!
Fluff #9 “Are we on a date right now?”  
“You ready for your ‘grand return’ to the Gotham social scene?”
“No time like the present. Seeing me should distract the League long enough to let you get Leslie out of harm’s way…”
“But I haven’t a thing to wear.”
“We’re right around the corner from the garment district, right? Gimme twenty minutes.”
“’Kay.”
Batgirl remained on the roof whilst Tim broke into a store. Something fancy, he’d thought.
He was still mad at her. Batgirl. Stephanie. Her solution to the Spoiler question was just to switch costumes. Really? And Babs signed off on this? Cass signed off on this? Dick signed off on this?
As if.
What happened to you Tim?
As if Stephanie actually cared. Like Stephanie Brown actually gave a goddamn about anyone else in her peppy empty headed –
Oh, that was a nice dress.
No. Still angry. Where was he? Oh yes. Peppy, bright voice with a giggle always waiting to burst out.
No wait –
“This one is nice.” Batgirl voiced behind him.
“Gah!” He jumped like a schoolgirl, and Batgirl raised her eyebrows. Well, he assumed she did. That cowl wasn’t the easiest thing to get to grips with. Even his own…
“You let your guard down.”
Oh. Hah. She was being clever. Or what Stephanie assumed was clever. Sarcasm and snarking. Turning his own words on him. Which, fine, maybe he had his hypocritical moments, but who doesn’t? Who isn’t a little bit flawed? Especially after everything he’d been through and how traumatized –
“This is gonna sound stupid but can you pick something that covers my gut? Like no cheeky belly or anything.”
“What?”
“It’s all gnarly and scarred.”
“Oh. Of course.”
Shit. Shit. Most physical scars came with mental ones. Stupid. Who was the self-absorbed one again?
“Thanks.” And she smiled. And it was beautiful. Tim gulped.
“Go pick some white shoes. I’ll keep looking.”
Steph looked around, craning her neck to locate footwear, then waltzed off, blonde hair flowing behind her. Tim robotically turned back around, and began to filter through dresses. He knew her size, loathe as he was to admit it, he still remembered. She deserved something nice. Something eye catching. But not too eye catching. They had to slip in and out with Leslie after all. But still. But still. But still.
“This one.” He declared, tearing off the tags. He tossed it to Stephanie, who after a brief inspection, acquiesced.
She reached behind her cowl and tugged it off, sighing at the relief of getting the weight off the crown of her head. Tim blushed, hearing her tug the zipper down on her suit. Was she seriously going to get changed right in front of him?
Pausing, Stephanie noticed he was staring. “Don’t you have a regular suit to find?”
Tim burned even more red. “Yes. Sure. Be right back.”
She laughed at his red cheeks, then continued to undress.
He found her later waiting for him outside the party. Hair done up, fresh layer of makeup on, pretty dress, pretty girl.
“Bam. Look at you, huh?” She giggled. “We didn’t get to go on dates like these very often, did we?”
She seemed to realise her mistake the moment the words left her mouth, and her smile fell off with her warm skin growing pale. Ignoring a strange gut reaction to quiet her nerves, to promise that he could do that for her from now on, he instead replied,
“Are we on a date right now?”
She looked mortified he should even ask.
“Leslie’s in danger.” She pushed, looking more than a little distraught.
Two years ago, he would have known exactly what to do. Pull her in with his left arm so she would be able to rest her head on his shoulder and neck, using the pressure of his hold as a soothing agent. Her warmth would bleed into him, and they would both grow calmer.
Now Tim could only watch as she turned to go into the party without him. No, wait. That was wrong. He could do something…
“Wait Steph. Gimme your arm.”
“What?”
“C’mere. Just until we get through the entrance.”
She moved closer until they were chest to chest. She stared at him, like she was still suspicious of what she saw, of who he was. After a moment of too long a pause, she seemed contented with her inspection. She reached up and played with his long hair, making it point in different directions thanks to the gel he had brushed through it. Tim’s rattling heart settled, if only for a moment.
“Let’s hurry. We need to save Leslie.”
Tim held out his arm, like a gentleman, and Stephanie graciously took it, colour returning to her cheeks. Tim again felt his mood shift with hers, and already could feel his smile softening. He wanted very much to kiss her forehead once more like he used to, encouraging her onwards.
But no, he was still angry with her.
Honest.
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gokinjeespot · 3 years
Text
off the rack #1316
Monday, March 8, 2021
 Coming up on a year since the pandemic started. I hope you're all healthy and safe. I am hopeful that vaccines will be deployed widely and help us all feel less anxious. I am fortunate enough to be one of those people who is happy as a bug snug in a rug while self isolating. I do really miss my dear friends and family but hugs can wait until we're all vaccinated.
 My thanks to Doug for lending me these comic books to read.
 Batman Annual #5 - James Tynion IV (writer) James Stokoe (art) Clayton Cowles (letters). It's the origin of Clownhunter and it's not very original. If I had to pay $4.99 US I would have passed on this and lived with leaving a hole in my Batman collection. If you're not familiar with this new vigilante, he's an Asian teenager named Bao who decides he's going to kill the Joker and all of the villain's sycophants. The reason he becomes Clownhunter (and killer) is very mundane. I wish they could have come up with a new motivator. Maybe the philosophical discussion about what to do about the Joker might interest some fans but I found this story quite tedious. I also didn't like the way Bao and his parents were portrayed. Did they really have an Asian saying "Ah, so"? Yes they did on page 8. Shades of Charlie Chan, Batman. I was not offended, just disappointed.
 Batman/Catwoman #3 - Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). I was thrilled to see the town of Port Orange, Florida mentioned on the first page. My pal Al lives there. It's also where Selina finally catches up with the Joker and does what Batman never did. I love this Black Label book taking familiar characters and treating them in a new and interesting way. Here's a future where Selina has survived her husband Bruce's death and their daughter Helena is the new Batwoman. Now I wait to see how mother and daughter deal with the Angel of Death.
 And now, more Future State books.
 Future State: Robin Eternal #2 - Meghan Fitzmartin (writer) Eddy Barrows (pencils) Eber Ferreira (inks) Adriano Lucas (colours) Pat Brosseau (letters). The consequence of Tim Drake/Robin being dunked in Lazarus resin is that now he's immortal. Whoop-dee-doo. Not only is this a boring Robin beats up bad guys issue but the art lacked any logical perspective. This issue takes place on a train but you would think it's in a huge building based on the art. I know it's comic books but I hate when one doesn't make visual sense. I think that's just laziness.
 Future State: Kara Zor-El Superwoman #1 & #2 - Marguerite Bennett (writer) Marguerite Sauvage (art) Wes Abbott (letters). This 2-issue fairy tale was not meant for old farts like me and Doug. With it's soft pastel colours these books should have included glitter and bubblegum flavoured lip gloss. Maybe young tween girls will like this. The moral of this story is "no one is born wise".
 Future State: Dark Detective #3 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Dan Mora (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Aditya Bidikar (letters). There are not one but two Batmans in this issue. You've got Bruce in his new capeless costume but here he's wearing a trench coat to give that fluttering effect, and then there's the new guy in the Bat suit, cape and all. The "uh-oh" point of the story hits here when the bad guys discover where Bruce is hiding out. The Matthew Rosenberg (writer) Carmine Di Giandomenico (art) Antonio Fabela (colours) & AndWorld Design (letters) Grifter story concludes here too with a double cross and a whole lot more of Helena/Huntress. This is my favourite Future State book so far.
 Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1 & #2 - Sean Lewis (writer) John Timms (art) Gabe Eltaeb (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). If you're wondering how a grown up Jonathan Kent takes over for his dad as Metropolis's protector then these two $5.99 US books will satisfy your curiosity. The villain of the story is an evolved Brainiac who is a big multi-mouthed ball now. Metropolis is shrunk ala the bottle city of Kandor, the citizens go nuts but Jon returns things back to normal in the end with the help of Kara/Supergirl. I don't know why Kara's a girl in this story and a woman elsewhere. Each issue has two back-ups so you get your money's worth. One features Mister Miracle and the other the Guardian. They are both dealing with bad things inside the bottled Metropolis. You won't miss much if you don't read them. The Mister Miracle story "The Metropolis Menagerie" is done my Brandon Easton (writer) Valentine De Landro (art) Marissa Louise (colours) Dave Sharpe (letters). The Guardian story is brought to you by Sean Lewis (writer) Cully Hamner & Michael Avon Oeming (art) Laura Martin (colours) AndWorld Design (letters). This one got me excited because a villain wants to throw Jimmy Olsen off of the Daily Planet building.
 Future State: Catwoman #2 - Ram V (writer) Otto Schmidt (art) Tom Napolitano (letters). Read this to find out if Catwoman saves the lives of the people on the train. You will also find out if Bruce is freed from the bad guys. Talia Al-Ghul appearing is the deus ex machina in this story. I like the new Cheshire and Onomatopoeia is always fun.
 Future State: Superman: Worlds of War #2 - Phillip Kennedy Johnson (writer) Mikel Janin (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) & Dave Sharpe (letters). In "The Many Deaths of Superman" the Man of Steel fights in the arena of Warworld where Mongul resurrects him after every death match. It's the typical brutal battle scenes and super villain gloating. What's more compelling is an old newspaper story that Clark Kent wrote that inspired a young woman who travels to Smallville. I was totally confused by the three back-up stories featuring Mister Miracle, Midnighter and the Black Racer because they were not very good. I am a completist and have to finish what I start. I could have stopped reading after the $3.99 US main story in this bloated $7.99 US comic book  but my obsessive compulsive nature wouldn't let me. It's a character flaw I wish I could change.
 Future State: The Next Batman #1 - John Ridley (writer) Nick Derington (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). All the teasers for this book hyped the fact that this Batman is black. You won't get the secret identity in this first issue but there are a bunch of likely candidates. Lucas Fox is a possibility but it's confusing because he's a bad guy in another Future State book. This is another $7.99 US book with back-ups. These are more coherent than the ones in Future State: Superman: Worlds of War.
Future State: Outsiders by Brandon Thomas (writer) Sumit Kumar (pencils) Sumit Kumar & Raul Fernandez (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) & Steve Wands (letters) gathers together some old Batman associates helping Gotham City citizens escape persecution by the Magistrates outside Gotham City's borders. Get it? It was nice seeing Katana in action.
Future State: Arkham Knights by Paul Jenkins (writer) Jack Herbert (art) Gabe Eltaeb (colours) & Rob Leigh (letters) gathers together some of Batman's rogues gallery to fight the oppressive Magistrate. Two-Face, Mr. Zsasz, Dr. Phosphorus, Killer Croc and other ex-inmates of Arkham Asylum are being lead by an armoured Astrid Arkham. It's super villains being super heroes.
 Future State: The Next Batman #2 - John Ridley (writer) Nick Derington (breakdowns) Laura Braga (art) Arif Prianto (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). We learn the secret identity of the new caped Batman in this issue. It's Lucas Fox's brother. He has a brother? This also has three new back-up stories.
"Batgirls" is by Vita Ayala (writer) Aneke (art) Trish Mulvihill (colours) & Becca Carey (letters). Batgirl/Orphan Cassandra Cain gets locked up in the Magistrate Detention Facility where both good guys/white hats and bad guys/black coats are incarcerated. She got caught on purpose because her mission is to find Oracle and Batman and free them. She gets help from Spoiler who is queen of the inmates. In this reality Cass is way more articulate than she used to be. I didn't like that. I also didn't like that in the other Future State stories the Magistrate foot soldiers have a shoot to kill order for any masks that they encounter. Why are all of these masks alive? Anyways, this part ends with the white hats and black coats forming an alliance so Cass can get on with her mission.
"Gotham City Sirens: Ladies' Night Out" is by Paula Sevenbergen (writer) Rob Haynes (breakdowns) Emanuela Lupacchino (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) John Kalisz (colours) Becca Carey (letters). Catwoman and Poison Ivy spring a domestic droid named Dee Dee (get it?) from servitude and they have a night on the town at a bar. The bar is run by Sam Bradley and both super heroes and villains can imbibe in peace. Fans of Sex and the City may like this. Not a lot of drama until the last page when the joint is raided by Magistrate goons and major characters are shot.
 Future State: The Next Batman #3 - John Ridley (writer) Nick Derington (breakdowns) Laura Braga (art) Arif Prianto (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). This is the "uh-oh" moment in the story where the hero is felled by the villain. A wounded Batman is attacked by the murderer he's trying to bring to justice. I saw that coming.
I like the change with Black Lightning in the Outsiders back-up.
I like the art in the Arkham Knights back-up even though the dialogue is eye roll inducing.
 Future State: The Next Batman #4 - Jace/Batman lives, as if that was in any doubt. This story would have been a lot more interesting if Bruce/Batman was really dead. Even if the Future State line of comics dies out this Next Batman is a cop out. The Batgirls story ends with Cassandra/Orphan saving Barbara/Oracle and the Resistance gaining ground on the Magistrates. The Gotham City Sirens story ends with Catwoman and Poison Ivy helping the Resistance get an advantage in their war with the Cybers thanks to Dee Dee.
 I admit that I was sucked in by the hype for this mini. The Next Batman being black intrigued me. The story itself was meh and I would not have missed anything by not reading it. I was not engaged as a mature reader but I think someone in their teens might like all the stories in these four issues.
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awhitehead17 · 4 years
Text
Who’s To Blame?
Tim & Steph & Cass, Bickering, Injuries, Friendship, Cass drives the batmobile, Fluff. 
Summary: After sneaking out Tim and Steph get injured and have to decide on how they're going to get back to the cave. However their decision is already made for them when Cass turns up in the batmobile.
A/N: This is done for @lazuliquetzal from the @batfam-christmas-stocking 2019, I hope you like it! 
Also on AO3
Enjoy! :D
“This is all your fault.”
“My fault? How is this my fault!”
“You’re the one who wanted to come out tonight after specifically being told not to.”
“Well it’s not my fault that you decided to come along with me while sneaking out now is it? You could have stayed home in the warmth and uninjured.”
“Well -ow- I couldn’t leave you to do it by yourself now can I?”
“Why? Don’t you trust me?”
“You know it’s not like that. Wait, wait… let’s just pause… I need to sit down.”
Tim grits his teeth as he slides down the wall and onto the floor. He breathes heavily through his nose and out of his mouth as he tries to ignore the throbbing coming from his right leg. There was a bullet wound in his thigh, a knife wound in his calf and on top that off he’s sprained his ankle. It was not a good night.
Next to him Steph slumps against the wall and slides down until she’s on the floor as well. The gash on her forehead was still bleeding and the side of her costume was slowly filling up with blood from a stab wound.
The two of them take a moment to breathe and try to get themselves together. They had been in a ridiculously long battle with a gang of thugs and barely came out of it victorious. The two of them had teamed up and were taking down a drug trafficking network through Gotham but when word got out about how big it had become Bruce immediately took them off the case and refused to let them work on it further.
A couple nights later Steph had somehow managed to catch wind of a meet up happening and had planned to sneak out to bust it, however Tim had caught her in the process of going out and instead of convincing her to stay in he joined her in going out.
That’s where they are now, enjoying the consequences of sneaking out without back up. Now they were injured and bleeding out in an alley way, arguing pettily over who’s fault it was.
The battle was harder than either of them had expected, a few sloppy moments landed them both hit and injured but luckily nothing too life threatening, yet. After tying the unconscious thugs up and calling the police they quickly took care of the more severe injuries before hobbling away from the scene.
Tim takes in another deep breath and lets it out, he glances at Steph’s form beside him before tilting his head back against the wall. “We need help. There’s no way we’re getting back to the cave by ourselves like this.”
Steph tiredly snorts, “Uh huh, speak for yourself boy wonder.”
Tim rolls his eyes feeling slightly irritated, “by all means Steph, try and make it back by yourself, go and prove me wrong. I’ll make sure they use your tracker to find your unconscious body when you don’t make it back to the cave and pass out on top of a rooftop.”
Steph makes a sound and smacks him. She hits his side and it sends a jolt of pain right through him. He hisses and curses, she must have hit a bruise.
They fall silent and Tim knows that they really ought to get moving, or at least contact someone. They’re both injured and bleeding out, too tired to move or even do anything, anyone could come along right now and probably beat them without much effort.
He groans, “Bruce is going to be so pissed.”
Steph hums, “Yup. Who do you think he’ll be more pissed at, you or me?”
Tim cracks his eyes open and shoots her a look, “I don’t think that matters right now Steph, he’s going to be pissed at both of us no matter what.” He groans again. “I am not looking forward to that lecture.”
Steph doesn’t answer him and he’s fine with that. As childish as it sounds he’s blaming this on her, if anyone asks, it’s all her faut. While he did go out with her by choice, it’s not like he would be able to sit back knowing she’s out doing something dangerous without any back up. Not that he’s a much better choice of backup but he’s better than nothing!
He’s still blaming her though.
As he was complementing on getting up and moving a deep rumble could be heard just away from the alleyway. It sounds like an engine of sorts and Tim instantly tenses up. Next to him Steph jolts upright, her eyes locked in the direction where the sound came from.
They couldn’t fight, not in their condition, but damn it if Tim wasn’t going to try. The engine gets closer and he tenses even more, ignoring the burn that it causes in his leg. He prepares himself just as the vehicle was about to show, it could be anything or anyone. They’ve got to be prepared.
The vehicle comes into view at the other end of the alleyway and he slumps in relief when he recognises the sleek black of the batmobile. He rests against the wall and watches as the vehicle pulls up close to them before stopping. Next to him Steph lets out a sigh in relief, clearly feeling the same as Tim.
However the relief doesn’t last long as his mind catches up to what seeing the batmobile actually means. He tenses up again. Anyone could be in that vehicle and he’s not entirely sure if he’s up for a lecture right at that moment. He wanted to go home, get cleaned, get stitched up and sleep.
The drivers side of the door opens and Tim braces himself to see the looming figure of Batman to step out but is surprised when he sees a much shorter, slimmer and much more feminine figure step out.
Cass dressed in her batgirl suit steps around the car, she goes to them and crouches down, assessing their injuries.
Tim tries for a weak smile, “Hey Cass…”
Silence meets him, while he’s not surprised at that, he also knows that isn’t good. The way Cass’s body is tense and unmoving means she’s not happy, he couldn’t see her face due to the cowl but he knows his sister enough by now to know her basic tells.
“Hey Cassie,” Steph pipes up, “It’s been a bit of a rough night.”
Cass cocks her head in Steph’s direction before looking around, seconds later she’s taking off her cowl so they could see her face. She’s currently wearing a scowl and was glaring at them both. Tim cringes and looks away.
“You both stupid. No back up, could have been hurt worse.”
Tim swallows and looks at her again, he could hear the worry in her voice, “Sorry Cass.”
She looks at him, making eye contact, “You know better.”
Tim waves her off as she looks down at his ankle, “Yeah, yeah, I know.”
After a moment Cass moves between them, she helps Steph up onto her feet first making sure she was balanced against the wall before she’s bending down to help Tim up. He wraps an arm around her shoulder’s and together the three of them make their way to the car. Cass helps Tim get inside the back seat while Steph slowly gets herself in next to him the other side.
Once they were settled Cass moves around and climbs into the drivers side. Tim frowns. “Did you drive here?”
His sister starts the car up and looks at him through the review mirror, nodding once in confirmation.
“When did you learn to drive?” He asks bewildered. He didn’t know Cass could drive, let alone drive the batmobile! He looks over at Steph who appears to be nearly falling asleep. “Did you know Steph?”
She picks up head and looks around lazily before finally looking at him, “I knew she could drive but not the batmobile. You honestly surprised though?”
Tim looks away and back at his sister who was expertly cruising her way through the back streets of Gotham like she’s been doing it for years. Honestly, he not surprised, it was more just of a sudden realisation that’s all.
“Who taught you?”
“Dick. Bruce. Wanted me learn independence.”
Tim nods his head, “That’s fair.”
It goes silent after that, Cass was expertly making her way through the city behind the wheel of the batmobile and next to him Steph was asleep against the door. Tim hopes that wasn’t a concussion’s doing, hopefully it was exhaustion which caused her to pass out. He looks around lazily and begins to feel his own eyes drop, he doesn’t fight it very much and soon enough he’s out like a light.
He wakes up to a hand lightly shaking his shoulder. He jerks up and looks around until he finds Cass crouched in the door of the car, they’ve arrived in the Batcave now. The seat next to him was empty meaning Steph’s gone, hopefully patched up and in bed. Still not really with it, he gives his sister a lazily smile and she smiles back.
Still trying to get his bearings he allows Cass to manhandle him out of the car and together they hobble over to the medical bay. His leg was in agony and he felt completely exhausted. She sets him on top of one of the beds and moves around the bay, on the cot opposite Steph was there drinking a glass of water, she was topless only wearing her sports bra and her side was now bandaged as well as her head. She sends him a weak smile.
Cass comes back and gets him to lie down, she strips him of his suit so she could get to his wounds on his leg and begins to stitch and bandage him up. A couple of hisses and winces come out of him but she works expertly and quickly, in no time at all she’s done. She packs away the kit but not before shoving some pills at him for him to take and a glass of water.
Before he could make a move to get off the bed to finish changing so he could head upstairs to the Manor, Cass stops him with a glare and stands between his and Steph’s bed. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at them both. Tim feels his stomach roll at knowing what was coming.
“Both stupid, should have not gone out. Especially without back up.”
Cass glares at Steph who holds her friends gaze for a long moment until Cass looks away and then in his direction. Tim doesn’t make eye contact, he keeps his gaze focused on the floor.
“Batman said no for a reason, you both ignored him. Now you are injured. Could have been killed!”
Tim hears Steph sigh, “Sorry Cass, but there was no way I could have ignored it, and by the time Bruce would have found out and gone to investigate it would have been too late. This was the only option.”
“Not good enough. Little brother,” Tim winces at being called to attention, “Should know better. You now hurt and benched.”
“Cass, come on,” Tim protests weakly now looking up at her almost pleadingly, “There was no way I could have let Steph go out by herself without back up. I know I should have called back up but it’s okay. Yeah we’re a little banged up but no severe injuries, we’ll be good as new soon enough.”
Cass stares at him, her facial expression was just blank and Tim couldn’t work out what she was thinking. His sister nerved him sometimes. She looks away from him and over to Steph and moves towards her, Cass then leans over and gives her a hug. Steph looks surprised for a moment but is quick to hug her back. They share a few quiet words before pulling away from one another.
Steph starts to get up off the bed as Cass makes her way over to him, she places her hands on his shoulders for a moment before moving to lightly cup his face. Tim rests his own against hers. “You remember next time.” She says sternly.
Tim nods, sending a small smile, “Yeah. Sorry we worried you Cass, but we’ll be fine. Thanks for coming and getting us.”
She nods once and leans forward placing a light kiss to his forehead and pulls away again. Without any words he grabs hold of his arm and halls him to his feet. Together they start hobbling out of the med bay and over to the stairs, Steph travels by next to them.
“Lets get hot coco.” Cass says with a smile.
Steph sends her a tired grin, “Sounds great to me.”
Tim chuckles, “Sure, why not.”
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12freddofrogs · 5 years
Text
An episode of a Batfam TV Show
A while back I started wondering how I would design the Batfamily for their own TV. It started as a quick exercise, just considering ‘Season one would be Dick as Robin, and maybe he and Babs would do this, and then in S2 Jason would turn up’... and then it got detailed to the point I was working out individual episodes, character arcs, and themes.
This is an extract from Season Three, aka, Tim’s Robin run (pt1). The full chapter includes bright eyed Tim Drake nearly getting himself run over by the Batmobile so he can make his case why Batman needs a Robin, a minor cameo by the giant penny in the Cave, an adaptation of The Killing Joke, a driving lesson that technically involves Nightwing stealing the Batmobile, the Spoiler setting up in purple, a Wayne Gala or two, much mourning for what happened in the S2 finale, and Cassandra Cain rejecting her blood family for one that actually cares.
And, of course, this musical episode.
Full fic on Ao3  -Chapter 3 here. It’s much easier to read, especially on mobile.
Chapter 1 here.
Season Three, Episode Twenty - Songbird
A Pied Piper themed villain comes to Gotham. 
He has nothing to do with the Central City villain.
His powers work on children. Specifically, anyone under the age of about eighteen. It’s never made entirely clear what the cut-off age is, just that Cass is immune. 
Of course, no-one really knows how old Cass is, either, considering her lack of birth certificate.
 Tim is having an ordinary day at school, calmly walking past a couple having a break-up in the cafeteria, when the dramatic screaming match switches into a Broadway musical.
Tim is alarmed, and as he continues through the school, other people are bursting into song. Music is playing, and from the way he turns it’s obvious he can hear it and can’t figure out from where.
 “I need to finish my assignment for mathematics / but I can’t find the time without skipping football practise,” one boy tells his friends, then claps a hand against his throat.
“I’ve spent so much time working on Miss Greene’s essay / that I completely forgot about the science test today!” a girl sings, her voice calm despite the fact she’s frantically flipping through a textbook.
“He’s so handsome, he’d never notice me / what would I have to do to make him see?” another girl sings from her locker, glancing at a boy several doors away. He notices her singing, and she yelps, hiding behind her locker door.
Everyone is growing frantically confused by the music.
It eventually turns into a school wide song with everyone, including Tim, singing the same lyrics about “What’s going on? Why are we bursting into song?”
The song finishes and all the students stare at each other, wide-eyed.
“What was--”
“How--”
“I don’t--”
While everyone is still panicking, Tim slips out the school doors.
He heads straight to the Manor.
When Bruce opens the door, it’s to find a bundle of nervous energy fidgeting on his threshold.
“B, we - oh, no, it’s happening again.” Tim claps a hand over his mouth.
“What’s happening?” Bruce steps aside immediately to let his panicked third Robin into the house. 
It takes a moment as Tim scrambles inside, dropping his school backpack on the ground and turning to Bruce with a panicked expression, but finally he lowers his hand.
As expected, out comes another song.
“Bruce, we really need to talk because / there’s something in my voice. / Everything comes out as song / and I don’t have a choice. I don’t have a plan for this / so I kinda hope you do. / Otherwise get ready for Gotham’s musical debut. ”
"...I see.”
It’s not that Tim’s constantly speaking in song.
He still talks normally most of the time.
It’s just that whenever he feels something particularly strongly, he has an automatic performance about it.
He’s very concerned that when he sings, it’s always the absolute truth about how he feels.
“I have a secret identity! I can’t go to school if I’m going to sing about wearing a cape!”
Dick finds it hilarious
When he hears about the situation he comes up from Bludhaven immediately.
He’s trying to be sympathetic, but it comes across as insincere when he’s filming the whole thing.
“Come on, just one little song for the camera?”
“Mmm-fff!” Tim shakes his head, hands clapped over his mouth defensively.
Babs tells Dick not to worry, she caught Tim’s last performance on security cameras. Tim looks offended.
Meanwhile, Cass is jealous she’s too old.
“This is not a good thing, Cass,” Tim complains.
“Looks fun.”
“It is not.”
“Sourpuss.”
Tim has a song about being insecure in his place as Robin
Batman informs him that he is not to get involved in the case.
Tim grumpily agrees, and stays alone in the Cave while everyone leaves.
He starts on the obstacle course, swinging up and down on the wires as he begins to sing.
“Batman needs a Robin / That much is plain to see / The question that I’m asking / Is the Robin he needs me?”
He’s not insecure about being kept off this particular case, understanding if not liking it, but in general not sure about his ability to live up to the name.
 It finishes with a more triumphant declaration that he can do this. He’s Robin, he’s earned his cape, watch him go.
Steph is equally affected by the curse.
It’s the first time she’s turned up at the Cave, but she figured this was probably a big enough situation to be worth knocking.
She’s trying to make the most of it, and turns it into a game.
She acts like she’s finding it enjoyable. It’s almost believable until she does get a moment alone with Tim to confess that it’s creepy.
Steph and Tim have a duet.
Dick’s attempt at provoking them into singing finally works.
The song starts with Tim being annoyed at Dick, and quickly fades into both of them admitting they’re annoyed with the situation. It’s a very fast-paced cheer about how they can’t stop singing, when they find out who’s responsible that person will find out just what Robin and Spoiler can do.
They’re dancing around, jumping on and off the equipment, and performing perfect choreography.
Dick and Cass applaud.
It finishes with Tim dipping Steph, her balancing with one leg in the air, when they both react in terror. Tim drops her.
“I didn’t want — we didn’t want to do that,” Tim blurts out.
“You don’t understand, it made us move. It’s never done that before. It actually controlled what we did.” Steph’s breathing heavily, still sitting on the ground.
It’s discovered that the musical magic is not only growing, and is turning into a more complete form of mind control.
Dick and Cass suddenly no longer find it funny.
Within days, maybe even hours, the Pied Piper villain is likely to have an entire army of Gothamite children for choreographed villainy.
So, of course, the Bats push this situation up several rungs of the priorities.
Tim and Steph were already off the case, but now they are banned from leaving the Cave until they know exactly what this song can do.
They each call their parents to inform them they’re staying at the other’s house. Steph swears up and down that she’s just studying with Tim, seriously, she’ll bring home the flashcards as proof if she has to.
The two of them then actually end up making flashcards, because they no longer trust their bodies enough to train.
For a while everything is calm.
Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Oracle are all focused intently on the case.
Alfred is watching the two youngest.
It’s not a joke anymore, but with Tim and Steph sitting casually on the ground, talking together completely normally and checking in via coms, the situation doesn’t seem red alert urgent.
No-one notices how Tim starts humming as he cuts out the next flashcard, or that Steph takes up the tune while she coats one in glitter.
The scenes of them humming along together is intercut along with moments of the others working the case. The audience is very aware — Tim and Steph’s song has no diegetic soundtrack, so all the audience can hear in the Cave scenes are Alfred’s footsteps, the scratch of pen and paper, and two teenagers humming too quietly for anyone else.
Up until the point where they actually start singing.
Steph and Tim’s humming gradually changes into a song.
“Cut and paste and listen,” they murmer in unison, wistful and fanciful, still working on the flashcards. “Cut and paste and listen to the magic sound. Cut and paste and listen. The Piper is coming to town.”
Alfred is no longer dusting the computer. Instead, he clicks on the communicator so Batman can hear the chant, and carefully approaches.
Tim and Steph insist that they’re fine. They don’t speak in unison for it, but it does come out as more of a duet.
“Don’t worry, Alfred, we feel fine,” Steph insists.
“Absolutely marvellous,” Tim chimes in.
“Completely sublime.”
Tim gets to his feet with an encouraging smile, scissors dangling in his fingertips. “We’ve just got a song stuck in our heads.”
“There’s no need to worry.”
“And no need to fret.”
“It’s just a shame you can’t hear that sound.” Steph tugs at her ear, grinning.
 “It sinks to your bones and makes you feel like dancing around.”
 Alfred cuts off the song to assure them that the Pied Piper will soon be defeated. This whole nonsense will be finished with by tomorrow, and by this point even Dick will be grateful for it.
The songbirds are oddly upset about that idea.
“You’re getting him chased down by the Big Bad Bat?” Steph asks.
“That shouldn’t happen. The Piper won’t like that,” Tim says.
“No,” Alfred says slowly, warily. “I suppose he wouldn’t.”
The argument culminates when Tim nearly stabs Alfred with the scissors.
 Alfred dodges the blow on instinct, sidestepping the blade aimed at his head.
Tim freezes, his arm outstretched.
For a moment all three of them are still, Alfred watching the scissors over his shoulder and Tim’s eyes wide. Steph’s mouth hangs open.
The scissors clatter on the floor as Tim steps back.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry Alfred—” Tim nearly hyperventilates.
“Master Tim,” Alfred says after a moment, almost resting his hand on Tim’s shoulders but deciding against it. “I assure you I’m fine, but perhaps at the moment we should consider using the restraints.”
“Yes. Yes, we should do that.”
Tim practically bolts himself in to the medbay stretcher, and only allows Alfred to help because it’s not designed to be tightened by the patient.
Steph is slightly more reluctant, and has to force herself to take each step. She notably bites down on her lip, bunching her fingers into a fist while Alfred secures her to the other bay, but she allows it to happen.
 The urgency is immediately upped.
“Do you need someone to watch them with you?” Batman asks, pausing on a rooftop to talk into his comm.
“No. They’re quite lucid at the moment,” Alfred says, watching Tim and Steph talking nervously. “The best thing for everyone is for you to stay on the case.”
“I can come,” Oracle suggests. “The Cave has all the same tech so I can stay on the job, and if the kids are getting stabby you will need backup.”
It’s decided that is a good idea, especially as Steph starts humming again before slamming her head facedown into the pillow.
 Batman successfully tracks down the location of the Piper.
The three field vigilantes burst in, much to Piper’s horror.
They find him building a giant radio transmitter, and immediately start trying to shatter it.
Piper flees the room, carrying a small cassette player with him. Nightwing stays to make sure the transmitter is utterly broken. Batgirl and Batman split up to track the villain.
The Piper is caught by Batman, lifted off the ground by the scruff of his neck, when a dozen children come barrelling into the room to rescue him.
The idea of punching hypnotised kids makes Batman hesitate, and Piper manages to get away.
Worse still is that breaking the transmitter didn’t fix the problem. The kids are still hypnotised, and Nightwing reports that it wasn’t even finished. Piper had been making it for something, but it wasn’t the cause of the problem.
They search through Piper’s files, and track down that it was the cassette player that influences the children.
Steph and Tim are drifting back into their musical hypnosis.
 “Don’t listen to them,” Steph murmurs, pulling her face out of the bed. Her voice is too quiet for anyone but Tim to hear. “Hold yourself steady.”
“It’s time for a fight so you better get ready.” Tim holds up one hand. The picked restraints drop silently onto the mattress.
When Oracle arrives, Robin and Spoiler take the distraction and attack.
When Alfred and Oracle return to the room, it’s to find the two youngest have gotten into their uniforms and are swinging down from the ceiling at them.
 It’s not a real fight. The hypnosis is just telling them to go. It’s an escape attempt more than anything else.
Oracle is able to handle herself when Spoiler leaps at her, boot flying towards her face. A quick movement and Steph is thrown over Oracle’s shoulder, wincing.
But they don’t need to beat her, just outrace her. Spoiler jams a batarang into one of Oracle’s wheels while Robin locks Alfred in the cupboard, and by the time Babs can move again — it couldn’t have taken more than thirty seconds to untangle the batarang — they’re gone.
Fortunately, Batman already has a lead on where they must be going.
Over two hundred children — some as young as ten, most closer to fifteen or sixteen — have converged on a Gotham news channel’s office.
It’s a very convenient way for a villain’s exposition to be told to the audience. The children are singing about Pied Piper’s plan to broadcast his song to every child in the country as they forcibly drag the communication workers out of their offices. The Piper himself is walking through the chaos with a self-satisfied smile.
The song seems like a normal triumphant villain song, with a hint of creepiness when every once in a while, someone will say that they don’t like what they’re doing, they’re so sorry, can’t anyone help them?
Piper locks himself in the CEO office.
He’s humming to himself as he pulls out his cassette player. When he opens the case, an array of buttons that would look advanced on a phone blink back at him.
He begins to tap in a command when the window shatters.
Batman swings into the room.
Batgirl and Nightwing are close behind.
When Piper tries to run, he doesn’t get five steps. Batman throws him against the wall.
Piper glances at the door.
In an instant Batgirl vaults over the desk to reach it, turning the lock with time to spare before teenagers start banging on it. “Nightwing. Help… ballaracade?”
Nightwing is already pushing the desk aside it.
Once they’ve successfully ensured no-one’s getting in Nightwing informs her the word is ‘barricade’. Batgirl nods, pleased.
“Where are they?” Batman growls, looming over the terrified Piper.
“Where are who? The children? They’re all outside, or at least the ones I called are—”
“Don’t play games with me.”
“How do we fix it?” Nightwing demands.
“You can’t. It’s unstoppab—”
 “Lying,” Batgirl says sharply.
At that point Robin and Spoiler shatter a second window.
They land between Batman and the Piper, standing protectively over the villain. Robin has his staff at the ready while Spoiler’s cloak flutters.
They’re also humming.
It takes a moment for Piper’s shock to fade, but then his lips twitch in a smile.
There’s a fight.
Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl hold back.
Robin and Spoiler don’t, which means that the hypnotised fighters are actually able to gain ground.
And of course, Robin and Spoiler are singing all the while. By now that’s not the focus of the scene, feeling more like background music with lyrics than a Broadway fight scene. Potentially, the TV audience can’t even hear the music, just watches the singing characters.
The lyrics don’t really delve into anyone’s interiority (mainly). It’s just a fast-paced song about fighting.
Every once in a while, though there’s a line like “Of course I know I can’t win, but that’s never stopped me before.” “Of course I’ll try my best, but I’ve never wanted to lose more.”
Just enough to indicate that some part of Tim and Steph know what they’re doing.
Piper takes the distraction.
He gets the barricade open and a hundred mind-controlled teenagers pour in, and suddenly the Bats have a much bigger disadvantage.
Piper escapes. Nightwing follows.
There’s a chase as Piper rushes towards the ground floor.
A dozen children are thrown at Nightwing, diving in his way.
But a former Boy Wonder doesn’t get taken down by a thirteen-year-old attempting a tackle, not when he can bounce off the walls to somersault over their heads.
Piper goes for the elevator. Nightwing is delayed to the point that he misses the doors by centimetres.
He pushes off the eleven-year-old girl clinging to his back and rushes to the fire stairs. His grappling hook connect with the handrail as he leaps over the edge.
Freefalling down the spiral staircase centre gets him to the ground with time to spare. He bursts out of the door and is able to throw his bolos at the fleeing Piper, tripping the supervillain up.
Within seconds Nightwing’s on him, scrambling through his pockets. He finds the cassette player.
Before the children can converge again, Nightwing leaps up with his grappling hook, holding himself on the high ceiling and resting one foot on the top of a window.
He flips open the cassette player.
“Oh, look at that. A labelled ‘off’ switch.” Nightwing grins at Piper, who’s just managing to pull himself free from the bolos. “So if I flick it, will it do anything to inspire me to kick your teeth in?”
“No, no, please—”
“Begging sounds promising.” His fingers hover over the button. Below him, the children are swarming, trying to figure out how to climb the wall. “If this hurts anyone, I am going to break every bone in your body. So is there anything you want to tell me?” Nightwing pauses for an answer, but Piper doesn’t give one. The children are starting to create pyramids. “Alright. Here goes.”
 He flicks the switch.
Immediately, the music turns off.
The children stop pressing up against the wall and back away immediately.
“Is it over?”
Upstairs, the same happens.
Everyone freezes in their attack on Batman and Batgirl.
Robin drops his staff and retreats several steps.
“Fixed?” Batgirl asks.
Spoiler touches her head. “I think so.”
Of course, this means the Piper just got himself trapped.
He’s now surrounded by a sea of students who had been at least eighty-per-cent aware of what happened.
Nightwing swoops down and pulls him out before anyone can catch him, but waits just long enough for Piper to realise the danger he’s in.
Nightwing ties him up, and waits patiently for the others to come downstairs.
He hands over the cassette player to Batman and goes to hug the now-coherent younger two, but Spoiler brushes off the affection onto Robin. Instead, she walks up to Piper and punches him in the face.
“Feel better now?” Nightwing asks.
 “Yeah.” Spoiler steps back and allows Nightwing to reassure himself that she’s okay, letting him wrap her in a short hug. “Much better.”
So the day is saved, everything neatly finished.
Piper is arrested, the children/teenagers that hadn’t already dispersed are collected by the police to be taken home.
Later, everyone is back in the Batcave, exhausted. They’ve changed back into their civilian clothes.
“So I guess I am never going to another karaoke night ever again,” Steph mumbles.
“Karey-oakey?” Cass repeats.
“It’s like a place where you sing. You choose a song, and they’ll play the music for you so you can yell out the actual lyrics as badly as you like.”
“Oh.” Cass mulls that over. “The singing did look fun. Before the dancing started.”
“Are you seriously still upset you’re too old for mind-control?” Dick asks.
Cass shrugs.
There’s silence for a moment.
Tim groans. “Fine, I’ll come with you, but I’m not singing anything else today.”
“I know a great karaoke bar.” Dick picks up his jacket from over the chair. “They sell amazing nachos.”
“I could go for nachos.” Steph stands up.
“Already booking us a private room,” Babs says.
“I’ll prepare the car,” Alfred says.
Dick grins. “B, you coming?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“You won’t have to sing,” Tim adds. “Sit with me and Steph and watch while the rest of these losers get up on stage.”
“I assure you, Master Tim, I will not be singing.”
“Sit with me, Steph, and Alfred,” Tim corrects.
Bruce groans, but reluctantly gets up.
Dick leans over to Cass where Bruce can’t hear him. “Bet you five bucks I can convince him to get on stage.”
“Deal.”
End episode.
Available on AO3.
S1 episode extract here. (17 year old Dick gets kidnapped for ransom, is very bored.)
S2 episode extract here (Robin-Jason goes up against Two-Face, trades himself for a hostage, proceeds to be as sarcastic as possible).
S4 episode extract here (in which Tim gets a dose of fear gas, Spoiler confronts her inner child in an alarmingly literal way, and Cass is awful at baking cookies).
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freya-faust · 5 years
Note
babs
At last, another queen.👑 Thank you so much for the ask, Anon!! 💖💕💗
Send me a character and I will answer the following!:
Barbara Gordon
Favourite thing about them: I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but her resilience and her conviction. When she first started out as Batgirl, everyone was against her; no one thought she could do it or had the abilities needed to be an asset out there-- not even her father (in terms of her wanting to join the force). But she didn't listen to them, went out anyway, and proved them wrong. Now she's one of, if not the singularly most important, greatest allies of Batman and the Justice League. All because a young girl couldn't stand seeing the way things were in Gotham and wanted to help, even if that meant she had to do it alone.
We see this again when she becomes Oracle, when her biggest obstacle then wasn't anyone else but her own self doubt. In the face of all her uncertainty and justified self pity, she pushes through her fear and grief and changes it to anger, using it to get back up stronger than ever before. So she can't go into the field and fight. So what? Her greatest asset was never her fighting prowess, as impressive as it is, it was her mind and unbreakable spirit. The Joker wanted to make an example of her, turn her into a tragedy, and she spat right back in his face. She made herself one of the most powerful people in the world, all by working to her strengths and never allowing the world to get the best of her. Barbara is so strong and so sure, she inspires me every time I read about her.
Least favourite thing about them: If I had to pick something, I'd say her sometimes caustic way of dealing with people. It's a part of her and I understand completely where it comes from, but she has a tendency to lash out without needing to at times and puts up many walls between her and the people around her. Again, it's entirely justified, but I do think this is an aspect that hurts the people around her, and even herself. Barbara needs these barriers to protect her, but it can lead to her being quite alone at times and, while she can deal with it and does realise her mistake whenever she snips without provocation, it is something that exasperates me sometimes. It's lonely enough being Oracle without her keeping people at an arm's length as Barbara, y'know?
Favourite line: 'You may have all the tools of the trade, but you don't have a monopoly on wanting to help. I'll tell you why, you big scary goon... because I can.'
And
'I have a new life now. One I like — one that fulfils me. It's not the same as the one I had before, but it's good. Maybe even better.'
brOTP: It's not exactly a friendship, but I want to take a while to talk about her relationship with Cassandra, which I think was a vital part to both of them. Babs had a very maternal relationship with Cass, and while this did come a lot in the form of her mentoring and teaching Cass how to maneuver in the world and her own mind, it also meant that she opened up to Cass in a way that was very personal and intimate to her. Their relationship is very unique and difficult to describe, but it helped them both aplenty, with Cassandra connecting to her on a very deep level, knowing her beyond words and what she would normally be willing to give. They know each other through and through, and Barbara is fiercely protective of Cass and vice versa. One of my favourite scenes showcasing how much Cass cares for Babs is after she found her crying because of something that happened with Dick. Later, she accidentally inhales a drug that makes her a bit off mentally and Dick is sent to restrain her. Even through the haze of the drug and her own confusion, Cass remembers Babs and the hurt that she assumes comes from Dick and kicks him through a wall.
Babs's relationship with Cass is part of what prepared her to open up to the Birds of Prey, and is a big part of her coming out of her shell and putting doors in her barricades to let others in. They're very important people in each other's lives and I wish we'd seen more of it.
OTP: I've already spoken at length about DickBabs in my analysis of his character, so I'm gonna talk a bit about DinahBabs for this one.
Barbara and Dinah are more than friends. That's just a fact of the comics. Whether you read this in a romantic or platonic/ familial way, it's just how it is. Dinah is one of the few people Barbara trusts with her everything, letting her into her personal life and consistently turning to her whenever she needs someone to talk to. Though Cassandra and her have an unspoken sort of connection, sometimes people need to talk about their problems and feelings and, for Barbara, that's who Dinah is to her. Someone she knows will be understanding of her, but will keep a realistic, grounded approach to whatever she's talking about. Barbara goes to Dinah for honesty, which she gets because, from the very beginning of their relationship, Dinah has respected her. She looked beyond the wheelchair and saw the amazing, brilliant mind that is Barbara Gordon and accepted that. Even with her flaws and barriers that Dinah is all too aware of, she respected Barbara's need for privacy and distance and only ever looked for her real identity when Barbara permitted her to. That's a very deep level of trust and respect that's important to Barbara and it goes both ways. Barbara tries her hardest to be there for Dinah whenever she needs it, and she cares for her very much. They're a wonderful duo who have a lot of love, trust, and respect for one another and who make the effort to understand each other always. It's a beautiful relationship, and it warms my heart.
Another pair I kind of want to see happen, just because of how many times they've been indirectly pitted against each other through Dick, is her and Kory. I think they'd be great friends, especially if it's during a time when Babs is still Batgirl and Kory is new to everything on Earth. They'd have been good friends, I feel, and it would've been nice to see their friendship develop from there.
nOTP: Her and Bruce. I know they've been canon in certain universes, but it just isn't for me, especially not when considering she's a big part of Dick's life romantically as well. (If you like them, though, that's fine!!)
Random headcanon: Because Babs used to do ballet, she's usually the one who takes Cass to the opera and watches over her practice sessions. Going to the ballet is a big bonding activity for both of them, and Barbara enjoys talking about the technical aspects of the dance while listening to Cass's interpretation of the emotion and story of it.
I also like the idea that Alfred used to help her with com duty when she first started out as Oracle, and the two of them have specific codes for gossiping about the Bat folk right in their ears. She also has a com link to Alfred in the Manor and likes to check up on him every once in a while.
Unpopular opinion: I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I honestly don't like that they ret-conned her paralysis to just not be there anymore. I genuinely believe that Oracle is Barbara's ultimate persona in the vigilante business, and I don't really like that she's back to Batgirl now.
Song i associate with them: 'Get Up- Piano Version' by Shinedown and 'Shake It Out' by Florence + the Machine
Favourite picture of them:
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fancyfade · 5 years
Photo
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[image: we see Cassandra Cain as Orphan zooming through a fight scene. she's inside and there are guys in suits pointing guns at her. a table is shattered as she leaps past it, possibly from bullets and possibly from her. a narration box reads "Sometimes, she dreams of the first time she saw the ballet. The night in prague, already a lifetime ago. Cassandra lands in between two men in more normal clothing. one has his hands raised and the other is about to punc hher. the narration box reads "There was no way of preparing herself for that moment. The understanding that there were people out there who had honed every muscle in their bodies, just like her. Who had the same control and deliberation. Her first language was body language, and these people, they weren't speaking in the ugly guttural dialect of violence."
she lifts a man in a trenchcoat above her head and strikes a pose similar to a ballet dancer -  her back is gently arched and one of her legs is straight out behind her. the narration box read "... they were using their bodies to sing. To create rhythm and poetry and express the full spectrum of human emotion." she leaps forward to punch a guy in the face.  the narration box continues: "She had never understood the purpose of art before that night. she wishes she were capable of creating it on her own. use her first language and be understood fully, properly." she gracefully slips between two guys attacking her and strikes one to the neck and the other in the mouth. blood comes out  from both of them. the narration box reads "from time to time, she'll steal a move from the dancers. almost to see if she can change the nature of the fight through a kind of grace. A message, hidden in the brutality. " Cassandra leaps through the air with her toes pointed like a ballerina and the dialogue reads "But it goes unheard." Here, we can see the point of her fight scene - there was a man holding a gun on a bunch of sitting down civilians. end image]
end image, begin commentary
okay so
a sort of follow up to my last post (link), which included this: “ maybe that girl would be allowed to sit across from Harper and say everything she wanted to say. sometimes, at night, she dreams of standing on a rooftop, and shouting every thought that passes through her mind, for everyone to hear.”
and
Despite how much I love 2002 batgirl series, I think these guys do a way better job of portraying Cass’s nonverbal/semi-verbalness and communication difficulties.
First, we see her wishing she could communicate what she wants to to harper, to everyone, but she can’t. She can’t speak verbally very well.
But then
we see she tries to slip in messages in her language. Body language. to the people she’s fighting.
And she can’t communicate with them that way, either, because they can’t understand.
she’s sort of torn between two worlds and two modes of communication, one which comes naturally for her and she appreciates with great depth - these writers never imply that verbal communication is superior to nonverbal communication, like they did in batgirl (link). Cass can see the depth of communication and beauty in her first language - it’s just that everyone else can’t.
and that is just... ringing very true for me as an autistic woman. I’m not non-verbal (except when I am feeling very sensory overwhelmed or stressed), but I do know the feeling of having your own little world, that you understand perfectly but can’t get everyone else to understand. and it makes you happy but you don’t know how to say so.
anyway
i bet when she wants to, Cass will be a great dancer. she’ll be doing art in her first language and like in 100 years people will still be looking at videos of her dancing and watching the subtle nuances of her performance they couldn’t get the first time, or maybe the tenth time even. But she’d have them in there, for someone who knows how to listen.
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danny-chase · 2 years
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A lot of how we view teenage girls is based on misogynistic standards. There is a lot about adultification of teen girls and how we portray teen girls in media. A teen girl with no make-up actually looks very young. People constantly thought I was 14-16 even when I was in my early twenties. I know 20 and even 30 something women who like bunkbeds, stuffed animals, and act silly/goofy.
Look. I get it. I got pegged as an 8th-9th grader last weekend (I'm in my senior year of college). I sleep with a stuffed animal, and only stopped sharing bunk beds with my sibling a little bit ago. I am literally the type of person you are describing.
Cass does not act like she did in Batgirls.
Here's Batgirls:
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Batgirls #1
Here's from the second issue of her solo
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Batgirl (2000) #2
Here's Batgirls:
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Batgirls #1
It pretty much makes no sense for them to be seeking her approval constantly. Here's Cass:
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Batgirl (2000) #7
Cass goes on in this issue to run around Gotham not as Batgirl, but her own vigilante even Bruce told her no (and Barbara clearly implies she wants her to stay home). Cass semi-cares about Bab's approval, but her sense of duty is stronger. (She wouldn't go to Barbara first, she'd jump out the window and likely wouldn't worry about Babs being upset when she got back).
Steph's also not the type to ask permission:
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Batgirl (2009) #2
She didn't go to Barbara for permission being Batgirl, Barbara showed up at her house unannounced to talk her out of it, and Steph pretty much just completely ignores her. Neither of them would be constantly seeking approval for their actions from her.
I'm not exaggerating much when I say their expressions hardly change throughout the entire issue. It's like they took one look at Cass, and assigned her entire personality as "goth" because her costume is all black.
Here's her after showering in Batgirls:
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Batgirls #1
And here's her taking a bath in her solo:
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Batgirl (2000) #65
In both scenes she's portrayed childishly, the difference is in her solo she's enjoying it, whereas in Batgirls she's just -_- the entire time. Which is starkly different from her solo run in which she is incredibly expressive.
Meanwhile Steph has a smile plastered on her face the entire issue. Can she be goofy in her solo? Absolutely! She is!
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Batgirl (2009) #3
Is that her only personality trait? No. Not by a long shot. For comparison, here's Steph being goofy in her solo, without her face being stuck in one setting:
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Batgirl (2009) #1
And of course Steph has more serious issues going on too. She's coming back from dying, no one treats her seriously (especially Tim, who tried firing her from spoiler, which she didn't listen). Her father is a pest, she's not an only happy-go-lucky character (aka smiling is not her only personality trait). She's optimistic yes, but that's not all she is.
There are ways to show "childish" behaviors without losing the depth of these characters. Batgirls gave Steph and Cass 1 personality trait each and had them act childishly the entire time and mind you, I would not care at all if it wasn't Cass and Steph - if there names were Laura and Mary or smth I'd be like this is fun. I would reccomend reading Batgirl (2000) #1 and Batgirl (2009) #1 as comparison to see just how flat Batgirls #1 portrayal of these two characters is (and Birds of Prey #1 for Barbara, although she wasn't who this post is about). It legitimately takes reading 1 comic to show the difference, you don't need to take my word on this, and I encourage you to read each issue and judge for yourself whether or not Batgirls did Cass and Steph justice.
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lookatthisdork · 6 years
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Cass finding out Jason her twin brother
Anon, you have excellent taste. That said, writing this was like pulling teeth. Three days of nothing and then an hour of just typing whatever popped into my mind. Hopefully that’s not too apparent in the final product.
“It’s funny, really. All that effort. The blood, the time, the subterfuge. And for what?” Shiva waves a careless hand, encompassing both them and the people they failed to save. “You’re still here, two children busy holding each other back, following after a shadow of a man.”
There’s something about the way she says the last sentence - she doesn’t tense at all, but her voice loses some of the surety it had before. The words mean something to her. Something important.
Cass has no idea what significance “children” might have beyond the obvious. Jason would know, but he’s still frozen to her right.
“Maybe I should kill one of you. It would be a mercy. One would finally grow up while the other would rest.”
Cassandra doesn’t do anything as obvious as step in front of Jason - simply hiding him from view will do nothing, and she can’t afford Shiva taking the movement as an invitation to act.
(”Mercy,” “grow up,” “rest.” Shiva is seeing something of someone else when she looks at the two of them. Who? Was there someone before her and Jason?)
“But which one? Should I choose based on ability? Or based on motivation? You have your father’s eyes, boy. If I killed your sister, how far would you go?”
That finally breaks through the shock, and Jason moves. He’s never used guns outside of the shooting range before - certainly never in the field - but his aim is impeccable for a quick-draw with a piece he grabbed off of a mugger earlier that night. Shiva side-steps the burst of three shots, leaving the bullets to impact the wall exactly where her shoulder had been.
“Your father’s eyes and your father’s aim. Aren’t you lucky?”
Then it’s Cassandra moving instead, even if the odds are against her, because no. “They’re not Cain’s eyes,” she says even as she’s dodging Shiva’s knife-hand, coming in to kick out her knees, missing and having to roll away from another strike. 
Behind her, the gun barks again. The bullet is just shy of grazing Shiva’s side.
“They’re not Cain’s eyes,” Cassandra says. It’s hard to focus on the right words without loosing focus on the fight. She takes two hits to the chest, but she needs to finish the thought. “They’re Jason’s eyes. He’s always had better eyes.”
And I’m not just talking about shooting, she adds in her head. You know that, right, Jason? “Eyes are the window to the soul.” Someone wrote that. I don’t remember who, but you read it to me, taught me to read it back to you.
You’re better than Cain. You’re good in a way he’ll never be. 
I didn’t want you to doubt. I didn’t want you to look at me yourself and see him. Blood doesn’t matter. What matters is you.
You’re my brother. That hasn’t changed, right?
Jason can’t read body language well enough (yet) to pick up even a fraction of her internal dialog. Still, the fact that Shiva’s leg sweep is interrupted by a shot to the knee - it feels like agreement. They’ll have to talk later, but Cassandra feels justified smiling as her fist finally makes contact.
This was going to be longer, but honestly I’d have to write a whole fic to do this prompt proper justice and I am way too unpracticed right now to make a good long fic.
Friendly reminder: Shiva had a sister named Carolyn that David Cain killed to help Shiva realize her “true potential”, whether she wanted to or not. Parallels! Recurring themes! Me trying to be clever! 
Background: in this AU, Cass meets Jason early (shortly before or after Catherine Todd dies), and the two are close by the time Batman enters the picture. I imagine that in the iconic tire-stealing scene happening with Cass  knocking the goddamn Batman out from behind and Jason low-key flipping out because oh my god, unconscious vigilante in an alley, it’s not like two twelve-year olds are strong enough to drag him to an inconspicuous spot before escaping, and they can’t leave Batman alone in an alley.
(Cass suspects Jason’s identity from the beginning, which means I’m kind of cheating with the prompt. Haha oops.)
I might revisit this AU in the future. I feel like having Cass and Jason be twins and introducing them at Jason’s canon entrypoint opens up some cool possibilities with Death in the Family, Bruce Wayne Murderer/Fugitive, and the Robin + Batgirl handovers.
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danny-chase · 3 years
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Thanks to anon for requesting On the Run with Cassandra Cain and Dick Grayson!
Read on AO3
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Nightwing (Comics), Batgirl (Comics) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain & Barbara Gordon Characters: Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon Additional Tags: Canon Divergence, blockbuster arc alternative ending, POV Cassandra Cain, Cassandra Cain is Batgirl, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Cassandra Cain Is a Good Sister, Cassandra Cain is bad at feelings, TW: Suicide, tw: ambiguous suicide attempt, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, there are no hugs sorry, Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batfamily (DCU), Dick Grayson Whump, Cassandra Cain Whump, Hurt No Comfort Series: Part 1 of Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:
The one where Cass runs away with Dick instead of Catalina (Catalina doesn't exist for the sake of this AU - and this is not romantic between Dick and Cass).
Full story under cut
“Cass? You here?” Light poured into her room as Barbara cracked open the door. Cass tucked her head under the blanket, yawning - it was too early to get up. “Cass, please.” The anxiety in Barbara’s voice made her reconsider – and she sprung upright, she could feel a mission coming on, and Cass didn’t pass up missions.
 “What’s up?” She asked, striding over to her closet, pulling out her Batgirl suit.
 “It’s Dick, I’m worried… He left in a rush yesterday morning.” Barbara’s hands were shaking – that meant it was serious. “Cass I was watching the news… I… God…he…”
 She pulled on her costume in record time. Dick was nice, he made Barbara happy. Made her happy too. Brought over cookies and told funny stories, he made the apartment feel… warm. He was a friend… no… family, they were family.
 She glanced back at Barbara, pulling the door wider, she looked pale, about to cry. She shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to help. “What’s up?” She demanded, stepping around the wheelchair. She grabbed the handles, and quickly steered them both towards the mission room.
 Barbara wiped her eyes as she reached the computer, pulling up a video clip. Cass recognized the apartment building; she’d been there a few times after joint missions. That was Dick’s-
 Oh.
 Fire rained down on the screen, the building reduced to rubble.
 Barbara sobbed next to her. “I don’t know if he was there… I don’t even know if… Cass… He… What if…?” Cass tentatively patted her shoulder, uneasiness filling her stomach. “He hasn’t called… his trackers are either off or…”
 “I’ll find him.” She promised. That was her mission. Find Nightwing, bring him home, then Barbara wouldn’t cry. She didn’t like when Barbara cried, it made her want to cry too.
 She dove out the window, swinging through the sky, down to where she kept her bike. Gunning the engine, she flew through the streets, Blüdhaven was an hour away – but she could make it in half the time. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, she tried to settle in for a long ride.
   It wasn’t hard to pick up the trail – she followed the flashing red and blue lights to scenes of carnage, masked men beaten and discarded in Nightwing’s wake. The whole day, she snuck around, carefully out of sight, watching as ambulances carted away people, describing them to Barbara and learning their names.
 “This… isn’t working.” She complained, her legs swinging off the side of a roof. “I don’t understand.”
 “He’s not taking a predictable path.” Barbara noted. “We’ll find him, we’ll just have to be patient.” She sounded much more confident than this morning. Cass sighed, leaning back to stare at the clouds. Why was Dick running around in circles? She reached up as raindrops began pattering down, feeling them seep through the suit. She let her hand fall across her face. Something felt off – wrong.
 The injuries Nightwing left behind were violent – he was violent, but not this much. Too much force. “This isn’t right.” She muttered, reaching her head behind her head. Dick wasn’t someone that lost control – that much she had learned.
 Cass sucked in a breath. It bothered her. Something bad was happening. “He’s hurting people.” She tried to explain. “Bad.” Breaking bones that would never heal right, being careless in his aim. “He doesn’t do that…” Normally, but it’s happened before. It’s happened when… “They’re threatening his family.”
 That felt right. Despite what the others thought, Cass wasn’t dumb – she was a detective too. And this was her case.
 “We’ll have to assume it’s connected.” Barbara mumbled. “Haley’s circus was attacked by Firefly a few days ago.”
 “Huh?” What did some circus have to do with-
 “It’s where he grew up.” Barbara explained. “You’re right, I suspected… we need to find him, someone might have figured out his identity.” She paused a moment. “Keep trying to track him down, I need to call Batman.” The line cut off.
Cass frowned, she figured something out… but it hadn’t been good. She briefly wondered if she’d caused more trouble by bringing it up. Hopefully, it would make sense when-
 Light flooded the sky, lightning cracking, and moments later a symbol arose, shining against the clouds and illuminating the area. Another clue. She swung off the roof, careening towards the source of their troubles.
   Nightwing was leaving as she arrived, tearing through the city skyline. As it poured, she did her best, following in his tracks, though not quite able to catch up. He was angry, she could see it even from far away. She was at a disadvantage; he knew the territory – knew the destination, and she frustratedly sighed as he slipped into a building a few blocks ahead.
 She leapt off a balcony – about to enter where Nightwing had, when a flicker of movement caught her eye a few windows away.
 “NO!” She screamed – too late, glass shattered as a bullet ripped through the night, thudding as it found a mark. An enormous man barged through the broken windows. Cass scrambled to follow, scurrying across the ledges. She could hear voices arguing in the room – Nightwing and the man, the sounds of smashing, they got farther away as she got closer.
 She burst into an empty hotel room, leaping over the woman’s dead body, and running past a destroyed wall to the end of a hallway.
 “Do you like being alone, Dick?” The large man caught sight of her, throwing Nightwing against the wall as he charged. Cass readied herself, rolling under his legs as he passed.
 “Batgirl?” Dick mumbled, running after the man. “Get out of here!” He shouted, leaping into a flying kick, and connecting with the man’s head.
 “I’ll make sure you can’t save any of them.” He punched the man again. “I’ll make sure you relive over and over, your failure to save my mother.” The man elbowed Nightwing out of the way, diving for her again. She jumped this time, using his head as a springboard. He grabbed for her ankle, but she slipped out of his reach, pulling out batarangs and throwing them as she twisted in the air. Each hit their mark, sinking into both his shoulders.
 The man didn’t seem bothered, simply turning to chase her again. “It’ll never stop.” Nightwing slide tackled his ankles, and the man fell, his hands grabbing at her feet. Cass danced closer to his head. “Every loved one, every stranger, I’ll kill-urk” She struck a nerve in his jaw, kicking it a second time for good measure as the man fell unconscious.
 “Call the police?” She asked, reaching up to her comm, glancing towards Nightwing. She froze in place. He was running towards her – reaching, about to hit, no he was –
 She dodged reflexively as he tried to swipe her comm. “We can’t.” He was shaking – tired, exhausted, pained, scared(?) – Cass recoiled, that wasn’t how Nightwing normally was. “Give it! We can’t call anyone! You need to run, he saw you!”
 “I’m not scared.” She stated, standing her ground – she was strong, she wouldn’t be killed so easily.
 “You should be!” He was – what did Barbara say? Upset… no - hysterical. Panic laced his voice. “He’s not kidding, he has people – he’ll kill people just for talking to me, I’m talking to you – if he hears us talking to-” Cass handed over the comm as he frantically grasped for it again. He threw it to the floor crushing it under his boot.
 “We have to go… I-I… I don’t know what to do.” He paced back and forth, muttering to himself. “I-I can’t talk to people, I need to be alone… but he saw Batgirl, she’s not safe…” He stopped, looking directly at her. He swayed on the spot, she felt uneasy – he didn’t look well. “You’re coming with me.” He demanded, grabbing her hand, and she let him lead them out through the fire escape.
 She didn’t understand, she had never seen him so… frightened. They didn’t need to run, Barbara would send the police – the man couldn’t hurt anyone, they’d won. “I don’t-”
 “He has power.” His breathing was ragged and pained. She cringed, he needed help – not to run. “He won’t stay in jail… He has people everywhere – there’s cameras they see everything. He-he…” They dropped into an alley. “It won’t stop.” The hand in hers was trembling.
 “I can-” He stopped in his tracks.
 “NO! YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!” He bellowed, angrily snapping at her. “YOU’RE NOT SAFE – NO ONE’S SAFE UNTIL I’M GONE.”
 Dick’s body was a wave of emotions, and she was being swept along with the current. “I’m strong! You’re being a coward!” She yelled back – but she already knew she wouldn’t change his mind.
 “Maybe I am.” He deflated and began running again. “But everyone’s safer this way.”
 She was at a loss for what to do, so she kept running. She couldn’t leave him alone; she couldn’t go back and explain to Barbara. She regretted letting him smash her comm. And so, she followed, and they weaved in and out of street after street, rain soaking through her costume, chilling her to the bone.
   While they ran, Cass had formulated a new strategy – wait until Nightwing lowered his guard, then nerve strike him, and bring him back to Gotham. A struggle would be too risky – he was acting erratic, someone (him) might get hurt if she tried too soon. So, sitting atop a train, watching as hills rolled over the horizon trying her best to be patient.
 The wind whipped in her face, the rumbling of the train drowning out all other noises. Nightwing paced beside her, obsessively turning from side to side, trying to keep all directions in his line of sight. He was getting too close to the edge.
 His movement wasn’t correct – Dick’s gait was normally smooth, intentional. Now, he dragged his steps, the normal grace gone. He kept tripping over his own feet.
 She couldn’t understand how one man could have such an effect; he was still shaking in anger and fear. They’d defeated the enemy, she’d won, right? Cass never really thought much about what comes after that – but Nightwing seemed convinced the battle wasn’t over.
 Dick was staring over the edge of the car. Cass was moving before she realized what was happening. She grabbed a fistful of his costume as he leaned forward, pulling him back.
 “Don’t.” She couldn’t tell if it was accidental or intentional – but she didn’t wait to see if he’d pull back on his own. Nobody would die tonight. Maybe she’d have to speed up her plan.
 He remained silent and stepped away from the edge. They slowly fell back into their routine – Nightwing pacing as she kept a watchful eye. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she watched him make his careful pattern – now staying three feet from the edges.
 Cass sighed. She was tired of running – she could protect herself; this was pointless. She wasn’t sure how long they’d wasted like this – the sun had been rising when they got on the train and now it was starting to set again. She was hungry, thirsty, and hadn’t slept in two days.
 She kept waiting for Dick to crash, but he never even sat down. He couldn’t stay like this forever - she was pretty sure he was injured based off his movement, he had to rest soon.
 “Sleep.” She demanded (as she had maybe an hour ago). He shook his head, going back to his pacing. Cass groaned, lying back to look at the sky, though keeping him in her field of vision. Stars were starting to peak out, though clouds were blocking some of them. She bit her lip; she was never good at helping people like this.
 Her stomach growled loudly, and she looked at him pointedly. “We’ll get food when we get off.” He replied in a monotone voice.
 She blinked sleep out of her eyes, digging her nails into the palms of her hands, and sitting back up. Nightwing could not be left unsupervised – that much was clear. And so, she resigned herself to watching pacing once more.
   The sun was high in the sky when the train finally began rolling to a stop. She followed Nightwing as he leapt off the car and began running after him towards the tree line. He made it about ten paces before collapsing. Cass rushed forward, as he began pushing himself up.
 She struck his jaw without warning, and he crumpled to the ground. Finally, she sighed in relief, things were easier this way. Crouching down, she hiked him into a fireman’s carry, and then looked around.
 She was in the middle of nowhere. Cows grazed off to the right, and there was an open field to her left. Straight ahead, the land eventually reached a forest. A small train station sat maybe a mile away.
 It would take a day to get back to Blüdhaven, but she was hungry and tired, and had no idea where she was. The train still rolled along behind her. So, she decided to walk alongside it – towards the lonely little station, away from home.
 Nightwing was heavy. She was strong, but he was… heavy. And she was tired.
 Every step was painful, it wasn’t long before she was drenched in sweat. She could see the station in the distance, slowly getting closer. She could make it… She could push through this – she’d pushed through worse.
 She focused on her breath, staring at the ground as she took step after step.
 “Lose some weight.” She muttered to the side of Dick’s head. She cursed herself for not packing more water and snacks – she’d run out while tracking him yesterday.
 She refused to stop, pushing past the pain of burning muscles, her suit unbearably hot in the afternoon sun. Gritting her teeth, she powered on.
 She wanted to scream with furry, at the man who’d hurt her brother – who’d left him so worn out and totally beaten despite losing the fight. She wanted to scream because she didn’t understand – why was this happening to them? They were strong – their family was strong – they shouldn’t have to live like this. Cassandra Cain did not run from fights, neither did Dick Grayson, and yet here they were.
 She grunted, shifting Dick’s weight on her shoulders. Cass didn’t like thinking about these things. She liked when things were easy – when she beat the bad guy, and things were over. Though, with every mission, she was starting to realize things weren’t always that simple…
 She thought of the man she’d rescued, who’d died on a train like the one beside her, because he’d wanted to say goodbye to his mom. Of the girl who’d she’d rescued from her father, yet she’d condemned to a different kind of hell living with her mother. Of the boy who wanted his father to come home safely, despite the man being a ruthless killer.
 And finally of the man who’d defeated Nightwing, his words dealing more damage than his massive fists.
 This world was so confusing – sometimes she missed the days before the words clouded her mind, muddling her in the mists of gray that transformed what she’d seen before in black and white. Was she better for living in that gray? For knowing it was there? Sometimes, it was hard to tell.
 She stumbled on uneven ground and soon she was falling, Dick sliding off her shoulders. She hit the ground face first and tasted blood. She let out the pent-up yell, frustratedly pounding the ground. This sucked. Everything sucked. Why couldn’t things just be easy for them?!
 Dragging herself to her feet, she ignored the pain wracking her exhausted body as she lifted the broken vigilante once more. She took slower steps, but certain ones, and inched closer and closer towards somewhere she hoped would be better.
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