#plus a dead batgirl

[annah-kitathryne]

It has come to my attention that some are not aware of the double bat teen titans elseworlds run. [Post Here] made by @saturnsickle

So I'm here to explain a bit to everyone.

When was the series?

From September 1st 2001 to March 1st 2005, an elseworlds Teen Titans run started.

The series was 43 issues plus a 2004 annual.

Line-Up

Yara Flor (Wondergirl)

Jackson Hyde (Aqualad)

Cassandra Cain (Batgirl)

Jason Todd (Robin)

Roy Harper (Arsenal)

It was a bit out of nowhere, seeing as the lineup featured two brand new characters, a newly established character, a then considered dead character, and a former teen titan turned titan.

Retrospect

In retrospect, this series can be seen as a world building series as well as a device to introduce more heroes within a similar age group and adding more younger heroes into the mix, bridging the gap between the titans of Dick Grayson and Donna Troy and the younger generation of young justice soon teen titans Tim Drake and Cassie Sandsmark.

This series also reintroduced Jason Todd to a reader base that had known him as dead at this point. Adding new characterization that would be later used in the Batman: Hush storyline and lead into the Batman: Under the Red Hood series.

Interestingly, we see that this series of Teen Titans ended the same month that Red Hood's identity was revealed to Batman in Batman #683.

That is no coincidence. Fans have long since known that the series ended when Jason Todd was introduced back into the main line story.

However, while well planned, this left the elseworld's Teen Titans run to end abruptly and feel incomplete in some places.

Features

Some features of this series were a phenomenal number one cover that would later inspire the cover art for World's Finest: Teen Titans #1, an interesting dynamic between Batgirl and Robin that wouldn't show in mainline stories until New 52, and Roy in another mentorship role that we had been starting to see become more prominent at the time.

The introductory arc in the story (issues 1 through 4), where we were introduced to the characters in their separate contexts and got to see them come together in a way that explained how they got to that point, instead of just showing us them together as a team. It was also interesting to see Joker used as an introductory villain instead of someone else. It really set up the idea of a larger world outside of Joker and the scale of threats that would continue to increase throughout the series.

One of my favorite subplot that continued throughout the series was the character and moral conflict between the two bat characters (Cass and Jason) and their views on Justice, superheroing, and the right way to go about it. Although Jason's characterization is not exactly the same as his pre-death in the family personality, it provided a good sense of transition that got us from PreDitF to the UtRH personality. Cass and Jason often found themselves at odds with each other throughout the series. Cass, who believed in redemption and was stark and steady in her belief that no one should die, contrasted Jason's harsher view on crime and how to handle it.

It was also nice to see Cass on a team of people similar to her age. Although we got to see her work on the Justice League: Elite team, the elseworld's teen titans run got to show her in a more light-hearted run where she got to learn to be herself. Mirroring her then running solo series, we got to see Cass start to form a life and connections outside of the suit, and meet people who tested her belief in the symbol, this time with her peers.

Her growing friendship with Yara was really fun to read even at its worst writing. I especially enjoyed issue 25 and 26, where the two of them teamed up with the elseworld's version of Starfire and Donna Troy in a timeless issue of powerful female heroes.

Some of the negative from the run was the forced upon romantic subplot from 27 to 36, where it took up too much space on the panels and caused unnecessary character drama in a style that hadn't been seen in the run up to that point.

By the time of issue 40, there were three issues to wrap up the plot of the story before the run would come to a close. The story structure was there, but it was rushed and needed a couple more issues to really dive into the plot. The team disbands after Jason Todd/Robin murders one of the lesser villians they were fighting and caused the team to split ways to deal with the events of the arc. It culottes perfectly into the reveal later that month in the main books.

There was a top heavy focus on the two bat characters, which left less room for the other's. That didn't mean that the others didn't have central arcs throughout the run. It is just meant by the proxy of having two bat characters. Their drama was brought up the most.

Arcs

Issues 1 through 4 Jason focused introductory

Issues 5 through 8 was a Yara focused arc

9 through 12 was a Roy centric arc

16 through 19 was a Cass centric arc

20 through 22 was a Jason centric arc

23 and 24 was a Jackson centric arc

25 and 26 was Cass and Yara

30 through 34 was another Roy centric arc

The annual plus 36 was a Jackson arc

37 and 38 was another Yara centric arc

40 through 43 was extremely focused in Jason with Cass as a close second.

Conclusions

It was a really interesting story to read, and it was fun to see what having Batgirl on a team does to the dynamics of a normally Robin only sort of line-uo. It's interesting that Jackson was the first of the two original characters to make the jump to mainline comics (2010) and Yara was later in 2021, having been the last of the team brought into the main timeline. It would be nice to see them come back together for a special crossover again, fill the niche group of fans that follow the limited fan material on this series.

#dc #dc comics #teen titans #teen titans dc #elseworld's teen titans #yara flor #jackson hyde #roy harper #jason todd #cassandra cain #honestly thank you for giving me an opening to talk about the series ever #i never get the chance to #unrelated but the fact that Yara disappeared from comics for so long was such a disrespect #her and Cass did not spend those issues becoming friends just for them to erase it and not even try to bring it over in any way #unreality

[scourgeofgotham]

Red-Tailed Hawk and the Bat

chapter six

Warnings: SMUT 18+

Graphic Sexual Content, Crying, Unresolved Trauma, Dom/Sub, Praise! Kink, Begging, DD/LG, Stockholm Syndrome, the reader has PTSD

A/N: so the hawk fell in love with the bat

“what a stupid bat…”

“what a sick masochistic hawk.”

anyways i redid the ending of this chapter bc i hated it <3

“You see Bruce, she's all mine. Tomorrow, you're gonna be dead.”

His head was spinning, getting insanely dizzy after watching what was happening to Batgirl.

My daughter...

My little Canary?

Jason and my little girl?

“I have to go save Batgirl.”

“Are you alright Master Bruce? I tried to stop you from watching it, I deeply regret not doing so.” Alfred called out.

My daughter...

I adopted her after her parents were brutally murdered, she was almost 9 years old. She’s mine. I remember the first time she ever called me Dad...

“Bruce? Are you okay?” Coming from Oracle’s line, snapping Bruce out of his thoughts.

“I'm–I’m fine.” He lied through his teeth. “I'm gonna find my daughter and make him pay for what he's done to her.”

“Bruce, I looked through camera footage and there's none, there's no way how to track her. I tried tracing the video to see if I can get something but I can’t… He’s ten steps ahead.” Oracle said with sorrow.

“He’s made sure you can’t find her, sir.”

“Plus it appears she doesn’t want to leave him.” Oracle reminds him. “She has Stockholm, Bruce.”

I know…

“Losing Master Jason affected her more than we originally thought Master Bruce.”

“I just gotta get through to her…” He stated.

I remember the first day I brought her home.

She was crying in her room, singing softly to ease her pain.

“it just takes some time

little girl,

you're in the middle of the ride

everything will be just fine

everything will be alright”

I stepped into her room and sat down next to her, hunched in the same fetal position.

“I lost my parents when I was your age.”

She stopped crying and looked at me,

“Can I hug you?”

“Of course,” I opened my arms out to hug her, wanting to make her feel like she was home. She nuzzled her head into my chest and cried while letting me hold her.

“It’s okay my little Canary.”

//

The Arkham Knight went over to the couch in his safe house and picked up bags and brought them over to the bed.

“I bought you some new lingerie, I figured I must treat you. I hope you're still the same size.” He sat down next to her, petting her head. “First go take a shower, and then you can give Daddy a show.”

“Daddy? this morning...”

“What happened this morning?”

“You were next to me, I saw your face. You have the prettiest blue eyes, and you have a scar...” she said quietly, losing track of her thought. “It's a scar... shaped like a J, just like Jason's...” she said tears dotting along her lash line.

“Princess, that was all a dream...” he lied.

“Oh...” she whispered. “When can I see your face?”

“Tomorrow night. After I kill Bruce.”

“Why do you have to kill him? Why can't we just run away and be together forever?” she whines.

“He has to pay for what he did.” The Knight growled. She flinched, “I'm sorry... Please don't be mad...” she whispered. He immediately softened, rubbing her face. “I'm sorry Peanut, I don't want to take it out on you.” Tears started running down her face, “It's–Okay.” Nuzzling her face in his chest.

“What can I do to make it better?” he asked, putting his hand on her head, petting her hair. “I promise– I won’t look– but, can we– shower together?” she sobbed.

He was torn inside, what if she did look? What if it was all ruined? But the thought of her skin being against his fully, to wash her hair, to take care of her, and to gain even more of her trust.

“You can’t open your eyes,” he stated. “As soon as I take off the mask, eyes closed.”

“I promise Daddy.” She lied, she wanted to see him, any little bit that she could.

He led her into the shower, turning it on. He made sure it was the perfect temperature for her, knowing she loves it boiling. He started taking off her robe. He led her into the shower, “I’m gonna start getting undressed, no looking.” He demanded.

He took off his helmet, accidentally looking into the mirror and almost punched the glass. He took off the Arkham Knight suit, starting with the top. He pulled down the zipper and removed the heavy layer of body armor. She watched behind the curtain, looking at all the scars that littered his body.

All the gashes, and current bruises, were barely an inch apart. Next, his tactical belt dropped to the floor, he picked up his belt, walked out, and came back. While he was gone he took off his boots.

When she saw his face...

She knew she wasn't imagining things,

he looked so beautiful. She couldn't see the scar, but she saw his striking, perfectly imperfect face and melted. His black fluffy hair, stuck up ever so slightly.

“Jay...” she whispered.

“You're not looking, right Belle?” he called out. “No!” she said immediately, lying straight through her teeth.

The last thing was his pants, he unbuttoned the top, then pulled down the zipper. His pants fell soon after leaving him in his boxers.

His thighs were covered in scars, some from burns, some from drills. But they looked amazing, I wanna ride them for hours...

His boxers fell not too long after, walking toward the shower.

She immediately got under the hot water and closed her eyes, making it seem like she was being good the entire time. She heard the shower liner pull back and heard him getting in. Once he was fully in she couldn't contain herself anymore. She hugged him and started nuzzling into his chest.

“You wouldn't be doing this if you saw my body,” he whispered.

“I don't care, I love you,” she replied.

She opened her eyes and little bit and looked at his chest, on his right side a huge scar. An R, the Robin symbol. She unwrapped one of her arms and place her hand on top of the symbol, tracing it with her fingers. She went over to the scar and kissed it. He stiffened, immediately regretting saying yes.

He rested his head on hers, already having to lean forward due to his back. He closed his eyes a little bit, trying to let himself take in the warm embrace. She nuzzled her head into his neck and left sweet little pecks. She left a kiss on the big scar on his neck, making sure he knew that she was kissing this scar for a reason.

“I mean it... I love you,” she whispered in his ear. Her other hand traced the scars on his back, making him shiver. She stopped tracing the Robin scar and went down to trace lines up his happy trail. He eventually wrapped his arms around her pulling her in close. “I love you too Belle,” he whispered. “I love you more Jay,” she whispered inaudible. Her hand that was giving his stomach attention moved down to his thighs, circling all of the burn scars and the twisted scars.

“Alright lemme wash you Peanut.” He said pulling away from her. She let go of him, facing her back to him. He moved her ever so slightly so he could bend down. He had shampoo in his hands, squirting some on his palm, bending down to put it down, and then rubbing them together.

“Alright bend your neck back for me sweetheart.” She leaned backward and shivered when she felt his hands running through her hair, slathering lavender-scented shampoo on her scalp. Once it was all mixed in he turned her around and had her stand under the showerhead, he helped her get out all of the soap off her hair.

He spun her around again and held her close to him, kissing her head. He leaned down and grabbed the conditioner, squirted it on his hands, and rubbed it in. He then grabbed the body wash and lathered it on her body. “Arms up.” he blurted out, causing her to jump. He chuckled, kissing her head.

She put her arms up, giggling when she felt a sudden hand rubbing soap on her arms. When he was done rubbing her arms, he turned her around and then he went to her thighs. She started giggling even more, sensitive to his touch. He kneeled to get her calves and her feet. While looking at her thighs he decided to kiss the sporadic puffy scars that almost blended into her skin.

“I never want to see a fresh cut on your beautiful smooth skin, you hear?”

She nodded her head, smiling at how sweet and gentle he was. He stood back up and washed out her conditioner. She reached out trying to find his face. Once she found it, she grabbed his jaw and pulled him toward her, and kissed him, “ I love you,” she mumbled against his lips. She pulled away, running her finger down his jaw. “If you let me see all of your scars, I'll take all that pain away and fill it with my love,” she blurted out.

He was frozen, I want to be hers.

He wanted to let her see him,

but what would happen?

Will his angel love him for who he is,

does she even love me anymore?

“Jason…” she whispered

His eyes widen, staring at her, who stopped closing her eyes.

“I love you Jason…” she declared.

“I don’t care about any of these scars, you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” He smiled as she quoted Jane Austen.

“I’m irrevocably in love with you.” she said as she had stars in her eyes.

#arkham knight x reader #jason todd x reader #jason todd #arkham knight #fluffy fluff

[rezonan]

Would the Bat-Clan/Family really be better off without Bruce?

You know. I often hear the critism that Batman raises child soliders or whatever and I happily.... Agree, I mean it's obviously what they are. Kid vigilantes are something that should have become extinct in comics since the 70s but DC kept them. I don't really care cause I love them so much and I don't like to push realism into comics in a world where aliens exist and vigilantes actually work as a method to bring Peace.

What I'm hear to argue about was that Bruce was probably a GOOD(kinda?) thing for them honestly. So let's imagine a world where Batman faced with the opportunity to take in any of these kids as Vigilantes and give them training and tech/supplies refuses or just ignores them or just never even meets them.

You have

Dick - who tried to hunt down Tony Zucco by himself

Barbara - had gone out as Batgirl on her own

Jason - lived on the streets in Gotham, we meet him trying to steal Batman's tires.

Tim - followed Batman and Robin around with a camera for years before being Robin

Damian and Cassandra - both trained assassins since birth

Stephanie - was already already a vigilante before Batman took her in and is the daughter of Cluemaster

Duke - was a member of the Robins gang that tried to keep the piece during Batman's absence.

Leaving out Batwoman and Huntress because I have yet to read through thier stuff(forgive me). Will get there eventually though

Right of the Bat(Pun intended)

Dick is likely dead, let's be real. No 10 to 13 year old is taking down a small gang of criminals without training outside acrobatics. In some versions even his father who had the same exact training plus actual muscle couldn't take them down.

Jason is a 50/50 there is a big chance that he becomes either another criminal in the endless see of early Gotham or a vigilante protecting crime alley and die eventually either way. Sadly there's a bug chance he becomes one of those faceless mooks Bruce punches every now and then. You could argue this is a better fate than his time as Robin and Red Hood but I disagree

Tim probably has the best ending here. He could literally just stop following Batman and have a completely normal life. That or he dies eventually following Batman around.

Barbara has police self defense training and is insanely smart. I actually genuinely think there is a solid chance she survives her time as a vigilante if she plays it safe and picks her battles. Heck if she survives long enough she could even hook up with Huntress or something.

Damian if Bruce rejected him and with no Dick in this world. Not only doesn't become a Robin but either goed back with his mother to satu with the league or becomes a sorta frank Castle style vigilante trying to prove himself to his father.

Cassandra is interesting. Not exactly sure but I think she has a chance to be picked up by some other hero out there that or she straight up gets found by her dad or mom. But if this was a connected world kind thing she probably gets picked up by Huntress and Barbara maybe?

Stephanie imo doesn't last particularly long without sufficient training. Good chance of her dying in a similar way to war games actually (god I hate that story). Again if you see this as a whole world, she probably gets picked up by Huntress and Barbara too.

Duke unless he gets his metahuman ability is pretty surely gonna die eventually. I know the least about him so not much to say here.

I'm incredibly open to arguments against my opinions tho. But I genuinely think Bruce did more good than bad here. Especially with Dick. Who while being dead would never be able to reform Damian or help Bruce chill out during those early years. To talk about how his death would affect stuff like the titans and the wider DC universe.

Damn maybe the guys who say he's the heart of the DC universe have a point.

#batman #dc #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #babara gordon #duke thomas #stephanie brown #damian wayne #cassandra cain #nightwing #red hood #batgirl #black bat #orphan #the signal #red robin

[wildrosesayshigh3]

Would Damian have been robin if Tim willing gave up the mantle according to Pre-Crisis times?

This going to be long so buckle up.

This isn't going to be specifically pre-crisis, but more focused on the robin transitions. So Damian is the only robin to be given the mantle, Dick, Tim, Steph forced his hand into excepting and Jason was mentored into it by Dick to take up the mantle.

Plus (and correct me if I'm wrong) Damian is the only one who wears the mantle without the previous mantle wielders permission. Dick was growing up, Jason was dead, and Tim was in boarding school. To my (vague) knowledge Tim wasn't all that willing to give up the mantle. So would Damian have become robin at 10?

The only reason Dick was allowed (reluctantly) to be robin was because he was already athletic enough to keep up. Jason was trained, Tim became robin without batman's agreement and Steph was Spoiler.

So would Damian still be given the mantle after coming out of the LOA and being an unknown in terms of skills and loyalties and mental health. Like I know some can make the assumption that he was given the mantle because Batman (Dick) needs a robin. But that so reckless, the mantle of robin is known to be batman's student, the one who learns all of the bats trick and tips in order to succeed. Why give the mantle to a boy who (1) hasn't earned it like the rest and (2) just came out of potentially abusive situation. Cause lets face it the LOA is not good for a child mental or physical well being.

What should have been done was giving him two years at existing around the bat clan before giving him the mantle. I don't care if Bruce was lost in time and Tim was who-knows-where. Unlike before where Bruce desperately needed a robin, Dick has more connections inside and outside of Gotham at his disposal. Batman has been without a batgirl or robin before and he can do it again.

Also Damian doesn't really have a connection to Robin like the others. To him Robin is a mantle of the protege of Batman (his father) that he only knows through his mother who left him at the manor without so much as a by your leave. Robin isn't anything else.

To Dick, Robin was a connection from his old family to his new, a symbol of his childhood and past. To Jason, Robin was magick and the hero who protected Gotham since he was a little kid. To Tim, Robin was hope and Batman's salvation. To Steph, Robin was viewed the same as Jason did.

Plus each of the vigilantes that take up the mantle all still have some connection with the name in there current names. I think that the nepotism would have pissed them off.

Night Wing, the wings of the night connected to both his families not one or the other but both. A vibrant blue stripe as eye catching as the the robin costume with a black as bat background.

Red Hood the red of the blood on his costume, a name chosen to snub a madman. And reclaim power over itself. (Even if phoenix would be much more appropriate)

Spoiler taken inspiration from the Robins around her to o good and bring evil doers to justice.

Red Robin still a robin. Just new colors and feathers adorn him.

#damian wayne #would he have been robin with Tim's blessing #the robins #Dick Grayson #Tim Drake #Jason Todd #stephanie brown #bruce wayne #what does the mantle of robin mean to the owners #I have no idea where this is went or is going

[doeeyeddyke]

post Lazarus transfem Jay, where no one knows shit about her coming back until completely accidentally, partly bc she's not even the (sole) center of attention

Damian is sent to Gotham and is one day like btw I have some sisters and Bruce is like..... "Are They Mine" (Wait I Might Have Girls 🥺) (secret girldad Bruce for the win) and Damian is like.... Jane will be displeased if I say anything.... but I think Athanasia biologically is Father's..... but I don't want to lie..... hmmm...... "idk anyway look at the time doot di doot...."

Talia doesn't pick up when Bruce calls she's just like "girls go check if it's anything important or if he's just having a meltdown"

So now 2 sisters start popping up around more often to keep and eye out and check on Damian and one is super tall and buff and the other is much shorter and slighter but they call themselves twins even if short one says she's older and tall one is like "barely!! it doesn't count!!" which honestly yea they're sisters alright

That's how Black Swan and White Dove come to be known, Black Swan is quiet and seemingly ambivalent about the bats but White Dove sounds like she's about to beat the shit out of Batman and to a lesser degree Nightwing and seems vaguely displeased being around Tim's Robin but is cool with Spoiler/Batgirl (esp since she's gotten close to Black Swan and treats her well) and distantly polite to young Duke the very few times they meet

Tim's Robin: hey what's up with that

Damian:

Robin:

Damian: she has Issues With Men don't you know anything Drake smh leave her alone

Robin:

Robin: Oh. Yea ok that makes sense ig sorry man

Damian: don't tell her I said anything tho

(Damian to himself later: it's not Untrue but that's not exactly what's- wait ok that's kinda exactly what's going on here isn't it)

Btw Damian calls her Jane but her full name is Catherine Jane Columba (Mom's name + Jane Austen + Mom's hc maiden name) and she uses Jane with league sibs but CJ in general for everyone else

Anyway I imagine that Cass and Jane start hanging around more and are eventually considered neutral to friendly extension of batfam via Damian (and Athanasia and Mara when they're sent over) (Athanasia is sweet if a lil awkward and much younger than everyone else, Mara is very "You're Not My Dad just a sort of step uncle at best" but Bruce is like "omg,,, daughters,,,,")

Cass might even eventually come over for dinner or smth maybe as Steph's plus one and Dick would be like "omg I am going to big brother you so hard" and Bruce is like "are you sure you don't want to be my daughter" and Tim is trying to figure out if he can do his stalking out of affection and respect thing without getting his butt kicked and the Al Ghul kids are being absolute demons fighting for Cass' attention and trying to find out what Jane is upto

The Jane identity reveal can be totally anticlimactic (Damian says Jane wants to meet them and then at a scheduled dinnerthey meet a buff tall older female lookalike of the dead second Robin and they think "omg 😱 surprise older Todd sister no one knew about??" and Jane doesn't let anyone say anything bc she wants to see how long this lasts)

Or maybe there's some big fight or whatever or fear toxin is involved and a league sib is hurt and Jane unmasks to comfort and tend to them and Bruce or Dick (or even Alfred!) see her face and have a bit of an aneurysm and Jane's too distracted with big sister-ing to be too explicitly angry with the bats at the moment but makes a snappy remark or smth that gives her away ("miss me old man" /sarcastic and /derogatory if it's Bruce)

And uh yea anyway don't take this too seriously I'm half delirious and keep dissociating in turns and I just wanted an excuse for transfem Jason and ended up really loving CJ/Jane

#jason todd #red hood #cassandra cain #cassandra wayne #black bat #batgirl #batfam #batman #batfam au #jason todd au #damian al ghul #damian wayne #dick grayson #bruce wayne #tim drake #stephanie brown #spoiler #robin #red robin #nightwing #talia al ghul #talia and damian #talia and jason #trans jason todd #transfem jason todd #athanasia al ghul #mara al ghul #black swan and white dove au #cj columba au #my sister jane au

[aingeal98]

wait when did cacss and dick fight in battle for the cowl i want to see!

They didn't technically fight in BFTC but in Batman and the Outsiders before it. I tend to refer to it as bftc because it's part of the overall "Bruce being dead" arc and it's as close as Cass comes to being involved aside from her breif clash with Huntress. Plus here we get to see her and Dick being grieving menaces to each other.

I know a lot of people, myself included, aren't a fan of Dick's characterisation in Batgirl Vol 2, where he comes across as being an asshole just because they needed someone in the family to fill that role. But here I really like it. Two grieving siblings who aren't that close, with a history of Cass being a menace to him, it makes sense to me that they'd fall back on the old habit of fighting. Alfred breaking them up really completes the whole 'angry grieving children' vibe, and the resolution helps smooth over some of Batgirl Vol 2 oocness. Also any conflict that arises from Dick being loyal to Bruce vs Cass being loyal to the Bat is always fun for me.

I basically used this ask to ramble about Dick and Cass alsjsjdhdh. Sorry there's no actual bftc fight 😭 My favourite part of the whole event and it didn't even happen in Battle for the Cowl 😔

#dc #cassandra cain #batfam #dick grayson #asks #dc rambles

[thecruellestmonth]

Steph & Jason fic recs

Some of the best fics featuring friendship and interactions between Jason Todd and Stephanie Brown.

"Just Another Kid" by shobogan - Stephanie is Jason's best friend. She's about to discover that she's Robin's, too. POV Steph, childhood friends AU. Very sweet, punched me in the emotions. 2013.

"Jason and Me" by David Hines, originally posted on FFN - Newly appointed Robin, Stephanie Brown investigates some old history. (Written before Robin #125.) POV Steph; published during Stephanie's short Robin run before she was fridged, and before Jason returned as Red Hood. (Bonus: Try looking over the old reviews on FFN—pretty interesting to see some of the fan reception for Steph nearly 20 years ago.) 2004.

"4am philosophy" by grayghost (eurydiced) - Then again, every story about Jason seemed to paint a different picture: broken man, or misguided hero, or dangerous zealot who'd had one too many chances, depending on who was doing the telling. If there was one common thread, it was that Jason was a cautionary tale. POV Steph. 2016.

"Close Encounters and Cautionary Tales" by predilection - The first time Jason Todd and Stephanie Brown meet, they end up surprising each other. POV Jason, switches to POV Steph, set during Stephanie's Batgirl era before Bruce's return. 2013.

"Bloodstains Won't Make It Matter" by skylarkblue - Jason returns to Gotham to find another dead Robin. He steals away with the body and resurrects her, but there begs the question: what will they do? POV Jason primarily, with some POV Steph, written for the @jaystephevents prompt "Robin!Stephanie and Red Hood!Jason". Under the Hood rewrite featuring resurrected Stephanie Brown. 2022.

"Ghostgirl and Zomboy " by shauds - "You don't make demands of the ghost, asshole, the ghost makes demands of you." Steph dies, becomes a ghost, and annoys Jason incessantly during his big comeback. POV Jason; mostly a Halloween-themed buddy comedy but watch out for feels. 2018.

"this is a long drive (for three robins who don't agree on much)" by drakefeathers - Steph’s trip home to Gotham takes a huge detour thanks to Jason and Damian’s conflicts with airport security. She’s stuck driving the two brothers cross-country to reach Tim’s wedding in time. POV Steph, civilian/no capes AU, mostly fluff and comedy plus some sweetness. 2014.

"So You Say It's Your Birthday" by Cerusee - “Babs and I are throwing you and Steph a joint birthday party,” Dick said. “It’s on Sunday the 13th, because that’s the only day everybody can make it. It's in the park. Bruce is grilling steaks, and I know you know how good he is at that. You’re coming.” Steph and Jason have a joint birthday party; feel-good fluff and humor with an idealized Batfamily. 2017. POV Jason.

"Hanging On" by Deshal - If there was one thing Stephanie Brown had always excelled at, it was plotting a course and refusing to be moved. Bruce had just needed proof that she was a capable hero in her own right. It was funny just how much Steph’s obstinacy and Bruce’s distrust of her had combined in all the worst ways. POV Steph primarily; post-War Games anti-hero Steph AU; WIP/incomplete.

"Identity Document" by Runespoor - A dark alleyway, a gang of thugs, a victim who won't be victimized, Batman. A bad Robin meets a bad Batman. 2011. POV Steph.

"Lost" by orphan_account - Jason loses a parent, meets a girl, and goes swimming. Then some other stuff happens, too. 2011. POV Jason.

"What's So Amazing That Keeps Us Stargazing" by Cerusee - Stephanie wasn’t stupid; she knew Robin’s colors well as any Gotham kid did. It was Dick’s old costume. (Stephanie knew she wasn’t even supposed to know that name; Batman had had a concussion when he’d called Nightwing by it, and they’d both been cagey with her for months afterwards.) It was the costume he’d worn before he’d grown up and become Nightwing. So why this case, with this costume, but a different name? Batman doesn't get another Robin after Jason, but Spoiler makes her way into the fold anyway. POV Steph; Steph & Bruce. (This is more of a Steph & Bruce story. Jason proper doesn't show up here, but he's here in spirit.) 2018.

"Gotham War: Batgirl" by Teleportation_Magic - If the 2023 Gotham War crossover event actually cared about using Stephanie's potential. POV Steph. [Again, Jason really doesn't have much of a role in this one, but still.]

"the patterned flight of starlings" by Cerusee - In a universe where Jason Todd survives the warehouse, the world is a very different place. 2018-2020.

"Atalanta" by Cerusee - The dog growled at him. Jason growled back. “Don’t do that, you dipshit,” Steph said, heatedly. “You’re antagonizing her. Don’t growl.” Batman enlists Steph and Jason to give a bath to a rescue dog. 2017.

"Family Game Night" by quipquipquip - “YOU AREN’T MY REAL DAD,” Jason bellowed, and flipped the table. “YOU OWN PARK PLACE, BUT YOU DON’T OWN ME!” The Batfamily plays Monopoly; crack comedy. 2011.

#Stephanie Brown #Jason Todd #DC Robin #Dead Robins #Even Robins #Steph and Jason #Jason Todd fic #Jason Todd fanfic #Jason Todd fanfiction #Batfic #Batman fic #Batman fanfic #fic rec #fic rec list #fanfic rec #Batgirl #Stephanie Brown fanfic #Stephanie Brown fanfiction #Stephanie Brown fic #Stephanie Brown Spoiler #Red Hood #Bad Robins #POST MAY BE UPDATED AND REVISED #thecruellestmonth #pin #This is pure friendship but I won't get mad at however you choose to tag this.

[incoherentbabblings]

Hi!! Sorry if this comes off as super random or nonsensical, but I love your TimSteph meta ;_; I'm a huge fan of TimSteph's exes-to-lovers dynamic, and I was wondering for the sake of characterization: Do you think it works better as a "lost feelings & rekindled them" trope, or a "had lingering feelings all along" trope?

Thank you! And ohhhh! Good question! I can certainly see the merit in both. They are certainly not the same people at 19 that they were at 14, that's for sure.

Personally, I have always gone for the latter, in that the feelings never went away.

The reason I say that is for Tim outright stating at the end of his Robin run that he still loves her despite them well and truly being on the outs by that point,

Robin (1993) #182

The fact that in Red Robin he's at the very least still leering at her,

Red Robin #15

Or his frustration and disappointment in not being able to trust her and therefore implying that he very much wishes he could lean on her once more,

Red Robin #2

And then Steph is maybe a bit more vague - she says she doesn't know how she is supposed to feel about him - but her remembering their time together through a literal rose coloured filter plus the inference that he makes her weak in some way to me says there are still feelings that never quite go away.

Batgirl #8

That is my interpretation! At least. The good old 'not now' line Steph has in particular. Not right now. Someday. But not now.

Batgirl #8

Also the phrasing in the Gotham Gazette extra of saying Stephanie "is woven into the fabric of the city. Its passion and pain. Its... desires... and though she tried, she can't tear herself away from it. From him. Robin." and mentioning that she feels left behind by him, ergo tying Tim into Gotham which is definitely a metaphopr that crops up for these two that I totally haven't pulled out my ass in the past etc...

Gotham Gazette Batman Dead

Yeah. I think they both still had feelings. It was just mixed up a buckets of hurt that they had done to each other. It's how I tend to write them at least! I can definitely see where one would argue the opposite however.

#dc #tim drake #stephanie brown #timsteph meta #ask and i'll babble #timsteph #thank you for the ask!! #no alt text

[batfsm]

Jason's "brother" first appears in the digital-first chapter Truth & Justice #10 by Jeff Trammell, Rob Guillory, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Becca Carey. This story focuses on Red Hood's time as a homeless kid. But he isn't alone in this version of his past; one of the people who helps young Jason is Max Dawkins, an older kid who once took care of Jason like a brother. Together, the two survive their childhood. After Jason Todd is taken in by Batman, Jason leaves some money for Max to help him get off the streets. Max turns his life around, even graduating from college — but is unfortunately murdered by Scarecrow. Killing Max off was a huge mis-step on DC's part, and bringing him back could give Jason Todd's character new depth.

So is Max before Nu52 or in New52? Because I never heard of him so I think he is New52.

Almost every member of the Bat-Family still has a powerful connection to their past life. Dick has had old family members reappear, like his uncle and sister — plus he owns the circus he grew up in. Barbara Gordon still has her father, and Cass Cain, for better or worse, still has her mother and father. Damian Wayne has his father, mother, and grandfather. But Jason Todd has no connection to his past life at all. Both of Jason's mothers are dead, and Joker recently killed Jason's father, meaning Jason has no connection left to his pre-Batman childhood. Bringing Max back into continuity would give Jason at least one supporting cast member who knew him before his death as Robin and his revival as Red Hood, which is something Jason desperately needs.

Jason has Crime Alley! He grew up on the streets, he knows the people probably the best than anyone in the family. He has someone on his side, the people of Gotham themselves!

This has to be New52 because I swear Willis was dead around the time Catherine died. Or still in prison. Wait, Catherine dies by the Joker? At least here. I thought it was the drugs who did it.

(This was where I saw it said Joker killed Catherine and Willis.)

Every other Bat-Family member, including Batman, has both a connection to their past and a civilian life with supporting characters. Jason has neither; rarely is he shown in his civilian life, and he has no supporting cast that isn't a fellow superhero. There is no doubt that, out of all the Bat-Family members, Jason is the one who has struggled the most to find his footing outside the team. Every Batgirl and Robin has their own supporting cast, and Red Hood deserves the same. Bringing Max back could be the first step to fixing that.

Who did Tim have before dating Bernard? Unless I’m mistaken, which I might be, didn’t he push Ives, Bernard, Darla(?), and his other school friends away to focus on Robin? Not to mention it seems as if he had no one to hang out with when Jack made him give Robin up...

Oh, I thought it was Dick’s grandfather who reappeared? Or do they not count William as a family member? Plus, isn’t Dick’s sister his parents killers adopted daughter?

Wait, who do they consider Bruce having as his supporting cast? His kids who technically are also his partners? His best friends who are superheroes? Something that ScreenRant seems to hate for Jason? Damian literally has no friends, that they show, besides Jon who is now Tim’s age, since they got rid of Colin and his other friends, including Jon, are superheroes or villains also.

Tim has Bernard and maybe Ives. Duke has his mom, same with Steph, and that’s about it I believe.

I’m surprised they counted Cass’s parents, Ra’s, and Talia in with Damian’s support. Especially since they didn’t put that Ra’s and Talia are as bad as Cass’ s parents…now.

Actually, if you get down to it, the whole family has each other to rely on also. So Jason isn’t alone.

Every other Bat-Family member, including Batman, has both a connection to their past and a civilian life with supporting characters.

Every Batgirl and Robin has their own supporting cast, and Red Hood deserves the same.

ScreenRant really reiterated themselves here.

DC really changed everyones backstory and made them worse didn’t they?

#batman #jason todd #catherine todd #willis todd #the joker #tim drake #bruce wayne #damian wayne #dick grayson #cassandra cain #duke thomas #stephanie brown #barbara gordon #dc comics #dc

[soleminisanction]

I’d pay real money to see your analysis on steph and cass’s relationship 😭 you’re the only mfker on this site doing Stephanie’s character any justice w your amazing character analysis despite being the resident Stephanie Hater TM I owe you my life

Ha, thank you. It is very confusing that my feelings about Steph so often seem to boil down to, "I hate you because you deserve to be written better, goddammit!"

That said, I'm not totally sure I'm qualified to talk about Steph and Cass's relationship in its full extent because I haven't read their "foundational text" -- which is to say, Cass's Batgirl run. I've read pieces of it, but never the storylines where they hang out, and I can't deny that the knowledge of Steph's presence is a big part of what's made me avoid what I know, objectively, to be a fantastic series.

From what I have seen of their relationship, in family crossovers and Steph's Batgirl and their modern appearances (everything Cass has been in except for Batgirls, and about half of that series, but not a consecutive run of issues) plus general fandom osmosis... my personal feeling is that I'm not a fan.

For one, I can never see their modern cutesiness as anything less than full-on queerbaiting. Steph reads as fully straight to me, and when I say that, I don't mean, "hrr drr she's never shown romantic interest in girls before" because that's bullshit. What I mean is that, of all the femme-aligned Bat-people in the franchise, Steph is both by far the most gender conforming and the most male-oriented (of the modern age; obviously Betty and Kathy Kane are a different story). When they shave her head for Future State or the Earth-3 Mary Sue Batwoman, it doesn't look like her, it looks like she's trying to be Cassie Sandsmark. And her motivations are very often tied up in men, whether that man is her father, her boyfriend, or Batman. Since she came back from the dead and they threw out all the complicated character nuance that led to War Games, they really haven't given her much more than that to work with, and it's not like those motivations were ever fully separate from men either.

So to me, the more their modern comic appearances try to push this idea that Stephanie is the most importantest person in Cass's life, the more it feels like they're writing poor Cass to be in love with her straight friend, who in turn is either (generous interpretation) clueless to her affections or (ungenerous interpretation) stringing her along because the attention feeds Steph's ego.

And that perception isn't helped by the fact that I feel like their relationship, as it's written in canon, is extremely one-sided. Like, Steph dies, and Cass spirals, mourning her and hallucinating her presence. Cass gets written into books like Spirit World all by herself and Steph still gets mentions and shout-outs as an important person in her life. People draw art with Cass owning Steph's merch, and she spent so much time in Batgirls talking about how strong and special and important Stephanie is.

Meanwhile, Stephanie spent her time in Batgirls talking about how being a Batgirl made her feel special and awesome. Cass gives her the Batgirl costume at the start of her run of the same name and then disappears and is never seen or mentioned again. She doesn't show up nearly as much on her own, but the last time she did (in Robins) I'm pretty sure Cass wasn't mentioned once, not even as like a flash-in-the-pan cameo during her "Spoiler, leader of the Teen Titans" fantasy sequence.

Pair all that up with the fact that Steph really doesn't get stories of her own and instead turns up in other people's adventures at random, often with Cass at her side as a glorified cameo and... yeah, it all just feels very one-sided to me, like the relationship exists for the same reason the writers forced Tim and Steph back together in 2016. They don't know what to do with Steph if she's not somebody's Designated Love Interest, and since she can't be that to Tim anymore they've shifted to baiting a relationship they'll never actually pull the trigger on with Cass.

It just kinda sucks. Steph should get her own stories. And Cass shouldn't be reduced to her fucking Kato.

#dc comics asks #stephanie brown critical #stephcass critical #batman #batgirl #batgirls #dc comics

[velociheroviridi]

finally watched Blue Beetle today and honestly it was so good. it also made me cry 3 or 4 times. Rude.

buuuut it's been giving me thoughts, cuz this is like the first DCEU movie to delve into the more so "second generation superheros." Cuz ya know you have Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, etc, all first generation superheros (Captain Marvel/Shazam can be argued to be a mix of both), but here's Jaime, the second/third person to take on the Blue Beetle identity AND is 22yo, much younger than the others. Anyways tho, this is to say, this sparked thoughts of more movies with second generation superheroes and ofc my mind went to the Nightwing movie they mentioned possibly one day being a thing years ago, and me and my so started discussing and BASICALLY, if I was in charge of the DCEU, this is what I would do Batfam-wise:

Release a Batman and Robin movie with Tim as Robin (since in Justice League they showed that Jason is already dead)

Then release a Nightwing movie, since he'd already be kind of introduced in the Batman and Robin one

Then a Batgirl movie, but with Steph since it would be too late for Barbara, and they already fumbled with Cass's char in Birds of Prey (unless they're willing to have a redo) - and since Tim is currently Robin, you could also have Stephanie's step in as Robin included

Then a Red Hood movie, since Jason would have obviously been discussed and introduced in Tim's movie since it's so intertwined with his origin

Then a Son of Batfam movie introducing Damian and having Tim move on to Red Robin

Then perhaps an Oracle movie or Signal movie, idk Oracle could come before Damian's

Then a possible Batfam movie, including the previously mentioned chars plus maybe Luke Fox, Selena, and maybe bring in Clayface and Harley? Or you could keep it more low-key with just the main members and kinda have all the previous movie mesh together and see them all actually interact with each other, that would be fantastic actually. Like a whole "you've seen them individually but get ready for a movie with ALL the superheroes you love" and it can be half family comedy ya know? I'm in love with this idea now, I need it

Then perhaps a Batman incorporated movie introducing all the members of that

Here me out: Nightwing 2: Titans with all the ogs involved like Donna. and then you gotta have Wally

Ok so this is as far as my brain has thought but like...c'mon guys, c'mon DC, PLS

#blue beetle dceu #dc #batfam #nightwing #blue beetle 2023 #viridi posts #dceu #viridi posts 2023 #but yeah blue beetle was SUUPER enjoyable i loved it #definitely A tier #also its so cool that Jaime is my age i really dig it #batfamily #dcu

[teleportationmagic]

How many Robins are there, exactly?

An in-universe counting

1 - Unified Robin theory. There was the original Robin, and they kept being the original Robin because Robin doesn't age/deages. The blonde one either doesn't count, or was a disguise of some sort, and the current one just has a tan/exists in a universe where Damian is lighter. Generally unaccepted even by people who care about this sort of thing. Many people in this camp have been unified Robin believers since they were very young and just. never let up.

(Not to be confused with the offshoot of people who believe that Robin is some kind of spirit, and that each Robin is a manifestation of some part of Gotham's id.

Or those who believe that there was only One True Rightful Robin.

Or those who believe that, really, Robin is just whoever is wearing it guys.)

2 - There was the original Robin, and then there was the new Robin or it was interrupted by the girl Robin. There is much much infighting between these two groups despite the fact that they are not actually all that popular. And also fighting with group 3.

3 - Either they count the new Robin and the girl Robin separately, or the girl Robin is discounted, and a second Robin is added after Nightwing came around. The second group generally has the belief that Nightwing is Robin, and are mostly people who were Titans fans back in the day. Generally seen as the commonly accepted floor in Robin-counting, and is somewhat common In The Community

4 - Generally counts the first Robin, a Robin after Nightwing (though the division might be placed someplace else, such as after Batman's three month alone-run, after girl Robin, or declaring the older current Robin to be distinct from Red Robin), the girl Robin and the new Robin. Alternate counts place two divisions and nix blonde Robin. Fairly widely held view, especially amongst people who don't actually care. Especially for people outside of Gotham

5 - Similar to the above, in terms of original robin/current robin/two divisions and girlrob or three divisions. Also a generally accepted view of most Gothamites who's involvement with robin begins and ends with seeing them on the news.

6 - Counts all the above division plus girlrob, though at this point there are some more esoteric divisions as well - some people claim that no man's land indicated a new robin, for instance. Not an uncommon opionon for people who aren't actively thinking about this. Also generally seen as a normie take.

7-20 - even more esoteric divisions. Common additional beliefs include a separate Robin for the TT/YJ, a division in the first five-six years as Robin when the kid was suddenly three inches taller, or any of the times when the current robin disappeared for a few months. Also includes the people who fell sideways through a reboot and remember a redheaded robin? This is where people start calling you a conspiracy theorist

60-80ish - "are we just forgetting about all the We Are Robin kids?" <- proceeds large pontificating on what is robin, really? Held by a decently large crowd

6-10ish - "well, Batgirl is basically a Robin, right? Like she's a sidekick for Batman, and that's essentially what Robin is" <- held ironically about seventy percent of the time

14-19ishhhh - "if you're counting Batgirl you also have to count all the other sidekicks Batman has had, like Bluebird or Signal or Nightwing" <- held about ninety percent ironcally, except for that last name, which is used to start a fight

80+ - "Batman has a silo full of dead children and I am going to find it" <- generally not taken seriously, despite being so. people in the 7-20 bracket will call you a conspiracy theorist.

#dc #Robin #dick grayson #jason todd #damian wayne #tim drake #stephanie brown #I feel like I ought to tag bernard but he's not actually in this. so #if you ask anyone inside the vigilante community the answer is generally 3/4 #ask the Batfamily specifically and they will fuck with you #they don't give straight answers to that question #telespeak #batfamily #batfam

[1980sactionfigures]

MORE EBAY AUCTIONS

Hi, everyone - I am in a horrific financial situation at the moment and am letting my entire collection of, well, everything go. Here are some of the auctions I have up right now, great Christmas gifts abound:

I am selling a massive part of my animation collection on DVD including tons of RARE and OUT-OF-PRINT titles! The combined amount for these are several hundred dollars more than my Buy It Now or Starting Bid!

Also letting go of a large amount of my DISNEY Treasures and Legacy Collection sets! Again, many are out of print and rare!

Have a MSTie in your life you want to get something for? A signed 1997 Calendar, autographed by five of the cast members PLUS over a dozen MST3K, RIFFTRAX and CINEMATIC TITANIC DVDs!

Halloween may be over, but it doesn't have to be if you decorate your entire place with these 13 movie posters based on the works of STEPHEN KING!

One of the coolest MOTU Knock-off lines, I'm offering a giant collection of IMPERIAL TOYS' DRAGONS KNIGHTS AND DAGGERS! Beasts! Weapons! Chariots!

A huge collection of GODZILLA collectibles!

From the 1970s through the 2000s, over 1300 trading cards based on movies and TV most in great shape!

#ebay #toys #godzilla #mst3k #disney #cartoons #mego #stephen king #wonder woman

[gamesception]

Sception Reads Cass Cain #30

Batgirl (2000) #13 Writer: Puckett Art: Scott & Campanella

Event Crossover's done for now, and the immediate fallout - Gordon's & Alfred's retirements - don't directly impact Cass, so we're back to one shot Batgirl stories with the usual creative team. Or, well, sort of. While this issue works as a stand alone story, it will have some fallout that pushes Cass's story forward a bit.

So yeah, this is the one where Cass saves the repentant sniper from his US government handlers who are out to kill him now that he's become a loose end by growing a conscience. Yes, you can draw a parallel to Cass herself, also a repentant assassin, and point out that thematically she's saving herself here - or at least attempting to, given what follows. Plus this issue is set up for coming issues that will examine the theme of Cass's isolation and Bruce's role in keeping her isolated, a topic I recently discussed in a reply to a post by @but-a-humble-goon over here.

But most of that deeper thematic stuff is attached to the fallout from this issues events that we'll see going forward. So for the moment, especially considering this post is half a week late already, I'd instead like to just take a moment to acknowledge that his issue has some really iconic moments, both from the art and the writing.

Like this bit of Cass dodging bullets.

Or this bit of the gov't agents openly laughing at the sniper for believing the story he had been given for why he was supposed to kill his target.

Like, these agent guys are super cliche, sure, but they're also so perfectly hate-able. They're kind of fantastic, and I wish Cass had feuded with them more.

Cass no-selling the agent's threats is great.

And uno-reversing the threat immediately after is even better, because unlike this agent guy we know who her friends are.

Though, I mean, honestly, they're in Gotham. Dude should be able to put 2 and 2 together.

And this panel of Cass leaping off a building is fantastic.

At the end, when the guy asks her why Cass would do all that to help a complete stranger, how it was she knew he was somebody who deserved to be saved when he himself just found out he'd been killing innocent people.

And her answer directly calls back to the end of issue 6...

Where her instinct to protect others even at the cost of her own life was what had, at least for the moment, overcome Bruce's doubts about her.

And this great bit at the very end, where he asks her name and the ending title card answers for her. Who is she? She's Batgirl.

Of course, follow up to this story in future issues will examine how the fact that she has no identity, no name, no life besides being Batgirl is kind of a bad thing actually, but for the moment, treating this issue as a one of story, it feels kind of triumphant. She knows who she is, she likes who she is. She's happy! She's thriving! She's having adventures where she saves a symbolic representation of herself!

But yeah, this fun high spirited story that ends on this upbeat triumphant note is just building her up so the coming issues can tear all that down. She's not 'living in the moment' - she's running from a past that's too painful to think about and a future that she fully expects will see her dead at Shiva's hands in less than a year. She's not happy just being Batgirl because that's everything she needs, she just doesn't know any other life because first David and now Bruce have kept her from having one outside of their own ambitions for her.

She's not even symbolically saving herself through the metaphorical stand in of this sniper guy because he /isn't/ her and she /didn't/ save him. He has connections and a life outside of his past as an assassin, the kind of connections Cass was never allowed to develop, ties he can't just walk away from to start a new life, ties that the people Cass rescued him from today can use to go after him again tomorrow.

Again, though, that's discussion for future issues. In this moment Cass is happy, as happy as we've seen her in a while, and we can let her have that for a week or so.

#cassandra cain #batgirl #sception reads cassandra cain #late late post #supposed to go up this past friday #got distracted by work and family and other blog stuff #I'm not mothballing this project again yet #but new posts will be somewhere between inconsistent and nonexistent until january

[zahri-melitor]

Hi! How and when did you get into DC comics?

Well my original entry to DC was that I was a fan of Lois & Clark: the New Adventures of Superman when I was a kid and it was originally showing. This actually was a decent entrypoint to the DC mythos, as it's famous for having probably the best TV-comics synergy of all time: the Death of Superman was written to have a plot running while Lois & Clark built up to the wedding, so they could do simultaneous weddings in the comics and the show.

It worked out pretty well for DC.

But DC Comics, as comic books? Well somewhere around 2006 or so I'd transitioned into reading some fic for Lois & Clark, as a change. I then moved on to stories about Bruce/Selina (which I had a reasonable amount of background for from the Burton & Schumacher movies), and ended up in the scans_daily scene on LJ. This was the heyday of scans_daily, when you could pretty reasonably follow along a lot of major comics via the 1/3 posting rule; you didn't get everything, but that plus the summary got you across events pretty well.

I'd liked Barbara Gordon as a little girl, watching the movies. It was at this point I discovered Oracle.

The first comics graphic novel I ever purchased was Birds of Prey: Perfect Pitch. I've still got it. I ended up reading a bunch of runs recommended via content I liked on scans_daily: Birds of Prey, Robin, No Man's Land, Nightwing, Batgirl 2000, Blue Beetle, and Young Justice. A couple of these I was buying trades for (BoP and Blue Beetle); the rest I was reading via ye olde torrent packets. I was also reading and collecting a bunch of Vertigo titles: The Sandman, Fables, Y: the Last Man, and one or two Marvel titles (Runaways and Power Pack).

I dropped out of DC fandom, like so many others, around 2010-2011. It was actually prior to n52 in my case: I wasn't enjoying Batman Reborn, they'd cancelled my two favourite books (Birds of Prey and Blue Beetle), but the last straw was probably when they murdered Lian Harper.

I noped out. And it was a pretty good call on my part, given that n52 was barrelling down anyway.

I was still occasionally dipping in to read fic, mostly about characters I particularly cared about, but every time I took a breath and paid attention to gossip about what was currently happening in comics, it was mostly terrible news (Lian was still dead; people told me Roy's personality had been obliterated; Barbara was Batgirl and magically healed; the universe resets sucked and everyone hated them; Jason was somehow still alive; everyone was mad about something that had happened to Dick; etc etc)

It was during 2022, when I don't even know how I came across it, but I discovered that DC had finally reprinted Young Justice in trade. This was huge; collections had refused to do this during the 2000s aside from a trade of Sins of Youth back when it came out. There was a general attitude that the group of largely younger and largely female fans weren't worth catering to. The fact that DC now saw us as a lucrative market suggested to me that my contemporaries were finally getting their chance to start running the asylum.

So I dipped back into the community. It was a little hard at first, because hubs had changed, and locating fans who liked the things I personally liked took a little while. But I got back into the fandom, and got back into the fic, and discovered that back in about 2017 there'd been a revival to start reprinting a lot of my favourite comics runs, and that DCUI was the best way to read comics these days, and I could get access to it in Australia.

And because DCUI was just so much better than the methods of reading comics I'd been dealing with 15 years previously, and I'd had an idea for a story I wanted to write, I started a canon read through review, starting all the way back in ALPOD with Tim's earliest comics.

And here I am. I often have older opinions on things simply because I remember being in these debates 15+ years ago, and then I missed the intervening period, so my opinions never updated or heard the changed details (or are only slowly doing so now). I'm a preboot girl at heart because that's where I fell in love with various characters. I, like every other Batfan with a similar history to mine (and there are a lot of us) went through that moment of sheer bemusement over the Tim & Jason tag at AO3 as my most prominent memory of their relationship was Tim kicking Jason in the nuts.

And I've bought a lot of trades ever since getting back into the fandom, because I can't lose access to them AND they're just so far superior for collection purposes than floppies.

[incorrectbatfam]

could you do any stephanie and bruce headcanons

I need to work on using the "keep reading" cuts

Bruce's grief after Steph died was much more silent than Jason's because otherwise the public would've started prying, but he also placed every ounce of blame on himself and seriously considered retiring Batman (and in turn, Robin, so no more kids have to get hurt)

She jokingly made him pinky promise to take her to Belgium for waffles on her 18th birthday and he stuck to his word

They sold rainbow cookies at Pride and the proceeds (plus an extra donation from Bruce) went to Steph's high school GSA

Steph changed Bruce's lock screen to her double-chin selfie with a psychedelic filter. When one of his coworkers at saw it, he just said, "Kids, am I right?"

They are contractually obligated to sing the Space Jam theme together at karaoke

Whenever they travel as a family, Steph and Bruce each get their own hotel rooms—Bruce because he snores and Steph because she thinks she's Adele performing at Wembley Stadium

She trolled Bruce's Twitter so hard that people were convinced she was a rival CEO

Steph refused to let Bruce pay for college, so instead he visited often and helped her write the perfect scholarship applications

She found a five-leaf clover and stuck it to Bruce's cowl in the middle of his town hall speech

They tried to cook together and reeeally overshot the amount of salt

Bruce cried a little when she moved to her first apartment

They went to a family therapist for 3 months after Steph came back from the dead to sort everything out

Steph doesn't remember when she told Bruce she doesn't like licorice, but he never forgot

She decorated Bruce's motorcycle helmet with Spoiler stickers

They have a shared hatred for people who don't put their shopping carts away

Bruce learned the "make a wish on a dandelion" thing from Steph, and he does it when no one's watching

In her senior year of high school, Steph was on the freshman orientation team and to stand out from the other orientation leaders, she had Batman stand next to her handing out free t-shirts

Bruce follows her suspicions, no matter how silly they might seem at first—she has a better eye for details than him

One time he found her tinkering with a non-functional music box she found in the attic. They stayed up all night to restore it together and when it was done, it had a newly painted ballerina and played Martha's favorite childhood song

When she was Batgirl, people constantly compared her to Babs and Cass and it made her question every tiny thing she did and whether she could live up to the mantle. Bruce knew this, and he also knew this wasn't something he could fix for her in one fell swoop. Still, that didn't stop him from leaving the positive comments on her mission reports and telling her she's doing a good job in the middle of a fight

"Bruce, I can read your mind." "What am I thinking right now?" "Why is her thumb in my ear?"

Her way of waking him up involves a squirt gun in each hand

Bruce thinks Steph is really brave for showing up to the Wayne gala in an outfit that's half of her Spoiler costume mixed with pajamas

Bruce failed his own company's drug test because Steph gave him a poppy seed bagel that morning

Steph played an important role in Bruce and Selina's wedding: making sure villains stayed away and the cake didn't topple over

One time they were the only ones awake at sunrise when the snow had just freshly fallen, so they raced outside for a snowball fight

One of their undercover disguises was as a father and daughter—with Steph being the father

Steph forgives Bruce for her death because she was the one who put herself in danger, and she hopes someday he can learn to forgive himself

They both picked the worst wallpapers for the bathroom so Alfred had to override their decision

Steph made him watch all the Tinker Bell movies

#ask #anonymous #bruce wayne #batman #stephanie brown #spoiler #batfamily #batfam #batgirls #batkids #batsiblings #batman family #dc comics #headcanon #tw death mention #tw food mention #tw angst