#damian > maps > tim > cass > steph > duke > tim again > dick > jay > babs

[sleepberries]

i have any very crash reverse robins au where cass is tim and all of babs maps and duke are included (bc i rarely see them included) but unfortunately i have no fic ideas for it so it just sis in my document with over 3k words of context and world building but no actual fanfic

[robbed-ghost]

man I wish I didn’t like dc. what the hell are you doing

[nyukaart]

Lmao the panels are so unorganized

I like to think that each batkid had a different experience with their first Gala for example,

Dicks first Gala was hectic but he enjoyed the attention in a way,Bruce only brought him to a Gala a few months after he adopted him so he can settle down more. Dick enjoyed the attention for the most part,reminded him of performing again just.. socially

Jason was STRESSED. When more then 5 people tried talking to him ran away sobbing cause bro did not prepare for all that

Tim was pretty neutral,he'd gone to Galas before,maybe not as big but he just didn't really react as much,the most chill imo

Steph was having the time of her life,she started talking to all the media interviewers, thought it was funny how rich people think and act like (mimicked their behavior to fit in and hear about CEO gossip that she'll tell the others about)

Duke is a little stressed cause he expected big but not THAT big. He kept his distance from the crowd at first but slowly started talking more,he didn't mind but it wasn't the best experience

Cass was overwhelmed but she set her boundaries immediately and just left if someone didn't get the hint. Would go completely silent if someone annoyed her too much and they'd just back off

Damian is just looking down on everyone there but still keeps a slight face. He had to be constantly scolded for running his mouth too much . He'd just be starting his genuine opinion on someones outfit but it'd come off as offensive (he had to go through PR training)

Map appears and disappears through out the Gala, you see her talking to a big group of people then she's gone for like five minutes, but overall she thinks it's interesting to see how all the major socialites talking to one another

Barbara talks to a few people but mainly just chilled around and talked to Dick during her first Gala,they just did their own thing while the adults around them did theirs

[reywritings]

Winner Takes It All

In which a family of detective's notice a suspiciously lucky trend when it comes to Jason's girlfriend.

Jason Todd x fem reader, no use of Y/N

All fluff, mostly slice of life, based of WFA for this one.

Enjoy this one! The next post is angst 😈🙏🔥

______________________________________________________________

“You’re not gonna win. You never do.” Dick says, elbowing Tim as they play against each other in Mario Kart, after finishing a long case.

“Stop elbowing me!” Tim kicks at him, and it isn’t long before they’re trying to multitask kicking each other while playing.

“You’re both children.” Jason says as he walks in, with a raised brow at the two men, they glare back at him, and see you walking in behind him.

“This is pretty on par.” You say, shrugging it off, not nearly as disappointed with the two as Jason is. 

Jason just rolls his eyes at them, giving you a shoulder squeeze as he goes to the library to grab what he came here for. Meanwhile, you lean on the back of the couch, watching the two play.

Dick addresses you in the middle of kicking Tim while trying to button smash at the same time, “Tell him I’m gonna win, obviously.”

You hum in thought. “Who’s playing as Rosalina?”

“Me!” Tim says, kneeing Dick again.

“Oh, well obviously I have to be on Tim’s side. Rosalina is the best character.” You nod, maybe your choice was purely for aesthetics but– its Princess Rosalina.

“What?!” Dick exclaims, and Tim laughs.

“She knows what she's talking about!” Tim says, pushing Dick’s leg off of him.

Dick rolls his eyes. “No, Toad is the best. And that’s why I’m gonna win–”

“I won.” Tim interrupts.

Dick stares at the screen slack jawed.

Jason walks back in, looks at the screen, looks at Dick, and then shrugs as he motions to you that he’s ready to leave.

Dick finally manages to glare at Tim five minutes later. “You got lucky! It was only because she rooted for you.”

Tim snorts. “Just admit you lost, dude.”

“No way! She’s a good luck charm. When have you ever beat me in Mario Kart on this map before?” 

Tim considers that. 

“Huh… what do you say to a science experiment?

______________________________________________________________

“I’m telling you, it’s definitely Kite-Man. Who else would be behind something as lame as this?” Steph asks, scoffing at the idea of it being anyone else. “Plus there was a kite at the scene.”

“Yeah. Which was at the park. Kites are in parks. That's what they do.” Duke counters, taking a seat at the kitchen counter, near Jason and you, the former seemed to show no interest in the conversation at all, but you turned to look at them.

“What’s this all about?” You ask with a raised brow.

“Someone stole all the hot dog carts at the park.” Steph sighs, bored by the mundane crime. Tim glances up, intrigued, but not because of the crime.

“My bets on Kite-Man.” Tim says, nonchalant. “..What about you?” He raises a brow as he looks at you.

“Uh– I’ll side with Duke. Keeps things even.”

“Thank you!” Duke seems genuinely touched.

Tim then pulls up the case notes on his computer, and looks for the latest police update.

“Well, what do you know? Not Kite Man.” Tim grins. This was sound evidence for him. Maybe you were lucky, after all..

Steph whips her head to Tim, eyes wide. “What?! Who?”

“Condiment King.”

“Fuck. I should have guessed that!”

______________________________________________________________

Four card games between Dick and Steph, a race between Cass and Duke, and three rounds of chess between Tim and Damian later, Tim and Dick reached the conclusion that you were, in fact, good luck.

However, in a family of detectives, it didn’t take long for a majority of the others to pick up on their scheme. Or to realize you were a good luck factor. 

“I’m gonna win. Obviously.” Tim declared, confidently at the dinner table as they finished up– they were having a family dinner for once, and afterwards they were going to have a round of Mario Kart… which meant the winner only had to ensure one thing.

“Fat chance!” Dick scoffs, immediately giving into his competitive spirit with that comment.

“No. I am.. You should root for me.” Tim says, suddenly addressing you now.

“Tempting— but maybe I should sit this out with Jay.” You knew how game night went with this family, and you did not want to get in the middle of that. 

“Or you could root for your favorite person?” Duke buts in, smiling as he slides his dessert plate towards you as a bribe.

“He’s gonna lose.” Tim points out, pulling the plate away.

“I’m gonna kick your ass!” Duke retorts,ripping the plate away from Tim.

“No— she should root for me instead! Root for me, please!” Dick says, bringing his hands together as he begs.

You just laugh, but Jason looks completely annoyed by them now. Since when did they care who she was rooting for?

“No! She’s rooting for me—” Tim starts again, swatting at Dick as he tries to push Tim further away from you.

“If she’s truly as smart as Todd says, she’ll root  for me, obviously.” Damian interjects, a proud look on his face as he crosses his arms. 

Jason narrows his eyes. Okay, what was going on here?

Steph rolls her eyes. “Guys— stop it. This is all childish.”

The boys share a look, feeling a bit called out now. 

Dick looks at you. “We aren’t trying to make you feel uncomfor—“ 

“Obviously she’s rooting for me.” Steph says, interrupting him, standing up at the table as she grabs you by the shoulders. 

“Oh fuck you, you did that for dramatic effect—“ Dick slams his hands on the table.

“Like you aren’t the drama, Circus boy!”

You shake your head, deciding then would be a good time to go use the bathroom, because evidently— they would notice if you weren’t there during the actual games.

As soon as you’re out of sight, Jason turns back to everyone else.

“Okay, what the fuck is this all about?” He glares at them.

“Nothing!” 

“What’s what about?”

“None of your concern, Todd.”

“Language.”

They all respond, obviously too quick and dismissive with their responses.

“…I’m gonna ask one more time.” He says, slowly, making eye contact with everyone.

“…okay, fine— she’s good luck. That’s all.” Duke says, shrugging.

That gives Jason pause.

“What?”

Tim butts in, “Anytime anyone has a game or a bet— whoever she sides with always wins. I thought it was an anomaly at first but.. it’s happened too many times to not be a trend.”

“She’s like a lucky rabbit's foot.” Steph provides, leaning back in her chair.

Jason mulls over that thought. Anytime he played Mario Kart or a card game against Roy, he *did* usually win.. he thought he was just a natural but— he only won when she was home, too. He lost when she wasn’t there.

“…maybe there’s some truth to that.” Jason admits.

“See!” Dick says, glad this didn’t end in argument but also— he noticed it first, so he felt vindicated.

“Now we shall let her pick a team.” Damian says, ready to convince her why she should root for him.

“No.” Jason says, smirking a bit as he shakes his head. “..you really thought this would change anything? She’s going to root for me— and I’ll wipe the floor with you all.”

There’s a pause as everyone stares at him in either disbelief or anger.

“..I fear we made an error.” Tim mutters.

“I’m definitely playing now. Guaranteed to win? I mean— I probably would have won anyways.” Jason brags, standing up as he’s ready to go to the living room and start these games.

“You cheater!” Steph accuses, slamming her hand down on the table.

“We were trying to do the same thing though..?” Duke adds, scratching the back of his neck.

You walk back in— raising a brow at Jason as he’s standing up.

“Eager?” You ask, smiling creeping onto your face. “I thought you didn’t want to play?”

He wraps his arm around your shoulder as he leads you to the living room, you could make out his family’s argument and protests from behind you.

“Changed my mind. As long as I have you on my side, I’ll always win.” He smiles cheekily at you.

“How romantic.” You say sarcastically, raising a brow at his sudden affinity to participate in game night.

He grins at you, “And they say chivalry is dead.”

“…is this about me being a boon?” You question, side eyeing him with a soft smile.

“You knew?” He widens his eyes, pausing to look at you as you both stand in the living room door frame.

You snort. “Hard not to. They made it fairly obvious.”

“…you still gonna root for me?”

“Always.”

[queeniewithabeanie]

Lady Gotham

Dpxdc Prompt #47

When Danny Fenton moved to Gotham for university the city noticed.

After all, before Lady Gotham was Gotham she was Samantha Manson.

It all started with the Nasty Burger explosion.

Mr. Lancer, Mrs. and Mr. Fenton, Jazz, Danny, Tucker, and Sam were all there. One moment, Danny was being confronted about cheating on his career aptitude test and the next all Sam could see was the familiar toxic green of the Ghost Zone.

Sam's first thought was did anyone survive? and her second was i need to find Danny.

She wasn't sure of the fate of anyone caught in the explosion, for all she knew she could've been the only one to die (unlikely), and if not that the only one to form into a ghost (sadly, plausible).

With worst case scenarios flooding her head, Sam began looking for anything familiar in the Zone. She'd never been without the infi-map before and now that she didn't have it she was lost.

She never had a chance of finding Danny because she fell into a portal after she'd barely begun searching.

When Sam became aware again, she found herself in a world similar to her home, but very different at the same time.

The times were different, this world barely in the 1700s. She was in a different location, somewhere in the northeast, but she couldn't tell exactly where yet. And most importantly, the world seemed more magical than the one she came from.

Of course, she tried to get home, but there were no natural portals opening up and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't make them herself.

After spending 20 years, more time than she had lived in her home dimension, in what had come to be named Gotham, Sam had settled down. She made friends with a family named the Waynes and though she would never forget Danny and Tucker she had an afterlife in this new dimension now too.

Sam protected the city best she could from anything that tried to harm it, making it her own haunt. Eventually the people around town started calling her The Lady of Gotham, later shortened to just Lady Gotham.

A century after joining the world, Sam was cursed and by extension Gotham was cursed too. She could no longer speak, and while she still tried her best to protect the city from outside harm there was nothing she could do about the corruption within.

She watched over the Waynes inside the limits of her haunt, them having become her family in this new world. And in return the Waynes tried to keep Gotham the best place it could be, attempting to keep it from becoming a cesspool.

Sam did her best, she did what she could and in return Gothamites had a certain pride in their city.

"It's terrible, but it's home" was the general sentiment shared by the citizens.

Soon enough the times were approaching to when she had been alive, and a new generation of Waynes emerged in her streets. When she failed to protect Martha and Thomas, Sam felt sorrow and let the shadows gather around Bruce to show him she was grieving too.

He left, but as many Gothamites did he came back. And when he came back it was with vengeance.

Her streets were more corrupt than they had ever been before, but Bruce came in like a knight in shining armor. No—not shining, but dark. Dark and jagged, but home and just as much a part of Gotham as Sam herself.

With Bruce becoming Batman, his partners weren't far behind. First Dick, then Babs, Jason, Tim, Steph, Cass, Damian, and Duke. And with so many Waynes, not in blood but in everything that mattered, trying to save her Sam felt more loved than ever before.

And then she felt a Danny Fenton, older than her's had ever gotten to be at 18-years-old, enter the streets. Sam, for the first time in forever, she longed for what could have been.

That night, the skies were clearer and the streets were quieter as Sam held on to Danny through the shadows and didn't let go.

Her knights wouldn't mind one more addition, she hoped.

[incorrectbatfam]

Does the Batfamily use Damian's activities to reject invitations they don't want to go to?

Example: "I really would love to go on your planet/dimension but I promised Damian I would help him bath the batcow this weekend"

Or "the little one has a school project and I'll help him, I gonna be busy that night"

And something?

Bruce, on the phone: Sorry, I'm afraid I can't make it to your gala. Damian suddenly came down with a fever. You know how it is with the bug going around.

Damian: Father, I feel fine—

Bruce, covering the phone: Shush, I'm doing us a favor.

———————

Barbara: Hey, Damian got a concussion on patrol and I'm babysitting. Raincheck?

Damian: But Gordon—

Barbara: *shoos him away*

———————

Kate: I'll be late, I'm taking Damian to a root canal.

Damian: My teeth are perfectly healthy—

Kate: *muffles him with her jacket*

———————

Dick: I have to cancel. My little brother needs me right now. He's going through some tough times and I'm the closest he has to a friend.

Damian: *video calling Jon, Colin, Maya, Maps, Kathy, Billy, and Suren with the pets on camera*

———————

Steph: Heya boss, my brother just broke his leg and I need to take him to the ER. I need someone to cover my shift.

Damian: *roundhouse kicks a training dummy*

Steph: Damian, keep it down!

———————

Jason: Why I'm not gonna train the new henches? Because my brother has fucking chicken pox! Yes, you heard me right, assface. I don't care who you get as long as the orientation is done.

Damian: *has a band-aid from his booster shot*

———————

Cass: Can't dance. Baby brother needs food. Parents not home. He hasn't eaten in a week.

Damian: *devouring his second vegan sandwich*

———————

Selina: Sorry girls, my stepson's cat just died. Maybe next time.

Damian: *playing with Alfred the cat*

———————

Duke: Damian, I need you to cover for me. I'm supposed to make up a quiz but it's the Riddler again.

Damian: What story are you going with?

Duke: How about... you're stuck in the rain and I need to pick you up?

Damian: It's sunny.

Duke: Please just go with it. I'll take you to the arcade after.

Damian: *pours water on himself*

Damian, completely monotone: Oh no, I've been abandoned by my parental figures.

———————

Tim, to his secretary: Tell the board I'm canceling all my meetings this week. No one's seen my brother since yesterday and the police are now involved.

Damian: *standing next to him*

———————

Damian: *playing video games in the living room*

Alfred: Master Damian, why aren't you at school?

Damian: According to everyone else, I am experiencing a fever, concussion, tooth damage, emotional instability, broken leg, chicken pox, chronic starvation, the loss of a pet, getting stuck in a downpour, and going missing. I don't think I'm able to attend classes in such a state.

[speedforce-zoomies]

I think it would be funny if all the Gotham heroes randomly experienced Tim’s “I’m just gonna fall asleep here” ailment.

Like Dick’s looking for him throughout the manner and can’t find him so he looks at the tracker that’s embedded in the funky shoelaces he gave Tim for his last birthday (Tim knows and didn’t say anything cuz Dick gets special privileges) and then the tracker leads him to his room and Tim’s fast asleep under DICK’S bed for some reason? Or in some random room that he’s completely forgotten even exists.

Cass and Steph will make a game of it and split up, Cass knows her brothers and Steph knows Tim. Cass will think back to when she last saw him and based on how he was behaving then she’ll have a list of places he might be. Steph will think about where she last saw him and put together the clues based on what he messed with or messed up in his sleep deprived state. Both usually find him, on a rafter, halfway in somebody’s laundry basket, etc but who gets there first is a toss up. There’s only been one time neither of them could find him and he refuses to tell them where he was.

The others think Duke is cheating because he can just use his ‘Ghost Vision’ to just track Tim down. Sometimes he does so just so he can join Tim and not have to deal with anyone else or so that he can prank them into thinking they’re both missing. Later someone else will find the both of them fast asleep curled up in the pantry or on random back staircase, seemingly in some kind of pattern no one can figure out.

Damian also kind of cheats because he’s trained Titus and Alfred to track him down after seeing Bruce do the same with Ace. When they find him, sometimes he draws the odd position he finds his bother in as an anatomy study. Sometimes Tim wakes up to Alfred or Titus curled up around him. Sometimes he wakes up to Damian staring really intently at his face, really close up. Tim’s just learned to accept it as Damian never explains (he’s been practicing figuring out a person’s medical status while they’re unconscious on Tim like checking vitals, etc).

Jason rarely actively seeks out Tim when Tim’s not readily available but he will just randomly stumble upon him, like one time he went to the Wayne library and found Tim out cold on the window seat, with one leg outside the window for some reason? Another time he found Tim on one of the shelves on a bookcase in Bruce’s study when he went to steal borrow something of his. It actually really freaked him out because Jason couldn’t see him behind Bruce’s desk and chair until he got closer. One time he even found him fast asleep propped up next to the entrance door.

Barbara uses the manor’s security system to her advantage when she needs to find him, she can find him easily about half the time and with some effort another 40 percent of the time and around 10 percent she gives up and sics Dick on him.

Helena rarely visits the manor but she will sometimes come home, realize Tim has broken in, and then have to figure out what random space in her apartment he’s hidden in that he should not be able to fit in at all much less comfortably enough to fall asleep in. One time Rene and Helena were working a case together and she went to grab a mug and found Tim curled up in the cabinet. Helena just shrugged and so Renee just shut the door again, not even bothering to ask.

The first time Maps found him asleep in a corner of a random hallway she freaked out thinking he was seriously injured and Bruce had to apologize for not warning her.

Darcy once found him fast asleep half way over the railing of his houseboat and she dragged him back by his collar and when it woke him up she just stared at him until he told her he wouldn’t fall asleep there again.

Harper sometimes gets permission to borrow a vehicle and then has to take out her second choice instead of her first because she found Tim asleep inside the vehicle or even on top of it.

Tim has forgiven Jean Paul but the other hero hasn’t found him asleep since he his time as interim Batman, he doesn’t bring it it up, he understands why.

Kate has found Tim asleep in the backseat of her car and she’ll snap a pic and send it to the others, the caption always ???

Bruce has Ace trained but he’s also tried to categorize Tim’s moods to see if he’ll go to certain places based off what he’s feeling - sad = staircase? Angry = sibling room? Tim learns about the data set and purposely messes it up so Bruce has to keep changing his hypotheses.

Alfred takes note of the direction Tim splits off in every time just in case he needs to find him later.

Everyone’s just kind of accepted if you live in the manor or have a room there you’re gonna find Tim fast asleep somewhere odd and if you don’t? Good chance that you’ll find him asleep somewhere you frequently are at some point or another.

Also when they go to theme parks Tim gets a buddy because of the “one time guys!” he fell asleep on a roller coaster (Robin issue 171).

+

Far less often, but rarely a rouge who’s pretty chill with Tim like Selena will find him asleep somewhere they’re plotting at and just ignore him til he wakes up.

[yj-polycule]

No One Asked but I have over 300 kpop albums and am not above shoving my two interests together so uhhh. Batfam and what kpop groups / style of kpop they listen to:

Bruce: He’s into the classics, a true 1st Gen enjoyer. Give him that good H.O.T and BOA. He doesn’t keep up to date with the current stuff but he will go out of his way to listen to any remakes of 1st gen songs that newer groups will release (Think Candy by NCT Dream)

Kate: 2nd Gen Purist. She refuses to listen to anything modern, stating Kpop peaked in the 2nd gen and hasn’t been able to recover since. Shinee, 2ne1, Bigbang, the whole works. She loves her 2nd gen and will only listen to new releases from those groups and their solo stuff. Nothing else.

Dick: MY MANS A GIRL GROUP STAN THROUGH AND THROUGH! It does not matter the generation, the style, it does not matter, if it’s sung by Woman he is seated and ready. He probably has a soft spot for 2nd Gen / Early 3rd Gen. Definately a Reveluv.

Barbara: She isn’t all that big into Kpop as a whole but will happily take recommendations from the others. Most of her kpop playlist consists of Gfriend or Seventeen, but she will listen to anything once and adds what she enjoys. (She is also the designated Ticket getter whenever tickets drop. She has ungodly good luck with Ticketing)

Cass: She goes one of two ways, either the softest most heart wrenching ballads you can think of or the loudest, most obnoxious noise music and there is no in between. Her playlist is a disaster, easily going from IU’s Love Wins All to NCT’s Sticker and you are given 0 time to prepare.

Jason: With his whole chest will claim he listens to underground K-Rap or K-R&B and then you listen to his playlist and it’s the most bubble gum kpop you can imagine. Twice and I.O.I are 90% of his playlist this man is not fooling ANYONE!

Tim: K-Bands all the way, especially K-Rock. NFlying, Day6, Xdinary Heroes, you name it and he has probably listened to their full discography over and over again. He doesn’t really search out the groups all that often but if he had to name a favorite Group it’d probably be Dreamcatcher.

Steph: GIRL POWER GIRL GROUPS. EXID, (G)-Idle, Le Sserafim, IVE. If their concept is woman empowerment she is eating that shit up like no ones business. She has forced Tim, Cass and Duke to learn dance covers with her and she will not stop. She will be blasting Queencard over the coms during patrol don’t think she won’t. She also has a soft spot for ZB1 and will refuse to elaborate in the slightest.

Duke: Definately a 4th Gen Boy Group Stan. Man loves his Stray Kids, Ateez, Enhyphen and so on. But he also is the type of person who will hunt down the Nugu Boy Groups and support them with his whole chest, the threat of them disbanding got nothing on him. Vanner, Drippin, you name it. He also is tied with Steph in knowing the most choreographies. Those two do a mean troublemaker cover

Damian: The actual KR&B listener in the family. He loves DPR IAN and Big Naughty but will listen to R&B style releases from standard groups. He also has a soft spot for Red Velvet’s Velvet-style tracks (mostly due to exposure because of Dick).

Maps: Bright concept Boy Groups and Nugu Girl Groups. She loves fun and bright songs. Think boy groups with TWS or The Wind and Nugu Girls like Saturday or Alice. She also is the biggest fan of Orange Caramel (unaware it’s a subunit, Broke Steph’s heart with that) and had done a full on Catalena cover with Steph and Cass.

Alfred: Probably the boring and predictable answer, but man listens to Trot. We respect some good Trot in this house and Alfred is a man of taste. He is also a Lim Young Woong fan much to the dismay of the rest of his family (nothing against his music, they just hate how he dominated the charts constantly)

[zahri-melitor]

Okay, looking at the current push for reprints among the Batfam kids, what is available (trying to round this up):

Dick: Nightwing Compendium #1, with Nightwing vol 1, Nightwing vol 2 1-25 plus extras (out 7 May 2024); Nightwing Compendium #2, with Nightwing vol 2 26-59 plus extras (out 20 May 2025)

Jason: DC Finest: Batman - Year One and Two, despite the name, this covers Batman #404-414 and 'Tec #571-581, which contains his post-Crisis origin story and most of his 'Tec appearances as Robin (out 5 November 2024); Under the Red Hood Deluxe, with Batman #635-650 and Lost Days (out 5 September 2023); RHATO 2011 Omnibus, #0-27 (out 13 May 2025)

Tim: Robin Compendium #1, with Robin I, II & III, Robin vol 2 #1-5 and a LOT of assorted early material from Alan Grant (out 23 July 2024)

Steph: Batgirl: Stephanie Brown Vol 1, with Batgirl vol 3 #1-12 (out 22 October 2024)

Cass: DC Finest: Nobody Dies Tonight, with Batgirl vol 1 #7-27 (out 8 April 2025)

Damian: Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi Omnibus, with Batman & Robin vol 1 #22-24, Batman & Robin vol 2 #0-40 and extras (out 17 January 2023); Batman & Robin vol 1: Batman Reborn, with B&R vol 1 #1-6 (out 25 April 2023); Batman & Robin vol 2: Batman v Robin, with B&R vol 1 #7-12 (out 29 April 2025); Robin: Son of Batman by Patrick Gleason #1-13 (out 5 November 2024)

Barbara: Simone and Bedard's BOP runs have just finished a run of reprints in 2023 and are looping around to redo it again right now: Murder & Mystery BOP #56-67 (out 22 October 2024); Hero Hunters BOP #68-80 (out 6 May 2025); Fighters By Trade #81-91 (most recent 21 September 2021, look out for this one again); Progeny BOP #92-103 (out 26 March 2024); Whitewater #104-112 (out 5 July 2022); and The End of the Beginning #113-127 (out 21 February 2023); the Batgirl vol 4 run had omnis in 2021 and 2022 covering the whole run.

Helena B: the same BOP reprints as Barbara, also has Robin III in Robin Compendium #1.

Maps: Gotham Academy vol 1 #1-18 (out 9 May 2023)

Duke: All-Star Batman by Scott Snyder, with #1-14 (out 10 September 2024)

Jean-Paul: okay JPV doesn't have anything for Azrael. But Knightfall gets reprints every 5 years like clockwork and we just had a 2023 omnibus, so I think that counts for him.

There is a massive push to get everyone's major solos/personal teams into print at the moment, to my eye, with the big gaps being actually getting Red Robin back into print, finally collecting Huntress vol 1 for Helena Bertinelli, and then like...actually continuing the reprints in the big projects (Robin, early BOP).

[strawbuddy-luv]

Istg it’s like no matter how many times I search Tim Drake, like only Tim Drake content, favorite only the Tim Drake tag, post almost exclusively about Tim Drake, and constantly talk about how I want more Tim Drake content, all Tumblr wants to do is feed me Dick or Jason.

LIKE TBH THEY’RE MY LEAST FAVORITE BATFAM CHARACTERS!!! I don’t even actually dislike them, just compared to literally everyone else, they’re my least favorites.

I guess the list goes Tim, Cass, Maps, Duke, Barbra/Steph, Damian/Jason, Dick, Bruce. Again, it’s not even like I dislike the last four, it’s just compared to literally everyone else, they’re my least favorites.

[zorilleerrant]

in all honestly I think Maps would be the one Joker hated most. because like. he can't deal with change, you know, he just wants everything to go back the way it was, just the four of them. and like even Batgirls or other additional heroes on the side, he doesn't care, Batgirls mean jack diddly to him

but we have Jason, and he's in the way, like either Joker's in mourning over their perfect dynamic being broken up, or he's looking forward to some time alone with Batman with the kids out of the house, and either way, here's this new kid fucking up a perfectly good system and getting in his way. like obviously he hates Jason over this, but it's an abstract kind of hate, the ugh, fuck my life, why did it have to be me kind of hate

now Tim, Tim I think he'd hate a lot. because not only did he show up like instantaneously, like just pops up right after Joker managed to get rid of the last one, but he honest to fuck convinces Batman that Batman needs a Robin, which means not only is he never getting the first guy back, now there's going to be an endless stream of them no matter what he does.

and Steph! not only is she another fucking Robin, but she's even more different from the rest of them! she's blonde! she's a girl! she doesn't even do her fucking gymnastics right! and so he not only can't get rid of them, but has to contend with even more change in his miserable little life. at least when they all looked the same he could sometimes pretend, tell himself it would all be okay again.

Damian comes as a relief, after that - he looks right, and he acts right, not quite getting the puns but happily doing a backflip when he needs to. it's a bittersweet relief, though, because he loses Batman, and though he finally has back the Robin he thought he lost, at what cost? the duo almost but not quite back together again... and then he leaves. he leaves again, but Batman is back, and so it's a wash in the end. but at least Damian tires of it all, tries to hare off on his own and make his own name with his own adventures far away from Gotham. lets Joker alone to his own devices.

the Joker loves Duke. not only is this hero strikingly different in color scheme, with a different name, with different powers, who fights during the day, but he doesn't do it by Batman's side! finally, breaking the cycle of violence! he has no problem with Babs, Cass, Steph who he thinks is a different person than Robin!Steph, Luke, Kate, the Birds of Prey, the Knights, Batman Inc., the Justice League, Titans, Young Justice, Teen Titans, or anyone else who doesn't bother Batman. not only does he think Duke is more of the same, he thinks Duke is actively encouraging Batman not to have any more Robins! he thinks Duke will start replacing the Robins with children who go out during the day! he's glad to have an ally in all this

and Tim comes back but he already hated Tim, and Damian comes back but he already hated Damian, and he's convinced they'll turn into their own separate heroes soon enough, and good riddance. he's waiting with 'bated breath and soon to have everything he wants in the world, with no stupid sidekicks in the way.

and then. and then! Maps appears out of fucking nowhere, not even because Batman was seeking a Robin, but just because they wanted to be one. for no reason. and without the right skills. and, yes, okay, they have the dark hair, but they don't have the frightening piercing blue eyes that every single other member of the family has, and even some of their teammates. and they think it's a game. a game!

he might have thought it endearing, once upon a time, but now it's like salt in the wound, rubbing his face in the fact that it will never be the four of them again, and every pun like a blow to the chest, every laugh like glass raining down on his ears. and they won't fucking leave Batman's side! they just appear there, like a blight, like they're there personally to ensure that his torment never ends!

Maps is just there, literally adding insult to injury.

[megamindsupremacy]

Reverse Robins AU: 38

Masterpost

After 11 years of being Jokerized, Duke’s (20) parents die. Instead of handling his grief like a normal, well-adjusted person, he cuts contact with everyone except Damian (21) and fucks off to Blüdhaven as Flamebird. Bruce has a MiniBreakdown because for the most part none of his kids have done this to him, disregarding the time Damian disappeared for two months, founded the Teen Titans, and then reappeared after flawlessly establishing the first kid superhero team at the age of fourteen. Duke isn’t like, angry at anyone in the Batfam, he just has a hardcore identity crisis that lasts from his parent’s death to their funeral and then dips the second the funeral is done to go to Blüdhaven.

A few months after Duke disappeared to the sister city, Tim (15) and Steph (16) are benched together in the Cave because they were unprepared and got cornered by Black Mask and his gang and got injured, Tim moreso than Steph due to his having less training than her. Although Bruce took her Spoiler outfit, Steph still has her og DIY Spoiler costume stashed at Tim’s house, along with their original communications equipment. Steph sneaks out to again confront Black Mask, this time on purpose, with the intention of taking revenge for hurting Tim so badly (he’s unable to leave the bed for fear of injuring himself irreparably) and to put him back in Blackgate. Tim stays in his cot to be the voice in Steph’s ear. This means he gets the dubious privilege of getting to hear as she gets overwhelmed and captured by Black Mask. Tim tries to get out of bed so he can reach the Batcomputer to contact the rest of the Bats, who are scattered throughout the city trying to wrangle the gang war that’s started to break out since the Spoilers stumbled in on Black Mask a few days prior. He doesn’t make it further than a step out of the cot before twisting his spine and falling unconscious on the floor. Alfred finds him there twenty minutes later, with Steph still screaming for help as she’s tortured in the comm in Tim’s ear. Alfred sends the Bats out looking for Steph and gets Tim back in the cot, and Tim comes back to consciousness in time to hear Steph die (woo!).

Over the next few days, Damian calls Duke back to Gotham (he had refused to return for months) and the Bats tear Gotham apart looking for Black Mask. Shadow and Batgirl (13) together are the first to track him down. Damian is fully about to kill him when Cass stops him. Cass makes Damian take Steph’s days-dead body away and deals with Black Mask herself. By the time Bruce and Duke arrive she’s incapacitated him and is only waiting for transportation to get him to Blackgate. 

In the following weeks, Damian, Bruce, and Cass get into a huge argument about, again, the morality of targeted murder. Damian fucks off to Blüdhaven with Duke to become Nightwing and the pair cut all contact with the Bats. Tim paralyzed himself in his attempt to call for help and Bruce refuses to let him keep working with him in the Batcave, so Tim rebrands as Oracle and eventually joins Cassie Sandsmark’s Young Justice team as a remote member for any tech/detective support. He also provides the team with a home base in the form of Drake Manor whenever his parents are gone. Tim isn’t officially affiliated with Batman but, after a cooldown period from Bruce’s kicking him out, occasionally assists the Bats with cases. He also reaches out to Mia/Maps, who has been making a name for herself in the magic community. Mia has been mostly out of contact since she first disappeared six years ago, but is happy to reconnect with Damian and Duke via Tim (who has declared himself neutral in the conflict between the Gotham and Blüdhaven duos). Mia becomes Tim’s contact for any and all magic bullshit Young Justice deals with (Bruce is on his own in regards to Gotham magic bullshit). Cass changes her name to Black Bat and becomes Bruce’s only partner on the streets. Bruce starts getting more violent and patrols separately from Cass more often than not. Everyone blames themselves for Steph’s death, wahoo! 

[its-karma-bitches-00]

ENDGAME

Chapter 3: 5 Years Later.

Description: So... I know many Daminette fans don't like Damian being younger than Marinette so 🚨SPoiler AleRT 🚨 Damian is gonna be younger for a while but an event happens that gets their ages exchanged. (Sort of)

Warning; swearing, angst.

Summary: its 5 years now, since half the human race was wiped out...

Previously

"Bruce" Selina called before completely fading out. The same happened to Steph, Cass, Chloe, Alfred, Dick, Duke, Kate and lastly...

Marinette.

That day, Half the world was wiped out because of the infinity stones.

Never to return ever again.

***

The entire world was mourning.

mourning over the loss of their families, Friends.

Gotham was worse and better, less thieves but more sadness.

Poison ivy looked at her wilting flowers, The sunshine of Gotham was gone, Marinette was gone.

So was Harley.

The justice league, at least what was remaining of them, Tried everything they thought of, anything you name it but none of them succeeded.

The rest of the Wayne's could only mourn. They lost the only people that could cheer them...

Tim tried his best to mend his family, but he couldn't mend himself. Damian and Bruce avoided everyone. Like father, like son. Damian couldn't believe it. He remembered that night clear as day. The day the people he most loved vanished. He missed Marinette the most, her bright smile, her laughter, her big blue mesmerizing eyes.

Tikki and the rest of the kwamis would try and fail at bringing their beloved guardian/owner back. Damian was the new guardian now. But he wasn't an official guardian ,No, not without Marinette granting it.

Five years passed by.

The world moved on.

Tim was the new Co-CEO of Wayne enterprises. Damian was a sophomore. Jason was Jason... Just kidding. He met a girl named Rose Wilson, Slade Wilsons daughter. Yes, Slade a.k.a deathstroke . And Bruce was still Batman.

Damian walked down the porch calmly, sensing Tim's anger from a mile. He walked straight at the old black car before opening the door and sitting in.

"You know for a young person, you walk really slowly." Tim said, driving out of the open gates "sorry old man." Damian snorted sarcastically "you could have just gone to Wayne enterprise, I could have hot wired one of Jason old bikes"

"Yeah, No. besides I like dropping you to school demon spawn" Tim smiled

"Don't fucking call me that"

"Language" Tim said sternly "I know Alfred isn't here but that doesn't mean you can forget your manners"

"Yeah... is that why you like dropping me off to school? Sitting in Alfred's place thinking about...Them."

"Yeah"

"Remember that day when We tried to make those cookies?" Damian asked staring out the window.

"Oh god, they were so damn salty" Tim laughed "Alfred and Mari were so angry at the mess we made, Do you remember Mari?"

"Yeah, of course" Damian answered

"You guys were pretty close."

"I guess"

"And boy, did you flirt a lot with her! You were ridiculous at flirting!" Tim laughed

"He's right, you know?" Plagg finally spoke up, popped out of Damian's bag

"why are you taking his side?!" Damian hissed

"Give me camembert and maybe I won't."

"Oh God, please don't take that out." Tim scrunched his nose in disgust when he saw Damian reaching out to his bag. Plagg eagerly sniffed on the piece of Camembert before eating it whole.

"Oh heavens" Tim gagged

"Stop being so dramatic. besides, Damien was actually much better at flirting then you were." Plagg smirked, keeping his promise "did you know that sometimes the other kwamis and I watch you try flirting? Ahhhh...it was an amazing comedy show"

Damian choked trying to contain his laughter as Tim glared at both of them "it's not funny!"

The ride was Quiet... until Tim asked him something unexpected "have you found a new ladybug miraculous holder?"

"No." He said, bluntly

"You're not looking" Tim sighed "Damian, you have to. You cannot use the cat miraculous for long without the Ladybug miraculous". Damian remained silent, unable to answer. How could he do that? He just...couldn't.

"I'll see you later Drake." The boy said putting on his blazer and opening his pocket to let Plagg in.

"See you later baby brother." Tim smiled "oh, by the way...I think she would really like you."

"Who?" Damian asked, confused

"Marinette"

Damian face turned beet red and Tim looked at him surprise "OMG! Are you blushing?!, baby bird obviously didn't move on from his childhood crush."

"Shut the hell up Drake." Damian hissed looking around in embarrassment "you are so dead."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try" he winked before speeding away

***

Damian sighed during the mathematics period, why did he have to come to Gotham university anyway? He knew everything he needed to and being there was a total waste of time. He raised a hand asking the teachers permission to use the washroom, she nodded as he walked out the classroom.

Damian splashed water on his face. Looking at the mirror, sighing

"I've been thinking bout' what Tim said and I think you should look for another ladybug." Plagg blurted out causing Damian to freeze

"We've already talked about this Plagg, NO"

"Damian you were bound to her, I know. But she's gone. They're gone. You have to accept that. Do you think they would want this? Find another one. Move on"

"I can't"

"That's because you're not trying! whether you like it or not Marinette is gone!" Plagg yelled "The only reason you can't move on is that you're choosing not to. She wouldn't want that, she would never want that. she didn't know that you were at her Cat! she just thought that you were a temporary fit until she found the right one. But you weren't, and when She figured that out she tota-"

"What's that noise?" Damian interrupted

"Seriously? I was in the middle of my speech!" Plagg huffed.

Damien walked outside looking around only to find chaos, students of every grade were running about and most of them were rushing at the exits.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Damian yelled over the loud noise, at his friend- I mean accomplices.

"They're back!, They're back!, They're back!" Maps yelled excitedly, almost jumping at him

"Who's back?!"

"The people who disappeared 5 years ago!"

-----

THIS STORY IS FROM MY WATTPAD ACCOUNT

@Aquaqueen2020

[wajjs]

✨prompt party prompt party prompt: robinpile + slice of life?✨

you said robinpile and i made it my mission to include as many characters as i fucking could

My youth is yours

In the intersection of meaty thighs and broad shoulders they meet almost every night, when the bruises aren't too big and the soul scars have stopped bleeding. The start of all this is unclear, and each of them will take it back to a different cause. It came in naturally, perhaps because of overexposure or from lack of any kind of exposure at all.

Tonight's not a night for thinking.

Sprawled out on the couch, bandages holding his ribs in place and a bruise the size of a building on his face, Tim stays put and it would've been a surprise if Steph wasn't the one keeping him there. As it is, Jason laughs as he goes to sit next to blondie, wraps an arm around her stomach and squeezes her middle like it means nothing. (It means comfort.)

"Brick to the face?" Duke asks from where he's sitting, on top of the table instead of using one of the many empty chairs. No one says anything, though, because they are all the same.

"He fucking wishes," Steph laughs, leaning into Jason's side and her legs are still thrown over Tim's lap. Tim knows better than to try and pry them off.

"Yeah, Timbo's masochist strike didn't get to come in handy this time," with a snort, Jason kisses the top of Steph's head, sends Tim a playful look, "or maybe it did."

With a slightly nasal voice, Tim groans, and it's not because of his cracked ribs—not this time.

"Not a masochist."

Dick calls, just then. Says he will be there soon, he's bringing Damian with him. 

The nest is certainly big enough.

-

Duke is eating pancakes the second Jason gets them out of the pan. He complains as he burns his fingers, his tongue, his lips, but he keeps doing it and Jason's nothing if not the biggest enabler. So they keep it up.

"You better leave some!" Steph yells from the living room, this time carefully cuddling into Tim's side, and they are keeping the t.v. low enough so that it doesn't drown out any kind of sound.

Which is why they all hear Dick coming up the rickety stairs, followed by Damian. Jason playfully snaps Duke's hand away when he goes for another one.

"Didn't you hear the boss?" he says, making the other laugh and when he presses a kiss to the corner of Jason's mouth, it tastes like butter.

The front door opens. Dick's voice is loud enough to bring actual life to a zombie party. 

"Alfred made cake!"

"Shit," Tim can be heard saying, "we better call Harper and Cass, they will be so disappointed if we don't let them know—"

"They are on their way here," Damian scoffs and he's presumably the one to close the door because Dick surely didn't.

It's a calm night. A rare night, as it is.

-

When Jason gets caught under rubble with no comms and a broken helmet, everyone else goes absolutely crazy in their frantic search for him. Because, because—they can't pinpoint his position. Among all the explosions and crumbling buildings, they have lost track of each other and—

Damian finds a little kid crying as she hugs onto her dirty plastic toy. She's on her butt sitting in front of yet another pile of debris and she's hyperventilating and—

"Big sis," she sobs out with big fat tears rolling down her cheeks, "big sis is… is… he," and Damian's mental approach to the situation flips on its entirety, "he said, said he was gonna…," the little girl hiccups, choking on air and on her own spit. He pats her back awkwardly. He's not Grayson. "He was g-gonna… gonna get her, her out a-and…"

He nods and tries to give her a reassuring smile. He's sure he fails.

"Found Hood's whereabouts," Damian speaks into the comms and everyone starts talking one over the other, "stuck under rubble with a civilian. Requesting backup."

Which he didn't really need to do, because everyone who was ever Robin and then some is rushing to help.

-

Where they are, the bed is almost not big enough to fit all of them yet no one wants to move because—loss had been too close to them yet again. And it never gets easier.

Cass is the one awake when Jason's eyes flutter open. She smiles at him and that's the first thing he sees. Then he groans, because he tried to move a broken arm to touch her and he didn't know it was broken. That wakes everyone else up.

"Jay!" Dick cries out with a wobbly smile on his face.

Duke has to disentangle himself from somewhere half under Steph and Harper to reach out, squeeze Jason above his right knee where he's not hurt. "Fucking asshole," he says and everyone agrees.

"Ya love me," is all he gets to say before they all start complaining.

They do love him, though.

He's always right about that.

-

They are all squeezed in a corner booth, fries and burgers strewn over the table and Damian, with Cass' input, is drawing a detailed map of all the places in the city they are going to hide surprises for Steph to find. Her birthday's getting close, after all, and she always enjoys a good chase.

"Who's gonna be bait?" Harper has her mouth full with fries and it's a little gross but no one judges her.

"Duke," Jason says without thinking at the same time Duke says:

"Dick."

Silence takes over for exactly one minute.

"Why me?"

Duke snorts. "She gets to chase your ass all over the city. She'll love that."

"Ooh yes," Tim's smiling so widely he's practically a billboard sign promoting mischief, "can I join her?"

"Can we all?" Harper grins.

Frowning, Damian kicks Tim's leg under the table. "No. This is for Steph."

"Awwwww," cooing in a disgustingly fake voice, Jason waves a soggy fry in Damian's general direction. "You luuuuuuve her!"

"We are all one big polyclue, Jason," Duke leans into his side, steals a bite off his burger.

"Yes," Cass then reaches out to grab all of his fries, "he loves her."

[bigskydreaming]

I’d say the thing about some characters lending themselves better to some stories than others actually can apply to the Batfam as well, and is a sign of how well-developed they actually are. I know I’ve ranted in the past about the tendency to try and fit the Batkids into niches like the smart one and the angry one and all of that, but in terms of story TYPES, I think they do have certain niche-like feels that mean some of them are better suited to certain GENRES of story than others.

For instance....I didn’t love Grayson, but that was more due to the overshadowing circumstances and the fact that I just think King and his writing suck. A lot. But the basic premise was not at all out of Dick’s wheelhouse. He IS well predisposed to kinda globe-trotting, spy versus spy, switching disguises like they’re outfits, making the most out of his ability to make friends everywhere he goes and turn enemies into allies.....those types of stories. Not saying these should be his only stories, by any means, or that he can’t center in all kinds of other types of stories, but I’m just saying, these kinds of stories do have more of a Dick Grayson feel than they do various other Batkids.

Similarly, Jason is better suited to gothic horror types of stories than the others, just in general. His history with the Lazarus Pit, his general disposition, his THEMES, like....they speak to the same kind of aims and tones that gothic horror both births from and embodies.

This might just be me, but to me, Tim is best suited to kinda oddball, off the wall sorta stories, and that’s part of why I’m so meh on him just being shelved into the uber-genius, mini-Bruce, heir to the best detective mantle kinda thing. I’ve spoken before about how much I miss 90s Tim, but to me, Tim was always at his best, and at his best-defined, most feeling like uniquely HIM, when he was playing the underdog. When he was just this well-intentioned kid who plunged into this world that was so much larger than viewing it through his camera lens had prepared him for, but he had spunk and determination and he wasn’t about to back down or let anyone think he was in over his head so he was gonna make it through whatever the superhero life threw at him even if flying by the seat of his pants the whole way. So to that end, I mean, I think Tim is at his best when just dealing with totally WTF kinds of stories. The cross-dimensional capers, the time travel mishaps, the ‘great, I was abducted by aliens on my lunch break and now apparently I have to save planet FUBAR with nothing but my pocket knife and scathing dry wit.’

I would fucking kill for Cass at the center of noir type stories where its like, idk, the Maltese Falcon and she’s the jaded but still optimistic-at-her-core PI when trouble walks into her derelict office wrapped up in an eggplant shawl and the name Stephanie. Maybe its just that I don’t think there’s enough focus on the fact that Cass is SMART and she’s as much a detective as any of the family, does plenty of investigative work and if she’s heir to the cowl she’d be just as good at the mystery side of things as Bruce is, but just......noir stories just FEEL like dappled shadows and eerie shades of blue and black with hints of moonlight spilling through slatted blinds and all of that just screams Cass to me, faint notes of jazz in the background, a wry smile on her lips as she plays her informant like a fiddle when chasing down clues.

Duke is another globe-trotter in feel to me, like his backstory and his family and his stories with the Outsiders, like, I really want to see Duke on more superhero teams than just the Outsiders now that that’s over, because he’s better suited to stories not confined just to Gotham, I think? Like, Duke fits the conspiracy theory chasing niche to me, like, his character really comes to life when pursuing leads all across the world, digging into his past, his family’s past, seeing how it all connects to various mysteries of the DC Earth that are generations old but still affect the present....like I don’t know how many people have read Planetary, but that to me is a PERFECT fit for Duke, and I would love to see him with his own Planetary style team or even just part of one.

Damian is best suited to coming of age stories, which sounds vague, but the thing is, it really is its own genre. So much of Damian’s character, the best parts I think, are about Damian FINDING himself, DEFINING himself......he more than any of the others, debuted so clearly defined by his origins, his parents, who he was CREATED to be.....and so he more than anyone else is perfectly poised to star in stories that are all about him breaking away from that mold, from parental expectations or preplanned destinies, or even just searching for things to define him on his own terms rather than through the eyes of others. Stories that are about choosing your own path, making a self-realization or having an epiphany about who you truly are or what you want to do with your life....that to me, is Damian’s best niche. Again, doesn’t mean that other characters can’t be great in these kinds of stories as well, just that if I’m pairing one character to one genre they lean into best, this is what’s that for Damian, IMO.

Steph is a bit of an oddball for me, and I don’t quite know how to describe this, but she’s best suited IMO to those kinds of stories that like......there’s not really a specific NAME for this type, but you know them when you see them. The best comparison I can think to make is like.....the kinds of stories Harley Quinn stars in? To be clear, I’m not drawing parallels between Steph or Harley or saying they’re the same kind of character at ALL, I’m just saying like.....Harley is another character who overall is very hard to pin down in specific concrete terms, but nevertheless is centered in various stories and adaptations that are nevertheless very clearly HER.....and that’s the kind of thing I picture for Steph. She fits that niche that isn’t really a niche for anyone BUT her, because nobody else can summon that type of feel for it......the kind of story that you can’t switch anybody else in for her because the story only works with her specific kinda....energy. Bleh. I really wish I could describe it better, like its very clear in my brain, but its a story that’s more of a kind of FEEL than it is a specific description? If that makes sense like at all? LOLOL. Whatevs.

And Babs, like, I would love love love to see her centered in a proper cyberthriller. I mean, they’ve done stories kinda like that with her as Oracle, but not to the extent I’m thinking. I mean just full on cyberpunk dialed up to 11. Give me Babs enlisted by the JLA because Brainiac is loose in the internet and she has to go into cyberspace utilizing different avatars of herself and calling in allies as needed as she relentlessly hunts a villain through landscapes of data she maps and molds and turns into traps. Babs hyper-fixating on her task, her hunt, to the degree that she has to be reminded to pull herself out at times and take care of her physical needs, has people grounding her so she doesn’t get lost in cyberspace and the lure of it all, this place that’s her domain and where she shines the brightest. And so it balances that razor edge that makes for the best cyberthrillers IMO. The ones where all the possibilities of the future as embodied in technology and cyberspace are balanced with the necessity of remaining human, of being human and with roots and history embedded outside of it, in the real world. And with there being a clear juxtaposition between the two even as the protagonist goes back and forth between the two extremes of their existence, the physical and the ephemeral.

Anyway. Like I said, you can mix and match and its not like Dick can’t star in gothic horror and Jason can’t do off-the-wall dimensional hijinks or noir detective stories and Tim and Cass can’t do coming of age, etc.....its just in terms of what I was talking about, how some characters lend themselves MORE easily to certain kinds of stories than others.....this is how I perceive the various Batkids.

[danny-chase]

Hello, are there any Cassandra Cain fans/stans that could help me out with her characterization? I’ve just started to get into writing fanfiction (I haven’t posted any, and am working towards getting more confident with writing the characters in general so hopefully I’ll post some someday) and I haven’t been in the fandom long. Cass is a confusing character for me to write, mostly because I feel like she’s written differently in everything she’s in. And her personality absolutely got erased and overhauled in the New52. I’ve read some of her Batgirl run (it was awhile ago ngl) and I read the storyline where she was introduced in the New52 and the Rise and the Fall of the Batmen (I think that’s the arc she’s involved in with Detective Comics). Idk, more under cut.

My goal in writing Cass is to make her seem like a real person and I’m drawing more on pre-New52 than post-New52. I feel like she used to have so much more to her than just being like a perfect person and the sweetest person in general. Not that she can’t be sweet (I love cinnamon bun Cass too), but she used to have much more grit to her personality it seems like. I’m blending the two personalities, and I’d really like to focus on her love for dance, it’s one of the changes I really liked, and of course her connections to her siblings because I love sibling dynamics. Currently I’m working on a fic where she ends up dancing with each of her siblings. I like the idea of writing her as a bit snarky or sassy (the kind of person that just stares at you with the “really” expression when you do something dumb), more introverted, a bit of a little shit, self deprecating, but genuinely kind hearted, driven, and a perfectionist. I also don’t want to write her as being a magic character that instantly knows what’s wrong with a character. Yeah, she can read body language, but her family is good at hiding things, they’ve been trained recognizing body language and I’m guessing some of them have worked to have good control over their own. My interpretation is she can tell what people are feeling but not why, and how they’re going to move. I’ve written a little bit of the fic so far (um please don’t feel obligated to read through it, any comments on how you think Cass should be written is helpful) so I’ll post it below. Thanks for reading this far if you made it XD.

I don’t have a title for this lmao but the fic starts here:

“Hey.” Dick gently placed a hand on her shoulder as he hopped down from his spot on the water tower. “You know who’s my most favorite, strongest, most beautiful, spectacular-”

Cass groaned; he was making the face. He was wearing his Nightwing mask, but as she turned to look, she could already tell he was making the face. Dick ignored her groans and continued “-most perfect, amazing, gorgeous, sweetest, nicest, kindhearted, thoughtful-”

Cass pulled away; she would not be doing what he asked. Nope. The last time she heard Dick talking like this, Barbara ended up agreeing to dog sit for Titus. The dog chewed everything in the clocktower; they were still finding ripped up socks in various locations. “He’s so well behaved” he said. “It won’t be for that long” he said. “You’re the best thank you so, so much” he said. On the bright side, Dick had bought her new ballet shoes to replace the ones Titus tore through. But they’d taken weeks to break in and-oh he was still talking.

“-smartest, wisest, funniest, loveliest, badass, awesomest, funnest-” Cass placed her hands on her hips and stood up to meet him. The stakeout had been going fine on her own, at this rate she probably didn’t need his backup anyways, so if this was something stupid, she could always tell him to leave. She gave him her best “bat-glare” as he continued to mumble on compliments. “fantastic, reliable, trustworthy-” his voice grew smaller as she continued glaring. He cleared his throat “sister of all time?” He finished.

Cass sighed and leaned back against the tower’s support. “What do you want?” Dick gave her a weak smile, embarrassment radiated off him. That couldn’t be good.

“Look, I’ll cut to the chase.” Thank heavens for that. “But like, just know I love you so much.” Cass wished she could stick her tongue out, maybe the domino mask was the way to go. She settled for lightly shoving his shoulder. He grinned at her, doing his best to seem casual, but slight tension in his neck gave away his discomfort. Dick was always hard for her to read, he was a performer from birth, and had excellent control of his posture and facial expressions. He gave himself away in movement, in the lack thereof. He could paint the perfect mask, but it slipped slightly when he moved. He was nervous, anxious, exasperated, and worried. Cass was intrigued.

“What is it?” She said, more gently than before, turning back to watch her mark. She could hear Dick let out a deep breath.

“It’s Da-Robin. He got invited to a formal.” Cass turned back and cocked her head. “Don’t give me that look, you know how he is.” He said, shifting his weight. “It’s a school event, so they’ve been learning ballroom dance in gym. But I got a call the other day from the gym teacher saying he’s not participating.”

“Why should he?” Cass asked. “You shouldn’t force people to do things they don’t want to do.” Living with the family long enough had taught her that. If the kid didn’t want to dance, he shouldn’t have to.

“Yeah, I know.” Dick replied a bit flatly. He moved to crouch where she had been sitting and focused on the building across the street. “But I don’t know if he doesn’t want to, or if he’s just embarrassed.” Cass thought for a moment. “I don’t suppose he grew up with many dance lessons.” He added a bit apologetically. She shook her head.

“Have you talked to him?” She asked. Dick sighed.

“I tried. But he kept switching topics and when I pressed it, he locked himself in his room. Which is why I’m concerned.” Cass hummed in affirmation. It made sense.

“Why haven’t you tried teaching him?” Dick wasn’t a bad dancer, and he’d always performed quite well at the galas.

He looked back at her sheepishly. “I gave it a go last time I was at the manor. But he stormed off before we could get anything done. Something about me being an embarrassment to the family.”

Cass rolled her eyes under the cowl. “What did you do?”

“I just wanted to do some jazzercising to warm up, what’s wrong with that?” Dick spluttered in response. Cass lightly smacked the back of his head. “So anyways, I lost my chance at it. I can’t even play music without him running away.” He continued, ducking away as she tried to tap him again. “Besides, you’re probably a better height to practice with for him.” She scoffed in response.

“When’s the gala?” She asked. It slipped out without her permission. She wasn’t getting involved. The kid could figure it out on his own. Couldn’t he?

“It’s next weekend.” He replied and sighed. “I don’t want him to miss it. He never does stuff that’s age appropriate.” Oh, no. Not that card. Cass would not be involved, she had work to do. She stepped back to lean against the tower again and bit her lip. “And some girl in his class asked him to go. Her name’s Maps and she’s a really good influence on him.” She crossed her arms tighter. Damian was rude to her. He called her Cain. Not. Getting. Involved. “She’s so energetic, it helps him loosen up-” Damnit.

“Fine.” Dick whipped around to look at her, not bothering to hide his disbelief. She squirmed internally. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about the kid. It was just easier to spend time on her own. The kid was better off without her influence anyways.

“Are you sure, I could ask Steph or I don’t know-” He continued.

She cut him off. “I’ll do it. I don’t mind.” The others wouldn’t work. Dick knew that going into the conversation. They were too…loud in their judgement. Steph would laugh at the wrong time, Tim would say the wrong thing, Jason didn’t have the patience for the kid’s temper, and Duke would be a safe bet, but was away on Outsider business for the next two weeks.

Dick practically melted in relief. “Thank you so-”

“You owe me, big brother.” Cass reminded.

“Anything you want, little sister.” He promised. “Are hugs acceptable as a down payment? I could kiss you right now.”

“Eww.” Cass made a face under the mask but strode forward as he opened his arms and stood for a hug. He eagerly wrapped her in a bear hug. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re winning sister of the year award.” He said as he released her.

“You’re making me cookies.” She retorted. Dick grimaced.

“Can I buy them?” He asked hesitantly. She shook her head.

“Homemade, with love. And I’m watching.” She added, smirking under the mask. Dick sunk back down into position.

“I’ll do my best.” He promised. Cass snickered. The last time Dick tried making cookies, he apparently caught his oven mitts on fire. There was still a bit of cookie dough on the ceiling he hadn’t noticed yet.

A flash of movement jolted her back into reality, their mark was making his move. She shot her grapple, and Dick quickly followed suit. “I’ll text you the plan tomorrow.” He promised as they leapt into the night.

Thanks so much if you read this far, and please comment or send me feedback directly if you have the time and don’t mind. I’m sorry if you completely disagree with how I characterized her (or Dick/Damian for that matter) I’m mostly relying on Damian’s canon interactions with her and Dick’s half canon half fanon personality (I know they don’t get on great in the comics...but sibling dynamics) and the rest of this portion of the fic would focus on Damian earning more respect for her (and learning to call her Cass - not Cain).