Okay, this has been bugging me for a while, but…please stop describing Cassandra Cain dating/kissing/flirting with male characters as “comphet”.

Firstly, she’s one of the characters in DC that is the least socialised in societal norms. She doesn’t have the background cultural pressure towards assumed heterosexuality! Between that and the ability to read enough body language to work out if someone is attracted to her, if she decided she likes someone and considers dating them, she probably likes them.

Does that make her completely heterosexual? Look, I don’t think so, from the way she’s described characters she’s liked.

But claiming that her friendship and attraction to characters like Kon and Sal (in Batgirl 2008) and Nathan Jones (in Justice League Elite) and Erik (in Shadow of the Batgirl) etc is just the writers forcing a relationship on her is…disingenuous.

That’s what is written on the page! Cass was attracted to these characters! This is not “other characters set her up” stuff, this is things Cass initiated herself. And you’re taking away her agency by claiming it’s just the writers forcing this on her (particularly as she never actually dated any of them long term, at most it was just cute dates!)

Sure yes if you really feel like arguing, from a Doylist perspective Cass was only offered the chance to date male characters for the entirety of her post-Crisis pre-Rebirth existence. And nothing in the way her attraction is described requires her to only be into guys (and heck if Cass say gets a date with Xanthe? I’ll be overjoyed).

But insisting that a character whose whole thing is being able to read body language and even if she doesn’t always fully interpret what she’s reading, very clearly understands attraction and sex? (Just look at how Cass reacted to Brenda thinking Cass was a sexworker. She understands that side of things) Well. It feels to me like you’re insisting that Cass doesn’t know her own mind or emotions, something that feels weirdly paternalistic.

#we even have examples of her noticing someone is attracted to her and choosing to ignore it #mostly I think when she borrowed Babs' original suit #so it's not even just Cass 'going along with' guys being interested #'cause if she's not interested back it doesn't go anywhere #Cass is into guys! there's not anything wrong with being into guys! #fandom just has a lot of paternalism and sexism and biphobia [my tags]

Still thinking about this. I've noticed that the DC fandom (at least what I've run across on Tumblr & Ao3) fairly frequently says Stephanie is bisexual? Like she and Tim get slapped together with "bi-bi solidarity" and such. So Stephanie's canon interest in guys is not disregarded by fans that way that Cass's is.

You could argue that Stephanie aggressively pursues whatever she's interested in, be it a romantic partner or being a superhero or killing her dad, so it's harder for fans to claim her dating Dean and Tim isn't what she actually wants.

Except that Cass isn't just passively accepting attention or relationships. She's not aggressive about her interest the way Stephanie is, but she shows just as much agency.

When Cass meets Tai'Darshan the first time, and he flirts with her, she goes home and runs a training simulation, asking the computer for "six opponents, male". A simulation which she pauses so she can contemplatively touch one of the opponents' bare chests.

After rescuing Dr. Chin as Batgirl, she seeks him out as Cass.

The cruise is uncomfortable, yes. When wearing a string bikini that she did not pick, Cass says the way Kon looks at her makes her feel bad. So she, you know, leaves. Later, when she's in comfortable clothes with more coverage, Cass sees Tai'Darshan watching and she initiates a kiss with Kon.

(I can tell you as someone who suddenly sprouted large tits in middle school, being uncomfortable with the way people looked at me in tight or skimpy clothes as a teenager did not IN ANY WAY NEGATE MY BISEXUALITY. I could be attracted to people and still feel uncomfortable with some of their attention. I've been told that's a pretty common experience across orientations and genders.)

And it is after getting home and settling back into routine that Cass, with no prompting from anyone, makes the choice to hitch a ride on a train all the way to Smallville to go on a date with Kon.

That date ends with them deciding to be friends, not date anymore. And KON is relieved. So like, if deciding not to date this particular guy is somehow evidence that Cass isn't interested in guys at all, are we supposed to take this moment as evidence that Kon isn't interested in gals?

So I see fans accept Steph's interest in guys as canon. Accept Barbara's interest in guys as canon. Accept Kon's interest in gals as canon.

Yet Cass's canonical interest in multiple men and boys throughout multiple comics titles by multiple writers is dismissed as comp-het, to be thrown out the window when it comes to her characterization? She's allowed by these fans to be lesbian or ace, but not bisexual? Not pansexual? Hell, she's not even allowed to be asexual and biromantic with an aesthetic attraction to guys?

Gosh. I wonder why the character who is Asian and disabled is whose canonical attraction to ANYONE is being disregarded, deliberately contradicted, and insulted by fans.

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

I do want Steph to go back to being Spoiler, the unique hero identity she created herself, rather than get shuffled into legacy roles that usually are someone’s first mantle. Stop trying to cram her into pre-established roles when Spoiler is already awesome.

But if they’re not gonna have her return to being Spoiler? You know what arc I want? Looking at how she got the Robin & Batgirl roles?

Making her own Robin costume and volunteering after Tim (who, at the time, she was angry with for something that wasn’t his fault) lost the Robin job because his dad was a controlling jerk? Taking the Batgirl suit without anyone’s permission when Cass was out of town trying to find herself again after being brainwashed?

I want an arc where someone else takes up the Spoiler mantle without permission. I want some random kid in Gotham or the suburbs who used to see Spoiler fighting, or saw her sneaking around to plant clues, notice that hey, no one’s seen Spoiler in a while! Did something happen to her? Oh no, there’s a crime being planned, someone has to stop it! And make themselves a purple caped get-up and go inexpertly kick butt or awkwardly leave clues for other capes to find.

Stephanie is a very confident, go-getter person, but one of her majorly destructive faults is jealousy. When she thinks someone is taking away something that she sees as “hers” she gets furious, and lashes out.

This would be a way to keep the Spoiler mantle active in comics and give Stephanie a character growth arc. Force her to confront her past actions that, intentionally or unintentionally, hurt other people. Make her take a hard look at her sense of entitlement, and at her motivations for fighting crime.

Let her be the more experienced hero seeing a kid who doesn’t know what they’re doing get into trouble yet refuse to stop when she tries to drill into their head how dangerous this is (with Barbara & Bruce laughing their asses off in the background).

Have Stephanie admit she doesn’t know how to handle this, and go to her friends for help. Cass & Tim are both pretty forgiving people, but they’re also not down for hypocrisy and can be blunt as hell. They can ask hard questions. They have enough history with her that she can’t blow them off as not knowing what they’re talking about.

Are you really worried about this kid’s safety? Do you disagree with their motives? Are they younger than when you started? Why would that bother you when Tim & Damian starting younger never bothered you? When other capes said you weren’t trained enough, you sought out training, so why are you just discouraging this kid instead of offering to teach them?

Why do you think there’s something wrong with another person taking up the Spoiler mantle, Batgirl?

I think it’d be an emotionally crunchy arc.

an incomplete list of times a bat has yelled for superman’s help

- six years after they met, batman called for superman’s help for the first time, when he realized he couldn’t save a child from a fire

- dick grayson, age 8, called for superman to save batman from a death trap

- dick grayson, age 9, called superman to open a jam jar (strawberry)

- alfred, age lots, called superman to save batman from a death trap

- dick grayson, age 11, called superman to open a jam jar (grape)

- bruce wayne called superman to comfort dick grayson, who had just been fired as robin

- ace the bathound barked for superman to save batman from a death trap

- bruce wayne called superman to ask why, precisely, dick grayson was now superhero-ing under a kryptonian name

- jason todd called superman to save batman from a death trap

- batman called superman to save jason todd from a death trap. superman was in a different solar system.  he didn’t hear his name.

- barbara gordon called superman to help subdue supergirl, who was mind-controlled at the time

- dick grayson, age 19, called superman to open a jam jar (raspberry)

- tim drake called superman to save batman from a death trap

- stephanie brown called superman to see if she could

- tim drake called superman to tell superboy to take his earbuds out

- batman called superman because the batplane had just exploded at 17,000 feet, and he can’t fly, at all

- jason todd called superman to save batman from a death trap that he had himself set up

- dick grayson, age 24, called superman to open a jam jar (fig)

- dick grayson called superman to ask him why he hadn’t saved his father

- damian wayne called superman to save batman (dick grayson) from a death trap

- cassandra cain called superman so he could interpret her signs for a particularly skeevy alleyway ruffian.  he refused to interpret some of the signs.

- batman called superman to tell him to get lois some damn flowers already so she would stop texting him

- a failsafe device made by barbara gordon and tim drake automatically called superman to save batman from a death trap

- duke thomas called superman because he was dared to and he didn’t think it would work (it did)

- dick grayson, age 26, called superman to open a jam jar (apricot)

- damian wayne called superman to tell superboy (jon kent) to take his earbuds out

- selina kyle called superman to save a kitten from a tree

- dick grayson, age 28, called superman to save batman from a jam jar (giant, acid-filled)

I wasn’t expecting to get baby Jason today, but I’m very happy to be getting baby Jason today.

More batfam memes I did and never got around to posting

Part 1

What Goes Through the Batkids Heads When Bruce Lectures Them:

[ID: Tim Drake and Cassandra Cain as Robin and Batgirl against a light green background. The first image shows them run towards the viewer. The second shows Tim grab Cassandra's arm. End ID.]

You all right? Yep. Are you? Ask me later.

Socialites visiting Wayne Manor: So we’ve heard you’re rather infamous for your adopted kids, you must love them.

*A chandelier flys out from the staircase, Dick, Jason, Damian, and Stephanie riding it with Barbara and Tim chasing after it before crashing into the floor*

Bruce without even flinching, choking back a tear: I’m truly blessed by them.

Cass is recording the entire thing in the background.

Ballerina 

Babs and Cass 

Sometimes your dreams will grow beyond you, and a lot of the time, that’s going to hurt. But trust that if you chose not to give up on them, the universe has a far greater plan for you. Imagine if you can, dreaming a dream so big, it has no choice but to grow beyond yourself to include include another. Imagine a dream so big, that you can pass it down to the next one in line. 

If I could summarize what it means to be a big sister in a couple images, this would be it. 

based on that king of the hill meme (bruce you could offer more and you KNOW IT but kon’d still say no)

at this point I’m just laughing at my own jokes

I don't have self control so here is some more batfam as modern family quotes part 3:

Check out my friend's tim fanart, it's so pretty and we've made a bet:

“It’s okay, you can tell us later. Everyone was just so worried... all of the Robins even came! They’ve been pacing outside your door for hours.”

The Batfam Grocery Shopping

Alfred helped Jason get rid of the stain. Tim was offended, he claimed that the blood stain was his housing warming present to Jason. Jason was not at all amused.

Duke was doing homework and had his phone on silent during this whole exchange. When he finally saw the texts he was torn between blocking all of them and being fiercely over protective of Tim. He settled on spending a few nights at the manor with Tim, making him soup and helping take care of the stab wounds.

(also thanks @timdrakeisaclownbaby for constantly talking about tim being way too chill about stab wounds in the fam group chat)

Bruce spent the entire night trying to figure out who Tim originally meant to text. He never found out.