#BatCass AU

[mzminola]

More highly subjective opinion time: Battle for the Cowl should’ve been a fight between Cass and Jason.

Cass canonically wants the job of Batman, and part of her arc is learning skills useful for detective work, because she already has the fighting skills down cold.

Jason is the one who’s just as obsessed with Gotham as Bruce is, which is important for being Batman specifically rather than a more general superhero/vigilante.

Cass and Jason have different crimefighting philosophies, and fairly matched skillsets. Cass is the better one-on-one fighter hands down, no question, whereas Jason is repeatedly shown to be an over-planner who studies his opponents and takes their skills/knowledge/habits into account.

They’ve both died and gone through the Lazarus Pit, both killed and come to different conclusions about killing, struggled with parental/mentor expectations while figuring out who they are.

Dick & Tim canonically actively want to not be Batman, and when they wind up in the role it’s very bad for them. Damian is ten. Let them all be involved in the story as supporting cast and further opportunity for debate about the lines vigilantes should draw.

Jason talks a lot while he fights to throw people of their game and also to sway them to his views. Cass does not talk more than she has to, but she is very snarky in her internal monologue boxes. I think that could be a hilarious combination through most of the run...

And also perfectly set up for Jason to give a huge philosophy speech in their final battle ending with Cass winning, leaning in close, and telling him, “You can change.”

#I think Cass telling him that would both feel like a gut punch and also piss him off #Cass doesn't lose it's her thing so like #her winning Battle for the Cowl is a given #it's how we get there and what themes we can explore along the way that's interesting #Cassandra Cain #Jason Todd #Batman #DC #Battle for the Cowl #Batfam #comics meta #potentially I guess #let Dick Grayson keep being Nightwing and also take a nap #BatCass AU

[red-hood-redemption]

tagged by @batmanstwelfthkid, ty love 💕

slow burn or love at first sight // fake dating or secret dating // enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers // oh no there is only one bed or long-distance correspondence // hurt-comfort or amnesia // fantasy au or modern au // mutual pining or domestic bliss // canon-compliant or fix-it // reincarnation or character death // one shot or multi chapter // kid fic or roadtrip fic // arranged marriage or accidental marriage // high school romance or middle-aged romance // time travel or isolated together // neighbours or roommates // sci-fi au or magic au // body swap or gender bend // angst or crack // apocalyptic or mundane

no pressure tagging: @scattered-winter @butwhyduh @citrinesparkles @wingedrobins @enchantingruinscandy @starcloud-nova @charleswaterloo @batcassed

#ik it might be cheating but you can’t make me choose between some of these man #like canon compliant or fix it?? girlie it depends tho don’t it?? like was canon shittily written?? was canon good??? #did canon start off good and then catch fire and roll down a steep hill and explode when it hit the bottom? #and I feel like love at first sight and slow burn are not mutually exclusive yk?? #loooook it’s exactly like jay said #i love ~connection~ at first sight #and then mutual pining for at least a decade /j #also I’m pretty sure E and winter have made me into an angst enthusiast #i liked it before but now I highkey crave it

[a-sketchy-character]

:D< Batcass

#*chants quietly* Batcass Batcass Batcass Batcass Batcass— #remember when her solo series implied that she was destined to be the next Batman #that was nice #those were better days for Cass #anyway I love her #sketchies #redesign #costume redesign #cassandra cain #batcass #bat #batman #the batman #batfam #dc #fanart #future au

[mzminola]

So follow-up thought to the Cass vs Jason Battle for the Cowl What If:

Once the battle is over, Cass is now Batman. That was always a given. She’s taking over in a situation where Bruce is presumed dead, Oracle & the Birds of Prey are mostly off doing their own thing, Dick is Nightwing, Tim is Robin, Stephanie is still Spoiler for now, and Damian is choosing between staying in Gotham with the Bats or leaving with his mother and presumably returning to the League of Assassins.

Cass & Damian together is a good set-up for the story to explore concepts of upbringing, personal agency, loyalty to a person vs loyalty to an idea, and people’s ability to change.

In canon, Dick!Batman decided to take Robin from Tim and give the mantle to Damian, with his stated reasons being that he’s uncomfortable having a Robin he views as an equal, and he thinks Damian needs it.

Cass!Batman is not going to do that.

Firstly: In this era of continuity, Dick set the Robin mantle aside and became Nightwing, and the problem (aside from all the reasons why he left) was Bruce giving Robin to Jason without asking. Not from having Robin taken. And this was about a decade ago in-universe. Cass had the experience of Bruce taking the Batgirl mantle from her while she was active in the role, with pretty much no explanation, within a couple years of BftC. She’s not going to take Robin away from Tim.

Secondly, and where we really dig into the themes: Cass and Dick have fairly different life experiences that are going to lead them to different views of what Damian needs, and what about himself Damian is responsible for.

Cassandra and Damian were both raised in the League of Assassins. Damian within the main bases surrounded by lots of people, Cass in an isolated base with her dad bringing people in for short periods of time.

Cass, at age eight, killed one man and decided to never do that again.

Damian at age ten, has killed multiple people and only stops because his dad told him to.

Cass is loyal to the idea of Batman. The Bat represents ideals Cass already held, and gave her a practical model and support network to uphold them.

Damian is loyal to Bruce. He’s at a point in his life where he wants to get to know and learn from his father, and as far as I can tell in canon decided that with Bruce dead, learning from his senior-most student, Dick Grayson, is as close as he’s going to get.

Cass likely has sympathy for Damian and understands his fears, but she’s never going to take his upbringing as an excuse for his actions. She’s not going to take it as a reason to go easy on him. She’s never going to say “He doesn’t know better.”

Because she was also raised to be a killer, and chose otherwise.

At a younger age than Damian is now.

Why would she think he needs extra help learning right from wrong? Why would she think he needs incentives for ‘good’ behavior?

At the same time, she’s never going to give up on him. More than anyone else, Cass is going to have unshaking faith that Damian can change. Cass’s Batgirl run’s biggest theme was people’s ability and choice to change. The idea that no matter what wrongs you have done before, you can always choose to stop, choose to do better.

~

Whether Damian sticks around…if this were a contemporary story he’d probably decide to learn from Cass for the same reasons he decided to learn from Dick. She’s a student of his father.

If this was the Preboot era writing though? That version of Damian was misogynistic as hell. He didn’t even respect his own mother half the time. He would not want to learn from Cass. He’d either decide to learn from Nightwing, or go back to the League.

It’s definitely a more interesting story where he decides to learn from Cass, because otherwise it’s just a couple pages of discussion and then they split up. Him sticking around is what’s needed to explore these themes rather than just passingly mention them, and also?

It be a chance for Cass to see where the League upbringing has influenced her aside from killing by seeing pieces of herself reflected in Damian’s mindset and behaviors.

#Cassandra Cain #Damian Wayne #Batman #BatCass AU #Batfam #DC #possibly also #comics meta #agency is a big theme with Cass #including how a character responds to things OUTSIDE their control #Cass couldn't control how she was raised #she couldn't control the psychic accident that rewrote parts of her brain #Batgirl 2000 #focused on how IMPORTANT Cass's choices when she DOES agency are #and I think those themes would be good for stories about Damian too

[mzminola]

consider: Damian operating w/o a significant hero ID for months + Steph getting Spoiler stolen from her (by Damian) because I think people focus on the character dynamics from the preboot comics (which is a weird thing to complain about I know) and not enough about the parallels and what alternate points of connection there could be. Insert Thesis about Spoiler mantle being about self-determination from the starting point of opposition.

[image: Mabel Pines smiling hugely with sparkles]

#BatCass AU