#francisofgotham1

[incomingalbatross]

Hey, I hope you don't mind, but I made a post of my own about Catholic Bat Family, basically adding some of my own ideas so I'm not always bombarding you with questions. And don't worry, I made sure to credit you on the post (it's literally written on the title).

So, is this okay?

As always, have a good day/night and may God bless you!!

Of course it's okay, I'm delighted! (Answering this ask before the other because it had a question in it.) Fandom is a giant collaboration and the more Catholic Batfam discussion out there the better off we all are, I think. :)

I read your posts, and I liked them—very good summaries. And I appreciate the credit, for sure! I also want to add that you should feel FREE to run with my ideas as inspiration for your own, in conversation with me or in your own posts!! I don't even always feel iron-bound myself to the details I've talked about before, and I'd definitely enjoy seeing your spin on things just as much as my own ideas.

God bless, and thank you for all of your interest and your good asks and posts!

#asks #francisofgotham1 #catholic batfamily

[incomingalbatross]

Hey, I hope you're doing well.

So, I was minding my business when I began wondering about Catholic Bat Family again. At what point would Jason go to Lourdes? Would Lourdes be the first step on his journey back to the faith, or would it be the last step with Bruce right beside him?

Also, I feel like the stuff with Jason would get resolved before Damian shows up and before Identity Crisis (aka when Bruce gets stuck in the time stream), so as to wrap up one issue before going forward. Can you imagine Jason becoming the spiritual leader of the Wayne household by keeping an eye on Tim and bringing Dick fully into the faith?

And finally, your idea for Selina fits extremely well with her character.

Again, thanks for everything you do and God bless you!

Hey! I am doing well, thank you for asking. :) Hope you are too.

Good questions! I guess I'd put it somewhere in the middle? I feel that if you're making a trip like that, you've already taken some steps back to the Faith—you know, if you're already secure enough in it to go looking to Mary for healing. On the other hand, I like the idea of this being a personal pilgrimage Jason undertakes. Maybe one last thing which brings him enough wholeness that he feels he can truly, fully rejoin his family when he comes home? But after the reconciliation has begun.

(Though there is something to be said for Lourdes as Jason's first step—if you imagine him so desperate and tired of his anger/confusion/suffering that he's grasping at the straws of faith he has, running to the only chance he can see... That is also compelling.)

This might say something about the place the fandom was in when I started reading Batfam fic (I'm really not sure :P), but I personally like Bruce's "death" as a pile-up of maximum dysfunction for the whole family. So I personally wouldn't resolve Jason's issues before that? But that's my preference, you're free to construct your own scenario!!

I like putting Dick's conversion during Bruce's "death" as a fruit of his grief, because with his rock suddenly gone from his world he has to find a new rock... and he ends up finally discovering for himself the one Bruce built his own life on. And then Damian can go to RCIA with Dick and be drawn in by both Bruce's absent example and Dick's present one—they can grow together, just like they do as Batman and Robin!

I'm not sure what Jason's spiritual state is during this period (I mean, canonically I'm pretty sure it's Bad, but in THIS retelling :P), but I think it would make sense for him to hit a crisis point during or soon after this that starts pushing him back toward the Faith. I personally like Dick leading the way for the family's various conversions/reconciliations, BUT I am all for Jason outstripping him at some point as he regains his faith and is able to add another cradle-Catholic perspective to the household! (AND rediscovers his vocation!)

...I still haven't decided what's up with Tim. I think he might be the hardest nut to crack in this whole family. :P

And I'm really glad you liked my Selina thoughts!

Thank you again for your asks! God bless!

#asks #francisofgotham1 #catholic batfamily

[incomingalbatross]

Hey, I hope you're doing well!

So, I just did a post on how Catholic Bruce would interact with the time-travelling stuff during his "death". While I wrote that it doesn't really affect him (except maybe rattle him and make his faith stronger when all is said and done), I wanted to read you thoughts on it. My answer might've been too easy or something, I don't know.

Also, yes, Tim re-evaluating when there's no crisis to handle definitely makes a lot more sense. Maybe Father Brown might be involved when he is trying to find answers? Maybe Tim finds a Dominican school during a normal patrol and it springboards from there?

Moreover, I'm glad you liked my ideas for Jason and Bruce's slow reconciliation, especially the chapel in Crime Alley. For design of it... it might the Franciscan school of thought I was taught, but I think that it should be more simple. Nothing fancy, but nevertheless extremely beautiful. I have a feeling that Bruce help restore it, but it was always there.

And finally, thank you for introducing me to Father Brown. It's definitely gonna the next books I read and I'll probably watch the show a bit (if I can find it)!!

Anyways, God bless and have a good night/day!

Hey! :)

Honestly, that's not a storyline I know a lot about... I think your answers make sense, though! Bruce presumably knows a lot of history, and it doesn't sound like any of these adventures interact much with the Church, so I don't think there'd be anything specific to impact his religious life... The experience of time travel ITSELF might, but it's not like that's outside of Batman's experience. Gonna reblog with more specific thoughts, though!

Maybe! Still mulling Tim over. ...My other thought re: Tim is that, unfortunately, if Dick and Damian join Bruce's church while Bruce is dead, and then Jason comes back soon after (and Cass is probably in there somewhere too—maybe before Dick even!—though I don't have a good grasp of her canon timeline), well, then that's just another way for Tim to feel like the odd man out and excluded from the family circle. :( Which I don't think anyone can do much about, and we certainly don't want to be a reason he feels pressured into converting... but it would definitely be another parenting challenge for Bruce to navigate. (And a similar challenge for Dick, who I think is already trying to rebuild bridges at this period with Tim?)

Yes, simple but beautiful is good! I like the idea of it always being there, I'm just wondering if Crime Alley is realistically a street someone would have built a chapel in even before the, you know, crime... but churches can be anywhere.

Oh excellent! Do read the Father Brown stories, I love them. :) Haven't watched the show myself so can't provide information on it, but BIG fan of the stories!

#...angst idea i'm not putting in the body of the post because i'm not committing to it: #the waynes took that shortcut through crime alley (not called that yet) BECAUSE they wanted to stop at the chapel #now THERE'S something for bruce to grapple with #oh also i do have thoughts on catholic time travelers around here somewhere! they're just all in my doctor who/dw tags #if you can find anything in THERE :P #in collaboration with fictionadventurer often #asks #francisofgotham1 #catholic batfamily

[incomingalbatross]

Hi, I hope you're doing well!

First of all, thank you for responding to my last ask so quickly, I really appreciate it!! But I'll cut right to the chase:

You're absolutely right, Tim is definitely the toughest nut to crack of the entire Family when it comes to faith because of the reasons you mentioned. However, we must be careful with this because it almost implies that, as Catholics, we put faith over logic, which is ABSOLUTELY not true. The Gospel of Matthew (24:24) even reminds us to beware of false prophets, and how else to we distinguish them if not by logic? Heck, we have an entire Order (the Dominican Order) that focuses on teaching and wisdom.

So perhaps that's how Tim starts getting warmed into the faith? Via the Dominican way of acquiring knowledge? Also, he was the one that was the most rattled by Bruce's "death" (I mean, he was the only one to figure out he was alive), so perhaps that was the tipping point: he goes to Ra's for help, and goes through the same crisis Bruce did during his youth. Then, he discovers a Dominican monastery, begins his research, and discusses his findings with a certain playful but intelligent priest in England (wink, wink).

Also, yes, Jason's dip in Lourdes would be the perfect first step. Perhaps he begins returning to the faith and mending his relationship with Bruce just before he "dies"? Not completely mended, but they are both trying so hard: working together on the field, trusting each other with their territories, Bruce gives him his old rosary, they go to midnight mass at the same church (but never speaking), and praying together at the Crime Alley chapel. And just as things are getting better, WHAM! Bruce "dies", leaving Jason with a gaping hole in his chest again. He almost leaves the faith again, but he stays true and following Dick's example, grows his faith until he fully returns to it. Then, when Bruce returns, they fully mend their relationship.

Sorry for the rambling, I did not mean for it to be this much. Perhaps I should make my own post on it, so I can fit everything. Again, thank you for inspiring this, and may God bless you!!

Hey! :)

Oh ABSOLUTELY. Faith and reason are incredibly and beautifully intertwined—I think Bruce in particular would be very, very grounded in that approach to the faith and it would very much shine through in his religious life. Dominican fan Bruce Wayne for sure. (Third Order member maybe?)

On reflection, I think what I was thinking with Tim is that he's so founded in finding active solutions to the problems of this world—things he can do and solve for himself—that I find it hard to picture him looking for spiritual answers. Again, if he was raised in any religion I think his odds of staying in that religion, or deepening his relationship with it in response to personal crises, is much higher. But if he was raised secular I have a harder time seeing him leaving that mindset.

I wouldn't position him going through a spiritual crisis and seeking religion after Bruce's death, personally, because my understanding is that he responded to his personal crises at that time by doubling down on getting Bruce back. Again, sinking all of his hopes into an active solution he can achieve by his own efforts! But I feel like he didn't have any energy to start researching religion at that point in his life...

...actually, I'm kinda thinking now that Tim might need a period of security without severe problems to get interested in exploring the faith more deeply. If Dick's path is opened by grief, and Jason's (probably) begins by remembering what love and mercy feel like... think Tim's path might have to begin with a chance to breathe. Maybe at some point a while after his siblings' conversions, Tim has the energy and the openness to start wondering what they see in it? Or maybe it just takes years of household debate. That can happen too. :P

I love your picture of Bruce and Jason's hesitant, struggling reconciliation, forming tentative bridges partly through their shared faith. I still don't have a favorite timeline for that pinned down in my head, but this picture of the early stages...really good. Bruce giving Jason his old rosary?? Praying in a chapel in Crime Alley? I love that. Crime Alley should ABSOLUTELY have a chapel in it, incidentally. I'm assuming Bruce helped make that happen.

Love the rambling! Also happy to have you make your own posts, though, if only so your thoughts aren't dependent on me to get out there and be visible. But both ways are good. :)

Thank you, again, for all you've already added to this version of Batman!

#asks #francisofgotham1 #catholic batfamily

[incomingalbatross]

Hey, I hope you’re doing well!

So, Tumblr has reintroduced me to the wonders of Scooby Doo once again, and now I wanna see your thoughts on Shaggy and Daphne being a thing (romantically). Or just you know, any other thought you have on the Scooby Doo.

Anyways, have a good one and God bless you!

Unfortunately I have NO thoughts on Scooby Doo. I have seen the memes and Tumblr posts, but I've never watched a second of it, so no thoughts of my own!

Thanks for the ask anyway, and God bless!

#asks #francisofgotham1

[incomingalbatross]

Hey, I hope you're doing well!!

This is a very short ask, so I'll get right into it:

Now that we've covered so much of Catholic Bat Fam, how do think a BatCat Catholic wedding would go down? Is Selina going full-on trad veil? Are they gonna do the Nupital Mass? What traditions do they put into it? What are some shananigans that happen?

Also, can you imagine what the conversation between Bruce and Jason would be after he comes back from time? It would truly be the last piece of the puzzle that would make them fully reconcile. Like, ugly-crying-hugging reconcile. And of course, they start talking about him becoming a priest immediately after.

...Well, that asn't a short ask. What happened there?

As always, thanks for inspiring us to read more books, and God bless you!

Hi, and thank you for the ask! I did not intend to let it sit in my inbox this long--life just got away from me for a bit.

I DON'T know about the details of a BatCat wedding, hmm... I mean, in my head Bruce is very very trad, so I assume his choice would be a TLM Nuptial Mass in the family chapel. But I really don't feel like I know Selina well enough to assign her preferences or choices in wedding planning... how about you? What do you think?

(I mean, either Dick or Clark is Bruce's best man, obviously. Leaning toward Dick, but that's my own Dynamic Duo bias. :P Alfred's in charge of the event planning, but I imagine they'd keep the event as private as reasonably possible - certainly that sounds like Bruce's preference, to me.)

And I support Bruce and Jason ugly-crying, hugging, and reconciling at any available opportunity!

Thank you, as always, for sharing your thoughts! God bless!

#asks #francisofgotham1 #catholic batfamily

[incomingalbatross]

Hey, I hope you’re doing well!

I know that it’s been a while, but I just thought of something: I know that we’ve kind of put Father Brown into the Catholic BatFam idea, but how do you think Sister Boniface would interact with them?

Also, have you watched Gotham by Gaslight? If not, I highly recommend it because not only does it do a great job of putting Gotham City in the Victorian Era, but also because they made Leslie into a nun that raised orphan Bruce and Selina. And I just think that’s neat!

Anyways, have a good day and God bless you!!

I have to admit, I know nothing about Sister Boniface at all, so I can't weigh in on this one. If you have thoughts to write up on the subject, though, go for it! There's no upper limit on crossovers here. :P

I have not but it does sound compelling... I will have to check and see if it's available to me. 👀

Thank you, and God bless once again!

#asks #francisofgotham1 #catholic batfamily

[incomingalbatross]

Hey, how you doing? I hope you’re well.

Firstly, I want to say that I hope you’ve had a good day and if not, I hope it gets better tomorrow because you deserve it. Also, thank you for inspiring so many ideas in us and for sharing with us. Always fun to bounce ideas off of you.

Secondly…. You sly minx. You’re gonna make watch too many new shows, rewatch great movies, and read a lot of new books. Which is definitely what I don’t want 😉

Anyways, keep doing what you’re doing and may God bless you!

I appreciate your ask! I've been doing pretty well (standard start-of-school-year rush of tasks, but they generally seem to be falling into line). Thank you for engaging with the ideas I throw out there!

Listen. All I'm doing here is talking about things I happen to like. If other people decide to pay attention to me, that's on you, and I take no responsibility. :P

Thank you and God bless! Hope you're doing well!

#francisofgotham1 #asks

[incomingalbatross]

Hey, how you doing? I hope you’re alright.

So, I just saw that post you did about Shawn and Jules and let me tell ya, that makes me wanna pull my hair every time! When problems can simply be solved through a new, modern concept called COMMUNICATION!

A good example of this is the first Grown Ups movie. Now THAT is a story that shows how communication can solve conflicts (and what parenting should look like)!

Anyways, take care and may God bless you!

I'm good, and hope you are too!

It's not even communication in the sense of "letting the other person know how you feel," some of the time, it's communication in the revolutionary sense of "SAYING OUT LOUD what you both ALREADY KNOW." They like each other! They KNOW they like each other! They just aren't saying it out loud at the same time!

It's like...it's like when you text a friend like "we should get together sometime!" And the friend says "yeah we should!" And then one of you suggests a day and the other says "hmm that day doesn't work for me" and then the conversation just... comes to a halt. For no reason, it's just that neither of you got around to following up. That's Shawn and Jules but the topic is "we should date" and they see each other every day and they STILL haven't gotten anywhere.

And granted, some of this is just the nature of TV shows ad how they have to spin out the lead couple's slow-burn for as many seasons as possible, for whatever reason. And my complaints are a little tongue in cheek because it's not entirely their fault! But like...still. You know you both want this, just COORDINATE. :P

Thanks for the ask, and God bless!

#asks #francisofgotham1 #placeholder psych tag

[incomingalbatross]

Tagged by @ellakas and @fictionadventurer, thank you both!

Last song I listened to: "Good Grief" by Bastille. I really meant to pull up "Currents" but "Good Grief" is also good.

Currently watching: Still Psych! Halfway through S4. I'd like to watch it all the way through, if my interest holds.

Currently reading: I was going to say "Reading? What's that?" but then remembered that technically I'm reading several public domain classics via substack, so...Dracula and Moby Dick (very slowly), Kidnapped (somewhat less slowly, or at least in bigger/more regular chunks) and occasionally Sherlock Holmes. Also just started Jane Eyre for the first time as prep for a fall class.

Current obsession: Preoccupied by my latest manga discovery which is Mission: Yozakura Family. Can't believe there's a manga out there with halfway-decent Big Family Rep (and all it takes is them being superpowered superspies and one of them being completely deranged)! Otherwise, might be obsessing a little bit about the Upcoming Semester and the Upcoming Obligations which come before it, like heralds.

Tagging @francisofgotham1 @eruanna1875 @an-aspiring-jester @atlantic-riona @septembersung @called-kept @why-bless-your-heart @awesomebutunpractical and @lovesodeepandwideandwell (As always, if you want to!)

#trying to avoid duplicate tags #(both with my last tag post and with the previous posts in this chain) #but also not totally avoiding them i'm pretty sure #tag games