r/CassandraCain

Really cool to see them acknowledge this!

I was reminiscing about the time that I first read Cassandra's first batgirl run. Usually, I listen to music while reading to fit the vibe(for her, i listen mostly punk rock/neo metal with lead female vocalists). The moment that I reached the first actual fight against Shiva, it started playing For I Am Death – The Pretty Reckless

I worked so well for both her and her mother at that moment that I couldn't help but associate her with this song, or at least this "early days Cass"

Do you guys have other songs that can be associated with Cass in any way?

Cass is a big sister but there are a few stories that agree with my thinking that, if children need more support from her, she'll supply it even though she has a hard time thinking of herself as a good person and sister, let alone a parent.

The story, "Woof woof, it's the sound of the police" at https://archiveofourown.org/works/82767411/chapters/217904971 has Cass serving as a caretaker for homeless Jason by supplying him with food and teaching him how to protect himself.

"Untrimmable Lights", at https://archiveofourown.org/works/48048418/chapters/121153249, puts more focus on the parenting aspect. Most readers, and Alfred and Bruce in the story, only caught Tim parenting Cass as that's the explicit element but it looks to me like the author was also writing Cass as becoming Tim's parent through her emotional support of him. In chapter 17, Tim gets upset at the idea of Cass not being with him every day. In chapter 18, Tim is stressed at Cass not being with him. In chapters 20-21, Cass accidentally hurts Tim while helping him with his katas and runs away. He gets stressed and goes to find her, partly because he's worried about her but also because he's upset at not having his sister. Cass as Tim's parent is hard for me to not consider official after chapter 26 where Tim comments that Jack and Janet's disapproval doesn't bother him and that he only needs Cass' approval. Tim is trying to follow social conventions and claim that Jack and Janet are his parents but he only cares about Cass' approval, which sounds more like a parent than a big sister. In chapter 5 of Except by Addition, the sequel, Tim is worried that Cass will stop needing him. In chapter 3 of Except by Addition, Jason calls them "Tim-and-Cass", recognizing their influence on each other. In that same chapter, Cass comments that Tim only sleeps deeply when he's with her, no matter how physically uncomfortable their location is. In chapter 4 of Except by Addition, Jason comments that street kids always sleep together even though he regularly teases Tim as being a stupid rich kid. That feels like considering Tim to have elements of being in poverty as that's the condition of his actual parent. In chapter 6 of Except by Addition, Jason is insulting Jack Drake, possibly because he can't respect someone who lost their child to a homeless girl who couldn't speak. In chapter 5 of Except by Addition, Bruce comments that J'onn is invested in Cass' wellbeing, for some reason.

In "Darling's Girl" at https://archiveofourown.org/works/74190446/chapters/193598431, Cass gains a daughter. In chapter 3, Caly hides behind Cass' legs for safety and comfort when she encounters her father. In chapter 4, Cass' friend notices that her younger sister, Caly, accepts scolding from her and from Cass. In that same chapter, Caly asks her older sister if she can have both Cass and her as mothers.

These stories agree with my thinking from my AU of Cass encountering homeless children and ending up as their parent that, if people need more from her than being their big sister, she'll step up to the role, or at least the emotional support portion. Cass as a single parent would definitely go badly though.