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Monster!Tim Coraline AU Idea

This idea would not leave me alone.

It’s a cross between a meta!/magic!Tim au and a Coraline au.

Before I get into it, I feel like I should explain.  I was on a bit of an Eldritch!Batfamily and Cryptid!Batfamily kick.  Then I found a collection of supernatural Tim aus.  Then I stumbled across a Coraline au.  There’s probably also some inspiration in there from vampire au fics.

It didn’t really jell until the idea occurred to me of a scene where some frightened villain asks Tim “What kind of monster are you?” and Tim says “The hungry kind.”

...

The idea is that somewhere back along the way, Tim’s family tree includes some kind of supernatural creature which may or may not have been an eldritch entity.

The supernatural heritage allows Tim to acquire abilities from other entities he has defeated, and Gotham is absolutely full of the supernatural if you pay attention.

Of course, Tim’s power isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.  It actually comes packaged with some pretty nasty side effects.

One of those side effects is perpetual Hunger.  Tim is always Hungry.  There is no way to stop it.  He eats enough to stay healthy, but he still feels Hunger at all times.  Increasing his food intake will not help and will screw up his metabolism and cause him to need more for normal function.  If this was allowed to spiral out of control it could eventually reach a point where he was physically unable to eat the amount of food he needed to function and starved to death on a full stomach. 

Fixing it is stupid hard because this particular sort of magical inheritance is really fucking inconvenient.  And, of course, whatever is up with his biology also makes him insanely susceptible to addiction, so no coffee for him unless he wants caffeine withdrawal symptoms all the time for however long it takes to fix that.  The constant Hunger also makes it difficult to get enough sleep.  Have you ever tried to go to sleep on an empty stomach?  Not easy, was it?  Imagine that every night.

The Hunger is fairly central to the nature of the magic.  Whatever supernatural entity he’s descended from, it is the Hungry kind.  The ritual of defeating another supernatural entity, taking a bit of the defeated entity’s power, and incorporating it into himself serves as a sort of metaphorical devouring, (and metaphors matter more to magic than they do to normal biology).  That’s why he’s able to gain power and abilities from defeated foes. 

...

Tim’s relationship with his parents is complicated.  His supernatural heritage comes from his mother’s side of the family.  She did her best to teach him about it and how to cope with it, but a lot of knowledge was lost over the generations due to persecution forcing those like them into hiding more than once.  There may have been a few individuals who spiraled out of control and caused small-scale famines before losing their lives.  It only takes a few cases for people to decide that a specific category of people is simply not worth the risk of having around.  Janet always referred to herself and Tim (as well as anyone else sharing the condition) as “those afflicted with Gluttony.”  This is the closest they have to a name for the condition.

One of the important things Janet Drake teaches her son is to pursue his passions.  It is incredibly important for individuals like them to have things outside the self that they can draw satisfaction and fulfilment from, things that keep them going in the face of the relentless Hunger.  This is what leads Tim to his night-time photography of Gotham, and eventually to his fascination with the Bats. 

Janet’s passions are archeology and travel.  Unfortunately, traveling from dig site to dig site is not a particularly stable or safe environment to raise a child in.  She needs to do these things to remain in good health.  Without her external coping mechanisms, she could start spiraling.  If she starts spiraling, it might trigger her son to start spiraling too because children in their developmental years are delicate, and this type of hereditary magic is fucking inconvenient (there might be ways of managing things that make it easier to live with, but between the knowledge lost and the risks that come with experimentation, they don’t have much info on how anything works).  She comes home as much as she can without the risk of compromising both their health.

She also taught Tim how to calculate appropriate portion sizes based on nutritional data so as not to screw up his metabolism, and how to fix it if he does mess up.  She also stayed and managed the process the first time it happened because the process of returning the metabolism of one afflicted with Gluttony to normal after it’s gotten out of hand is difficult and unpleasant and Tim wasn’t old enough to handle it by himself.  The nanny that had overfed him hadn’t been malicious or unreasonable, she’d just been operating on the assumption that he had standard human biology.  It took months to get Tim healthy again.  It took several hefty bribes to keep things under wraps.  Janet doesn’t know if there are still people out there hunting their kind, but she’s not willing to risk it.

Janet may not know about the aspect of the family magic that lets them gain powers from defeating other entities.  It’s possible that she was holding off on explaining this until he was older and more ready for the responsibility of multiple superpowers.  It’s also possible that the knowledge got lost somewhere along the way and Janet didn’t discover it herself because she didn’t spend her childhood running around Gotham at night and was more the sort of person who would stay home and read when she had trouble sleeping.

...

Tim discovers his ability to gain abilities from defeating other supernatural things fairly early on.  The type of defeat can vary, but it has to be something of significance.  A fight will work for most, but there are other particular challenges that will work for specific cases.

The first things a young Tim is able to beat are these small things, invisible to most, that gain power from learning secrets.  What that power is used for, I couldn’t tell you.  They don’t seem to do much other than sneak around and learn secrets.  Tim doesn’t know if there’s a proper name for these things or not, but he calls them Secret Hunters.  They are absolutely everywhere in Gotham. 

Secret Hunters are invisible to most, but Tim is able to see them.  It might be because of his own supernatural nature, or it might be something else entirely.  If it’s hereditary it must have skipped his parents’ generation.  Neither of them seem to be able to see them.  Tim gains improved stealth and a sense for when something is hidden from catching Secret Hunters until they wise up and start avoiding him.  (Catching them works in place of a fight because secret hunters primarily operate on stealth and evasion.)

He can’t just magically know secrets, but he can tell when there is a secret.  (He still figured out Batman’s and Robin’s secret identities on his own merit.  The most this ability would have done is alert him to the fact that they had secret identities if that hadn’t already been obvious from the fact that they were wearing masks.)

He also gets various other abilities from other things he encounters while scrambling all over Gotham at night.  Nearly doesn’t get out of some of the scrapes he gets himself into.  He gains the ability to cut with his fingernails as if they were razors from something that nearly killed him.  He gains the ability to climb like a goat from a Jersey Devil.  Etc.

...

At some point, Tim is targeted by a beldam.  He doesn’t get the kind of warnings that Coraline does, but his ability to sense secrets lets him know that the Beldam is hiding something, and any child raised in any part of Gotham knows to be suspicious of things that seem too good to be true.  Tim doesn’t have a convenient seeing stone from the neighbor, but he does have the advantage of his own supernatural nature which the Beldam doesn’t know about.

Tim finds a button-eyed doll that looks like him after his parents leave on yet another trip, and thinks it’s a gift they meant to give him before leaving.  They do often bring interesting souvenirs.  It wouldn’t be at all unusual for them to find an artist who sews dolls to look like people and have one made based on pictures of him.  Later on, he discovers the key. 

This Beldam is older and more powerful than the one from Coraline.  She has more power and more past victims to work with, so she’s able to make a larger, more populated world. 

Oh by the way, I head-canon that the Other versions of people in the Other world are actually past victims of the Other Mother, remade and dressed up for whatever role she has them play.  The three ghosts were just the three most recent and not fully processed for use yet.  That’s why the Others are able to act against her sometimes (Other Wybie saving Coraline from the mirror, Other Father tossing the eye to Coraline) or say things she doesn’t want them too (Other Father says “so sharp you won’t feel a thing” and Other Mother kicks him under the table).

The Other Mother doesn’t know all that Tim knows, so the Other World has inconsistencies like Other Batman and Other Robin sitting across the table from Other Bruce and Other Jason.  She doesn’t know they’re the same people.  She just knows that they’re all important to Tim.  She also tries to tell him to “eat as much as he wants” when his real mother was the one to explain the dangers of attempting to eat to fullness for people with their condition.

There isn’t a cat to warn Tim but he doesn’t need it.  He can sense hidden intentions in everything, and he’s fully capable of uncovering the hidden secrets himself. 

Tim doesn’t have a cat, but he does have Other Robin, who might have been made from whatever remained of someone close to one of the people mirrored in the Other World made for Tim.  He doesn’t remember his life, but somehow he feels incredibly motivated to help a boy who cares dearly for whoever and is willing to let him know that they're living a good life out there in the real world.

Tim discovers the nature of the other world and sets out to free the souls trapped there.  He fights the Beldam will all the viciousness and desperation of someone who knows they’ve only got one shot.  He takes everything he can from this fight as he makes sure she won’t ever hurt anyone again.  He doesn’t stop until the beldam is well and truly dead.  Then he unravels Other Gotham and spills all of the souls out into the world where they can move on and rest.

This is how Tim learns to Sew.  He can’t make entire populated worlds like the beldam, but that’s mostly because he refuses to do what she did.  He can control things he’s made (though there’s limits on how much) and even see through buttons he’s sewn (onto cushions and such, he's not the Other Mother).  He also gets some minor illusory powers that let him make things look a bit brighter/nicer/cheerier than they are.  It takes quite some time before he’s comfortable with using these powers.  Trauma is a bitch like that.

Part of the reason this version of Tim was so desperate to do something about Batman losing it out of grief is because he already has Evil Batman trauma from Other Batman, and he doesn’t need that shit happening in real Gotham.

By this point Tim has a collection of powers that allow him to navigate the more dangerous parts of Gotham largely without fear.  Now he has to learn how to manage without using any that he isn’t one hundred percent certain he can sneak past Batman, which means he’ll have to divide his attention between learning from the training and not letting himself do things the supernatural way.  This is going to suck.

It does, in fact, suck.

Oh, it turns out some of the rogues are a bit supernatural.  He gains a bit of an intuitive understanding of the health of plants from Ivy.  He gains the ability to taste emotions from Scarecrow.  (Also, Johnathan Crane is a freaking weirdo, fear tastes like spoiled milk!)  The rogues with supernatural tendencies are freaking terrified of the new Robin because he always seems like he wants to freaking eat them.  The non-supernatural types don’t get it.

Eventually, Red hood breaks into Titan’s tower.  Tim, by this point, is very good at deciphering how supernatural entities work and is packing an extensive inventory of powers.  He realizes quickly that this is some kind of manipulative entity that feeds on rage and pain attached to an unwitting host.  When he realizes that the unknowing (and therefore unconsenting) host is Jason Todd, he tells the Lazarus Entity in no uncertain terms to give Jason back or perish.

Jason, who does not realize he has a malicious, mind-warping, supernatural parasite and believes there to be no one other than himself and Tim present, is understandably confused.

Tim decides that the Lazarus entity has had its chance and springs into action.

Jason is treated to the terrifying sight of just what Tim Drake is like when he’s not expending conscious effort on not being something out of a horror movie.  Suddenly he’s in the middle of a spider’s web and no matter how hard he tries to fight back everything around him is under the control of his opponent.  Furniture flies around on puppet strings.  Getting too close puts him in range of the freaking claws this kid apparently has!?  Trying to get away just leaves him caught in strings and the more he struggles the more entangled he becomes!  The new Robin is skittering and gliding around in a decidedly inhuman way. 

Jason honestly thinks he's going to die when he finds himself bound with Tim standing over him.  He passes out when Tim rips the Lazarus entity away from him and destroys it. 

Tim gains the ability to heal from defeating the Lazarus entity.

Jason is surprised and confused when he wakes up bundled in a handmade quilt with his head in Tim’s lap and a cool compress on his forehead, feeling sore but more well and whole than he has since before he died.

Jason later decides that his memories of the fight at Titans Tower must be some kind of weird fever dream caused by his body purging the last of the Lazarus Water from his system. It goes along with Tim's account of things.

According to Tim, Jason entered the tower, initiated a lock-down, and then collapsed on the floor. Then, Tim moved him closer to a wall where he was less likely to get stepped on than in the middle of the walkway and did his best to take care of him there because Jason was simply too large and heavy for him to carry all the way to the med bay by himself.

This is far more believable and less of a mind screw than what Jason remembers. Obviously this tiny, baby-faced kiddo who played nursemaid for a stranger who broke into the tower and now looks up at him with wide, starry eyes couldn't actually be the terrifying, predatory creature from the nightmare. It was all just a bad dream.

He's honestly glad he collapsed before he had time to do any harm. The poor kid will never have to know what Jason went there to do. Jason knows, though, and he'll do his damned best to make up for it. He may have flubbed first impressions, but he is going to be the best damn big brother that ever big brothered.

...

Tim might or might not go full on feral cryptid when Bruce is lost in the Timestream. I haven't decided. He will probably pick a fight with the Lazarus Pit much to the confusion and alarm of everyone around.

That’s all I’ve got so far.

Something I will forever be lokey kinda pissed about is the fact that Joker Jr was, and will not be, canon. It is one of the best storylines and plots out there, and it was made for a singular movie.

Just think of all the plot it could bring, all the trauma. It would also bring Tim some type of recognition because when you ask a person about all the Robins, they have something to say about all of them: Dick was the first and he's Nightwing, Jason died and now he's a crime boss, Damian is the biological child and was an assassin. But when you ask about Tim, all they can really say is that he's the smart one.

People only really begin seeing Tim as a good Robin once they read Young Justice or Red Robin. Which is why Joker Jr. would have been one of the best paths they could have gone down for him because instead of him being known as the smart one, he would have been known as the one that survived.

And think about how it would further his plot and character relationships. His and Bruce's relationship would be even more torn, enhancing just how out of place Tim feels and how differently Bruce treats him. Jason and Tim's relationship would be enhanced over the trauma bonding, and it would also even help with Jason's arc after he finds out yet another Robin was hurt. Him and Damian would get an understanding of each other because both of them are trying to escape a sour past.

Joker Jr. should have been canon for Tim because it would have furthered so many aspects of both him and his family, and the only reason why it's not is because DC are cowards and apparently can't appreciate a good plot.

I am forever sad because of this.

Two Lives, One Secret: Tim Drake or... Danny Fenton?

Tim Drake isn’t just the son of the Drakes. He’s also Danny Fenton from Amity Park. By day, he was Danny—the son of Jack and Maddie Fenton, with an older sister, Jazz. But thanks to an odd arrangement with the Drakes, he also had a separate life in Gotham. Whenever the Drakes needed a perfect son for galas or appearances, Danny would take on the role of “Tim.” It was a weird double life, but it worked.

Danny spent most of his time in Amity Park, fascinated by Gotham from afar. He kept track of the Bats through hacked city cameras, news reports, and anything else he could find, his obsession growing with every glimpse into Gotham's vigilante world. He wasn’t meant to be part of it, though. Until one day, everything changed.

Danny Fenton died.

Becoming a halfa—a ghost-human hybrid—meant he couldn’t stay in Amity Park anymore. Not with ghost-hunting parents who'd never understand. So, Danny ran. And where else to go but Gotham? The Drakes were more than happy to take him in full-time, because they simply never noticed the ghost that now lived in their house.

In Gotham, he truly became Tim Drake. And eventually, he caught the eye of Batman, and became the third Robin. The ghost powers came in handy—turning invisible, phasing through walls, avoiding danger—but it also became his biggest secret. No one, especially Bruce, could ever know the truth.

Now, Tim lives two lives—one as a Gotham hero with a ghostly past, and the other as the son who’s hiding from his real family. And with every patrol, every moment in Gotham’s shadows, he’s haunted by the truth. Because if anyone found out, it could destroy everything.

This is great

Bart: *casually traps a fifth dimensional imp for eternity by quantum entangling him inside of an atom*

The Team:

Tim realizing the best ways to hide your secret identity is to either be in love with them or to hate them, and since he already has a crush on an actual person he decides to go the hating Robin route

He can’t go about like Bruce does, him and Batman having a weird exes that weren’t ever dating thing, and he can’t do Clark’s I-disagree-with-Superman’s-methods thing because he has to be original and he refuses to go the easy route of having an actual excuse to avoid his secret identity

What Tim decides on is this:

They have beef. The beef will not be explained but there will be twitter wars. When asked they will only respond with “they know what they did”. They are fighting in a Denny’s parking lot. Bets are placed. There is video evidence. Surprisingly Tim wins. This is not explained. It becomes a running meme in Gotham.

Young Justice finds out- they don’t know Robin’s identity- they make fun of him. He kicks their asses in training. They are left questioning if Tim Drake could kick their asses. They belive Tim Drake is an upcoming Rouge. They do not know why Robin has been laughing his head off for the last ten minutes. Then they see a video of Tim face planting while skateboarding. They are no longer concerned. Robin is still laughing. They realize that Robin just really hates Tim and the hatred seems requited. They make their own memes.

Jason comes back to life. He sees the memes. He is confused. If Bruce is Batman, and Tim Drake, Bruce’s son (??? He has parents?), is not Robin, then who is? And does this mean that Bruce did not replace him?

Bruce has no clue this is happening.

Tim is having the time of his life.

J’onn is questioning how he got blackmailed by a 15 year old. (He thinks it’s hilarious)

can we talk about that one cutscene where diluc kills an abyss mage about to attack kaeya. like, this man really just shows up completely out of the blue, wasnt even with us on this quest had no reason to know exactly where kaeya is, absolutely fucking MURDERS this abyss mage meanwhile kaeya standing casually completely unscathed next to the GIANT PLUME OF FLAME DILUC CAME IN WITH. and then diluc has the audacity to say "ugh the knights are so inefficient😒" like thats what this is about and he didnt just run halfway across mondstat cuz his big brother instincts were acting up

6 and 8 for the fic writer ask? hope you’re having a nice day!

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

Oh so so many. To name a few ooff the top of my head: journey to the past by aloneintherain, Billy Batson and the Troubles of Work-Life Balance by rockerrema13, A Difference of Perspective by town_without_heart, Complicated Creation by Elemental, Reichenbach series by athena_crikey, Another Brother by avocadolove, Our capacity for love increases with each person we cross paths with by Iriascend, Masks/Plunge by Cordria, While Mighty Oaks Do Fall by WitchofEndor and my one FF only fic that hasn't updated in a decade but I'll love until I die, Fallout by the SIlversage

(omg this is so much i just went through my bookmarks and picked fics I know I've read at least 15 times)

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

A long Lockwood and co fic, it's called A Fools' Journey and uses tarot major arcana to explore the agency with a ghostly extra member. It's consuming all my creative energy rn.

This looks awesome I love how the light works

August Character Illustration Poll on my Patreon picked Zuko from all the ATLA boys bUT……..I had to add jet,,,

consider….jet alive and a part of team avatar in book 3….

My pet theory is that Tim Drake is just a tiny bit meta.

Not “meta” as in “metahuman” (though he could also be that), but “meta” as in “genre-aware,” though not on a conscious level. Specifically, I think he’s subconsciously aware of changes to the timeline or his personal timeline and/or ever-so-slightly resistant to the effect said changes might have on him.

This isn’t a new thing either. Even before DC started resetting their universe every three years he had moments of this based on the minor alterations and adjustments they’d made since Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Like, after Zero Hour, it was decided that Batman and Robin were considered “urban legends” who actively worked to conceal knowledge of their existence outside of Gotham; yet Tim’s backstory, which hinged on seeing video footage of the two on a news broadcast, remained unchanged. And yeah, from the Doylist side that’s probably just a case of the editors not thinking their premise through quite enough, but on the Watsonian flipside you could say that he’s remembering a moment from the previous timeline, and no one else notice because he’s the only one it mattered to.

Plus, he remembered Jubilee after “Marvel vs. DC,” even though most people had those memories “fade away” – even Jubilee only remembered him because she kept a diary during the event. But Tim knew her on sight.

And let’s not forget that moment at the edge of the Lazerus pit when he raged at Dick about how they live in a world where death doesn’t really mean anything so why shouldn’t he speed up the process for his loved ones. He even pointed out that his father, as a non-hero, had zero chance of coming back.

Then of course, you have the fact that he’s the only one who realized Bruce was still alive, just from seeing a picture that lots of others saw but not one made the connection.

Not to mention his not-all-there future self from the Titans Tomorrow world, remembering the way things “should” be even as the timelines shift around him. And his time imprisoned hypertime. And now mainline Tim has a name he shouldn’t know – Connor – and leads to chase with Steph about timeline shenanigans. And who knows where that’ll lead.

(This is definitely where I’d take it though. And not just because it’d be an excuse for him to go looking for his friends from YJ. Maybe call the storyline “Fountain of Youth” to go with “The Grail.”)

Does anyone have any fic recs where the Justice League (and bats and co) find out about all the shit Young Justice got up to when they were younger? Like, I'm talking JL finds out about the pure, unhinged activities these mfers took part in (and some of them were in space !) and the JL is like "???? when did you guys go to SPACE? what do you mean SANTA'S DEAD????" and the core four are just there like "we had it handled lmao"

we as a society need to talk about Tim Drake getting SHOT THROUGH THE THROAT. I’M SORRY. HOW DID I JUST FIND OUT ABT THIS?

SOMEONE WRITE A FIC. SOMEONE GIVE ME FIC RECOMMENDATIONS. PLEASE TUMBLR. DO YOUR THING. I BEG OF YOU.

this post but it’s Tim and Danny

Tim came across a weird symbol during a case and he’s run into a dead end with it. He’s taken to doodling it as he thinks and one night it gets particularly bad and he’s probably drawn it like a hundred times as he mentally goes over all the details of whatever case he’s working and then BAM there’s a glowing green (Lazarus Pit green, oh shit) swirling vortex and someone, no, something, is crawling out of it and —

“Okay, enough! I’m here!! What the FUCK do you want?”

It’s a… teenager? With glowing green eyes and white hair and he’s… floating? and super hot What the fuck.

Tim: What the fuck.

Danny: No that’s my line. What the fuck. Do you want?

Tim: Uhhh —

Danny, looking around: Wait holy shit is this the Batcave!??

That realization was uncomfortable. Happy birthday! 🎊

Hey, if you're a minor and you're following my blog, I just need you to be aware:

You have been on this earth for fewer years than my cat has.

She turns 20 this week, everyone please say happy birthday 🥳💖

So here I am, feel free to ignore if I'm breaking any boundaries.

 Your story actually made me think of Tim’s process through the trauma and mainly how he processes most adult things. I do like soft, hurt, self-sacrificing Tim like any hot, red blooded fan, of course.

But let me argue that Tim Drake is not a child child, he has been his own responsible adult since he was six. He learned budgeting and bills and taxes and stranger danger and all the things adults eventually teach children from TV/the internet and he is not ashamed of it.

Kinda that when Jack and Janet left him alone with a housekeepr, he basically parentified himself.

So in comes the 12/13 year old who sees Batman tiptoeing the edge and goes: I can fix this dude so hard!

And yeah, Bruce is almost lost to his grief and barely conscious of the utter shitshow around him, “sure, whatever kid, be Robin, but train with other adults, I’m too broken hearted to adult right now. Oh, you learned from Alfred and Dick, great, Imma teach you and oh, you disappeared for a while, huh, you got even better, I wonder what you did, well whatever let’s go on patrol.”

And years pass, Bruce heals, he gets his family back, he gains allies and perspective.

And maybe one day he is high as a kite on some scarecrow or ivy drug or whatever, he beat the villain, he did the justice, weee~

And he realizes he is home and Tim’s tiny hand is pulling hin towards the bathroom and he is confused.

Tim, on the other hand, is so used to Bruce’s shit, that he simply taps him on the back of the knees to make him kneel by the toilet bowl and goes: “Okay, you feel up to puking on your own or should I make you?”

And Bruce is even more confused because his children usually weren’t like this, they were soft and depended on his stability, none of his children should see him this vulnerable.

And maybe he takes a little too long to reply because suddenly Tim is shoving two fingers down his throat while holding the back of his head and suddenly Bruce is vomiting and Tim pats his heaving back and makes sure none of it goes in his  hair while TSKING because “Really Bruce? Don’t be a baby, my hand can’t hurt that much, I’m like 13.”

And Bruce, for once, realizes he is not the parent in this relationship and he is not sure how it happened.

You can extrapolate Bruce Mommy/Daddy-issues Wayne would definitely fall for that scarily inteligent teen that has become his highly unimpressed new mommy if you like.

Or he simply tries (and fails) to parent this child who somehow doesn’t need him like Dick and Jason and Damian ever did and he is frightened that if Tim doesn’t need him he will leave.

Which is why Tim gets more benefits than Dick and Jason ever did at his age COMBINED.

A car? You got it.

A Ducatti? Red, black or both?

Your own team instead of integrating you to Dick’s? SURE THING!

It is quite telling that even if Dick is Bruce’s oldest adopted child and the one he is trusting the mission to, TIM is the one who is supposed to inherit the company and thus Batman’s biggest source of income and Bruce’s charity and social justice pet projects in case of Bruce’s death.

________________________________________________________________

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just read the comment you left on ‘here cometh the iceman’ and i cannot tell you how happy i was to be greeted by this in my inbox!!!!!!! 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍!!!!

i love your tim HC so much because it reallly does align with how he behaves so often! tim is a child who has, often, had to parent himself. in the comics it’s implied that the majority of his developmental years in school were spent in boarding schools where his only supervisors were teachers and the few adults whose job were to look out for them. but even then tim would’ve had to learn how to deal with a lot of things himself- he had to put himself to bed, decide what and how to regulate his diet, how to deal with interpersonal issues along with any tension that came with living with another kid his age. tim is essentially a young adult in a child’s body. and to contrast that is bruce. who arguably, while he is an adult, lacks a lot of the landmark developmental milestones that tim has already had (through no choice of his own). 

bruce has alfred as a kind of crutch so many of the “adult” things tim experienced were things he never learned or developed the skills for. hence why when they came together, tim who was the more responsible, mature, and developed “adult” took care of bruce. it’s such an upside down pineapple situation where bruce is the grown up but the child and tim is the child but the grown up. so tim caring for bruce like when he gets poisoned and needs to vomit, tim treats him like a child who has swallowed something he wasn’t supposed to. he falls into caring for bruce like it’s a routine and bruce is struck with the realization of what had been happening while his head was buried in the sand from his grief.

bruce has sooo many hangups about his parents and their deaths, his relationship with them has guided so much of his life and how he expresses (or doesn’t express) his love. alfred had cared for and loved him but always maintained him an arm’s length away perhaos out of respect for bruce and the relationship he had with his parents. but tim! tim treats him in that soft way his mother did, taking a rag and dabbing away the sweat from his brow when bruce starts sweating buckets after vomiting. so many things tim does for him reminds bruce so starkly of his mother and father and it kind of makes him uncomfortable but that feeling gets trampled by and is the reason he never puts a stop to it - he likes it. he likes being doted on and cared for, he like that tim feeds him warm broths, oatmeals, and chicken soup. he likes that tim presses featherlight kisses to his scrapes and cleaned wounds. with tim there’s no expectation of him to make the first move, be responsible, or be the parent. not like there was with jason or dick.

but there’s also the fact that bruce no longer offers something to tim. safety, protection, etc. the things you expect from a parent. tim doesn’t want them, in fact he’s the one who provides them because bruce startles awake from a bad dream and tim is already there to comfort him.

bruce attempting to become the parent in their dynamic similarly failing leaves him scrambling and leaves him scared about the fact that tim could leave him.

this fundamentally changing their dynamic is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its why tim gets more leeway than the others, why he’s treated differently and “allowed” so much independence. i think if jason and dick weren’t so preoccupied with their own lives and issues they might stop and be like “hey wtfff”.

tim and bruce’s relationship and dynamic is one of the most fascinating to me because the two of them are mirrors, foils, and almost caricatures of each other in some cases. the two of them share so much in common but are also fundamentally different people. if tim had been in bruce’s shoes from birth he would’ve likely followed the same path but been different. same with bruce. if he had been the little idealistic boy whose parents more or less neglected him, he would’ve followed the same path as tim had but been….different. the two of them are such good characters, their shared history and dynamic is fascinating and thank you so much for this really good deep dive into their character and relationship!!!!!!! it’s so good!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nest Swap 10

masterpost

The guy did turn out to be Jason, but he wasn’t in a very good mood with Tim. He basically didn’t talk at all. That was fair. Tim had hit him. He hung back and tried to not be annoying as Jason contacted the police, found the hostage, and talked to her in a low voice. When they heard sirens Jason grabbed Tim and took him out the door and onto his motorcycle. They went like, really fast.

The motorcycle was cool, but where it stopped was even better. Tim lifted his arms up obligingly so that Jason could pick him up by his armpits and set him down. Tim took a single step away before Jason shot his hand out lightning-fast and grabbed at Tim’s hand. He took his helmet off with one hand and dropped it onto a handle.

“Let’s stay together, Baby Bird.” Jason sounded exhausted. Tim was a little distracted from that, even though he really should have been more considerate of the adults in the area.

This was even cooler than his hideout. It was kinda gothic and damp and smelled a little funny. An apartment building couldn’t really compete with that.

“Wow,” Tim enthused. He tried to walk away to explore but Jason tugged him back by his hand. “I love it here. Can I live here?” He pointed up at the craggy ceiling, which really just looked like a natural cave with stalactites and all. “Maybe with the bats.” His tone tilted up into an optimistic question. The bats were neat. Were they local brown bats? That was fine, but he thought black bats would really fit Batman’s aesthetic more.

Jason let out a big sigh. “It’s not up to me,” he dodged the question. “Wanna press a button on the Bat computer?”

“Absolutely yes I do.” Tim chirped. Jason started towing him along again, uncaring or maybe even not noticing that Tim was craning in every direction to see the amazing sights. “Why’s it called a Bat Computer? Is it shaped like a bat? Hey, is Big Bird real?” he asked. “I’ve been concerned about that. I want to believe that he’s not real. But if he is, is he a predator? You have to tell me.”

“Big Bird is real and he is an omnivore,” Jason muttered. “Come on, why are you so wiggly?”

“An omnivore?” Tim echoed. He held Jason’s hand a little tighter. “What- does he eat kids? Because I think it’s highly suspicious that he spends all his time with little kids. Also, the kids change every season, and no one ever explains where they went.”

Jason stopped walking and stared at him directly as Tim outlined his troubling theory.

Tim waited.

“Yes,” Jason said. “That’s it exactly. Big Bird eats little boys. So stay close to me, okay?”

Tim clung to Jason’s whole arm in response. “Okay,” he said, as casually as he could manage. Internally he was screaming. Why would Batman hang out with Big Bird?

He felt… a little betrayed about it, actually. Batman didn’t kill people. He punched a lot of people like Dr. Ivy and Dr. Crane, but that wasn’t like eating kids!

‘How can they cooperate with Big Bird when Jason is investigating the sausage guy for doing the same thing?’ Tim thought, indignant. It was hypocritical. It was intolerable. It was a total abdication of his moral responsibility.

He was going to confront Batman about it. 

He started internally preparing his arguments. He went quiet enough that Jason got suspicious about it. Tim was sorry that he couldn’t spend more time comforting Jason, but he was busy.

“Hey, you wanted to use the computer, right?” Jason shook him lightly.

Tim shrugged and hunched over a little. 

“...It’s not that serious, kiddo,” Jason said, sounding kinda unsure. He was an awkward guy.

“I’m fine,” Tim said shortly. He just wanted Jason to let him think in peace. 

The older boy sighed and started hitting buttons. He picked up something. “Hey, Bats,” he drawled.

The sound of a horn honking suddenly rang out. 

“Little Wing?” said one of the people who had tried to break into Tim’s hideout. He buried his face in Jason’s side. Jason absently put a hand on his ribs and sort of patted. “Why are you in- you’re hailing from the Batcave?”

‘That was one of Batman’s associates? Why was Batman allowing a break in of my house?’ Tim felt his heart rate start to go up. Was he in trouble? The lady had said he was in trouble, but- but Oracle made him feel safe. He pressed himself a little closer into Jason and clung to his weird jacket.

“Red Hood.” 

Batman’s voice didn’t make Tim feel as safe as it usually did. This future or universe was weird and he didn’t like it. 

“Report,” Batman said, when no one responded to what he said. 

Jason’s torso moved. Tim extracted his face just enough to see that Jason had flipped off the computer. “You are so bad at bird keeping,” Jason drawled. “All of you. Absolutely horrendous. There’s a situation, and there’s been a situation for days.” He sounded extremely cranky about it. He sounded like customs had taken his bags from him and cancelled his connecting flight and left him stranded in a Peruvian airport overnight with only his wits, a neck pillow, and a few thousand dollars.

“I suspected,” said a… A child’s voice. Tim felt his brow crinkle. He looked up. That was a young voice. Like, irresponsibly young. What was Batman doing? “As I told you, Red Robin has been eaten by the lion that escaped from the Denver zoo. If I had only been allowed to find and rehabilitate it, we could have avoided-”

“Right bird, wrong problem,” Jason cut him off. That was a shame. Tim wanted to know more about the lion situation. “Get your big ass back here and parent, motherfucker.”

Tim giggled.

“What-” - “”Did you just-” - “Is that a-”

Jason turned off the computer and then unplugged it. “Assholes,” he said to no one, very smugly. “That’ll put a bee in their…” His voice trailed off. He was looking down at Tim.

“Where will it put a bee?” Tim asked, eyes as large as he could make them. He was just messing with Jason now. He knew that expression. It was ‘bonnet’. Like, an old lady hat. What he didn’t know was why Jason wanted to censor that.

“...In Big Bird’s beak,” Jason said weakly.

Tim considered this outright weird deflection. “A suspicious amount of things seem to connect to Big Bird.” He said it cautiously, trying to feel out Jason’s position on this.

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it,” Jason said vaguely. Tim gave him a disgusted expression and Jason had the audacity to laugh.

Of course he was worried about it. 

Something beeped.

“Hey Barbie,” Jason said to absolutely no one. He moved his legs further apart and sort of…posed.

Tim looked around. He didn’t see anyone.

‘Barbie as in Barbara Gordon??’ He looked a little harder for the person Jason had greeted. That was Batgirl. Batgirl was a known quantity.

“I think I know,” said Oracle. “Because I am the all-knowing eye and all of that.”

Jason made a rude sound. “If you knew, you would have locked the baby in a genius-proof jail so that he didn’t go try and feed himself to the Sausage Man.”

“He- what?” Oracle’s voice went flat. “I knew that he was de-aged, he didn’t want Dick to bother him and baby him while he looks like this. He did not go try to do field work while he looks 6 years old.” Her tone was extremely unimpressed.

“No, no,” Jason said. He made a theatrical hand gesture. It occurred to Tim that he was enjoying himself. “That’s definitely not what he did. He took his legitimately 9 year old body with accompanying 9 year old brain off to investigate a cannibal.”

“Tim.” Oracle sounded like she was in pain. “Do you know who I am?”

“From context, I think that you’re Batgirl,” Tim admitted shyly. He wished that Jason hadn’t stepped away. He had felt weirdly secure with his hands in Jason’s pockets. He did the same thing to his Dad and it always made him feel-

‘Oh no, that doesn’t bode well for my marriage,’ Tim realized. ‘I- I can’t be comparing him to my Dad.’ He put his hands in his own pockets, like the mature little man he was.

There was a very long silence that Tim kind of noticed while he was busy fretting. He realized it was probably his fault and he should fix it.

“Big fan,” Tim added meekly. It was true.

Oracle said a bad word.

“Comm is on speaker,” Jason said cheerfully. “Little guy is hearing you loud and clear, with his 9 year old ears..”

She repeated the bad word, louder this time. “I already messaged Zatanna, but I’m going to go set off the fire alarm in her hotel right now so she sees it.”

“You do that,” Jason agreed. He had a nice smile, even though he was clearly enjoying other people feeling flustered. Tim suddenly remembered that he kind of genuinely wanted to date Jason and felt his face turn red.

After they finished talking to Batgirl Oracle, Jason and Tim spent some time looking at Batman’s crime scene photography. 

“What do you think happened here?” Jason said, shifting in the chair. 

“I think this is the aftermath of human trafficking,” Tim decided.

Jason clicked to the next photo. “What’s this?”

Tim squinted at it. In the distance, an engine came into earshot and approached rapidly. Tim hummed and kicked his heels. “I think that this is a much better photo,” he said. He distantly recognized that there were two separate engines. “That’s my first impression. Look at the composition.” Tim frowned. “Hey, stop laughing! The lighting is-”

A door opened and then slammed shut.

“Big Bird’s home,” Jason said gleefully. He stood up and grabbed Tim under the armpits. He turned Tim around and then hoisted him in the air. He dangled. It was an undignified experience that he didn’t have the ability to process it immediately.

For a single disorienting moment, Tim tracked the glint of light off the Batmobile and off a motorcycle. A guy was on the motorcycle. The door was opening on the passenger side of the Batmobile. That had to be Big Bird. Tim was dangling in the air helpless, presented for Big Bird’s approval.

‘He’s feeding me to Big Bird,’ Tim realized. 

He screamed. He kicked wildly midair and his heels connected with Jason’s chest.

“What the f-”

“He’s little!” said the man who tried to break into Tim’s hideout. He seemed delighted by this turn of events. What, was Tim smaller than the usual bird chow?

He screamed again, high and sharp. Tim contorted to kick Jason in the face. Jason let him go by accident and then Tim was falling to the ground shoulder-first, he wasn’t going to be able to run away-

The scary apartment intruder caught him. “Tim?” He was baffled. “What’s wrong-”

Tim screamed again and tried to squirm away. He couldn’t escape. 

“Fuck,” Jason said, voice muffled through his elbow. “Fuck!” There was blood coming from his nose.

“This is typical,” said the child from earlier. Tim tried to see the speaker.

A Robin was standing there, arms crossed and unimpressed. 

Oh.

That was who got out of the passenger door. Tim calmed down and squirmed so that he could see Robin better. “What were you saying about a lion?” he asked. “Do you have a good place to keep one? Where would you put it? Have you had a lion before?”

“I have had tigers,” said Robin. “So you agree that it would be better-”

“Robin, no,” interrupted Batman. He was- Okay, Tim already knew that he was big. But he was truly huge up close.

The bad guy relaxed his grip. “Are you gonna break my nose if I let you go?” he asked Tim. He kind of laughed as he said it. 

Tim paused. He felt a little bad. “As long as there’s not really Big Bird here,” he reluctantly promised.

“...What?” said the bad man.

Jason started laughing hysterically. “That’s why-” He made a horrible groan and kind of lilted forward. “Fuck…”

The bad man let Tim go. Tim scrambled away and gave him a cautious head nod. Maybe he wasn’t that bad, even though he was an intruder.

“Why did you try to break into my hideout?” he asked. He did his level best to look intimidating. They didn’t know he was that scared. He’d managed to hurt Jason, after all, and Jason was even bigger than this guy.

Robin let out an irritated fricative. “Everyone here is a fool.” His announcement was so confident that Tim looked to him for elaboration. “Todd was bullying you by referring to Richard as ‘Big Bird.’ It is an asinine nickname. As I have said before, it only introduces unnecessary confusion and distress.” He was… kind of unpleasantly smug, Tim decided. But he wasn’t wrong.

“You’re not wrong,” Tim said. It was good manners to repeat your nice thoughts out loud. “So…” his voice trailed off and got small as he realized just how silly he looked. He’d had a total false alarm. “There’s no… the yellow Big Bird that eats children isn’t here?” His voice got really small by the end.

There was a moment of perfect silence.

“You told him that I eat children?” Richard- oh!!! Robin!!! That was the real Robin!!!!- kind of shouted at Jason. He was really mad. Wow! Tim beamed at him, fear forgotten. Holy cow, Robin!! Well, big Robin- oh, the nickname made more sense now!

Jason flipped Richard off.  He sort of snarled. “Serves you right, you walking sphincter-”

“Boys, please.” Batman took off his cowl. It was Bruceman Waynebat alright, but–

“You’re really old,” Tim said, too surprised to keep that inside thought where it belonged.

Batman looked exhausted.

“That is correct,” Robin agreed. “Father, I will escort Timothy-”

“No!” said all three of the adults at the same time.

That… That made Tim feel a little suspicious of Robin. He edged away the slightest bit.

Robin crossed his arms again. “Egregious,” he muttered to himself, and then turned on his heel with a flutter of his cape. He left the room without further comment.

Tim felt a little bad. “Bye!” he called. Robin did not slow down or respond at all. Tim wilted a little bit. It kind of felt like nobody liked him here. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Everyone looked at him. “Why are you sorry?” asked Richard.

Oh. Tim shrunk back. He didn’t know what the right answer was. What did they want? “Because I hit Jason with Mrs. Henderson’s mace?” he guessed meekly.

“He sprayed you with mace?” Richard seemed delighted.

Tim shook his head wildly, sending hair flying. “No!” He was distressed. “That would be mean!”

“Stop helping,” Jason muttered, but it was too late to stop saying,

“She has a Gothic mace,” Tim reported. “It weighs about 2 kilograms and I think it was from Western Europe. I don’t know if she legally owns it. It may be a replica but now that I think about it, it could be real and that would be neat.”

Richard made a sound like air escaping a balloon.

“Shut up!” Jason said. Then he looked at Tim. “Mrs. Henderson- why did you know that?” His voice was higher. “Was that your first time at Orange’s house?”

“He was WHERE,” Richard said, at the same time that Batman demanded, “Report!”

Everyone ignored Batman.

“No.” Tim shrunk back a bit. “I went there yesterday, too. Mrs. Henderson gave me hot chocolate and told me about child labor.”

Jason put his face in his hands again. His nose blood was trailing down his neck now. 

“I didn’t go into Mr. Orange’s house yesterday,” Tim admitted in the interest of fairness. “His windows were all closed. But I did talk to him a little.”

Richard made another teapot sound and picked Tim up. 

The big computer turned itself on. A pretty woman was-

“Batgirl!” Tim said, and waved enthusiastically at her. 

She lifted a hand back and stared at him. She had dark undereye circles, but she was still really pretty. “Zatanna should be there in a couple of minutes, so no one shoot her.”

Jason flipped Batgirl off as well and sort of sulked.

“Tim, I’m sorry that I missed your condition,” Batgirl said. “I would have offered you more support.”

“It’s okay,” Tim reassured her. “I had a good time. Tam gave me lots of fun stuff to do. And Jason was really nice to me.”

Everyone looked at Jason.

“Oh?” Batgirl said.

“I was not,” Jason said, sounding harassed. 

“Of course he was,” Tim said, kind of confused by the way they were acting. “Doesn’t he have to be?” He waited a moment. “He’s my boyfriend, right?”

Jason choked. Richard let out a loud “HA!” Batman made a sound that Tim had never heard before from a human and didn’t know how to classify. Kind of a ‘yack!” with lots of phlegm involved.

Oh, no. Tim laid out his evidence hastily. “He called me Baby,” Tim listed. 

“Baby Bird,” Jason corrected desperately.

“That’s not any better,” Richard said. He had a horrible weird grin that stretched too wide across his face. “It's certainly a pet name.”

“Die-”

Tim continued over their commentary, counting on his fingers. “He brought me soup!” He stressed it. “With dumplings in it- real dumplings!” That was important evidence. No one had made him real dumplings before that!

“I said that meant nothing!” Jason snapped.

“And my email signature says Tim Drake-Wayne,” Tim continued. “Bruce and Richard are really really old, so I couldn’t have married either one of them,” he said, practically. It was unthinkable.

Batgirl made a snort-laugh. “Good theory,” she said, catlike grin firmly in place. Richard was silent at that part.

“I’m gathering from context that I was wrong,” Tim admitted. He crossed his arms. “But I had good reason for the theory.” He felt a bit sullen about it. He didn’t deserve to get laughed at. 

“Tim.” Batman knelt in front of him and used his soft ‘I love you voice.’

Oh.

“I adopted you,” he said. He made serious eye contact.

Tim stared back. “Did you marry my mom?” he asked, heartbroken. “Wait- my Dad? Did you marry my Dad?!” He hit Batman in the chest, suddenly hysterical. “I hate you! You broke up my parents’ marriage?! Why would you seduce them?” He felt betrayed.

Batman caught his hands and hefted him up. “No, no, sweetheart,” he soothed. Everyone else was very quiet.

That was worse than Batman breaking up his parents’ marriage.

It had been a long week. That was Tim’s justification for bursting into tears if anyone asked him. He had been desperately avoiding thinking about the years-old postcard on the fridge and the fact that Mom hadn't video called him even once in the week he had been stranded here.

Batman bounced him and made shushing noises, his big warm hand moving up and down Tim’s back. 

“I wanna go hoooome,” Tim howled. He pressed his full body into Batman and clung with all his might. “I wanna go home, I want my mom!” He wailed.

“Oh, buddy,” Bruce said sadly. His breath hitched. “I know. I know, sweetheart.”

“Is it a bad time?”

Tim lifted his face. Through blurry tears he saw a new lady was there. “Where are your pants?” he sniffled.

“Yeah, Zatanna,” Jason said sweetly. “Where are your pants?”

She gave him a withering look. “This is Red Robin as a chick, then?” She pursed her lips at him. “Cute kid. You wanna go home?” She made a gesture for Batman to put him down.

Bruce hesitated. Tim smacked at his chest. “Yes,” he said. Bruce sort of sighed and let Tim down to the ground again.

“Let me get a good look at you.” She knelt to his level and muttered something with an offhand sort of gesture that she didn’t seem to do on purpose. Tim kept his back straight. “Alright, this is a quick fix. Wanna say goodbye?”

“Goodbye, little Timmy,” Richard said quickly. He sort of sniffled. Batgirl quickly echoed him. Batman sort of squeezed his shoulder and forced out a gruff goodbye.

Tim looked at Jason. Everyone else did, too. 

“Aren’t you going to say anything to your boyfriend?” Richard stage-whispered. Zatanna made a weird face.

Jason looked like he’d tasted something terrible. Tim shrunk back. “It’s okay,” he said in a small voice. “He doesn’t have to-”

“There goes my reputation,” Jason muttered, and came over to give Tim a hug. “Goodbye, baby bird. You did a really good job and we are all proud of you. Go home and give your Mom a hug for me, okay?”

“Softie,” Richard hissed. Tim didn’t care.

“I love you too,” Tim said, because that was the kind of thing adults meant when they said they were proud of you. “Okay, Miss Katana. I’m ready to go.”

“Zatanna,” she said. “Sa uoy erew eforeb!”

He sort of blacked out for a second.

Then Tim was 19 years old, 5 foot 6 inches tall, and standing in the Batcave surrounded by people who would make fun of him mercilessly for thinking Jason was his husband if he did not immediately deflect and make him the target of mockery instead. He was very lucky that he’d been dressed in his own clothes when he’d transformed. At least he looked normal. 

Bruce opened his mouth to ask a question. 

Tim cut him off. “You’re a big softie,” he immediately accused Jason. “Those dumplings were homemade. You checked in on me so many times. Can’t believe you accuse Dick of mothering us.” He made a shitty grin.

Jason reared back, affronted. Dick made a vindicated sound, apparently recovered from the psychic damage of being put in the same category of ‘too old’ as Bruce. Tim mentally lowered the risk level of Dick starting a teasing campaign against him in retaliation.

“Haha, you love me,” Tim taunted Jason, dangerously close to be playing this kind of game and too reckless to care. He wasn’t going down for this mess. “L!” He put his thumb and forefinger up to make an L on his forehead. “Loser!”

“Listen, you little shit,” Jason started. He balled up a fist and took a step forward.

Bruce cut him off. “Jason, it’s not embarrassing to love your little brother. Thank you for being so mindful of his health and checking in on his welfare. I’m very proud of you.”

Jason made a sound like a cat throwing up.

“Yeah, I’m going to go,” Zatanna said flatly. She nodded to Tim. “If anything seems wrong, just text me. Oracle, don’t contact me.”

“Love you too,” Barbara said cheerfully. 

Zatanna gave her a withering look and portalled away.

Tim ducked away and ran upstairs before Jason could lunge at him. Behind him he heard a scuffle start up. “Little Wing, you need to get checked out,” Dick said sweetly. Glass broke. “Alfred! Jason needs caretaking!”

“No, I need to kick Tim’s ass!” Jason howled. Tim made it to the stairs and started taking them two at a time.

He passed Alfred going the other way. “Master Tim,” Alfred said, forcing him to stop fleeing. Jason wouldn’t get him with Alfred right there anyway. Alfred was home base for these games. “Are you staying for the night?”

Tim opened his mouth to say ‘No’ because really, he didn’t need to be here when he was an adult who had his own place. Then he thought about how he’d felt alone in his apartment for the last week, longing for human connections and so hungry for approval that he’d gratefully accepted whatever task a friendly stranger suggested to him. 

“Yeah, I’ll stay for the weekend,” Tim said, and ambushed Alfred with a hug. Alfred went stiff, but wrapped an arm around his back a moment later. “Love you.” He broke away and started running up the stairs again. He barely heard the answering sentiment.

It was good to be home.

…He kind of wanted soup.

Danny's Nest

Tim gets sacrificed in a ritual to summon "the ALL powerful conqueror, Phantom". And by sacrificed, I mean Tim really dies and Danny is forced into his body forcefully.

There's no coming back from that. Not even after the cultists are stopped.

Danny's Nest

Tim gets sacrificed in a ritual to summon "the ALL powerful conqueror, Phantom". And by sacrificed, I mean Tim really dies and Danny is forced into his body forcefully.

There's no coming back from that. Not even after the cultists are stopped.

DC X DP fic idea: Phantom's number 1 fan

Danny is used to his classmates cheering for him. Well, he's used to them cheering on his ghost side, but it's the same thing.

He's a small time celebrity in the eyes of Amity Park youth. Almost everyone as Casper High adores Phantom- even the A-listers.

Ironically enough, the A-listers are some of the few who claim to be in love with Phantom. Even Dash, after the quarter back publicly came out.

Almost all of them still pick on Danny, even now as seniors. He never quite fit in even after all these years. Still pushed into lockers, mocked by classmates and deemed the number one loser again and again.

He stopped trying to fit in years ago when he became a halfa and focused on being a hero. He's gotten better now, as ghosts are less likely to challenge him. Apparently, being able to beat Pariah Dark in single combat spooked many spirits.

He instead focuses on worldwide natural disasters. With the new power to create portals to the Ghost zone as a shortcut to any part of the world, he could jump to emergencies as simplyas walking through a door.

He took some field medic lessons from Frost Bite and was on his way.

He started with search and rescue during a Tsunami. Then earthquakes, tornadoes, and even lightning storms. His parents knew and were proud of him every time Phantom appear on TV. His friends encouraged him to pressure a medical career. Danny was seriously considering it.

No one besides those he loved knew he and Phantom were one in the same.

Life was good.

That is until one stormy night when Tim Drake came knocking. The other 17-year-old stood on his porch drenched to his socks, clutching a really well taken photot of Phantom and a manic glint in his eye.

"Can I have your autograph, Danny? Im your number one fan!"

Before Danny could even think of a response, Drake tilted forward, smacking face first on the ground.

If you were to ask Tim what was he thinking ge would say " I wasn't"

See, Tim had been one of the first Phantom rescued from the giant Tsunami that Riddler had unleashed on Gotham all those years ago. His heart had been the ghost ever since. And much like all other puzzles and mysteries, it didn't take Tim long to connect Phantom and Fenton.

Seeing as Danny Fenton wanted nothing to do with the Justice League or to join any other hero team he left him alone, admiring him from afar.

Then the mission Ra al Gul happened.

He had been running on fumes, and in Tim's sleep-deprived mind, the thought of stopping in Amity Park on the way back from a mission to ask for his long-time hero and crushes autograph was the perfect idea.

So he landed the batplane, switched in civilians and knocked on the door with his heart in his hand. And the three stab wounds on his back, his broken rib and black eye.

Thankfully Danny was willing to drag him inside for medical aid.

A DC X DP IDEA #8 A Pair

Imagine dis…

It is always Damian having a secret twin, a presumed dead twin, or even a lost twin. But what about Tim Drake having a twin?

Tim Drake always asked himself why would his parents willingly avoid and neglect him by taking trips around the globe and being left alone frequently. When Jack Drake woke up briefly from his coma, Tim asked the man who would have been his father why would they neglect him, is it he is a mistake? Or it is something else.

Jack Drake looked at the painful eyes of his son and knowing that he doesn’t have much time, told him the truth. 

The Drake family used to be between being rich and being in the middle class in Gotham. Both he and Janet were excited about the baby seeing that they were told that it would be twins. They got married early and when they went to the doctor to ask some questions about their planned pregnancy the doctor quickly shut down the idea as Janet’s tests revealed that she has severe infertility issues that make her chances of having kids near to zero. But that didn’t stop the two, after years of trying for a child, their prayers and efforts were answered a much more surprising is that they were having twins. They were excited about being careful and protective of them just when they were inside Janet’s womb, then the day of their birth came. They were happy and content as well feeling relief that both babies and mother survived the labor, two healthy boys greeted them loud and healthy. What they didn’t know there was someone lurking and waiting from the shadows. A longtime rival of the couple heard about their struggles in bearing children as well as the new addition, and as an act of revenge, he hired someone to take their child. What he didn’t know was that Ms. Drake gave birth to twins not a single child so when the hired kidnapper saw the last name of his target in the nursery, he didn’t even bother to look at the neighboring crib that contains the other child. Quickly snatching up the child and smuggling the newborn out of the hospital to be abandoned later in the middle somewhere in between the wildlife around him, to be left to die due to starvation or by wild animals.

Both of the new parents were devastated at the loss of their youngest, they tracked and put the man behind bars of the one who was responsible but when the Gotham police tried to interrogate him on what he had done to the newborn he just laughed manically and answered no question. They can’t even track down the supposed hired kidnapper. Seeing that they cannot stay any longer as they have another child to take care of. In the early years of Tim’s life, he was loved and cared for but the moment he started growing to an age where he can remember things both parents acted cold. As to one maybe if those around them saw how they acted maybe they would not even think or do a thing into harming him seeing that the company is growing by the time more rivals and enemies that might befall them but the fact that their remaining son will be safe they will do anything. Everyone in Gotham is corrupt in some way and they could not trust any hired security for him as rogues are running rampant and might not be enough for Tim.

It might be an F-ed up way, Jack confessed. But at the time they could not think straight as they didn’t have time to mourn for their other child and the fact that the remaining child they have was in constant danger just by having a growing company’s name as his last name.

Tim was shocked, he had prepared himself for any hurtful words to be thrown at him but the fact that he has a brother that was snatched away just hours after they were born was.

As Tim continue his silence Jack looked around at the hospital room he was in and immediately located his clothes and belonging that was folded up neatly in a corner, Jack forced himself to walk towards the pile of belongings to look for something.

Tim tried to help Jack but he turned around holding a tin that was meant to hold cigars, a tin that Tim noticed that his father Jack always carried with him. Jack opened the tin and inside lays a single picture of the twins. In the picture, both parents who are both tired and exhausted look at the camera with warm smiles that Tim barely remembers, are holding a single child each around their arms, with only blankets of ocean blue and sky blue separating the two babies. Tim remembered the ocean blue blanket tucked safely in the Drake mansion’s attic. 

….

It has been a few years since Timothy Drake learned about his twin, He began keeping an eye out, from one state to another country for any sign or lead to his twin for him to have a proper burial. 

No one in the Bat-family knew his conversation with Jack that day nor that he now has the tin that contains the single photo of the Drake family all in all looking happy. At first, he just made an initial background of the investigation that had taken place but seeing the happy faces of the Wayne family made him envious of the bond they have including Damian.

Now that learning of his supposed twin, he kept looking at his reflection. Would his supposed twin have the same interest as him? If he was here would they be polar opposites? Would they have clashing personalities or would they get along? These are the questions that kept swimming in his head ever since he noticed the Waynes.

Don’t get him wrong he was grateful to Bruce, as he made Tim realize his parents Jack and Janet are supposed to neglect him, looking at the present he just transferred from one form of neglect to another.

What he had done in his past life he may never know as all he ever wanted in life is to be loved and appreciated. To be acknowledged through his hard work, not chalking it up to him being a genius, it seems they have forgotten that hard work has always beaten a genius.

He may now have a family but Tim doesn’t know if they are better or worse than where he was before.

An instance Jason had tried to kill him multiple times not once he received an apology. He gets it. Being replaced by the man you once call father is painful but he tried multiple times to explain that he literally blackmailed Bruce for him to be Robin as Batman is getting more violent each passing day after his death and sooner or later he would have killed someone, and that is something Bruce would carry around like a boulder due to his guilt. He admired Robin; he was under the impression that he could never live the expectations of being Robin. He was just merely filling up the space when Batman found an official Robin. He could never replace Jason, at least Jason was picked and wanted by Bruce while Batman has no choice when it comes to Tim.

Dick tried to treat him like brothers would, but Tim always saw through his façade, Tim saw how Dick kept him at arm’s length. He gets it he was replacing his brother whom he knew and grow up with, but the fact he kept getting hurt by the fact, he lies to himself every night.

The way he gathers information they all assumed that to his insomnia, as well the way they come to him not to say hello or a hi but they needed something from him that needed his area of expertise. 

Just like his biological father and mother who has the F-cked up way to cope and mourn their loss, it seems he has also inherited that particular bad habit to cope. Knowing that they go to him if they need information he began researching and investigating each crime, each suspicion as well as each piece of information, so that they go to him, just HIM for help. 

If it weren’t for Alfred, he would have succumbed to hunger due to his research.

When Damian entered his life, he was more than happy to have a brother to care for. 

Much to his horror, his new brother despise his very being and tried to kill him multiple times.

When Bruce was lost in the time stream nobody in their family knew how to manage a multi-billionaire company aside from Alfred, but due to his age as well he was left with no choice. 

Dick was left to fill in the shoes of Batman and offered Damian as Robin.

Which hurt.

He has grown to his role as Robin, he created his own legacy on the title.

Dick started to be a partner to Batman as well creating a legacy. Known for his acrobatics as well as being the first one.

Jason became the second Robin, a Robin who was known for his recklessness, strength, and brashness.

Tim earned the acknowledgment of Ra Al Ghul aka the Demon’s Head, who is the greatest detective second to none other than Batman himself. Who had been trained by Lady Shiva herself? Who mastered a variety of weapons to a certain degree as well as being able to use them to their full potential?

The role of Robin was ripped away from him without a second thought from Dick.

Still, he made it through, creating another vigilante persona as well as managing the company so that they have a continuous supply of funds.

When he managed to get evidence that their father figure lived, he was ignored and forgotten. When he only, managed to save Bruce from the Time stream, not a single Thank you had come out of their mouths nor did an apology for ignoring him.

He continued this lifestyle, the continuous attempt of his life at those he likes to see as brothers to his life. Every time he defended himself, HE was the one scolded by either Bruce or Dick, they kept telling him to be the bigger man to be better. The amount of verbal abuse, calling him Inferior by Damián and Replacement by Jason added to the fact that Dick or Bruce never seemed to see no wrong with the two.

Unappreciated and unloved is he, he still considers them as his family someone he can call to have his back but after a night it all went downhill.

Another night another dinner, at the table he was being made fun of by both Jason and Damian, Bruce kept saying nothing as well as Dick. Other people namely Stephanie, Barbara, Cass, and Duke kept sending him worried glances as Alfred is glaring slightly at Bruce. An off-handed comment from Damian, as well as Jason about his birth father, made him snap.

He yelled at them.

His feelings, his anger, his resentment, his sadness, his stress.

How could this family sit idly at his treatment?

After yelling and having a breakdown in front of the table he quickly rushed towards his room and prepared to run.

Gathering his things as well erasing his very identity in the Bat computer as well erasing his tracks, he escaped at the night.

Using a car that he had stashed away he began to leave Gotham as he thinks it is time for him to start a new one.

As Tim was crossing the border, he was ambushed by the same man who had kidnapped his brother. He had escaped and once he was released, he was left with nothing, his wife and child gone from his former home. He decided to blame the late Drake for his misfortunes but the moment he learned about their demise his revenge went to the remaining Drake.

Tim knew he was better than this, crashing a car due to someone having spooked him was nothing but a rookie mistake. But the moment he laid eyes on the same man who took away his brother now inching to him with a knife in his hand his thoughts were not about Bruce and the others looking and finding him in a car crash but thoughts about his brother finally meeting him.

Lady Gotham heard his final moments before he was stabbed and had his throat slit. She wailed and mourned at her favorite knight, who used his inheritance for the betterment of the Gotham citizens who uses his skills to protect whom she favored by wrapping her shadows around him to give him a sense of comfort and to better hide him at the dangers of the night. Seeing that he never crossed the border she dared to summon her king to aid her knight.

…

Danny is enjoying his life he was accepted by his parents as Phantom, he had adopted Ellie as his daughter, and his sister is now able to go to college without the fear of him being rejected by their parents. His friends are going strong by each day, the ghost is now much more cooperative with the Amity citizens to fulfill their obsessions. Fruit loop had also changed into a new leaf and now tries to be a better godfather and father to Jazz, Danny, and Ellie. Dan had earned his parole and was now able to roam free as long there is someone to look at him.

But life is not all full of rainbows and unicorns.

GIW is now snatching up the locals’ Amity Parkers as they are considered part of the Anti-Ecto entities as they have been contaminated in some way or another.

He is now King of the Infinite Realms as he had defeated the previous one in combat.

Seeing the aggressiveness of the GIW he transported the entire Amity Park to the Realms to protect ad create their own little island as part of the Realm. It didn’t take long for the locals to be used to their new appearance and abilities as they also have been noticing the way they act ever since the spike in ghost activity. 

They are told to not leave for the mortal realm as they are still compromised. Removing Amity in both the map and record had been easy with the help of Technus and Tucker they manage to remove themselves and every database in the world.

Without any work to be presented the GIW was seen as a scam in the government branch and thus being removed from any form of funding as well as being dismissed and dissolved in the government.

It was one eventful day when he was summoned by one of his advisers. He was just merely signing paperwork when he felt someone summoning his rather sensing it was urgent he let himself be summoned to where he was.

There he saw Lady Gotham cradling a bloodied teen, the moment Danny laid his eyes on the teen his core lurched at the amount of protectiveness. As he kept pumping out his own ectoplasm to heal or even revive the said teen, he began to look at the teen’s details.

In his mind, he was wondering why would his core react such in a way but the moment he saw the teen’s face his mind turn to a halt.

He saw his own face reflecting on the teen which would be impossible unless one of the previous clones that Vlad had made had escaped and got out of his mind control.

But he idly wonders how could this supposed clone of his have blood in him.

…

After the initial confusion and panic, both brothers were able to get the whole story. 

The Fenton couple were surprised that they have forgotten to tell Danny that he is adopted and had saved him from starving in the middle of the forest.

Danny as well as the rest of the Fenton family wanted nothing more than to march toward where these Waynes were and rip them apart.

Tim on the other hand was both saddened at the fact this brother had died and hopeful that maybe just maybe he could have the family he ever dreamed of.

…

Turns out Tim was right, due to Danny trying to keep him alive by pumping pure ectoplasm aka the pits had turned him into a halfa whose core is equivalent to shadows due to Lady Gotham favoring him more.

The family dinners where he faced running and fighting food maybe work out for him but the number of memories, he stored from Danny trying to beat the hotdogs to submission to broccolis, peas, and carrots starting a civil war on his plate on who is the best vegetable there is.

He gained parents who are a bit of a screw loose but hey who says normal is sane.

He gained 2 older siblings and a younger sister which made his jaw drop.

Dan who is supposedly his twin in an alternate time where instead of being saved by Danny, Tim died and due to his grief and anger turned evil. Jazz whose mother hens Tim every second of the day and Dani/ Ellie who is twin brother’s clone turned daughter, who creates chaos in every sense.

He became Lady Gotham’s heir and champion that one day she may move on but she will pass down her brooch as it is the symbol of her authority as well her seat as one of the advisers of the King. It may be a few centuries or so before that fateful day so Tim has all the time to be a child once again as well as training to become the heir worthy of Lady Gotham.

When Tim asked who the King of the Infinite Realms all eyes turned to Danny as he nervously stated that he may have forgotten to tell Tim that particular detail.

Overall, Tim is safe and happy in this new life in his, with a new family that cares and loves him for just being him as well as being with his brother while he had missed, he never thought would miss in his entire life and afterlife.

…

It has been years since Tim had disappeared from the lives of the Wayne family and everything had gone downhill. Conner along with Cassie had flown from Metropolis and yelled at them for not being a good family to Tim. Bruce, Dick, Jason, and Damian are all silent and take the yells of anger silently as guilt in them keeps whispering to them about how they should have done better.

They held a funeral, an empty casket, filled with minuscule things of Tim had loved like his old hobby of photography that also held the pictures that he had taken. They held his old uniform as both Robin and Red Robin in the cave protected by the bullet, fire, water, and explosion-proof glass.

Bruce told himself that Tim was and never had been a replacement for Jason.

Dick regrated on not knowing Tim enough, and that he failed another brother of his.

Jason who too late saw Tim as a little brother who indulged his hobbies f reading works of literature that no one in his family found interesting enough to sit down and listen to.

Damian saw Tim another older brother who was there to relate to him during his time in the League. Share his stories about when he trained under Lady Shiva, as well as being his predecessor.

…

It is Tim’s 6th year anniversary of death when the boys had planned on going to a café that Tim frequently with. Their guilt did not disappear but grew with each passing day, the Batman as well the rest of his partners became more aggressive in handling crimes to the point even the rogues had been scared of facing them and would rather stay in Arkham, their last victim aka the Joker was beaten to near death by the Batman who had preached in not ending the Joker even though he had stuck out for the man when Red Hood had his hands on the Joker.

It was bright as Gotham could get and they could feel that the sun is mocking them about their brother’s death.

As they were sitting in one of the café’s booths as they saw a young man looking exactly like Tim. All eyes widened but looking at the stranger with more attention they saw a few details that Tim didn’t have. 

Like faint freckles that were across the man’s face as well as the way, the young man’s hair is styled.

Carrying a large tray that holds two large coffees and a plate of assorted treats and pastries the stranger went to both a bit far yet they can still stay visual on the man.

 What greeted them was not what they were expecting, on the supposed booth they saw a tall and healthy Tim on his phone, dressed in the simplest yet warm clothing they ever saw their brother in, the moment Tim saw his supposed look alike, helped him to take the large coffees off the tray and proceeded to chat as if they were old friends. 

At that moment they didn’t care if the stranger look alike or the look in Tim’s eyes that screams fondness and joy towards this stranger, they only have one thing on their mind and that is their brother.

Tim!

…

PS: If someone out there wants to continue or make a fic about this you are free to do so don’t forget to tag me though.

This made me laugh quite a lot

Brick On the Head - Part 3

—————

It had been three weeks since Tim had debuted as Kea and none of the family had caught him yet. Both Oracle and Kea gloated at the development, it was nice to have a leg up on the rest of the bats.

Tim hadn’t realized just how much he missed regular patrol until he was back at it. He took to the streets as soon as the sun went down and engaged in frequent bat stalking on the slow nights. Yes, he was loving his life.

Unfortunately the growth pains returned with a vengeance and it was making patrol difficult. Kea shifted from his position on the roof of an old factory. He needed a good stretch, a hot bath and a full fridge of food. A frown tugged at his lips as he glanced at the sleeves of his costume…

“Come onnnnn. Two inches too short already.” Tim frowned deeper. “Alfred is going to notice… and bench me again.” He scowled in the dark and popped his back.

The night had been relatively quiet, only a couple muggings and one bank heist. He glanced at the time and grimaced as deep aches wracked his body. Never had his bed called more loudly.

“O, I’m headed in for the night.” Even his even tone sounded achy. He grappled off the building and found his bike.

“Early night. You good K?”

“Another growth spurt. I’m going to have to get the suit adjusted again…”

“Again?”

“Yeh… Alfred is gonna bench me probably.”

“Sounds like you might need it, Bat-giant. Maybe we should call you big bird?”

“Real funny, O.” Tim rolled his eyes and sped off towards the manor.

“You know NW is going to use that one.”

“Well, it all depends on when he takes notice at how big I’ve grown… I need all new clothes but I’ve been too busy.” His voice grew to a grumble.

“What about grabbing some of Jason’s clothes?”

“Not a chance, they’re too short. I’ll just have to bite the bullet and ask Alfred for help. I’m too tired to go shopping.”

“Well, get some rest Kea. Signing off.”

————

It had taken him two more weeks of dodging everyone before he’d approached Alfred. Alfred had took one look at Tim and his uniform once he’d fessed up and had returned him to light duty… and contacted Dr. Thompkins. Tim knew better than to voice his irritation… but he was definitely irritated. She’d told him that this should be the last of his growth spurts. Relief had flooded him at the announcement.

“So I’m done?”

“As far as I can tell.” She eyed his chart and then looked him over. “But at 6 foot 10 I’m going to insist you up your calorie intake. You’re far under the weight needed for your frame.” She examined his arm muscles carefully. “Your muscle tone and structure has shifted as well. You’ve bulked up some. However, you should be much heavier and be intaking more calories. I’ve already talked to Alfred and I expect significant weight gain and new muscle definition.”

Tim simply stared and nodded his head. He’d gone from one of the shortest bats to the tallest. No longer could his older brothers or father dwarf him. The only downside was adjusting his fighting style a little. He considered how intimidating his new height would be and how he could use it against criminals… Mostly though he thought about taunting his brothers.

————-

Two more weeks passed before Alfred, Tim and Babs had decided to break the news. They waited until patrol was ended and Tim had donned his new costume. He blended into the shadows and prepared for his family.

It didn’t take long for everyone to slip off their cowls and dominos, but Tim waited..: and waited until relaxation had set in. Only then did he swoop in. He glided down from a hidden ledge and spread his cape dramatically. Silently he landed behind the group.

“What took you so long?”

Batman turned and glared. There was no other response but a twinge in his cheek let Tim know he’d startled him.

“Did you get stilts?” Jason scoffed. “You look ridiculous. Just because you’re short—-“

“How?” Bruce set down at the bat-computer and stared at Tim.

“Science… Bruce. Science.”

May I present to you…

TIM DRAKE AND JASON TODD’S CONFRONTATION IN TITANS TOWER.

AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE EXPERIENCED.

Funny

Alfred: Who is this?

Seven year old Bruce: His name is Danny. He's my older brother

Alfred: You're an only child. You don't have a brother.

Bruce: Mom? Dad? Do I have a brother?

Thomas: I only ever loved your mother, and I find baby-making repulsive—no offense, Brucie—so biologically, no, you don't have a brother. Emotionally, on the other hand, if you feel like he is your brother, I don't mind calling him my son. It's not like I can't afford it, nor can this lad outrun me.

Alfred: That's... kidnaping, sir.

Martha: Oh don't be so uptight Alfred. You Brits worrry about the sillist of things.

Alfred: Silly thing? You mean the law!?

Martha: Yes, that's a pesky thing. Besides, he has my eyes and Thomas' nose! That's obviously our son.

Bruce considering Danny: He does have your nose, dad.

Thomas proud: A chip off the old block that one. Good job catching your brother Brucie.

Bruce: Thank you! I used my innocent face like you said, Mom!

Martha beaming: A pretty face is a valuable weapon, darling!

Alfred whispering to Danny: Blink four times if you want me to get you out of here. The Waynes are not entirely sane.

Danny:..... The kid just said he needed someone to walk him home cause he was lost.

Alfred: That's how they get you. I once offered Master Thomas my coat during a suprise downpour. That was four years ago, and now I'm a butler. He gave me an embroidered apron with the words, "You're mine now, Brit"

Tim swears Phantom could’ve been a Titan. Maybe he should be, at this point. They have enough in common to justify it.

“Jeez,” Phantom groans. Abruptly, he drops the levitation and hits the roof without sound. He stretches out on his back like a cat, sore muscles straining in a way Red Robin deeply relates to. “Fighting the living sucks. At least with ghosts I can swing as hard as I need. Already dead means they get back up! But mortals? Way too squishy.”

Red Robin huffs in agreement. “Yeah,” he says. After a moment’s consideration, he lies down, too.“It’s a hundred times harder than people realize. Batman’s always going on about perfect control in training. About how to have it, you gotta be twice as skilled as the other guy. Even without your super-strength, I worry sometimes.”

“How do you do it?” Phantom asks. In a move only achievable to those without bones, or perhaps Dick Grayson, he twists himself over. Gloved hands cup his cheeks. His legs kick back and forth, like they’re gossiping at a slumber party. “I mean. You said you train, so obviously there’s the physical ‘how.’ But how do you keep your emotions nonlethal? How do you keep yourself in check, make sure you’re pulling back?”

“I mean,” says Red Robin. “Murder is illegal, so.”

Phantom sighs. “Yeah. Maybe it’s easier for you.”

… Hm. Maybe Red Robin should redo Phantom’s risk assessment.

Before he can raise too high an eyebrow (though even moving that muscle smarts, ow), Phantom elaborates.

“Ecto-based entities have trouble with their emotions,” he explains. “It’s easy to get lost in an Obsession, or a big feeling like grief. The rest of the world… it bleeds away. Helps to have another emotional anchor to keep it at bay. I use fear.”

“Fear?” Red Robin glanced over.

“Sometimes sheer stubbornness,” Phantom admits. “But a lot of it is fear.”

With a considering frown, he drops his head atop his arms. Exhaustion, regret, reluctance play out on his face. For someone the Bats know next to nothing about, Phantom’s body language is an open book.

“I saw, like, an alternate future version of myself once where I become evil and try to take over the world? So now I gotta be good to keep that from happening. The fear of that future keeps the pressure on me. Makes me focus up. Y’know?”

Tim sits up. “Seriously?”

Phantom nods. “Uh-huh. Kinda bizarre, I know—”

“What the hell,” says Tim. Three consecutive days together and a concussion must loosen his lips, because holy shit, no way. “Dude! Me too!”

“Huh? Seriously?” says Phantom.

“Yeah! I totally saw myself turn evil. Like, Batman but with guns. Guns Batman. I had to fight him and everything. He tried to kill my friends and erase my memory to make sure I couldn’t un-invent him by going back to change the past?”

“Oh my god.”

“What?”

“Oh my god, me too!”

happy wips wednesday!

hi!! i love your writing, do you have any other fic recs? just caught up with bbts and it put me through agony (in the best way) <3

thank you so much! and hell yeah i do! here are a few little reclists i've put together previously:

timkon + extra timkon recs

reverse robins

dick & tim bonding fics

de-aged tim

core four

whumpy fics (multiple fandoms)

jason + lazarus effects

four assorted batfam recs

and you can check out my general fic rec tag for more posts/reblogs/some individual fic recs too!

and i'll toss in some recent fics i've loved:

we shall be free; we shall find peace by mediant (wip)

so much to say about this fic--the clark of it all! the kon! the absolute agony of every scene!--but i think the most telling thing is that every time it updates multiple groupchats/DMs just explode into action. read for prime clark kent pangs in a what-if au that's all the more painful for how close it comes to not being an au at all, except for everything clark has suffered. i'm so excited for eventual catharsis and in the meanwhile i'm enjoying the ride.

Fujiwhara Effect by byrambles

a great dick & jason oneshot set in the early days of jason joining the family, featuring a hurricane, an exploration of dick's insecurities, and the untimely demise of a white couch. i've been craving more early dick & jason fic lately and this delivered.

the fire under your feet by phnelt

a jason & tim & damian story that takes us on a different first-meeting journey for all three, in a story i read straight through start to finish. featuring a jason who can't help but care despite all reason--and outside influence--not to, a tim who is sharp and brilliant and as good at protecting others as he is bad at protecting himself, and a damian who is achingly young and desperate to love and trust those around him.

Never a Hero by iesika

in which jack drake is resurrected and used as a bargaining chip against his own son, except tim is, as always, five steps ahead of the game. a jack drake character study that hooked me way more than i expected--i loved this semi-outsider pov on tim and tim's crew, and this fumbling but sincere second chance at a father/son relationship they never really had.