Brain Dead - Blog Posts

I have a really upsetting fic idea. ALSO TW for Suicide Attempt (but it's not actually a suicide but the Young Just Us and Batfam don't know that) sooooo, if you uhm don't feel up to checking on this, you can just ignore it!!!!!!!! Please!

After saving Bruce from the timestream, Tim is slowly becoming distant from the Batfamily. They notice, but no one had the courage (except Alfred because he's just awesome like that) to reach out, using having to deal with other things first as an excuse. Besides, Tim looked fine. He even said that he was hanging out with someone in his civilian life, and he looked hapoy about it.

Kon tries to reach out, even Bart tries to have a conversation with Tim. Cassie invites Tim on outings. Tim was... not behaving weirdly, but he was making death jokes more often. They thought it was Jason's influence. But the death jokes also become a bit more worrying, a bit more gorey. They tell him so, asking if he's doing okay, if he needs to talk to someone. Tim smiles at them and hugs them, telling them hoe thankful he was to have them and that he's never been happier. Of course, that causes alarm bells to ring in their minds.

Kon tries to tell Dick about this. He was brushed off. He tried to tell Steph. She said she'll check up on him regularly but also says that Tim was fine. Kon even tries to reach out to Jason. JASON! And HE seems to be the only one concerned! Jason says he'll talk to Tim, and talk to Alfred because Jason isn't as emotionally equipped for all this but he does want the Little Bird to be okay.

And then, one day, Kon hears Tim's heartbeat stop. He flies out of the Kents' house while sobbing, a small resignation in his chest but also denial because he knew, HE KNEW, that with how Tim was behaving, there was a chance that Tim might... Might...

He goes to Tim's Nest near Crime Alley, but he couldn't find him there. He goes to Tim's other safehouses, goes to high places, explores alleys, but he couldn't find Tim anywhere.

As long as there wasn't a body, Kon wasn't going to lose hope that Tim might be alive.

So, finally, he gives up, calls for Bart and Cassie for help, and then goes to the Wayne Manor to talk to Alfred. The old butler invited Kon in, and Kon began telling him everything thatvwas going on, his fears of Tim being dead, and his hope that Tim might still be alive. That maybe he was in some place where his super hearing couldn't hear through, or his supervision couldn't see.

Batman and Robin (Kon was a bit bitter for Tim), enters the kitchen, and Alfred relays everything Kon has told him.

No expression was on Damian's face, but Bruce absolutely crumples.

"He's not dead," said Bruce, clenching his fists and stomping away, probably to the batcave. "He couldn't be!"

But the Batcomputer couldn't track Tim's vitals.

But it did track where he had last been. Tim was at the top of Wayne Tower, standing at the very ledge. Bruce tried to look for video feeds. And when he found some, he began raging and cursing the security guards most likely sleeping on the job. Tim would never drug someone to his benefit. Lies and deception? Yes. And, he had always been sneaky.

Bruce played the video, and he could see and watch Tim... Talking? He was talking to himself, but the video feed was too grainy. Bruce knows that the security cameras were state of the art, always constantly upgraded to make sure he would get quality videos to look through. Did Tim know this? Why didn't the security guards report this?

But Bruce didn't have time to think of other things anymore, because Tim was falling.

"No..."

Tim didn't look scared, he looked excited for some reason, even through the grainy quality. He was laughing, he didn't have any gear on him, he was nearing the ground.

And the video feed cuts there, turning black. Alfred was in the background, walking up to Bruce's chair with a hand on his chest, having just finished a call with various batfamily members to check on the scene while he and Bruce and the young Kon watched Tim dive off the roof.

Bruce was searching for more feeds, but it was just the same. Oracle says that everything in WE during that time of Tim's fall turned off. But that's not what Bruce wanted to know. He couldn't bring his hands to see the next part after the blackout. He couldn't move his shaking hands to press play after the blackout.

"Bruce," Kon spoke softly. "I didn't see any blood around WE. This was minutes after I couldn't hear his heartbeat."

"B," Dick's voice echoed throughout the cave. "There's nothing here. I can't find Tim anywhere."

Where could Tim have gone?

a few months ago, days after returning from the time stream...

There was this interesting guy, you see. He was looking around with a Camera in his hand, taking pictures of Gotham's buildings/architecture.

Except, he was taking the pictures... Wrong. "How can you expect to take good pictures like that?" asked Tim, because he's an asshole like that.

The guy turns to him, raising a brow. Then, he chuckled holding the camera out. "How do you take them, then?"

Tim took the camera, made a grand show of how to position himself, how to adjust the lenses, and then took a picture of the man who might be a bit younger than him from how youthful he looked, which was accentuated from the orange sunset behind him shining like a halo behind his head, the gotham architectures looking like arches welcoming the man into the city, gargoyle statues paused in their roars, cars lined up in a solemn procession, and people faced towards Danny almost in an excited bow. Tim didn't know how he managed to capture such good timing for all this, but this has to be one of his best captures yet.

He hands the camera back proudly, and the man whistles appreciatively. "You're right, you do have the right to insult me, oh great photographer."

Tim blushes. "Can you send me a copy of that picture?" he asks instead of retorting. Then, he opens his wallet to bring out his business card, writing at the back with the pen he brought out to write one of his active emails (and phone number).

"I'm Tim, by the way," he said.

The man took the card, chuckling when he found Tim's initials for his last name. "Timothy Jackson D.W.?"

Tim shrugged. This man doesn't seem to know him, and he's not gonna change that.

"Well, D.W.," said the man, holding a hand out, "I'm Daniel William F."

Tim raised a brow. "Shall I call you First D.W.?"

"Please, call me Danny."

Tim smirked. "Only if you call me, Tim."

Danny smirked back. "Nah. Last D.W. kinda fits you."

"It's a mouthful, moreso than Timothy."

"It drives you crazy, I think it's worth it."

It all felt surreal. He was bantering easily with a... Well, he wasn't a stranger anymore. But, it felt nice.

More banters and conversations ended up with Tim inviting him for coffee, and then the two of them having a caffeine drinking contest (much to the horror of many staff and patrons), and then to Tim asking when Danny was free, landing another outing together, and they meet, and then there's another outing, and another, and another, and...

Tim had never felt so happy. So calm. So peaceful. Danny felt the same.

And then, Danny said, "I have a secret I want to share... I mean, since we're far away from what makes this dangerous, I just thought that I should come clean with you before I ask if we could... Y'know... Take this relationship to the next level?"

Tim trusts Danny. So, he readies himself to listen. And he listens to Danny's story.

He lives in a whole other dimension, where he fights ghosts on a daily basis as a ghost himself. That he came visiting other dimensions as a way to cope and escape his life in the other world sometimes. He has a family and friends, he's scared of his parents but he loves them, he went through various heartbreaks, but still managed to push through.

"If you want to run away, you can," he said.

But Tim hugs him, hugs him and kisses him. Danny kisses back.

"I love you," he said.

They kiss some more.

But you see...

When Danny said that he wanted to go bring Tim to meet his sister, Tim, in his sleep-deprived mind that makes the most horrible and dumbest choices known to man, blurted out that he wanted to sky dive from the roof of WE, and then fall into the portal and into Danny's bed. It sounded great, it sounded fun. Danny was all for it, as long as Danny is holding on to Tim while they fell. But keeping up invisibilIty while also trying to keep a portal open sucks so much power, so, Tim tells him not to bother with Tim. This was such a horrible idea, Danny made sure to keep up the ghostly interference with the cameras. He'll make sure to return Tim by morning, and he really cannot have people noticing Tim about to fall to his death.

Danny's aura lulls some people still within WE to sleep. And then, they jump.

The portal shuts all electricity off in WE, which awakens a whole bunch of people, but not fast enough to see a portal momentarily open and close.

Danny and Tim were laughing as they land on Danny's bed. It was still day time in Danny's world, so he and Tim naps for a little while.

Then, when Tim is more rested and more rational, they meet Jazz.

But it's when he's drinking coffee does Tim's eyes snap open.

"KON HAS SUPERHEARING!"

"Who?"

And that's how Danny found out Tim's secret identity.

[The portal caused WE to lose electricity because Danny was using a whole bunch of energy trying to keep Tim alive, trying to protect Tim from turning liminal, half-ghost, and whatever else could happen from being even slightly affected by the ghost zone]

Danny didn't have enough energy to return Tim, so now Tim was inwardly panicking what will happen once he returns.

But then, Dani suggests to just let Tim be liminal, that way Tim doesn't need to explain. He can just say that he couldn't remember, and his heartbeat won't even be telling them anything because it'll be slowed.

Tim could see the logic-not-logic of it. Except, he feels bad--nope, no he doesn't. The less people knows about other worlds, the better. Bruce just got back, Tim has added some stress towards him for being an idiot and doing that stunt, and he might as well just...

"Will it hurt?"

"Well, since you're being infected, it's like catching a stomach bug. So, you'll probably be miserably out of it for a week or two."

A day before Danny and Tim heads back, Tim gets the authentic experience of eating the Fenton's infected by ectoplasm food. Usually, you'd avoid it. But, well, Tim needed to do this no matter hoe much Danny says that he literally didn't need to do that, oh ancients, babe.

But, Danny's friends are liminal, Jazz is liminal, the Fenton parents are liminal eithout even knowing it.

Tim wants this.

And Tim eats.

It's only when Danny has laid Tim in his bed does Tim finally starts feeling the effects. His body starts sweating, and his head starts feeling foggy. His stomach wasn't aching, but it felt really numb.

Danny, invisible, shushes quietly into Tim's ear. And then disappears when Tim's door opens.

"TIM! Oh god, ALFRED! TIM'S HERE!"

Bruce? Why does Bruce sound like that?

They bring Tim into the medbay, taking blood samples to check if he's really Tim.

And he is.

But then they see something in his blood.

"It's... similar to the Lazarus..."

Tim will take the knowledge about this to his grave... Afterlife... When he fades...

Because Jason will definitely kill him for being stupid. Tim was feeling stupid.

And he was crying.

"It's okay, Tim..."

He doesn't deserve that kind voice. Tim feels like a fake. He shouldn't have done that. He shouldn't have.

Because he's only going to get worse from here. Jason and Damian would be able to tell how Tim's body was dying, or better yet, getting closer with death.

But Tim won't be dying once the transition is done.

He'll be liminal. He'll be in the middle.

And he was so stupid about it, and none of his family members will know about it and--

"You don't have to tell them about my world, Tim," said Danny. "I'll tell them that I had you swallow some of this... Lazarus water or whatever."

"I did it willingly," whispered Tim, knowing that Damian could hear him either way, evem if he couldn't hear Danny. "I willingly ate it. It's not your fault. Let me own up to it..."

Damian thinks Tim was talking to him.

He relays the message to the others.

Aaaaaaand I'm now out of ideas of what else could happen. I just wanted some Tim Drake whump-not-whump. What Tim did was not cool, not his best ideas, and was probably out of character, and if someone could do this better (more heartwrenching and angsty), PLEASE. DO IT. I just want the Batfam and Tim to suffer.

I-

Anon this is a masterpiece holy shit. Like truly and genuinely this is incredible.

I can’t add anything onto this cause I know if I start writing I simply won’t stop and my carpal tunnel will not vibe with that.

If anyone else wants to add onto this I beg of you to do so because the angst potential is just so positively delicious.

when you’re in a mood to write but have no ideas

so cute 🥰 Now I need one of Tim finding something of equivalence with Danny. Like, maybe Danny takes notes on the back of his blueprints while he works, and they start to be filled with things to tell Tim later, or something.

Love, Scribbled in the Margins

Tim keeps journals—pages filled with scattered thoughts, half-formed ideas, reminders hastily scribbled in the margins before they slip from his mind. His penmanship is erratic, sometimes neat, sometimes a barely legible scrawl. There’s no structure, no careful curation—just the unfiltered chaos of his thoughts, poured onto the pages with reckless honesty.

Danny finds them everywhere.

There’s one on Tim’s desk, filled with quick notes and unfinished sketches. Another by the bed, pages warped from where Tim has knocked over his coffee more than once. One tucked into his jacket, carried with him wherever he goes. And when Danny opens them, he finds something unexpected.

Not plans for patrols. Not mission reports or Gotham’s latest conspiracies.

No, these journals are something else. Something just for Danny.

There are messy, hurried notes—things Tim meant to tell him but hadn’t yet, thoughts that slipped his mind in the rush of the day. Scattered reminders: Tell Danny about the ghost dog that stole my sandwich. Ask Danny if ectoplasm works the same way as Lazarus water. Danny likes lemon biscuits. Find a good recipe?

There are doodles, too. Little sketches of Danny in the margins, some more detailed than others. A rough, unfinished one of him asleep on the couch, another of his hands, a quick, cartoonish scribble of Danny sticking his tongue out with the words annoying boyfriend scrawled underneath.

It’s messy. It’s chaotic. And it’s so Tim.

Danny had always imagined love as something poetic, something grand and beautiful, the kind of thing written in sweeping verses that promised forever. The kind of love you read about in stories, in letters written with elegant penmanship, every word crafted with care.

Tim’s love isn’t like that. It isn’t neatly composed or carefully written.

It’s raw. It’s real. It’s a thousand little moments captured in ink-stained fingers and smudged notes. It’s love scribbled into the corners of his life, unpolished and unfiltered.

And Danny? Danny wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Because love, he realizes, isn’t always the kind you find in poetry. Sometimes, it’s a journal filled with half-finished thoughts and silly drawings. Sometimes, it’s a name written absentmindedly in the corner of a page, over and over again. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a note that says, Thinking of you.

Love doesn’t have to be perfect to be real. It doesn’t have to be grand to mean everything.

And like honey pulled straight from the comb, love is sweetest when it’s raw.

Excuse me Ras, I have a question. How do you expect to gain an hair from Tim if you’re having two boys marry? I mean, unless we’re going with trans-Danny here, but like, I don’t know, it always feels weird to me when people expect trans men to just like, be perfectly ok and comfortable with carrying a child like that??? Cause like, I don’t know, but I feel like that would be very degrading or like, dysphoric. I imagine this wouldn’t apply to everyone, of course, but I feel like it would be very rude to just, assume-

Tim Drake’s Worst Nightmare: Ra’s al Ghul’s Matchmaking Skills

It started with a mission.

Tim hadn’t expected to be sent after a new ghost anomaly, much less one that was human-shaped and strangely familiar. But when he found himself face-to-face with Danny—a teenager who radiated Lazarus energy like it was his second skin—things got weird. Fast.

Cue the League of Assassins bursting onto the scene, followed by a dramatic entrance from none other than Ra’s al Ghul himself.

And that’s when Tim learned the big, world-shattering truth: Danny was Ra’s al Ghul’s son. Not adopted. Biological.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Tim stood, slack-jawed, watching Ra’s beam with the kind of pride usually reserved for conquering cities. Danny, standing awkwardly next to him, scratched the back of his neck.

“Yeah, so, uh… surprise?” Danny offered.

Ra’s spread his arms wide. “Timothy! This is a joyous day. My son, Daniel, has found you at last.”

Tim blinked. “Found me?”

Danny shuffled nervously. “Uh, yeah. You’re kind of… important to the family now.”

Tim’s brain short-circuited.

———

The Heir Situation

Because here’s the kicker: Ra’s had been trying to get Tim to join the League for years. He saw Tim as a potential heir. But now, with Danny in the picture, Ra’s had an even better idea.

“Through Daniel,” Ra’s explained, practically glowing, “I can finally bring you into the family as I always intended.”

Tim pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am not marrying into the League of Assassins.”

Danny choked. “Wait, what?!”

Ra’s nodded sagely. “I see you are both shy about it. No matter! Destiny has a way of unfolding as it should.”

Tim and Danny exchanged horrified glances.

———

Danny and Tim’s Relationship

Despite the chaos, Danny and Tim clicked. Danny was chaotic but genuine, a refreshing contrast to the constant stress of Gotham. And Tim? Tim was the most grounded person Danny had ever met.

“You know, you don’t have to listen to Ra’s,” Tim pointed out after one particularly tense League encounter.

Danny shrugged. “Yeah, but if I don’t humor him, he gets pouty.”

Tim snorted. “Ra’s al Ghul? Pouty?”

“You have no idea.”

———

The Batfamily’s Reaction

When Tim brought Danny back to Gotham, the batfam had questions.

Bruce: “He’s… Ra’s’ son?”

Tim: “Yep.”

Jason: “And you’re… what, his fiancé now?”

Tim: screaming internally

Danny: “I’M RIGHT HERE.”

Damian, eyes wide: “Uncle?”

Danny grinned. “Hey, kiddo.”

Damian, flustered: “I—no. This cannot be.”

———

Ra’s Is Thrilled

Back in Nanda Parbat, Ra’s couldn’t be happier. Every time Tim showed up, Ra’s looked like Christmas came early.

Ra’s: “Timothy, you and Daniel are a perfect match.”

Tim: “In what universe?”

Danny: “Technically, several.”

———

Danny Was Happy.

That was the problem.

Tim might hate making Ra’s happy, but… Danny was different.

Danny liked being part of the League. He liked the structure, the weird family dynamic. He liked the purpose. And he was thriving.

Tim couldn’t ruin that.

Tim didn’t want to make Ra’s happy—he’d rather swallow glass—but he did want to make Danny happy.

And if that meant putting up with Ra’s al Ghul’s matchmaking schemes, well…

Tim gritted his teeth and endured.

———

Tim’s Inner Monologue:

“Being with Danny isn’t the issue. The issue is that it makes Ra’s happy. And I refuse to let that man win.”

Danny: smirking “You’re fighting a losing battle.”

Tim: “Shut up.”

Danny: “Love you too.”

I mean… at least they’re yandere for each other and not two other poor souls-

Love and Obsession: The Tim Drake Way

part 2

Everyone in the Batfamily knows Tim Drake has… issues with boundaries. They’ve spent years trying to teach him what’s appropriate and what’s—well—deeply unsettling and completely invasive. To be fair, he’s learned. Mostly. He doesn’t stalk his family anymore (much), and he no longer pulls up files on every single person they talk to (okay, maybe just sometimes). But it’s progress.

But then Tim starts dating Danny Fenton. And, oh boy, a few screws come loose.

It starts small, as always. Just little things. Tim’s a detective, after all—background checks are second nature. Danny’s living in Gotham, and Gotham isn’t safe. So, really, what’s the harm in knowing a little more about Danny’s friends? And his professors? And maybe also his classmates? It’s just standard protocol. Okay?

“Tim, you’ve run a full dossier on my entire biology class?” Danny asks one day, laughing as he flips through a file on the coffee table. Tim shrugs. “What if one of them is dangerous?” “Pretty sure the most dangerous thing in that class is the midterm.”

Danny doesn’t think much of it. He’s a little flattered, even. Tim’s protective. It’s sweet.

But Tim’s mind doesn’t stop there. Danny’s too handsome. Too charming. What if someone tries to hurt him? What if someone tries to take him away? It’s not obsessive—it’s just concern. So, a tracker on Danny’s phone? Necessary. Cameras in his apartment? Standard. Monitoring his sleeping patterns and hangout spots? Logical.

Tim tells himself it’s love. And maybe a little insecurity.

“You have a tracker on his phone?” Dick asks, trying not to sound alarmed. Tim nods, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “Of course. What if something happens to him?” “And the cameras?” “Safety.” “The background checks on his professors?” “Gotham U isn’t exactly known for its stellar staff, Dick.”

It doesn’t stop there. Tim knows everything. Danny’s eating habits, his favorite places to go when he’s stressed, his childhood allergies. Tim’s mapped out Danny’s entire life. He knows about Danny’s ghost powers too—of course he does. He’s Tim Drake. The moment he realized Danny was Phantom, it just… clicked.

Danny being half-ghost? That’s just one more reason to worry. Tim’s up late at night, watching for any signs of ectoplasmic interference. He tracks the energy spikes. He monitors Danny’s fights.

He doesn’t think Danny knows. He’s terrified of what will happen if he finds out.

But then he does.

One evening, Danny walks into Tim’s apartment and casually drops a folder on the table. Tim’s heart stops.

“What’s this?” Danny asks, raising an eyebrow. Tim swallows hard. “I… it’s just…” “You’ve been tracking me?” Danny opens the file, glancing through pages of surveillance reports, background checks, even analysis of his ectoplasmic energy. Tim feels like his world is about to shatter.

“I… I can explain,” Tim says, his voice tight. “I’m just… worried about you. You’re in danger all the time, and I—” Danny walks over, cupping Tim’s face in his hands. Tim braces for the worst.

But Danny just smiles. “Can I put a tracker on you too?”

Tim blinks. “What?” Danny kisses his cheek. “If you’re watching my back, it’s only fair I watch yours. I need to make sure you’re safe too.”

Tim stares at him, speechless. Danny doesn’t look scared. Or angry. He looks… fond. Like Tim’s obsessive tendencies aren’t a problem at all.

“I’ve never had someone care about me this much,” Danny says softly. “I trust you with my life, Tim. This? This just proves how serious you are.”

Tim thinks he’s just fallen deeper in love.

-------------------

The Batfamily? They’re worried.

Jason corners Tim in the cave. “Okay, so let me get this straight. You’ve got cameras in his apartment. You’ve mapped out his entire life. You’ve got a tracker on him and a heartbeat monitor. And he’s… fine with it?” Tim nods, a dreamy smile on his face. “Yeah. He even wants to put a tracker on me.” “That’s not… healthy, Tim,” Dick says carefully. “That’s—” “It’s mutual,” Tim interrupts. “We’re protecting each other.”

Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose. “Tim, this isn’t how relationships are supposed to work.” Tim shrugs. “It’s how ours works.”

Damian watches the whole thing with narrowed eyes. “This is deeply unsettling,” he mutters.

They try to talk to Danny. Intervention style. They invite him over, sit him down, and gently (or not so gently) try to explain that Tim’s behavior isn’t normal.

Danny just laughs. “You guys do know I’m half-ghost, right?” “That doesn’t mean—” Dick starts. “I spent my entire life being hunted by ghost hunters. I’ve had worse invasions of privacy.” Danny smiles. “Tim cares. He keeps me safe. That’s all I need.”

The bats don't quite know what to say.

-------------------

Tim and Danny, two slightly unhinged souls who think mutual surveillance is the ultimate act of love.

The bats? They’re just trying to keep up.

(“At least they’re happy?” Barbara offers weakly. Bruce sighs. “For now.”)

Gotham’s version of love was never going to be normal. But this? This is a whole new level.