merry crisis
Still can’t believe the Phandom gaslit ourselves into thinking so much that is headcanon is canon.
Ghost King Danny isn’t a thing, Wes Weston doesn’t exist, Ghost Cores are debatable, Red Huntress isn’t Valerie’s ghost hunter name, Bones is not Youngblood’s parrot’s name. Etc.
It just goes to show how powerful, creative and influential one person’s idea has spread amongst the community, many times, and I love that for us.
had a dumb idea
I see a lot of posts about how Percy isn't the point of the story in pjo and the story is about the Thalia-Luke-Annabeth narrative and I do agree to a great extent but I do also think it needs to be said the reason why percy is the narrator and not one of them is because he is the cycle-breaker - without him it would have stayed a tragedy but because of him it changed. This is most obvious in how he rejects immortality and instead demands greater support for half-bloods, obviously, but also he trusted annabeth enough to give Luke the knife! he disliked the gods enough to understand Luke even if he didn't agree with his methods and I think that empathy is so so crucial actually! The T-L-A story is built like a mythological tragedy, Percy exists to break the cycle of the story, he's the hero that ends happily.
“Who’s side are you on, anyway?” “Oh, hers. Always.” WHAT IF I KILLED MYSELF RICK
Fell headfirst back into DC Comics for the first time in years this month. Reread some old favorites and discovered some new gems!
Heart, Humble by Betty (Mature, 8k, 2005) Jack Drake deals with finding out that Tim is Robin (poorly, and then not so poorly). THEE canon-accurate Jack Drake-focused fic of all time, this is canon in my heart.
Back then, all the boys his age had hero-worshipped costumed vigilantes. Jack supposes they still do.
Exit Strategy by smilebackwards/@smilebackwards (Teen & Up, 13k, 2021) Tim plans to leave a family he thinks he was never really a part of and decides to train Damian on how to run Wayne Enterprises before he goes. Delicious angst, excellent character work, and fun Wayne Enterprises worldbuilding.
Batman needs a Robin and Batman has a Robin. Tim is just extraneous now, vestigial. He’s a bandage over a healed wound. He doesn’t know what he’s hanging on to. Or: Tim didn’t expect his exit strategy from the Batfamily to involve quite so much bonding time with Damian over Wayne Enterprises bureaucracy.
On the Downbeat by husborth (Teen & Up, 2k, 2019) Bruce and Jason talk while waiting in line at a drive-thru (featuring Gotham-typical violence and husborth-typical gorgeous prose). I've always adored husborth's Star Wars fics and I'm so glad I dipped my toe into their DC works, no one's writing hits quite like husborth.
Jason has recovered his sanity, and Bruce and Jason have recovered their relationship; but there are some things that are hard to forget.
A Zoo for Canines by husborth (Mature, 45k, 2019) Part 2 of Zoology; Dick and Jason try to help Bruce recover from addiction. If you're used to fanon Dick Grayson (cheery, friendly, forgiving) you will not find him here - his anger and pain is ugly, raw, and so fucking captivating.
Dick, Bruce, and Jason head out to a cabin in the mountains, and they handle things about as well as they handle anything.
All the Roofs of Uncertainty by Kieron_ODuibhir/@kieron-oduibhir (General Audiences, 70k, 2015) Dick almost dies and makes Jason promise to take care of the family for him. A masterclass demonstration on how DC fic can square all the wildly divergent canon versions of Jason Todd into a single compelling character.
For all the blood on his hands, Red Hood was never just a villain. And Nightwing never gives up on family, not for good. (Or: The one where Dick bleeds a lot and Jason argues with everybody.)
The Till-Then From the Ever-Since by Kieron_ODuibhir/@kieron-oduibhir (General Audiences, 85k (WIP), 2020) Kid versions of the whole Batfamily mysteriously time travel to the future! I livetexted a friend the whole time I read this so I could yell about how amazing the character writing is; also I'm wildly impressed with how the author deftly handles tons of dialogue-heavy scenes with like 12+ guys in it without anyone going unmentioned.
It began, or seemed to begin, with Jason. Usually that would have meant something in the order of fire and explosion and probably at least one gunshot wound, but for once (as Tim said, sourly), it wasn't actually Jason's fault.
only you will have stars that can laugh by silverwhittlingknife/@silverwhittlingknife (Teen & Up, 9k, 2022) Dick finds out Tim is alone on Christmas and invites him to Babs' Christmas party. Discovered silverwhittlingknife through their galaxy brained Dick & Tim meta essays, stayed for every single line of Chapter 2 ripping out my heart and roasting it over an open flame.
You coming over is possibly the only thing that’s gonna stop me from wanting to punch your dad in the face, Dick doesn’t say. My current Christmas Day plans are 1) pace around at home, and 2) try not to obsess about what Bruce is up to, so trust me, you’ll be an improvement, Dick doesn’t say. Tim's alone on Christmas Eve. Dick finds out, and fixes it.
nerve endings by silverwhittlingknife/@silverwhittlingknife (Teen & Up, 5k (WIP), 2024) Post-Catalina Flores, Dick, Tim, and Bruce go on a (canon-accurate) cruise and dance around their open wounds. This is a glorious example of "he WOULD fucking say that", Dick's voice is so canon-accurate that the angst is even more painful i cri
It's all right, even, to have a foreign hand pressing against his skin, testing him, testing his reactions. He keeps his breathing controlled. Just Tim, damn you, it’s just Tim, don’t fuck it up. Dick's on a cruise with Bruce and Tim. And he's fine. Mostly.
Red Letter Day by silverwhittlingknife/@silverwhittlingknife (Teen & Up, 42k (WIP), 2022) Dick is sure the cryptic scribble in his agenda refers to something he's supposed to do for Damian, but he can't remember what. Mostly about Tim and Dick s l o w l y mending the post-Damian rupture in their relationship, but the whole family is here and Jason, especially, is fucking hilarious.
Dick Grayson, stressed pseudo-parent to a preteen assassin, tries to solve the case of Damian’s Mysterious Wednesday. He never expected it to help him fix his relationship with Tim, too. (… Though only after everything fell apart first.)
Gonna Be A Better One (A Thousand Miles To Your Door) by Traincat/@traincat (Teen & Up, 18k, 2011) Tim and Kon keep dating even after Jack forces Tim to retire as Robin. I reread this fic annually and every time am delighted to rediscover how funny and heartwarming and squee-inducingly kind it is, pure Timkon perfection.
In which Tim quits being Robin, Kon refuses to quit Tim and Ma Kent is full of relationship advice.
last light in a darkened room by bigdamnher0/@bigdvmnhero (Not Rated, 6k, 2024) Tim finds a distressing video of Robin!Dick and wishes that things were different. The whole fic, particularly Tim manifesting a happy ending in the bathroom, is a gorgeously crafted tragedy such that you're left kind of awed at how thoroughly massacred your heart and soul are post-read.
Tuesday morning: a video was uploaded to one of the deep web black markets. The footage, shot on those grainy vintage camcorders. But Tim knew that boy in the thumbnail; his eyes had memorized him, the heft and shape and dazzle of him, imprinting like an afterimage. Or: a brother is a witness; there's your tragedy.
buy back the secrets by sundiscus/@vinelark (Teen & Up, 91k (WIP), 2024) Superboy rescues civilian Tim Drake before learning that Tim is Robin and shenanigans ensue. I spent my whole holiday vacation intermittently screaming at this fic while my family members looked on with vague concern this fic is ADORABLE and AGONIZING and PERFECT please and THANK YOU.
He takes a long, slow breath. Ignores the glares from the other students. “Superboy,” he murmurs. “It’s me. If you’re listening, I could use some help.” Or: 5 times Superboy saves Tim Drake, and one time Tim Drake saves Superboy.
Dude where the hell is arthur when we need him
Watching the PJO show as a book fan, like:
"kill them with kindness" WRONG. chair attack 🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑🪑
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“Sooo, you’re just going to trust him with your car?”
“Yeah.” Danny said in just as disbelieving of a tone as Sam. “I think he genuinely means this as like a payment for saving his butt regardless of, you know, everything.”
“I didn’t think Dash of all people could change.” Tucker chimed in
“Same!” Danny exclaimed, almost flinging his sandwich as his arms came up in emphasis.
“Oh come on, did he really change if he’s just doing this to make himself feel better? He hasn’t even apologized about anything.” Sam countered.
Sam did believe people could change for the better. Or worse even. She just didn’t think Dash made it into this category of person. She believed he was destined to peak in high school, play college football and never shut up about his glory days to his wife and 2.5 kids. To say she was still suspicious was an understatement.
“Honestly Sam,” Danny started, pointing his sandwich at her, “I don’t think I care if it means saving 500 bucks.”
“I can’t argue with that.” Tucker mumbled, having already taken Danny’s side of the whole thing but not wanting to face Sam’s irritation.
She rolled her eyes, “Just don’t expect much of him.”
“I don’t. I just expect him to fix my car.” Danny replied. With a shrug, he continued, “And worse comes to worse, if he messes up my car I can just fly or ride my bike until I save up enough to have a shop fix it.”
“Oh! By the way, Tucker” Danny said, turning to his friend. “I’m not going to be able to give you a ride tomorrow. I don’t want to drive my car right now if I can help it.”
“All good dude.” Tucker responded nonchalantly. “I don’t exactly trust your car right now either.”
“I can take you.” Sam offered.
“Yes please” Tucker accepted. He didn't love getting into a hearse-ever- but it was better than the bus.
The bell rang in the distance, signaling the end of their lunch hour. Danny took the last two bites of his meal as the trio started packing up their bags and headed in to finish out the rest of the school day
---
Hello!
So this is just a little extra bit for fun. Not much happens, but I felt like it was important to see Danny updating the crew, so you know that Sam and Tucker get kept in the loop (for the most part. Danny's didn't share Dash's gay bit)
Also- the hearse- I was reading a fanfic (I'll try to find it) where the author mentioned Sam drove a hearse and I latched onto that immediately. It's too perfect in my opinion
I have part 5 outlined and 3/4 of the pages paneled out, so I'm still on schedule for getting it up by around tues/wed time
Glad ya'll are still enjoying this silly idea. See ya next week
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