Nenene

Cass: 1 in every 2 people.

Tucker: Wait seriously?

Cass: mhm!

Tucker: Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha.

Cass: you ok?

Tucker: I'm just plotting my best friends murders. Well i can plot Sam's. Danny maybe not.

Cass: Didn't come with?

Tucker: No. The love birds paid for my trip here while they went who knows where.

Cass: Bad friends. Gotham is never safe.

Tucker: Well I'm dumb for believing them before doing my research. I swear I can hear them mocking me from here.

Cass: You're not scared about this?

Tucker: Nah, I mean realistically I should be but like I've been through worse.

Cass: Like?

Tucker: Oh where do I even start? Being held hostage? Dragons, undead pirates, rockstars and like several other things that don't even come close. These guys are human and their knot work? Needs better work. *Jazz hands*

Cass: Pff. Yes it does. *also free*

Tucker: I knew you were cool. We should just leave. These guys might not even see us slip out if they aren't paying attention to us now.

Cass: Window over there should help us.

Tucker: I'll just follow you.

Tim drops down on the couch, absolutely ignoring the people already there. Or maybe, it’s better said, that he carefully positions himself exactly where he wants and ignores whatever the people that he’s dropping down onto might want.

“I was reading,” Kon complains as he tries to navigate around Tim’s head without elbowing him in the face.

(Which really was very kind of him.)

Tim drops down on the couch, absolutely ignoring the people already there. Or maybe, it’s better said, that he carefully positions himself exactly where he wants and ignores whatever the people that he’s dropping down onto might want.

“I was reading,” Kon complains as he tries to navigate around Tim’s head without elbowing him in the face.

(Which really was very kind of him.)

AKA "Danny Fenton accidentally hits the Joker with the GAV during a livestream. It quickly becomes a Gotham meme." DCxDP prompt! TW: Brief description of vehicular assault.

Pro tip: Don't drive while on the phone. You could hit somebody.

Okay, so Danny does ghost-hunting livestreams (endorsed by FentonWorks) and tours the most haunted cities in America. Gotham happens to be in the Top 10 Cursed Cities of America, featured by youtubers like Buzzfeed Unsolved and Netflix true crime documentaries. Danny just... capitalizes on that a bit. He needs to make money, okay?? His "ghost hunting" is mostly debunking supposedly haunted places, doing side quests for ghosts with unfinished business, and interviewing interesting people.

Anyways. Gotham City is confusing. The streets make no sense, half of the city is blocked off due to the latest Rogue attacks, and he's pretty sure he saw an ambulance smash through a barricade with zero hesitation followed by several cop cars. Danny's livestream chat is blowing up, begging to see what just happened, and he's fumbling with the dashboard phone holder when several groups of people in clown masks start swarming the street. They're surrounding the truck, actually shooting at him, a couple swinging baseball bats and crowbars. He takes his eyes off the road for one second just to check whether the GAV has its shield deployed.

One second is all it takes. He feels more than hears the thunk of something particularly human-shaped hitting his front bumper. And his stomach drops. Heart-stopping panic grips him and all he can do is grip the steering wheel and drive forward. He can vaguely hear shouts all around the GAV but shock blurs everything together until he's frantically driving away. He somehow ends up in a quiet one-way street that looks half-abandoned. His livestream comments are a mess of what just happened?? and r u okay?? and, notably: WAS THAT THE FUCKING JOKER?!

As Gotham finds out, Daniel J Fenton did, in fact, commit a hit and run on the Joker. The GCPD dismissed a vehicular assault charge as the livestream showed Danny being shot at during the time of the assault; judges would absolutely categorize the case as self-defense. The Joker unfortunately didn't die. Also unfortunately, screenshots of the livestream got leaked and now Danny's absurdly baffled and horrified expression post-hitting the Joker is trending on Gotham News.

A new trend of "Get Ready With Me to Hit The Joker With My Car" circulates, much to Danny's utter horror and mortification. Gothamites adore Danny. There's something hilariously ironic and slightly endearing about some out-of-towner hitting the only person in Gotham that everybody agrees should be dead with their car. Unintentionally, too. Even the Bats begrudgingly can't even be mad about it. The situation for the kid was clearly traumatizing and horrific.

Alfred handed the girl another wrapped up sandwich. She eyed it curiously, turning it this way and that to see inside for the fillings before she said, “Thank you.”

He hummed. “You’re very welcome, Miss Dani. Have you visited the shelters? I’ve noticed that you’re always out and about.”

She nodded and said, “I go there to sleep sometimes. But I like staying out here. Gotham is so interesting and the sky sometimes clears up.”

It sounded exactly like something Jason would’ve said.

‘Gotham is so beautiful and at night, when the smog is gone, you can see the stars, Alfie!’

Alfred closed his eyes briefly to hide the pain, helplessly envisioning Jason’s crooked smile and his sweet face. His poor, sweet boy, who was nothing but worm meal underground now.

When Alfred opened his eyes again, Dani was staring at him in worry, a mouthful of sandwiches in her cheeks. “Do you have to sit down?” She asked in concern. “I can get a box and you can sit.”

Alfred wasn’t in desperate need of a seat that much, so he just laughed dryly. “Goodness, no. However… my bones are getting quite old. I must make a meal today for my Master, so if it wouldn’t be too much, may I ask you to help?”

Dani narrowed her eyes. “If he’s taking advantage of you like this, you should rob him and leave,” she said determinedly. “Rich men are weirdos. What if he has a secret hideout in his basement or something? You can never trust a rich man.”

His lips twitched but he didn’t say anything, just allowing her to take the grocery bags from his hands. He was certainly capable of bringing it all home by himself, but sometimes, doing this reminded him of Jason too, who was always eager to help and quick to fall into a role of caretaking.

“Thank you very much, Miss Dani. My place of residence is this way,” he said, gently leading her to Wayne Manor.

Dani bounced in place, although she was careful to not jostle the groceries. “Sweet. I’ll help you make dinner and then I’m gonna go, okay? There’s a buy-1-get-1-free offer for backpacks at the mall!”

Alfred asked, “Do you have the money?”

Silence was the answer. He sighed, unable to help patting her head before he said, “I will give you some money. Please do not steal, Miss Dani.”

“I’m not stealing!” She argued a beat too late, but she smiled anyways. “Thanks, gramps.”

Jason would’ve surely adored this little rascal.

Dpxdc

When Danny transferred to Gotham University after finally solving the whole ghost problem back in Amity Park, he had big dreams for his new, totally normal life. You know — good grades, a decent job, maybe some hobbies, and actual friends who didn’t try to exorcise him.

He nailed almost all of it. Grades? Great. Job? Got one. Hobbies? Sure. Friends? …Yeah, about that.

Apparently, “making friends” in Gotham was harder than fighting a ghost invasion. So Danny, in a stroke of questionable genius, decided to just gaslight people into being his friends. Step one: convince them they’d met before. Step two: keep acting like they were old pals until they actually became friends. Easy.

Meanwhile, somewhere across campus, Tim and Duke were losing their minds trying to figure out why neither of them remembered their best friend. Because clearly, they must’ve accidentally messed with the timeline again — there was no other explanation.

———————-

Danny’s plan started on a Tuesday. Because, in his experience, disasters had a thing for weekends — Tuesdays felt statistically safer.

He was hauling a stack of textbooks across the quad when he collided, hard, with someone coming around the corner. Books went flying. So did his soul — almost literally.

“Oh man, sorry—!” He dropped to help pick them up, then froze. “Wait. Tim? Dude! Long time no see!”

The guy blinked, all sharp eyes and caffeine exhaustion. “…I’m sorry, who?”

Danny laughed, easy and bright. “Oh, come on, you’re still doing that bit? Pretending we’ve never met? You haven’t changed a bit.”

The stranger — Tim, apparently not in on the joke — frowned slightly, like he was trying to scan Danny’s face for a memory that wasn’t there.

Before he could say anything, another guy showed up. “Hey, Tim, everything good?”

Danny lit up instantly. “Duke! Wow, both of you? This is déjà vu squared. What, did you plan this little act together?”

Duke blinked. “Uh—”

“Wow, you’re even doing the confused faces,” Danny said, shaking his head with mock admiration. “You guys really committed this time.”

The two exchanged a look — one of those silent conversations where entire theories were forming without a single word.

Danny could practically feel the gears turning. He recognized that face — the “there’s something bigger going on here” look. He’d seen it a hundred times from people who’d stumbled into ghost business. Except this time, he wasn’t the weird one. Technically.

He smiled wider, pretending not to notice their suspicion. “Anyway, it’s good seeing you again. You two still hang out at that café on Fifth, right? The one with the bad espresso?”

Tim’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “You know that place?”

Danny shrugged, casual. “Sure. I used to third-wheel you guys there all the time. Guess some things never change.”

A pause. Both of them were staring at him now, still saying nothing — just watching, analyzing, wondering.

Danny clapped his hands together. “So! Coffee? My treat. It’ll come back to you once the caffeine hits, promise.”

Neither agreed, but somehow, five minutes later, they were all sitting at a café table. Danny stirred his drink, perfectly at ease, while Tim and Duke kept stealing glances like they were trying to solve an equation that refused to add up.

Danny smiled into his cup.

“Man,” he said softly, “it’s really good to see you guys again.”

The guy sitting across from him — Danny, apparently — talked like they’d known each other for years. Casual, warm, familiar. The kind of comfortable tone people earned after a hundred late-night study sessions and shared caffeine addictions.

Except Tim had never seen him before in his life.

He was sure of that. Tim remembered faces, voices, details. He could name every classmate from freshman year by schedule order, recall license plates from across a street, but not this guy. Not even a flicker of recognition.

And yet Danny spoke to him like an old friend — the kind who knew his coffee order before he opened his mouth, who teased him about sleep habits without hesitation, who smiled at Duke like he’d done it a hundred times before.

It wasn’t that he sounded fake. That was the problem. He didn’t.

“Still take it black, huh?” Danny said, handing him his cup like it was muscle memory.

Tim hesitated a beat too long before accepting it. “Yeah. Guess I do.”

Danny just grinned, unbothered, and took a sip of his own drink. “See? I know you better than you think.”

Across the table, Duke gave him a side glance that said, you seeing this too? Tim didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to.

Something in his chest prickled. Not danger, not quite — but wrongness. Like déjà vu wearing a human face.

He watched Danny laugh at something Duke said, easy and unforced, like he belonged here — like he always had.

Tim set his cup down, studying him the way he’d study a crime scene. Small tells. Nervous habits. None. Danny was relaxed. Confident. Too comfortable.

A good liar, then. Or—

No. He wasn’t ready to fill in that blank yet.

“Hey,” Tim said casually, leaning back, “what class did we have together again?”

Danny didn’t miss a beat. “Intro to Chem. You fell asleep in the back row, remember? I had to take notes for both of us.”

Tim frowned slightly. That class had been real. He remembered it. The professor. The seating chart. His notes. Everything — except the person sitting next to him.

Danny smiled, small and knowing, like he could see the thoughts flickering behind Tim’s eyes. “You’ll remember eventually.”

The way he said it — steady, certain, almost kind — made Tim’s stomach tighten.

Because for the first time in a very long time, he wasn’t sure whether he’d forgotten something… or someone had made him forget.

————————

Tim

There was something about the way he smiled.

Not fake — just too easy. Like he’d slipped into a role he’d already rehearsed a hundred times.

Danny. That’s what he’d called himself.

Spoke like they were old friends. Looked him straight in the eye when he said Tim’s name — with that relaxed confidence people only had when they knew you.

But Tim didn’t know him. He’d remember a face like that.

He remembered everyone.

Duke seemed at ease, laughing a little as Danny told some story about “the world’s worst cafeteria coffee.”

Tim listened, quiet, dissecting tone, rhythm, phrasing.

Every detail said familiarity. Every memory said no record.

It wasn’t arrogance — it was just math.

If the data didn’t fit, something was missing.

Danny caught his gaze and smiled again, easy as breathing. “You’re still doing that thinking face,” he said lightly.

Tim blinked. “What face?”

“That one,” Danny said, tapping his own temple. “Like you’re solving a crime in your head. You always do that when you’re pretending to listen.”

Duke snorted. “That’s… freakishly accurate.”

Tim said nothing, but his pulse ticked up a beat.

How would he know that?

Danny leaned back, satisfied, taking a sip of his drink like he hadn’t just cracked open one of Tim’s tells. He didn’t elaborate, didn’t press — just let the silence hang, comfortable, unhurried.

It was disarming.

Tim hated that it was disarming.

⸻

Danny

Tim was definitely watching him now.

Subtle? Not even close. The guy was practically profiling his soul over a cappuccino.

Danny didn’t mind. He’d expected it.

You didn’t survive Amity Park by not recognizing when someone was cataloguing you.

He kept the act simple — steady breathing, loose shoulders, harmless smile. Not too charming, not too interested. Just familiar enough to stay believable.

It was weirdly fun, though.

He could almost see Tim’s thoughts — the way his eyes flickered, mapping details, cross-referencing memories. Trying to find a version of himself where Danny existed.

So Danny made it easy for him. Dropped little phrases that sounded right. Tiny hooks that let the guy build his own answers.

He didn’t lie. Not really. He just let them remember wrong.

Duke laughed again, asking something about study groups. Danny answered automatically, throwing in another casual, “You used to hate those.”

Tim went still again.

Right on cue.

Danny smiled into his cup. It wasn’t cruel — just practical.

Sometimes people believed what they wanted to, and if that got him a few friends? No harm done.

He glanced up, caught Tim’s eyes, and said softly, “You’ll get there. Memory’s tricky like that.”

Tim didn’t respond — just looked at him for a long, quiet moment.

And Danny could almost hear it: that whisper of doubt turning into conviction.

Perfect.

⸻

Tim

He didn’t trust him.

But God help him — he wanted to.

There was something in the cadence of Danny’s voice that felt like a memory trying to surface.

Not déjà vu. Something older. Something lost.

He sipped his coffee to hide the thought, but the name echoed anyway.

Danny.

He’d check later. Files. Photos. Student databases. Whatever it took.

For now, he just nodded slowly and said, “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

—————————-

Tim

Tim had a problem.

It wasn’t that Danny Fenton was dangerous. It wasn’t that he’d broken any laws. It wasn’t even that he was weirdly confident carrying three textbooks like he was auditioning for a circus.

The problem was: Tim couldn’t figure out why he felt familiar.

He sat at the Batcomputer, scrolling through official university records:

• Enrollment? Perfect.

• Classes? All registered, all valid.

• Cafeteria and library accounts? Fully active.

• Dorm assignment? On file.

Nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing.

And yet…

Tim couldn’t shake the way Danny’s posture, the tilt of his head when he laughed, the casual way he balanced chaos like it was a game — it all screamed familiar.

He leaned closer to the screen. Maybe it was the hair. Maybe the eyes. Maybe the universe had just decided to play a prank.

Tim muttered under his breath: “Right… totally normal. Officially normal. Definitely normal. And yet… wrong.”

He pulled up some security footage of the campus quad. There he was. Danny Fenton. Walking, smiling, spilling books, waving at someone Tim didn’t recognize.

And still, for some reason, Tim felt like he’d seen this exact scene before.

He sighed. He rubbed his eyes. “Okay, universe. You win. He’s enrolled properly, everything checks out… but I still don’t trust him.”

Across the table, Duke glanced over. “You good?”

Tim shook his head slowly. “No. But that’s fine. It’s officially fine. Everything’s fine.”

@torontofarmboi

Unique or well-executed tropes, all platonic edition! Just because I feel like it.

COMPLETED

City Pigeons Bleed Green by PaperPuffin

Danny is Bruce Wayne's clone. He's discovered by the Bats, who promptly adopt him. Lots of angst and trauma, skittish Danny, very sweet. 20/20 chapters

Ghosts, Legacies, and CPS by Ace_of_Roses & Karnia_Queen

Vlad calls CPS on Danny. To avoid being placed into Vlad's custody, he goes to a distant biological relative for help - Tim Drake. This one is literally so good. Lots of identity shenanigans. 6/6 chapters

Grave Promises by Blueseabird2

Dick Grayson was trapped in the Ghost Zone years ago and taught newly-Phantom Danny how to be a vigilante. After a reveal gone wrong, Danny seeks out Dick "years" later for help. 11/11 chapters

Like Facing Off Against C'Thulu, but it's Really Just your Fears by nerdpoe

Emotionally devasating. Dick is vivisected by the Fentons and Danny rescues him. The Bats rescue Danny in turn. One of my all-time favorites that you must read. 4/4 chapters

TWINcognito Mode by nerdpoe

Another one of my absolutely favorites. Nerdpoe, you get me. Danny is Tim Drake's clone, and they decide to be twins (and mess with the rest of the family in the process). 6/6 chapters

The Bat Trap by Threee

The Parent Trap, but with the demon twins who don't know they're twins. This one is such a journey. 33/33 chapters