Desperate0Cat

I love Tim Drake.  He is my favorite comic book character of all time.  I’ve been really upset the past few days about what DC has been doing with him lately, and I thought it would be cathartic for me to write something up about it.  (No, this isn’t a rant about Tim being bi/gay; it’s a much larger problem than that. But I’ll get to that in a bit.) Bear with me for a bit of history, first.

When I was a kid I loved the Batman Animated Series.  I know this will lose me a lot of internet cred, but I always preferred the fourth season. In particular, I loved Tim Drake. He was fun and funny and I absolutely adored him.  I used to beg my mom to take me to the mall so I could buy issues of Gotham Adventures. For my birthday one year my parents got me a subscription to the comic, and I was blown away by the idea that I could have comics MAILED to my HOUSE.

Around middle school I started collecting Marvel comics, mostly X-men stuff.  I loved them, but when I started college I quit the hobby for financial reasons.

Fast forward a few years, and I felt I was financially stable enough to start buying comics again. Rather than going back to Marvel, I decided to give Batman comics a chance.  I had no idea where to start, and when I found out my beloved Tim had his own comic series, I thought it was a perfect entry point into the Batman universe. I bought the complete series from a local comic shop and dove in.

Tim’s Robin series was exactly what I was looking for in a comic.  He was very different from little Timmy Todd from BtAS, but I loved him. I built the rest of my comic collection around him, grabbing up every book that he was featured in, from Young Justice to Teen Titans to Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Red Robin, and many others.  I have random books from series like The Demon just because Tim was in them.

So why did I like Tim so much?  What about this character made me so excited for more?  I found in Tim something that I had never seen in a comic book before: character growth.  Somehow, though he was written by many different authors over many different years, Tim managed to have a character arc that is consistent and makes sense. Sure, there were a few small bumps along the way, but on the whole Tim has always stayed true to his character, and he’s developed in a way that the big name characters, like Batman, never can.

When we’re first introduced to Tim, he’s a young teen who has been neglected by his parents growing up. He’s smart, healthy, and strong, but he lacks so much self confidence and has little sense of self worth.  Tim notices Bruce’s increasing violence as he grieves for the loss of his son, and Tim knows he needs to step in and help.  Batman needs a Robin.

For most characters, this would be the part where Tim put himself forward for the job.  But he doesn’t.  He seeks out Dick Grayson and begs him to come home instead.  It’s only when Batman and Nightwing are in danger and there is literally no one else to help that Tim steps up and dons the cape. And once he does, he’s constantly plagued by self-doubt, terrified he will screw up and leave Batman worse than ever before.

From there, Tim undergoes intense training.  He never begs to be in the spotlight, doesn’t push to go out on the streets before he’s ready.  His goal is to help Bruce as much as possible.

Here’s where I started to fall in love with him.  All that self-doubt, the constant need to be useful?  That’s exactly what you would expect to see from a child whose parents had ignored and neglected him.  He finally has a parental figure who sees him, who values him, and Tim does everything he can to make himself worthy in the hopes that Bruce will keep him around.

This is the first example of character consistency that we see with Tim.  And it continues.  When his mom dies and his dad is put in a coma, you see Tim struggle to come to terms with losing the people he loves, but never had a relationship with.  Tim almost never mentions his mom after her death, because she just wasn’t present in his life.  When his dad recovers and decides to stick around, Tim struggles to build a relationship with him.  He’s plagued with guilt because he’s finally found the father figure he needed in Bruce, but he thinks that he’s supposed to feel that way for Jack.  It’s a running undercurrent in their relationship that creates distance between them for years.

This is already so long, so I’m going to try to summarize a bit more.  We get to watch Tim grow up.  We see his awkward relationship with his first girlfriend, Ariana.  He doesn’t know how to treat her; he’s never had the opportunity to observe a healthy relationship.  But he tries so, so hard.  All of Tim’s relationships are awkward, because he’s never had a model of a good one. Steph is a great match for him, because she’s very vocal about what she wants and needs, and she isn’t afraid to call Tim out when he messes up, which is exactly what Tim needs.

Big things happen to Tim. He’s stuck with Jean-Paul Valley, who slowly goes insane, leaving Tim to try to keep the city in one piece.  He’s infected with the Clench, a plague that sweeps over Gotham and kills everyone it touches, and barely escapes with his life. His girlfriend is sexually assaulted, leaving him to deal with the fallout.  His family moves out of Gotham, and he has to sneak back in during No Man’s Land to help.  His relationship with his dad has intense ups and downs, resulting in him being sent to boarding school, punished in a variety of ways, and generally caused a lot of trouble in his life.

Then people start dying. Over the course of about a year in his life, Tim loses his girlfriend, his dad, a close friend, and his best friend, each of whom dies under tragic conditions.  Tim’s grief is intense, and he is understandably traumatized by the losses. We see fundamental changes in his character.  He changes his costume from something bright and cheerful to something darker that reflects his emotional state.  He’s more subdued, his adventures a little more serious.

When Bruce first tries to adopt him, Tim literally creates an uncle and hires an actor to play him, just to avoid dealing with the situation.  Bruce has viewed Tim as a son for years, so to him the adoption is an obvious step.  For Tim, it feels like a betrayal of his father, and it takes a while before he’s ready to accept Bruce’s love, home, and a place in his family.  

When Damian shows up on the scene, Tim really struggles with him, and not just because early Damian is a horrid brat who tries to kill Tim on multiple occasions.  Tim has always felt the need to earn his place with Bruce, and Damian constantly throws all of Tim’s biggest fears in his face—he’s not wanted or needed now that the “real” son is here, he’s not worthy of a place in the family, he’s not good enough.

Tim tries to clone Conner, his best friend.  He’s lost so many people, and he’s desperate to get them back.  Conner was cloned to begin with and fully matured over a very short period of time; the technology clearly exists, so why can’t Tim use it to get his best friend back?  And if he can get Conner back, why not the others he’s lost?  He eventually gives up, but when he eventually gets access to a Lazarus Pit, he immediately wants to incorporate the waters into his process so he can revive his loved ones.  With Dick’s help, Tim eventually decides to let it go, but it’s such a poignant moment for the character.

Then Bruce dies, and Dick takes Robin away.  Tim switches to the Red Robin persona as he travels the world, alone, trying to prove that he was right.  He has to deal with the trauma of losing another father, finds out that his girlfriend never died but let him hurt so much for so long.  His brother and the only close friend he has left both think his grief has overwhelmed his sense and that he’s gone crazy.  He’s utterly alone.

The Red Robin series is such a great culmination for Tim.  He finds a place for himself as a hero, as a CEO.  He gets parts of his family back—Bruce, Steph, Bart, Conner.  He finally figures out who he wants to be and creates a place for himself.

This overarching character development is what I love about Tim.  His many, many traumas impact his decisions, and you can clearly see how he changes over time as a result of them.  I didn’t even go into his development as a leader from his early fumbling with Young Justice to his strong leadership of the Teen Titans, or how his relationships with Conner, Bart, and Cassie develop so fluidly and realistically over the years.

This is why I love Tim. Characters like Batman are static; nothing that happens to them will ever have a lasting impact, because in the end the character always returns to what they were.  Tim, on the other hand, has changed and developed A LOT since his initial appearance.  His growth has always been consistent and logical.

When the reboot happened, all of that character growth was lost.  Tim was replaced with a jerk who betrayed his friends and cheated on his girlfriend.  DC has basically retconned all of this and tried to turn Tim back into who he was, but by taking away all of the things that have happened to him over the years, Tim has lost SO MUCH.

I keep looking for my Tim in recent comics, and I just can’t find him.  It breaks my heart, because I love him so much, and it feels like he’s lost to me forever.  The most recent Young Justice comic series actually gave me hope; I felt like maybe, finally, someone was going to write Tim correctly.  He had his primary friendships back, his relationship with Steph was developing (even if they seem to have completely dropped all the development around Steph’s decision to let Tim think she was dead).  The actual book itself wasn’t fantastic, but it felt like they were headed in the right direction.

Over the last few days, I read the Batman: Urban Legends books.  I actually read the Batman/Red Hood story first, which was fantastic.  I was really excited to read Tim’s story (though I already knew how it ended).  Jason’s character was handled so well, and he seemed to actually have some character development that will hopefully last.  I anticipated the same for Tim.

But Tim’s story was awful. The plot was all over the place—kids are being kidnapped, so Tim has to join a pain cult to get them back?  He’s somehow helping Oracle with computer issues while simultaneously questioning witnesses?  He’s broken up with Steph, off camera, shortly after telling her how much he loves her, but Steph somehow thinks that they should have a caring relationship where Tim tells her what he’s feeling?  Bernard has somehow become a good enough fighter to stand side by side with Robin?  Tim STILL doesn’t have a code name?  Why is everyone suddenly hounding him about what he wants to do with his life?

It’s just such a mess of a story.  If it didn’t end with Tim agreeing to go on a date with Bernard, no one would ever have even mentioned it.  There’s nothing particularly re-readable or enjoyable about it.

I actually liked that they brought Bernard back. I really enjoyed him in the original Robin series. It’s been a while since I read that part of the series (I’m actually working my way back through it now).  I know Bernard always read as gay to me, yet somehow I felt like he was out of character in these books.

And then, the climax of the story.  Tim is bi, or gay, or has at least agreed to go on a date with a boy.

If this had happened in the pre-boot, when Tim was Red Robin and had an actual character arc, I honestly wouldn’t have had an issue with it.  I do think it would have needed a LOT more build up than it was given here.  Tim has always been a very introspective character, and we’ve been party to so much of his internal monologue over the years.  It seems very strange to me that such a huge thing just sneaks up on him out of nowhere when he’s never even thought about it before.

But more than that, this story just feels like the final death blow for the Tim I loved.  The whole arc is about how Tim doesn’t know who he is or who he wants to be.  What will his hero name be?  Will he go to college?  What is he going to do with his life?  These are all great questions, and his answer to all of them is… date a boy?  

Is this going to be his defining characteristic going forward?  From here will we just see Tim exploring and discovering his sexuality?  The Tim we have now doesn’t have a family, a team, a purpose, or even a code name.  Why was this the thing that DC decided to give us?  It feels like they wanted to make a gay Robin and decided it would be Tim because they didn’t know what else to do with him.

It’s stupid, but I honestly feel like I’ve spent the past few days grieving the loss of a loved one. The Tim that DC is presenting now is just not the person that I knew.  Tim would never break up with Steph that abruptly for what he admits is no apparent reason.  He would never say “just call me Robin, since Damian’s out of town.”  Everything that I love about Tim seems to be gone, and in its place DC has given me a date with a boy.  

Again, it’s not Tim being not-straight that I have an issue with.  I’ve never read the character that way, but it’s something I can live with. My issue is the way it was handled. Why not make Tim an actual person first, and then explore his sexuality?  Send him off to college!  He’s obviously thinking about it!  It’s the perfect opportunity to give him his own book.  He can move to a different city, choose a new name, and DC can introduce a whole new set of characters.  Figure out which parts of Tim’s backstory are still canon, and which have been dropped. Make him a person again, and then let him explore his sexuality.

I know this post is all over the place, and I don’t have time right now to go back and edit it.  I just really needed an outlet for my frustration.  Right now it feels like there are so many people who are so excited about Tim being bi/gay, but they don’t know anything else about him.  I keep seeing people comment how DC has been “dropping hints for years!” with no evidence other than “he and Superboy were really close!”  I guess I’d just really like to have some dialogue with other people who are fans of Tim, rather than fans of Tim-as-bi/gay or fans of Tim-as-straight.

Oh, my goodness YES! I don’t even feel like the new52 Tim is Tim like my brain just blocks all of that out, to be honest.  

Our Tim is a goofball, and bursting with personality,

He can be a dork at times, and excitable, 

He has been through a lot,

He’s lost too many people to count,

And that has left him a bit broken, and a little insecure, 

But he still shows love,

He still has friends, people he knows he can rely on.

He has earned the respect of Batman (and many others) and is beyond smart.

And I have to say, he is beyond creative- especially when it comes to taking down villians and covering his tracks,

Willing to take himself out to get rid of an evil older version of himself-

Faking his death to trick Ra’s al Ghul (with the help of Cass)

Staging a failed assassination attempt on Tim Drake-Wayne (with the help of M’gann)

And a bunch more. He really thinks outside the box.

There isn’t anyone else like him in the DCU. I love Tim Drake. 

And I feel like the new52 just took Tim and stripped all of that away, meaning that he isn’t our time he’s just some cheap knock off. I mean, do these writers even read comics!?

Outside of SpideyPool I just kinda like ships with peter because I'm a sucker for (any flirtatious character) x spider-man lol Wade x Peter Matt x Peter Johnny x Peter Felicia x Peter Gwen x Peter and ofc, the soulmates themselves, MJ x Peter

how i see them:

In which we are all Karma…

1. Truth: Be real. Be true to yourself and allow others follow their own truth.

2. Humor: Learn to find the humor in things, especially yourself.

3. Humility: If you need to tie your balls to a goat to accomplish your goals, suck it up buttercup.

4. Cunning: Try to think outside the box. Don't make a mess so big that you can't figure your way out of it.

5. Transformation: Don't be afraid of change, because that's how we grow. Don't be afraid of self-examination and listen to constructive criticism.

6. Creativity: Create awesome stuff. Try new things out. If you don't like it, blow it up and try again.

7. Accountability: You are the only one in charge of your own destiny, your own life, and your own actions.

8. Empathy: Try to see things from more than one perspective. Shape-shift into someone else's shoes before you pass judgement.

1. Truth: Be real. Be true to yourself and allow others follow their own truth.

2. Humor: Learn to find the humor in things, especially yourself.

3. Humility: If you need to tie your balls to a goat to accomplish your goals, suck it up buttercup.

4. Cunning: Try to think outside the box. Don't make a mess so big that you can't figure your way out of it.

5. Transformation: Don't be afraid of change, because that's how we grow. Don't be afraid of self-examination and listen to constructive criticism.

6. Creativity: Create awesome stuff. Try new things out. If you don't like it, blow it up and try again.

7. Accountability: You are the only one in charge of your own destiny, your own life, and your own actions.

8. Empathy: Try to see things from more than one perspective. Shape-shift into someone else's shoes before you pass judgement.

In construction

Here are some cheat sheets with general information about the Greek Gods which you might find useful in worship but not only!

There is plenty of information I did not include. These are just simple cheat sheets. I could not fit everything in there but this might come in handy if you’re just starting out or want to get to know the Hellenic Gods.

For more information about them, I highly recommend you check out the websites or books I listed in sources!

PSA: Some of the things listed in offerings and associations section are more modern, thus could be regarded as UPGs/SPGs

⚡ The Olympians ⚡

Zeus

Hera

Poseidon

Demeter

Athena

Apollo

Artemis

Ares

Hephaestus

Aphrodite

Hermes

Hestia

Dionysus

Mount Olympus - Home of the Gods

Hyperborea

🦴The Underworld🦴

Hades

Persephone

Hekate

Hypnos

Thanatos

Erinyes

House of Hades & the Afterlife

🌱 Minor deities & daimones 💫

Nemesis

Eris

Phobos & Deimos - bonus info

Eros

Nike

Asklepios

Pan

Iris

Hebe

Priapus

Amphitrite

Aristaios

Thetis

Tyche

Mousai [Muses]

Moirai [Fates]

Charites [Graces]

Anemoi [The Winds]

🌾 Titan & Primordial Gods 🌌

Helios

Selene

Hekate

Eos

Leto

Themis

Rhea

Cronus

Nyx

Gaia

👑 Heroes & deified mortals ⚔

Achilles

Heracles

Asklepios

Ganymede

Dioskouroi

Adonis

Hyacinthus

So, first of all, I’d suggest at least looking over the companion post to this, How to Read the Deity Communication Spread. A lot of the same ideas and concepts I mentioned there are going to apply here as well.

Secondly, if you’re not sure what I’m talking about – check out the Deity Identification Spread!

The purpose of this spread is to build a profile of information about a deity so that you can discover or narrow down their identity. It won’t always hand you the answer on a platter! But as I said before, and will say numerous times again in the future, the act of taking that information and searching for the answer is often part of the process of working with deities and spirits.

Another purpose for this spread is to verify the identity of a deity that you’re dealing with. It’s actually quite useful for this one, and quite a bit easier, because you’re going to have a better idea of what you’re looking for already.

(Also, just for funsies, if you’re a writer or someone else who finds themselves needing to do some world building, it’s great for generating up fictional deities as well)

Overall Advice

As always, God stuff is weird. It won’t always be easy, but this spread should point you to the signs along the way to figure it out, even if it doesn’t hand you the answer.

Be willing to think creatively. The “answer” may come from the card meaning or imagery, but it could also be a pun on the name or number, or something that is whispered to you when the card is turned over – see above: God stuff is weird.

Remember: you may have to do the leg work on this. The cards should ultimately give you symbols and signs to look out for – so be looking out! See what deities you find that are connected to your answers. Search the myths and lore. See how and where they fit.

Like I said in the post about the Communication Spread, it’s okay to draw more cards for various positions, perhaps even more so in this spread. (You can uh….draw multiple cards for positions on any spread?? by the way?? Just throwing that out there)

Even if you don’t discover the identity of the deity, you’re going to get some useful information in terms of allowing you to reach out to them – clues about their nature, information on their symbols and associations. The closer you get, the more answers may be revealed.

CARD ONE: The Deity

Like in the Communication Spread, this card sums the deity up, typically giving you the particular aspect that is appearing to you.This card should give you hints on where to start looking for the deity’s identity – their name, personality, their appearance. 

Relate this card to the other cards to start building an image of the deity.

CARD TWO: Quality/Trait (”Negative”)

As I say in the spread, I usually interpret this trait as being something “negative” – note, by the way, that you may not get a straight answer here if the deity doesn’t have any overtly negative traits or if you personally won’t perceive or experience those traits.

The “negative” trait may be something they’re classically associated with – jealous, impulsive, potentially cruel. But it may be something you personally may not like – associations that make you uncomfortable or challenge you.

I think it can be hard for people to confront this card because it can be scary. If you get an answer here you don’t like, maybe you don’t want to know the answer after all. If that’s going to be an issue for you, enough that you can’t get over it, then eh, maybe don’t specify this to be something negative. But I think it’s worth it to know and it can be very illuminating.

CARD THREE: Quality/Trait (”Positive”)

This card is the same as above, but with a more positive slant. So these may be things that are aspects they’re known for, such as beauty, generosity, wisdom, or things that you’ll appreciate and be supported by.

This card can be confusing when the positive trait comes up as a negative card, so firstly, let me suggest reading what I said about negative cards in How to Read the Deity Communication Spread.

But overall, consider that a negative card may:

Be expressing a positive aspect of itself – The Tower as liberation, the Five of Pentacles as a light for the lost.

Represent something symbolic – the Ten of Swords may be someone who is known for stepping out of their physical body or granting that ability to those who worship them. The Ten of Wands may be someone who is known to take on many burdens or many followers.

…may just be negative? You might not have a good time with every deity. It happens.

CARD FOUR: Ruling/Power

This card should point you to the deity’s domain, if you will. The cards can be a bit cheeky here, so be prepared for that. The Lovers may indicate a love goddess – but it may also come up for a crossroads deity. 

You should be willing to have a dialogue with your cards here. Pull more than one if you need to, but don’t be afraid to actually give a think to what you draw here – and for all of the cards, to be honest…

Contemplation and comparison to the other cards should help you out here.

CARD FIVE: Symbol/Association

This can be straightforward or not, so good luck!

Again, sometimes the answer is in the imagery – a lightning bolt on The Tower, there might be a dolphin on your Knight of Cups, or maybe it will be in the name or meaning. The search for the answer can be part of the work you’re supposed to be doing, remember? 

But what you’re looking for here are symbols, animals, places, concepts, or whatever else you can strongly link to a deity – which you can use not only to identify that deity, but to reach out to them. 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I really can’t stress this enough – even if you don’t get the answer directly, you’re going to get clues to follow along the path and you’re going to get keys to help bring you closer to that deity. 

If you follow those signs and if you use those keys, you will be able to build a bridge of communication and build a relationship that is going to bring you closer to the answer of identity.

This is especially useful for lesser known deities or deities whose names have been lost to time! 

But ultimately you need to be willing to sit with these answers and explore them, especially if a straightforward identity isn’t presented to you. Sometimes the answer is something that unfolds over time rather than something that hits you straight in the face right away. Maybe you can eliminate some names along the way!

Like I said in the closing thoughts on the communication spread breakdown:

“One of the reasons this spread can be difficult is that deities are difficult. Discovering who they are and what they want from you is sometimes part of the whole challenge or bonding process, and the quest to find those answers is often as useful and important as actually accomplishing anything they’re going to ask from you.

Published: Jan 29th, 2021 Most Recent Edit: October 22nd, 2021

Omegas

Different Types of Heats

Omega Stereotypes: Which are True?

Collars and Neck Coverings

Can Omegas have the biological urge to dominate?

Punk Omega Headcanon

Can omegas ignore an alpha voice?

Omega Headcanon 1, 2, 3

Spooky Szn

Gift from Omega to Alpha

Alphas

Different Types of Ruts

Alpha Stereotypes: Which are True?

Alpha Headcanon 1, 2, 3

Alphas around Omegas in heat

Alpha Female Reproduction Anatomy

Ruts Impacted by Alpha’s (In)security

Alpha Voice 1, 2, 3

Alpha finds injured Omega

Betas

What it actually means to be a Beta

How can Betas with weaker instincts help and understand the pack?

Beta Headcanon 1, 2, 3

Pack

Pack Size

Pack Living Accommodations

Omegaverse: Parental Names

Pack Roles

What happens to packless people?

Sister Packs

All Female Pack

Pups/Teens

Presentation at Different Times

Adoption in Omegaverse

Scruffing

Pup Headcanon 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Pup Sounds

Presentation

Teens Courting

Young Unplanned Pregnancy

My Recommendations and Opinions

My Omegaverse Symbol 

Things I will never support in Omegaverse

A/B/O Tag Recommendations

Traditionals vs. Non-Traditional a/b/o

A/B/O Guide Recommendations

My Opinion of Deltas 1, 2

My Opinion on True Mates

What is my favorite niche/trope in Omegaverse?

Omegaverse Blogs List

Starting an Omegaverse Blog

Random

Different Nests Aesthetics

Omegaverse Mermaid AU

Omegaverse Worldbuilding Starter Kit

10+ Pack Content Tag

Revolutions/Rebellions in Omegaverse

Alpha Female x Omega Male whose Omega Daughter Plays Contact Sports

Alpha Female x Omega Male whose Omega Daughter has Depression

City Specific Headcanons

Mates in a No Pack AU

Night Terrors

Modern Day Courting

Parental Names

Sex Ed Classes

Bonds 1, 2

Biology and Anatomy

Scent Glands 1, 2, 3

Omegaverse Sounds

Periods in Omegaverse?, 2

Omegas with Reproductive Organ Medical Conditions

Can Male Alphas get Pregnant?

Heats and Ruts after Giving Birth

Female Alpha Anatomy

Male Alpha vs Female Alpha Fertility Rate

What Causes Knots?, 2

Male Omegas Breasts

Pregnancy Stats

Dynamics Without a Sense of Smell

Mental Health and Sexuality

ADHD

Gender Dysphoria

Asexuality and Aromanticism 

Omega with BPD

Transdynamics

Omega with Tics/Tourette’s

Adynamics

Bronwyn Pack

Sawyer and Jude

Dorian and El

Whole Bronwyn Pack

Jude, Dorian, and El Pic- My OT3

Valentines Day Pic

Relationships

Female Alpha x Male Omega

True Mates Headcanons, 2

Male Alpha x Male Omega x Female Omega

Female Omega x Male Beta x Female Alpha

True Mates Red String Headcanons

Person from Our World True Mate in Omegaverse, Part 2

Female Omega x Male Beta x Female Alpha 2

Restaurant Owners Beta Female x Beta Male

Upper Class x Lower Class True Mates

Late Presenting Omega Headcanon

Omega x Alpha x Alpha (x Beta)

Omega X Beta Whump Headcanon

Female Alpha x Female Omega

Male Alpha x Female Beta

Male Alpha x Male Beta x Male Omega

Memes

Alpha Meme 1

Omega Meme 1, 2

Beta Meme 1

all of these fics are finished and amazing! the word count goes up progressively and the rating is noted but do check the works for tags!

All fics marked with a star haven't left my brain since I read them!

Jaytim

I’m not sure if ris went on anon and asked the same question twice, or if this is two different people. Either way, ask and ye shall receive.

There isn’t enough Kon content out there, in my opinion. He’s such an underappreciated character, both by DC and by the fandom. Most of the works out there that feature Kon only have him as a background character, and then most of those are centered around Tim. But I’ll try to find the ones that focus mainly on Kon. 

1. The Mystery of the Superboy Shirts by Aviatricks Tim/Kon. 4,000 words. You can’t have a Kon fic rec without including this one. There’s a very high chance that you’ve already read it, but I’m going to add it anyway because it’s one of my favourite DC fics of all time. It’s from Tim’s point of view, but it’s centered around Kon, and honestly, just one of the most hilarious things ever. Read this if you want a short, feel-good, happy fic that will make you laugh.

2. On My Chest, On My Heart by dnawhite76 Tim/Kon. 20,000 words. Now this! This is an absolutely wonderful Timkon fic that’s actually centered around Kon and is from Kon’s point of view. Amazing. It’s a Love Simon High School AU of sorts, featuring lots of superfam and Kon being a gay disaster, and an incredible coming out sequence. Kon feels a little lost, a little out of place, and not at all happy (at the beginning), but the way the author wrote his family and friends’ support and his character development was the BEST. It’s a little lengthy, but so worth it.

3. Boys of Summer by MarbleAide Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. A summer camp AU that follows Tim and Kon through the years. Again, from Tim’s point of view, but he’s so in love with Kon, it’s so cute. It’s a cute fic with a healthy dose of pining. The prose is a little simple, and the pacing’s just a bit too fast, but the overall universe this fic (along with the rest of the antics of the core four) is adorable. 

4. Close to Home by iesika Multiple pairings. 65,000 words. Ooooooh boy this is a LONG one. AU in the form of canon divergence. There’s a murder in Smallville High, and Kon and Tim attempt to solve the mystery together, while Kon goes through normal high school stuff (and some abnormal hero stuff.) It’s very very plotty, with a mystery that drives the whole thing. It’s got some pretty cool OCs, though I’m not usually a fan of that stuff, and it’s sort of kind of Timkon? It’s got an ambiguous ending, both of which I tend to shy away from. Overall, not my cup of tea but still a pretty great fic, and if you’re looking for Kon centered fics, this is the one to check out.

5. Gonna Be A Better One (A Thousand Miles To Your Door) by @traincat​ Tim/Kon. 18,500 words. I haven’t read this one in a while, but I do remember really really loving it. It’s classic take on the problems that come with being two teenagers dating while simultaneously being two teenage vigilantes. A little bit of cute core four stuff, the few instances where Steph shows up, she’s pretty well characterized. The two of them are hopelessly besotted, but also dealing with a lot of issues and they’re trying to figure out if their love is worth it. I loved this one, definitely worth a read. (Also unrelated but traincat is the spideytorch queen and spideytorch is like one of my top ships of all time so even if you’re not into marvel comics you should go read them anyway because I love them.)

6. Boys in Leather Jackets by @merelymine​ Tim/Kon. <3,000 words. I. Um. Yeah this is just PWP. I am completely unashamed. It’s cute at first, and then it’s hot as hell, and I will not apologize for reccing it. 

7. Curse of the Red-Heads by @pupeez4eva (sorry if this is the wrong link, their tumblr wasn’t linked on the fic so I did a little digging) Multiple Pairings. 5,000 words. I’m a little hesitant to rec this because it is mainly about Tim and Kon, but it’s told from Damian’s point of view and it’s got a fair bit of him as well. Regardless, Kon is actually hilarious whenever he shows up, and I loved him, so I’m reccing it anyway. Damian doesn’t understand how relationships work, and meddles in people’s love lives. It’s absolutely hilarious, if you’re up for a laugh, give it a read.

8. Three Little Words by timkons Tim/Kon. 10,000 words. Once again, centered around Tim, but features Kon being an incredible, loving husband so I’m not complaining. It’s a little angsty, and dives Tim’s emotional vulnerability. Tim and Kon fight, Tim is Emotional and Hates It, and it takes you on a ride of feels. But it ends happily, so that’s nice. (Sort of) Domestic and older Timkon, I really enjoyed this fic. 

9. Through Another Lens by animegoil Tim/Kon. 7,000 words. Mind the tags on this one, it’s a little bit triggering, and has a tad bit of non/con. This one isn’t one I really love, but it’s not bad overall. It’s a bit too wordy, and a tad anti-climatic? In a sense? But it’s from Kon’s pov and it shows his thought process pretty well. There’s a little bit of angst, followed up by Talking About Feelings and a hint of hurt/comfort. Overall, a decent read. 

10. Class Differences by wisia Tim/Kon. 13,500 words. Ooooooh man this was a good one. I was expecting silliness and fluff. Instead I got a ride of feels and some really really well written words. This fic centers around Kon dealing with the publicity that comes with being “Timothy Drake”’s boyfriend. And man is it rough. I just loved it though, absolutely incredible. I might reread it sometime and make a moodboard idk.

11. Matters of the Heart by @nyerus Tim/Kon. 13,500 words. This one is a case fic, with Kon realizing he’s in love with Tim and having to deal with that. Very plotty, but the action was done super well, so it added to the overall vibe of the fic. Kon is so in love with Tim, he’s hopeless, it’s great. Also, the author got Kon’s point of view down, like damn it’s incredible. Definitely worth a read!

12. What’s in a name? by dancingsweetheart129 Tim/Kon. 21,000 words. This one is more of a character introspection, as Kon learns to let his old name go as he grows up. I wasn’t really a fan of the writing style, it was too fast in some places and too wordy in others, and the prose got a little messy at times. But it is a really good character study, so if you’re looking for Kon centered fics, this is worth a shot.

13. We’re Not Dating by @dianaraven (once again, i’m not entirely sure this is the right url bc it wasn’t linked in the fic and I had to do some digging. sorry!) Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. Exactly what it says on the box. An old trope but a good one, fluff, pining, and people not realizing they’re in love with each other. Just a good, wholesome read.

14. Reveries by @nyerus Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. Another fic by nyerus, but this one’s short and sweet. Again, focused mainly on Tim, but it features the two of them being super in love and adorable and I love it. Read it if you want Cute Boyfriends being Cute Boyfriends (and tim getting some sleep for once in his life).

Alright, here are 14 fics to get you started. I also recommend you check out the individual authors fic recs, I really only put one of each on there (except for nyerus, they get two bc they’re great), but all of them have some really good DC fics. Once again, if you want more fics, or ones with a different ship/fandom, don’t hesitate to pop in my inbox. Happy reading!

‘Partition’, part 5 of Detente the series by MsSolo ao3

I love the atmosphere and the chemical of these two, and also the others around in this story. And I’m just gonna cry for Tim (again, yes) ,my poor beautiful boy…