There are some elements of both Tim and Kon/Conner in the comics that I think are super looked over in fanfiction of them.
Kon: -Kon is actually pretty nerdy in his early appearances. Like he's definitely not "a nerd" in his personality, but definitely in his interests. He loves Wendy the Werewolf Hunter (blatant parody of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), he loves referencing old media, and he often refers to reading comics and such. -Kon's whole chauvinistic personality is very much from a place of overcompensating in the comics. Like overcompensating for feeling alone and out-of-place and scared. Humor as a coping mechanism, essentially. -The fact that his body doesn't really age is actually a point of insecurity for him. He doesn't like that he's pretty much stuck looking like a teenager forever even though he pretends he's fine with it. -He doesn't really see Clark, Lois, Jon, and the other superfam members as his actual family -- thus contributing to his sense of loneliness. He mostly sees his friends and peers as his family.
Tim: -Yes Tim is neurotic, but he's neurotic in that smart-person way where he totally recognizes his own neurosis but also can't really change it about himself. He frequently will do something overly-cautious or be a buzzkill and then recognize how lame he's being three seconds later. He knows who he is and he's working on himself. -Tim's dedication to his purpose as a crime-fighter utterly surpasses any of his other character motivations (hence why him leaving for Bernard in the Fraction run was so out of character). He doesn't really think about it the same way Bruce does, though. Bruce's urge towards crime-fighting is often almost akin to an obsessive compulsion (the psychiatrist who was consulted on the Arkham games shares this opinion) and that's why he's so unrelenting and never takes a break. For Tim, it's more straightforward. He genuinely just sees so much value in what he does that it's hard for him to see value in things like self-care and leisure. -Tim's intelligence is very central to his role in the comics and I hate how many fics make him a damsel in distress. Tim is resourceful and brave and genuinely great at what he does.
First of all, I don't blame the fanfic writers/readers out there who haven't read the comics because I do understand that it can be hard to know where to start, but I do think it's something people should generally try to gain a higher appreciation for. I guess I'm just tired of reading stuff where Kon is basically a booktok biker boyfriend and Tim is a short and skinny coffee addict lol. Also, I'm SO far from an expert, this is just things I've picked up on so far. If you want any advice on how to start reading comics, feel free to reach out!!
