actually the curse is BROKEN
Feb. 12th, 2026 07:20 pmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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Yes! I imagine Batman's relationship with Ax being sort of like that Animorphs sequence where the military keeps grabbing Jake and throwing him out of their base over and over, and he keeps popping up in the middle of the room over and over even though they keep adding more layers of security and restraint every time they get rid of him. Only now it's happening on a citywide scale, over a course of months.
Bruce: I've constructed a net of lasers overtop the entirety of Gotham, so extensive that not even a single insect can get through and covering not only the entire sky but up to 30 miles underground. My house is a giant living Gleet Biofilter. The most sterile environment ever achieved by human efforts is found within my —
Ax: [sitting on Bruce's kitchen counter] You are out of lucky marshmallow cereal. Marsh-maaaaallow.
Bruce: How. Did you get out of the Phantom Zone.
Ax: You do still have Corn Pops. Would you like some? They're an excellent source of fiber, all part of this complete breakfast!
Rachel: Done with this shit. Would have moved with her dad to Star City ages ago, if not for the fact that her friends all live here. She doesn't want to get fear gassed, she doesn't want to avoid manhole openings, she doesn't want to have to step off the sidewalk for some overpriced piece-of-shit "bat""mobile" to come roaring through at 400 MPH. Normal kids in normal cities don't have to carry bricks in their purses and beat up Joker goons — and then beat up the guy in spandex who showed up too late to beat up the Joker goons — twice a week on their way home. She is DONE.
Tobias: The weird fanboy obsessed with proving that Batman and Robin actually exist, and with documenting the fact that — he insists — there have been at least three different Robins since the Batman got started. He probably wouldn't bother trying to figure out their real identities, just which Robin is which. And he'd definitely never, under any circumstances, attempt conversation with them. But he'd have tons of trivia about their habits and movements.
Cassie: Still regretting the time she yelled "ACAB" at Red Hood in response to him firing live rounds at a guy who was just stealing a TV from a store. Okay, she doesn't regret it that much. But they're all pretty sure that Red Hood only didn't take the time to murder her too is because she lives way on the outskirts of town and he never leaves Park Row.
Marco: Has been trying to ignore for years that his mom is mind-controlled and running a secret crime empire, but at some point you gotta do what you gotta do. Hence: the mask. The name Silverback spray-painted on his shoulders. The leather jacket and leather pants, which is the best he can do for armor. He is not a superhero, he's not that stupid; he's not out here to fight crime, just to sabotage everything his mom tries to do. And if he ends up getting in the way of random muggings and assaults, that's a coincidence. Hopefully soon he can put a stop to this all, and his mom will be like she was before.
Jake: Marco's sidekick. Accidentally stumbled on Marco's vigilante costume, thinks it's awesome, and wants to do what he can to help. Goes out Kenny-style incognito, in a hoodie so big it's basically a duvet, and provides Marco with everything from snacks to diversion fireworks to getaway bicycle to common sense.
Ax: Finds Batman to be actually quite annoying. The man keeps showing up in Ax's living room to declare "no metas in Gotham," and then "I thought I told you I don't want anyone with shapeshifting powers in Gotham" and then "how do you keep getting back into Gotham, you damn alien?" Ax has put sticky tape over the windows, which doesn't keep Batman out but does cause him to produce loud crinkly noises every time he gets in, which usually gives Ax the chance to hide in the bathroom until Batman gets bored and goes away. Oh, and don't even get Ax started on the time Batman showed up and asked for his help with a case, because "the fate of our entire world hangs in the balance." It took over an hour of Ax standing there eating anchovies and pointing out that Batman saves the planet twice a week without help before the guy finally gave up and left.
I...honestly feel like Rachel would become a vigilante of her own. Not sure HOW but she would.
She is! She carries a bag of bricks around and she interrupts violence wherever she sees it, with extreme prejudice!
Tobias ends up getting adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, and the next thing anybody knows, there's a brand new Robin.
#Fic series WHEN?#Also Batman VS. the Yeerks#Batman learning the kids' secret and not only proving he can be trusted with it#But setting up a really rad secret hideout#Giving them tech#Being super protective of Robinhawk#Squaring up to fight powerful aliens with nothing but his tech and a father's determination#I NEED THIS AU DAMN IT#Animorphs#Batman
I love this in combination with my headcanon that they all absolutely HATE the Bats, because it suggests the most grudging team-up of all time. Bruce is miserable because now he has to put up with all these shapeshifters if he wants to accomplish his two lifelong goals of punching aliens and mentoring teenagers. Tobias is miserable because it seems like this guy only cares about Crime™, not societal problems. Marco is miserable because this stupid old man, he's ancient, like 37, keeps getting in the way of Silverback's madcap schemes. Cassie is miserable because it turns out this whole org runs on nepotism, which in practice means that Red Hood can shoot anyone he likes as long as they're rubber bullets. Nightwing is miserable because these kids' lives are so so sooooo stressful and he can't solve every single one of their problems no matter how hard he tries.
Rachel is having a great time with her new best friend Stephanie Brown, and if everyone else now lives in fear of flying bricks if they try to take vigilantism too far, then that's their problem.
Tobias hasn’t done his research if he thinks Bruce Wayne only cares about Crime and not societal systems of oppression lol (there are entire runs about this - No Man’s Land being a big one where Bruce very much tackles societal issues and where class and privilege are heavily discussed… as well as Cataclysm, to name two).
I think Cassie would eventually bond with Bruce (once she is able to see past this rich white dude’s weird exterior) and have discussions with him about environmental things (considering he’s set up nature preserves, etc). She’d also respect his diehard beliefs in not killing and how people deserve chances at rehabilitation.
I don’t think this team would hate the Bats. I actually think they’d end up with some fantastic camaraderie - though it wouldn’t be immediate for everyone.
#I guess it depends on which runs you read but Bruce is actually a really kind human being#despite what frank miller might have you believe#and NML was peak#hence why it won awards
I do agree that there are some great depictions of Bruce as a caring person who does good... but I still don't necessarily think your average Gothamite off the street would spit on Batman if he was on fire. He's drawn/written as spending 97% of his time on the town tearing around either looking for fights or actively involved in them, and the occasional moment where he finds a kid's lost dog or changes an old lady's porch light doesn't necessarily make up for aaaaaallllll the people he beats up.
Like, I think the comics (and movies) have gotten better at showing him actually being helpful rather than just vengeful. But I think his impact can be good without that being visible to a person who only ever interacts with him if they have to jump out of the way of the Batmobile or repair yet another grappling hook hole in their masonry. Recent comics have leaned into his role as a foster father, and I'm all for it. But again: you have to know Batman is Bruce Wayne to make the connection between him stopping crime and taking in the Jason Todds and Cass Cains who are impacted by his crime-stopping. Without that context, it seems like Batman just breaks shit and runs for it, while Bruce Wayne faffs around adopting children like he's an animal hoarder with no common sense.
Never seen Gravity Falls! Anyone who knows this and Animorphs willing to weigh in?
First of all: I can't recommend Gravity Falls highly enough and the most recent additions to the Gravity Falls universe gave it some dark and bleak lore on the same level as Animorphs.
With that being said, here're some ideas: Bill Cipher (main antagonist of Gravity Falls) the dream demon is much older than Ellimist and Crayak (a trillion years old) and was seen as a devil/boogeyman by the Ketrans, the Capasins and numerous other alien civilisations billions of years. He haunts the Galaxy since it came to be; Toomin is wary of Bill as he knows of his tragic past, Crayak hates him but is somewhat impressed by the fact that Bill destroyed his home dimension Euklydia.
Toomin knows of Bill's true intentions and would go on to warn the Pemalites and any alien society he ran across not to trust the dream demon by any means.
Bill is one of Crayak's and Ellimist's greatest rivals as they know he could take them down if he ever gained access to the physical dimension.
Once the Chee arrive on Earth and learn of Bill Cipher's attempts to use mankind into to open a portal to his dimension, the Nightmare Realm, stopping him becomes one of their most important tasks.
@obsidianplanetvoid The people of Gravity Falls may not take the news of the invasion too seriously as to them this is just another weird thing and these happen on a daily basis in this town where the Society of the Blind Eye constantly wipes the memories of their fellow citizens. As such, I could imagine that the Animorphs not being so well-known in this part or Oregon even after they saved Earth, meaning that they could take a vacation there without being harassed by the media.
@obsidianplanetvoid Something else that should be taken into consideration is that the show takes place 8-9 years after #54; when somebody proposes to Cassie to give some of the areas around Gravity Falls to the Hork-Bajir, the latter refuse as they find this place unsettling. Sometimes later a Chee approaches Cassie to warn her to stay away from that place.
When it comes to the plot, it could be like the Anastasia AU: Rachel mysteriously appears in Gravity Falls without her memories sometimes after the end of #54 and makes ends meet with various jobs: as a lifeguard, a waitress at the Greasy's Diner, a babysitter to Pacifica Northwest, Wendy Corduroy and her brothers, a lumberjane, a saleswoman and later an assistant to Stan Pines at his mystery shack. How she comes back? Maybe Tobias went to the future and approaches the Time Baby to get a Time Wish.
Rachel: Done with this shit. Would have moved with her dad to Star City ages ago, if not for the fact that her friends all live here. She doesn't want to get fear gassed, she doesn't want to avoid manhole openings, she doesn't want to have to step off the sidewalk for some overpriced piece-of-shit "bat""mobile" to come roaring through at 400 MPH. Normal kids in normal cities don't have to carry bricks in their purses and beat up Joker goons — and then beat up the guy in spandex who showed up too late to beat up the Joker goons — twice a week on their way home. She is DONE.
Tobias: The weird fanboy obsessed with proving that Batman and Robin actually exist, and with documenting the fact that — he insists — there have been at least three different Robins since the Batman got started. He probably wouldn't bother trying to figure out their real identities, just which Robin is which. And he'd definitely never, under any circumstances, attempt conversation with them. But he'd have tons of trivia about their habits and movements.
Cassie: Still regretting the time she yelled "ACAB" at Red Hood in response to him firing live rounds at a guy who was just stealing a TV from a store. Okay, she doesn't regret it that much. But they're all pretty sure that Red Hood only didn't take the time to murder her too is because she lives way on the outskirts of town and he never leaves Park Row.
Marco: Has been trying to ignore for years that his mom is mind-controlled and running a secret crime empire, but at some point you gotta do what you gotta do. Hence: the mask. The name Silverback spray-painted on his shoulders. The leather jacket and leather pants, which is the best he can do for armor. He is not a superhero, he's not that stupid; he's not out here to fight crime, just to sabotage everything his mom tries to do. And if he ends up getting in the way of random muggings and assaults, that's a coincidence. Hopefully soon he can put a stop to this all, and his mom will be like she was before.
Jake: Marco's sidekick. Accidentally stumbled on Marco's vigilante costume, thinks it's awesome, and wants to do what he can to help. Goes out Kenny-style incognito, in a hoodie so big it's basically a duvet, and provides Marco with everything from snacks to diversion fireworks to getaway bicycle to common sense.
Ax: Finds Batman to be actually quite annoying. The man keeps showing up in Ax's living room to declare "no metas in Gotham," and then "I thought I told you I don't want anyone with shapeshifting powers in Gotham" and then "how do you keep getting back into Gotham, you damn alien?" Ax has put sticky tape over the windows, which doesn't keep Batman out but does cause him to produce loud crinkly noises every time he gets in, which usually gives Ax the chance to hide in the bathroom until Batman gets bored and goes away. Oh, and don't even get Ax started on the time Batman showed up and asked for his help with a case, because "the fate of our entire world hangs in the balance." It took over an hour of Ax standing there eating anchovies and pointing out that Batman saves the planet twice a week without help before the guy finally gave up and left.
I...honestly feel like Rachel would become a vigilante of her own. Not sure HOW but she would.
She is! She carries a bag of bricks around and she interrupts violence wherever she sees it, with extreme prejudice!
Tobias ends up getting adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, and the next thing anybody knows, there's a brand new Robin.
#Fic series WHEN?#Also Batman VS. the Yeerks#Batman learning the kids' secret and not only proving he can be trusted with it#But setting up a really rad secret hideout#Giving them tech#Being super protective of Robinhawk#Squaring up to fight powerful aliens with nothing but his tech and a father's determination#I NEED THIS AU DAMN IT#Animorphs#Batman
I love this in combination with my headcanon that they all absolutely HATE the Bats, because it suggests the most grudging team-up of all time. Bruce is miserable because now he has to put up with all these shapeshifters if he wants to accomplish his two lifelong goals of punching aliens and mentoring teenagers. Tobias is miserable because it seems like this guy only cares about Crime™, not societal problems. Marco is miserable because this stupid old man, he's ancient, like 37, keeps getting in the way of Silverback's madcap schemes. Cassie is miserable because it turns out this whole org runs on nepotism, which in practice means that Red Hood can shoot anyone he likes as long as they're rubber bullets. Nightwing is miserable because these kids' lives are so so sooooo stressful and he can't solve every single one of their problems no matter how hard he tries.
Rachel is having a great time with her new best friend Stephanie Brown, and if everyone else now lives in fear of flying bricks if they try to take vigilantism too far, then that's their problem.
Tobias hasn’t done his research if he thinks Bruce Wayne only cares about Crime and not societal systems of oppression lol (there are entire runs about this - No Man’s Land being a big one where Bruce very much tackles societal issues and where class and privilege are heavily discussed… as well as Cataclysm, to name two).
I think Cassie would eventually bond with Bruce (once she is able to see past this rich white dude’s weird exterior) and have discussions with him about environmental things (considering he’s set up nature preserves, etc). She’d also respect his diehard beliefs in not killing and how people deserve chances at rehabilitation.
I don’t think this team would hate the Bats. I actually think they’d end up with some fantastic camaraderie - though it wouldn’t be immediate for everyone.
The biggest issue is that you need to either discard all of the non-Bat DCU or handwave how the Yeerks got so good at interstellar politics, or else it would very rapidly stop being a Batman crossover and become a Green Lantern crossover, since the Yeerks feel very much in the Space Cops jurisdiction and unlike the similar Reach invasion they're too new to the galactic scene to plausibly have a nonaggreassion pact with the Guardians already
@the-prince-of-tides The problem is that that only works if you know Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person. If you don't, they both come off as selfish jerks for very different reasons.
@zaprowsdower27 Yessss! I know there was discussion of an Animorphs/Justice League crossover that kind of petered out under the realization that JLA is waaay too experienced at fighting off alien mind control for the yeerks to get a foothold.
Yeah and I think they’d figure it out pretty quickly. The Yeerks would definitely target Bruce Wayne/Wayne Enterprises and in their rescue mission, the Animorphs would figure out Bruce and Batman are the same. I don’t think they’d dislike Batman regardless though - Jake and Marco would be fanboys (though Marco would be more likely to criticise Batman). Cassie would appreciate his attempts to help people. Rachel would probably kinda like him but also make fun of him and act like he’s not bad ass enough (I am not phrasing this well). I think Tobias would Tim Drake his way into being Robin but definitely not on purpose. And he’d be like “what the fuck did I just do…” and feel like he has no choice but to go with it. I kinda feel like Tobias would have a similar kind of relationship with Bruce as Dick Grayson but… a few levels down, if that makes sense. Not as much longevity and legacy but as soft as Tobias is, he can also be quite a spitfire, too, and I think he’d learn quite quickly to fight back against some of Bruce’s unreasonable behaviours/demands/bullshit. (But he’d still feel twinges of guilt doing so)
The Yeerks could get a foothold on the human species but it would take a lot of meticulous action and planning and well… we know how messy and chaotic and disorganised they are. Sooo…
I have a million thoughts on this crossover but I gotta mull things over a bit more. Digest the concept and the whole “what if the Animorphs grew up in Gotham” bit because that would change a LOT of dynamics…
And Beast Boy meanwhile sitting there going “you can only stay in morph for two hours?? Or you get stuck? Laaaaaame…”
#animorphs#animorphs meta#batman#justice league#dc comics#dc au#gotham#animorphs au#batman au#jake berenson#Cassie#Rachel berenson#Marco#Tobias#I didn’t mention ax because that’s a whole other spiel to consider actually#I do think it would be highly unlikely for a story to take place because of how many metas there are#and like just… the complexity of people who exist in the DCU to begin with#the Yeerks wouldn’t even dare#they’d have had to take over entire races of metas and super powered aliens to stand a chance#which could be fun to explore#them infiltrating the lanterns or taking over kryptonians or tamaraneans somehow#not sure how the biology would work since we have limited scopes on these things in canon#but yeah they could get a foothold IF they managed to conquer more powerful people#visser three was incompetent but even so he was still quite dangerous by himself#so imagine millions of not billions of people as strong as the andalite body and also STRONGER…#could happen#if visser one led the charge you know shed figure out a way somehow probably
Yes — it's an interesting point about the differences between Earth as a target in Animorphs canon vs. in the DC universe. Because like, Visser One lists lack of interplanetary defenses as a big ol' reason why humans are such good targets in her memo. With powerful alien allies like Kryptonians and Martians, humans drop from Class 5 (ideal for infestation) to Class 4 (inaccessible due to defensive capability) in the yeerks' rankings. And we know they'll go around sweeping up Class 3 and Class 2 species if they can (hork-bajir and taxxons, respectively) but will avoid engaging Class 4 if possible.
So if the Green Lanterns exist, then it's entirely possible yeerks never even attempt to come anywhere close to Earth.
Yessssss I love all of these ideas. I think it just fits for The One to be a kelbrid deity, and then for The One to be a local term for Crayak himself. And I love the orff connecting back to the kelbrid, which then explains what the heck was going on in #41.
Hopefully somebody writes this someday, because it so nicely ties together several of the places Animorphs is uncharacteristically inconsistent. That, or I'll just accept it as my new headcanon forever because it explains so much.
Glad you enjoyed the plotbunnies.
Though for the sake of completeness, in my vision, The One isn't Crayak. The Orff resistance found a creature similar to Father from The Ellimist Chronicles, and used it to create a biomechanical computer-weapon to try and fight against the Kelbrid. It went horribly, horribly right.
I 100% agree that it feels exactly like the weird comic aesthetic to have random gods show up to the kids' space adventure and kick off time travel nonsense. Like, Animorphs hits on all the classic sci fi tropes — other planets, nanotechnology, eldritch moral dilemmas, shapeshifting, body swapping, mind control, alternate histories, robots, you name it. And the Ellimist (and to a lesser extent Crayak) are excellent fuel for all of that to go down without simply handing the protagonists a plot-breaking time machine.
And in-story there is reasonable justification for their being there. Turns out the fate of the human species really does hinge on the protagonists' actions. So does the fate of the Yeerk Empire, and maybe the entire universe. Between that and the rules of the game — minimal intervention, Toomin tries to preserve diversity as Crayak tries to destroy it — the level of involvement does feel more or less consistent.
Like, the Ellimist doesn't make total sense if you follow his power set and motivations to the extreme, but he makes more sense than the Watchers or the Endless do.
#Most importantly I think the ellimist and the crayak further push the point that there is always something bigger then you#You are constrained by all your ordinary stuff and then all of humanity and it's governments#and then by intergalactic alien powers and then beings powerful enough to be considered gods#There is always someone higher up and you always have to align yourself with whoever is more on your side#even if they do not have your best wishes in mind#Idk it feels like a natural extension of the animorphs trying to convince the Andalites to come help#And the Andalites only coming to wipe out all of humanity#except this time we get wacky time travel adventures out of it lol#Animorphs
Rachel: Done with this shit. Would have moved with her dad to Star City ages ago, if not for the fact that her friends all live here. She doesn't want to get fear gassed, she doesn't want to avoid manhole openings, she doesn't want to have to step off the sidewalk for some overpriced piece-of-shit "bat""mobile" to come roaring through at 400 MPH. Normal kids in normal cities don't have to carry bricks in their purses and beat up Joker goons — and then beat up the guy in spandex who showed up too late to beat up the Joker goons — twice a week on their way home. She is DONE.
Tobias: The weird fanboy obsessed with proving that Batman and Robin actually exist, and with documenting the fact that — he insists — there have been at least three different Robins since the Batman got started. He probably wouldn't bother trying to figure out their real identities, just which Robin is which. And he'd definitely never, under any circumstances, attempt conversation with them. But he'd have tons of trivia about their habits and movements.
Cassie: Still regretting the time she yelled "ACAB" at Red Hood in response to him firing live rounds at a guy who was just stealing a TV from a store. Okay, she doesn't regret it that much. But they're all pretty sure that Red Hood only didn't take the time to murder her too is because she lives way on the outskirts of town and he never leaves Park Row.
Marco: Has been trying to ignore for years that his mom is mind-controlled and running a secret crime empire, but at some point you gotta do what you gotta do. Hence: the mask. The name Silverback spray-painted on his shoulders. The leather jacket and leather pants, which is the best he can do for armor. He is not a superhero, he's not that stupid; he's not out here to fight crime, just to sabotage everything his mom tries to do. And if he ends up getting in the way of random muggings and assaults, that's a coincidence. Hopefully soon he can put a stop to this all, and his mom will be like she was before.
Jake: Marco's sidekick. Accidentally stumbled on Marco's vigilante costume, thinks it's awesome, and wants to do what he can to help. Goes out Kenny-style incognito, in a hoodie so big it's basically a duvet, and provides Marco with everything from snacks to diversion fireworks to getaway bicycle to common sense.
Ax: Finds Batman to be actually quite annoying. The man keeps showing up in Ax's living room to declare "no metas in Gotham," and then "I thought I told you I don't want anyone with shapeshifting powers in Gotham" and then "how do you keep getting back into Gotham, you damn alien?" Ax has put sticky tape over the windows, which doesn't keep Batman out but does cause him to produce loud crinkly noises every time he gets in, which usually gives Ax the chance to hide in the bathroom until Batman gets bored and goes away. Oh, and don't even get Ax started on the time Batman showed up and asked for his help with a case, because "the fate of our entire world hangs in the balance." It took over an hour of Ax standing there eating anchovies and pointing out that Batman saves the planet twice a week without help before the guy finally gave up and left.
I...honestly feel like Rachel would become a vigilante of her own. Not sure HOW but she would.
She is! She carries a bag of bricks around and she interrupts violence wherever she sees it, with extreme prejudice!
Tobias ends up getting adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, and the next thing anybody knows, there's a brand new Robin.
#Fic series WHEN?#Also Batman VS. the Yeerks#Batman learning the kids' secret and not only proving he can be trusted with it#But setting up a really rad secret hideout#Giving them tech#Being super protective of Robinhawk#Squaring up to fight powerful aliens with nothing but his tech and a father's determination#I NEED THIS AU DAMN IT#Animorphs#Batman
I love this in combination with my headcanon that they all absolutely HATE the Bats, because it suggests the most grudging team-up of all time. Bruce is miserable because now he has to put up with all these shapeshifters if he wants to accomplish his two lifelong goals of punching aliens and mentoring teenagers. Tobias is miserable because it seems like this guy only cares about Crime™, not societal problems. Marco is miserable because this stupid old man, he's ancient, like 37, keeps getting in the way of Silverback's madcap schemes. Cassie is miserable because it turns out this whole org runs on nepotism, which in practice means that Red Hood can shoot anyone he likes as long as they're rubber bullets. Nightwing is miserable because these kids' lives are so so sooooo stressful and he can't solve every single one of their problems no matter how hard he tries.
Rachel is having a great time with her new best friend Stephanie Brown, and if everyone else now lives in fear of flying bricks if they try to take vigilantism too far, then that's their problem.
Tobias hasn’t done his research if he thinks Bruce Wayne only cares about Crime and not societal systems of oppression lol (there are entire runs about this - No Man’s Land being a big one where Bruce very much tackles societal issues and where class and privilege are heavily discussed… as well as Cataclysm, to name two).
I think Cassie would eventually bond with Bruce (once she is able to see past this rich white dude’s weird exterior) and have discussions with him about environmental things (considering he’s set up nature preserves, etc). She’d also respect his diehard beliefs in not killing and how people deserve chances at rehabilitation.
I don’t think this team would hate the Bats. I actually think they’d end up with some fantastic camaraderie - though it wouldn’t be immediate for everyone.
The biggest issue is that you need to either discard all of the non-Bat DCU or handwave how the Yeerks got so good at interstellar politics, or else it would very rapidly stop being a Batman crossover and become a Green Lantern crossover, since the Yeerks feel very much in the Space Cops jurisdiction and unlike the similar Reach invasion they're too new to the galactic scene to plausibly have a nonaggreassion pact with the Guardians already
@the-prince-of-tides The problem is that that only works if you know Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person. If you don't, they both come off as selfish jerks for very different reasons.
@zaprowsdower27 Yessss! I know there was discussion of an Animorphs/Justice League crossover that kind of petered out under the realization that JLA is waaay too experienced at fighting off alien mind control for the yeerks to get a foothold.
I'm all about it. There are some cool-ass changes being made in the TV series; you can tell this writing team likes Percy Jackson, understands it, and wants the capture the spirit of the books. One huge way that's working is how much the writers lean into the gods being capricious, dangerous because they have infinite power and no reason to bother using it responsibly.
Like, that's something all of my Classics teachers emphasized: the Greek theology is one where we're not living in the best reality (e.g. Catholicism) or the worst one (e.g. Calvinism); we're living in one of the stupidest ones. Robert Fitzgerald's introduction to The Odyssey describes Zeus as "rather a pococurante supreme deity," which phrase has lived rent-free in my head ever since. The idea that Zeus merely inherited responsibility for the cosmos, and is half-assing it since he's indifferent to the job... there's infinite potential for horror and comedy in there.
So it felt perfectly in line with every iota of my understanding of Classics, even if it broke from the books, to have Thalia forcibly transfigured because she caught her dad on a bad day.
I'd never heard of this artist or song, but:
I love his look, and I love his voice. It feels in line with that other post was just pointing out that we really are getting a healing of masculinity after the worst of the toxic 00s, where male vulnerability and affection are becoming normalized again.
Rachel: Done with this shit. Would have moved with her dad to Star City ages ago, if not for the fact that her friends all live here. She doesn't want to get fear gassed, she doesn't want to avoid manhole openings, she doesn't want to have to step off the sidewalk for some overpriced piece-of-shit "bat""mobile" to come roaring through at 400 MPH. Normal kids in normal cities don't have to carry bricks in their purses and beat up Joker goons — and then beat up the guy in spandex who showed up too late to beat up the Joker goons — twice a week on their way home. She is DONE.
Tobias: The weird fanboy obsessed with proving that Batman and Robin actually exist, and with documenting the fact that — he insists — there have been at least three different Robins since the Batman got started. He probably wouldn't bother trying to figure out their real identities, just which Robin is which. And he'd definitely never, under any circumstances, attempt conversation with them. But he'd have tons of trivia about their habits and movements.
Cassie: Still regretting the time she yelled "ACAB" at Red Hood in response to him firing live rounds at a guy who was just stealing a TV from a store. Okay, she doesn't regret it that much. But they're all pretty sure that Red Hood only didn't take the time to murder her too is because she lives way on the outskirts of town and he never leaves Park Row.
Marco: Has been trying to ignore for years that his mom is mind-controlled and running a secret crime empire, but at some point you gotta do what you gotta do. Hence: the mask. The name Silverback spray-painted on his shoulders. The leather jacket and leather pants, which is the best he can do for armor. He is not a superhero, he's not that stupid; he's not out here to fight crime, just to sabotage everything his mom tries to do. And if he ends up getting in the way of random muggings and assaults, that's a coincidence. Hopefully soon he can put a stop to this all, and his mom will be like she was before.
Jake: Marco's sidekick. Accidentally stumbled on Marco's vigilante costume, thinks it's awesome, and wants to do what he can to help. Goes out Kenny-style incognito, in a hoodie so big it's basically a duvet, and provides Marco with everything from snacks to diversion fireworks to getaway bicycle to common sense.
Ax: Finds Batman to be actually quite annoying. The man keeps showing up in Ax's living room to declare "no metas in Gotham," and then "I thought I told you I don't want anyone with shapeshifting powers in Gotham" and then "how do you keep getting back into Gotham, you damn alien?" Ax has put sticky tape over the windows, which doesn't keep Batman out but does cause him to produce loud crinkly noises every time he gets in, which usually gives Ax the chance to hide in the bathroom until Batman gets bored and goes away. Oh, and don't even get Ax started on the time Batman showed up and asked for his help with a case, because "the fate of our entire world hangs in the balance." It took over an hour of Ax standing there eating anchovies and pointing out that Batman saves the planet twice a week without help before the guy finally gave up and left.
I...honestly feel like Rachel would become a vigilante of her own. Not sure HOW but she would.
She is! She carries a bag of bricks around and she interrupts violence wherever she sees it, with extreme prejudice!
Tobias ends up getting adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, and the next thing anybody knows, there's a brand new Robin.
#Fic series WHEN?#Also Batman VS. the Yeerks#Batman learning the kids' secret and not only proving he can be trusted with it#But setting up a really rad secret hideout#Giving them tech#Being super protective of Robinhawk#Squaring up to fight powerful aliens with nothing but his tech and a father's determination#I NEED THIS AU DAMN IT#Animorphs#Batman
I love this in combination with my headcanon that they all absolutely HATE the Bats, because it suggests the most grudging team-up of all time. Bruce is miserable because now he has to put up with all these shapeshifters if he wants to accomplish his two lifelong goals of punching aliens and mentoring teenagers. Tobias is miserable because it seems like this guy only cares about Crime™, not societal problems. Marco is miserable because this stupid old man, he's ancient, like 37, keeps getting in the way of Silverback's madcap schemes. Cassie is miserable because it turns out this whole org runs on nepotism, which in practice means that Red Hood can shoot anyone he likes as long as they're rubber bullets. Nightwing is miserable because these kids' lives are so so sooooo stressful and he can't solve every single one of their problems no matter how hard he tries.
Rachel is having a great time with her new best friend Stephanie Brown, and if everyone else now lives in fear of flying bricks if they try to take vigilantism too far, then that's their problem.
Marco: okay yes it's cool that Batman wants to help. Cool, we followed him for three days, we know he's not a controller right now. But there's no way Bruce Wayne doesn't get targeted for infestation, and then what?
Jake: -
B (interrupting Jake): no, no he's got a point. I'll be right back
(two days later)
B (pointing to a very new surgical scar behind his ear): [...] and then if anything breaches my tempanic membrane, it sends an electrical pulse which will completely fry my brainstem, killing the yeerk and guaranteeing that I'll never be infested.
Jake: wow! You yeerk-proofed yourself! Can we get some too?
Cassie: Jake. Frying your brainstem would kill you as well as the yeerk.
Rachel: that doesn't mean we can't make this into a bougie wellness trend.
Rachel: Done with this shit. Would have moved with her dad to Star City ages ago, if not for the fact that her friends all live here. She doesn't want to get fear gassed, she doesn't want to avoid manhole openings, she doesn't want to have to step off the sidewalk for some overpriced piece-of-shit "bat""mobile" to come roaring through at 400 MPH. Normal kids in normal cities don't have to carry bricks in their purses and beat up Joker goons — and then beat up the guy in spandex who showed up too late to beat up the Joker goons — twice a week on their way home. She is DONE.
Tobias: The weird fanboy obsessed with proving that Batman and Robin actually exist, and with documenting the fact that — he insists — there have been at least three different Robins since the Batman got started. He probably wouldn't bother trying to figure out their real identities, just which Robin is which. And he'd definitely never, under any circumstances, attempt conversation with them. But he'd have tons of trivia about their habits and movements.
Cassie: Still regretting the time she yelled "ACAB" at Red Hood in response to him firing live rounds at a guy who was just stealing a TV from a store. Okay, she doesn't regret it that much. But they're all pretty sure that Red Hood only didn't take the time to murder her too is because she lives way on the outskirts of town and he never leaves Park Row.
Marco: Has been trying to ignore for years that his mom is mind-controlled and running a secret crime empire, but at some point you gotta do what you gotta do. Hence: the mask. The name Silverback spray-painted on his shoulders. The leather jacket and leather pants, which is the best he can do for armor. He is not a superhero, he's not that stupid; he's not out here to fight crime, just to sabotage everything his mom tries to do. And if he ends up getting in the way of random muggings and assaults, that's a coincidence. Hopefully soon he can put a stop to this all, and his mom will be like she was before.
Jake: Marco's sidekick. Accidentally stumbled on Marco's vigilante costume, thinks it's awesome, and wants to do what he can to help. Goes out Kenny-style incognito, in a hoodie so big it's basically a duvet, and provides Marco with everything from snacks to diversion fireworks to getaway bicycle to common sense.
Ax: Finds Batman to be actually quite annoying. The man keeps showing up in Ax's living room to declare "no metas in Gotham," and then "I thought I told you I don't want anyone with shapeshifting powers in Gotham" and then "how do you keep getting back into Gotham, you damn alien?" Ax has put sticky tape over the windows, which doesn't keep Batman out but does cause him to produce loud crinkly noises every time he gets in, which usually gives Ax the chance to hide in the bathroom until Batman gets bored and goes away. Oh, and don't even get Ax started on the time Batman showed up and asked for his help with a case, because "the fate of our entire world hangs in the balance." It took over an hour of Ax standing there eating anchovies and pointing out that Batman saves the planet twice a week without help before the guy finally gave up and left.
I...honestly feel like Rachel would become a vigilante of her own. Not sure HOW but she would.
She is! She carries a bag of bricks around and she interrupts violence wherever she sees it, with extreme prejudice!
Tobias ends up getting adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, and the next thing anybody knows, there's a brand new Robin.
#Fic series WHEN?#Also Batman VS. the Yeerks#Batman learning the kids' secret and not only proving he can be trusted with it#But setting up a really rad secret hideout#Giving them tech#Being super protective of Robinhawk#Squaring up to fight powerful aliens with nothing but his tech and a father's determination#I NEED THIS AU DAMN IT#Animorphs#Batman
I love this in combination with my headcanon that they all absolutely HATE the Bats, because it suggests the most grudging team-up of all time. Bruce is miserable because now he has to put up with all these shapeshifters if he wants to accomplish his two lifelong goals of punching aliens and mentoring teenagers. Tobias is miserable because it seems like this guy only cares about Crime™, not societal problems. Marco is miserable because this stupid old man, he's ancient, like 37, keeps getting in the way of Silverback's madcap schemes. Cassie is miserable because it turns out this whole org runs on nepotism, which in practice means that Red Hood can shoot anyone he likes as long as they're rubber bullets. Nightwing is miserable because these kids' lives are so so sooooo stressful and he can't solve every single one of their problems no matter how hard he tries.
Rachel is having a great time with her new best friend Stephanie Brown, and if everyone else now lives in fear of flying bricks if they try to take vigilantism too far, then that's their problem.
Rachel: Done with this shit. Would have moved with her dad to Star City ages ago, if not for the fact that her friends all live here. She doesn't want to get fear gassed, she doesn't want to avoid manhole openings, she doesn't want to have to step off the sidewalk for some overpriced piece-of-shit "bat""mobile" to come roaring through at 400 MPH. Normal kids in normal cities don't have to carry bricks in their purses and beat up Joker goons — and then beat up the guy in spandex who showed up too late to beat up the Joker goons — twice a week on their way home. She is DONE.
Tobias: The weird fanboy obsessed with proving that Batman and Robin actually exist, and with documenting the fact that — he insists — there have been at least three different Robins since the Batman got started. He probably wouldn't bother trying to figure out their real identities, just which Robin is which. And he'd definitely never, under any circumstances, attempt conversation with them. But he'd have tons of trivia about their habits and movements.
Cassie: Still regretting the time she yelled "ACAB" at Red Hood in response to him firing live rounds at a guy who was just stealing a TV from a store. Okay, she doesn't regret it that much. But they're all pretty sure that Red Hood only didn't take the time to murder her too is because she lives way on the outskirts of town and he never leaves Park Row.
Marco: Has been trying to ignore for years that his mom is mind-controlled and running a secret crime empire, but at some point you gotta do what you gotta do. Hence: the mask. The name Silverback spray-painted on his shoulders. The leather jacket and leather pants, which is the best he can do for armor. He is not a superhero, he's not that stupid; he's not out here to fight crime, just to sabotage everything his mom tries to do. And if he ends up getting in the way of random muggings and assaults, that's a coincidence. Hopefully soon he can put a stop to this all, and his mom will be like she was before.
Jake: Marco's sidekick. Accidentally stumbled on Marco's vigilante costume, thinks it's awesome, and wants to do what he can to help. Goes out Kenny-style incognito, in a hoodie so big it's basically a duvet, and provides Marco with everything from snacks to diversion fireworks to getaway bicycle to common sense.
Ax: Finds Batman to be actually quite annoying. The man keeps showing up in Ax's living room to declare "no metas in Gotham," and then "I thought I told you I don't want anyone with shapeshifting powers in Gotham" and then "how do you keep getting back into Gotham, you damn alien?" Ax has put sticky tape over the windows, which doesn't keep Batman out but does cause him to produce loud crinkly noises every time he gets in, which usually gives Ax the chance to hide in the bathroom until Batman gets bored and goes away. Oh, and don't even get Ax started on the time Batman showed up and asked for his help with a case, because "the fate of our entire world hangs in the balance." It took over an hour of Ax standing there eating anchovies and pointing out that Batman saves the planet twice a week without help before the guy finally gave up and left.
I...honestly feel like Rachel would become a vigilante of her own. Not sure HOW but she would.
She is! She carries a bag of bricks around and she interrupts violence wherever she sees it, with extreme prejudice!
A month long writing challenge focused on tropes, tags, and formats that have (for better or worse) fallen out of style.
From May 1st to 31st, creators will post their takes on each of the days' prompts, in any medium. Fan fiction, original stories, poetry, meta-analysis, and (even though writing is in our name!) yes, visual art as well! Currently all event documentation is on Tumblr, so the links below will redirect to the appropriate Tumblr posts.
Quick Links:

Welcome to International Fanworks Day (IFD) Feedback Fest 2026! Feedback Fest is when we celebrate fanworks that creators have made on AO3 or elsewhere by recommending them to others and leaving comments for the creators as well.
Our theme for IFD 2026 is Alternate Universes (AUs), where we celebrate all the fun and exciting AUs that fans have created!
Want to participate in this year's Feedback Fest? Here’s how to do it!
Leave a comment under this post recommending your favorite fanworks that involve an AU. Tell everyone why you love these works and why they should check them out. You can also link to a recommendation post you've made elsewhere, or create a new recommendation post on your social media accounts using the #FeedbackFest2026 tag. Keep the diversity of fanworks in mind when making recommendations—you can share fics, podfics, fanart, zines, archives, collections, newsletters, and anything that sparks joy in you about fandom. There's many wonderful fanworks out there and we want to hear about all of them!
While going through the recommendations, it’s nice to leave feedback—comments, kudos, likes—for the creators as well! Feel free to boost the recommendations from other people that you enjoyed. This year’s Feedback Fest is all about the universes and worlds people have enjoyed placing their favorite characters in, so try and think of your favorite AU fanworks to recommend!
Start your reccing, and we’ll see you on the other side—and once again we wish you a happy #IFD2026!
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.