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dc-gt-plantbox-ideas · 1 year ago

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Gotham Apartments

Hello! This is a very long post explaining a borrower Gotham AU with batfam, it's manly a cute idea I had with a bit of hurt/comfort. This post is long and if you have any questions or want anything elaborated on send them my way!

Btw not all of the batfam are in this as I have not found a proper way to add them yet, sorry in advance :(

Words- 4k

The Beginning Of Family

So in this world borrowers are really the only people who can have powers and they usually get these powers from very traumatic events (it's a 5/60 chance) and these powers can be passed down through the generations, Bruce is one of these people but his power manifested in a way where he can grow to the size of a human. He is now known as one of the few borrowers that are called "Size Shifters".

Bruce and his family were once in charge of a large colony that lived inside of an old abandoned movie theater; they ran a very large colony that surprisingly had lasted for two generations. Bruse was going to make it three but one day we'll they were helping new families move into the theater some humans broke in and ended up killing several borrowers, Bruce's parents being among them.

The humans not realizing what was actually running across the floor and thinking the building was infested with rats decided to set it on fire, Bruse was one of the few lucky people to escape and thankfully was found well his power started to manifest by a kind old man named Alfred who was one of the few humans that was trusted with knowing about the colony.

Alfred like to stop by the old theater removing what garbage he could and sometimes leaving supplies for the Borrowers as he believed they were a good luck charm, when he found Bruce he took the boy home and realizing he had grown to human size started getting what he needed to legally adopt the boy and make sure he wasn't put into the foster care system.

As Bruce got older and lived a human life well still working with borrowers he started to realize how few colonies really remained, they started to get destroyed left and right as the city they lived in tore down old buildings and replaced them with new ones that were almost impossible for borrowers to build inside of.

Bruce desperate to try and help save what little borrower population remained in Gotham.

Bought an old and run down apartment building that had three separate buildings, he started fixing the place up and making sure that there would be an easy way to make tunnels through the walls and there would be room for homes in them, Alfred happily helped his son believing it was a noble cause considering Bruse also planned on making the apartments accessible to lower income families.

Once they finished fixing up the first building Bruce had two separate apartments combined into one for him and Alfred to live in and started renting out the other spaces as he began work on the second building, then the borrower started coming in as the humans did.

Kids/Friends Introduction

Dick-

Bruce and Alfred had decided to go to a carnival that had stopped in Gotham hoping to have a nice day out but instead ended up spending half the day saving a group of Borrowers, they been living in secret with the circus but something had gone horribly wrong and the two people leading this group of borrowers had sadly passed away. These people being Dick's parents

They had been killed by a size shifter who was angry he wasn't in charge of the group letting the power get to his head and believing he was better than the other borrowers, Bruce left the man all alone to deal with the ringleader of the circus finding out about him and took Dick and what remained of his very small colony back home

Dick was obviously terrified of Bruce at first considering what had happened to his parents but Bruce proved he was trustworthy and eventually got Dick to be okay with Bruce adopting him, the members of the circus ring also stayed to help carve out tunnels in the walls and start creating homes in some of the finished apartment buildings

Dick originally wasn't allowed to help considering he was too young to be out of the walls for a borrower (there let out at age 12 and Dick was 9) but Bruce eventually let Dick start helping when he kept catching the kid sneaking out on his own anyway

Dick still lives in the apartment buildings but he now primarily lives in the second building so his father isn't too overwhelmed with taking care of the colony

He also helped get a few humans to help out, like his best friend Barbara

Barbara-

Barbara or Bab's was a young teenager when her and her father moved into the apartment building and she has lived there ever since even when she moved out of her father's house she just got a different apartment so she could stay with her friends, Bab's had never planned on making friends with tiny people that lived in the walls but she did and the idea of leaving that world never occurred to her

Her and Dick had met on a rainy day when Bab's was making her way home from school and saw a small animal trapped in an old glass jar that was slowly filling with water, Bab's couldn't leave the small bird to drown so she quickly rushed over and picked up the jar keeping it safe under the umbrella with her

She didn't realize she had actually saved a tiny person until she got home and carefully poured the small creature out onto her hand, Dick really didn't make the best first impression as he fucking bit her hand and insulted her (he called her glasses dumb)

So when he escaped into a tile in the bathroom floor Barbara was perfectly fine with this never wanted to see the rude little shit again, then she found him picking small tomatoes from the rooftop garden and cleaning the garden bed of any died leaves at the bottom

Barbara was now very curious and whenever she didn't have school would eat her lunch on the roof hoping to run into Dick, thankfully for her her new tiny friend was also curious and with every now and again meet her there sometimes revealing what he was doing or being the most cryptic little shit in the world

Barbara didn't mind tho it was nice to have someone to talk to who was roughly her age and didn't call her lame or nerd for being so focused on her studies

Then as Barbara gained Dick's trust she got to meet his little brother, Jason

Jason-

Jason had been all alone before he was found by Bruse, it had sadly become common for young borrowers who weren't even ready to leave their home to end up living on the streets completely alone traveling around without any help

That's how Bruse found Jason, hanging upside down from his cabinet and crying his eyes out from how terrified he was. Dick was over thankfully and helped Bruce calm the kid down to where they could have a proper conversation

Bruse had a system in place for young borrowers with no families to stay with or be adopted into but Jason was completely against the idea, he wanted to stay independent and take care of himself

Dick and Bruse obviously hated this idea considering how they found the kid but knew forcing him to stay wouldn't be a good idea either, so Alfred thankfully swooped in and got the kid to agree to a little arrangement

"If you're so capable of taking care of yourself how about we make a little deal? You stay in this house borrowing from us for an entire week and if you succeed in not being seen or caught you can leave and will give you any supplies you want, but if you fail you have to stay with us until you perfect your borrowing."

Jason finding the old man very comforting agreed to the deal and did his best to not get found once by Bruse or Alfred, sadly for Jason Alfred had spent years raising a borrower and could always figure out which nook or cranny they were hiding in

So Jason lost but by the end of the week he had grown attached to everyone in the house and didn't really mind staying to learn how to properly borrow from them, Dick was the one that helped teach him how to be better at his balancing well Bruse taught him how to more properly use his gear. Jason was happy here and even after perfecting his borrowing skills chose to stay with his family

Especially after he met Barbara. The human girl was extremely kind and had even started to teach Jason (and Dick) how to read human,

Jason started devouring books whenever he got the chance and absolutely loved reading. Bruse even started helping his son out by translating some of his favorite books into more properly sized borrower ones so he could more easily read them (he had to write all of them out by hand btw)

So when Barbara made the mistake of revealing she worked at a library part-time Jason would constantly go to her only to ask her to check out a new book he heard about, she had to put a limit on how many books he could ask for so she didn't end up carrying half of the library home (his limit was 6)

Jason lived with his family happily for years until a new creepy resident moved in, Bruse told his sons to stay away from that apartment as that man was only going to be staying here for at least a month and then he was going to kick him out

But Jason was curious. Too curious for his own good.

That's how Dick and Bruse discovered Jason had a regeneration power and how Bruse almost murdered a man, Joker was just a crazy guy who enjoyed manipulating and hurting people whenever he got the chance. Why wouldn't he do the same to a small child big enough to fit in his hand?

Thankfully after the scare Bruce gave him he never came back and everyone hoped he never got his hands on another borrower again, Jason wasn't okay after the incident though and barely would hang out with Barbara nowadays or go anywhere near Alfred or Bruce when he was human size

Jason just wanted to be alone...sadly for him he was going to be pulled into a rescue mission to save some kid named Tim

Tim-

Tim had been born a size shifter, he had inherited the powers from his mother and as the years went by learned how to properly use them

Even after Tim lost his mother he still practice and learned how to use his powers for one particular goal, to be allowed to go to public school

Jack was a good father (even if he wasn't around a lot) and like all fathers worried for his son, so when Tim was 5 and developed his size changing powers he was tutored from home. Jack wouldn't take any risk of losing his son just because of some powers he had been born with.

Tim didn't mind for a couple of years but as he got old enough to go into Middle School he started to long to be anywhere then his home and see the world more properly, so Jack and Tim made a deal that Tim knew he could accomplish

Tim had to successfully keep his stepmother from ever finding out about his powers until his fathers and stepmother's second anniversary, Tim could do this! Tim was going to succeed and get to go to public schools!

Sadly tragedy struck again and Tim lost another mother, but Jack head lightened up on his rules a bit and Tim was now allowed to walk out alone and didn't even need to take his dog Putgoo with him

And on this walk where he just wanted to get some chips from a nearby gas station he saw borrowers, they were obviously moving trying to get somewhere safe and struggling considering it had started to rain. Without much thought Tim walked over and held his umbrella over them, his mother said to always be kind to Borrowers but she had never really taught him on why borrowers didn't like humans

So they ran, even when Tim shrunk down to their size it was like they ran faster...but one

His name was Bert and he was a kid like Tim, he actually talked with Tim for a few hours well they both hid under his umbrella that rested on the concrete well Tim was small

Bert want home with Tim and became the first borrower Tim ever befriended,

Jack never properly got introduced to Bert and their first meeting was just watching a small and extremely fast borrower run across his floor.

Jack didn't mind that there was a borrower in the house, his first wife was one but he slowly started to become concerned. He didn't share any of these concerns with Tim once he noticed how happy his son was and once it was time for Tim to start his first year of high school he made sure his son was ready for it.

Tim didn't let Bert come with him and had to buy several snacks before returning home just to make up for the 'betrayal' but besides that he had a very fun first day, he even made friends with a kind human girl named Stephanie

Tim loved school, he loved how many people were there, have something was always going on, and how he wasn't all alone in a room anymore

So when he and his father had to move Jack make sure they stayed close by the school so Tim wouldn't get transferred, Bert tried convincing him to go into the walls with him many times and sometimes succeeded- but this time was different

Bert was positive there was a colony here and Tim was scared to meet so many people at once, at school it was easy because it was something he had been looking forward to for years but...

Not many borrowers liked size shifters or other borrowers who had gained special powers, Bert and Tim constantly learned this the hard way but Bert always stayed determined to find people who would accept them for them

So when Bert came back and said the colony that lived here had been created by a size shifter Tim became genuinely hopeful and agreed after school on Friday he would go into the walls with Bert, his father wouldn't be home and would be gone until Monday so they would have plenty of time to explore the walls and check out this colony

Tim loved how kind everyone was to him and Bert when they first got there and how everyone kept offering them free things,

Tim also got to learn that day that most borrowers used a bartering system instead of money. Bert said it was easier because everyone was able to borrow different things so someone always had something you wanted and something you could trade for it

Tim started to wonder what he could possibly bring with him to trade with the merchants here and Bert simply enjoyed the borrower food that was being handed out, for two months Tim and Bert would go into the walls and spend time within the colony

They made sure not to get attached to anyone and Tim made sure everyone believed them about their fake borrower parents and that they didn't need to be put into the orphanage here, then Jack found out

Tim didn't understand why his father was so angry and concerned he was hanging out with Borrowers, it was a part of himself he had never really gotten to express or look into and as his father just got more scared and angry he started to realize what the problem really was

Jack was scared Tim would choose borrowers over him.

He wouldn't he would never do that to his father- but Jack didn't believe that and like most humans do when they are scared acted on impulse

Tim had shrunk long ago into the argument feeling extremely guilty for upsetting his father and scaring him so much that he would be abandoned, so Jack had an easy time snatching him up and dropping him into a jar

He didn't seal the top of the jar with a lid, he simply put it into one of the cabinets and sealed the door by putting a rubber band around the handles

Bert saw this go down and instantly figured out what to do, he had heard about a group of people who were trained in helping save borrowers who have been captured in the apartments so he found one of them and got to come and help save Tim

As Bert and Jason desperately tried to free the cabinet handles from having a rubber band wrapped around them the door to the house swung open and a blonde hair girl came in

Bert instantly recognized the girl and called Stephanie over for help, she came to them and instantly removed the rubber band and got Tim free from the jar

Bert told Stephanie to get some of Tim's things and take them back to her home well they got Tim to safety, today was going to be a long day but thankfully they now have Stephanie helping them

Stephanie-

Steph didn't expect to get pulled into a world of tiny people but she did and it was 90% Tim's fault, she was so happy she chose to be friends with the kid when she spotted him eating lunch all alone at school

Steph and Tim became pretty inseparable after their first week of being friends and halfway through the school year she got to hang out at his house meeting Bert. She had noticed some of the snack she was eating disappearing randomly but only when the fan that was cooling her off blew in her face, so she turned the fan off and waited until she saw something small and fast run by grabbing another one of her snacks- Tim had to do a lot of explaining to Steph and she decided to forgive Bert for stealing her food

On the condition he wore one of the stupidest Barbie doll outfit she had, he agreed happily and from there she easily made friends with Bert (he also stop stealing her snacks)

Steph loved the weird tiny world she had been pulled into, it made her not feel so alone in her almost completely empty apartment. Until Tim's Dad was a dick.

Steph had been babysitting Tim's dog Putgoo when she went over to his apartment to ask if he wanted his dog back or if he needed her to take care of them for another day, she simply forced her way in when no one answered the door after a few minutes and was extremely concerned when she saw Bert and some unknown borrower trying to save Tim

Steph didn't ask any questions as she did what she could to help and took some of Tim's stuff to her apartment, she waited for at least 3 hours until Bert and Tim came to her apartment appearing from behind the box her TV rested on

They did their best to explain what was going on but Steph was just happy Tim was okay and asked if they just wanted to order a pizza for dinner

Tim said he could just sleep on one of Stephanie's extra pillows tonight with Bert and they'd figure out a better arrangement in the morning. Steph just hoped her neighbors next door didn't question why she was leaving her apartment with a boy they never even saw come in…

Lois, Clark, and Kon-

Lois had every right to be worried about a teenager living all alone in this apartment building, that was not normal no matter how much Clark told her to leave it alone it was not normal and it worried her. So when said teenager living all on her own left her apartment with a boy that she had never even seen enter the house or really seen around here (Steph lives in the second apartment building Dick resides in) she asked Kon to offer to walk the school with the two of them, she didn't want that young girl getting hurt

Thankfully Kon recognized the two and instantly realized who it was, he was able to reassure his sister-in-law that Steph (the girl) was safe with the boy as he was her best friend and his name was Tim. Lois still though Kon should go walk to school with them as he needed to make more friends, Kon begrudgingly agreed and quickly caught up with the other two and got to walk to school with them

Which Kon surprisingly enjoyed despite not really knowing the two very well, Kon never really tried to make friends with anyone in the city when he came down for the school year but there was always a chance to try something new!

Kon usually lived with his Ma and Pa but after getting kicked out of the school in Smallville he started living with his brother Clark so he could attend school in the city, he still went back to the farm during most breaks but had slowly started to primarily live with his brothers family

But Kon found Tim a bit weird compared to Steph, he reminded him a lot of Clark's friend Bruse with how withdrawn he acted and usually avoided standing close to people. Kon didn't say anything obviously not wanting to be rude but figured once he got to school he would just ditch the two and go about his day, sadly for Kon Steph has already decided they were friends and he gets roped into having lunch with them

Well the teens were off on their own adventure Clark was checking in on his friend as Bruse was still doing pretty bad after everything that happened with Jason, he wasn't surprised though. If anything like that ever happened to Jon or Conner? He would be destroyed.

So when he came over and found Bruse talking with Jason (Bruse was even at his human size!) He couldn't help but smile and quietly made his way in deciding he was check in with Alfred first, but as Clark got a bit closer he could hear their conversation and it started to worry him

"I'm telling you Bruse, we should just find a way to make sure that kid stays here and keep him away from his father."

"Jason we can't force them to separate, it's not a call to make."

Jason obviously wasn't happy with that answer and left, thankfully for once Bruce explained what was going on to Clark and felt he could at least give his friends some good news. He explained he had seen the boy Jason saved with the polite young girl that lived a door down from him and his family, Bruse seemed a little reassured by this and relaxed when Clark said Lois made Conner interact with the two of them

Clark sat down with his friend and they thankfully moved away from the uncomfortable topic, Clark quietly wondered to himself what Jon was up to considering he had no school today

Jon, Damian, and Cass-

Jon was on a super secret important mission today! Jon and some of his classmates that walk to school together had noticed a lady walking around the apartment building and seemed to be looking for someone or something, they had tried helping her and Jon had even told his mom about the young lady. But whenever they tried to approach her or the grown-ups they talked with did she would just suddenly disappear, Jon had even gotten a lecture from his dad about making up stories!

So Jon was going to prove that this girl existed and was going to do that by using a camera Kon had gotten from a friend (He thinks his name is Tim?) to get a picture of the mysterious lady, then no one can say he's lying or making stuff up! Jon had been looking for the mysterious lady for two hours now.

Jon, after 4 hours of looking, was slowly starting to give up when out of nowhere the mysterious lady dropped down in front of him from a nearby tree and he quickly snapped a picture of her. The two just stared at each other for a moment as the flash from the camera stumbled them both but when the lady tried moving closer to Jon he quickly got up and started running, he was not losing this picture!

The lady obviously ran after Jon and actually appeared right in front of him very quickly and when she reached forward to grab the camera a quiet voice yelled at her to stop, Jon looked around very confused trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from and finally looked up at the lady shoulder seeing a-

"A borrower! Gran Gran stories are real!"

The two looked at Jon very confused and started questioning him on how he knew what a borrower was, he happily explained all the stories his Gran Gran had told him about the tiny people that live in the walls and then found out that the tall mysterious lady (Her name was Cass!) was also a borrower she was just stuck very tall at the moment.

Jon asked the two why they were here and the small borrower boy (His name was Damian!) explained that he was looking for his father who lived here, Jon obviously offered to help and when he found out the boy was related to his dad's best friend Bruse- well he was extremely confused but assumed it was probably a thumbelina situation.

The three quickly made their way up to Bruce's apartment and once he open the door he was extremely confused and even more confused when a small borrower boy was held out to him that looked kind of familiar, Jon was sent home after this as Bruse said this was a serious family matter and asked him to not tell anyone about meeting a borrower. Jon happily agreed as he understood how important secrets were and hoped the two borrowers got everything sorted out.

Two weeks later Cass started going to school with Kon and his friends and Jon got to go over the Bruce's house whenever he wanted to hang out with Damien, Dami had explained to him that his father was magic (so the thumbelina thing totally worked!) and that's how his mother and father made him.

Jon could still tell Damian was sad considering they didn't know where his mother was or if she was still alive but Jon did his best to cheer up his friend and really looked forward to starting school with him next fall.

#g/t #g/t writing #giant tiny #giant/tiny #gt community #dc comics g/t #gotham apartments gt au

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