#I like that animation trope where the character's shadow reveals whatever they're hiding.

[liminalhollow]

So I like the concept/headcanon of “shades.” Which if you don’t know, is the idea that’s there’s a type of ghost that’s kinda like a blob ghost and they’re weak little globs of ectoplasm that are formed from strong emotions and hang around the human world, usually harmlessly.

And I was thinking about that with Batman crossovers.

Bruce is traumatized. He’s definitely got a shade or two following him around. Wayne manor is probably a playground for them.

So what if there was one that formed back when he lost his parents. The trauma that’s at the core of all his other trauma.

And it stayed with him all these years, growing with him and being fed and shaped by his emotions.

The day Danny meets Bruce Wayne, he sees it immediately.

It’s one of the strongest shades he’s ever seen. It’s still weak compared to him of course, because it’s still just a shade. An entity that’s dependent on the emotions feeding it to exist, and mostly undetectable by ghost hunting equipment. But it’s still exceptionally strong for a shade.

It looks just like the Batman, except it’s glaringly not human. A big, black, looming shadow, its body a featureless silhouette with blank, glowing white eyes. Long tendrils curling up at the ends of the cape. Gliding about with fluid motions and able to twist and stretch its wispy form how it sees fit.

It's like the version of the Bat imagined in the stories told of him. Less of a real human being and more of a larger-than-life tale.

It likes to take the place of Bruce’s shadow. It moves with him wherever he goes, only sometimes peeling itself off the walls and floor to peer around its host’s shoulders. 

Danny can’t take his eyes off it.

Bruce wonders why this kid keeps staring at the empty space behind him.

The night Danny encounters Batman, he thinks Bruce’s shade wandered off on its own.

Then he gets a closer look. It’s not the shade, it’s a man enveloped by the shade, wearing it like a cloak. Or a suit.

As soon as Danny realizes that, Bruce’s secret identity is compromised.

(He doesn’t say a word to Bruce. Even the next time he meets Bruce in the daylight and the shade is back in its place, posing as his shadow.)

People tell stories about Batman. How he melts into the shadows like he is one. How he moves more silently than a human should be able to. How his glare has a force behind it. How maybe he’s some kind of meta, or even a ghost.

The rumors have a shred of truth to them. But he isn’t a meta or a ghost, just a man wrapped in his own shadow.

Anyway just... Bruce unknowingly has a shade buddy as his sidekick and reflection of his mental state and it gives him subtle shadow manipulation and fear-inducing powers AU.