Tipsy Turtle Crafts

I am a non binary pal, and go by the name Nathanial, or Nate. And an aspiring art teacher and freelance artist, so feel free to ask some questions. I can also often be found vending at Katsucon.

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Some photos from my Baxter (Hazbin Hotel) cosplay that I captured during Katsucon 2025. I will have to bust this one out again to get some better quality photos, but we had to rapid fire them (my phone was on 2%). Also definitely need to find a better way of doing the ear fin so that it blends better 💀

[fantastic-nonsense]

What's your favorite deranged Tim Drake moment?

inventing a fake uncle so he wasn't adopted by the guy he wanted to adopt him

sneaking back into Gotham after the bridges were blown during No Man's Land

thinking he got his girlfriend pregnant by kissing her

trying to clone his dead best friend 99 times because he missed him

joining a terrorist organization to prove that his dad wasn't dead

voluntarily becoming Bruce's emotional support child as a 13-year-old

saving the universe by playing baseball with his friends

threatening to kill himself to his older evil self's face

using his own last name as a vigilante name

threatening to beat Jason to death with a crowbar while wearing the Batsuit

Voting ended onFeb 11, 2023

[fantastic-nonsense]

Honorable mentions that didn't make it onto this poll:

faking an assassination attempt and a debilitating injury for a year because a reporter figured out his secret ID

ignoring Dick's blindingly obvious petty jealousy to continue fangirling over Blue Beetle

purposefully getting high so he stood a chance fighting Lady Shiva

smuggling a spare Batmobile to Titans Tower in San Francisco via the batarang budget

[fantastic-nonsense]

@legendary-chemistry: Please I need issue numbers for all of these

Ask and ye shall recieve. Explanations and citations of everything mentioned in this poll, with panels included:

#1: In the aftermath of his dad's death in Identity Crisis, Tim decided that instead of accepting Bruce's offer to adopt him (an offer he genuinely wanted to take), he was going to live as an emancipated minor. The courts didn't accept that plan, so he decided to...falsify several documents and hire an actor to pretend to be his Uncle Eddie. This lasted for a year in-universe before Bruce found out. Instead of being mad about it, Bruce was instead proud that Tim had managed to pull off such a difficult plan and lie to him about it for a full year...because everyone in the Batfamily handles their issues in a very healthy and productive manner, you see. This basically all happens in the post-Identity Crisis and pre-Infinite Crisis era of Robin (1993), during the Willingham era; following Infinite Crisis, Tim moves into Wayne Manor and accepts Bruce's second offer of adoption.

#2: This one happened during the No Man's Land saga. Basically: the US government declared Gotham a disaster zone after it was decimated by an earthquake. They told everyone to evacuate then blew up all the bridges connecting the city to the mainland, declaring it a 'no man's land' and abandoning everyone left behind. After several months of trying to persuade Congress to fund the reconstruction of Gotham, Bruce returned to the city along with Dick. Tim, who had fled with his dad during the initial evacuation, decided to not stay evacuated and snuck back into the city to help Bruce, Dick, and Babs.

This then sparked a national manhunt and ultimately a televised staged rescue event by the Federal Marshalls and U.S. military, largely as a political stunt maneuver, which makes Tim both a) a solid part of the reason Congress decided to rebuild Gotham and b) the closest thing DC had to a milk carton kid:

"What? You're doing what? You want what?" "A rescue, Tim. Federal agents are prepared to come into Gotham to get you." -Robin (1993) #73

Unfortunately I did not describe this event in a way that accurately describes just how absolutely deranged this entire bit of NML was in the poll. Otherwise I think a lot more people would have chosen it.

#3: as a preface I slightly misremembered this one, largely due to me not having read Tim's solo in several years. Basically, this is the beginning of Steph's teen pregnancy arc. Right before Cataclysm (the aforementioned earthquake), Steph hooked up with an old boyfriend of hers and got pregnant, but the father ran away during the aftermath of the earthquake and left her before either of them knew about the baby. Tim notices Steph acting off and asks her if she has the flu, and she laughs and instead tells him she's pregnant. To lighten the tension, she makes a joke about how it can't possibly be Tim's because they've only made out and not gone any further:

"Relax, Boy Virgin. You're not the guilty party. A couple of make-out sessions do not a baby make." -Robin #58

Tim is really just shocked by the news and needs a minute to process, and Steph's making fun of him for it. But...in my defense, it does in some ways play like Tim thinks it might be his for a hot second there. Also funny sidenote: Babs also assumes the baby is Tim's (to Tim's amusement) and has to be corrected:

"Could I ask for some non-professional advice?" "Talk to Doctor Babs, Robin." "I have this friend...my friend is pregnant." "Hold on, the 'friend' isn't you, is it? Oh. Are you–" "No, Barbara. Not guilty. Not even a suspect." -Robin (1993) #58

#4: After Superboy dies in Infinite Crisis. Tim and Cassie Sandsmark, Conner's girlfriend, both go into grief spirals and deal with this in their own super sad but also completely unhinged and fucked-up ways. Cassie joins a cult dedicated to Conner. Tim...goes a bit mad with grief and tries to clone him. His repeated attempts fail, because Tim is unaware of the particular scientific process through which Cadmus stabilized Kon's unique biology as a half-human/half-Kryptonian clone, but damn if he doesn't try. The larger context is that Kon dying is the latest in a long string of losses for Tim, who's now lost his dad, Stephanie, his step-mom Dana, his school-friend Darla, and Conner all in the span of about a year. The cloning is revealed in Teen Titans (2003) #34 and resolved in #37, the cursed issue that also includes Tim and Cassie deciding to deal with their mutual grief over Kon by getting together:

"You can't! He wouldn't be the Superboy we knew!" "He'd be close enough! We could make him close enough! I've lost too many people, Cassie. I want one back. I want my best friend back. I want Conner back. I miss him so much." -Teen Titans (2003) #37

Yeah. Grief is being dealt with exceedingly poorly on a truly unhinged level. Geoff Johns, what the fuck.

#5: Tim went a bit off the rails in the aftermath of Bruce dying in Final Crisis (2008). As previously discussed, he's lost a hell of a lot of people in a very short time. Less than six months before that, he was fighting Dick at the edge of a Lazarus Pit trying to take some water to resurrect them. So he's already not doing too hot, and then Bruce dies. While having a breakdown in the Manor's portrait gallery, Tim sees an 'ancestor's' portrait that was identical to Bruce...causing him to take a gigantic, illogical leap of faith and say Bruce wasn't dead. Which he wasn't, but of course Tim refused to actually explain his logic to everyone, so they think he's in denial and want him to get therapy. Instead, Tim runs off and goes globetrotting to find actual evidence proving Bruce was alive; stuff happens, and he ends up hooking up with Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins to use them for their resources. This goes...moderately well, but mostly poorly for everyone involved, and ends with Tim racing back to Gotham to save everyone from a massive powerplay Ra's instigated to try and fuck over Bruce's legacy. This all happens in the first 12 issues of Red Robin.

#6: The arc that started it all, A Lonely Place of Dying. Tim sees Batman spiraling in the wake of Robin's death, decides that Batman needs a Robin in order to keep from going off the deep end, and tracks down Dick to ask him to go back to Gotham and become Robin again. Dick refuses, Tim gets exasperated, Alfred's a Grade A enabler, and Tim eventually stares down Batman, tells him he needs a Robin, and goes "well. If no one else is going to keep you alive I'm going to do it and you can't stop me." A+ reaction to everything Tim, you've successfully chosen to parentify yourself and become Bruce's emotional support Robin at the age of 13.

#7: this happened in Young Justice (1998) #27, one of my favorite single issues. Cissie was minding her own business when she was abruptly teleported into space, where the rest of YJ is decked out in baseball uniforms and tells her about the Slag, who've conquered the world Mryg but have agreed to leave if YJ beats them in a baseball game. The stakes very quickly become the freedom of both Mryg and Earth. Yes, it's just as ridiculous and delightful as it sounds.

#8: this incident happened in the 'Titans of Tomorrow' arc of Teen Titans (2003). The Titans meet their evil future selves, who're murderous psychopaths and also intent on making sure the Titans turn out like them. So, to keep himself from becoming something horrible, Tim's first impulse is to basically...hold a gun to his own head in front of his evil future self and threaten to pull the trigger:

-Teen Titans (2003) #51

Absolute drama king behavior. There were simpler ways to get the point across that you'd become Batman only over your own dead body, Tim.

#9: this tragedy happened in Young Justice (2019). Tim was having a bit of an identity crisis and flipping between calling himself Red Robin and Robin. He and his friends take an impromptu trip through the multiverse and end up on Earth-3, home to the Crime Syndicate. Everyone meets and fights their evil counterparts; Tim's counterpart, for some reason, is a red-headed villain named 'Drake.' Bart and Earth-3!Steph both suggest he take up the name...and he does. Thankfully, it only lasted about a year before Tim reverted fully back to Robin again.

#10: Battle for the Cowl is a shitty, poorly-written, OOC mess for everyone involved. HOWEVER: it also has hands-down one of the funniest, most deranged conversations between Jason and Tim that's ever been written. They're both dressed up in Bat suits and fighting over who gets to become Batman now that Bruce is dead; I will specifically note here that Tim doesn't actually want to be Batman and is mostly only doing it because Dick is too stubborn to put the suit on and go fight Jason himself, but the point stands. Jason ambushes Tim and they absolutely have it out with each other.

I also slightly misremembered this one, because Tim actually does genuinely hit Jason with a crowbar a couple of times...right before Jason stabs him in the chest with a batarang and leaves him for dead:

They're ridiculous, your honor. But yes, one of the more unhinged Tim moments in comic book history.

I'll just skim through the honorable mentions because this response has already gotten way too long:

In the back half of Red Robin (2009), starting with Issue #15, Tim staged his own attempted assassination and faked a spinal injury for at least 6-8 months after Vicki Vale got a bit too close to figuring out he was Red Robin.

Baby Tim casually ignored Dick's blindingly obvious petty jealousy that Ted Kord was coming over to visit Babs and talk shop with her in Birds of Prey (1999) #19. The fact that Dick was jealous of Babs talking to Ted is irrelevant to the conversation, because Tim just skipping over his obvious jealousy to demand Babs introduce them? Iconic.

Move over Dick, you're clearly not Tim's favorite superhero in this moment.

Honestly both of the Tim-Shiva incidents probably require a long, convoluted explanation to properly get across how absolutely insane both events are, but...tl;dr the first time, a morally ambiguous ally he's working with, Dava, is using a drug that gives her superspeed. She kisses Tim, which introduces the drug into his system, and he promptly gets into a fight with Shiva to ensure she doesn't kill Dava. Because he's drugged and unused to having powers, he legit beats Shiva's ass to the point where he accidentally kills her and has to resuscitate her on the spot. That was Robin (1993) #51. Apologies for also slightly misremembering this one, because he didn't purposefully drug himself; Dava kissed him without his consent. I was mixing it up with the second Tim-Shiva incident in Robin #183, where he pre-game poisons her using hotel chocolate after she challenges him to a fight to the death. Still: unhinged.

In the early issues of Teen Titans (2003), Tim reveals that he's smuggled one of Bruce's spare Batmobiles all the way across the country to Titans Tower in San Francisco; he successfully pulled it off by disgusing the travel expenses as part of his batarang budget. Bart promptly crashes it while joyriding.

Even these explanations don't truly get across how absolutely unhinged some of the shit Tim says and does over the years is. I love him and I'm so sad that people think he's the boring, "normal" Robin, because it's absolutely not true. He's just as insane as all the others; he's just a lot better at hiding it.

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Cosplayed Joker Junior (Tim Drake in his trauma era) for Katsucon this year. I had an absolute blast, even if most people assumed I was regular old Joker. Crowbar for added emotional damage.

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Attempted some digital art over my normal watercolor 💀 definitely think I will stick with traditional art. This took me so long and like 5 different partially done versions that kept looking so goofy. Any way, enjoy a sneak peak at Jason’s new outfit for my fic “Stray Little Bat” on ao3. First image is just the new outfit, second has some notes that go along with it. This will be revealed in chapter 14 if everything goes according to plan.

It is loosely inspired by Spiderpunk and when they let Conner be cool in the comics. Not listed is that his gloves have metal on the knuckles so he can thoroughly beat people up.

Check out my little book down below. Peep the tags first because it does deal with some heavier topics, though nothing too graphic. The main idea of the plot is that Jason “dies” again and ends up in the MCU timeline, the catch being that he is back in his malnourished 15 y/o body with all the memories and trauma he held before. Come along with him while he slowly learns what a family is and starts to unravel those pesky things called emotions. Join the MCU cast as they try to figure out the mystery that is this little gremlin, and maybe try to adopt him and teach him how to care about himself along the way.

Not cannon compliant, more of a mash 20 different canons into one with a sprinkling of fannon for drama.

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Just another "Stray Little Bat" fanart. This one is from chapter 9 when Jason is quoting Dracula while actively being choked out. While technically he is wearing his half mask during this fight, I wanted to show off a little shit eating grin. I have rough sketches made up for a few more, so keep an eye out and check out my fun little story. I may make an alternative that shows off more of the bruising and blood, but I wanted to keep it pretty tame for now. Link and description for my little world are included down below.

___

https://archiveofourown.org/works/59838892/chapters/152643931

Jason has lived a hard life, from growing up with an abusive father and a druggie for a mom, to dying after a brutal attack, to digging himself out of his own grave, to his new father choosing to save his killer.

But what if fate had plans in store for him? What happens when he gets caught in another explosion after saving his sibling? What happens when he wakes up in a different box, in a different time, in a different world? Will he be able to navigate and survive? Or will he be plucked like a weed and thrown to the side?

Or: Jason has a very bad no good time while caving slowly, much like a black hole. But then he gets killed and wakes up in the Marvel time line. Only difference is this time he no longer has a mission to stick to, and happens to be the same age he was the first time around. Strap in for one choas gremlin with no more fucks to give, unleashed in a time line where Bruce can no longer hold him back. Stick around as he slowly pulls everyone in and forms one new family that will appreciate him fully, even if he may bite sometimes.

Plump with heavy angst, existential crisis, and a healthy dosage of crack to balance it all out.

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Quick little watercolor doodle of Jason Todd from my fic Stray Little Bat on AO3. In Stray Little Bat, Jason wakes up in an alternate time line after an explosion. His mind is in the 15 year old body counterpart of the Jason Todd that died on the Earth the MCU takes place on. This is after he cuts his hair, but before he dyes it black to feel a bit more like himself.

Description and link to my work found below!

___

Jason has lived a hard life, from growing up with an abusive father and a druggie for a mom, to dying after a brutal attack, to digging himself out of his own grave, to his new father choosing to save his killer.

But what if fate had plans in store for him? What happens when he gets caught in another explosion after saving his sibling? What happens when he wakes up in a different box, in a different time, in a different world? Will he be able to navigate and survive? Or will he be plucked like a weed and thrown to the side?

Or: Jason has a very bad no good time while caving slowly, much like a black hole. But then he gets killed and wakes up in the Marvel time line. Only difference is this time he no longer has a mission to stick to, and happens to be the same age he was the first time around. Strap in for one choas gremlin with no more fucks to give, unleashed in a time line where Bruce can no longer hold him back. Stick around as he slowly pulls everyone in and forms one new family that will appreciate him fully, even if he may bite sometimes.

Plump with heavy angst, existential crisis, and a healthy dosage of crack to balance it all out.

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Up close photos of a few of my magnets that will be for sale at Katsucon this year! Come say HI to me at table C24 in the artist alley.

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Some new Magnet designs that will be at Katsucon 2024, table C24 in the artist alley!

Once upon a time I tried making dice but since I don't have a pressure pot most came out with bubbles or weighted wrong, this is a great way to recycle those messed up pieces instead of sending them to a landfill somewhere. I will also have some other wood magnets with ghosts and critters, along side my usual resin pond ones. Can't wait to see y'all there!

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Just a handful of searurtles that I'm working on for Anime Next. while there are 7 different species of seaturtles, these ones are not specifically designed after any one in particular. While I am slowly adding in specific species, I will continue to also make the ones that aren't, simply because it is easier to bulk make them, and keep track of lol. Also ignore how my fingers progressively get more and more paint on them, I could only half see what I was doing around my film set up.

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Mimikyu terrarium on a hand stand #pokemon #mimikyu #spooky #mine #myart #pokémon #terarium #terrarium #miniature #sculpey #sculpture #katoclay #polymer #polymerclay #ooak #handsculpted #handmade #mimikyufanart #ghosttype #pokemoncommunity #katsucon #katsucon2023 https://www.instagram.com/p/Co0hJskJCZm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Just a tiny sparkly octopus in a shell pond

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Just a not so tiny guy in a not so tiny shell #ooak #handmade #terarium #mine #myart #stingray #resin #pond #nature #katsucon #katsucon2023 #sculpey #polymer #clay #katoclay #ocean #marinelife #aquarium #handsculpted #miniature #epoxyresin (at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cox50XNJZNW/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

New item for this year's Katsucon, little terrarium shopping carts. Peep these little guys and more at spot A20. #ooak #terarium #pokemon #katsucon #pokémon #polymerclay #mine #myart #handmade #sculpey #katoclay #nature #smoliv #chikorita #tipsyturtlecrafts #plants #plant #shopsmall #smallbusiness (at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoxMDhErt9x/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Consider this a meet the artist, but really it's just me getting you to look at me cute baby kitty, beetlejuice, on our latest Christmas adventure. Santa may have been dismissive to her, but she still loved all the attention and seeing the lights. Also yes, this is going on a card to my grandmother who doesn't like cats.

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Just a little ceramics final piece to reintroduce myself onto this site. This little possum guy was initially just going to be the head on a bed of flowers. But my teacher pushed me out of my comfort zone to make the largest piece I ever have and I couldn't be more happy, even if they turned out to be more of a zombie than the initial ode to death. The grey underglaze even ended up getting a green hint to hit after firing, truly matching the vibes of the piece.

[lord-kitschener]

Obviously I want you to take care of your pets and make sure they get food and fresh water on a regular basis, but cats being huge drama queens and screaming hysterically at you and acting like they’re tragic famine victims who haven’t eaten in weeks and are about to drop dead from starvation right mcfuckin now, because you’re 10 minutes late feeding them is always going to be one of the funniest things to me

[artaeum]

the cat who lives at the vet clinic i volunteer at was mad yesterday because his dinner was half an hour late due to a busy day. he proceeded to go to all the (empty dw) garbage cans and tried to knock them over and started desperately scavenging for scraps of food because obviously no one loves him or cares about him and if he must eat garbage to survive then so be it

[instructionsfordancing]

not food related, but one time my cat cried at me for 20 minutes before i worked out that the reason why she was upset was because there was a coat hanger on her favourite cushion

[lord-kitschener]

This is absolutely beautiful and changed my life, thank you so much. Please protect her from hangers at all costs

[catsuggest]

wow. am STORVING and humaines here making joke laugh at cate honger ?!

[goldenmeme]

My cat is a social eater who is not food motivated at all, so I was baffled when I first got him because he didn’t seem to care about food but he would SCREAM at me for hours when I knew his bowl was full. Any time I went to double check that he did indeed have food, he’d book it to the bowl and snarf like his life depended on it, but as soon as I walked away he’d follow me screaming again.

Eventually I figured out that he just wanted a dining companion and was screaming about how we’re a family and families eat together, god damnit! I moved his food bowl under my computer desk and it fixed the problem. But if I’m ever out for more than 12 hours I’ll come home to find him in a passive-aggressive kitty huff because dinner has been ready for hours but he’s been trying to be considerate (unlike some humans) and waiting for me to eat it. 

[leeferal]

My cats are indoor cats. Being indoor cats, they can’t go outside to hunt for food (mice, rats, birds, etc) to gift to my sister and I.

But they know that the kitchen has food. They know where the easily accessible cat food is. And obviously my sister and I are just Really Big Stupid Hairless cats.

So if my sister and I go without leaving our rooms for too long? My cats will sit outside our doors and scream for our attention, lead us to their food bowls, and then only stop the screaming and leading once they see us sit down at the table and eat something. Because they think we’re hungry.

[akuyaku-reijou]

Your cats are the sweetest beings on the Earth, it makes my heart warm knowing that they exist. They love you very much and they care so much, they want you healthy and happy and will make sure you don’t neglect yourself and oh god they are so perfect. Real pure love exists, I am happy to be alive today.

[mylove-isnot-fragile]

My neighbor is a hardcore drunk. Like, 9am and dude is drinking vodka, but he had a cat that’s pretty much his honest to god caregiver because I have seen this cat visibly screaming at this man to keep him from hurting himself and sometimes when he hasn’t been outside for a while, the cat will scream at my door until I go outside to knock on the door to check on him. Cats are literal angels.

[dragonkitty]

I have a cat named a Kitty Pryde who has an extra thumb and these giant paws and while she’s not super bright she did learn that she likes being pet. So I must like being petted right? So if I’m watching TV alone she’ll come up and just with her giant paw gently stroke my arm or hand until I pet her back and she waits and pets me again and it goes on a while. Cats are angels.

[trinandtonic-deactivated2022102]

My cat once stuffed my bath mat into the litter box

[dvasxmeka]

Mine wakes me up if I sleep in too long cuz she wants me to take my pills. Fiance said she was yelling at him all day yesterday. She stopped whwn I got home…and asked him if he tooks his meds. He hadn’t.

[sharing-of-words]

My girlie screams at me if she thinks I’m up past bedtime. Apparently this transfers to my new roommates too: Maeve led @katculator to her room, yelled until she was under the covers, then came back to the kitchen to do the same to me.

[scretladyspider]

BABIES

[sandersstudies]

My cat likes to wake us up when we are “late for work” (which usually just means it’s the weekend and we want to sleep in)

[gayvampire666]

when i was high school my cat would wait outside my bedroom door everyday at 7 for me to get up and start screaming and scratching at the door if i waited too long to leave my room

[dragonpyre]

@exercisingpotato

[exercisingpotato]

My cat puts eviscerated mousies in the litterbox. She also puts anything she doesn’t like into the litter box. She also has a pillow behind my pillow on the bed and it has to be taller than every other pillow stack. If it is not set up the way she likes she screams. Also she screams if spouse does not chase her into the bedroom when I go to bed. She doesn’t want to be carried she wants to be chased while spouse goes “I’m going to get you.”

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

My pretty kitty Beetlejuice will do shit like this. When she was a kitten, she had a favorite toy (a little ostrich looking thing) and before eating she would have to find him, place his head in her food dish, give him a moment to eat, then proceed to eat. She would do the same for water and potty as well. She is an emotional support kitty, and when I'm having a depressive episode she won't eat until I make food and sit with her. She won't touch her food until she sees I'm eating. If I'm laying in bed she will scream at me until I get up to eat, and if I don't she screams at my room mate and leads her to my room. Like a doll she will also not leave my side when I'm depressed, even when I'm in the shower. She will sit at my feet in the water stream and give me little chirps. I have a million and a half of these stories, each showing just how pure and lovely cats love is. On a different note, she will also go out for walks to make sure I get fresh air and loves playing fetch.

[tipsy-turtle-crafts]

Sorry I have not posted in a year, things have just been crazy busy, and I just have not had the mental energy to be taking photos and upkeeping social media, ontop of vending, work, and classes. Any way, here is a photo of my sweet kitty Beetlejuice as an apology. Maybe one of these days I will get back on and post regularly, but no promises.