#He's gotta live with that and it shouldn't be on Tim

[bookwormbynight]

Fucking phenomenal idea please write it

I think a really good way to combat the whole "reality-breaking parents are alive" thing would be just having them both believe with their whole hearts that their current truest desire wouldn't be possible if those things hadn't happened. Aka Clark knows he never would have met Bruce (and Ma and Pa, and his job, and Lois, etc) if his parents hadn't chucked him off to Earth bc Krypton was dying, and Bruce would have never become Batman and met all his loved ones and done everything he's proud of if he hadn't seen his parents die right in front of him. (That is kind of touched on in the BTAS episode where the mad hatter sticks Bruce in a dreamscape where his parents are alive - he gets excited about seeing his parents and then he asks Alfred where Dick is and Alfred is like "who?" and it sends Bruce on a spiral of 'what the fuck what the fuucckkk' if I remember correctly.)

Clark didn't actually see his bio parents die though, so honestly it could be perfectly plausible that they just kind of show up like "hey we didn't actually die and we were trying to find you! :D". Bruce can't really get his parents back in a non-drastic way though. Tough break considering that's literally his main Trauma™ 😭

Ah fuck I don't think Jason could have lived either because Tim :( damn Bruce always gets the shortest fucking straws lmao

OH SHIT WHEN BRUCE WAKES UP ANY HEALING DONE WITH JASON IN THE DREAM WOULDNT HAVE BEEN REAL EITHER WOULD IT JESUS C H R I S T

(I mean also Clark could wake up and not-breakup aside his parents are dead again and he's gotta deal with that 😭)

I have so many fucking thoughts about this help help help

All of the little habits they would have formed with each other - they know each other's favorites, they have routines they automatically step into that they really Shouldn't Have, Bruce has never met Martha in his life but he knows her secret pie recipe because he had to recite it to Alfred, Bruce's kids don't treat Clark like another parent but Clark can't help but think of them as His Kids, I--

How long would it take them to realize. (Literal eons, they're both idiots.) How long would it take other people to realize.

Fic idea: A world where Clark and Bruce both get put under Black Mercy’s spell and see their alternate “ideal” dream realities. These realities are identical, though they don’t realize that — a world where they finally give into the pining and realize the other cares about them just as much.

They get married, raise kids, and build the League. Years pass in domestic bliss.

Cut to them waking up. Both are devastated that their marriage/lives weren’t real and resign themselves to a miserable world with a partner who doesn’t remember them.

They both think the other saw something else — Clark mumbles something about Lois and Bruce lies that he saw his parents alive again (they were in his dream, but that wasn’t the focus? hmm)

But. As they try moving on from the years-in-a-second bliss they shared, odd moments keep cropping up.

Bruce says something Clark only ever heard in the dream world. They know things about each other they shouldn’t. Clark slips up and reaches for Bruce’s body in a way that’s too achingly familiar. They’re both choked with denial and grief.

Cue the most aggravating dual pining ever.

[oifaaa]

Oh yeah, Mr. First-Robin-to-Get-a-Solo-and second-longest-Robin-run-and-now-a-Robin-again-instead-of-a-guy-who-is-supposed-rp-be-Robin-by-now is sure most mistreated

Here's the thing the comments were definitely meant in a in universe Tim's the most mistreated Robin way but even then its like baby boy hasn't even died as Robin both dick and Bruce respect the hell out of him as Robin and he's respected as a hero and leader in the outter hero community he's gotten beaten up a few times but that's just what being Robin is like

[silverwhittlingknife]

So you're a go to source for all things Dick&Tim bros and you tend to write primarily from Dick's POV. So, odd question, but if you were to summarize their relationship from his POV in FIVE panels which panels would you pick? Keeping in mind that one specific aspect of their relationship that you love needs to be clearly represented by each panel (loyalty, trust etc). I hope this is a fun challenge and not an annoying question so if you don't want to answer that's cool! Have a wonderful day!

No more talk. The same thoughts run through two minds... (SotB 29) / You're my equal. My closest ally. (RR 1) / I can't stop thinking how much I rely on him. (GoG 3)

25 Feelings Dick Has About Tim

This was such a kind ask & a cool challenge which I totally failed; here are TWENTY-five panels of Dick's POV on Tim sdfdsfds Look, I got carried away! Marcia and Cindy! The boys!!

OKAY SO BEFORE I GET TO THE PANELS A FEW NOTES:

WARNING THAT THERE ARE SOME NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN HERE because I love conflict but but but you gotta remember those are not the final word!! They are complicated people and sometimes they get mad at each other BUT ultimately their relationship is so hugely important in both their lives & they love each other and rely on each other so much -!!! <3

Also I have CONCLUDING THOUGHTS at the end about what Dick's POV leaves out (mostly: a lot of Dick defending & protecting & supporting Tim, which Dick does instinctively but isn't very self-aware about most of the time)

I have loosely organized my list into 5^5 format (5 categories with 5 examples each!), so if you want to skip to a relevant one, here are the categories!!

Below the cut:

I hate him and find him infuriating (#1-5)

On second thought, he's endearing & fun (#6-10)

Grief is complicated & he's all tangled up in mine (#11-15)

I love him & think highly of him (#16-20)

I rely on him & though it's hard for me, I trust him (#21-25)

I hate him and find him infuriating (#1 - 5)

1) He thinks he’s so smart and can psychoanalyze me and Bruce, but he doesn’t know me at all, he should get lost (New Titans 61)

2) He thinks he’s so smart and can psychoanalyze Bruce but he doesn’t know Bruce at all, he should get lost (Gotham Knights 26)

3) He is so nosy about stuff that is MY business (Robin 0)

4) He sounds like an insincere suck-up half the time... but okay, fine, if you push him he's got a sense of humor about it (New Titans 65)

5) I'm sure he's a better vigilante than me. It's my fault for being a failure, but I resent him anyway. (Nightwing 9 - Dick's having a nightmare)

On second thought, he's kinda endearing (#6-10)

6) He worries too much and gets anxious so easily, but it makes him fun to tease (Robin 67)

7) I'm not that competitive - okay, so maybe I'm a little competitive, I gotta make sure he doesn't get a swelled head (Prodigal)

8) I'm supposed to be his favorite! It is not cool for him to be fanboying over my not-girlfriend's not-boyfriend!! (Birds of Prey 19)

9) We have fun together. I can kick back and relax when it's just the two of us. Plus I get to boss him around a bit. (Prodigal)

10) He’s always trying to reassure me, and I guess it's a little comforting, but also he doesn’t really get it. Or me. He makes excuses that he shouldn't, because he doesn't understand that I suck. (Nightwing 64)

Grief is complicated and he's all tangled up in mine (#11 - 15)

11) He reminds me of everything I try not to think about. Sometimes the memories are so strong it hurts to look at him. (Batman 441)

12) WHY IS HE BEING IMPOSSIBLE ALL OF A SUDDEN??? THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING (Nightwing 139)

13) We're the same. He says all the things I don't let myself think about. It's like arguing with myself. (Nightwing 139)

14) He thinks he gets to tell me what to do but he doesn’t, fuck him (Battle for the Cowl)

15) Life sucks, so what. I sucked it up so he should too (RR 1)

I love him and think highly of him (#16 - 20)

16) He’s the closest thing to a brother I’ll ever have.  If someone hurts him I will hurt them harder. (Nightwing 6)

17) I can't handle the idea of losing him. (Nightwing 97)

17) He’s so good and I’m not. I'm afraid I’m bad for him. (Nightwing 110)

18) He’s better than me, and it’s kind of a relief because I know no matter what he’ll be okay. (Gates of Gotham 3)

19) In my head he’s the responsible one.  (Gotham Knights 10)

I rely on him, and though it's hard for me, I trust him (#20-25)

20) I know I have to trust him but I'm afraid he'll make the wrong choices and get hurt (Nightwing 139)

21) I'm sure I know what he should do because I see myself in him - not that I can take my own advice, but he should (Blackest Night 3)

22) I trust him.  When I’m losing my grip on things, he pulls me back. (Gotham Knights 10)

23) I want him to trust me (Red Robin 12)

24) He can tell when I'm lying. Sometimes he sees my weaknesses better than I wish he did. (Detective Comics 874)

25) He’s always there when I need him. (Teen Titans / Outsiders Secret Files)

Final rambling thoughts:

TIM: Uhh, okay, so I'm just skimming this list - do you really trust me? you're not just saying that? - but anyway, I'm confused because you left some stuff out? Like some stuff that's kinda important? DICK: No? I think I got everything? TIM (starts counting on his fingers): The time I was having a bad day but then I called you. The time I got captured by Two-Face but then you saved me. The time I fell off a train but then you saved me. The time I fell off a building but then you saved me. The time I fell off a different building - DICK: I feel like you're trying to make some kind of point but I'm not sure what it could be.

SO THE THING IS, I put 25 panels in here and not a single one has Dick catching Tim when he’s falling!!! But I think that's a central motif of their relationship from Tim’s POV, not Dick’s. I love Dick, but in some ways I think he is spectacularly un-self-aware.

And I think he especially has a lot of blind spots about Tim. He kinda intermittently gets that Tim admires him, and he enjoys it in a playful I-get-to-boss-you-around way. But Dick tends to consistently underestimate all of his own good qualities & skills, and he meets Tim at a point in his life when he's especially down on himself & his abilities. And so he's unable to see his own influence on Tim, & therefore unable to fully understand a lot of Tim's priorities and loyalties and motivations, because you can't actually understand Tim without understanding Dick's impact on him. There's a fascinating moment in Bruce Wayne: Murderer when Dick's completely blindsided & upset to discover that Tim doesn't entirely trust Bruce, even though this has been a definitive fact of Tim's whole thing ever since he showed up with his Batman needs Robin theory, and Barbara has to actively remind Dick of the obvious-to-everyone-except-Dick fact that a lot of Tim's loyalty is to Dick, and Tim loves Bruce but feels free to be more wary of him. (And to give Bruce credit: this is not something he ever begrudges.) But anyway Babs points this out, and Dick manages to sorta process it for about five seconds, but he cannot actually accept it into his worldview so instead he discards it at the speed of light and goes off and has an argument with Tim instead sdfsfdsf

All of Dick's virtues - Dick's kindness at the circus and Dick's determination to fight through grief and Dick's rigid sense of morals and Dick's vigilante skills and every time Dick has ever backed Tim up or listened to him or protected him or saved him from something or just been casually kind to a stranger in Tim's presence etc etc etc - all these things loom really large in Tim's mental story of Who Dick Is, and What Dick And Tim's Relationship Is. Tim meets Dick before he meets Bruce, trusts Dick more than Bruce, aspires to be Robin instead of Batman. And so in Tim's default version of the story, Dick is the super-special and admirable hero and Tim is... nobody in particular, a tagalong outsider who's barely managing to be a hero, not part of Dick and Bruce's family and not part of their story, who, if he's VERY LUCKY and tries REALLY HARD, might be able to fight his way to proving himself and offering something to Dick that Dick will value, if Dick doesn't get fed up with him first.

But that's not Dick's version of the story!!!

Dick's version of the story is almost the exact opposite, a story where Dick's an outcast failure black sheep who's screwing up everything he tries, and meanwhile Tim is The Sudden New Perfect Robin Who's Better Than Me And Probably Bruce Loves Him More And Probably They Gossip About What A Loser I Am, mixed with a complicated edge of Tim Thinks He's So Smart But He Doesn't Know Me/Us At All. Dick gets much more attached to Tim over time, and Tim gets unnervingly better at the know-it-all psychoanalysis so then Dick gets to have complicated feelings about him being right instead of just annoyance at him for being wrong, plus Dick's relationship with Bruce improves a lot, so Tim stops feeling so threatening. But Dick never fundamentally changes his basic theory of their relationship in which Tim is highly impressive and capable, and Dick is not so much.

And so asking Dick about Tim is kinda like if you asked George Bailey to tell you about Harry Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life; like, you'll be there for five hours while he tells you how great Harry is, and how accomplished Harry is, and how he doesn't really get how or why Harry does the things he does, and maybe George does feel a little resentful or jealous sometimes, but that pales in comparison to all his admiration and trust for Harry who he loves so much, who's better than him in so many ways, and he's not gonna openly gripe but secretly he can't help but feel sometimes like he's such a failure in comparison to Harry, a perfect person who emerged fully formed from Zeus's head with all the virtues and also all the accomplishments, etc. etc. etc. --

-- and he will not actually remember the part where he changed and saved Harry's whole entire life unless you literally send him to an alternate timeline in order to force him to remember it. <3

[farshootergotme]

https://www.tumblr.com/ruestheday/765956792656265216/one-of-the-biggest-lies-the-fandom-will-tell-you

Opinions on this post?

I'd say that I agree with what this person is saying. As much as I give Bruce shit for his parental skills (which are flawed and shouldn't be overlooked, don't get me wrong), we can say Alfred is partially one of the main reasons why Bruce is the way he is.

I won't say anything about "Alfred should've/could've taken Bruce to therapy" because then we gotta consider a lot of things about the decade when Alfred was introduced and his age in-universe, as Alfred might've not lived in a period in which therapy was widely accepted and even recommended. But I won't dwell too much on that.

Now, I don't think Alfred is necessarily an evil person, but he can be quite selfish and a coward when it comes to facing consequences (which he rarely gets, if ever).

When shit hits the fan, he's the first one to back out. Why should he be responsible? He's only a mere butler (until he goes and calls Bruce "his son").

He's always detached just enough from the situation that nobody will look at him when looking for someone to blame for a problem that Alfred was most likely involved in.

Bruce might be the Batman, but it's Alfred who works from the shadows and leaves the responsibility of his decisions to the rest.

Does he do this on purpose?

Hard to say. I think he's in a way aware of his cowardice and harmful tendencies, but he doesn't have an active intention of hurting others. However, lack of intention does not mean lack of action, and despite whatever he might feel or believe, he does many things that end up in someone's hurt and even death.

And don't many consider it, but to me it doesn't come as a surprise that Bruce is so emotionally constipated and an unavailable father when he never had someone to learn from about proper parental skills.

Bruce never knew where he stood with Alfred, and Alfred didn't help to make it clear. At first, Bruce was just his master. A responsibility left behind by his parents, but still with the authority to order around the person who's supposed to be his caretaker. And Alfred? We know how much of an enabler he is, but also how inconsistent he can be when it comes to letting Bruce get away with things. And how confusing that must've been for a child? To never have clear boundaries to respect, rules to follow and his behavior corrected.

Kids learn from habit and patterns, and I don't believe he'd see much of that with Alfred, who jumps from his role as a father to his position as a butler way too often for a young mind to fully comprehend. Add to that the fact Bruce already had a position as a rich kid, which would've led to even more people forgetting to set boundaries with him due to his influence.

Now it's not so weird to see him getting away with his toxic behavior towards his children instead of confronting his mistakes like a parent should, right? But I digress.

So, moving onto the next point: child soldiers.

The post you sent mentions Alfred's involvement in the later creation of Robins. But how can he normalize sending kids out there to fight a war that isn't theirs? Well, that's when you remember Alfred joined the army at quite a young age, and there he must've seen even younger kids working as soldiers. What are the chances he has a messed up view on what children should and shouldn't (have to) do?

Subconsciously, he must've internalized this idea of children fighting for their country, and when he saw Robin for the first time, it might've brought back that idea and so he allowed this child to fight for a city that was not even his yet. And then came Jason, then Tim, then Steph, Cass, Damian, Duke... They just kept coming, and Alfred kept pushing this idea.

Jason died? That's a shame, but war is unrelenting, and soldiers are expected to die. It doesn't mean the rest should stop fighting, right?

"Jason Todd, a good soldier".

On top of all that, Robin is good for Batman. Robin is the light Batman needs. Robin can help Bruce, his boy. His son. And who's Alfred if not a messed up man? He'll put the children at risk if it means helping the boy he failed to help before. And when he gets attached to said children, it'll be too late to try pull them out, and then they'll be just another repetition of what Batman came to be when he allowed Bruce to leave.

As for Julia Pennyworth, Alfred was separated from Marie—his then partner—due to war, and found out about Julia's existence only two years after she was born. Their relationship had been distant since then. Julia didn't know about Alfred, but he requested a friend to take care of her and kept sending money all the years to come after making his friend promise not to tell Julia about him, his real father. Why didn't he ever go to see her? That's because, according to Alfred, he was afraid to disrupt her life. But if I'm being honest, I think he also didn't feel ready for the responsibility. And when he became Bruce's guardian, he still was not ready, but Martha and Thomas were his friends, so there must've been a sense of responsibility and guilt influencing his decision.

To summarize, Alfred Pennyworth is an extremely flawed individual and he should not be absolved from any of his mistakes.

[intimidating-fettuccine]

OOOH IVE BEEN WAITING FOREVER FOR REQUEST TO OPEN!!! Anyway I wanted to ask personality swap between Jeff and Toby? I kinda see them as polar opposite but they are both pretty dumb with their actions so if that we're to happen some how...how do you think they would hide it? (If they even know) and how would the pastas that hang around them feel like!

(Go ahead on dump for tim since ik you wanted to write for him for a bit!)

I tried my best since I liked the idea, I hope you enjoy. Although I didn't dump for Tim very much I suppose :p

You said to write for Tim, and listen I'm going to be honest; he notices immediately that something is wrong. Let's say they encountered a curse on a mission that swapped their personalities. They're still in the same bodies, just acting like each other, however, they are very aware of this fact but don't want to draw suspicion to themselves. They try to be quiet as they get home, trying to rush to their rooms, only to be stopped by none other than Tim himself, questioning them on how the mission went. Toby, feeling unusually dismissive with Jeff's personality, says it went fine and that Tim shouldn't get so stressed about these things, which Toby previously wouldn't have ever said to him, sparking alarms.

Then, of course, Jeff with Toby's personality feels the need to rush out an apology, saying that Toby didn't mean it, sparking even more alarms within Tim. He's standing there in utter confusion, mouth hanging open as he looks between them, only for both of them to wish him goodnight and book it back to their bedrooms. Of course, Tim immediately reports this to Slender, and then soon everyone knows and now has to navigate them with switched personalities for who knows how long. It's strange to watch, seeing Jeff be so much more sensitive and timid and sweet, and even stranger to watch Toby be the most relaxed he's ever looked, without a single care in the world about anything at all, being way more smart-mouthed and overconfident than he ever would be. To be honest, the mansion is just equally disturbed and confused by the change, and none of them know how to interact with the two of them anymore. Slender and Tim are absolutely aghast at the way Toby is acting specifically, as the once respectful and kind boy now constantly has an attitude and is constantly poking fun at everyone and annoying them, and then there's Jeff, trailing after him and apologizing and trying to calm things down.

Toby is dismissive of the whole thing, saying it's fine and they can just wait it out, it's not like it's a big deal (as Jeff would say), but then there's Jeff freaking out and unsure of himself now because all of a sudden his anxiety has skyrocketed and he's drowning in all of the behavioral issues/stressors/anxiety that Toby has from his past trauma (as Toby usually is), and it's very hard on Jeff. Of course, Toby notices this, and I do think he'd probably spend time with Jeff keeping his eyes on him. I think he'd give him advice, and remind him that everything is okay (like Jeff normally does for Toby, but now it's Toby doing it), and I think it would honestly be good for their relationship, as they come to understand each other much better. By the time they finally revert back to normal, the two of them are much calmer and more patient, especially with each other, and it turns out to be a good thing for everyone, honestly. Jeff and Toby are normally at odds because they don't understand the way the other works, but thanks to their switch, now they finally can. Although, people are still timid around them because despite their personalities reverting back, it seems they've adopted some of those traits, with Toby still being unusually relaxed and sassy, and Jeff being a bit more reserved and anxious. They're sure they'll fully revert back in time, but for now, they've gotta live with the strange looks they keep getting when they interact with people.

[dairy-farmer]

Saw some NICE Reverse Robins Art? And just? Eldest Blood Son Damian Wayne? All the gorgeous of BOTH his parents? A man who never felt his position threatened by these younger children? But still had that oldest sibling "they're talking my Father's love and attention AWAY from me" drama? Grew up. Lost his Tim.

Was BETRAYED by his maternal family, when they brought Tim BACK, mad from the pits, and never told him. The whole alt-timeline. Edgy Red Hood Tim. Red Bird Jason. Robin Dick.

But!

Multiverse shenanigans? Who is THIS?! It's a Cannon-adjacent Tim! He's HEROICALLY sacrificed himself by tackling the megalomaniac of the decade, into the Multiverse Destroying Portal BEFORE it could fully charge! While he, said maniac, held the control panel. Thereby shutting it down.

There had been no other way.

He had expected to be ripped to molecules.

But here he is, on the sort of Shitty Roofing that can only be Gotham infrastructure. So? No time to tremble in the face of near oblivion. Gotta beat this fuckers ass so hard his ANCESTORS rethink their life choices. Tim drags himself up. And makes Gotham proud.

Which is how Darkwing (Damian's edgy self chosen name he's now stuck with until his Father retires.) Finds him. Half dead and beating up a clear Supervillian, wearing Bat gear. Good enough for Damian. He'll get answers AFTER the scoundrel in imprisoned.

Only Tim passes the fuck out.

Wakes up, in the cave, to his own? But slightly different? Face. Two things jump out. One, that God awful skunk strip Jason was permanently stuck with after the pits (that he refuses to admit, is kinda sexy). And Two, either this Tim started Testosterone WAY earlier, somehow managed to keep to all his scheduled shots dispite Superhero Craziness, OR... this lucky bastard is Cis Gendered.

Unless maybe not?

Hey, Me, pronouns. (He/Him.) Nevermind! Bastard it is! Fuck you! Why do YOU get all the luck? I have to take shots! (I DIED.) OH, boo hoo, WE'VE ALL DIED! Ya'aint special! *Tim on Tim verbal violence intensifies*

No one can tell if... they are? Bonding? Or hate each other. Someone should stop them. Unfortunately, it has to be Bruce. Which is how they learn: No, actually, he DOESN'T know what universe he's from. It's never come up before and they don't have the technology. He expected to die.

It was a one way trip.

Now they have a New/Extra Tim. There are Tim Twins. One is An Angry Bad Boy. And the other? Strangely sexy. The competence kinks are developing by the minute.

Worse, for Damian? This Tim seems... almost? Baffled? By his politeness? Seems to expect violence and aggression? And become utterly FACINATED by him, once he realizes its not coming. Damian has never been the center of someone's attention like this. Had someone hang off his every word like this. It's breeding... Thoughts he shouldn't be having.

And RR!Tim is getting jealous. That's HIM. He should be interested in HIM. THEIR shared lives. Not Mr "ooooh look at meee, the Perfect Soooon". Other Tim should be... be like his TWIN. His BROTHER. HIS other half. His!

Bruce? Hates that he sees what could have been, in this Tim. Calm and collected. Not raging and destructive. A good Detective. A perfect Robin. Dedicated to The Mission. Not the unhealing, raging, wounded animal his son has become. He wants to protect this Tim. Hold him close. Cherish him. But he also loves HIS Tim. He feels so greedy.

And Jason? It's like the Red Bird he looked up to is BACK. Not the raging monster that swings between hating him and ignoring him. Even better! This Tim looks at HIM like he's some sort of miracle! So he plays up the spunky, the cute. Crawls into his lap and chats. Gets to hang out. Be the center of his world. He... he's in LOVE. Already formulating a long term plan. Gonna marry this Tim and have a house and kids and a dog! It'll be perfect.

Baby Dick? Robin? Was EXHAUSTED trying to hold everything together. Trying to pretend he didn't notice the tensions. Play the performance of "cute baby brother" to distract and defuse. Then this Timmy came! And FIXED everything. Took Dicks job like he'd been doing it for YEARS. Smiled so pretty and perfect. Told him he didn't have to pretend.

Like he KNEW Dick. Better then anyone else.

So maybe Dick goes... a little crazy. Follows him. Smells his stuff. Wants to crawl into his bed and DO things. But! He's not the only one! Everyone is going crazy! Timmy does that to people, he's decided. But it's okay. They're TIM'S people. So it's okay if they go crazy for him.

And really? It's just a matter of who's control breaks first. Because Tim adores them but doesn't think they'd be interested. Tim is situationally dense as bricks. They love him anyway.

-🐼🐼🐼

all of them intent on this tim not realizing the tim of their universe will never let them get dibs 😩

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Phantom Grin

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Bruce Wayne visits his son's grave on the night of his resurrection. Will it change Jason's fate, or is it all simply inevitable?

Chapters: 11/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd is Disabled, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Resurrected Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along

Chapter Eleven: Bat or Bird

ason spent the next few weeks at Barbara's because Bruce was out of town following a lead. Barbara didn't mind him training at odd hours. Most days, Jason kept his appointments and said his prayers. Other days, Jason lay in bed with no desire to do anything. Barbara allowed him his space as long as he followed two rules: Make his appointments and answer his phone.

"Jason!" Barbara yelled from the kitchen.

Jason rolled his shoulders and wiped the sweat from his brow. He met her in the kitchen and looked her in the eyes. "Where's your phone?" Barbara questioned. Jason patted himself down to look for his phone, and she held it out for him.

"Sorry, I didn't—."

"Bruce called you an hour ago... He's still free to talk, but you've gotta pay more attention," Barbara chastised him. He nodded and took his phone from her.

Jason apologized and called Bruce back from his room. "Jason, are you—?"

"Hi, Dad. I'm sorry, I didn't have my phone on me," Jason interrupted, "Something wrong?"

"No... I just wanted to check in on you. How've you been?" Bruce asked.

"Honestly? I'm doing alright today... I just have a lot on my mind," Jason whispered, "Dad... Can I ask you something?"

"Okay," Bruce replied.

Jason heard clicking as if Bruce were typing something. "If your gut feeling went against common sense-. Generally speaking... Would you trust your gut or—?"

"Is it something that can be looked into? If it can't, I'd say go with your gut," Bruce whispered, "Do you need me to come back?"

"No, actually, that was the answer I needed... Not the one I wanted, though. What are you doing?" Jason asked. "Are you working?"

"Um, no, I'm just doing a regular search... You know I'll be back in time for your birthday," Bruce reassured him, "Anything special you want me to bring you back?"

"Nothing this time... But maybe consider letting me come with you next time," Jason suggested, "I'm doing better. I really am."

Bruce stayed silent. "Dad, you haven't even seen what I can do yet," Jason whispered. He lay back on the couch. "I need you to trust me. I'm not even asking to be Robin again. I'm just asking to be something."

"You are something. Jason, you're my son. I just don't want—."

"I was Batman's son too," Jason whispered. Bruce sighed.

"I'm sorry, but I've gotta go. I love you, Jason," Bruce replied.

"I love you too," Jason muttered into the phone before hanging up.

"Jason, I wanna talk to you after you get cleaned up," Barbara whispered. Jason nodded, and he showered and washed his hair.

Although he understood Bruce's hesitancy to put him back into the field, Jason felt hurt. He tried not to get angry or offended, but he couldn't help but feel stifled. He got dressed and met Barbara in the living room. "You're bored," she stated.

"It's not your fault. I just want to be useful again," Jason whispered. Barbara took her glasses off and set them on the table. "What?"

"If I let you open your birthday gift, will you promise not to use it until your birthday?" Barbara asked. "I'm serious. You have to promise me because I shouldn't have done this in the first place."

"I promise," Jason whispered. Barbara grabbed a box from behind the couch and handed it to Jason. He carefully removed the wrapping paper while holding eye contact with Barbara. "Before I open this box, how much trouble could you get in if my dad found out?"

"Don't worry about it. Just open it," Barbara whispered. Jason looked down and opened the box. He pulled out a costume and a mask. "I'm not sure if you remembered a conversation we had before you—. I didn't give you two things. I didn't give you a cape, and I didn't give you a symbol. It's time you start to make choices for yourself. It's time you decide who you are, Jason."

"Barbara," Jason smiled as he looked the costume over, "You really—. Thank you, but why would you stick your neck out for me like this?"

"Because I care about you," Barbara answered. She pointed to the top half of his suit. "It's heavy because it's insulated and bulletproof. The utility belt is basically the same, with a few updates... And Jason, please be careful."

Jason smiled faded, and he nodded. "Barbara, what's the catch? I know there's gotta be a catch," Jason questioned.

"I've seen you these past few weeks. I think it's time that we all start giving you your space. You've more than earned it," Barbara explained. Jason folded his costume up neatly and put it back in the box. He walked over to Barbara and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "What's that for?"

"Not asking where I'm going tonight... And for believing in me," Jason whispered.

"I won't ask where you're going, but I will ask you one thing," Barbara whispered, "Jason, are you about to do something dangerous?"

"Nothing dangerous... Just stupid," Jason answered, "Really stupid... But on a scale of one to ten for danger, I'd have to say it's a two." Barbara narrowed her eyes. "I won't be out super late. Actually, I won't be out late at all. I'll be back before eleven."

"Okay," Barbara whispered, "Do you want me to order anything special for dinner tonight?" Jason shook his head.

"No, I'll find something out there," Jason replied as he slipped on his shoes and took his keys off the hook on the wall. It was nice to have his own little secret, but something told him that he was about to make a huge mistake.

[laylawatermelon]

Side Eyes or Raised Eyebrows

Buddie: Marketing Tatic or Something Else?

Hello! Back on my big brain I cant sleep stuff.

I've been a Buddie fan for over a few months now (idk how time works) and have lived through the beautiful bi buck confirmation.

Now I do have some think pieces about queer representation in American media and in different countries (i literally spend all my time watching tv I'm a conessiur or sorts) and how they differ on impact/deal with issues etc.

What I woke up thinking about is something that's bugging me a bit about Oliver and his interviews.

If we're (both the ga and buddie fans) supposed to be convinced about this new relationship the writing and promotion MUST be changed.

Let me explain.

Tommy, Tevan whatever you want to call it is Buck's newest relationship.

It's a new relationship with a similar set up/feeling around it.

The only way I think Buddie can be override/mitigated is if they have a doctor love interest who consistently stays over the course of seasons who has their own backstory and storyline.

I'm starting to swing my eyes at ABC and their marketing team now.

Madney's wedding coming up and we barely saw either of them ( granted kudos on keeping this all under wraps y'all) and they've been hanging a shiny bell in front of us as distraction like a baby.

Look at the shiny buddie then BAM character death!

Please don't take this serious, please don't take this serious, Tim! PLEASE don't take this serious.

But anyways, I have been thinking about Oliver and all of his recent press and just the way Busdie has been uttered and whipped around like a tennis ball.

He currently has a boyfriend but the way it's been discussed and portrayed has me a bit dazed.

I wanna be a bit objective (I'm asking the big questions here)

The main problem is the Buddie relationship and how it's portrayed/written and had continued to be this season.

If you compare the past seasons and how they've developed as let's face it a couple, because there's no way to deny it as they've been written to parallel in unverse and other show romantic heterosexual relationships.

They quite literally qualified for a queer platonic relationship (if you wanted to view it that way. I however have not. I say let the gays free!/j)

If they intended for it to be platonic let it BE platonic.

They shouldn't be doing an if, of the gender was swapped would it be romantic/ship coded?

They literally have that in the show already. Bobby and Chim, Bobby and Eddie, hell Chim and Eddie (do they even have solo scenes together???).

Bathena is a blatant parallel. The main one almost beat for beat is the orchard shooting and the hostage situation. (Pretty sure it's the same season I believe)

But those are just some examples of the show.

My main gripe is if it's not about buddie don't make it/lean to heavily into it as it can backfire.

I'm not gonna lie, bi buck episode was a bait and switch (beautifully done and still very infuriating all the same).

Oliver I gotta bone to pick with you (I really don't I'm side eyeing the network i know they approve questions).

He's also a Buddie warrior so I can't really fault him on how he talks about it it's been like 6 years he's had the same partner with the domestic (cough sexual tension cough) with.

So I don't really blame him tbh.

*Swings around and points fonger at marketing team*

It's all your fault.

I know the episode will feature Madney (duh it's their wedding episode and I'm ready to cry) but I'm pretty sure there could've been another way to advertise this occasion.

Use flyers (similar to the ones used to say that one of the dispatch crew was attending) to get fans buzzed about watching the show in a few weeks as though they're rsvp'ing, talk about past scenes, more interviews centering the couple and what they thought about the episode, a promotional photoshoot?

Photoshoot in a magazine with jlh and Ken would've been really cute. Madney fans would then be happy. (I'm included🙋🏾‍♀️ give the beautiful couple their photos i wanna see it😤 my little queer heart and eyes demands it)

Literally would've been the perfect time to pair up with some wedding magazine or something. Literally a million ways to go about it.

Madney in formal wedding clothes, then a dystopian kind of dress clothes to reflect the chaotic wedding ending.

Use a highlight reel.

Similar you are cordially invited to a 911 wedding -

Show madney karaoke, engagement ring being missing, proposal, hugs after hostage, this season cute date idea and excitement for the wedding then a simple where's chimney.

Then put the bachelor stuff then have him crawling.

Something as simple as that puts more of the focus on madney visually and marketing wise.

For the interviews they could've split it between Oliver talking about bisexuality and the other two talking about relationship and the high beats and low beats and how it felt to play.

How their relationship developed as costars and what the characters mean to them.

Split it down the middle so both fans are appeased.

I am a fan of all characters and this is really funny because I the first half of this one morning I woke up before the scene was even mentioned being cut but i was like there's a shift in something and it's not good🤣 as expected something went wrong)

Though I'm pretty sure the fans of both will be happy because Buddie are going to be the comic relief so they'll have a decent amount of time as the blockers so to say because we will know who's gonna kidnap Chimney. He only had one enemy??

But yeah this was a Tuesday thing I wrote and it's now very hilarious in hindsight and in the future.

Happy Madney day i guess!

This will be linked to Twitter cause whew...

[waterfallofspace]

What A Way To Start A Year

T/im learns a little something about karma, friends, and care. Seems even J/on isn't quite as cold as he seems.

A M/agnus A/rchives fic, set somewhere pre-season 1. Shouldn't have any spoilers, but proceed with caution just incase~ (nothing late game, just character dynamic things)

Welcome to "I meant for this to be a little drabble and I wrote 3k words"~ Having a bit of hyperfixation and burn out as I started this new year, soooo I decided to make T/im suffer <3 Not promising quality seeing as I wrote this all in the span of tonight, but consider it a lil 'too long' drabble, and happy new years!

Best way to start off the new year, giving one of your lil guys a lil snz <3

Characters: T/im, M/artin, S/asha, and J/on. Word Count: 3.9k

(CW: There is some swearing, and light descriptions of high fevers)

Christmas had been good this year, maybe the best it had in a long time. Life of the party as always, Tim had enjoyed getting to spend it with his old, and new, colleagues. On top of that, Jon had been laid up with a pretty awful cold for a couple days leading up to it, so he wasn’t around to crush any brilliant ideas Tim came up with. 

This led to the budget receiving a fairly substantial hit, though many researchers donated to the cause when they learned this borrowing wasn’t exactly approved. Hell, even Elias had pitched in, claiming something or other about ‘archivists fit for the job not exactly growing on trees’, and wanting to ‘save some of Jon’s sanity’. 

“Tim? Are you even listening to me?”  

Pulled back to the conversation at hand, Tim lifts his gaze to the taller man fidgeting nervously in front of him. Martin was never one for confrontations, and usually the first ‘no’ would have been more than enough to lead to a string of apologies for even asking. Today however, he seems to have grown a spine. At the worst possible moment. 

“Oh come on,” Martin continues, missing the groan slipping from Tim’s throat. “Even Jon agreed to it!” 

“I’m not really in the party mood,” Tim retorts, leaning back in his chair. “Besides, Jon didn’t agree to celebrate, he agreed not to stop the celebration. Not the same thing.” 

From across her desk, Sasha gives a low chuckle. “He’s got you there, Martin.”

“Can you at least give it a little thought before turning it down?” Martin insists, completely out of character for someone usually so eager to please. 

What the hell has gotten into him today? He didn’t even seem to enjoy himself that much at the Christmas party. Sure, he had a few drinks and mingled with the staff, but he’d left as soon as it was over, not waiting around for chatting like Tim and Sasha.

Clearing his throat with a grimace, Tim casts Sasha a dark look as she chuckles again. Knowing far too much, as usual. Especially when it came to him. If it was anyone else, Tim would hate it with all his being, but given that it’s Sasha… well it’s a welcome invasion. 

Still, it would be nice if she didn’t rat him out. And to Martin of all people, well let’s just say he saw what happened when Jon was sick. Yeah, passing on that one. Attention is great, Tim lives for it, but the coddling? Not really his style. 

“hiEH– guh…”

Damn, that had been a close one. Thankfully Martin seems oblivious, though Sasha sits up in her chair, reaching down into a drawer to fish something out. 

Turning his focus back to Martin, Tim provides an offer, desperate to just have the interaction come to an end. 

“Fine, I’ll show up, but I don’t want any part in planning it.” 

“Oh of course, I’ll handle all the details, I mean it’s just a new years party, how much can there really be to do? I mean food, timing, gotta make sure we have keys to the building– oh but if Jon’s there, that shouldn’t be a problem…” Martin says, rambling beginning to fade into the background as Tim finds himself unable to- 

“hH– ek’CHhiew!” 

“-Oh, bless you!” Martin says, his own thoughts long forgotten. 

Unable to get a word out, Tim merely waves a hand, ducking into his shoulder for another, “eTChhew!” 

“Bles-” 

And another, “iTSChh’ew!” 

“Oh ble-” 

And another, “ehh– kTChh’iew!” 

Silently Sasha stands, handing Tim a pack of tissues. Must have been what she was looking for in the desk. Once again, knowing more than she should, of course she picked up on his patterns. 

Accepting them gratefully, Tim pulls a few out and roughly rubs at his nose, pointedly avoiding Martin’s worried gaze. Gripping his still trembling nose through the tissue, Tim sucks in a tight breath through his teeth, holding for a beat, before finally spinning around in his chair for a final- 

“hH’ETCSHh-ieuw! Whew, bless me.” 

Martin’s hands are fidgeting again, seemingly unsure of what to do with himself as Tim gives his nose a light massage through the tissue. He’s aware enough not to point it out, but is nearly shaking with the effort of suppressing his concerns. 

With a sigh, Tim meets his eyes. “I’m fine, Martin. I always sneeze like that.” He leaves out ‘when I’m sick’. It also happens if he’s suffering allergies, though he doubts that would be a point in his defense given it’s the middle of winter. 

“Yeah he’s not kidding,” Sasha pipes up, throwing Tim a wink as he glares. “You should hear him in spring, once it starts he can be going for hours.” 

“I wouldn’t say hours, Sash-” 

“Remember the cherry blossom incident?” Sasha interrupts, sending a sugary smile over to Martin. “He was wrecked for the rest of the day, I was almost certain he was never gonna stop. Even considered giving a statement here, that reaction was almost supernatural.” 

Tim winces, an audible moan slipping from his lips. “We swore to never speak of it again.” 

Sasha laughs, Tim giving her another playful glare from behind his tissues. “You swore that, I did no such thing.” 

Thankfully Martin doesn’t pry, having enough common sense to offer a polite chuckle, and offer some excuse about ‘planning’. Still, he can’t help himself from shooting a meek “I hope you feel better soon” over his shoulder, Tim giving him finger guns in return. 

“This is karma, you know,” Sasha calls after Martin’s outside earshot. “You took pleasure in Jon’s suffering, so now it’s your turn to suffer the same fate.” 

“No, thi- eTChhew! Scuse me,” Tim says, rubbing his nose with the tissue one last time before depositing it in his nearly overflowing trash can. Another tissue is plucked as his eyes begin to water, nostrils flaring with reckless abandon. Never just one. 

“kTChh’uew! hh’iTChh –uew! Tihhckles… eTCHh! etchh’uh! hiehh–” 

The last one toys with him, tracing the rims of his nostrils, back up his sinuses, a gentle itch that seems to burn against every inch of his nose. Finally, with a desperate gasp, Tim ducks into his wrist for the last, “heh’ATChhh –iew!” 

“Many blessings. Sounds like you need them,” Sasha offers with a wince, tossing another pack of tissues over, which Tim catches with a single hand, the other still gripping his nose. 

After taking a moment to clean himself up, Tim shoots her his signature smile, ignoring the eye roll she shoots back. “Where was I?” 

“Admitting this is karma?” 

“It’s not karma, it’s lack of common sense. Going to a party where a coworker is sick, and still drinking and eating the same meals” Tim says, aiming a rough cough into his sleeve. 

Sasha winces once more at the quality of the cough, hands rummaging through her drawers once more as she tosses a reply back. “And yet you’re the only one who caught it. Seems like karma to me.” 

Closing the distance between them in a single stride, Sasha places a hand on Tim’s shoulder, voice softening. “It’s two days till new years, why don’t you go home and try to get some rest? I doubt Martin will object, and I’ll cover for you with Jon.” 

Before Tim can form his rebuttal, Sasha places a box of paracetamol and a jar of vapor rub in front of him. Nodding his thanks, Tim lets out another harsh cough into his arm, leaning as far away from Sasha as he can manage. 

With a light rub to his shoulder, Sasha walks to the door, holding it open with a pointed look. “Go home, you sound awful.” 

“Alright, alright. I got the message. hH’ETchhiew!” Tim says, gathering his care package and beginning his walk down the hallway. 

“If I hear the rest of that fit happening in this building, I’m telling Martin how ill you really are,” Sasha calls after him, a smile flashing over her face as Tim holds up his hands in mock surrender, before ducking back into his arm with another muffled burst. 

— 

“You look horrible.” 

Tim manages a weary smile from behind the tightly wound scarf. “Thagk you.” 

Martin winces, standing in the doorframe, seemingly oblivious to the winter chill soaking into Tim’s bones. Even just the walk from the train station was hell on earth, standing out here is doing him no favours. 

Turning away with a throat scraping cough, Tim manages to clear the congestion enough to finish the sentence somewhat understandably. A great feat, given how fast his voice is retreating. “May I remind you that I’m only here because you insisted.” 

“Right, well I… I didn’t know how bad-” Martin begins, realizing spreading across his face like a wildfire as a chill leaves Tim breathless. “Oh god, I’m making you freeze to death while you’re already this sick, I’m so sorry, come in, I’ll go make you a tea.” 

Tim nods his thanks as he piles inside the warm institute, cursing his aching lungs as each breath of warm air seems to burn them from the inside out. Martin rushes away, nearly crashing into a few researchers as he makes his frantic dash for the kitchen. 

The scarf is reluctantly removed, a shudder running through Tim’s back as the warm air does nothing to soothe what he’s now certain is a growing fever. A few researchers wave to him, offering some idle chit-chat as he makes his way inside.

For the most part, people give him a wide berth, apparently he looks as bad as he feels. Tissues in hand, gripping them like a lifeline, Tim finds his way to a couch and lets himself sink into it. The party buzzes around him, fading into background noise. 

Martin returns soon after, the mug vibrating slightly as he attempts to steady his hand. “I wasn’t sure what kind you’d want, we have a pretty limited amount, but I have a few extras in my desk– oh I could have probably found one for colds and flus, I’m not sure which this is, I thought cold before but you look-” 

“Martin,” Tim interrupts, voice cutting uncomfortably through his raw throat. “Can I have the cup?” 

“Oh, right, sorry!” Martin says, a sheepish grin crossing his face, nerves more than anything else, as he hands Tim the mug. Tim gives another appreciative nod, taking a cautious sip. 

The warm liquid feels like heaven against his throat, and he barely manages to choke back a whimper. The flavour is still a mystery, Martin never actually got to that part. Given how little he can taste at the moment, seems it’s gonna remain that way. Still, the heat beginning to warm his chest is a welcome relief, and Tim has to fight to keep his eyes from drifting shut…

“Watch out!” 

The voice rouses him, his eyes snapping open just in time to witness Jon dropping to his knees in front of the couch. The realization doesn’t sink in for another minute, Tim blinking the tired from his eyes and trying to figure out why people are staring… and why there’s a hand on his finge– 

Oh, the tea. Thankfully Jon’s reflexes seemed to kick in just in time, his hands guiding Tim’s cup to the table next to him. Judgement clouds the boss's eyes as he turns back, fully ready to chastise Tim, no doubt. Jon opens his mouth, one hand beginning to point, but as his eyes scan Tim’s form, his demeanor changes instantly. 

“You don’t seem well.” Jon’s voice is still firm, but with a hint of something Tim can’t quite place. On anyone else, he’d call it concern. On Jon… perhaps concern isn’t far off, though the underlying criticism of the statement irritates him. 

“I wonder why that could be? It’s almost as if someone came to the Christmas party sick enough to fall asleep standing. Twice.” Tim says, sarcasm lining his words, alongside the congestion he can’t seem to fully shake. 

“Well in that case,” Sasha chimes in, cheerful voice a natural antithesis to the misery coursing through Tim’s system. “Seems you’re halfway there!” 

“Hey, I was lying down, that’s hardly the sahh… same thing– hH’ETchh!” 

“Here we go,” Sasha says, already turning on her heel to find a tissue box as Tim’s hitches increase in desperation. 

“aHTChh’ew! gn’tchhew!” 

“Bless,” Jon offers, a brief confusion crossing his face as Sasha laughs, shaking her head. 

“He’s not done,” She says, handing over the tissue box. 

Tim grabs for it blindly, too caught up in the fit to even attempt dignity. Still, the eyes on him do leave him with a hint of embarrassment, and the onslaught is muffled as best he can manage. “hH’MMpshhew! eMPFShh’ieh! hh’MFSHhueh!” 

Blessings sound out from the room, Tim managing to wave a hand towards the ones offering them, eyes still watering. As the fit seems to stall, he lowers his tissues, red nose now visibly twitching. 

“Are you alright?” Jon asks, the hint of concern from before now plainly evident. That’s frankly more alarming than it should be, and Tim finds himself wanting to… reassure the boss. 

“I’m okay, it’s juhh… j-just… huhh–” But it seems his nose has other plans, a tissue being raised once more as Tim paws at the appendage. “‘Scuhhse me, I still have… hahhve to… to… hiHh– eTCHh’ew! hk’ASCHh–oo!” 

This time the tickle fades with the final pitchy sneeze, Tim letting out a low groan as he mashes his nose into the ever growing collection of tissues he’s clutching. A few people call out final blessings, Sasha laughing out hers as Tim’s face goes red once more. 

Martin picks this time to enter the room with drinks, Tim letting his eyes flutter shut as the focus shifts off his misery. A gentle touch keeps him from drifting off to sleep, prying open an eye to find Sasha settling onto his left. 

“Careful, don’t want to catch this,” Tim manages, leaning against his right shoulder to muffle another stream of chesty coughs. Sasha winces as it goes on past the realm of comfort, her hand finding his back. 

“Don’t worry about me, I haven’t earned this cold, I didn’t make use of Jon’s or your suffering,” She says, the playful tone not masking the growing worry in her posture. 

While she can read him like a book, she’s no mystery to him either. The tension in her fingers, absentmindedly stroking patterns on his back. The way she subconsciously tries to support his body weight, despite them both sitting. The look in her eyes when he manages to stall the coughing long enough to meet them. 

With this brief respite from the attack, Sasha takes the chance to bring Tim’s tea back, his fingers wrapping around the warm mug. The first few sips burn, his lungs protesting, begging to return to their efforts to expel all the irritation. By the third, however, the warmth is spreading once more, easing the spasms. 

“Alright?” Sasha asks, beginning to stand from the couch. Tim nods his reply, taking another slow sip. “Think you’ll make it till midnight? We’ve still got a few hours to go.” 

He nods his approval again, not yet trusting his voice enough to make an attempt. Sasha simply smiles, easing back into the party that– Tim had almost forgotten existed. That fever must be worse than he thought, given how loud it is. A fact that’s now pounding against his head in harmony with his heartbeat. 

The party continues on, Sasha and Martin taking turns checking in on Tim as he slips rapidly in and out of consciousness. Seconds turn to hours, and before he knows it, it’s two minutes to midnight. 

As Tim blinks against the harsh fluorescent lighting, it’s Jon that stands before him, hand hovering near his side. Tim begins to speak, breaking off into a cough as his voice comes out rough with sleep and congestion. 

“What’s up boss?” He manages with the second attempt, not missing Jon’s wince at the nasal quality. 

“You simply look… well, the festivities are nearly over, I was just inquiring as to…” Jon seems to get stuck, eyes wandering down to the couch as he finishes. “I know you took the train here, I was seeing if you needed an escort home.” 

“How kind, I’d be delighted to have your accompaniment,” Tim responds, the wit clouding the fact he… hadn’t actually considered needing to go home. Jon seems to take this answer as satisfactory, ignoring all the sarcasm as he gives a tight nod and an out of practice smile. 

From across the room Martin calls out, something about a countdown. Tim attempts to pull himself to a stand, finding Sasha’s arm around his waist, guiding him to the wall. Leaning against it, he lets his rough voice join the chorus as they count into the new year. 

Despite how the lights and noise had pounded into his skull, everyone chanting in unison helps Tim realize that… there actually aren’t that many people here. Aside from his coworkers, there’s only a few researchers, and Elias is not in attendance.

Honestly, thank whatever cosmic being may exist for that one, he had been none too fond of Jon’s arriving sick. Tim shudders to think what he would have said about this state. He shouldn’t have come, but… something about how insistent Martin was… well he just couldn’t disappoint that loveable idiot. 

Somehow Tim finds he’s managed to keep up with the counting, despite being worlds away in his thoughts. As they approach the final numbers, a feathery sensation begins to spread through his nostrils- no. 

Absolutely not, this is not the time. It’s never just one, there’s not enough people here, someone’s gonna notice. And I mean, it’s not like he’s hiding the fact he feels like death, but… drawing that much attention is also not the goal. 

“Five! Four!”

“hiehh- h’ngTchh!” He manages to stifle the first, the congestion pounding in his head as the tickle seems to only get worse. 

“Three! Two!” 

“I cad’t– nNDtch! nGTCh’uh!” 

“One–” 

As the cheers begin to erupt, Tim ducks into the tissues with a scraping, “ehg’TCHhiew!” 

“Happy new years!” 

“yiEShh’iew! etchh’uh! hH’AESHH –oo!” Tim dips into his hands again, managing to sink down against the wall as he lets out a congested blow, ending the fit.

“What a way to ring in the new year,” Comes Sasha’s voice, her form blocking the light from Tim’s eyes as he looks up, fever blurring his vision.

“Shud ub.” 

“Christ Tim, you sound awful,” Jon adds, his form appearing behind Sasha’s. 

“Thagks boss,” Tim retorts, groaning as he notices a third form, Martin’s nervous fidgeting easy to spot even from this angle. Martin remains silent, though his eyes seem to hold more concern than any of them, and… guilt? Or maybe that’s just the delirium. 

Glancing up to meet Sasha’s gaze, Tim offers a weary, “Tibe to go hobe?” 

She nods softly, kneeling to help him to his feet, Martin wordlessly taking his other arm. Jon stands off to the side, hesitating. What for, who knows. All Tim can focus on is one step after the other, just gotta make it home, then he can sleep. For the rest of forever, at this rate. 

As they get to the door, Martin helps wrap the scarf around Tim’s neck, forcing him to lift it from its perch against Sasha’s shoulder. Sasha, for her part, supports his weight with ease, she was always stronger than she looked. 

Martin keeps casting glances towards Tim, obviously fretting over something. Too tired to manage his usual charm, Tim gives Martin the softest look he can manage. “Jusd say id, please. You’re makigg me nervous.”

“I’m so sorry I asked you to come, you’re obviously so unwell, and I know I didn’t really know that at the time, but I should have, or at least texted and checked in, I just… I wanted us all to get along so bad and I thought if you came it would mean more fun because you’re always so lively and good at talking to people and-” 

Tim holds up a hand, eyes glazing over as Martin stops short, breath coming almost as rapidly as Tim’s. After a minute goes by, Martin starts to open his mouth, seeming confused by the interruption, before nearly jumping out of his skin as Tim ducks into his fist. 

“eTCHh’ew! hH’YEAShh –iew! Sorry, I feld those cobigg… waid– hih’ETCHhew! heAYSHh’oo!” Tim ducks down again, Sasha grabbing him tighter to support the harsh shudders as he attempts to keep his balance. 

“Oh bless you,” Martin offers, voice coming out timid. Tim gives him, what he hopes is, a warm smile despite the fever taking hold of the last corners of his mind.

“If I didn’t wanna cobe, I would have stayed hobe. I dod’t blame you.” 

Martin nods silently, a relief seeming to flood his face. Taking his place once more supporting Tim, they move towards the exit. Opening the door, the first wave of cold floods the entryway, and a chill so violent runs through Tim that both Martin and Sasha take a step back to brace him. 

It’s now that Jon speaks up, voice strained with a type of worry Tim hadn’t heard before. “No, we’re absolutely not doing this, I refuse.” 

The trio turn towards him. Though perhaps a more accurate description is that Martin and Sasha turn, Tim simply goes along for the ride. Martin mumbles something about ‘no other choice’, but Sasha asks what Jon’s on about. 

“It’s too cold out there, it’s the middle of the damn night, there’s no way I’m letting him go home like this.” 

“And what do you suggest we do as an alternative? He can’t stay here-” Sasha begins, pausing as Jon turns towards her. 

“Why not? I’m the archivist, this is my archive,” Jon begins, pausing for a moment, before adding, “Well, Elias’s, but I hardly think he’d suggest we send an employee home in this weather while they’re this sick. That’s just bad management, he’ll freeze to death before even reaching the train.” 

As if to confirm this assumption, Tim shudders violently, ducking into his chest with a tired, “hh’eshhew! eTCHh’iew!” followed by a heavy sigh. Martin mumbles something about covering, but quickly silences himself as Tim begins to tremble again. 

Sasha gives Jon a look, seeming to read him for any hints of doubt, perhaps searching for an ulterior motive. After a brief pause, their eyes meeting, she gives a tight nod, approval of some kind. 

“Come on Martin, let’s get him back to that couch, he can sleep there for the night,” Sasha directs, Martin nodding his acceptance. 

Tim manages to catch snippets of the conversation as they get him settled. Jon fetching him a blanket he keeps in his office. Martin providing some more tea. Sasha grabbing tissues and medication for when he wakes up. Something about Jon sleeping in his office so he’s not alone, and Sasha coming in early to help him home. 

With his final bout of consciousness, Tim holds up a hand, the conversation immediately pausing. “Thagk you guys. And… esSHhh’ew! And, I’b sorry.” 

All three stare at him for a minute, before Sasha breaks first. Her laughter fills the silence, Martin joining in soon after, and even Jon letting a few chuckles slip out. When they’ve finally collected themselves, Sasha gives Tim a warm smile. 

“Sleep well, Tim. I’ll come fetch you in the morning.” 

With a content sigh, Tim lets his eyes drift shut again, his consciousness fading to the soft hum of his friends in the background. 

Alright, so maybe coddling isn’t quite so bad after all.

[atirosnor]

Summary: The dynamic was fixed with his Tim—they couldn't seem to break out of the cycle of banter and spite—but maybe with this new Tim—they'd be willing—to try? He's … trying … b

[some batfamily members across some very close universes have been switched. No way of knowing if they'll manage to get back, but it seems only Jason and Tim were swapped here. Little do they know, they're from the same universe.]

This is getting to be a problem.

"Dick, Babs, could you—" Babs gave him a considering look, nodded, and wheeled her chair around while Dick's face softened, he nodded in understanding, and followed her out of the room.

Jason turned to see Tim standing stock still, staring after them. Shoot. He tucked his arms in tried to look more relaxed and small, and moved so Tim could block the door instead, if he wanted. "Sorry, I—" He paused, unsure whether that was the right move. He steeled his shoulders. "Why do you hate me?"

:readmore:

That got Tim stammering, "I—I don't hate you!" he shouted, eyes wide. "I—" he looked away and winced. "I'm sorry. It's fine. I—"

"Then why are you scared of me?"

Tim's eyes widened. "I—I'm not scared." He said vehemently, glaring, then looked away again. "I'm—" Jason moved his hand to bring Tim's face back towards him—he flinched violently and stumbled a couple steps away from him, then winced at his misstep.

Jason raised an eyebrow. You sure?

"Really, I—it's my problem. You shouldn't have to deal with it. My Jason—"

This time it was Jason's turn to stumble away, as a rotten pit of dread began to form in his gut. He winced. "S---.

"Kid, I'm—" So. Sorry. "I'm an idiotic jerk. Feel free to punch me sometime. I—" he'd been thinking because this wasn't his universe he could have a second chance with Tim—no unprovoked torchure to get between brothers, yeah? Now he realized what an idiot he'd been. Of course the Jason in (t)his world had caused Tim trauma too. Of course he hadn't even realized. Of frickin' course he'd been causing him more trauma with his dumb 'trying to connect with him' shtick. He turned and pinched [yes, pinched, that typo's hilarious] the wall behind him. On the stud, so there wouldn't be any damage—then leaned against it on his forearm and hung his head. "I'm so sorry, R—kid. I should never have assumed I could—" his voice cracked. "I should've never assumed."

He looked up at Tim and he had a calculating look on his face. "You hurt your Tim." It was a statement, and a question.

Abruptly Jason felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He ran a hand through his hair, gaze fixed on the ground. "Yeah. Yeah, I did." He slumped. "I thought i could start over, maybe, with you—" As if you could pretend nothing ever happened— "Try at being a brother, again—" such an idiot, "I'm sorry." didn't even think of the trauma this Tim could have—"I—" didn't even check to see what kind of Jason he'd replaced, "I'll stay away from now on." he straightened, then turned to go. He'd move out of the Manor; he couldn't force this kid to have the object of his nightmares live with him; make him see him every flippin' day.

"No! Wait, I—it's working. We can—it's working. We can … try … to be brothers." Tim awkwardly shuffled forward and visibly steeled himself, though he tried to hide it, before leaning into him. "Stay." Jason hesitantly draped his arms around him, and when he didn't flinch, tightened his arms around him. Tim melted.

Suddenly Tim pulled back. "I mean, only if you want to. There's no reason you should want to be my brother," he rushed out, "but I know Dick and Alfred and Bruce and all would really want you to stay—but only stay if that's what you want to do, not because of any kind of obligation or—"

Jason stopped him by pulling him onto the couch with him in a hug, shushing his protests.  "Hey, baby bird, shut up. We're brothers. I love you.

"And do you think I've been staying here from obligation? 'Cause if that's true, I've gotta nip that thought right in the bud. I don't stay with Bruce from obligation. If I feel coerced into anything I've gotta reject on sheer principle—"

"Wait—you—you love me?"

"Well I sure as Gotham don't ha—" Tim was looking up at him with wonder in those wide, blue, watering eyes. S---. "Sure, kid. Always have." Always since he knew who he was. Since he let himself realize he was just a kid, a Robin, sure, but a kid in the colors just trying to live up to them, trying to help in the only way he knew he could. A kid like he'd been. Family.

And Jason loved those who were his.

[wc:750]

@flufftober

[the-swift-tricker]

Which Tim Burton movies do you still like? Which do you think are overhyped? And which do you think are just bad?

best tim burton movies (in order):

beetlejuice (this and edward scissorhands are probably his most interesting, unique, and original films)

batman returns (probably his best adaptation of an existing media in how he was able to blend his style with characters that weren't his own)

edward scissorhands (in which burton accidentally stumbled into making one of the best cinematic explorations of autism and physical disabilities)

batman 1989 (michael keaton is neck-and-neck with robert pattison for my favorite live action batman)

ed wood (loved martin landau as bela lugosi)

sleepy hollow (one of the best halloween/autumn movies out there)

overhyped: i gotta say corpse bride is pretty overhyped. like it's fine but the pacing is awkward and the story is clumsy and a bit boring.

honestly i feel like most of the movies that he's made that are adaptations of a previous piece of media or existing ideas are pretty hit or miss. like miss peregrine was mediocre but alice in wonderland was good (in it's own way). batman was amazing but wednesday is pretty reductive. tim burton's greatest tool is his creativity so when he's forced to kinda fold to fit whatever preexisting story is already in place it can take away from the authenticity.

side note: batman returns is severaly underrated and underappreciated in my opinion. i love what they did with penguin i think it's such a fun, unique take on the character and danny devito's performance makes the whole movie. definitely in my top four batman villain performances.

also i say all of this with heavy criticism towards tim burton because of his comments regarding casting black actors in his films (how he shouldn't have to cause it wouldn't fit his aesthetic or whatever the fuck he was trying to say) and just cause the dude's vibes are off imo

[dailycass-cain]

This week the GOTHAM WAR has begun. Is the basis for this "war" for Catwoman/Batman work? How does Cass fit into this? I'll give my thoughts on it...

So the basis of the event is Catwoman is training the "hired help" of Gotham. Instead of working for Scarface, the Riddler, or Two-Face. They're off doing their own things in robbing the rich. But already there's a problem with that...

So the basis of the event is Catwoman is training the "hired help" of Gotham. Instead of working for Scarface, the Riddler, or Two-Face. They're off doing their own things in robbing the rich. But already there's a problem with that...

Not just the easy answer. Court of Owls.

Sure, maybe a few of them use mooks. This very issue brings up Professor Pyg as using "hired" help, but it feels kind of wrong for Pyg to do this sort of thing.

When Dollotrons have been his modus operandi. Why need thugs when breaking folks into nothing is far cheaper?

What's to stop Pyg from doing that exactly again? Nothing really. So all Selina is replacing is Pyg from going to hired back to his old ways.

That's not good at all. That's kind of why Batman and the Bat-Family are needed.

That isn't bringing up the "biggest" bad himself, the Joker. There have been numerous stories of the Joker just by himself making Gotham a literal hell without any hired help.

The Joker at his scariest is when he's by himself. Even then he's causing all sorts of harm in Gotham.

Those are the "easy" examples.

What about the other villains who already have an operating gang say Punchline and the Royal Flush Gang? It feels like writers Chip Zdarsky and Trini Howard make Selina's case paper thin.

That's not to say Batman's side is any better, "My parents were rich line." Was not the intended dramatic moment the book had. More made me chuckle as it could've easily been photoshopped with, "MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!" instead.

Likewise, is Selina's retort. Literally, again there are so many examples of Bruce showing compassion to folks by using his fortune.

Just alone in Batgirl (#63), we had this scene. That's just one moment that easily popped in my head.

It just feels so wrong for the basis of this "war" to be so flimsy when there are better ways for it. Aka the bot that literally subjugated all of Gotham because Batman took "a life" (that turned out to be false).

There's so much to see Selina's side of things when Failsafe had domain over the city. We have barely seen the city or ANYONE react to that.

Like that alone is more a cause for SOMETHING than what we're getting initially here.

I digress I could go on and on poking the holes into the fight itself, but how does it relate to Cass? Well, already she should be against Selina's plan.

A life is a life.

No matter what Selina's way will take lives. So…

The fact this is all glossed over with her being silent. Just says it all for me that her part in this is already "planned".

I'll probably hate it.

I'll probably despise it.

I thought long and hard about what the best course of action during this event would be for me. I really do love the artists attached to this event. I do love Cass. However, I do not like the context of the event AT ALL.

The answer is kind of right in front of me. Well, three answers. Birds of Prey (out next week), Spirit World, and Detective Comics. I adore two of these and by all things considered with the preview, I'm gonna probably LOVE BoP.

So instead of going into long rants and give myself stress I shouldn't need. I'm just gonna enjoy the good art.

If there are bad moments (which I'm sure there will be) in this event. I'm gonna call it like I see it.

But as for going into detailed thoughts like this? That's it. This is all this event is getting out of me. I have too much enjoyment else to give my focus too.

I just feel sorry for the fans of Duke, Tim, Stephanie, and Barbara. Those fans gotta suffer thru this as Damian, Cass, Kate, Luke, and Dick get to play outside this "sandbox" of woe.

This comic was garbage. This story is garbage. It's just best for me to look away for the most part and enjoy the stuff with Cass that I do have outside "the war".

That's my thoughts on it all. 😁

Now to enjoy a BETTER COMIC next week.

[svturn-exe]

can i hear. abt the minutexminute au

nkJDhfjkbKLDF y E !! it's. Gabriel Experiences Hubris: the AU p utting the rest of my rambling under a readmore vv

the premise is!! gabriel trying to minmax Suffering by trapping the victims in an infinite loop of the worst days of their lives. it backfires for them really badly bc u shouldn't combine time loops with The Horrors gabriel goes and kills cesar & his mother to make an alt with cesar's appearance to go kill mark, bc mark is extraordinarly strong-willed and that could end up being a problem down the road. gabriel traps cesar in a loop of that night (rip mama torres) mark's loop is the full three days that he's trapped for, not much changed from canon jonah & adam are stuck in their loop together! which is the entirety of their investigation, including part of the drive there. this also means they have that fuckin arguement every single tim e but eventually smth goes wrong bc somethign something MAD + time looping = Not Good and jonah starts getting deja vu. and eventually that escalates to jonah straight up starting to Remember Things He Shouldn't and from there it becomes jonah trying different things each loop to try and break them and adam out of it. he tries going in the basement with adam, wrestling the steering wheel away from adam ont he drive and trying to turn the car the fuck around, smashing the tv , etc but nothing seems to be working bc they just. cannot bat out an alternate in a figh t it's gets to the point where jonah starts going by like. speedrun rules and if he fucks up an attempt he just picks up a box cutter he found and . "resets" but the more and more loops he goes through, the more warped he becomes........ and adam finally starts to notice. which is what starts to get adam to start remembering things, but he's not quite where jonah is just yet anyway jonah does snap and fuckign Maul six to death in the basement and preacher wisely decides to peace ou t . fulfilling the mission given to her by gabriel ain't worth this ma n there's two of these crazy bitches by the time they get to that point adam is also kinda warped (i'm still thinking abt this bc. this au was pre-vol 4 but i do know i want adam to b an alt still. just gotta figure out how to work that in) and he can go thru tvs n shit like six :) he can also drag other people thru tvs, and that's how he and jonah finally leave their little personal hell bubble

so the Backstreet Boys are free and they're on the run for multiple reasons now. 1. they're still wanted by the fbi 2. they don't exactly look Normal anymore

they end up retreating to mandela county bc where else to hide as a horror than amongst the horrors & they choose a particular abandoned house to camp out in until they figure out what to do

but then jonah starts to notice smth Weird abt the house they're in like they just have a Feeling u kno. n after a bit of poking around they and adam discover a tv in a bedroom that . looks a lot like a crime scen e

it's mark's house, and now adam & jonah are interfering with his Hell Loop

by the time adam & jonah get there, mark is. definitely a lot worse for wear, since he has been looping since 1992 and it's currently 2009, but all things considered he's still going strong. and by strong i mean day 1 of his loops now he's running out his room w a gun, yelling insults at the horrors & cursing out God

anyway adam crawls out of mark's tv and quickly has to go the fuck back bc mark does tries to shoot his ass IMMEDIATELY. boy is not playing around

it'll take some time for adam & jonah to earn mark's trus t. mostly via adam hastily shoving notes thru the tv & quickly yanking his hand back b4 he can lose a finger to the Deagle

meanwhile cesar is still stuck with gabriel. but gabriel is also stuck with cesar.

the only reason mark is still as "intact" as he is after 17 years of this is bc he has a Will Of Steel

cesar is not nearly as unflappabl e and so he has become. a lot different

at first gabriel thought it was interesting and they wanted to see where it would go . now they feel Regret bc cesar is no longer trying to run away or plead or anything and is just comign @ gabriel with Intent to kill. but every time gabriel kills cesar he just. resets & comes back & continues trying to kill them

h ell for all parties involved .

[cleromancy]

a couple issues earlier in gk#8 tim and dick were talking about the secret identity aspect of what they do. it weighed on baby tim a lot to live a double life! anyway tim said (paraphrased) "i shouldn't complain, look at what bruce has to do, thats gotta be frustrating" regarding the *triple* life of batman, Bruce Wayne (his public persona wasnt really called "brucie" at the time, as useful as thats become to distinguish it), and whoever bruce is when he's not masking. and dick said something like, you don't have to worry about bruce, he can put up with anything if it has a direct purpose. and i really love that exchange because dick hears tim saying hes concerned for bruce and tries to reassure him on that level, vs tim who was coming from more of a "if bruce can handle all that i definitely should be able to handle my less difficult version" kind of place. tim and dick consistently have these really understated communication issues stemming from loving each other deeply and not getting each other *at all,* and i love it so much.

anyway was reminded of that bc (gotham knights #11 now)

(^ thats not bruce in the cowl there, its dr strange playing dressup.)

not going to get too into the way tims statement here functions in this specific story (like how tims voiceover is on the panel of dick on his way to rescue bruce dkdkckflfk), but its always interesting to see the interplay for tim vs dick on how they prioritize what bruce "needs" them for, and the way that inevitably bleeds through to their relationship with each other.

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Corrupted: TMA x Malevolent Crossover

Tim Stoker opened a book he shouldn't, and now he's got a new friend who calls himself John -

And is very much not a John.

Facing cultists, fear gods, and very little information, Tim is trying to handle it all -

But he's been marked by the Desolation, and little by little, finding it harder to say no to rage.

------------

Tim is so relieved the cultists are gone that he leans against the door. “Yellow. Yellow, what was that. Yellow. That was not cool, Yellow.”

Yellow is back to dark chortling.

“Ugh.” Tim grabs his wallet. 

And what do you plan to do now?

“Groceries. I gotta live, even with all this going on.”

Fair enough.

Tim holds his wallet. He can feel it with both hands. See it with one eye. “What do you think Kayne meant by a time limit?”

I… don’t know. Maybe losing your body parts. Maybe he’s set a spell to kill you. I honestly have no idea.

“Right. Okay. I need you thinking, Yellow. Our goal, first, is to get you unhooked from that damn book.”

Silence.

“You don’t like that, huh? Been your safe space for a long time. Well… Kayne has it now. It’s not safe for you anymore.”

Nowhere is.

“Maybe we can make a safe space. That’s just one of the things on the docket, anyway.”

Yellow sighs. And what else do you believe is on our docket?

“First, the book, so if something goes wrong, you don’t go zinging right to him - because I’m pretty sure you’d rather die quick than go hang out with Satan. Am I right?”

It sounds… difficult for Yellow to answer. You are right.

“Two: we need to figure out how to protect you from the god-eating thingummies.”

There is no way to protect me from the… thingummies.

“Bet you’ve never said that word in thousands of years, eh?”

Tim…

Tim puts in his earbuds and locks his door. “Third, we need to figure out this mark thing.”

Tim.

“Are you gonna try to tell me this docket isn’t applicable?”

Silence.

Tim takes the stairs. It’s been a few days since he had the chance to work out, and the last thing he needs to do now is lose any fitness.

He’s silent on the way to the store. Silent as he shops, choosing things that will hopefully not go bad too quickly. Silent as he carries it all back, eschewing public transport, because he needs to stay in shape.

He does a few bicep curls with the groceries on his way back up the stairs.

What are you planning to make?

“Curry.”

I’ve had curry. It’s lovely.

Right. During the times Yellow had stolen someone’s body. “Sorry I can’t share it with you. So, hey - can I use my mark to keep you safe?”

Excuse me?

“It’s rage and destruction, right? I’m assuming this doesn’t mean just… walking around, punching things. Does power come with it?”

Tim. I don’t know what this idea is you’ve concocted, but drop it.

“So it does, then.”

Tim.

And that’s less patient. That’s less amused. Tim must be toeing some line, but he doesn’t know enough to identify it yet. “Hear me out, okay?” He cracks open a package of tofu.

Go on.

That was condescending.

Tim doesn’t roll his eyes, but it’s close. “The Desolation is one of those god-eaters, right?”

Yes.

“So no one, logically, would be looking for you anywhere near something that felt like it.”

Or, conversely, by channeling its power, you could draw it to me.

“Well, do we know which?”

Tim… this is not a game.

“Says the guy who just threw cultists at me for a laugh.” Tim starts the tofu cooking.

We won’t get second chances. If you draw something to us, it’s over.

“You’re already drawing them, right? And the mark will inevitably turn me into a ball of rage anyway, right? So. How do we flip the narrative?”

Your hope is a fragile thing, says Yellow suddenly. Worrisome. It’s based on so little; it can’t possibly withstand a storm.

Tim sighs and stops slicing carrots. “Then I’d like to know what you want me to do.”

Study magic. Lay low.

“That won’t work, Yellow.” He resumes chopping.

The barest wave of irritation rises. It has worked so far.

“And the cat’s out of the bag now. Kayne has the book. Bouchard knows we’re here. Dagon just died really messily in a place that supposedly has no gods, and you can’t tell me nobody noticed. One of those fucking god-eaters has already found us and marked me. We can’t do it the way you’ve been doing it, Yellow.”

Cthulhu sighs. Am I going to have to break your mind, after all?

“Stop that,“ says Tim, lighter than he feels. "You’re not gonna.” It all goes in the wok with a sizzle and lovely smell.

Aren’t I.

Flat delivery. Unreadable.

Tim mostly believes Yellow won’t.

Tim has to believe Yellow won’t.

“No. You’d be bored to death, dealing with those three numb-nuts instead of my winning personality.”

So young. Yellow seems to say that to himself.

Tim sighs and settles in to eat his first real meal in days.

For a while, that’s all that matters.

“Fuck, that’s good,” he says, mouth-breathing because it’s too hot.

I’m sure.

“You thinking like I asked you to?”

Silence.

“Come on, Yellow, don’t give up yet. They don’t even have us yet. We’re still free. We could fly to Borneo, if we had to.”

They do have you. You are marked.

A tiny bit of irritation (except it’s too heated to be irritation) flares in Tim. He covers it by stabbing nothing with his fork, emphatic. “Still don’t really know what that means.”

This universe is… cancerous.

Tim stops chewing. “What, for real?”

Yes. It is inhabited by beings which should not exist - mutations, born of human and animal fear, somehow… given life. 

“You don’t know? Does anybody know?”

No. By the time we noticed this mess, it had been going on for some time. And we noticed, Tim, because the gods from this timeline were disappearing.

“Just not making phone calls, or what?”

Their domains were empty. Abandoned. Their followers suddenly bereft. Those things they controlled - if they did - went wildly out of control, or ceased to be entirely. Tim, there are so many things no longer existing in this timeline - from dragons to proper geological magics - that will never exist here again because they were tied to deific existence. 

“So I’m in the extinction timeline for more than just… spotted owls.”

It took a while to see what was happening because the Fears are not gods; even those with personalities - such as the Web - don’t truly have personality. They ape it. So… seeking for living things responsible for what happened did not work.

“And gods kept disappearing.” Tim gets seconds. The curry is good.

Yes. In the end, those gods who remained fled - merging with alternates of themselves in other universe, or taking up spaces left empty by their never-existence. 

“So Kayne was right, and you really are bugfuck crazy to be hiding out here.” Tim cracks open a beer.

It was… an unexpected choice. And it paid off.

“Until me.” 

Tim isn’t used to guilt. He tries to be a decent person; he volunteers in the community, he donates to charity. He knows he makes mistakes, which everyone does. He doesn’t live his life in shame or sorrow.

Guilt, he is discovering, is a really bad feeling.

He swallows into the silence. “I’m sorry.”

I admit, I briefly wondered if I’d misjudged you, seen you as better than you are, says Yellow. But now that I see the mark you bear, it makes sense. 

“Still. I’m the one who did it.” Tim has to change the subject. “Hey - is anything else hiding in that book?”

Who knows? I still am at a loss to explain Dagon .

“At least you two weren’t close?”

He snorts. No. 

“So if you’re at a loss there… then you admit you don’t know everything.”

Tim…

“I’m just saying. There really may be some avenue of help that you don’t know about because you never looked.”

Yellow sighs.

“And,” continues Tim, “if I really am Merlin, or whatever, I could help you find it.”

You would be at risk.

“I”m already at risk. Doomed, in fact, according to the narrative, apparently.”

More immediate. Not the same.

And Tim is surprised at how angry he is at the warmth in Yellow’s voice.

The affection, the fondness - they weren’t real at all, were they?

Not likely. 

Yellow had been briefly honest when upset: if he had a chance, he would take Tim’s body. Maybe he’d feel a little sad that Tim had to be put down like an unwanted mutt, but that was about it.

It shouldn’t matter. It should not.

It does.

“Let’s just get real here, shall we?” says Tim in a low voice he hardly recognizes. “You’re not worried for me. You’re worried for you. You’re worried I’m going to do something that triggers whatever clause it is that sends you to Kayne, or do something that draws those god-eating freaks to you which will eat you slowly. Stop pretending it’s my welfare that concerns you, and maybe we can actually make some fucking progress.”

He stops.

He stops breathing. 

Stops anything.

That was…

Horrible.

Except it wasn’t horrible.

But it wasn’t him. Tim swallows. His eyes are filling.

Yellow is quiet.

“Marked, huh?” Tim whispers, wiping tears.

Yes.

“Fuck,” says Tim, softly. "I didn’t even know it was happening.”

That’s the point. It’s in you. Part of you - and wouldn’t have ever been able to mark you if you didn’t have proclivities toward that rage, says Yellow, and it is gentle, and it feels real.

“But I’m not - ” He’s getting angry over that, and keeps his tone even. “I’m not an angry person. I’ve never been.”

You never had need to be. A man may have genius talent for sculpting clay, but unless he attempts to do so, will live and die without ever knowing the skill is there.

“Real pretty way of saying I’m gonna turn into a rage monster.” It comes out more bitter than expected.

There may be… something we can do. Unfortunately, I believe it requires returning to Bouchard.

“Ugh. Well. Needs must.” Tim blows his nose, then goes to wash his bowl and clean the wok.

He also notes that Yellow did not deny anything he said in his little rant.

It hurts.

Stupid, Tim tells himself, to get hurt over the fact that Cthulhu doesn’t really like him. What the hell, Stoker?

“Did you think maybe Bouchard is the reason the Desolation found us?” Tim says.

If so, then we will have some words to exchange, won’t we?

“What, am I gonna rough him up?”

Yellow laughs.

Fair. 

Yellow, however, never answers as to what Tim will do.

A tiny, disturbing part of him wants to be angry at that.

But Tim does not. Tim doesn’t.

He won’t let this thing win. This… weird, infectious rage.

There has to be a way.

Tim texts Happy and asks if there is any kind of an ETA for magical translations, then stares at what he just sent. 

“What even is my life?” Tim mumbles.

Precious. We will see it preserved.

"Sure.”

[ificouldhelpyouforget]

[16] 33's Coming Home With Me (Tim Riggins x OFC)

MASTERLIST | DWHI MASTERLIST

Warnings: none

Words: 2k

Panthers fans gathered around the team's bus while the football team mingled with family. Everyone was hyped to be going to State again and the energy surged through the gathering.

"Are you ridin' with us, Catherine?" Mrs. Taylor came over to me with Julie.

I nodded. "If you're still okay with it."

"Of course! We love your company."

Julie smiled. "We can talk about Matt and Tim."

I glanced at Mrs. Taylor, remembering the day Coach walked in on his daughter and Matt. Julie was horrified, but her parents were mortified. I didn't want our conversation to go down that path for her mom's sake. 

"Uh, yeah. We can talk about how great they're gonna do at the game and only that, Jules." I shifted my eyes over to Mrs. Taylor so she would catch the hint.

Julie rolled her eyes.

Both women looked past me and Julie grinned just as arms snaked around my middle.

"Hey, Tim," she said. Mrs. Taylor greeted him, too, though less enthusiastically as her daughter.

"Hey," he said back, kissing the side of my head.

I was so happy when Julie and her mom gave us some privacy.

"Julie's insistent that we talk about you and Saracen on our way to the stadium." I turned in his hold, brushing his hair back.

"Yeah?"

"My guess is we'll talk about Matt the most." My lips curled up into a smirk. "Saracen isn't too bad on the eyes, ya know."

Tim's lips neared my ear. "I would hate to miss my bus because I had to remind my girlfriend who she goes to bed with every night."

Laughing, I molded my mouth to his. "Don't worry, Riggins. She knows who he is and is very happy."

"Good."

I straightened Tim's shirt. "Are you excited? Senior year and y'all are off to State for a second time."

"It's great." His smile was sweet.

"I thought you'd be more excited," I said.

"Yeah, well I've gotta save the excitement for the game." He kissed my forehead. "I've gotta make sure I have enough energy to show off for my girl."

I rolled my eyes and hugged him. "I'll see you at the hotel, yeah?"

"You bet."

We kissed once more before we split off to our respective rides.

*****

"Who are you stayin' with, Catherine?" Mrs. Taylor asked, peering at me through the rearview mirror.

"Tyra is supposed to be my roommate, but she's working on her application essay. I think Landry is trying to get her to come to the game. If he can't, then I won't be rooming with anyone else."

"Are you thinkin' of sharin' with Tim Riggins?"

Heat rose up my neck and settled on my cheeks. "Um, he has a room to stay in, Mrs. Taylor."

"Mom," Julie whined. "Who cares if they share a room? They love each other, right Cat? I mean, they basically live together."

"Yeah, but there are rules, Jules. It doesn't matter if we love each other, we shouldn't share a room during a school trip," I said.

Mrs. Taylor glanced at me again. "And Tim is okay with obeyin' the rules?"

"He doesn't care much for them, but he cares about me, so he promised to behave."

"He stayed with you last time we were at State," Julie said. "You looked so cute sleeping together."

"That was different. We weren't datin'."

"So it's different that you are now?" Mrs. Taylor asked.

"Uh, yeah. Very different." I could see the realization cross over her face.

"Are you bein' safe?"

Julie groaned.

"Yes, ma'am. Always."

"Do you use whatever it is the right way every time?"

I couldn't keep my half-smile off my face. "I mean no disrespect, Mrs. T., but we are talkin' about Tim Riggins who's been with a lot of girls. He didn't get any of them pregnant, so I'm confident we're using protection correctly." I smiled at her through the mirror. "I appreciate your concern. It's nice to know someone is lookin' out for me."

"You're welcome, Catherine."

The Taylors were a family I adopted as my own once I figured out my own family wasn't close. I didn't come to Mrs. Taylor for life advice, but I listened to what she had to say to me as if she was my own mom. Julie was like a little sister I felt obligated to protect as she grew up. It pained me that she was trying to push her parents away. I hoped Eric and Tami saw me as someone who could mentor their daughter if she kept going down her rebellious teenage path.

"What's that smile about?" Julie asked. "Thinking about Tim?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm thinkin' about you and your family and how much y'all mean to me. Thanks for being my second family."

Julie instantly teared up and Mrs. Taylor smiled through the mirror.

"We'll always be here when you need us," Julie's mom said. "No matter where you go, we'll be here."

"I'm glad."

*****

I gazed at the sign I made. Before the game, me, Tyra, and Julie gathered in our hotel room with poster paper and all sorts of markers and photos. At the time, I loved what I put together for the game. Once I was sitting in my seat next to the girls, I felt like I pushed it too far.

"I can't believe I wrote this on a sign," I said to Tyra.

"You were pretty excited about it this afternoon." Tyra smirked at it on my lap. "I think it's cute."

In bold blue and yellow lettering, I wrote out, "33 is coming home with me." I even had a photo of Tim in his uniform on the poster. It was pretty embarrassing considering we were in a huge stadium where several hundred people would be filling the seats within the hour.

"I'm pretty sure I had a lapse in judgment. There's no way I can hold this up. What if people see it?" I curled it around itself.

Julie laughed. "I think that's the point."

I peeked at it again. "Do you think Tim will hate it?"

"The fact that it hints you're sleepin' with him, he'll love it." Tyra leaned back in her seat. "If you don't hold that up during the game, we won't be friends anymore."

"It does not hint at that and that's a little aggressive, Tyra."

She shrugged. "It definitely does. If it makes you feel better, hold it up when they come runnin' out. Tim might actually see it."

"Then you don't have to hold it up again," Julie said. "You are wearing his jersey."

And it was easy to tell it didn't belong to me. Even with it tucked into my jeans, it spilled over my waistband, covering my pockets. Tim thought it was adorable when he picked me up from my room for breakfast. Tyra and Julie thought it was hilarious.

"Fine. I still can't believe I made this."

"The girls need to know he's spoken for, right?" Julie grinned.

I sighed and leaned forward to look past Julie at Tyra. "I know I should have asked you a while ago, but are you okay with this? Tim and I, I mean."

Tyra waved it off. "I had a thing for Riggins a long time ago. I don't mind you datin' him at all. Y'all have been together so long that it seems weird I ever had something with him."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You guys work together. Better than me and him and I'd say better than him and Lyla Garrity."

"You don't like Lyla very much," Julie pointed out. "Of course you'd pair Tim and Cat together before him and Lyla."

"Yeah, well..."

I chuckled and leaned back in my seat.

*****

I was on the edge of my seat the entire game. My voice was nearly gone as I screamed at them to get the football down the field. The Panthers were holding their own even with the scores even. Unfortunately, the game didn't end in the Panthers' favor. The stadium's volume cut in half as we felt the disappointment.

Mrs. Taylor led us into the locker room at the request of her husband once the team got in there. Friends and family of all the players gathered around the team still in their gear. It was quiet. Coach Taylor stood in front of everyone.

"Your friends and family are here because you played a great game." His eyes scanned over everyone. "We are proud of each and every one of you. We are proud of the way you played out there. Y'all should be proud of yourselves."

It warmed my heart when we applauded them. Some of the football players got teary-eyed at the praise. They made it to State because they worked hard. No one could deny their dedication.

Before Coach asked us to leave, I squeezed past a few players to get to Tim. He was still sitting on the bench with a forlorn stare. It went away the moment he saw me, a brilliant smile on his face.

"What a game," I said, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. "I'm really proud to call myself Tim Riggins' girlfriend."

His hugged my middle and rested his chin on my stomach. "Thanks."

"Are you okay? I know it's not quite how you wanted to end the season."

"Yeah, I'm okay." Tim's lips pressed against my stomach. "By the way, I liked your sign. I'm glad you want me goin' home with ya."

I blushed. "Ugh. I hoped you wouldn't notice. It's so embarrassing."

He chuckled.

Coach Taylor started ushering people out, so Tim kissed me shortly. "I'll see you later, Cat."

"Bye, Tim."

*****

Everyone went home after the game since there wasn't a party to celebrate. No one complained about it, ready to sleep off the loss.

Mrs. Taylor dropped me off at school, so I could catch a ride home with Tim. She bid me a good night before driving away with a sleeping Julie.

The team bus was in front of the locker room door and Tim was already heading over to me. He seemed a lot happier than when he first got on the bus.

"Good ride back?"

Tim pushed me back against his truck and captured my mouth. He grabbed my head, tilting it to deepen our kiss. I got caught up in the moment, pulling him by his waist so we were flush against each other. I zeroed in on how soft his lips were, how he knew exactly what to do with them to make my brain malfunction. It was one of the best kisses he ever gave me. My eyes took a few seconds longer to open when he pulled his lips away.

"What was that for?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"I love football and everything about it." He kissed me again. "Now football is over."

"Yeah, it is."

"I'm madly in love with you and everything you are. I want everything to be about you now. About us."

"Really? You're want to drop football just like that?"

"I've got something better right here."

A slow kiss.

"Okay. Let's focus on us."

"You are gonna focus on college, Barton, and I'm going to focus on you and making your life easier."

"No college for you?"

He shook his head. "I don't like school now and I don't expect I'll like it in college. I'm sick of caring about my grades."

"You don't care about them now," I giggled.

"Exactly."

"Okay." I stood on my toes to kiss him again. "I support your choice."

"Can I go home with you now?"

I nodded and gently pushed Tim away from me. I laughed when his hand brushed against my butt. He tried looking innocent, but the glint in his eyes gave him away.

Tim took my hand the second our doors shut. I leaned over to kiss him before he pulled out of the parking lot.