#specifically tim when jack was alive

[ikiprian]

if there’s a superhero out there who is maintaining a secret identity, please know i WILL be trans allegory-ing you in my head. this goes double if you’re a teenager with at least one living parent (or parent-adjacent), triple if the parent doesnt quite “get it.” if you havent been transed yet i promise i havent skipped you, you’re in the queue, just wait your turn

[clownzaf]

DC x Epic But it’s Tim Drake like everything I do

Ok but what if in one of the expeditions of Janet and Jack Drake they brought home a Wind Bag, only leaving Tim with the order of not opening it ever bc it will anger the gods.

Tim, obviously, never opened it. But his parents never counted on the silly creatures that would plague Tim the rest of his life until he opened that bag.

It’s ok tho, they may be annoying sometimes but they offered him company during the nights alone in a big cold house and they were really silly so he allowed it.

Aeolus also visit sometimes, the first few times it was to try to convince him to open the bag, but Tim was born and raised within Gotham’s high society AND Janet Drake. He knows when he is being manipulated and he knows when they’re trying to send him the wrong way.

Aeolus gave up eventually, but they make sure to drop by at least once a year to see if Tim’s still alive and if maybe there’s a chance he wanted to open the bag.

He doesn’t.

Later, when he became Robin, the Winions started to follow him around, hiding themselves from Batman and the rest but playing pranks on them almost every night.

Until one day there’s a fight between the JL and some gods (thanks Wonder Woman! Bc they’re SO EASY to fight for us mere humans!) and who’s one of the gods fighting? AEOLUS.

The Batfam is shocked when Red Robin enters the fight and the winions that were fighting (they seem to silly to fight but those things have CLAWS and bite like a motherfucker) just. Stop. And go to hug Tim.

Sometime after all those years Tim was considered between the Winions like “The Winion Prince” because he would feed every winion that came his way and would also play with them as if they were cats. They love him.

Aeolus also stops fighting for a bit just to hug Tim quickly and then keeps fighting.

Tim goes to fight Aeolus and they just, stop the fight, smiles at Tim direction and says “Yep, mine!”

And that’s how Aeolus became Tim’s patron god, and Tim became known in the Greek community as “The winion prince” (He wanted something cool like “The wind warrior” or the “soldier of the wind” but names fly in Olympus and the next time he encountered a deity (for a mission to Aeolus) they looked at him dead in the eye and say “Welcome, Winion Prince”.

Tim died inside a little that day.

The Batfam is shocked but they eventually started to ask Tim to make their grapple swings more fun, and Damian started to demand seeing his Winions (Which were officially his, he had an army of Winions) and once he tried to steal one, saying that “Drake had enough” and that “he wasn’t gonna miss specifically this one” (which, wrong, 1- That was winion Ctimene and she loved the princess of Ithaca, and 2- All his Winions had collars and silly hats so Tim knew which is which and he does head count every night)

Batman doesn’t like Aeolus at all.

[parker-artio]

Batfamily head cannons I have- in no specific order:

Jason went back to school/got his GED, then went to college and got his English, History, teaching, and musical arts degrees, just so he can shove it anyone’s face when they try to say he’s dumb or say he’s a drop out.

Damian fosters animals in the manor. He’ll show up with two boxes of kittens, and everyone will see like 10 kittens around the house until it goes back down to just Alfred- wait did he always have that cat named Knives? Yes? Okay, well then the 10- 9 my bad, the nine cats find homes and he’s left with Alfred and Knives.

Dick IS the male equivalent of Barbie, he’s got a full wall just dedicated to the degrees he’s accumulated over the years. He’s got an art degree and a business degree. No one knows where he gets the time and he refuses to elaborate.

Tim has albinism. Now I know some people hate the Asian Tim HC because of the stereotypes it makes him fall into, but I personally HC him as mixed (Wasian). I like to think that Jack was Armenian and Janet was white- can be interchangeable-, but Tim came out with albinism, white wavy hair, blue eyes, and skin whiter than paper. But because of how much he looked up to Robin and found him cool, he started to dye his hair black (kinda like Jason back when he was a ginger/strawberry blonde).

Duke is trans. This is a projection so don’t say anything about how we saw him when he was young. I know. He’s just one of my favorite characters and I love to HC my favorite characters as trans like I am. But I think he’s specifically a Demiboy or a trans man- I’m kinda on the fence. But either one works for me.

Cass is the shortest batkid- by a LANDSLIDE. I personally think she’d be like 5’2 (157cm) while all of the other bat kids are like 5’5+ (165cm+). I have no reason beyond the fact she’s scary. Like imagine you’re being attacked by this 6’5 (195cm) man who’s wearing a red helmet just for this girl over a foot shorter than him to be the reason you should actually be scared?? Id shit my pants.

Duke can SNIFF out a bargain. If you’ve watched the amazing world of gumball, think about Nicole and the way she straight up sniffed out a bargain and we met her parents. That’s how I think he is. They go into a store and Tim picks up a game and Duke pauses, for a second thinking, then shakes his head ‘Nah, it’s cheaper by 32 cents at Walmart. Trust’. Tim does not gaf about its price. But he puts it down just to please Duke.

Jason has all of his foster parent licenses and shit. He got them before he was even deemed legally alive again. Then proceeded to get them again as actually Jason Todd. He has his address listed as the only Safe House with normal neighbors. The apartment complex probably has like two-three rooms and the neighbors all have kids too.

Cass choreographs ballet dances to Tik Tok sounds and posts them and they go viral, to the point people don’t even know who the OG dancer is. (It’s her.)

Tim will not acknowledge someone if they don’t refer to him by name. If he’s at a gala and they try to talk to him by calling him ‘Drake’ or ‘Bruce’s son’ or anything else he just turns around and walks away. But as soon as they do refer to him by name he starts to talk about how shitty the world is. (From the verity of ages he says it to, they either don’t like what he says or agree 100%)

Dick can and will yell in your face if you try to disrespect someone in his presence. If you’re talking to someone and you keep cutting them off he will yell at you to shut the fuck up and let the other person say what they need to say.

Damian is that person who people will always go to if they need advice on how to get a new animal. Say you want a bird, you’ve never had one before, Damian will be the person you trust to ask the questions to. And he’d answer you no matter how dumb the question is. ‘How many times do I feed her?’ ‘Two to three times a day.’

[booliuu]

Can you write random ticci toby headcanons

heeeey, thx for checking out my blog!!! :D and of course! The headcanons are bit long because i love yapping about this silly guy TvT.

TW: self harm

pt 2

᭄᭡ Ticci toby General Headcanons ⊹₊

• German 🇩🇪. When he is pissed he will curse under his breath in german🧍‍♀️ no one in the mansion knows what the hell he’s saying. Has a slight accent too..!

•He’s super tall like standing between something like 5’6 or close to 6’2.. BUT HAS SUPER BAD POSTURE LIIIKE….

•Im sticking with his canon age so he’s around his mid 30’s by now .

• His favorite colors has to be green , orange, brown, red, yk warm colors.

• His hobbies consist of animal watching and petting random animals that he founds crossing path during missions or just simply hanging out around the slender forest far away from other creeps because he values his alone time.

• wood craving !!!

• speaking of wood craving oh my gosh he’s really good at it, sometimes he make his friends wooden animal figures and will leave them in their room’s as a presents :) he’s so sweet…

• listening to music from phones that he stolen from people he encounters ( if you know what i mean..)

• drawing animals he finds interesting :) I like the idea of him having a sketchbook dedicated for this specifically.

• Speaking of his hobbies , he preferable likes to do them alone because he gets overwhelmed easily ( I blame his father -) and considering his past and being teased frequently about his tics and so forth he close to non verbal. But if he does talk it close to really short responses.

Here’s angst headcanons ( it’s mostly about his past) . . . TW: self harm

• I am a very firm believer that the name “ ticci toby” was not a chosen name but rather a nickname from his bullies from school that tease him. he absolutely hates the name.

• When his family found out about his diagnoses of CIPA ( Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis) they had to take matters into their own hands, and they all made sure to the house is safe for him. Such putting tabs on their showers or bath tubs so he doesn’t burn himself alive or it’s so cold that it’s concerning, making sure the food he eating isn’t too hot or cold, yk stuff like that..

• With tourette’s , I have a feeling his parents put him through countless speech & physical therapy. None will work and his father would yell at him about something he can’t control.

• When he found out about his CIPA , he tries desperately to feel pain or even any kind of bodily sensations. Such as ( TW : SELF HARM) scratching himself until he bleed , hitting himself , stuff like that. Mainly because he confused as hell why he can’t feel anything. My guess is that he so frustrated about it he can’t wrap around his head that’s the way he is.

• Every night , he goes to bed fall asleep to thoughts about what his life would been like if he was not like this….

OOOK enough angst!! here’s the continuation of his general headcanons . . .

• Yk how he has a scar on his face. Well many people like to state that he doesn’t take care of it..blah ..blah.. hides it with a mask that he always wears. Personally I feel like he takes care of himself by adding cream on to it ( proscribed by eyeless jack himself :D) , slowly but surely the scar looks better than when he first got it, he wears the mask to protect it from getting infections. ^^

• has a sweet tooth!!! It’s not just about waffles y’all just sayin…

• Even though he preferable like to do missions alone. He will sometimes bring someone with him like tim, brian , kate ( basically the whole gang-) , or ej .

• Not only he has CIPA & tourette’s but I believe he has schizophrenia, PTSD , Bipolar disorder and amnesia. especially with his encounter of slenderman is it made far worse…

dividers credit: @arneefigisikir , @saradika-graphics & @nakaharaism

A/n: Oh my gosh this was so fun to make!! I’m sorry if sentences were typed a bit weird , wonky , or very wordy TvT. I just reread your ask and it said random but… i thought it said general. i’m.. so sorry 🥲I hope this is alright if not my inbox is always open for requests :,D

* if you like my content please don’t forget to like , comment or reblog ^^

liuuboo2025 ♡ﾟ

[rewrittenwrongs]

Kiind of jumping off this post; the idea of any of the batkids being biologically related is interesting (esp if they don’t know), but I’m specifically thinking about Tim and Dick. About the Drakes having an open marriage and meeting the Flying Graysons on a dig, or an earlier performance in Gotham, and they have some fun together and Janet tests pregnant shortly after. They tell John and Mary abt it, and do a DNA test and turns out Tim is John’s child. They kind of keep in touch with the Graysons through letters, and when it’s announced Haly’s Circus is performing in Gotham they jump at the chance to hang out and introduce their sons. Tim and Dick were aware they had brothers but they didn’t know much about each other but their names, and when they meet for the first time they click instantly. Dick is ecstatic to have a little brother and Tim is literally bouncing from joy, and Dick promises to do a quadruple backflip just for him and someday teach him how to do one, but then everything goes wrong and you can guess how.

From here there’s two ways this can go.

A) Jack and Janet adopt Dick. They foster him as soon as possible—maybe his parents left custody to them in their wills—adopt him only once he’s ready, stay home more to take care of him and Tim while they all grieve, and try to keep the memory of the flying Graysons alive and help Dick (and Tim) stay in touch with his Romani roots. But Dick knows that wire snapping was foul play. He’s determined to go out there and bring his parent’s murderer to justice. He’s already strong and quick from his performing, and the Drakes enrolled him in self defence classes anyway since this is Gotham. He’s got what it takes. But Batman refuses to see that, he just sees a little boy in too-bright colours carrying too much weight on his shoulders, so he does his best to make Dick step back and bring in his parent’s murderer for him. But he never unmasks him or finds out his identity, even if he has suspicions.

Maybe in this AU Dick and Tim are closer in age and roam the streets as a duo of birds. Either Jason is still taken in by Bruce and joins Dick (and Tim(?)) in causing chaos and grey hairs, or Dick is the one to catch him jacking the Batmobile’s tires and gains his trust through months of sharing food and resources like he’s befriending a stray cat, until he agrees to go home to Drake Manor.

B) Bruce is still in the crowd that night, Jack and Janet aren’t legible to be foster guardians for whatever reason, and Dick is still adopted by Bruce and becomes his sidekick as Robin. Dick and Tim only meet a few times in Galas, and while Dick remembers he has a half-brother his brain trying to shield him from the trauma of that day makes his memories very fuzzy. He can’t even remember his brother’s name, just his age and that Dick promised to teach him the quadruple flip someday. Jack and Janet do their fanon usual neglect as a way to grieve and distance themselves from that trauma. Maybe they bring Tim with them for the first year or so. Either way, Tim still has the photo(s) from the day at the circus, so he gives one to Dick (maybe leaves it on his windowsill since they share backyards) in the hopes that he’ll remember Tim and reach out. Dick is eternally grateful for the photo but only because it’s of his parents, he doesn’t recognise Tim (he’s too young to visibly share any features with John except skin tone) and just thinks he’s a kind fan. The Drakes do share unusual fondness for Dick but assume that he remembers them and has chosen not to reach out, and are respecting his boundaries. So Dick grows, becomes Nightwing yada yada Jason becomes Robin (part of Dick hates that the other person to wear that mantle isn’t his real brother), Jason dies, everyone angsts and Tim steps in. Tim becomes Robin, maybe realises Dick doesn’t know they’re related but chooses not to tell him because he doesn’t want them to feel obligated; he wants to earn Robin. So he does. And yeah, a lot of it really sucks, but he doesn’t regret it one bit. A year or two in Dick goes on some mission at Haly’s circus (or searches through the rubble after Blockbuster burns it down), and finds a bunch of old letters and photos belonging to his parents. The letters are from the Drakes. The photos are of them and Tim.

Maybe Blockbuster found the letters too and targets Tim. Maybe Dick finds out they’re related when Tim is in the medbay. Maybe in a mess of being very young + traumatised + no one speaking abt it Tim separates the facts of ‘I have a half-brother’ and ‘I watched the Flying Graysons die’, and only suspects the two are connected. Maybe Bruce always had a suspicion because of their similar features. Maybe he did a DNA test and either chose not to or forgot to tell anyone the results. Maybe Cass thought it was common knowledge because of how Tim acts just a little bit different around Dick, so she makes some comment years down the line when Damian is bragging about being the only blood son, and is more than a little startled when everyone other than Tim including Dick looks at her like she started speaking in tongues.

Either way, Dick eventually makes good on his promise and teaches Tim that flip.

[crushedsweets]

i was listening to twin size mattress by the front bottoms and was like. hmm this is the most toby song ever

SO i was wondering do u have any songs that remind you of specific creeps? could be from lyrics or just general vibes yk yk

- 🌙 anon (im new here hi)

HII welcome. ok ok. so i listen to music in a very boring way and never analyze lyrics/artists/albums/etc. but for you i will try to change.

also these lryics with toby oh wow.. wow. ok. wowwww. wow. ok. wow. STUFF UNDER THE CUT BUT KNOW IM DEEPLY WARPING THE ACTUAL MEANING BEHIND A LOT OF THESE SONGS LOL. i religiously listen to love songs so its hard

toby and honey by coastal club. (my fave song rn..)

whether its from his perspective or not.. it doesnt even have to be romantic either. just his friendships with everyone around him, both from people like tim and brian seeing this SEVERELY TROUBLED kid. . . 'wide eyed..dying to get outside' feels very :((( yk. he was a kid trapped in a fucking horrifying situation all his life. or him looking at his friendship with nina. "youve got a way with me... alive and so full of life, i'm mesmerized by your love" etc. maybe jack or clockwork with the "i started laughing at the words you spoke, i kinda like you and your stupid jokes"... AGAIN I KNOW ITS A LOVE SONG but i see it applying in so many different forms of love. and i love love. also a ton of like, car and driving references which is um. lyra reference sorry

nina x clockwork and "a big brown dog named bagel" by nep

ok this doesnt apply so much to my au(nobody is canon in mine but yk)... buttttttt... yeah. ugh. this is so nina @ nat. sorry guys ive been changed. one ask always diverts my attention at the speed of light. "I like the way she bites, the way she talks, the way she looks when I smile" is just SO FUCKING NINA ADORING NAT. nina just wants to be in the most fairytale coming of age movie ya novel lovestory and she says that her biggest dream in life is to get married. she wants to take care of her lover and give and give and give so fucking much and "I'll buy you a big old house on a big old hill And I'll grow old with my baby, 'til she's dead" is so very her. of course i chose clockwork cuz 'she's tall in the knees' and 'some green in her eyes' plus im a lesbian and havent fawned over sapphic relationships in months since i began my creepypasta return. LOL

eyeless jack and "downhill" by lincoln

there r few words to describe the amount of guilt, horror, and devastation that jack feels after what he's done, all he's lost, and what he has to do to survive. he has a year of his life that he was literally possessed by a demon and went around fucking tearing humans apart and eating their remains. even as he's """recovering""" and settling into a cabin, his friendships with the creeps, trying to just feel okay. he's on his last leg, he can tell that people know he's a shell of what he was but they'll never know how warm, kind, inviting he used to be. "i went downhill at such a steep inline" ... yea he did his life changed immeasurably in a single night and it's never coming back. the lyrics "'Cause I was born into the world on a silken cloud / And I got bored of the world before I hit the ground" ... while he had a ton of pressure. he loved his life, loved his family, was the type to constantly express how grateful he was for everything that got him where he was. and then he hit rock fucking bottom because he wanted to chase a little excitement with the pretty girl inviting him to join a 'club.' poor guy

liu and "i'm not angry anymore" by paramore

i dont think i need to explain this because um..... lols... liu just wants to fucking move on. he just wants to escape everything. he wants his family back, including the little brother he'd play catch with in the front yard for so many years. but he has his moments where it all comes barreling back, and he makes real fucking brash decisions - he lost his marriage because he spiraled trying to find jeff and moved to fucking alabama. so you know.

jane and "everest" by beabadoobee

again, i dont think i need to explain this. maybe this could be mary(jane's wife) singing to jane, cuz she was one of janes main supports after her parents death. jane can only act strong for so long but she is so so so fucking sad and mourning and she was always so soft and gentle and sweet and she lost everything in a single night. she spent a short period of time filled with rage, as she would be, but her story eventually evolves into her just wanting to help others with their cases, be happy with her wife, take care of sally, grow old, make her parents proud. she's climbed mountains and is probably in the best place of all the creeps. holds her. i dont touch her character too often because i just want her to settle happily lolz..

ok thats all i got guys :3.. thank youuuuu thank youuu. sorry if my music taste is bad guys. LOL.

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 3 replay, Citadel post coup:

-Notably, the C-Sec officers on the human embassy level are all turian.

On the presidium, the C-Sec officers are human.

Was this intentional of Bioware? Maybe the idea is to minimize potential conflict of interest on the investigation into Udina by assigning non-human officers to it and assigning the human officers to public spaces?

-Why do the C-Sec officers forbid Solik from filming the refugees on the docks?

They claim it’s because he’d be “disruptive”.

I suspect they’re actually trying to avoid a potential PR disaster if people see the conditions on the docks.

-Cerberus specifically looked for Kelly.

A bit flattering, in a sense – she’s more important to them than she thought!

Also a bit terrifying. TIM is really pissed at everyone who left Cerberus and is determined to clean up loose ends. There’s no other reason to go after Kelly; she’s no threat to Cerberus.

-Conrad is one of the best parts of ME3. All that busywork in ME1 finally pays off!

I know he’s supposed to be a joke about all the side quests, but I wish more or ME3 relied on past decisions like Conrad’s.

Maybe not to the extent that you lose content if you did not do so something, but so outcomes were at least influenced by them.

There are parts of ME3 influenced by past games – is Wrex alive? Kirrahe? Legion? Etc. – but there are a lot of past decisions that make no difference at all, like the turian insignia or if you got Lorik to testify against Anoleis.

Even if they just added flavor, I’d appreciate their inclusion.

-If you go renegade with Jack, you learn that her students helped get civilians off Palaven.

Interesting – turians usually don’t regard adult turians as civilians, since everyone has military training. The term is normally reserved for children or client races. So is Jack using the term in the human sense of non-combatants or the turian sense?

I’m probably thinking about this more than Bioware did.

-If you flirt with Joker, he just about panics. He does not think of Shepard that way.

-Joker won’t consider Shepard because they’re both in uniform and there are regulations against that.

There are no regulations against dating the ship AI, however, so that’s okay.

That’s cutting it awfully thin, Joker. I’m sure if the Alliance had ever considered the possibility of a ship having an AI they’d have regulations against it.

-Paragon or renegade, the fact Edi’s body is made of metal and Joker has brittle bones is brought up.

To go completely off script: Is this really relevant? They don’t have to have sex. Or they could get very creative. This is not what I would consider a deal breaker.

-If you go renegade with Edi, she brings up the lifespan difference between her and Joker.

Apparently she spoke to Liara about it and Liara was no help at all.

Interesting – Liara’s the obvious choice, since she’s an asari. However, her own relationship experience is very lacking so it’s logical she would have little to offer Edi. Very much a case of the blind leading the blind.

-As Thane dies, if you go paragon the last prayer is for you.

If you go renegade, the last prayer is for Thane.

-Shepard to Thane after he passes: Goodbye, Thane. You won’t be along for long.

Yeah, Shepard does not expect to make it through the Reaper war.

-The volus bank teller is skeptical of Sanctuary. How can it promise more safety than the Citadel? Second time a NPC’s called bullshit on Sanctuary and it’s another volus. I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked that the merchant race recognizes a scam when they see one.

Now we just need to set them up with an official broadcast so they can inform everyone else instead of one person at a time.

-Captain Sommers wants to kill a C-Sec officer who assisted Cerberus during the coup. He killed other officers and is now bargaining for a better deal by offering intel. He’s former Alliance and Sommers feels that the Alliance should deal with him.

Paragon, you tell Sommers to stand down because the intel may save lives. Renegade, you use spectre authority to let Sommers kill him legally.

It’s a nice touch to have another sidequest where paragon/renegade feels very different.*

In most of ME3 it feels like renegade has had the teeth removed; it just feels “softer” than in ME1 and ME2. This is a good instance of the two differing more.

*In main missions they differ more, although there the renegade dialogue still “feels” softer.

-Ghorek is the only time Shepard has to really deal with the consequences of destroying a colony in Arrival, and it’s disappointing.

He’s a terrorist, so you’re already predisposed to dislike him. You only exchange a few lines, and there’s no opportunity for investigate or a real back and forth.

I’m glad Bioware included it, but it feels very surface level with little depth. I wish there was more to it to really show the harm Shepard did and how they’re dealing (or possibly not dealing) with it.

Also, there should be choices between letting him die and calling over the nurse. Is there a reason I can’t call over the nurse AND inform C-Sec he’s a terrorist?

-Officer Noles is an excellent reminder on the importance of CyberSecurity. Balak’s using codes from when the batarians had an embassy on the Citadel.

That was what, 20 years ago? Those codes should have been decommissioned as soon as the embassy closed.

But they were not, and there are dead humans for it.

This is why it’s important to have standard operating procedures and regular asset reviews, people.

(How did Balak even get the codes?)

-Balak continues to be compelling.

He’s an evil bastard that’s been killing humans out of misplaced revenge, but paragon or renegade you can appeal to his desire to save his people and he’ll give you his support. You can see how much it costs him to do so, but he’ll set aside his personal desires to serve the batarian people.

In another timeline, Balak could easily have been hero. He has more than enough courage, intelligence, and drive.

In this one, however, he’ll just have to settle for being the lesser evil.

(Also, Balak can see that working with Shepard is the batarians’ best bet, but you expect me to believe that Udina thought Cerberus was a better option?)

-Also, nice of the C-Sec officer standing right there to ignore Balak holding a gun to head. Great job, sir.

-The callback to the Levaithan of Dis first mentioned in ME1 is also well done. The reveal it was a Reaper corpse, that the batarians who studied it all became indoctrinated and that’s why the Hegemony fell so easily – harsh and completely in line with lore.

-Kaidan: Knowing that you acted with integrity – then it matters.

Ah, Kaidan. Paragon of paragons, integrity carved into your bones. Regardless of who took the shot, you handle Udina’s betrayal poorly.

It wasn’t your fault.

-If you refuse to let Kaidan on board, he handles it very well. He doesn’t argue; just takes the polite rejection well and leaves.

Normandy

-When you speak with Traynor to receive the mission about the Cerberus scientists that have quit, Shepard mentions that many who worked for Cerberus believed they were doing the right thing. Shepard did.

And of course the game doubles down that Shepard did do the right thing by working for Cerberus in ME2 and that the Cerberus was working to stop the Collectors while the Alliance did nothing.

Did I hallucinate the Virmire Survivor on Horizon during all my playthroughs? And has the game forgotten that spectres have leave way to choose their own missions – so Shepard could have pursued the Collectors as an agent of the Council rather than a terrorist?

-If you let Traynor take a shower but don’t join her, Shepard comes off as the most oblivious lady in the world. It’s actually rather funny. Traynor left the door open and Shepard registers nothing.

-James’ meeting is very touching. He opens up and is vulnerable – last time he was in command he lost everyone. He’s afraid it will happen again.

For all the bravado he puts on, there’s a lot going on behind that facade. He’d probably make a great officer and N7.

-There was a Cerberus spy working with the Collectors. How much you want to bet he was sanctioned by TIM?

Yet the game still insists Shepard was right to work with Cerberus in ME2.

Ugh.

-The game keeps talking up Kai Leng, especially Andeson, but when he doesn’t have plot armor he’s a wimp.

He’d have died in the attack on the salarian Councilor if a single character in that scene had had any sense.

Citadel

-And once again Cerberus leaned on the “we saved colonies from the Collectors” angle to get an in with someone, this time the Din Korlack.

Apparently it can even excuse fighting with the Alliance.

And surprise, surprise the terrorist organization turns around uses the aide you provided them to blackmail you. It’s almost like they always had their own reasons for what they did.

-Din, it’s bad enough you helped Cerberus at all. Refusing to turn over the name of the colony you sold out unless Shepard is charismatic enough? Be better.

-The game’s refusal to explain Zaeed’s beef with Cerberus pisses me off to this day.

Once again, a Codex entry would easily have solved this problem. Or a few more lines from Zaeed. But no, keep guessing.

-James, stop shrugging while you’re getting a tattoo!

And getting a N7 tattoo before you’ve completed the program is a terrible idea.

-James panics even more than Joker when Shepard makes a pass. Lol, Kaidan’s the only human man that can keep up with femShep. The rest all run away.

-Kelly: I heard about the terrible things Cerberus did during the coup. That’s not the organization I joined.

Yes, Kelly, it is. Here’s a list of terrible things Cerberus did during ME1. Ask Jack if you want some more items that predate it.

Cerberus has always been terrible. The apparently just have the best PR department in the galaxy since everyone is shocked every time some new terrible thing they did comes to light.

-Liara still won’t speak to me on the Citadel, although everyone else will.

Well, except Garrus but that’s because he’s not there. Liara’s the only one both hanging around and not initiating a dialogue.

-Kaidan also takes it well if you reject him on the Presidium, although his hurt shows through more.

He does stick you with the bill, however.

[scarabjewels]

Jack and the Cuckoo-clock heart: I Truly Think The Movie “Fixed” The Book

I was around 13 to 15 when I first came across a 360p movie on a pirated DVD filled with random animated movies the vendors could download, and it was this goth punk aesthetic 3d movie entitled "Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart". It was the most visually bizarre media I watched in a long time. It was hauntingly beautiful, it reminded me of Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," specifically the White Queen's kingdom. I loved it so much that I fell into a research phase all about it. Matthias is a fucking lucky author, literally a vocalist of a band then they get to make a movie out of it and make music. I still rewatch it and love to consume video reactions and essays about it in YouTube, such as BionicPig and RosMo.

I originally intended to write this movie about its similarity to classic but tragic love stories like "Romeo and Juliet" and "Cyrano". But then I decided to read the book and the stark contrast of it should be WRITTEN.

I will be writing 3 parts:

1) The differences of the book and the movie,

2) what they kept and made better,

and 3) things I observed that aren't talked about enough

I just finished the book in one sitting right as I am writing this. I have to say, I was not prepared how adult it was.

**MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD **

PART 1: THE DIFFERENCES

Let's start with major observations and comparisons.

Book: Jack mentioning Acacia’s name leading into a lost of temper with a fight with Joe makes sense

Movie: Jack and Joe’s fight starting from a postcard was way too immature for their age at the time

Coincidentally, they apparently have the same birthday in the movie and Miss Acacia send Joe a postcard. Jack stumbled across it one day, and gets into a petty fit before ultimately getting into a fight with Joe. It is exactly what I see 14 year olds doing honestly, but ultimately it did not make sense

In the book, Joe (movie as well) warns Jack to not mention as so much utter Miss Acacia’s name. After years of pent-up anger, Jack decides to mention her name, and then a brawl starts. Now that’s a fight that makes sense, and you can still see teenagers doing exactly that.

Book: Joe and Acacia were past lovers. Joe replaces Jack's job as a Frightener at the Ghost Train, and Joe uses their past to taunt Jack.

Movie: Joe and Acacia are seemingly old friends. While Joe sets out to destroy Jack's image, he unkowingly serves as a messenger of vital information.

Joe's intention in both media are the same, to destroy Jack's reputation and win Miss Acacia’s heart. In the book, he tells her about the injury (just that) and she confront Jack about this. In the book, Jack stumbles on his words first before dumping everything that happened. They get into an argument, with Acacia falling silent as he explains everything. They said their I-love-yous before separating. Acacia is clearly confused at the truth, which is why she fell silent as she left, on the contrary to her very fiery personality (it's ×10 in the books, added with extreme stubbornness too). Joe told him the next morning about how she came to him crying and that they hugged and kissed like they once did before, provoking Jack to charge at him. Believing his lies that Acacia in fact had some sort of little affair with Joe, his jealousy continues to sever his and Acacia’s relationship after another confronting argument about Joe's supposed truth.

In the movie, this issue was fixed, at least I found it an issue. Instead of taunting with lies, Joe manipulates the truth a little differently, with a suprisingly huge amount of truth, too. He told her that Jack’s handicap, his heart, it dangerous to the detriment of others and himself, as he is capable of injuring anyone when he goes out of control. He points at his eye patched eye as proof. He tells her about the three rules that Jack must follow in order to stay alive. This makes Acacia’s argument actually have substance instead of just an act of violence. She couldn't bear the thought of him dying, so she pushed him away, telling him not to love her. The injury also came up in the argument, which Jack replies quickly, as opposed in the book. He explains it concisely, saying that it was an accident and that he did not want that to happen, all the while rebutting each of Acacia’s accusatory questions. That's what really solved the issue in the book. There were actual stakes as to why the argument was happening, and Jack was standing up for himself, even at the person he loved. He apologizes more in the movie than in the books, and Acacia is a lot more kinder.

I was really losing it when I read the chapters of them arguing in the book. No one was apologizing. Literally none. Acacia didn't exactly listen to Jack, she was trapped with him believing his “lies” and had a hard time seeing what the actual truth was, which leads me to the next difference.

Book: Acacia truly believed that his clock heart was a joke, even when Jack showed her how it worked (and it lead to them …doing it), until the very end

Movie: Acacia was sold the moment he let her explore his clock heart and he trusted his key to her.

As I said, she found it hard to believe him, with what Joe told him. But, in the movies, she did actually hear him out, keenly at that, and it hurt her that she couldn't be with him because it might potentially kill him. At least in the movie, her yells of telling him to stop that actually accounts to something, as in telling him to stop getting angry or else he'll hurt himself more.

Book: (Maybe it more of an opinion?) I don't think Jack and Acacia were in love. It was too heavily sexual and secretive, and the things they share about themselves just lead to more sexual escapades than actual bonding. They strive on heated moments too fast and too often. Acacia had commitment issues from the start to the end.

Movie: They really feel like two teens falling in love. They share sweeter moments, emotionally sharing, have trouble with setting boundaries and communicating like any teenager, and actually ENJOY EACH OTHERS COMPANY.

Book Jack and Acacia were just incompatible. As far as I could see, it was not the kind of love Jack wanted. He endured the bare minimum because it would mean that he could keep seeing the girl he pursued and dreamt of for so long that he was blinded to who she was and how she treated him. She loved him, but she really failed to really be in an actual relationship with him. I understand that some people value their privacy, but when you are kept secret and essentially treated like a convenience, that's not a suitable relationship of love, much less respect. She did not respect his beliefs. She was volatile in reaction, and I personally believe that Joe did not lie about her having a little affair with him. She never really claimed that it did not happen, only telling Jack “you really think I'd go back to him”. In the end, she really did. So, I don't think Joe was lying. To be fair, Jack did put her on a high pedestal, too high in fact. He worshipped her. She was basically not human to him. It was already such a failure that I think their ending in the book made sense. He also admits this near the epilogue, that he wanted it to work out so much, that it just didn’t. Acacia wanted to supposedly "keep away from gossip," but that changed when she married Joe in the book, whom she is openly affectionate even when she admitted to still be in love with Jack. The minute Jack came back, despite her feelings, she also left him without saying anything, as well as Joe. She...was a red flag, well all of them were. However, it was clear she found commitments hard, leading Jack (unaware of his identity) on when he came, even when she was married and was also in love with another man. She might have her reasons, but she also left Joe in the end.

In the movie, Acacia was significantly a better character, with some flaws from her book counterpart. She was honest about being attracted to Jack, yet she chose to honor her feelings for her first love. She was clear with him, up front even. Jack confessed eventually and answered her question with honesty. They have chemistry, and as soon as he confessed, she started to open up to him, and he did as well. Their exchange is really good and very plausible as two teens in love. A good definition of young love, if anything, they were simultaneously more mature but still impulsive than in the book, ironically the reason why they are compatible in the movie. Their argument had an element of out of love (for themselves and each other). Their ending was that their love was really meant to be their best one yet. Jack's life was worthwhile, despite it being short. A beautiful illustration of “it's better to have loved and lost, than not have loved at all”. But he loved and won, in my opinion.

Book: Jack's clock heart was a placebo, representing Madeleine's attachment to him, wanting to protect him even when she knew he was strong enough to live without her or the clock.

Movie: Jack's clock heart was an actual device that kept him alive and more than just Madeleine's attachment to him.

This was so disappointing in the book. I was upset. I wasn't upset that Acacia and Jack didn't end up together, I was upset that what she was telling him the whole time was TRUE. I was at Jack's side until the nurse told him everything. I felt so betrayed. His family betrayed him basically. It hurt me that Madeleine had that unhealthy attachment to him, she could've let him live a normal life. That was painful.

The movie gave us an alternative plot, which I HEAVILY prefer. Jack actually couldn't live normally at all. He was a genuine handicapped person. The stakes were REAL. The ending was sad, but it had the perfect build up, that it was worthwhile. Madeleine didn't betray him, and she died trying to protect him.

Edit: The two parts are out now!

[cantsayidont]

March 1985. Whatever else one may say about the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was a triumph for truth in advertising: Worlds lived, worlds died, and the DC Universe was never the same. A cynic might add, "And nothing ever made sense again," since the event kicked off almost 40 years of retcons, revisions, and successive reboots, which DC used to internally describe as "white events," after the cataclysmic moment in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #10 where the original multiverse was shattered and recreated:

Even before the Crisis event was ever conceived, DC had a long history of fairly dramatic editorial and creative shifts, some of which hung on specific story events (like the de-powering of Wonder Woman in 1968) and some of which did not (like the inauguration of Batman's "New Look" in 1964). With the benefit of hindsight, it's possible to make some general observations about editorial revisionism and efforts to tear down and rebuild internal continuity:

It's ultimately easier (and more effective) to ignore than to change. When Julius Schwartz became Batman editor in 1964, he dispensed with many characters and concepts that had been staples under his predecessor, Jack Schiff, such as Batwoman and Bat-Mite. With one exception, there was no story explanation of where they'd gone — they just stopped showing up and were soon forgotten. The exception was Alfred the butler, who was killed off dramatically in DETECTIVE COMICS #328. When the producers of the 1966 Batman TV show decided to incorporate Alfred into that series, Schwartz was obliged to resurrect him, in a singularly preposterous way, after which he was regarded as indispensable. By contrast, while most of the characters who'd simply been ignored also returned, it was much later and generally in quite minor ways; their long absence reduced them to marginalia that could be incorporated or not, as seemed most useful.

Crossovers are the most serious and persistent enemy of change. The nature of company-owned comics is that the characters will inevitably show up in crossovers, team-ups, and events of various kinds, often written, drawn, and edited by people who aren't familiar with the finer points of the characters' history, inevitably resulting in troublesome contradictions, up to and including characters who were previously supposed to be dead inexplicably popping up alive. The more convoluted a change to a character or their history, the more likely that it will misrepresented, accidentally undone, or just ignored the next time the character shows up in a series other than their own.

A true line-wide reboot is commercially infeasible. A publisher like DC or Marvel has many different titles at once, and at any given time, some of them are selling better than others. If a title isn't selling well, there may be nothing to lose by rebooting it or making drastic changes to its characters and direction, but doing that to a series that's currently a hot seller is foolhardy. So, the bestsellers will generally stroll through a "white event" with only minor cosmetic adjustments, while weaker titles may undergo a whole series of radical reinventions. If the former bestseller goes into a slump and one of those radical reinventions transforms an underdog into a hit, the situation will be reversed. Surely this won't backfire later …

Timing is everything. A lot of the confusion that resulted at DC in the wake of the Crisis stemmed from the fact that different revisions happened at different times. For instance, the headaches surrounding Hawkman began in large part because of the editorial decision in 1990 not to treat the Tim Truman HAWKWORLD series as a kind of "Hawkman: Year One" (which is how it was conceived), but rather as a reboot, even though that threatened to retroactively remove the Hawks from books like JUSTICE LEAGUE, which had become very popular following its most recent revamp. This kind of thing creates situations where creative teams have to come up with desperate contrivances to explain retroactive changes to very recent stories. Having Hawkman and Hawkwoman stop showing for Justice League adventures for a while wouldn't have been a big deal, but trying to assert that the Hawkman and Hawkwoman who'd previously appeared were either never really there or were actually somebody else was another matter, and the problems this created were never fully resolved.

Continuity-tidying for its own sake is almost always a creative dead end. This is a lesson that Nelson Bridwell and Roy Thomas demonstrated over and over throughout the Bronze Age: It's one thing to have some flashbacks, if it serves the story, or maybe to retell a character's origin with a few nips and tucks, but if your main purpose is to explain, e.g., why Namor once wore the wrong shorts, the results are likely to be either silly or tedious. This hasn't stopped DC and Marvel from wasting a lot of ink and paper on specials and miniseries that exist to retell earlier stories in an updated, continuity-compliant manner, usually to no good end. The fundamental problem with such things is that their main object is to regurgitate familiar older stories (if they weren't familiar, there would be no point in retelling them) while urging readers who have read the original version (who are the most likely audience) to ignore their lying eyes. This is, with very, very few exceptions, a dismal exercise that routinely defeats even usually reliable creators like John Ostrander (see for example the tiresome 2001–2002 JLA: INCARNATIONS), and frequently results in yet more contradictions to explain or ignore.

The bottom line is that while you can blow things up all you want, the likelihood that they can be reassembled in a clearer, more cohesive way is really quite low, and diminishes the more frequently you try.

I want to be clear here that this isn't a criticism of the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS series (which has many virtues, along with some significant flaws), or even any of the individual revisions and retcons that have followed, some of which are, in their own right, perfectly fine. The dilemma is that the project that an event like this represents is ultimately a doomed one. It might spark some commercial interest, at least briefly (which is of course at least half the point), but simplification and unity are just not in the cards and probably never will be.

[mangoisms]

Yeah there’s no ck chapter coming out today/this week HOWEVER. as a small offering. i was thinking about wally and tim again and remembered that in identity crisis, right before jack dies and bruce and tim are trying to get back to him, bruce whips out the big guns and asks babs to call on wally (specifically wally)

and this is sooooooo. when i was thinking about it i thought bruce had asked her to call clark and wally but when i actually dropped in to the issue. no. no. it was just wally. and isn’t that SOOOOOO insane. obviously in canon tim and wally have fuck all to do with each other and who is to say tim even gave wally a second thought after jack died (i’ve yet to see any indication) which i’m sure is canon like it was just never revisited and that’s fine

BUT. in my beautiful glorious inner mind (aka ck) tim and wally Do have quite a lot to do with each other. and i’m not SAYING tim is going to be rehashing this issue — it’s already been over five years since it happened — but he’d probably think about it.. maybe just a little after his argument with wally in the hospital when he’s really bitter… maybe thinking of how he felt in the aftermath of jack’s death right… normal and rational tim would recognize that you just can’t save everyone and it’s not wally’s fault but what about the sixteen year old tim who has just lost his dad. at a time when it could’ve maybe been prevented. the one time… the One Time they needed the fastest man alive and one of the few ppl in the world that could’ve prevented his dads death…. nothing…. but then he’d get rational about it and realize that even if wally pisses him off it’s not fair to blame it on him. (but it did bring forth just a little seed of bitterness that he never quite realized he’d held onto.)

but wally? yep. he’s thinking about it. it’s unfortunate i didn’t have this realization before chapter 10 and that way i could’ve laid out some breadcrumbs for it but i guess even now it can still potentially read that way. especially because if wally is aware of bruce’s influence on tim then he’s aware that tim was shoved into bruce’s care following the death of his father and they tried to ask him to intervene but he could not. i don’t even know what he could’ve been doing. the events of identity crisis were going on so i suppose he could’ve been busy with that. or patrolling. or he could’ve just been taking the night off. either way…. it kills him. it haunts him. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa

anyway. this is the offering for no chapter this week. but that’ll probably be how things shape up for the final chapters—they’ll come out every other week because i have an insane amount of work due in these upcoming weeks. unfortunately

also as a bonus: this final panel of jack talking to tim that devestates me every time i think about it

Jack: Tim, if something happens… Tim: Nothing’s gonna happen! Jack: Tim, I need you to focus… Tim: Nothing’s gonna happen! Jack: Tim! Tim: … Jack: You listening, Tim? Good. Then understand one thing: if you don’t get here, it’s not your fault. Tim: Dad— Jack: I need you to know this, Tim—it’s not your fault, okay? You didn’t do this. Tim: But I— Jack: I love you, Tim. I love you just like your mother loves you. Tim: Dad, please… Jack: What do you… for all those people… it’s worth it, Tim. Never question it. It’s worth it. Tim: Dad, we’re almost there… Jack: Tell Bruce to take care of you… — Identity Crisis #5

i love you just like your mother loves you is absolutely sick and twisted. also after this last reblog? it’s just so. pain

[singlecoilneckpickup]

@rozecrest this was just easier but im so glad you liked it!

honestly you can't go wrong with any of his albums.

Purgatory is hilariously strong from start to finish and has these tracks which i love (i love the whole album but, in order)

I Swear (To God)

Feathered Indians

Tattoos

Purgatory

Universal Sound

Lady May

Live at Red Barn Radio I & II in absolute entirety tbh but the usual standouts are here

Shake the Frost

Deadman's Curve

Charleston Girl

Rock Salt and Nails

Follow You To Virgie (oof, about his mom, its a hard listen some days but FUCK its good.)

Bottles and Bibles

Country Squire was a mild style change-up, a little more honky-tonk. it's got some great tracks on it but it was also a mild writing departure for him as well, focusing a little more on country tropes and a LOT more tongue in cheek (the song Ever Lovin' Hand is a masturbation joke wrapped in a song about missing the person you love a lot). probably his weakest album? but:

Creeker

House Fire

Peace of Mind

All Your'n

Long Violent History is a kinda cool album, it's all instrumentals, old school holler jams and stuff. kinda hard to get into unless you're from that kinda thing i would assume? just reminds me of when i was a kid at thanksgiving and christmas back when we still spoke to my dad's side, and he and my uncles and one of my aunts would all get together and jam on some old gospel and bluegrass tunes. everybody brought instruments.... ah well. but i digress. you can take me out of the country but ill always be a big tomboy butch who gets a little too excited around jacked up trucks of a specific set of years, or the smell of gas and oil in the morning.

Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven i admittedly completely checked out on because i was deep in covid depression throes so i can't and won't comment because it won't be an accurate representation so.

Rustin' In The Rain I still haven't taken time to fully check out, as im working through a music backlog, but.

In Your Love is an incredible song and go watch the video because it cut me deep as fuck. i know a lot of people still stuck in those mines and i have friends with family members dying today because of coal companies. and im a trans woman from backwoods VA with all my roots in Appalachia from both sides (we had a handful of bootleggers in the family, explains a lot tbh). song hit me hard, in a good way.

anyway! im sorry! thank you for listening to me ramble about an artist i really enjoy! one of these days i should really just start a podcast called "Nobody Asked" and it's just me screaming into a microphone about stuff like this!

like dave matthews! like yeah i get it "ha ha dad rock" but come on!

Live at Radio City with Tim Reynolds is a fucking MONSTER album! and dave is a good guy! or at minimum is actually worthy of supporting because the dude has been doing activist things quietly and loudly for longer than ive been alive! and their music spans so many genres!

Eh Hee

Bartender

Still Water / Don't Drink The Water (back to back! they must be listened to together! please listen to this and Bartender off Live at Radio City)

#41

Two Step

Satellite

Some Devil

Grace Is Gone

and thats not even touching a fraction of this man's catalogue, he's been making music for forty something years

ahain im sorry i just really really love music and GAH theres so many artists from my chilhood and teen years and stuff that get so undeservedly swept under a rug because... i really don't know why. i feel like a lot of artists immediately get written off because of styles or genres or whatever and thats just so unfair and upsets ke geeatly.

that's not directed at you whatsoever rozecrest to be clear lmao sorry it may have come off that way

also anyone who has an interest in bluegrass/gospel go listen to The Seldom Scene's "Old Train" and "Live at the Cellar Door" in their entirety

[alternis]

so, Figment au:

Tim doesnt become Robin (either Jason is alive or somebody else took over before he could have a chance to get his camera out and go Batman Paparazzing). this is less of a good thing than it should be.

Jack and Janet die in tragic circumstances, leaving Tim to the tender care of the gotham city foster system. he is promptly kidnapped by an Evil Organisation that specifically selects victims from groups that are likely to go missing and unlikely to be looked for very hard, and 'teenager without any family ties or close friends who just got placed in foster care' very much fits that profile.

the evil organisation has an evil amulet called the Aestel that is supposed to be some kind of cloaking device (invisibility, intangibility, rendering the user completely imperceptible to all modern technological and magical sensors-ibility) but so far everybody they've tested it on has come back dead, alive but in a permanent vegetative state, or with reality-altering mental illness.

for some reason it does none of those things to Tim, and instead lets him escape the evil base. and then sneak into a hero's lair, once he's tracked one down, to leave a whole bunch of evidence and information for them to just kind of. act upon as they wish. (he doesn't consider that coming home to their secret base filled with evidence of an intruder would maybe, a little bit, unnerve said hero. he's helping!)

and yeah he has to figure out how it works and there's a time limit for being phased out of existence before he snaps back (and he cant really come up with a better answer for where he goes when he uses the Aestel) and also it needs time to recharge between uses, and he has to know whether or not he can take other people with him (his gut instinct, confirmed by a series of experiments with random insects, suggest 'that's a really a bad idea' and also leaves him feeling really bad about the spiders he killed, even though dead spiders is better than dead people.)

and he helps save people and solves crimes and learns how to sneak without using his powers, and also how to fight. and, well, it's not like there's any reason to be Tim Drake any more so he just. isn't. it would probably be pretty complicated, to try and be Tim Drake and also his heroic persona at the same time, and if he isn't being Tim Drake any more then he doesn't have to think about Tim Drake's parents, or the kids he went to school with, or the faded missing person's poster he saw with his face on it and how that made him feel.

eventually he ends up on a group with other teen heroes. yay! he is really glad his boarding school history has given him the skills to quickly integrate into social groups, even if working as a solo teen hero with an inherently isolating powerset has somewhat exacerbated his pre-existing teenage social awkwardness. but he's making friends! sometimes they go out in their civilian personas together and it barely even feels like they're all faking it.

and then Batman shows up with an investigation case file into Evil Organisation that had kidnapped him and whose information he'd left in a neat pile next to the giant supercomputer setup he had in the cave underneath his mansion. and also Batman has a pile of missing person's reports and one of them has his face on it. and they talk. it's very awkward, until Batman starts asking him about the side effects the other victi- test subjects had reported when they held the Aestel before using it, like 'a persistent feeling of doom' and 'severe nausea' and

he never felt anything like that. holding the Aestel had been scary, mostly because of the fact that the other 'text subjects' said that anybody sent to to the Aestel's room never came back to the cells, and also the body bag sitting in the corner of the testing chamber. but it hadn't felt bad, to use it. if anything it felt like something wanted him to use it, wanted him to take it and run as far away as he could, and keep running. and then... not think about what it had done to everybody else who used it, and definitely not think too hard about what it would do to anybody he tried to use it with.

but what really cinches it is the urge to blink out of existence and start running again, and now he's thinking about it he's pretty sure he's never felt that way about Batman before. and he thinks maybe that isn't him feeling that way about Batman, which means maybe some of those thoughts and feelings he's been having were never actually. him. so he hands the Aestel over to Batman to check out, just in case. because Batman is a hero, and he's the world's greatest detective, and Figment has never known him well enough to become even slightly disillusioned with those statements.

then he gets sick, and keeps getting sicker, and eventually he wakes up in a medical bed with the Aestel resting on his chest and the news that apparently not being around the Aestel makes his organs start failing, and the only solution is to keep 'the thing that has been influencing his thoughts and feelings and who knows what else' on his person at all times. and just try not to use it. and hope he can identify which of his thoughts are him and which... aren't.

at least he has his friends. he's really lucky he has them. he has no idea what he'd do if he didn't have them.

then things go really bad. 'event with Crisis in the title' bad. and he ends up in a situation where he's phased out and if he phases back he'll die, and even with his intangibility there's no escaping a broken space station unless he wants to phase back into the cold vacuum of space instead. so he clutches the Aestel in his hand and he feels the timer counting down until it kicks him back and desperately, with every part of his strength, overrides the failsafe. and keeps doing that, as the sun slides past the window over and over, until he hears voices and 'all clear' signals and it's safe to let go.

and then he wakes up with the Aestel embedded in his hand, except it's not just embedded but merged with his skin, and everybody is surprised but not the way he expected them to be when he woke back up alive after apparently spending over a week phased out of existence.

... because the Aestel took over his nervous system when he phased back, to protect him from the negative effects of being phased that long (such as, apparently, his autonomic nervous system 'forgetting' how to do things like making sure his cardiac muscles contract in the normal pattern, and breathing).

and being merged with his brain and nervous system meant it kind of... took over. and started 'eating three meals a day' and 'getting a full 9 hours of sleep every night' and walking around in his body and talking to his teammates and the terrifying mind-influencing entity 'befriended' them and managed to convince them it 'just wanted to help' and 'was trying to warn the other test subjects' and even 'didnt know how to communicate with words, and wasn't trying to mess with his thoughts on purpose' and 'would only be around until Tim was healed enough to wake up'

and they all just believed it! and let it walk around like a parasite taking over the host, for multiple weeks! and now they're sad it's gone, rather than happy he survived, and honestly he kind of understands why some people Go Supervillain.

which is when an actual supervillain approaches him and oh maybe it's a bad thing that their teenager superhero team has so many members now, because it turns out some of them have actually gone villain and are double agents for (probably deathstroke) an actual supervillain. who thinks that Figment (who has clearly been struggling with his mental health after merging with a probably evil ancient artifact, and has a very visible grudge against his teammates which has left him isolated from his former friendship group) is prime turncoat material.

and Figment has no idea how many of his teammates are in on this, and how many of the adult heroes might also be turncoats, so he does the logical thing. he pretends to be recruited so he can undermine them from the inside. and, also, being fake evil means when the evil trap gets sprung he gets to not-fake yell at his friends for betraying him (because faking being evil is a lot easier when he doesn't also have to fake being really, really mad at them). plus, cultivating a persona of somebody slipping into insanity is a really good cover for his attempts to mess up their plans from the inside, and also covers up all the actual emotional and moral crises he's going through.

... back at the beginning, when he first got the Aestel and using it was new and exciting and he didn't think too hard about the urge to keep using it, he tested out whether he could carry other living beings with him. just with insects, because something told him it would be dangerous and he felt the least bad about them potentially dying. and then, once, he tested letting go of them whilst he was phased. the spider had simply hung in the air, still phased but unmoving, until he touched it and it... unfroze. and then he came back, and this time it stopped moving permanently.

it wasn't a particularly happy memory. but when you have a villain who is way above your pay-grade (and has been creepily trying to add his own manipulations on top of the Evil Amulet Thing you've been dealing with), and your moral code forbids you from killing but the villain is definitely going to kill your ex-friends unless you stop them, 'trap them in suspended animation in the gap between dimensional spaces' is definitely... not killing them. and somebody will figure out a way to safely bring them back, right?

...right?

[soleminisanction]

I'm currently reading through tim's history chronologically and haven't gotten super far yet, but there's a question knocking around inside my head, so: how do you think tim views his own masculinity? from previous unorganized readings, I got a bit of a impression that both jack and tim can somewhat old fashioned and conservative in some of the ways they think and yet, tim is both pretty boyish but doesn't always appreciate what jack values as masculine interests and view points... so, how do you think tim views himself in that regard? how do you view him in that regard? does him being queer now change some of those interpretations?

Just to put my cards on the table here, my take on this is very much colored by the fact that I read Jack Drake as a direct parallel for Chuck Dixon.

Chuck is, notoriously at this point, a reactionary conservative, specifically of the racist, sexist and homophobic variety who thinks "I was fired for being a homophobe" is a relatable sob story and who's spent the last ten years of his professional career writing literal Q-anon propaganda and self-published Turner Diaries fan fiction. And his politics often got involved in his stories, especially in the form of throwing female love interests at young men like Tim and Connor Hawke to discourage the reading that they might be gay.

So while Jack is never (to my knowledge) shown to be openly homophobic in the comics, his tendency for conservative opinions and a heavy-handed, sometimes borderline abusive or neglectful parenting style makes me think that it makes sense for him to be a source of similar influence in-universe. I like this reading because it partially recontextualizes the conflict between Tim and his father into a metaphorical conflict between Dixon as a writer and the character he only thinks he has total control over.

As for how that affects Tim's views on masculinity... I guess the simplest way to put it is, it's complicated? A part of me is always tempted to filter out the moments when he's clearly being used as a mouthpiece for Dixon's Opinions; which, TBF, I do with other characters as well, even Steph. So I mostly tend to skim over his more Conservative moments as just Dixon Being Dixon.

My general perception is that Tim's natural personality gravitates towards the center of the sliding scale of gender, in that space where queerness intermingles with the punk, nerd and goth subcultures. Like he's fully a man (cis in the comics, trans in my heart) but he's also comfortable painting his nails and isn't really bothered by people considering him pretty rather than handsome. But, while his father was alive, Tim felt pressured to live up to Jack's expectations of masculinity, so he'd somewhat overcompensate by posturing with the positive aspects of masculinity he approved of: being a protector and a provider, especially of women, being brave in the face of opposition, being disciplined enough to choose celibacy until he's older, that sort of thing.

And then after Jack died, he was more free to just... let that go and be himself, because for as much as Bruce (and Jason, and many other adult male superheroes) is a Towering Symbol of Masculinity, none of them expect Tim to be that way if he doesn't want to be, and he's got plenty of other role models like Dick, Alfred and Ted Kord who clearly show that there are other ways of being a man that are just fine.

That this roughly corresponds with Dixon leaving the company and Tim fully changing hands to various writers, many of whom -- as we now know according to various testimonies since he came out -- always thought of him as some variety of queer, is simply narrative synergy.

Him coming out hasn't really changed my perception in that regard. I always read him as queer. That DC let him actually come out was just a pleasant surprise.

[forestlingincorporated]

I wanna talk about Janet Drake

I’m not against exaggeratedly evil versions of Tim’s parents, tbh. It’s fanfiction, if we can depict an Exaggeratedly Good version of Bruce (which we can, and I do, and I love) then we can depict the Drakes as Exaggeratedly Bad. As someone who personally identifies with Tim, and his brand of complicated parental abuse in particular, I find it cathartic to uncomplicate that abuse and rescue him from the Obviously Evil Bad People. 

That said, since much of comics lore is passed down word of mouth, the oral tradition surrounding Tim has developed this idea of Janet as The Worse Parent between her and Jack that was never really present in the comics. We see much LESS of Janet, and we have 20 years worth of comics depicting Jack as a neglectful hotheaded idiot who ultimate does love his son. More importantly, Jack isn’t very much LIKE Tim, so there is a habit to attribute Tim’s traits to his mother... and, as someone who really really identifies with Tim, Tim has... some negative traits. Tim can be a bitch sometimes. He’s fiercely intelligent and sweet and kind, with a strong sense of justice, but he can be cold and judgmental and unthinking - he fights those traits, but he does have them. 

And it is perfectly fine to depict Janet that way. I’ve enjoyed depictions of Cold Calculating Janet Drake, but it’s not the ONLY option, and I want to challenge fans to consider different avenues. Tim could pick up these traits from anywhere: a nanny, Mrs. Mc Ilvaine (”Mrs. Mac”), a teacher, tv, Sherlock Holmes novels, Bruce Wayne himself. Tim is capable of not being like EITHER parent. 

So, what do we KNOW about Janet? (I’ll also touch on Jack, but only in scenes he appears with Janet.) 

When Janet was first introduced she was depicted as a gentle but “modern” woman. This was written in 1989, told by a 13 year old Tim, so this theoretically was meant to take place in 1979. I’m not here to give a lecture on the history of sex discrimination in the united states, but much of the legislation protecting women in the workforce or surrounding women’s bodily autonomy would have been very very new in this initial depiction. 

Here, Janet is shown to be encouraging, emotional, maternal, and projects her own feelings onto Tim. Jack is shown to be slightly sexist, possibly discouraging, but not overbearing. And the artist is shown not to know how to draw children. 

To insert some speculation, I think it’s important to note all the Drakes witnessed a terrible murder/accident that day. I point this out, because this is the last time Jack and Janet are depicted this way. It’s possible they changed as a result of this event specifically. 

However, this is also a story being told by Tim. It’s also possible these events aren’t really “real” at all, and Tim is misremembering what his parents were like as a three-year-old, possibly projecting a more palatable version of his parents into the narrative. This is entirely up to personal interpretation. 

In fact, the Drakes are shown in Legend of the Dark Knight attending Haly’s Circus, and the artist knows what a toddler looks like and they’re depicted as already having a slightly strained relationship. Jack is clearly on the defensive, and Janet seems to be passive-aggressive, though she could just be attempting to explain the situation to her toddler honestly. The intended tone isn’t especially clear. 

I do want to point out, in this depiction, Tim isn’t being carried like he was in the previous one. He’s walking ahead of his parents, which isn’t a terrible horrible crime, but could be dangerous in a crowded place like the circus. Might be a subtle hint to his parents overall neglect. 

Back to A Lonely Place of Dying, in Tim’s memories of the night he discovered Robin and Dick Grayson were the same person at nine-years-old, his parents are home, and watching TV together while Tim played... trucks, idk, in the living room with them. (This is semi-interesting, because you could say “oh, Tim liked vehicle toys as a kid” or you could extrapolate that this is another subtle indication of Jack’s sexism, providing Tim with appropriately “boy toys.” Either interpretation is valid. If Tim was assigned female at birth, would they have been given “girl toys,” or allowed to play with whatever they wanted?) 

This is, to my knowledge, the only panel of the Drakes when Tim is between ages 3 and 13. They’re all together, which might indicate that the Drakes were home more often when Tim was 9, only later going on business trips when Tim was “old enough” but... 

This is Tim’s boarding school when he’s 13. While most boarding schools in the US are for grades 9-12, Tim is clearly not a freshman at age 13; look how much younger the other kids in this panel are. In the US, the youngest you can attend most boarding schools is 7. 

That means Tim could have begun going to boarding school anytime between 7 and 13. He most likely spent all of middle school in boarding school, at least. There are an almost infinite number of possible ways the Drakes handled having a business that required lots of international travel, an archeology hobby, AND a very young child. Janet staying home until Tim was 7, 11, 13, is equally possible as the Drakes having a nanny until 7, 11, 13. Tim just doesn’t talk about that period of his life very much.

(”What about Mrs. Mac?” - it is unclear when Mrs. Mac begins working for the Drakes. We only see her when Jack comes out of his coma. She could either be a long standing staff member, or a recent hire.) 

Note: I’ve seen it said that it’s canon that “According to Tim, when his parents were home, they made a point to try and include him in their activities, bringing him along to events that were normally adults only.” I have never seen this panel, or I don’t remember it, so I cannot confirm, but I also cannot debunk this because... comics. 

By the time Tim is 13, Jack and Janet are away on business trips a lot, with limited communication, and no firm return date. If I’m feeling generous, I’d say it was harder to communicate internationally in 1990 than it is today. If I’m not feeling generous, I’d say the Drakes are extremely wealthy, and international communication was easier than ever before in the 80s and 90s. They’re not even going home to see Tim in a week or two, they’re going home and calling Tim at boarding school in a week or two. 

Even Bruce thinks its weird, though he doesn’t say so to Tim’s face. It’s written almost as if Tim’s parents’ neglect was meant to be a plot point that just got forgotten about. 

Tim’s parents are fighting at this point (their poor assistant), but Janet still goes with Jack on these business trips. And she’s clearly involved in the business, somehow, but the comics never SAY what Janet’s JOB is. We’re told Jack is the exec, but Janet is ONLY ever referred to as Jack’s wife, though they’re later described as the “heads” of the company, plural. 

Just to be clear, this is Jack’s business. There’s a perception that Jack is a bad business man because he and Janet fight over company decisions, and Jack looses the business after Janet dies, but Jack looses the company YEARS after Janet dies, and maintains it for about a year after No Man��s Land at that. We’re not told how Jack looses the business, but he’s got to be doing something right. Janet isn’t necessarily the “real brains” of Drake Industries. 

And I’m not... gonna... touch the... exploitation and racism because... I’m not qualified to do that. But, here’s the panel. The Drakes sure seem exploitative and racist in their business decisions. Someone else can... analyze that with more nuance. 

Regardless how how long they’ve been fighting, when their lives are in danger, the Drakes fall back into a loving husband and wife. Their marriage may be falling apart, but they do care about each other. 

I want to show these panels because it shows that Tim and Jack do have things in common. They’re both level headed in a crisis and can be somewhat cold in their practicality. Janet meanwhile and silent. Jack is later willing rant and rave at their captors, but Janet remains silent. 

That is, until they’re alone, and she finally lets herself fall apart. 

God, Jack can be obnoxious. Janet just looks miserable and resigned. I actually think Tim takes after his parents in this respect in equal measure. Tim can have a temper, but he can also be fairly melancholy and defeatist. 

Jack keeps reminding Janet to be strong and in control, which could be period typical sexism? But Jack seems so practiced and ready with the words of encouragement, and with Tim’s history with depression, I wonder if Janet has an inclination towards it as well. 

As the end approaches, when Jack brings up Tim, Janet seems to have a lot of regret. She talks about “wasting” the good things, and I don’t think it’s too big of a stretch to assume she’s talking about time spent with her only child. 

From this point on, Janet is at times spoken of, but not seen. Like here, when Jack says Janet wouldn’t approve of him and Tim being so “far apart.” He says this after he tells him he takes back his threat to send him back to boarding school, which might imply Janet was against the idea of boarding school? Though she obviously lost that argument when she was alive. 

Jack will of course renege on this later, but that’s Jack Drake for you. 

Or here in Tim’s illness induced dream, where he gets everything he wants. Though, since this is a fantasy of Tim’s, where his father and girlfriend are both more accepting and understanding than they are in real life, I would take this depiction of Janet with a grain of salt. 

After loosing Drake Industries, Jack thinks about Janet (though, they call her Catherine/Cathy for some fucking reason) during his depressive episode. And... uh... 

Hallucinates a Valkyrie???? Is this symbolic of suicidal thoughts, or is she... real? Or is he seriously hallucinating? 

Anyway, we’re not here to discuss Jack’s mental state, the fact that he forgot Tim’s birthday, or that concerning “I was going to knock some sense into you but you’re still bigger than me” statement from Tim, we’re here to talk about Janet. And even though this entire arc is about Jack mourning his first wife, they don’t SAY anything about Janet herself at all. I mean, they don’t even get her name right, so I guess what was I expecting. 

Then there’s Origins and Omens, which also doesn’t say anything about Janet, except that Tim’s memory of her is faulty - Janet was poisoned, her assistant Jeremy’s throat was slit on television, but Tim seems to have conflated the death he did see with the death he didn’t. 

The only piece of canon to suggest that Janet might be cold, is Tim compares her to Thalia. And even then, he’s really just saying Janet was protective of him. It’s kind of a scary look to make at your kid, but Bruce does the same thing, so. 

I do want to say... it’s not 100% clear if Tim is even talking about Janet. He could be talking about Dana. Dana was observably protective of Tim, though I don’t think he’s ever called her mom. He PROBABLY means Janet. 

And finally we have Tim visiting his mother’s grave (in a duel Christian/Jewish cemetery, make of that what you will), where Tim says she was “a little religious.”

And that’s it! That is all we know about Janet Drake in New Earth. Hardly the Mom From Hell, but she isn’t perfect. I’d be interested in seeing some alternate depictions of her within the fandom. 

I’m still gonna eat up Terrible Parents From Hell like a starving puppy dog, though. Just some food for creative thought. 

[psychologeek]

you, I got fic recs for you!

The Threads That Bind by SpaceWall (complete, Words: 5,921)

In which Jack and Janet Drake accidentally give seven-year-old Tim a pair of grimoires. -- Letting the knife go, Jason aimed a fist at the center of the Replacement’s chest. It bounced off like punching a yoga ball. The Replacement shuddered. “What the fuck is the Scarecrow Braid?” Demanded Jason, heart full of visceral hate.

Gotham Caves and Reality Aberrations by IzzyMRDB

Gotham was built on a cave system. Batman has referenced a Bat Cave before. Tim is currently in the cave system. He is in the cave system that he entered from Drake Manor. Drake Manor is right next door to where Batman- The Bruce Wayne- lives. Holy Cavern, Batman! Tim had just accidentally wandered into the Bat Cave’s cave system. OR Tim, having found a weird hole after a storm, decides to go exploring ignoring the fact that This Is Gotham and They Probably Have Cursed Stuff Down There. Luckily, it was just a cave system that spans the entire Gotham underground. Unluckily, Tim is a very curious child.

Hoarding Robin by ConfusedShades

Tim was cursed as a kid by a magical necklace his parents brought home. He's a dragon now. Or well, sort of. He can't breathe fire or fly, but he does have an obsession with Robin. Specifically Jason Todd. --- Or when Jason's attack on Titans Tower goes awry because he didn't account for a dragon.

not REALLY what you asked for, but OMG READ:

Gotham Knockoff by raven_of_hydecastle

Stalking Batman is hard as a starving orphan in Crime Alley. Tim would know; that’s his life. Luckily, Tim is excellent at his self-appointed calling, and once he cracks Batman’s secret identity, he discovers an empty mansion next door to the Wayne estate. Some would consider squatting uncouth; Tim calls it free real estate. Anyway, the Drakes won't mind. They'd have to be in the country for that. Besides, a little identity theft never hurt anybody.

I'm Not Convinced, Alfred by njw

The magician is beginning to tremble, and his left eye is twitching repetitively. “Okay, what the ever-loving FUCK. How is this even fair? THAT is even scarier than your vigilante form! How the HELL do you guys keep doing this. Each of you is somehow more terrifying than the last!” He rounds on Robin, pointing a shaking finger at him. “And what is YOUR name going to turn out to be, huh, CTHULHU?!”

Rise Above It (Spread Your Wings) by clarakent (mintaejin), njw, Silver_Snow_77 for vellaphoria

The dark fire twists and rises, orienting on the Gotham walls. It seems to be aimed for a point right in front of the battlements where Bruce and Damian stand, defenseless while casting their own spell. The black flames blast forward, closing in on the closest thing to a family Tim has left. Like hell. Tim knows exactly what he needs to do. Just as the black, corrupt hellfire approaches the village walls, he drops into a dive, closing his wings tightly around his body to plummet faster. He’s got this—he’s so close— As he falls, what sounds strangely like grief-stricken cries of denial in his father’s and brother’s voices reach his ears, but that’s not possible. He must be mistaken. As the burning, excruciating balefire surrounds him, burning the very tears from his eyes, Tim’s heart twists in painful satisfaction. Now the others will be able to save Gotham and defeat Ra’s. I did it, Bruce. Even if you never really wanted me to be part of your family, I hope… I made you proud.

The Warmth of Pandora's Box by faithms

How does a child grow into becoming part of The People without being told the stories They are supposed to share by word of mouth and word on paper. Sometimes he wonders if They were told the warnings of being alive from Their parents. If you don’t watch, your child will be taken by a fairy. If you don’t pay attention, a changeling will switch with your child. If you don’t love your child, a beldam will steal them away with attention and obsession. He wonders if They cared at all. As Tim sits criss cross on the JL meeting table while everyone converses heatedly and worriedly about the mysterious magical creature they’ve noticed in the forest near where children have gone missing, he can't help but absently mourn the children in the photos as he thinks of memories from long ago. Warnings are often only given too late after all.

Of Rings and Reptiles by kieran_granola for chibi_nightowl 

When is a gift not a gift? When it's an accidental wedding proposal, of course! (Or why homeless teens should know better than to keep the rings clueless magical boys gifted them as thanks for helping them back home.)

Home Alone: Christmas at Titans Tower by Miss_Lazy_Tuesday

Tim is nine. Well, apparently he’s supposed to be fourteen and Robin (so cool!) but he’s nine right now because of a wizard. Batman left him alone in Titan’s Tower because he needs Tim out of the way while he deals with some new crime boss in Gotham. And now a mysterious bad guy in a red helmet has locked down the Tower from all outside communication and is trying to get in. Tim doesn’t remember being Robin, but he’s going to have to get Robin-y in order to defeat this enemy on his own. Luckily, the Tower is full of so many interesting toys…. Inspired by the Christmas masterpiece Home Alone.

i need a homo-magi tim drake au.

like, i find it very hard to believe that in that mausoleum of a mansion filled to the brim with ancient artifacts jack and janet drake collected throughout their travels, that not a single one of them was cursed —

— and that a nine year old tim didn’t use an ancient aztec macuahuitl as a baseball bat and now knows several dead languages with weird cursed powers from some ancient meso-american demon that camps out in his body.

but like tim has no clue that whatever is going on with him is not normal because he was never told it wasn’t not normal,

and then imagine other people’s reactions to this, especially other magic users like zatanna and constantine —

zatanna: i don’t understand why i can’t seem to get these runes right..

13 year old tim drake: because you’re working on them backwards, it’s supposed to be [fast paced nahuatl]

zatanna: how…?

tim (blissfully unaware of his abilities, smiling sweetly): the voices :D

and then i just imagine his shadow is some looming creature or something idk, kinda how in yj comics his shadow is batman’s silhouette 😭

[impyssadobsessions]

“Jazz says the vultures should keep him busy for a bit.” Tim said, after he finished relaying what had happened. “Man, I really wish I could have seen Vlad's face!” Danny groaned, knowing it must have been funny. “We'll wait on Danny and Jaybird to catch up then. Keep us posted.” Dick responded.

Jazz made her way over to the pods, to get a better look at them while Tim was talking. Her parents were suspended in a clear liquid that bubbled. She pressed her hand on the glass while depressing thoughts of the situation was seeping in. Tim walked over to the computers, glancing them over. It looked like Plasmius was collecting data. They knew he was going to try to clone their mother. But why would he need DNA from their father?

One thought came to mind, as it recalled the clone Dick, Danny, and Jason found. Tim shivered in disgust at how creepy that was. Tim shook it off while Damian stared at him questionably. He ignored Damian's stare and started working on opening the pods by shutting down the systems. “How comfortable are you handling the.. ca..bles...?” Tim trailed off his question as he noticed the look on Jazz's face. “I grew up in a lab-around a lab... They had one in the basement before I was born! ..Is.. what I'm getting at.” Jazz quickly clarified as she realized how bad that sounded. Tim nodded as he turned back to the machine. “Okay then, start with the large cables to the right of the pods, feeding into the display there. Wait for the display to shut down.” Jazz nodded as she glued her eyes to the screen. She didn't hesitate to unlatch the thick cables from the machinery when it turned black. The anxiety rising. They might be alive, but that didn't mean that they weren't injured. What if the pods were keeping them alive, what if. She bit her lip, shaking off the thoughts. She saw their vitals. They were fine. It was fine. Damian noticed Jazz was stumbling around and her body was shaking, despite her saying she was fine with handling the cables. She would end up shocking herself if she didn't get a handle of her emotions. Damian didn't understand how Jasmine could be so pathetic one moment, then... resourceful the next. Damian pushed off the wall he was leaned against, and went to help her with the wires. Not to help her specifically. He just didn't want to waste his time saving Jazz for her to needlessly shock herself. Jazz sent a soft smile towards Damian, calming down a bit as he went to help. Damian just clicked his tongue in response. They worked quickly, managing to get the machines ready to pop open. “The pods are draining. They should open up soon, so you might want to stand back.” Tim said, specifically was gesturing to Damian, who was standing in front of the pod with their father. He was pretty sure the demon might either get hurt if the man fell on him.. or worse try to stab Jack instead. Damian stood back with Jazz, as they waited for the pods to open. Jazz couldn't help placing her hands on Damian's shoulders, squeezing them lightly. It was a comforting gesture she normally gave to Danny, but it gave her just as much comfort. Damian froze and stiffened at the contact, but didn't fight it. He could tell by her eyes being glued towards the pods, it wasn't intentional. He would let it slid, this one time. Just as Tim predicted, the large man in orange fell out of the pod once it was open with a loud thud. Jazz and Tim flinched at the sound, and watched him cautiously. As the smoke cleared, the man pushed himself up with a groan. Hand on his head. “Ugh. That sneaky slimy spook! When I get my hands on that ectoplasmic scum-” “Dad?” Jazz called out, trying to get his attention. “Jazzirincess!” His eyes widened as he scrambled to his feet with a giant grin on his face. Jack scooped all three of them in his arms, giving them a bone crushing bear hug while nuzzling his cheek against them. “Too tight..” Jazz whined, even though she was more prepared for her Dad's hugs. They still squeezed the air out of her lungs. Tim thought he was going to pass out, as he was seeing spots in his vision. Damian was squirming, trying to fight out of the man's arms. He was was hitting his fist, against Jack's arms and was very tempted to gnaw his way out. “We were looking everywhere for you kids! We thought that-.........When did we have two Dannys?” Jack squinted looking down at the two dark hair children in his arms. “I don't believe either of them is Danny, dear.” Maddie stumbled out of the pod, hand on her head, but smiling amused at her husband. “They're not?” Jack questioning getting a good look at them. Damian was trying to gnaw on Jack's arm to free himself, but was finding out the man's arm was just thick solid muscle. Tim couldn't keep his head up as he counted the stars to keep from blacking out. Jazz was

squirming a little to find a more comfortable position to breath in. She very envious of Danny's abilities at the moment. “Dad.. can you.. put us.. down? Please?” Jazz squeezed out. Jack put them down with an 'oh', a smile still on his face as he scratched his head with his hand. Trying to figure out who the boys were if they weren't Danny. Tim almost fell over after being put down, as he gasped for air. Damian immediately ran once free, jumpingg behind the computers to block him from the Fentons. Peaking around it, he glared at them. Jazz let out a sigh of relief, hand over her abdomen. Maddie walked over to her daughter, gently placing her hands under Jazz's jaws. Maddie was trying to get a good look over of her daughter to make sure she was alright, before placing a kiss on Jazz's cheek. She pulled Jazz into an embrace that was snug, but not restricting at all. “My baby girl, I was so worried!” She rocked Jazz in her arms, making Jazz blush. “Moooomm.. I'm 18.” She was embarrassed, but melted into the hug. “Doesn't matter if your 8, 18, or 92 you will always be my baby.” Maddie petting Jazz's hair. “And you will always be my little princess!” Jack chimed, “So who are these two kids?” “And where's Danny?” Maddie asked pulling away, concern in her voice. “Oh, these are vigilantes from Gotham. Danny's with the others.” Jazz pointed out. “That's Red Robin and he's Robin.” Tim shook off his dizziness and helped explained, “Nightwing and Orphan are waiting on Danny and Red Hood to catch up. They're going to meet us here.” “But you can't be much older than Dannorino! Are your parents okay with you running around in Halloween costumes?” Jack asked confused. Tim and Damian frowning deeply. Damian was disliking this man, more and more. “Dad, you eat, sleep, and bath in a hazmat suit.” Jazz said with a frown. “That's different Jazzy pants! Ghosts can get you whenever your most vulnerable, plus its comfy.” Jack exclaimed with a proud grin. “Now Jack, I'm certain their costumes are made from specialized fibers.. or I at least hope so. Its already irresponsible of an adult to allow their children to fight criminals without supervision.” Maddie walking over noticing the mark on Tim's cheek. “Especially against ghosts!” “Our guardian is here.” Damian muttered with clenched teeth, "Not that we need one. Well, not that I need one." “Hmm, that's a nasty hit to the cheek. Looks like an ectoplasmic charged punch. Does it still hurt?” Maddie recoiling her hand back as Tim leaned away. She put hand on her chin, in thought. “Not any worse than a regular slug to the face.” Tim feeling awkward. Maddie frowned, pursing her lips. “Well, I sure hope that doesn't happen often. Now where did I put that ecto-salve.” “Your stuff is over there. Plasmius-Wisconsin Ghost stripped you.” Jazz pointing towards the weaponry and stash of items that Damian had opened prior. “Ah! Let's see then.” Maddie rummaged through the items, listing stuff off in a hum. Damian getting odd sensations of deja vu. “Here, now let's put it on the wound before it can cause an ecto-fection.” Maddie returning to Tim. “Ecto... fection?” Tim blinked confused and deeply concerned. He side glance to Jazz as if she could help clear up if it was something to be worried about or not. Jazz just shrugged in response. Not helpful at all. “Its a thing... kind of?” Danny stated over the comms. “Don't worry about it.” “Yes, like an infection but ectofied!” Jack loudly explained. “Don't worry, dear. It'll feel just like aloe vera gel. Cool to the touch though it might tingle.” Maddie applying it on her finger before reaching to rub it gently into Tim's cheek. Tim just flinched at the cold touch, deciding it be best to let them take care of it. Though he wasn't sure which was more awkward.. the fact he learned ecto-infection was a possibility, that these two were concerned about Bruce's parenting, or that Maddie was showing him motherly affection. Damian snickering was not helping. “There! That should do it, sweetie.” Maddie chimed. Tim had to admit, the

salve did help with the pain considerably. He wonder if that would work on Jason's shoulder. It should work on Cass, but all this ecto stuff seem to act differently to Jason. “Thanks. Um, does that work on ecto-blasts too?” “Sure does! We use the heck out of it! Don't know how we use it up so fast. Guess those spooks hit us more than I thought.” Tim and Damian glanced at Jazz, who was turned away from them whistling. “Did you get hit anywhere else? What about you, dear?” Maddie asked concerned, looking over at Damian. Damian kept the computer between them, hissing out. “I'm fine.” “Mom, Dad, we probably should get going. Plasmius is still flying around.” Jazz interrupted to get her parents attention off of Damian, before they would force their help. Plus, it was true. The quicker they all got out of there safely, the better off they be. “Oh, you're right!” Maddie put the salve into Tim's hand, patting his hand gently. Then she turned towards the weaponry, tossing items to Jack as she equipped herself. “We got some ectoplasmic scum to erase from existence!” Jack happily patting the large blaster. “No, we need to get out of here! He's after you-” “Exactly why we need to rip that ghost apart molecule by molecule!” “Jazz, I know your worried about your father and I.” Maddie assembling a large gun, that resemble the bazooka Jason had. “But this is our profession. We have to make sure this ghost doesn't harm anyone else.” “Besides, he made this personal! No spook messes with the Fentons and gets away with it!” Jack handing the Fenton peeler to Jazz. “Here, Jazzy. You kids evacuate while me and your mom handle this.” Jazz frowned as she took the device. Stress forming lines in her forehead. “Jack, I got signal.” “Great Mads! Let's go get that spook!” Jack ran out the door, after giving Jazz a pat on the head. “Wait Jack! The ghost is-” Maddie reached out towards her husband despite him being far out of reach. “Having a family reunion, are we?!” Plasmius floated from the ground, growling as he charged his fist. His clothes were tattered and his hair was ruffled. “Feel the heat of charged ectoplasmic blasts, you interdimensional scum!” Maddie aimed her giant gun at Plasmius who looked at her un-amused. “Normally I gush over how beautiful you look even when angry, however.. I found out love is a fickle thing, and just like my patience. It has died.” Plasmius dodged the blast without much effort sending one straight back at Maddie. “Mom!” --owob-- “They're being ambushed.” Dick stated as Jason and Danny caught up to them. Danny knelt over panting, trying to regain his strength as quick as he could. He still was far from well, but he couldn't let it stop him. His family was in danger. He pushed back onto his feet, giving a nod to them that he's ready to keep running. They ran towards the others, Dick and Cass far ahead of Jason and Danny. Jason was sticking behind Danny to make sure the boy didn't kill over or disappear again. A tight grip latched around Danny's ankle. “Woah-”

“Not on my watch!” Jason reached out grabbing onto Danny's shirt as they both fell through the floor.