#the aromantic tim idea is inspired by me being aromantic

[necrotic-nephilim]

I saw on your pinned post you had Slade/Tim. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

yes of COURSE i adore SladeTim and am happy to spread propaganda-

i will be honest some of my thoughts are simply "i will fandom bicycle the hell out of Tim bc he's my Fave Guy", but i do genuinely think about what a relationship between Tim and Slade could be fueled by. i 've briefly mentioned them on this blog before (but that was a month ago so it'd be impossible to find) and what i brought up then I'll echo now: i think what's fascinating about Slade and Tim is the fact it *shouldn't* work. there's really no foundation for them. there's been scattered interactions throughout canon, but nothing that's lasting besides the typical hero/villain thoughts.

which is fascinating, given Slade *does* have developed interactions with most of the other Robins. there's endless canon to build off of for Slade and Dick, of course, those two will always be tied to each other in fascinating ways. and Slade and Jason also have interesting history, working together in some comics and having a lot to build off of. even Slade and Damian have some history, Slade has developed feelings on Damian and multiple fights with real substance between them, not even mentioning how Respawn plays into it. so we canonically know at least a bit about how Slade feels on each Robin- except for Tim. Tim just gets brushed over which given how long he was Robin, it's impressive he never had a real meaningful moment from Slade, maybe aside from the time Slade brainwashed Cass, which was questionably characterized for *everyone* involved.

it makes SladeTim an interesting blank slate. and naturally, makes Tim the Robin that Slade just mentally skips over. Dick is *the* Dick Grayson, the mental replacement for Grant and the apprentice he crave, the "real prize". Jason is fascinating in the "Bruce's biggest fuck up" sort of way, running on his own away from the Bats and occasionally making a good ally when Slade is in a tight spot. and Damian is a reminder of Slade's fatherhood and the grandson of Ra's, so at the very least there's begrudging respect for the mantles he's carrying. but Tim is just... the other one. he's a rich kid who thought he could choose this life and has probably bit off more than he can chew and i don't think Slade ever fully takes him seriously, which is *really* fun. Tim has proven himself to most villains, but he's never really proven himself to Slade.

so i'm very interested in the idea of Slade having a run-in with Tim and being pleasantly surprised that Tim is far more than he appears is *fun*. i think it's fun if Slade doesn't realize Tim was trained by Shiva until he's actually fighting Tim and is finally forced to develop real thoughts surrounding Tim aside from just seeing him as Robin #3. i think there could be a sick curiosity to it that drives Slade to press and press just to see what he gets out of Tim.

i'm also always into the idea of Tim using sex as almost a form of masochism or self harm. i love shipping things like JayTim or RasTim to specifically explore Tim using sex as an emotionless outlet to get hurt in a way he can control. bc i *love* masochist!Tim who needs some kind of control over his masochist outlets. and well, Slade's a fun choice for someone for TIm to go to for no-strings-attached sex that will always stay within the arranged parameters. even if Slade isn't morally a good person, he's always good on completing his end of a deal and it makes him a reliable source for Tim to go to.

also, i just like "i know you're pretending i'm someone else when you fuck me and i don't care, i'd do anything to be touched like this" dynamics. i *truly deeply* adore ships where someone is a substitute for the *real* person their partner wants and they know it. and Tim in that dynamic will always get me. i think SladeTim works well for them both knowing Slade is pretending he's fucking Dick- maybe even calling Tim by Dick's name. and Tim allows it, bc it's part of the agreement. Slade gets what he wants and Tim gets what he wants. Dick will never be fucked up enough to want the things Slade likes in bed even if Slade manages to sleep with Dick- but Tim, the little fucking freak he is, will.

and i think feelings blooming out of that is fun, them accidentally falling for each other and neither expecting it bc rlly, they should've fallen for anyone else. i'd love to write an aromantic SladeTim fic though, i won't lie. where an aromantic Tim goes to one person he's confident won't fall for him romantically. and Slade develops almost fatherly feelings for Tim in the process. and not an ounce of it is romantic, but it makes for a complicated sort of almost-love between them. i think i prefer any SladeRobin ship with some kind of fatherly love from Slade thrown into the mix, and given Tim's loss of his own father is a very fresh wound, they have the most potential for that.

TLDR: the fun of this ship is that *because* there's so little canon, it makes for an endless sea of potential. and there's so many fantastic fics that explore it *very* well. i think they'd be neat.