#themandylion writes

[themandylion]

surprise self-rec time! pick 3 of your favorite things you’ve written and share them here, then put this in the inbox (anonymously or not) of your fellow writers to spread the positivity and help celebrate already written fics 🖤

This is lovely. Thank you for thinking of me!

The Conspiracies of Princes - JayTim. Jason just wants to get his cargo to Kandor, he doesn't have time to deal with this kid he found hiding in the wall of his ship. A SPACE/royalty AU with a lot of marriage, for some reason. This is the first JayTim fic I wrote and I'm still really proud of the worldbuilding, plotting, and pacing!

Rituals of Sacrifice - Jason&Tim (please make sure to read the tags!!). All Tim's friends are dead. That's okay—he is too. A super-fun boy detective story where Tim gets to team up with Robin to solve his own murder! Lately I've been writing a lot for the final installment of the series spun off of this fic and it keeps reminding me how much fun it was to write.

Pathfinding - JayTim. When Tim is ten, he gets saddled with a life-debt after a dragon saves him from certain death. Almost 20 years later, the dragon turns up on his doorstep with a proposition: Be his plus-one to a family reunion and he'll forgive the debt. Eeeey, it's a fake dating AU with a magical twist, what's not to love? Everyone loves a fake dating AU, which is definitely all this is. Definitely.

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | May 6th-12th 2024

Have a good week everyone!

If you know anyone who isn't tagged, please tag them in the comments!

Complete

you don't wanna know me now by spaceprincessem/ @spaceprincessem (Post-S7E7 | 1,3K | Teen): “Just one date,” Kim says casually, though she’s definitely picked up on whatever weird, uncomfortable tension has just entered the room with them, “this past Friday.” “Friday?” Buck repeats in an octave much higher than his normal one. Because Friday... Friday was when he watched Christopher while Eddie went out on date with — not Marisol, apparently.

taurus moon, libra rising by coldbam/ @coldbam (Established Buddie | 1,4K | General): “And I’m getting a lot of Virgo energy from Firefighter Diaz.” “Oh my God, he is a Virgo.” Buck excitedly smacks Eddie on the arm. “Do me next!” ~ Buck falls into astrology. Eddie is Eddie.

Mistakes by theotherlucifer/ @theotherbuckley (S7E7 Coda | 1,6K | Teen): Or Eddie Diaz makes bad decisions, but he can't help it, it's his wife.

Fluttering Wings of Freedom by Princessfbi/ @princessfbi (S7E5 Spec, Coming Out | 2K | General): Hen didn’t really know what she expected to find. Her mind had raced through a million different scenarios, catastrophizing the way only a paramedic could when faced with getting a phone call from her wife telling her to forget the groceries and hurry home. She’d expected broken glass or maybe blood and tears. What she didn’t expect was to find Karen sitting patiently in the arm chair with a cup of hot cocoa in her hands, a bottle of Jack on the coffee table, and Buck practically vibrating on her couch. 

wait for the feeling of you by coldbam/ @coldbam (PWP, Established Buddie | 2K | Explicit): “Fuck. Get up here. Let me take care of you.” Eddie feels Buck shake his head, still nuzzled against his thigh. He gives one last kiss to Eddie’s skin, then starts extracting himself from between Eddie’s legs, wiping his mouth along the way. “No, I’m good. We’re running late as it is.” And…that is reasonable and rational. They did get a bit carried away, and they are expected to make an appearance at Bobby’s for a barbeque. Except…

meditating on your lips by coldbam/ @coldbam (PWP | 3K | Explicit): Buck comes out, and Eddie has some interesting dreams.

blackout by rainbow_nerds/ @rainbow-nerdss (Getting Together | 3K | Explicit): Buck wakes up hungover on Eddie's couch, with no memory of the night before. Eddie's at just as much of a loss as he is, but their friends seem to know something they don't.

let it once be me (who do i have to speak to) by lenaboskow (Post-S7E4, Getting Together | 3K | Teen): “Why not me?” Eddie didn’t mean to say it. The question had been banging around in his head for the past week, but now it was out in the open, echoing off the walls of the loft for Buck to hear instead of safe in his mind. “Why– what do you mean?”

things you shouldn’t say to me by coldbam/ @coldbam (Getting Together, PWP | 4K | Mature): Eddie comes out, sleeps around, and Buck hears all about it.

little by little by MediaWhore/ @mediawhorefics (BuckTommy, Madney Wedding | 4K | General): Or Buck & Tommy, during and after the wedding.

he's never gonna love you like I want to by BekkaChaos/ @bekkachaos (S7, Demisexual Eddie | 5K | Teen): Eddie and Marisol talk about their relationship and the next step, and Eddie tries to articulate how he feels and why things aren't moving as fast as Marisol wants. A couple of days later Buck goes to Eddie's and they have a long talk about their feelings and their relationships, and probably let things go unsaid that aren't yet ready to come out.

Exhale by themandylion (Presumed Dead | 5K | Not Rated): Buck’s Jeep gets stolen, which is a pretty shitty way to start the day. The 118 answer a collision and find said Jeep on fire, a deceased driver inside, which is arguably an even worse way to start the day.

Give Us The Grown by fruitsdoesnotknow (Getting Together | 8K | Teen): Buck starts leaving notes for Eddie. Eddie writes notes for Buck right back. They were always going to end up writing their own love story.

the tiniest moves you make by allyasavedtheday/ @littlespoonevan (Maddie POV | 8K | Teen): Five times Buck talks to Maddie about Eddie intercut with five times Eddie talks to Maddie about Buck and one time they manage to figure it out on their own.

why do i always feel like i'm in the twilight zone by chromatophorica/ @chromatophorica (Supernatural AU | 6K | General): The 118 is a prolific, all supernatural station. They face the hardest of calls for this reason, but they're curious about what species Buck is from the start. When they find out, it's a complex navigation to keep him where he belongs.

drink up (you're wasted on me) by okanus (S7E6, Bachelor Party, Infidelity, PWP | 9K | Explicit): Or: Eddie and Buck hook up at the bachelor party. Difficulties ensue.

gone fishing by coldbam/ @coldbam (Accidental Catfishing, Getting Together | 9K | Mature): “Someone is catfishing as you.” His eyes are wide and his face is serious. Stressed. Eddie has no idea what he’s talking about. “What?” Buck slows down and carefully says each word. “Someone's using stolen photos of you on a dating app. Pretending to be you.” He looks miserable, like it pains him to deliver this news. Eddie’s face must still show confusion, because Buck lets out a frustrated huff and then shoves his phone right in front of his face. “Look.” And. Shit. Buck’s phone shines brightly in the evening light of the loft, and there, nearly blinding him, is his own Tinder profile.

🔥 It's a church of burnt romances (and I'm too far gone to pray) by justhockey (Coming Out, Post-S7E5 | 15K | Mature): Eddie looks back, sifting through the ashes of every relationship he’s ever had that has burned to the ground. And his hands shake, and his heart beats too fast, and it’s there, right on the tip of his tongue. It’s close enough that he could reach out and touch it if he were brave enough. The reason, that no matter how hard he tried - no matter how much he wanted to, or how often he literally prayed for it - his relationships with women have never worked out. And he knows. Knows that no amount of women, or trying, or praying will ever be able to change it. You can’t fix what isn’t broken, and Eddie isn’t broken. He isn’t. He’s just…well. He’s in love with Buck, isn’t he?

🔥 The Pain Will Leave You Once It's Done Teaching You by fruitsdoesnotknow (Canon Divergent, Daniel Lives-kinda | 40K | Mature): When Daniel Buckley lives a little longer, Evan Buckley dies a little more. And this is how Eddie Diaz saves him, a little later on.

🔥what if i can't have us by woodchoc_magnum/ @woodchoc-magnum (Post-S7E5, Getting Together, Sexuality Crisis | 47K Explicit): In which Eddie is dating Marisol; Buck's dating Tommy, and Eddie has feelings about that, which he simply does. not. understand.

WIP

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briar / @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon S1-S6, S7 Spec | 127/? | 397K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

🔥 change the prophecy by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Alternate Timeline, Curse/Magic | 9/11 | 22K | Mature): Buck has never felt secure in any of his relationships; he’s been searching for someone to see him the way he feels he’s meant to be seen, but after things start going downhill with Tommy, he thinks that person might just not exist. Eddie cannot figure out what’s wrong with him when it becomes clear things with Marisol aren’t going to work out. But what if they’re both forgetting something?

🔥 stuck now so long, we just got the start wrong by Daffi_990_ao3/ @daffi-990 (Canon Divergent, Different First Meeting | 4/10 | 31K | Not Rated): Probational Firefighters Evan “Buck” Buckley and Eddie Diaz meet on a call which ends with them at odds with each other. As the months roll by, they keep running into each other on the job, much to Eddie’s dismay and Buck’s delight. Can they put aside their first opinions and misunderstandings and allow the seeds of friendship, and possibly something more, to take root?

What’s Your Order? by JJK/ @trenchcoatsandtimetravel (Post-S7E5, BuckTommy | 4/6 | 10K | Teen): 5 Times Buck Guessed Tommy’s Coffee Order + 1 Time He Didn’t Have To

Held Up a Lightning Rod (Wonder Why I'm Struck) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (Not A Firefighter Eddie, Sugar Baby Buck | 1/? | 5K | Explicit): When Eddie Diaz stumbles his way into money, he finds himself one of the most eligible bachelors in Los Angeles - to his dismay. He needs a way to get people off his back without confessing his messy marital situation, and Shannon's still not answering his calls, so he caves to a friend's suggestion: hire someone to pretend to be his partner. Enter Evan "Buck" Buckley: sugar baby, fire fighter, and the man about to turn Eddie's world upside down.

Podfic

🔥 [Podfic] When the Lost are Found by MistMarauder/ @mistmarauder for ReformedTsundere/ @film-in-my-soul (Soulmates AU | 20-30 min | General): When everyone seems to have a better soulmate identifying system, Buck can't help but consider his own to be lackluster. How's he meant to find his soulmate with loose change and mismatched socks after all?

🔥 [podfic] Trade-In by All_I_Ask/ @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove for themandylion (Post-S4, Getting Together | 1-1.5h | Not Rated): It starts with Buck trading in his beloved Jeep. It ends with a confession, a kiss, and Buck trading in his apartment too. Or: If you didn't think Buck research binges wouldn't eventually take him to safety specs for his car, you don't know Buck.

🔥 [podfic] my heart’s over-pumping and your mouth is an ambulance by All_I_Ask/ @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove for fleetinghearts/ @shitouttabuck (Post-S6, Getting Together | 1-1.5h | Teen): or, a fever, a party, a late night tv show: three times eddie’s heart falls out his ass because buck keeps looking at him like that. he’s just got to find a way to tell him that doesn’t involve a convoluted cephalopod analogy about love

🔥 [Podfic] Tell Me About Despair by radpaisley // fic by @hattalove (Post-S4, Sexuality Crisis | 1/5 | 2-2.5h | Mature): eddie's not entirely sure he believes in getting help, at least not for himself. there's only so much healing to be had for a body torn apart by bullets, for a mind that's only half there, for a man who's been leaving pieces of himself behind all his life with nothing to take their place. except, as it turns out, falling apart happens in increments, and healing does, too: it happens when you gnaw a hole in your lip trying to keep quiet only to have the words escape; when you realize that the ghost you've been seeing out of the corner of your eye is yourself; when your best friend smiles, and you allow it to take your breath away. it happens through the smallest of things: bird feeders, and cacti, and pasta shapes. meanwhile, the world goes on.

[petermorwood]

Courier Font / Courier Typeface

@themandylion - re. our recent brief conversation in Replies about italics vs underline in Courier, and which was correct.

@dduane says that, Strictly Speaking, underline for italic and asterisk for bold is still correct practice, at least when writing screenplay, and that's what I did when doing my own screen work.

However this website suggests otherwise, and those involved in it have credentials a lot more recent than ours.

Here's a screencap of the far too many examples of Courier I've got in my font library.

Courier Final Draft, Prime and Screenplay are associated with screenwriting programmes, Final Draft and FadeIn respectively, which might be the reason why they're among the clearest.

Italic looks fine in all, but bold gets lost in the two darker versions of Prime, which limits their use. Since that test shot, I've deleted them.

[vellaphoria]

Writing Patterns

thanks for the tag @themandylion! Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

Disclaimer: I did include partially posted wips but didn't include anthologies. 1. Red in Tooth and Claw (DickTim, M) | Tim slams the door shut behind him, dragging a nearby desk in front of it.

2. Implication (TimBer but implied endgame DickTim, M) | Sometimes Bernard wonders what he’s gotten himself into.

3. daylight is not what we came all this way for (DickTim, T) | This is the kind of thing Batman has nightmares about.

4. Midnight Elegy (DickTim, E) | It should be raining.

5. Recursion (DickTim, M) | No one ever said that fucking with the time stream would be easy.

6. More Than Skin Can Hold (DickTim, M) | Red Robin is only sort of paying attention as he slams his elbow back into the would-be mugger’s face.

7. When it Rains (Dick & Tim, T) | Nightwing hears the fight before he sees it.

8. Afterimage (DickTim, T) | The last ninja collapses in a heap after a particularly hard strike to the head.

9. Survivor (Cass & Dick; off-screen DickTim) | It happens too fast for Cass to stop it.

10. From the Depths (DickTim, M) | Tim’s parents had always forbidden him from going near the sea.

My go-to approaches are usually in medias res sorts of openings, or ones that try to leave the reader with a question. I.e. "It happens too fast for Cass to stop it" leads to the question of what exactly happened. Other things of note: the number of unpublished WIPs I have going at any given time sometimes makes me think I post things more often than I actually do lol No pressure tags: @gerryrigged, @deepwithintheabyss, @waffleinator-inator, and @marirah

[kieran-granola]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @ladytauria! Thank you, bb ❤️

How many works do you have on AO3?

46 total, with 1 of them being @generatorcat way more than mine!

What’s your total A03 word count?

276,196.

What fandoms do you write for?

DC only on this account! I keep my obsessions separate haha

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Pretty (3,335 kudos) -> My beloved first long child that I'm hoping to post the next chapter of some time in January! Aka dysmorphic JayTim mutual pining feat accidental bonding

Whiskers and Wonder Boys (2,993 kudos) -> Adorable baby boyfriends! Or the story of Robin Jason saving Selkie Tim from starvation

The Best Taste in Omegas (2,713 kudos) -> The one in which omega hormones are catnip for children, and Jason keeps finding stray kids in his nests.

The House Always Wins (2,622 kudos) -> Top Dom Tim Wrecks Jason's Ass After Winning a Bet: The Story.

Mother Knows Best  (2,107 kudos) -> The reason why I will never beat the mommy kink allegations, aka Jason overcoming his kink shame with Dom Tim's help.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

As much as I'm able to! I love to receive comments so I try my best to answer, but sometimes time just runs from me and it's either answering comments or writing.

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Little Do You Know! This is a dark gaslighting fic, feat Bruce bitching Robin Jason without his knowledge or consent.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Thicker than Water? JayTim end up happily married with children, both of them immortal vampires.

Do you get hate on your fic?

Not really? I've gotten some "I wish you'd write this", or some misguided comments but not hate.

Do you write smut?

Yeah.

Do you write crossovers?

Nope. I am Not A Fan.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Several times! Podfics too. It never stops blowing me away 💕💕

Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yep! Speaking of, I really need to get to editing Trust Fall again. Sorry @themandylion

What‘s your all-time favorite ship?

I have SO MANY ships across too many fandoms, but if I have to pick a ship in DC... It would actually be BruJay. Sorry JayTim nation, I'm a sham 😂

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I genuinely want to finish Dead to Rights, but I paused it indefinitely when I got pregnant, and I won't pick it back up until the topic of difficult pregnancies/risk of miscarriage stops squicking me out. I love it a lot, and there's a lot I want to say there, but the Creature will need to grow a bit bigger before I'm comfy writing it again.

What’s your writing strengths?

Uh. No idea, actually. I feel like I struggle with everything haha. Possibly writing banter? Not sure...

What’s your writing weaknesses?

EVERYTHING, if you ask me. Though the thing I struggle with the most is endings. It is SO HARD to find a good stopping point that doesn't ring hollow.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Not a full dialogue. A couple of sentences at most. I mean, I'm a native French speaker, so I could do a full conversation, but honestly I find it so unpleasant to read I wouldn't put it in my works.

First fandom you wrote for?

The Untamed 😊

Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh God, that's such a hard question. I love all of my babies for different reasons. But I guess it's a toss up between Pretty and... Well. The unposted steampunk t4t JayTim WIP.

I am tagging anyone who wants to do this, as well as (no pressure) @bi-bats, @skalidra, @thenaphorism, and @beemotionpicture

[alliaskisthepossibilityoflove]

Writing Recording Patterns

tagged by @rainbow-nerdss 🫶🏼

rules: share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns!

nb: I’m no writer but I thought this would be fun to do as a podficcer, too 😁

everything’s growing in our garden by fleetinghearts, fic / podfic

I Opened My Eyes and There You Were by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels, fic / podfic

Trade-In by themandylion, fic / podfic

my heart’s over-pumping and your mouth is an ambulance by fleetinghearts, fic / podfic

i have dreams where i kiss you and it’s pink by fleetinghearts, fic / podfic

do you love me? all you gotta do is say yes by fleetinghearts, fic / podfic

might as well be drunk in love by fleetinghearts, fic / podfic

winner takes all series (alternate ending stories) by burnthatbridge, T-rated fic / podfic // E-rated fic / podfic

the sound of love astounds me by fleetinghearts, fic / podfic

no pressure tagging @shitouttabuck, @diazsdimples, @tizniz, @burnthatbridge

@letmetellyouaboutmyfeels, @mistmarauder, @rhea314, @hattalove

@ayotofu, @exhuastedpigeon, @try-set-me-on-fire, @lover-of-mine and anyone else who’d like to do this, consider this you official tag ❤️

[cheetahleopard]

Fic Stats Meme

Rules: Give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words.

I was tagged by @themandylion Thank you!!! I very rarely look at my stats and when I do it's for my wordcount rather than anything else so this was very interesting to me

Most Hits: Small Things (White Collar/Batman Snippets) (52,970) Unsurprising

2nd Most Kudos: Small Things (White Collar/Batman Snippets) (2,678) This one was interesting to me it was beat by a much shorter BSD fic with far fewer comments (aka the kudos-comment ratio on the BSD fic was rancid)

3rd Most Comments: (Life) Turning Around (78 comment threads) and also the aforementioned BSD fic (with 6,472 kudos)

4th Most Bookmarks: A ring on hand (A ring on record) (341) This is my favorite fic I've written for DC so I'm happy to see it

5th Most Words: And It All Settles at 10k which for me is a lot! Fun fact I wrote this all in like. a week because I was trying to force myself to write longer things and it was a. Rough time and it was also around when engagement in HQ!! began to drop off (in the sense of appreciating artists efforts and showing it vs viewing them as "content creators" who are obligated to create stuff to be consumed) so overall I have less love for this than I should, because I did a great job expanding my wordcount. The only other things I've done that are about that length were for zines, collaborations, or the prequel that was also a "force this longer" fic

Least Words: I mean, drabbles in my collections.

A lot of the people I would tag have already been tagged lol I tag @galkyrie @bi-bats @chibinightowl

[frogwithapen]

Last line tag game

Rules: share the last line of your WIP. I was pseudo-tagged by @themandylion

"See, I don't believe that," Pinako says, after they utterly fail to react to her silence. "I don't think you're 'just' anything."

And I'll tag @raetttriestowrite , who absolutely failed their tasks this weekend. (To make me write)

[my-one-love-is-music]

Might I ask for JayTim featuring businessman Tim and his poor PA who did not know he had a competency kink until he took this job?

For Write 365 Day 348!

Jason rolled his shoulders as he stopped outside the door to the top floor of Drake Industries. He hadn’t met the CEO when he was going through interviews, but he knew he needed this first impression to mean everything if he was going to keep the job. And staying on Mr. Drake’s good side before he could start would be imperative whenever he was left to deal with the organizational mess that would no doubt encompass this job.

He let out a heavy breath and pulled the door open. The secretary looked up at his appearance and pursed her lips into a tight smile. Jason immediately felt his palms start to sweat at the scrutiny and the worry that his secondhand business clothes wouldn’t stack up to the environment around him. He only needed to make it through a few paychecks before he knew he could get something nicer.

“Good morning,” he said, walking up to her. “My name is Jason Todd. I’m Mr. Drake’s new personal assistant.”

She looked him up and down, eyes landing on the ID badge he’d clipped to the collar of his shirt. “I’ll take you to Mr. Drake,” she said, pushing herself from her chair.

They strode past a handful of offices with their doors ajar towards the back of the room. The secretary knocked three times.

“Come in,” a smooth voice announced from inside.

“Good morning, Mr. Drake,” she said, flashing a bright smile as she pushed the door open. “I have your new PA here for you.”

“Ah, perfect. Send him in.”

She stood to the side and waved him in. Jason cleared his throat and stepped past her, freezing for a moment at the slim man who stood from behind the large mahogany desk. His features were smooth and dark hair framed his face as piercing blue eyes and a small smile greeted him.

“Welcome,” he said, stepping around his desk to offer Jason his hand.

Jason shook it and nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Drake.”

He heard the door shut behind him and was suddenly aware that he was alone with his very attractive, new boss in his office.

“Please, call me Tim. It’s nice to meet you Jason. I’ve got a company laptop here with me. This is your personal computer that you can use both here and at home, but I’m not going to require you to be on call at home. You won’t be reading over reports or anything like that. That’s my job and I’m not going to push my work off on you.”

Jason nodded and accepted the smooth, leather laptop case shoved into his hands. He pulled open the zipper and found a sleek computer inside.

“I’ll let you get logged in and familiarize yourself with that in a moment. This is my schedule for the day,” he said, handing a sheet of paper to Jason that listed everything in chronological order on a neat spreadsheet. I really just need you to keep me on task. I can get lost in my work and forget about a meeting and then I have to sprint like a bat out of hell to get to the meeting room.”

“Yes sir,” Jason mumbled.

“Please don’t call me sir,” he said with a laugh. “Far too formal for my tastes.”

Jason nodded.

“Now, I really hate to do this to you,” Tim said, grimacing.

Jason mentally prepared himself for the shoe to drop and bring reality crashing back to him.

“But every now and then I may ask you to get me lunch. You see, I often get so absorbed in my work that I forget to eat or skip lunch altogether. It’s a bad habit that I’ve been trying to break and I just need someone to keep me in check sometimes. Stacy, our secretary, has tried to help where she can but she has her own responsibilities.”

“Okay, yeah,” Jason said, nodding dumbly. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

Tim gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you. Now, go ahead and have a seat on the couch. We can make sure your computer is in working order. You can work in here during the day, but if you’d like your own desk, we can set you up outside my office so you can have your own space. But if you don’t mind, we can try this for now.”

“This is fine,” Jason said, clearing his throat. He sat down on the couch and set Tim’s schedule to the side to put his focus on the computer. Tim walked around the opposite side of the couch and sat next to him.

“Your username is jtodd and your password is jato2429. That will get you into your computer and email. You have your own email account, but I don’t imagine you’ll get much traffic through there besides me and a few internal people wanting to get in touch with me. You will have access to my calendar though. I want to try having a printout for you daily of what’s on my schedule but there might be times I forget and you’ll just need to check the system.”

Jason nodded along as Tim continued to speak, his head spinning at the fact this job was going to be so easy if Tim was this organized. And not just easy, pure heaven considering how attractive Tim was, but he knew he’d have to ignore that every day if he was going to maintain his professional composure.

~~

Jason knocked briefly before he pushed into Tim’s office the next morning. Tim grinned at him when he looked up from his computer.

“Morning, Jason! I’m glad to see I haven’t scared you off after your first day.”

Jason smiled. “Considering how organized you are, I don’t think you could scare me off. I’ve worked for some pretty nightmarish people and I have to say you are a million times better than all of them.”

Tim chuckled and Jason blinked, swearing Tim’s cheeks turned a pale shade of pink. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. I brought some coffee for you, but I’m not sure what you like so I hope it’s okay.”

Jason accepted the small paper cup and took a sip. He tilted his head from side to side and hummed. “It’s not bad, but I will admit that I’m more of a tea drinker than a coffee drinker.”

“Noted,” Tim said. They looked at each other for a minute before they both glanced away. “If you want to get settled on the couch, you can have a look over my schedule for the day,” he said, holding out a couple stapled together sheets of paper.

“Thanks,” Jason said, taking the sheets as he made his way to the couch. He sat down and pulled out his new computer, getting it booted up and logged in.

He was still shocked at the few emails in his inbox and checked that Tim’s schedule matched what he had on the paper. A couple minutes passed before Tim’s typing resumed and they worked in silence.

~~

“I’m exhausted,” Tim muttered once the last board member had left the meeting room and it was just him and Tim. “Jason, take me back to my office so I can get started on the report over this meeting. Do you mind compiling the meeting notes for me and getting those into a PDF to send to the board members?”

“I don’t mind doing that. And I will. But not until later and you’re not going back to your office.”

Tim furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Jason with tired eyes. “What?”

“You’ve been going practically nonstop since this morning and last time I checked it was time for lunch.”

“Just, bring me something, I need to get back to-”

“Nope,” Jason said, taking him by the arm to walk him out of the meeting room and to the elevator. “We’re going to get some lunch. You need a break and there’s nothing better than getting a little sun and food.”

“Are you taking me out to lunch?” Tim blurted when they stepped into the elevator.

Jason’s grip spasmed on Tim’s arm and he tried to calm his heart as it took off in his chest.

“If I was?” he asked, clearing his throat.

“I’d be more than a little inclined to say yes.”

Jason bit his lip, ducking his head to hide his smile as they descended to the lobby.

If you enjoy my work, please reblog or consider buying me a ko-fi!

[themandylion]

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Batman (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Jack Drake & Tim Drake Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Jack Drake Additional Tags: Wings, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Good Parent Jack Drake, Jean-Paul Valley is Batman, Catatonic Jason Todd, Pre-Relationship Summary:

In the original Irish, ben síde means “fairy woman.” Tim’s dad says the name happened because the women of their family are the ones with the flashy powers. What the Drake men can do is so unimpressive in comparison that most of the time, Tim doesn’t mention it. After all, it’s not relevant to anything he does in the mask. Until, quite abruptly, it is.

—

For Day 1 of JayTim Week 2024 and the prompts bat, duck, wing.

[jaytimweek]

Thank you, friends, for participating in voting and letting your voices be heard! We’ve tallied the votes and are pleased to announce the dates/prompts will be as follows:

Sunday, June 26th: Mermaid AU or Road Trip

Monday, June 27th: Sun’s Out Guns Out or Carnival/Fair or Monsoon/Summer Storm

Tuesday, June 28th: Shooting Star/Eclipse or Time Travel

Wednesday. June 29th: FREE DAY

Thursday, June 30th: Wet Clothes/Stripping Down or Pirate AU

Friday, July 1st: Car Wash or Sunset/Sunrise

Saturday, July 2nd: Forced Vacation or Night Sky/Constellations or Deserted Island/Stranded

This year we had a three-way tie between a few of the prompts, so we decided to include them all! We’ve also included one of the write-in prompts as well.

The main goal of JayTim Week is always to have fun. Just because each day has more than one prompt does not mean you have to write for each of them. It is also not required to post something for every single day. But if you’re feeling inspired and want to post something for each prompt, go for it!

Our tags this time around will be:

JayTimWeek2022 and JayTimWeek

When we get closer to June, we’ll share the links to the Ao3 collection should you want to post there.

Also new this year, we’re also announcing a JayTim Week Discord server! Can’t get enough of these guys? Want to chat with other JayTim fans at all hours and participate (or lurk, we don’t judge) in campfire plot ideas that won’t go anywhere but are still fun to read? Then this server is for you! 

This particular server is all ages and is for creators and fans who want to see the action unfold. If you have questions, please send in an ask or drop a line to one of the event mods @chibinightowl​, @glaciya​, or @themandylion​. Please note that all content channels are role-locked. NSFW content will be on this server, but is locked to those who’ve confirmed they’re at least 18 years of age.

Since we want this server to be a safe place for all JayTim fans, please DM us for an invite. If you’re on the Capes & Coffee or Red on Red Discord servers already, there will be pinned invites in the applicable channels.

As always, you are welcome to reach out with any questions or concerns. We love and appreciate you all very much and thank you for always being so supportive and for joining us for a whole week of fun and fandom.

[dc-aspec-week]

Welcome @themandylion to the Aspec Community ♠️

Hi, hello! I'm clarityhiding on AO3, themandylion Tumblr and Discord, Mandy everywhere. I've be in fandom long enough that my online fandom presence can legally drink in the U.S. Being in DC fandom and meeting so many wonderful fans with different experiences and viewpoints helped me to realize that I’m demisexual. I draw a little, write a bit more, and probably put far too much thought into stories I'll never write. 

I'm a moderator for JayTim Week, which isn't currently holding an event but runs 1–2 times a year. I'm also a moderator for Capes & Coffee, which isn't an event but rather a public Discord server. It was created specifically for Tim Drake fans, but it's also a gathering place for fans of the Bats and DC in general. 

Read more of Vigilante Life Cycle  Find them on Tumblr | Archiveofourown 

More Highlights

[chibinightowl]

Fanfic Year in Review!

I was tagged by @glaciya! I feel so called out with some of these totals... I write too much.

How many works do you have on ao3?

Too many... 154

What’s your total ao3 word count

1705830

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Batman and the associated comics, DCU, Batman Beyond, and a Castlevania crossover.

Are there any new fandoms you want to write for?

I could find myself falling into SpideyPool given the chance to read their actual comic series. And I plan to get into The Witcher, but more as a prompt fill that will involve JayTim.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos

The Dog Days of Summer, Bloodlines, Stray Cat Strut, Masquerade, and The Knight’s Quest (aka Sir Tim).

Which of your fics do you want more attention for?

Can’t think of any!

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I reply to all comments, unless I’m receiving comments on every chapter for a completed fic. When that happens, I usually reply to just the last one.

What sorts of things do you normally write?

Give me AUs or give me death. Also known as taking canon and tossing it out the window.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending

The one ficlet buried here on Tumblr that @nykyrianne and I still laugh/cry about where I misunderstood what hurt/comfort meant. 

What’s a fic that pushed you out of your comfort zone?

This is an older fic, but at the time I (Don’t) Want to Believe was the story that pushed me down creative paths I didn’t realize I was even capable of. It was my first collaboration too, with @strikeyourcolors, and also the first time I’ve ever written something as spooky as that. It was also my first time writing Kon’s POV and a threesome between Tim, Jason, and Kon. And you know what? I take back what I said earlier about not having a fic that should have more attention. This fic deserves a lot more attention than it’s gotten and can be read as a standalone despite it being the second in a series.  

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I’ve written one crossover between Batman and Castlevania, featuring Jason as Father Jason Belmont (technically born Jason Todd) and Tim Drake the thousand year old vampire.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I’ve written a few, but the one that languishes the most is the aforementioned JayTim Cowboy Vampire AU that @glaciya brought up.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Eyes of the Moon God

What are you currently working on?

Umm... I feel like I should link a previous post about my WIPs. The biggest WIP I’ve got going is The Accountant.

What are your writing strengths?

Plot development and dialogue

What are your writing weaknesses?

Scene description and having too many WIPs

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Most recent?

JayTim all the way!

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh man, don’t ask me that! Depending on my mood, I’ve got like five of them.

What fic are you most proud of?

Tuesday Nights. I have made some fantastic friends because of that story, a few of whom I’ve met in real life at this point. Although, Casebook will always hold a special place in my heart because one of my most cherished friendships sprung from that series.

Anyone is more than welcome to join in this Not Quite Year in Review (more like several years), but I’ll tag @themandylion, @snowzapped, @generatorcat, @thelonelysatellite, and @crimson--lux

Have fun and Happy New Year to everyone!

[vellaphoria]

thanks @waffleinator-inator for tagging me!

rules: shuffle your 'on repeat' playlist and post the first ten tracks 1. Comfortable Mystery Part 4 by Kevin MacLeod

2. Letterbomb by Green Day/ Rebecca Naomi Jones

3. Rip & Tear by Mick Gordon

4. Cinderella Snapped by Jax

5. Dog Days are Over by Florence + The Machine

6. Bad Guy (Eklipse)

7. Movement by Hozier

8. Dance the Night by dula peep Dua Lipa

9. Labour by Paris Paloma

10. Dandelions by Ruth B.

You can tell that some of my writing music ended up on here lol

if there's an interest: @gerryrigged, @marirah, @captain-ursula, @themandylion, @lionsaint, @shmoo92, + anyone else who feels like it :D

also tagging my beta reader if u feel like doing this over dm <3

[aceofshitposts]

Fanfic Year In Review

I was tagged by @themandylion or well my main was eeeh semantics How many works do you have on AO3? i have a WHOPPING 12 whole fics up on my ao3 account. astonishing, i know What’s your total ao3 word count? total? 24, 979 words. just this year? 12,448 How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? this year has been all about batman [finger guns] Are there any new fandoms you want to write for? eh not really atm What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Lost In The Details, May The Tide Welcome Us Home, Of Explosions and Ice Cream, A Moment's Notice, Lay No Flowers Upon My Grave Which of your fics do you want more attention for? oh man i don't know hahaha, i'm grateful for any attention and also at the same time wish to not be perceived at all or ever Do you respond to comments, why or why not? i do! or i try to anyway. like i said i'm super grateful for anyone to leave a comment on something i've written so i try to make sure people know i appreciate it! What sorts of things do you normally write? there is nothing i like to do more than poke my fingers into holes in canon and see how i can fix that. i love restructuring canon or decontextualizing it although i admit i don't post a lot of that lmao i also love working on AUs! especially ghost stories What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? oh lord, i tend to avoid unhappy endings as much as possible but there was a kingdom hearts fic i wrote once that isn't on my ao3 :P What’s a fic that pushed you out of your comfort zone? ohh uuuh honestly i'm gonna say lay no flowers and not bcause of the content but more because i am really bad at chaptered fics because it's really difficult for me to write something long Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? i have never seriously written a crossover although i entertain the idea of them often lmao the craziest would probably be the time my friend and i went ham in our dms for vanitas (kingdom hearts) x draco (the franchise we no longer name) Have you ever had a fic translated?. i have not! Have you ever co-written a fic before? long long time ago. haven't had the opportunity to again since What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? there's a few in my wip folder that i probably won't finish despite every intention to. noteable shout outs go out to the continuation of may the tide welcome us home and the 5+1 jaytim secret dating i keep trying to chip away at that cheetah requested 😭 What are you currently working on? a civilian jason coffee shop type au and a reverse jaytim au ;) What are your writing strengths? i consider myself pretty good at setting the atmosphere :) What are your writing weaknesses? dialogue and keeping my focus honestly lol sometimes i get really caught up in the whole 'x says y says' kind of stuff which i always feel like makes my writing feel stiff. gotta remember i can just leave it haha What was the first fandom you wrote for? Most recent? the very first? that'd be pokemon way back on the serebii forums where my writing career was almost cut short by a mod that made it her mission to criticize every young/new writer so harshly they'd never want to write again (what no i'm not bitter at all) the most recent would be batman What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? favourite?? oh goodness uh- honestly i have a big soft spot for this destiel fic i never finished haha but y'all probably want something you can actually read so hmm i think A Moment's Notice What fic are you most proud of? right now i think that'd have to go to Chart A Line since it's a gift fic and i really do like how it came out and that kiichi liked it!!

i will politely tag @heybabybird and @penumbra-twist if they want to do it :)

[bumpkin-is]

Please tell me about "congrats Jack, you have a Robin"

@themandylion ask about this one too 😁

This WIP came about because I swore I had read something that was similar but couldn't find it no matter how much google-fu I tried to apply - so I guessed it was a dream and I had to try and write it... Excerpt of the barebones outline/idea that has since been changed: Batman and a few of the other JL members are locked away from this reality by a villain (figure that part out in a bit, or maybe just some new aliens trying to get an advantage), The JL members left know something happened but not exactly what and so they decide to go to the second best detective in the world - Robin (who they think is Batman's third son). Superman and WW are the only two who know him very well and because they figure that Superman can find the kid no matter where he is (think he might be already out Robin'ing or something). They go to Gotham to get him and are drawn to the neighbor's house rather than Wayne Manor and are very confused, but hey, they knock on the door and ask for Robin. Jack answers and is like "What the Hell are you talking about?" Superman and WW think that perhaps this is best continued indoors and pushed inside, Jack protests loudly, which is what triggers Tim into his 'Robin' entrance (leaps from the top of the stairs and lands in a ready stance). And since this is a shortie fic - it basically ends there with Tim saying "Oh shit." as his father gapes at him.