#tim’s crush on danny is basically the same thing

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny AU- Pt.4

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3] [Pt.5] [Pt.6] [Pt.7] [Pt.8] [Pt.9] [Pt.10]

Danny was sitting in the back, his backpack obnoxiously taking up the seat next to him, when the door to the lecture hall creaked open near silently.

“What are you in here for?” Danny asked the guy who crept into class. He sympathetically took his backpack off the Seat of Shame and allowed the guy to sit down. Funnily enough, they had the same hair and eye color.

“Gen Ed. Undecided. You?” The guy grunted quietly back.

“Environmental studies. I’m Danny.”

“Tim.”

With the implicit understanding of two people in a required class they could not give less than two fucks about, Tim and Danny tuned back into the lecture. When the class was assigned group work, Danny looked over to see Tim softly snoring, head slammed down on the table.

“Tim. Wake up, dude.” Danny poked his shoulder.

“Huh? Class over?”

“Nah, we got group work. Discussion board.”

“Oh shit, thanks for waking me up. Wanna team up?”

Danny shrugged. “Sure. We should aim to post it in the middle so the professor doesn’t read our answers to the class.”

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Any idea what we’re talking about?”

“Kind of?”

“Good enough for me.”

——

Tim Drake kept seeing Danny Fenton around on campus.

“Danny! Dude, what are you doing?”

Danny turned, gloved hands full of crumpled trash. “Picking up after the student population, apparently.”

“Didn’t think environmental studies was that serious.”

“Global warming is very serious, you jerk,” Danny smirked at him, crossing the grass to put the trash into the trash can. “Reduce, reuse, oil shouldn’t be spilled in water and all that.”

“Basic stuff,” Tim grinned. Nice, he basically had a friend past Bernard now!

They were friends, right?

“And yet humanity fails to comprehend it. Incredible. Incredibly stupid that is.”

“They get it. Major corporations just don’t care.”

Danny sighed. “True that. You on your way to your next class?” He took off his biodegradable gloves off (nitrile and nylon, baby!) and chucked them into the trash.

“I’ve got free time, actually. Prof cancelled for his daughter’s surgery.”

“Oh, shit, that’s rough! You wanna go downtown and join the strike?”

“A strike? What for?” Even as he asked, Tim hiked his bag higher onto his shoulder, ready to go. They fell into step as the two left campus.

“Apparently, Quillan Pharma was doing some shady shit at their manufacturing plants. I think it’s like killing kids, and pouring toxins into the ground.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah. Oh! Poison Ivy’s gonna be there!”

Tim blinked. He casted a sideways look at Danny. Sure he’s been here long enough to know… but it couldn’t hurt to check. “You know she’s an eco-terrorist, right?”

“Okay, but like… people suck sometimes. And all she’s asking for is like don’t kill the planet. And she doesn’t do that whole mind control thing too much anymore! The Sirens are so cool. Plus, one of my best friends at home might actually kill me if I don’t try to get her autograph. Poison Ivy is like, Sam’s personal hero.”

Tim snickered. “Yeah, okay. Mind if one of my friends join? His name’s Bernard.”

“The more the merrier,” Danny nodded. “Ooo! Hot chocolate. Want some?”

Danny bought three drinks as Tim trailed behind, texting Bernard.

“He said yes.”

“Cool! We should meet up somewhere before the drinks get cold.”

Well, Danny got the autograph. Tim got a new friend, and Bernard got a drink from his crush.

——

“Oh, you’re the glowing dude that Batman always talks about!”

Danny blinked, eyes scanning the wing-like cape and the yellow emblem on the hero’s suit. Danny was indeed glowing, stars and nebulas freckling across neon green skin, and glowing hair the color of a white dwarf star, tinged with the blue from his ice core.

“I… have absolutely no idea who you are,” Danny lied, like a liar. He’s found a surprising niche of entertainment in messing with the local vigilantes and he’ll be damned if he missed this opportunity.

He heard a snicker from the comm lines as Red Robin visibly brushes it off.

“I’m Red Robin. Why are you picking up trash?”

“Picking up after you humans, apparently.”

The both of them blink, feeling a weird sense of déjà vu. A moment of awkward silence passed before they both shook it off.

“Are you here to help? No offense, but the track record for you people is terrible.” Danny strode over and grabbed a bag. He opened it, and shook it at Red Robin’s face. “See? Batarangs, these odd bird looking ones, the R’s. Seriously, pick up after yourselves!”

“Oh, woah, can we have these back?”

Danny yanked the bag back before Red Robin could get close. “Pay me. These were incredibly tedious to pick up. Especially the batarangs. I mean, I even found a whole bunch of old rusted ones in the middle of the bay. What did you do, dump an entire bag in there from the air?”

Red Robin sighed and took out a wad of cash, with tracking fluid all over it. Danny grimaced, smelling the odd scent on the money. “That’s not real cash. It smells off. Are you trying to give me counterfeits because you’re broke?”

Red Robin gaped, oddly offended. “No! They’re real!”

“Doesn’t smell like it. It’s stinkier than the trash. Go get the one with the money, the litterer. Tell him I’ll be back the next full moon. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” Danny grumbled, disappearing on the spot to watch Red Robin flounder with the stack of cash and the piles of dead bodies on the shore.

“What the fuck even is my life these days?” Red Robin wondered out loud, stuffing the cash back into his pocket. He looked over the plastic wrapped bodies and slumped, sighing.

Oddly enough, Danny felt a sense of sympathy. Well, he’s not getting paid for sympathy. He’s not getting paid at all tonight, actually. Danny flew off, plunging once more into the depths of the significantly cleaner waters, and used his ice to scoop out oil stains.

Danny glanced around and sighed. He had a lot of work to do.

——

“So you’re saying he’s like a werewolf mermaid fae child immortal god thing, right?”

Bruce grunted.

“B, what the hell are you smoking these days? You know drugs are bad, right? Do we need Superman to give you that PSA?” Jason snickered.

Tim, massaging his arms from having to haul an ungodly amount of dead bodies, grunted. He’s so similar to Bruce that it gave the people currently in the cave hives.

“He said full moon. I don’t think we can track him with regular stuff. The bugs kept shorting out.”

“Oh boy,” Dick sighed. “Don’t fall off the spiral cliff, Tim. You’ve got midterms to think about so no stalking the guy.”

“Yet,” Tim shot back, changing out of his suit.

Bruce grunted, setting aside a huge stack of cash.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #571

Top Ten Things by Daughter #2

So every year I hand over my glorious, shining blog to my progeny to allow them to mucky it all up for their birthdays. And that time has come round again as we celebrate the anniversary of Daughter #2 gracing us with her presence. It was the same day the Mercedes garage near our house installed a giant rotating logo, funnily enough. Put it in your diary.

Anyway, I asked her a while ago what she wanted to write and she just decided to list “everything”. So that’s what this is: a list of everything. It’s basically her top ten everything of all time ever. She wrote it out for me in her little diary, which has a lock on it, and I couldn’t open it, so I’ve had to wait until she allowed me to see the list.

And that’s really that for this week! She obviously hasn’t written great screeds on the subject because, well, she can’t be arsed doing my work for me. I’ve tried to elucidate slightly on the items in her list, because I think with the best will in the world they might need a tiny bit of explaining in some cases. But as is the case with all these lists that I get my brood to contribute too – and also some of the early Top Tens I wrote, flush with the joys of new parenthood – they serve as a nice snapshot of where we all are at this moment. These are the things she likes right now, as she turn eight. Future generations will look back and wonder whether it’s entirely appropriate to show too much Tim Burton to a primary schooler. Or ask just what the hell is up with “lilac”.

Anyway, here you go. Have at it, and happy birthday.

Baby Betsy: so, this is her little dog, Betsy; I’m not allowed to say plush dog or toy dog, she’s just a dog, okay? It’s “Baby” Betsy because it’s the small, baby form of her Nanna’s dog, “Big” Betsy (who is, herself, pretty small). Does that make sense? So Betsy at number one totally tracks, because this is her “Woody” (god I wish that character had a different name), her little friend who she takes everywhere.

Mummy: yeah, okay, this makes sense too. Who doesn’t love their mum? And Daughter #2 has such a sense of feminine style that she requires a role model to, well, do her hair. Coz I can’t do plaits. Sorry.

Daddy: honestly surprised I’m this high. I’ll take it.

Puppies: like, in general; all puppies. She’s dog-mad. All she wants in life is a ton of puppies. Everything is canine-related. Might buy her Cujo for her birthday.

Dumbo (2019): yes, I double-checked, and this isn’t the character, she really does mean the 2019 live-action film by Tim Burton. It’s better than the other one, she says. I’m not sure I agree, although it is less racist. Also, it’s worth highlighting that Dumbo is (low bar here) one of the best live-action Disney “reimaginings”, succeeding by focusing on Dumbo (the character) as being an adjunct to the human family drama that’s unfolding. It also does well by continuing for a good 45 minutes after the point where the initial film ended, having Michael Keaton play – well – a villainous, fictionalised version of Walt Disney but with better hair. It manages to be a sweet, Paddington-esque drama but also lean into some Burton wackiness, and completes his trilogy of Films With Danny DeVito That Have A Circus In Them. Also: two Penguins.

Art: like, art. I think she means, y’know, drawing and painting. Not specifically the concept of art – including everything from song to prose to Candy Crush Saga – and nor does she refer to the 1994 play by Yasmina Reza. Just, like, painting and whatnot.

Lasagne: like her father and his messiah (Garfield), she loves lasagne. Nothing more to say here. It’s delicious. I want some now.

Books: yeah, she’s being a bit all-encompassing with some of these isn’t she? “All books”. Books are great and all, but despite being a very advanced reader for her age, I guess she’s not really that well-read in the grand scheme of things. Maybe she’ll think less of books by the time she gets round to Digital Fortress by Dan Brown.

Lilac (the colour): your guess is as good as mine.

Wednesday (2022): no, not the day, nor even the character; she means the show. She might be putting the cart before the horse a little bit coz we’ve only watched two or three episodes so far; maybe it falls off a cliff. Maybe it becomes less like the good Barry Sonnenfeld movies, and more like the ropey, middle-of-the-road animated movies. Anyway, I’m pleased that she likes Wednesday, for three reasons: (1) I wanted to watch it anyway; (2) it’s a proper TV programme that we can all enjoy, unlike some of the other stuff she makes us watch; and (3) maybe this and Dumbo will be a gateway drug to more Tim Burton and we can watch Batman and Batman Returns this year. Remember: a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it!

[darkspellmaster]

What are your thoughts on the whole Tim Drake story so far?

I'm mixed honestly.

On the one hand, I'm fine with Tim being bi, nothing wrong with that and it can cover a lot of ground if you have the right writer to work with it. However, I feel like, on the other hand, the choice of writer right now for him in regard to YJ and for his Solo series might not be the best.

My issue mostly stems from the same problem I have with the break up of Peter and MJ. Steph and Tim have been connected so long that it's very hard to see him dating others. This holds true for when the two of them broke up before and he ended up engaged to another woman. While I'm okay with them splitting, same with Dick and Babs, I personally am not liking the way it's being handled due to how OOC Steph is. She's kind of jealous, and has shown that in the past with the situation where Tim was with another girl. So why she's excited and shit is beyond me.

I need to see more of what she's going to do to figure out where this is going. Tim has such a long history and connection to so many characters that it feels like DC made a huge goof when they didn't transition the YJ gen into more solid roles before bringing in Damian and co. Don't get me wrong I love my young teams, it's just that it feels like a lot of the issue with Tim's story needs to be expanded.

I'm happy so far with him in Batman and Detective, and the focus there on building back his past to define him more against Jason and Dick. Looks like they're giving Damian Magic to make him different as well, so I'm all for that. I just want Tim to be treated as fairly as Dick is and how Jason is being given a fair shake now.

Part of the issue too is that there were also WAY better male characters to hook Tim up with, and ones that made WAY more sense.

Danny Temple, for example, aka Kid Kobra, was his room mate and Tim went to hell and back to rescue him. There was more chemistry between them than him and Bernard, and Danny had a way more interesting back story that could have played more into Tim learning about himself.

There was also Harper's younger brother, who said he had a crush on Tim. I mean, right there. You can bring in Blue Jay more and Cullen could play a larger role than he is right now. Which is just dating a member of the Royal Flush Gang apparently? Maybe? I'm not sure what they're doing with him.

I would say even Duke, but I don't know if DC would let that happen. So then you look outside of the Batfamily and you have one hell of a list if the Editors will allow the use of them.

Airwave -Aka Hal Jordan Jr. Hal 'Green Lantern' Jordan's nephew who basically admitted to liking guys to his uncle. And Hal told him to go get help learning to be a hero from, of all people, Batman.

Hartley Rathway -Aka the Pied Piper. I'm not sure how old he is in earth Prime, but assuming early 20s, it could be a fun look at how Tim could deal with someone like that, if they let the cross over happen.

Francisco Gracia -Son of Stefano Gracia. He's a classmate of Steph and has ties to Roulette.

Hero Cruz -one of the Dial H for hero characters. He knows Conner and the titans.

Joel Weinberg -aka Huston, a young hero who was trying to keep his family together after his parents died.

Kid Apollo -Hey look it's from Gen 13 and could be a fun ride if someone wanted to take it.

Miguel Montez -current owner of the dial H for Hero device. Also friends with the Titans.

Miguel Barragan -aka Bunker. Of all the characters to not use for this, why not use Bunker! He and Tim already have a friendship, he's not doing anything recently outside of the Teen Titans thing, and if anyone can help Tim navigate all of this it would be Miguel because he's been through a lot.

Raymond Terrill  -aka The Ray. Ray worked with Tim when he was in YJ so I would say old friends could rekindle something.

Rich Foley -You want to bring the Dakotaverse more into DC, you have Tim date Virgil's best friend.

Terrence Berg -Bring back Terry from Green Lantern. He's the same age as Tim, and is blonde too. He's already an established character and again would connect the bats and the Lanterns.

There are so many characters out there. I mean, you really want to throw people for a loop, have him date Jon.

Like I said I feel mixed. I'm happy that Tim's moving forward with stories and that his character is being explored more. But I just wish that some of it would be with a writer that I feel more confident about, and with a partner that was more in line with what we know about Tim as a character.

Again no hate for Bernard, I just don't find him interesting.

[avaritia-apotheosis]

Phantom Children Ch. 7

Massive thanks to my awesome betas for this chapter!

In Which: A Story is Given to the Locked Room

AO3 | Prologue | 6 | [ 7 ] | 8

DICK DOESN’T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO FEEL. Surprised, maybe? Though he really isn’t all that shocked. Not that the revelation of another Wayne kid isn’t surprising, it’s just that—well…

Bruce has a tendency to attract foolhardy kids with a strong sense of justice and a willingness to harp on Batman until he gives them wings and teaches them how to fly. It’s the way of the world. The sky is blue, the sun sets in the west, and little Robin-hopefuls flock to Batman like ducklings to their big, brooding, mother duck. (That most of them are black haired and blue-eyed with some sort of traumatic backstory is a coincidence. Probably. The universe is just weird that way.)

And Bruce, bleeding heart that he is despite all the steel walls and nuclear spike fields he placed around it, always had a soft spot for children. It’s what people don’t get when they call Robins and Batgirls, former or current, child soldiers. They think that Batman picks these children up from gutter alleys and unfortunate homes, breaking and reshaping them into crusaders for his war against crime.

(What most don’t get is that the easiest way to gain ‘favorite child’ status in the Wayne household is to just stay home and live the most normal life possible. All of them—with the exception of Damian and Cass—chose this life. And even those two chose to stick with it, even when Bruce was more than happy to give them a way out.)

Dick was one of the first to stand at Batman’s side. The original. The ‘golden boy’ as Jason always put it. He’d been there so early in Batman’s career that, years later, it’s nearly inconceivable to imagine Batman without his Robin. He’s been there for Bruce’s soaring highs, his crushing lows, his mundane middles, just as Bruce has been there for him. Sure, they’ve had their fights, but Dick had always settled himself with the knowledge that he was one of the few people that knew everything about Bruce Wayne.

But this . This nursery—no, this memorial . This monument that spoke of a life that could have, should have, would have been, is something that predates Robin’s existence. A story, a memory that had hurt Bruce so badly that he would rather hide it away than breathe even a word of its existence.

Until now. Until Bruce had no choice but to rip the wound open once more.

“Bruce. I—what’s going on?”

“Perhaps,” Alfred interjected. “Perhaps it may be best to take this to the cave. Such a story should be told once.”

Bruce laughed, a broken, shuddering thing. “What is there to tell? I was naive with a heart too open and full of longing. I let myself hope, and I let myself get crushed . I picked myself up, moved on, end of story.”

Alfred raised an imperious brow. “As you are the one who always insisted on detailed reports, I do hope your summary to the boys downstairs would have a little more detail.” His face softened as he placed a comforting hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “What recent information that has been passed to us paints a worrisome picture, given what little you have shared, but know that this time you are not alone to deal with this matter. Regardless of what you do, the rest of the family is involved by proxy."

Bruce seemed to release some of the tension in his shoulders at that. “Yes. Of course. Dick, why don’t you see if Tim is back yet. I don’t want to explain this more than once, if possible. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure, I’ll get right on that.”

“And, Dick?”

“Yeah?”

Bruce’s gaze was intense. “How is Damian doing?”

He remembered the way Damian sunk deeper into the chair, hands clasping and unclasping at air. The white of his cast hanging limply as Damian’s legs could just barely brush against the cave floor. Dick swallowed a lump in his throat. “I don’t know. But I do know that he could really use his father right about now.”

Bruce gave a shaky nod and Dick left.

_______

Everyone has heard this tale before.

His boys have learned about the birth of Batman, of how a boy lost his parents in an alley at the age of eight. How at 14 he took to the study of criminology to an almost religious fervor. He took and aced every AP test, graduated high school at 16, headed off to get a college degree, then disappeared off the face of the earth.

Batman may have been born kneeling in the shadows of a dirty alley, but it was on the streets abroad where Batman grew up. Learning and studying and fighting until he knew what made the criminal underworld tick, how to escape almost every type of restraints, how to solve a murder with only the smallest of clues. He trained under a demon and met his daughter. When their ideas of justice clashed with each other, he tried to leave, they tried to stop him, and he set their base on ablaze.

He returned to Gotham the prodigal son, the favored prince, the charming socialite. Bruce Wayne took his place at the center of Gotham’s solar system, shining and bright and unbelievably foolish. Batman put on a cowl and learned the shadows of Gotham’s streets, and built himself up to be a symbol of fear and justice. Soon, he acquired a Robin to temper that darkness. To bring a light of hope, to instill a sense of peace— something more than vengeance and the night.

The rest is history.

Here is the part of the story that Bruce had omitted:

Early in his career as Batman, a man named Quayin had plans to steal a weather modifying US satellite. This, and certain other events, led to Bruce and Ra’s al Ghul crossing paths—and working on the same side. The details of that mission, in the long run. do not matter. Not anymore. What’s important is that accompanying him is his daughter, Talia al Ghul. She was as deadly as she was beautiful—and Talia was very, very beautiful.

It was a whirlwind romance. A storm of passion. Gotham’s Bruce Wayne and socialite Miranda Tate. * Batman and the Daughter of the Demon. The tempest reached its peak on that fateful day in the gardens of Wayne Manor. The hot summer sun and buzzing insects fading away as she pulled him aside and said “Beloved, I am with child. I am pregnant.” **

Bruce was caught unawares by the news. Stared dumbfounded at her until his brain caught up with his ears and he felt such unbridled joy bubbling in his chest. He laughed, clear and bright. He held her tight against him as if she held the world in her hands—because she did . Talia held his world within her and Bruce vowed to protect it with every fiber of his being. He called Alfred immediately to tell him the news and started arranging for discreet interior decorators and shipments for everything they needed for a nursery.

Thomas, for a boy. Martha for a girl. He swore that very day that it would be the happiest baby in the world. **

And then—

And then…

As Ra’s and Bruce planned their next move to stop Quayin from initiating a war between America and the USSR, Talia collapsed.

Talia collapsed and the baby was just…

Gone.

And suddenly Talia wanted nothing to do with him. Told Bruce to leave her alone, that their relationship would never be the same.

His child was gone .

By the time the rogue satellite was recovered, Quayin defeated, and all loose ends tied up, the nursery was fully furnished. Bruce took one look at it and then turned away. Locked the door and hid the key god-knows-where.

His child was gone.

Batman continued to work.

There was no use for an empty nursery.

--------

End Notes:

The story I'm using for the circumstances surrounding Danny's birth is basically a modified version of what happens in Batman: Son of the Demon. Modified so that people knew that Bruce Wayne and Miranda Tate were a couple and to give enough time for a nursery to be built along with the rest of the events of that comic.

*Miranda Tate is the name Tahlia al Ghul went by in 'The Dark Knight Rises'

**These lines are taken from Batman: Son of the Demon

[tmabutlesbian]

 ‘Kay, so round 2 on the random TMA headcanons of mine that Just Make Sense:

- if Danny were alive and met the archival staff, he’d have a boy crush on Martin, which would make him question his sexuality, like, all day, everyday - Martin and Sasha are platonically married and it’s just a joke among the archival staff but Jon never got the context so this poor man was just walking around the archives absolutely confused out of his mind - okay so like, you know the Trixie Mattel (yes the drag queen) laugh? Sasha laughs just like that, no you can’t change my mind, she’s very put together yes but her LAUGH sdftgyhjk - I’m not over the fact that Annabelle has a lil lisp, it’s killing me in a gay way, and gOD she so got bullied for it as a child, you just know it dude - imagine if the archives had like a goth week, where everyone had to look goth and shit, s1 scenario here, Elias doesn’t try just wears black, Sasha and Tim coordinate and it’s either so good it hurts or so atrocious it also hurts, Jon doesn’t try at first but then he’s like ‘fuck it’ and fucking kills them on sight with his dust covered clothes from uni, but MARTIN (in my head) has an alt goth cousin whom he loves very much so he’s like ‘hey,,, can you help me here?’ and my boy truly is the real winner every single day. Sasha has never felt straighter, Tim has never felt gayer, and Jon’s questioning things - I’ll draw them, one they, I will ^^^ - ^ I’m still not done, Martin with smudged eyeliner??? hELLO????!!! Black LIPSTICK????? HELLOOOOOO?????????!!!!!!!!!! BLACK NAIL POLISH ?’?!?!?!?!??!?!?!? TFUGYHUKLRJKIDSGFPOÇLKFERLF - (anyways) Jon’s fav type of kiss is forehead kiss ‘cause it makes him feel like a very good cat who deserves a lil peck on its lil forehead - Martin love Florence and the machine and you can’t tell me otherwise, it’s illegal to do so, also AURORA cause he has taste and also many feelings - Sasha and Tim know every ABBA song by heart but Sasha can sing them all beautifully, Tim has his passion to make it up for his kinda not good but also could be worse singing skills - god, I’m thinking abt my magic AU and damn,,, Daisy working on a farm and growing out her hair and learning how to make flower crowns and gOD I’m but a simple lesbian- - Daisy has the cabin safe house for the reasons stated bUT she also wanted to, y’know, with Basira, and stuff, but she’s a coward and awkward so,,, welp! - for some reason, I think Melanie and Jane Prentiss would have like a similar clothing style? Idk why but I do - Martin has a thing for men wearing skirts/dresses/crop tops, so you can imagine the amount of gay sweating he would have if he were dating both Jon and Tim, two men who really do feel nice whenever they wear skirts/dresses/crop tops - OMG Annabelle for sure wears a corset. Oh god. Pretty woman wear corset me lesbian die oh no - Melanie has a sleeve tattoo. Of what? Idk tell me, but she has it on at least one arm - between his 15 to 18 years, Martin dyed his hair like cotton candy like mostly pastel pink but you’d see some purple and some blue here and there. He’d dyed it black when he got in the Magnus Institute tho - when he was still transitioning, Tim didn’t like his voice that much so he was basically mute for some of his teenage years, so Danny took it upon himself to learn every lil sign and tic and gesture of his brother so that they could still communicate, so long story short, Danny and Tim could have conversations without words with no problem - Daisy has heterochromia, one blue and another green, so it’s not super noticeable from far away - Melanie bottoms and you know it - (controversial) Daisy is sub dom and Basira is power bottom, and no you can’t change my mind - this one is obvious but Georgie is very much still alt and goth from uni - Mel and Georgie had their feelings epiphany when they were doing that sapphic thing of doing each other’s makeup, don’t know what for but that’s what made it click for them - (just fyi whenever i talk abt Daisira it’s NEVER in the context of canon, like no, it’s always like an AU. With that said) Basira and Daisy don’t really kiss much but they do like forehead touch a lot, they like putting their foreheads on each other - cows do lay down and sleep on Martin’s beautiful thick legs and every single time he sheds a least a lil tear (he loves cows so much and honesly? same)

[patriciasage]

blocks and repetitions

Author: Patricia_Sage

Fandom: The Magnus Archives

Summary: 

"Don't worry, Jon, I'm just as annoyed by you as I am by all the rest of these nerds." Tim sits on a nearby box, indicating for Jon to do the same. He looks affronted when Tim picks up the mug again, but visibly stops himself from commenting on the code violation. "My brother had a stutter. Not as bad as yours. But I went to a few of his speech therapy appointments and picked up on a few things."

[season 3 spoilers]

read the full story under the break, or visit me on AO3

"When he introduces himself, don't fucking interrupt him," Tim says cheerfully before opening the door to the haggard-looking young woman.

She frowns, her chapped lips opening into a question. She's interrupted by Jon snarling from his desk. "I t-told you to ssstop doing that, T-T-Tim."

"Doing what?" Tim asks innocently. Jon rolls his eyes and dismisses him with a gesture of his dark hand. Tim closes the door with a dazzling smile that quickly falls. Sure, Jon being his boss had settled strangely in his stomach, but Tim found that his frustration could be balanced with a generous amount of irritating the hell out of Jon.

Jon's voice comes low and muffled through the door. "My name is J-J-J-Jonathan Sssims, Head Archivist."

"Oh," the woman says in delayed understanding.

Jon sighs. "Yes. Your ssstatement?"

Tim knows his anger is misplaced. It's not Jon's fault that Elias chose wrong. But he will always be on Sasha's side and seeing her hide her disappointment when she speaks with Jon in the break room makes Tim want to lash out.

So his heart wars with its defence of Sasha and its protection of Jon. Because no matter how mad he is, Tim can't help but see a brother in Jon. His brother.

******

"Yyyou don't in...terrupt me."

Tim looks up from the coffee cup in his hand to see Jonathan Sims looking at him from the other side of the shelf, his perpetual frown visible through the spaces between the boxes. Jon had started working in the Research Department only last week, but he had probably been twice as productive as Tim in the past two months.

"Why would I?" Tim responds, quickly placing his coffee on a nearby shelf before continuing to pretend to sort through folders.

"You... do fffor everyone else."

"Do I?"

"Yes!"

The sound of cane on concrete accompanies Jon's route around the stacks and soon he's glaring up at Tim properly. Tim suppresses a smile.

"Don't worry, Jon, I'm just as annoyed by you as I am by all the rest of these nerds." Tim sits on a nearby box, indicating for Jon to do the same. He looks affronted when Tim picks up the mug again, but visibly stops himself from commenting on the code violation. "My brother had a stutter. Not as bad as yours. But I went to a few of his speech therapy appointments and picked up on a few things."

He doesn't want Jon to ask about Danny. It hurts him to say the strategically boring story he's made while imagining the circus in his mind. He redirects. "Did you ever get speech?"

"Yyyes, b-b-believe it or not."

Tim chuckles. Jon's shoulders relax.

"When I was yyyoung, I-." He takes a breath and something awful and familiar clouds his expression before he collects himself. "I-I lived with my g...grandmother." When he gets stuck on a sound, his face freezes in a wince. Danny was blonde and fair-skinned and different from Jon in basically every way, but in that moment Tim can't help but recognize his brother. His chest feels warm. Jon continues, "Shhhe didn't have t-t-time for it."

Jon is awkward, as if he's not accustomed to sitting and talking with a friend.

Tim offers him a sip of his coffee. Jon declines in affronted disgust. Sasha finds them soon after, Tim nearly tipping over, laughing, while Jon flails and shouts at him about spilling coffee in the Archives.

******

Martin has a crush on Jon.

It took a bit of deduction, but Tim finally figured it out. Now that he knows, it's painfully obvious. Sasha had been aghast that he had missed it.

Tim watches Martin watch Jon and, for a second, tries to imagine them as a couple. Martin is big and soft and bright. Jon is small and sharp and dark. They would be cute together in a cartoonish way.

But Martin needs to stop fussing.

Jon is fragile, physically and mentally, but he won't admit it and he definitely doesn't want others to address it. And Martin is a caregiver to his bones. When Jon shivers, he lends him a scarf. When Jon forgets his cane in the break room, he brings it to him. When Jon stumbles on the stairs, he steadies him. Even when Jon snarls in response, defensive and proud.

Sasha had been reading a book on "love languages" last month. Martin is the king of acts of service.

Tim isn't particularly invested in Jon's happiness and he's only just met Martin. But he's bored and it would be way more entertaining to watch Martin succeed than to watch him get snapped at.

Tim sends an email and Martin's computer chimes in acknowledgement, startling the man out of his wistful look. Jon also glances up at the noise and catches an unsuspecting Martin's eye, making the large man blush. It's impressive how such a large man can shrink himself down. Tim rolls his eyes.

Jon puts the textbook he had been reading on the couch next to him. His glasses perch forgotten among the dark curls on top of his head. "Is that the S-" he gets stuck on the sound and Martin swoops in. Jon suppresses an irritated sigh.

"The Sarabande case? Let me check - no, it's from Tim."

Tim's betrayed glare is lost on Martin, who is too busy watching Jon. The Head Archivist notices Tim, though.

"G...get to wwwork!" Jon demands, standing. Tim mock salutes him.

Sasha chooses that moment to appear in the doorway with a tray of Starbucks coffees. "I couldn't remember your order, Martin-" She nearly runs into Jon. "Oh."

"Oh!" Jon spits back. He gestures to the drinks. "Ssstop wa-wa-waste-" Jon cuts himself off with a growl and storms down the hall to his office.

"Whoops," Tim says as the door slams.

Sasha smirks at him. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! God. This is what I get for trying to help Martin's love life. I'm never being nice again."

Martin turns red. "What?" He frowns suspiciously at his computer screen.

"Did you set up a dating profile for him or something?" Sasha places the drink on Martin's desk as he begins to sputter.

Tim leans back in his chair with a groan. "Just read it, Martin, for fuck's sake."

Sasha leans against Tim's desk. Tim grabs for the caffeine and sends a thankful kiss through the air to her. She winks. Tim no longer feels irritated.

"Oh." Martin says softly. He's reading through the website Tim sent him with a thoughtful and guilty look. He doesn't even freak out at his coworkers knowing about his crush on their boss.

Sasha raises an eyebrow and Tim turns his computer screen to her in response, the link still open in his browser.

tips for speaking with someone who stutters

She nods approvingly before sitting at her desk.

Martin may sometimes have trouble with research, but he's an expert at kindness. Tim is surprised at how much it impacts his interactions with Jon.

Their boss seeks out Martin at lunch, excitedly talking about their shared interest in ancient history. He smiles when Martin brings him tea. He's concerned when Martin calls in sick. Tim even saw him blush once when Martin lent him a cardigan for the train ride home.

Tim's quite proud of himself. If only his relationship with Sasha could change by reading one article.

******

Jon doesn't stutter when he's reading a statement.

Tim knows that sometimes reading can help a person speak more fluently, but it has never had this much of an impact on Jon. It's those statements, the ones that can only be recorded on tape, the ones that feel chillingly real.

Tim listens to Jon's voice, droning and smooth, and he shudders.

******

Tim stands in front of Nikola Orsinov, the thing responsible for killing the two people he's loved the most. The detonator feels warm in his hand.

"T-T-Tim!"

"It's okay, Danny."

He presses the button.

[haberdashing]

I keep thinking about the possibilities of spiral!Tim but have accepted that I don’t really have enough plot to write a fic about it (and I have enough multichaps in the works as it is), so have some extended Thoughts about how that would work instead:

Tim squeezes the detonator, and the explosive charges go off, and the building begins to fall apart, and Tim’s aware that, unless something miraculous happens, he’ll be going down with the building.

And he’s made his peace with that. Getting revenge on the things that killed Danny as his final act in this world? Yeah, he’s fine with that, about as good of a parting act as he could have hoped for.

But then, while the building starts to crumble around Tim, something miraculous happens.

A door appears out of nowhere. A yellow door, just standing there, untouched by the chaos and destruction surrounding it. A door Tim recognizes, having gone through it once before.

A door that could get him out before the building crushes him to death.

And Tim hesitates, for a moment, he does. Because he knows all too well that behind that door is a maze of corridors, and this time he wouldn’t even have Martin there to help him through, wouldn’t have anyone at all by his side. Because he’s accepted already that the Unknowing, or Nikola’s attempt at enacting it, would end with his death. Because he’s not sure what purpose he has left in life after getting revenge for his brother’s sorry fate.

But stopping one apocalypse doesn’t mean there isn’t another right around the corner, stopping Nikola doesn’t mean the Stranger is vanquished forever, blowing up one building certainly doesn’t mean that nobody will ever have to suffer and die like Danny did... there’s still more work for Tim to do, like it or not.

So Tim goes through the door, an instant before it disappears and the old wax museum falls.

He knows the corridors that face him. Some details may have changed since he was forced into them last, but surface-level changes don’t matter. Tim knows this place, knows that he could be trapped here forever, or for weeks that turn out to be only hours, or perhaps the other way around...

And in a way, this maze of impossible corridors isn’t that different from the Unknowing, in the way it plays upon certain basic principles of reality, and that stings. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

Tim may or may not know that the being who made the door appear for him now has a different identity than the being who trapped him inside when Jon was being hunted by Not-Sasha, but if he knows, I doubt he really cares. It’s all the Distortion to him, all part of the same power, all monsters not that dissimilar from the ones that got Danny.

When Helen inevitably makes her move, she’s likely expecting Tim to be feeling some combination of grateful for being saved from certain death and afraid of the impossible winding corridors and the uncertain fate that they contain.

Instead, Tim is just pissed. Pissed that he still has to deal with this shit, pissed at being stuck here for God knows how long, perhaps pissed at himself for choosing endless corridors over a chance to let it all end and possibly see his brother again, pissed at the world and at Helen and at himself and at anything and everything.

And when Helen and Tim inevitably go from arguing to outright fighting, that anger, honed for months and finally finding a suitable outlet, is what gives Tim the upper hand, ensures that he’s the one that remains standing when all is said and done.

Being the new identity of the Distortion has both good and bad points for Tim.

He’s not keen on becoming a monster, especially one that shares some similarities with the Stranger, for which he still holds a deep hatred. He’s not fond of his survival hinging upon trapping and scaring and consuming people, feeding off the fear of which he and Martin had once been the victims. That’s... that’s certainly less than ideal.

But Tim Stoker went into the Unknowing thinking, planning, even hoping that he wouldn’t emerge from it, and in a way, he didn’t.

Sure, part of him is still Tim Stoker, (former?) archival assistant with a revenge plot and a death wish. But Tim is also unreality incarnate, is a yellow door and a series of impossible winding corridors, is Helen and Michael and perhaps other victims who managed to leave their fingerprints on the thing that consumed them.

It’s not the same sort of overhaul in his state of existence that he’d been expecting, sure, but it’s... it’s surprisingly close, in some ways.

[comicsnsuch]

Tales from the Dark Multiverse

Hi! Thanks for finding this tumblr. The plan is to share and write about comic books, comic book art, other things that interest me and such, thus the name of the tumblr. Maybe you share some of the same interests, or maybe you’ll discover something new.

I’m going to try to post as frequently as possible, but that frequency will vary depending on what real life is like week to week. On slow weeks, there will be more stuff, on busy weeks less.  You get it.  Hopefully if you check in now and then you’ll find some new content.

I work (worked?) in a comic book shop, but as I have been recently reminded, due to the COVID-19/Coronavirus epidemic, I am non-essential.  Thanks State Government! Always good to have a self esteem boost! 

Anyway… I love comic books, reading them, talking about them, (thinking about) making them and so on. Always have, always will. I wanted to have an outlet for sharing that while I can’t be in the shop doing it face to face with customers and random strangers. 

I’ll be writing short reviews for what I’ve been reading, new stuff, old stuff, posting pics, etc.  

 Feel free to comment, but please keep it friendly. Assholery will not be tolerated.

To start with I just finished reading all of DC Comics Tales of the Dark Multiverse one shots. 

                                     I made this in MS Paint!

These started coming out in 2019 and the last one was released in early 2020. The idea behind each is Tempus Fuginaut, a sort of Watcher type character for the DCU (who I think debuted, or at least I fist remember seeing in the Sideways ongoing, a Dark Nights Metal spin off) observing the multiverse and introducing a story that takes an important moment in DC history and asks “what would have happened if things had gone differently?” DC’s version of What If?  in a nutshell.

       That’s Tempus Fuginauts big ol’ head in case you were wondering

 As the “Dark” in Tales of the Dark Multiverse might imply, these are not happy stories.

The first one shot that was released was Tales of the Dark Multiverse Batman Knightfall by Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgens with art by Javi Fernandez.  

This was probably my least favorite of the five issues. Since the “No Justice” mini series event I’m over Scott Snyder. I feel he has so many ideas rattling around in his head that he begins one story, gets too excited about the next one and leaves you underwhelmed with the current arc but dying to read the next. (That being said I of course checked out Batman Last Knight on Earth, having read his and Capullo’s entire New 52 Batman run I didn’t want to miss their “final” word on Batman, but have not read his just wrapped run on Justice League which I hear was quite good). 

I read this one right when it was released a few months ago, so my memory of it might not be the best.  

This one centers around the Knightfall event where Bane breaks Batman’s back and Jean Paul Valley/Azrael takes on the role of Batman. In this reality Bruce never recovers and Jean Paul remains Batman becoming Saint Batman, a Bats Azrael mash up. Javi Fernandez does a great job on the art and Snyder loves chopping people up. 

                                                      Gross.

Definitely worth the read if you’re interested in it or are a fan of Batman or just the Knightfall era. If you grab this series in collected format it’s not so bad that I recommend skipping it, just not my favorite from this batch of books. 

Next up is Tales of the Dark Multiverse Death of Superman by Jeff Loveness with art by Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessey. I really enjoyed this one, it was a good quick read and had a nice arc to it. One of the better issues from this series if you’re asking me.

Right after Superman dies defeating Doomsday in the Death of Superman story arc, the rest of the Justice League shows up, literally as the blood is drying.Ten seconds too late. Lois Lane blames Supes’ death on the heroes for not being there to aid him. 

She makes her way to the Fortress of Solitude and thanks to the Eradicator gets herself all the powers of Superman. She then goes about dishing out justice, with extreme prejudice, to the villains the heroes normally let the revolving doors of the DC justice system handle. This involves a couple of great scenes with Batman and Lex Luthor. Loveness nails the dialogue and the character arc he puts Lois on is great to read. 

                                  Walker and Hennesey do it again!

There’s more to this story than I’ve put here, but I don’t want to say too much and ruin your enjoyment of it if/when you read it.

Special shout out to the art team of Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessey. I feel like they don’t get enough love. They killed it on the Demon Hell is Earth mini, and from what I can tell are crushing it on Detective Comics. Dudes can draw. Spread the word!

Then we move onto Tales of the Dark Multiverse Blackest Night by Tim Seeley and Kyle Hotz. 

This one was a bit wordy, but a lot of fun! I would put this one in the middle of the pack. 

Seeley brings together an interesting bunch of characters including Sinestro, Dove, Lobo and the New Gods! The plot is a little complex, but basically after the Color Corps lose the battle against Nekron in Blackest Night, Sinestro is looking for a way to undo the damage done and becomes a pawn in Scott Free’s plot to do the same. 

Give Seeley a Lobo book or a Hawk and Dove book, or a Mister Miracle book!. He gives each character a unique voice which makes their joint travels through the plot that much more fun to read.

Kyle Hotz’s  art in this issue reminds of a 90’s Image Comic in the best possible way. Lots of detail and cool poses. I also see a lot of Bernie Wrightson in there with Hotz’s heavy use of black and the sinewy musculature of the characters. The book is worth the price of admission to see his renditions of Dove and Mister Miracle. 

                                                          kewl!

 I’m glad to see Hotz working more or just seeing more of Hotz’s work. I don’t know if he fell out of the industry after drawing the original The Hood mini for Marvel with Brian K. Vaughan, working with Eric “The Goon” Powell on Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Odditys, doing art on Carnage Mind Bomb and more I’m sure ( I just can’t remember it all), or I just wasn’t paying attention to what he was working on. If it’s the later, shame on me, if it’s the former, welcome back Mr. Hotz, you’re crushing it and I look forward to seeing more from you. Check out more Kyle Hotz work by following him on Instagram @kylehotzcomics.

Let’s not neglect the oft overlooked inkers! I’m not sure who inked what, but on a guess, Dexter Vines and Walden Wong brought a smooth, cleanness to the proceedings with lots of nicely tapered lines. Again just guessing here, because I don’t know for sure, but Danny Miki used a finer line bringing a scratchy-ness the others didn’t but also amazing detail and clarity on some of the portraiture in the later half of the book. 

Who’s next? Why it’s Tales of the Dark Multiverse Infinite Crisis!

This one may have been my favorite. When the original Infinite Crisis series came out it was a period  where, due to personal lack of enjoyment, I wasn’t reading much of DC’s output, but I did read the Countdown to Infinite Crisis one shot this issue takes as it’s jumping off point. After having read this issue, it makes me want to go back and read Infinite Crisis. I would say that’s the sign of a good issue.

In this alternate reality Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, kills Maxwell Lord instead of vice versa, making himself the head of Checkmate. He then goes about trying to prevent the coming crisis. It’s kind of a tale about absolute power corrupting absolutely, it’s also an underdog tale about getting in over your head.

                Sorry if these images aren’t the best, I’m new at this!

James Tynion IV does a great job catching you up on any old DC continuity plot points you may have forgotten or never knew about in the first place.If you’re reading Tynion’s current run on Batman, or his work on Detective Comics and Justice League Dark, you know he can handle a complex plot like this and does a great job condensing it all down to a single issue.  Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan handle the art and they do a great job. Always happy to see Lopresti’s name on a book I want to read.

Bonus points: You can never have too many Ted Kord, Blue Beetle comics, especially when Booster Gold pops up, even if only momentarily. 

If this series leaves you wanting more Blue and Gold action may I direct you to Booster Gold (2nd series) #32 thru about 38ish for some quality comics.

Final one, Tales from the Dark Multiverse the Judas Contract!

I’m not as old as my writing may imply so I had to read the Judas Contract in collected format about 20 years after it was originally released and after having seen it on many a fanzine’s (Wizard) best of list.  When I finally got to read it I wasn’t super familiar with the Titans of the era and already knew the big twist in the story, so it just washed over me without any great effect. None of the shock that someone who was reading it fresh in the 80’s might have experienced. 

I ended up liking this twisted take on the Judas Contract much more than when I read the original. “Sacrilege!” I know, I know, but like I said there was no surprise when I first read it, while this one zigged instead of zagging multiple times and kept upping the ante in scale. 

Kyle Higgins and Matt Groom do a great job reinventing a classic that I’m sure many people had high expectations for. This was a fun faced paced tale.  I enjoyed the hero moments Dick Grayson and Wally West were given. Like the Knightfall one shot Higgins co-wrote with Snyder there’s no shortage of dismemberment and disfiguration, which is neither a plus or minus in this situation, just thought it was worth noting.

Tom Raney handles the art chores here and he does a fine job.  Some of the figures seem a little squat, and their heads are too big in certain panels. Could I do better? No, so who am I to say anything? I just noticed it, here and there, it took me out of the flow of the story every now and then. That’s all. Big fan of his work on Stormwatch and Outsiders with Judd Winick. I also hear he’s super nice, so if you’re ever at a convention where Tom Raney is, seek him out! 

                                      They seem squat, right?

It’s worth mentioning these books are all done in DC’s prestige format and are extra long at about 48 pages each. All covers are by the fantastic Lee Weeks. A nice way to spend the afternoon.

There’s the first post. A little longer than I thought it would be. If you made it this far, I hope it was clear and you understood what I was saying and I hope you liked it and want to return for more. 

Until next time!

[echoing-gravity]

This is basically BrainDead but it's the love square. Where Danny is basically Chat noir in that dynamic.

I assume for some reason the Fenton's move to gotham in this au. Maybe Bruce is interested in ghost tech, maybe the lab blew up becuz someone forgot to clean the portals filter, who knows- unimportant.

Danny as Phantom has a big ass flush crush on Red Robin. "He's so cool! And he's a hero, like me! And we're like- the same age", and whatever.

(and as Fenton too, but like- they don't interact very much. And when they do it's basically ladynoir mutual crush adorableness.)

Tim as Red Robin on the other had just sees Phantom as a friend. He has a crush on this robotics genius in his class that just moved to his high school from some out of way hick town in Illinois. Tim is Marinette in this dynamic. He's super smart, super cute. Too bad the boy you like has a celebrity crush.. oh wait? That celebrity is secretly you?! But your dad won't let you tell him? Tough luck dude.

(At one point I assume Danny saved tim from some type of perilous thing. Maybe he was kidnapped by the joker or somesuch person. And Danny's there too because it happened during school. Jokers all like "blah blah blah evil manical rant, and Danny just pulls like a mini stick out of his pocket which unfolds into a fricking baseball bat and just bashes the clowns head in. Tim's all like- "oh. oh shit! I hope this doesn't awaken anything in me." Kind of like a parallel to the first Adrienette umbrella scene.)

If no one writes a fic like this by like- oh idk, February, I'm going to write it. And I'm terrible at writing characterization well. I've never read the comics.

Um BrainDead but they both don’t know each others identities… discuss.

[marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer]

MTVS Epic Rewatch #158

 VM 3x05 President Evil

Stray thoughts

1) This episode is a huge disappointment, and I’ll tell you why: the episode’s title is totally misleading. Like, I was 100% expecting zombies? Zombie presidents, more precisely. Rob Thomas, you sit on a throne of lies.

2) I love how all the students in Landry’s class groan when Tim announces he’s taking over the class for the day. It’s a small character moment, one that definitely goes unnoticed the first time watching the show and which acquires meaning in hindsight, once you really know who Tim actually is and what he did. The fact that the students groan at the fact that they’re stuck with him is very telling of what kind of person he is. Like, I don’t know about you, but if I were stuck with the TA for the day I’d be glad because it would mean a much more chill class and not that much work, you know? In this case, however, the students’ reaction clearly shows that Tim was way worse than the head professor, and he was merely the TA. So we can draw a lot of conclusions about his personality traits, which are coherent with his actions and with his ultimate downfall. He’s definitely a person who takes his job way too seriously in a way that usually makes things worse for everyone involved. He’s power-hungry and revels in having the tiniest bit of power and authority and takes it way too far. He wants to climb up the career ladder, he definitely has a disproportionate sense of entitlement and he craves recognition. That’s why he feels the need to brag when he commits what he thinks is the perfect crime, which leads to Veronica realizing what he’d done. This is why Rob Thomas is such a good writer, you know? He does a pretty similar thing with Mercer in this same episode: a small yet telling character moment, something that can be so easily overlooked because it seems so irrelevant and it doesn’t have “SIGNIFICANT CHARACTER MOMENT” written all over it but once all the mysteries are revealed that tiny moment makes so much sense. It’s a pretty good lesson in writing, if you ask me. (yes, I’m aware nobody asked me or cares.)

3) This moment always makes me feel a bit uncomfortable?

It’s kind of diminishing to use Eli as a case study, especially because she’s so clinical when she’s describing his life? Like, he’s an actual person and he’s standing right there and you’re talking about him as if he were this abstract thing, like a statistic or something? And also, he’s your friend? So, if you’ve come to any conclusions regarding the “socioeconomic conditions that lead preteens into a life of crime”, maybe talk them over with him over coffee or something? And yes, I am aware that Weevil willingly agreed to participate in this show-and-tell, but it still feels like she’s taking advantage of him? Which, granted, is pretty in character for Veronica, but it still feels so crappy of her to do this. 

4) Look who’s here!

5) Also, this moment: 

WEEVIL: I'm trying. I really am. But truth? I- Yeah, I miss it. I miss having cash in my pocket. I miss the thrill.

Cut to Veronica’s reaction:

Veronica shakes her head in an “Oh, Weevil...” kind of way, and smiles. She seems to be entertained by and kind of proud of his statement, yet the first time she has the chance, she will use this confession against him... 

6) Then, there’s this exchange:

WEEVIL: Hey, word to the wise. You got a boyfriend? Use the short leash. VERONICA: As hard as this may be to believe, the women of Hearst aren't close to the top of my worries about Logan. WEEVIL: Wait, wait, wait. What? You're dating Logan again? After the way he treated Lilly? VERONICA: This is news? Man, the prison grapevine blows.

On the one hand, it seems kind of odd that after finding out who Lily’s killer was Weevil still believes that the person harming her was Logan instead of Aaron. I don’t really know if Lily had fed him lies about Logan - which could’ve totally happened, if you ask me - or if she had blamed Logan for bruises that Aaron was responsible for just because she didn’t want to reveal she was sleeping with someone else other than Logan and Weevil. Either way, Weevil should’ve started questioning everything Lily had told him after finding out about her affair with Aaron, you know? On the other hand, it kind of makes sense that he wouldn’t question the things Lily had told him. We know he was pretty much head over heels in love with her, and just like Veronica, he had put her on a pedestal. And I think he couldn’t or wouldn’t reconcile that idolized image he had of her with the reality (pretty much like Veronica, if you ask me.) Lily was, after all, a secretive and manipulative girl. 

Then, there’s Veronica’s reaction to his question. She doesn’t bat an eyelid when he makes reference to Logan having treated Lily badly. In fact, she doesn’t even acknowledge that part of the question. But more importantly, she doesn’t set him straight? Which begs the question, why wouldn’t she want Weevil to know that Logan didn’t treat Lily badly? Why didn’t she tell him that it was pretty much the other way around? 

Food for thought, I guess.

7) Veronica looks extra cute in this outfit, love it.

8) Ok, this is the small yet significant Mercer moment I was talking about...

JIMMY CARTER: You! Give me the cashbox? It's in the drawer behind you. Now! The combination! MERCER: You seem highly intelligent and motivated. Figure it out. JIMMY CARTER: The combination or you're gonna have to find someone new to deal the blackjack, man. (Carter was pointing the gun at the boy and then he slapped him harshly.)

First of all, there’s the costume. I mean, could there be a more fitting costume for Mercer than A Clockwork Orange’s Alex de Large? Seriously! Then, there’s his defiant attitude in a highly dangerous situation. He’s not used to being told what to do, it’s always him ordering people around and he really really wants to tell Jimmy Carter to fuck off. Even when the thief points the gun at the other boy and smacks him around, Mercer still takes his sweet time before doing what he was told. A normal person would probably comply immediately when someone’s life is at risk, you know? Not Mercer. There’s an utter disregard for other people’s wellbeing. He doesn’t really care, and it’s almost like he has to force himself to act unnaturally and pretend like he gives a damn if anyone in that room lives or dies. Kudos again to Rob’s writing. 

9) 

This is not a threat nor a promise. It’s a fact. There is absolutely no doubt that Veronica will get that necklace back and that she will make this dude pay.  I love how as he’s taking the necklace she’s already anticipating her sweet revenge and she can’t help but smile because she knows she will do everything in her power to crush him. Because making justice is not enough for Veronica, she has to have some payback as well... 

10) It’s The Dude!!

11) Okay, I’ve just noticed this parallel with the movie...

VERONICA: Where were you? LOGAN: I was in class, like we talked about. Less gambling, more learning. That was right after you said "jump" and I asked "how high?"

12) Boy, was this awkward...

And like, you’ve just used the boy to get a good grade, you’ve seen how hard he’s working to stay on the right track, and now you’re using his past against him to blame him for something you really don’t know he’s guilty of. Like, she made a lot of assumptions here, and she thought she had solved the case only based on a few conversations with Weevil, she hadn’t done any sleuthing whatsoever that could paint him as a suspect yet. And just like that, she was yet another person that assumed he couldn’t be anything but a thief because of his past. And if everyone assumes the worst of you, even your closest friends, no matter how hard you try, you might as well prove them right you know? 

She even made fun of the place he was living in (” Hope you don't mind. One of the cockroaches let me in.”) Like, how crappy is that? 

13) And then...

WEEVIL: It's a wonder you don't have more friends.

She has the nerve to look affronted by this, but she has not witty comeback because she knows he’s right. He truly is. 

14) Ugh this moment...

WEEVIL: Are you lining up your next girlfriend? Hmm?

Logan is visibly uncomfortable, as he should be, and he’s speechless because he knows he’s been caught. There’s no doubt in my mind that Logan was flirting with that girl and giving her his number. I don’t know if he took things any further, though I highly doubt it. Either way, what’s certain is that the writers wanted us and Veronica to doubt him. In that sense, mission accomplished. Logan’s behavior was dubious at best. But like, it’s completely out of character? We’ve seen Logan single, and we’ve seen Logan in a relationship, and while he may have other flaws when he’s someone’s boyfriend, he was never a cheater. He is, in fact, loyal to a fault. Especially when it comes to Veronica. And how could the same people who wrote loving, loyal Logan write him in this way now? Even if it was done to set up their breakup or whatever, that’s just not who he is. That’s not who you’ve shown us he is. The thing is, they could’ve written distrustful, paranoid Veronica without making us believe she could be right. In fact, it’s more interesting to see her spiral out of control when we know she’s wrong. Because, let’s be real, Veronica can make herself believe anything without having evidence to prove it, especially when it comes to distrusting Logan...

15) I like this moment...

VERONICA: So, when I look into this, and I will look into this, I'm gonna find out you didn't order that pizza? WEEVIL: Or you could just save yourself the trouble and take my word for it.

16) The boy fangirling over meeting Veronica is basically every marshmallow ever.

VERONICA: Hi, I'm looking for the manager. He or she around? DANNY: You're Veronica Mars. VERONICA: And you're… Danny. DANNY: Rossow. Yeah, I am. Cool. You went to my school last year. I go to Neptune High. VERONICA: Lucky you. DANNY: You remember when those bikers taped that guy up to the flagpole and you just walked up there and cut him down? VERONICA: Yeah. Listen- DANNY: Remember when you stopped those guys from blowing up the school? VERONICA: No one was gonna blow up the school. So, what I was going to- DANNY: On the last day, I really wanted you to sign my yearbook.

And he’s super into it when Veronica suggests he should help her out to solve the case...

He was really sweet, okay? And although she was admittedly not overly friendly at the beginning, she was kind of impressed and delighted with his impression of his boss. And now I kind of wish he would’ve become a recurring character. The fanboy who’s also very helpful. 

17) Okay, but let’s be real: this girl was a mini-Veronica... (because - spoiler alert - Veronica is kind of an asshole...)

VERONICA: Hi. Any idea how this gum got from your mouth to that chair?

18) Keith has no right to lecture Veronica when she’s sassy with authority figures, right? I mean...

SANCHEZ: You presented yourself as an Adrian Monk... A Los Angeles County Building Inspector? And I believe that's your cell phone number written on it? KEITH: And? SANCHEZ: Sir, the apartment complex manager that you handed that to says you ordered him to let you into the apartment of a one Steven Batando. KEITH: Ordered? Asked politely, maybe.

Ok, so he broke the law, he was caught, and he mocks those who caught him? Like father, like daughter.

19) 

LAMB: Batando's been missing for fifty-two hours. Guess what, Keith? You're the leading suspect in his disappearance.

Not so much with the jokey-jokes now, eh Keith? 

20) Okay, I know I didn´t mention anything about the case Keith was working on, but it’s all sorts of creepy and wrong? So, the dean’s stepson has bone cancer and he hires Keith to track the kid’s deadbeat dad because he’s a match for the bone marrow transplant. They trick the guy into a fake audition so that the dean and his wife can gang up on him and convince him to donate his bone marrow to his son. It was all already quite gray at this point. When he doesn’t agree to do it, they kidnap him, take him to Mexico and have him have surgery on and his bone marrow taken... Like, I get it, your kid is dying, but not only is this wrong but also illegal? And then, the writers sort of want us to think the dean and his wife weren’t really wrong because they could buy the guy off with a car? So, like, that makes him the villain then? Yeah, NO.

21) 

JENNY: Our stage is covered in Pam. VERONICA: Who's Pam? ORGON: Pam is a cooking spray. We can't walk out there without falling on our asses. We had the temerity to schedule our opening night on the same weekend as their short film festival. VERONICA: Maybe this is their way of saying break a leg.

22) And look who’s here... hey, Max!

Also: bad Wallace. Bad, bad Wallace.

23) Okay, not only did Wallace cheat, but he wasn’t very good at it? I mean, obviously, he was caught. But also, rule number one of cheating: DO NOT HAND IN YOUR EXAM EARLY. 

Especially not when you’ve been getting crappy grades in the class...

24) See what I mean? She is not content with just serving justice, she has to completely humiliate the dude. Which, okay, serves him right on account of being a criminal and all. 

25) This moment is so satisfying, though:

Also, the music on this show is always so spot on. I love how Johnny Cash’s “Busted” plays over the montage of Veronica getting the necklace back, Wallace being summoned by his professor and Weevil being released from jail.

26) ICONIC

[spirit-science-blog]

Is it just me...or is there a distinct lack of great staple Halloween-holiday movies? I mean, sure, we have stuff like Hocus Pocus or the creepy cacophony of horror movies like the Exorcist or the Conjuring to watch while hiding under our blankets and stuffing our faces with candy… I mean… Grapes, and other healthy snacks… But what’s the Spooktober equivalent of A Christmas Carol or It’s a Wonderful Life? ….CUE the Pumpkin King. Ack, but even then, it’s like… this is more of a November movie. What with it being like a smashup betwixt Halloween and Christmas? Anyways, I’m a sucker for Tim Burton and the music of Danny Elfman. When you combine it with Christmas cheer and Halloween gothic macabre, you get one of the most ambitious crossovers since I mixed my orange and apple juice that one time. A Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t just a holiday favorite. It’s a stop motion masterpiece filled with spiritual lore and depth that speaks to Dharma's Vedic concepts, self-love, and coming to terms with your highest and authentic self. So… since covid is coming in for another wave while Biden miraculously comes out with a vaccine the day he’s elected, let’s have a mashup of our own by mixing last month and next month's holidays into the present moment and jump into some spirituality!

So look, this movie is a legend, and it also came out in 1993 - so we’re going to skip the summation and jump straight into the hidden meaning. If you haven’t seen it yet, well, you’re nearly 30 years late to the party, but here's your obligatory spoiler warning.

Subtly echoed in the overall narrative of this film is the Indo-Tibetan concept of Dharma. The wide-ranging belief that every organism has a role to play in a well-ordered cosmos and must play that role and no other, including our duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues, and "right way of living." Throughout the film, Jack discovers that as wonderful a thing as Christmas is, it is not his thing. He isn’t good at it. It’s not something in accordance with his natural flow... But more importantly, there’s an idea that he can’t give up who he is for who he wants to be. He’s confronted with the fact that he has to discover the inherent value of who he is instead of trying to be something else just because it’s apparently “good” or better.

This may be one of the most powerful truths of this movie. The fact that something is a good thing–whether it is Christmas, a loving nature, or pretty much anything else–doesn’t mean that it is the only good thing. Adding to this is the idea that other things that strike us as scary or deeply uncomfortable can be good too, and this idea is mirrored in the sets. One could argue that Halloweentown and its inhabitants represent the darker or shadow aspects of ourselves, the parts of our being that are seemingly negative and often “scary” to us. Conversely, Christmastown is reminiscent of all the beneficial elements. Much like Yin and Yang, the two towns act as reflections of each other, helping to balance the world they’re in.

When these holidays interact with our world, we embrace them in their appropriate set and setting. But it’s when people expect Christmas and get Halloween that things go haywire… perhaps if each town represents our inner natures, there’s an idea we can take from this about how when our light side and dark side cross into each other, they can cause us some confusion and chaos. Yet, in the end, it’s through that interaction that we grow and learn, and these aspects augment their original power and balance. They learn about each other, discover ways to coexist peacefully, each part of ourselves respecting the other, and their part of the whole.

The challenge arises when Jack feels he’s mastered Halloweentown, his current domain. It’s not just boredom he’s feeling...if you listen to his lament at the beginning, his sentiment echoes one I’m sure most of us on a spiritual path have thought at some point, a yearning for something more significant than the world he’s currently in. His rendition of “Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones, an emptiness began to grow, there’s something out there, far from home, a longing that I’ve never known” is reminiscent of C.S Lewis’ Mere Christianity “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another one.”

What’s funny is that Jack is basically like a king in his domain. He’s got it all, he’s the boss of Halloween, but all the acclaim and vindication he gets feels hollow in comparison to his inner search for meaning. Ultimately, his inner knowing that something greater is out there isn’t one that material pleasure can satisfy; it’s spiritual. Something that is seemingly echoed in his little song when he reaches Christmastown, his own Hall of Amenti..he states, “And in my bones, I feel a warmth that’s coming from inside...This empty place inside of me is filling up”.

When Jack finds Christmastown, he is fascinated with this new world's innocence and solace and recognizes that this is what he was being called to experience….Something that is interestingly reminiscent of many people’s first Astral Travel experiences. Funnily enough, his first approach is to study it scientifically and lock himself away in his tower, to find the “Christmas feeling” inside objects. Much like trying to find a feeling or aspect of consciousness within the brain, this approach fails. It points to how the mechanistic approach to the psyche has been unsuccessful in explaining the phenomena arising from brain region correlations. Jack sings, "But what does it all mean?” as he tries to understand an experience, not a thing. And yet, ironically, he’s studying *things* trying to find meaning. He ultimately concludes that "just because I cannot see it doesn't mean I can't believe it."

After Santa is kidnapped, that’s when things start to go down hill...and interestingly, Sally, the rag doll woman who is crushing on Jack, actually has a vision that it’s all going to go wrong. Still, Jack is so blinded by his lust for new experiences that he ignores her. Wait a minute...the dichotomy between action and vision...masculine and feminine...feeling vs. action...sigh...this whole Sacred Masculine/Divine feminine thing is getting easier to spot.

Sally embodies the feminine quite well; she’s wise, understanding, loving, intuitive, and even seemingly taps into the Source to see a future outcome. She loves Jack even before his failed Christmas fiasco, but is primarily locked away -symbolically and physically later on by Oogie Boogie, and also goes often ignored, but is a figure who is ultimately a guiding force and can see the higher perspective of things. Yep, she checks all the boxes for how the divine feminine has appeared in our world… Jack, her counterpart who embodies the Sacred Masculine, and maybe a bit of the King archetype at times - is a leader, has direction, and takes action and initiative. He takes care of his people, and his people help him follow his dreams… No matter how misguided. Albeit, as we explored, he can be stubborn, and when the two can’t work together or largely ignore each other, the natural order is upset, and things descend into Chaos.

And I mean proper Chaos… worldwide panic erupts as children encounter their scary presents, and the armies of the world shoot Jack and his sleigh out of the sky...he’s immortal though, so it’s no biggie. But as he falls into the arms of a Graveyard Angel. This probably signifies his spiritual death pending rebirth as his plans failed and he must evolve his consciousness to move forward; as soon after, he finally sees his blindness, coming to the understanding that he is meant to be the Pumpkin King and will carry out that role even better next year. After Jack’s failed attempt to do Christmas himself, both towns come to appreciate their differences and the good things each holiday has to offer. Jack’s attempts at Christmas were directed mainly toward the symbols and visible elements of the holiday. When he got around to pursuing the real, more profound meaning of it, his search was utterly clouded by his selfishness and perspective of trying to incorporate what he was already familiar with…

In a way, it is kind of like religious syncretism. Jack tries to practice Christmas and Halloween simultaneously. Doing so stays loyal to neither, showing us the dangers of artificially trying to combine cultures and beliefs without fully understanding them both... Despite his endeavor's colossal failure, Jack still sees the value of having experienced everything and regrets nothing. He learns the lesson instead of feeling sorry for himself and dwelling in self-hatred. He is happy he tried and put himself out there, and goes into making things right, even after his mistake, seemingly coming more into alignment with his true self in the process, and eventually finds a renewed love of his role.

It’s also interesting that our hero is flawed and comes from the seemingly “dark” side of things. Even though we all love Jack, he’s an Evil Lord type...and yet, this approach serves to humanize him and his town and what they represent, allowing us to understand where the darker characters and attributes are coming from, see the light in them as well. It teaches that darkness also has some value, and those who are born playing those darker roles in life are fulfilling their role in this life on earth. The Halloweentown’s people are all pretty supportive, caring, and collaborative with each other, not traits you usually associate with monsters and demons. Maybe there’s a lesson here that even the darker aspects of ourselves can still ultimately come from a place of love if we acknowledge their purpose and role in our experience.

After Oogie is unraveled like a ball of yarn, Santa sets off to make things right but leaves the residents of Halloweentown with a parting gift...making it snow, allowing all the residents to experience that same joy that Jack felt when experiencing Christmas for the first time, which in a way fulfills Jack’s original dream of genuinely understanding Christmas.

I’m sure there’s a part of this that speaks to experiencing things to truly understand them, rather than just being told about them by someone else. As he flies away, Santa shouts "Happy Halloween!" and Jack replies by yelling "Merry Christmas!" which is pretty funny, but also serves to show that each side has become more balanced and acknowledges the role each other plays in their world.

All in all, ANBC doesn't fit as a Christmas movie in the conventional sense, but it doesn’t work as a Halloween one either, which is really what makes it so great. It’s a part of both seasons and is itself a pretty balanced movie...which is so meta, I love it. What’s very curious here is that Jack makes the mistake of thinking his calling lies somewhere else, rather than where he already is. Yet, the longing within him for something more compelled him into this search and discovery of something new, even though it wasn’t meant for him to give, it was meant for him to receive. Though his intentions are good, he misses this critical point and nearly ruins himself and the holiday he has come to love. Yet through his failure, he realizes who he is from a different perspective. Perhaps there is an idea here that sometimes we also have to fail to discover who we are….and chances are, we often come back stronger and more in alignment with our goals every time we fall. After all, what is a failure but the opportunity to start over, only wiser?

Until next time, it still kind of feels like October, but then again, this year has blended into one long continuous stream at this point, hasn’t it… So Happy Holidays for whatever season you’re in when you end up watching this video! Toodles.