#Tim is getting sweet sweet revenge | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

celaenaeiln · 5 months

Note

Thank you so much for debunking the whole "Dick was a super angry child" thing the fandom has been pressing hard for the last few years it's one of my pet peeve characterization for him. (The other him being a Playboy) Does he get angry of course he does he's only human but he's usually very level head and even if he was the "Angry Robin" when he first started he was 8 years old and just lost his parents! I feel like anyone especially a child would be hurt and angry then but he didn't want revenge he wanted justice. He was a sweet child who just wanted to make his parents proud.

og post in question

Yes!!

Actually another anon asked me about this too a while ago - that I'll be getting back to soon - and I began writing right away but then I just couldn't. I had to put it on hold because I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of evidence that Dick was a happy robin. Not A happy robin, THE happy robin. I was exhausted because I didn't know where to begin, there was just too much evidence. I needed to create a separate post first.

It makes me so mad when i see Angry Dick Grayson posts because it's not even an interpretation of events. There's nothing to debate, there's no doubt, there's no question, there's no confusion, there's nothing to contest - HE WASN'T AN ANGRY ROBIN.

Jason says it himself! And unlike people in the fandom who've never read a comic in their life but like running their mouth off, he would actually know because he studied Dick. He watched all of Dick's videos when he was Robin. 11 years worth of videos. And this is what he says about Dick's robin:

Suicide Squad: Get Joker Issue #1

Jason straight up says that Dick was the happy robin. And that's just Jason. There's still Tim, Damian, Bruce, Alfred, Clark, the Justice League, and the Titans who talk about it.

Frankly it boggles my mind when I hear people who write takes say that Dick was an angry robin because even if they've never read any of the robin comics, they should at least know what he was like from what the adult characters say right? Did they really never stop and wonder why Jason keeps talking about not being Dick when he argues with Bruce? Or why Tim was so obsessed with Dick aside from knowing him from the circus? Or why Bruce writes entire monologues about how Dick saved him? Or why Alfred goes on massive rants about how Dick was the best thing ever to happen to Bruce and him or why he started crying and mourning when Dick merely left as Robin? Did no one stop to consider when they started going around saying he wasn't happy?

Honestly Angry Robin Dick Grayson characterization is a black hole of logic and intelligence.

The reason it became so popular is because it's a logical fallacy and logical fallacies sound convincing. This particular argument is the hasty generalization logical fallacy. Hasty generalization is when a statement is made after one or two examples rather than relying on extensive research to back up a claim.

For example: I got sick after eating pizza from Aleano's. Therefore, I must be allergic to pizza.

Proponents of angry robin dick characterization choose one example from decades of writing to claim that he was angry after his parents died which-seriously? Besides you'll start to notice that people who write those takes will never provide evidence because it's near possible to find something that doesn't exist. Sure one or two out of context photos might be provided but that's the best they can do to support that type of characterization. As much as we wish we were magicians from Hogwarts, no amount of wishing is going to transfigure the hundreds of comics filled with happy robin to him being an angry monster.

Also it's ridiculous that type of character because they're saying that if he's upset that his parents died, then he's an angry character. But if the Joker's happy that random people died, then he's a psycho. What do they want?! And that's not even the whole truth of it either. Dick was massively sad more than he was angry. He was taken away from his circus family and is left alone like all the time now. His life changed in a second - he's depressed. But he was able to work through it and that's how Robin was created.

Dick was not Robin when he went after Tony Zucco. The reason Bruce made him Robin was specifically because he admitted he didn't want Tony Zucco dead.

The problem is people sometimes hyperfocus so much on one detail that they forget the big picture. They centered 11 years of Robin characterization around one moment.

Let's get the facts straight. Robin is a success story. The greatness of Dick wasn't just that he was the smart, the best of the ages, and the greatest athelete - no. His greatness is that he is able to move. ON. He can do what Bruce never could. He could move on and take his parents death and turn it into something positive. He was able to overcome grief and not dwell in the past.

That's why he was able to be happy. That's why Bruce couldn't. And that's why Bruce needed Dick because Dick made him happy.

Alfred says this about Dick as Robin -

Robin: Year One Issue #1

"The addition of Dick Grayson into the Master's crusade has made a difference in him." "I do believe I saw him smile. There have been occasions in the pantry when I could just discern the muffled sounds of laughter echoeing up from that dreadful cavern beneath the manor."

People don't seem to understand. Alfred never approved Bruce's tenure as Batman. He loathed it so much he punched Bruce for it. It was Dick's light and goodness that changed Bruce's mind because he saw how happy Dick made him and how happy of a child he himself was.

And Dick? He never changed his personality in or out of costume.

Robin: Year One Issue #2

"He doesn't seem to struggle to lead a normal adolescence." "He's had no need to develop the masquerade that Master Bruce felt necessary." "His personality remains the same with or without the mask and boots. "

He's not the troubled kid some people seem to think he is. He wasn't mean or selfish or cast aside or raging moodily in a corner. Actually in the Batman (1940) and Detective Comics, he was seen as a role model for how helpful and kind he was. He was actually the one who went out of his way to help troubled kids because of his kindness, goodness, and empathy.

Checkmate (2006) Issue #14

Checkmate is a member of Task Force X under Amanda Waller and an ally of Batman's. She knows him. She knows what Dick was to him and Dick even mourns about the time when Bruce used to be happy. It was his joy and personality that did that.

Of course my argument isn't to be taken one sidedly saying he was constantly happy 24/7, all the time, in every occasion - no. Emotions are a spectrum and no one feels one emotion all the time. Thats silly. But, your personality outlook is based on what you feel most of the time. Dick sometimes got angry, sometimes got sad, etc. But in a dichotomy between happy and angry there is no doubt, no question, that he was overwhelmingly on the happy side.

There's a reason why everyone calls him happy. It's because for an overwhelming majority of the time, he was the happy robin.

52 Issue #25

Way back in the Batman (1940) comic Dick says, "I became Robin, history's first sidekick. And there I was, the laughing boy daredevil--"

Batman and Robin (2009) Issue #9

You can call him crazy, excitable, feral, overexcellent, etc. But never forget that Bruce once went insane after locking himself in a simulator that emulated Robin Dick Grayson's joy.

The incontestable truth - Dick was a happy robin.

#dick grayson #robin dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #robin jason todd #bruce wayne #batman #alfred pennyworth #cyril sheldrake #knight #batman dick grayson #checkmate #cl confusedhummingbird asks #thanks for the ask!#biggest pet peeve

182 notes · View notes

hoonieshoney · 19 days

Text

Man, I know I have a few WIPs to get through but I might have to add another (or two)

I watched Tim Burtons Sleepy Hollow for the thousandth time this morning and I got so many hard thoughts about Jake and Sunghoon….

SleepyHollowAu! ?????

MDNI | 18+

Smutty thoughts below the cut...

Jake as Ichabod Crane..

✰ Jake being dragged to your small village to investigate the murders by the horseman

✰ You, the town doctor, assist him

✰ He’s charming, awkward, and so fucking cute

✰ Early mornings spent together in the fields looking for clues. But God, he’s so distracted by the way you look sitting in the flower fields

✰ Late nights spent in the dark woods in hopes of catching the Horseman, but Jake in moonlight is so ethereal it was only a matter of time before you softly pecked his lips (poor thing is too shy to make the first move)

✰ After a near death experience from the Horseman he can’t hold himself back from you anymore and he’s fucking you against the barn

✰ He’s shy and clumsy and accidentally bumps your head into the wall a few times. Poor baby also cums way too fast and apologizes profusely.

✰ You’re just so warm and your little pussy was squeezing him so tight :(

✰ Is a gentleman though, would drop to his knees and lap at your cunt sucking his cum straight out of you. Would have you coming undone on his tongue in no time

✰ Boy has a lot of stamina too, will go three more rounds, pumping you full of his cum. So…much…of…it…

✰ Definitely breeds you on purpose. Come on now, there’s a Headless fucking Horseman running around. You can’t stay here, sweet boy has to baby trap you so you have to go back to his town with him

Or…hear me out…

Sunghoon as the Headless Horseman

✰ After being accused of witchcraft your village tries to kill you

✰ Left for dead and nowhere to go you find comfort in the abandoned hut that was built by the last woman accused of witchcraft

✰ You’re safe there because obviously no one wants to be anywhere near that creepy place

✰ There in a hidden chest under a loose floorboard you find a spell book with a bookmarked page and a skull??? A real skull??

✰ A page on how to resurrect the Horseman from Hell to do your bidding. As long as you had his skull you were in control of him

✰ You weren’t a witch, so what’s the harm in reading from this page with this skull, right??

✰ Yeah, he breaks down your door and this tall headless man is on his knees waiting for your commands

✰ Fuck it, why not

✰ So one by one you get revenge on the people that tried to kill you. He takes care of everyone that hurt you

✰ So, the polite thing to do after all his hard work is give him his head back. The skull snaps perfectly into place on his shoulders and BAM

✰ Everything is growing back…and he is the most beautiful man you’ve ever laid eyes on

✰ Cracking his neck from side to side he smiles at you, his pointy fangs fully on display

✰“Now that you’ve had your fun, it’s my turn.”

✰ He’s huge. Like no way that thing will fit. But he makes sure it does. He will prep you with his tongue and fingers to the point of overstimulation. Shaking, crying, convulsing overstimulation. And he hasn’t even put his cock in you yet ~

✰“See. I fit perfectly.” He’s bottomed out and the pain is searing hot but it feels amazing.

✰ Will place his hand on the outline of his cock bulging from your stomach and tease you. “I’m all the way in here, doesn’t it hurt?”

✰ He will put you in all sorts of uncomfy positions that have his cock hitting deeper inside you. His favorite is obviously the mating press

✰ Wants to lick your tears as he bruises your cervix :(

#enha smut #enhypen smut #hoonieshoney #enhypen fanfiction #enhypen hard hours #sunghoon smut #sunghoon x reader #jake enhypen smut #jake sim #sim jaeyun #sim jaeyun smut #kpop smut #jake x reader #jake sim smut #honeys drabbles #honey speaks

77 notes · View notes

vinelark · 10 months

Note

do you have any good reverse robins fic to rec?

oh hell yeah!

Reverse Robins: Joker Junior series by miyaji_08 i rec’d the second fic in this series over here for the timkon of it all, but the series—two parts, both complete—is also one of my absolute favorite reverse robins stories. it goes the joker junior!tim route, so heads up for A Lot of tim-centric trauma, but gives tim (and everyone else) so much healing, too. it also gets creative with the robin of it all, as in, the call sign for batman’s partner is different from the jump because dick wasn’t around to originate “robin” for it, which i always think is a fun extra detail. the batfam characters are great and the young justice crew is also great, so read for top-tier hurt and comfort and great characters and satisfying plot and tim and damian competing to see who is the most Tired big brother of the bunch.

blood of the covenant by envysparkler robins are angsty in any order, but man does this hit the angst sweet spot, which in turn makes the soft parts feel even softer. i genuinely can’t decide what my favorite dynamic is in this AU, between damian & tim (damian wracked with guilt, tim hurting and still wanting an older brother even if he’d never admit it) and tim & jason (no spoilers but chapter 4 especially lights my brain up like a supernova) and tim & dick (i think about the part where dick grayson [tiny, cheerful] uses tim [undead, annoyed] as a jungle gym like once a week).

Wing Beats in Reverse by firefright a longfic where jason gets kidnapped by the mysterious red hood, who turns out to be jason’s not-so-dead predecessor. the jason pov here is great, and i was so compelled by how this AU explored his place in the bat family, and how it managed the emotional fallout from the kidnapping. tim is also so interesting in this—it does something i love in a reverse robins concept, which is make tim’s motivations (and lazarus pit effects) less about anger/hurt/revenge and more about ice cold logic, about being the villain so the bats don’t have to/whether they want him to or not. plus some league of assassins trauma as a cherry on top. also, kon gets to show up for a bit. (as a fair warning—and spoilers ahead—the fic has a somewhat hopeful ending for tim, but doesn’t reach full reconciliation in the scope of the plot.)

i woke up so worried that the angels let go by circees a short but potent batkids age reversal au that’s also a grisha au, starring duke as the coveted sun summoner that damian is trying to deliver to safety without mentally adopting a new brother (damian fails on the second part). even with my limited memory of grisha lore i could tell a lot of thought was put into this au, and i have a feeling it would be even better if you are able to catch all the details. i also love that even in a fantasy world where some of the bat family have magical abilities, duke is still extra special—a great analogy to being a metahuman among the bats.

The 90s Are Back! by RedWritingHood saving the two silly ones for last to lighten the mood! in this one, red hood!tim gets de-aged to sixteen and meets all his new siblings. it’s like .01% angst and 99.99% shenanigans, and pretty much all the dialogue is super quotable but Dick holds out his hands like he's calming a bunch of wild animals. "Okay, I know everyone's real upsetti spaghetti right now, but I think we all just need to calm down." might take the cake.

Clowns Don’t Kill People by mademoisellePlume very short, very silly reverse robins brother shenanigans, in which tiny dick grayson isn’t scared of recovering joker junior!tim because dick, having been raised in the circus, doesn’t associate clowns with evil yet. the fic is fun (and a great palate cleanser if you need a break from the angst above), and the author’s note at the end made me fully laugh out loud.

#reverse robins #fic rec #batfam #when tim as the undead robin is done well it's so 🤌🤌🤌#once again i reserve the right to add more later because i def forgot some

265 notes · View notes

pinkbitchesrule · 6 months

Text

All the people who go Martin is a sweetheart and could do no wrong? What are you seeing that I'm not? Because I think you are doing Martin, his character development, and the struggles he went through dirty. After all come season 5 he hated almost everyone around him except for Jon. He wanted to kill people and enact revenge. Martin, whether he realized it or not, was willing to manipulate Jon as well. Martin is a great character not because he's relatable or never actually hurt others or is sweet but because he shows how easy it is to fall back into a cycle of abuse if you're not careful. Because Martin *had* stopped the cycle of abuse. He did not guilt trip or hurt others like his mother did to him but after the traumas of all the seasons before Martin snapped in his own way in season 5. That's what makes him human. That's why out of all the other assistant he also dies. Martin represents all the negative feelings one has towards themselves. That's why his sacrifice is so important at the end of the podcast. Because the new world is supposed to be a better place without these negative feelings.

It's interesting to watch throughout the podcast as while Martin externalizes his feelings more Jon internalizes them more. It's part of the reason they are drawn to eachother. TMA is also all about choice and in the end Martin chose Jon. Jon chose the betterment of the world. Basira chose to finally leave Daisy behind. Georgie finally chose to get involved. Melanie chose herself and to let go of her anger. That's why Basira, Georgie, and Melanie survive out of everyone else. They saw their flaws and tried to change themselves. Now that doesn't mean I agree with them but they all chose to be better. When did Jon, Martin, or Tim ever do that? (Sasha and Daisy are their own outliers and rabbit holes)

Now don't get me wrong I still love all these characters. I've never related to someone more than I relate to Martin and I absolutely adore Jon and Tim. But a major point in TMA is that there is no good guy. There is only making the best choice with what you know and have at your disposal.

THIS IS ALL MY OPINION PLEASE DON'T ATTACK ME. However discussion and reblogs are always welcome!!!

#tma #the magnus archives #martin blackwood #jonathan sims #basira hussain #daisy johnson #melanie king #timothy stoker #this is my deep dive #take it as you will

103 notes · View notes

dandalfthewhite · 8 months

Text

How Tim Won the Prank War (Without Really Trying) By DandalfTheWhite

I had a lot of fun writing this one. I hope you enjoy!

-----

Summary: Prank Wars are not uncommon amongst the current and former Robins. They are not barbarians, there are rules of war and rules they all follow. When a series of pranks gets Dick, Jason, and Damian, they look for sweet, sweet revenge.

#tim drake #dick grayson #jason todd #bart allen #damian wayne #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth #batfam #batfamily #fanfic #my fic #humor #dc comics #batman

124 notes · View notes

glassdecanters · 1 year

Text

more bart and tim hcs because u guys ate the OTHERS UP <3

tim calls him baz. that's all. no one else can.

bart loves fidgeting with anything and everything tim has. tim'll be carrying his shuriken and bart'll just find it, touch it, cut himself on a corner, complain, then go back to fidgeting with it

bart holds onto tim's cape all the time. calls him boy wonder too. all of the time.

tim loves bart because bart is one of the only people who really congratulates him. it's always "YOU DID SO GOOD!!!" and "WELL DONE WONDER BOY!!!" and tim's never gotten that before. he loves it.

bart uses :D and :3 on a regular

tim's strong enough to lift up + throw bart. that's all.

they bicker like a married couple though. like back and forth until kon or cassie is like "girls stfu ur both pretty ok"

when tim came out bart was the only person around him who wasn't really like "yeah, we know" because that's kinda mean. bart just kind of accepted it and didn't talk too much about it, it didn't matter to him, tim's tim either way

they are just best friends your honour

if tim's hurt (early red robin days this happens a lot.) and i mean hurt badly, needs time to recover kind of hurt, bart stays with him. alfred is really strict on tim not getting up and possibly hurting himself more, and alfred is one of the only people tim'll listen to. bart sits with him. talks to him, tells him everything he's "missing", make sure he eats and doesn't just continue to work whilst he's resting. but then bart leaves and tim goes straight back to it. unfortunately. old habits die hard.

tim cut bart's hair once as payback for bart and kon dying a streak in tim's. it was a jason joke and it stung like hell but tim brushed it off and got revenge

that's all for now my sweets but this wiLL CONTINUE BECAUSE IM GLAD PEOPLE LOVE THESE POSTS JUST ASM AS I DO MAKING THEM heres one of my favourite panels of them

#this is platonic but also romantic i love them #they are gay but also best friends yr honour #i just want them to be happy #tim drake #bart allen #timbart #yj #young justice #young justice hc #dc #dc hc #tim drake hc #bart allen hc

223 notes · View notes

scintillyyy · 1 year

Text

mrs. mac fanon vs. canon (only because i do think she has a specific fanon within the drake fanon mythos lmao). ETA: now with fixed photos lmao

fanon!mrs. mac

is usually employed by the drakes during tim's childhood

only works about 3 days a week. cleans the house and makes dinner.

is seen as only an employee by jack and janet, and is often thought of with derision as she is only the help and therefore replaceable if she messes up. threat of firing at all times.

sometimes is a huge gossip, sometimes is perceived as very cold by tim (but secretly loves him). regardless she thinks tim is a sweet boy who doesn't deserve to be treated by his parents the way he is but is too afraid to lose her job to do or say anything about it. (or is completely unaware of his treatment)

is not tim's nanny, but after the age of 5 is considered enough help to watch and check in on tim so the drakes don't have to pay a nanny anymore.

canon!mrs. mac (under the cut and image heavy)

is a glorious crotchety old irish housekeeper.

alright, so she was most likely hired after tim and jack move into drake manor following janet's death and jack's coma, and therefore wouldn't have even known janet (but she would have liked janet the best #rip). this isn't explicitly said, but she doesn't show up until the robin iii miniseries: cry of the huntress and it makes the most sense. jack, in a wheelchair, needs more help around the large, new house they bought. it wouldn't have really made sense for jack and janet to have had a dedicated housekeeper prior to this as they had a tendency to move from apartment to apartment and were gone a lot on business, tim was in boarding school. they probably wouldn't have had a need for a dedicated housekeeper without a dedicated home. also, in the secret origins 80 page giant tim remembers his mom setting the table, indicating that they probably just cooked and cleaned for themselves when they were home with tim.

she is a live-in housekeeper. she makes breakfast, lunch, dinner, does laundry, and cleans. she's given time off to do what she enjoys with jack's blessing and basically no complaints from him as seen in detective comics #665 when she goes to the movies and gotham knights #14 when jack mentions her night off

after jack gets kidnapped again, she's shown to be a bit surprised that he would leave without telling her (they lie to her that he's at a health resort) in detective comics #666 (they also forgot she went to the movies lol)

she's shown to be a bit talkative and fairly comfortable around her employers. in detective comics #668 she chatters away while doing her job. tim is also shown to know her fairly well and is clearly comfortable enough with her to tease her considering he says "tom brokaw on vacation again?" (tom brokaw was an anchor on nbc nightly news at the time and she probably thought he was handsome or something i assume). she's also comfortable nagging tim "you shouldn't drive until your dad gets home" "we don't even have a car!".

from the start her main character trait is that she's presented as judgmental. in robin iii #3 she derisively refers to teenagers who go to public school as animals, seeing as she thinks that tim got beat up at school. clearly there's a bit of snobbery on her end about the quality of kids who go to public school.

this judgmentalness tends to focus in on tim (though jack gets it as well!) because mrs. mac is very much a...."youths these days ugh" "the world today ugh" kind of person. in robin 7, she gets upset at the perceived disrespect she feels from tim and gets very huffy about tim's behavior. she's also one for petty revenge for this behavior --which tim is clearly aware of ("a week of cold breakfasts")

robin #21 is where we get her judgment about ~premarital sex~ not just with tim, but also with jack and dana. she's clearly very unhappy that they spent the night together, blatantly side-eying her employer. and jack isn't upset at all by this treatment by her--if anything he's sheepish and like a kid with their hand caught in the candy jar. like he could get stern with his employee for commenting on his personally choices but jack basically takes the "whoops, sorry, mom" approach. (she also most likely gives dana the stink-eye for at least two weeks after this, i'm sorry, i don't make the rules. she probably always judges dana for this, just a little bit.)

she is shown to be very worried about tim when he goes MIA during contagion (because he has the clench) in robin #28, so clearly she is very, very fond of tim

but at the same time, in accordance with her ~kids these days, in my day they never~ she's often shown as thinking jack is almost too *soft* on tim. clearly, she thinks that teens need a firm hand of discipline (robin #45)

but despite her feeling like tim is undisciplined and disrespectful, she cares about him a lot (soft heart under a stern visage). in robin #47 she's shown to be making tim's favorite meal to try and get him to eat, even though he's grounded, because he's been listless and depressed since being unable to save a classmate. and in robin #49 after tim runs away she shows genuine regret that she "was so hard on him". and this also is a good glimmer into how her and jack--she's clearly very comfortable dispensing advice and comfort to her employer. jack continues to be very respectful of her and thanks her and confides in her. they have a very warm and close employer-employee relationship.

robin #60 shows us that her love language is chiding people and she continues to be very "tsk, tsk in my day". also i do feel like this confirms that she could solo the joker, but dc was too cowardly to show us how powerful she is.

when they move to keystone in robin #62, they teasingly joke about her, but clearly in a very fond and lighthearted way, showing that jack and tim genuinely like her (also, dana got a raise moving to an inpatient rehab facility? lol. ok.). and when then move back in robin #66, jack is too scared to talk to her and makes dana do it. and mrs. mac is implied to cuss them out. clearly the woman has no fear of being fired for insubordination or anything. and jack thinks it's more funny than anything.

when jack loses the company and goes "broke", they finally have to let her go in robin #100. and this devastates the drakes, jack included. jack is very agreeable to giving her a bunch of money from selling tim's car as severance and gives her a big old hug when she has leave, showing how much he probably grew to care about her over her years of service. and she's sad to leave the drakes too, showing how fond she is of all of them.

so mrs. mac, despite being such a minor character, actually has a pretty consistent characterization and very unique relationship with the drakes during her tenure. she's judgmental, but loves all the drakes dearly. she's a bit grouchy and set in her ways and thinks that kids these days are ridiculous. she has a very positive impression of jack, but honestly thinks he's too soft on tim if anything. and the drakes in turn are clearly extremely fond of her. she came into the family at a very sensitive time (jack's paralysis and the recent loss of janet) and is probably very protective of them as a result. she's their employee, but the lines are blurred and she's also somewhat family at the same time. she has no fear of losing her job. she could make the joker quiver in fear. she's old and set in her ways and i love her.

#anyways i feel like fanon mrs mac is very “they're just my employers it's not my business to question”#and canon mrs mac is like “i'm going to insert myself and judge my darlings so hard and then tell sylvia at bridge all about it”

136 notes · View notes

vickozone · 5 months

Text

The Magnus Archives

-S5 Notes-

<- previous notes

Handwriting translated below:

#161 old memories, tape that Gertrude should have gave them, Jon says “I love you”, they don’t need to eat to live

#162 Gertrude and Gerry bonding, Tim and Sasha talking about a very relevant subject and Jon and Martin are leaving the safe house.

#163 [VIETNAM FLASHBACKS] [BAGPIPES INTENSIFY]

#164 Gross statement about an infection in a town and Helen talking to Jon and Martin like a proud aunt is beautiful. “I knew you crazy kids would make it work!”

#165 “Ceaseless Watcher, turn your gaze upon this wretched thing.” The Stranger statement. Not!Sasha messed up!!

#166 Martin suddenly is on a murder episode and a dude turned into a worm. Helen says “Slay!”

#167 “Yes, Martin, you are my reason.” Sweet bonding and why Gertrude didn’t have anymore assists.

#168 “I’m not going to kill a man just because you’re jealous!” “Why not?” Oh, Martin. Oliver Banks shall live another day and we are crossing The End domain

#169 Let’s willingly run into a burning building, disregarding your boyfriend and getting revenge together! Jude is now dead and Martin was just struggling in the background. He chose revenge over his boyfriend. Interesting. “We’re burning!”

#170 “I’m Martin Blackwood, and I am not lonely anymore!” “Oh… Hello!”

#171 No way I just spent 23 minutes listening to Jon talk about skin flowers in a botanical garden. “That your boyfriend?” “It is, actually.” “Oh.”

#172 Creepy theatre show that made me genuinely uncomfortable with The Web

#173 Where do you think all of the children went? That’s right! The Dark with Callum! Yay!

#174 Simon calling Jon killing him “rude” is hilarious and immediately dipping is iconic. Weird Vast domain with big explosions. Helen loves some good gossip.

#175 The Extinction items, hate for umbrellas, and Martin’s squelchy couch. We’re going to The Hunt next. Oh no.

#176 Adoptive uncle Trevor and Julia are dead. AWESOME HUNT STATEMENT! And we got Basira! :D

#177 ‘Dr. David’ Jon is so hot. This episode has so many trigger warnings. Helen is so silly. Basira is rad, staying with her boys. Won’t let them have a moment tho

#178 More Flesh. Gross processing line and Jon admits that the thing that traumatized him the most was Daisy going to kill him in the woods. Poor babies.

#179 Daisy is shot and killed. Basira is on her own and I have a reason to give Jon a cane.

#180 I have never felt more serene in my life. I can’t even describe it. I was smiling, giggling, and everything feels okay. Salesa and Annabelle are here and I love Salesa’s voice and HE CAN PLAY THE PIANO! Teaholding fluff, om nom nom, this episode is one of my favorites. The I-Spy game <3

#181 They decide to stay at Upton House for a bit longer before leaving. Jon feels his powers again and forgets the whole experience of ignorance. Pity. Seemed like a nice place. I like Salesa.

#182 Anatomy Class student hospital and Breekon asks Jon to kill him. I feel bad for him. :(

#183 “I’m sure I love you.” “I love you too.” THEY SAID IT!! Helen was concerned for them. She’s like a wine aunt who acts motherly to them. Also, Martin’s domain…

#184 Jon made Jordan an entity. That’s a lotta ants! Jon is just… so complicated.

#185 Ouch. Police brutality and wrongful imprisonment are rough subjects. That guy pleading out to Martin HURT. Martin is… somewhere at the end. Alone again, oh, Jonny, I feel horrible.

#186 Martin went from being a joke in Jon’s anger to being one of the most well-developed characters. He is either going to kill himself of Jon. Martin legit talks to himself. Statement made me cry. This better end with them being happy together.

#187 HELEN! D: Aw, man… I liked her. That poor woman. Calm down, Jon! Helen was their friend till the end. Dang it, that was a nail-biter.

#188 We’re in London now! Eyes, man. They’re everywhere. We grieve for Helen a bit. Did I mention EYES?

#189 MEL AND GEORGIE! OMG! They… made a cult and can hide from The Eye. Great.

#190 Fresh take on modern dating! Antichrist plus one! Archivist mocks poems, beloved pet turned monster, and a blind prophet

#191 Jon sleeps with his eyes open. Georgie wants to avenge her cat (I think I’ve seen this film before), mystery can, and Jon and Martin discuss death. Sobbing atm.

#192 Rosie is literally just going with the flow. It’s weird to see someone else’s perspective on things. Jonah’s incantation is awesome and gosh, I love Martin

#193 Elias 'high as a kite' Bouchard’s origins. Jonah’s distorted voice is hot.

#194 THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT D: After a gruesome metamorphosis statement, Jon tried to find Martin to apologize only to find he was taken to HILL TOP FREAKIN ROAD

#195 Just Basira and Jon, catching up and trudging through water. Omg. The Mr. Spider tape.

#196 Earth shattering rip-in-space time crap. Annabelle is wicked cool. Martin keeps getting sucked into things AND THE TAPES!! ASDFEKGLZMV

#197 MARTIN! ANNABELLE! TAPES! THE LIGHTER! INTER-DIMENSIONAL PIT! WE NEED TO DESTROY JONAH AND THE EYE SIMULTANEOUSLY! LES GO!

#198 If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you too? Ew, bones reforming. Chill ep. Silly.

#199 Group agrees on plan after ten minute discussion. Martin consulting Jon while he cries in his arms HURT!! Also, Mel thanks Jon. This is going to end horribly, isn’t it?

#200 Statement ends.

Crying tally: |||| |||| (I cried ten [10] times listening to this stupid podcast)

#the magnus archives #tma #the magnus institute #tma jon #tma spoilers #tma season 5 #tma s5 #tma s5 spoilers #tma notes

44 notes · View notes

strangeshoepatrolbandit · 1 year

Note

Really excited for how your brotherly love series will go. And I just love how you included Tim and Jason because they’re my faves.

Can’t wait to read about some bonding between Jason and the reader

Sorry this is gonna be a long ass ask because there’s just a lot of things I want to comment on and ask.

There’s so many avenues you can explore. I’m kind of surprised only Damian is the only one who decides to take up crime fighting while the twin is fine with staying behind and exploring the mansion. One question I have is does the reader ever feel as if they’re living in Damian’s shadow? Like especially since Bruce bonds with Damian since Damian has taken up the mantle of Robin, then I’m gonna assume that Dick and Tim also spend time training their successor. Between training, vigilante duties, and time running Wayne Enterprises, that doesn’t leave a lot of free time. Does the reader ever feel left out/ignored or that Damian is the favorite? Or in other words, since the reader hasn’t thrown a tantrum that they’re stuck at the manor and they mainly seem to keep to themselves, do Bruce, Dick, and Tim seem to think Damian is a higher flight risk/the twin that is more reckless and needs more attention?

Poor reader. It hit a little close to home on the insecurities of being irritating/a nuisance to those your love.

Two, I think it’s so sweet that the reader was able to open up to Alfred that Damian yelled at them. I love how at least one of the Wayne’s is able to be open and express their emotions in a healthy way.

Three, you know how DCAU’s Batman vs Robin, Damian has a hard time getting past the security system. Idk but especially since Damian is the one who took up the mantle of Robin and it seems as if his primary focus is on training, I think it’d be such a funny thing to see him frustrated that his twin can bypass the security system with ease when the last time they picked up a sword or did any kind of conditioning was months ago before they lived with Bruce. And even Bruce, Dick, and Tim are scratching their heads since they thought you were the more well behaved and quiet one they didn’t have to worry about.

Damian: *fuming* I trained 18 hours every day for the past two months and couldn’t bypass the electric fence. How were you able to get pass the security system and then travel all the way to another country without any one detecting you until you got back?

Reader: *shrugs* don’t know. Maybe you’re rusty.

Next point, I mean especially since you mentioned that Jason’s eyes were an unnatural shade of green and he has that white streak in his hair, you can have the reader get inspired after hearing Jason’s story. They sneak away from the manor and try to (or successfully??) revive Ra’s by digging up their grandparents corpse and dunking it in the Lazarus pit.

That would be such an interesting parenting moment between Bruce and the reader. Poor Bruce can’t catch a break. He has to sit one kid down to explain why murder is not justice and then talk to the other kid that death is a natural part of life and it is not normal and somewhat questionably unethical to sneak out of the house to dig up your grandfather’s corpse and dip them in a magical lake to bring them back to life

Bruce: *sitting across from the reader rubbing his temples* so hypothetically if your hamster died, would you dunk it in a Lazarus pit because you missed them

Reader: I don’t know. I’ve never had a hamster.

But judging by your tone, I assume you want me to answer no..? You told Damian it was wrong to kill Deathstroke to take revenge for killing grandfather. Hypothetically, if if a very very very bad parakeet killed your hamster—

Bruce: dear god you’ve spent way too much with Jason

Anyways sorry to bug you with the long ass ramble. Hope some of it made sense. Bottom line, I’m looking forward to what comes next and if you ever need a beta reader or just want to spitball/brainstorm with anyone I’m all ears

You were not bugging me at all, I'm so glad that you enjoyed my story!!<333.

(I hope I make sense in this I have issues explaining things so bear with me)

To go over some of your topics, I feel that Damian is more career driven and felt comfortable being Robin because his life was spent being trained to be an assassin. I feel as if the reader is taking a break from the life they were forced to have by trying to live a "normal" life at the Manor. I will now go more into the topics of reader's insecurities, as we know they feel like they are annoying the people they are around, after a while they start to see how everyone is treating Damian like a normal person, whilst they are being treated like a child(even though they are), and they start to think that since Damian has been proving himself they just like him more. Everyone in the Manor does love them though, it's just Damian has hobbies in common with them so they feel that they have more to talk about(Wayne enterprises/Vigilante work), plus reader just stopped hanging out with everyone so how can people get to know them?

Yes, I wanted the reader to be able to have a healthy coping mechanism such as talking, literally all of the batfam has bad issues with talking except for Jason because homeboy goes to therapy(he too is an ex emotionally constipated person). Also yes reader does just have that magic touch, they are an Al-Ghul/Wayne, everyone knows reader was trained the exact same as Damian so it's a little bizarre that they are so good at something after being away from their training.

The reader is much aware of Ra's dips in the Lazarus pit and how it's kept him alive all these years, but I think that they understand that there is no help for Ra's, just like Talia said "the pit can't help a body that far gone"(or something), the reader is a little upset that after Jason had been beaten and put in a building with a bomb that the Lazarus pit still had a way to revive him(Reader and Damian both love animals and have definitely been in trouble for reviving random animals with dips in the pit LMAO). Reader, Damian, and Talia all share the same hatred for Deathstroke and all want him gone, whilst Damian and Talia are attempting to find and kill Deathstroke, reader just sits back because they know Talia has it handled. After spending time with Jason and sympathizing with him about his death, Bruce realizes that reader is all for getting revenge on people, they never did anything about Deathstroke but fully agree and understand Jason's reasoning behind wanting the Joker dead.

This actually meant so much, I'm sososososo glad you enjoyed Pt.1 of Brotherly Love!!! I have had a terrible night and this made it better!!!<33

( I definitely projected in this story, does anyone else have sibling issues?)

....Much love, Strangeshoepatrolbandit....

#x reader #batman #bruce wayne #damian wayne x batsis #damian wayne #damian wayne x reader #damian al ghul #jason todd x reader #jason todd #batfam x batsis #batfamily #bat family #batboys #batfam #batkids #batbros #the batfamily

162 notes · View notes

baileys-3 · 4 months

Text

New Chapter (#33) online - Secret Dating Era - On AO3

Sneak Peak:

Tim is able to meet Lucy in the break room the next day. He is just about to get his coffee refill before he has to finish his paperwork and have to attend in meeting with Gray, which definitely requires some extra caffeine. By some miracle they both happen to be at the station at the same time and even had the same idea. And she's alone. Perfect.

She's standing at the coffee machine and doesn't even react when he enters, which is weird. Maybe she needs a new lesson about situational awareness. She doesn't even seem to hear him. For whatever reason. The only thing he sees is how she is swaying her hips slightly as if she were dancing to some inaudible music only she can hear. When she starts singing softly to herself, he knows what's going on. She has earphones in her ears and is probably listening to some pop song he can’t even recognize. That's why she didn't hear him say "Hey".

This gives him a perfect opportunity for some Tim Test and take revenge for yesterday, so he sneaks up on her from behind while he briefly checks through the window to see if anyone is nearby. The hallway seems to be empty though. He could do something real dirty now. But they're in the break room at the station, so his options are limited. She's still standing in front of the machine, apparently waiting for her coffee to finish brewing. Which will take a while, as the cup is only half full.

He stands behind her, slightly off to the left, and checks again to make sure no one is coming. Still no one in sight, so he taps her on the right shoulder. She jumps a little and makes a startled noise looking to her right, but of course, she can’t see him as he is standing on her left side. Ahh, the invisible shoulder tap prank never gets old and works almost every time. He moves with her behind her back mirroring her movement, still unnoticed by her. And then he simply can't resist the temptation. He grabs her ass giving it a quick squeeze. Because payback is sweet. And she definitely deserves payback for yesterday. He made sure that she hasn't picked up her coffee cup yet though. That would have been disastrous, as she likely would have spilled the scorching hot coffee on her. And he's not an asshole after all, he doesn’t want to actually hurt her.

It's just that Lucy doesn't quite react as he expected. No, she responds in a completely different way, but deep down, he's actually quite pleased with her reaction. After all, how was she supposed to know it was him? And it's reassuring to see that she reacts like that when someone touches her without her permission.

But still, HE could have done without her violent reaction. Because Lucy turns around instantly, and before he can say anything, she slaps him in the face with real force. One that really resonates. It hurts like hell.

He can't stop the slightly high-pitched "Ouch" escaping him. Nor can he stop himself from making a face and immediately putting a hand on the spot.

He sees her eyes widen in surprise as she recognizes him "Oh shit Tim ... fuck ... I didn't know it was you." She all but yells, because she still has the earphones in her ears still listening to some music.

#chenford #lucy chen #the rookie #tim bradford #tim bradford x lucy chen #tim x lucy #archive of our own #chenford fanfic #chenford fic #chenfordsource #lucy x tim #lucy and tim #ao3 link #ao3 fanfic

18 notes · View notes

olivia-anderson-fanfic · 2 months

Text

Broken Hearts Are Contagious

Summary: If Marinette doesn't learn to love Tim back before the end of the week, he will die. She is not the victim... so why does she feel like crying?

Written for @maribatserver 's Maribat March

Day 1: Origin Story (for Poison Ivy)

Marinette sips at her drink. It’s non-alcoholic, of course, she isn’t intent on openly breaking the law when Commissioner Gordon is within sight. But that doesn’t change the fact that she is oh-so-tempted to try. She eyes the champagne pyramid not too far away. It is entirely decorative – it would be impossible to get a drink without everything toppling over, and even if you do manage to get one there is a high chance that the drink will be flat.

Then again, she really hates Wayne Galas, and that was a surefire way to make sure she would never have to go again…

Before she can commit to that particular bad idea, a hand taps her on the shoulder.

She whirls around to find a fortunately familiar face. Tim was always one to sneak up on people. He insists it’s accidental, and that he doesn’t mean to, but she has her doubts, because he always smiles so widely whenever he manages to catch her off-guard.

Regardless of his possibly evil ways, he is now leaning against the wall next to her. His hair is brushed, for once, slicked out of his face with far too much gel. She is sorely tempted to mess it up, purely as a petty form of revenge, but considering he is her ticket out of here… it seems like a bad idea.

She can always do it later.

“Tim,” she says, her bitter expression falling away in favor of a faint smile. “Thank the gods you’re here.”

“I’m here to save the day,” he says with a sarcastic little bow, his lips curling in a smirk. “Let’s run away together.”

She doesn’t wait for another second before gathering up her dress in her hands. The air is cloyingly sweet from all of the intermingling perfumes, and she wants out. “Absolutely. How do we escape?”

“Depends, are you down to climb a drainpipe?”

“There’s no way that’ll hold our weight,” Marinette says, her eyebrows raising.

He huffs, but he doesn’t actually seem all that put out. “It might. But, fine, guess we’ll just have to leave the normal way.”

So, hand in hand, they make their grand escape.

Okay, that might be a little dramatic, all they do is find their way to a higher balcony so they can talk without fear of being forced into conversations about stocks and taxes and ooooh, I just LOVE your dress, DO tell me where you got it.

No, they have much more interesting conversations in store for them, like gossip.

“They say there’s a new assassin on the loose,” says Tim.

She has heard that. Quite a few rich people had suddenly been found dead – poisoned, to be specific. But, as she looks out over the Gala below them, she is sorry to say that the assassin is not going fast enough.

Marinette hums absently. “There’s always another assassin.”

“It’s a good line of work. Business is booming. If only I didn’t have those pesky morals,” sighs Tim.

Marinette can only nod along. One day she, too, will have a terrible accident that leads to her becoming a supervillain, she is sure her time will come eventually.

But, for now, she is much more interested in chatting with her best friend.

“I heard Cobblepot is secretly a Rogue,” Marinette says, leaning over the railing so she could properly squint at the man. She opts to ignore the rest of that particular rumor, because not even their friend Bernard would believe that the umbrellas the man carried were all secretly insane gadgets.

Tim snickers as if he can hear her thought process. “Yeah? Are you gonna tell me you believe in The Batman, too?”

She grins. “And what if I do? What would you do?”

“Well, stop you from hanging out with Bernard, for one.”

Marinette gasps. “You would never! My mental health would shatter if I was not allowed to talk to my emotional support delusional friend.”

“I need you to repeat the last four words of that sentence for me.”

“... emotional support delusional friend?”

“Yeah, thanks for proving my point.”

“You’re no fuuuuuun.”

“I’m practical. I go out at night all the time. If he existed, I think I would have seen him by now.”

Okay, does Marinette actually believe in Batman? No, absolutely not. But damn if she wasn’t going to defend his honor. “Well, yeah, if he’s a hybrid half-man, half-bat being, it makes sense that he would be trying to hide himself as much as possible!”

“And that’s how I know you’re not a true bat-fan. Any true believer knows he is three-fourths bat and one-fourth man.”

Alas, she has been caught.

She leans back against the banister, pouting. “How was I supposed to know you were actually paying attention to Bernard’s rants? I always thought you were lost in your own head. You never speak!”

He lifts his hands in a sheepish little shrug. “I like listening to you guys talk.”

“Ha. Simp.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay. Real mature.”

“I am, thank you for noticing. This is why I should be allowed to drink underage —.”

She never finishes her sentence, because her eyes stray to the champagne tower, and that particular train of thought is derailed. For a woman stands at the base of the pyramid. Which is already strange, but her outfit is even stranger. A dress that appears to be made out of leaves, rustling behind her as she walked. Red hair is threaded with thick green ribbons that remind her of vines.

Dully, Marinette thinks she might actually want to know where the woman had gotten her dress.

A hand reaches out and plucks a champagne glass from the pyramid.

It topples faster than you might expect, the glasses clinking against each other briefly before they’re sent to the floor, shattering in a messy display. Glass shards and liquid gold spilling across the tile.

If people weren’t looking at the mysterious woman before, they certainly are now.

She smiles.

“Hello, Gotham,” she says, her voice echoing. Is she hooked up to a mic? Or is she just that good at projecting? “I’m the newest assassin, Poison Ivy.”

Understandably, most people back up a few steps. Even Tim and Marinette, who are safely on a balcony she could not reasonably reach anytime soon, flinch backward.

She smiles wider.

“You’re kinda a bad assassin, though,” Brucie Wayne speaks up, and everyone in the vicinity immediately cringes. “I mean, why tell us now? Why not – like – after you kill us?”

“Easy! Because you’re all already dead!”

Brucie looks down at himself, as if to confirm that he has legs.

The people who have two functioning brain cells to rub together, though, immediately blanche at the news. They’re already doomed? How? Her name more than implies that her killing method of choice is poison, so… where is it? It can’t be the food, people hardly eat at parties like this (despite how good the food is), and it’s not as if she could poison every single drink without anyone noticing.

“There is poison in the very air you breathe.”

Wait, what?

Her hands come up to cover her mouth and nose, as if it is still something she can fix. She has been smelling that sickening sweetness for well over ten minutes now, she can’t uninhale it.

“It’s slow-acting… not that slow-acting, you all have around a week, max, but…” she shrugs, her eyes gleaming. “I figured I should give you all the time to say goodbye to your loved ones.”

That was… surprisingly generous.

For some reason, Marinette can’t bring herself to trust it.

Indeed, Poison Ivy continues on: “Well, your loved ones. I’m sure all of you know that you are unlovable, that they only love your money… I’m sure they’ll all be very pleased to learn of your sudden passing.”

Unsurprisingly, this is not what people want to hear immediately after being told that they are going to die in a week or less.

“In fact, I’m willing to bet on all of you rich people being unloved – so much so that my little plants are based around it! If any of you love someone, and find it to not be reciprocated, the plant will take root, and you will die.”

It is deathly silent.

A… plant?

“Wait! How?” Marinette is the first one to speak up. She isn’t scared, not really, just confused beyond measure.

And Poison Ivy seems to be experiencing the same strange emotion, because she balks a little bit upon seeing Tim and Marinette. She hesitates, briefly, her confident posture wavering, before she brings herself back to the present, outright laughing at her.

“You are all going to die, and you want to know how?”

Marinette just nods. Call it denial and bargaining mixing together into one very unfortunate cocktail (she really should have drank earlier), but she has to know.

The woman considers her for a moment, before sighing. “The plants should have already taken root in all of your brains. They feed off of certain nutrients. As time continues on, they will run out of room and begin pushing their way down, through your heart, into your lungs…” She waves a hand. “I’m sure that I don’t need to continue, we all get the idea.”

Brucie looks like he absolutely does not.

But Poison Ivy does not seem to care enough to explain anything to him.

“Get your affairs in order, everyone!”

No one even tries to stop her when she leaves.

Someone laughs, but it is nervous. A woman tucks her hair behind her ear. “Well… it’s a good thing that I’m married, now, isn’t it?” she asks her husband.

Said husband looks like he would much rather be anywhere but there. “So – so true, honey.”

Marinette remembers, dully, that both of them are cheating on each other. She wonders if they know. She wonders if either of them will be around next week.

She will live, though.

“Thank the gods I decided I wasn’t going to date anyone until college,” Marinette jokes lightly.

Tim wheezes.

She didn’t think that the joke was that funny.

“Yep, isn’t that… convenient?” he says, sounding pained.

She looks over at him, frowning, and finds him leaning against the banister. His hands grip the marble, his knuckles turning white. She is pretty sure that this is the palest she has ever seen him.

Dread begins to trickle down her back.

“Tim?”

He winces.

“You like someone that doesn’t like you back, don’t you?”

He nods ever so slightly, his gaze determinedly pointed at their feet.

“It’s not Bernard, is it?” she tries.

He shakes his head.

And Marinette can’t help it – she bursts out laughing. Until she is gasping for breath between peals of laughter. She laughs so hard she feels tears begin to well in her eyes.

Tim jolts to look at her. “What the hell is funny about any of this?”

“I was just thinking…” she quickly swipes her fingers beneath her eye in fruitless hopes that her mascara won’t run, still giggling. “I was wondering if this was going to be the start of my supervillain arc or something.”

Tim gives her an incredulous look.

This, of course, only makes her laugh harder.

One week to live, max.

It is… an interesting stipulation. She assumes that ‘Poison Ivy’ wants her victims to suffer, but why only for a week?

It could be that the ‘disease’ (Marinette refuses to believe that plants can be in any way sentient) is fast-acting, but it also might be a safeguard of sorts. Maybe there is a way to counteract the disease, some sort of cure.

Maybe that was hopeful thinking.

Maybe that would be worse for her in the long run. It is probably easier to give up – like Tim seems to have, it has not escaped her notice that it is lunchtime and he still hasn’t attended any of their shared classes – and accept that there is nothing you can do instead of trying fruitlessly to find a solution.

After all, she is just a random high schooler. Even if there is a cure of some sort, there is nothing that she can do. She is only passing her biology class by the skin of her teeth! She can’t deal with a bioweapon!

She presses her face into her hands. The cafeteria is silent. Basically no one is attending classes today. They’re all stressed about the bioweapon thing and don’t want to spend their last moments in a classroom.

She gets that.

And yet.

She doesn’t want to be alone right now.

She wants her best friend.

But, while he is her best friend, she isn’t his. And the thought makes her want to be sick. For once, the fact that her skin tinges green in the school cafeteria isn’t actually due to the food. She hasn’t eaten any, and she can't even smell it thanks to the horrible sugary smell that has been trapped in her nose since the Gala.

She pushes her plate out of the way and sinks to rest her head against the table, as if it might soothe her headache.

It doesn’t.

Most likely because the headache is more metaphorical than literal.

It’s a bit literal, too, though. She’s probably gritting her teeth.

How could she not?

She doesn’t want to talk to Tim. She doesn’t want to know how many of their interactions over the years they hadn’t been on the same page for. Doesn’t want to have to think about all of the joking flirting they had done, and how it had only been a joke for her.

She understands that he has feelings, and that he can’t help them, but that doesn’t make her feel any less violated.

Because, ultimately, if she had known she wouldn’t have behaved in all of the same ways, and it feels like that is part of the reason why he hadn’t told her.

He probably didn’t want things to change in their relationship, but why doesn’t she get a say in that?

Things had changed. She just hadn’t been told about it.

So, why does she still want to go to him? She feels betrayed. By him. He is the very reason she is upset, and yet she still wants to seek comfort in him.

She hates emotions. Can she have a refund? Yeah, she’s lost the receipt and all, but…

She can’t bring herself to care enough to finish the joke, even in her own mind.

It was stupid, anyway.

The silence in the cafeteria is almost oppressive.

A hand taps her on the shoulder and she hesitates, considering playing dead to make them go away. Then she realizes that she might actually convince people that she was dead, considering the current circumstances, so she lifts her head.

Bernard takes a seat beside her, smiling. The prick had been out of town during the Gala. Lucky him. If he had gone, he would currently be dying due to his unrequited crush on Tim’s stepmom.

“You should go visit him,” he says, as if it’s really that simple.

She gives him a flat look. He had always been an airhead. You’d think that watching your friend die in front of you in a mob-related school shooting would wisen you up some, but Bernard remains entirely without a brain.

She supposes she should have expected this. After all, Brucie Wayne exists. Clearly, it is possible.

“It’s not that easy,” she says, sinking back against the table again, wondering if she can meld with it and avoid the conversation.

“I know. But you’re going to regret it if you don’t.”

Marinette pauses and lifts her head to meet his eyes.

She hates it when the dumbest person in the room makes a good point.

Because doesn’t that make her the new dumbest person by default?

Still, she is also the most stubborn, so she glares at him. “I’m sorry, if I was dying because I secretly had a crush on you this whole time, would you want to come visit me?”

Bernard, to his credit, actually considers this. And then, in true Bernard fashion, just shrugs.

She groans. “I’ll be fine.”

He snorts. “You’re not even fine now. Mari, no offense, but have you seen yourself?”

“Sorry for not looking great after finding out my best friend of several years is going to die because I can’t reciprocate his feelings,” she says flatly.

Bernard sobers, if only slightly.

He sighs, matching her posture. “You’re going to regret it if you don’t,” he repeats.

Marinette glares at the tray in front of her like it has personally offended her. To be fair, it has – who decided that melted cheese on bread is a good entree?

“I’m going to go grab something else for lunch,” she says, pushing the tray over to him. “No one is doing classes today, anyway.”

Bernard doesn’t say a word about her dumb excuse. Maybe he is too concentrated on the terrible ‘food’ that has been forced upon him.

She can’t bring herself to care. As long as no one questions her, she will be fine.

Marinette stares up at the wooden lattice that she can use to reach Tim’s window. It is supposed to house flowers, she is pretty sure, but they have long since shriveled up and died. It wasn’t due to neglect, the Drakes had always made sure that the outside of their house, at least, was always well tended to. No, this, she was pretty sure that she had just trampled over the plants so many times while visiting her friend that they just stopped bothering to grow.

She supposes that it could be ironic, that the flowers are dead because of her, and flowers are killing her friend because of her, but she can’t seem to find the energy to wax poetic right now.

For a moment, she doesn’t move, her hand resting against the wooden lattice.

Should she hang out with him? If he is going to die, she wants to spend time with him before he goes… but would that make him die faster? Would constant, tiny rejections make the flowers – the disease – take over faster?

How does this stupid fake flower disease even work? What are the stipulations?

She hates being helpless.

She clambers up the lattice and makes sure she is fully seated on the windowsill before she raps her knuckles against the glass. She peers into the dark room, wondering if anyone is even there, trying to make out shapes in the dark.

A lump on the bed slowly shifts, an arm reaching out to flick on a lamp. Tim sits up slowly. He blinks bleary eyes open.

And then he bolts upright.

Tim stares at her, as if he is half convinced that she’s a hallucination.

For a moment, she wishes for that to be the case but, when his otherwise pale cheeks flush with the slightest bit of color upon seeing her, her stomach lurches in a way that assures her that all of this is very much real.

He scrambles to his feet so fast he almost slips on his blanket, and she almost huffs a laugh at the sight. He manages a sheepish smile.

The window latch unlocks and she is allowed to make her way inside.

Tim… doesn’t look great. His pajamas swamp him and his hair is almost painfully messy, but all she can really focus on is how gaunt his face looks.

He looks frail.

A week… max.

Marinette can’t bring herself to speak, not even to say hi.

“I – I didn’t know whether you would come,” he admits.

Marinette manages a ghost of a smile. “I considered not.”

He gives an aborted little laugh. “... well, you’ve always been brutally honest, I guess.”

… was she?

Marinette would say quite the opposite, that she usually beat around the bush for most things, so long as they weren’t vitally important.

But here he was, defending her rudeness with ease, in fact he almost seemed fond. So much so that she almost began to wonder whether he was right and she was the one that was wrong.

Or whether he didn’t even know her. Whether the ‘Marinette’ that he had fallen in love with wasn’t even actually her, but instead some idolized version of her.

She was no angel. She had flaws. She was just a regular person.

She wonders if Tim would agree if she said those words aloud. But, ultimately, she isn’t the type to say that, to bring those things out into the open, so instead she gives a laugh – it is late, and it does nothing to clear the awkward air, but it is already out there, so it’s not as if it can be taken back.

Tim’s smile wavers, if only slightly. “... how about a movie?”

She almost jumps at the opportunity to have something break the silence.

But she soon realizes her mistake because, once the movie is on, there is really no reason to talk anymore. Tim hadn’t put on a purposefully bad movie they could laugh at together. He had opted for Howl’s Moving Castle. The subbed version, they aren’t plebs… but this also meant that they have to concentrate on the movie somewhat in order to keep track of what is going on.

Not that they don’t already know it all by heart. They’ve rewatched it dozens of times over the years.

Marinette had always thought the romance between Howl and Sophie was a little bit forced, but she liked the movie regardless. And, even if she hadn’t, it wasn’t as if she was going to stop Tim from watching the movie he chose when he was going to die soon.

Still.

They are both quiet, as is standard for watching a movie, and yet… this time, it is different. Now, she is aware of the way Tim’s eyes stray to her more often than not.

The silence isn’t the fond, loving kind that people always talk about. It is uncomfortable. It is an unspoken acknowledgment that things have changed.

Marinette wishes, silently, for things to go back to the way they were.

She wants her best friend back.

But it looks as if she is going to have to settle for the next best thing.

She looks at Tim. He’s lying against the pillows in a way that would seem casual if it were not for the sunkenness of his eyes. His lips are curled into the slightest of smiles as he looks at the screen, but he is quick to turn his attention onto her.

She takes on deep breath, steeling herself.

It doesn’t help.

But she still grabs him by the shirt and drags his lips up to meet hers anyway.

She fights down a wave of revulsion.

He can’t die. He can’t! She can bear to live in discomfort. She is not going to live without him, not if she can help it.

He kisses her back. He is, objectively, a good kisser. His hands cradle her face like she is something precious.

She wants to be sick. Her hands ball tighter in his shirt.

She just needs to think of all of those movies. The ones where the girl realizes that she actually loved the guy all along, and was just too stupid to not realize it before.

She swears she can taste copper. She nearly chokes on it.

She does love Tim. He is sweet, and kind, and intelligent, and her best friend. Don’t people talk about how a good friendship leads to a good relationship?

Right?

He pulls back (finally).

His thumbs swipe beneath her eyes. Had she been crying?

It might not work if she cries.

She doesn’t want to open her eyes. Doesn’t want to see Tim’s face. Doesn’t want to know whether she had accidentally doomed him.

This is all so unfair.

Why is she the one who has to change?

Why can’t he love her in the way she loves him?

She can’t breathe.

She opens her eyes to find his lips stained a deep red. His eyes are wide with horror.

Marinette feels a strange wave of satisfaction. At least it isn’t her, for once.

When she keels forward, coughing into their laps, bloodied flower petals spill from her lips.

#maribat #maribat march #timari #timinette #timmari #as an aroace person hanahaki aus are the fucking worst #so i decided to do a deconstruction

15 notes · View notes

burins · 4 months

Text

as promised the separate comics/graphic novels roundup for 2023! this is a normal post until May when I realized I could (as a graphic novel librarian) become an Eisner voter and read 54 comics in a month (and then slightly less so in August when the Harveys came up.) below a cut because it's heinously long. I'll include my little write-ups and some panels right after my faves

JANUARY

Under the Red Hood by Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke I read this January second. Begin as you mean to go on! For all its flaws (Dick's Squidward face) the emotional arc of this story puts me right into the pit about Jason Todd.

Superman: Reign of the Supermen by Dan Jurgens and others

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest (ongoing) by Mark Waid, Dan Mora, and Travis Moore First off Dan Mora draws everyone like the most beautiful people in the world, which never hurts to look at. But also this is just a really fun comic! The action is fun the characters are very sweet and we get an honest to god Superbat gem fusion

Young Justice (1998) by Peter David and Todd Nauck MY CHILDREN! I was finishing up my Tim readthrough and was so delighted to meet Kon and Cassie and Bart and Cissie and Anita (I still don't care for Lobo.) Nauck's art is cartoony in a way that fits the comic really well.

Red Robin by Christopher Yost, Fabian Nicieza, Ramón Bachs, and Marcus To THEEEEE ARC for Tim. Everyone says read Red Robin. Yes read Red Robin but also understand this is him at his worst and most scrungly. This is not normal Tim. This is Tim's failgirl era.

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day by Judd Winick and Ale Garza

MARCH

You and a Bike and a Road by Eleanor Davis Beautiful little memoir comic about biking across the US, and also about borders and travel and isolation/togetherness.

Superman for All Seasons by Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale, and Bjarne Hansen I love this comic. Tim Sale draws Clark like the biggest, softest person you've ever seen, and Bjarne Hansen's colors are so gentle. (if you remember the rock metaphor from mission parameters, it's inspired by this scene from Book 1: Spring)

APRIL

Superman: Lost by Christopher Priest and Carlos Parlaguyan (ongoing) This series cuts right to the horror of being Superman and also the horror of being Lois Lane SO deftly. a few plot points I don't love but overall God it makes me miserable

Birds of Maine by Michael Deforge A delightful, dreamy collection of comics about birds living in a utopian society on the moon. The art is weird, the story is weird, everything about it is lovely.

MAY

Divinity v1-2 by Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine

The City of Belgium by Brecht Evans This is not a perfect graphic novel but the stuff it does with art and page and rhythm is so so phenomenal.

Lights, Planets, People! by Lizzy Stewart and Molly Naylor

Killadelphia v1-3 by Rodney Barnes, Jason Shawn Alexander, and Christopher Mitten

The Department of Truth v1-4 by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds This is a book about conspiracy theories and it is DEEPLY unsettling. Martin Simmonds' art makes me legitimately queasy to look at. Really really good but also it did send me into a little spiral for a bit.

Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely (Mat Lopes' colors also deserve a shoutout) This book made me cry! Also I have yet to read another Kara comic because this one was so good and I'm afraid the others won't be. She's sharp and angry in all the best ways and also deeply deeply caring and good. Capes meets space fantasy at its best. I would die for Ruthye

Nightwing (2016) v1-2 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo

Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler by Tom King and Mitch Gerads

She-Hulk (2022) v1-2 by Rainbow Rowell, Luca Maresca, Rogê Antônio, and Takeshi Miyazawa

Superman: Space Age by Mike Russell and Michael Allred

Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld

Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball by Jon Chad

Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story by Catherine Pioli

So Much for Love: How I Survived a Toxic Relationship by Sophie Lambda

Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure by Lewis Hancox

Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez and Danica Brine

Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith

Animal Castle v1 by Xavier Dorison and Felix Delep

Bungleton Green and the Mystic Commandos by Jay Jackson

Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer Masterclass in writing a biopic that doesn't shy away from its subject's being kind of a wretched person while also producing art that is deeply meaningful to many, many people.

Rain by Joe Hill and Zoe Thorogood

Tiki: A Very Ruff Year by David Azencot and Fred Leclerc

Ten Days in a Madhouse by Nellie Bly, adapted by Brad Ricca and Courtney Sieh

Ultrasound by Conor Stechschulte

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes, The Graphic Album (various)

A Visit to Moscow by Rabbi Rafael Grossman, adapted by Anna Olswanger and Yevgenia Nayberg

Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto

Shuna’s Journey by Hayao Miyazaki

Come Over Come Over by Lynda Barry

It’s So Magic by Lynda Barry

My Perfect Life by Lynda Barry What a lovely collection of comics. Barry captures being a teen in all its mess and glory.

Macanudo: Welcome to Elsewhere by Liniers

Always Never by Jordi Lafebre

The Pass by Espé

Mary Jane and Black Cat Beyond

Moon Knight: Black, White and Blood by Jed Mackay and Carlos Villa

The Nice House on the Lake v1-2 by James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno (Jordie Bellaire colors) I know Tynion can do horror, but he really really can do horror. This is like Glass Onion meets the worst nightmare you've ever had, and the way it unfolds is masterful. Martínez Bueno's art is dreamy and unsettling, especially combined with Bellaire who colors like she's painting oil slicks.

A Vicious Circle by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo

Booster Gold (1986) by Dan Jurgens Booster my friend Booster. I really didn't expect this to be as FUN as it is! There are occasional storylines that drag but overall a delight.

The Human Target v1-2 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood

Heartstopper v2-4 by Alice Oseman

Killer Queens by David Booher and Claudia Balboni

I Hate This Place v1 by Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin I really need to read v2 because this was so fun. Queer backwoods horror, sarcastic, delightful, and never heavy-handed. I read this right after Killer Queens, which read like someone fed a bunch of Drag Race episodes and 2012 tumblr posts into a comics generator, and Heartstopper, which was so blandly unobjectionable I actually forgot I'd read it, so I Hate This Place felt refreshing as hell. (actually while looking up screencaps I remember why I didn't read v2 which is that v1 has a LOT of gore and body horror and I gotta be careful with that stuff. however if you like a slasher go forth)

It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood Gut punch on every page. Thorogood's art is weird and wild. It does feel a bit as though she's opened up her ribs for us to peruse.

Chivalry by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran

Sensory: Life on the Spectrum (various)

Cryptid Club by Sarah Andersen

Public Domain v1 by Chip Zdarsky

Love Everlasting v1 by Tom King and Elsa Charretier

Mazebook by Jeff Lemire A twisting fable about grief and the paths it takes you down. A lot of the Eisner noms had dead wives or daughters which I began to resent, but I gave this a pass because it was really, really beautiful.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton Everyone has told you it's good! oh it's good. Beaton's style, which I associate more with her humor work, at first feels somewhat at war with the subject matter, but it ended up really working for me.

Days of Sand by Aimee DeJongh

Talk to My Back by Yamada Murasaki This was one of my favorite books of the whole year. Beautiful meditation on the compromises of marriage and motherhood in beautiful, sparse drawings that lingered with me long after I'd finished reading.

Crushing by Sophie Burrows

JUNE

Do a Powerbomb by Daniel Warren Johnson Do you like wrestling? I don't really care about it, but I do love weird wacky stories about grief and trying to fight your way through the afterlife to get your mom back. Both hilarious and poignant. The art is as bombastic as it needs to be.

The Night Eaters v1 by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda Liu and Takeda are back! This time with some horror about a pair of siblings and their fucked up parents. Great stuff.

Ripple Effects by Jordan Hart and Bruno Chiroleu

Superman: Up in the Sky by Tom King and Andy Kubert Oh the Clark Kent of it all. the panel where Clark is calling home from alien customs because he has flown to the ends of the universe for one little girl is really what got me in this one

Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross

Superman: American Alien by Max Landis and various artists

Superman Red and Blue (anthology) This is a whole lot of writers and a whole lot of artists and all of them are excellent. Once again the Clark Kent emotion is happening to me.

JULY

Superman: Birthright by Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu

Superman (2011) v5-6 by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder

Superman: Warworld by Philip Kennedy Johnson and various artists

Justice League International by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire Booster my friend Booster is here and also so are all of my other new friends. I loved the initial run (though it has its weak spots) but then I had to slog through a lot of very bad later stuff.

AUGUST

Blue and Gold by Dan Jurgens and Ryan Sook

New Teen Titans (various Brother Blood issues) by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez

Acting Class by Nick Drnaso

Follow Me Down: A Reckless Book by Ed Brubaker

Girl Juice by Benji Nate

Little Monsters v1 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen

Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni

Who Will Make the Pancakes by Megan Kelso

Cat + Gamer by Wataru Nadatani

Goodbye, Eri by Tatsuki Fujimoto

Spy x Family v1-2 by Tatsuya Endo

Alice on the Run: One Child’s Journey Through the Rwandan Civil War by Gaspard Talmasse

Ashes by Álvaro Ortiz

The Extraordinary Part: Book One: Orsay’s Hands by Florent Ruppert and Jérôme Mulot The art and story here are simply so fabulous. A better world is possible and sometimes you have to take direct action to make it!

SEPTEMBER

Batman RIP by Grant Morrison and Tony S. Daniel

Batman Incorporated by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham

Batman and Robin (2011) by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason I've talked about this one before but I think it is truly one of my favorite depictions of Bruce as father in all the ways he succeeds and all the ways he fails. John Kalisz's luminous colors also deserve a shoutout.

OCTOBER

Batman: Failsafe and Gotham War by literally everyone currently working in DC but especially Zdarsky

Birds of Prey (1999) by Chuck Dixon and then Gail Simone and a number of other people (this continued into November and December) This made the worms in my brain wriggle so bad that I wrote a whole yuri zine piece about Dinah and Babs, coming to a PDF (or physical copy!) near you soon!

DECEMBER

Dungeon Meshi v1-11 by Ryoko Kui Is it romantic to devour and be devoured in turn? Ryoko Kui sure thinks so. I was hungry the whole time I was making these my bedtime reading.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll Emily Carroll is among the best to ever do it. This collection of stories is her at her unsettling best.

When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll

Batgirl (2000) v1-3 by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott thanks to Mssrs Puckett and Scott I am now fully unhinged about Cass Cain and her quest for immolation. the art in this is so stylized but so well-done, especially given how little text is in much of the series. when the paneling hits it HITS.

Bruce Wayne Murderer/Fugitive by everyone working at DC in 2002 When a good crossover storyline works, it really really works. I love to see Bruce completely blow up his life because he doesn't see any point in existing outside the cowl anymore. Even more do I love to see the fallout from this on everyone who loves him! delight delight delight.

and that's everything I read this year!! god there was a lot of it. I liked a lot of the stuff I didn't bold, but also I hated some of it. please feel free to talk to me about any of it!!!

#comics not even once #book roundups

18 notes · View notes