#they kept each other going

[kopykunoichi]

It's been at least 20 years since I've used watercolors, but I decided to dust off my paintbrushes and give it a go. I could have done better on the perspectives and I'm rusty with this media, but I'm satisfied with the end product, for the most part. It was a fun project, either way.

#rexsoka #star wars the clone wars #the clone wars #ahsoka tano #captain rex #i'm no jedi OTP #rexsoka monthly #february 2024: give me a reason #“the reason” by hoobastank is playing in my head on loop right now thanks to this prompt #i found a reason for me to change who i used to be #a reason to start over new #and the reason is you #they kept each other going #they faced their worst nightmare and made it through for love of each other

[turtleblogatlast]

I’ve remembered that colors exist

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt leo #rise leo #back to black and white for me #just wanted to play with colors and Leo got to be my guinea pig #genuinely I just kept putting layers on top of each other until I was like hm okay #this is why I stick with greyscale 😭 #too indecisive for color #turtle art tag #the trans implication was for once accidental but my subconscious is RIGHT actually- #he wears the colors well what can I say #anyway you know it’s not me without tags so here we go #the bros represent the four different times of day SO well #Mikey is Dawn Leo is Day Raph is Dusk and Donnie is Night #you can also argue switching Mikey and Leo around too but I like Leo as day simple bc his blue and stripes work with it #blue for clear blue skies #red stripes for dusk yellow for dawn #‘where are his swords’ in the void #man I wanna draw Leo in blue pink and white more often those really are his colors tbh #not JUST for my trans leo agenda either #on that note Mikey would rock fuchsia #and splash colors like that kickass jacket he had in CDMtT #Donnie would do great in lilacs or silvers #and Raph would kill it in gold #tan too would be so pretty on him and paired with gold? 👌👌👌 #not me wanting to draw fashion for them 😭 #on a further note April in emerald greennnnn #midnight blue or marigold for her too would be gorgeous #I could go on all day tbh

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 170

Once again on my Ras & Danny being training rivals thanks to time travel bullshit. 

Look, Danny knows about the league of Assassins, but he almost dies of laughter when he realizes it’s the modern name of the league of Shadows. He’s an adult now, has been for a while, he’s allowed to find the situation he’s found himself in amusing. Hell, his sparring buddy who is somehow still alive is laughing too. 

And no one else knows what’s going on, okay? This random man walked into their secret base, completely ignored the many assassins trying to stop him, and called their illustrious leader a “Little Bitch Man” and they are now fighting?

The fighting is familiar, but why the fuck is Ras cackling and saying things like “Ayreh Feek” back. Practically saying “Fuck you,” while laughing and oh Pit, they’re Bantering this is terrifying, why has Ras not won yet, why has this man not died yet and- bodies aren’t supposed to bend like that what the fuck- 

Ras on the other hand, has One friend, who is immortal like him, actually remembers the shit he complains about, is also down for saving endangered animals, and actually knows how to spar! It’s not a proper spar unless someone loses at least a hand that has to be reattached! And honestly, people nowadays should know that the proper greeting to an old friend is to instantly try to kill the other. 

#dcxdp #dpxdc #prompts #Jason & Talia & the Assassins are just standing there in utter confusion #Dusan also standing there: Oh thank fuck his sparring buddy is back we kept losing operatives whenever Father decided to be affectionate #Most of the League is at least Ecto contaminated but the Al Ghuls are Liminal AF #Danny as a teen: Ur a lil bitch lmao #Ras as a teen: Well fuck you too I hope the earth swallows you where you stand #Danny as an adult when he sees his friend: Hey Bitch #Ras to everyone’s horror: Hey Fucker you’re a decade late #Danny: Had a king to kill you know how it is #Talia: Alright Jason time for you to go to Gotham I think there might be hallucinogens in the Base #Jason: No I want to see more of this this is comedy gold #Tiny Damian doing mental gymnastics: Is this Grandmother????? #No one knows how the fuck to describe their relationship- are they friends?? Rivals?? Lovers?? Just too dudes who apparently have known #each other for a Very long time????

[void-and-virtue]

Lying on the floor in a puddle of my tears and staring blankly at the ceiling as I once again think about all the fucked up, multi-dimensional ways that Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung encompass the god vs creation and deity vs worshipper dynamics

#it goes all ways between them and stacks on top of each other #there’s like five different angles to it and a secret sixth thing and it makes me go insane #is a god the person who creates or the person who preserves created life by sheer faith alone #the absolute mind bend of a world created for one person alone yet that entire universe kept alive by their imagination and love for it #also the whole situation of love from reader to creator and creator to reader and character as a tool but character as a devoted companion #the way the creation loves and devotes itself to suffer for its god-not-god in turn #ORV is so convoluted it’s like five billion mindfucks stacked in a trench coat #and I love every silly little word of it #ugh #orv spoilers #orv #omniscient reader's viewpoint #omniscient reader’s viewpoint spoilers #kim dokja #yoo joonghyuk #han sooyoung

[bleaksqueak]

ooooh well it's not obvious he says like there is a single part of bursting open like a bloated melon oozing clots of petrol worms and eyes with teeth that is not obviously too horrifying to bear thinking about much less interacting with oooh nonono actually i have always longed to join with the terrors and dare i even hope birth a sentient sphincter of my very own a beautiful bouncing bundle of bile god just imagine the special day when the little gupper comes bursting out of my orifices which ones who knows i want to be surprised for its first screaming wet expulsion gosh isn't that just something that’s the real magic in this wondrous world i mean what girl doesn't dream about someday becoming a--

Read today's page.

Read from the start

Support artists and the production of this comic

#solivaga #artists on tumblr #comic #art #my art #pu art #webcomic #digital art #comic art #comics #original comic #webtoon #elias #maia #big puppy alert #dog #canine #he's done it he's cracked the code #This is the second time she's gone full shoujo... #what girl doesn't dream about going full shoujo #I also wish to pet the big fluffy dog #Maia's screed in this panel was one of the most fun things to write #paula and I just kind of kept writing it back and forth at each other until it was completely ridiculous and sour #and I just kept adding onto it until it was so grotesque it wrapped back around to silly #this screed and her flying-to-class-screed are two of my favorite bits of non-serious maia writing #tho she's very serious about these herself.

[caemidraws]

Session notes

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #artists on tumblr #comics #ocs #marsilio #pettirossi #😳😳 #extremely specific love language: giving away your previous holy symbol to better locate your ex(?) #something something the ring from the family that kept us apart is going to help find each other again........ #u get double notes bcs i forgot to post the other earlier

[mothfables]

♡ Bunny Flops ♡ - Part Three

Here we are at the end! I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I loved writing it <3

The third time it happens, they’ve found themselves in the Veteran’s home era. Several hours of walking mixed with dodging knights (making Sky and Warriors scowl) later and everyone is all too eager to crash at Legend’s house with its’ numerous soft blankets and pillows that the Vet insists he has no use for but keeps around anyway. Warriors teases him for being a hoarder but they all know how soft the seasoned hero is inside.

(Warriors also has the suspicion it also helps with Legend’s chronic pain and bad joints, but Legend would literally rather be hit over the head with a moblin club than admit such a thing. That’s fine. He’ll just ask Ravio.)

Finally, the house is in sight and Legend speeds up as much as his aching joints will allow. He can’t wait to see his orchard and his garden, to coo to Sheerow and talk with Ravio, to lay in his own bed and drink his own tea, to get up when he wants and not some ungodly hour of the morning, and and and-

And the door is opening and Ravio is there, dark curls catching the afternoon sun as he turns to see who’s coming up the road. Legend’s speedwalk turns into a half-hop, half-jog as he hurries towards his partner. Ravio gives a shout of delighted surprise and copies him.

(Legend is sure it must look very odd, to anyone who isn’t them, but they’ve always done this - since they first began to like each other as people, since they became actual friends, since they agreed to be partners, not just best friends.)

Ravi likes to joke that it’s just another bit of proof they’re each other’s mirror. ‘Rabbits in a burrow,’ he’d tease as Legend pouted.

Then Ravio is reaching for him, checking him over and tutting as he notices the newest accumulation of injuries and overall exhaustion. Legend simply leans into him, relishing in the sensation of his partner’s care. After a moment he jerks a thumb over his shoulder at the group still coming up the road behind him.

“Got room for eight more, Rav?” He smirks tiredly. Ravio titters, gently taking his arm and waving to the Chain as they make their way towards the couple.

“We’ll just be inside! You know where things are; make yourselves at home,” he calls. Then, more quietly, “Come on, bunny. Let’s get you off your feet, yeah?” Legend gives a token grumble for the show of it but follows Ravio’s lead as his partner tugs him through the door and into the house.

Once inside, Ravio leads him over to one of the plush chairs by the fireplace, waiting until Legend lowers himself into it before busying himself with lighting the fire and setting their beat-up old kettle on the stove. He pulls down Legend’s favourite mug: a slightly misshapen thing painted with apple blossoms. It had been a gift, given to him years ago, and something he treasures to this day. As the water boils, Ravio comes back over to check on his partner. Legend greets him with a tired smile before glancing at the fire, then at Ravio, hoping he’ll get the hint. He does; giving a dramatic sigh, the merchant gathers an armful of pillows and blankets and arranges them into a small - but cozy - nest before the fire.

The kettle whistles and Ravio scurries back to the kitchen, leaving Legend to drag himself out of the chair with a drawn-out groan. His limbs shake from the effort but before he can collapse Sky swoops over and catches him. The other hero helps him stumble over to the nest and down into it, then not-unkindly swats his hands away from where they fumble at the laces of his boots.

Once his boots are off Legend moves to get comfortable, rearranging the blankets to his liking as he scoots closer to the fire. At the same time, the rest of the Chain scatter around the living room as they finish settling in. Sky and Warriors sit near the nest, sharing a smile when their tired younger brother accepts their presence with nothing more than a glance and a roll of his eyes.

It doesn’t take long before Ravio reappears from the kitchen with a now-steaming mug in his hands. He hands it to Legend - making sure the other boy can hold it without trouble - before circling the nest a few times. He fluffs pillows and readjusts blankets before giving a happy hum and toes off his shoes to join Legend in the center of it.

Legend immediately leans into him, giving a contented hum of his own at the extra warmth. Ravio presses a kiss to his hair and the Vet’s eyes slip shut. “Ah ah, drink your tea first, love,” Ravio chides. Legend gives a tired whine, the sound pulling on Sky’s heartstrings. “I know, but it’ll help your joints. Come on, bunny, no falling asleep just yet.” Legend huffs grumpily at the order but complies.

Sky can see the stress and exhaustion leaving his little brother’s body as he sips at his tea. As he drinks, his eyes droop and he leans more and more heavily into Ravio. For his part, the merchant bears the added weight with ease, as if this is something that’s happened many times before. Sky gets the feeling it has.

His ear flicks at the sound of Wind’s pictobox. He turns to shoot a Look at the Sailor, who has the grace to look sheepish at his actions. (Sky will be getting a copy of that picture later, but now is not the time. He doesn’t want Legend getting embarrassed and forcing his aching joints to move because of it.) Luckily, the Vet doesn’t seem to notice. He’s done with his tea by now, barely holding onto his mug as he inches closer to sleep with every second.

Ravio reaches to grab it but Wars beats him to it. Gently taking the cup from limp hands, he gives the merchant a warm smile. “I’ll take care of it, you just let him sleep, yeah?” After a moment Ravio nods before turning back to the sleepy hero on his shoulder, leaving Warriors to stand and make his way to the kitchen unimpeded. He glances at the mug in his hands as he walks; it’s a simple thing that’s easy to hold and decorated in lovely pink blossoms. Apple blossoms, if he remembers correctly. It’s something that’s obviously been used and loved for a long time. The thought brings a smile to his face.

Returning to the living room, Wars is just in time to see Legend sliding off of Ravio’s shoulder to land face first in the mass of blankets, where he squirms for a moment to get comfortable before relaxing again. Ravio gives a fond sigh, slipping off the hero’s hat and placing it to the side to press a kiss to strawberry-blonde locks.

Legend purrs quietly at the action, and Ravio’s cheeks glow softly in the firelight as he beams. Turning to Sky, he whispers, amazed and proud, “Link almost never lets himself get so relaxed. He must really trust you.”

And if that doesn’t hit Sky like a shock arrow to the heart. From the sudden intakes of breath and muffled sniffling behind him, he’s not alone.

Warriors retakes his seat beside Sky with a thump. “We will do our utmost best to continue to deserve that trust,” he swears solemnly, and Sky catches the glisten in his eye. Ravio glances at him, startled, before catching his gaze, suddenly serious. The Captain holds it calmly. For a moment neither moves before the merchant nods and looks away.

Sky lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

The matter settled, Ravio stretches his arms over his head with a sudden jaw-cracking yawn. He adjusts the blankets around them one final time before curling over- no, on top of his partner. Legend’s purring gets marginally louder at that; after a moment a second, deeper one joins in. A few minutes later both boys are fully relaxed, comfortable and warm and appearing near-boneless as they fall asleep curled up together.

The house is warm, and safe, and Sky lets himself drift off in the knowledge that his brothers are right where they need to be.

Click! goes the sound of Wind’s pictobox.

<<<<First : <<Previous

#moth’s tales #linked universe #linked universe fanfiction #bunny flops #lu legend #lu ravio #lu sky #lu the chain #fanfiction #ravio: i love my partner and i will make sure you are appreciating and caring for him as much as you should be #warriors: i will swear an oath Right Here Right Now about how much i do #thanks to a lovely comment on violets and rabbits for the little hop-run they do at the beginning #it was such a cute idea i had to use it #also ravio was supposed to circle legend on the way inside #cause rabbits circle each other when they’re happy to see each other and i wanted to use that #but then ravio kept finding things to do and legend wasn’t going to get up again if he could help it #queerplatonic relationship #qpr legend x ravio

[chai-en-kaadhale]

bro the apocalypse started on a universal scale because the three of them just wanted to be together bro....

#yoohankim #orv #yhk #and and adn they werent cool with just part of each other it was all or nothing #and nothing kept them from having that #and im going to go insane #queued for funsies

[saltpepperbeard]

sometimes it really hits me that ed and stede swapped clothes even though they barely knew each other. like ed really had to carefully peel a still-wounded stede out of his clothes, and gently dress him in all that leather. and stede really had to delicately tie his cravat around ed’s neck, and slip all his rings onto the appropriate fingers. and they both had to see each other scantily clad, and were both so excited to be stupid silly, and-

#OFMD #Gentlebeard #Blackbonnet #Edward Teach #Stede Bonnet #Revenge Rambles #It just really hits me sometimes lmao LIKE WOW #THAT WAS A THING THAT HAPPENED #WHEN THEY HAD ONLY HAD LIKE ONE (1) CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER #LIKE //OF COURSE// THEY WERE GOING TO FALL IN LOVE #NOT TO MENTION ED KEPT STEDE'S CRAVAT LIKE SHDJKSDKS PLEASE??? #Oh to be a fly on the wall during THAT #Oh to see an extended version of THAT

[soplapinga]

Okay okay I agree with everyone talking about the possibility of Pluto finally getting to go to France and meeting Duke in one of his shows, but I now raise you: What if they met BEFORE and Duke was actually the one to tell him about France and the lights and everything. What if Duke were the reason he wanted to go there in the first place. What then.

#imagine if Duke at some did a tour or something and stopped some time in London #and they met there for some random ass encounter #also Pluto seemed pretty much more kinda angry and jumpy bc of the whole living w his father thing obviously so they’d probably have+ #+the messiest first(s) encounters ever w yk Duke being naturally sassy n silly and Pluto in that fucking place just done w everything #bonus points if they at first kept bumping into each other comically coincidentally and they get practically destiny forced to get along #more bonus points if they end up meeting at night on some random ass rooftop and bc of this Duke starts calling him cat #aka the REAL origin of “mon minou” #imagine if Duke invited him to go there w him or something GOD the possibilities #I just kinda fucking created a whole fanfic here fuck don’t mind me I’m being delusional #almost everything in this is 99% impossible but I hate reality I don’t care #nevermore webtoon #duke nevermore #pluto nevermore #pluto x duke #pluke #cat in the hat #SOMEONE NAMED THE SHIP THAT AND I LOVE IT SOSOSO MUCH IM USING THAT FOREVER

[chaoswarfare]

dp x dc writing prompt #22!

Danny joins a superhero team and they’re the last people to know. the villains have acknowledged phantom as one of the heroes on the team, the public is already writing him into any reports that have the team in them, there was even a short news segment talking about the new addition to the team!

Danny runs with it because he assumes that the team is aware of what everyone is talking about and are just digging up his background information or something.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #dc x dp #crossover #dc universe #writing prompt #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #writing #funny #imagine them just checking the news and there being a random guy #that has nothing to do with them being associated with their team #baffling #danny’s just trying to live his best half life #starting up hero work in a city with heroes there already is basically an application right? #in a rare series of events nobody has any idea what’s really going on #what if the rogues kidnapped the ‘new member’ to get at the team #and they just have no idea what’s going on when they get the ransom #this is just some dude #and it is sheer coincidence that has kept them from running into each other #accusations of spying or secretly being a rogue? #news picks up on team infighting and public starts rioting because they think they’re mad about the kidnapping #victim blaming and all that #out of the frying pan and into the fire for these unsuspecting heroes #some of the friendlier rogues are probably up in arms about it too #everyone going ham on the hero team and then having absolutely no idea why #shenanigans

[artbyg]

2015

#jeichel: i think we're all past the 2015 draft it's been a couple years right #me: WRONG #i am rotating them in my head. holding them in my hands like barbie dolls. thinking and crying about their respective journeys even #connor mcdavid #jack eichel #dylan strome #mitch marner #noah hanifin #what if I kept going with this lol there are so many more beloved 2015ers #always debating adding hanny when those are thee Big Four yanno but narratively that's jack's guy like they stuck together #the same way the gta boys always stuck around each other for all those pre draft activities #so in he goes #hockey art #artbyg

[mcdannowave]

There's too many things to look at in just one gif...

Giant biceps?Tattoos?Chest hair?

Low hanging trunks? The volume of the front of those wet low hanging trunks? The volume of the behind of those wet low hanging trunks?

The V-line and Abs?The Happy trail?(Even the armpits, if it floats your boat)

#h50 6x17 #steve mcgarrett #alex o'loughlin #shirtless alex #wet alex #hawaii five 0 #I said it was too many.Also could include his gorgeous face and that beard...muito gostoso esse homem #Need to do a proper edit again here.w/ some light shinning on the good..err..i mean. the nice stuff #boy oh boy...this man is stunning . That blond detective hit the jackpot when he got this one #Danny is a lucky man #[Saturday night.McD's home] Steve was already out of the shower while Danny was sitting on their bed.putting his shoes #Steve just dried himself w/ his towel like usual.No caring in the world bc it's just D in the room.And they saw each other na.ked /alot/ #There's going to be a dinner at Kono's tonight.nothing fancy actually.But D's mind just couldn't stop staring at Steve's body..dry or wet #Living together for a time.It was still soothing seeing Steve grab his underwear & other stuff on his drawer.See him dressing up😉 #After applying deodorant.Steve put his shirt.(still no pants)when D said:''Hey babe.Your shirt is on the wrong side''. #Steve did a quick check out of his basic Tshirt but took it anyway and tried to fix the mistake.''Danno.It was right.I didnt put it- #And looking at Danny.Steve saw the blond grinning.''Oh.U did it on purpose.Let me guess.U like what u see?huh..''Steve smirked back #''That much is very /very/ true Steven.But in this case.I just love seeing u taking the shirt off''.The smile still on Danny's face #Steve then kept the shirt on his hand and slowly walked to Danny.Sitting on their bed.''Maybe I rip that shirt of urs when we get home'' #Steve eyes was already crossing the line of casual tease at home...and jumping on.'we gonna get half hour later bc we're doing it /now/' #'No''Danny laughed and raised his hand.''This is way too expensive for u to go caveman on me to ruin it.But..I'll be glad to take it off'' #Steve had his victorious-smile on his face now.Crossing arms and still only w/ his black underwear. towering his blond #Danny got up.Up close to that gorgeous hotheaded SEAL.gave him a quick peck on the lips.''Okay.Go change babe.We still need to go'' #While D grabbed his phone.Steve kept dressing himself there.''Okay.But don't forget ur promise.And i want it slow.Danny.not just the shirt' #''Hey.I didn't 'promise' nothing''...''Yeah.But u poked the lion and now you get the consequences.But don't worry.U gonna /love/ it''. #Steve kissed Danny now.And they just smiled while finished getting ready and going to the car #A dinner w/ their Ohana.filled w/ laughs & joy.And later...a gorgeous caveman that was crazy to jump on him.Danny already loved that night😏 #headcanon tags #mine

[silverwhittlingknife]

How do you feel about Jack Drake?? What are your thoughts on him and Tim’s relationship?

Anon, I hope you were interested in a novel, because look, I am fascinated by Jack Drake.  He’s key to a whole lot of what I find compelling about Tim as a character, and if I were in charge of DC, I’d bring him back to life.  This would make Tim unhappy but would IMO make for good plotlines.

Jack and Tim’s relationship is Complicated (TM)...

Jack and Tim hug in Nightwing 20 / Jack impulsively yanks a TV out of the wall in Robin 45 / Tim grieves in Identity Crisis

“I could tell the truth.  But I don’t.” - Robin 66

...and it involves a whole lot of Tim lying, and feeling guilty about lying, and thinking about telling the truth, and choosing again and again to keep lying.

And I think that’s great.

Below the cut:

Shorter version - key points about Jack

Really long version - my gentler take (vigilantism is choir and Jack loves sports) vs. my harsher take (Jack has some major flaws)

Final thoughts

Shorter version - key points about Jack:

He’s a bad parent.  He’s self-centered, he consistently prioritizes his own comfort and interests over his son’s, and when upset, he does things like order Tim off to boarding school.

But he’s never a bad parent in an actionable way.  He’s not like David Cain or Arthur Brown, who are abusive monsters.  Jack’s not a monster!  He just...kinda sucks.

He genuinely loves Tim. If Jack’s aware that Tim’s disappeared or is in trouble, he’s always worried and upset.  He periodically resolves to be a better dad, and IMO he’s always sincere.

And Tim loves him, a lot.  Tim’s protective of him and worries about him when he’s kidnapped or in danger, and when they’re reunited, Tim’s really relieved and usually hugs him (and Jack hugs back!). 

...But they have very little in common, and that’s a problem. Jack doesn’t value the things that Tim values, or respect the people that Tim admires, or care about the things that Tim’s interested in.  Tim lies to him a lot, but that’s partly because he correctly guesses Jack wouldn’t respond well if he knew the truth of what Tim’s up to.

The Batfamily is a surrogate family that Tim’s drawn to because of the ways his real family doesn’t meet his emotional needs…but also he feels guilty about that and disloyal. (And to the extent that his dad recognizes what’s going on, he's jealous and resentful!)

Very long version:

(LISTEN I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS)

Okay!  So first: Jack’s a character who IMO is pretty up for interpretation.  You can interpret him very charitably, and make excuses for the bad behavior, and fill in the blanks sympathetically when situations are ambiguous; or you can interpret him uncharitably, and emphasize the bad behavior. I don’t think either approach is invalid - it depends on what kind of story you’re interested in!  I have enjoyed Bad Dad stories and also stories that redeem Jack.

My personal take on canon is that Jack and Tim’s relationship is in a gray area.  Jack's definitely neglectful, and he does prioritize other things over Tim, but he’s never so bad that Tim can easily reject him, and he's never so bad that Bruce could justify taking Tim away.  He's just...not great.  Tim loves him, and feels loyal to him, but it’s a very mixed-up complicated love.

I have a gentler take and a harsher one which I switch between as the spirit moves me. xD

My Gentler Take (tl;dr: vigilantism is choir and Jack loves sports)

Here’s the core conflict: Jack and Tim are very different people with different values.  Tim idolizes Bruce and Dick and vigilantism, and secretly gets involved, knowing his dad will hate it. He gets increasingly wrapped up in his secret world and lies to his dad...because if his dad finds out, he’ll make Tim quit.

This is a great setup for an ongoing comic.  It’s practical, because it provides endless potential for plotlines, and it’s nicely thematic, because it maps closely onto relatable real-life situations with extracurricular activities:

Tim the drama nerd whose dad thinks he’s playing football and not in the school play; 

Tim the closeted-queer kid secretly getting involved in his school’s politically-active Gay-Straight Alliance; 

Tim the choir kid whose dad only values making money and wants him to go into the family business (and Tim keeps promising himself he'll give up choir soon, definitely soon, but maybe he'll stay in just a liiiittle longer, because they need him, you see, the last tenor left town, so...); 

Tim the computer geek with the sports-obsessed dad (this one’s just canon);

etc. etc.  

The extracurricular metaphor works pretty well for Tim’s relationship to vigilantism.  Tim's involved in his "extracurricular" because he genuinely thinks it's important and fulfilling, and he values it and wants to be good at it. He idolizes Bruce and Dick because they're good at it. He's been collecting information about it since he was a little kid, and hiding it from his parents because he knows they wouldn't approve. And mayyyybe there's also an element of low-key rebellion against his dad, and maybe that's secretly part of the appeal. And yet also as Tim gets more and more invested, he starts to daydream: maybe I could tell my dad and he'd be proud of me and supportive. But he doesn't, because actually he knows his dad would be upset and angry and make him quit.

And - again, just like with lonely kids and extracurricular hobbies - one of the things that happens is that Tim starts getting his unfilled emotional needs met ... by people he knows through this secret hobby. And people like Bruce and Dick start turning into a surrogate family. Which Tim feels guilty about. And also as Tim gets more and more wrapped up in their world, he has to lie to his dad even more, which means the distance between Tim and his dad gets bigger and bigger and more and more unfixable.

I love this dilemma. It's simple, it's recognizable, it provides endless sources for conflict, and there's no obvious solution! Tim can't tell Jack: he'll make Tim quit! And Tim doesn't want to quit, because he loves choir / art / theater / whatever.  Yeah, it’s difficult, and there are challenges, and sometimes he has doubts...but at the end of the day, he cares about it a lot.  And everything he values is there, and all the people he admires and cares about are there, and all he wants in the world is to feel like he's one of them and belongs there. So he has to lie, even though he doesn't want to lie, and he feels guilty about it...

...but also he ends up lying more and more.

(Sidenote: I think it's important that Tim chooses to keep lying - Tim's narration often glosses this as "I have to lie to my dad," and that's certainly how it feels to Tim, but this... isn't quite true. He has to lie to his dad, because if he doesn't, his dad will get mad at him and try to stop him, not because he literally has no choice about it.)

Other Reasons Why I Like The "Secret Extracurricular" Interpretation

(tl;dr it complicates not just Tim's relationship with his dad, but also all his other relationships)

Tim's problems have some obvious parallels to Steph and Cass, who both become vigilantes while rejecting their evil supervillain dads. But Jack isn't evil. And that means the Tim-and-Jack relationship is ambiguous and complicated in ways that I like. Steph and Cass can just leave their Bad Dads in prison, and say good riddance, and feel very righteous and triumphant about it! Tim’s more complicated. Tim gets into vigilantism ostensibly out of duty and altruism, but secretly, he's also involved for straight-up selfish self-fulfillment reasons. He's lonely, and bored, and his life feels pointless, but he thinks that Bruce and Dick are cool and amazing and he wants to be a part of the things that they do.  When his dad gets jealous of Tim’s relationship to Bruce, and feels like Tim’s looking for a surrogate family, he’s... not wrong.

And the ways in which Jack is not Actionably Bad complicate things from Bruce's POV.  If Jack was a straight-up villain, it’d be an easy call to keep in touch when Jack finds out and makes Tim quit...but he’s not a villain, not really.  So what do you do?  Do you try to surreptitiously stay in touch with Tim even though you’re ignoring his dad’s express wishes and thus forcing Tim to sneak around?  Do you respect his dad’s wishes and stay away from Tim even though you have a years-long relationship at this point?  

Again: a bit similar to the extracurricular analogy.  Say you’re the choir director and you’ve built this whole relationship with a kid in the choir, and you’re an important mentor to him and you care about him etc. etc. etc.... and then right before a big performance, his dad finds out he’s been secretly involved, and yanks him out.  How would you react?  Well, maybe kind of in some of the ways Bruce reacts.  You replace him. You’re annoyed with him. You miss him. You want him to come back. You’re also worried about him.  You’re upset with his dad.  But also... what should you do, exactly?

Bruce and Alfred and Dick care about Tim as if he were part of their family, but he’s not part of their family, and there’s a lot of interesting tension there.

My Harsher Take

Jack never hits his son.  But his temper is a big deal.

In his worst moments, he takes out his anger on Tim’s stuff - wrecking his room, or ripping his TV out of the wall and confiscating it.  When he’s worried about Tim, he usually expresses that fear by yelling at him / punishing him / sending him away - threatening to send him to boarding school in Metropolis in Robin III, or threatening to send him to military school abroad in Robin 92, or actually forcing him to go to an all-boys' boarding school post-NML.  

This is bad behavior!  It is Not Good!  

And you can easily connect the dots to a bunch of Tim’s terrible coping mechanisms, like the constant lying and or the fact that Tim’s go-to methods for dealing with interpersonal conflict are 1) repress it and pretend it never happened (most of his fights with Bruce), 2) withdraw from the relationship until he can pretend the conflict doesn’t exist (when his friends get mad at him in YJ, he quits the team for a while), or 3) literally run away from home.

Also, Jack is a Manly Man with firm opinions about how men behave vs. how women behave, and he thinks boys shouldn’t be scared and thinks Tim should date hot girls and pushes Tim to work out and wants him to play football and expresses period-typical sexism, etc. etc. etc. ... and though obviously this wasn’t what the writers had in mind at the time, all of that is certainly interesting to read backwards in the light of Tim as a queer character.

More Disorganized Thoughts on Jack Drake

Tim’s our hero, so we’re naturally more sympathetic to him, but it’s also true that relationships are a two-way street, and Tim doesn’t value any of the things his dad values, either.  Jack at various points is shown to care about grades, business, money, boarding schools, archeology, football, a kind of macho bragging-about-dating-hot-women ethos, and a very public and performative kind of caring. Tim tends to respond with discomfort or disinterest or even disgust.  When Jack gets on TV to try to rally the government to save his son from No Man’s Land, Tim isn’t touched—he’s mortified.  When Jack makes some bad investments and loses money, Jack’s deeply upset and his self-image is majorly impacted, and far from being sympathetic, Tim’s annoyed and kind of contemptuous of the idea that this is a problem.  Jack thinks fishing in the early morning and going to tennis matches is a fun father-son activity; Tim finds it exhausting and tedious.  And so on.

This means that Tim often longs to be closer to his dad in theory, but this longing is more tied to fantasy than to reality. He rarely seems to enjoy spending time with His-Dad-The-Actual-Person.  So for example, when Tim’s deadly ill with the Clench, he has an extremely poignant fever dream about telling his dad the truth and getting hugged…even as he insists in real-life to Alfred and Dick that he does not want them to tell his dad what’s going on.

The same is true of Jack, who IMO genuinely wants to be closer to his son and is continually declaring that he’s going to turn over a new leaf and get closer to his son…and just as continually backs out of activities or loses his temper when faced with spending time with his actual son.

Tim and his dad sadly get along best—by far—in Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder situations.  When Jack gets kidnapped or is in danger, Tim worries for him (and Tim grieves him deeply when he dies).  When Tim disappears or runs away, Jack’s genuinely worried about him.  So e.g. they have a really moving emotional reunion and hug when the earthquake hits Gotham, and Tim panics about his dad’s safety and comes running home (and meanwhile Jack’s been panicked about Tim’s safety!).  It’s the day-to-day, regular life stuff where they don’t connect.

Jack's written quite differently by different writers. Mostly, Tim's parents are at their least likable in his early appearances and early miniseries (this is where you get, for example, Jack and Janet being nasty at each other while a pained employee looks on, and Tim disappointed to once again get news of where his parents are via postcard - "I guess that sums them up! Never know where they’re going to be–or when–or even how long!” - and Tim alone on school break, and Bruce and Alfred thinking there's something weird going on with Tim's parents, etc. etc.). Jack's more sympathetic but still often unlikable in most of Tim's Robin solo, and he's almost invisible (but positively treated if he does show up) in Tim's team books.

For obvious reasons, Jack's remembered way more sympathetically after his death. Tim's completely devastated by Jack's murder, which he arrives moments too late to prevent, and he basically never gets over it. We see him grieving Jack again and again in Robin, and also in Teen Titans, and also in Resurrection, and again in the Halloween Special, and again in Batman: Blackest Night, and all the way up to the end of Red Robin. Tim also grieves for an extended time over Janet - he hallucinates a happy reunion with her when he's feverish in Contagion, and hallucinates her in the final issue of Robin, and the reveal-your-buried-emotions song in Robin 102 brings up his grief for her too (meanwhile, other characters dance or laugh or otherwise get giddy).  Tim’s grief over his parents’ deaths is intense and long-lasting.

I'm not going to clip comic panels because this is long enough, but if you're curious, here's a nice and fairly lengthy compilation of comic panels with Tim and Jack.

If you're interested in a Jack-centric story with a softer-but-still-recognizably-canon take on Jack, I really like the way Jack’s narration is written in the one-shots Heart Humble (set shortly before Jack dies) and Never a Hero (Ra's resurrects him during Brucequest, and Jack's archeology skills turn out to be unexpectedly useful).

#tim drake #jack drake #ask tag #i wrote this ages ago and now i can't remember what i was going to add to it so oh well draft amnesty? sorry for the long wait anon!! <333 #anyway i kept this carefully on topic and virtuously did not derail into talking about the other blorbo but tags are for disorganization SO #for me this kinda half-in half-out place where tim is with the batfamily is SUCH an interesting part of his relationship with dick #and i never stop turning it over in my head #he's kiiiinda replaced dick in that he's robin - but in a very real way he *hasn't* - he's NOT bruce's new son the way jason was #and early!tim makes a BIG POINT of how bruce is not his dad #and i think this relative distance from bruce is a huge factor in why dick is able to build a close relationship with tim at all #(because dick's still pretty estranged from bruce!) #and there's such interesting tension there when dick starts jokingly calling tim ''little brother'' or when villains call them brothers #because they're NOT. increasingly they would both LIKE to be brothers! but dick has zero official standing in tim's life #if tim got hit by a car in his civilian identity bruce and dick wouldn't even be able to visit him without his dad's permission #which jack would be pretty unlikely to give! jack doesn't like or trust bruce! #or like. this is morbid. but if tim died. dick wouldn't even be invited to the funeral you know? #and there's such interesting tension there for me in the contrast between this vigilante relationship that's very very close #but in their civilian lives no one would assume they're anything in particular to each other #anyway the 1st half of tim's robin solo has this thread of tension between tim's family life vs. his vigilante life (plus his mom's death) #and then the second half + red robin has the thread of struggling with grief in a world that's not fair + feeling lost/alone #and these two threads are a big part of my interest in tim as a character! jack's the backdrop that makes a lot of stories possible

[hajihiko]

How do you think Junko manipulated the other sdr2 survivors besides Hiko? Kazu, Sonia and Akane?

Kazuichi: lots of praise and conditional affection (now that you're addicted to being my favourite little puppy, sure would be sad if you did something to make me and my friends mad and not like you anymore. Because I could make sure no one ever wants to be around you again :( build me a death machine pretty please?)

Sonia: aren't you tired of being nice? Dont you want to go apeshit? (aren't you tired of doing only what other people expect of you? You're barely your own person. Go on, try being a little bad for once! A little bad escalates into being immensely selfish, and eventually it's too late to go back)

Akane: a little harder, but she's very gullible and easy to trick into doing things, and has a LOT of trauma to tap into (maybe something along the lines of, "the world is a shitty place and no one ever helped you when you needed it, right? Only way to be safe from that is to be not only strong, but scary. Show them they can't mess with you! KILL")

#Not an art #Talky talky #That said I think they all affected each other too. Kaz wanted to be near sonia and Junko helped him achieve that #Nekomaru wanted to keep an eye on Akane after learning all the things that happened to her and she felt like she needed to prove herself- #-to him since he's stronger than her so she kept trying harder #Peko is self explanatory and Fuyuhiko felt more able to go off the deep end knowing he had unconditional support in her #Etc etc. It was a group effort Junko just pulled some strings and kicked stuff into motion

[boyhaunt]

one of my favorite things about hannibal and will's dynamic, particularly in the later seasons, is the way we're shown that in no way is their relationship born solely out of convenience or even the trope of 'finding the only other one like them.' like they both have other gay murder partners to choose from, hannibal has tobias tripping over himself making aesthetically pleasing murder offerings and asking him to be his friend and will has matthew twirling his hair outside his cell like omg we could be hawks together.... and they're both like no thanks i want the one who knows me so intimately that they actively wish me harm <3

#they chose that specific gay murderer your honor #people who treat their relationship as built solely on being seen for what they truly are fall into s1 mentality to me #like yes that's a big part of it. no i don't think anyone else could truly understand them in the same way that they understand each other #but a fair few people tried! and got pretty close at least from a technical standpoint! #and they still kept going back to one another #insane behavior it gets me every time #will graham #hannibal #hannibal fromage #theo talks