(angst alert !! death + slight blood tw !!)
Tim is stuck in a sticky situation and has to call a certain 'spooky' friend for help.
Jason would probably call him a dumbass for trying to do something so stupid. Well, atleast thats what Tim thinks Jason would do, he isn't for sure though, he isn't certain.
Because Jason's laying on the ground with a flat pulse and he wont be giving him any answers anytime soon.
---
“Don' look so weird replacement, its just anoth’r day in gotham.” His brother slurs with the slight quirk of his lips
"Jason don't fucking do this to me!" Tim hisses tears cursing his eyes
And Jason, oh that bastard—bleeding out on the pavement and in Tim’s arms sends him his classic beaming Robin Smile.
"Love ya' little bro take care of yo'rself, kay?" he says eyes fluttering
"Jay," Tim cries, "You dick."
For all the joy and hope and belief his smile conveyed for the first time in a long time—his red blood muddled what should’ve been such a nice sight. Tim held him on the pavement with someone yelling on the comm mic on the floor that he just can’t bother trying to pay attention to.
The pavement is cold. The air is cold. His brother is cold. It’s all so cold tonight.
All the younger boy does close his eyes and slowly, In. Out. In. Out.
He lets himself breathe for a minute. Lets the horror wash over him. Lets himself absorb what just happened,
Then he gets back to work.
Like a switch his brain is back online running at a hundred miles an hour–what is the best scenario, what should I do when my brother's wrist is limp and his eyes are shut, what do I do if he’s dead again, what can i do, how can I Fix. This.
Thoughts cloud his mind, whirring around his head like layers and layers of messy documents has just been dumped on his desk and he’s shuffling through them panicked trying to find the right file because its somewhere here, there is something and he just needs to sort. it. out. And–
Then it all becomes clear.
His desk is back to clean and stationary. All of the papers are gone back into neat piles in neat manila folders, stored away in tidy filing shelves–
Everything is gone aside from one little yellow sticky note in the center of the desk.
“Well, Jay?” Tim chuckles with a cracked voice, “Second times the charm right?”
In his mind, at the center of it all, on a yellow sticky note lies the words in green ink: ‘Contact The Ghost King.’
Slowly he shifts and with a loud grunt he lifts up Jason, “Up we go!”
“--im? Why do you have Red Hood’s Comm–Tim what happened! Tim!” the comm speaker plays faintly in the background of his head, “Tim! Whatever you’re thinking off doing, don’t!” someone Tim can’t think about hisses
Tim hums absentmindedly towards the mic, almost automatically, “Don’t worry Babs, I’ve got it covered.”
Walking away from the roof he thinks to himself, I wonder where Jason would wanna wake up? Perhaps his apartment? Yea, i think that would go well by him–let’s head to the apartment.
And just like that Tim leaves a crime scene—shuffling away with a dead body over his shoulder and a plan.
“Jay,” Tim murmurs to the corpse on his shoulder, “You’re really gonna hate this, but i’m doing this for you anyways cause I love you. So dont be too hard on me when you wake up okay asshole?”
Tim stumbles off into the stairwell making his descent and sometime as he walks away Barbara faintly catches him on the comm saying
“-Your gonna love Danny and making your lame 'im a dead guy' jokes with him man .”
206 notes
·
View notes
love the diner scene in episode 5 so much. on the surface it's hysterical, hayward just dumps this rant about his wife (soon to be ex-wife) onto carpenter, someone he fully believes to be involved in the deaths of five men, with barely any prompting. and carpenter cringes through the whole thing and it's so awkward to listen to. it's four minutes of an incredibly realistic rendition of the worst conversation possible.
and then later you learn that there is no ex-wife. hayward just said that shit off the cuff. and it's so fucking funny on a second listen. all that awkwardness, to a stranger, about something that didn't even happen.
when he mentions his wife again in episode 14, something's clearly off - his speech about the good man running, it feels more like him talking about himself than describing what someone said to him. then, when he says his wife knows he's at the party in episode 18/S2E3, we know he's been on his own for a while. finally, it comes out in episode 27/S2E12 that she was never real. and this knowledge completely recontextualizes the whole encounter in episode 5.
him talking about fear and apprehension, that mounting feeling, desperately wanting something to be over but not wanting to make it be over, feeling like you're giving more than you're taking, it's very clearly him ranting about his job and his associated insecurities. he goes into feeling like he's going to lose himself if he pulls away from this "relationship" or come out the other side worsened from the whole ordeal.
and then carpenter pipes in, and says that there's another option - he can destroy the other party. and that's where this scene really clicks and comes together, because the thoughts hayward is having about his job are the same thoughts carpenter is having about her faith.
she also doesn't want to be here, both in the sense of being in this town and being in this position. she's tired of gods and the problems they cause for her and everyone, and she's struggling with leaving. hayward and carpenter foil each other incredibly in this regard. they even have similar forces pushing them to make this choice in the first place - hayward got into the police because he didn't want to let his mother down, and carpenter got into the church because of the fear surrounding her brother's death. it's guilt and family for both of them.
then, in season two, we get to see them both existing outside of their respective "bad partners" - hayward abandoning his job and working with paige, and carpenter traveling alone to bury the body she's given. (the similarities diverge here - carpenter spends this time alone reflecting and ultimately decides she needs no higher force in her life, while hayward feels directionless without a higher authority and so goes all in on the new god - they both go in very different directions with the momentum they're given)
now, with season three six days away, they're both being pursued by that same "bad partner" from before - hayward was already on the run from the police and making a god isn't going to put him in any better graces, and carpenter has the forces of the river faith coming after her for a double-murder she didn't do. when their paths converge, which is very likely, maybe they'll foil each other again. only time will tell.
205 notes
·
View notes
do—
Do Howdy and Barnaby ever get together in your human au 🥺🥺
of course they do, who do you think i am
oh BOY do i have things to say about human!Laughingstock! im so unwell about them allow me to talk and talk and talk and ta-
~
so in this au they're like... the ultimate slowburn. their feelings for each other slowly simmer and grow over the course of *checks nonexistent watch* a lil over a decade i think. it's not very dramatic - just soft & silly w/ just a heap of pining and a pinch of angst for Flavor
it starts when they were teens - Howdy had a lil crush on Barnaby in middle school. and how could he not? Barnaby was cute, hilarious, and kind. at this point, they weren't friends! Barnaby knew Howdy's name, but only because they'd shared a school since elementary (as with 6/7 of the other neighbors) & speaking from experience, you just Know Those Names. Howdy slowly "grew out of" this crush, especially when the friend group started forming and he & Barnaby became actual friends.
that crush would fluctuate over the years. It starts out strong and then softens into just this hum in the back of Howdy's mind. always there, often easy to ignore, just... part of him, in a way.
Barnaby has a similar experience. when he and Howdy became friends, he got a lil crush - how could he not? Howdy was cute, laughed at all of his jokes and had a few of his own, and was endearingly eccentric. but at the time, Barnaby didn't recognize the crush for what it was. so he elected to ignore it until the crush dwindled to something easily manageable, something he wouldn't realize is still there. as with Howdy's, it'd never fully go away
and its noticeable enough to their friends that they'd all kinda side-eye how touchy Howdy & Barnaby are with each other (Barnaby is a physical guy, but damn. if Howdy is nearby they Will find a way to be touching at all times), the way they always laugh at each others jokes, the way they always ask "where's [x] / is [x] coming with" whenever the other is absent. but the group couldn't be sure if they were looking into it or not. it's too subtle. over time they get so used to it that they don't bat an eye - Howdy is Barnaby's best friend after Wally. of course they're close!
but then there's this one college party Howdy drags Barnaby to (and by extension, Wally). they're drunk off their asses, Wally's edible has kicked in, the party is pretty chill and everyone is having a decent time. all three of them are on the couch, and Barnaby and Howdy start drunk-complimenting each other. naturally, this feeds their mutual attraction, and one thing leads to another! they make out on the couch. naturally with Wally sandwiched between them, snacking on chips and committing the moment to memory (it's a surprise tool that'll help them later!) neither Barnaby nor Howdy will remember this
now, something i'd like to state for Barnaby in this au! he has had a lot of relationships - from one night stands to actually dating someone for months. sometimes the one night stands were a "he takes someone home after a date, & they leave while he's sleeping and ghost him" situation. with actual dating, the other person always breaks things off after a few weeks, if not days. it breaks Barnaby's heart a little bit every time. to the point where in his mid-20s, he just... stops dating. he avoids other people's advancements towards him, he always takes a friend with him to bars/etc as a buffer, he becomes an expert at gracefully turning people down
("why, pray tell" no one asks "do they always leave him? he's such a catch!" that he is! when he was in school, it was his friend group. he'd try to introduce his 'girlfriend' to his friends, and it'd be an immediate "eugh, you're friends with those freaks? no way!" as an adult, people found it off-putting how (by societal standards) unusually close he was with Wally. also, again, a "weird" friend group. they'd think it's too much, or just not their scene, or 'why don't you date your little blue haired boyfriend', etc. Barnaby never holds it against Wally or his friends. he has the mindset of if that person was the one, they would accept every part of Barnaby - and his friends are indeed part of him. Howdy has also dated around a little, but to a much lesser extent. he's too busy! he doesn't have time for that!)
but the ball really starts rolling in their late 20s. something the group does together - as a fun lil rare hobby - is LARPing. they get really into it! Sally made them all custom costumes, Julie helped make the weapons (like a giant sword for herself), etc etc. they fully commit to the bit (even Frank <3). so at this event's point in the timeline, Eddie is fully integrated into the clique, but that's unimportant - just to show where we are!
so they're all doing their thing, it's a pretty big LARP event - there's always way more people than our dear neighbors, yk. they're just part of the crowd! & there's a big battle hosted, the group is split between teams, but Barnaby & Howdy are on the same side! yay! during the battle, Barnaby is "mortally wounded." Howdy half-drags him away from the main battle under the cover of their teammates (including Eddie and Julie) and sits him down by the tree. now, Howdy & Barnaby are the ones who get into the roleplay the most. they get lost in the sauce! they perform the hell out of everything they do!
& since Barnaby is "dying", he really acts like it. Howdy acts accordingly, but again, they get a little too emotional, a little too into it, a little lost in the sauce. genuine tears are in their eyes, Howdy's voice is genuinely shaking a little as he holds Barnaby in his "dying moments" (Barnaby is holding the sword between his arm and his side. he has ketchup on his armor.) Eddie and Julie are getting choked up just watching this happen. and as Howdy & Barnaby look into each others' tear-filled eyes, those little feelings that have been so quiet for so long come right back babey! full force! but then they all get hit with "arrows" and have to die right there and then, and the moments over. but! both Barnaby & Howdy walk away from this LARP session grappling with Partially Realized Feelings.
Barnaby struggles with this the most, since yk at this point he's sworn off dating. he's being careful with his heart! but when he tells Wally all of this, cause he tells Wally everything, Wally's like "oh. yes, i know! remember that one college party where you two kissed for an hour". and then he goes on to point out every instance where he's thought "right, Howdy and Barnaby are in love" (bc Wally is way more observant than he lets on! he saw that shit! his peepers were peepin!)
BUT IT'S STILL A SLOW BURN BABEY!
Barnaby and Howdy don't approach each other about this. they're both in the boat of "well, i'll just keep going and see what happens" to the point where they're practically dating without ever saying anything to each other. Howdy notices how Barnaby lingers around the store more. Barnaby notices how Howdy keeps turning up at his work to talk more. (they already chat so much...) but they still! dont! say! anything! but they both Know! they're not emotionally circling each other they are Dancing to their Own Music!
and Barnaby is letting himself believe that this can work because, well... Howdy already accepts him as he is. Howdy is part of the group. Howdy loves Wally just like the rest of em. Howdy has seen Barnaby at his (presumed) worst and didn't even flinch! as for Howdy, well, he just thinks this is right! his whole life no one has really caught his eyes or heart, but Barnaby is different. he's always been in Howdy's peripherals. it feels natural to love him so deeply. Barnaby slots into his life like the final piece of a puzzle!
there's a lot of stuff that happens in this inbetween state - Howdy's store burns down & almost takes him with it, there's some family drama that needs to be handled, The Crash happens, etc etc etc - so it's a while before they "actually" get together. but they're both patient! they've waited this long, even if they didn't know they were waiting. neither of them are in a rush. they're young. they have time.
105 notes
·
View notes