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silverwhittlingknife · 1 year

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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

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aroaceleovaldez · 11 months

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doodle page from a couple months ago of Nico having way too many immortal friends

also yes i did just use Nyx’s Hades design. it’s a good design.

#pjo #riordanverse #nico di angelo #let's see if i can't not crosstag while explaining this woo #okay so top l > r: my hc about Nico in Tartarus for the longest time (and tbh still is)#was that the like Singular Break he got down there was taking a nap in the Palace of Night #and that N and Achlys just think he's Neat. they didnt really help him but they didnt hurt him either #more of just let him crash on the sofa #i refuse anything about pjo's version of N. reject your canon and substitute my own #anyways then his parents then Hest #< feels weird shortening her name but yknow. struggling not to crosstag here #then Cupid (i dont think i have to worry about crosstagging there) cause i like the hc that Nico is one of his fav mortals #and they both DO chill out with each other eventually. or are at least chill sometimes #cause it's Nico literally grappling with the literal physical manifestation of the concept of romantic love #so once he sorts that out theyre chill. if nico has a bad romance day he shows up like ''bitch lets get u some ice cream''#then Demet Arte and. well he's labeled.#i think the dynamic of Nico doing yardwork for Demet funny. that's his. Grandma. Aunt. Grandaunt. Dont think about it too hard #then Arte just thinks of him as her roaming emo little brother (cause of Bianca) - hes an honorary brother of the Hunt #all the Hunters just accept ''that's our little bro he has very mixed feelings about us though''#and then. handshake same aesthetic. i like the hcs that Nico was an Eye for him for awhile before Walt ergo the fashion sense #my art

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happysadyoyo · 6 months

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Oh, well, how about... since the librarian and diguised Sun met in winter, how about they got snowed inside one evening?

Like, the snow storm was supposted pass by according to prognostic, but, you know, the elements have zero respect for the metheorlogist hard work. So the storm really got them by surprize.

The younger siblins could either be with them or not, maybe having sleepover at a friend's house.

As usual, human disguise AU belongs to @pillowspace. It is *dead* at work rn and I'm trying a new energy drink so let's see how it goes.

Also I need a name for the little brother...

It's been getting darker earlier and earlier now, and Daylight Savings Time isn't helping matters. Usually, the head librarian tries to schedule you so you can leave before it's quite dark, but you've changed shifts with Jessica because her toddlers caught the flu from school. You're not envious, glad your brother is old enough to wash his hands and generally keep clean.

He's with the sitter now, and you're clearing off the last cart of returned books. Sun's tucked himself in the corner, nose in a book. You can just see the bright green of his scarf. Briefly, you wonder why he wears it like that even indoors. The thought is gone just as quickly.

"Are you sure you're okay walking me home tonight?" You ask as you pass by. "There's a snowstorm passing by. I don't want you to get caught in it if it decides to turn around."

"It's fine!" Sun isn't even startled by you talking. You hear him move as you wander off, feeling along the spines for an empty space. "I enjoy our walks, and the weather website said it was going to be to the south anyway."

"Mm. You shouldn't trust the website. I'm pretty sure meteorologists just throw darts at a weather map and report whatever it lands on." The books slide into place with the softest thump of bookcloth against wood. "It's getting dark too. I can walk on my own..." Not that you wanted to, not really. You had grown to love having Sun at your side. A small, selfish part of your mind wanted to ask him to walk with you after your job as a cleaner too.

You don't ask. You're certain he's got his own life after all. It would be far too much to ask him to take time out of even more evenings just because you don't like walking alone.

"I would hope they do more than that," Sun is saying, drawing your attention back to him. "There are meteorology books here in the library. It's a fascinating science."

You push the emptied cart to where he's sitting, propping yourself against it with one foot braced against the wheel to keep it from rolling off. "I should've guessed you would like meteorology."

"Why's that?"

You grin. "Your name of course."

Sun takes a second to process before he laughs, and you giggle alongside him, stifling the sound with the back of your hand. When you calm down, you stretch. "Okay, let me get my coat and we can head out."

"I'll wait by the door."

It takes you a few minutes, and you say goodnight to Gretchen before you bundle up. You rival Sun in terms of layers; your brother had insisted on making you into a human marshmallow to keep from getting cold and you could only indulge him. Besides, the scarf and earmuffs kept your nose and ears toasty warm.

Sun doesn't respond when you approach. "Are you ready to go?" You ask. Nothing. Cautiously, aware of his aversion to touch, you nudge at his upper arm. "Sun?"

"Huh? Oh. Hi. Sorry. I just didn't realize it'd gotten so dark so quickly." His voice is strangely flat, almost robotic.

"Are you okay?" You ask, and your hand lingers on his coat sleeve. It's meant to be comforting, but you're not sure he even notices.

"Yeah, yeah. It'll be fine." He seems to straighten up and finally notice your hand. His own lifts and you can feel him take yours. His grip is soft, like he expects you to pull away. You beam instead. "Ready to go?"

"Ready," you say, and push the door open. The cold immediately whips into your face, and you shrink into Sun's side. "Brrr. This is going to be a fun walk home."

You do notice Sun is quieter on the walk home, though you guess it's from having to walk in the increasing cold. It's starting to snow too, or maybe it had been for awhile and the wind is picking it up and tossing it back in both your faces. Intermittently, his grip will tighten on your hand, and you try to squeeze reassuringly.

It takes almost twice as long for you to get to the top of your street as usual, and the wind and snow are trying to pile on you both. "Sun, I don't think it's safe for you to try and walk home."

"I'll be fine," Sun says, his voice tense. But no, you're not allowing that, and you push against the wind to drag you both to your home.

It's an apartment building, with doors that open to exposed landings. It's a little quieter with the building blocking the worst of it, and you release Sun's hand to carefully stomp up the concrete steps. Your foot tries to slip, and Sun catches you by the back of your coat.

"Whoops, thank you." You shoot a smile in his general direction, and his head Bob's in acknowledgment. "My brother is going to be home. He's sweet, but if he's not asleep I might have to kick his butt."

"Is he very young then?" Sun asks. There's less tension in his voice, but you can tell he's still nervous. You can see his mittens fidgeting.

"He's eight." You fumble with your keys, pulling off a glove with your teeth to get a better grip. It dangles from your mouth. "So old enough to be a nuisance sometimes. He's a good kid normally."

The TV is on in the living room, playing Jeopardy quietly in the background. You can see Sarah curled up in one of your blankets on the couch. She moves as you stomp your way in, shaking off the snow. "Hey. He was worried about if you'd make it. I told him -- oh."

She must've noticed Sun. You gesture at your lanky friend with your bare hand as you unzip your coat with the other. "This is Sun. He's from the library. He's going to spend the night, at least until the storm's calmed down some."

"Oh...Kay." Sarah sounds unsure, but you shrug it off. "Well, he fell asleep an hour ago. Mom gave me some pot roast for you guys to split. I put your half in the fridge."

"Aw, tell her I said thank you," you say. You leave your coat and boots in a pile by the door even as Sarah pulls her things on. "Careful on the steps. It's icy."

"Of course. Mom will be by tomorrow afternoon. Good night." Sarah lingers a moment, clearly untrusting of Sun, but you wave her off, shivering in the open door until you hear the door under yours shut. Only then do you lock your own door, rubbing your arms briskly.

"It is cold," you complain, voice soft. "I'm going to make us some hot cocoa."

"I'm okay without any," Sun says, but you ignore him, walking into your narrow kitchen. The pot roast is front and center in the nearly empty fridge, and you tip it out onto a plate to reheat. The kettle still has water in it from this morning, so you turn on the stovetop, finding two mugs and the hot chocolate.

"Your home is nice," Sun says. He's at the entrance of the kitchen, making himself smaller as though he could take up less space. He seems a little too big and bright for the apartment, where almost everything is secondhand. "Did you decorate it yourself."

"Oh yes," you reply, mock serious. "That's why there's a big poster of robots fighting dinosaurs behind the TV." The microwave beeps, so you open it and turn the pot roast over, stabbing it a few times before it gets popped back in to finish. "We picked things out together."

"Your parents..."

You shrug, spooning hot chocolate mix and little hard marshmallows into each mug. "Gone. Been gone for awhile."

"Surely you have family then."

Sun's questions don't irritate you like it would if it were someone else. Maybe it's because he doesn't sound pitying or like he is doubting your ability to care for your little brother on your own.

Most people did. Most people saw you, all but legally blind and hardly an adult yourself, and decided you weren't fit to be his guardian. You tell yourself you don't care what they think.

You almost believe it.

"No one to speak of. Grandparents are dead or in a nursing home. We try to visit once a month, but it's hard when he's going to school." It's easy to talk to Sun. "Everyone else is out of state. My cousin mentioned taking him in last year, but it would mean a new school district and therapist and... It's not important." The kettle whistles, and you pull it off quickly, pouring it into both mugs. "Sorry it's not milk. I've not had a chance to run to the store so we're low on groceries."

"Thank you." Sun takes his mug dutifully, closing his hands to hold it close to his face. The microwave beeps again, and you pull the pot roast out, going to split it into two portions. "Oh, no. Don't do that. I'm not hungry, genuinely. I was feeling a little nauseous walking over."

"Oh. The smell isn't too much, is it?" You ask.

"No, no it's fine. I'll stick with my hot chocolate."

You're doubtful, but if he's feeling ill it would explain why he let you take his hand all the way here. You decide to leave it be, beelining to the couch to curl up with the blanket. Of course, it's big enough to share, though you're surprised when Sun sits and the couch seems to shift and drag you into his space. "Oh! Sorry. I wasn't expecting you to be so -- that's rude. Sorry. Here." You put your plate and mug on the floor to spread the blanket between the two of you. It's hard not to notice that while he's taken off the plastic outer coat he's still bundled up. The scarf is even in place. He must be freezing. Maybe you should turn the heat up.

"Thank you." Sun smooths the blanket between the two of you, and you tuck your feet up as you settle in with your meal. The pot roast is tender even now, melting in your mouth. You can't help but moan.

"It's so good," you say, stifling a yawn. With the hot chocolate and a hot meal, you're warming up. "I wish you could eat too. Ms. Wurthers makes the best food."

"I'm enjoying watching you eat," Sun said and that makes you warmer still.

You dig around for the remote, offering it to Sun. "Find something to watch. I think AMC starts playing some of those old horror movies around this time."

"You like those?" He does start clicking through, even as you shrug.

"Their delivery is different. Sometimes it feels like modern movies flattens everyone's emotions out so unless you can see their faces it's all the same. And our TV is rather small. But the old actors have so much drama and bravado. It's fun."

Sun settles on a channel that's playing an old ad for Chia pets. You keep eating, movements turning sluggish as you continue to warm up. Home is safe, and Sun is safe, apparently. You should've guessed that. "We can turn the lights off if you'd like," you offer, muffling a yawn.

"No." Sun speaks sharply, surprising you back to alertness. "I mean... No, it doesn't bother me at all. If you're tired though, you should go to bed."

"I'm fine." You gingerly touch Sun's arm again, disappointed when he pulls away. "I want to stay up til the weather clears enough for you to go home."

Sun's silence feels like a punch to the gut. You chew on the inside of your cheek, no longer hungry. "If the weather doesn't improve, you are also more than welcome to spend the night," you say, trying to ignore the tension between the two of you. "There's plenty of blankets and pillows, and you don't have to undress at all if you're uncomfortable. I might have some sweats that'll fit you actually. They're a bit too long for me but maybe--"

"It's okay," Sun says, interrupting. But it doesn't feel okay, you want to argue. You chew on the inside of your cheek instead, making yourself small against the couch. The commercials end, and a movie plays. It's a Western, and it's at the climax, the hero shooting down the villain in a classic duel. "You really should go to bed though. I don't want to be in the way."

"You're not!" It's not quite a yell; you're just being quietly insistent. "You're my friend Sunny. And that's enough for me." You know he is adverse to it, but you take his hand and hold it tightly. To your surprise, he doesn't pull away. He actually squeezes, letting his other hand rest on yours. You drop your hand on top of his, and he snorts.

"You win," he says, and you grin up at him, settling with your hands stacked together. The movie plays, and you catch yourself nodding off. You struggle to remain upright, but as the credits begin to roll, you begin to lean into Sun's weight. You're only kind of awake when your head rests against his shoulder. Part of you knows you should move. You're trapping him like this, and what if this is far too much contact for your friend? But it's comfortable and warm, and he's comfortable too.

It's been a long, long time since you'd been able to have someone over. A long, long time since you felt this safe with someone other than your brother. You try to move anyway, wanting to, you don't know, something. But Sun squeezes your hands, freeing one of his own to pull the blanket up over your shoulders.

"Sleep tight." And it's not quite his voice, but it's still Sun, and he wants you to stay.

So you stay, falling asleep as the snow continues to build up outside, drifting in and covering your tracks: the soft prints of your boots and the deep imprints left from your surprisingly heavy friend.

#fnaf dca #dca fandom #human disguise #daycare attendant #sun can force himself to stay in control with help from the streetlights but it is a struggle only won because Moon hasnt met you yet #and doesnt trust you #a little shorter than planned but i cant wrote the brother without a name

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dyslexic-mess · 1 year

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There's a…guy.

You roll around the gothems under belly long enough, you’ll hear plenty of people say ‘I know a guy’. A fixer, a driver, a particularly good con artist. ‘Guys’ are a dime a dozen. There's one, however, that everyone knows but no one seems to be able to work with.

He went by ‘phantom’. Apped, considering his reputation. The man could do almost anything and leave no footprints. You need info digging up? Check back in two days. You need a fence? The money will be in your account by the next day, minus his cut. You’ll never connect him back to it. Need something stolen? Even you won't be able to figure out how to when he managed it. What you asked for will just appear, gift rapped, a week later.

Seriously, though, Phantom didn't work with just anyone. In fact, you’d be pressed to find proof he existed at all, outside word of mouth. The only way to get any contact with him, so the story goes, is to go through Red Hood.

Maybe he owed the crime lord a debt, maybe Red Hood had some dirt on him. Maybe Phantom was just really loyal. who knows? The point is that without the ani-heros mark somewhere on your credentials, you’ve got no hope of even finding the man. Let alone getting him to do a job.

So imagine Tim's surprise when a criminal so elusive even he can't dig anything up about him just appears, brazen as anything, in the middle of the day. He hands Tim a small card, fucking winks at him, then disappears just as seamlessly into the crowd.

‘Hay pretty boy.

The boss said you need some info found.

23 clover st. 10pm tomorrow.

Phantom’

Meanwhile, Danny has no idea why Hood’s getting mixed up with the Waynes. What on earth a rich kid like Timothy Wayne needed to know that was so serious, he approached one of gothems biggest crime lords, he couldn’t fathom but the boss said jump and Danny wasn’t about to say anything to the guy that had taken him in beyond ‘how high’. He just hoped Hood knew what he was doing.

#dpxdc #posting as a prompt bec I can decide where I wanna go with this??#bek writes #feels like it had potential #but I cant decide the ganra #maybe jasons setting up his lil brother #maybe he just thinks he needs more friends #maybe tim is struggling with something as tim instead of RR and jason threw him a bone #idk #could even be that Jason want danno out of the criminal life and he's hopeing Tim'll set him a little straighter

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lidoshka · 1 year

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For @feanorianweek Day 1: Maedhros

Even in his youth, maedhros didn’t have enough hands to handle his brothers, especially Celegorm.

I guess now in his adulthood Maedhros misses the problems of those old days.

@feanorianweek Dia 1: Maedhros

Incluso en su juventud, Maedhros no tenia suficientes manos para controlar a sus hermanos, en especial a Celegorm.

supongo que ahora en la adultez Maedhros extraña los problemas de esos días.

#mis trazos #feanorianweek #feanorians #maedhros #the eternal babysiter #celegorm #the Eramos Felices y no lo Sabiamos series #Lemme rant a little bit #At first I wanted to draw Maedhros missing his hand #But then I started imagining moments in which he had two hands #And thus this series was born.#I think in his youth Mae wanted to have 3 hands to handle his brothers #And that would still have been insufficient to handle Celegorm.#Listen Mae has only one hand now but he has an army and seneschals and STILL he struggles to handle Celegorm.

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spicyicymeloncat · 1 year

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Idk if this is a hot take but why is it always “Kai slaved away and worked his ass off to raise his sister” and never the other way round or them working hard together?

Like, I know he’s older but in the show, does he really… act older? Like if you think about Kai and Nya’s dynamic yknow? Because from my understanding:

When Kai and Nya are introduced we see Kai fail at making a sword and Nya being the one to chide him for it. Kai makes an overconfident statement about wanting to be a better blacksmith than his father. This suggests that one, Kai is rather rash as well as inexperienced (something that lines up with the rest of his character arc in the pots and also generally), with Nya being the more mature figure in contrast

Also just a note but in the shorts: “I can handle it!” “No you can’t, stupid”

Kai frequently being very good at neglecting people or things: leaving Lloyd at an arcade whilst being focused on finding samurai x, not even knowing samurai x was Nya or that she only did it because she felt left out by him, completely abandoning both Nya and Lloyd in s3 (and Ik he was going through it at the time, but in line with the fandom’s characterisation of him)

Kai in season 5: “After I lost my dad, I lost my way. But I was lucky to have my sister watch over me”

Generally, their dynamic isn’t one where Kai really provides for Nya at all. In fact, judging by the fact that Nya can make entire mechs and Kai struggled to make a sword, Nya was probably busting her ass to provide for Kai. And judging by the s5 quote, that’s probably true. I’m not saying Nya raised Kai, it just rubs me the wrong way when she’s treated like a decorative flourish to a narrative that paints Kai as a burnt out child who was forced to grow up too soon especially since that is such a mischaracterisation of him in the first place.

#all I’m saying is that it’s weird we undersell all of the sister’s capabilities just so we can present the brother as tormented and burdened #ignoring the fact that he spent all his days in the gap between the pilots and s1 playing video games #like I’m sorry kai is a pathetic baby girl in the show and I LOVE HIM THE WAY HE IS #okay yeah I snapped a little #I’m just tired of everyone mischaracterising him yknow #like I’m sorry bestie he’s not that capable he’s a loser man and I am ready to love loser men #i just think that it’s an incredibly stereotypical dynamic to have one male character who everyone completely #over exaggerates their struggles to the point of making it seem that everyone else in the story either doesn’t suffer or is an asshole for #not noticing the suffering of this one hot guy #this happens in many fandoms and I think this is what’s happening here #hhhhh #I’m sorry if Kai is ur favourite and this opinion upsets you I don’t mean to be bitch #I’m just really not into this interpretation of him #again this isn’t a dog at his character I just thing people don’t get him a lot of the time #and you know what Nya is also super undersold as a character #like where’s the fucking Nya Lloyd sibling content?#she mentored Lloyd too? she taught him how to ride dragons she stayed with him on the bounty she and Lloyd only had eachother in s9 #what about them??#Kai gets too woobified and Nya doesn’t get woobified enough that’s my opinion #alright I’m done sorry #Ninjago #rant #ig this is a #ninjago analysis #i won’t tag characters cuz I don’t want to make anyone upset #and again I’m sorry if I do

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