@shmoo92 asked me if I had any information on what Tim’s preboot theatre reno looked like. I was sick and miserable, so it was a PERFECT distraction. I now have a working monitor, so I’ve scanned the floorplan we worked out together and posted it to deviantArt. (Scaling for Tumblr is a pain.) Hope it’s useful for someone!
(Also, if anyone’s inspired to make a version, of a different DCU building design, PLEASE tell me. I love them.)
Inspiration used for my design of Red Robin’s converted Movie Theatre home. I’m posting the floor plan on deviantArt in a moment, but wanted to be able to link to my references. Using that site is confusing.
I’ve mentioned before that I thought Tim putting on a Bat-costume to stop Jason, in HIS Bat-costume, was a complicated scheme to convince Dick to become Batman. I figured this was me reading a little to much into things.
Here is a direct quote from Tim’s thoughts in Battle for the Cowl #1 (2009):
But Dick is against taking on the mantle. The point of contention being that he believes no one should take Batman’s place. But look at what’s happened to Gotham without the Dark Knight. He was much more than just a crime fighter. He was Gotham’s protector. Her guardian angel.
And Gotham needs that back. At any cost.
Including Dick’s friendship.
So that sounds like a dude with a plan. And since his next activity is flying around as a tiny Bat getting into trouble he needs to be rescued from…
Scan under the cut.
I’ve gotten a similar question before, and totally bailed on answering. Sorry, other asker! Maybe I can do better this time.
Cass has learning disabilities and autism. I’d like to see her learning disabilities cause challenges with more than just reading. Maybe a difficulty remembering the city layout, or days of the week. Not being able to summarize/figure out the essential information from a briefing. Things like that. I feel like the way she’s able to discard everything but what she sees as important fits with autism. At least, I can see a lot of my sister and husband in her. She just doesn’t see the POINT of a lot of things. It’s great.
I’ll say Tim is ADD, but I’m totally projecting. Look at him hyperfocus on new interests! Go to sleep during boring classes! Research everything. He’s both arrogant AND has low self-esteem! Doesn’t have great people skills. There’s lots of other things I could bring up. These could also be signs of autism, of course. Like I said, I’m projecting. I also think he had adjustment disorder/depression during the Red Robin arc, though I go back and forth over whether I want that to be an ongoing thing, or just for that period.
Maybe Dick has anxiety? He has a lot of symptoms of anxiety.
Jason has PTSD, and I don’t feel comfortable headcanoning anything else right now. Too many negative stigmas around neurodiversity. But I have LOTS of thoughts about how PTSD has effected all the Bats!
Babs is autistic. Bruce is autistic. Damian is probably possibly autistic. I can expand, but my son just finished his first week of school and my brain has shut down. But basically, I mostly only relate to neurodivergent people. I relate to most of the Batfamily. Therefore, they are all neurodivergent. Really, how anyone can see Bruce as NOT autistic is a bit baffling.
I have trouble relating to Steph and Damian, so I usually headcanon them neurotypical. I’m like that.
I guess this is probably a queerplatonic threesome, and sex is mentioned? Plus the strange gaps in Kon’s knowledge due to his upbringing? Reading shipping fic while being aro-ace sends my brain to weird places.
(Possibly squiky to aces who don’t work quite like me? Be careful?)
After getting random ‘I’m so grateful you’re back’ hugs from Red Robin!Tim and sort of freezing up that one time, Kon starts making an effort to casually be around him a lot. He keeps up conversations with Tim while moving around the Tower so that Tim follows him from room to room. He sits next to Tim on couches. He normalizes Tim having company.
Now, Kon sometimes misses some pretty basic things. Usually, Cassie has his back. Or Tim. But circumstances have left them with three overlapping blind spots:
So when Kon sometimes casually makes out with Cassie while Tim is in their bedroom, nobody realizes how INCREDIBLY WEIRD AND INAPPROPRIATE this is.
Which means that when she notices and hisses,
‘TIM IS HERE’
one time, Kon looks completely baffled.
And her,
‘you do NOT have sex in front of people!’
is equally confusing. Which leads to dawning horror as she realizes that they HAVE been.
That’s bad. But it’s her panicked,
‘Have you been trying to seduce TIM?!’ that kind of messes everything up.
(Tim is right there.)
So Kon’s all,
‘What? NO! He is not in to me AT ALL.’
Because Tim totally had to explain sexuality to Kon and Bart and this involved lots of invasive questions. Neither of them really got the idea of any gender being inherently more attractive, though for somewhat diametric reasons. It eventually led to Tim explaining platonic attraction using their relationships as examples. And being able to provide absolutely no satisfactory labels for himself at all. (I’m not getting in to where exactly I see him as NOT fitting completely on the aro or ace spectrums. It’s complicated.)
‘I mean, I’d be fine if he was – would you have a problem with him having sex with us?!’
Like the idea had never even occurred to him. And she’s all,
‘Of course not!’
without thinking. And then realizes that it’s true. The idea seems completely natural? Not something either is LONGING for, exactly, but if that’s what he wanted?
At this point, of course, Tim walks out of the room. He is not dealing with any of this. He is going to quietly freak out far away, which is the correct and logical response.
Kon and Cassie are also freaking out, because now Tim isn’t going to talk to them for weeks while he avoids emotions. And Kon still isn’t sure quite where he went wrong?
Tim doesn’t talk to them for weeks while he avoids emotions.
Then, some time later, he casually follows Kon and Cassie into their bedroom again. Sits down in a chair and gets out his laptop. ‘Is it okay if I DON’T join you?’ With this arched brow and almost smirk. (There’s no sex that time, because it’s awkward. And this thing with him isn’t about sex. But Tim is there.)
They don’t say dating, because they aren’t, really. Tim is just their best friend. As important to them as they are to each other.
He isn’t particularly interested in being around when they’re making out. But his heartbeat always slows and calms when Cassie and Kon are enjoying being together, no matter what they’re doing. And maybe he sleeps in the bed with them sometimes, because he never really gets over being touch starved. (Not after sex, because the bed is gross. Ew.)
It’s platonic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. There are a lot of different types of love.
When Tim is tired – really tired – running on coffee dregs, bad life choices, and those 10 minutes of sleep he got in the shower 6 days ago tired – interacting with him is all but impossible.
Partly because of the circular reasoning. Partly because he makes no sense. And partly because he tends to dismiss you as an irrelevant construct that his imagination conjured up to try and distract him from working and proceeds to deal with you accordingly.
Like the time he tried to use WE in order to take over Lex Corp because if he took over Lex Corp then Lex Luthor would no longer be a threat to Superman because Batman beat him. Bruce kicked him out of the office.
And the time Jason dropped a (drugged) mug of coffee on Tim’s desk and then Tim poured it all out onto the carpet without even looking up from his computer and defended his actions by saying that he couldn’t drink the coffee because the coffee was drugged and he knew the coffee was drugged because he would have drugged it if he were going to drug someone.
Or that time when he thought Dick was in Bludhaven and then saw him in the Manor and told him that he wasn’t going to submit to his subconscious’ attempts to self-destruct and make him give up on his work and nearly stabbed himself and/or Dick in the arm in order to regain his focus.
Or that time he stole Damian’s katana and also Damian’s cow and finally Damian himself because he was trying to outsmart Ra’s al Ghul and being surrounded by Damian and Damian’s things would obviously give him the edge he was looking for. (Damian proceeded to stick him with a sedative filled syringe and drag him to his bed because there was no way he was willing to inflict this version of Drake on his grandfather.)
It was an interesting afternoon. Tim is no longer allowed to go without sleep for 6 days.
One of the things I love about Tim is how he always reuses other people’s abandoned names. So, I have given you a list of such names, and the circumstances which might lead to him adopting them:
Nightwing – Dick is dead and he’s trying to carry on the legacy. Less depressingly, Dick became Batman while Tim was in a slightly better place and asked Tim to step up to the position to support him.
Renegade – Tim is MAD, probably at Dick, and isn’t talking to anyone in the family. Probably isn’t talking to any of the Titans, either.
The Spoiler – Unlikely in canon, because comics almost NEVER have a guy honour a woman by carrying on her legacy. Again, Steph is probably dead and Tim is probably really angry about it.
Black Bat – Either Tim or Cass is undercover. I love this idea. Can we have Cass undercover and Tim filling in for her so nobody notices RIGHT NOW? And Tim ROCKING the costume and trying desperately to fight like Cass (no gadgets!!) and trying to minimize the Robin-quipping, because Cass’ jokes are all SUPER dry and minimal. Okay, thank you anon, I am in love with this new AU. Cass probably checks in with him every week or two and mocks him for all the ways he is definitely not acting like her. He despairs. Dick accidentally calls him ‘Cassie’. The world is infinitely brighter.
Redbird – HAHAHAHAAHAAA! Let’s have Tim take on the legacy of – – – his CAR! Yup. Totally not trying to get back at his little not-brother by stealing his name. NOPE. Has nothing to do with the little Prince at all. He misses that car. It was such a loyal and trustworthy companion.
I’ve read my fair share of Batman AUs where slavery is accepted and someone ends up a slave/servant of someone else. It’s usually Jason in the servant position, due to his background, but I have a much more interesting idea.
Jason is going to HATE the idea of slavery, possibly more viscerally than any other character could – so make him play master.
You’ve got Jason, the recently adopted son of the Lord of Gotham. Terribly awkward and uncomfortable with both the manners and the mindset of the culture he’s found himself in.
You’ve got Tim, formerly a minor noble, now sold to pay the debts of his deceased parents. Choosing Bruce’s house as the best option left available to him. Comfortable with high society and the perfect person to teach Jason how to act.
And Jason HATES THIS. Hates the idea of owning someone. Hates Tim for seeming to accept society how it is. Wants to burn everything to the ground and start over again.
And Tim is explaining that while Jason doesn’t NEED a servant, the estate takes up almost a tenth of Gotham and if Jason wants to eat it’s a ten minute walk to the kitchens. And Jason’s not going to be respected by others, and is going to make Bruce look bad, unless he learns how to pretend to be one of them. And that Tim doesn’t WANT to be treated like a person at the next party – he’d much rather be invisible than deal with former equals noticing him. And, NO, he ISN’T happy with becoming someone’s possession, but if Jason doesn’t learn how to treat him “properly” things are going to be much worse for him.
I don’t know, I just enjoy anarchic forces of justice forced to uphold the establishment. And Tim bossing people around while acting very polite and obedient. And everyone forced into positions they don’t like and trying not to resent the other person for the position that person has been forced into.
(Number is Tim’s probable age for death)
4/7 – John
and Mary Grayson – die while preforming in front of Tim. Tim had just bonded
with their son and had to watch him be orphaned12/13 – Jason
Todd – Tim has a case of hero worship for Jason/Robin. Jason mysteriously
disappears, both from Bruce’s life and the streets as Robin. Tim experiences
Batman plunging into despair and growing violent and sloppy.13 – Janet
Drake – Tim’s mom is murdered while in Haiti. Batman fails to save her. His dad
is also in a coma and then paralysed for a while.16 – Future
Alfred Pennyworth – Bruce’s messed up 16th birthday present for Tim
involved Alfred recording fake videos from the future asking Tim to avenge his
death and trust no one16 –
Darla Aquista and Stephanie Brown – both Tim’s friend and his girlfriend are
murdered during War Games (Steph
retconned to not actually have died)16 –
Jack Drake – killed by the Boomerang during Identity Crisis, shortly after War
Games. Tim’s step-mom suffers a mental breakdown (I believe this term is no
longer accepted, but I couldn’t track down a better one)16/17 – Michael
Lasky – Dodge wanted to be a hero with Robin. Tim blamed himself for not doing
better to stop him when Dodge was injured and fell into a coma16/17 –
Possibly Dana Winters – when Bludhaven
blows up, Tim’s step-mom is staying there in a hospital. We have no confirmed
death but she’s never mentioned again16/17 –
Kon-El – Tim’s best friend dies fighting Superboy/man Prime.16/17 –
Bart Allen – Killed by his clone, Inertia and a bunch of other Rogues while
he’s aged to adulthood17 – Matthew
and Hillary Armstrong – siblings to Anarky II, they were killed when Tim’s plan
to stop the villain backfired badly17 –
Bruce Wayne – seemed to be killed by Darkseid. Actually travelling through time
and becoming a bomb17 – 2(?) people he set fake hits on while earning the League of Assassins trust. He thought he could protect them. Also, Owens and Z, 2 young assassins that Ra’s sent to protect/win over Tim and died while trying to do so.
Nu52
16 –
Damian Wayne – the 11 year old adopted brother of Tim was killed by his own
clone at his mother’s orders16 –
Dick Grayson – Tim’s oldest brother was convinced to fake his own death by
Bruce
Conclusion: Tim’s life really, really, sucks.
After all
that complaining about how I DON’T CARE about queer stuff, I should probably
feel ridiculous posting this. BUT.
I really,
really, want a fic about Bart having as much understanding of gender identity and
sexual attraction as I do of romantic attraction.
Bart coming
to Tim and asking about some aspect of dating, or why people respond badly to
homosexuality, or something else Tim is COMPLETELY unequipped to explain.
And Tim
carefully asking questions to confirm that Bart still doesn’t get why he’s
supposed to go in the men’s washroom or not wear skirts. Because he doesn’t
identify with any gender OR feel any dysphoria when labelled. He doesn’t care,
and because he’s BART, he has no clue that he SHOULD care. And he has never
felt attraction to either gender (Carol and future!Rose can still have happened.
I’m happily married to my best friend. You don’t need romantic or sexual
attraction for a relationship). He’s never got that it’s a thing different than
friendship.
I want Bart
getting the talk I never got. From the ground up. Describing gender to someone
who’s upbringing allowed him to avoid any opinions about it at all. Describing
attraction, both sexual and romantic. With super basic examples.
And Tim
being SUPER AWKWARD but also surprisingly good at it. Because he sees things
from the outside all the time, so I’d think he’d be good at describing feelings
that someone has never experienced to them in a way that would make sense.
I want to
see sexual and gender identity explained as if they were magic, or some other
concept that doesn’t exist and nobody is expected to know anything about. And
the little lightbulb moments with Bart, as some weird behaviour suddenly makes
sense and he excitedly asks Tim if this is why people do __.
Also, SO
MANY bonus points if at some point Tim is explaining asexuality and Bart is
like, that’s how you are, right? And Tim fumbles and then says something about
how he’s complicated, because there are a lot of outside factors (trauma, neglect,
being an awkward nerd, etc.) for him. In this fic, I want a Tim who isn’t
asexual, just really uncomfortable with sex and sexuality. Because that
interests me too.
Even more
bonus points for a coda at the end with Bart excitedly telling Kon what he now
understands and Kon having his own little Eureka moment. Because his upbringing
also leaves the possibility for SO MANY gaps in his knowledge base he might
never have even noticed.
kiragecko 