Why Did This Go So Absolutely HARD

why did this go so absolutely HARD

do you guys think jesus, the son of a carpenter, smelt the wood of the cross & temporarily thought of home

I am obsessed with characters with self-esteem issues

‘phantom pains’, caitlin conlon // ‘what i could never confess without some bravado’, emily palermo // ‘i will’, mitski // ‘a self-portrait in letters’, anne sexton // ‘desperation sits heavy on my tongue’, @/tullipsink // ‘hunger makes me’, jess zimmerman // ‘coffee and cigarettes’, sade andria zabala

PREACH

"Timber is absolutely unreasonable ship. They never weren't supposed to be canon"

Yeah. I'm ship them. I'm well aware that they only became canon because the writers wanted it that way, not because the majority of fans wanted it.

But I think we all know what it forced ship. Who were never supposed to be a couple anyway, but the writers decided otherwise, so now they're canon. And usually looking at these ships, you can feel how uncomfortable they are with each other. You can see how closed off and awkward they are with each other. How ill-matched they are and how out of place they are in that relationship. Despite some supposed efforts by the writers, but they just look very artificial when they're trying to squeeze out their deepest love for each other and pretend that's the way it's meant to be. And just literally everyone realizes that couple these characters is just impossible as canon.

But Timber don't fall into that category. Surprisingly their dynamic is very genuine and real. I don't sense any unnaturalness or falseness in their love. They are insanely comfortable with each other. The fact that Tim feels safe in Bernard's arms, and basically with him. And Tim considers going to an amusement park or a movie as something exciting and fun, even though that these are quite ordinary places to go on dates, but Tim life in general is a living hell, so the relationship with Ber is like some kind of island of normalcy and safety for him. Like, with him he can just enjoy life and the ordinary pleasures of youth. And writers could easily have gone the way of irritating clichés, like, Bernard might not have known that Tim was Robin and end up resenting him for withholding that information. Or he could have been jealous of Tim's superhero life and demand attention. But in the end, Bernard the most understanding boyfriend ever. It's such a thrill to see such an adequate and accepting person for whom the only thing that matters is that Tim okay and happy. But it's also very noticeable that they are an important part of each other's lives. This is especially evident in Tim. Like, my boy a hero with a lot of problems that go way beyond the problems of normal people, but he'll always make time for his boyfriend. Yah, by and large all of their dates are planned, but that's also what it means that they're an important part of each other's lives that they make special time for. And looking at them you really see that they are fucking love and appreciative of each other.

I don't love Timber for HOW their relationship turned out, I love them for WHAT their relationship turned out to be.

I also really love jaytim

On the misconception of Jason attempting to take Tim's life at Titans Tower:

I've seen people be confused about this one, so I figured I'd provide some context/ analysis/ what have you, for anybody who might be interested.

Now, the incident we're talking about occurred in issue 29 of the 2003 Teen Titans book.

There is a lot that could be said about the whole issue, but in the interest of not having this post run on forever, let's just focus on the end to the actual physical altercation between Jason and Tim:

Jason warns Tim of the dangers associated with being Robin. He uses himself as a cautionary tale, making it clear that this isn't about envy; that Jason has no interest in being Robin again himself. That that's not what this is about.

Then he knocks Tim out.

Tim is unconscious for a while and Jason uses this opportunity to very dramatically put the word out there that, yep, he is indeed the real Jason Todd and he's ready to cause trouble.

When Tim comes to again, he is injured, yes, but okay overall. He isn't bleeding out on the floor, close to death. In fact, he's very much able to just sit up and have a normal conversation with people. All in all Tim is fine, and Jason has left.

And, well, that's that. At least from Tim's perspective.

The issue actually concludes with a really interesting page featuring Jason's narration:

Here we see Jason easily concede that Tim is good. No malice, no hate, no ill wishes towards him. And Tim is doing fine. Jason is shown to be in no way surprised that Tim is alive and well, back out in the field. Because he was never out to seriously injure Tim, let alone kill him.

Jason didn't want to take Tim's life at all. He had ample opportunity to do so, but he didn't. One of the reasons the whole confrontation went down the way it did, is because Jason was genuinely excited to meet Tim (see the intro narration of the issue). Aside from delivering the warning discussed above, Jason wanted to see for himself what Tim is capable of, what makes him tick. And he has no problem admitting that Tim is indeed good at what he does.

It's obviously an important incident in their lives, but Tim was never in any real danger here. Getting into brawls is nothing crazy at all in their line of work, and Tim has canonically acknowledged that he holds no ill will towards Jason over the whole thing, e.g. here in issue 8 of the 2011 Red Hood and the Outlaws book:

Summary/ conclusion: Does Jason feel guilty about things he's done to Tim in the past? Yes. Does Tim hold it against him? No. Was their fight at Titans Tower a murder attempt? Not at all.

Thanks for reading! I hope this helps clear some things up for anybody wondering (:

Bonus: Jason talking about Tim in Battle for the Cowl (2009) #2

The robins’ arrested development is fascinating to me on a meta level.

The first child sidekick of the golden age of comics, never meant to be a man, a child for forty years who fought and demanded the right to grow up.

The second robin is slain in his career’s infancy. An unaging symbol of lost innocence because innocence itself was no longer required. Who burst back out of his grave unwillingly, in a man’s body, dragged into adulthood all at once. A child killed twice over.

The third robin, who was comfortable in his place as a child as a sidekick, evicted because someone else needed that spot, only to be wedged back into the box. Not quite a man, but he can’t go back to being a boy either, stuck in the in between.

And the fifth robin, still a child. Destined to grow into an adult role that will never be vacated, and so cannot grow up.

Didn’t know I needed this grp of friends tgt

…and again…