Bernard Being The Standard - Tumblr Posts
I am loving Bernard
#1 WAY TO MAKE ME SHIP A SHIP EVEN HARDER: LOCAL UNHINGED BOY COMES IN SWINGING A GODDAMNED SLEDGEHAMMER TO GET HIS SUPERHERO BOYRIEND BACK, YES, YOU FUCK UP THE CHAOS MONSTERS TO GET TIM BACK, BERNARD, I am 100% onboard with this now.
Gotta love a supportive boyfriend
One of my favorite things about Timber as a ship is how refreshing it is to see a civilian/vigilante ship where the civilian is completely fine with their partner being a vigilante and is super chill about it upon finding out
I especially love how everyone just collectively agreed that Bernard would understand Tim's reasoning for keeping it a secret at first. Usually with this trope the civilian ends up getting upset because their partner's keeping secrets from them, but that's not the case with Timber. Bernard figures it out, accepts it, and doesn't say anything because he wants Tim to tell him himself and he understands why Tim wouldn't have told him
And even before it was canon that Bernard figured out on his own that Tim was Robin, pretty much every identity reveal fic either went that route where Bernard figures it out himself (and had it so Bernard either doesn't say anything about it like in canon or, if Bernard does confront Tim with it he does so in a way where he makes it clear that he's okay with it) or it has Tim reveal to Bernard that he's Robin and Bernard immediately accepts it.
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.