So you're a go to source for all things Dick&Tim bros and you tend to write primarily from Dick's POV. So, odd question, but if you were to summarize their relationship from his POV in FIVE panels which panels would you pick? Keeping in mind that one specific aspect of their relationship that you love needs to be clearly represented by each panel (loyalty, trust etc). I hope this is a fun challenge and not an annoying question so if you don't want to answer that's cool! Have a wonderful day!
No more talk. The same thoughts run through two minds... (SotB 29) / You're my equal. My closest ally. (RR 1) / I can't stop thinking how much I rely on him. (GoG 3)
25 Feelings Dick Has About Tim
This was such a kind ask & a cool challenge which I totally failed; here are TWENTY-five panels of Dick's POV on Tim sdfdsfds Look, I got carried away! Marcia and Cindy! The boys!!
OKAY SO BEFORE I GET TO THE PANELS A FEW NOTES:
WARNING THAT THERE ARE SOME NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN HERE because I love conflict but but but you gotta remember those are not the final word!! They are complicated people and sometimes they get mad at each other BUT ultimately their relationship is so hugely important in both their lives & they love each other and rely on each other so much -!!! <3
Also I have CONCLUDING THOUGHTS at the end about what Dick's POV leaves out (mostly: a lot of Dick defending & protecting & supporting Tim, which Dick does instinctively but isn't very self-aware about most of the time)
I have loosely organized my list into 5^5 format (5 categories with 5 examples each!), so if you want to skip to a relevant one, here are the categories!!
Below the cut:
I hate him and find him infuriating (#1-5)
On second thought, he's endearing & fun (#6-10)
Grief is complicated & he's all tangled up in mine (#11-15)
I love him & think highly of him (#16-20)
I rely on him & though it's hard for me, I trust him (#21-25)
I hate him and find him infuriating (#1 - 5)
1) He thinks he’s so smart and can psychoanalyze me and Bruce, but he doesn’t know me at all, he should get lost (New Titans 61)
2) He thinks he’s so smart and can psychoanalyze Bruce but he doesn’t know Bruce at all, he should get lost (Gotham Knights 26)
3) He is so nosy about stuff that is MY business (Robin 0)
4) He sounds like an insincere suck-up half the time... but okay, fine, if you push him he's got a sense of humor about it (New Titans 65)
5) I'm sure he's a better vigilante than me. It's my fault for being a failure, but I resent him anyway. (Nightwing 9 - Dick's having a nightmare)
On second thought, he's kinda endearing (#6-10)
6) He worries too much and gets anxious so easily, but it makes him fun to tease (Robin 67)
7) I'm not that competitive - okay, so maybe I'm a little competitive, I gotta make sure he doesn't get a swelled head (Prodigal)
8) I'm supposed to be his favorite! It is not cool for him to be fanboying over my not-girlfriend's not-boyfriend!! (Birds of Prey 19)
9) We have fun together. I can kick back and relax when it's just the two of us. Plus I get to boss him around a bit. (Prodigal)
10) He’s always trying to reassure me, and I guess it's a little comforting, but also he doesn’t really get it. Or me. He makes excuses that he shouldn't, because he doesn't understand that I suck. (Nightwing 64)
Grief is complicated and he's all tangled up in mine (#11 - 15)
11) He reminds me of everything I try not to think about. Sometimes the memories are so strong it hurts to look at him. (Batman 441)
12) WHY IS HE BEING IMPOSSIBLE ALL OF A SUDDEN??? THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING (Nightwing 139)
13) We're the same. He says all the things I don't let myself think about. It's like arguing with myself. (Nightwing 139)
14) He thinks he gets to tell me what to do but he doesn’t, fuck him (Battle for the Cowl)
15) Life sucks, so what. I sucked it up so he should too (RR 1)
I love him and think highly of him (#16 - 20)
16) He’s the closest thing to a brother I’ll ever have. If someone hurts him I will hurt them harder. (Nightwing 6)
17) I can't handle the idea of losing him. (Nightwing 97)
17) He’s so good and I’m not. I'm afraid I’m bad for him. (Nightwing 110)
18) He’s better than me, and it’s kind of a relief because I know no matter what he’ll be okay. (Gates of Gotham 3)
19) In my head he’s the responsible one. (Gotham Knights 10)
I rely on him, and though it's hard for me, I trust him (#20-25)
20) I know I have to trust him but I'm afraid he'll make the wrong choices and get hurt (Nightwing 139)
21) I'm sure I know what he should do because I see myself in him - not that I can take my own advice, but he should (Blackest Night 3)
22) I trust him. When I’m losing my grip on things, he pulls me back. (Gotham Knights 10)
23) I want him to trust me (Red Robin 12)
24) He can tell when I'm lying. Sometimes he sees my weaknesses better than I wish he did. (Detective Comics 874)
25) He’s always there when I need him. (Teen Titans / Outsiders Secret Files)
Final rambling thoughts:
TIM: Uhh, okay, so I'm just skimming this list - do you really trust me? you're not just saying that? - but anyway, I'm confused because you left some stuff out? Like some stuff that's kinda important?
DICK: No? I think I got everything?
TIM (starts counting on his fingers): The time I was having a bad day but then I called you. The time I got captured by Two-Face but then you saved me. The time I fell off a train but then you saved me. The time I fell off a building but then you saved me. The time I fell off a different building -
DICK: I feel like you're trying to make some kind of point but I'm not sure what it could be.
SO THE THING IS, I put 25 panels in here and not a single one has Dick catching Tim when he’s falling!!! But I think that's a central motif of their relationship from Tim’s POV, not Dick’s. I love Dick, but in some ways I think he is spectacularly un-self-aware.
And I think he especially has a lot of blind spots about Tim. He kinda intermittently gets that Tim admires him, and he enjoys it in a playful I-get-to-boss-you-around way. But Dick tends to consistently underestimate all of his own good qualities & skills, and he meets Tim at a point in his life when he's especially down on himself & his abilities. And so he's unable to see his own influence on Tim, & therefore unable to fully understand a lot of Tim's priorities and loyalties and motivations, because you can't actually understand Tim without understanding Dick's impact on him. There's a fascinating moment in Bruce Wayne: Murderer when Dick's completely blindsided & upset to discover that Tim doesn't entirely trust Bruce, even though this has been a definitive fact of Tim's whole thing ever since he showed up with his Batman needs Robin theory, and Barbara has to actively remind Dick of the obvious-to-everyone-except-Dick fact that a lot of Tim's loyalty is to Dick, and Tim loves Bruce but feels free to be more wary of him. (And to give Bruce credit: this is not something he ever begrudges.) But anyway Babs points this out, and Dick manages to sorta process it for about five seconds, but he cannot actually accept it into his worldview so instead he discards it at the speed of light and goes off and has an argument with Tim instead sdfsfdsf
All of Dick's virtues - Dick's kindness at the circus and Dick's determination to fight through grief and Dick's rigid sense of morals and Dick's vigilante skills and every time Dick has ever backed Tim up or listened to him or protected him or saved him from something or just been casually kind to a stranger in Tim's presence etc etc etc - all these things loom really large in Tim's mental story of Who Dick Is, and What Dick And Tim's Relationship Is. Tim meets Dick before he meets Bruce, trusts Dick more than Bruce, aspires to be Robin instead of Batman. And so in Tim's default version of the story, Dick is the super-special and admirable hero and Tim is... nobody in particular, a tagalong outsider who's barely managing to be a hero, not part of Dick and Bruce's family and not part of their story, who, if he's VERY LUCKY and tries REALLY HARD, might be able to fight his way to proving himself and offering something to Dick that Dick will value, if Dick doesn't get fed up with him first.
But that's not Dick's version of the story!!!
Dick's version of the story is almost the exact opposite, a story where Dick's an outcast failure black sheep who's screwing up everything he tries, and meanwhile Tim is The Sudden New Perfect Robin Who's Better Than Me And Probably Bruce Loves Him More And Probably They Gossip About What A Loser I Am, mixed with a complicated edge of Tim Thinks He's So Smart But He Doesn't Know Me/Us At All. Dick gets much more attached to Tim over time, and Tim gets unnervingly better at the know-it-all psychoanalysis so then Dick gets to have complicated feelings about him being right instead of just annoyance at him for being wrong, plus Dick's relationship with Bruce improves a lot, so Tim stops feeling so threatening. But Dick never fundamentally changes his basic theory of their relationship in which Tim is highly impressive and capable, and Dick is not so much.
And so asking Dick about Tim is kinda like if you asked George Bailey to tell you about Harry Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life; like, you'll be there for five hours while he tells you how great Harry is, and how accomplished Harry is, and how he doesn't really get how or why Harry does the things he does, and maybe George does feel a little resentful or jealous sometimes, but that pales in comparison to all his admiration and trust for Harry who he loves so much, who's better than him in so many ways, and he's not gonna openly gripe but secretly he can't help but feel sometimes like he's such a failure in comparison to Harry, a perfect person who emerged fully formed from Zeus's head with all the virtues and also all the accomplishments, etc. etc. etc. --
-- and he will not actually remember the part where he changed and saved Harry's whole entire life unless you literally send him to an alternate timeline in order to force him to remember it. <3
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so i just talked to my therapist about all of this because i have been, unsurprisingly, ✨suffering✨ lmao. and because i know that’s a very shared sentiment, i just wanted to pass her words along.
she basically said that however it is that we need to cope, we cope. whether that’s going full acceptance, or clinging on to whatever ounce of hope we can, we go ahead and do that.
and also, because i have seen people getting upset or even angry at others for having hope, i also just wanted to share that she mentioned hope is a good strategy. it’s a light in a sea of darkness. it’s something to hang onto while things are incredibly difficult. does it guarantee that anything will actually happen? no. but does that little whisper of light provide some heat, some solace, some comfort? absolutely yes.
so, to everyone, just keep coping however it is you find fit. if you’re in acceptance and are working your way through that, continue. if you’re passionate and fighting to see if you can make a difference, continue. if you’re tired and drained and just need to take a break from it all, continue.
continue, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. as my therapist put it, we are all turtles right now. we are all slowly navigating through all of this. don’t kick the turtles, because they will clam up and will no longer move.
allow the turtles to move and cross the finish line at their pace.
love yall so much ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
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Hi! I love your work! Can you do a Mike + alters, Scott, Alejandro (seperate) x reader where the reader has really bad sensory issues, especially with loud noises, and can have panic attacks from them? if your not okay with writing this then that’s totally fine /gen. it’s important to take care of yourself.
Contestants with reader who gets overstimulated.
Aaa thank u for this request anon! Yes i'm totally comfortable writing this kind of stuff! Thanks for being so kind about it! As an autistic person with really bad sensory issues myself I actually find it a thearputic, lol. Okay enough about me, enjoy!
Mike
dealing with a traumagenic disorder (DID) I would imagine he's honestly kind of in the same boat.
He's no stranger to panic attacks, and is pretty well versed by now in how to deal with them.
The first time it happens though he's sort of an anxious wreck, he's just nervous that trying to help might make it worse, but he doesn't want to leave your side.
He gives you lot's of words of encouragement, and helps you through breathing exercises, and gets you plenty of water.
"It's okay, breathe with me, I'm right here," he assures you gently.
If you require pressure/physical contact during your panic attacks, he's more than happy to give you that.
He gets good at catching them too, he'll always be able to identify when you're about to spiral because of too much noise or too bright lights, and he'll find a quiet secluded room so he can work through it with you.
"Sorry you have to deal with this too," you said, after a particularly bad one, you still felt dizzy, and tears still stained your face, but you had come out of it now, and felt a little guilty.
"Hey don't apologize, I don't mind. Not at all."
He's just very caring with this kind of stuff in general.
Manitoba
Maintoba is similar to Mike, and I would think he likes to carry around a backpack whenever he is fronting (you never know when you're going to run into treasure). So he always keeps noise canceling headphones and a pair of sunglasses in there just for you.
Honestly I headcanon him as the caretaker of the system, so I imagine he's used to caring for people during panic attacks.
He's very observant, probably even more so than Mike, so he's better at avoiding them all together by identifying what situations you can handle and what you can't.
He always does a little research before the two of you go out in the environment to ensure that it doesn't seem loud/bright/overstimulating.
However sometimes these things are just unavoidable, and inevitable.
He'll provide you with whatever physical comfort you require, if any at all.
Anything you need, he's there to get for you.
"Take all the time in the world treasure, I'll still be here," he said.
He's all around good at keeping you grounded, and just good at being there with you.
Svetlana
I would think Svetlana is probably the protector/gatekeeper, most of her comfort comes from her just being fiercely loyal.
She'll be there no matter what, and you take great comfort in that fact.
She's not as good with being traditionally comforting, since it's a little out of her element.
Not that she doesn't try of course, she really cares about you, and she wants that to come across.
(I would think she would panic a little and ask Manitoba and Mike for help from the inner world).
But she would absolutely stay with you, coaching you through breathing exercises, talking to try and distract you.
Eventually if you let her know what you need (be it space, a distracting, physical comfort, quiet, dark) you name it, she will get it for you.
She's much better at caring for you after the panic attack honestly, when you feel really tired and put out, disoriented and just overwhelmed.
"Svetlana's here now to melt all your worries away," she smiled at you once.
She'll almost always bring you home, or take you to a secluded room, and just hangout with you. She'll turn all the lights off and sit in silence with you so you can have basically zero sensory input for a little while.
She'll absolutely stay with you until you feel yourself again.
Mal
Okay things with Mal are a little tricky.
He's for sure a former prosecutor and after a bit of system healing, definitely prosecutor turned protector.
Don't get me wrong though, he can still be a little nasty and snarky sometimes, but he's working on getting better.
Which is why he feels sort of out of his element when he's with you when you're having a panic attack.
He's not good at being comforting, and he barely knows what to do when he has a panic attack, so the first time it happens he completely freezes up.
He might even let someone else front to help you out instead of him.
After a while he gets better at keeping up with your triggers, and while he remains pretty awful at being comforting, he's good at grounding you.
He's glad sometimes that being there is enough sometimes, he doesn't know what he'd do if it wasn't.
"Sorry I can't do more..." he said one day.
You smile at him "You being here is enough sometimes."
Scott
Scott is also somewhat of a wreck I would imagine.
Growing up fairly isolated on a farm he's understandably really rough with being intune with people's emotions, he's not really all that good at reading you. Or anyone for that matter.
The first few times, he's shocked everytime.
What could be making you feel like this? He had no idea.
He would definitely need a list of all of your triggers, you have to tell him what helps you and what doesn't outright. Scott doesn't really like playing guessing games, especially when it comes to your safety and comfort.
Clear communication becomes pretty important for the two of you in all honesty, and the two of you work at it all the time.
Eventually he gets better at serving you during panic attacks, or meltdowns, he knows what to do after a little while.
Again I would think he's really good at protecting, so I think he's super good at keeping people away when he sees you're overstimulated.
"Don't touch them!" he huffed when someone was trying to tap you to get your attention.
Overall, he's really really trying for you, and knowing that is comfort enough.
Alejandro
It's no secret that Alejandro is very intune with people, just one of his many skills.
So he can tell right away from his very first meeting you, any loud noises, bright lights, things like that just don't mix well with you.
He steers clear of them when around you, always guiding you more towards quieter, much calmer and secluded dates.
When driving he turns the music down, and makes sure that all audio input looks like its helping you and not harming you.
Plus I feel like (and this is totally me projecting btw) he would carry around stim toys for you to distract yourself with, and headphones for when things are a lot.
But again, sometimes things just happen, and try as he might to protect you, it's not always possible.
He can always tell when things are getting to be a lot for you, he's good at reading everyone but you in specific.
He's really good at covering for you, if someone is asking where you are, or needs/wants to talk to you when you need to be alone he'll keep them away from you.
He'll spend as much time as you need helping you.
"Are you feeling better mi amor?" He would ask.
"Almost-" you said, voice a little course and shaky "-sorry," you said softly.
"Don't apologize, I don't mind at all."
Alejandro can be really nurturing when he wants to be.
He might deny it, deny it to the ends of the earth but he's very good at taking care of you.
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