#its true tim told me himself

[somefuckingguysblog]

Tim listens to goth/new wave send tweet

[gildedlead]

All of the Wayne kids’ favorite Leaguers: True and Real and Accurate

Dick: Wonder Woman! Bear with me. Please. I think Superman was his favorite BEFORE he met Clark. Once he learned how big of a dork he was, the magic was sort of lost, doubly so when Clark became his unofficial stepdad. Diana? She stayed cool. Not to mention that in his Robin days, she often humored whatever hare-brained impulses he’d get. Please picture Batman’s bewildered expression when he finds Dick dangling from the Watchtower light fixture he specifically designed to be impossible for him to reach. Diana just, -shrug- “He said please.” You threw him Diana. You threw that child. She’d probably still throw him if he asked nicely, hell, she’d probably do it even before he has to ask. It’s ‘Boy Wonder’, not ‘Boy Bat’.

Jason: Black Canary. ‘Wonder Woman is Jason’s fav’ believers PLEASE hear me out. I think that Diana is Jason’s favorite in a ‘celebrity crush’ way, but Dinah is Jason’s favorite in a ‘cool aunt’ way. He met her unofficially at the Watchtower, but actually started hanging out with her thanks to Roy. They both like motorcycles and kicking ass, plus Young Justice having Canary as a therapist melds well with my vision of her helping Jason heal. And I think she’s used to yelling at Bruce on Oliver’s behalf, so it’s no big to do it on Jason’s too.

Tim: The Flash! If Dinah is the cool aunt, Barry is the cool uncle. Guy that shows up at the function with all the best snacks. He might eat half of them himself but damn if he didn’t bring them. In all seriousness, Tim saw pretty great merit in knowing a forensics guy that he can basically talk to anytime he’s stumped with a case without having to go through the “sorry to wake you” song and dance. Barry occasionally gets unhinged texts that are in the vein of “hey can you go about ten minutes back in time and tell past me about _____”. They’re usually pretty low stakes but sometimes there’s just a “got stabbed, do-over?” jumpscare sprinkled in. Bruce will never ever get shit from Barry about kid troubles. That man is a saint in Flash’s eyes.

Cass: Captain Marvel. She didn’t like him at all during their first meeting. For a person that’s good at reading body language, I imagine that seeing genuinely childish behavior on a grown man would be giving some crazy mixed signals. Once she learns that his powers are magic in origin rather than being alien or meta, her mind opens up a little more to the possibility that his exterior appearance might not be indicative of his actual identity. Cass guesses his age by their next proper meeting and makes it her business to keep an eye on him, always asking Bruce about him after he returns from League missions. Your honor, that 7’5” brick wall Champion of Magic is actually just Cass’ little buddy. She’s gonna get him some ice cream or something.

Steph: Green Lantern. Hal and Barry are like uncles, except if Barry is the cool one, Hal is the cringe one. Lucky for Hal, being a boyfailure is a good way to amuse Steph. Those two are gonna spend hours arguing with Bruce just for the hell of it, backing each other up on completely incorrect claims (Steph does it because it’s funny, Hal does it because he believes her). He does get bonus points for bringing her cool space snacks whenever he comes back from trips off-world. One of her favorite foods is a sort of hi-chew/gum thing from some other planet in Sector 2418 that doesn’t dissolve or lose its flavor, even after chewing it for days on end.

Damian: Aquaman. He’s a king. Like, an actual king. And he can communicate with fish. Arthur heard about Damian’s temper from the rest of the Leaguers and straight up does not believe it because every time he’s spoken to Damian, it’s been “hello your majesty can you introduce me to an octopus I have a few questions for it”. This one’s short. But I feel it speaks for itself.

Duke: Superman. Clark was NOT told about Signal taking up the day shift in Gotham until he was flying in to compare notes (read: flirt), with Bruce and met Duke when they both went to intercept a carjacking. Clark tries to be responsible like “I feel obligated to let you know that Batman doesn’t take kindly to metas in his city”, only for Duke to point at the big ol bat on his chest. After that, Duke usually intercepts Big Blue’s flight path anytime he comes into Gotham and the two just kind of hang out and shoot the shit while he does his patrol. Duke is also a little bit stoked to be regularly hanging out with The Superman, but even after the awe wears off, he can’t help but still think of Clark as just a cool, friendly guy. He gets someone to share the airspace with, Clark gets a bat he can stay in the sun with, it’s a win/win all around. Congrats Clark, you got one.

[theaveragepsychoticbitch]

Submissive!Poseidon, Jataka, Odin, and Buddha x GN!Reader. I wrote mostly with Amab reader in mind(save for Jataka's), but you can interpret it as a strap. Features cum swallowing(reader), fingering, hand jobs, masturbation, face fucking, penetration, and riding. Tags are overall in order. Kinda proofread

You love a man with the makings of a whore. And gods if Poseidon didn't fit the bill.

The murderous look in his eyes only fueled the speed of your fingers further, three cum-covered digits fucking his tight, pink hole. Merciless in the way you pound his prostate, sadistic in how you watch the pleasure make his legs tremble and twitch. He's panting, biting his lips raw even as you encourage him to let it all out. Cum covers his chest, and when you lean over him to run your tongue through it, he can't help the way his eyes roll back.

Sweat pours by the bullets from the exertion; still, you didn't let up, didn't stop pumping his sensitive dick, or sucking at its leaking, red tip. When you noticed how he'd clench when you nipped his nipples or tore at the sheets when you ran your teeth across his neck, you took advantage.

You couldn't help but adore him. He doesn't even realize how perfect of a slut he is.

His back arches, a perfect curve that you latch onto twice as tight, nails digging into his waist as he groans at the loss of contact on his cock.

You bend down and wrap your lips around it fully, hollowing your cheeks as your tongue made quick work of the beading precum there. You don't take your eyes off his pretty face once, and thank the gods you didn't.

His eyebrows knit, eyelashes fluttering over clouded blue eyes rolled to the whites as his mouth opened wide, a sound more addictive than siren song meeting your ears.

In your mouth, it throbbed once, twice, then-

Poseidon cries out, angry tears filling his eyes as you finger him through his nth orgasm of the night.

It was funny, watching how his face heated as you touched yourself in front of him. Moaning his name, keeping your legs wide so he could get an eyeful. He said he wanted to experience true happiness- you were just showing him.

"Look at me, Jataka. Watch, and see how happy you make me- how happy I could make you."

He inhales sharply, untouched cock twitching hard at your words. He looks so innocent, all flustered and twitchy, unable to make proper eye contact. His hands float around, restless as if they didn't know what to touch first, or even if they should.

You take your hand, the one you used, and grasp his chin, gentle though firm.

The pad of your thumb is fixed against his bottom lip- pillow soft. You can't resist the urge to reach in deeper, give him a taste of joy.

And he, oh, he can taste it all on his tongue one tentative lick later. It's sweet and salty, a perfect mix that has him sucking on your thumb in search for more.

And more you give him. Fucking his pretty face, grinding on his eager tongue. As you approached your climax, pride swelled in your heart and your groin as his big hands wrapped nervously around his own cock.

Odin is quite a formidable figure. But little does the world know, he's your bitch.

"It's not even all the way in yet. Were you always this pathetic?"

He groans, and you roll your eyes. His hands are tied above his head, but there was truly no need for any bondings- he'd hold his hands in place all by himself if you told him to.

You stroke his thighs, false disappointment apparent in your sigh. "Look at yourself. On the verge of cumming untouched long before I can even fuck you in true. Maybe I should shorten the foreplay next tim-"

"No."

"No?"

"Please. No. I can take it." You smirk, amusement sparkling in your eyes as you take him in. He was never an expressive God, even in the bedroom, his facial expression rarely had any big changes, and he was one hell of a silent soldier save for a few grunts.

But finally, fucking finally, you've gone and done it. You flipped the script on him- touched and stroked and fucked on him, and you can't get enough of all the sounds he makes. The way his muscles flex when you bend him every which way, how sweat travels down his forehead when he's struggling to take you, how his eyes roll back when he cums hard.

He doesn't break eye contact as he takes your arms in his hands, pulling you closer, trying to pull you deeper. "I can take it. Move."

You chuckle, grabbing his waist. "Never one to shy away from what you want, ey love?"

He doesn't get to answer as you bury yourself deep in one thrust right after.

Buddha was made for this. He finds he's experienced no greater freedom than when under your control.

"Fuck."

The cocky bastard smirks above you, riding you hard with his hand gripping your shoulder even harder. The other is on the headboard, claws puncturing the wood. You moan, and his lips are quick to swoop down and swallow it, never faltering his speed. The kiss is excited, feverish, and you dig blunt nails into the soft skin of his ass. The clap of skin on skin is hypnotic, and you start to think, 'I'd let him fuck me like this forever,'

And there it is. He's fucking you. What, were you gonna kiss his toes next? Who's the boss here, you... or him?

You, of course. And you were finally gonna act like it.

You trail your fingers along his raised arm, replacing the headboard with your hand. You clasp his tight, kissing his knuckles. You do the same with the other hand, and in the confusion of your changed intensity, he slows down. In the same second, you flip him over and capture him in a kiss. Your tongue traces his sharp canines, brushing sensually over his own tongue. You can taste candy on it still. Raspberry flavored.

Your hips snap forward, and he moans into the kiss. It doesn't end when you pull away; mouths wide, your tongues intertwine, sucking and tasting each other. It's heaven to your senses, pleasure overriding every coherent thought.

You set a brutal pace, fucking him hard into the mattress. And good fuck, he's smiling about it. Full on grinning as spit leaks down the side of his mouth and his dick bounces between you. You move your grip to encompass both his wrists.

As your hand wraps around his dick, he laughs. It's a beautiful sound, accompanied by his walls choking your cock and him throwing his head back as he cums, pearly white ropes coating both your chests.

Yet, you keep going. You fuck him hard, and smile when laughter turns to sobs.

[duskyashe]

NaNoWriMo Day #16

[masterlist] [part one] [part three] [part four]

=============‹«⟨·•★•·⟩»›=============

Bruce sat in the bat cave, long after he'd sent his kids to bed. In his hands were the batarangs Phantom had gifted him. They were unnaturally cold in his hands, but the chill never became painful. In fact, it was strangely almost comforting.

Thinking back on Phantom, Bruce wasn't sure what to make of their meeting. The kid seemed to be a few years younger than Tim, and had all but told them he was being hunted. Phantom had come to them seeking protection from someone, or multiple someones, for himself and four others, most of which were kids. On one hand, it made his heart ache, knowing these kids had to run from their previous homes, their "haunt". On the other hand, Phantom's genuine belief that they were something beyond human was obvious and more than a bit unsettling (he ignored the part of him that reveled in that belief, the part that had him on edge before an Arkham breakout, the part that saw Phantom and whispered "other, different, like me".)

His kids had held similar reservations, though they'd all agreed Phantom wasn't a threat. His gifts, though obviously magical and not human in nature, had felt benign and were reasonably well thought out, and though the level of research each gift had symbolized was slightly worrying, Babs had assured them she'd closed all the holes in their internet security those gifts had exposed. In the end, they'd all agreed to honor Phantom's request for refuge. The kid's relief was profound and practically soul deep, which reassured Bruce they'd made the right choice.

As Bruce fiddled with his new batarangs, which held a very faint green sheen at the edges, he remembered the moment his "feeling" had reached its peak. Something had changed, something big, when he'd accepted Phantom's gifts. He still didn't know what, exactly, had happened, but he'd felt some sort of shift in the energy Gotham exuded, in his children, in him. He had felt the sense of connection between him and his children grow ever so slightly stronger, and he knew they'd felt it, too.

Bruce flipped the batarang in his dominant hand and caught it with ease, returning it to the holster with a sigh. Whatever Phantom was, whoever he was running from, whatever his presence meant for his family, and Gotham as a whole, Bruce had a feeling they'd be crossing paths with him again soon.

=============‹«⟨·•★•·⟩»›=============

Danny phased invisibly into his and Jazz's apartment, turning human as he sat at the table with a thoughtful frown on his face. Jazz looked over at him from the stove, a questioning look on her face, though she didn't pry, which he was thankful for. He needed to gather his thoughts before he explained what had happened tonight.

When Jazz placed a bowl of spaghetti in front of him, Danny took a deep breath. "You owe Sam ten bucks," he started, smiling at Jazz's soft curse. "Condor is definitely connected to death, but they're equally connected to life, and the only being or creature we know of that is perfectly balanced between life and death, that isn't a halfa, is a phoenix. They also don't have that slimy, necromantic feel liches are supposed to."

Jazz hummed as she swallowed her mouthful. "What about the others? How close were we on our guesses of them?"

"Well, Batman is definitely a guardian deity, and Gotham is definitely his territory. Ibis, who I actually interacted with, was also spot on, definitely a kitsune. You should have seen them move, Jazz, it was almost ethereal how gracefully they moved. Oh, and Starling? Definitely at least related to banshees. I don't think they're a true banshee, because that connection to death wasn't there, but they're at least related to banshees." Danny paused to take a few bites before continuing. "I think Signal is a Will-o'-the-wisp, actually. You know how I thought they'd be a vengeful spirit? Having been in their presence, I gotta say, not very vengeful. Very mischievous, somewhat malicious, but mostly protective, strangely enough. Same with Raven, they practically ooze protective vibes, along with some very pointed trickster energy. I think Raven might be some sort of protection based deity, under Batman's authority, with strong trickster leanings, which is an interesting mix in my opinion. Oh, and Robin is definitely fae, they've got a very ethereal look to them, paired with their grace and general mischievousness, there's no doubt. BlackBat is more difficult to say. I think they're either a shape changing shadow wolf or otherwise just living shadows. Even when they were illuminated by my glowy self, I could barely see them. It was trippy, I'll tell you that much right now."

They continued eating in silence for a bit before Jazz asked, "So am I signing the full lease tomorrow, or are we moving on?"

Danny grinned. "Oh no, we're good. Batman actually told me to get the others here as soon as possible." His grin mellowed to a small, warm smile. "I think he's worried about them, Jazz. When I mentioned only two of us were currently in Gotham because the others weren't able to come with us when we left, he asked if we needed help getting them here. He seemed to relax when I told him we had a plan and that they were just waiting for the go-ahead from our end."

"Are you going to call them after we finish dinner, then?" Jazz asked, taking another bite.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, Ellie will grab them in the middle of the night. They'll wait until morning with Frostbite before portaling in so we can get the lease signed." He paused, stirring his spaghetti absentmindedly as he thought. "I think," he started haltingly. "I think the bat clan aren't actually aware they're not human."

Jazz paused, spaghetti falling off her fork and back into her bowl as she stared at him in shock. "What do you mean, how could they not know their own natures? You guys pegged them as eldritch beings as soon as you discovered them, they have to know!"

"I don't know, they just. They didn't seem to understand why I was giving them gifts or behaving the way I was. They also looked very confused at a few of my gifts, like they weren't sure why I'd chosen that specific thing for them, even though it makes sense for what kind of being they are!" Danny huffed. Then he sighed. "If they don't actually know what they are, then someone needs to explain it to them. They deserve to know what they are, especially because some of their species have very specific instincts that could be very confusing, even terrifying, for someone who thinks they're human. I... Should I offer to teach them more about themselves next time I see them?"

Jazz looked at him with a small smile. "If you think they'd be receptive to it, I think that'd be for the best, especially if you're right about them thinking they're human. I highly doubt we'll be the only Fright to seek asylum here, after all."

Danny nodded. "Then tomorrow night, I'll make the offer. If we get kicked out because I offend them, then at least we'll all be together."

=============‹«⟨·•★•·⟩»›=============

This would have been longer, or at least done sooner, if I hadn't had an ocular migraine come out of nowhere earlier today (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠) but after a two hour nap, I could actually see again, so I was finally able to get to work on this ficlet! ✧⁠\⁠(⁠>⁠o⁠<⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠✧ I had a lot of fun coming up with what the members of the Batfam had managed to become due to the entire city believing them to not be human (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠) Jason was fun, cuz I hadn't really thought about what exactly liches were before, so when I realized that Voldemort from Harry Potter was basically a textbook lich, I knew I had to change my initial plan for Jason (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ but hey, now he gets super strength and the ability to heal himself from anything, including death! Much better than being able to create essentially undead thralls lol (⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)

I'm seriously hoping to continue this into at least one more part, with the Bats coming to terms with and learning more about their new supernatural status, possibly even the Justice League initiating contact with the distinctly not human protectors of Gotham, but we'll have to see what prompts I find (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

OH! ALSO! I'm so close to reaching 200 followers! When I do, I'm thinking of celebrating somehow, but I'm not sure what to do. If any of you have any ideas, please, let me know! I might take your suggestion to heart (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆ also, if I get to 260 by the 26th of this month, I'll do another celebration lol

Y'all are awesome, thank you so much! I've got some more people who asked to be tagged in this continuation, so here's hoping I get them all again! @airis-hunter, @little-pondhead, @stealingyourbones, @crystallicedart, @summerfox1988, @minnesota-fats, @edgemcjee, @fire-glass, @f4nd0m-fun, I think you all asked to be tagged (or at least heavily implied it) if I continued my fake cryptids real ghosts au, so here ya go!

Have a good morning/day/night!

[gatorbites-imagines]

Hello, I don't know if you remember me, but I sent you an order by message and you told me to send it to you again, here it is.

Hello, first of all, good day/afternoon or night.

I've been reading your latest posts, and I really love them.

If it's not too much trouble, I wanted to place an order for Tim Drake x Male Reader.

I would like the reader to be the son of trigon and for him to be a sorcerer.

That he already knows Tim when he is in civilian clothes, but at night he is a watchman who consumes the souls of criminals (I don't know if I make myself understand)

That one night he meets batman and robin (if you want you can make them have the heroes) and they try to capture him, but during the fight he starts flirting with tim and all that, but then tim realizes that the sorcerer is the person who likes (the reader) but does not tell batman to protect him. Then you can continue with the plot, but that's my main idea.

I hope I have not bothered you.

Tim Drake x Son of Trigon male reader

Headcanons

Reader is Ravens brother in this, since you know, they’re both children of Trigon. Sorry this took a while to write.

You were one of Trigons hundreds of children, but you were born around the same time as Raven and the other seven deadly sins, so you got lumped in together with them. You quite enjoyed humanity, so you found your place amongst them with ease.

You didn’t actually know about your connection to Trigon or Raven for that matter the first large chunk of your life, just that you were strange and everyone always seemed cautious of you on an instinctual level. You were also born in Gotham, which made you work harder on hiding your less than human abilities, because of Batman’s no meta rule.

You had an ability similar to your half brother Gluttony, that allowed you to consume the souls and very strength of your victims. And after your mother is fatally harmed by the rogues of Gotham, you decide to make something out of yourself.

You tended to stick to the shadows and only go after the worst of the worst, like traffickers or serial killers, knowing that most who did smaller crimes did it because they had no other choice.

Your abilities also allowed you to see a person and their souls, in the way that you can see if they are a good or bad person, which you use to find your targets.

Because of your heritage you have to use magic to hide your true appearance. As without your illusions you have multiple eyes and sharp ears, along with redder skin, all thanks to Trigon.

You go to the same school as Tim, which is where you meet for the first time. And thanks to your abilities you see that he is the best of the best when it comes to people and their morals, that he truly wants to help people, which makes you want to befriend him.

You and Tim grow closer, spending a lot of time together outside of class, which results in you visiting the manor on multiple occasions to hang out together.

Tim’s family of course tease him about you being his boyfriend, which always results in him glaring at them and blushing.

You are normally a very physically affectionate person to the people you care about, so you always hug Tim or hold his hand, or have kissed his cheek a couple of times before.

Sometime during all of this you figure out he is red robin, thanks to his soul shining so brightly in and out of costume. This happens during one of the attempts from the batfam to catch you, as they know you are killing people.

After this you can’t help yourself but make a game out of it, whenever the batclan tries to catch you, especially when its Tim. You flirt with him, blow him kisses and wink half of your four eyes.

Its four, since when you go out as your vigilante title you remove your illusions, so when the batclan sees you for the first time they can immediately tell your one of Trigons many children.

This causes some urgency to catch you, as all but Raven of Trigons children have been evil, but Tim can’t get himself to hurt you or fight you hard enough to cause lasting damage as there’s something familiar about you.

It’s when you one day catch him with magic as he slips trying to catch you, and you pull him up onto the rooftop you’re on and kiss his cheek that you realize who you are.

The way you kiss his cheek he can immediately tell it’s you, since he’s thought of the times you’ve kissed him before many times.

He ends up confronting you after observing you for a while, and when he learns you know who he is too, it becomes a little tense between you two until you both sit down and clear it up.

When Tim learns you do this to better the world, and that the people whose soul you devour are so evil they could never return to good, he doesn’t fully approve but accepts you for who you are, it helps you spend so long stalking your victims to make sure they truly are evil.

After this Tim helps hide you when the batfam are out looking for you, not that you need most of his help since your magic is so powerful. But he does use it as an excuse to spend time with you, hanging out under invisibility magic and talking on a rooftop.

At some point during all of this you two end up dating, as Tim confesses on accident during one of his rambles after not sleeping for a few days. When he realizes he confessed he tries to backpedal, until you teleport over to him and kiss him on the lips.

This keeps up for a while, you take care of your prey and Tim hiding you when you need it. He also spends slow patrol nights together with you. At some point they probably end up bringing Raven to Gotham to find you, since the rest of the batclan doesn’t know you and doesn’t know if you’re a threat.

So, your half sister ends up tracking your magic since you are family, and imagine the batfams surprise when they track you and find you and Tim kissing like teenagers on a rooftop on top of a blanket in the middle of a picnic date.

It leads to a lot of yelling and embarrassment, and then scolding from Bruce, and then Tim introducing you, his boyfriend, to his family. This is also when you meet your half sister for the first time, who’s happy to meet you when she finds out your life herself, fighting for good and have turned your back on your shared father.

Bruce still isn’t happy about your killing, so you tune it down even more. You leave your prey alive, but they wish they were dead, lets just leave it at that. The batfam crank up their teasing even more when they learn who you are outside of masks, causing Tim to yell at them to get out of his room and throw pillows at them.

At some point you probably join young just us, Tim’s team. Kon, Bart, and Cassie are just happy Tim’s happy, and they also brag about having a strong sorcerer on their team now too.

[burritowitch]

the. the actual reason why in batman they're having jon be the one to team up with tim to find bruce is because now that both tim and kon are confirmed to be queer the writers couldnt find a way to have tim go to kon and have kon tell tim he believes him again without them kissing. its true. chip zdarsky told me himself.

[centralperkchenford]

Chenford + are you afraid to be with me?+ heated argument and kiss?

This is probably much softer than you imagined but it kind of had a mind of its own and this was born.

Chenford + are you afraid to be with me?+ heated argument and kiss? + Chenford ❤️ + Lucy is scared of her feelings for Tim (pre-relationship)

Cause I don't know how it gets better than this You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless

“Lucy is afraid to be with me.” Tim says to Angela one day. His best friend turns to look at him her eyebrows raised. He knows this is random and Angela is probably undoubtedly confused but he has to talk to someone about this. Angela is his best bet even if it’s when she’s sitting at her desk working.

“What?”

“Lucy she’s—she called me her most important relationship in her life. And that’s why she’s afraid to be with me because she’s afraid something will happen and—” Tim trails off noting the look of shock on Angela’s face.

“How- when..” begins Angela. “Why did she call you that?”

“We had a talk in the shop and she’s not happy with Chris so—”

Angela sits up straighter and looks at Tim directly in the eyes. “Timothy I thought you didn’t have feelings for Lucy?” And her voice has a teasing tone to it. If anyone could see through Tim, it was Angela.

Tim scoffs because he was kidding himself when he told Angela that a few months back. Everything that happened after Vegas and beginning with the kiss in her apartment confused the hell out of him. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling for Lucy back then. He wasn’t sure if it was just pent up emotions or something more.

He knew now of course that it was more. For both of them. He still couldn’t get Lucy’s words out of his head.

Of course I’m scared. If we do this and it doesn’t work. I will have ruined the most important relationship in my life.

He assured her it was worth the risk. Because it was. She was.

“Is she still afraid?” Asks Angela. Tim shrugs his shoulders. He really wasn’t sure what Lucy was feeling now. He knew she’s planning on breaking up with Chris, and he gets it. She wants to do it right, he doesn’t necessarily like the guy but he doesn’t deserve to be lead on.

“Tim you can’t just leave me hanging like this.” Angela complains. “You and Lucy actually talked about your feelings. That’s huge.”

“I don’t know okay? I asked her on a date but she- said she has to it end it with Chris first.”

“Fair enough.” Says Angela. “Has she done that yet?”

“No.” He replies and the word tastes bitter in his mouth. He doesn’t want to rush Lucy, but he also wants her so his brain and heart are saying two different things. One is let Lucy take her time to end it with Chris and the other is telling him to go to her and demand she break up with Chris now.

“Do you think she’s having second thoughts?” Asks Angela and Tim looks at her and then looks around the bullpen. He finds Lucy and she’s talking to Aaron. He smiles softly when she catches him looking. She smiles back and Tim’s heart starts to race. He turns back to Angela who is watching him in fond amusement.

“No. I think she’s just trying to do this right. She really doesn’t want to hurt Chris too bad.”

Angela nods and then turns back to her work. Tim sighs and he really hopes he is right. He hopes she isn’t having second thoughts about them. He isn’t a guy who has wanted a lot in his life, he’s used to be disappointed when things don’t work out. But this is one thing he doesn’t thing he would ever recover from. He’s so close to being with Lucy, he can taste it. But he knew Lucy is true to her word and she will do what she promised she would. So he’s not nervous. He’s hopeful.

It’s a couple weeks later and Tim is sitting in his truck with Lucy. He looks over at her and he can’t help but smirk. Her hair is slightly messed up and her lips are red and swollen from the make out session they just had.

She catches him looking and rolls her eyes. “Don’t be smug.” She chastises him. That only makes his smirk grow bigger. He leans over to kiss her again and she responds eagerly despite the eye roll earlier. Tim really can’t believe this is his life right now. He’s dating Lucy Chen, and making out with her in his truck like some lovestruck teenagers. He feels like a lovestruck teenager and surprisingly he doesn’t mind one bit.

“Are you ready?” She asks him and she’s pulling away from him ignoring his noise of protest. He sighs and leans back in his seat missing the warmth of her immediately. She’s smoothing her hair down and reapplying her lipstick.

“If my mother makes one comment about my appearance it’s all your fault.” She tells him. This time he rolls his eyes.

“I seem to remember you were a very willing participant.” He reached over to smooth back her hair a little more. She smiles at him gratefully.

“Thanks for doing this with me. I know it’s a little soon but—” Tim cuts her off with a kiss this time gentle and soft.

“Luce I would do anything for you even if uncomfortable and tense.” Lucy pulls away from him an unreadable expression on her face.

“Tim are you sure? I can just go in there alone. She doesn’t even know you’re coming.”

Tim looks at her fondly. “Yes. Lucy I am sure. Now let’s go.”

Lucy nods but she doesn’t look at him. She opens the door of the truck and hops out. Tim glances at her for a minute before doing the same.

He makes his way around his truck and holds out his hand for Lucy to take. She does look at him this time and smiles. She loops her hand in him and he gives it a gentle squeeze wanting to remind her he’s right there.

They make their way into the restaurant and Lucy spots her mother right away. She’s sitting straight up in a booth. Tim has never met Vanessa Chen. He never thought he actually would, he thought he would just hear stories from Lucy about how judgmental and disproving she was of her and her career choices.

Lucy pauses right before they get to the table and turns to Tim. Her face is panicked and Tim can feel her shaking.

“Luce.” He says rubbing his hand up and down her arm. “It’s okay. We will sit down and hear what she has to say and then leave.”

Lucy nods and squeezes his hand tighter and then practically drags Tim to the table where her mother sits.

Tim waits for Lucy to slide into the booth and then he follows her.

Vanessa Chen looks up and immediately notices Tim.

“Lucy.” She nods at her daughter and Lucy nods back stiffly.

“Who are you?” She directs her attention to Tim fixing him with a piercing glare.

“Tim Bradford ma’am.” He says and Vanessa’s eyes narrow.

“That name sounds familiar. Lucy?” She turns to her daughter now and Tim notices Lucy is fidgeting with her hands in her lap.

“He’s my-” She glances at Tim quickly and the unreadable expression is back on her face. “He’s my boyfriend mom.”

Despite how awkward and uncomfortable this whole thing is Tim can’t help but feel a bit of pride at Lucy calling him her boyfriend.

“I can see that.” Vanessa snaps. “But what I mean is why does his name sound familiar. Is he a cop too?”

Lucy’s face fell and he knows exactly where her mother is going with this. She probably complained about him during her rookie year and what an asshole he was. He knows Vanessa isn’t concerned about her dating him because of that but rather because he’s a cop.

“Yes. He’s a sergeant at Mid Wilshire.”

Vanessa nods curtly but doesn’t say anything more. The disapproval written all over her face.

After a few minutes of silence Lucy finally speaks up.

“What did you want to talk to me about mom?”

Vanessa doesn’t answer right away. She glances at Tim before turning back to Lucy.

“Well I know this nice family who has a son your age and I was going to ask if you wanted to meet him.”

Tim blinks several times and then turns to his girlfriend to gauge her reaction. Her face is a look of shock which is pretty much how he feels. Her mother asked to meet her to see if she wanted to be set up with a stranger? She couldn’t of done this over the phone? It definitely would of been less awkward and tense for Lucy.

“You were going to set me up with a stranger?” She manages to get out. “Why would you even..”

“I don’t know Lucy. You haven’t made the best decisions about your life recently and-”

“It’s my life.” She hisses across the table. “I don’t need you to dictate every single aspect of my life. I am happy. I have a career I love, friends who support me and Tim who-” she looks at him quickly. “Tim never judges me. He supports me no matter what, he encourages me and he trusts me.”

Vanessa opens her mouth to say something but Lucy nudges Tim to stand up before she can. Tim stands up quickly and Lucy follows him.

“You and dad have never supported me. Even when I was doing what you wanted. You just wanted to mold me to what you wanted. This is me mom. I am who I am despite you trying to change me or guilt trip me. We will never get along or see eye to eye because I’m not who you want me to be.”

She tugs on Tim’s hand and drags him out of the restaurant before Vanessa can say anything more.

They walk quietly to the truck and Tim can feel Lucy shaking. Tim has half a mind to March back in the restaurant and give Vanessa Chen a piece of his mind. To tell her how amazing her daughter is, how thoughtful and emphatic she is. How she’s one of the best cops he knows because of her empathy.

But he doesn’t he just leads Lucy to his truck and watches as she climbs in.

He goes to the driver’s side and slides in. It’s quite as he starts the truck. He turns to her.

“Lucy.” He begins but he really doesn’t really know what to say. Lucy interrupts him before he can say anything else though. She looks determined and nervous at the same time.

“Why do you want to be with me!” She asks and he turns more fully to look at her.

“What?”

“Why do you want to be with me?” She repeats and she doesn’t look at him. “I have such a judgmental mother. I have relationship issues I mean look how long it took me to admit it wasn’t working with Chris. You probably think I’m going to flake and—”

Tim frowns at her, something suddenly occurring to him. “Lucy.. Are you afraid to be with me?” She looks at him with wide eyes.

“No I-” She shakes her head and Tim noticed tears forming in her eyes. His heart breaks a little.

“Then why are you questioning me? I thought when we started this you knew I was all in. I am all in Lucy. Judgmental mothers and all. But are you all in?” He knows he probably sounds frustrated and until now he thought they were on the same page.

Lucy is silent for a long minute and Tim’s heart starts racing. What if she thinks we aren’t worth it?

But that can’t be. They haven’t even slept together yet but Tim knows this is it for him.

“Yes Tim. I’m all in. Of course I am. It just sometimes I can’t believe you want to be with me. I know everyone has their scars and their issues. I know I do. I know you do too.”

“Lucy..” he starts but she shakes her head holding up her hand. “No. Listen. You would do anything for me. I mean you came and met with my mother and we have only been together a few weeks. It scares me sometimes to be honest because I have never had someone care for me as much as you do. Someone who puts me before themselves, everyone in my life has always put themselves first and our relationships have fallen apart. Except maybe with Jackson. He was always there for me but he’s gone. And ever since than you have been there and you always put me first.

Tim sighs and leans towards her a slight smile on his face. It breaks his heart that she thought she didn’t have anyone who put her first. He would always do that. It was just what he did.

“Lucy you are worth it. You are worth putting first. You are worth everything. Okay?”

Lucy nods and wide smile spreads across her face and Tim sighs in relief.

“You are worth it too.” She leans forward and kisses him and putting all the unspoken words into the kiss.

They were worth it and they always would be.

[effieandtim]

AND IM FUCKING HAUNTED BY HOW THEY SHOWED SKIPPY GOING TO HAWK FOR COMFORT AGTER HE QUIT HIS JOB. AND HE WAS DRUNK AND UNCOORDINATED. the breathless delivery of ‘quit…. i quit my job’ the way he hesitated he couldnt bring himself to even say it outloud. and then him admitting to hawk that he doesnt know what to believe anymore AND HAWK SAYS I SHOULD HAVE LEFT YOU ALONE WITH THE LOOK IN HIS EYEBLIKE HE KNEW THIS WAS COMING BUT NOT IN A I TOLD YOU SO WAY BUT AN I WISH I COULD HV PROTECTED YOU I WISHED I STOPPED THIS FROM HAPPENING BUT THATS WHAT HAWK CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND !!!! that to love is to let people know you even if it hurts. hawk does not understand honesty he cannot allow himself to. but he understands skippy, he cannot help it. AND HOLY SHIT JONATHAN BAILEY……. his desperation in ‘please please just take me upstairs’ its almost like hes about to throw out and hes just choking out the words like hawk being able to hold him would make him breath again. and hawk just. breaks his heart and lets skippy walk away. wordless.

AND THE AUDACITY TO CUT FROM THAT DO LUCY AND HER DAD AND THEN THE FUNERAL AND THEN HAWK GOES TO SKIPPY FOR COMFORT AND. skippy just gives it. he follows hawk even though he doesnt trust him. he holds him and comforts him and tells hawk not to write.

i can FEEL your emotions through this ask and honestly same😭

woah that scene was SO GOOD JONATHAN BAILEY THE ACTOR THAT YOU ARE

no fr like tim was so distressed bc everything he knew when he came to that city had proven to be a lie - his political beliefs, his internal war with his religion as well - and ron mentioned in that new interview that he was disillusioned by hawk as well bc of how easily he lied and how cunning he could be

he was so disoriented so he NEEDED that comfort and there was no one else who could give it to him other than hawk😭

he was so desperate for something familiar - the only thing he probably believed in at that point to be true and pure - his love for hawk and he needed to feel that

but then hawk broke his heart😭

that definitely pushed him to enlist bc what else was left for him on that place - esp after hawks reveal of his plans to marry lucy

i have got another ask about the parallels between how hawk and tim differ in providing comfort so i will probably speak more there but yeah you are so right, tim just gives him that comfort no questions asked

[reyesstrand]

fic stats meme

thanks for the tag @rmd-writes & @chaotictarlos (edit: & @welcometololaland who’s tag i saw moments after posting ajdnsjd) <3

rules: give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words. (i’m going to be excluding prompt collections here, and only doing lone star works! )

most hits: lit the spark (that set a fire) (tarlos)

It's Judd who explains it to them; that before the accident and before the station was rebuilt from the ground up, the 126 had a long-standing, friendly rivalry with Ladder 102. Their golden boy, Carlos Reyes, well—he kind of knocks TK off his feet.

second most kudos: wanna be still with you (tarlos)

He's too focused on keeping himself upright, feeling woozy from the exertion, that there's a sort of hazy quality to everything around him. TK hears his name being called, and he's—he's certain it's his mind playing tricks on him; he has to be in some dreamlike state where Carlos has found them. But then he feels hands on him—big, sturdy, warm hands he would recognize blindfolded—and he turns his head and sees worried brown eyes and he just about crumbles.

Thankfully, he has Carlos there to catch him.

third most comments: tried and true blue (owen & tk/tarlos)

"She knows," Owen says, his eyes almost too sincere for TK to handle. He clamps his molars together and just stares at his father, because if he lets himself think too hard about all the ways his mom is still here, somehow, he'll probably burst into tears. Owen gives him a sad smile. "She does, TK. She used to talk about when you'd get married all the time."

There's a pause, and TK curls his fingers tighter around his mug, letting everything simmer between them.

"When I got married," TK quietly repeats. "Not if?"

fourth most bookmarks: to be reborn (tarlos)

In a flurry of movement, TK wakes up. TK tells him, voice soft and rough around the edges: "Breathe." And at that moment, Carlos knows the rest can wait.

fifth most words: to which there is no reply (tarlos)

Everything about TK makes him forget. But then it all comes back to him slowly, not unlike a spark to kindling, leaving Carlos swallowing down his grief like the fire it is—trying to consume it all by himself so he’s the only one who feels the burn.

He glances out the half-open window, and sees the white dots of birds drifting on the low tide, and he wonders how he’s supposed to leave it all. The salty air, the pleasant sun, the way TK walks without a line of tension in his shoulders. He knows they’ve transcended all different sorts of honeymoon phases since they gave their relationship a real go a few years ago; he knows that they’ll still be them once Owen picks them up from Austin-Bergstrom and they go home to the loft and work and responsibilities and Lou II. But he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to go back to a life without his father.

fic with the least words: hold on to me (nancy/marjan)

She tries to keep herself focused on tiny tasks as she prepares to go home; the shower had been blissful, but now she longs for her own bed. Cap had told them they’d be able to take a few days off to grieve, and so she grabs the dog-eared paperback Carlos leant her a week or two ago and her headphones from her bunk and stuffs it all into her bag, approaching the stairs as she goes. It’s then that Marjan hears it, tiny but distinctive in the quiet firehouse: a thud, followed by the sound of frustrated cries, all suspiciously coming from the ambulance bay.

Marjan moves quickly, maneuvering deftly around workbenches and supplies in the bay, biting on the inside of her cheek when she sees the source of the noise: Nancy, hunched over in front of Tim’s locker, staring down at the box of his belongings that’s tipped over onto its side.

no pressure tagging @paperstorm @theghostofashton @freneticfloetry @alrightbuckaroo @carlos-in-glasses @rosedavid @heartstringsduet @beautifulhigh @marjansmarwani @terramous @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut and anybody else who’d like to try this out! <3

[squarebracketsmileyface]

obsessed by olivia rodrigo feels like. jay talking abt amy

Oh definitely, tho there was a point where I was thinking of making it so that the feelings between Jay and Amy were like, where AMY was the one kinda jealous of Jay. That fell through pretty quick tho because it just wouldn't work. It didn't feel right lol (shocker)

This, and misery business by Paramour actually, work pretty well for Jay talking about Amy in Sorry, It's Locked. That was the song that made me think "hey what if Amy was kinda jealous over Alex", specifically the line "I watched his wildest dreams come true and not one of them involving you" cos like, yeah that kinda happened. Alex got a healthy, happy relationship with Amy for at least a couple years before the Operator caught up with him, and that life didn't involve Jay at all, y'know? But the idea of Amy being kinda spiteful and jealous just didn't sit right with me from the miniscule bit we see of her in actual MH.

She seems to kind and reasonable and, y'know, not a creepy dick like Jay is 💀

JAY BEING JEALOUS OVER ALEX BEING WITH AMY THO????? HOOOOOOOOOO BOY

Definitely

Definitely definitely definitely

I think it'd be one of those things that didn't stick around for super long, but like, for about a year or so after Alex "broke up with him" in uni and moved away to live with Amy Jay was VERY much "obsessed with Amy because she "stole" Alex from him. And sure yeah yeah Alex and Amy weren't Exes at that point (I'd argue they still aren't because Amy's dead, they didn't break up she died. She's not his ex girlfriend she's his late girlfriend, y'know?) but still, the general vibe of Obsessed by Olivia Rodrigo still stands.

For a year or so Jay was obsessed with Amy almost as much as he was obsessed with Alex, it was just that it was like a hate obsession rather than a love one? He probably just wouldn't shut up about it to their friends. (Fixing this by saying Tim simply forgot because operator shit between uni and S,IL lmao, so it's fiiiiine, he just doesn't remember that jay told him and their other friends so much about his and Alex's FWB relationship in uni. Hooray for memory loss! A writer's best friend when you're writing shit not in chronological order and aren't gonna go fix it all in a second and third draft lol)

I think Jay would still feign ignorance over why Alex moved away, partly because he can't bring himself to believe it is his fault, which it kinda is (because I do plan on making Alex moving away kinda a direct result of Jay's actions across their relationship, because I love using that pathetic wet cat of a man as my personal human punching bag) and he'd act like Amy just stole Alex away from him for no reason, rather than the reason being that Amy talked to alex and was like "hey, the way Jays treating you isnt okay" because she only hears alexs side of the story.

She's still right of course. The way Jay's treating him ISNT okay. It's shit. But they were both shit to each other in uni y'know?

Anyway yeah for a while jay talked about Amy fucking constantly to his friends because he felt 'wronged' by her because she stole Alex from her. (Probably making that a thing where she was like "hey how about you come stay with me for a little bit while your hands are healing up" —yeah hes gonna fuck up his hands, its gonna be a whole thing, you'll see it in chapter 6 of if it aint broken— and Alex agrees and then just, never goes back, he gets all his stuff moved to Amy's and enrolls at her uni instead and all that)

ALSO that line in Obsessed about watching every movie she's been in is PERFECT. I feel like Amy definitely was in at least a couple scenes of Alex's marble hornets, maybe as a background character or in some scrapped scenes, and Jay has watched them all a million times trying to pick her apart and find out why she was better than him, what about her made Alex pick her. He refuses to believe Alex is just straight, and he IS right but like... That would be a reasonable reason for him to stop "experimenting" and get a girlfriend lol

Jay also definitely remembers every detail Alex ever told him about Amy, or that he found out himself. I do think he'd at least TRY to do a little stalking of her and Alex once he moves away. Not a huge amount, he catches himself pretty quickly and tries to convince himself he just doesn't care enough to want to find out more about how Alex is doing now he's with Amy. But like, idk he definitely at least, like, Facebook stalked them or something lmfao. Even if it didn't get up to in person stalking like he got to in MH, he was definitely at least a little weird about them.

[fuckyeahtimlincecum]

Timothy Leroy Lincecum (/ˈlɪnsəkʌm/LIN-sə-kum; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "The Freak", "The Franchise", "The Freaky Franchise" and "Big Time Timmy Jim", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. 

They haven't outright said it, but I know it deep down. Baseball keeps its records, but it also goes forward, moves on. They want Kyle Harrison to be the next Tim Lincecum, but he'll never be. Correction: I don't want him to be. I don't want anyone else to wear the number 55, literally and metaphorically.

Yet in many ways, he'd be a better tim than Tim ever was. Local boy out of high school, younger and stronger and whiter.

Local white boy with straight white teeth and short hair who won't get misdemeanors. Who won't slide down the railings or walk on his hands. Local boy from the high school run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers of the District of San Francisco. A good local boy who will always ice his arm and do what he's told. Who sticks to his meal plans and curated workouts. No foul language on camera. No benders or binges. No dip or chew. A phenom without the freak mechanics, the unorthodox delivery. Without the constant questioning: is he too fragile? too feminine? queer? too good to be true? why is his velocity going down? why isn't he throwing to buster posey? what's wrong? is something wrong? where did the speed go? is it time to worry now? did he lose it? will he ever be good again? will he ever regain his command? was he always meant to fade out? to break? just a spark in the pan? ...... was he a fluke?

Kyle is the future of the Giants. Kyle is the first Giants starter since, Kyle is the youngest Giants pitcher since. kyle is, kyle is, kyle is.

Everyone is excited on social media. Everyone is cheering in the stands. Another strikeout. Nine strikeouts thru four innings. "it's kyle harrison day," I see on my feed. Every five days it was Lincecum day. "Happy Timmy Day." Fans greeted each other going into the ballpark. Teachers told me in class as I wore my jersey. It was what we looked forward to. Sometimes it was all we had. "Happy Timmy Day." Lincecum Day was a sea of 55 inside the ballpark. Any day was a sea of 55. When the stars aligned, he'd be the one I'd get to see during the handful of games I'd attend for the year. The Franchise. The king Freak amongst all the other misfits. It was The House That Bonds Built, but the hearts that Tim won. The community that Tim rejuvenated with his infectious boyish joy and his demanding dominating presence coexisting in that wiry frame. In the stands, I wouldn't breathe. I'd try not to blink. I wouldn't eat while he pitched. It didn't matter the count - I'd cheer and encourage him like I was the only one who could see him, like he could hear me too.

At home, I had my own posters filled with K's. I'd pen in the dates of each strikeout. I'd sit on the floor and hold my breath there too. Echo Kruk's advice as if my voice could still reach him. Could ever reach him.

After two Cy Youngs, I inherited this blog and would write a recap every start. The highs and lows. Then more lows than highs. Then many, many lows. At the end, mostly lows. I couldn't follow him as easily on the Angels. I didn't want to follow him there. Angel red hurt just as much as Dodger blue. And seeing him continue to flounder hurt too much. Because I lived and died over every pitch. Every good start. Every bad start. Every swing and a miss, and every missed pitch. Every blister and bone spur. Every missed start and pulled botched outing. Through more questioning, always questioning: how much fault was the degenerative condition and how much was the mechanics? Who's to blame? His father, who taught him? Rags, who famously left him alone? Himself, for being too stubborn to change? To accept the inevitable? Who's to say? In videos compiled years afterward, "fans" arguing was it worth it, knowing he would fade away? How many "good years" were there? 2007-2011? 2008-2010? Is that it? Is that all you really count? How do you value a player? Even deep in his mechanical funk, he threw two no-hitters. Even falling off, combusting and collapsing, he's still a three-time World Series Champion. Is that really still not "good" enough? More arguments in the comments: do they really count if they're against the same team? against the padres? and should he really have made that 2014 team? He was the only player who wasn't used in the division and championship games. Did he throw too much? Was he pushed too hard? Will we ever know? Why are they so entitled to know?

They want him to be the next 55, but does Kyle need to be? I don't want him to be. On one hand, all the Kyles I've known in my life have disappointed me. Not immediately, but it was always a matter of time. I don't want him to be because Tim will always be. Tim will always be my favorite player, my eternal childhood crush, my sense of awe and wonder. The split-finger change is something I'll never forget. It took my breath away each and every time. It was a small miracle I got to relive for as long as he pitched on the mound. I wish I could have said goodbye, like we did for Zito, for Romo. Like we did for so many other Forever Giants. It didn't have to be for a game. Maybe just an inning. Maybe just a few words before a game. But none of us got official closure. He was there, and then he was gone.

On the mound, another strikeout. Ten strikeouts - "Have a night, kid." It only took him two starts to get to double digits. Another strikeout. Eleven strikeouts total. I'm irrationally bitter about it, irrationally touchy and tender. They want Kyle to be the next Tim - but look where that got Tim. Private Tim put on the pedestal, then hung out to dry. On the other hand, do we expect too much? Do we celebrate and elevate too early? "Tim Lincecum's Greatness Didn't Last." Where's Tim now? And how is he? Headlines of "What Happened to Tim Lincecum?" "What's wrong with Tim Lincecum?" "Where Has Tim Lincecum Been Hiding?" Various journalism bounties for who could get the scope first from the elusive Seattle recluse. But how is he, really? “You got your baseball life, and you kind of detach that and be a regular person," he said in 2018. "That’s the way I always approached it.’’ He never Really retired, not really. Despite the accolades, some of which only three pitchers have achieved across all of the sport, he won't make it into the hall of fame. Won't come back to the ballpark anyway, save once for Boch. Does that still make him a Forever Giant? Does that make him a "bad" Giant? Is he really that much worse than Koufax and Verlander?

from 2018:

“I was battling with that process, constantly wrestling with it,’’ he says, “Do I need to stay in the game? Have I done everything I felt I needed to do? ... The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I care about (baseball) so much. It’s part of my identity. ... Granted, I’ve gone through all of the questions asking myself whether this is worth it. I’ve accomplished a lot, and the accolades are great. It helps you remember parts of the game, how you got there, and who was involved. But it’s hard when you feel like you’re on your way out. You start to have battles with thoughts you never did before. I tried to detach myself to gain perspective. I had a lot of options what to do with the rest of my life, but baseball is all that I’ve known. I want to do whatever I can to keep my career going, no matter how much time I have left in the game. Really, I just want to go out on my own terms.’’

Top of the seventh inning. Kyle Harrison leaves to a thunderous standing ovation. In living rooms behind their screens, more standing ovations. I clap, but I feel empty. "He was spectacular." "He was the story tonight." "A historic performance." I stop. I can't.

6.1 IP 3H 0R 0ER 2BB 11K

It feels like Tim has finally retired. It feels like #55 has finally died. Everyone is giving Kyle a standing ovation, and I am seated and sobbing. Maybe some will argue that Kyle is worthy enough of wearing 55. If that happens, I don't know if I could ever watch his starts in the rotation again. (Un)Happy Harrison day to me. Maybe I'm just the bad Giants fan. I can't help it. It feels like the rug has been swept out from my feet.

The "Former" sticks out in "is an American former professional baseball pitcher." Tim Lincecum is? No, Tim Lincecum was.

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

What happened after batmom left? Did she come back? I honestly hope she didn't because Bruce doesn't deserve her.

Bruce stopped at the threshold of the training room. You were working with Tim. Recovered enough to spar you were in the ring with him and ostensibly 'breaking all the bad habits' that he'd learned from Bruce while you were gone.

And he couldn't breathe for just a second. He walked through the room, keeping to the edges and folded his arms as he stepped just into your field of vision.

"Sir-" Alfred started, But Bruce only shook his head.

"I can't end this until she'll have it out with me," Bruce said. "Just don't let her kill me."

Alfred snorted, "Of course not. I wouldn't let her live with that."

In spite of himself, Bruce smiled a little. "How did you go from intense dislike to taking to her side?"

"She's right more often," Alfred sniffed, watching Bruce make his way towards the ring when Tim stepped away to get a drink of water.

Dick apparently saw what was happening and grabbed Tim and then turned to grab Damian, pausing when they got to Alfred, "Don't let her-"

"I assure you I will not," Alfred said, feeling grim as he watched you unwrap your hands.

"I want to watch," Damian demanded.

"No you don't," Dick said. He'd only seen the two of you actually get into it once. And extenuating circumstances- mind control or no. The things he heard made his skin crawl.

___________

If Bruce hadn't been ready, you would have had him down appallingly fast. As it stood, he knew that all he could do was let you have this out with him.

Years of pain, anger, and fear that you'd shoved down out of the way in service of the mission. In service of taking care of him- and the children. And the mission.

There was no talking. There wasn't time. All he could do was either take it or stay out of the way- he wouldn't hit you back. And when you start to cry, the rage burning its self out and leaving you feeling raw and exhausted, he caught your wrist.

"Don't fucking touch me," you spat.

He dropped it, quickly, but didn't rock back. He just waited. You'd not spoken to him for months. Not a word. And he knew you'd spent a long time, sitting with everything.

This wasn't just about Talia. Not anymore. Not when he let this sit for so long. And when you started in; the fury of it all washed over him. Every sin laid bare. Even if it wasn't logical. Or true.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart," he said, catching you before you hit the mat. Sure he felt like you'd flayed him alive. But he couldn't let you go. Not now. All he could do was rock you and let you cry. "I'm so fucking sorry."

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" you murmur, whimpering.

"Nothing-"

"Then why wasn't I enough?"

Bruce hugged you a little harder and rested his cheek on your head, "It wasn't about you. I just- it sounds stupid but when I fucked up, I couldn't tell you. I was a coward and I told myself that if I didn't tell you I could protect you."

And when you start to cry all over again, he felt sick. This was worse than the beating he just took. This was worse than the screaming. All that was left was the pain you'd had to keep you company when there was nothing to fill the empty space. Things you kept hidden so well even he didn't know they were there.

"I love you," he breathed, kissing your temple and taking the icepack Alfred proffered quietly. And when you hid your face in his chest he isn't sure if that made it better or worse.

[prettysweetprettysweet]

y'all I must draw your attention to just how funny Dale is in the poolside convo scene with Tim

As a reminder, this is the dialogue:

Dale: You seem...totally obsessed with my personal life. ... (accusing tone) You never talk about yourself. (*huff*) You never, ever disclose anything about you.

Tim: Oh, is there something you want to know?

Dale: No, actually. I, I think people's personal lives should stay personal. (*looks away super casually*)

Tim: You know, my personal life...is, uh...it's not a secret or anything like that, its...I just don't advertise it.

Dale: *does THIS*

*shrugs, sort of half rolls his eyes, does a catty little head shake, looks away like he is totally not interested, not in the slightest, despite hanging on to every word

Dale is trying very hard to keep his true motivations veiled with disinterest and its comically lacking in subtlety. He more-or-less accuses Tim of withholding information about himself but then follows it up with a 'not that I care!'. But its obvious that Dale has been desperate to find out if Tim is really gay after Helen told him he's 'gay Tim from camera.' When Tim begins to talk about how he doesn't advertise his personal life, Dale does that little ^ performance of gestures that reads to me like 'yeah obviously that's what i'm saying i don't care' but in reality, inwardly, he is eagerly attuned to every word Tim speaks because he wants to know more about him so, so badly. :)

[jcryptid]

The Magnus (fic rec) Archives

This one has been literally years in the making and a true testiment to the power of hyperfixation and what I could maybe do if my brain decided something like graduating highschool was actually really interesting.

I'm sure my fic preferences will be made very much clear as you read this, so do keep in mind said preferences might not allign with yours. I have included a lot of Whump, H/C and angst in my list, so if you're not into that sort of thing, that's fine, have a nice day. I've also got some content warnings in my descriptions as well for the more... intense....whump?... yeah let's go with that.

(Most are all Jmart, but there's some JonTim, some LonelyEyes on the side, and the occassional OG archivist squad polyamory, anything tagged as Jon/Elias is 100% in some kind of whump scenario)

Rec list and key under the cut (^o^)/

Key:

Bold = 11/10 fic, very much had me thinking about if for way longer than I should have, recommending it way too many times than is necessary and pretty regularly rereading it

Purple italics = didn't quite have the same earth shattering effect as the bold fics, but very much worth a read all the same

Plain text = it's up there fam, but not quite on the same level as the purple italics or bold fics

The garden of forking paths - by bibliocratic

After killing Elias and presumably setting the world back the way it was Jon and Martin find themselves falling through the doors of the distortion, holding each other tight and doing everything they can to not let go. It's only when Jon wakes up later to an archivist named Sasha and the Tim he used to know waving an axe in his face that he realizes that wherever somewhere else was, he came through alone.

First fic I ever read for TMA that I connected with really, written midway through season 5 so we pretty much ignore any canon ending, but I don’t think any of us are particularly complaining about that one considering the sheer amount of fix its. (Completed)

Out There, Somewhere - Artyphex

Jon wakes up, blind and alone and bleeding out having been spat out of the crack between realities after the end of the world and now finds himself alone, alone and in pain, entirely alone in a way he's never felt before, in a world that is not his with no one he knows and loves beside him. And he is left to search, with unseeing eyes and shaking words for the one person he needs to know is okay. (Completed)

They keep trying to row away (series) - by assigned_Jon_Kin_Again (sparrow0), blackwood (transjon), radula (stickpenalties), screechfox, skvadern

Body horror mermaid fic that breaks my heart in the best way, feat. Archivist Sasha and maybe a polyamory between the 4 main archivist crew? Either way a hurt/comfort mermaid fic that I can't stop coming back to. If you're a big fan of Whump and excessive angst with the sweat relief of comfort this is the fic for you, but please for the love of god pay attention to the Trigger Warnings. (Series complete)

Family, Found - Dribblescribbles

Basira was there for the unknowing, she was there when Elias told them all to their faces that he was a bastard who was using them for something none of them could understand, and ever since the unknowing she's been doing whatever she could, taking whatever scraps of investigations she could to find the answers. And of all the people it had to be Helen who helped her figure it out. Because Jon is not a monster, but the Web and the Eye are doing their damn best to make him one, and she's going to make sure that the others working for the archives aren't doing the same. (One Shot)

My witness brings me Into existence - by driflew

A take on Not!Jon au with an exploration on what happens if he comes back and the experiences he has to deal with as someone who cannot be physically remembered but still wants to help out Sasha and the others, even if Elias, the one person who seems to know him, won't let him.

This one has me feeling a lot of things, currently existing as just a One shot but I'm still crossing my fingers from some extra additions to the series, and boy does this one have me coming back on the regular. (Completed fic, Series ongoing)

Not a Second Thought - by i_can_do_fics

An alternate take on Not!Jon, specifically involving the web instead of the stranger. Where people aren't replaced, but thin unseeable strings of spider silk force his hand and his tongue and his body in no way he can resist. And after everything that'd happened since this all started, he's not quite sure it's a bad thing. (One shot)

Miles to Go before I sleep - by AuralQueer

Sleep Dep. Hurt Comfort Set S4, feat. A Jon who is putting himself through way too much crap but honestly that's just par for the course. (One shot)

Beastly Behavior - by Prim_the_Amazing

Martin is a man struck by a curse, a curse that is vindictive and cruel and cast by someone he will always love despite everything she's done to him. Jon is a man on the run from a monster of his own, a man with all the power in the world to take everything he has left of himself for his own entertainment. Two men with two tasks, a mother and a grandmother, both dying in their beds and both losing a part of their freedom and themselves trying to save them. Both terrified of the world they live in, of the person they grow to love, of the people they may be becoming.

A Beauty and the Beast au with a bit of a twist, and a happy ending well worth the wait. (Completed)

The Sea Calls Me Home - mothjons

Martin Blackwood takes a job at Peter Lukas's estate in exchange for his mother's care and

their housing for his service. It's not a pretty job, it's not anything Martin would have picked for himself but nothing he'd had ever would be and he's resigned himself to that fact, no matter how much it hurts. And then he meets a strange man by the sea, and god knows all the secrets and the pain of loving someone is the one choice he knows for certain he'd never give up.

Not going to lie this one had by ugly crying by the end. A great and honestly very angsty take on Mer Jon x Martin but also set during the height of WWI and I promise you there is of course a happy ending they both deserve. (Complete)

Head in the Lion's Mouth - by renwhit

Au where Danny is alive, damaged goods but alive. So when a certain archivist, possibly delirious and in pain, narrows his eyes and tells him he looks familiar in a way the other uncanny circus members don't, it sparks something in him he can't explain and for the first time in over a decade the ringmaster has a name. (Series is ongoing)

Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me - by ghostfrog

A cute ongoing fic where Jon becomes a teacher after Martin singlehandedly stops the apocalypse at the end of S4, and because they're both trying to move on with their lives Jon becomes an English teacher for a local school, where he has a class that are a bit too observant, and maybe just a bit too into cryptids.

There Are Monsters In These Woods - by DoilySpider

Once upon a time there was a prince of a kingdom named blackwood, with a wicked stepfather who wanted him dead. One day the prince asked his stepfather what he could do to claim the crown that they both knew was rightfully his, and the stepfather told him that a king must be brave, and to prove it he must then slay the beast of eyes.

Once upon a time there was a man named Jonathan Sims, a man who sought whatever knowledge and magic it would take to be able to protect those he loved from the monsters that took everything from him; and so he went to see the Mage Magnus, who would only be making him just one more.

Dark Fairytale au? Well that's what you get I suppose when the fandom is based around a horror podcast. All I can say really is that I love the world-building on this one, and the writing, featuring a happily ever after we all know they all deserve and some Jon/Martin/Tim/Gerry Polyamory. (Complete)

A Weather In The Flesh - by cuttooth

An emotionally devastating one shot about touch starvation that may or may not have made me feel a lot of things (One shot)

One of these birds, is not my bird - by updownandsideways

Just a good ol' Not Jon fic, a bit predictable in places but the gist is Jon is taken by the Not Them and Martin's feeling a bit different about Jon since he got back from the Prentiss incident, it's only when he re-reads some of his old poetry that he finds out why. (Complete)

Thresholds (series) - by bubonickitten

At the precipice of finding out he's changing into something inhuman, Elias decides to give Jon a push, with the perfect bit of information to leave him a wreck, and makes him know the story of a young man he remembers all too clearly being taken by dear old Mr. Spider. (Complete)

Chamomile - Dribbledscribbles

Chamomile is a mischievous little creature who finds its delight in seeing how many times they can give the people in this safe house a heart attack. It's attempts on Martin have been successful to a fault, pushing him as far as it can to scare the living daylights out of him before he comes at him with a broom and scuttling away before he can come close. It's a fun game they have, but when they try it on Jon it just doesn't work. It's not fun, because Jon lets it win, Jon names it, Jon gives him cuddles and lets it rest on his shoulder, and this little creature is rather determined not to give up.

Aka a cute fluff fic where Jon and Martin are living in their cottage in Scotland and end up adopting a few of the spookier residents. (Completed)

Go softly - by doomcountry

Martin brings home a jug of bleach, sets it on the counter with an eyedropper for when Jon is ready, and even if both of them know it will hurt, that is has to be done, but no matter what they are going to get through this together.

TW for eye mutilation (Oneshot)

Terror Management Theory - by prismatical

Jonathan sims was eaten by a spider when he was eight, he died, but then he came back. Since then Jon has a very interesting relationship with death, one that terrifies him more than anything else, more than any other fear, and it's going to take a hell of a lot to earn his right to death back. (Completed)

Nature has taught her creatures to hate - thepolysyndetonaddictsupportgroup

Many times Jon has tried to run, sometimes it even worked, sometimes he got barely made it out alive at the end of the day, but it never worked when he was running from the Magnus institute, from James Wright or Elias Bouchard, or from the horrors that have never let him go since he was eight and stupid enough to pick up that damn book. The powers that be had taken him as a child, wrapped him in tight cobwebs of contracts and kidnappings and under a bruising hand on his shoulder that guided him down the path of inhumanity no matter how hard he tried to run. And even now, when he's failed again and facing losing another of a short line of close connections to the curse that is the Magnus institute, he can't back out.

NGL this one is depressing at times, but it kept my eyes glued to the screen it was so thrilling. Featuring a Jon who was chased to the Magnus institute by a book and a boy overflowing with spiders, and then claimed by something even worse, lots of child abuse and Elias being a manipulative bastard. (Ongoing)

Reflection - by LazuliQuetzal

There's something haunting Jonathan sims, something that looks just like him, but different all the same. Something inhuman that he cannot allow himself to trust, no matter what it says or claims to know about him. Something that keeps telling him with every moment they have to stay away from the archives, no matter what.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Sims, the monster and remnant of a ruined world, is rapidly forced to reconcile with living in the past as something no one is able to see or even notice as anything out of the ordinary, not even with the power of the eye behind them, and as fun as getting some small sense gratification from being petty and messing with Jonah as much as he can, the only person he can really talk to is quite literally himself.

And he's a fucking idiot.

This fic is great if you just want a little giggle and some catharsis. Pending alternate title is currently tied between "Two Jons in an archive, what will he do?" and "Jon would be the first person to tell you that he is absolutely insufferable". (complete)

See the Line where the Sky meets the Sea - by The_Floating_World

Jon has always had a fascination with things vastly incomprehensible, staring out from a dock out at the ocean and marveling at the infinity of everything before him. How the sky can be perfectly reflected in the ocean, how everything is endless and so vast in such a beautiful way, and I need not tell you that fears have never been loved in the way Jon loves infinity. After a probably not so chance encounter with Simon Fairchild, Jonathan Sims begins his slow evolution to becoming as an avatar of the vast, but he's different in a way the others aren't. Asking questions with no answer and living on that threshold between the vast and unknowable and madness in a way the other's haven't seen before, and by virtue of his own strangeness, even in the face of the other avatars, he is known as the philosopher, a man who isn't a man that seems content to hide just how powerful he really is.

At least until he makes some friends of his own and they come under threat. (Complete)

Starving Gods - by sevansa

Jon is in a really, really bad place when he decides to go through with it, knowing with a certainty his future doesn't have that if he were to follow in the footsteps of Eric Delano, he wasn't going to allow himself the luxury of a chance to back out, not with so many victims at stake.

Needless to say the shock of finding Jon in his office like that, unconscious and mutilated is something none of them will ever forget.

TW eye mutilation but you already knew that, first fic i the series is complete, but the sequel is still ongoing.

The Unknown Watcher - by authureameslove

Martin knows the rules as well as anyone else. You do not stay out past dark, not for anything, lest you fall prey to monsters and madness more potent than any ghost story or relentless creature cooked up by gods bigger than anyone could have imagined. So on a dark night, chased by monsters a plenty and his own stupid decision to chance it Martin Blackwood stumbles upon an estate filled with its own monstrosities. Two killers stalking the woods that weren't there before, a stranger in the night, two who cannot leave lest they be unmade with wooden splinters where there should be skin, and a man with two glowing green eyes and a face that no one can see. Each with their own stories to tell, each bound to this place by powers out of their control and choices they have made and each playing their own part in the end of both themselves and the world.

And of all things, they seem to think that Martin just might be the only one who can save them.

Inspired loosely on Beauty and the Beast with its own unique and captivating TMA Spin, this fic had be glued to my seat in anticipation, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys tales of vengeance, Jmartin and that classic ghost story style mystery. (Complete)

Déjà Vu - CirrusGrey

What do you even do with yourself when you are given a second chance? What does it mean to truly feel your death, being unmade or destroyed or unwound or stabbed through the heart by the man you love, and waking up alone long before you would have come to know any of it. Remembering everything, every pain, every choice that led to it and everything that you can't bring yourself to believe hasn't happened yet, and to do so all alone?

Sasha James was unmade, Tim Stoker was destroyed, Martin was unwound, and Jon was stabbed through the heart by his love. They all woke up alone on a day long before even the thought of Prentiss would touch them, and they all think they're the only one.

The Watcher's Bargain - arthureameslove

Fae au says what?

Martin hadn't known freedom since he was a child, when the witch Mary Blackwood took him in and bound him with silver threads and promises. So when she lays sick and dying in their house he makes a bargain with her. The Death's book of names and her life in return for his freedom. He should have known stealing from the Fae would have consequences beyond death, should have known the witch would have been vindictive enough to only allow him to leave her if it meant trading one prison for another, and this time, surrounded by the high court of the Panopticon, with Fae and tortured humans in chains, bound to one who speaks in half-truths and secrets, hope has never been so far from his eyes.

At least that is, until the fae proposes a bargain of his own. (Ongoing)

This Lonely Knight - arthureameslove

Martin doesn't remember why or how he came to join the knights of the Lonely, nor does he remember any of a life before that point. Like the many other heartless knights he cast away his memories and the pain they carried with them with his choice and that was just the way it was. It's not until he's sent to escort a strange man from the beholding to be the Watcher's betrothed that he begins to find what he'd been missing, what being of the Lonely had kept him from, and more importantly that he can't go through with his suicidal mission to see the death of his charge.

Honestly, this is classic fairytale knight and royal in an arranged marriage romance but with another perfect Magnus Archives twist from arthureameslove. (Complete)

What Belongs to the Sea - TwoDrunkenCelestials, WhyNotFly

When Jon first meets Elias he's dry as a bone and still smelling of thick salt with wild hair, knocking on his door with fury in his eyes and blood roaring in his veins as he demands back his stolen skin. For all his grandmother's warnings though, he still ends up in a gilded cage of his own making. Soon Jon, against his better judgement and consent is swept up into the path of the unblinking, newlywed and bound by powerful magic and paraded around in ceremony and unfeeling shows of affection and control. It's only after an admittedly prickly encounter with Martin, that he begins to hope.

TW there is abuse here, and alot of iron burns (Complete)

The Path of Least Resistance - chermit

Martin, Sasha and Tim go into what they think will be a normal day of work in 2016, and it is anything but. They arrive to find a crime scene, swamped with police officers there to inform them plainly that everyone in the institute is dead, except for them. Elias in his office clutching his head as if in pain, Jon shot three times in the chest with an empty look in his eyes and the rest of them from apparent cardiac arrest. Needless to say they want answers, they want justice, and if it means involving themselves in a world of monsters and fear a mysterious someone had tried so hard to keep them safe from, then so be it. (Ongoing)

The Sweetest Thing - JoyHeart

Martin has always been warned away from humans, his mother took great pains to plant that fear firmly within long before she and all of Selkie kind seemed to turn their backs on him. It isn't until he's rescued from some particularly nasty flesh worms by the Magnus Institute for Oceanic Research and Rescue that he finds an alternate perspective. Unfortunately, even if he doesn't yield his form, Martin's about to find that humans have more than one way of keeping a selkie under their grasp, even if completely unintentionally.

A martin selkie au that had me cackling, in suspense and squealing with just the right amount of fluff (for my tastes at least) featuring Marine Biologist Jon who's just as insufferable when it comes to his skepticism as he is incredibly sweet. (complete)

Heavy angst and whump warning for the sequel (which is ongoing)

A deeply annoying child - ajkal2

A oneshot (that I will defend until my dying breath) where Jon reads a Leitner that turns him into his 8 year old self right after his encounter with Mr Spider and Tim is there to help him pick of the pieces. (Oneshot)

Antigonish - softlyblue

Martin inherits an the Blackwood house from a woman he's never heard of sharing his last name and very quickly finds it inhabited by something trying to kill him, something that is not the four friendlier ghosts that inhabit the place, and something that goes a hell of a lot deeper than cold spots and whispers in the night. It's not so much a choice then to call in the cavalry when a portion of the very well-built roof tries to crush him for the third time in a row, so he sends a reluctant email to three ghost hunters under Basira's recommendation, with one of which being a man reportedly most adept of seeing and reaching out to things that are not there. (Complete)

The Reverb in These Holy Halls - Wolftraps (AlwaysBoth)

After a distinctly unwell day at work Jonathan Sims comes to awareness and marches in to the archives without so much as a word and declares himself to Elias and Martin both as the new head archivist. A lot of people are confused by this, a lot of people suspect Jon of murdering Gertrude and a lot of people want to know what the hell is going on with him. With a bargain made, and an eye and a Spider in his heart Jonathan Sims is going to save the world, and this time he's going to do it right.

Very generic premise of a Timetravel TMA fix it but it comes with some added flavor thanks to some clever writing from the author/s.

Two Graves - SupposedToBeWriting

In saving the world singlehandedly Jonathan Sims honestly thought he was going to die, so it was more than a surprise when he didn't, and even more than his plan actually worked. Now, with nothing but the remnants of fear and a broken heart he flees London, along with everything and everyone to do with the Magnus institute, but quickly finds himself a new purpose with a garden and connection to some avatars who need some help finding themselves after their patron's disappearance.

And then his world shatters when Martin and Basira finally manage to track him down.

This one got me through a particularly rough patch, a fic about reconciliation after the end of the world was... well, ended, and about reconnecting and forgiving the ones you love. TW for some implied sucidal thoughts and ideation. (completed)

The Archivist and the Adventurer (series) - paperdream

There are few things for a human that is worse than to be considered lovely by the Fae, and that is a lesson Jon, like so many things, had to learn the hard way. Ensnared by the wild hunt and bound to the high fae Elias and forcibly changed by the Mother of Spiders, all Jon has left to hold on to is his name, spending his days confined to the Archives to serve and be subject to the whims of the fae, whatever they may be. At least that is, until he finds his solace in helping an adventurer escape the cruelty of the fae unscathed, no matter how foolish he may be. (Ongoing)

Auspex (Series) - faridsgwi

(Victorian AU) The year is 1841, and Jonah Magnus is ready to begin building his archive in London. Now it's just a manner of going to the workhouse to find a child that won't be missed to serve as his repository.

Highly recommended au for you guys, as of now it's still ongoing but my god is it keeping my rapt attention in hopes for updates to the series. Featuring our good old Victorian asshole and resident child abuser Jonah Magnus, as he builds up his new archive and apprentice Jonathan Sims in preparation for his uses. Assistants will be traumatized, friends will be made along the way, and as always remember the apocalypse is always much closer than you think. (Ongoing)

The Kindness of Strangers - theOestofOCs

What's that saying? That Hindsight is 20/20? After a rather delicately arranged meeting in eye neutral terf (read as not in the institute) on Tim's request, Jon is finally able to get the chance to really talk to Tim since… well everything. So when the two find themselves snagged by Breekon and Hope and handed over to Nikola Orsinov, let's just say Tim being in the wrong place at the wrong time was the least of their worries.

Content warning for disassociation, forced nudity and non-consensual touching (not sexual), this one is heavy on the angst, but if you, like me, really wanted Jon and Tim to get the chance to actually reconcile before the unknowing, and love seeing Tim's protective older brother side, then this is the fic for you. (Completed)

Stag Story - With_the_Wolves

Stag's are notoriously hard to capture in the wild, using magic to flee and disappear before any bullet comes close to touching them. As a results hunts are often drawn out and tedious in search of trophies, and notoriously difficult to pull of successfully, at least until one of the most respected of the Hunter's alliance, Elias, comes up with something of a solution.

A solution he keeps under lock and key and threat of iron burns and torture should he disobey. His precious bait stag, cowed and shaped to his will, and he's going to use him to finally kill the Beast of the Northern Forest. (Oneshot)

The Fates Design - theOestofOCs

Kept hidden, starving and without any memory of a time before Elias saved him, the Archive had resigned himself to a life under his care and in his service. He was the Archive after all, a danger to himself and the world, this was what he was for.

So when a thief climbs in through the window of his tower, and gives him a story to ease the pain of hunger and asks him to come with him, at least until Elias's return, he accepts. The want for the pain to end winning out over the safety of his tower and unfortunately, the knowledge that this is where he should be for the safety of the realm.

And then he meets a ginger haired man he couldn't be sure he'd only ever seen in his dreams, and things change.

Alternately titled by the author as the Tmagled au (which I absolutely love), this one puts a really intriguing TMA twist on the classic Rapunzel set up, with some added mystery that had me desperate for more.

As it stands it is still ongoing, and pretty new, but as of posting this has actually been updated fairly recently.

The Lives We've Shared - The OestofOCs

Jon finds something he shouldn't have, something someone took great lengths to keep hidden, and something Elias Bouchard doesn't want him listening to. A tape from Gertrude, hidden below a loose floorboard in his office, speaking with certainty of death and leaving a warning for her successor.

Needless to say Elias will do anything to make sure a secret like that doesn't come to light, so after a short flick of a blade across his throat, all he needs to do is clean up as much of the blood from the office as he can and start again with one of his assistants.

What no one accounted for though, was Jon coming back.

Completed fic where Jon dies and comes back as a ghost, with the single goal to protect his people as much as he can from Elias and others like him.

Fold, Fallow and Plough - theOestofOCs

Jon is a marine conservationist researcher, so when he sees the net squirming and rolling on the beach with something impossible inside, he does what he always has and cuts it free, regardless of any praise or recognition he might have gotten from the discovery.

So when the head of the Magnus institute of Marine discovery arrives moments later, fuming and demanding to know what happened to his catch, Jon certainly isn't going to apologize for doing the right thing. No matter what earning the man's ire might bring upon himself.

He just… he didn't expect this.

Have I mentioned I'm a big fan of Mermaid Body Horror? TW for abuse, non-consensual body modification and a lot of whump, featuring Mer Tim, Danny and Sasha as they try to walk their unexpected charge through a new life under the waves, as others above continue to search for the missing researcher. (Ongoing)

Darkling I listen (half in love) - theOestofOCs

Jon had never had a good feeling about their newest client Jonah Magnus, but it's not until he sees him one night crawling down the side of his castle with spiderlike grace that he truly comes to realize he's not human, and Martin needs to survive this. So, throwing caution to the wind and what he knows has to be all sense with it, he makes a deal with Magnus. Martin will be sent back to London under the guise that Jon will be continuing their work here, and Jon's life is forfeit.

But Magnus has far greater plans for his new pet, and no intention of letting him go that easily.

If you're me and you've read the original Dracula by Bram Stoker this is one hell of a treat. Just the right amount of TMA and Dracula plot points with some very well written body horror as Jonathan finds himself slowly turning into a creature of the night. (Ongoing)

The Archivist's Moving Castle - Hallali

In a world full of magic and monsters a plenty, Martin's life on its own has thus far been profoundly uninteresting. But dreaming of adventure in the hills was never a way to stay safe, and Martin has always been quietly content, if a fair bit lonely, tending to the town's library under the employ of one Peter Lukas. At least, that is, until a strange man full of magic of his own seeks his sanctuary and promises to help him escape, a hope Martin can at least hold onto for now even as his world twists beyond the limits of what he thought possible and he is cursed and forced to flee before Jon could even have the chance to return. Which is all well and good he could suppose, he needed to get out anyway, he just wished there were less monsters trying to kill him involved. (Ongoing)

[ginzburgjake]

Statement of Martin Blackwood, regarding his encounter with a ghost. Statement given January 25th, 2017.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Sasha says gently. Tim is beside her, wearing a worried expression, while Martin is sitting on the opposite end of the table with a running tape recorder placed in front of him. His hands are wrapped around a steaming cup of tea.

“Ooof,” he sighs, bracing himself. “Alright, I — alright.”

“So, the day started as normal, I think — maybe it was a bit more cloudy than usual, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I took the tube, arrived to the Institute on time, signed in with Rosie, all that stuff. I came in, and Sasha was there, already recording, so I decided not to interrupt her and busy myself with my own case. I sat at the table, laid my things out — because I had to bring them home, you know, what with the mysterious haunting of this place. Didn't want to lose track of any more pens than necessary, heh.

I did some follow-ups, called a couple of contacts to check the details for, er, for that, that 'uncanny students' report? Yeah. So, it was about eleven-ish when I heard something... weird from the document storage. It was like… a whisper, or a call. A very quiet one.

Now, the thing is, that was far from the first time I heard something like that in the Archives. Those whispers, and sudden brushes of cold wind, I suppose, have been following me since, um, the middle of September. I’m not the most superstitious person, but I can’t very well deny the uneasiness that flooded my mind with every such… incident. Still, there weren’t any words being said in an ominous voice, no blood oozing out of the walls, no foggy mirrors, or, or anything, to indicate that it wasn’t just me freaking out without reason, so I kind of — let it be? I mean, it’s not like I could do anything. There isn’t a, a ghost manual or whatever, and you guys never noticed the things I did.

I must admit that I… am sorta fan of Ghost Hunt UK. I’m not big on conspiracies and deep scary mysteries, but their channel is — it’s honestly really good. They conduct proper investigations and stuff, and I know we as academics are supposed to, to despise their work out of principle, but… I simply never saw them as rivals. They do a lot of what we do — breaking into places, unearthing evidence, recording their findings — even if they lack the resources we possess. I’ve watched some of their content regarding old haunted basements, a while back. You know, the Archives are actually unbelievably good-fitting for the ‘haunted basement’ profile; the Institute was built in the early 1800s, and its structure has remained the same since. Despite there being only one exit, at least two archival employees have managed to vanish without a trace from what is essentially a closed room. There was blood found on the desk, for god’s sake.

I’ve emailed to Melanie King — she’s the main host — asking for her opinion. That was back in December, and I didn’t hold much hope for a proper answer. She must be quite busy, after all. But, surprisingly, she replied, uh, two days later? She needed more details — were there signs of possession or compulsion; have I seen, heard or smelt anything else odd or unnatural; was there seemingly a problem with electricity, heating or pipes that refused to go away, yada, yada. Based on what I’ve told her, she said it might indicate a minor poltergeist, possibly an Archivist, trying to finish their mission on this plane. I didn’t know whether I believed it. Anyhow, true or not, it’s a terribly sad way to exist, don’t you think? Permanently tied to your place of work, bound to fill out papers until the end of time. Ugh.

Melanie said ghosts such as these are usually deemed harmless, and unless I cared to confront it and discover its goal, there’s, as I suspected, very little that could be done. I wasn’t worried, not then. A disgruntled workaholic ghost? Pshh, just another strange thing about this job, right? Hah. And, well, today… today the issue became a lot more real.

As I said, there was a whisper coming from the document storage. I registered it, which was almost routine at that point, and waited for the cold to pass. After five minutes or so, its presence lessened significantly — although it hadn’t gone away completely. I had two layers of clothing on, so I was fine.

It’s — hard to remember what exactly I wanted to do? I know I went in to retrieve a box of files, probably related to the reports of… uncanny… um, skin people. I entered the storage — I held a reference file in hands, I think — and… there it was. A hand. Transparent, floating, detached from anything that might have resembled a body, human hand. It — it was kind of positioned where a person’s hand would be if they, uh, reached for something above their height. Which sounds ridiculous, of course — ghosts can levitate, can’t they? Or maybe I’m thinking of the vampires…

Anyhow, the hand, it — it grabbed a, a file from an open box at my eye level, and it pulled — and, and the file moved, like there was real physical force behind that gesture. I think I screamed. It was just so… impossible. There’s scary movies and books, and spooky podcasts that you listen to while going to sleep to shake yourself up a little — and then there’s that. I didn’t expect to see it because it shouldn’t have been real. I didn’t… I didn’t.

The next thing I know — I’m sitting on the floor, breathing heavily, with a very concerned Sasha crouching down besides me. She — she asked me what happened, led me to the break room, offered some tea. I turned to look back when we were exiting the storage — and there was nothing. No hands, no chill, no levitating objects... Just a bunch of dusty old boxes lined up in rows. I’m not sure whether I felt relieved or not. And, well, then Tim arrived, apologising for oversleeping, so that pretty much wraps up my experience, I suppose.

S-statement ends.”

< part 2 part 4 >

[dairy-farmer]

Hey i hope you’ve had a good week so far!

What if we have Bruce sabotaging tim’s relationship or potential relationships consciously or unconsciously, and once tim figures it out later (either after they’ve got together, or for before they get together, tim going for people his age then people older than him thats around bruce’s age to kind of like give bruce the hint that he’s interested) ig in this scenario its tim initiating the relationship??we need more of tim doing this tbh, thanks💗💗

-C

!!!!!!!!!!! i've been watching that scary 'hey arnold' episode for some early halloween spirit and bruce would absolutely channel the energies of helga g. pataki.

there are times in the comics where bruce absolutely behaves like a jealous little girl toward tim: the one that comes to mind is when he was on a date with zoanne wilkins at a fancy restaurant and then everyone inside GASPED because batman was outside the windows, perched on a gargoyle!!!! he looked back and shot a look at tim which is what caused tim to like spill food on himself and then go to the bathroom where he opened a window and was like 'uuhhh can i FUCKING help you????'

and bruce was like 'jitter is on the loose, cut your date short, come fight crime with me'

tim was rightfully like wtf??? no???? i'm on a DATE and jitter is literally a D grade villain you can handle him on your own goodbye.

tim returns to his date and literally 5 minutes later bruce and jitter fall through the glass cieling of the restaurant and land RIGHT on tim's table.

afterward tim confronts him like 'that was a really shitty move of you. i told you NO. i know you could've taken jitter on your own, you could've moved the fight somewhere else but you don't respect my word enough to believe me when i tell you 'no' to something'

like tim was getting really pissed at him because they took down jitter in like 30 seconds flat after he suited up and you have to admit it did look incrdibly suspicious.

but then bruce was like tim...🥺🥺🥺 that's not true 🥺🥺🥺🥺 i DID try but things just got a little out of hand🥺🥺🥺 you know i'd never purposefully ruin something like this for you 🥺🥺🥺

and tim just like '*sighs* fine...i believe you bruce. i'm sorry for accusing you like that. i guess i was just upset my date got wrecked'

like that man was so full of shit!!!!!

i remember reading that and thinking that was such a petty and jealous thing for bruce to do. like it's possible it really wasn't on purpose but i think that he did it in the moment, not even thinking about it because he was hurt tim told him to eff essentially over a girl. maybe afterwards it hit him and he felt guilty when tim confronted him but rather than admit it he doubled down because otherwise he'd look like a bad guy and it would put unnecessary tension and strain in his and tim's relationship.

THAT'S how i think bruce would go about sabotaging tim's relationships. like he'd just get so...unecpectedly emotional and jealous about it. he'd do it in the heat of the moment without thinking of the consequences.

like tim and his boyfriend are having a picnic on the lawn of the manor?? they're on a blanket to protect them from bugs and the grass and then just lean in and start kissing each other.

and bruce who's been watching from the windows the entire time just...turns on the sprinklers.

and once he sees their shock and immediate sprinting away from the water it hits what he's done.

and he feels guilty but 100% doesn't own up to it. he tells himself he needs to stop sabotaging tim's relationships because it's making tim sad. but he can't help it.

and it gets worse when tim turns 18 and his tastes grow a bit...older.

when bruce is stuck tensely making conversation at the door with a boy he hasn't seen since highschool while tim finishes getting ready for his date, that's when the gloves come off.

he's petty and he's jealous and does things like canceling dinner reservations, and hiding the chocolates and flowers tim gets sent- just stuffing them all into an unused closet.

and tim is just...so sad??? he's been having such bad luck in teh dating department and doesn't know why.

and bruce feels so guilty when tim comes to him for comfort (not enough to stop). but then he and tim keep spending time together because tim comes to him every time something doesn't work out.

they start spending more time together, outside of tim looking for comfort.

and then...tim makes a move and bruce accepts.

and he's so worried the same will happen. that karma will kick in or he'll start unconsciously sabotaging himself.

but it doesn't.

one month passes, two, then three, then four.

bruce is tim's longest-running relationship and bruce is so careful to do everything right. hand-delivering gifts, candies, and flowers to tim. taking him out to nice places.

bruce is content and happy. he doesn't even think of all the things that he's done, all the sabotage he did that led to this.

he never even thinks of that abandoned hall closet with all the dried up flowers and expired chocolates that he never emptied out.

he doesn't think about how a few weeks before he and tim got together, alfred was spring cleaning and asked for tim's help.

he doesn't consider that tim may have been in that wing of the manor and stumbled across the sight along with mountains of ripped up cards addressed to him from various relationships that never panned out.

he doesn't think about how tim is as much of a detective as he is.