metalogs | all that's done and gone and passed tonight (mix of open and closed)

Who: Tim Drake

overlyprecocious and friends
What: Tim is Coping and it's fine
When: late January, after the Hunger Games mostly
Where: Central City mostly. and Sky High.
Content Warnings: a little trauma related to being kidnapped into space by aliens (twice!! thanks, canon), a lot of anxiety, some unhealthy coping mechanisms like food hoarding and vigilantism

It's not like Tim is traumatized by his experience in the survival games. If anything, he's relieved that he was snagged by the aliens and not, say, a hapless seven-year-old. He has survival training, he has a magic restocking utility belt, he has family he was able to meet up with and work with. It was easy for him, comparatively speaking. It just - being kidnapped to space made him even more aware of the metaphorical sword of Damocles already hanging over his head whenever a Confluence finally brings him back home again. There's an extra cruel sting to being reminded that he's not even safe from being randomly yanked from his home and sent back into danger outside of Confluences.

Being more active as Robin is a reasonable precaution. He was already caught off guard once, and thankfully he at least had a minimum of supplies on him and the utility belt even if he didn't have the benefit of the full Robin suit. What he has on him here won't do him much good when he's yanked back home, but at least he's more prepared for anything that happens in this reality when he's suited up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The new building that Dick bought is nowhere near "done" or "liveable" yet, but Tim still has access and can (carefully) explore the building if he wants, which is what he's doing now. He knows TJ's working on the security system, but right now Tim's exploring and looking for opportune places for hidden passages, nooks, and hiding spots. It would be difficult to put any in that the other bats don't know about at this stage, but shut up, he's visualizing. Manifesting. Being reasonably careful not to fall through any questionable structures.

[ TJ is carrying an armload of boxes down a third floor hallway to the apartment he’s claimed as “his”, even though it contains only electronics and a few thrifted Formica tables and vinyl chairs to work on the electronics. There’s an ancient Frigidaire that he’s coaxed back to life.

When he sees Tim, staring at an ornate 1920s floor iron and obviously wondering about the structural integrity of whatever lurks beneath, TJ smiles. ]

Have you seen the blueprints of the building yet? I’ve got 5 sets going back to 1917. They’re… interesting.

I've seen some of them.

[Maybe all, maybe not all. Definitely the official ones, and maybe an unofficial one or two, but he's curious if TJ has found any that he hasn't. Tim knows that he's got some interesting structural plans for the building's security, even if he doesn't know all the details.

TJ's got the box well-managed, but Tim goes on ahead to open the door for him.] What did you find?

You know a lot of the walls sound emptier than they should. Even account for plaster and lathe and the air gaps.

[ Tim sets the stack on a table and starts sorting everything into the existing organization while he talks. ]

At first, I thought it was differences in building codes between our 1920s and Gotham's. I had 4 sets of blueprints at that point, starting with 1923 when the building finished. There were discrepancies in the units, obviously, both the building and most of the units have been remodeled in a hundred years. But I could never make the measurements add up. I tried the square footage with and without bathrooms and closets. Maybe there's 18 inch soundproof walls between units. Maybe there's fire breaks. No matter what I did - I can't get the building within 2000 square feet of where it should be.

[ And that's a lot of room to lose because you forgot to carry the one. ]

So the architect's family never moved. They're in the same brownstone in midtown for 4 generations now, and I went digging around in the attic while they were in Florida. Found his original drafts from 1910s. There's a copy in the closet.

[ Tim gestures at the entryway closet right by the door. ]

I haven't digitized them. I keep meaning to ask Dick about them, but I want to make sure I have everything wired through them before everyone else starts picking out their favorite hideyholes.

[Well.

Tim basically looks like TJ just handed him a credit card and told him to go wild in a toy store, and he's scurrying for the closet to retrieve the blueprints. Hidden spaces? That no one else in the family even knows about yet? He is excited.]

Full hidden rooms or mostly passages?

[ ... okay, that's the first time TJ has really been charmed by his younger self. It's suddenly oh, I get it. He understands why Dick and Alfred were on his side from the start. Tim looks like it's Christmas at the Wayne residence. ]

Mostly passages, but there's a couple of rooms. Maybe 3. The pencil's a little blurry and faded. You'll probably want to see what Dick wants to do with those.

[There's some bounce to his step once he locates what looks like the blueprints and heads back to spread them out on the table with the others. Well, some bounce in his step until it pulls badly at the bruising on his torso, and then he's moving with a bit more care.]

I figured we'd end up with some hidden rooms but that we'd probably have to build them in ourselves. It's so cool we have some that came with the building! Have you gone to see them yet?

Edited 2024-02-07 03:48 (UTC)

Not yet, no.

[ He's been busy - or keeping busy, and there's something about it that makes him feel alone.

It's like the first time you're shown the way into the batcave. It's like the first time you fight with your friends at your side. It's a network of secret passages. It should be fun. But there's been no appeal. TJ's been waiting for it to spark some sort of thrill: it hasn't. ]

If you're going to go, you should take someone with you and tell someone else where you're going.

So - do you want to go with me?

[He asks it as if this is obviously what he was building up to. It follows the rules - bringing someone else with him! They can let Dick know they're exploring parts of the building they haven't explored before! Plus, TJ has been studying the blueprints more than him.]

Me?

[ Well, yes, Tim is a person and therefore could be the one to go with him, but he hadn't been expecting that outcome. He figured Tim would want to take Dickie or friends with him.

He looks up from what he's working on. ]

I can, but then I'm going to see everything you see, and we're going to call dibs on the same space.

[Because he's... well, himself, he interprets that as a gentle rejection. Which is fine! TJ doesn't have to want to go exploring with him. If he seems at all disappointed, he covers it swiftly and smoothly.] Yeah, okay. I'll find someone else to go with me.

[ TJ thinks he'd rather go with his friends, unfortunately, because that's likely the option that TJ would pick at that age and because it means Tim will get to claim the best spots. ]

You want me to dig up flashlights and snacks for them?

Sure.

[He's still being helpful and offering things! Which Tim appreciates, he does.] I'll probably go with Nico or Dylan, then.

all that's done and gone and passed tonight (mix of open and closed)

[SEMI-OPEN (to people with building access), the new bat-building]

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