People give Tim fans such a hard time bc “generic catboy”
I’m glad to see other people enjoying him!
How can you not love Bryce Papenbrook playing a kitty cat and a clock who happen to share a body?
Timothy’s theme is also so fun, so jaunty
-Eddie
If the Tims have no enjoyers then I am no longer on this Earth <333
I understand why they're not everyone's cup of tea, but as for the catboy thing in particular, I actually think it's such a fun way to convey the duality of their existence, the push-and-pull between cat and clock, the fact that they're completely different yet inextricably linked, all that good stuff!
(dropping the boys here to make this post more visually appealing 👇)
There's definitely more to the Tims than just "generic catboy" so if I may take this as an excuse to talk about why I love these two so much, let's start with Timothy, shall we? 👀
Putting this under the cut because as usual I ended up rambling more than I thought I would :p
God, Timothy just drives me crazy. He lashes out on your first meeting because you accidentally triggered him by showing up unannounced (now what exactly did you trigger might be up to interpretation, I personally read it as OCD), but he still insists on you coming back with an appointment and he's genuinely so excited to finally share his interest on watches and scheduling with someone 🥺
It's so fun to analyze him as a character because there are so many little details like the way he emphasizes his words and his faking his accent and his dislikes of felines even though it never comes up directly and even throwaway lines that just give you so much to pick apart and interpret and put together like a puzzle.
For example, when you tell him you couldn't sleep, he tells you that he couldn't sleep either and that's why he's cleaning his watches instead, hinting at the suggestion that he might not be as strict about the schedule as he appears (this apparent contradiction makes more sense when you add Timmy to the equation. It isn't so much about the exact activities on the schedule as much as it's about regaining a sense of control over his time as well as assuaging his fear that other people will come see him at a "bad" time, meet Timmy, and think less of him because of it).
Something I think is interesting is that his wording is very telling and very deliberate! As I pointed out to my bestie, in the scene where you meet Timmy for the first time, Timothy says, "if you wish to retain any sort of relationship with me, you'll leave at once" BUT the next time you go see him, he still talks to you as if nothing happened. Notice how he doesn't threaten to cut you off himself, because he doesn't actually intend to do that. He thinks YOU are gonna cut HIM off.
You can really tell he's awfully lonely and he's been burned before (Timmy explicitly confirms this, but it kinda drives the point home when none of the other objects even mention either of them, doesn't it?) and his behavior makes complete sense when viewed through that lens. He's obsessed with his watches and schedules which give him comfort when he can't rely on others, he's self-absorbed because he's his own best friend, he insists that his way is the right way because it's too painful to consider that his loneliness might be his own fault rather than the fault of the people around him who simply don't understand him, and he's so bad at talking to people because who knows how long it's been since the last time he had someone to talk to?
And then there's the conversation during the watches cleaning event where he tells you should raise your standards as high as possible to make sure that anyone who does manage to get close to you is worth the trouble... He craves connection like crazy but he pushes people away because he's deeply scared of rejection and has a hard time trusting others because of it (ough he was made in a lab for meeeee :3). And you know, it makes sense, he doesn't want to go through the pain of rejection again so best not to get attached before you're REALLY sure that person is gonna stick around, right?
It's so nice to see him warm up to you in his love and friendship routes when you're able to show him that you're willing to take him seriously, that you care about his interests, and that you won't dismiss his concerns simply because you don't understand them. It's a story that really hits a chord if you've ever been in his shoes.
He also becomes more flexible and relaxed as he gets comfortable around you, so you could say that hanging out with you makes him a better person, and what more could you ask for? He's so sweet and earnest in his love and friendship endings and it's genuinely so adorable how excited he gets about you getting his questions right 🥺
And of course, like you said, his theme is so fun! It always puts me in a good mood :3 Which seems ironic considering the attitude he gives you at first/when you fail his lessons lol but even when he's mad at me he's just so fun and he makes me so happy 🥺
AS FOR TIMMY!!!
I could talk about Timothy all day really but don't get me wrong, there's plenty of love to be had for Timmy as well <333 I don't mean to flex but he doesn't make me cringe as much as he does other people. I'd say that's because he's very predictable, you get me? (and like I told my bestie, Timmy might be cringe but he is free. Timothy is cringe and he's not even free 💀 and I say this in the most loving way possible.)
I also see people take issue with the whole "master" thing but I wish they knew that if you tell him to stop he does and you can still get his love and friendship endings 😭 Date Everything is at least somewhat concerned with player agency which is why the first thing they do is tell you that love and friendship endings are equally valid and they allow you to turn down sex during and after the love endings. And being able to tell Timmy to stop calling you master is a nice example of that imo.
That aside, it's really endearing how Timmy starts out wanting nothing more than to be loved by Timothy, but of course as you get to know him you realize his feelings towards Timothy are far more complicated than that. He resents Timothy for driving other people away with his obsessive scheduling (and funnily enough, Timothy is doing that because he blames Timmy for driving others away!) and he's paranoid that Timothy will try to get rid of him for good which drives him to a sort of "kill or be killed" mentality.
I'd dare say Timmy doesn't really want to be loved by Timothy as much as he wants to be acknowledged, for better or for worse, which is why he can go so quickly from begging Timothy for his affection to threatening to break every clock in the house (as self-destructive as that is!) as a way to assert himself (< this happens during his hate route though, during which he is under even more pressure since the human is adding fuel to the fire of his self-hatred, so that's also a factor. He's convinced that the player likes Timothy better than him so it's a way to tell them "if you treat me like this then you can't have HIM either!!" which is pretty much what he says at the end of this route too).
Even though he presents himself as such a naïve and carefree kitty at first, it quickly becomes clear that he's anything but. After all, if he weren't under such extreme distress, he wouldn't resort to such drastic measures, would he? I really do feel bad for him :(
Sure enough, he eventually opens up to the player about how much shame, guilt, and self-hatred he feels about his more disruptive cat instincts. He even says Timothy is right to hate him 😭 He specifically mentions breaking things and interrupting people while they're sleeping, and if that isn't enough it's clearer that he's self-conscious about the way he's perceived when the human says they don't think he's weird and he acts surprised.
In a way, when he calls himself adorable and fun and stuff and expects you to agree with him, he's fishing for validation to make up for his own lack of self-esteem. He becomes an influencer in his ending because he wants validation from strangers. He acts overly cutesy and speaks in a baby voice because he thinks that's going to endear you to him. Ever since you first meet him, he's trying to get him to like him. Remember the thing I said about him calling you master? When you tell him to stop, he sincerely apologizes for displeasing you. And after the zoomies pass, he once again sincerely apologizes for not being his "usual self," hoping that maybe you'll overlook the things he dislikes about himself.
However, if you don't like him enough (not just if you're actively hating on him, but also if you bring up Timothy when Timmy wants you to focus on him instead), then he starts acting up. He has a tough time trusting people as well, but instead of pushing them away immediately like Timothy does, he puts up the innocent cat act and it's only after you've seen what he considers to be the least lovable part of himself (the zoomies) that he accuses you of wanting to abandon him and side with Timothy. He assumes that, if you're not with him, then not only must you be against him, but you must be with Timothy.
It makes sense, right? Timothy is feeding into Timmy's feelings of shame by treating him like he is something to be ashamed of, to be hidden, isolated, shunned, dismissed. And, ultimately, Timmy ends up blaming Timothy for all his negative feelings. It's easier that way, isn't it?
Timmy loves doing things the easy way. He asked the human to help him win Timothy over but he wasn't willing to put any real effort into it, expecting the human to do everything for him. The ending specifically mentions how Timmy loves being an influencer because he gets money for doing nothing but existing while cute. And if the problem is Timothy rather than a combination of factors, then Timmy doesn't have to bother communicating or trying to work things out with him or anything, and he has someone other than himself to direct his anger at.
(My favorite dialogue line of Timmy's is when you tell him not to chase for other people's approval and he says "can't you just tell Timmy where to nap or how to hold his paws?" because yeah... yeah. If only if were that easy, little Timmy 💔)
It's painful, really. It's a horrible cycle where they're hurting each other while trying to protect themselves and neither of them has considered where the other is coming from. And Timmy might love doing things the easy way, but Timothy thinks it's his way or the highway, so you can understand why "meeting in the middle" is a lot to ask of them.
But speaking of the relationship between the two of them. Timothy and Timmy are polar opposites and, wow, I sure love it when two characters who are so intertwined are polar opposites!
Timothy is obsessed with punctuality, Timmy insists schedules are stupid; Timothy is an insomniac, Timmy is a sleepyhead; Timothy is orderly and measured, Timmy is kind of a mess; Timothy is all formal and stuck up, Timmy is overly casual and cares most about comfort; Timothy is very open about his sexuality, Timmy takes longer to warm up to physical touch and intimacy; Timothy is comforted by the ticking of the clock, Timmy is driven to his wits' ends by it; Timothy is clingy and visits whenever he can, Timmy disappears for weeks as soon as you realize him and canonically "doesn't visit you as much as you would like"; and even based on the info we've learned through word of god, apparently Timothy loves tabletop games and hates video games while Timmy loves video games and hates tabletop games.
They couldn't be more different if they tried- actually, scratch that, I wouldn't be surprised if they were already trying. And to be honest, that is such a compelling trait for a character as well 👀
Either way, when they do have things in common, that just makes it stand out even more. Timothy also meows at times, it's mentioned in his epilogue that he has an interest in cute things as well, and, although there's not much I can say for Timmy in return, they are both lonely, of course, they blame each other for their own loneliness, they both lash out when they get hurt, even if accidentally, and they both self-aggrandize as a coping mechanism.
It's kind of a little bit like yin and yang, for obvious reasons they can never be fully separated no matter how different they are, almost like a reminder of the fact that Timothy may dislike felines and Timmy might hate clocks but at the end of the day Timothy still has cat ears and Timmy still hears the tick-tock-ticking inside of him. Even after being realized, Timothy makes his logo a cat and Timmy wears a clock on his collar. Curious.
What I mean to say is I'm obsessed with the setup and I would love to see how their relationship develops, if only we didn't have to pick just one or the other so we don't have to think about the other one ever again 💔
Still!!!! I love these two very much and as you can see I may love talking about them a little too much :p
Thank you so much for the ask!!! It's always nice to see other Tims enjoyers as well! :D
Concept art Tims with facial hair or Final release Tims with smooth faces? Which is better?
Am I allowed to say nuance? 💀
I'm 100% biased towards the facial hair look so if it's completely up to me then that one :p
BUT I understand why they went for the clean shaven look and I probably would have too if I were their creator. I feel like a character like Timmy can get away with stuff (like the baby talk and acting needy and cat-like etc) more easily the younger he looks and sound. And even though facial hair really suits Timothy, you could say the same for him. Since he comes off as so abrasive when you first meet him and he gets so worked up if you get his questions wrong, it makes sense that he would look so young so he doesn't come off as, you know, threatening or something. Then again there are other dateables who are bigger/stronger/older and come off as abrasive so I'm guessing the reasoning is probably Timmy's thing?
I still dream of the Tims aging a bit after realization and growing some facial hair though. I think it's a great look ^^
Someone also suggested the idea of Timothy drawing on the stache when he fronts because Timmy cannot stand the feeling of facial hair and I liked that thought. Reminded me of a certain other character I love whose fans talked about him drawing on his facial hair :)
