Scans and explanations
TIM'S PARENTS
Titania is a major character in the comic book The Books of Magic. In this series, it is revealed that she is not a fay, but a human girl who crossed over into the fay realm and was then adopted by the current queen of the fay. She appears to be a fay due to an enchanted circlet she stole when the last queen was transformed into a tree by her husband. She is also the most powerful human sorceress alive, which simply aids in her deception.
It is likely that Tim's father is Tam Lin, as many characters (including Tam Lin) indicate/suggest. Auberon tells Tim that he doesn't have any fey blood but bears a resemblance to Tam; the fact that Titania is not actually a faerie reopens the possibility of her initial admission of motherhood of being true. She gains nothing (and in fact loses much) by lying about it, and seems weirdly stressed in the scene regarding Tim's parentage. She quickly recants, but seems genuinely sorry. Scans from the relevant comics:
WHO IS MR. WRONG?
Mr. Wrong is or was a possible future version of Tim -- one who consorted with demons, bargained away his memories, and became an evil dickwad obsessed with making the perfect Molly. Barbatos deftly manipulates him throughout Bindings, Summonings, and most of Reckonings; like many demons, Barbatos is able to make illusions, which are especially effective when the target wants to believe them. So while in reality, Mr. Wrong lives in a cardboard box and is more or less crazy, he believes, for a time, that he is still a powerful magician in charge of his own life.
Earlier, Khara, acting as the young Tim's protector, gave Mr. Wrong a portrait of his mother, forcing him to remember her (in Reckonings, he says to Barbatos that his mother taught him how to wash dishes). When Tim accidentally stops time, Khara gives him some advice and a few hundred quid. As collateral, she takes the stone that Tam Lin gave to Tim -- she says he needs to learn how to do magic with thinking, not just by feeling.
Barbatos captures Khara and her daughter Nikki, who are hiding as trashcans. While looking for a lock pick, Khara drops Tim's stone. This seems to restore some sense of Mr. Wrong's identity, not to mention free him from Barbatos' illusions. Things seem to be looking much better for Mr. Wrong.
WHY THE NEXUS LOOKS LIKE HELL TO TIM
Well, look at it. No, wait, first have some amusing background. The first scan is from Summonings, while the scene in Hell takes place in the next book, Reckonings.
THE STORYBOOK
In Hell, the governess makes Molly read a strange, twisted little fairy tale about herself. Tim also has to read one. Both stories feature "no one" as a character; for Molly, it turns out to be her character's ironic fate, while for Tim, no one's warnings go unheeded by the character who as a consequence dies.
Titania is a major character in the comic book The Books of Magic. In this series, it is revealed that she is not a fay, but a human girl who crossed over into the fay realm and was then adopted by the current queen of the fay. She appears to be a fay due to an enchanted circlet she stole when the last queen was transformed into a tree by her husband. She is also the most powerful human sorceress alive, which simply aids in her deception.
It is likely that Tim's father is Tam Lin, as many characters (including Tam Lin) indicate/suggest. Auberon tells Tim that he doesn't have any fey blood but bears a resemblance to Tam; the fact that Titania is not actually a faerie reopens the possibility of her initial admission of motherhood of being true. She gains nothing (and in fact loses much) by lying about it, and seems weirdly stressed in the scene regarding Tim's parentage. She quickly recants, but seems genuinely sorry. Scans from the relevant comics:
- Realizing Tam Lin traded his life for Tim's, Titania and Tim have a harsh exchange.
- Auberon remarks on Tim's resemblance to Tam Lin, but says he has no faerie blood. Titania has an odd look on her face, and Auberon's explanation for why Titania would lie about something like this kind of sucks.
- Earlier, before Tim was killed, Tam Lin and Titania discuss Faerie's decline. With the glamours, Titania has green skin and everything is beautiful. Without the glamours, Faerie is shown to be dead and rotting, and Titania appears to have more human coloring. (In early annotations, fans speculated that this was a coloring error.)
WHO IS MR. WRONG?
Mr. Wrong is or was a possible future version of Tim -- one who consorted with demons, bargained away his memories, and became an evil dickwad obsessed with making the perfect Molly. Barbatos deftly manipulates him throughout Bindings, Summonings, and most of Reckonings; like many demons, Barbatos is able to make illusions, which are especially effective when the target wants to believe them. So while in reality, Mr. Wrong lives in a cardboard box and is more or less crazy, he believes, for a time, that he is still a powerful magician in charge of his own life.
Earlier, Khara, acting as the young Tim's protector, gave Mr. Wrong a portrait of his mother, forcing him to remember her (in Reckonings, he says to Barbatos that his mother taught him how to wash dishes). When Tim accidentally stops time, Khara gives him some advice and a few hundred quid. As collateral, she takes the stone that Tam Lin gave to Tim -- she says he needs to learn how to do magic with thinking, not just by feeling.
Barbatos captures Khara and her daughter Nikki, who are hiding as trashcans. While looking for a lock pick, Khara drops Tim's stone. This seems to restore some sense of Mr. Wrong's identity, not to mention free him from Barbatos' illusions. Things seem to be looking much better for Mr. Wrong.
WHY THE NEXUS LOOKS LIKE HELL TO TIM
Well, look at it. No, wait, first have some amusing background. The first scan is from Summonings, while the scene in Hell takes place in the next book, Reckonings.
THE STORYBOOK
In Hell, the governess makes Molly read a strange, twisted little fairy tale about herself. Tim also has to read one. Both stories feature "no one" as a character; for Molly, it turns out to be her character's ironic fate, while for Tim, no one's warnings go unheeded by the character who as a consequence dies.