#tim needs to know when to stop

[batataran]

Tim: *opens fridge to get an energy drink*

Jason: Hey Timmers

Tim: H'y J'sin

Jason: What's the date and time right now?

Tim: Mmm...last I checked it was Jan 5, half past ten pm

Damian: TT *readies net*

Jason: Baby bird, today's January 9

Tim: *tenses, ready to run*

Dick: Get Him!!

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest

Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here

Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭

It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony

[dukeofthomas]

Here's my controversial opinion; if you're trying to write Bruce as a non-abusive, good parent, you should also write him respecting his kids' privacy, boundaries, and not stalking&surveying them.

[trashmakerarticle]

What if when it came to the batfam it didn’t matter the age on who belonged where, it’s the order of who got adopted.

Dick obviously being the eldest, Jason is prolly semi eldest/middle child, Tim the ultimate middle child, Cass being semi middle/youngest, Damian being the youngest. No obviously this all kinda works in age ??? Kinda ? But that all stops when DUKE comes into the house and suddenly HES the youngest, he gets away either everything, even when it’s completely on purpose all he has to do is say “oops I’m sorry I didn’t mean to :,( “ and Bruce is completely waving it off telling him it okay.

Duke, sets a cop car on fire and explodes a building: I’m sorry B :( I’m still new.

Bruce, not even blinking: it’s okay chum, we all make mistakes

[necrotic-nephilim]

i think it's funnier if tim still views the relationship in a detached way bc he's doing this to keep bruce stable but bruce starts getting attached and calling tim things like sweetheart and ducky

and then bruce realizes that tim doesn't really return those feelings and has a breakdown

(based on my tags on this post) oooh, that *is* fun, actually. i love your brain. i'm so enamored by BruTim being such an emotionally complex relationship that doesn't hold the typical love you associate with BruDick or BruJay.

especially because you expect *Bruce* to be the clinically detached one. he's the one who sucks at his emotions and sucks even more at showing them. even when he loves someone, he's not going to process it well. he's going to make a mess of everything. so for him to express so much positive emotion towards Tim with petnames that are *just* on the cusp of romantic, like sweetheart and ducky. they *could* be casual, they hover right on the edge of sweet nothings to real emotion. it gives Bruce plausible deniability when DIck hears one of the petnames and squints at Bruce from across the room, trying to decide if he's going to do anything about it.

but for Tim. for Tim all of this is a job, and not even one he plans to hold onto for long. sure, Tim cares about Bruce, but i think fanon has really twisted around just how much Tim cares. this isn't a familial bond, it's a workplace one. Tim doesn't want Bruce to replace his parents, even when they die. he doesn't want to get too close to Bruce and lose sight of himself. it's a careful balance, helping Bruce and being there for him while setting his own clear boundaries about were this ends. and the sex of it all, when Tim realizes that being Robin includes *that*, is also just the job. maybe Tim enjoys the sex, maybe he's detached from it (i think it's fun if Bruce can't figure out which and is gaslighting himself in both directions bc he doesn't know if he wants to torture himself with knowing he can't stay away from a boy who doesn't want him or if he wants to live in the fantasy that this is something real) in the same way he is Robin. he puts everything into it, but emotionally, Tim still holds himself at a distance. he'll initiate sex with Bruce needs it, he'll enjoy the bodily sensations and *maybe* even the thrill of getting attention from an older man. but Tim isn't the type of person to fall in love with Bruce like Dick is. Tim wants to have a normal life by the time he's in his 20s, and there's a planned obsolescence in his role as Robin.

so when Bruce starts dropping the pet names in, maybe even by accident first. pet names are expected in sex. the first time Bruce calls Tim 'sweetheart' is while fucking him and Tim doesn't think twice about it. it slips out in aftercare too and Bruce keeps pushing and pushing until he wears Tim down to getting used to them in casual conversation. the first few times Tim gave Bruce a sour look but now he just sighs, if he reacts at all. he lets Bruce press a gentle kiss to his forehead and call him sweetheart when they're alone in the cave. it's so casual. "pass me that file, sweetheart" or "when are you going home, love?" and even "good job, ducky" which is the real kicker, bc Bruce will shrivel away before giving anyone honest praise for their work that doesn't come with strings attached. and every time, Bruce is expecting, *hoping* for a smile from Tim. a shared pet name for Bruce, a soft look, anything to indicate a romantic fondness. he convinces himself Tim is just shy. it takes time for Tim to open up sometimes and Bruce isn't going to rush this.

but when every night, without fail, Tim always leaves Bruce bed after sex to go him and sleep in his own manor. when he never pulls away from Bruce's romantic touch but doesn't lean into it either, it's forced to click for Bruce. and i think him having a breakdown is so fun about it. bc he can have *anyone*. he had the unwavering adoration of the past two Robins who loved him without condition. everyone is in love with Bruce Wayne or Batman. except *Tim*. Tim who *asked* for this role and because of that treated it like a job, not a gift. Bruce gave Robin to Dick and Jason. he chose them. but he didn't choose Tim and somehow, it's the tease of someone unobtainable that breaks Bruce.

i love the thought of Bruce, maybe under influence of truth serum or some sort of psychoactive drug breaking down into tears while Tim is taking care of him and tending to his wounds. and Bruce has his head in Tim's lap, looking up at Tim with more emotional vulnerability than he's shown *anyone*, rambling about love and feelings. most of it isn't coherent, but Tim understands. and somehow it's worse that there's no cruelty in Tim's eyes, but only *pity*. he stays the night, for *once*, but he's doing it out of pity. he's letting Bruce hold him because it's what Bruce needs, and Tim is just doing his job.

(Bruce holds onto the moment greedily anyway, bc he'll take what he can get and if emotional manipulation is what's needed to get Tim to stay the night and whisper soothing things to him that almost sound like love, then Bruce will definitely file that information way to use later. he'll break Tim down sooner or later, even if it's not a conscious effort. it's just how Bruce is and what he can't stop himself from doing. after all the good he's done, is he not allowed to be selfish in these rare vulnerable hours?)

[bigskydreaming]

@hood-ex

LOL I didn't actually have a specific fic in mind as its more just a general trend I've observed but I do know exactly what fic you're talking about and I confess to Not Being a Fan because it went HARD on Bruce's mistreatment of Jason and Tim (I remember it being around the King having Bruce hit Tim issue) but used the Ric status quo as (what felt like) an excuse not to even touch on Bruce's canon abuse instances of Dick, even though allusions made by other characters made it clear that like, the information was out there even if Ric didn't remember personally.

And that is where people tend to lose me in fics tackling Bruce's canon abuse....I'm just as particular about fics that are ostensibly about the whole family but don't acknowledge Bruce's worse parenting in regards to Jason or Tim, etc. Its one thing if you're zeroed-in on a specific canon instance and are just focusing on a specific interaction or even a specific dynamic between Bruce and one of his kids. But if you're tackling "Bruce's Parenting" as a general theme and you just so conveniently HAPPEN to leave out an entire subsection of Bruce's Worst Parenting as it regards to one specific kid....that's when its like My Ire, Let Me Show You It.

Because that's the kind of thing that to me reeks of character favoritism and sorry not sorry but I'm always gonna be a big believer that if you're gonna willingly tackle the Heavy Topics, like "Bruce's abusive parenting, let's dig into it," then I don't care how you rank the characters individually, you need to come prepared to tackle how that topic impacts EACH of the characters its relevant to. Or else, intentionally or not, you're one hundred percent playing into the fandom trend (fandoms in general, not specific to just Batfandom) of only treating abuse like its bad when it happens to characters you're a fan of specifically. And like. Can we not do that? We should not have to specify why that is not a good look for anyone.

[foolsocracy]

YOU'RE A TIM DRAKE STAN, TOO?? That guy's one of my favorite, but I think I'm leaning more towards Jason Todd as of the moment. Him and Peter-Noir have some things in common, like being forced to become an adult because of a responsibility that was given to them even though they were just kids/teens. I love my mentally unstable boys.

He's the one that really pulled me into DC. His earnest and obsessive ways endeared me.

I love all the robins though! They all have such different aspects to them that I really like. I haven't read too much of jason's robin days but from panels I've seen he looks really fun. And I had a great time watching Under the Red Hood which also broke my heart. He does have stuff in common with Pete! I feel awful for them both for their canon lives they've lived 😭

Strangely enough I think by now I have more Robin-Dick that I've read than Robin-Tim, but I feel like the Robin Tims ive read have more weight to them so who can say. 60s teen titans vs Death in the Family & Contagion & No mans land, etc. Its pretty different lol

[squarebracketsmileyface]

does jay ever get confused or surprised by his own emotions or actions? i feel like its even worse whrn you dont even know why youre acting like this, because you cant explain ky to yourself, let alone other people

I think so. I know he definitely doesn't really realise he's doing some of it in the moment, especially when he's angry. Like, he just lashes out without even thinking about it, then refuses to let himself feel like he's in the wrong in the moment, because that'd mean "losing" in some way, so he usually doubles down. But like, yeah, I feel like a lot of the time he doesn't expect to react as severely as he does? Like, he's fine fine fine fine, until he's not and he just flies off the handle and can't really do anything about it until he's landed again, and then he can start trying to pick up all the pieces, y'know?

He definitely beats himself up when he settles on "oh I fucked up" after he does something (and tries to get Alex to beat him up over it too lmao, uh, anyway 💀) yeah, if you asked him WHY he did something? Chances are he'll bullshit you about the explanation. Like, I feel like hell make it sound like he knows why he did it, but then if you actually start prodding past the made up, surface level shit he came out with, you'd realise really fast that he doesn't know why he did something.

Either that or sometimes you'll get a massive flood of every single reason he can possibly think of for why he did something? Like you know in Sorry, It's Locked chapter three, when Tim kisses him and he freaks the fuck out and runs away, and then after that he kinda gives Tim just this massive flood of every single thing that lead up to that moment of him panicking and trying to run away.

He's all or nothing, 0 or 100, nothing in between. Either he knows every single thing about why he reacted how he did, or he doesn't have the foggiest, y'know?

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Jason's obsession with Dick and Tim is something I'm thinking about

[bardengarde]

hey stop talking about bonanza it’s making you look crazy. also remember that time you actually made me speechless? yeah fun.

Too bad, get Bonanza'd

And don't worry, you repaid me the favor😭

[yj-98]

t-shirt that says 'i have very complex feelings and thoughts about tim drake and/or jason todd' on the front and 'im normal about them i swear please trust me. sorry' on the back

[timothyslucy]

actual visual representation of me decaying in bed all day due to those bts pics of lucy in the hospital.

[donnatroyyyy]

Batman has/had some kind of miscommunication going on with every single one of his kids. The bat family is just one big miscommunication trope after the other.

[raeofgayshine]

I had the best time of my life pitching a silly little idea to stream tonight and watching them bring it alive even more.

It’s amazing that I can just go “Hey what if Tim stalked villains instead of Batman and get adopted by Ed and Oswald.” And chat immediately goes “Yes and”

Before I know it, Tim is kind of best friends kind of enemies with Red Hood Jason, and they bicker and bully each other constantly but that’s just their fucking dynamic. They argue over whose death is more valid, Jason who actually died or Tim who only died legally. They follow each other around the city sometimes just to fucking annoy each other. Jason isn’t allowed in Oswald’s house because he’s dead and Oz doesn’t want rotting child stinking up his house.

And oh Martin from Gotham is also there, and Tim’s his big brother and it’s fucking great. Tim goes by The Quandary and works alongside Riddler when he’s younger while Martin follows Oswald’s footsteps but somewhere as they age they start to cross over. Tim gets more interested in using business to control Gotham like Oz did. Decides it’s time for a new name, and this one actually kind of gets assigned to him.

Because hey everyone said he looked like that Drake kid who disappeared years ago, whose face haunted the back of milk cartons for years before he was declared dead. They were already calling him Drake. Why not take on the title. Especially when it provides cool dragon branding that no other villain in Gotham has.

And sure Jason is a shit about it, but Tim gets to be a shit right back because Jason just stole Red Hood from Joker.

And Zsasz loves being an Uncle and giving Tim dubious advice and showing him fun ways to kill.

And it’s just a fucking messed up crime family, all because Tim is fucking unhinged and loved what Riddler and Penguin did and he stalked villains because they were ~cool~ and exciting and he’s a fucking freak.

[ri-afan]

They’ll be in a meeting and Tim’s just going along, working on 3 things at once when he hears—

“I didn’t know you knew about [insert subject matter/topic], [hero 2].”

“Oh no, I’m not, but I overheard [their input to the meeting that helped] this morning at the coffee shop.”

“You heard [topic] being discussed at a coffee shop?”

“Yeah, some guy was talking about it on the phone. First I thought there was drama, but it wasn’t really the kind I’m into. The guy was getting pretty heated over it though.”

Suddenly Tim’s butting in, asking about this guy, what he looked like, what he was wearing, where he was, and what all the hero could remember, but the white hair and green eyes doesn’t match his notes so far, even if the hoodie and jeans match the usual (but it was some college hoodie??). When using cameras to check things out, there’s (either static, tech problems, or the person of interest is sitting at a blind spot or whatever) and it’s another thing to try add to his most longstanding personal case-board-file.

Okay, you know those inconsequential moments in movies and shows where something is done or said but it doesn’t matter until the Protagonist connects things/uses the info later?

Enter Danny.

This is a small job that he does while working with Clockwork. Danny walks around doing or saying things that might move the time stream to the ‘ideal’ outcome. Does he know how it helps? Nah, just that it does since he knows the slightest change can have big impacts. He doesn’t know exactly how long he’s been doing it in this universe, but it’s something to do.

Tim, the Connector of Dots, has recently caught onto a pattern of things, but he’s not sure what he’s looking at.

[sleepy-cone]

Broke: The batfam separates Tim and Damian to stop them from fighting each other.

Woke: The batfam separates Tim and Damian because they both encourage the others' absurd logic to justify feral behavior.

...

Tim: "See when I can focus directly on a case with no interruptions, my success rate goes up exponentially." (Hasn't slept in 56 hrs.)

Damian: "Statistics don't lie"

Tim: "Statistics don't lie"

...

Damian: "When I adopt more animals, it makes me happy, and if I'm happy, I work better with a team."

Tim: "And you help an animal that needs a home."

Damian: "EXACTLY!"

Tim: "If anything, its irresponsible to let them roam the streets as strays."

Damian: "That's what I said!"

...

Tim: "So one of the executives of this firm has been stealing some stuff, but unfortunately, he also has the resources and status to get him off the hook with a light sentence. Which sucks."

Damian: "What if you add a more serious crime to up the charges?"

Tim: "...That is GENIUS! I have dozens of cold cases that I've solved, but the culprits have already died! Im sure one of them could easily pass as him! "

Damian: "I can help if you need any evidence planted."

Tim: "Sure thing! I'll let you know when i find the right felony to give him!"

...

Dick: "At least they're having fun and getting along?"

Bruce: "This is not better. Stop trying to pretend this is better."