#tim deserved better

[flwrkid14]

You Don't Get to Call Yourself Family (Tim Drake is a Fenton)

part 1 , part 2

It starts with another of Dick’s attempts to be Tim’s Big Brother™.

It’s well-meaning, of course. They’re mid-patrol, crouched on a rooftop, when Dick gently brings it up.

“You know, Tim, we could be family if you’d just let us.”

Tim freezes for a moment, his grip tightening on his grappling gun. But then he exhales, forces himself to focus, and mutters: “I told you. You’re coworkers. That’s it.”

But Dick doesn’t drop it. And when they return to the Cave, the rest of the Batfamily piles on—each in their own way.

Jason: “C’mon, Replacement. Admit it. We’re at least kinda family.”

Damian, sneering: “He’s too much of a coward to acknowledge it.”

Bruce, quiet but insistent: “Tim, this is your home. We are your family.”

And Tim—who’s been holding this in for years—finally snaps.

“Family?!” Tim’s voice echoes through the Cave, sharp and brittle like glass about to shatter. “You think you’re my family?!”

Everyone goes still.

Tim takes a step forward, fury radiating off him in waves. “Let me ask you something—what kind of family depends on a thirteen-year-old to pull their grieving father out of the abyss because no one else could be bothered? What kind of family calls him Replacement and then beats him bloody because he’s not good enough?!”

Jason flinches, but Tim doesn’t stop.

“What kind of family tries to kill him multiple times and laughs it off like it’s a fucking joke?” His eyes land on Damian, who looks like he wants to argue but doesn’t. “And what kind of family stands by and watches it happen and does nothing?!”

The silence is deafening.

Tim’s breath hitches, and he rakes a hand through his hair. “If you’re family, then why—why the hell did you all hurt me so much?”

No one can look him in the eye. Not even Bruce.

Tim’s voice drops, tired and cracked. “I can’t call you family. Because if I did, I’d have to accept that my family treated me like shit. And I already have one family, that loves me—I don’t need another one that makes me feel like I’m nothing.”

He turns on his heel, heading for the exit. “You’re my coworkers. That’s all you’ll ever be, and honestly? It's more than you deserve.”

And then he’s gone.

————

Later, Jazz calls him.

“You okay, Timmers?” she asks gently, voice soft in that way only Jazz can manage.

Tim sighs, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah. I just… lost it at them. Finally told them off.”

Jazz hums thoughtfully. “Good. They needed to hear it.”

Tim doesn’t respond right away, staring at the faint glow of the Batcomputer across the Cave. “Do you think I was too harsh?”

Jazz doesn’t hesitate. “No. You set a boundary. They’ve been pushing it for years. Let them sit with it for a while.”

Tim doesn’t know if he believes her, but he nods anyway. “Thanks, Jazz.”

“Always,” she replies. “Now come home for dinner. Mom’s trying a new ectoplasm casserole recipe, and Danny is threatening to ‘accidentally’ destroy the kitchen again.”

He laughs, already grabbing his things. “Be there in ten.”

[zombflesh]

(spoilers for suicide squad kills the justice league)

I saw the leaks for the new Suicide Squad game and I'm gonna be so disappointed if they gave AK!Jason a offscreen death.

[themaidenofwords]

The ultimate power of saying "I won't survive this, but I'll make sure you don't either."

i don't forgive you. but thank you for this

[cardinalcheerio]

Half the time I'm like, "can we have jason todd media not all about his death"?

Then I realize. If I died I would never shut up about it.

"Can you get up and grab that for me?"- absolutely not. My legs are tired from death.

"Will you go to the store with me?"- leaving the house?!? What if I die AGAIN.

So yeah, anyone who thinks jason talks about his death too much. Be honest. We'd all do the exact same thing.

[gingerzauce]

“your body my choice”. they are scared. they are scared because they are seeing the reaction of women, they are seeing the 4b movement, and they are scared. keep. going. women. you are so powerful right now, no man will ever change that. no matter how powerful he thinks he is.

[fanaticalthings]

[Jason and Steph hanging out at Jay's apartment]

Jason: So you and Tim are like, done, right?

Steph: Oh yeah, it's definitely over. It was pretty mutual, too.

Jason: Oh, thank God. I didn't wanna say it, but it was a bit annoying whenever I invited you over, and you dragged Tim with you.

Steph: yeahhh sorry about that

Jason: It's just nice spending quality time without the rest of the bats butting in. I already have enough to deal with whenever I visit the manor.

Steph: Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm gonna be 100% batboy/Robin-free from now on!

---

Steph showing up to Jason's apartment 1 month later with Cass in tow: So here's the thing-

[thedevilundercover]

Yk what dc definitely needs? An ao3 cameo bc have you seen your fan base, there is definitely some rando writing Batman/Brucie fics in Gotham because Batman Is Not beating the sugar baby allegations.

And have you seen the fucking batfam, Jason writes BatBruce fanfics whenever he feels Chaotic and Tim edits them whenever he get pissed at Bruce

Now I really want to see like fandom wars in the DCU but it's just the Batkids fighting for their ship bc they want [blank superhero] as their step parent

Imagine going on Tumblr and it's just like the same 10 blogs threatening each other because they don't agree with who's fucking batman? It'd be hilarious

Twitter fic this Twitter fic that, what about tumblr fics, huh?

[casscainmainly]

Excluding Jason because he's been through enough <3.

[deadtiredghost]

the only reason Tim Drake and Damian Wayne don't get along is because if they did the writers wouldn't be able to come up with a plot contrived enough for them to struggle with.

they would be the ultimate team if they could just work smoothly together.

but they cant so balance is restored to the world i guess.

[erinwantstowrite]

i think im not a fan of what dc keeps doing with jason because they keep having him, the abused, become an abuser in some way shape or form. and the classism they don't want to talk about (i am being so for real there is a genuine problem of both writers and readers who do not understand jason's background and it pissed me off so bad because it always shapes their opinion of him in the wrong way and they don't care to even try to listen). and how if they were going to have him come back they should have had delved into his identity crisis and the inherent horror of coming back but not knowing how or why or what to do about it and not knowing what you were doing while dead and having to deal with time jumping forward on you and the fact that you will never get the time back and no one will he the same as they were before you died and how isolating and lonely that would be. and they also definitely weren't prepared for the fact that jason was grieving his life and his death and his hopes for his mother and his dad who didn't get there in time and the dc writers are fucking cowards. which brings me to my next point: why do we keep listening to them about shit because they are quite literally always fighting with each other and projecting their own personal biases into characters (i.e. making them worse than they are/2 dimensional/trying to make them iredeemable so their favorite character gets to shine) and also they are all freaks of nature with a consistent problem of being God Awful People who why would we trust them with these characters. jason todd they don't get you like i do

[xmultifandomsx]

the understanding robin

Tim completely understanding that his training was different from Jason's and Dick's because Bruce was at a low point but still not really trusting him to train Damian. As much as he hated the pompous brat, a small part of him was relieved when Dick took over his Robin training. Logically, Tim knew Bruce was better now. He knew that Bruce would pull his punches when weapons sparring, he knew Bruce was picky about the missions he allowed Damian on (even now when Damian had been Robin for years). The care Bruce shows Damian painfully relieving. He lets out a breath every time he finds Damian unbruised after a sparring session, ignoring the phantom aches of a younger him. Still, there was that dark wriggling mass inside him that made him keep an eye on the mats whenever he caught them training. One time he barely restrains himself from jumping up from the batcomputer and rushing over when Bruce flips Damian onto the mats a bit too roughly. Of course, Bruce is immediately muttering apologies, which Damian shrugs off easily, and cancels the rest of training so he can look him over. As the father and son duo leave, neither older man can look at the other. One day Bruce will apologize, will explain everything Tim already knows. Then Tim will do what he's always done, and ease his guilt with understanding.

[kazbrekkeriselite]

Damian: I am darkness. I am an power. I am your worst nightmare. I could kill a man in more ways than you can imagine. I am the night. I am fury, I am a weapon, I am-  Dick : A doll.  Tim: A cinnamon roll.  Jason: A sweetheart.  Damian: Damian: ...stop it.

[tazernatic]

tim: are you robin because you're damian wayne or are you damian wayne because you're robin?

damian: unimportant. return to your duties.

damian, much later: goddammit, Drake.

[todelve-intomy-monthlyfixations]

Ever read a fanon fic so sad that you gotta pause and step away bc reminding yourself that "it didn't actually happen" is not enough

[cardinalcheerio]

Fans: Hey Jay, whats your favorite thing to do?

Jason: Well. I really like to-

Dc: SUFFER

Fan: I didn't ask you-

Dc: HE LIKES TO SUFFER

[gothamite-rambler]

How Bruce was able to convince Jason to stop killing bad guys

Context here: Bruce saved Jason from being shot at on Ra's island. Ra had tricked them into going there as a way to kill Jason and Bruce, toss them in the pit and have new allies. That failed, Bruce saved Jason, now they are at Wayne Manor and Bruce is discussing options to get his son to stop killing people.

Bruce Wayne: I’ll pay you to stop killing people.

Jason Todd: Mm… nah.

Bruce: You’d actually pass up seven thousand dollars every month to kill people for this fruitless journey?

Jason blinks, looking up from his gun.

Jason (shocked): Seven thousand dollars… a month?!

Bruce (nonchalantly): I can increase it.

Jason: You can increase it?

Dick Grayson fell from the side of the door where he and Tim were eavesdropping.

Dick: I wasn’t even paid that much until I left home.

Tim Drake (peeking from his corner): You're getting paid?

Dick: You can't be paid, Tim. You get money from your trust fund and... He found out you were embezzling money from his company.

Tim: I needed a skateboard and a laptop. It happened the one time.

Bruce: No, it didn't! I checked the books!

Tim hides back behind the corner of the wall. Dick ignored Tim.

Dick: I think I get why you're giving him so much money… you actually care about him again. That's so sweet. I’m pissed, but so sweet.

Tim: Yeah… great… cotton candy sweet… no, but seriously, I want to get paid!

Bruce: How did this come up in the conversation?

Jason (realizing this as well): Hmm, admit it. You care about me.

Bruce: I’m not… that is not… justice matters here. I am simply teaching you that true justice is not killing people, and seeing as you won’t listen to reason, I thought I could give you something better. That way, you quit doing this and you don’t get hurt—or worse.

Tim (stunned): Oh my God, you do care.

Bruce: Wh-Where did I say I care about him? I want to protect this… man. He is a grown man who I adopted when he was a child, yes. I do appreciate him being around and don’t want him to die... again. I have him back in my life, and I want to keep it that way.

Dick (crossing his arms): That was a long-winded way to say that, yes, he does care about you. Aww!

Jason: I’m so torn. On one hand, jeez, that's a lot of money... on the other hand… guns? Tsk, tsk. Okay, say the words, point blank, that you care about me, and I’ll stop killing people I see that deserve a bullet through the brain. Or pay me. Tick tock, detective.

Bruce (visibly embarrassed as his tough-guy persona begins to slip): Seven thousand, and I’ll send you weapons every month to end this conversation.

Jason: All right! I’ll do it; just sign this contract.

Jason pulls out a contract from his backpack.

Bruce: You have a contract? I… You… I need a moment.

Bruce turns around, pretending to think but trying to hide his smile.

Bruce: Okay, sure, I’ll look over this. I’m impressed; did you type this?

Jason: Wrote it by hand. Calligraphy practice paid off.

Bruce: I’m not saying it… but thank you for showing this side of yourself. I will read this in my office, alone.

Bruce walked off with a smile as the Batboys stay in the kitchen. Jason and Dick high-five while Tim walks off, upset that Bruce is still holding the embezzling scheme against him.