#which definitely won't give tim any sort of complexes or issues (lying)

[mamawasatesttube]

i was thinking further on how i could reconcile transmasc tim hcs with jack drake being the authoritarian republican parent that he is, and i think i figured it out. (cw for transphobia and deadname talk!)

tim, with a deadname of something like "jacqueline", aka "jackie", aka the tomboy girl who's almost as good as the son jack really wanted, who jack calls a total daddy's girl and brags about "li'l jackie" being named after him. except one day, when he's out of his coma and starting to recover and feeling soooo guilty for leaving his poor sweet innocent baby girl all alone after her mom's death... feeling guilty enough to even take her suggestion for which house to buy into heavy consideration...

and so "jackie" comes to him and says, hey, dad. can we talk about something? and explains that she actually wants to be a he. and jack's initial response of course is that this is ridiculous - is this some kind of grief response? except... the more she talks, the more it kind of makes sense. he has always wanted a son. and she's always been interested in boyish stuff. he thought that fixation on the circus kid from childhood was a crush, but maybe... she just wanted to be that kind of boy? and it's still not great, and he doesn't love it, but he supposes he can at least hear her out...

and the real final nail in the coffin is when she says dad, would you help me pick out a boy's name? if i'd been born a boy, maybe, what you and mom might've named me? and um... i was thinking i could maybe make my middle name something that can still shorten to jackie, 'cuz being named after you is important to me...

and what's an old pops who's been a little worried about bruce wayne replacing him as his kid's father supposed to do, when she--uh, he--flutters those big ol' baby blues at him like that?

now. here's the thing.

that was on purpose.

tim knows jack's been wallowing in guilt. that he's insecure about bruce. that he's always wished for a son instead of a daughter and that that is currently compounding the guilt he feels. tim is fully aware of all of this. tim is autistic with a special interest in "people" and he's completely cognizant of his father's vulnerabilities--a rare status that means he's actually listening more than he ever did before. and that's why he chose this moment to strike.

he is also going to have at least 4 minor existential crises over the next several months over the ethics of "was it wrong of me to knowingly and intentionally emotionally manipulate my father into being okay with me coming out?" but that's just how he is, i guess.