Itd be so fucked up if dick accepts it as the new normal, especially if Barbara picked up on it hard. Like she finally gives up on trying to make dick see that this is the mask Tim's parents made him put on and just starts reaching for others to try and help break it once again, the titans already broke it but now babs and jason(after being filled in on why this happened) and maybe even Bruce, the emotionally constipated man himself is working (1/?)
(2/?) On trying to get Tim to open up again. Wow itd be fucked if most of the family is working on helping Tim but dick is being stubborn saying “he just grew up.” “its fine, hes just an adult now” “hes not ‘emotionally unavailable’, he just has a stronger hold on his emotions now” just basically in denial of Tim hurting and being closed off to /him/. Because dicks his brother, why would he be closed off to his own brother? This went a bit long but now I kinda want a fic where
(3/3)dick denies he did anything wrong and refuses to believe so. Even if the evidence is right there. Even if its undeniable. He just doesnt want to admit he hurt someone he loves, and by continuing to deny it hes cause even more harm
You know babe, I’ve done some pretty angsty shit with regards to Dick and Tim’s relationship. I think characters like Bruce and Dick and Tim and Jay, not to mention the rest of the DC universe are at the mercy of bad writers and made well by the good ones, so you can put a spin on pretty much any character that will probably line up with cannon somewhere. Throw in the different animated runs and television adaptations and it’s really no wonder a lot of people don’t really know how crucial Tim Drake is to the evolution of the Batman mythos :D
(None of them had pants for fuck’s sake before Tim Drake’s Robin! @meara-eldestofthemall has some great exposition on some of this, so check out our Bat-Gran’s blog.)
So, I can see where Dick could be more oblivious to the effect all the bullshit Tim dealt with in his last year as Robin and his first year in a new name. He’s completely unaware. It wouldn’t be a shock to think he might have gone through the same kind of separation from Bruce when he was forced to give up the mask. He wasn’t a side kick anymore after he lost Robin, so growing into his own name not under the shadow of the Bat took some work.
Just because he came back (because of Tim at first) doesn’t mean Tim’s going to come back, and they really shouldn’t make him.
You could even argue it’s Dick being so stubborn about it because he really doesn’t want to think to hard about how it’s because of his choices back then that started it all. Dick doesn’t want the blame because did Bruce really ever take any?
He doesn’t want to admit he could have done it differently to save Tim some of the abruptness of it, could have at least told him before Dami just rolled up out in the suit. Could have prepared him for it better maybe.
Dick could justify it to himself that Dami was more in need at the time, and it was either give him something to fight for or watch him go back to Talia and Ra’s and be one of the bad guys they have to take down someday.
He put the most pressing need first, and he doesn’t have any regrets with bringing Dami closer into the family even if the price was driving Tim out.
