I am rewatching Young Justice and in season 2 there is a scene where six Justice League members have to travel off world for a criminal trial. Before they leave, there is a very touching scene where each member says goodbye to their respective mentee (most of which are family members who are worried about the outcome of the trial) and then it cuts to Batman and his gaggle of kids who are just like "Alright. See you when you get back. Not sure how long that will be but you always come back eventually."
I'd like to preface this by saying that this is from my - brown, first-gen, oldest kid/basically third pseudo-parent - perspective and that because of it, it may affect how I view the parent-child relationships as opposed to other people, even those like myself.
I'd argue that Bruce is a good parent objectively, definitely has a lot of faults and made more than enough mistakes, and that me saying so shouldn't be as controversial as it is. (It should be noted that many of the most obvious and glaring examples of Bruce's mistakes or moments of being just a bad parent are ooc or can be explained, not excused, through context. Don't get it twisted though, some of the shit he's done is inexcusable point blank, cause I know you girls like to tussle and bring in shit that's not even relevant. 😒)
I say it shouldn't be controversial because what I'm saying is really not anything that outlandish. Like I'm not saying he's a great and/or flawless parent. I'm basically calling him mid.* 😭
And a lot of people can't see that because their own parental relationships affect how they view Bruce's, because they're projecting onto certain characters, even if subconsciously. And that's fine, I just wished people would be more aware of when their own relationships affect the how they write or interpret Bruce's and his kids relationship.
(Idealistically, I'd like for people to clarify that they make bad dad Bruce content because of their own experiences in some capacity -like by saying itself self indulgent- but people shouldn't even feel like they should air out their issues for the sake of my comfortability.)
Enough of me being an idiot for the sake of comfort, the point is Bruce is not a bad parent, intentionally.
Don't get me wrong he fucks up a lot but a good amount of the shit he fucks up is cause of how socially inept he is, some of it could literally be fixed with better timing, and he really loves his kids even if he doesn't express himself as freely (loose use of the word freely) as he did before Jason's death.
(I do wish the Batman writers would get off their self indulgent power fantasy by not only having Bruce, and themselves, acknowledge what he did wrong, even if down the line, by having him apologize in a Brucey sense. That being physical touch or like many immigrant parents, like my own, through things like food.)
* You guys do remember that good is literally not a big stretch. Its literally saying he's average, not bad but not great, just kinda in the middle. 💀
Also don't bring up that "BUt hE lEtS tHE KiDS FiGHtE cRimE" cause:
1. That man not only implanted the idea but dedicated himself to the idea of stopping all crime in Gotham -so that others wouldn't have to go through the loose of loosing a or loved ones, like he did- since he was 10 and in some shit started training and preparing for something along the idea of crime fighting at that age as well. (In more modern stuff he started as a teen but that still means he was a kid when he started this concept.)
2. He was doing literal vigilante shit as a child/teen too. (Again depends cause DC hates consistency.)💀
3. It's a fucking comic, while it's based in the real world it make no secret of ignoring a lot of real world logic/aspects for the sake of story telling. Like, the reason why kids are vigilante or out crime fighting is for the reader (target audience of kids) to enjoy. It's the definition of literally not that deep.
"BUt hE'S tHe ADuLT, hE sHOUld NoW bETTer-"
1. That man both grew up too quickly but never grew up as well, he's very idealistic and thinks like a kid sometimes. More often than not you see his own family and friends describe him as a frightened child that never let go.
2. He was in his early twenties when he took in Dick (having a 10-14 yr age gap depending on continuity, making it hard for him to not think of him as both as son and/or brother when the role fit. 😭) and he really thought he was helping Dick by training him instead of the kid going out on his own, if he refused, to take down Zucco because he didn't want him to end up like him.
3. Why go only after Bruce? 🤨 I literally don't see half the flack Bruce gets for any of the shit I've previously talked about with other heros, even when what they've done has been worse. 😒
(Listen, I get it, the fanboys and male who project themselves onto Bruce as their power fantasy are fucking annoying, it's a reason why I hate a particular sector of Comic writers/runs and a lot of the live action shit. -Looking at you Frank Miller, wtf are you taking cause I think the government needs to sample it or smth. What is with the fucking meows, Tom King? -)
Extras:
1. Also, just as a reminder cause some of you mfs be blind, Bruce pushes for his villains towards rehabilitation. (He doesn't just want to beat him up, but comic book nerds would be damn if they didn't see some violence. )
Like there's a reason why he helps out the common people as Bruce and Batman a lot, because he genuinely wants Gotham to be better to be a good and most importantly safe. And he goes about it by funding the city and a good portion of the people within. (You can literally find multiple examples of him going up to people as Batman and giving them a card or telling them to ask Wayne Enterprise's for a job because they are guarantee to get one.)
2. Cause I know some people are gonna bring up Rhao.
Fyi, don't take anything Rhao Jason says that seriously cause a lot of the thing is either ooc or inconsistent, and it's only Jason saying it without backing from anyone else in the family. (It also doesn't match with what we see of his training or Robin days so why use it for an argument. ☠️)
3. We need to have some Non-misogynistic writers rewrite Stephanie's time as Robin cause the writers really seem like they hated her and you can see it with how they wrote Bruce. (Note Bruce was also really harsh with her cause he wanted her to not get involved in that life but that doesn't excuse it.)
4. An argument can be made that Jason is Bruce's favorite child because none of the other kids would get away with half the shit Jason has done. (You could also argue it's because Jason is the first kid Bruce took in with the intention of being a parent/parental figure for.)
Heads up: This isn't my main so my replies would hypothetically be through reblogs. So yeah. 😭
Tim: I know, I know. I'll take a break in an hour.
Jason: You said that two hours ago.
Tim: I know! But I really need to finish this
Jason: Make Bruce do it!
Tim: Bruce?
Jason [in disbelief]: It's his stupid company. Make him fucking do his job and let's go already!
Tim: Go where?
Jason: Oh my God. Fucking hell replacement. It's your birthday. Are you telling me you forgot! What the hell kid, and---
Tim: Oh! We were supposed to go to the moon!
Jason [sighing]: God knows why you wanna go there of all places, but yes. The moon. You, me flying to the freaking moon. And then we come back and celebrate your birthday with the others tomorrow.
"Believe it or not Dick, so is Bart. Younger than the demon spawn in fact."
"That doesn't--"
"Look, if Damian stopped talking shit all the time Bart wouldn't snap back. Bart's a kid Dick. Damian should act his age."
"......."
"......."
"You were waiting to use that one on me weren't you?"
"What can I say. Karma's a bitch. Plus, it doesn't hurt that being the grandson of Ra's al Ghul doesn't hold much weight when you're boosting about it to the grandson of the earth's president."
Summery: Tim wonders if dying gives him the right to abandon his family
There aren’t many steps between him and his family.
Of course physically, there is quite the distance separating him from the manor, but this wasn’t about distance. Not really.
Pursing his lips, he lets his hand slack, allowing his suitcase to tumble to the ground. It makes a loud noise, a clatter and then nothing.
Briefly Tim wonders whether he is being cruel. Vindictive? Merciless?
If he could only muster up the strength to walk up the path, hail a taxi and put in the ten minutes work it took to make it to the front gates. He was sure his family would welcome him back with open arms.
He’d only been gone for seven months, nine days and twenty-two hours and counting. They’d grieved long enough, looked for him long enough and then resumed their lives long enough. They looked happier now. Content, recovering.
Still, no matter how rosy their lives looked from the outside Tim knew it was anything but. He’d been in a similar situation after all. Had seen the devastation, the denial, the anger. Had firsthand witnessed Bruce spiral out of control, had witnessed Dick Grayson’s broken heart.
He knew they had missed him.
Grieved him.
Loved him, in their own way and lost him.
Wasn’t it then cruel to not go back?
If they had fought for him; five months, seven days and nine hours. If they’d been relentless in their pursuit for him, in his rescue; despite the lack of evidence, despite the hopelessness of the case, despite the horrors. If they’d given him five months of undivided attention, didn’t he owe it to them to go back?
His knee buckles and Tim draws in a sharp breath. Ouch.
Bringing his left hand down to his weaker leg, he clams the fingers around the joint, pressing hard enough to bruise. It again flares up but eventually the burn resides and he removes his hand.
It leaves behind a dark patch of red on the otherwise pristine jeans.
Closing his eyes, Tim tries to imagine his welcoming.
He imagines Bruce with his disbelief, Dick with all the hugs and tears and Jason with the snark, but his eyes would be wet and his arms would be shaking. And it would show Tim all he needed to know about how much his ‘death’ effected Jason. Cass would kiss both his cheeks and Alfred might pull him into a hug to hide his tears. Duke would openly cry of course and Damian, well, Tim isn’t quite sure about Damian. But he might welcome him back too. After all the kid had grown quite a lot since he last saw him.
Bruce will hug him too in the end. After he got over his suspicion and fear, he would hug him. Would hug him so tight Tim would hardly be able to breathe through it.
They’d missed him after all.
Coughing suddenly, he wheezes until it feels as if his lungs are about to burst. Chest rattling, he grimaces.
What did one owe loved ones when you’ve lived your whole life paying an unpayable price to them?
Did you owe them peace? Happiness? Relief? Love perhaps? Tim wasn’t sure anymore.
He’d been gone for too long. Been deconstructed, and then reconstructed. Been hurt, and then had hurt. Had died and then had lived. Yes, he’d lived. Free from responsibilities, free from consequences, from sadness or fear. From debt and deception.
He hadn’t been happy, but he’d been alive.
So what did one owe a family who could strip that all away?
“If you want to go back, I’m not going to stop you kid.”
His mouth suddenly feels dry and his eyes sting. He doesn’t turn around to inspect his visitor. He doesn’t have to. “I told you I wanted to do this alone.”
“I know,” John says, voice mild but Tim knows, oh Tim knows.
“Then why are you here?”
He has yet to move from the very position he’d found himself in the moment he’d stepped into this street. He hasn’t moved. Partly because he can’t; just the thought of putting one foot in front of the other brings him unimaginable pain. But also because he won’t. It’s not fair, but he won’t. And Constantine is well aware.
Maybe that’s why he hates him so much.
“I came for moral support?”
Tim snorts.
John huffs.
“Yeah, sounds stupid. But it’s true.”
John Constantine.
A year ago and Tim wouldn’t have paid him much of a mind. Six months later and he’s willing to lay down his life for this very man.
Funny this world they lived in.
“Do you want to go back Tim?”
Did he?
“I don’t know.”
“I’m not going to stop you if you do.”
He wouldn’t.
John was many things but he didn’t enforce his life on anyone. If Tim decided to walk away, decided to hail that cab, get in and drive to the manor. He was sure John would let him go. Would he be disappointed? Sure. But he wouldn’t stop him. Tim could appreciate that.
“I don’t want to go back.”
“Oh?”
“I mean,” for the first time his voice falters, he still doesn’t turn around. Fingers opening and closing, eyes fixated on the gray suitcase lying in the dirt. “I want to, but that’s my mind tricking me. Trying to drag me back to the familiar. I can’t go back. Not if I hope to find Bart.”
He hears John shuffle behind him. Poor Constantine could be awkward at the best of times. Tim finds himself smiling at the consistency. “I could find your friend on my own you know. He is the last one.”
Tim shrugs. “He’s my family. I need to be there when you do.”
“Aren’t they your family too?” John is next to him now, leaning down to right the suitcase. One arm casually coming up to rest on his shoulder after he straightens. Tim doesn’t say anything, but it makes him smile. The consideration.
“They are. But, they are the family I chose. Bart is the family I love.”
“Is there a difference?”
Leaning heavily on the man next to him, Tim finally closes his eyes and shudders. “I would die for them, but for Bart, for Kon, for Cassie I--”
“Would sell your soul.”
Tim smiles. “Yeah.”
“Very well then.”
John smells of smoke and death and power and comfort. John Constantine smells of home and sacrifice, of rescue and bargain. He is what Tim turned to in his time of need. When no one came, when he cracked, when he died.
John Constantine was his path now.
Going back to the manor would been going backwards. Would mean abandoning Bart. Would mean never getting the others home. Would mean setting the Wayne family’s healing process back a few steps.
No, Tim couldn’t go back.
He could never go back.
“When will we leave?”
John drops his hand, pulls out a cigarette. Tim lifts his own hand, flicks his fingers and lights it. “Right about now kiddo. Hold on.”
When the shimmering glow falls shut behind them, all there is left on the deserted street of San Peters Avenue is an old gray suitcase that once belonged to the deceased Timothy Jackson Drake Wayne, age twenty-one and counting?
This really isn’t a long fic (maybe an au, I’m not sure) but it’s something that popped into my head, so while I don’t know if you’ll like it, better safe than sorry right?
"Seriously," Tim said; crossing his arms and sighing loudly. "I'm sorry I killed you ok! When are you gonna let it go?"
"Let it- Are you fucking serious replacement?"
Tim sighed again. "You've tried to kill me so many times the past fifty years and I kill you once and suddenly boom you're pissed. Unbelievable."
"You-" Jason's face had turned an interesting shade of red and Tim would have found it all so very amusing if he wasn't in the process of getting a knife out of his stomach.
"Me what," he grunted, finally able to dislodge the metal; warm blood splattering across his clothes and making him frown. "Look what you've done." Waving a stained hand over his waist he glared. "You ruined my best suit."
"You killed me!"
"I had to! Oh my God, why are you so dramatic."
"Because it fucking hurt you little shit!"
Tim couldn't deal with this anymore. So standing up with a wince and brushing himself off, he leveled a tired glare at his brother and crossed his arms. "If I didn't kill you you would have bled out slowly on that dirty shore and you know it. I spared you heaps of pain so.... you welcome."
Jason didn't seem very satisfied with that answer, instead his face took an even darker shade of red. "You fucking drowned me replacement! Was there literally no other way to murder me? After thousand of years of roaming this earth and drowning was your best answer?"
Tim shrugged. "You're difficult to kill brother."
(In which Tim and Jason are immortal friends/brothers who are just living their best lives)
As I was working on my crossover fic "Finding Peter", I came up with the headcanon that Tim and Steph have their own Youtube channel called, "So You Want to Be a Hero Kid?" for idiots like themselves who are determined to bb bravely stupid. It covers everything from self-defense, parkour, and treating injuries to how to verbally burn someone so brutally they will never recover and how to set up a window alarm. They of course urge kids not to do those things, talking about better courses of action, but they acknowledge some kids are just too dang stubborn because they were.
They normally take turns narrating but occasionally do it together. Tim narrates like a doctor giving instructions in the operating room. He's not very entertaining, but very informative.
Steph is a hoot. People love watching her videos because you normally end up dying of laughter, especially if Tim is with her because she just heckles him and he gets so miffed. But if Steph says something is a bad idea, or you really should call the cops or an ambulance, all serious like, it's powerful.
They go by S and R and never show their faces, but any Gotham natives knows it's Spoiler and Red Robin. Batman barely permits the channel.
