Nulek:-\

Dick hated him when Jason was a kid. And with all that hatred, Dick reminded Jason of Willis. Sure Dick never laid a hand on him like Willis did, but he sure looked like he wanted to.

The glares of hatred that Jason was on the receiving ends of sent Jason spiraling into a PTSD attack more than once. Dick’s glares we’re always filled with so much more vitriol than Willis’ were. The thing that terrified Jason most about Dick’s glares was that Dick did them when he was sober, unlike Willis.

Dick also sounded like Willis, with his heavy angry footsteps stomping all over the manor, just like Willis’ sounded around the apartment. Dick would throw things against walls, break doors and chairs, rip cabinet doors right off their hinges, something that Willis wasn’t even able to do. Willis would hit and throw things, but he never broke them, they were too poor for that, even Willis realized that.

And the shouting. Dick never got far when it came to shouting at Jason, Alfred or Bruce would always shut that shit down on site. Physically dragging Dick away from him so he wouldn’t say something triggering to Jason. But watching a nearly grown man, practically feral with anger, looking like he wants to kill you, be dragged away from you by your older family members wasn’t a calming sight either. And the sound of Bruce and Dick shouting from behind closed doors was a staple noise during Jason’s time in the manor, just like Willis’ yelling was in his time at the apartment.

Sure Dick’s anger was different than Willis’ anger. Dick’s anger was a righteous fury that was big and explosive like a munitions shed on fire. Willis’ anger was solid and dark, festering and painful like acid forced in your mouth. But that didn’t mean that Dick wasn’t scary. That all of Dick’s traits that he unknowingly shared with Willis didn’t unsettle and haunt Jason.

Dick was never kind to Jason while in the manor. So seeing Dick after Jason’s death, and seeing him filled with joy, looking so soft compared to what Jason knew him as. It was a shock. Of course Jason knew that people can change, just look at him pre and post death. But to see Dick smile at Tim, smile at Robin was like a cold water gut wrenching feeling in his stomach. It was weird. It was unlike the Dick he knew in every way. And yet there Dick was looking after Tim and Damian as a big brother should, when that was all Jason ever wanted from Dick when he was a child. To see Dick give that to Tim and Damian so freely when it was withheld so viciously from Jason, made Jason want to cry. Cry at how unfair it was. Scream to know what had made Dick have such a drastic change of heart? Did Jason really have to die for Dick to want a brother? Did Jason have to die for Dick to see that how he treated Jason was wrong? Did Jason have to die for Dick to realize that he should never treat a child that way? Did Jason have to die for him to be worthy of Dick’s love?

Did Jason have to be a martyr for his younger brothers?

Did Jason have to pretend that Dick’s torment over him just, never happened?

How do you go about mending such a Brocken relationship? A relationship that was barely even there to begin with.

Does Dick even feel sorry for what he did to Jason? Does Dick even realize what he did to Jason?

Will Dick and Jason ever be able to be brothers like this? After all this time, after all the violence?

Would Jason even be able to forgive Dick?

Would Jason be ready to confront that fact that he already has. Because if forgiving Dick, and all the yelling, and the threatening, all the screaming, all the breaking got Dick to smile at him like that, like a brother, like family. Then, it would be worth it.

lemme say before anything else that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a one night stand, going on lots of dates, etc., and that i wasn’t criticizing the actions themselves, but the actions being portrayed by this particular fictional character. for example, i love preboot roy harper, and his character was very much into healthy, casual sex (this will actually come up later). it was a believable, reoccurring trait for him. but for dick, this kind of behavior/interpretation has really come out of left field. but honestly, i’m 100% here for sex positivity and sex-positive characters always. i hope that clears up your weird vibes!

which leads me to argue that, yes, he’s indeed been written a good number of ways, but the majority of those portrayals showed him as being generally uninterested in casual sex/one night stands. it’s important for diverse nuanced characters to exist, but it seems that dick being outrageously flirtatious/sexual has only been done more recently by writers purely because he’s a sexually attractive character and it’s expected of him. which is obviously a real problem.

here are some panels where he explicitly states that he’s not interested in what we’re talking about:

and oddly enough, here’s a panel of dick kind of being a shamer himself. he’s honestly acting like a judgmental jerk here because of how much he doesn’t relate to roy wanting short-lived, casual sex. shame on you, dick grayson!

and as far as flirting endlessly/being described as a womanizer goes (which was a big part of my post, honestly), here are a few panels showing how obviously uncomfortable dick is when bathed with attention that he wasn’t asking for. he doesn’t quip back, or preen, or agree. in fact, he doesn’t seem to like it at all.

does dick flirt? absolutely. look at how ridiculously cute he is flirting with barbara. but the thing here is that he and barbara have a long history of being in love with each other, and the flirtation seen here is mutual. they both are into each other, so it’s appropriate and fun. dick does not do this with women he doesn’t know/doesn’t care about in some way.

i’m not going to stretch the dash anymore than i already have, but i think that this is a very important issue for dick grayson fans to acknowledge, and that has been very misconstrued over the years (especially in the new 52). you can absolutely enjoy grayson, or any number of the slightly out of character arcs in preboot. i know i do! but to dismiss the ooc-ness completely is a little strange, and frankly, kind of problematic. 

the reversal of the fanon trope of dick being the "sunshiny" robin into someone angry and violent and out for blood is not the helpful shift many people think it is when trying to understand dick grayson as a character as a child. so much of fandom is turning characters very flat and not allowing them to experience two things at the same time or in fluctuating variances. which is. counterintuitive when trying to construct a cognitive map about them. having linear lines drawn for a character and keeping them in direct parallel to others, never letting them cross or intermingle, does the opposite of deepening understanding and depth of character.

what a lot of the "hot takes" i see about this very pivotal moment in dick's life focus on the rage as a very ongoing thing. i myself have touched on it a few times in metas and fics, and although i do believe dick's relationship with anger and how he responds to it is important to understanding his character, i do not believe it is a core aspect of it. yes, dick was angry as robin. he was angry bc his parents were taken from him in a very violent way for something that dick had very little understanding of. these are things that are obviously understandable to be angry about. heck, anger would not begin to describe the kind of feeling at having everything you've ever known be stripped away from you by something you had no part in or control over

but anger is not who dick grayson's robin was. his entire character is centered around hope and kindness and giving second chances. his character is about forgiveness and so many people brush over that part when laser focusing on his anger over the man that killed his family. one of the first things dick did as robin was go after and beat his parents' murderer, but he also stopped. he didn't beat that man to the point of killing him and he didn't go after him again once the man was put in prison. that may not seem like such a monumental thing but dick grayson forgave the man who took everything away from him in that simple action of stopping

by pulling him away from his anger, bruce gave dick a second chance at a life beyond that. and in return, dick never forgot that lesson and actively worked on and added to it. he became better because of his anger by practicing kindness, exercising restraint, and learning from his mistakes when things went too far

Batman vol 1 # 436-437

Batman Legends of the Dark Knight # 100

Not even in the Robin annual # 4, which I don't like but lots of people take inspiration from, did Dick run away to hunt down and kill Zucco.

woke: jason doesn’t care that dick put him in arkham because he was using it as a means to an end and he could’ve escaped at any time

oh and could you draw dick and donna in matching clothes, please? 🥺 (if you feel like it and have time for it of cause!)

adfhdfhskdhf omg thank you! I cant belive you wrote me omg I LOVE you and your art so much too💗💖😭💖💕💘💖💗

no but your art keeps me alive and always light up my day you are like my comfort artist and then you said you love my art too i cant believe it im in tears now

Canon:

Nightwing (1996) #6

Robin (1993) #82

Robin (1993) #118

Nightwing (1996) #110

Robin (1993) #156

Robin (1993) #183

Detective Comics #874

Nightwing (2016) #80

Urban Legends #10

Like it or not, Dick will always be there for Tim, whether he wants it or not

Red Robin #12

I do think Dick was right to give Robin to Damian because it was the only way to keep Damian in check given the shitty situation that Dick had been suddenly thrust into. However, he approached it completely wrong. He definitely could've handled the telling Tim part a lot better (for starters, by making sure that Damian was nowhere nearby to come up and aggravate Tim further during that process). It also would've been better if instead of simply telling Tim that he was taking Robin away, he instead included Tim in that decision making process so he could better find a solution that benefitted everyone or at the very least help Tim understand exactly why he wanted to give Robin to Damian and come up with a solution for how Tim was still going to fit in the picture.

Tim's reaction was 100% understandable, but still not the right way to handle it. He had explosive bouts of rage and shouldn't have punched Damian. But at the same time, his reaction is understandable and not just an asshole move like a lot of people sometimes call it as. He had lost everything in a span of a year or so and even before Bruce "died" he had talked about how being Robin was one of the only things keeping him going. When he lost that too, it was like his world shattered. Understandably he lashed out, but it still doesn't justify everything he did. He could've handled it better, but he wasn't just a complete asshole for no reason.

Plus, some of his anger was justified because after all he put into the Robin mantle, I personally don't believe Dick should've just taken it from him without involving him in the decision making process. Again, this harkens back to how Dick handled it. Giving Robin to Damian was the right decision, but Dick could've handled it way better amd Tim could've reacted way better too.

And Damian shouldn't have been a little shit to Tim about taking the mantle but his behavior is understandable given his background and age. Also, he did do his best to prove that he deserved it after the fact and did actively try to be better. He wasn't perfect and made a LOT of mistakes but he was also trying to be better which is admirable.

So yeah. Can we all agree by this point that it was a shitty situation and everyone did the best that they could but mistakes happened? And stop saying that either Tim was 100% right and Dick was an asshole or Dick was 100% right and Tim was an asshole because neither of them were. Both were grieving, and it was not a black and white situation. It was very much a shades of grey sort of deal.

Dick wasn't the one to do that

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3

Alfred passed on the mantle without Dick or Tim's knowledge, while the two of them were running around as Nightwing and Batman. What was Dick supposed to do, take it back? Yeah he chose to accept Damian as Robin - but he was reacting to Alfred's decision, leaving him little time to consult with Tim.

Tim had earned Robin though, and I feel bad for him.

But also, Tim was kinda a jerk to Dick and that's rarely mentioned.

Also, a lot of posts that 'fairly analyse' TIM'S faults during Bruce's trip of the magic school bus rarely do a unbiased job of it. They're always vague and saying Tim shouldn' have fought with Dick or Damian. Dick's mistakes on the other hand are a lot more detailed and descriptive.

Let's play an Uno reverse and see what comes up, huh?

One, it bothers me a little that Tim was never shown worrying about Dick's mental/emotional state (or even concerned he was grieving too) while DICK on the other hand kept trying to get Tim to talk to people and maybe go to therapy. While Dick had been emotional supporting Tim for years, Tim could muster up a little consideration for Dick's feelings? Like, physically fighting Dick was a real arsehole move but so was just abandoning him AFTER he said (for the first time) that he needed Tim's help.

Two, Tim's the one who let Jason out of prison before Battle for the Cowl. And Dick had to deal with the mess that created while Tim was off on his Bruce quest - and it was a mess alright. Jason was quite unambiguously written as unstable and mad, he went on regular murder sprees and had nearly killed Damian and Tim during the Battle for the Cowl before Dick arrived. And then he came back to Gotham twice and killed a bunch of people and nearly got Dick and Damian too. Overall stupid decision, but it's also kinda shitty that Tim just left the whole mess to Dick without any kinda of apology or acknowledgment.

Three, Tim didn't tell Dick he knew Bruce was alive even though he had multiple opportunities to during Blackest Night. Like, WTH Tim? Dick deserved to know. Plus, would have made things easier than dealing with the Ras.

Tim couldn't even explain keeping quiet to himself - he knew he should have told the others, but just didn't. He even said 'Alfred deserves to know' (again, example of the robins never really holding Alfred accountable) but didn't think Dick deserved the same courtesy? Dick, the man Bruce had raised from 8 to 18. He didn't think Dick might want to know that the man he was so unfailingly loyal to, a man for whom Dick had sacrificed his life for multiple times, the man whose much dreaded mantle Dick had taken on and whose son he was raising, was alive?

I don't know, but IMO Tim came off pretty badly in Red Robin in relation to how he treated his family - immature, thoughtless and self absorbed. And I can cut him some slack for that - he was young and grieving. But the number of fanfics I've read that blame Dick and make him grovel for forgiveness and get yelled at by Jason or Bruce of all people!? Like, Jason, you tried killing Tim multiple times and Bruce, you took Robin away from Dick when he was the one who created it (and did too many shitty things to mention here)! Neither of you get an opinion on this! And Cass, sorry, but you just weren't around for that arc - DC being shitty as usual I know, but the fics don't change that. Instead she just strolls in after Bruce comes back.

Also, how is it that any analysis always makes sure to talk about Tim apparently loosing everything to excuse him, but never mentions Dick's own situation?

I use apparently' because, as in rarely acknowledged, least most of the people Tim lost had already come to life by the time Bruce died (Steph, Conner and Bart).

Dick just went though Blockbuster PURPOSELY destroying his entire life (blowing up his apartment in blud and killing all his friends and neighbors and destroying Haly's and killing most of the performers), then Tarantula killed Blockbuster and raped Dick (for which he blamed himself). Oh, and in the middle, tarantula interrupted a date with Barbara and kissed him, for which Barbara basically victim-blamed him (asked why he 'pretended' to be surprised when random people kissed him) and broke up with him. Then he went undercover with the mob and Slade tol get leverage on them and force them (and other major villains through Slade) out of Blud and give the city a fresh start - during which all his friends thought he'd gone bad and even Clark suspected him. Then Slade destroyed Blud BECAUSE DICK OUTSMARTED HIM (in Slade's defense, it was super OOC writting because in the previous issued he'd JUST agreed to protect Blud from major villains and Slade's whole thing is 'my word is my bond'), Dick went racing into the radioactive ruins (despite Clark literally picking him up and putting him outside the city). Since Slade had targeted Blud to get back at him, Dick blamed himself and was depressed and passively suicidal from that and from letting Blockbuster die (even Bruce noticed). THEN the crisis happened and he went undercover in Blackgate, his extraction got screwed up and Dick was tortured on fear gas and by various villains for a week before nearly being lobotomized. Then he managed to escape only for Bruce to die - forcing him to give up his fledging new life in New York and come back to Gotham to take up a mantle he hated.

Dick didn't even get time to mourn before everyone (Tim especially) insisted Nightwing wasn't enough - that Dick had to take up Batman - despite Bruce telling him to let the mantle die.

Dick lost his original home and family, his city and finally his father - and, except for Bruce, the others were dead BECAUSE OF THEIR CONNECTION TO HIM! He was basically suicidal in the middle.

Damian was literally the only thing he had left of Bruce. Is it really unreasonable that he'd want to stop him from going back to eh league of assassins?