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Chapter Text

THE RIC GRAYSON ‘AMNESIA ARC’ SUMMARIZED

[SO YOU CAN AVOID (MOST OF) THE NONSENSE]

****UNDER CONSTRUCTION BUT POSTED EARLY BC I'VE GOTTEN FOUR DIFFERENT ASKS ABOUT IT**** [Which is really cool]

First and foremost other people have said all this before and better so please go check out the following analysis:

1. celestialsucculent|NightwingMyBoi's AMAZING succinct summary HERE and additional commentary HERE and also here. Here again! 

2. I've also used some of the images from NightwingMyBoi's various posts as I must use a URL to get images up here vs my own scans and screenshots... which is frustrating as honestly I'd rather just use those vs another's links like this but... 
If asked to take the images/chapter down, I will. For now though I hope they don't mind my using their Tumblr links for image URLs. 

 START

General Backstory | The Amnesia Scenario

There's a Hit on the Titans that somehow gets around Dick's security flags.

Roy Harper is shot (later revealed he also survives. KGBeast is not worth the money apparently).

Dick Grayson is shot in the head while out as Nightwing, in the GCPD, in front of Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Comm Jim Gordon. 

Dick survives but has amnesia which... isn't the worst case scenario having been sniped through the head. 

The Initial Plot | Even DC Admits That Dick Wouldn't be Ric Without Outside Interference

Long short, it turns out Dick’s long term care doctor, Dr. Haas, one that Bruce apparently personally chose whoops, conditions Dick to be uncomfortable around his family during the first stages of his recovery.

The story really kicks off because Dick, despite this conditioning and later revealed actual magical mind control, still goes to the manor, despite Dr. Haas's repeat and explicit warnings that it would set his recovery back and was a bad idea, and gives the whole Wayne family thing a chance. 

So this means, per se, that Ric Grayson is a created and manipulated persona. The Ric persona is NOT the baseline Dick personality or even indicative of what Dick would be like with amnesia. Dick's actions, choices, and most notably his persisting kindness are all in-spite of great acting outside forces! 

[ **Nightwing #70** My own doctor is responsible for this. She used this…memory crystal to manipulate me. Wayne brought her in after the KGBeast shot me. The world saw her as just a brain trauma specialist. What no one knew was that Dr. Haas was with the Court of Owls. They’d been cultivating me since childhood to join them as an assassin. A Talon. With her drugs, advanced psych techniques, and this crystal…I was putty in her hands.]

BatFam Is Fanon Confirmed

And the bat clan (mostly Alfred, Barbara, and Bruce but I'd argue Tim is also culpable) were present and thus directly complicit in this... Instead of gently supporting him, or calling help from any number of Dick’s past allies and friends to help support him or jog his memory, or even calling for one of the magic users or meta healers (that are also Dick’s teammates or friends) choose to traumatize Dick with a video of Dick getting shot in the head because they needed Nightwing *now* and no one cares if they have to harm Dick to make that happen.

I’m not even kidding. It’s… horrific. And! Like most events regarding Dick Grayson in the DC universe, it gets WORSE with context! Because as some may recall, Bruce RECENTLY lost his memories and ya know how that was handled?

Alfred literally throws the kids out of the Manor, hides all evidence of their existence, and gently walks Bruce through his own history.

*Batman (2011) #43* [A note that this is not too long after Bruce brutalized Dick into going undercover at Spyral and that at this time no one other than now amnesiac Bruce knew Dick was alive and now stranded in a lethal op with no back up or exit strategy.]

Alfred allows Bruce the choice to do what he wishes with his life.

Even if it means he doesn’t choose to be Batman OR associate with anything that came of him being Batman... Like funding the JLA.
Or, oh, hey, the like six children he’s taken in and trained and abused.

…hell, Alfred even encouraged that choice, and everyone bent over backwards so that it could happen; wanting Bruce to be happy first and foremost.

I mean, moved everyone out of the Manor and locked up the Batcave all so Bruce could be an amnesiac billionaire, with all the money in the world, a fancy, empty, house, etc. Living his best, selfish, life. Thanks, Alfred. [I'm really no longer fond of Alfred.]

But Dick? The second he won’t “become Nightwing” (described as a selfish act ("He doesn't realize we need him.") by Barbara Gordon in a panel down below) he is literally thrown out onto the streets. 

Are we worried about how Dick is recovering from being shot in the head?

Or how this is all very traumatizing?

[SURE. ALRIGHT. SHOW THE AMNESIAC A BLOODY SUIT AND LIKE 7 SCREENS OF HIM GETTING SNIPED IN THE HEAD GREAT IDEA. GROUP OF GENIUSES. SURE. Also the cult vibes are strong here - "So you'll remember," "And come back to us." CREEPY!]

Apparently what matters about Dick Grayson is that he is *there to support you all!*.      If he can’t do that, does he even matter?

(You know what, why don’t we just play Surface Pressure from Encanto? It might actually be a faster recap: https://youtu.be/tQwVKr8rCYw except, you know, Louisa’s fears are Dick’s reality and this whole arc just establishes it as canon.) 

Okay where were we... Ah, yes. We showed an already traumatized, and drugged, and magic-affected amnesiac HD videos of himself getting sniped in thread from multiple angles and a super suit covered in his own blood.

After all that, Dick is horrified and angry because they’ve hurt him with this, and so he tells them all to leave him alone, says that he doesn’t want to be Nightwing because all of this scares him… and that’s somehow unreasonable on his part.

[Right. Good to know how you feel about this, Babs, but, uh, I'm not sure why it's the focus of this panel? Like, she looks great here, that's nice, but what she's saying is... really concerning. Babs' character has gone through the wringer right alongside Dick's recently.]

Dick does run screaming out of the manor. Which between the actual bat cave, the people dressed as bats, the super suit with his blood on it and everything else feels pretty reasonable.

What's not reasonable is that, after shouting at Dr Haas as Dick flees - once again ignoring Dick's agency - the Bats then proceed to cut Dick off financially. They confiscate/bar Ric from accessing Dick Grayson’s personal assets - but note they do not distribute his will bc that would drag in the over-verse of DC!

This includes barring "Ric" access to Dick's Bludhaven apartment [ie: a place to LIVE beyond the medical center].

The disparate treatments here between Amnesia!Bruce (which occurred during the Spyral Arc) and Amnesia-sniped-in-the-head!Dick are pretty wild.

And then Dr. Haas “suggests” Dick move to Bludhaven (alone! No finances or set up!!) — of course you find out later that this wasn’t a suggestion at all bc she’s drugging him and using MAGIC to subtly control and isolate Dick.

DC then writes that the Bat family is A-OKAY with this. That they all, with a billionaire’s funds and all the resources in the world, just give up and leave Dick all alone to live homeless, on the streets, after getting shot in the head. Without (as far as they're aware) even his skills as a vigilante to protect him in a rough town like Bludhaven (because– amnesia!)?

So - likely due to the whole magic memory crystal  and drugs, Dick does move to Bludhaven. And he doesn’t have a place to live. (Now, why the CoO doesn't scoop him up here is likely 100% due to the fact that this whole project got bounced between 4 different authors but re-reading it is a trip and a half. This is Dick's second canon forward foray into homelessness and his third if you count the implied time span between Dick being kicked out of the manor or as the fandom calls it; "fired" and Dick establishing Nightwing and the Titans.) 

Ric eventually lives out of a cab (that he was barely able to get given he has no history and no ID). He had to hustle pool to get pocket change to eat, and Bea Bennet (best love interest since Starfire, I said it, even with DC’s clumsy writing) still had to cover Dick's tab for meals at her bar, something she did out of Kindness (and because she too once was hungry and homeless). 

And the few times we see the "BatFam" visit? They're not there to check upon Dick. It's not to see if he's alright, or happy, or even safe... No, they're there to get what they need - namely, a Dick Grayson who will support them. Because that's what matters most!

They're aware Dick/Ric is homeless and living out of a cab. They just... don't care. 

And I mean, allegedly they were aware of everything including but not limited to: Dick getting targeted by Scarecrow, being homeless, starving, and having to gamble for food money... 

I really hope you weren't actually watching Bruce, that is NOT a good thing to admit... also that's Tim, not Damian. Damian is with the Titans but is also just hand waved out of the story bc... reasons?

This all just gets... incredibly worse when at the end of the saga Bruce "comfortingly" informs Dick that he was "watching over him the entire time." Like holy cripes Bruce I sure hope you WERE NOT! I mean, Dick was attacked by Scarecrow, the Court of Owls, *and* the Joker and not a PEEP from the entire supposedly hyper vigilant and caring Batman and Bat Clan. Right. [ BatFam is Fanon Confirmed.]  

The Needless Nightwings | No I Don't Know Why DC Wrote These Guys In Either

Now in the meantime, Ric managed to come across one of Dick's Nightwing stashes and, due to the magic crystal brainwashing, promptly had a panic attack and attempted to burn all of his vigilante gear.

Now because Dick doesn't make cheap shit, the gear survived... and gets found by Dick's rampagingly arrogant and incompetent former peers at the BHPD some BHPD officers.

The officers steal take the singed gear and start trying to live the vigilante life, calling themselves (creatively) the "Nightwings" -- they are not very good or effective but do indeed believe themselves to be hot shit.

They, like most DC characters, oscillate between being dramatically impressed by 'Ric' and talking down to him within the same panel.

(If we could please stop calling Dick Grayson any variant of the term 'rookie' when he's literally one of the veterans/founders of the DC universe that would be swell. It's not even ironically entertaining.) 

The Court of Owls | Road Trips to Bludhaven for This, Which is More than the Bat Clan Really Bothered to Do

This is a problem because when the Court comes a knocking for Nightwing... they find those chumps instead and are NOT amused.

[Nightwing #63] We actually get a lot more respect FOR Dick Grayson out of William Cobb than any other character in this arc. Which, given he's categorically Evil, isn't great.

I won’t go deep into the CoO stuff - though it IS so cool and SO underused for Dick (outside of fandom whumping).

It is also another thing that's been cut up and handed out to other characters... Here, Damian and Bruce in ways that frankly don’t make sense in the reboots/retcons.

For quite a while, the Court of Owls was thought to be a myth, known only through a nursery rhyme. 

The guy in the bad rubber-looking suit who shows up via knifing some of the Nightwings is Dick’s Biological Great Grandfather, a quasi-immortal assassin named William Cobb. He’s referred to as The Talon (as opposed to the other ‘talons’ who are the lesser quasi-immortal assassins who are kept in cryofreeze to stay young vs Cobb The Talon).

Talons have incredible healing powers/regenerative capabilities; the only way to take them out is to freeze or decapitate them. Anything else and they’ll just heal. 

Court of Owls arc reveals that Dick was intended to eventually serve the court of owls based on his lineage (great grandfather, William Cobb). The extent to which Dick was anticipated isn't established (though the Graysons specifically were shown to be under watch, not just the circus in general. Likewise Dick's early practices and performances were shown to be known and watched by the Court). What for and how much contact was ever had is unknown. 

Moreover, Haley’s Circus (Dick’s childhood home, the place Dick funded and maintained with his own savings through and across multiple canons, the place that we see him returning to for comfort) is a child trafficking ring to both collect and pre-train kids who later serve the Court in various capacities.

[[The Court of Owls storyline from *Batman (2011) #7* is now CONFIRMED to have been originally written for Batman!Dick Grayson... which makes so much more sense!!!]]

Note that the CoO of Batman 2011 was a weird retcon rewrite of the original Court of Owls saga where, despite literally revealing that this is a whole connection to Dick Grayson… they rewrote the story line in Batman 2011 #7 to be like… no… they want Bruce Wayne to Join Them and they write in Bruce’s supposedly dead older brother from another dimension, "Thomas Wayne Jr" to be “Owlman” as the main villain. Like. that’s not contrived and forced at all. Noooo. 

[Some readers may recognize Owl Man from the end of Forever Evil when he kidnaps Dick, because he's pre-teen Tim Drake levels of obsessed with Dick Grayson yikes, and beats the living shit out of him with Superwoman (Wonderwoman's evil counterpart) and crew before strapping him into the Murder Machine which ends with Lex Luthor suffocating Dick and launching us straight into Spyral.]

The above aside, the reveal on the 2011 Court of Owls and Talon retcon backstory was… miserable.

Especially because, as noted above, they wrote Dick out of the main plot.

But especially so because they drag Dick in as a cameo for the sole purpose of proving the Talon connection... via having Bruce punch Dick hard enough to knock out a molar without any warning or preamble. 

And, again, WHY did Bruce jump immediately to hitting Dick? Okay you need the tooth. Great. Lucky hit much??? The odds of that getting the tooth out AND GETTING THE RIGHT TOOTH ON THE FIRST TRY?! Completely unnecessary and gratuitous violence directed at Dick by a family member he’s supposed to be able to trust (somehow) (despite the numerous past examples of physical abuse)! I don't care that "he's Batman" that was a DUMB way to do that! 

Which is double great, because hitting Dick (usually in the face) is actually a canonic Bat Clan method of dealing with emotions and disappointments. 

Bruce of course starts it all and this is one of the more famous ones.

[IMAGE - Jason: I'm spoiled for choice here. Jason has shot Dick several times, hit him, punched him specifically for Spyral, and even intentionally murdered while in a stolen Nightwing suit... And all of it is based in Jason's personal dislike for Dick, not for any specific reprisal.]

]

Cass: Batgirl #46 Cass throws Dick out a window after hearing from Babs how she (Barbara) somehow misconstrued Tarantula (Dick’s soon-to-be rapist) kneeing him in the groin and forcing him into a kiss to be ‘romantic’…aka Barbara saw Dick get sexually assaulted and blamed him for it. And Dick’s thrown out a window for that. 

Damian apparently just smacks when he doesn't like what Dick has to say... Like Father, Like Son. 

Tim Red Robin #4 -  I'm using this one specifically because its become a personal pet peeve. Dick suggests (calmly) that Tim seek help to deal with his grief. Tim attacks Dick.

Right, I digressed, back to "Why" Dick was hit in the fist place...

Bruce punches Dick hard enough to damage his jaw in order to remove an electrum tooth. Supposedly proving without a doubt that Dick was meant to become a Talon and then, having dropped both Dick to the ground and this horrible news proceeds to focus on... well, himself. 

-

Also note that Dick immediately has to start comforting Bruce right after this. He just picks himself up and starts planning their next Atk. Bruce, meanwhile, yells at Dick some more - gets emotional about Bruce’s supposed place in all this, and then shouts that Dick has to leave Gotham.  At the very least we get to see a bit of Dick's classic 'Defy Fate' mentality...

Right, Okay, background asserted -- Back to the Court of Owls in the Ric Grayson Arc! 

Grandpa Talon Cobb rolls up and starts taking out the Nightwings (who no reader is really fond of but probably not so much that you actually would wish stabbings and impalement upon them). Ric shows up with Bea. 

Cobb attacks Bea. Ric - still with no memories! - fights Talon. Talon overpowers Ric, and forces him to wear *memory-altering goggles* (what.) that implant a second life in his head – a life where Dick was raised to become Talon.

Naturally this results in nothing good.

Dick/Ric/Talon proceeds to assault and seriously injure the remaining Nightwings as his first Court assigned assassination targets.
(Literally continuing the over all theme of "Nightwing must die.")

Sadly this whole arc is left feeling cheap and honestly needlessly confusing as Dick is freed from the Court's control shortly thereafter due to a lucky hit to the goggles.

Which rendered them totally useless? Which... fine, okay, sure, whatever. The memory crystal was a thing from the Court, w h y did we need memory goggles?! 

Dick (in a frankly superior owl themed get up, step it up Cobb what was with the original Talon gear?) then turns around and proceeds to beat Cobb up a little, and tell him that no one can define his fate but him. This defying fate trope is a throwback to a lot of the original Nightwing and Titans arcs. 

Sadly, this is where the CoO strangely just fade back away into the shadows…

Dick is now struggling with the memories of two lives in his head, causing debilitating headaches. Bea and Dick discover Dr. Haas is responsible for Dick’s memory loss, and Dick tracks her down. He manages to take the memory crystal from Dr. Haas–a key tool in controlling him.

All should be well now, right? 

The cops realize they’re not cut out for this and hobble home or bleed out. Dick can probably hand-wave his secret ID again somehow, Bea is Ride Or Die for real and Dick is getting his head back in order with the boost from the goggles and now possession of the magic deus ex machina crystal!

We’re just about done here, right?

…Right?

I mean… wasn’t this all about retiring Nightwing one way or another?

(Can’t we be done? Hasn’t Dick been through enough now?)

Nope. Of course not. 

GUESS WHO ELSE ROAD TRIPPED TO BLUDHAVEN? |                           The Joker!  
                                                 [***Space Spazz 101, this is the“Boogie-Woogie-Trauma-Crystal, I’m your Dad!"]

Because why not. Like Murder Granda Cobb, the Joker is... weirdly defensive of the Nightwing mantle?

And he also, apparently, knows about this crystal because why wouldn’t he? It’s not like its unique and the first time we’ve ever seen one ever before! Cripes. 

But instead of killing Dick. Or flat out breaking his brain or enslaving him, the Joker goes a really weird, possibly darker actually, route instead. 

‘Cause Joker. Memory Crystal. Dick getting passed around between parties like a toy And what does Joker choose to do??

Yep. “OH LOOK, FREE REAL ESTATE. MY SON NOW, BATSY.” 

Wild.

There’s a few issues in between. And Joker!Crystal!Dick actually beats the daylights out of Jason Todd as Redhood in the Nightwing Issue AND in the Red Hood & Outlaws publications (this is the source of the somewhat infamous "little red riding hood" & "big bad wolf" quotes). Because ofc Joker thinks it's hilarious to send Dick after Robin 2 (aka the one Joker beat to death). Classy, DC. Very classy. 

This is about the point Bea when (SENSIBLY) runs to Gotham to get help.

She finds Barbara Gordon instead.

Babs... pretty much ignores everything Bea tells her, and finally tracks Dick down. Only for him to kick her ass. 

Babs on panel verbatim wonders "how Dick could do this to her." (BECAUSE HE IS BRAINWASHED, BARBARA. And also you left him to live on streets - AGAIN - when he didn’t snap to when you all demanded after having been SHOT IN THE HEAD. I am just SO upset by the writing and portrays of Barbara Gordon in recent Nightwing Arcs. It's not quite as bad as what they do to Dick but it's getting really close in my opinion.)

In the end, Barbara manages to escape from Dick, Dick in turn runs into Jason and Tim who manage to stall him out while Bea and Barbara get the crystal back from the Joker.

Dick’s internal narration during these events, meanwhile, has devolved into nonsensical sentence fragments because his brain has undergone physical trauma (bullet), emotional trauma (made up, implanted, and absolutely already knocking around in there), a solid does of drugs from Dr. Haas and Scarecrow, the goggles from the Court of Owls, and now the crystal again (blunt force) via the Joker. I mean, Dick ”remembers” his parents beating him, which is just heartbreaking. 

Bea recovers the crystal from JokerBY HITTING HIM IN THE HEAD WITH A BASEBALL BAT, WE STAN, and then gives it to Dick.

Bea emphasizes Dick’s choice. She is the only character to do so in the entire narration but the panel serves as good summation of most of her and Dick’s conversations. 

Bea gives the crystal TO DICK. SHE DOESN’T USE IT which is so important.

Because you now know the Bats wouldn’t hesitate to either use it themselves or be a little petty with it- intentionally or otherwise.

I shudder to think what Bruce or Babs or Tim would have ‘said’ thinking they were ‘fixing Dick.’ For once, Jason is the least of my worries.

She inspires Dick to heal himself with the crystal even through all the odds against him.

This is as warm and fuzzy as it gets because disgustingly, the very first thing you as a reader and Dick with his memories restored get to hear post his autonomy and memory and sense of self are returned to him for the first time in nearly 100 editions is literally... “He’s Ours Again” from Bruce Wayne.

Also Babs looks so smug???

Could we please for five seconds just care about Dick as a person, instead of a thing to claim. Please .

AND THAT'S THE END OF THE Ric Grayson ARC [and also into Joker Wars among a few other minor arcs but that's the be all end all of 'Ric']

EDIT: Where was Damian Grayson Wayne in all this?

(Nightwing Annual #2)

Damian was kept off panel despite both characters (Damian and Dick) being alive and knowing the other was alive for the first time in real-world years and quite a few arcs in the comics time line.

(Noting that Grayson, better known as the Spyral Arc, was published in 2014-2016 and the Ric Grayson (coordinated by Tom King, who was writing the Batman side of things, and Dan Dido - who has repeatedly said he wants to kill Dick Grayson off permanently) was published from 2018-2020. I know everyone loves the drama of Spyral but a lot has actually happened since! ...unfortunately including all of this.) 

Going back through it, this was around the same time as Damian's Titans debut (see: DC once again recycling characters and comic plot arcs from Dick's history), meaning Damian was (again, meta / real world stuff) TECHNICALLY shifted outside of the Batman Comics corner.

So, much like with Jason, the authors who had their hands on Dick for this saga couldn't get their hands on Damian (thank goodness).

I think the fandom consensus is that Damian would Not Have Handled It Well and interpretations on that vary from awful angst (usually ignoring that Dick is being HEAVILY drugged and magically influenced to slam Damian's insecurities) to, frankly, the realization that there'd be little stopping Damian from trying (and likely succeeding) to shove Ric into the nearest Lazarus Pit, side effects be damned.

I don't have similar answers about Tim's character in this arc. While he's not on panel NEARLY as often as Barbara or Bruce, he's still referenced and is depicted as living in Gotham AND made aware of Dick's situation. DC really just wanted to obliterate the previously solid Dick&Tim relationship and rapport. Which is devastating as a reader because it was such a cornerstone for both characters... 

EDIT: Post Arc Babs Continuing to be a Victim Blamer and Generally OOC

Like, okay, we got this characterization FIRMLY established back in the Block Buster arc but WOW.

Clear example below, Babs flat out blames Dick for his actions while suffering amnesia, from being shot in the head, and then drugged and then magically whammied not once, but twice. And she blames Dick for what he was made to do. So again, Babs is a canonical victim blamer. At least she didn't blame Dick for being sexually harassed, assaulted, and then raped this time.

TLDR: I can't stomach Barbara Gordon anymore, I am not upset about Warner Bros canceling that movie before it could premier because I was genuinely AFRAID as to where they'd be pulling the basis of her character from, and Babs/Dick has become a NOTP. Which is unfortunate because I used to like Babs|Batgirl|Oracle but, well, not anymore. Thanks, DC!

EDIT: Everyone Was Pissed About This, But Wally West Really Wasn't Chill

I honestly can't stand the new "Nightwing" [aka Weekly Cameo and Show-Off of every character except for Nightwing] but this one caught me...

That position at the end kills me. Paint him like one of your murderous French girls~

EDIT: Who is Bea Bennet Anyway?

Bea Bennet is a human civilian. She has no training.

Her background isn’t well done by DC bc DC struggles to write women in general and women of color especially, but she reveals to Ric (Dick) that she had to survive being homeless at a young age (in Bludhaven) and to work to build her life from the ground up. It’s a big reason why she first reaches out to help him (and others).

Her courage, spirit, kindness, and drive are a rarity to see in DC comics and in the Batman corner especially.

Also, in arc totally devoted to breaking Dick Grayson for not being Nightwing it was nice to see someone value his intrinsic worth as a human.

I was 100% up for Bea being a friend, but she actually rocked the love interest category trope too given her behavior doesn’t really change outside of being more physically affectionate right up until the very last scenes where DC decided they had to get rid of her.

They uh very blatantly did so in order for Babs to be the love interest in the Nightwing 2021 comic reboot. Which is another saga of gorgeously drawn character assassination that panders mainly to Tim and Babs while making Dick look weak and ineffective… there is a three legged pitbull puppy though so it’s not ALL bad.

But oh wow does the whole Pennyworth Foundation feel really freaking awkward in context. Like, if you hadn't read this arc/series it's still pretty bad/meh but if you're not feeling uncomfortable WITH context? The back button is usually on the upper left, go test it out. 

On the one hand, I deeply enjoy Community Center|Pillar Dick Grayson (Philanthropist works, albeit the massive publicity of it's not necessarily the path I'd expect him to take but then given this Author...) but on the other just imagine that broadcast coming on screen in Bea's bar. Following this:

((Meta Note: The break up scene is remarkably similar to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zA1efN9u5Q Skip to 13:37… from the Witcher 3. And that was published in 2015 → and this is 2020.))

Chapter Text

Dick's One Canonic Cheating Moment Isn't Exactly Canon

Miriam|Mirage wasn't cheating. He was raped. 

Catalina|Tarantula wasn't cheating. For one, Barbara breaks up with Dick before Catalina starts sexually assaulting him - though Babs cited Catalina's very clear sexual assault "kiss" a reason she was "right to break up with him." Catalina also later rapes Dick in the same series. 

Helena|Huntress wasn't cheating. He was not dating anyone else at the time. 

(For a character who is over 80 years old, Dick Grayson has a very short list of people he's slept with, never mind dated. And several of the people on that list ignored his consent!) 

Two things to establish that I think a lot of fans simply don't know. This isn't because of anything fans have or have not done, it's because (i) they're past events - meaning these comics were published in the 1980's and 1990's and (ii) the wiki's that cover these characters are notoriously bad.

[A shout out to fantastic-nonsense on tumblr for their very hard work on the DC Wiki, specifically the reading recommendations for each character page!] 

Because the topic comes up and has been referenced above, I want to say now that the DC Wiki's do a frankly horrible job of explaining the events discussed here and in this topic area. The wikis, unfortunately, are simply not reliable sources of information regarding the comic arcs and the characters therein. 

For example, on Dick Grayson | Nightwing's page, Miriam kidnapping Starfire, shapeshifting into her, and raping Dick is not tagged as 'rape' or described as nonconsensual to this day. The summary is written, on both the Batman Fandom and the DC Fandom Wiki as "Mirage used her powers to impersonate Starfire and seduce the New Titans leader, Nightwing." -- PSA: It is not "seduction" when the other party does not or cannot consent. 

This is not because the wiki cannot use the word "rape" as they use it to describe Deathwing later raping Miriam|Mirage. "When he was reunited with his former lover Mirage, he brutally raped her." 

But the wiki drops the ball as it still implies that Deathwing is an alternate universe version of Dick Grayson when part of the main plot of the saga was that neither Miriam nor Deathwing were actually from either an alternate reality or the future! 

TLDR: The wiki does not make it clear that Deathwing definitively is not an interaction of Dick Grayson, when that fact the entire crux of the character and the character's appearance. (New Titans Annual #11). Also, for funnies, in one telling of the story, Deathwing isn't even a human; he's revealed to be a robot that was "downloaded with a simulacrum of Nightwing's memories." In that version, Miriam's daughter, Julie, is thus the product of her raping Dick rather than some random dude (who was kidnapped, tortured, and then mid-controlled... albeit he's still a rapist!) raping Miriam. 

1) Nightwing was Pulled from the Titans Comics to Boost Batman Comic Sales

This is just before DC set off on a plot arc that's entire point was to remove Nightwing from the Titan's runs and put him back into the Batman comics for Sales purposes.

Clarification: Nightwing as a Bat-Clan affiliate wasn't at issue, it was the ownership rights that were the problem.

So this wasn't that no one associated Nightwing with Batman, as Dick Grayson was still well known and referenced in both texts as having been the first Robin, it was that people were reading the Titans comics for Nightwing... and that Batman comic sales had dropped to a low around the same time.

Which, I don't think had to do with Nightwing at all - BUT the character was a driving sales force for Titans so moving him back to the Bat comics would have been along the lines of bringing new readers and thus sales over to the Batman corner. Thus the big exit-story arc(s). 

Starfire is not a Batman Character and, based on canon narrative and other internal publication issues, would not be able to become a Batman character.

Batgirl/Oracle, however, IS a Batman character.

You see where they were clearly going with this?

That look back to 'why was this arc and the following written' is important because... the infamous "Dick sleeping with Babs and then inviting her to his and Kori's wedding" comic was written AFTER both of those 'Nightwing Exits the Titans Comics' arcs. **Thank You toAthena 5 who points out that the scene was written in Nightwing Annual #2 (2007) by Marc Andreyko. 

2) The 'Cheating' Scene was Written AFTER Nightwing was officially moved/sold back to Batman Comics

If you look at the narrative of this event, it always feels a bit wonky.

First, Dick and Kori have a long established relationship. I mean looking at dates in our work it's nearly twenty years of comics with them as an established couple and I think at least a year prior when they're establishing Kori as a character. Dick has NOT been quiet about wanting this wedding to work (for other REALLY traumatizing reasons) and we know he's told *Bruce (who's back I believe was broken by Bane at this point? It's used as a reason why Bruce/Batman cannot appear at the wedding that wasn't Ownership Rights blatant, re: they're selling Nightwing back to Batman Comics after this, but really sort of was.)

*I had 'Tim' here but I can't find the details and I don't wanna post without a citation, sorry!

I really, seriously, doubt that Barbara didn't know about the engagement if not the wedding. She certainly knew about Dick and Kori's relationship.

Even in her own 2007 retcon she references feeling 'inferior' and 'nerdy' as compared to the 'sexy' and 'powerful' Starfire whom Dick had 'chosen'.

Side note about calling the 2007 a "retcon": I am using that word appropriately because the 'flashbacks' in that issue never happened. They're not flashbacks at all. In the canon-time line when the events Barbara ponders occurred, the character was actually first written not only closer to five (5) years older than Nightwing|Dick Grayson but had never had a romantic interest or scene with Dick prior to this comic at all.

Now, from a meta standpoint it was STILL a shaky move which leads me to believe that the retcon "cheating" was to remind people that Dick was a Batman character now. Before this 2007 comic there had only ever been ONE comic where the author spontaneously (a) de-aged Barbara to less than five years Dick's senior in age and (b) have Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon as on panel romantic interests and partners for each other. It was published outside of the larger continuity (meaning the comic itself established that it was an alternate universe from the bigger story line) an was released in 1997. 

So... 'retcon' is still what's happening there and I'm sorry it was done to Babs that way. 

Regardless of what you choose to accept, it's non-negotiable that Babs was 100% aware that Dick was, at bare minimum, in a committed relationship.

She knowingly chooses to sleep with him in Nightwing Annual #2 (2007) anyway.

It takes two to dance that particular tango. While it's 100% wildly out of character by Dick Grayson, I get really upset that no one thinks that it's equally strange for Barbara Gordon!

Either she's a strong, immensely intelligent, worse at boundaries than she should be, brilliant woman....... or she's just a helpless girl who succumbs to Dick Grayson's pretty assets and rakish grin and really, what was she supposed to do in the face of the Nightwing's sexual advances?

I don't know. Can you see why the whole thing feels both contrived and strange?

Second, the literal timeline on this has always been a bit out of zone because the entire 'sleep with Babs then hand her wedding invitation' is not only out of continuity of character (for BOTH of them as explained above)... it's literally out of continuity of the story because it was written over a decade (14 years) later. 

Like, the comic/issue literally wasn't written in the same timeline (IN REALITY, LIKE PUBLICATION DATES) as the rest of the events occurring.

Which is why there's also zero canonic fall out surrounding it... because it didn't exactly ever happen.

Let me repeat: This didn't happen in the same publication series / line up as the rest of the comics when it 'happened'.

Which is why we see no fall out at the actual wedding, in any subsequent interactions between Barbara and Dick at all in either canon, and why a lot of fans (of BOTH characters let me stress that, please) don't actually acknowledge it.

Because it was a huge disservice to them both and it stuck out as really bad, really weird writing and was just the beginning of the end of what had been Nightwing's basic characterization. 

((As a reminder, the Failed Wedding is the run wherein Raven (inexplicably) turns evil and rolls up to the wedding in a burst of fire (looking a lot like a satanic lesbian- which they absolutely knew because they have Raven sexually assault / "kiss" Kori as apart of the bust up under the guise of it magically poisoning her and also serving to steal the 'kiss the bride' bit) and incinerate the priest. Like. Holy out of characterization and nowhere, batman!))

Chapter Text

EDIT

So a friend recently pointed out that Damian doesn't undergo "Cult Recovery" so much as he experiences "Cult Deprogramming" ... which basically re-contextualizes the below epiphany into...

Damian just basically makes Dick his new cult leader (replacing Ra's).

And I can't really make a strong argument against that perspective. D: 

Ra's relationship with Dick is… interesting. Mostly in contrast to Bruce, Tim, & Damian. (And a little bit Jason “a curse upon this earth” Todd lmao)

TLDR: Ra’s does not play games with Dick. The man leaps right into “I’ll kill him myself” pretty much every time… which, in a way, is as close to a REAL compliment as you can get from someone like Ra’s. The feelings are Mixed.

Too Long Nonsense about Ra’s and Dick and Bruce and Tim:
So Ra’s was never a major focal point for Dick’s story/growth/evolution.
(For Al Ghul interactions prior to Damian, Dick and Talia had a far more competitive and nuanced history than Ra’s ever did.)

A lot of that has to do with Ra’s obsession with Bruce.

Dick’s narrative (initially, it's been... lost, recently. Different ramble) was based both growing opposed/opposite to Bruce. Quite literally; the journey to Nightwing after Bruce throws him out (for clarification: there IS an original arc where Dick leaves of his own volition but as broken down in a different ramble/meta that timeline and one where Jason Todd steals the tires off the Batmobile are incompatible. It's a one-or-another equation so... a majority of DC universes are actually in the "kicked out" universe!)  — but also the idea that Dick was supposed to be (and is supposedly still) the clearer, higher, form of what Batman was intended to be. As such, narratively, the evil-mentor-figure for Bruce encroaching on Dick’s storyline wouldn’t make sense.
And it doesn’t.

What also doesn’t quite make sense but remains hilarious is that while Ra’s doesn’t engage with Dick the way he does… pretty much everyone else… (mind games, lies, deceit, riddles, puzzles, etc.) he DOES ‘respect’ Dick (sorta- hang on for that extrapolation) in his own way. Partially because Ra’s’ (oh man possessive of this name is a grammatical ***** send help) ‘respect’ has a wonky definition.

Ra’s doesn’t really respect anyone but himself. The closest you get is ‘useful.’ Ra’s finds Bruce and Tim both useful and entertaining. He wants Bruce in the lineage ie: that’s as close to Ra’s “respect” as you can get. The same might hold true for Tim though I come down on the near-rape being less in line with Ra's goals and more of another DC attempt to parallel Bruce & Tim [to the point of keeping Tim in Bruce's shadow thereby restricting his growth]. 

Small interlude on Dick and Canon Tim
Contra Dick’s narration, we consistently see DC shove Tim into Bruce’s shadow and *hold him there.* Emotionally, mentally, physically.

Lots of people (me included at the character debut with very low expectations) were looking at Damian for Mini-Bruce-But-More-Violent but no, it was Tim all along! (Re: recent aneurism/ephinany that *in Damian’s narrative* Dick and Ra’s are Foils. *explosion noises* I’m still rebooting from that honestly. See below.)

Bruce is the Ideal for Tim and, on this track, Tim in canon probably won’t ever outgrow Bruce (in any arena).

Now I’d argue there’s a lot Wrong and Right (as its got some solid basis in Tim’s background/inclinations/history etc) with that for narrative and characterization reasons - but that’s a different Ramble.

Suffice to say it’s what we as readers have got in both longstanding and recent canon for Tim AND it’s heavily reinforced by Ra’s - which.
Just, for a hot second, can we NOT seek validation from these sorts of characters?! (Slade included, yes.)

And here’s how we get back to Dick.

Dick, by total contrast, established in canon, has zero respect for Ra’s Al Ghul.

I mean, he calls the man names to his face. Dick mocks Ra’s organization, plots, schemes, etc and nothing will ever top the entire “You’re An Underachiever” rant Dick finished off with in the panel below:

The other best one? Ra’s tries to foist a sword onto Dick after losing a duel in the desert to Nightwing, claiming it was a Right of Passage that Bruce also underwent.

IE: Ra’s as Mentor Establishment in Ra’s POV…

Dick throws the sword back as he helicopters out and lectures Ra’s that he a) isn't Bruce, b) doesn't need Ra’s esteem, and finally c) that it’ll be a cold day in hell before Dick bends knee to anyone.

VERY CONTRA TIM’S ENCOUNTERS WITH RA’S.

Which were honestly nail-biting intrigue at times but frankly the amount of validation the fanbase is taking from the Tim & Ra's interactions deeply concerns me. 

Actually, speaking of early Tim and Ra's encounters -- Dick has been trying to shut that down since before it became a huge part of the RR character:

I just can't get over that Ra’s constant response to Dick, including that personal 1v1 duel, isn’t the open disparagement we get from Talia - it’s actually just a straight up Personal Execution Order.

Ra’s, each time, moves to kill Dick personally. No games, no mockery, one or two lines thrown out to see if Dick will bend a knee or a moral - then right into the drawing his own sword to put Dick down himself.

Which given how Ra’s handles Tim and Bruce… it’s interesting.

Dick and Ra’s fundamentally disagree repeatedly, which only makes the fact that they’re foils in Damian’s arc (see below) all the more satisfying.

Ra’s has always been open about wanting Bruce, and to an extent later Tim, as (useless because he’s evil and gleefully IMMORTAL) “Heir” — but of the three boys he’s named “Detective,” I’ve always felt that Ra’s has viewed Dick as actual competition. 

I also think there’s an unspoken and deeply frustrated aspect to the relationship (lack there of) on both their parts - mostly on the matter of time.

Ra’s because Dick is so young yet has accomplished so much in his short time (Dick is not even 30 yet in any universe).

Dick from the exact opposite; Ra’s has had actual centuries and, in Dick’s opinion, has squandered them (Ra’s is 300+ and still hasn’t achieved his goals - has actually limited them according to Dick’s “underachiever” comment above in Detective Comics #700). 

I’ll ramble a lot at the drop of a hat about how Dick and Slade for irl decades had a very “I can fix him / I’ll drag him down with me” back and forth (more: “If only he could see/understand - we’d be unstoppable” thoughts vs anything in the romantic spectrum) but good lord could you imagine a universe where Dick WAS ferried off to the league by Bruce before becoming Nightwing? What does that world look like? Does Dick Grayson manage to change Ra’s against the odds? In small ways? In large ones? What does the world look like when Dick, loyal to actual faults, may have grown up from 11 on calling Ra’s something like “grandfather”? Do we still have Nightwing - just we still were able to have Batman - just… a little different. And don’t be silly, the grandfather thing is NOT for the emotional fuzzies on Ra’s end but because if canon has shown us anything it’s that Dick will hold back when he’s dealing with anyone he considers family - even if the emotion or the restraint isn’t reciprocated. Jason Todd. Bruce Wayne. William Cobb. Ra’s would use it like a whip and a tether but wouldn’t it be something if he also trapped himself with the same device? Also, damn, Talia’s canonic LOATHING would make SO MUCH MORE SENSE in that context.) 

About Dick & Damian: Cyclical Narratives and Dick's Role in Damian's Story

Now this is all credit to Alienu's 'the city without stars in its skies' (or maybe blame haha) but there's an interesting Foiling of Ra's al Ghul and Dick Grayson going on Damian's Robin arc which is just fascinating.

So I, and a think a lot of us, got rather wrapped up in the whole "Hey, DC, why don't you just let Damian have two dads?" because, let's be real, Dick was very much parenting Damian and even though DC has tried to renegg that he continues to do so...

But what's interesting is that while there absolutely should be some reckoning for Bruce's treatment and general attitude towards Damian (in general) and Dick (also in general but specifically with regards to this too) - forcing any of the three into a weird 'forced to pick' scenario is just... unsatisfying.

Not only has DC desperately (failed) to position it so that doesn't have to happen... but its just not quite right either.

Dick is not a replacement for Bruce. Or Talia, for that matter.

But let's break down (very high level) what Dick's role is in Damian's narrative.

Dick is, first in the story arc and interactions, Damian's Batman. Dick sets the standards Damian is to follow. Dick sets the boundaries, the values, and the goals.

Damian, as the story progresses, under goes enormous mental and emotional growth as he rises to meet and even surpass those standards. Now, this being Dick some of those goals are not so lofty as Damian or some readers may first assume. They do, however, result in a slow burn found family arc that I haven't really seen DC manage anywhere else or ever again.

I don't think I'll ever begin to be able to explain how the boy who casually murdered a bat mid-flight on a whim because it came too close to him growing into the boy who dotes on his dog, cat, batdragon, and cow that most fans know and love just... rips me open and turns me inside out. It's wonderful.

The amount of learned and unearthed empathy in that grueling journey is breathtaking.

And empathy, beyond many other notable traits, is a huge component of who Dick Grayson is as a character.

So for that to be passed on to Damian from Dick, for that to be the prevailing trait Damian takes from his time as Dick's Robin - that is a lot. And that's hardly scratching the surface of the pseudo-meta behind Robin. (Because in a few verses and honestly my favorite ones, the name 'Robin' originates from Dick as the comfort/family/diminutive name his parents called him.

Robin was born of the Graysons and when they died, Dick kept them alive with him soaring over the Gotham skyline and in the mouth of not only Batman but the entire JLA. When Batman shouted 'Robin' it wasn't a code name, it was Dick's name, the name his parents used with love and affection, so of course he responded. Of course he listened early and easily to that name.

The gift of Robin to Damian (which while still nonconsensual on Dick's part -- thanks Alfred-- was still the closest DC has EVER come to letting Dick pass his mantle on) in a way makes the continuation of Robin as a beloved name so sweet.)

Dick and Damian's stories are cyclical in a way I don't think DC really intended but is absolutely there... Dick was the angry Robin, the vengeful Robin. That's mostly been lost in his & Jason's recent representations (which are trash, frankly re: I'm an unpopular opinion piñata haha). But Dick roars into his debut to comics as quite literally hunting his parents killer down and outpacing (often literally, over rooftops) Batman, the cops, CPS & Bruce Wayne & Alfred, and the officers of Gotham's juvie detention center in some versions. [This is not to say that Dick's anger is ever his defining or controlling characteristic, very much to the contrary - but mastering and overcoming that anger was a critical part of his inception and growth.] 

Dick, like Damian, starts from a deep well of anger, faces it, and comes out the other side as the character most now recognize.
(Notably something Bruce himself does not ever succeed in doing. Bruce's anger is constant and deeply concerning.)

But 'becoming Robin' is not the pivotal moment of Damian's narration. It's just the beginning.
The pivot for Damian isn't in getting a new name, a new identity, or even joining his Father's Legacy as anticipated.

Damian's turning point occurs slowly as he reweighs his learned responses and, as seen in how Damian comes to respect Alfred, Stephanie and Dick, valuation systems.

Damian was raised to believe he would rightfully inherit the earth due to his superior genetics. That is, essentially, both a classist and eugenics mentality (al Ghul's). Couple that with the absolute lack of empathy imparted and enforced by Ra's al Ghul and Talia (I'll come back to her. The feelings are Mixed.) and you get a really, honestly ugly, social hierarchy enforced with violence as Damian's Ruling Guide. The weak suffer, die, or are subjugated. That is their place. There's no purpose in mourning for them, worrying, or caring.

And here's the crux of Dick's role in Damian's narrative arc. Dick does not replace Bruce. Dick unseats and replaces Ra's al Ghul.

Damian's Arc focuses on him realigning his values and value system. He reassess what he believes to be Strength. What is Right and Righteous. In short, Damian grows from living under the guidelines of What is To Be Done as set forth by Ra's... to Dick Grayson.

That is wild to me. And it's - it is SO much clearer in Damian's arc than any other sort of comparison narrative wise than between Bruce or Talia.

What's really interesting is not only has DC torn Dick and Damian apart (for... reasons?) but I don't believe we get to see Dick and Ra's interact either.

Talia, yes to an extent but not Ra's.

It's just Fascinating.

Chapter Text

General [attempted short] Summary of Dick Grayson and Slade Wilson's Dynamic & Relationship
First, I use 'relationship' as a non-romantic term despite the connotations. I rarely use it in the romantic context and I will preface it with 'romantic' when I chose to do so.  

Dick and Slade do not have and have never had a 'romantic' or sexual relationship. 

They also don't have a Superior/Inferior relationship [see below for more details on that].

Fascinatingly, Slade Wilson for a long period of time was one of the serious characters to endorse/recall/reaffirm that Dick Grayson was a Big Name Hero.

Was Dick Grayson Ever Slade Wilson's Apprentice?

Short Answer: No. [Which is why the WFA "Don't remember never happened" line about training with Deathstroke was so funny]

Longer Answer: Also No, though there are TWO instances (both since retconned and technically "wiped out" by things like Nu52 etc) were Dick directly worked with Slade "Deathstroke" Wilson... but they're pretty dang different.

Teen Titans Cartoon Series Apprentice Arc

In TT, Robin (Dick Grayson) is forced to work for and train with the TT villain known only as 'Slade'.

Fans of the Titans comics likely recognized the first name, signature half-orange coloration, and equally signature Cyclops stare and realized that this oddly genius villain-of-the-week was, in fact, the quasi-immortal, meta mercenary known more largely as Deathstroke the Terminator.

(Which, personally, made the fact that this group of rag-tag, truly baby-teenage Titans running around using Deathstroke's first name, lacking all context for who he actually was, pretty dang hilarious.)

The Apprentice Arc was a two part episode that covered about a month or so in-universe time from the 2003 Teen Titans Cartoon Network show.

Teen Titans 2003 was a pseudo canon (which was sort of the fandom gateway to a lot of people [SUPER COOL] and also frankly a really fun cartoon). It more or less took the Titans extensive and honestly rambling canon and stuck it in a blender. I like the Soup they made (a lot, actually given how retrospectively cringe it can be - but isn't that ALL comics?). The show actually did a pretty dang cool thing in scaling Slade down for the kids-show (errr, kinda. More on that in a moment. It wasn't perfect, let's say that much now) while still keeping him a Nightwing Robin focused Main Villain. Which he originally (and consistently, until around 2014 I think) was.

Dick-as-Robin does not **willingly** work with|for Slade.

The phrase the show used I think in the episode summaries was 'blackmail' ...but it was more or less a hostage situation. Using hand wavy comics/cartoons tech, Slade injects every main Teen Titan (in the CN 2003 that means Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and BeastBoy) except Robin with 'nanobots'. These bots can be remotely activated at the press of a button to 'attack' the hosts - the activation is near instantaneous and immensely painful.

Prolonged activation of the bots is never explicitly said to lead to death but is clearly inferred by both the characters on screen and most watchers. (...Yes, I did in make a friend who's never seen the show or read any comics watch the two-parter with me to see their reactions and thoughts on it. Re: the phrase 'bad touch' was used repeatedly about Slade, which is something my childhood self missed entirely when I watched the episodes live and now haunts me daily. I have Regrets.)

Robin, despite his best efforts, does not manage to escape, out run, overpower, or otherwise outwit Slade in those two episodes. (Which with the re: outside knowledge, makes a lot of sense.) At at the 11th hour, Robin manages to infect himself with the nanobots, thereby placing his own life on the line alongside the Teen Titans (so it's a good thing there wasn't a 'selection menu' anywhere in the coding for those bots or...). Slade, rather inexplicably for the show's character up to this point, refuses to 'lose' Robin, turns off the bots, and leaves. 

This TT dynamic is the one you'll see in most fics regarding Slade&Dick (or the increasingly popular Slade/Dick). It is NOT drawn from any of the Titans comics canon (which predates it significantly) - it is its own universe and, frankly, its own dynamic.

There's a huge power imbalance, in Slade's favor, and the whole interpersonal dynamic created by the show (and subsequently perpetuated in the fandom) is... honestly creepy in about as crystal 'Bad-Wrong-Ick' as you can get.

[The insistence from Slade that Dick refer to him as 'Master' in that arc while also openly acknowledging Dick is underage does not help.]

So while I personally find the whole thing uncomfortable (for lack of another word), it is easy to see why people either intentionally or unintentionally draw on Wolfman's Titan's arc in combination with the TT cartoon for their characterizations of Slade Wilson - especially when having him interact with Dick Grayson.

For those who are curious, the Wolfman arc referenced here is the one the Teen Titans Terra arc was based on. The part specifically referenced is the one wherein Slade is an on panel blatant ephebophile/pedophile with Tara Markov aka Terra. In the comics Terra was legitimately psychopathic and gleefully was betraying the titans. Her open and at times on pane reciprocated lust for Slade in the Wolfman comics was... disturbing. And the show authors 100% were out there referencing it with the whole nerve-super-suit-that-removes-bodily-agency-and-consent thing for those that remember that particular costume change. 

***I think I now really want to add a Teen Titans comparison, easter egg hunt, and general 'what went into the blender' sort of chapter because I forgot how much I liked that show!

What was Renegade Anyway?

This arc followed a handful of incredibly traumatic story lines for Dick Grayson|Nightwing that culminated in Dick ditching his Nightwing ID for a time and going, effectively, dark side. Of course this is Dick Grayson. I scream a lot (mostly in comments but likely in a Ramble coming to you someday soon) that you can sum up a lot of Dick|Nightwing's character by considering him to be the DC version of 'mandalorian' - this arc hammers that home.

Jason dies, Tim becomes the new Robin (and then we get... a frankly wildly oscillating characterization and a wild series of story arcs for Tim), Dick (reluctantly) trains and (eventually gleefully) interacts with Tim, Stephanie Brown is believed to be dead, the first take on the Blockbuster Arc occurs [the more brutal version - see other chapter for the break down on what that entailed], and Dick (in a self flagellating effort to find out some honestly generic sounding information) joins the Bludhaven mob as himself. 

No, I'm not kidding. He joins as Richard Grayson. No fake ID, no undercover ID. This mad man literally walks into a mob safe house AS HIS CIVILIAN ID, down a weight-bearing leg, on crutches, and just... persuades the Family to let him join. [This is the arc where Dick ALSO works for Black Mask [the "Crutches Arc"]]

Now there's a lot to unpack in the whole mob arc (and I personally will never get over the fact that Dick does this as HIMSELF thereby making his public persona the craziest of the Bats. One day I'll find out where the whole 'Ditzy Riche Wayne' concept comes from and be very upset that it somehow trumps the bizarre canon arcs) but it ENDS via Deathstroke rolling up and hiring Dick (Yes the phrase 'hire' is used by Deathstroke. But also reinforcing that Slade knows Dick's civilian ID) for a job.

That job ends up being one of my favorite (and naturally super retconned and re-retconned) characters: Rose Wilson.

Now Rose I think is best known for her run ins with Jason Todd (short lived seduction/romance/flirting wherein I was 100% Team Kick His Ass, Rose) and her recent de-aging down to Damian's age group.

But this is how I met her and this particular incarnation is my fall back characterization and visualization of her.***

***This is something I'm working on but I do my best to be open about my biases and roadblocks and this is a big one for me. Largely because this introduction of Rose sets the stage for so many of Dick's future problems... the one I think most people know about is the Nuking of Bludhaven. Slade directly and on panel links his rerouting a nuke to land on Bludhaven to the end result of the Renegade Arc. Namely, that Dick give Rose the tools to make informed choices and Rose chooses to break from her (regrettably canonically abusive in this run) father.

This bit with Rose, though, was written by the much loathed Devin Grayson and it... really shows. Rose hits on Dick repeatedly and inappropriately and it's very clearly passed off as being "feminist" because it's a "sexually liberated woman" "hitting on the man" - in reality it's pretty creepy and comes across as weirdly desperate for Rose. If you ignore THAT aspect (or file it under the whole "Everyone Loves Dick Grayson" bit and can recode it into being platonic-ish with a healthy side of 'first crush' (and who could blame her, really) it gets a lot more palatable.) 

Renegade is the work name Dick makes up as he infiltrates Slade's employers and trains Rose Wilson. Dick makes the name, not Slade. And Dick also makes it after quite a bit of pestering from Rose (who also references "Deathwing"... from the Mirage Arc. Aka the other well known arc where Dick is raped. Yikes.) 

In what, you might ask? Well as it turns out, a bit of everything.

Rose, as well as Slade, seemed to be under the impression that Dick was essentially there to teach her how to fight, with her meta-gene (originally a far more advanced variant of Slade's Super Serum before she was nerfed) carrying most of the weight.

Dick, however, rejects that out of hand (as he's wont to do with other people's plans and expectations) and what you get (based in I'd argue some projection of Dick's lingering fondness for [rightfully presumed dead] Jason and Tim) is Dick more or less training Rose as his personal protege. From fighting style, to detective work, to tactics (both social and conflict based) Dick essentially passes on not only his how-to's and personal approach but also makes it clear to Rose that he is here to train her to be her best self. Meaning he encourages her to question him, to try her own methods as they practice and run missions, and explore her own preferences and dislikes. [<small>This is always especially hilarious to me for the run where Rose runs circles around an Outlaws era Jason Todd. Like, yeah Jason. She sure can kick your ass and keep ahead of your plans. I wonder why that is oh wait, you were trained by the same person. And Jason just... never finds that part out. Genuinely funny to me.</small>] 

This, ultimately, results in something of a hybrid Mentor-Sibling relationship between the two of them and, very explicitly, ends the arc with Rose saving Dick's life and her own through her choices and actions. 

This said, at no point is Renegade introduced as Slade's subordinate. Nor does Slade really treat Dick as one.

Slade's an asshole, sure, but this was close enough to the era of the wild and weird compliments that he handed out to Dick every other conversation that the sense of the arrangement being mutually beneficial kind of stuck. There was as much mutual respect as there was active dislike/disapproval... right until Rose's grasp of Free Will [Nightwing's original thematic of 'Defy Fate' once again narratively passed on to a younger character as mentioned results in her realizing that Slade's plans for her aren't well intended (especially the radioactive kryptonite he's put in her eye which he knows is actively killing her...) 

***Devin Grayson has repeatedly gone off about how she wasn't consulted about the later nuking of Bludhaven and apparently hand 'plans' for Dick to 'strike a bargain with Slade' ... given she's a proponent for both child grooming and has openly published novels where Dick was (disturbingly) sexually attracted to Bruce and later Slade I can see why DC handed it and her notes off to someone who decided that dropping a nuke was the only available alternative avenue. 

How Old is Slade Anyway?

Very, is the short answer.

Less facetiously, I think Slade is nearing 60. He's frozen (allegedly) at 35 (After which, he pursues his former commanding officer, Adeline. Make of that dynamic as you will).

Last I checked there was some debate as to if Slade has Grant and Joey before or AFTER the serum. The serum is allegedly where Joey's active meta-gene originates (from Slade's mutated post-serum genes)... but I've also seen versions where Joey just has Slade's latent genes (contra the original version where Slade didn't have a meta gene at all.) Men having a bit of an advantage, Slade could have had the boys at anytime there after.

*Moved the musing on Grant, Joey, and Rose's ages - I'll make a second ramble about how old some characters are but be aware that I tend to use Dick Grayson | Nightwing as a reference point for several reasons.* 

(No, I will not get over the fact that Slade canonically had a vasectomy that apparently took despite the ludicrous healing factor after discovering Rose's existence. Nor will I stop cackling over Respawn existing despite that fact too.) 

TBC

Chapter Text

Why is Faux screaming:

There has been a huge influx of "Dick was a bad brother to Jason" and "Dick never cared about Jason, only about Bruce's approval" and "Dick didn't want to be a Big Brother and so was a Bad/Reluctant/Fails to be a Good Sibling" and I am more than a little confused on this frequently repeated take. Like I am seeing it everywhere . It reminds me of the "Jason was next to the Joker in Arkham" and "Dick threw Tim in Arkham" trends neither of which were based in canon or remotely accurate... they also seriously deviated from the established character of everyone involved and actively misinformed new fans about canon events and, again, how the character behave and are perceived. So this is me, dragging in meta, about 10+ years of comics, some citations and a whole lot of analysis.

To set things up because This is not to say 

1) That I don't think Jason Todd (canonically or not) either doesn't or shouldn't or can't feel this way. He can feel whatever he likes [wild to say that about a fictional character], that's actually a huge part of Red Hood's voice and narrative arc. It's also a massive draw for fans of the character (myself included). In fact, a lot of the feelings in these fics are expressed by Jason in varying forms of canon (Mostly though, when he's not in "his own story" so to speak. Make of that what you will.) That said, Jason (canonically, I cannot over use this word) has gaps in his memories. Jason quite literally is an unreliable narrator of varying intensities. It's decidedly unfair and sort of strange to keep his POV as The Truth when writing from an omniscient narrator POV.  

2) Likewise, I'm not saying that Dick Grayson doesn't or wouldn't think similarly. He is canonically told by Bruce Wayne that Jason's death was his (Dick's) fault... and no one else ever contests or corrects that (Alfred. Barbara. I'm once again looking at you two).

You know what, hold on a moment, I need to dig into that. That one sentence doesn't do it justice. It's more than Bruce just saying it's Dick's fault and Dick taking that as Fact. Bruce intentionally did not inform Dick about Jason's death or funeral (making it the second in verse for family that Dick does not get to attend- more on that later). That sort of forethought (because Bruce DOES intentionally keep the truth from Dick and does not reach out to Dick at all once Dick arrives back on the planet post mission for a time span raining from weeks to months based on variation) from a man known for his deductive reasoning and multistep contingencies really does make it seem as though Bruce is laying the blame squarely at Dick's feet long before Dick ever finds out and confronts Bruce. Then Bruce throws Dick out of the Manor (and Gotham City) once again after physically assaulting Dick (punching him hard enough to throw Dick to the ground). This pattern of Bruce keeping Dick out of the loop as a punishment is repeated prior to this in cannon (namely, Jason's debut as a character) and several times later on (Big one? Spyral - where now Dick is kept in a coma until well after his own funeral and is thrown out of Gotham and not allowed to contact anyone but Bruce for the offense of being captured, tortured, and murdered. Yeesh. And that's not the only time it's been done either.) So, yes, Dick very much does and could blame himself for not doing/being enough. That also doesn't make it True. 

3) Why are we here then? What's the problem? The problem is when readers start to think or perpetuate either of those things.
(Especially as off-hand factual statements.)

As readers, we get the full big picture of the inside and out of the relationships. We get mass context, reasoning, meta, and even our own intrinsic logic.

My "problem" with the recent increase in fics expressing (lamenting, even) that Dick wasn't there for Jason (and thus is still failing him entirely) is that the readers / authors ought to have more info than they're spreading. And when they fail to be able to step between perspective and general informative/background/stage setting writing... well, issues and misunderstandings tend to ensue.

Especially with newer fans and readers who often only have fanfic and fanon to go off of! (Which is totally reasonable because canon is so messy and there's a lot of gate-keeping... but I do think that just makes writing by people who do know even more important. Otherwise, it may as well be Original Fiction if you don't know and don't bother to know the character's you're writing about. Yes, that one was levied directly at DC Comics.) 

It's one thing when something is firmly in Dick's POV... but when you step out of that narrow view and into a broader narrative voice... the perpetuation of Dick blaming himself (for -insert thing here-) and Jason feeling hurt by (-insert something Dick did or failed to do here-) starts to twist, well, more than little.

Which, in this fandom, tends to lend to scarily unfair portrayals of characters. Yes, I'm staring right at the "Dick threw Tim in Arkham" crew and the "Dick threw Tim out of the Manor and Made Damian Robin" people AND the "Dick made Jason room with the Joker in Arkham" crew. Those are all STILL popularized in fanon to this day and they have no basis in canon.

Now, it looks like we're seeing a lot of "Dick was horrible to Jason when Jason was Robin both in and out of the masks," and that again, ain't canon.
Hence why I'm venting. 

All that said, as usual, people can write what they like. Neither I nor others have to read it. But I've seen a lot of responses to comments and questions on the matter boil down to "I didn't know that," or "I'd only ever read in fics that," or simply "I didn't bother to read it, I can write what I like." Which, again, yeah, true - but if the problem is a lack of information or a perpetuation of misinformation, I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing it out without insulting the authors. That's a NON-NEGOTIABLE step.

Who's Jason?

There's two predominate "versions" of how Jason is introduced as a character. One is, frankly, far more horrifying than the other. 

{A fore note that this is going to focus on Jason and Dick's early relationship so I will be glossing over a lot of the nuance of Jason's origin and background. Happy to write another one focusing on just that / Jason / any Jason questions if asked.}

1) The Flying Todds | Acrobat "Clone" 

The one where he's basically a clone of Dick Grayson (and the situation with Bruce is also the abandoned original canon of "Dick left intentionally to grow as his own person and hero" and not the "Bruce was scared and threw Dick out because real men don't express vulnerable emotions" version that ensues in the canon/realities where Jason steals the bat mobile tires. They're mutually exclusive, sadly. ie: If Jason is from Crime Alley with Cathrine et all background leading to the Ethiopia Death, then Bruce ejected Dick from the Manor before Dick turned 17.) 

This version with the "Flying Todds" is strange, but also admittedly cute and involves a lot of Dick & Jason bonding, a willing passing on of the Robin mantel almost off the bat, and Dick very seriously considering adopting Jason even though Dick himself is clearly not even in his mid-20's (Bruce talks him out of it and adopts Jason himself). It also gives Jason a very similar physical background to Dick, which for me helped explain why Jason could be Robin so quickly. 

No one uses that origin anymore (for good reasons based in characterization and innovation).

When people say that Dick voluntarily left to become Nightwing, this is the universe they're generally referring to.

It's another great example of how confusing canon can be because YES it IS canon that Dick felt he'd outgrown the role of Robin and, coupled with his and Bruce's disagreements, Dick voluntarily left the mantel behind along with Gotham. 

However, it's NOT the most repeated canon and, as the storylines rolled forward, it's not the one that lines up with other character's timelines.
Namely, Jason's. 

2) The version most everyone knows | Jason jacks the Batmobile's tires

Unfortunately, this version had some more direct consequences regarding the beginning of Jason & Dick's relationship: namely, since Dick ISN'T involved with Jason's appearance/arrival... this is always a universe where Bruce evicted Dick Grayson from the Manor and so Dick has no idea Jason exists. 

[In my heart of hearts I fondly think the unwritten universe where Jason was an acrobat child which results in Jason a) completely avoiding the plot that killed him b) building a new mantle [but keeping the bird theme vs the bat theme, partially to annoy Babs who was pretty overbearing in Jason's early runs and partially bc while he stays in Gotham he wants to keep the connection to his older brother] and finally, c) arguing with Bruce and Dick about who's going to adopt that One Senseless Child With the Camera (Tim Drake) ... but that's not a world we have any trace of, so it stays peacefully sleeping.]

Which raises the issue that at this point in time, Dick was not adopted and Jason, by the time they meet, already was. Dick was, canonically, Bruce's "ward."

Why are we talking about Adoption here? and what was a "Ward" anyway?

This isn't a term that's used much today (or in the last three decades or so) so I'm going to briefly overlay what that meant for Bruce and Dick.

The best comparison for "ward" is the murky middle between fostering and adoption. It's also not really the same as modern day legal guardianships those those are still the most similar!

As far as I understand it (during the time this was both written and through to the versions perpetuated in the 80's despite updating laws about the matter)

The Guardian [Bruce] was given both legal and physical custody over the Ward [Dick]. (Note that we still see this splitting of duties in divorce proceedings today. Divorcing parents argue over "Legal Custody" vs "Physical Custody" - they're different things but a Guardian by default got both). A wardship is NOT an adoption and it is NOT much like the foster system we have today. The state lacked any control over the Ward once they were passed legally and physically into the Guardian's care and, likewise, provided no economic benefit to/for the Ward (not an issue for Bruce Wayne but would absolutely be a financial issue for anyone else trying to care for a child). The Ward does not take their Guardian's name, nor does the Ward have any legal right to anything the adult owns (ie: Wards don't inherit automatically like adopted children unless they're specifically named as beneficiaries in a will. Technically speaking, anything given to the ward could be taken back by the Guardian at any time. That's no longer the case (for Legal Wards, Foster children, and even technically adopted/birth children) but it was back then! Which is important to note because that's more or less exactly what Bruce did in canon. 

How exact?

Well, one of the variant meets between Jason and Dick involve them fighting over a bed.

Because, unbeknownst to Dick despite there being a GIANT MANOR, Alfred (and Bruce presumably) put Jason in Dick's old bedroom.
ie: All of the things Dick was forced to leave behind were converted/removed/given to Jason Todd, the adopted child.
How's that for a follow up encounter? 

(I will note that Jason was ALSO surprised and wasn't aware that this was the case. I'm hunting other panels but Dick essentially is treated more as a guest than family and it's clear Jason is incredibly foggy on what Dick and Bruce's relationship was. Jason, I think - please cite correct me if I'm wrong, - at first assumed they were actually full on former work-partners and nothing else. Which FITS the original take on Batman & Robin with Dick being less of a sidekick than his successors but man is it a weird way to "validate" that take...) 

{Was it really, Alfred? Really?}

Okay that's depressing great and all, but how DID Jason & Dick meet in the most common canon then? 
[A huge kudos to LananiA3O aka Majestic Angst Dragon for breaking down so much of canon! Go check them out!
***I will note that on A03 they write in the Arkham Verse canon predominately which is a little different from the canon defined below.]

Horribly.

Just, absolutely cursed meetings.

Once again there's two versions of Jason and Dick meeting if Jason is from Crime Alley and BOTH of them are, pardon my language, fucked up. 
I understand that these are comics, they're written for shock value and rarely touch grass (so to speak) but I cannot fathom doing this in a real world foster/adoption/sibling situation...

Dick discovers there is a New Robin via an old Gotham Newspaper (Jason) [Crime Alley background]
Take 1: Dick is surprised, passes on Robin Mantel 

-TBC this is another one most people no longer use or know about. Dick basically sees an out of date Gotham paper while in Bludhaven and that's how he and the reader learn that not only is someone else running around in the Robin costume but that it's only been two months since Bruce threw Dick out of the Manor. Yikes. 

Dick meets Jason [Crime Alley Background] Take 2: Dick is ambushed, passes on Robin Mantel 

- This is the one most everyone knows about and is referred to as the "Gauntlet" meeting... 

- Dick has no idea there's a new Robin, much less a new Wayne. And Jason is adopted at this phase!

- Barbara knows. She's been tutoring Jason and running patrols with him as Batgirl. She's also intentionally kept this information from Dick for... reasons?

- Alfred knows. This is or should be obvious. Despite the fact that in most canons Alfred and Dick do talk, this apparently wasn't worth mention. 
(I have very real issues with canon Alfred.) 

- Bruce, very clearly, has not told Dick anything.

- Jason knew. Including that Dick (as Nightwing) would be in Gotham that evening. He's an incredible little shit, just shy of Damian's level of self grandure (but maybe not as bad as Tim's internal monologues), and talks a lot of shit to Dick about how Dick's been replaced and is the older model and never managed to measure up to what Bruce and Gotham needed in the first place. Yeah. 

Honestly, the only one who gets a pass here is Jason. Because he's been set up to think Dick knows about this in advance and is there to evaluate Jason for Bruce as Jason's "final exam." And why wouldn't he? The fact that Dick genuinely had no idea he'd been replaced isn't even an option. Those are his parent's colors. His mantel. In some canons (different ramble) Robin is Dick's parents' name for him. 

It's pretty unfathomable for me to think that anyone who can sympathize or rationalize with what Jason did to Tim can't extend a fraction of that understanding towards Dick Grayson (who never laid a hand on Jason in anger). 

Needless to say, Dick had no idea Jason existed and gets blindsided by this 12 year old in one of his old uniforms who's talking shit while Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) runs along beside them and clearly has been interacting with this kid for awhile. 

And then we get to the aforementioned 'Alfred and Bruce literally gave Jason all of Dick's old things including his bed and room.' 

That's just a cursed introduction. I cannot imagine a person who'd be OK with any of that to the point of NOT letting any negative emotions spill over. 

But, wait, why wasn't Dick in the Manor when this happened? Why did Dick "leave" / Why was Dick "fired" / Why did Bruce throw Dick out of the Manor vs just taking Robin?

1 & 2 are the same but with, you know, either no spice or spice. Dick had two major traumatic encounters with villains while as Robin.

The first is about when Dick was 11 and was extrapolated in a recent retcon (which introduces one of my favorite side characters, Boone). 

Harvey "Two Face" Dent nearly beats Dick to death with a baseball bat (how's that for familiar?)

Bruce, in what becomes an obvious pattern, freaks out about the fact that he's enabling a child and placing them into dangerous situations and decides the only answer is to fully remove the child from the situation: This is Bruce's first ever attempt to "remove the Robin mantel / fire Robin" - between Dick and Alfred's arguments, the attempt fails. Dick eventually recovers and the story goes on.

(This is the moment referenced HERE where Alfred remarks - "Not until Harvey Dent. You came very close to having a case like that yourself." - which by the by was Alfred's response to Dick yelling that he hates the Jason Memorial, that it doesn't do any justice to Jason's memory, and that it speaks really ill of how Bruce viewed Robin on the whole. 

Also HERE for Dick outright saying he doesn't approve which leads to Dick's later (seen with several characters but openly with Stephanie and Tim) anti-teen-vigilantes stance. 

(Don't look at their eyes because this is supposed to be serious and you will laugh) 

The second time Bruce attempts to fire Dick (again, the parallels are just... interesting) sticks.

A conflict with the Joker goes south. After being told off by Batman|Bruce that Dick is being too reckless, leading up to and during the fight, the Joker gets the drop on Robin|Dick Grayson. Joker shoots Dick through the shoulder and Batman|Bruce fears for the worst when Robin|Dick drops like a sack of bricks off the edge of a building. [Batman (1940s) Issue #408]

(Now, I've seen this issue called "foreshadowing" and I disagree because that implies any sort of continuity or foresight (or hindsight) on DC's part. What it feels more like is yet another recycling of ideas into newer characters. But that's another rant/ramble.) 

Once again, Bruce's response to this trauma is, frankly, not great.

Except having realized he can't separate Dick from Robin, he elects to throw out the entire child.

(Noting that Alfred just... goes along with this. Canonically, Alfred in later issues [and retcons] sasses Dick about how he's never been fired.

Yikes. See other post about Alfred and my personal fanon on how old the Robins might have been when they each worked out that they were just a different level of "help" to Alfred. Hint: Jason probably still hasn't worked it out.) 

And this is, as far as I can tell, what happens in every universe where Jason is from Crime Alley. Dick gets injured by the Joker and is thrown out of the Manor. I'm looking for the citation but Dick was younger than 17 when this happened in the original canon because its referenced that he was a minor even after his Nightwing debut back in the 80's comics. 

Take  Away

So if Jason is from Crime alley, the above happens. There's no mixed canon that I know of (LET ME KNOW THOUGH), though both are (separately) canon.] 

How do you recover from all of THAT?

Honestly, in reality I don't think there's anyway to do so. But in canon we have Dick "Golden Standard" "Just Better Than You, I guess" Grayson to patch everything up and never make a fuss about it again. 

• Background on "Little Wing"
• and more on how Dick actually DID put the work in with Jason (because he was mad at Bruce and Alfred, not the kid) like, right away too.

So while their meeting was absolutely, horrendously cursed - Dick (as usual, it seems) acts as the bigger person and goes out of his way (literally) to train and just spend time with Jason. And despite Jason being something of a little shit in every iteration, he clearly grows on Dick and vice versa. Dick clearly adores Jason and (in all canons I can find) is devastated when he finds out that Jason has been murdered. 

[Dick, who is all about control - who in the early Titans canon even when brainwashed and manipulated doesn't turn violent on others despite them physically attacking him, loses his shit and nearly throttles a 13 year old boy for keeping Jason's death from Dick for petty revenge/jealousy against Jason. No, wait, "loses his shit" isn't good enough. Let me clarify; it takes both Troia and Starfire physically restraining him and getting in-between the two to stop Dick from choking out Danny; and Dick is shown to be very close to climbing right over and down the two Titans to get at him anyway.]

Likewise, Dick confronts Bruce directly as to why the hell Bruce didn't tell him about Jason dying - at all - and wow isn't that full circle?

Bruce didn't tell Dick about Jason, didn't tell Dick about Jason becoming Robin, and then didn't tell Dick that Jason had died. And, later, doesn't tell Dick that the Red Hood is Jason.] 

This is especially gutting with the revelation that Dick also wasn't present for his parent's funeral in these Crime Alley Jason universes because he was in the Juvenile Detention Center. So not only does Dick not get to go to his parent's (Mary and John's) funeral... he also doesn't get to go to Jason's. Bruce couldn't have hurt him more if he tried- oh, wait.

And here's where things get REAL CONFUSING for me... because if we're fixating on past treatment, why don't we talk about what Jason did as Red Hood? 

We've gone through how they met (c u r s e d), how they [mostly Dick bc Jason was a child and one with trauma at that so, genuinely, it wasn't Jason's place to do anything but decide if he did want Dick to have a place in his life (which would require Jason to be some level of vulnerable and receptive - both words that make me squirm thinking about but are true none the less] recovered from Bruce (and Alfred and Babara's) bad choices.

But their interactions didn't END with Jason's childhood and death. 

[TBC with comic panels and a long list of dirty laundry... but I'm sick and while I'll probably take this down to workshop I just wanna post it now bc poor impulse control and I'm tired of it being in my drafts.]

Jason is murderously antagonistic towards Dick.

To put it in perspective a bit more, Jason's attempts at openly murdering Dick outnumber the combined attempts Jason has made on Bruce and Tim.

And it's not fights or shooting at him casually, I'm only counting the times Jason says on panel that he's here to kill Dick|Nightwing. Just... putting that out there. Jason's attempts on Dick's life also outnumber characters like Slade Wilson|Deathstroke, KGBeast, and the Joker.

So... you know... seeing Jason in Bludhaven (and even Gotham) cannot be a comforting sight for Dick. 

Dick & Jason vs Dick & the other (male) Robins

This is essentially what brought me here. I see a lot of Compare/Contrast about Dick's interactions with Jason vs Early Tim vs Damian... and here's what gets me; 

Dick was a brother and even a mentor to Jason.

He taught Jason the basics (we see hand to hand, tumbling, acrobatics, balance training, stamina, endurance and even some infiltration) sure, but also how to sneak out, sneak in, break the rules without getting caught and covered for Jason when he thought Jason needed a break. Dick visibly had a more "fun" role during his interactions with Jason. But he's very clearly not Jason's parent. Even in the 2018 Show (not a fan) Dick isn't really "parenting" Jason for all that he is/was attempting to parent the two others in Jason's age group (Gar|BB and Raven). 

But Tim? Dick parented Tim.

He trained Tim in everything from combat to basic life skills (such as folding laundry, I kid you not). He went to Tim's parent teacher meetings for crying out loud (with Barbara, awkward.) 

Dick doesn't really act as Tim's brother.

He stepped right into being Tim's designated Parental Unit the minute he realized he couldn't stop Tim from doing what Tim wanted (which, notably and again I'm looking for the panel a call back to Dick's Robin debut because Bruce couldn't stop Dick.)

Faux Chases a Rabbit for a second on the whole RR Tim vs Dick Split
This is a separate Ramble, but I think this is why the fall out of Dick's attention being split between Tim and Damian SHOULD HAVE BEEN so difficult.

Tim was used to being the Child (and there's levels to that, please don't take it as a slight to Tim!) and Dick was asking Tim to leap into a more adult/equal relationship than he had EVER before asked or requested in canon.

While we HAD seen Dick make comments in the past about Tim's competence this was the first time we see Dick in any capacity ask Tim to step into a new level of responsibility on a permanent basis.

It was sudden and it was under horrible conditions. I think Tim's canonic responses (the start of the RR arc) make much more sense with that history in mind vs trying to frame Dick and Tim's relationship as simply "brotherly."   ie: Tim in RR perpetuated Jason's cycle instead of Dick's. Tim felt he was being replaced (as a son) and lashed out before leaving. 

Likewise, Dick was absolutely more of a parent to Damian (and ooh boy has DC tried to walk that back ever since. ("You have no family." / "We both know you're the last of the Graysons.") Fucking ouch, DC.)

So comparing Dick with Tim and Dick with Damian to Dick's relationship to Jason is fundamentally unbalanced. He literally played a different role for Jason (because Bruce was, arguably for once, actually acting in loco parentis and as a Father ergo Dick didn't have to).

And now there's a LOT of misinformation cropping up around the Red Robin arcs and HOW Bruce returns from the time stream.  

Tim does not singlehandedly rescue Bruce and just show up with him in Gotham one day. It takes most of the JLA and Tim FINALLY goes to Dick and tells him his entire plan FOR THE FIRST TIME and has Dick - I cannot make this up - check his math to see if the idea of nudging Bruce back into the timeline will work. That's the next ramble, then.

Chapter Text

Little Bird https://archiveofourown.org/works/38092579/chapters/95153893 

Give the whole collection a read!

Dick's early and later childhood absolutely impacted his concept of what's safe. 

I've seen several fics that reference Dick's upbringing in the circus (or with Bruce Wayne or Batman) as a demonstration of his skewed concept of what he sees as "normal"... but I haven't seen any that consider how his childhood in the family circus trapeze act (which, uh, was later revealed/retconned to be a child assassin slave ring) and then later life as a hero impacted his idea of what registers as "safe."

Dick Grayson was performing with his parents the night they fell. His age varies across canons, but the usual consensus is that Dick was eight years old when his parents were murdered. He debuts as Robin less than a year later and, generally, this expedited timeline is explained by the fact that the boy was already a professional athlete.

Dick was raised into intense, high-impact centric, training and all the discipline and respect that requires - especially for a profession that is known to be lethal if practiced incorrectly. Then, add on that beyond just being able to land the tricks wasn't enough. The Grayson's were performers - not only did they need to land their tricks, they needed to keep an audience (usually a fickle one at that) engaged. The Graysons not only had to be technically perfect, they also had to sell the act. (If that doesn't sum up a majority of Nightwing's motif...)

Dick was performing "the famous Grayson quadruple flip" at eight; a trick that even a decade plus later was still regarded as one of the most difficult flips in the world with only a few people capable of managing it* (and is, in fact, how Tim Drake recognizes Dick as Robin.) (*Note that Nu52 later backed even further up and said that the Graysons (Dick and his late parents) were the only three people ever capable of landing the quadruple flips*)

Full rotation, four flips, which clock in at about 80+ miles per hour by the third rotation, at EIGHT. Catchers on triples in acrobatics are known to lose strips of flesh off their palms when trying to catch their partners the impact is that strong. Its risky to both the performer and their partner (and, as Robin later demonstrated, anyone without the luck or good sense to get out of the way). 

So while Dick is often regarded as a prodigy and a natural, the discipline necessary to get to that level at that age shouldn't be in question. That's not something you wing and absolutely not something that just happens at a level requisite for a professional performance, even one that includes a child. 

So what does that type of lifestyle and consistent interaction do to someone's perceptions of "safety"?

What does "safe" look like when you not only regularly see your parents leap and fall dozens of feet above the ground, but also make those jumps yourself? To be taught to smile through pain and nerves and block out screams of joy, terror and heckling from total strangers?

The concept that stuck is mostly that, to Dick, someone grabbing him mid-air or off something and hauling him to ‘safety’ has to be ingrained as a ‘Good Thing’ in Dick’s memory and physical responses.

(Which is why scenes of Dick catching people is so strongly evocative - I still get gut-punched by that panel of Dick catching Tim and Tim steadily asserting he never doubted Dick would -SOMEHOW- catch him despite Tim having no idea Dick was even around.) 

Speed, impact, danger - someone grabbing Dick, say, mid chase, would actually be a lot LOWER risk than what would have been all already hard wired into him from the time likely could walk.

Getting scruffed and grabbed or hauled to safety, with a very real risk of injury at the fore? Yeah that probably registers as an ACT OF LOVE/AFFECTION because TRAPEZE. 

And then we have Batman, who we know is taught a majority of his grapple tactics by Dick during his Robin years. Now we have dialed up not only the danger but the performance requirement. 

Chapter Text

“In their personal lives, ofc Dick is still in charge of all the brats (including Jason, much to his dismay).”
Jason, in the batsuit, realizing this.
DICK realizing this before Jason does (maybe just before).
The image of Dick, either in the cave or out in the field as Nightwing clapping his hands together as he calls patrol/the night to an end **and Jason whines along with Damian and Steph**

— IDK I realized last year I have Big Feelings about Patriarch/Dad!Dick Grayson and the mental image of Batman!Jason slotting in as one of the kids is just… healing and adorable and bittersweet (Jason was barely 16 when he died, 19 when he became RH. He was still a kid. He didnt get to BE a KID.)

I MEANT it about it being an amazing avenue for Jason’s growth and development. Dick sort of finalizing his mentorship of Jason through this. And also - just for this - for this AU alone can they stay in the Manor. (IDK if the penthouse could survive them lol).

Like, just before Bruce returns with Tim, a moment where they’re in the field and a call needs to be made. Jason looks to Dick, and Dick, who’s lead many teams and trained several heroes - so he know when to take over and *more critically* knows when its time to let his student make the calls they need to in order for them to grow and GET THERE, cedes the call to JASON. And its different from what Dick would do, of course it is, they’re different people thats the POINT — but its also not what Jason would have done BEFORE. After, when its over, when they’re home and safe and its worked out?? Jason and Dick doing (unknown to them, one last) debrief of the mission and calls… and Jason second guessing and Dick affirming.

Also. How… how does Talia factor in here. Because there’s no way she isnt a devils advocate for Jason… like, flat out killing everyone/anyone. (Of course she’s more clever than that. More comparisons to Bruce. More jabs at NW. Etc etc. I personally would avoid bringing back the Talia that statutorily raped Jason bc he resembled Bruce but that angle for flirting / leverage would work here AND could serve as Jason’s down the line wake up call) … And causing trouble in the same ways after her first attempts fail.

(Jason being tempted, but then seeing what happens when he does kill as Batman. The external and internal (his self) fall out - more than even Dick-Steph-Dami’s reactions. And what Talia says about Dick, about Stephanie, and then progressively about DAMIAN…. How that shifts and shakes Jason’s view of Talia till we end up a lot closer to canon’s take than I first thought)

And - Jason is not in Arkham. The JOKER is not in Arkham. Jason wrestling with THAT conflict-disaster waiting to happen only for NW!Dick to just “I’ll handle it :)”
Which almost starts a (comfort) argument from Jason (What you dont trust me? -he almost says, not trusting himself-) except Stephanie (who was THERE but falls for the same facade as everyone else and is kicking herself hard rn) takes a big step back from smiley NW in genuine fear and is like “you’ll handle it or you’ll HANDLE it??” Which pings Jason to note that there’s a standing order on the batcomputer files that NW is not allowed to solo pursue the Joker ??? — could kick off Last Laugh / end of Joker Wars reveal :) :) :)

Also a moment where everyone acknowledges that its not that Bruce was doing so much or too much and that’s why Batman is hard to replace — (because fuck off, DG did NW with no financial support from a billionaire inheritance while working a low-mid income full time job. Bruce across the board worked less and had more. I hate that take on why Dick struggled as Batman so much….) — but because he MADE IT difficult for himself and others and keeping up the needless facades Bruce worked into every day life is needlessly exhausting on top of all the grief :(

“Imagine Jason's face when Tim brings Bruce back, though. Imagine Bruce's face when he realizes Jason, and not Dick, has been carrying his mantle. It would be...amazing omfg.”

YES, yes!!!, you get it! Tim’s response, too, would be fantastic because it (the city, the relationships, the Batman) is certainly NOT as he left it and he missed… everything.

(The other heroes realizing too. Dick probably shows up for the global missions as Batman, rather than NW, to keep the facade up for a little while longer / as needed - because he has done that before even when Bruce was just injured… but Clark and Diana’s canon visits - and now Jason gets to watch Dick go toe to toe with not only Jason’s favorite hero but DICK’s favorite in support of Jason keeping the cowl.) (and Jason who keeps waiting… waiting and waiting for Dick to give an ultimatum. To end one of those arguments by sighing and telling Jason to not make Dick regret this— and it never happens). (Jason finally blurting it out and Dick calmly brushing it off because, “You won’t.” And how much of it is an act? How much of it is real and how much is it that Jason needs to believe its real?)

((Jason as “Gotham Batman” and Dick as “the JLs Batman” — something about that…))

And the fall out… cause like, Dick COULD go back to NW (sans a Bludhaven) but re: bullet points… Jason is so much more deeply entrenched now. A lot more so, arguably, than Dick was.

I’d personally revive Sophia Trevis (who’d be… 18? 20? and install her as, essentially, the new Gotham “mob” boss i.e. The Red Hood stand in… because a point of RH wasn’t so much that HE (the single person) was enough to control crime (the Batman theory) but that the network RH ran was the game changer (and initially that DID require an unkillable figurehead - but at this point? Not as much. I still DISAGREE that “fight crime with the same kind of crime” is a fucking answer but I wont soap box that here) Basically, the Trevis Mob Heiress who canon was partially trained by Dick (to take over Bludhaven) and now trained by RH for Crime Alley, which Dick expands to Gotham… (and oh the ant hill THAT would kick over, take your pick: dick working for the mob as himself, dick’s knowledge of both blud and gotham’s crime syndicates and work AND the actual people, the fact that Jason narrowly missed having Dick Grayson sent for his head by Black Mask just post setting up shop in Gotham… I mean… Dick had every reason to take Hood out and had ZERO idea that it was Jason, as Bruce doesn’t tell him. I need to check that this was BEFORE Jason almost mercs Tim in Titans Tower— because if its after…….. Dick was in no place to be thinking of a larger fall out for, you know, removing RH off the board for good. And then being in both the mental and physical place to literally do it-)

In case you wondered — Jason shows up out of costume (maybe just in the domino but no other clear RH gear) (HE doesnt have a civilian ID to protect — and the. Tadah lmao Dick’s weeeeeeell about that,) along with Dick, not as RH. When asked who tf he is, Dick smirks and tells Sophia to call Jason “Crutches”. Sophia takes this as a mark of competence and Jason is somehow even more confused. ((Black Mask is THE most confused when a dead girl and CRUTCHES (really Jason) start busting up his business. Is the dead girl Steph? Is it Soph? ITS BOTH!))

But like - point being, Jason and Dick effectively wriggle RH out of the crime lord scheme. (And stomp on BMs enterprise and toes in the process. Justice for Stephanie!)

It would put Jason in an interesting spot post Bruce’s return - primes him for Bizarro & Artemis Outsiders? In a best case? (Bruce returns and JASON takes “a step back” - and so Dick… doesn’t. Hm.)

Also Bruce’s face if/when he ever puts *all of that* together like - lmfao

MOB LEADERS as YOUR CIVILIAN ID with RED HOODS BACKING !!!

Tim’s response probably tips Bruce off ngl.

Tim clocks Sophia and INSTANTLY makes the (incorrect but hilarious) leap that the home team tried to sell “Dick Grayson is the Red Hood (/was all along)” — like Tim gets all of 3 minutes of research into the new Gotham Crime structure post Jason!Bats and SCREECHES about Dick joining the mob AGAIN / Dick and Jason swapping vigilante IDs (and the notion seems ridiculous till someone points out that if Dick can pass as Batman (physically) then he can pass as RH (physically and with using guns re: Cop.) ((Neither Dick nor Jason realizing they could have just done that instead of the convoluted scheme / subplot they enacted instead… like HUH. That would have been a lot less work!!))

"Dick and Jason realizing when everything is over that. Dick could have just. Been Red Hood. I laughed so fecking hard omfg. Like, I love these idiots, but what were they even doing?? But. As older brothers, they would never ADMIT that they didn't think of the simple solution, and I fully believe they do their best to convince Tim that the whole thing was intentional (and Steph backs them up, because she's salty). And Tim is just so impressed by these morons thinking things through until Damian (unintentionally) gives the game away YEARS later at Christmas. And Tim's horror when he realizes how gullible he'd been for a solid three decades." 

Jason: Not that its not working out,
Jason: but why did you have an entire replacement plan ready to go for the Red Hood & organization?
Dick, who was pretty damn close to being ordered to take RH off the map by BM and/or had a lot of time to think about how to absolutely ruin the guy for maximum gain across the board while Tim slowly recovered:
Dick:
Jason: ???
Dick:
Dick: LETS CHANGE THE SUBJECT

Stephanie, who’s first in person impression of NW was that he was a little too hands on & down to murder: … or you’ll HANDLE it?!?
Jason & Damian: ???
Dick, who has to set a good example for Damian & Jason but was absolutely high-key going to handle it the way Steph was thinking:
Dick:
Dick: You couldn’t let me have this??? You really had to go there???

Bruce, summarizing: None of you are running my company
Dick: Correct. Lucius Fox is CEO. I kept my seat on the Board (of directors) but thats mostly to keep everyone else in line vs day to day work.
Bruce:
Dick: I also bring Damian in to the office twice a month as a morale boost!
Bruce & Tim:
Dick: It started working about five months in. We keep the dates a little random (always a Thursday) so everyone stays on their toes for their tiny over lord check in…
Bruce & Tim, starting:
Dick, talking over them: Also service animals are now allowed in the building, vegetarian and vegan options have been enhanced on the cafeteria menus, and Damian will insist on stopping on EVERY floor on his way up to the C-suite level so brace yourself for that and add, like, two hours to every planned trip on those days.
Tim & Bruce:
Dick: :)

Bruce, recovering from WE news: Jason is Batman?
Dick, starting:
Bruce, recognizing Dick’s expression from Robin power point presentation flashbacks: No. You sit down. You’re too prepared - Stephanie. Report.
Stephanie, not missing a beat even from across the cave and ready to swing for her (awkward but lovable) Batman: AND WHAT OF IT!
Bruce, realizing he has misjudged and, worse, likely stepped right into Dick’s trap: …
Damian, not any more impressed with Bruce than he is with Jason: Tt.

Steph & Soph: *circling each other and hissing like cats*
Jason:
Damian:
Dick: Wait for it… :D
Steph & Soph: *cackling maniacally as they burn down a 1/4 of Gotham’s docks, ruining the plan of a small time gang, a big time villain, and several of Dick’s minor schemes*
Dick:
Dick: Friendship! :D

There also had to have been a moment maybe… mid way? Through? Where Jason rants to Dick about the patrols missing marginalized areas or not correctly interacting with X group and once Jason gets it out of his system he stares Dick down, defiant, only to find Dick calmly (AMUSED) staring back at him - and they keep staring until Dick raises an eyebrow and then waves a hand AT THE YELLOW BAT SYMBOL ON JASON’S CHEST and says “So… go do something about that.” And it dawns on Jason that omg he can just - he can GO DO SOMETHING about it. (And then a growth moment in “oh shit what do I actually do about that???” follows) ((Jason “Robin is magic” Todd finding and feeling the magic again as Batman is giving me a lot of feelings rn))

Chapter Text

Even the hyper sexual "default" costume (which he could wear stuff over or under, I’m just saying -BEGGING-) can’t nerf him. Personally I think he's still in his usual Nightwing suit, it's just now glowing purple. 

Basic Summary of SS Lantern Ring Special Abilities: “Corp members of the Star Sapphires use violet power rings, fueled by the emotion of love. They allow the wearer to fly, generate a protective aura, and create violet light constructs. Sapphire rings have the most powerful healing capabilities of all lantern rings. Star Sapphire's can potentially use the ring to heal anything from minor injuries to undoing the effects of death itself (self or others), provided the ring wielder has a love connection powerful enough to channel the necessary life energy towards preserving it." 

Then you can get into the rest of the basic lantern construct stuff because Dick is a tinker-er engineer and chemist. So along those lines he could, high concept, summon a Batcave level computer, his iteration of the Batmobile, gear, weapons, the justice league station etc. Any tech he’s familiar enough with which, again, is a LOT.) 

Concept: His Constructs are independently functioning copies of people he loves ('love' not being a finite resource or a simple emotion so…). They fight as well as / as independently as well as Dick knows them… which is very. 

Dick Grayson as a Star Saphire is basically an army. 

Starfire is always first. Kori's form unravels from a burst of purple fire, violet starbolts glowing from her fists as she surges up in a spiral around Dick before beginning to rain damage down ahead. 

Donna Troy is never far behind, her arrival a burst of violet power as Troia shakes the earth around her. 

Garth of Atlantis, Tempest, appears in a splash of color, a total opposite to Kori and Donna’s fiery appearances. Garth lingers, always assessing Starwing’s physical health or waiting to see if he’s needed for defense before moving into the fray. 

Three Flashes appear. 

The first, Barry Allen appears mid run. From his shadow, right on his heels, first springs Kid Flash who’s strides lengthen before overtaking Barry!Flash as Wally catches and surpasses his mentor. Splitting off from both, running parallel and at an easy looking jog an intentional half-step behind to watch their backs first appears Impulse for a few flittering seconds before he too grows into what is clearly a modified Flash suit. Bart breaks ahead of his predecessors just as the three flashes split into different directions.

Green Arrow usually steps forward with a swagger before moving to higher ground. He doesn’t stick around, but the reassuring feeling of him perched nearby lingers.

Roy Harper appears in a burst of fire almost as violent and scattered as Donna’s. Speedy’s hat flies off almost immediately (rippling into flames before evaporating entirely) and it’s always Arsenal that lands, feet first and arrow knocked. 

Superman [Clark Kent] shoots straight up, circles overhead once, and then is up up and away. 

Superboy [Conner Kent] appears mid-leap, always landing with a dramatic crash ahead of Nightwing, leather jacket tugging in the wind behind him as he descends. 

Superboy [Jon Kent] appears, more quietly than either of his predecessors. He barely reaches Star-wing’s hip at first, jeans slightly too large and hands not quite grown into, before his excited skip flickers, extends, and a second Superman glides smoothly into existence, full length cape snapping into existence behind him. 

Wonderwoman appears, armed in regalia rarely seen all at once in life. Lasso, shield, sword. She appears dressed for war and embodies it more than any construct on the field. 

Jason Todd flickers into sight in stages; Robin, every time, for a brief flip - the first trick Dick taught Jason how to do - and when the construct lands again, its firmly on large combat boots, drawing twin pistols as the Red Hood stomps forward. 

Cassandra Cain, Blackbat, is there in a blink and gone again. Graceful beyond compare even as a construct and every bit as challenging as the breathing legend. 

Tim Drake also appears first as Robin and often stays longer as Robin than he does RR.  [Depending on “when” this is set you can hint at another Mantle for him.] 

Stephanie Brown appears with a silent giggle, more sparkles than flames heralding her existence. Spoiler bounces cheerfully around Starwing, once, twice, before throwing herself in to the fray - as impatient and headstrong as Blackbat but twice as noticeable. 

Damian Wayne burns brightly, brighter than any construct on the field. He looks as though his touch would sear straight through anything he approaches. [Damian is always as Robin. Various ages- depending on “when” this is set you can hint at another Mantle for him.]

Deathstroke the Terminator is a surprise to many. The man looks unchanged, untouched by time as he bursts into reality, shoulder brushing against Starwing’s as he draws his sword.

From Deathstroke’s shadow arises another figure, body rotating in a flip once, twice, four times before landing with twin swords drawn. Rose Wilson bounds into the fray (or briefly around Star-wing if the fighting hasn’t quite reached him, showing off a number of ariels most recognizable as Nightwing’s).

Joey Wilson suddenly comes to a viewer’s attention. It’s not clear how long he’s been standing there, a few feet away from Starwing, quietly contemplating the battle field. He flickers in your sight, there and then not. (Those who remember Jericho know that’s his power in action. Others may doubt Dick’s love for this oddly quiet character.) 

Sometimes a half-seen figure in white with an extended cloak appears. An old friend, not forgotten but desperately distanced from, still lingering in remembrance, as Shrike’s lethality picks off stragglers and downed foes aiming potshots. 

On and on and on it goes. A League and Titanomancy unto himself. 

(An incredibly young looking Batman is always the last, a version few would even recognize if not for the iconic emblem and cowl. He doesn’t make any acknowledgement. He stands for a moment before whirling away to cover Starwing’s back.) 

Chapter Text

It is a CRIME that there's not an established AU where Selina, after breaking into yet another museum with yet another idol of worship or valuable was labeled with a "Donated by Janet and Jack Drake" plaque, did not break into Drake Manor to see what else they had stored in their personal collection aka mansion ... and while she does find several paintings, countless jewels, and an awful lot of Egyptian artifacts - she ALSO comes across baby and completely unsupervised Tim Drake.

Who she quickly realizes is not only OBSESSED with Dickie (somewhere between 'that's a very vague and troubling parasocial bond keeping this kiddo sane' and ‘yikes - the obsession thing is genetic’) but has also clearly cracked the secret of Batman and Robin's identities and the fragile peace of the Game itself is poorly protected by being stuffed in a shoe box under this neglected 6 year old's bed.

Selina (backed by a confused but game Brucie Wayne, neighbor of the Drakes) effectively ruins the Drakes in a child neglect suit. 

She doesn't tell Bruce that a baby has figured out his ID until after Tim has done three full "returned the 'artifacts' my parent's stole back to their rightful homes" round trips and has full debuted as Stray (who, admittedly, never tries very hard to get away from Robin but delights in tricking and trapping Batman).

LostRas Added:

Just. Baby Tim being all sorts of creepy and Selina refusing to introduce him to Dick after she sees his album(s).
Bruce being horrified that a baby figured out their IDs (and grudgingly impressed)
Bruce blaming the ID fail on Dick for performing quadruples where people can see him when it's such an uncommon move
Dick getting mad and befriending baby Tim out of spite
Baby Tim being over the moon that his idol is talking to him
Selina enjoying the chaos (and claiming Dick in the divorce, since he's always over at her place anyway)

Dick 'fired' from Robin and crashing at Selina's with Tim
Tim, who adores Dick even more since they've known each other much longer in this au, being forcefully cuddled and being absolutely okay with that
Tim being horrified over the mess and getting revenge on the Bat by breaking in and installing malware to his computer(s) every few days

Bruce, regretting the day he discovered children exist

Tim is the aggressor in this universe in the Jason&Tim relationship. 

Initially, Dick is 16, Tim is 10, Jason is 12 when Bruce first adopts him. So Tim, who is fully aware of what Bruce has done regarding his now former-ward, sees the new Jason Wayne in school and starts to prepare for war. 

(Tim never really understood why people acted out in anger. It was what it was. Better to take care of what you could and let go of the rest, right? Why bother being upset. It lead to bad choices and needless losses. Over feelings, no less. But, oh, he GETS it now.) 

But I believe Jason takes more time to get up to speed as Robin so it’s possible the events below occur when:

Dick is 17 (“first day of spring” so around March 20-21), Jason is 13 (August 15), Tim is 11 (July 19). (Jason has the latest birthday so his age is the anchor.) 

(Also, wait. Did YJ make Dick a Scorpio? That’s hilarious. He’s either an Aries or a Scorpio and that entertains me.) 

Jason is scooped up by empty-nesting Bruce (it worked for SELINA. Dick VISITS HER STILL.) and suddenly Robin has a VERY DETERMINED RIVAL. 

Stray seems to be an on-sight HATER of the new baby Robin, totally refusing to continue the facade that its the same kid in the mask. 

Stray goes from being mostly a voice over the intercoms and maybe a shadow on a rooftop (Tim still takes photos, of course, and maybe he quietly gives Bruce (by hand or just sneaks in and leaves them around the Manor) all of the really bad ones of Batman looking ridiculous.) to descending on Robin from above.

Tim is NOT standing for this!!

Batman and Catwoman actually have to stop, back track a few rooftops, and break up the kids’ fights.

The pair actually falling off a rooftop in the middle of one of these spats is the bridge too far. Tim breaks an arm. Jason breaks a leg.  

Both Selina and Bruce end up approaching Dick (unknowing? Knowing he’s the innocent but root issue?) for advice and training tips.

(Thus stopping The Gauntlet meeting between Jason and Dick but not all the issues. Jason still feels CONSTANTLY compared to Dick and is understandably insecure. Alfred and Bruce still put Jason in Dick’s bed and room. Jason still attacks when Dick “comes home” and Dick still puts Jason in a headlock but here chucks him back into the room, and storms out to stay at Selina & Tim’s place.) 

Dick ends up both highly amused and also beset by whinging children/pre-teens.

And the conversations once they’re both teens lmao-

Jason, later: Your crush on my brother is weird.
Tim, offended: It’s not a crush!
Jason, casual & baiting: Obsession, sexual fixation, whatever. Weird.
Tim, scandalized: No! That’s SO wrong! That’s- that’s like wanting a priest! It’s like - like - defiling Sacred ground!
Jason, confused but not about to let up since he rarely sees Tim this flustered: There are people into that.
Tim, genuinely upset: NO!

Tim, later: He’s not your brother anyway.
Jason: The fuck the you say
Tim: Bruce never adopted him.
Jason:
Tim, brandishing adoption papers: Selina did though! See!!
Jason:
Jason, pissed off at Bruce but still a shit stirrer: Your crush on YOUR brother is weir-OW!

LostRas Added:

Dick happily taking Tim under his wing<3
Dick later grudgingly (but less so since he's had a bit of space and Tim was the first fledgling, so he's had some practice with a kid who doesn't hate him) taking Jason under his wing<3

Selina, watching Dick become an excellent older brother figure/mentor. Watching him mature (in a much healthier way than in canon because he actually has support this time around)<333

Dick, upon realizing he has somehow become a parenting counselor: I should start charging
Bruce: *Drops millions in his account*
Selina: *Hands him a priceless jewel, which is DEFINITELY not cursed or stolen*
The rest of the Gotham Rogues:

Bruce: Chum-
Dick: Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of you STEALING MY NAME
Bruce: Wait that's-
Dick: Sorry. I really can't hear you, I'm stuck in a pile of purrs

Jason: so my brother-
Tim: *Smug* MY brother, actually
Jason:
Later
Jason: So did you know that Selina adopted Dick. Can you stop making me call him brother already???
Bruce:
Bruce: Wtf did you just say???
Elsewhere
Selina: I get the feeling that Bruce just realized he made the worst mistake of his life
Selina:
Selina: *Smirks*

Chapter Text

Leadership Ramble

Dick in the comics is not good at taking orders. If there’s a power structure, he’s usually near the top of it or he’s subverting it entirely. (“You work for me!” Dick: *ignores them, tells THEM what to do, gives orders without bothering to check in with them, figures things out and just takes action without using the structure someone else has demanded he use - unless he can use it to be retroactively petty* Yep, sure thing! :) Hear you loud and clear. Hey have you considered-*)

I’ve noticed that the cartoons tend to write Dick as a lot more passive and subordinate but like - 9/10 in every comic run (including the ones that are not Dick’s own, like Outlaws, Justice League, Batman and even in Batgirl - though that last one is where he’s usually written as they most submissive in order to not usurp Babs [blegh]) Dick will eventually roll his shoulders back and start calling the shots or blatantly push back on whoever is trying to give orders to or around him. (NOTE: Dick DOES make exceptions for his mentees. Dick will often, if he’s with someone he’s trained or taught - especially if he’s with the student’s team, let them call the shots and only marginally correct or question. And usually it’s structured to look like a lesson. Another difference to Bruce who we’ve really only seen him stretch like that for Dick… and even then rarely.)

All that aside, I feel that a core part of Dick’s leadership style is that people go to him because they know he’ll treat them fairly. That whatever is going down, whatever might have happened, whatever you did, whatever you need; he’ll help handle it and you will be safe with him.

We are shown Bruce, and later Tim (but we’re talking about Bruce and Dick so Tim is not the focus here), devise contingency plan after contingency plan and speculate, pretty openly, on how best to take out his own allies. Often with comments about it directly to their face in the field. (Now, I will say that its more common in the cartoons - but it happens with decent frequency in the comics as well.) Sometimes it’s “playful” but most of the time it’s regardless of when that might be needed and mostly it seems like it’s just because he can. Bruce watches and observes and plots… and everyone knows he’s doing it. It’s an open secret and while some other heroes try and break the ice with Bruce (usually when it’s “playful” i.e. Bruce is not the one ‘playing’) by making a joke - no one is really laughing.

Meanwhile, teammates (friends of friends and total strangers and sometimes enemies (Boone)) more or less just walk up to Dick and tell him their worries and insecurities and weaknesses. Outside of immediate combat or a blatant mystery, we very rarely see Dick stare at people and try to take them apart in his head. And when we do see Dick whip through observations and motives, it’s almost always (might actually be always) him working out what they want or expect from him rather than what he could do to them. Sure, yes, sometimes Dick will tease an issue or a critical weakness out of someone and lead them into confiding in him — but that’s still what it’s usually portrayed as; someone confiding their weakness in Dick or him walking them through a problem (and getting ridiculous amounts of information and details in the process).

And that, again in my opinion, is the basis of a difference in their leadership styles and something that shines through even when Dick is acting as Batman.

When Bruce|Batman gives an order, there’s often pushback (usually used to showcase ‘see? You should just listen to him’ but still - on panel push back and questioning, even from Clark and Diana) against following his orders. Even if they are directly under fire (thought that tends to be the ‘showcase’ scenario above).

There’s an awful lot less of that with Nightwing and Dick|Batman - even from former/current enemies or people who knew him when he was a preteen.

I think it’s because Bruce|Batman tends to give off the feeling that he’s testing you. That what you do for him can and will be used against you in the future. With Dick, though, people tend to assume he has a reason for either asking or commanding. And that if he says “jump” you can jump and count on being caught. (...even if that order is "Quick! Run through this mysterious portal NOW!" because, well, he's done that before. And the entire JLA did it.)

When Bruce gives a call to arms or orders a fight, people are usually involved because they already have their own motivations on the line. But we’ve seen Dick, repeatedly, give a call to arms to people who have nothing at stake - and they answer! Because if Dick feels the need to fight for whatever it is, if Dick thinks he needs them to show up - then there must be a reason. And if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for them. (Which is arguably the Titans “system” in a nutshell.)

This is not to say that no one questions Dick (see an awful lot of Titans and Batman Comics editions) either after or before or in the moment. But the majority of times when those call outs and questioning confrontations do occur - the accuser 90% of the time will drop a “You’re acting like [Bruce][Batman]!” as the core reason for why they’re questioning Dick. Which means people who know both of them also absolutely feel the difference in their leadership styles - and (tend to) prefer Dick’s. The other 10% are various forms of “I dropped everything and came as soon as I could - No I did not stop to read the briefing - what is going on? What do you need?”

Dick also CLEARLY gives off vibes of being at his best when he’s in charge of people - because we’ve got, what, nearly four separate accounts of his closest friends rounding up people for Dick to train/mentor/lead whenever they think Dick looks sad or has been too isolated??? That’s WILD. The list includes Roy Harper, Donna Troy, Bruce Wayne and Wally West - arguably some of the people who know Dick best. And THAT is their answer to Dick not appearing to do well?? Give him MORE command and responsibility and people? I laughed at it sounding like bad propaganda, because it DOES, but like - tell me the thought process doesn’t more or less boil down to “Dick won’t do x y z for himself, unless he has an example to set or someone to look after/lead.” Dick tends to lead for other people - to better them, to look out for a situation, to fix something broken or lesser or wanting that’s been given to him (or, well, made the mistake of wandering towards his attention).

I don’t think we’ve ever seen someone approach Bruce|Batman like “Hey, you seem stressed. Here’s a group of people, including me, that really think it’s for the best if you take over and give us direction and purpose.”

TLDR: Bruce treats his relationships like he’s playing multiple individual games of Chess and Dick is playing (idk - something like Codenames or Mafia or Mao* I guess).

*Mao was suggested by LostRas!

Chapter Text

Primer on who Boone even is: A nemesis/friend Dick made when 11 in a child-assassin training camp called 'Vengeance Academy' in Gotham. Short version, Bruce throws still injured Dick out after an encounter with Harvey Dent goes badly for Dick.

Dick gets kidnapped off the streets of Gotham (conveniently)(?) by what ends up being a Talia sponsored child assassin ring (Dick… sure does run into a lot of those).

Long short, Dick’s talent and natural charisma undermines the hell out of the former shining star and leader of the children, Boone. Boone takes it personally but is ALSO impressed by Dick and starts to follow Dick’s lead - right up until Dick refuses to kill a defeated Two-Face.

The run ultimately ends with the Master of the camp (Shrike) dying when Batman (oh right - Dick sneaks out from said LOA associated child assassin ring, breaks back into the Batcave - because his codes don't work, leaves Bruce a note explaining that there’s a hit on Two Face oh and also a NON VOLUNTARY CHILD ASSASSIN SLAVE RING IN GOTHAM, because, what, like it’s hard?) shows up to stop both a revenge seeking Two Face (who shoots Shrike, who then falls to his death a little too thematically given, you know, Dick Grayson) and the aforementioned child-assassin training ring happening in his back yard, funded by his ex-girlfriend. 

Boone, who def had parental-problems and was fixating hard on Shrike, takes it personally as hell, swears vengeance on Dick, and later takes up the mantle of Shrike after Talia whisks him away.

Now, I love Boone as a concept character. Dick and Boone are depicted as being pretty evenly matched, with Boone on panel having taken out and taken on some serious other headliners to demonstrate WHY he was sure he was a match (more than in his own narcissistic opinion, good lord some of the comments - there’s a reason this is a sleeper ship for me. Boone has it BAD for Dick in a number of ways) for THE Nightwing. One of which was Diana freaking Prince.

Some people didn’t like it, but one of the only highlights of the Blockbuster Arc for me was Boone’s return… and the absolute curb stomping showcase that Boone is only ALLOWED to have a chance when Dick feels like it. Dick pretty much kicks Boone’s ass up and down the street, around the corner, and leaves the guy chained up to a flagpole.  BIGSKYDREAMING put it best (link below): “How handily Dick kicked [Boone’s] ass there was in context clearly meant to read as just how fucking enraged Dick was at this point, due to Blockbuster’s campaign against him, and how much Dick’s OWN threat level went through the roof when he allowed himself to use that degree of anger while fighting Boone, rather than repress it. It was very much a “you’re only in my league when I’m afraid to go full throttle, when I take the safeties off though its no contest” kinda thing.” So personally, I love Boone as a clearly infatuated tsundere-esc antagonist who talks a big game across the board… but obviously I’m of the opinion that Dick an and will eventually always put Boone in his place ;) (and that Boone likes it. Which is why he keeps coming back.) ;)

Or check out a better explanation here, all credit to BigSkyDreaming for their work!!

By the time we see Jason in the League, Boone is not by Talia's side. Now if that was in the interest of NOT sacrificing decent agents into Jason 'canonically killed his LOA teachers, usually by ambushing them, as soon as Jason felt he had learned all he could from them' Todd's bizarre ego that makes some sense... but consider for a moment that Boone's primary defining trait is that he is obsessed with Dick Grayson, who Talia cannot stand. 

For the first few years, it's a mutter here or there about someone named 'Freddy' and how this mystery boy would have done it faster or under more pressure. And that's fine, it keeps Boone motivated and competitive and he's out stripping everyone in his age group and then some.

Then about six years later, Nightwing debuts. And it's just the jaws of hell for Talia then because Boone goes full Draco Malfoy and then some about Nightwing. And it's fine, its even cathartic because finally someone else hates Dick almost as much as she does-- and then he goes and ruins it by complaining about Nightwing and his "perfect hair, and perfect escrima combat, and-" like she 180's into full Lucious Malfoy "yes, yes you have told me this a hundred times" level exasperation with a side of "WHY DOES NO ONE ELSE (actually) HATE THIS KID?!" 

But in a universe where Boone maybe manages to keep his obsession and inferiority complex to himself... he's there during Jason and Damian's time in the League. And one thing leads to another and Nightwing and Shrike end up tangling again, as they always do. Nightwing bitches about Talia and mentors, as he always does and Shrike, in turn, vents about the new kid because, well, Dick's managed to blindly hit a sore spot again! 

There's this new kid and he was unwell when Talia showed up with him out of the blue. Threw him in the pit and he's still unwell (and it's taking up all of Talia's attention and she's getting all the good trainers organized and-) and in-between all of Boone's whining (and the fighting), what Dick hears is that there's a vulnerable kid who's not doing well that Talia is keeping under her thumb for reasons. 

And Dick... doesn't have a lead in to the League. Point of fact is, Dick cannot rescue this kid.      But Boone can. And that's a first for the pair of them. 

Just, Dick truly altruistic and well-intentioned convincing (half stroking Boone's ego and half seriously asking) him to rescue who turns out to be Jason Todd.

Like again:

• Boone has a direct connection to the League - and Talia specifically based on Robin Year 1 
• Dick cannot rescue Jason
• Boone can - this is a concrete thing that Boone can do that Dick cannot and Dick would owe him 
• Jason's situation can be tilted and spun to look a lot like Dick & Boone's back when they met. Young, scared, desperate and in the hands of bad people.
• Boone's made a point of noting that he struck out away from the League to be able to do his own thing
• Dick would absolutely leverage that along with the rest of his ego 

Just - Dick initially half-playing Boone and half seriously thinking it could be a minor redemption act and instead Boone shows up with his dead little brother that Dick has been straight up hallucinating about he's been grieving so hard. 

I genuinely think Dick would scramble to Jason, collapse and outright cry then and there.

Boone would have absolutely zero idea what to do. Both with the emotional meltdown and then with the genuine gratitude from Dick.

I just imagine him cat-like; ears back and squirming and flushed like ?? Ye-no? No? Huh??? while Dick just SOBS and Jason, who may or may not still be mostly vegetable even post-pit at this point in the narrative, clings back! 

Bonus points if Boone goes for broke and nabbed Damian too -- or if itty bitty Damain stowed away or followed them there and now Dick not only gets back Jason but a 2-4 year old son of the Bat! ...which is its own series of serious issues because Talia is. not. amused. *dun dun dun!*

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For this fic here on A03.

This was supposed to purely be Jason & Dick. Like the planned speaking parts were ONLY Jason, Dick and (briefly) Joker. Every other character who talks invited themselves to the story as they appear.

• Stephanie! This was her first canonic meeting of Nightwing. :D 
• Tim. He pulls Dick off Joker’s corpse. 
• Barbara. She and Dick meet and actually talk through the pros/cons and consequences of Dick killing the Joker after they believe he’s killed Tim. Dick approaches that chapel with full premeditated intent to kill. He gets cold feed, goes for an arrest, and then Joker antagonizes Dick by saying Jason’s name. And Dick beats that SOB till his armored gloves fall apart and Joker’s heart stops beating. 
• Helena B. aka Huntress. Bruce makes her revive Joker. 
• Bruce. He shows up and moralizes and demands they save the Joker.  

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• The omega’s orgasm is considered (“scientifically”) to be superfluous and so is shamed/ignored. An omega should orgasm only after their alpha and only if the alpha permits it. Because an omega “doesn’t need to orgasm.” 
• Omegas who orgasm otherwise are sluts and aren’t fit for breeding so much as they are fucking. (Given Jason’s Alley background? Oof.) 

• Omegas have more pleasure centers on average than any other sub-gender and they’re there for a reason.
• Omega orgasms are a huge contributor towards successful pregnancies and then healthy pregnancies 
• The happier the omega, the better the sex

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This is really just me wanting fluff. Fluff and appreciation and no one (except for Joker) having any lasting injuries. It completely ignores the actual repercussions I think would ensue because this isn't a serious fic. 

Cyborg Quietly Took Over the Watchtower and No One Noticed (Except Dick)
They totally know where to send it, but Cyborg (Victor Stone) is in charge of that and figures that jump scaring the paranoid trigger happy former crime lord only now participating vigilante is a bad idea. Especially after why they’re meeting.

Victor wasn't yelling at the Flashes, he was shouting instructions at them. They were running (kind of literally, ha) inputs into the computer to help manage and launch the video feeds because Victor is amazing but that was a lot of people to manage. 

This is also why we don't see Victor ramping up for war despite pretty much being able to take total control of the Watchtower. He's in on what's about to land on the Justice League and is the actual proverbial 'tip of the spear' here. 

Purple Ray Ex-machina
We fix Dick’s bad knee because why not. There’s no reason that should be a thing. And Diana gets to use it (her own creation in at least one iteration) on someone she loves. 

J'onn J'onzz's Canon Booty Shorts
J’onn is mostly covered by his cape. He’s wearing a cross-harness, a belt, and some tight briefs. He’s right there with some of Starfire’s outfits for coverage and while I love that for him (and am MAD the movies have altered it! C’mon!! You kept the catsuits!) it does need to be said. Cannot believe I’m going to have to tag for J’onn J’onzz and his canonic booty shorts.

Ohana
Yes, Diana and J’onn go to the medbay to hold Dick’s hand and help him feel better. That’s their baby (brother). They watched him grow up. They’ve seen him win and lose battles, grades, board games, friends, baby teeth. YES they are gonna go HOLD HIS HAND in the middle of this MESS.

Trapeze depends on good grip strength and trusting in your partner’s hands. So you bet itsy bitsy Robin was still testing adults by their grip and it was his way of saying hi/bye/I’ve got you. 

The Hawks are dead here. I’m so sorry :( 

Wally and Oliver are the Most Likely to Throw Hands at Batman and I a wanted to honor that specifically. Also, I like to imagine that they consider it some sort of extreme sport and are keeping track of their respective 'points.'

Starfire is the Most Likely to Punt a Bitch Into the Sun

J’onn is is like yes :) I am happy to take my human nephew to the super secure base with my buddies from the horrible ol’ days :) also :) fuck :) you :) Have some consequences :) 

Raven is in Dick’s shadow. Jason looked away just before it grew four red eyes and wings, because I loved that visual from the 2003 cartoon.

No idea if any one noticed, but yes! Bruce is in that meeting without the iconic horns on the cowl! Just the broken remains of them. 

Jason Todd's Memory Problems Made My Life Difficult (and other clubs the Batfam should create)
Jason’s canonic faulty memory / apparent memory loss is really fucking inconvenient when you’re introducing a huge number of characters. You can thank Jason’s broken brain for the Tim POV and extended chapters. Someone has to actually know everyone’s names!  

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Faux, What Are You Doing?
I have no idea. This concept just will not leave me alone so now you all get to suffer with me. 

Is this a redemption arc? I don’t know! Maybe?

Are Alfred and Bruce actually bad guys? I don’t know! I don’t want them to be but man are things sketchy. Let's just say they have/had agendas. 

Where are we exactly in the DickBats timeline? I don’t know! This one is a real cherry-picker and has been tagged as such. 

Are you going to post this allegedly Dark Universe you keep referencing that inspired this to begin with? 
…Yeah. I am. You will all get to see that horror show and I look forward to your reactions. It is slowly being written but is going to come with so many warning tags. That one is about as dark as I can comfortably go with Dick Grayson, people. Honestly it’s darker than I’m comfortable with him but that’s how it’s shaking out so… ugh, catch me living long enough to be my own villain: a Dark Dick Grayson tag on a future work. The horror (not /s, I am struggling with this new bit of my own brain). 

Similarly, Clearing the Nest is also in the drafting stages so… there’s another E-rated ABO fic I never thought I had in me that will also be tagged from tip to tail with big warning tags. (ABO, tw: rape, SlaDick, Omega!Slade, Alpha!Dick, Bottom!Slade).

Why Did Jason Run?
Traditional raised and league conditioned Jason is like “Dick didn’t chain me down and force me so clearly he doesn’t actually want me and therefore can’t have me—“

Meanwhile Dick got blind sided by a heat and a mating bond neither one of them consented to or have bites for. He’s getting mixed messages and is speed running nearly 8 years of memories with lots of new information to slot into place. He has a good idea of what he wants now… but he does have to work out if and how he can have it. Basically, Jason is a lot more “in the moment, we have what we have” and Dick is stuck with the “is this real, if we can make it real should we?” And I’m hoping Damian’s POV reminds the reader that like, that’s partially because Dick has to also be a parent right now.

 Note on the League of Assassins & the Al Ghuls
DC Comics intentionally wrote this group and cast of characters with obviously racist and otherwise harmful stereotypes in mind and in text. I am not ignoring that but I'm also not going to glorify the group and pretend like they either (a) have a point or (b) were at all "better" than the society Damian (and Jason) later join. Because they are still, no matter how you look at them, a villainous group that prizes might-makes-right mentalities as well as eugenics and with that social castes among other horrible things. The individuals therein (such as Ra's and Talia) may be redeemable, but the group and practices they enact are not.

Dick’s Litany of the Dead
He really has lost more people than he’s had come back and in the world of comics that is saying something. Also, my apologies to Wally. He should be on that list with Jason and Donna but it just didn’t fit the cadence. Sorry to anyone who scowled at that, I do see you. Similar note, we are not counting Joey Wilson (who Dick affectionately called ‘Joe’ for some reason) as ‘returning’ given he came back about as monstrously homicidal as Jason but with zero redemptive arcs or attempts. RIP Joey, you are missed. Also, Rosabelle Mendez is Pantha but a large part of her story arc was that no one knew where she came from - including her. This is a similarity she shared/shares with Donna - except Dick did not manage to find Rosabelle’s origins before she was killed and I think that haunts him a bit. So she is named with her hero name as that’s what they were more familiar with, sad as that is. 

Alfred
Alfred is not anywhere near done scheming OR escaping consequences. Dick is very much on to him and is slowly working backwards to figure out what, exactly, Alfred may have been up to or involved in regarding Jason. This was too big a surprise and shock to Dick for him to ignore. Jason, likewise, has always been important to Dick. Dick isn’t about to ignore a threat to Jason, no matter how annoying to psychotic a threat Jason has been himself. Additionally… if Dick’s suspicions are right, then there may be SOME hints as to Jason’s motivations in what he’s missing. Nothing that would justify or excuse Jason’s actions, but maybe, just maybe, there’s something there that could help them build a future where Jason isn’t: suffering, raging, harming and hurt, generally all of THAT. 

Weapons
Those are all weapons Dick has been shown using or knows how to use. Also, smallsword is not a typo. It’s a type of blade very similar to modern fencing foils and, inaccurate comparison but good enough for a fanfic, is sort of like a lighter rapier or thin calvary blade. 

Dick and Scent Marking
Dick 100% leapt straight into scenting Alfred and Bruce as soon as he settled in at the Manor (i.e. established Robin). He went from sad and reserved and self-soothing to, well, still self-soothing but with the added benefit of being able to scent his “new pack.” 

Leslie almost brained Bruce with child-health care and parenting books that asserted that scenting children Dick’s age was critical for their social development and Bruce and Alfred (reluctantly, though mostly from how foreign it was for them and not any dislike of Dick) created a schedule for scenting that they stuck to pretty religiously. Only, like, there WAS a small miscommunication as to who should be doing the most scenting. Bruce smelling very stubbornly of a costal shore in basically all of his civilian appearances because instead of Bruce and Alfred scrubbing “If Found Please Return-“ on Dick, we get Dick scrubbing “THESE ARE MY PEOPLE. MINE, MINE, MINE. I BELONG HERE! PLEASE RETURN ME HERE!” on the adults. 

 (I just also think Bruce equated scenting with reward/punishment as Dick grew older. Like, the notable occasions when Bruce threw Dick|Robin out… So Dick I think associates someone refusing to scent with him as rejection. Which it issocially but Dick specifically takes it really personally, even without meaning to. Like, I’d imagine it’s a pretty common rejection - about as akin to refusing to hug someone, so various levels of insult/refusal based on the presumed relationship. But because of how it was used in his late childhood…) 

And, yes, then Bruce picked up Jason who was both ignorant (much like Tim and later Damian) of what familial scenting should be like and was then starved of scent intentionally. We’ll get into Jason’s reactions to Dick and Dick’s scent marking habits over the years in the story ;) 

As I’ve brought them up: 
Tim likewise was scented infrequently to mirror touch-starvation. I’m of the opinion that Tim was loved by Jack & Janet Drake and that they were negligent via absence at worst. They very much expected Tim to be self sufficient. In the era in which Tim was initially written, this sort of “freedom” and “maturity” via being left to fend for ones self wasn’t too unusual a thought - just set a little earlier for Tim than would be the norm to demonstrate that he WAS “mature.” We now know that even children that rose to such expectations were being stretched and that it had negative social and mental impacts on them. Bruce, then, would not want to overstep onto the Drake’s toes (while they were alive) and beyond that I doubt he’d even have the reflex to scent Tim as it was (depression, well post Dick and not having practiced with Jason much if at all), and then very likely never broached the topic himself to respect Tim’s own wishes… (in line with Dick not being adopted after a certain point despite the relationship changing as the years went on.) And then Tim gets to meet Dick and is just overwhelmed because while Dick still isn’t all that touchy-feely… he absolutely scents the hell out of Tim as soon as Tim slots in as ‘baby brother shaped.’ 

Damian we saw a little from in this chapter. Suffice to say, much like Jason and Tim (and Bruce!), Damian was surprised to bowled over by Dick’s casual and habitual scent-marking. UNLIKE Dick, I imagine that marking things is going to be easier for Damian rather than people. His blades. His notebooks, his drawing utensils, his sketchbooks and paintbrushes. Different people’s training equipment. 

Fun Bonus: Bruce was VERY surprised by the pup scenting him, but I think came to love it while Dick was Robin. There’s very much a part of Bruce that mourns that loss after Dick becomes Nightwing and at times actively wonders why Dick stopped… not ever quite able to realize that he stopped first (withheld it as an associated punishment of sorts when he isolated Dick as retribution/discipline). 

Reminder of Everyone's Scents
Damian’s Scent: 

Damian is a pup so he only has one scent marker for now and the rest of the “scents” he has are all from his pack. It’s not uncommon for a person’s scent markings to change to fit or take on notes from their packs, but as those are still usually biological family at that age it can be hard to tell what’s inherited and what’s changed. 

Damian’s first and key scent marker is that he smells like petrichor. 

Petrichor is the earthy smell that occurs after rain hits the ground, especially dry ground. The word was coined by Isabel Joy Bear and Richard Grenfell Thomas, who played with the meaning of the Greek words 'petra', meaning stone, and 'ichor', which in Greek mythology refers to the (golden) blood of the gods and immortals. 

There’s a lot I’m playing with here. The note about ‘Ichor’ is certainly one. Damian’s immortal legacy appearing in his scent, and how deeply contrasted that is against the Pit-stench lingering in Jason’s. The juxtaposition of rain being life-bringing (especially in the desert) and having it be the first and key scent note for a child raised to kill without mercy or consideration. That Dick’s most protective and enraged scent is that of a storm with layers of ozone and Damian then smells like the recovering aftermath once that rage has passed. There’s more but it might be relevant if I keep this to use in other works so that’s all on this for now. 

Jason’s Scent

Old Leather-bound Books. Sun-warmed Sand (different kinds of sand). Neroli (with notes of fresh green growth). Jason’s scent carries note of the beach, the desert, the library in the Manor and neroli (bitter-sweet). 

Dick’s Scent

Ocean, Metal (can go hot or cold), Bergamont (with notes of black tea). ANGER SCENT: Ozone. See prior series note for more on Dick's scent. 

Alfred's Scent

Honey and Lemon, with a little rosemary as an undertone. Alfred smells almost medicinally herbal when he's angry, bitter and acidic but not chemical. 

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Damian’s Metal Spine
In this AU, Talia’s agents were not right the fuck there (in Batman & Robin #6) when Damian is injured and so Dick hovers for a fair bit of time more.

Dick makes a lot of calls during this time all while attempting to find the best method and way of repair on top of juggling hiding the connection of Damian Wayne to Robin. Wally stops by because Dick is worried about a preexisting tracker or something being part of the cause. Wally does, in fact, come away with a device that wasn’t detected by their scanners, surprising them both but unfortunately not resolving Damian’s paralyzed state or pain. However, Wally isn’t exactly pleased with Dick’s choices regarding Nightwing and makes that known. Damian overheard some of it, the part where Wally expressed that all of Dick’s friends are furious with his silence, and extrapolated himself right into misunderstanding. Instead of waiting for another solution, Damian demands to speak with his mother. Dick permits this because that’s his bargain with Damian; it’s down to Daminan’s choice. Dick will stop Talia from messing with Gotham full stop but Damian gets to decide her presence in his life and Dick, for all of his loathing, is reluctant to step in unasked. So Damian is down and out for longer here than he was in canon and Dick hovers a lot more. 

The “salty teas” are actually a gift from Garth and are supposed to help with nerve regeneration. It’s a very slow cure but helpful none the less. Their presence in Dick's cupboards predate Damian’s injury because Dick's friends are worried, not angry. But Damian POV and emotionally constipated vigilantes.  

Damian and Games
Damian was so very against anything that made him seem ‘childish’ in the beginning. It really gets me that we got to see Damian go from a ruthless, minimalist-utilitarian, who kills in response to perceived insult (like a bat flying too close to him) to a kid who openly enjoys/loves art and video games and animals. We know that Damian woke Dick up at 4am for morning spars (Roy’s unintentional and karmic revenge for the times Dick would wake him up at 6am for an ass kicking) but since I get to play as god here, Dick also now teaches Damian how to play tag as well as just plain play-wrestle. Things like roughhousing are actually critical for kid’s social and physical development! Damian is not too old for play like this to have a positive impact. 

Also, obviously Dick is not going to add his 200 pound self onto Damian’s ten year old upper body strength. That could seriously hurt Damian (no matter how strong he is in canon) and Dick would never intentionally fuck around with that, especially not after a spinal injury. Likewise with not throwing Damian off of things - that bit should be obvious too :( 

Also I need everyone to remember that Dick in canon has a habit of grabbing Damian around his middle and carrying him under one arm like a naughty dog or a sack of rice (and Damian just… goes limp, like he allows it even when he’s complaining and it’s happened mid fight too). Jason Todd has caught Damian mid-air with only his hips and Dick tired-dad carries Damian. 

Facetiously, Tim strikes me as a DSED coded child while Damian would be RAD coded. However, if I were to be more serious I do actually think the Drakes and Talia loved and likely even clung to their infant children. The symptoms, if any, likely only occurred after both boys' respective third to fourth birthdays as their parent’s shifted their focus and goals. 

Dick’s Rut Behavior
Dick while sliding into his rut here babies the hell out of Damian. Just - full on baby-fever alpha who came to with a pup in his den. Like, when they give kittens to cats or wild birds chicks to foster? Dick / Dick’s Alpha is convinced that they’re doing amazing, look at how big and strong their baby is!! The best!! 

I had my fist pressed to my chest writing Damian and Dick all but barking at the Arkham alarm. Like - c’mon you two. That’s adorable and so fucking dumb. Alfred, heaven help you. You have the only braincells in the house now. 

Alfred
Speaking of Alfred, yeah someone has to call him out! That said, I hope no one is too frustrated with him for locking Damian in. He was, rightfully, concerned for his own wellbeing as well as his plots here. Had Damian gotten out of the penthouse he absolutely would have bee-lined for the Manor which would not have ended well for anyone involved (including the high odds of Damian seeing far too much and Jason, well, trying to kill Damian again). Likewise, for all Alfred is a dangerous man in his own right, he’s not about to come out on top in a physical altercation with Damian. Short of shooting the kid, which is unlikely to actually stop him, Alfred is at a loss to get out of that intact and Damian wasintent on causing physical harm for the perceived betrayal (of Dick). So Alfred basically engaged the lockdown measures and put Damian in a really well armored version of timeout - albeit locking Damian in his area of the penthouse in the process. He then pulls some old tricks on Damian that do work, calming Damian down a bit with Dick’s scent and giving him a chance to den-down, but don’t earn Alfred any grace. 

Dick, who was ramping up into an early onset rut and already pissed off with his own revelations of Alfred’s manipulations from years back, was not amused to come home to find a frantic and upset pup. Alfred gets an off-screen dressing down and it won’t be the last conflict we see between him and Dick here. It’s largely derailed by the fact that Dick’s alpha instincts are prioritizing soothing the upset pup and still recognize Alfred as being both pack andinstrumental in having herded his (not his) heated omega home. Dick, unlike Damian, also realizes that nothing good would have come from Damian crashing Jason’s heat and that had the pup been set loose that was the inevitable outcome. He’s still pissed off at Alfred’s choices, new and old, though.  

There’s tension between Alfred and Damian because neither trusts the other personally but they both mutually trust that Alfred WILL serve the Wayne family… but HOW is where they talk across one another. Damian is the heir - the blood son. To Damian, combined with the eugenics and elitist Al Ghul system means he ranks everyone… except he has come to care much for Richard and sees why his father did as well. Damian’s hierarchy and approach to the world is shifting, but he hasn’t quite made the journey to being the boy most fans know and love today. 

Alfred meanwhile is both projecting hard onto Dick, who is both Bruce’s heir in Alfred’s mind AND is living an experience Alfred went through himself. So even though Damian is the only Wayne left alive… Alfred’s loyalty is still to Bruce’s memory and so to Bruce’s will as Alfred recalls it. Which. Yikes! Hence, his plotting around Jason.

But Faux, Babs was in Gotham!
I know Babs was around as Oracle on and off through the series, however, in this verse, we’re chalking her needing more space up to the ABO dynamics coming into play again and the fact that while present, Babs didn’t really have a storyline for herself so much in the middle of all that mess. As such, she and Steph 100% had some of the canon conversations (with advice and gossip and all the things that did happen in canon, such as pondering if fighting Damian counts as child abuse and mocking his irregular speech patterns) but Barbara is just not physically present in Gotham. Plus this way I get to sneak more of my silliness around as Babs needed some support after dissolving the Sirens. :( 

Batgirl #1 (Steph’s debut with Dick and Damian) occurs just after Red Robin #2 in the timeline… here I’m shifting things around to include her in the overall Batman & Robin comic story lines more as well as vice versa in Steph’s story. Not mentioned just yet but as an FYI, I’m going to knock Steph back down to her last (senior) year of high school. I feel this opens up plenty of avenues for conversation between Steph, Damian, Dick and Jason about continuing education and the impact being a vigilante can have on your life choices and future prospects. It also lines up a few other story points better in my head down the road (such as Leviathan). 

What else… Yes, Tim has 100% nailed Jason in the balls before on panel. No, idfk why he wasn’t wearing a cup. The comic run on the whole wasn’t great but that bit was entertaining. (Jason had kneed Dick in the crotch not long before this in the same issue so it really was Tim just… getting revenge for Dick.) 

General PSA that I adore Stephanie Brown. Especially because she’s a flawed character. 

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Oh Jason, don’t you know? It’s always the Butler! 

Jason breaks in (as called out by Jason, the security was easy because Alfred is once again meddling) after less than thirty hours on his own. That’s a pathetically small timeline. Jason spends one night by himself and his omega is like “wtf are these conditions. We refuse to live like this, go get that alpha.” And Jason is dragged hither. 

Nonsense Joke
Dick, sighing: I’m not a step-father, I’m just the father that stepped up.
Jason, ambushed by his obvious daddy kink: Oh no, that’s hot. 

The Civilian Garage
I had the entire garage scene written in full before Batman #2 was published. I have to say that because I have no idea what the POS car Bruce is having Tim practice in is from …despite the fact that Tim is supposed to be both 22 and has owned his own car before (RIP Red Bird). I mean, Tim smuggled an entire Batmobile to California (allegedly via “the batarang budget” meaning it was a new batmobile too!). DC just really doesn’t want to admit that Bruce is in his 40’s. (Bruce would be 43, Dick would be 28, Jason 24, Tim 22 and Damian 15.) Like, are they trying to make Bruce Wayne… relatable? What is that car. Why does he have it.  

Just as a side note, as I’m not sure my intention with one scene came through clearly… the bit with the bikes in the garage is supposed to convey that Dick is prioritizing both Batman and Damian in appearances and substance. He has to show (both the court of opinion but also possibly the very corrupt Gotham gov services) that he can provide for Damian. That he can uphold Brucie’s legacy… which mostly translates to lifestyle and wealth given how Bruce used his civilian ID as a smoke screen. That’s a direct parallel to Dick’s early struggles as Batman where he kept getting hung up on the appearance. But, just as he does truly invest in raising Damian, Dick also (far more slowly) began to shift away from the style of Batman to create real change. With Damian, it was the active parenting in and out of the capes. As Batman, Arkham really was Dick’s first step towards making the cowl his own. There’s also a distinct thematic in this story (obviously still unfolding) of how becoming responsible for another person (a child, a mentee) changes priorities.

Also if you have the time do go look up some of the cars; I had a lot of fun picking and choosing which ones would make the cut. 

Penthouse
The penthouse is as bonkers large as it sounds. I looked at so many floor plans. I also got to play mojo dojo casa house designer because there aren’t great shots of it in the comics and it made me happy, so why not. The only thing that was fully non negotiable was the top floor training area - that’s referenced and shown several times so I’ve kept that the same here and put it above where Dick & Damian’s bedrooms are. Mostly with the idea that Dick would have a better chance of hearing if Damian wasn’t sleeping and was either training or attempting to sneak out instead. There are bedrooms enough in the penthouse for Dick, Damian, Cass, Steph and Tim. (Alfred gets an entire section of the first floor to himself don’t @ me, keep reading). Dick, Damian and Steph’s rooms are on that partial second floor, while Cass and Tim’s rooms are behind the staircase on the ‘first’. Cass’ room is closest to the stairs. Cass and Tim’s rooms are empty, as neither made the move. Stephanie’s has very basic furniture in it except for the mess of things she’s slowly migrated over with her and purple sheets (in a stupidly high thread count) courtesy of Dick and Alfred. Alfred has a whole third of the first floor to himself in what should be a multi-person servant’s quarter. Also, Alfred looks after the entire bloody manor (with some infrequent help at times in the form of maid(s), drivers and gardeners in some iterations) and has for all of Bruce’s life. Yes, he finds the three level, five bedroom (six, counting his - which he does not), penthouse cramped. He is also running out of patience with all the bloody children he’s forced to look after and work around. 

Jason & School
Jason loved learning but not so much actually going to school. He wanted to do well and by all accounts did (he had about a 94 average in at least one class based on the early comics) but we (in the same comic) saw at least a few glimpses that suggested he did not get on with his civilian peers and classmates. So I extrapolate to say that while Jason like his classes and learning, and was a very good student, he didn’t have a great time AT school.  

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Battle for the Cowl BUT: Dick Grayson is the one who was shot back into the past by Darkseid and Bruce loses his mind over it. 

Like… Dick “dies” and Bruce loses it, culminating in Bruce being the one to take off on the vision quest and re-tangle with Ra’s and Talia- except a lot of his conflicts with Talia are going be centered on Damian, specifically Bruce’s neglect of Damian in pursuit of “bringing Dick back”… (especially because Talia loathes Dick.) 

As a reminder, this was set in 2009. That's well before Forever Evil, Spyral, and the Ric Grayson arcs... and we all saw how well Bruce reacted to the possibility of "Dick" dying (both literally and metaphorically) there. 

Meanwhile you still have a very uncomfortable and leave-based Damian, who barely met Dick, watch hundreds of heroes and his own father grieve one man. Tim has his own spiral of grief but also tries to, once again, dutifully almost compulsively, try to stabilize Bruce… but its worse. It’s so much worse. Bruce doesn’t want to fight crime. He isn’t going off the rails and hurting criminals or innocents. He’s just… listless. Apathetic. And then obsessive in the face of all logic and evidence and reason. 

Jason losing his shit over Bruce’s reaction to Dick’s death vs his own and, yes, Tim having in turn to deal with the fall out of THAT this go around. 

Do Tim and Damian end up bonding in the face of Bruce’s apathy and Jason’s antagonism? Also, just… Tim being the one to tell Damian stories of Dick feels precious in a weird and backwards way. Plus, the arc stays intact because you can have Tim and Damian stumble upon Dick’s clues (and even specific messages *for Tim*) themselves! 

Chapter Text

Lazlo Valentin aka Professor Pyg
With little to no fanfare, Professor Pyg is dead. Yes, I am pulling him from the plot. No, I don’t care. Yes, I have considered the cascade effect of this. I know he’s a major and reoccurring antagonist and my answer is: Not anymore he’s not!

Pyg and the References
Professor Pyg is first a reference to the mythos of Pygmalion, who was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved. In the comics that gets referenced a few times with Pyg’s general “bad touch” vibes, actions and words but is especially textual when his Dolltrons are turned on him and he shouts that they’re welcome to come to him but he’s “not wearing protection.” 

In Batman & Robin Vol 1 #5 (where Pyg first shows up) one of his main bits in the Circus of Strange is a nasty prop he calls his “mommy made of nails.” Specifically, this thing is found by and explained to Robin (Damian Wayne). It (and others of Pyg's experiments) is a clear reference to real experiments performed by Harry Harlow in 1958 during the “Cloth Mother vs Wire Mother” experiment.

Harlow wanted to quantify “love” in these experiments and, in particular, the effects of the absence of love. Harlow demonstrated that healthy childhood development hinges on the love and care parents and other caregivers provide. His most famous experiment involved giving young rhesus monkeys a choice between two different "mothers." One was made of soft terrycloth but provided no food. The other was made of wire but provided nourishment from an attached baby bottle. Harlow removed young rheas monkeys from their natural mothers a few hours after birth and left them to be "raised" by these “mother surrogates”.

The baby monkeys significantly preferred the “cloth mother” more than the wire mother even though the “cloth” did not provide nourishment. Later research demonstrated that young monkeys would also turn to their cloth surrogate mother for comfort and security and that those raised with the option of the “cloth mother” (because of course Harlow eventually decided to stick a test group of infant monkeys with only the wire mother) were more sociable, curious, affectionate and could reintegrate once returned to their families. The monkeys raised only with the wire mother, however, were either very aggressive or very timid towards the other monkeys once reintroduced. They were also unable to communicate or socialize with other monkeys and indulged in self-mutilation, tearing hair out, scratching, and biting their own arms and legs. 

In later experiments, Harlow kept monkeys in total isolation in what he himself dubbed a "pit of despair." The effects of such deprivation proved utterly devastating to the monkeys who were subjected to it. While the experiments provided insight into the importance of comfort contact for early childhood development, the research itself was cruel and unethical. Professor Pyg in the comics also makes reference to what he calls his “despair pit.” 

Obviously the wire mother experiments were horrifying but Morrison added yet another twisted layer to things by having Damian be the one on site to see the “Mommy made of nails” given the plot lines Morrison had planned for Talia.

I left it vague if the “cloth daddy” was Bruce or Dick ;)

Stephanie Brown
A wild Steph Appears!

I’ve decided that Batgirl Vol 3 is concurrent with the start of Batman and Robin Vol #1 but in deciding that I have also decided there should be more overlap between the two… because of course I want more Steph & Damian and Steph & Dick content! Which means I’m going to adjust and scale Steph’s adventures accordingly. She’ll be absent here and there as per the B&R Comics (such as with Red Hood and Scarlet issues) for various reasons. Because I’ve bumped her back into her Sr Year of high school I'm actually going to say she was out touring colleges during a school break for some of those. *Waves hands* We also aren’t keeping some of the extra characters (no flirting with a much-older detective for Steph) and adventures but I’ll make note of which solo (or Babs only) adventures occur. 

Steph is panicking because she cannot do this alone and she knows it. Worse, she knows she can’t take Jason and that Jason will actually hurt her if given the chance. She is scared… but she’s Spoiler! Errr Batgirl! She can do this! They’re counting on her - right?

Harvey Dent: AU Cherry Picking
Complicated character with numerous backgrounds to pick from with regards to canon! I’m playing hodge-podge with him here. 

This Harvey was friends with Bruce, pre-Batman and after, leading to him being an active participant, and possibly the only other ‘adult’ involved, in raising a young Dick Grayson. Just because I love the additional heartbreak of Alfred, Dick, and Bruce losing Harvey Dent. I believe Harvey was, eventually, let in on “the secret.” Bruce in canon drops a lot of civilian ID references to Harvey in and out of combat… so he arguably “works it out” but I’d say he’s on easy mode.

However, he didn’t put it together before he nearly beat Robin (Dick Grayson) to death with a baseball bat when the boy was 11 years old. (Because this and the Judge are so deliciously traumatic, why not both!)

We are going to stick with the more consistent take that Harvey’s belief in the world is fractured, and he fully believes that everything really is down to chance; hence the coin flips for more ‘critical’ (often times the comics binary them as ‘good’ and ‘evil’ - but he’s also been portrayed as using it to just make basic) decisions.

Despite Jason’s narration, there is no split personality between ‘Harvey’ and ‘Two-Face’ in this AU - this is not, and usually isn’t in the comics either, the cliche’d Jekyll and Hyde situation. Instead, Harvey was flipping a coin each day Dick visited him. Sometimes it was to determine if he’d talk to Dick and sometimes what they’d talk about. In this AU a lot of legal (and therefore related social justice) arguments occurred (making use of Dick’s JD here).

To reiterate again, Two-Face and Harvey are the same man and the same personality. Two-Face is just the full personification of Harvey’s mental illness which is being demonized/criminalized in the comics media (not unusual). A crux of Harvey, and of Jason’s, character is that he does not want to heal. To whit: even if Harvey does truly believe that all things come down to chance, his choice of what to flip for remains in his hands.

Harvey is angry, rightfully so. He feel betrayed by a broken system, rightfully so. But, like Jason, he makes… interesting choices. Those perpetuate here. 

Harvey Dent: ABO
Yes! Harvey is a Null - that is to say, he’s undertaken voluntary surgery and uses/used medical aids to remove his secondary gender. Harvey Dent, in this AU, does not have any scent glands or other physical presentations typical of Alpha, Beta, or Omega. A Null is not a Beta. He likewise, when he’s capable of the decision, takes (and once consistently took) medication that leveled out his hormone receptors and other chemical levels. He underwent this procedure starting in Law School and completed it fully after a few years of practice. It was his belief that he would be better able to represent, understand and protect all citizens if he lacked the instinct of only one. 

Arkham Asylum
As Jason attests, the inmates were receiving consistent legitimate care for the first time (as far as I am aware). Regardless of whether it was ‘perfect’ it was unquestionably a fair sight better than what we see Dick personally experience during each of his three stints in Arkham! (Two involuntary, once wherein he was very nearly lobotomized. One voluntary, wherein he successfully impersonates the Joker and routes out the man’s connections and general corruption within the Asylum.) I just… changed when in the story line that happened so as to bring Jason in for some real fun cameos coming down the canon pipeline ;) (Also the fact that it slides right back to shit once Bruce takes Batman back is a set of considerations I’ll leave in the hands of each reader.) 

Sasha aka Scarlet
An apology of sorts to Jason and Scarlet fans… I really stick to what we see from Jason in canon before I start the AU in full. As far as instincts go… Jason as Omega decides who lives and dies in his ‘pack.’ It’s his “right” in his mind and instincts, however suppressed they were at this point in time.

Remember, he doesn’t detox till around Roost and his time with Scarlet occurred well before that. He was suppressing a lot, emotionally and otherwise. He gives Sasha some leeway at the very start in the Roost-AU hospital scene (see prior notes) but that give ends soon after. To be honest, Sasha being made a Null, before she could present, likely protected her from Jason’s more prominent omega instincts. She had no scent to set him off, no markers of pack or protection or any way to ask for closer ties outside of using her words or remembered body language.

But now that things are changing? Jason’s experiencing some regret for past actions through the ringing dissonance between himself and his omega now.  

I am SO aware that no one but me is going to be happy about my sticking close to canon for Sasha’s time with Jason. I promise its plot relevant that I not alter their canon relationship and interactions after the first meeting. Really the only points of change include:  Damian succeeds in freeing Sasha - which, yes, does alter Damian’s first feelings of guilt and concern in canon! That does matter! - Sasha doesn’t kill the other Dolltron, as she has good reasons to believe there is a cure - Sasha feeling/expressing remorse for killing some criminals (though never expressed while live on the videos or streams she posts) and Sasha later helping Damian escape when she and Jason strip Batman & Robin… which helps with the lesson that I think Damian sort of misses internalizing in canon. She still flees after the confrontation with Flamingo, leaving Jason to his fate.