I've Never Perceived Dick Grayson As A Sort Of Mini-bruce, But I Think When Dick First Came Around Bruce

✨Incorrect quotes✨

(Except they are real conversations that I or my friends had).

Wally: I'm going to kill myself.

Dick: Same.

Wally: ... Figuratively speaking, right?

Dick: Literally.

Wally: I'm calling your therapist.

Dick: You don't know my therapist.

Wally: Well, I'm gonna find them and then call them!

Dick: What's life without a little of risk?

Donna: A longer life.

Dick: ...

Dick: Who needs to live so long?

Random Socialite: You are just like your dad (Bruce). His genes must be strong.

Literally any of the Wayne kids (minus Damian): I'm adopted.

Tim, after going back to drinking natural fruit juice instead of five cans of Monster: I feel nutritious.

Bruce, after being told how handsome Dick is by like five people; completely confident and proud: Yeah, he got it from me.

Dick: I'm literally adopted.

Dick: The only thing I got from you is an addiction to using expensive sheets.

Tim, listening to loud music, knowing Jason was there and wanting to annoy him:

Jason, completely fed up with the world: TURN OFF YOUR MUSIC IT'S TOO HOT OUTSIDE.

Tim:

Tim: And what the hell does that have to do with it??? *proceeds to turn up the volume*

Annoying math teacher: Okay, students, do your math...

Dick: Do we do it mentally or can we use the calculator?

Teacher: Do it mentally with the calculator.

Dick, and probably the rest of the class: ???

Tim: I slept for 14 hours and I'm still sleepy.

Jason: Wtf. And I thought that sleeping 10 hours was a lot.

Damian: I don't know how you sleep more than 8 hours, you are lazy.

Steph: Let them enjoy their sleep. I can't even sleep 6 hours because of college.

Cass: 4 hours. Take it or leave it.

Bruce: At least you sleep more than 2 hours.

Dick: What the fuck did sleep mean?

Tim: I failed the natural sciences exam.

Dick: How? You said it was one of the easiest subjects.

Tim: It is!

Dick: So?

Tim: ...

Tim: I put "solar ecosystem" on the exam.

Steph: When I was little, we had to sweep the classroom at school, and since I hated sweeping, I pretended I didn't know how to do it.

Steph: Then, a classmate who always wanted to be superior, made fun of me, grabbed the broom and started sweeping for me.

Steph: She stayed sweeping the whole recess and I was able to go out and play without doing anything.

Dick: I'm so fucking proud of you.

Duke: What are you doing on the floor?

Dick, overstimulated because there is too much shit going: Floor time.

Barbara: You're autistic.

Barbara: Artist, I mean. Sorry, the phone's autocorrect.

Dick: We are having a face-to-face conversation.

(This is a bit lost in English, but in Spanish the words are "artista" and "autista", and they sound and are written in a similar way.)

Tim: Can we go to the sun if we go at night?

Duke: I swear they told me you were smart.

Damian: Who lied to you that way?

Steph: Which Hogwarts house would you be?

Dick: According to the test, I'm a Hufflepuff.

Steph: I've seen you angry.

Dick: Have you ever seen an angry honey badger?

Steph: ... Good point.

Dick: I take pills, everyday, so that I don't kill myself. 🎶

Roy: I'm dragging you to the psychologist right now.

Dick: We need an adult.

Garth: We are adults.

Dick: Responsible adults.

Roy: Normally you are the responsible adult.

Dick:

Dick: How the fuck are we still alive?

My favorite thing I’ve seen is AUs where characters are trans and nothing changes and nobody knows until they accidentally have to lore dump and they’re fine with it bc they lowkey assume these people close to them know they’re trans and everyone’s like??????? HUH? Since when

Anyway support my trans!Dick Grayson headcanons bc fuck you i can

- Dick told his parents he was a boy at like age 3 and they were like… fuck it sure.. we’ll pick you a new name

-John Grayson then despairs bc his brother then gleefully informs him that John promised to name their first boy after him bc he lost a bet. Mary thinks it’s too funny to not go along with

-3 Yro Dick has a lisp and can’t pronounce his own name and finds out Dick is a nickname and proceeds to immediately go by it and yell at anyone who doesn’t use his new name

- Kid has no documents and grew up in a circus so when he ends up in Gotham. There are literally no issues at all.

- Bruce adopts him as Richard John Grayson and is none the wiser about anything

-Alfred is the first one to find out when at 11 Dick freaks out and thinks he’s hemorrhaging in the bathroom bc he’s bleeding. Cue realization moment! Followed by many many many awkward questions and Alfred being awesome assumes his grandson is stealth and maybe doesn’t want anyone including Bruce to know so he takes over every and Dick gets the medications he needs with no issue

- second person to realize is Roy bc they’re messing around btw (Dick did not inform him of this before, Roy is 100% Cool with it and goes… damn okay…anyway bc he’s chill like that)

-now about 700 new bats have happened and Dick is nightwing and literally the only people who know anything at all are his current/previous partners and Alfred

And shenanigans ensue with Jason catches Dick injecting something…while he has no injuries… no nothing

Now Jason freaks ofc bc??? DICK WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Listen he might hate all of them but he is VERY MUCH not okay losing another relative to addiction wtf he’s not having a panic attack fuck you

Anyway

Dick just goes “Jason calm down it’s just my t-shot” and Jason who definitely didn’t jump to conclusions bc he’s sleep deprived and has a 16 hour run in with fear toxin is like

“What the fuck is that?? Is that something new on the street what’s happening dick? Are you doing untested Shit?

And Dick who has had to DEAL with Jason during 16 hours of fear toxin induced terror, as well as the rest of the family and would really like to go chill days in front of many of his family members: testosterone Jason. Bc I’m trans

To which everyone is confused

Dick is too tired to realize this and goes the fuck to bed

Bruce then panics bc “wait what if he wasn’t that accepting when Dick was younger and that’s why Dick didn’t ever come out? What did he do that made his son feel like he couldn’t talk to Bruce about it”

Tim is annoyed bc he is supposed to know things and now he owes Bernard money bc they had an argument over which letter each batfam member corresponds to

This is based off that one supernatural fic where somehow Sam was oblivious to his brother being trans anyway

"Oh Bruce is a good dad if you think he's a bad dad you don't engage in canon"

YALL BE SO ASTRONOMICALLY FR.

like Bruce loves his weird collection of Bat themed children but ffs he is a C- at best.

Now imagine this whole concept with in the de-aging mix

-Dick goes from pushing 30 to saying is 9 and 3/4 which is basically 10 shut up

-and Bruce just melts

-it’s temporary but all stress the wear and tear of the year falls off of him. He has his boy back

-and they’re the dynamic duo, the first Batman and Robin. The never need to speak to understand each other and the way they communicate doesn’t get lost in translation the way it did when he got older.

“You were reckless” went back to being interpreted as “I’m worried about you be safe” instead of a criticism.

-Bruce laughs again in a way he hasn’t since Jason died and all the bats are there for it. They see Bruce Wayne as the man when his life was 1 tragedy instead of a million. And if they thought measuring up to Dicks Robin was hard actually seeing makes it seem impossible. They kid just fits in a way none of them feel like they do (they do fit they all just have issues)

- and then a crisis happens and 9 (10-shut up) Dick just isn’t as competent as Nightwing (obviously 20 more years of experience and aging will do that) but Dick also can’t work outside of Batman and even when working with Batman he struggles to fill in the huge gaps that his older self filled seamlessly

-and Bruce sees how Much his boy has grown, how much he’s changed and developed and matured and how did this little sweet boy become the future standard for heroism.

He’s so small

-Dick gets turned back into his almost 30yro self and thanks Bruce for looking out for him a second time and does Bruce say anything about how proud he is of his boy, how much of a joy it was to raise him.

No

He just says

“Anytime”

I don't know where else to put this and I'm losing my mind over it. The passage of time in Dick Grayson's life haunts Bruce. His son is almost thirty. His son is nine. His son has been fighting crime for twenty-one years. His son is trying on the Robin costume for the first time. His son is sixteen and insisting on driving the Batmobile with a license he hasn't even had for a full week. His son is twenty-four and wearing the Batman suit. His son is ten and has aced a test that Bruce puts on the fridge. His son is eighteen and leading the Titans. His son is thirteen and falling asleep on Bruce's shoulder. His son is his child. His son is a man.

Bruce's eldest son, his first son, is a man that Bruce can never stop seeing the child in. Dick is grown and matured and Bruce is glowing with pride, and he will never find equilibrium. He will never be able to fully reconcile the boy and the man. Time is slipping through their fingers and Bruce would give anything to hold that nine year old again. He loves his son, both past and present, and that love of the past clings to him like a ghost. That nostalgia haunts him. He is proud of who Dick has become and will always mourn who Dick no longer is.

tumblr should have an ” i feel u” button on posts

any thoughts for nightwing #124 ?

HI YES HELLO!

Absolutely

I have A L L

the thoughts

So, first of all let me say, I did not enjoy this issue as much as I’ve enjoyed the rest of the content Mr watters has provided us. But I think that’s more based on my prior expectations and hopes rather than the writing style.

So if yall are alright with spoilers please read on but there will be comic panels

“I’m a universal donor” ofc you are you stupid, stupid man. Oh my god.

(Also Bruce and Dick both being universal donors who can give to everyone but only take from each other. Chef’s kiss no notes)

And speaking of a Wayne. Let’s get into an annoyance of mine

THEY GAVE DICK AN ANIMAL LOVING CHILD WITH A TRAGIC BACKSTORY AND A PREFERENCE FOR NIGHTWING. THEY GAVE DICK A ROBIN.

Which,

Fine you know what

Dick treats em better than Bruce ever has, if he had just adopted Jason like he wanted too then the kid never would’ve gotten crowbarred

But be so fucking for real with me

You’re giving Dick Grayson

A fucking Damian Wayne stand it, you just speed ran Damian’s whole arc of not trusting/resenting Dick for not getting it (tm) all the way to ‘this is my trusted adult’ in 3 issues???

Like?

At that point??

Why NOT JUST GET DAMIAN OUT THERE? Like the Kid is obviously not working well with Bruce in detective comics? And like with the whole medical student storyline going on?? It would be really really nice to see that old Batman, Robin dynamic with a Damian who is now paranoid Dicks heart is gonna give out.

And to make matters worse??? They named him B R Y C e

Like??? Is this Bruce Wayne in a trench coat??? Ffs he even had Damian’s baby spikes???

Anyway I actually really like Bryce but it lowkey just reminded me on a dynamic I really miss and have NOT SEEN IN SO LONG.

And like I get it alright? I was one of the people clamoring to stop having the league/titans/bats coming and saving Dicks ass bc I wanna see him do cool things.

Fine okay

But Dick and Damian would WORK SO WELL TOGETHER AS A TEMP THING. Damian is lost, helps dick in haven, has a crisis and realizes something something whatever you want. Dick tells him a story from the circus/the Nightwing story/ the story of him becoming Nightwing. Damian leaves determined to forge a new path. COME ON GIVE THE SIBLINGS TO MEE

Anyway moving on bc this hurts me

Onto more things that hurt me

see this is what I love about DComics, bc like? All of us here in fandom town?

Have read like 20k fics where dick had developed a severe fear of suffocating, cramped spaces etc. bc of that time in the murder machine where Luthor stops his heart.

Like we REMEMBER how fucked up Dick should’ve been by those events

Now it would be great if DICK COULD REMEMBER THAT

But no, he’ll stop his heart on the off chance he can save 1 person bc ofc he would? And naturally he doesn’t mind being unconscious and vulnerable near irradiated corpses. What would actively losing blood near a radiation site? Probably nothing?

You stupid stupid man

I’m in love with you

Quick break for the villain being sick and also? MR SOY?? THAT FUCKING IMAGE OF THE CIRCUS ENROACHING ON YHE CITY!?? The difference between the decrepit gray madness and the bright city?? Phenomenal 10/10 no notes thank you

Hmmm idk Melinda? Maybe? Remember

A) your brothers been doing this since he was 8

B) he is one of the worlds greatest detectives

C) he’s run the justice league, teen titans, titans, outsiders and about 30 other iterations of teams? Maybe trust him on this? As someone with more experience?

D) since he’s been famously beloved and knows what he’s doing and you’re going up for reelection

…or you could pretend to know more than your highly trained, genius brother with about two decades of information, training and experience. That makes sense?

It’s not like he’s been going around fighting murderers in his free time while being the second most intense believer in Batman’s ‘we must let the people decide, we can’t be judge, jury and executioner’ rants. Nah

Pshhhaawwww that’s dumb and won’t ever come back to bite you in the ass

NoooOoOooOoOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO reallly!?!this was an unforeseen and shocking event.

Like normally this scene is satisfying? Ya know? A ‘oh look main character finally gets proven right ‘

But here it’s fucking annoying bc guess what?

Dixons run and the sum total of titans runs are canon here! Dick leading the league x2 is canon right now? And more or less common information.

Dick is an individual where it makes sense to take his word at face value like? This is the ear Superman goes to, the dude Batman bounces plans off of. The leagues final stand leader?

Not trusting him? Even in the context of the world doesn’t make sense?? Especially since chemo is now canon (aka Dick Grayson running through an irradiated city trying to save anyone while slowly dying until Clark drags him out) like?? You know he’s smart? You know he’s skilled, you know he’s usually right?? And most importantly?? You know he’d rather burn himself alive than be the reason for a death. Nono not just that? He’d run through radiation on the OFF chance he might see someone still alive enough that they might make out. 99 to 1 odds and he’s game.

Just flat out ignoring the guy? Makes the character seem arrogant rather than overly cautious and not good with trust. Like you believe YOU? A civilian, knows more about the underworld? The dude with the redhood on speed dial?

You understand more about this situation than one of the world’s smartest people? Okay…sure

Like I get you met him post lobotomy and he’s only recently regained his faculties BAs come on???

I have no evidence for this but I am 100% calling this a Sitka/Eleanor reference and everyone who disagrees can go choke

And finally

Love this image

So so so much

And that’s literally all of my thoughts!

Final comment:

I love him the stupid idiot loser please don’t Die Dick I love you

I refuse to become another goddamn mystery

I love them sm

happy booping! 🐾

but its important

Dick Grayson wanted to be a contortionist when he grew up rotating his head 180 degrees while keeping body in the same crawling position on the ceiling: what's wrong... are you scared of me

*most creepy Annabel-esque laugh you've ever heard god abandoned us as soon as it was unleashed*

Robin whose mouth didnt move:

Goon:

Villain:

God:

Heros:

Batman: you see why he has a leash now?

Robin bats eyelashes thru mask:

Goon: ... I... can the whites move?

Batman: usually no

Goon: then... how?

Robin:... 7

Goon: wha? seven what?

Robin beginning to move on the ceiling: 6

Robin: 5

I love it when people draw Robin!Dick as a little creepy unsettling child like yes he embodies the blue eyed stare and moves in ways humans were never meant to move in and he never really grew out of it. Like the bright colours, the flips and the quips are so deceiving he’s so unsettling in the way no other Robin could quite replicate. I just know every criminal breathed a sigh of relief when he finally outgrew the tights.