#titans is a dumpster fire

[katscythe]

I think this is my favorite pic I have seen of her haircut ever.

(Not my art pls reblg if you know the artist)

Why DC started doing weird ass pink tips and fugly bobs I will never understand.

Like, it's just an inverted bob guys, it's not that fucking hard.

Bangs are just bonus points

[katscythe]

DC. I'm looking at you.

I will never forgive you for Titans.

AND THAT IS A PROMISE.

[gh99st]

One of the things about trollhunters rise of the titans (spoilers) is that it isn't even subtle about foreshadowing tobys death

Any time Jim and toby speak I feel like it ends with the "always have been, always will be" line

They have never said that at all in the whole show ever, maybe once, maybe. And it's out of place, there is no need for it in any conversation and its a huge tip that something big was gonna happen

It's like Vinland saga (spoilers) I just knew that thors was going to die for thorfinn backstory, but that's for a whole different reason that Isnt shitty

We all know it was toby and Jim at the start, and toby has had issues about it when the claire in present danger/airhead episodes were going on but they got over it and it wasn't really mentioned, but to suddenly bring up a reassurance of their relationship in the fighting sort of aspect is wierd, it made me go 'thats strange, is something going to happen to toby' because it was only Toby it was being said to? If that makes sense

So yeah, they couldve done that alot better. Or you know, not gone down the whole 'sidekick needs a spotlight so let's fucking kill him' route.' Making when he actually died not surprising, among other things (like the other deaths)

Feel free to expand on this, but let's just not fight about rott please

[notyournightsky]

Bruce, you ignorant slut! Can’t you see that your son is in his depression era?! No, because how can Bruce look at Dick and not immediately be concerned? Dick is literally a walking red flag that is on fire right now, and Bruce is like “brb, gotta go play dress up and fight crime! oh btw, hbd or whatever. totally almost forgot about that”

[aceforwhatevenisthis]

oh i just had a Time tonight

[thatnamelessblogger]

And if shit hits the fan, just hide behind Raven and Starfire.

- Jason Todd to Tim Drake // Episode 11

~ Finale Episode 12 ~

Tim Drake: let me just hit Brother Blood with this here Stick™ with 2 days training

[katscythe]

I'M BACK BITCHES

[oscar-isaac]

well, if tumblr actually stops working/shuts down in the near future, it’s been real y’all 😩❤️

[linkislefthanded]

I was super into the marauders in High School and now I'm in my mid 20s and in grad school and the fandom is still all High School students and I feel too old to still indulge in it. It's so sad lmao.

[brucewaynehater101]

Have you ever watched the show Durarara? If not that's OK, you dont need any back ground lore about it for this au, I was just using the kind of creature that Celty is as an inspiration.

Back near the end d of Dick being Robin, a strange phenomenon started, a rumor you could call it. Some nights when the caped crusader and his side kick were out on patrol, a strange figure would appear following them but it's clear that it was no human. It was tiny, sized like a child and acting almost like one too. Except for the fact it was missing its head and the stump bellowed thick black smoke that hid any gore from view. Very few ever saw it and those who did claimed it was the spirit of someone that the Dynamic Duo were unable to save.

During Jason's time as Robin, the strange being was sighted less and less as it followed the pair around. It still clearly followed them often but it became better and better at stealth. The pair certainly never got a glimpse of it, other than one time. Jason was unexpectedly separated from Batman while fighting Mister Freeze and found himself following the sound of something hitting the ground. When he rounded the corner, he found what looked like a kid laying on a dumpster like they had fallen off the icy fire escape. That is, until it stood to it's full height and he realized whatever this was *it has no head*. The thing stared at him in silence and though it had no eyes, Jason could feel it's gaze upon him, pinning him in place. Then it ran and by the time Jason snapped out of it and followed, the creature was long gone.

When Tim first appeared to Bruce and Dick, demanding to be Robin, they didn't know who he was due to him wearing a motorcycle helmet and using sign language. He claimed that he had to keep it on due to "medical reasons" and that it "filters regular air into something safer to breath". All Tim is willing to tell the Bats about it is that the same incident that left him unable to breath without filtered air caused serious harm to his vocal cords so he can't speak anymore.

Bruce is... worryingly ok with not knowing who the kid is or what he looks like. After all, it means there's less for him to get attached to. Plus Tim can't scream at him and if Tim tries to lecture him, he can just turn his head away. Though he doesn't because that means Tim pulls out the Air Horn. This means that both Dick and Bruce only know Tim as Robin for quite a while and by the time either of them feel bad enough about that to do anything about it, it would be so rude to admit that they don't even know his *name*. Surely he told them at some point and they just forgot, right?

Tim likes that they don't know anything about him. It makes things much, much easier. After all, they can't learn about and then *care* about the fact that he doesn't exactly know where his head is if they don't know it was taken. Well, he *sort of* knows where it is! It's somewhere on the grounds of Drake Manor! It's not his fault that his built in Head Locator got messed with by his mom due to the jar she put his head in! She only hid it because she doesn't want anyone else to take it, ok? He can still track it to an about 1000 feet across area! That's pretty damn close. Besides, it's definitely safer to be Robin without one. After all, do you have any idea how many concussions he avoids by simply Not Having It With Him? So many. So very, very many.

Only a few of the rouges know that Tim doesn't have a head via them forcefully removing the helmet. The few who have done it claim that Robin is some kind of monster and the helmet keeps him whole. Well, in their defense, Tim did start spewing black smoke everywhere when it got removed!

The first of the Bats to know that Tim isn't human is Jason during the Titans Tower attack. At some point, Jason wanted to see the fear in his replacements eyes so he ripped off the helmet and froze at the sight. His replacement had no head. His replacement. Had. No. Head. Tim takes his chance to knock Jason away and stops holding back, using his thickened smoke to blind him and then allowed the strands of dark energy to tie him up like a spider web. Jason managed to break free and fled the tower with the strange strands of black energy chasing him out as Tim stood still right where he was left.

Jason quietly wonders why and how Bruce managed to recruit the Thing that haunted his nightmares after he saw it looming over him from atop a dumpster.

Tim edits the footage of the tower security so that it all goes dark when the power does so that none will see what he did. What he is.

I have watched the show, but it's been so long since I've seen it that I've forgotten everything :(

However, your AU is super rad!

I'm curious if Tim has any other powers related to being a dullahan or if a motorcycle enhances anything (if it's treated like a horse). The black fog effect was a neat power and I so want to hear more.

Particularly, I'm curious about Bruce and Dick's reactions, how it affects Jason's grudge against Tim, and whether Tim's status affects Damian. I hc that Alfred is some type of creature too (that's why he seems to live forever), and has been silently helping Tim with whatever special needs the kid may have (not that Tim knows). Bruce suspects Alfred is something but doesn't know the details and doesn't want to anger the older man by asking.

Perhaps Jason, due to his revival status, is also some type of creature. I'm hcing a wraith or a similar being. Due to dullahan's dealing with death, maybe Tim and Jason have some sort of dynamic there (like Tim can always tell when Jason is close by like a sixth sense or something).

As far as Tim's head, does he start to freak out when his mom dies and he realizes he has no clue where it actually is? To add on, how does he do school or public appearances as Tim Drake?

[gaddaboutgriffon]

Omega Spider

Yep. It is actually about Peter Parker Spider-Man. He was mutated by a a spider bite one thing I noticed about every version of the spider I have seen is that it always depicted with really round abdomen and no pedipalps. In other words a female spider.

So imagine Peter from a world that is not omegaverse and the spider bite mutation turns him into an omega. He has no idea he is an omega until he is sent to another universe where the dynamics are commonplace.

So for the omegaverse instincts and things. I don’t like the ones where they loose all sense of self control in heat and it wouldn’t work for Peter anyway. I think it really shouldn’t be worse then a period with a bit of a low fever. Though with him being part spider he has a slight urge to eat a mate but is able to brush it off as an intrusive thought.

As for his age when thrown into this other universe he is Still a teen. My favorite version of him is from the 2003 cartoon series Spectacular Spider-Man. That series ended while he was still 15. Basically have him young enough to be adoption bait. The portal is a one way trip and just to be more dramatic he will be devastated that he finds out he can't return.

Teen teams don’t get enough attention. So we will have him end up with the team titans. I riled some dice and here is what dynamic each titan got. Robin is an alpha. Starfire is an alien whose species doesn’t have dynamics and will be as confused as Peter. Cyborgs was an alpha but sort of lost his dynamic when most of his body was turned mechanical. Raven is a beta, and I swear the dice were rigged cause somehow Beast Boy is an alpha too. (Funny thing to add in. Beast boy absolutely would know how female and in Peter’s case omega spiders eat their mates. We can have him make a point to never turn into a spider around Peter.) as for dynamic social aspects I think we have it so that omegas are a bit more coddled but not outright oppressed in society. That way we have an internal conflict for Peter to get frustration with cause he would arguably be the heaviest or second heaviest hitter on the team. Something the team takes a few episodes/chapters/parts to work out and move past. Then later they have all gotten used to Spidey being tough and independent but the public criticizes the team for when someone finds out and blabs on TV.

Now then for team relationships. I still am a Robin Starfire shipper, and Raven x Beast boy I don’t get but am ok with. Terra is a dumpster fire that can be addressed way later. Cyborg I think is fine just being the reliable friend but a tumblr friend liked him shipped with Jinx. Though I think he has science nerd out fun with Peter. Though cyborg is more computer and machines nerd and Peter is more chemistry and biology nerd.

What about Peter taking the role of team medic? Since biology and chemistry are his strengths. Every team needs a healer (and I get to use the exasperated medic trope I love.) goodness because of the way he was raised and close to his aunt May Peter may end up being the designated “mom” friend. Since I can see him not letting things get too messy and he would miss the home cooked meals so much he would probably teach himself to cook. And he had the most stable childhood hood and probably the most sensible advice. Also he made his suit so it is cannon he can sew very well.

Would Peter have a ship? Cause there are a couple other teen heroes or villains. …. Wait! You know the theory that Dick was Red X the first time but that suit was stolen and it isn’t said who but a lot of fans think it was Jason…. What if we make Red X more of a recurring character, but in this AU Jason didn’t get adopted by Bruce and is more of a neutral rogue as Red X.

Anyway now that the world building basics are out of the way, Let’s start the story. We shall drop Spidey in right at the start of the titans cartoon when they all kind of meet because of Starfire’s escape pod landing on earth. And I mean literally drop him in. The portal opened up like 300 feet in the air above the city.

[katscythe]

Sooo...it's legally an adult?

DC can no longer *cough* ruin *cough* control it???

legacy turns 21 years old on july 19, 2024.

[galaxymagitech]

Bleed the Poison Out

Written for Dick Grayson Anniversary Week: Day 3 Prompt: Apologizing to Dick

@dickgraysonweek

Summary

When is an apology not an apology?

Bruce apologizes to Dick. The apology turns into an argument and the argument turns into another apology. Standing on the smoking dumpster-fire of the past, Dick tries to find a way on. Two steps forwards, one step back.

Characters: Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne

Warnings: Discussions of physical and emotional abuse, possibly depiction of emotional abuse.

Warnings: Discussions of physical and emotional abuse, possibly depiction of emotional abuse.

Dick drives home in the rain. It’s a good thing that there aren’t very many cars on the highway at this time of night, because he’s doing a pretty poor job of keeping his eyes on the road.

The car skids through a puddle, throwing up a dirty, toxic spray of water onto his windows. Dick ignores it and tries to keep his hands from shaking on the wheel. Things had been going well, damn it! He’d been trying, Bruce had been trying. Batman and Nightwing. Batman and Batman. Surely, the two of them can get along if they just put their fucking minds to it.

But Damian had needled and Jason had raged and Tim had gotten that closed-off look of his and Duke had thrown up his hands in disgust and stormed out, and that had left Dick and Bruce standing on opposite sides of the cave, tempers high and rising higher.

It hadn’t gone well. The fight wasn’t even supposed to be about the two of them, but Dick couldn’t resist bringing up old arguments, could he? It didn’t matter that he was right, they had fucking moved on, and—

Dick swerves, ignoring his turn signal as he crosses over a lane and then onto an exit in an almost 90 degree angle. The momentum throws him against his seat, but he makes it out into Blüdhaven. He needs to focus and leave the self-reflection for when he’s not manning a several-ton souped-up vehicle.

---

Twenty minutes later, Dick enters his apartment, tossing his keys on the table by the entrance with a tired sigh. Immediately, he feels on edge. There’s someone else here with him. It could be one of his siblings, it could be Deathstroke, it could be anyone, but—but it’s probably Bruce. The World’s Greatest Detective can’t ever just leave things be, can he?

That’s not fair. Dick doesn’t leave things alone either. It’s just that he normally waits until the argument’s already started to bring shit up instead of seeking out fights.

He catches a glimpse of a suspiciously-Bruce-shaped shadow and forces himself to relax. If this fight is going to get nasty again, he deserves a cup of coffee first.

Unfortunately, Bruce clearly doesn’t have the same plan, shifting silently out of the darkness.

“Hey,” Dick says, unable to keep the bite out of his voice. He steps into the kitchen and considers the table. There are five chairs, which isn’t enough for all his siblings, but it’s all that could fit. When the Titans are over or there’s a large Batkid gathering, they normally hang out in the living room, sprawled all over the couch and the softest rug Dick could find. It’s now covered in stains, mostly pizza sauce (and some blood, not that the stains look much different), but is still just as soft as it was when he bought it.

“Dick,” Bruce says quietly. Bruce, because the man surprisingly isn’t wearing his Batman suit. Dick resists the urge to comment on it.

“Bruce,” Dick responds, because he likes being difficult.

“Sit down,” Bruce says. Dick bristles. He knows that’s just how Bruce talks a lot of the time, short and to the point, but this is Dick’s apartment and he’s certainly not going to let Bruce stand over him while he yells.

“You sit down,” Dick says tiredly. Surprisingly, Bruce…does. He takes a seat at the table, facing the wall, hands clasped together. Dick cautiously walks around the table and sits across from him. He can see all the exits in the room, but Bruce is between him and them. Was that purposeful? Everything is purposeful, with Bruce, but Dick should probably give him the benefit of the doubt. Bruce is paranoid as hell and would prefer to be sitting where Dick is, with a clear view of everything. Dick in-between him and the exit wouldn’t even be a consideration for Bruce. It shouldn’t be a consideration for Dick, not in his own fucking apartment, where he should be able to kick Bruce out if he feels trapped with him. But if Bruce wants to talk, he’ll talk, and now Dick can’t storm out without getting his path blocked.

For a moment, Dick considers voicing his thought process out loud. He’s well aware of how crazy it sounds, thinking about exits and danger and seating preferences like this. And he kind of wants to shove that in Bruce’s face, like, look, look what I’m thinking about, is that normal, Bruce?

But he doesn’t say a word, just watches Bruce until his mentor is ready to speak. Dick’s paranoia is more of a reflection on himself than a judgement on Bruce.

“Are we okay?” Bruce asks.

What a stupid question. An hour ago, they were wrapped up in a vicious screaming match. “What do you think, B?” Dick deflects.

“I want us to be okay,” Bruce tells him earnestly. “I…you brought up a lot, when we talked.” Talked. That’s one word for it. More like screamed at the top of their lungs. “I didn’t know all that was still weighing on you. Some of what you said, it’s been years.” That sounds like an accusation. “I’m concerned.”

“It’s not like we ever talk about things after the fact,” Dick says. “What, do you think I’m going to just get over things? Well, that’s not how it works, B—” He cuts himself off before he says more. If he continues speaking, he’ll get patronizing.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Dick snorts. Does he want to talk about it? Of course he does, but every time he brings up past disputes, it just makes the present ones worse. “You know,” Dick says, “I think we could’ve been fine if you just apologized. But you never did.” Thrown in there is the assumption that Bruce owes him an apology. It’s so out of nowhere that Dick can feel tiny electric spikes prickling across his sweaty palms. Bruce won’t take this lying down.

“I’m.” Bruce looks down at his hands. Up. Meets Dick’s eyes so intensely that it’s painful, and then says three words. “I’m sorry, Dick.”

And. And. And—

And something inside him sinks and something inside him floats and he feels like he’s been crushed even as he’s cleaved in two. This is all Dick has ever wanted to hear. The fact that Bruce is saying it is miraculous. Dick never would have expected this. He expected another argument at worst, and at best a simple handoff of a case with the implicit message that he’s still allowed in Gotham. Not an apology. So, it’s amazing, it really is. But it’s not enough.

Too little, too late, Dick wants to say, but that’s not really fair, is it? And he wants to say it, but he doesn’t want to mean it. Just say it because he could mean it, and then watch Bruce’s face fall, and then reconcile. That’s cruel of him. He shouldn’t be trying to cause pain. He should be trying to fix this. This is the best opportunity he’s gotten to fix things in years, maybe since Jason’s death. He does want to fix this, right?

“You have to say it’s not my fault.” The words slip out before Dick can even realize he’s about to say them. Immediately, he winces at how childish he sounds. He’s adding on requirements, moving the goalposts. And yet, he’s spent years trying to apportion the blame for their every fight, and this could settle that once and for all. Dick needs this.

There’s a long pause, and Dick thinks that maybe this is where Bruce draws the line. But then—“It wasn’t your fault that I…hurt you,” Bruce agrees.

“Get out,” Bruce had ordered.

“I’m not going until you get your head out of your ass.”

“Get out, now, before I get you out!”

And Dick, well, he could never do anything but pick at a scab until it bleeds. “Yeah, how’s that work? Going to hit me, Bruce? Wouldn’t be the first time!”

Wouldn’t be the first time Dick has brought that up in an argument, either. But it’s the first time Bruce hadn’t just shot right past it. Tonight is the first time Bruce is actually acknowledging it.

Dick closes his eyes. He should be watching Bruce, soaking in every second of this. After all, he’s only going to get this apology once. But Dick can’t bear to look at him.

“Do you even understand what you’re apologizing for?” Dick pushes. “Is this about me, about us, or is it you just being upset about your lack of self-discipline?” He doesn’t mean to, he swears. He never means to start a fight, to turn what should be a conversation into an argument, but he always does it anyway. It’s a twisted talent for incitation and escalation, his dramatic stage presence turned toward making his life hell. But no—he’s the one speaking. He can’t pin his constant confrontational attitude on something nebulous like “stage presence.” He has to take responsibility. Dick knows exactly what he’s doing, and he can’t—no, he doesn’tstop.

“I haven’t been fair to you,” Bruce says quietly. “You’ve made a valid point that I’ve ignored your boundaries. And when you confronted me after—after Jason’s death, I…shouldn’t have hurt you.”

A valid point. Like Bruce is the final arbiter of that, judge and jury and his executioner’s axe is hanging right over Dick’s neck. It grates on him and his hands twitch, begging to curl into fists. Instead, he smooths them out palm-down on the table and presses lightly, enough to soothe himself without becoming threatening. Bruce doesn’t mean anything by the phrasing, it’s basically like lawyer language, carefully worded so as not to offend. Like Dick is a bomb that can be set off at any moment. The pressure of his hands on the table is the only thing holding his anger in. A valid point. Boundaries. Hurt you. Dick snorts. “Call it what it is, B. You hit me.”

Bruce, to his credit, doesn’t deny it. “Yes.”

How dare he be so calm? Dick is fighting everything in him not to yell right now, not to scream and fight and shout. And maybe that’s a sign that he’s everything that’s wrong in their not-quite-father-son relationship, because Bruce is sitting there calmly and apologizing even as Dick gives him a hard time about everything. “You hit me more than that. You didn’t mention those. Just right after Jason.”

“Once more,” Bruce says. “I’ve hit you twice and I—I apologized for the second time.”

The second time—though Dick isn’t even entirely sure it’s the second time, too many alternate timelines and ambiguous mental influence situations warping everything, making it impossible to keep count (and there’s a subtle sort of horror there, that he has to keep count)—the second time, Dick hit first. Bruce was being an asshole, abandoning his civilian identity and the entire family along with it, but Dick hit him first, and he hasn’t exactly apologized for it either. “I don’t care about that one. I attacked you. You defended yourself. It’s fine. You didn’t even need to apologize. But when you—when you thought Gordon was dead…I tried to stop you from going too far, and you hit me. I was just trying to help.”

“I’m sorry if you feel hurt by that, but—”

“I do,” Dick interrupts. How is Bruce supposed to apologize if Dick keeps interrupting? “I do feel hurt, because I was hurt, because you hit me. It’s not if.”

Bruce exhales. “I’m sorry that you feel hurt by that incident, but I threw you off me, Dick. I didn’t hit you.”

The funny thing is, Dick thinks, as the static fills his ears, I don’t think he’s lying. Bruce has never been one for lies. He’ll say he doesn’t care about emotions or something, but it’s about the words, not getting people to believe them. He’s as transparent as glass on that. And he’ll trick villains, but he doesn’t…he doesn’t lie about stuff like this. Dick’s good at reading people—he has to be. So, as he looks at Bruce’s face, he can confidently say that Bruce isn’t lying.

But Dick isn’t lying either, because he remembers it.

Dick should drop this. He has an apology, he has Bruce saying it wasn’t Dick’s fault, he has Bruce admitting it, mostly. Dick got what he wanted, or close enough, and he should just end the conversation here.

But Dick can’t seem to stop pushing. “You definitely hit me, B!”

“Are we really going to do this?” Bruce asks.

Dick stands up, his chair loudly scraping against the floor. He’s escalating again. He knows that, but it—it isn’t enough to make him stop. His heart clenches. It feels like the blood in it has turned to oil, slick and sickening. Everything feels so wrong. “Yes, we’re going to do this! I’m not lying, I’m—”

“I’m not accusing you of lying.” Bruce is still so fucking calm. 

Dick hates when he’s like this, because sometimes Bruce is a raging storm and then sometimes it’s like he’s the most reasonable person in the universe. Dick never knows which version of his father he’s going to get. And when he gets one of them, he never knows if he’s just imagining the other.

“I’m saying that it was a complicated situation, and—”

“No!” Dick is breathing heavily and his voice is far too loud. Because he can’t listen, he doesn’t want to listen, he can’t listen, if he listens then he’ll start to believe it and he knows he’s right. But avoiding evidence is a sign of fearing the truth, and that’s not something a detective should ever do. Is Dick wrong? Mistaken? Accidentally trying to trick Bruce into believing something that isn’t true?

No. Deep breaths. Form an argument. Context clues. Dick can prove it, to himself and to Bruce.

“I had blood on my face, because you hit me. And I’m certain I did because I remember smelling it, tasting it. And Babs asked me what happened and I remember thinking, I don’t want to lie to her, and then doing it anyway. Where do you think that came from? My face just decided to injure itself after you politely pushed me off?”

“You’re arguing against a strawman—of course your face didn’t just injure itself. But I know I didn’t hit you.” It’s clear Dick’s sarcasm has gotten a rise out of Bruce, because Dick can hear the tension simmering in Bruce’s voice, watch his shoulders move from his normal awkward stiffness into something ready for offense. “Hitting someone in the face isn’t an effective way to stop them from pulling you away. I wouldn’t have hit you, it would be illogical.”

“Bruce, you weren’t thinking reasonably. I know what happened!”

“And I know what happened too. I’m telling you the truth, Dick. Please believe me on this.”

“But I’m telling you the truth! And you’re telling me—what, my memories are wrong? Come on, Bruce.”

“I am Batman.” Yeah, I fucking know that, no way do you think my memory sucks that much, Dick thinks, but he doesn’t say it. Sarcasm makes Bruce bristle, and Dick really needs to stop pushing things. Not that he’s. You know. Actually stopping. “I’ve trained for years to perfectly remember combat situations.” But not when he’s emotionally compromised. Not when he doesn’t want to remember. “I’m sorry I threw you off of me, but I won’t apologize for something that you’re misremembering. And I won’t let you force me to doubt my own memories.”

Dick lets out a hollow laugh, more for show than anything else. They’re dancing around the word, Dick knows, refusing to call it what it is. And suddenly, Dick can’t stand that. “You’re seriously accusing me of gaslighting you?”

“And what, you think it’s the other way around? I’ve made mistakes, Dick, but that is not something that I do.”

Dick throws his hands into the air. “I don’t know what to think!” He needs to calm down. This was supposed to be Bruce apologizing, and he’s ruining it. “I don’t know what to think,” he repeats more quietly, forcing himself to sit down. It sets him on edge. Batman—Bruce—is still blocking the exits. But he sits. “Okay,” Dick says. He breathes and imagines all the anger leaving his lungs. “I remember what I remember and…you remember what you remember. And neither of us are going to change our minds. So it…it is what it is.” He pivots. “But what about the tooth?”

“The tooth?” Bruce asks, and he’s back to being so fucking calm that Dick wants to sock him in the jaw and, well. If he feels like that, maybe he should have some empathy for what Bruce has to deal with when Dick’s being difficult. And, as this conversation is showing, Dick sure puts in an effort to be difficult. But, difficult or not, he’s still going to say his piece.

“You punched me hard enough that I lost a tooth, Bruce, what do you think I’m talking about?”

“I had to prove—”

“There’s such a thing as an X-ray.”

“I couldn’t risk—”

“No.”

“I didn’t have time—”

“No.”

“You wouldn’t have—”

“No.”

Dick can feel his heart beating too fast, can feel the rush it gives him to listen to Bruce try to defend himself and cut him off at every turn. But that’s not good. That’s not right, Dick shouldn’t be enjoying this, shouldn’t be playing like this is some sort of game, shouldn’t—

“Three times,” Bruce agrees quietly. “Three times. Dick, I—”

“And Spyral?” Dick asks. “What about in the cave, Bruce? Because what you did then…”

“We sparred,” Bruce says, but his face is closed-off.

“Some spar.”

“You wrapped your hands.”

Dick hadn’t remembered that part. But thinking back…Bruce was right. He did wrap his hands. Why had he done that? Why had he given up the one thing that would defend him now, show Bruce that this was wrong? By wrapping his hands, he had made it a spar. He had agreed to participate. It’s not fair to Bruce to pretend otherwise. But… “I asked to stop fighting.” But that’s wrong, isn’t it? He said no, he asked Bruce what was going on, he made it clear he wanted to stop, but he didn’t say that exactly. He wrapped his hands and he fought back. Fuck, he just lied, didn’t he? Dick just lied, but he didn’t mean to.

“You asked not to go to Spyral. You never tapped out.”

And yet… “I didn’t hit back until you sent me flying off a platform into Jason’s memorial. That’s not a spar, Bruce. I wasn’t fighting. You were, but I wasn’t. It wasn’t fair.”

“Dick.”

Dick feels himself falter. Like a marionette with his strings cut, his head tips down to hang loosely over the table. Slowly, he brings a hand to cover his face. It’s humiliating, it’s weakness, but he just. He just needs a moment. “I didn’t want to fight you, Bruce,” he says eventually.

“You could have said that.”

“Would you have listened? You sure didn’t listen the other times I’ve tried to talk to you. I wrapped my hands, I’ll admit it, I’m not being unreasonable Bruce, but I agreed to a spar, not a beating. I wanted to tap out. But.” Dick’s losing the thread. He was saying something really important, but he can’t remember where he was going. “I wanted to tap out,” he repeats. “I wanted to tap out, but I didn’t think I could. And you just kept hitting.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Dick.”

“I want…” It’s not about what Bruce is saying. He apologized. He said it wasn’t Dick’s fault. But Dick kept pushing for more and more and more. Because it wasn’t enough. Because it was just words. “I want you to be sorry.”

Fuck, Dick sounds like the Red Hood right now. Except, Jason’s grievances are legitimate and Dick’s…well, it’s not that his aren’t, he really hopes he’s in the right here, but his are certainly less important.

“I want you to hit me again,” he admits. It comes out of nowhere, but it’s not a lie. Because if Bruce just…just hit him. Now. After Spyral. Not under mind control. No Court of Owls, or dead sons, or dead friends, or justification. If Bruce just hit him, Dick would be right. He would know. And he tries to be a good person, a good leader, a good son, but he can’t get rid of that insufferable need to be right. Then again, Dick’s been scorning every single one of Bruce’s attempts to make things right this conversation. He’s been provoking Bruce at every turn, like it’s some sort of game. If Bruce hit him now, it probably wouldn’t change anything. Dick would be upset, but he’d know that he was also being an asshole and, when it came down to it, it was mostly his fault. 

Bruce agreed it wasn’t, something in him says. But Bruce didn’t mean that.

“Dick…” Bruce says quietly. He sounds. He sounds devastated. And all Dick can think is good, and yeah, Dick’s definitely being an asshole right now. What kind of kid—not that Dick is a kid, but he sure feels like one right now—what kind of kid wants his father to hit him? What kind of kid says that out loud?

“I want to forgive you,” Dick says, “but I can’t forgive you if I can’t figure out if there’s something to forgive.”

The two of them are quiet for a long time. Dick doesn’t have anything else to say. He didn’t start this. He’s not the one who broke into his apartment and forced a conversation. And Bruce…

Dick watches his father sit still as a statue, clearly searching for words he doesn’t have.

Eventually, Bruce swallows visibly. “There is,” he says quietly. “I never meant for things to end up like this.”

Like what? Dick sitting across from him in an apartment a city away? All things considered, this is a pretty alright way for it to have gone. Dick could be away with the Titans permanently. They could be completely estranged. Dick could be dead.

“I should have adopted you earlier,” Bruce says, out of nowhere. “I shouldn’t have told you that you weren’t welcome in the Manor. I should never have hit you. I—”

“Stop,” Dick hisses. It’s too much. It doesn’t feel real even. It feels like someone’s skinning him alive and he’s just out of it enough to realize that this has to be a dream, but it isn’t and— “Just stop. I get it, okay? You’re sorry. Fine.” He leans over, resting his forehead in his hand and propping his elbow up on the table. It doesn’t make his growing headache any better. “I know I’m still allowed in Gotham. We’re fine. Alright?” Dick should be savoring this, but he just wants it to be over. “Now go and focus your efforts on the kids who actually need them. Tim still isn’t convinced he’s part of the family. Jason thinks you wish he never came back. Damian has some of his drawings in an art show, you should—”

“I know,” Bruce interrupts.

“Huh?”

“I know about the art show,” Bruce says awkwardly. “It’s in my calendar. I plan to go.”

Dick feels the wind leave his sails. “Yeah, good. That’s good.” He looks up at Bruce. “Did you want anything else, or did you just feel the need to invade my home so you could offload your feelings and stop feeling guilty?” That was unfair. Really unfair. Dick had just said they were good, he didn’t mean to say that, and Bruce clearly is trying. More than he’s ever tried before. More than he needs to. Dick should be grateful.

Bruce freezes, like he never even thought breaking into Dick’s apartment after an argument could be a bad idea. “I…shouldn’t have come here,” he says eventually. “I really was trying to. To be better. I was trying to be calm. I think I did a good job of that. But I shouldn’t have come here.”

Yeah, Bruce did do a good job. Dick was provoking him at every turn, and Bruce didn’t shout once. Dick wishes Bruce shouted. When Bruce is reasonable, Dick feels like he’s crazy, but…that’s a Dick problem, not a Bruce problem. If people being reasonable make him feel crazy, then Dick has something wrong with him.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” Bruce says suddenly, breaking Dick out of his thoughts.

There’s a lot Bruce shouldn’t have said. There’s even more that Dick shouldn’t have said. “What?”

“That I did a good job of being calm. I don’t know why I said that.” Dick doesn’t know why he said half the things he said in this conversation either. He feels like a yoyo, de-escalating only to escalate again. He can’t make up his mind. “It’s difficult not to fall into the same patterns. Not that that’s an excuse.”

“I understand,” Dick says. He does. It’s a familiar rhythm, arguing with Bruce. Fights and betrayal and rage and storming out, accompanied by the occasional physical altercation. It’s almost comforting, even as it tears him apart. And it’s very, very difficult to avoid. “And you weren’t wrong.”

“I was.” The frustration is evident in Bruce’s voice. “I did the bare minimum.”

Dick shrugs.

“What do you want from me?”

Dick shrugs again. He wants to pause this moment in time and save it away and then come back to it later, when he has an actual answer that will leave him satisfied but won’t start another fight. But he doesn’t have that. Right now, he wants to go to sleep. Maybe have some hot cocoa first.

He has a feeling that he’ll be lying awake for a while tonight, even without caffeine.

“We’re fine, Bruce. This is the most…you’ve apologized, okay? Maybe not for everything I wish you would, but you apologized. Just...go back to Gotham and I’ll come over next weekend or something.”

“What do you want me to apologize for?”

Dick shakes his head. “Bruce, you’re not even going to remember half the things I care about. They were big to me, but not to you. I mean, do you even remember our fight after you made Jason Robin?”

“Not very well,” Bruce admits. “I know you were…upset.”

“You broke a display case,” Dick says. It sounds ridiculous when he says it. Sure, breaking things is one the checklist questions he’d ask a civilian—why the fuck is he thinking about the checklist?—but in the grand scheme of things… “It’s not that big of a deal. But I was really freaked out. See? It’s mostly little things.”

Bruce, in an uncharacteristic break from stoicism, rests both elbows on the table and puts his head in his hands. A few moments later, he raises his head again and looks Dick in the eye. “I shouldn’t have done that. And. And I find it difficult to believe I hit you when I you tried to stop me from going after Gordon’s killer, but…I have done similar things enough times that…I probably should not find it so difficult. So, I’m.” He swallows. “I’m sorry, Dick.”

“Just stop,” Dick says. Something’s crawling underneath his skin. This isn’t right, it isn’t real, it’s all just so wrong. Bruce is telling him exactly what he asks to hear, and it’s so ridiculous that he’d be more inclined to believe he’s currently in a simulation controlled by a fifth grader than actually listening to Bruce speak. Wait. There’s an idea. “38D90234FJK16.”

Bruce’s eyes widen. “9021V4Q3.”

Well, he got the identification code correct.

“I should go,” Bruce says, and this time, he stands up.

“That’s not suspicious at all.”

Slowly, Bruce sits down again. “I. You think I’m an imposter?”

“No.” He got the identification response code correct. And despite the weird turn Bruce has taken, he still gets the base mannerisms, the speech, the Bruce-ness correct in a way that Dick has never seen an imposer manage. It’s pretty embarrassing that Dick had to check, but he thought that Mr. ‘It’s not paranoia if they’re actually out to get you’ would appreciate the diligence. “I just figured…”

“You figured I don’t sound like myself.”

Dick doesn’t deny it.

“I shouldn’t have come here. I said that, and then I kept talking, didn’t I?” Bruce sighs. “Do you want me to leave, Dick?”

Dick doesn’t particularly want to stand up from the table. He didn’t want Bruce here, but right now, well, he is here. They’re not fighting. It’s okay. This is okay. “I don’t know.”

“I…” Bruce exhales. “I won’t hit you again. That’s a promise. If I break it, I want you to deal with me.”

Dick sighs. “We fight plenty, Bruce. I don’t—I’ve hit first, before. That’s not a promise you want to make.”

“I promise,” Bruce repeats. “If you want to talk, in the future, you can come to Gotham. Or call me. But I should leave.”

“Okay.”

Bruce stands up again.

“Wait,” Dick says suddenly.

He isn’t sure what he’s supposed to say. I forgive you? But Dick doesn’t, not really. He wants to, but he’s still so angry. Maybe irrationally so. Definitely irrationally so. I want you to stay? Dick doesn’t want the conversation to be over, but he’s too tired for it, and Bruce probably has things to do in Gotham. I don’t forgive you? Dick wants to see what happens. Wants to watch the illusion break the second Bruce can’t get his reconciliation. He needs to say it. Needs to prove that this is all fake. He steels himself for the anger, for the mask to break, for the hurricane to start again and drag him into its winds.

“I don’t forgive you,” Dick whispers.

“You shouldn’t.”

Bruce turns around and leaves. Dick sits alone at the kitchen table for a long, long time.

[artbykina]

Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI

This was supposed to be a quick and messy piece but it turned into my art block dumpster fire. (pun intended) Thankfully I was finally able to go back and finish it! I still haven't had a chance to return to XVI, TotK came back with a vengeance, but I love Clive as a protagonist. And so far the game itself has its flaws but I was enjoying it before I took a break. (Currently up to the Titan arc) During some downtime I really want to make fanart of all the Eikons cuz their designs are SO GOOD.

[i-am-grell]

Grell's Anime List

Hello! If you're new here, every now and then I'll post a poll to let the people of Tumblr choose which anime series I watch since I'm terrible at starting series, finishing series, and making decisions.

I figured I'd compile the list of what I've seen, what I haven't finished, and what I want to watch so you can keep up, get to know me, or offer recommendations. If you don't see your favourite on here and think I might like it, feel free to send a rec my way! Keep watch for the polls!

Currently Watching: Sailor Moon

Finished (Not Expecting More Seasons)

Ace Attorney / Angel Beats! / Assassination Classroom / Attack on Titan / Banana Fish / Buddy Daddies / The Case Study of Vanitas / Castlevania / Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! / Daily Lives of High School Boys / Danganronpa: The Animation + Danganronpa 3 / Death Note / The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. + The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened / DRAMAtical Murder / Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood / Fruits Basket (2001) / Gakuen Babysitters / Hetalia: Axis Powers, World Series, Beautiful World, The World Twinkle, World Stars, Paint It White / Horimiya + Horimiya: The Missing Pieces / Life Lessons with Uramichi-Oniisan / Love Stage!! / Mob Psycho 100 / Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun / Moriarty the Patriot / Ouran High School Host Club / Sasaki and Miyano + Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation Arc / Soul Eater / Tribe Nine / Yuri!! On ICE

Caught Up (Waiting For New Content)

Beastars / Black Butler / Bungo Stray Dogs / Chainsaw Man / Dandadan / Delicious in Dungeon / Jujutsu Kaisen / Komi Can't Communicate / Mashle / My Hero Academia / SK8 the Infinity / Spy x Family / Zombie Land Saga + Zombie Land Saga Revenge

Have To Finish

*[] Brackets used to specify what I need to watch next.

Blue Exorcist [Season 4] / Fairy Tail [Season 3 onward] / Free! / Fruits Basket 2019 / Haikyuu!! [The Dumpster Battle] / One Piece [Season 7 onward] / Pokemon [Black & White onward] / Voltron: Legendary Defender

Want to Watch

Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective / Angels of Death / Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day / Another / The Apothecary Diaries / Attack on Titan: Junior High / Baban Baban Ban Vampire (2025) / Bakuman / Black Clover / Bleach / Bloom Into You / Blue Lock / Blue Period / Bocchi the Rock! / Bungo Stray Dogs Wan! / Cardcaptor Sakura / Castlevania: Nocturne / Cells at Work! / Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! / Code:Breaker / Cowboy Bebop / Deadman Wonderland / Death Parade / Demon Slayer / Devils' Line / Fire Force / Frieren: Beyond Journey's End / Food Wars! / Girlfriend, Girlfriend / Girls Band Cry / Given / Go for It, Nakamura! (2025) / Grand Blue Dreaming / Great Pretender / Gushing over Magical Girls / Handa-kun / Heaven Official's Blessing / Hunter x Hunter / I Have a Crush at Work a.k.a. Can You Keep a Secret? / Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night / Kamisama Kiss / Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You / K-On! / KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! / Koro Sensei Quest! / Kuroko's Basketball / The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya / Mr. Villain's Day Off / My Happy Marriage / My New Boss is Goofy / Nana / Naruto / Natsume's Book of Friends / Nichijou - My Ordinary Life / Nisekoi: False Love / Noragami / One Punch Man / Orange / Parasyte / Psycho-Pass / Puella Magi Madoka Magica / Ranma 1/2 / Romantic Killer / Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions / Sakamoto Days / See You Tomorrow at the Food Court (2025) / Senpai is an Otokonoko / Seraph of the End / Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie / A Sign of Affection / Skip and Loafer / Soul Eater Not! / The Summer Hikaru Died (2025) / Talentless Nana / Terror in Resonance / Tokyo Ghoul / Tokyo Revengers / Twilight Out of Focus / Violet Evergarden / The Way of the Househusband / Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun / Whisper Me a Love Song / Wind Breaker / Witch Watch (2025) / Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku / Yakuza Fiance / Your Lie in April / Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

[katscythe]

He is so underappreciated and he is such an important and integral part of the team and he deserves so much more.

And then Titans just threw him out.

Victor's lack of agency is kinda a big theme in the New teen titans and it's kinda sad and frustrating that none of the scientists except for Sarah,just treat him like a human being or ask for consent when they modify his body (and while he is made sympathetic, it kinda start with his father) and the Titans are kinda the only one who consistently try to give his agency back.