#we all have our issues

[sharry-arry-odd]

"We all have our issues. I have a spare tire around my middle. His father is Satan. Nothing that can't be worked out if we try hard enough."

The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune

[linniewrites]

wahoi chapter 1 is so so fluff n cute :( id love to see more of them in the future!! ><

aahh thank you so much! I’m really glad you like it<3

[stinkybrowndogs]

I mean I get that’s it’s not the only contributing factor, but I’m curious exactly how much of the shelter dog over-population problem is actually due to poor dog ownership/management vs the housing crisis and economical stress. I’d be willing to bet by investing in social programs that give people the resources they need to care for their pets (cough cough affordable and free housing cough cough) that the amount of pets in shelters would dramatically drop. We can all sit here pointing fingers and screaming at each other until we are blue in the face, but if the owners basic needs are not being met, how can we hold them to a basic standard for their pets?

[ankles-be-bitten]

idk, i just feel like if your primary argument against transandrophobia/antitransmasculinity theory is that you think it's transmisogynistic you're not being intellectually honest. who does it hurt when trans men and mascs coin a term to describe the intersection of transphobia and sexism as it most frequently affects them? because it does hurt trans men when they're told that they're not entitled to speak on the discrimination they themselves face.

what I'm hearing from people who oppose the antitransmasculinity movement is that transmisogyny is when trans men talk about their problems 👍, but obviously that's not true. i know that's not true. you know that's not true. so then what is the issue? genuinely, enlighten me. you want trans men to shut up and listen? I'm listening.

[knifearo]

ultimately when it comes to shipping and fandom space treatment of aspec characters i just don't accept "aro/ace people can still date/have sex" as an answer from nonaspecs. like yeah. mhm. okay. now i think we both know that you're not saying that out of real interest in the diversity of aspec experiences. so you can turn in your seventeen-page essay on why and how you plan to examine this character's aspec identity within the context of a romantic or sexual relationship complete with evidence from canon and peer reviews from multiple aspec people within the next week or i'm putting you in the pit from the edgar allen poe story

[inkskinned]

you were raised in comparison.

it wasn't always obvious (well. except for the times that it was), but you internalized it young. you had to eat what you didn't like, other people are going hungry, and you should be grateful. you had to suck it up and walk on the twisted ankle, it wasn't broken, you were just being a baby. you were never actually suffering, people obviously had it worse than you did.

you had a roof over your head - imagine! with the way you behaved, with how you talked back to your parents? you're lucky they didn't kick you out on your ass. they had friends who had to deal with that. hell, you have friends who had to deal with that. and how dare you imply your father isn't there for you - just because he doesn't ever actually talk to you and just because he's completely emotionally checked out of your life doesn't mean you're not fucking lucky. think about your cousins, who don't even get to speak to their dad. so what if yours has a mean streak; is aggressive and rude. at least you have a father to be rude to you.

you really think you're hurting? you were raised in a home! you had access to clean water! you never so much as came close to experiencing a real problem. sure, okay. you have this "mental illness" thing, but teenagers are always depressed, right. it's a phase, you'll move on with your life.

what do you mean you feel burnt out at work. what do you mean you mean you never "formed healthy coping mechanisms?" we raised you better than that. you were supposed to just shoulder through things. to hold yourself to high expectations. "burning out" is for people with real jobs and real stress. burnout is for people who have sick kids and people who have high-paying jobs and people who are actually experiencing something difficult. recently you almost cried because you couldn't find your fucking car keys. you just have lost your sense of gratitude, and honestly, we're kind of hurt. we tell you we love you, isn't that enough? if you want us to stick around, you need to be better about proving it. you need to shut up about how your mental health is ruined.

it could be worse! what if you were actually experiencing executive dysfunction. if you were really actually sick, would you even be able to look at things on the internet about it? you just spend too much time on webMD. you just like to freak yourself out and feel like you belong to something. you just like playing the victim. this is always how you have been - you've always been so fucking dramatic. you have no idea how good you have it - you're too fucking sensitive.

you were like, maybe too good of a kid. unwilling to make a real fuss. and the whole time - the little points, the little validations - they went unnoticed. it isn't that you were looking for love, specifically - more like you'd just wanted any one person to actually listen. that was all you'd really need. you just needed to be witnessed. it wasn't that you couldn't withstand the burden, but you did want to know that anyone was watching. these days, you are so accustomed to the idea of comparison - you don't even think you belong in your own communities. someone always fits better than you do. you're always the outlier. they made these places safe, and then you go in, and you are just not... quite the same way that would actually-fit.

you watch the little white ocean of your numbness lap at your ankles. the tide has been coming in for a while, you need to do something about it. what you want to do is take a nap. what you want to do is develop some kind of time machine - it's not like you want your life to stop, not completely, but it would really nice if you could just get everything to freeze, just for a little while, just until you're finished resting. but at least you're not the worst you've been. at least you have anything. you're so fucking lucky. do you have any concept of the amount of global suffering?

a little ant dies at the side of your kitchen sink. you look at its strange chitinous body and think - if you could just somehow convince yourself it is enough, it will finally be enough and you can be happy. no changes will have to be made. you just need to remember what you could lose. what is still precious to you.

you can't stop staring at the ant. you could be an ant instead of a person, that is how lucky you are. it's just - you didn't know the name of the ant, did you. it's just - ants spend their whole life working, and never complain. never pull the car over to weep.

it's just - when it died, it curled up into a tight little ball.

something kind of uncomfortable: you do that when you sleep.

[agnesandhilda]

watched conclave last night and then read the wikipedia entry for the book and now I'm wondering about the category ten shitstorm that a publicly intersex pope would cause

[arsenicflame]

happy "our marriage is never gonna recover from this" day

[fromtheseventhhell]

I love how people are only ever interested in defending Arya's right to be weird-looking. It's never defending her intelligence from people who claim she's incapable of thinking for herself, highlighting her importance to the plot and refusing to see her as just a prop, acknowledging how much of her story gets stolen and given to other characters, talking about her trauma or how often it gets erased and overlooked, seeing her as more than just an attack dog/bodyguard, etc. Nope. It's just a "why can't people let Arya be ugly/unconventional looking? :(" post every other week because people are, for whatever reason, obsessed with how Arya is visually perceived. One of the most misinterpreted characters yet the issue is only ever with her being portrayed as "too pretty" or the wrong "type" of pretty. This fandom will entirely rewrite a character's motivations, values, and role in the story to the point that they consider references to canon "hate" but! The true injustice to canon is we acknowledge that she is described as pretty several times. Arya simply existing as her pretty, important, and non-conforming self is too complex and confusing for people to comprehend 😔.

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

another crazy thing about having been a prostitute is to realise how little difference there has been in how many of my male sexual partners have treated me and how sex buyers treated me, especially since i was an escort where often you get paid to simulate dates. i even had sex buyers beg to see me again meanwhile men in real life often ghost or keep me at armlength especially when there are no romantic feelings involved.

this is why i dont want to have sex without feelings and care for each other anymore - it almost feels like im prostituted all over again, bad in a different way because i actually like the men i sleep with and want them to like and appreciate me too and consider my desires (dont get me wrong obviously prostitution is always worse than sleeping with men im actually attracted to and want to have sex with but it hurts in a different way to realise that ive often also been just a means to get off to them).

like for example, since sex buyers often pay for time instead of sex act (or both combined), they want to get the most out of their money and do the most to you in the set time - but as a prostitute you want to get it over with as soon as possible and it feels like torture. meanwhile so many heterosexual men who dont pay for sex try to reach orgasm as soon as possible and then its over, lmao. like the direct comparison between having been prostituted and having voluntary sex with men will make you feel absolutely crazy but it also made me realise why i thought i didnt even like sex for so long. because i was always treated like an object, not a person. men will do the bare minimum to keep you around for sex if they dont see you as wife material (and then they also do just little more than the bare minimum up until they reached their goal of marriage then usually start neglecting their wives as we know).

which brings home the point that we need a cultural and legal shift. as long as men treat sex as masturbation with another person, and women as objects or tools, there will always be demand for prostitution, and there will always be (privileged) women deluded into thinking „might as well get paid for it“ or even „at least now im being appreciated“, paradoxically. thats how bad heterosexual men treat women in bed.

this also emphasises that yes, #allmen, because even the men who dont buy sex contribute to the system of sexual exploitation with their behaviour. the reason ive heard men say most often why they dont buy sex is not care for women, but pride. they can convince women to get them off so why pay for it? same with porn, they dont stop watching because they care about women, but because their dick stopped working. and then of course you have a lot of sex buyers who dont even want to do the bare minimum mentioned above so they buy sex to go immediately to using a womans body with no „hassle“. the state of heterosex is fucking dire because i know im by far not the only one experiencing this.

and even before prostitution i could feel it but not really put my finger on it, now with this horrible experience and a radical aligned feminist view on things i realise and its really dark. and dont even try talking to men about their inadequacies in bed because they will act like youre the problem and an annoying nag for voicing desires.

[vitrall]

I don't think Jayce and Viktor literally died. They were kind of pulled into another dimension/astral plane/whatever you call it. We see older Viktor, and while it could be another Viktor, I think it would be more meaningful if it was our Viktor, finally free from the arcane, going through the universe with Jayce, fixing timelines together. Kind of like a cosmic mission.

[humming-fly]

This 4th of July I’m stealing the patriotism euphoria that’s usually associated with assholes idolizing the worst attributes of this country because fuck ‘em I live here too and remembering the things this country actually got Right is an important exercise when trying to rally anyone to want to defend it in November SO putting my money where my mouth is I’ll start easy and say I really like National Parks!! It’s rad how many of them there are and how they’re actual set up to preserve some of the most beautiful wild areas in our country while still letting people visit to enjoy and experience nature!! (Less important but I love how they put national parks on the quarters I think that’s real fun)

Feel free to add on if something speaks to ya!

[shadowqueendiangelo]

Not Grover understanding both Percy and Annabeth SO WELL that he was able to give them a whole ass therapy session at the end I am LIVING

[beigerin]

ey ey ey!!! ITS OUTTTT

this is just so......wholesome and cute and idk so squishy like yk comfy comfy!yes!

We all have our issues | Chapter 1

idol!jungkook x chubby!student!reader

Summary : you sleep over at Jungkook’s for the first time, and realize that you do, indeed, see him as more than a friend.

Words : 2,148

Warnings : age gap (Jk is 25 while oc is 20), anxiety, skin picking, fear of dogs (?), insecurities.

Notes : jk’ s whipped and has her as “baby” in his phone, oc’s anxious even when everything’s fine, but she’s cute and has skincare so she’s happy, she’s also whipped. And she loves Bam.

JK🎸

i’ll be here in five

i’m here

You put your phone in the pocket of your jacket and grab your keys from the counter before heading out and locking the door behind you. A smile etched onto your face when you saw your friend dressed in an all black outfit, just like you and waved shyly at him.

“Hi.”

“Hey, how’re you ?”

“Good. Nervous.”

He put his arm around you and rubbed your shoulder. “Don’t be, my son’s a good boy.”

“I’m sure he is. I just get a little nervous around dogs.” The elevator opened so you both walked in and clicked the lobby button so you could get out of the building. Tonight was going to be your first time at Jungkook’s place, you’d quickly became friends after your first meeting, and you’d been talking for a few weeks. Whenever you hung out, it was either at your apartment, or small parks and places he knew. You really wanted this to go well, so you’d gotten a really cute outfit, even though you were a bit nervous about wearing it out, you still opted for it after a sudden hit of confidence. You had a skin tight black Calvin Klein shirt, low rise black jeans and chunky black sneakers, all that covered by an oversized black jean jacket. While waiting for the elevator to stop, you fiddled with your hoop earring, pulling and twisting at it, when you felt Jungkook’s hand on yours, stopping your movements.

“You’re gonna hurt yourself.” You quickly pulled your hand away and looked down, embarrassed.

“Right…”

The elevator dinged, and your eyes almost came out of your skull when you reached the black Mercedes car. It was definitely not something you could afford, or had ever been in. The tattooed man opened the door and winked at you before closing it and doing a cute walk back to his side of the car.

You put your seatbelt on and giggled when he sat down behind the wheel and turned on the LED lights a bright pink.

“I like your car, it’s cool.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking of getting a motorcycle, though.” He said, waiting for your opinion.

“They’re so dangerous.” The way his face fell physically made your heart ache, so you quickly continued. “But it would be pretty amazing, you’d look really cool. Plus, I know you’re careful.”

“Yeah, you’ve got to be with these things.”

The rest of the ride was filled with laughter and singing, mainly his, because you didn’t dare to try and sing in front of him. Turns out his apartment is a lot further away from yours than you thought, you noticed it is closer to your university though. Jungkook even offered to pick you up sometimes, so you wouldn’t have to take the bus, and you had accepted, only after making him promise it didn’t bother him. Once you were in front of Jungkook’s apartment door, he slowly turned to you and took your hands in his, bringing heat to your face.

“Okay. This is it. My humble little home.”

“Humble little home, huh ?” You teased.

“Yep.” He unlocked the door and let you walk in first. When he stepped behind, he looked around and took notice of his Doberman staring at you from his bedroom’s door frame.

He let out a laugh and called him over. “Bam ! Come here !” The dog happily hurried to his owner’s legs with wiggly tail and ears. “Okay, this…” He turned Bam’s head so he could get a good look at you. “Is my friend, ___. She’s real nice, so don’t scare her off.” You smiled and kneeled so you could let the dog sniff you. Ban walked to you and nudged your knee with his nose before raising his head and rubbing it against your tummy. “Hi Bam.” He barked softly at you, making you gasp and scratch behind his ear. “You’re such a nice boy, aren’t you ?”

“So… let me show you around.” Jungkook took a hold of your hand and guided you to the living area. “This is the living room. I guess…” The apartment made you laugh, it looked like a student apartment, light walls empty of any decorations, an empty hanger racks next to the couch, which was way too large to belong to a student. However, there was also workout gear right next to the television, which also looked really expensive. “The kitchen. We can cook something, or order out. Whatever you want.”

“Oh. Whatever’s best for you, I’m not complicated or anything.” You shrugged anxiously.

“___. Do you want to order out ? If not, I’ll cook something for you, I’m pretty good.”

“I swear, I don’t care.” As long as it doesn’t inconvenience him, you’d eat whatever.

“We’ll order out then.” He settled.

“Great.” Thank god you brought your wallet with you.

You ended up ordering two servings of spicy tteokbokki along with a bottle of iced tea to share. While waiting for it to happen, Jungkook had decided to put on Criminal Minds, only because he knew how much you liked it, he’d never seen it before, so you were really excited to show him the first seasons. You were sitting on the couch, knees to your chin and Jungkook’s arm around your body. You didn’t know it, but the singer kept taking peaks at your face, admiring you enjoying your favorite show. He found it funny that the show was about such awful things, but you listened to it so intently, and had even called it your comfort show. You looked so happy, so calm, Jungkook wished he could only ever see you like this, and never have you feel down, like you had the day you’d first met.

The doorbell rang, startling you, Jungkook took his arm off you and jumped over the couch to get to the door. While he was thanking the delivery man, you took a few bills from your wallet that was in your jacket and set them down on the table. Jungkook dropped the hot boxes in front of you, and quickly went to get glasses for you. When he came back he realized the money on the table wasn’t his so he handed it back to you.

“No, it’s for the food.”

“___, it’s my treat.” You shook your head, insisting he took your money. “It’s fine, I swear.” You ignored him and started opening the two boxes, putting one on your right for him, and filling his glass with the cold drink before starting with your own. He sighed in defeat and left the money where it was, and thanked you before sitting back down and digging in. He raised his glass to yours and tilted it with a smile. You did the same with yours and clinked them together, smiling cheekily. “Cheers.”

⭒

You clenched your eyes at the light the sun was letting in and spread your arms on the bed, feeling around for the teddy bear you usually slept with. Confused as to why you couldn’t find it, you slowly opened your eyes and frowned when you realized the bed you were resting in wasn’t yours. You sat up and took a look around the room, admiring the many Marvel figurines on the shelves. You remembered dinner with Jungkook last night, and cleaning up, as well as watching more episodes of your favorite crime show. But you didn’t remember coming in his bedroom. You stood up, ruffling your jeans to get comfortable in them, before slowly heading for bathroom. Your hair was a mess, so you wet your hands and tried to tame it with some water. When you deemed it was enough, you went to the living room.

“Kook ?” You called out, whispering. The closer you got closer to the living area, the louder the snoring sounded.

You walked to the couch and looked down at the man sleeping. Jungkook’s hair was a mess, he was wearing shorts and a large shirt and the beanie he had on last night was now discarded on the floor. You bent down to pick it up and since you didn’t know what to do, you sat down on the other side of the couch so you wouldn’t disturb your friend’s slumber. You knew Jungkook snored, you’d seen his friends mock him in videos, and he’d even told you himself, but it was still surprising. It was loud, very loud, but it was also so endearing, the way his nose scrunched up the same way as when he smiled too hard, made you want to place soft kisses all over his face. You decided to lay down on the couch, you brought your legs up to rest them under your chin and simply waited for your friend to wake up.

Bam whined when he heard the leather of the couch move and ran up to see who it was, as soon as he recognized you, he jumped on the couch and settled next to you, accidentally waking up his dad.

“Hi.” You said softly, a dumb smile on your face from Jungkook’s hair flying in all directions.

“Good morning.” He rubbed his eyes and yawned, sitting up. He patted his lap and whistled for his dog to give him a hug, which he happily did. “Do you want to eat something ?” He turned to you.

“No, thank you. I’m just gonna go home.” Your cheeks gained some warmth, which went unseen by him as you mumbled out the rest of your sentence. “Wanted to say hello to you first.”

He quickly stood up and walked to his kitchen counter to take his car keys. “I’ll take you home.” He said while struggling to slip his shoes on.

“Thanks.” Why are you feeling disappointed when you’re the one that said you wanted to leave ? He’s just being the kind, friendly soul he’s always been, so why does that sadden you ? Maybe, it’s because you don’t want him to waste his time with you, and you hoped he’d leave you alone. Truly, it’s because you wished he would ask you to stay, and cuddle him some more like you had yesterday when you fell asleep.

“My lady.” He opened the door for you and did an exaggerated reverence when you walked past him. You laughed and leaned against the wall while waiting for him to bid goodbye to his dog and lock the door behind him. “C’mon.” He turns to you and sigh. “___, you’re gonna be cold.” He zips your jacket up, shaking his head and flicking your nose with his finger when it’s fully closed. He wraps his arm around you and leads you to the elevator.

When the car reaches your apartment complex, he brings your face closer to his with his hand on the back of your head, and presses a loving kiss to your temple. “Bye bye.”

“Bye.” You open the door sheepishly and wave goodbye. You quickly walk inside the building and without looking back, climb into the elevator and soon enough, get inside your home. It’s a Saturday, so there’s not really anything you have to do, apart from cleaning a little, all of your assignments are finished, there’s no need for new groceries, you’re off work. You walk to your fridge and take a coke bottle into your hands before untwisting its cap and chugging the drink down your throat. That’s when a question stops you ; why’d you leave Jungkook’s apartment ? You’re only going to stay in bed the whole day, when you could’ve had fun with him. You decide to hop in the shower and rest in bed for the rest of the day. You use your time to your advantage, you wax your entire body, give your hair an oil bath and pamper your skin when you get out of the steaming room. One of the many sheet masks you’re putting away is said to be for combination skin and has a cute bunny draw on it, which takes your mind back to your tattooed friend. You swiftly snap a picture of it, but don’t press send and keep it in your album. Finally, you take your lip mask and spread a good glob of it on your lips before getting under your fluffy blanket to watch something on Disney+. Thank god for scholarships because if not for it, your job wouldn’t enable you to pay for everything you have, especially not your new phone, and expensive self-care products. After an afternoon watching Criminal Minds, and a very yummy dinner, you finally muster the strength to text Jungkook, sending him the picture you took earlier with a text.

baby🪽

saw this and it made me think of you it’s so cute 🥹

saw this and it made me think of yo

saw this and it ma

saw thi

taglist :

@gothvkth @beigerin

@babycandy111

@jianjankook

@joonsboy

[yappacadaver]

Crazy wild shit man

[necrotic-nephilim]

au for the ask game: omegaverse where omega dick grooms ealry-presented alpha tim in "prodigal son"

dick is going through one of the worst periods of his life after breaking up his wedding with kory (maybe she, like a tamaran, couldn't understand the secondary gender of humans and during the breakup said something bad about dick as an omega) and then tim appears with stars in his eyes and believes that dick is the best human being on earth.

bonus points if the society has progressed enough and mating with children is strictly prohibited, even if they present early.

for the ask game!

gdfdsfdgbf anon i'm kissing you on the mouth. this is my favorite flavor of Omegaverse, especially for DickTim. i'm a proud believer in the dominant omega!Dick/submissive alpha!Tim propaganda. also a big fan of how terrible Dick's life is during Batman: Prodigal. and i just. man i love the Omegaverse concepts of alien characters like Kory not understanding secondary gender and it causing rifts.

what's fun about the Prodigal era is just how isolated Tim and Dick are during it. Bruce is off.. being fucking Bruce, and Alfred is also away, so it's really just Dick and Tim for a bit. they've always worked with each other and have a repertoire, but a lot of the conversations they have about each other's pasts are happening for the first time. so it's such a fun time for Tim to present as an alpha. and of course, his hero worship for Dick (especially after having to deal with Jean-Paul) makes it so *easily* for Dick to just. slip his fingers into. Dick's isolated from the Titans, he's lost Kory, he's on the rocks with Bruce, and so there's just something so nice about this kid who still holds utter faith in him. he doesn't see any of the societal stereotypes about omegas in Dick, he just sees Dick. and then, he presents and he trusts *Dick* with that information, lets Dick guide him through the most awkward parts of presenting. how can Dick not want to take advantage of that? a young, fresh alpha who he's currently in charge of mentoring, with no one to stop Dick or notice what he's doing.

it's still tricky, of course. Dick not only has to make sure he's not breaking the law, but he also has to keep Tim from noticing, immediately. Tim's hero worship crush is the most obvious thing about him, but that doesn't mean Dick can jump on him. it needs careful time and planning. Bruce might not be around, but Tim still has his dad who could notice the scent of an omega on Tim. so instead of marking Tim, Dick starts marking himself with Tim's scent. it starts small, using the same blanket Tim has used in the Batcave, grabbing a couple of Tim's oversized hoodies and wearing them. things with plausible enough deniability, but enough that Tim starts to subconsciously associate his scent with Dick. when he can't smell himself on Dick he feels like something is wrong. and when he's finally brave enough to bring it up to Dick, Dick is able to spin it on Tim. make it seem like Tim is the one coming onto Dick, assuming things. Dick plays it cool, pretending to be shocked by the idea of it. he gently explains to Tim what he could be implying about their relationship and Tim is *mortified*, apologizing and tripping over himself to try and fix it. but Dick just calms him down, promises Tim he isn't mad bc hey, Tim is a fresh alpha and he presented so *young*, it's difficult to navigate.

so you have Dick offering to help navigate this with Tim and using it to get closer and closer to Tim. grooming him into the type of alpha that Dick wants in a relationship. anytime there's behavior in Tim that Dick doesn't like, Dick can pretty easily redirect by dropping comments about how Tim just "can't help" acting like this because of his alpha nature, which instantly makes Tim scramble to fix it. Dick likes Tim for who he is, this cute, sweet kid who's such a handsome little alpha. but he's rough around the edges and Dick puts it on himself to smooth those edges over. he's playing the long game with this, and he doesn't mind waiting it out. and Tim can't complain when Dick pushes the boundaries, making him uncomfortable, because he doesn't want Dick to think he's a *pervert* for thinking that way. it's one big mind game.

i do think, Dick would cave and sleep with Tim before Tim's an adult. he's smart enough not to mate Tim, and he's definitely smart enough not to sleep with Tim enough for Bruce, a beta, to notice what's going on. but when some sort of sex pollen incident triggers a simultaneous heat and rut for Dick and Tim respectively, it's the most convenient in that Dick needs. Dick acts like they're doing this out of necessity, that he's giving in even though he doesn't want to, just because of how Tim's acting under the aphrodisiac. it gives him complete control over the sex because Tim is so desperate to not give in to his "alpha ways" and hurt Dick by being violent or animalistic. Dick gets to pin Tim down, possibly even tie him down "for his own safety" and ride him until Tim is a crying mess under Dick. after the first time, if Dick orchestrates more scenarios where they end up in "fuck or die" situations well, it's not like anyone's noticing. at the height, he even manages to have sex with Tim without that sort of pretense, he just has to act like he can tell how needy Tim is and sigh, pretending he's the one doing Tim a favor "just this once" by letting Tim fuck him.

in the end, it's a long con that pays off. it takes until Battle for the Cowl but Tim's a legal adult. and Dick is Batman again, which really does feel like everything coming full circle. part of the reason Dick makes Damian Robin is to remove the pretense of Tim and Dick being sidekick and mentor. it makes it easier for Dick to insist he really does see Tim as a full adult (even if he doesn't, deep down. Tim is still a fresh teenager, just because it's legal doesn't make it any less morally questionable) and something more than Robin. Dick makes a comment about them being mates so offhandedly it makes Tim stop in his tracks. Tim, who's about to go on his Red Robin arc and isolate himself, now has a chance at being mates with his hero. a chance to smooth over their differences and be actual equal partners. of course, Tim jumps on it. maybe deep down, after they mate and Dick is all too pleased with himself, it clicks for Tim that this was all a set-up. he puts the pieces together while they're cuddling in bed. he knows deep down that Dick will never *actually* see him as an equal. but, the deed is done and if Tim is going to give himself over to anyone, of course it's going to be Dick Grayson.