I would argue this to be in character bc Dicks issues with consent. But there’s one big glaring issue with this perspective on Dick and that’s the years he spent as leader of the titans with Joey on the team and the way he approached Joeys power set.
Because Dick used Joeys powers - the same as deadman’s of possession - strategically and often in order to accomplish the teams goals and didn’t seem to have any moral qualms about it.
There’s a few ways to see this, right -
A) Dick's definition of "innocent" is doing a lot of work here - most of the people Dick asks Joey to posses - aren’t “innocent” they are criminals and henchmen or somewhat complicit in crimes. he doesn't like when people are possessed but he sees it as a necessary evil and he has to be practical more than moral - and so he makes a line to do with perceived innocence and sticks to it.
B) but that doesn't account for the times that Dick has asked Joey to posses people on the team or people that are not directly responsible for a crime - like when Vic gets angry and Dick asks Joey to posses him until he agrees to calm down. This is so so fucked up for so many ways - espcially to vic who at this point in the timeline is THE MOST fucked up about consent
“You haven’t given us a choice” as if this is an impersonal decision and not a revoking of bodily autonomy and ability to express emotion. No one on the team seems to see anything wrong with it except Vic (hint it’s bc they’re all fucked up about consent :))
^^ B is kind of an extension of A - the idea of "necessary" evil. It just shows that Dick is willing to stretch that definition as far as it needs to go. He may know morally what he's doing is wrong but he will not confront it because he is filling it under necessary evils. Anything can be necessary, it’s not the person to which the consent is revoked but the context in which it is.
C) another option is the Joey of it all. Dick is close to Boston, in some continuities they have an uncle-nephew relationship - Boston famously says Dick is the only guy in the superhero community everyone can trust.
But Joey is on a whole other level. Despite being introduced as Slade's son, there's something about Joey that Dick trusted from the start and maybe that bit of trust, of seeing and believing in Joeys innate kindness and struggle with his powers (as opposed to Boston enjoining it in this scene) helped Dick dimiss the lingering feelings about the morality... its Joey... Who would mind Joey in them…. (pun not intended im sorry)
D) Finally there's the time component - maybe as he grew up Dick started to refect on his past, his decisions, his role as a leader. Something that is important to note is that chronologically Dick's issues with consent really ramp up after ntt (though brother blood does happen in ntt) - him struggling w/ bodily consent and getting comments, assult, his name + story being warped, people wanting to control his destiny and identity ect. So I think it would be fair to say that as Dick matures he looks back on the decisions hes made with new eyes and is horrified with what he incidently facilitated. Maybe this newfound wisdom and self reflection is why he makes more of an effort to mention his views to Boston despite that fact that he's worked with Boston with no problem before.
Relevant Dick Grayson thoughts from the Renegade arc:
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I loved the new blurbs 🥺. Made me think of how did YN react to listening to Harry's albums. Or do they have a special traditions for the first listen to each album since his 1D days? Was she there for the ONOs?
omg hi sweet angel this has been in my inbox for weeks and as an apology i wrote u a novel i wish i was kidding
the first time happened when you were 17, hanging out in his massive flat he shared with Louis, the two of you looking at each other in disbelief every so often because "not even Gemma has her own flat" when he disappeared for a second, coming back with a mischievous glint in his eye, holding something behind his back.
"Wanna do something illegal?" he asked and your brow crinkled in confusion when he revealed the ipod he was holding, your eyes darting from the ipod to the look on his face, his eyebrows wiggling, a mix of nerves and excitement on his face.
"Oh my god," you said, hopping off the couch when realization dawned on you. "Is the single on there?"
"Yeah, 'm definitely not allowed to do this but 've been dying to know what you think so I don't really give a shit," he says, laughing when you squeal. He grabs your wrist and pulls you back to the couch, sitting next to you as he untangles the headphones, handing you an earbud. You find yourself too excited to hear the music to pay much attention to the sparks that zing through you when your hands brush. He takes a deep breath, thumb hovering over the play button, eyes rushing over your face before you just about burst.
“Oh my god play it -” you say, reaching for the ipod as he giggles, pressing play and you freeze, as the first few notes start to play, gasping when his verse comes in after Liam’s, hands coming up to cover your mouth before he quickly pulls at your wrists.
“No, don’t - want to see your face” he says, and you can’t look right at him, focusing on the music instead of his eyes burning a hole in the side of your head, feeling a blush take over your face but you’re too into the song to care, feeling like you can’t catch your breath.
It’s good, like one of those pop songs that will never leave your head. It’s bright, it’s fun, and he sounds great on it, they all do. You can’t stop the wide smile growing on your face as you bop along, feeling like you could burst with pride. This isn’t an 80s x factor cover, it’s theirs, it’s his and it’s going to be massive.
The song ends and you look over at him, the tentative look on his face like he doesn’t already know exactly how you feel about it, can’t see it written all over your face.
“You like it?”
“It’s so good. It’s so bloody catchy and you sound amazing.” you say breathlessly and he huffs a laugh, shaking his head a bit as a blush grows on his cheeks. “I think it’s going to be massive.”
“Does it make me a huge dick to say I think so too?”
“Yes” you say without hesitation and he tilts his head back, roaring with laughter and you’re helpless to do anything but join in.
“Play it again,” you say, once your laughter dies down, the two of you wiping tears from your eyes and he smiles at you, big and radiant and presses play.
That’s your best mate and he’s going to be on the bloody radio, he’s going to be bigger than radio, they’re going to be everywhere, the song too catchy to deny them that level of success, of fame. Everything’s going to change but right now, you can’t bring yourself to think about all the negatives, only how exciting it is to watch the person you love most be on the precipice of having all their dreams come true.
It becomes a tradition from then on, no matter where the world takes him, he always finds a way to you a few months before the album comes out, the ipod sometimes just sound files on his phone, cheeky smirk on his face as he asks “Wanna do something illegal?”. Sometimes you’re even let into the recording process, though you don’t care to spend too much time with the 30 year olds he writes songs with. He sits quietly while you listen to the full albums then demands you list your favorites, smile breaking through in 2013 when you immediately list “Happily”, smile transforming his face as he, absolutely chuffed, tells you “I wrote that one” to which you immediately punch him, wondering why he didn’t tell you, what he would’ve done if you said you hated it and he just shrugged and said completely deadpan “Would’ve cried.”
His schedule ramps up in the years that follow, becoming much more draining, the bags under his eyes darker than usual but he still finds time to text you from across the world, “Wanna do something illegal?” and you quickly run into a private study room to answer his facetime as he plays you his favorite tracks, the ones he’s most proud of, his eyes never leaving your face.
In early 2017, he shows up unannounced on your doorstep, nervously spinning his keys in his hand, adjusting the cap on his head as he asks if you want to go for a long drive. You’re about an hour in, the city far in your rearview, talking about everything and nothing when he turns the radio down with shaky hands, clearing his throat before he says:
“Wanna do something illegal?”
“Are you serious?” you ask, voice barely above a whisper, heart thundering in your chest. “The first single or -?”
“The whole thing. Need y’ to be one of the first to hear all of it.” he says, looking the most nervous he ever has during one of these. “It’s - ‘s different than the stuff I made with the boys ‘nd I need -”
“Oh my god, just play it!!!” you say.
He refuses to pull off the winding road, no one around for miles, claiming he’s too nervous to sit there and just stare at your reaction so he presses play, eyes constantly darting over to look at you.
You’re overwhelmed, emotions swirling through you as his voice comes through the speakers, sounded stronger than ever before, more emotional, more grown up, more everything. You reach out to clutch his bicep when he starts hitting the high notes at the end of sign of the times, neither of you acknowledging the fact that you don’t let go until several songs later, the look on his face as you rave in your debrief making you feel like you’re on fire.
It’s far different the next time, you’re different, your friendship is different, more distance between you than ever before as you try your best to make yourself forget these feelings you’ve felt for him since you were fifteen because he was engaged now and they would never be reciprocated. Despite your best efforts, you still felt your stomach sink in disappointment when instead of his usual text you get an evite to an album listening party with his family and mates, no longer a tradition the two of you can have solo, not when he’s got a fiance he’s singing about.
You seriously consider skipping out, knowing it will cause you more pain than anything else but even despite all this distance and weirdness between you, you still show up, not ready to give up on tradition even though this is different than usual years, opting to hang around his family, making small talk conversation with him when you cross his path, despite his best efforts to engage you in more. At one point, he lets out a deep huff of frustration and grabs you by the elbow, pulling you off to the far corner of the studio.
“‘M sorry this isn’t - ,” he starts to say before Jeff takes command of the room, inviting everyone to take their seats. You offer him a small smile and take your seat next to Gemma, doing your best to maintain a game face once the album starts to play, trying not to let anyone see how much your heart is breaking, feeling every time his eyes land on your face but not daring to look up, not trusting what you would do if you looked over to see him with an arm around her waist, her hands clasped onto his forearm, massive diamond ring gleaming in the light.
Once the final song plays you’re out of there, saying quick goodbyes as you head out, not able to stay for a debrief, not willing to talk about those songs, how they’re the best he’s ever done, how it doesn’t matter much that you think that, how they’ll never be about you. Feeling like your pathetic twenty year old self again, barely able to see straight as you beeline for the tube, not stopping for a second, completely missing the way his voice called after you. If he can break tradition, so can you. He’s got a room full of people who love him, he doesn’t need you.
A year and a half later, you’re woken up with a soft shake and kisses on your cheek.
“Baby” you hear as you blink yourself away, trying to reorient yourself in the surroundings. “Sorry to wake you, know it’s late -”
“What time is it?” you slur out, still halfway between asleep and awake.
“Half past one,” he says, laughing when you grunt and try to roll over. “I know baby but do y’-”
He takes a deep breath, kissing your cheek as he rubs his arms down your sides, you can feel the mattress sink from where he sits down next to you.
“Wanna do something illegal?” he asks and your eyes shoot open as he huffs a laugh against your skin.
“You’re serious?” you ask, “It’s done?”
He nods, tired eyes gleaming as he stares at you, brushing a knuckle down your cheek.
“Want y’ to be the first to hear it.”
You immediately wrap your arms around his neck, holding tight murmuring about how proud you are in his ear before you pull away. He kisses you slowly and after some time you make your way down to the studio, settling in on the couch while he sits behind the mixer turning his chair towards you as he presses play, delighting in your every reaction, particularly when you gasp “I said that to you while you were inside me and you put it in a song?!” At some point he comes over, laying your feet on his lap squeezing every so often, eyes never leaving your face.
“Wrote this one about you years ago,” he murmurs softly, chuckling when you shake your head in disbelief. “You’ve always been on my mind.”
And this time, when the traditional debrief ends with the two of you wrapped up in each other, the album playing in the background, barely making noise over your gasps, well…some traditions were meant to change.
--
You were absolutely at the ONOs, typically you’d only attend the London one but he was about to burst out of his skin with anxiety so you made the trip to NYC, surprising him at his flat, the look on his face making you all instantly forget your jetlag as he wrapped his arms around you, mumbling thank yous into your hair. The two of you prided yourselves on your privacy and subtlety, how you’ve learned to move through public spaces together but these shows were a bit of an exception, the way he kept locking eyes with you, singing certain lyrics to you and you alone though the crowd was none the wiser as he turned back to them, relishing in their adoration, the way they knew every word despite the album coming out only hours before. They felt like the tip of the iceberg, the reactions he was getting unlike anything you've ever seen and it felt like you were back in that london flat in 2011 all over again, watching the love of your life on the precipice of having all of his dreams come true. it felt bigger this time, somehow. never imagining just how much his life and, in turn yours, was going to change over the next year, never knowing how big it could truly get. only knowing you were along for the ride, determined to be by his side no matter what.
--
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