#manipulative dick grayson

[snakeredbirdbatkatana]

You know what I need everytime Tim or Dick lie no one catches them. Not Kon not Bruce no one.

They could say the sky is fucking purple and immediately they assume it is and god forbid they check, Oh my eyes are deceiving me.

I need Tim to walk up to Bruce say some out of pocket bullshit and across the room Dick just looks up.

The only ones who can clock each others shit is each other.

Sometimes they make a game of it they gaslight Jason so hard he thinks there's another Robin named Nibor.

Brotherly bonding by making everyone else confused and slightly terrified.

The thing is no one will ever find out no one understands their tells. They both have there own ways of making everything sound like the gods honest truth.

Nevermind the brotherly comfort or angst where someone ask if they are ok and when the I'm fine is said They know to do a bat sucide watch.

Just think big bird and baby bird gaslight gatekeep girlbossing their way to victory.

[celaenaeiln]

Dick Grayson's talent for manipulation literally brings the world to its knees.

Part 1 post

My absolute favorite trait about Dick aside from his craziness is his ability to control every single person in existence. The best part is, he's so clever in the way that he does it that people almost never notice.

Bart Allen

"Oh! Ahh..you're trying to get my DNA sample. You need my spit! Ha! That's such a Dick Grayson thing to do."

Bart knows!! Dick's brilliantly sly okay. Honey catches more flies that vinegar? He takes it so far that breaks he the ceiling with it because by the time he's done, people don't even know they've been manipulated. And if they do, then what can they do about it? He always wins.

With friends and family he does it to make them feel better without being so overt and discomforting them.

Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis

Jon came to him when he was feeling lost and upset and Dick set up the perfect conditions to encourage him and pick him up. He's just so good at doing what he's doing but he does it for all the right reasons.

But the extent Dick can go trick and manipulate someone is off the charts. A virtuoso.

In a Titans comic, Dick literally spent MONTHS acting depressed and weak after Donna, Wally, and Garth were kidnapped to another dimension by a villain just so he could trick the villain into thinking that his career was over and bring him into the same dimension so Dick could take him down.

He fooled everyone.

Teen Titans: The Silver Age TBP 2 Part #1

"Batman taught me how to be a totally convincing actor! So if the only way you could send me here with your ring was if I filled my brain with evil thoughts, I just faked it! My facial expression was pure evil-but my mind remained pure good." MONTHS.

He planned, pretended, and calculated every single fiber of his own mind and body until the whole world was fooled by his acting. He tricked an interdimensional being who had psychic access. That means he was so extraordinarily manipulative, he can control his own thoughts inside his head to trick someone else. Voldemort's legilimens has nothing on Dick's talent.

Like Bart, sometimes his allies are aware of this like with Selina-

Gotham City Sirens Issue #23

Selina's literally having a mental breakdown trying not to fall for Dick's manipulation and tricks.

But even if they know he's manipulating them, they still are forced to fall for it anyway.

Gotham City Sirens Issue #23

"Damn it."

Like a goldilocks mad scientist - he does it just right.

His acting is just so on point that he outschemes the schemer.

When the Crime Syndicate (Superwoman, Ultraman, Owlman, Power ring, etc) arrive on Earth to take it over when Dick is Batman, Dick needs to do something fast. But to make things worse, there's a being that's so powerful, that both the Crime Syndicate and Justice League combined have a snowball's chance in hell of defeating him.

So what does Dick do? He runs the game.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

"Of course he had a plan the whole time. He's Batman. He always has a plan."

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

He tricks everyone.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

And in the end, the Justice League wins and Dick saves the world.

Justice League of America (2006) Issue #52

I love how they characterized Owlman as a snake because that would make Dick a mongoose since mongoose eats snakes. And do you know what Mongoose represent in folklore? Action, adventure, boldness, fearlessness, impulsiveness, independence, optimism, rebellion, resistance, resourcefulness, speed, adaptation, agility, quickness, intelligence and wit. All characteristics that define him.

He plays the world like a chessboard, always five steps ahead.

He always has an ace hidden up his sleeve.

His thoughts are always masked behind a disarming smile.

He has mastered the art of manipulation.

And that's while he's outright fighting. His subtlety is just so seductive.

Take a look at the way he smoothly evades answering in this panel -

Grayson Issue #9

He's so smooth. She's constantly on the watch but she instantly fell head over heels for his charms in a half a heartbeat, that's just how good he is.

Grayson Issue #10

He's a master manipulator who knows exactly what to say and how to act to always end up winning.

It's seriously such a shame that one of his greatest skills and talents isn't talked about more because this man?! Flawless.

He's the spy everyone on TV wishes they could be. He's the type of spy people read about in history books and marvel at the ease, grace, and legendary story he leaves behind. He's the spy that everyone knows and dreams of in their fantasies.

Nightwing (2016)

And oh how they so are.

He can just get people to do whatever he wants.

There's a reason why Batman's only contingency plan against Nightwing is "Let's hope he fucks up." Because with his intelligence, skill, power, charisma, and raw talent - he's goddamn unstoppable.

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt:

Jason is terrified of Damian al Ghul-Wayne.

Talia dipped him in the Pit, fed him lies, put him through the worst kinds of pain possible for the sake of training and turned him into a monster that went to heel when called. A monster even Ra’s was wary of.

He’s terrified of Damian, because if his mother managed to manipulate and play him like a fiddle, then she must have taught the same to her son.

Damian, who only has memories of a catatonic Jason cooing at him, cuddling him and protecting him, is becoming progressively more distressed by Jason’s perpetual cold shoulder and skittish behavior whenever Jason sees him.

[pinkcowzz]

dick had bruce as a partner. there was a mentorship there yes, but at the end of the day dick & bruce were a team.

jason had bruce as a father. bruce took him and made the extra effort. he actually adopted jay and stayed home when jason was sick.

tim had bruce as a liability.

tim went to bruce- bruce never found him. i just really love the idea that because of the difference in dynamic, tim is one of the few people who can shame bruce into compliance so easily.

dick and bruce will get into shouting matches that neither one of them walk away from being satisfied, bruce is an unmovable object and dick is an unstoppable force. when they meet, its not pretty and there is almost always collateral damage.

jason and bruce are like setting off two firecrackers next to each other when they fight. it's loud, it's bright, but it burns off fast. the anger and righteous fury is there one moment but then gone the next.

tim and bruce fight differently, because a lot of the time, tim understands where bruce is coming from. he saw bruce start on his path to self destruction and managed to get him to switch tracks. bruce was never the same after jason's death (what parent is after seeing their child die) but batman was able to correct himself. after stepping into the role of robin, tim understood. he too lost so many people he cared about because of the weight of the cape he wore.

and i think the first time that damian and bruce go head to head, dick may be the one who comforts damian and assures him of his place in the family, but tim is the one who goes to bruce. it's the first time bruce has ever seen tim this angry. tim is seething with a fury that would put the devil himself to shame. he is so angry that he is shaking and bruce can the restraint that tim is using to keep the discussion from becoming physical. tim tells bruce, or rather lectures him, in all the ways that he has fucked up with dick ('kicking him out, never officially adopting him, forcing him to go through with the spyral mission- you treat him as your partner when its convenient but the moment it's not he is your soldier again. its unfair bruce. he's more of a man, more of a father than you have ever been'), with jason ('do i even need to say it? actually, let me address it. you cannot see the forest past the trees. jason isn't who he was before he died. he never will be. same as you. he lost a lot more than his life when the joker blew him up. he lost his innocence, he lost his faith in you. i'm starting to think he may have been right') and with himself ('i love you bruce. i have always cared so deeply about you and your mission. it's why i came to dick in the first place. but this isn't about me.').

and bruce remembers why his relationship with tim is so different. tim trained overseas, tim got to patrol on his own as robin so much sooner than his other boys did. tim was largely unsupervised during his run with the young justice. tim had made up an entire fake uncle to keep his indepence. tim would never argue with bruce about himself in this way, but he would argue about- ('this is about damian. and i swear to god bruce. if you can't pull that stick out of your ass and find a way to apologize to damian that leaves him feeling properly taken care of. superman himself wouldn't be enough to save you from my wrath.')

and it's only later, after bruce does apologize to damian in a way that leaves dick speechless. when barbra happened upon the cave's security footage that she shares with dick who shares with steph who shares with jason that his family figures out just how fitting of a last name that drake is for tim.

[blackbatcass]

donna’s inherent honesty vs dick’s tendency to be manipulative.. speak to me

[shewhowillrise]

DC x DP Prompt

Dick without knowing, can manipulate ectoplasm. While weeping at his brother’s grave, he accidentally Pygmalion’s Jason into a halfa

Edit: just realized many people might not know the myth of Pygmalion.

Basically an artist loved their statue so much it came to life.

This prompt is: Dick loves Jason so much that he willed him back to life

[nu-so]

I feel like Tim would know about Lance. Like.

Bruce and Dick don't say anything, Jason doesn't know. But Mr. stalker over here knows everything about the batfam.

So maybe Jasons arguing with bruce again on how he died as robin and tim (on like 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours) goes 'you weren't even the first one. calm your tits'

jasons demanding answers, bruce and dick want to know how he knows, and everyones kinda mad that they kept lance a secret.

it'd be cool if Lance did come back too, but he's just living his life in like. San Diego or smh as a beach body.

[evaningotham]

dick grayson: why choose between “gaslight gatekeep girlboss” and “mansplain manipulate manwhore” when you can combine them?

dick grayson: gaslight manipulate manwhore

[logophile-18]

stop apologizing for bruce wayne. especially dick grayson fans!! like, what??? guys! you're failing dick if you're seriously defending anything bruce wayne has done to his kids SPECIFICALLY for the sake of this post, dick grayson!

kidnapped him

forced him to eat RATS

slapping him

fighting him several times

literally put him back into the orphanage

spanking him on his birthday?? guys that's still a form of abuse. and whoever changes that into a kink, fuck you. sincerely. do whatever you want, but don't romanticize an older man spanking a child on his birthday

... skinny dipping?? with dick?? and a bunch of other boys???

forcing him to fake his death & not caring abt the aftermath (made dick clean it up himself, the people that mourned him never really forgave him, and it wasn't even his fault)

forcing him to dig his own grave

having sex with barbara (i know it was before they were dating, but still. he had sex with a coworker and then literally caused babs' miscarriage due to rage and stress because he fucking TOLD dick behind babs' back??)

fired him, essentially

fucking ETCETERA

listen. i love a fix-it fic as much as everyone else does--i love silly headcanons and looking at au's where bruce is a good father. but in reality, he's not. and i personally see so many bruce wayne apologists on tumblr especially that are also dick grayson fans? how? don't you guys follow canon? don't you guys know what he did to him? there's more beyond this list. there's more beyond this list.

stop defending bruce wayne. he's not a good father. not to dick but also not to any of his other "kids."

[batbusiness-schooldropout]

Jason: You gotta do it Timmiefer

Tim: No I don't

Dick: You really do. We really should've trained you for this ages ago

Tim: There is no way this dumb game can be that important

Jason: It is. Easily in the top 10 list of things you should know how to do as a Robin

Dick: We've all done it. Even Dami

Damian: That is true. It was not as awful as I thought it would be. It might even prove useful in the future.

Tim: Can't I just blackmail him? I'm really good at that

Dick: Sorry no. Hurry up. The nice coffee machine isn't getting fixed until you've done it.

Tim: 🥺 Hey Dad? Do you know why the coffee machine is broken?

Bruce: I don't but maybe you should take this as a sign to slow your caffeine consumption.

Tim: I guess you're right Dad😥

Bruce: I'll see about getting it fixed. Just try to slow down okay

[snakeredbirdbatkatana]

Tim has worked hard at least in his opinion.

Kept Batman off the deep end, rescued him from the time stream even helped to get all of the wayward sons back under dear old dad.

He keeps tabs on everyone surveillance that would make Oracle weap.

In a way he blames his mother for how he turned out she taught him that to be left blind was to be left dead.

So his big brothers little exploits into the realm of the blood suckers isn't surprising.

It is hurtful that once again he was gonna be brushed aside that Dick assumes that Tim wouldn't follow his Robin to the ends of the earth. That he wouldn't want to live by his brothers side for all of eternity.

Both Jason and Damian have already been turned they are doing a good job of hiding but none of them ever seen to remember he was a stalker first.

He watches quietly as they plot to take down Bruce he hears as they say he would have to go down too that he would never turn against Bruce.

Yes because that is all he seems to amounted to Bruce's little tag along.

Cass being turned was the last straw it was almost too easy.

A little bit of poison in coffee that Bruce took without a second thought no odor, tasteless it's league created never even shared with Damian having a working relationship with Ra's has really payed off.

He decides to take a page out of Jason's book comes to their oh so secret base with a duffle bag.

Hook.

It's funny as he walks in the shock as if they were so good he throws the bag down making eye contact with Dick the man who gave him everything and was just gonna let him rot.

"It's Bruce if you couldn't figure it out, I can't fucking believe you after everything, you didn't even try."

He can't help the tears that flow down.

"Once again compared to Jason and Damian I'm just the left overs fuck you Dick I would have done anything for you well I'm done enjoy Gotham I set it up for you don't ever speak to me again." He growls.

Line.

He turns looking each of them in the eye he sees shock, sadness, he knows how this will go he can't wait.

"Just remember I knew I could have stopped you I didn't because at the end of the day I thought you would know, that I was always your brother before Bruce's little soldier."

He leaves heading towards his bike, pounding of footsteps arms grab around him pulling him into a chest he knows better than himself.

"I never, I wasn't gonna make you choose Baby Bird I wasn't I wouldn't hurt you you saw my actual plans please Tim your my Robin."

Sinker

"I just why didn't you, I love you Dick, I'm your brother you promised me."

"We will fix this Tim, I can't thank you enough. I shouldn't have assumed, please work with us I'll make it up, you and I against the world."

"Ok"

"Let's get back in and you can explain everything you did I love you baby bird."

"I love you big bird"

Too easy.

[celaenaeiln]

One of Dick's greatest strengths is his ability to manipulate every single person in existence.

Genuinely I think this makes him the smartest person in the room. Not only is he a brilliant detective, but the fact that he's able to outmaneuver and control virtually everyone including other geniuses and masterminds makes him the most terrifying. There's a reason why his enemies have give up using intelligence against him and simply resorting to brute force.

Now hold your horses before you bring your crowbars and let me explain.

Dick once said, "On an even playing field, I always win."

And it's true. But how do you even the field if your enemies are geniuses, detectives, or metas?

"Well, if you don't like how the table is it, turn over the table."

And that's exactly what Dick does.

Let's begin from his younger years. Dick is 19, newly out of Batman's wing and in no position to take on a skilled mercenary on by himself. But the mercenary isn't going to stop just because he says please. So.

DEATHSTROKE WAS CLEARLY NOT EXPECTING TO GET OUTPLAYED BY A 19 YEAR OLD.

"You're right Slade, he's not a fool so choose a dumber kidnapping victim next time."

Ofcourse this is the least of his abilities.

This cover is perfect because it shows how two of them are literally in a constant game of chess. And evidence of Dick's tactical expertise was never more obvious than the bombing of Bludhaven.

By all means Dick had won.

And he's right. Dick is incredibly intelligent, and he has to be given how he maneuvered the entirety of the world to save him city. Not just the heroes and villains, but everyone - the heroes, the villains, the government, the civilians, the organized crime - everyone. He ruled the freaking world at that moment.

@haroldhighballjordan actually made a post about this that explains this scene so well

But yeah Slade knew he lost so in his petty vengeance what he basically did was set the whole fucking chessboard on fire.

The perfection to which Dick had calculated and moved millions of people to force Slade into abandoning their game and leave him shrieking and seething in rage over his loss. Another reminder that this game only happened because Dick manipulated Rose away from her father, away from his control to a better life.

Spyral is one of my favorite comics because it shows just how good of a manipulator Dick Grayson is.

One of Dick's coldest traits is his ability to manipulate a situation to fit his needs.

In the beginning Dick wanted to calm the meta down and take him in but the second his opponent let out the slightest hint of weakness, look how fast he flips his words. This man is brilliant.

And his planning came to fruition as the meta wore himself out, allowing Dick to take control of the situation and the opponent with no harm to himself-a quick, two second exit. He can manipulate emotions, thoughts, and people to get what he wants like he's playing chess with a child.

But it's not just other people- he can completely change himself to become a whole new person. In the earlier chapters, Dick is learning how to shoot a gun for the agency.

Dick's a terrible shot. Not a single bullet lands in the center of the target-there's no way he's ever going to shoot well....or atleast that's what he wants you to think-

"Yeah, well, that's what spies do."

"We lie."

He's a puppet master and the final boss.

part 2

[brucewaynehater101]

Nightwing AU:

Some new hero, maybe a new member of the JL, meets Nightwing. They see this charismatic young man and instantly label him as a sunshine character, much to the amusement of the Titans.

Nightwing, in 93% of his interactions with other heroes, is super friendly and nice. He's great as a leader and team player. Most heroes, especially the newer ones, gravitate towards him and trust him.

Then this new hero so happens to accompany Nightwing on a mission that goes wrong. The villain does henious, disgusting acts (either to civilians or other bats), and Nightwing's personality does a 180. No longer is the new hero in the presence of a bright and happy Nightwing.

No. Now they have to work with a man boiling in rage and anger issues who doesn't stop until his gauntlets drip in blood.

[saltytearsonmyface]

Batfam Headcannon #8

Most of Bruce’s kids don’t call him “Dad”. On special occasions they do, and it’s always sincere.

But sometimes, when they want something badly, or try to get off the hook because of something they did, they will call Bruce “daddy” in their preferred and/ or native language.

Examples:

Damian: I found this kitten in a box, abandoned. Can we please keep him, Baba?

Jason: I swear that explosion wasn’t caused by me! Papi, do you think I would cause an explosion and not be proud of it? *he totally did it, but he’s on thin ice with how many he’s caused*

Tim: No, Papa! Please give me my coffee back, it’s only the first cup today! *it’s definitely not*

Casa: *ASL* Please don’t make me go to that Gala, Daddy, please!

Dick: Tati, can you please take a break and watch a movie with me? *Bruce is hurt and needs a break, but he’ll try his damn best to spend time with his kids*

And Bruce knows what his kids are doing, but he doesn’t care because they used such a loving nickname for him. He’ll let them get away with murder anytime if they simply use it. He’s a weak man for his children’s love and affection.

P.S. I hc Tim as French. Just to make it clear bc Papa translates as “daddy” or “dad” in English. Jason used “Papi” ‘cause it’s the Spanish word for “Daddy”. Just to clear up any confusion.

P.P.S. “Papá” is Spanish for “Dad”. I love my native language, but without the accent on the a, it means potato. Accents are awesome lol.

[sadiewayne]

fuck it, i'm talking about beast world

(i have not read issue #1 yet, this is mostly a rant about tom taylor and #6, so kind of spoilers for dick in beast world)

ok, so the cover for #6 was announced and...

i'm pissed

so, firstly, this article on it made me want to cry

WHY IS THAT THE TITLE FUCK OFF

i am sick and tired of the "nightwing is a sex symbol" bc why do they keep forcing this narrative

also, this is a direct quote from tom taylor

Yes, you do get Nightwing turned into a fox because we’d be inhuman monsters not to do that. People want to see that.

do i like dick as a fox bc i like dick and i like foxes, so i am happy for that, but the fact it has been done purely for the sex symbol reason is annoying

tom taylor's run is something. there are good things about it (haley) but a lot of mis-writing of dick as a character and ignoring a lot of characterisation that has occurred aver the past 83 years. i like the limiting of his sexualisation - it is a lot less present in taylor's run than previous runs - but making dick a fox bc foxy get it bc foxy bc sexy is stupid and annoying

dick WOULD be a fox, but not because of that. he would be a fox because he is a trickster, he is manipulative (something tom taylor seems to forget half the time). this man can fool batman if he wants. this is a good enough reason for him to be a fox but no, it's because he is sexy

it also fits with the bats being canines (not damian but cat damian makes so much sense and it's close enough) with bruce and jason both being wolves. dick as a fox fits this perfectly. especially with him, bruce, and jason, the three characters that mirror each other. bruce and jason are both wolves because they are the same. they are so similar it's scary sometimes (my own opinion on them anyway. there are differences between them ofc but they are a lot more similar than they are different). dick is a fox because his is the same but different. a canine but he chose his own path, became a better version of batman. a master manipulator.

there was a perfect reasoning but it was thrown out because "let's continue the over-sexualisation of him" was the easy way out

do i think the better reasoning might end up being the actual reasoning in the comics, possibly. idk if they will dive into the reasoning tbh, i'm not holding out hope for it.

idk man, i think beast world is gonna be fun, but this just made me cry

i'm only happy bc the cover by sweeny boo is actually nice (it doesn't accentuate his ass so tysm for that bc now i don't feel bad when i use it in my nightwing widget)

also, i am not someone who hates tom taylor. ii think his writing is fine and i love superman: son of kal-el ok. he doesn't write dick badly, sometimes he just misses and that is ok. i still like the run and will still get it and read it bc i'm enjoying it ok

i just don't like the OVER-sexualisation of dick

[tarucore]

Dick with a habit of going to a new therapist under a persona, talking to them vaguely about a trauma, whatever he needs to get out at the moment, and then dumping them as soon as they tell him what he wants to hear

“You seem to be very well adjusted.”

“It’s understandable for you to respond that way given an impossible situation.”

“You are remarkably self aware.”

“I feel like you need to ask yourself how much more you are willing to sacrifice for him.”