I know when it comes to shipping, people like to shrink the age-gap between certain characters and I'm all like: nah. No, don't minimize the age-gap!! The inherent power imbalance that comes with one of the pair being a good chunk older than the other can be so so delicious if done right.
Like, no, you are not in a relationship of equals!!! Maybe you can fight just as good, maybe when it comes to base-book smarts and knowledge you can go head to head, but experience is such a huge part of mental and emotional development. You can see all the signs of a subtle manipulation, but still fall face first into it because the disconnect between what you know and what you actually understand is something that must be kindled through experience.
The older one can have the best of intentions for the younger one, only have their best interests at heart, but they still have to follow through on their own laws of morality, ethics and discipline to make a relationship like that work.
JayGrant in any setting other than a High School AU has gotta have an age-gap for me.
Canonically, there's like 6-8 years between Dick and Jason (and I always go with the 8) and Grant is supposed to be about 1-3 years older than Dick (and I always go with the 3).
That's an 11 year age gap. There is no way in hell that alone isn't an inherent power imbalance. I love the little idea that Jason's death marked Grant's resurrection, so Grant would have been dead about two to three years. Physically, he'd probably be about the same age as Dick once he comes back but chronologically, he's still three years older.
And I need that to be a huge problem for Dick. He'd lose his goddamned mind. His own very complicated issues with his brother aside—thats!!! Still his baby brother!!! With Grant Wilson??? Absolutely not. Ain't nobody a bigger JayGrant hater than one Dick Grayson. He will pull out every problematic piece of information against Grant he can in order to fuel propaganda against this man.
Grant knows damn well the power he holds over Jason. I mean, anyone with decent eyes can see that Jason desperately wants someone to lead him, love him and protect him. If he wasn't so pathetically obsessed with the boy, all of Dick's biggest fears would be even more legitimate. The problem is. That Grant is so genuinely down bad for Jason its equal parts utterly endearing and absolutely embarrassing.
Like. Sir. That kid is 21. You are 32. Please get a grip on yourself. (Don't get a grip on yourself the shit thats wrong with you is so fucking funny ).
Like, Grant is the type of person to count the number of eyelashes on Jason's waterline as he's sleeping. He's that type of fucking freak. He'd be ecstatic when he realizes Jason has way more eyelashes than the average person.
Grant is the type of person to bring Jason the neatly dismembered body of one of his enemies the same way your cat might bring you a dead mouse as a token of their love.
And anyone with proper mentors in their life would see those crimson red flags a mile away and make the nearest exit. Jason, a mentally disordered, recently out of their teens young man with daddy AND big brother issues longer than the golden gate bridge, who also failingly tries to show love and affection for people through horrible actions (i.e. Brothers in Blood even though that was a lowkey shitty comic) would SWOON. He's falling head over heels so fast he's gonna give himself whiplash.
They have a Sicko4Sicko dynamic that everyone is mildly disgusted, infinitely disturbed and uncomfortably attracted to.
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