Richard "Dick" Grayson | Nightwing | Batman

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Your Nickname: Alex! Again!
OOC Journal: reignsdown
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Email/IM: reignsdown (gmail/plurk/aim)
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Character Information
Name: Richard John "Dick" Grayson / Nightwing
Name of Canon: Nightwing (DC; character series branched out from Batman)
Canon/AU/Other Game CR: Canon
Reference: Dick Grayson
Canon Point: End of Nightwing #38; on the mend in body and maybe with Babs -- SUDDENLY, SACROSANCT

Setting:
This is Earth. Sure, we've all heard that one before, same as we've heard the story about superheroes fighting to defend our rights against mobsters, Mafioso, and meanies from all walks of life. Toss in the occasional league of heroes, a few conglomerations of villains, and some social commentary about what drives people and civilisation to the brink of self-destruction and you? Have the grounds for your basic comic universe.

That's the start of where Dick Grayson comes from, where this dude called Superman flies in the sky and represents peace, justice, and the American dream. There are super humans and aliens that fight side-by-side, representing good, evil, and even neutrality. The abnormal is quite normal, and it comes about by industrial accidents, extraterrestrial birthrights, and mystical willpower attached to a Crackerjack ring. The world gets endangered and saved every week or so, and it all happens under the front of dozens donning colourful uniforms and ridiculous names to uphold whatever crusade for rights they have decided to represent.

Man, pretty snazzy! Or, so you think.

The thing is, life's not so awesome for the people that aren't supercharged with radiation, speed force, or a word from our sponsers. You'd think that a world jampacked with things like the Justice League and Teen Titans, the sidekick variation, would be pretty just, but reality is, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For every superhero, there is a supervillain. Crime is, ridiculously enough, on the rise, as though the criminals actually believe that the greater their population and incidence, the greater that chance that some of them might get away with it.

There are two cities in this world that actually prove that theory true.

Take Gotham City first. Permanently lodged in the film noir era, it is a city deeply rooted in traditions - the first and foremost being one of crime. In Gotham, corruption starts from the ground up, beginning with the petty thugs and filtering up through the lieutenants, the bosses, the villains, and generally petering out somewhere in the lower echelons of the police force. The problem is, there are a lot of people at the bottom rung of this and they do a damn fine job of keeping the crime rate high.

Then there's Bludhaven, which is sister city to Gotham and stands more modernly than her dark counterpart. Thing is, the corruption here starts from the top and filters down; the mayor is corrupt, same as the police, and bleeds out from there. Honesty is never the best policy around there, and trying it will generally get you killed. The crime rate is technically leaps and bounds ahead of Gotham's, but with a police force that doesn't make a habit of arresting criminals, pressing charges, or submitting its problems to national scrutiny, there's no reliable measure of it.

Two cities, two examples of the model that more crime means more success - hey, if you keep throwing beer bottles in the ocean, eventually the dolphins will be alcoholics. They are proof that a world of superheroes still has its problems, especially as there are no superheroes defending what's right here.

Gotham City is where this world introduced the concept of vigilantism - a key concept to Dick. You see, crime in Gotham is fought by the police, but for those villains that keep evading, or the ones working where the cops can't see, there's a self-styled crime-fighter named Batman that sweeps up the mess and takes out the trash.

Who is Batman? To start, he's this guy that wanders around Gotham City in the dark of night, dressed like a bat enthusiast. Officially, only a handful know that he happens to be a ridiculously rich philanthropist playboy by the name of Bruce Wayne (Tony Stark, eat your heart out). Criminals know and fear him as the Dark Knight, or that dude who breaks up all their crime rings. He's been doing it for years and has a reputation that precedes him. Over time, he's even had partners (Robins one, two, and three; Batgirl; to name a few) in his vigilante ways, along with the trust of the police chief.

The big thing is that this guy's a normal human, not even one bitten by a radioactive bat. What drives him is not some deep, alien purpose, but a deeply rooted obsession for vengeance inspired by the death of his parents. Because, in Gotham? It's tradition for all vigilantes to be inspired by the traumatic death of their parents (Dick fits this mould, since his parents died in a traumatic accident).

Actually, Dick fits the vigilante role in a lot of ways and the role of vigilante is actually how he fits into this universe. Batman's first Robin happened to be no more than tiny, baby (well, twelve year old) Dick Grayson, the ward of Bruce Wayne and the first partner of Gotham's most angst-ridden, justice-obsessed detective. Trained by the Dark Knight himself (man, are you getting tired of the pseudonyms for Bats too?), he's arguably one of the best non-super heroes that this world has on offer.

That'd explain why he's kept up the role into his twenties, taking on the identity of Nightwing and taking over the protection of Bludhaven.

Personality:

You'd think that watching your family die horribly in some entirely preventable accident would leave a man terrible scarred, traumatised, and entirely too downtrodden by survivor's guilt to do more than brood dramatically and take his quest for vengeance to the streets of Gotham. And, hey, you'd be right! ...if this was Batman.

Nothing against Bruce Wayne's coping skills, but Dick Grayson went another route when he watched his parents - the Flying Graysons - fall from the trapeze and die in the centre of the circus and it's more than in part due to Bruce that he did so. Broken with grief and tossed into a troubled system, it took being taken in as his ward and, ultimately, given the chance to act as partner to Batman, that let him come out infinitely less troubled by his psychological scars.

The support that he received in Wayne Manor and the entirely platonic, legal love that he was exposed to which allowed Dick to grow as a person and not be consumed by the darkness. All things said and done, he actually came out as a pretty nice guy. Not even a nice guy so much as the nice guy - you know, the one that everyone goes to for advice, help, or just a chill afternoon of hangouts?

Dick is not half the dick his name implies and his years fighting crime - first as Robin and then as Nightwing - have not jaded him to the degree you'd expect after seeing death, depravity, and degenerates every non-school night. Give him a hobo asking for money and he'll give them a fifty, tell them to use it to clean up and show up the next day, then help them find a job. Tell him his landlady and all the nice tenants in the building he lives in are going to be evicted due to greed and corruption? He'll buy the building using his trust fund, then allow them to stay at lower-than-market-value rents. He genuinely wants to help people, but it's all about having them help themselves in the end. This is no doormat laid out for your abuse; he wants to help, but there has to be some effort, or some way that his effort will make a difference.

Because that's what he's about: Making a difference. Why else would he spend eight hours a night prowling Bludhaven, dispensing justice and upholding laws in ways that will get him shot at, ridiculed, and otherwise targeted? Being Nightwing is not only a thankless job, it's a downright dangerous one and he knows it, but that makes him all the more determined to make sure that there's no future little Dick Graysons to be deprived of parents and left alone in the world, maybe not so lucky as to get a benefactor as sincere as Bruce was.

It takes determination to suit up and be out there every night and he has that in spades. Defeatism is not in his vocabulary, and there's a certain stubbornness that has had Dick bite off more than he can chew - see: his decision to take on the protection of Bludhaven as a single agent, separate from the Batfamily. This is the guy that gets back up when he falls, and bounces back up when you push him. Say no? He'll find a way to make you say yes. There is no feat too large for him, a perception that's led him to be at odds with his mentor.

Yes, at odds. Being raised as the ward of Bruce Wayne and Batman did not an entirely complicit Dick make. There are rules and laws, both of which he carries a healthy respect for, but he also knows how to circumnavigate them without trespassing the wrong side of the law. He grew into his own person, not a sidekick, and all that Robin, his first crimefighting persona, could ever be is a sidekick. That's why he became Nightwing; it took years of trying to impress Bruce, being all that he could be for bits of praise, before he could realise that and become his own person - the one that put him at odds with Batman's expectations.

Oh, he did not refute them entirely. Like his mentor, Dick believes wholeheartedly that people need the chance to reform and that killing the repeat offender will only drag him down a dark path. He has a strong moral code that he will not deviate from, and he considers any vigilante that breaks that code to be no better than the criminals they fight. They may not be corrupt to the core, but they must atone for their crimes; he is not above this either. Later, past his canon point, Dick Grayson actually turns himself in as an accomplice to murder for his role in the death of Blockbuster, the very man that he came to Bludhaven to stop.

However complicit to that code he is, he did come to realise that he could not forever be in Batman's shadow - indeed, he initially thought that his work as Robin would inherit him the title at some point and was offended when Bruce initially selected another person to be Batman in his place. Dick has independence and a strength of self that made him capable of both teamwork and leadership (see his time as a Teen Titan), but also of working on his own, taking on the same form of role as Batman, though one of unique identity.

Dick may have had arguments with Batman and Bruce Wayne over the years, but he retains respect for him and many others, Superman included. Prove yourself an inherently good person, and he will acknowledge that - maybe because proto-daddy failed in the compliment department. Have any degree of skill or strength and he'll respect that. This is not a dick-slapping contest (please, he gets beaten up enough with his night job) and he's not out to be king of the mountain, just to be Nightwing and see that crime does not pay.

To the contrary, tell him he's made a positive difference and you will make Dick Grayson's day. Sure, he's a strong and independent type, but the lack of parents left something of a gap in his life that the emotionally-restrained Bruce Wayne could not fill. Praise, feedback, or insights; give them to Dick and he will love you forever. Without them, he can be painfully self-critical and will spend his time steeling himself for criticism wherever he might have fallen short.

That said, Dick is one of the most trustworthy people you could ever meet, second only to Superman. Genuine and dedicated, he's not about lying or snitching on people; he plays it straight and tends to expect the same, unless it's about facing down the other side of the law. Experience there has taught him to be cautious with trust.

This all makes him sound super-serious, but Batman has the trademark on that. Dick knows when to be serious, but when to kick back, make a hilarious quip, insert a pun, or just have fun. This is a guy in his mid-twenties, out to face the world without having a mental breakdown and he's pretty sorted for that. A suave smartass, he can charm and jest with the best of them; this has bled less and less into his Nightwing persona as time wears on, but Dick Grayson is not going to throw in the smile towel just yet. It's around friends, in particular, that he's the most goofy, but remember that nice guy? He comes out here, with a kind word or a helping hand to just about anyone that crosses his path.

Oh, yeah, and that kind word? It turns into many. Dick's likened himself as the talker among writers, otherwise known as the chatty party member. Life's taught him his limits and he plays within them, but when the job doesn't call for complete silence? He'll chat it up and the topics vary into a wide spectrum the longer you know him and the more he considers you his friend.

Short someone to chat with and Dick will turn it to himself. He talks his way through things, dissecting the options and finding the right reaction - and, man, can he do it fast. When his line snapped some sixty stories up, he used his thoughts as a way to supress panic and fear, working his way through the cause-and-effect of a half-dozen options as he plummeted at terminal velocity. In the middle of high-adrenaline situations, he keeps that ability to think - assessing and re-assessing every new detail so that very little can take him by surprise.

Abilities, Weaknesses, and Power Limitation Suggestions:
so I herd u liek cirkus trix
What a coincidence, so does he! Dick Grayson somersaulted out of the womb, learned to walk on the ol' highwire, and had his first date on the trapeze - or so you'd think, by the way this guy flips, flaps, and otherwise contorts his body in ways that defy the mind. Widely held as one of the most acrobatic characters in the DC comic continuity, he uses every circus trick and every gymnastic move to execute his daring Nightwing stunts. He's got an amazing sense of balance and incredible flexibility that allows him to combat thugs and traverse the rooftops of Bludhaven without breaking a sweat. This guy would take home all the Olympic gymnastics gold medals if given the chance.

thug-beating 101
Batman taught him this and Nightwing could go on to teach the course himself. Martial arts, endurance training, and strength training have come together into a more-than-capable fighting machine. He thrives against multiple opponents and considers a room full of goons to be hardly an effort, wouldn't even make him break a sweat! Give him a more skilled opponent and he'll be careful, but also employ more tricks. It's about winning the fight and killing NONE OF THE VILLAINS, so a bit of playing dirty is gonna be forgiven in the grand scheme of things.

elementary, my dear nightwing
Grow up in the shadow of Batman, groomed to be Robin and intending to be the bat one day? You pick up the skills required to investigate crime without the assistance of things like, say, the police. In fact, you become remarkably better at it than many a trained officer. Nightwing's detective skills are nowhere near Batman's, but he can deduce his way through most crimes and distinguish a cop from a mobster simply by their choice of execution. (Please, the landfill? He might as well put cement boots on him and tossed him in the bay.)

the boyiest of boy scouts
Be prepared does not cover what Dick does to make sure he gets through a night of surveillance or ends a crime spree. Hot soup to stave off the cold? Check! Voice-activated recorders in every thug-friendly joint this side of Bludhaven to capture incriminating conversations? Got it! It pays to be ready and he tries his best to raise it to an artform. Whether he knows that things may go down or if he just wants to protect his apartment from burglars, he's got a practised knack at anticipating what the run-of-the-mill thug will try and aims to be prepared.

sleep? what am sleep?
Work an eight hour day in a bar, put in eight hours of crimefighting as Nightwing, and have a social life? Dick does all this, but at the expense of sleep. Catnaps are his best friend, but he's good at psyching himself to stay awake during the long nights and even longer days that accompany his lifestyle. Batman is said to get three hours of sleep in two days during a slow time and Nightwing will give no less.

Inventory:
Dick comes underequipped, as far as your standard Nightwing goes. Just prior to being Sacrosancted, he wore his armoured, otherwise skintight black pants of his Nightwing costume and a Barbara Gordon. He arrives sans-Babs, but otherwise intact. Tucked into the pants was his mask, a black, bird-like accessory with polarised lenses.

That's right! He comes with none of his toys and can be expected to haunt the Junkyard and job boards to get up the supplies and capital to amend this. Since he also comes weak and on the mend from sickness and injury, it might be a while before he gets up that momentum.

Appearance: 001 | 002 (aka: dat ass)

What's that in the sky? Is it a bird? A plane? Nope. It's Nightwing's ass - considered to be fairly appealing, it's generally the part of him most observed by the ground-dwelling during his rooftop adventures. That defining feature aside (this just in: Nightwing's secret identity revealed by comparing assprints), Dick Grayson is the boy next door. Attractive and well-built, he stands around 5'10" and is a bundle of lithe muscle. His hair is dark and relatively short, having recently been trimmed during a fight with some of Bludhaven's costumed criminals (his ponytail is gone; mourning to commence at two).

Age: 23~25; Dick is referred to as the Twenty-Something Wonder by Oracle for good reason.

OC/AU Justification
If AU, How is Your Version Different From Canon, and How Will That Come Across? N/A
If OC, Did You Run Your Character Through a Mary-Sue Litmus Test? N/A
And What Did You Score? N/A

Samples
Log Sample:

Love was like dynamite, exploding inside his head at the touch of her lips. She'd come too close and that lost them both in the moment; he suddenly had her in his arms, supporting her while she held him the way they could be - should be, if you asked him and if she agreed. An alarm sounded in the background that he ignored, too busy with the exhilaration that coursed through him, almost tearing him apart.

Too much, way too much; his senses were whelmed, then overwhelmed. Everything vanished and he felt on cloud nine, but he could live with that if it meant Babs.

Wait.

Reality smacked back, dragging him with it, but he was no longer sitting on a stool in her bathroom. Dick felt gravity plunge him downwards and he reacted, assessing the sudden fall in Gotham knew where. Twenty, maybe thirty feet to go; he saw scrap metal, some recognisable as part of something and some not. That was going to hurt, but he let his reflexes kick in, twisting in midair to come down on the pile with his guiding the fall, tucking in with his body for the roll, then pushing out to leap down what remained.

Pain came standard with the job and he shrugged off what bounded with the metal that nipped at his hands and feet. The vertigo that slammed into him? Not so much, but he staggered only a few steps at the bottom of the heap until it passed. Babs had electric lips, no doubt about it; that, and he was still weak from being the Blackgate punching bag with the year's worst headcold.

Dick shook it off and pulled out his mask, pressing it against his face until it held; another reflex, this one to protect his identity when things went weird. He couldn't lament too long; time to focus and assess. The chill in the air made him think of Victor Fries - if it plunged another twenty degrees, maybe. No Babs to warm him up, no sign of her at all; that troubled him more than he'd admit aloud. Debris everywhere, but mostly metal; it lacked the concrete graveyard that Gotham had been turned into after the quake. Bludhaven had its share of ugly days, but he'd seen it recent enough to know --

"Welcome to Sacrosanct. Please watch your step."

Dick grinned at the voice and turned to face... nothing. After growing up with Batman, randomly disappearing voices were nothing new to him and he shrugged. "You were just a bit late on the last part," he pointed out, looking around. Could be a pre-recorded message, or could be that the speaker was still around - maybe he could lure someone out. "You got a name, or are we going to have to play twenty-questions? I'm game."

Network Sample:

[audio]
This is a pretty sweet deal.

[Meet Nightwing's voice, all smooth and respectfully in awe.]

Looks like it's got extended battery performance. Gonna be perfect for those long nights spent on the city rooftops. If this place can be called a city.

[Audio truncates into a quick video of Bludhaven's not-so-caped crusader; Nightwing is wearing his mask, but that doesn't hide his appreciative glee or the low whistle to match. Immediately after, it switches to text.]

Three types of input and output? Be still my beating heart.

[Audio comes back online a second later.]

The do-it-yourself encryption's neat. Bet you could listen in on some thug's plans and have half a dozen conversations going at the same time - and no one the wiser. I could use a dozen of these back home.

[This? This is not disappointment by any means. The exact opposite: Nightwing is enjoying all the treats that Sacrosanct has to offer.]

Toys aside, you could do me a favour and direct me to the big guy on campus. No disrespect to computers, but my experience is that there's usually someone behind the scenes running every "smart" AI.

[Come on, who hasn't seen and learned from the Wizard of Oz?]