Яσвιи: Ƭнɛ βσʏ Ɯσи∂ɛя (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pixieboots) wrote2019-10-12 08:18 pm
pixieboots) wrote2019-10-12 08:18 pm
(no subject)
Name: Lyrie
Contact Info: Plurk:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
with_pins
Other Characters Played: N/A
Requested apartment: Preferably with other kids in his age group, otherwise pls randomize!
Character Name: Dick Grayson
Canon: DC Comics
Canon Point: Robin Year One #4, just after meeting Babs on the roof for the first time.
Background/History: batwiki, and another wiki
Because of DC’s sliding timeline and huge penchant for retcons Dick’s canon (and his linked history) does contradict itself on some relatively important stuff. Whether he was eight or ten or twelve when he lost his parents in particular is something that changes pretty much by origin story in post-crisis canon, and in RP I tend to lean towards playing him with a few years of history with Batman at his current canon point (as shown in stories like Dark Victory, Batman: Year Three, Legends of the Dark Knight #100, and flashbacks throughout Nightwing v1) rather than the few months implied by others.
Personality:
At twelve years old Dick is an outgoing, smart, engaging kid; a steamroller of emotions and energy that adults and kids in his own age group alike tend to be drawn to; and a good student who’d still rather be doing sets on parallel bars than buckling down with a book.
Dick fell into his parents’ shared career early, with a significant role in their acclaimed trapeze act by the time he was four. He was an only child, a doted on son with the unconditional love and support of two parents as well as a much wider network of close-knit adults working in and around the circus. Rather than rebelling or caving under the pressure of performing Dick thrived instead, feeding on the crowd’s enthusiasm and using it to fuel a furious work ethic as he grew older. His physical gifts always came naturally, but his ability to focus on goals and strategize his way to solutions on the bar took him years of work to perfect. He was trusted to pull his own weight, and given more responsibility and freedom in increments as he proved himself.
The Graysons were targeted by Tony Zucco, an extortionist who orchestrated a gruesome, fatal fall for them during a show to squeeze protection money from the circus. By chance Dick heard the whispers just before the performance that killed them, and while his concerns were initially brushed aside it was his natural persistence that carried him through the first few terrible hours and days following their deaths. It wasn’t an accident that killed them, he knew it wasn’t, and with evidence all around him that flew in the face of what the police were saying he trusted his instincts rather than authority figures. He struck out on his own several times, recklessly and without much thought to the reality of being a small child without training up against ruthless killers. He broke away from the circus, a temporary boys home, and then finally Wayne Manor in his determination to avenge his family with his own hands. It was that determination that ultimately brought him to Batman, and eventually to Robin.
The tragedy that took his parents away was the end of his career as a performer, and it easily could have been the end of the story of that happy, well-adjusted little boy too. But it wasn’t.
While it’s in Dick’s nature to evolve in the face of adversity, his desire for meaningful connections is what motivated him to accept Bruce and Alfred into his life so readily and mostly without reservations. While it was Bruce who took the first step, opening up his home and then finally all the secrets of his alter ego to help Dick survive a crushing loss, it was Dick who pushed the relationship beyond the limits they initially agreed on for the Zucco case, throwing himself eagerly into the daunting task of engaging Bruce as a friend and eventually surrogate father. There’s a part of him that’s still damaged – a part that will hurt forever for the memory of his parents, but the closure brought about by Zucco’s apprehension is the thing Dick needed to move forward with his life and thrive with some of his innocence still intact – in a way Batman never has.
Bruce is unconditionally the person Dick cares about most in the universe, but their relationship remains complicated and sometimes difficult. As twelve years old, Dick is still very much a child in desperate need of validation and unconditional affection from his father figure, and for that reason it hasn’t really occurred to him yet to question much of what Batman does or says. When Batman orders him to retire the Robin-suit for good shortly after he’s nearly beaten to death by Two-Face, Dick cries and begs for another chance – and then hangs up his suit without going out of his way to take a stand and defy him outright. It’s not until he’s run away from home and renounced Bruce as a guardian (and thus Bruce’s rules and opinions on a symbolic level) that he begins to work on his own to apprehend criminals again. Even at the best of times for both of them Bruce’s rough edges often leave him starved for praise and more deliberate expressions of affection, but he’s only once so far reached a point where his frustration outweighed his sense that Bruce needs him at his side no matter what he might say in words. In all the ways that matter he’s Dick’s partner, his best friend, his hero, and the closest thing to a father he has, and there’s nothing Dick wouldn’t do to keep him safe.
And being Robin is a role Dick thrives in, for better or worse. While his quick wisecracks and off-beat sense of humor can leave a flighty impression, his sense of responsibility for those around him never flags when he considers himself to be on the job. The lives of his loved ones sometimes depended on his ability to make catches and land flips in the circus, and it’s a sense that’s been drilled into him tenfold by Batman. He can’t miss a throw out on Gotham’s streets - not once, not ever - not if he wants to keep his partner alive. It’s a responsibility Dick internalizes without ever seeming to question the larger implications for his own life. Gotham needs Batman, and Batman needs Robin, and Dick is driven as much by his own fierce sense of justice and fairness as he is by Batman himself. And it’s fun; the costumes, the secrets, every part of being Robin to Batman. For a preteen who’s already lost everyone he ever loved once, everything Bruce has to offer – from the mansion to the cave filled with bat toys – is better than any alternative he can imagine.
Dick’s sense of justice tends to be black and white, without a lot of room for gray-leaning ideas that err outside of the sphere of what Batman himself considers acceptable. Conversely, Dick’s natural compassion and empathy for others feeds into his approach to superheroing as much as his fierce sense of fairness. We see him diving off buildings to catch falling infants and supervillains alike, and his determination to refrain from killing at all costs comes as much from an intrinsic need to see due process served as it does from Batman. While living with Shrike’s gang of underage killers in training he actively worked to prevent the other boys from taking lives unnecessarily, at the risk of his own position in the group. When he had the opportunity to take revenge on Two-Face - the man responsible for bludgeoning him nearly to death and driving a seemingly permanent wedge between Bruce and Dick - Dick struggled visibly with his anger and revulsion, with no hammer from Batman waiting in the wings to come down on him. In the end his belief in everyone’s right to a fair trial won over, and he allowed him to live with only a lingering sense of guilt that he’d let himself ever come as close to ending a life as he had.
For all that Dick is happiest with a separate, mask-free life to occupy him outside the costume, the relationship between Dick and Robin– much like the relationship between Dick and Nightwing, or even Dick and Batman - has never been complicated. As much as the practicalities of being a superhero with a secret identity often force him into half-truths and outright lies, his costume has never represented an escape from a persona that wasn’t already part of him to begin with. For his own protection and Bruce’s he cleaves hard to the idea of maintaining the secret at all costs, but in reality he hasn’t yet mastered the ability to lie continuously without guilt or mistakes. Robin is Dick and Dick is Robin, which informs a lot about the (often pretty extreme) measures he takes to keep his secret ID a secret.
Dick is an strong extravert, expressive with his hands, and tactile in how he connects with other people. In canon we see him chatting often and easily with classmates and adults alike, and he seems to build new relationships by default in almost every situation. The realities of his responsibilities as Robin can sometimes interfere however, and it’s been shown that his lack of honesty is something other people often pick up on in ways that alienate him from forming the closer bonds he might have otherwise. At school he’s targeted by bullies and teased on a regular basis, and when he’s in trouble it’s nearly always for fighting with other kids his own age. While the Teen Titans have yet to become a fixture in Dick’s life more kid sidekicks are finally starting to follow his example under the wings of other heroes, and it’s changed things for Dick to finally meet a few others like him.
Losing his parents at an early age has also left him with no shortage of abandonment issues, most of which tend to manifest around the fear that he will lose – or be declared unworthy of – the love or respect of those he cares about. He can be volatile and hot-tempered when he’s feeling threatened or alienated, and his tendency to hold himself to unattainable standards sometimes borders on pathological. Failing those he cares about – failing Bruce – is the fear that leaves him drenched in cold sweat in the wee hours of the morning. For Dick Grayson at twelve years old, this tendency hasn’t really been tempered yet with the experience and perspective that characterize him as Nightwing or Batman. He’s easier to rattle, easier to hurt, and still lacking any real ability to compartmentalize his emotions.
Abilities/Powers:
Superior Human Conditioning: Dick does not have metahuman abilities within the context of the DC universe, but for his age and size he’s at Olympic levels of fitness and able to perform at a high level athletically. He’s extremely flexible, with high endurance and speed.
Hand-to-Hand Fighting: He’s proficient in a wide variety of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat techniques, with special training on neutralizing foes bigger and stronger than he is. Because of his small size and limited upper body strength Dick works best when he’s teaming up with heavier hitters, but he’s been known to hold his own against a broad selection of thugs, psychopaths, and even highly powered metas when he’s able to edge them out on logistical smarts. He knows his way around a bo staff, escrima sticks, nunchucks, batarangs, and many other other non-lethal weapons.
Detective Abilities: Dick’s been trained in how to handle evidence, document crimes, follow leads, and conduct interviews. He’s able to assume new roles and occasionally impersonate other people to collect information, and his acting is reportedly good enough to fool even Batman, at times. With access to appropriate equipment, he's able to run simple tests on blood, dirt, and other substances that may trace evidence back to specific individuals.
Medical Skills: Dick has a solid amount of training in terms of handling medical emergencies and injuries on the field.
Languages: He’s well-traveled in Europe from his time with the circus, and fluent in at least English, Spanish, French, Romani, and possibly Russian.
Items/Weapons: The Robin-suit with utility belt, his grabble gun, and an emergency med kit.
Contact Info: Plurk:
Other Characters Played: N/A
Requested apartment: Preferably with other kids in his age group, otherwise pls randomize!
Character Name: Dick Grayson
Canon: DC Comics
Canon Point: Robin Year One #4, just after meeting Babs on the roof for the first time.
Background/History: batwiki, and another wiki
Because of DC’s sliding timeline and huge penchant for retcons Dick’s canon (and his linked history) does contradict itself on some relatively important stuff. Whether he was eight or ten or twelve when he lost his parents in particular is something that changes pretty much by origin story in post-crisis canon, and in RP I tend to lean towards playing him with a few years of history with Batman at his current canon point (as shown in stories like Dark Victory, Batman: Year Three, Legends of the Dark Knight #100, and flashbacks throughout Nightwing v1) rather than the few months implied by others.
Personality:
"It was as if color had come to our monochrome lives. No secret deathwish could survive contact with that ‘blitz of a boy,’ who always seemed to be everywhere at once. Everything changed..."
At twelve years old Dick is an outgoing, smart, engaging kid; a steamroller of emotions and energy that adults and kids in his own age group alike tend to be drawn to; and a good student who’d still rather be doing sets on parallel bars than buckling down with a book.
Dick fell into his parents’ shared career early, with a significant role in their acclaimed trapeze act by the time he was four. He was an only child, a doted on son with the unconditional love and support of two parents as well as a much wider network of close-knit adults working in and around the circus. Rather than rebelling or caving under the pressure of performing Dick thrived instead, feeding on the crowd’s enthusiasm and using it to fuel a furious work ethic as he grew older. His physical gifts always came naturally, but his ability to focus on goals and strategize his way to solutions on the bar took him years of work to perfect. He was trusted to pull his own weight, and given more responsibility and freedom in increments as he proved himself.
The Graysons were targeted by Tony Zucco, an extortionist who orchestrated a gruesome, fatal fall for them during a show to squeeze protection money from the circus. By chance Dick heard the whispers just before the performance that killed them, and while his concerns were initially brushed aside it was his natural persistence that carried him through the first few terrible hours and days following their deaths. It wasn’t an accident that killed them, he knew it wasn’t, and with evidence all around him that flew in the face of what the police were saying he trusted his instincts rather than authority figures. He struck out on his own several times, recklessly and without much thought to the reality of being a small child without training up against ruthless killers. He broke away from the circus, a temporary boys home, and then finally Wayne Manor in his determination to avenge his family with his own hands. It was that determination that ultimately brought him to Batman, and eventually to Robin.
The tragedy that took his parents away was the end of his career as a performer, and it easily could have been the end of the story of that happy, well-adjusted little boy too. But it wasn’t.
"Intuitive, quick, a little arrogant, maybe. A hothead, a risk taker. He’s brilliant, actually. A natural born showman. If you had to have one kid at your side in a fight, this is the one you’d want. The boy wonder."
While it’s in Dick’s nature to evolve in the face of adversity, his desire for meaningful connections is what motivated him to accept Bruce and Alfred into his life so readily and mostly without reservations. While it was Bruce who took the first step, opening up his home and then finally all the secrets of his alter ego to help Dick survive a crushing loss, it was Dick who pushed the relationship beyond the limits they initially agreed on for the Zucco case, throwing himself eagerly into the daunting task of engaging Bruce as a friend and eventually surrogate father. There’s a part of him that’s still damaged – a part that will hurt forever for the memory of his parents, but the closure brought about by Zucco’s apprehension is the thing Dick needed to move forward with his life and thrive with some of his innocence still intact – in a way Batman never has.
Bruce is unconditionally the person Dick cares about most in the universe, but their relationship remains complicated and sometimes difficult. As twelve years old, Dick is still very much a child in desperate need of validation and unconditional affection from his father figure, and for that reason it hasn’t really occurred to him yet to question much of what Batman does or says. When Batman orders him to retire the Robin-suit for good shortly after he’s nearly beaten to death by Two-Face, Dick cries and begs for another chance – and then hangs up his suit without going out of his way to take a stand and defy him outright. It’s not until he’s run away from home and renounced Bruce as a guardian (and thus Bruce’s rules and opinions on a symbolic level) that he begins to work on his own to apprehend criminals again. Even at the best of times for both of them Bruce’s rough edges often leave him starved for praise and more deliberate expressions of affection, but he’s only once so far reached a point where his frustration outweighed his sense that Bruce needs him at his side no matter what he might say in words. In all the ways that matter he’s Dick’s partner, his best friend, his hero, and the closest thing to a father he has, and there’s nothing Dick wouldn’t do to keep him safe.
And being Robin is a role Dick thrives in, for better or worse. While his quick wisecracks and off-beat sense of humor can leave a flighty impression, his sense of responsibility for those around him never flags when he considers himself to be on the job. The lives of his loved ones sometimes depended on his ability to make catches and land flips in the circus, and it’s a sense that’s been drilled into him tenfold by Batman. He can’t miss a throw out on Gotham’s streets - not once, not ever - not if he wants to keep his partner alive. It’s a responsibility Dick internalizes without ever seeming to question the larger implications for his own life. Gotham needs Batman, and Batman needs Robin, and Dick is driven as much by his own fierce sense of justice and fairness as he is by Batman himself. And it’s fun; the costumes, the secrets, every part of being Robin to Batman. For a preteen who’s already lost everyone he ever loved once, everything Bruce has to offer – from the mansion to the cave filled with bat toys – is better than any alternative he can imagine.
Dick’s sense of justice tends to be black and white, without a lot of room for gray-leaning ideas that err outside of the sphere of what Batman himself considers acceptable. Conversely, Dick’s natural compassion and empathy for others feeds into his approach to superheroing as much as his fierce sense of fairness. We see him diving off buildings to catch falling infants and supervillains alike, and his determination to refrain from killing at all costs comes as much from an intrinsic need to see due process served as it does from Batman. While living with Shrike’s gang of underage killers in training he actively worked to prevent the other boys from taking lives unnecessarily, at the risk of his own position in the group. When he had the opportunity to take revenge on Two-Face - the man responsible for bludgeoning him nearly to death and driving a seemingly permanent wedge between Bruce and Dick - Dick struggled visibly with his anger and revulsion, with no hammer from Batman waiting in the wings to come down on him. In the end his belief in everyone’s right to a fair trial won over, and he allowed him to live with only a lingering sense of guilt that he’d let himself ever come as close to ending a life as he had.
"As well as I profess to know the Batman, even I can't be sure what he was thinking when he agreed to assume legal custody for the orphaned boy who would be the first Robin. But I can tell you about this boy. He was fearless. He was effusive. And he was full of grace."
For all that Dick is happiest with a separate, mask-free life to occupy him outside the costume, the relationship between Dick and Robin– much like the relationship between Dick and Nightwing, or even Dick and Batman - has never been complicated. As much as the practicalities of being a superhero with a secret identity often force him into half-truths and outright lies, his costume has never represented an escape from a persona that wasn’t already part of him to begin with. For his own protection and Bruce’s he cleaves hard to the idea of maintaining the secret at all costs, but in reality he hasn’t yet mastered the ability to lie continuously without guilt or mistakes. Robin is Dick and Dick is Robin, which informs a lot about the (often pretty extreme) measures he takes to keep his secret ID a secret.
Dick is an strong extravert, expressive with his hands, and tactile in how he connects with other people. In canon we see him chatting often and easily with classmates and adults alike, and he seems to build new relationships by default in almost every situation. The realities of his responsibilities as Robin can sometimes interfere however, and it’s been shown that his lack of honesty is something other people often pick up on in ways that alienate him from forming the closer bonds he might have otherwise. At school he’s targeted by bullies and teased on a regular basis, and when he’s in trouble it’s nearly always for fighting with other kids his own age. While the Teen Titans have yet to become a fixture in Dick’s life more kid sidekicks are finally starting to follow his example under the wings of other heroes, and it’s changed things for Dick to finally meet a few others like him.
Losing his parents at an early age has also left him with no shortage of abandonment issues, most of which tend to manifest around the fear that he will lose – or be declared unworthy of – the love or respect of those he cares about. He can be volatile and hot-tempered when he’s feeling threatened or alienated, and his tendency to hold himself to unattainable standards sometimes borders on pathological. Failing those he cares about – failing Bruce – is the fear that leaves him drenched in cold sweat in the wee hours of the morning. For Dick Grayson at twelve years old, this tendency hasn’t really been tempered yet with the experience and perspective that characterize him as Nightwing or Batman. He’s easier to rattle, easier to hurt, and still lacking any real ability to compartmentalize his emotions.
Abilities/Powers:
Superior Human Conditioning: Dick does not have metahuman abilities within the context of the DC universe, but for his age and size he’s at Olympic levels of fitness and able to perform at a high level athletically. He’s extremely flexible, with high endurance and speed.
Hand-to-Hand Fighting: He’s proficient in a wide variety of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat techniques, with special training on neutralizing foes bigger and stronger than he is. Because of his small size and limited upper body strength Dick works best when he’s teaming up with heavier hitters, but he’s been known to hold his own against a broad selection of thugs, psychopaths, and even highly powered metas when he’s able to edge them out on logistical smarts. He knows his way around a bo staff, escrima sticks, nunchucks, batarangs, and many other other non-lethal weapons.
Detective Abilities: Dick’s been trained in how to handle evidence, document crimes, follow leads, and conduct interviews. He’s able to assume new roles and occasionally impersonate other people to collect information, and his acting is reportedly good enough to fool even Batman, at times. With access to appropriate equipment, he's able to run simple tests on blood, dirt, and other substances that may trace evidence back to specific individuals.
Medical Skills: Dick has a solid amount of training in terms of handling medical emergencies and injuries on the field.
Languages: He’s well-traveled in Europe from his time with the circus, and fluent in at least English, Spanish, French, Romani, and possibly Russian.
Items/Weapons: The Robin-suit with utility belt, his grabble gun, and an emergency med kit.