“  i  know  i  said  superman  but  i  raise  you  wonder  woman  .  i  think  she  is  the  standard  .  ”  a  woman  that  can  not  only  kick  ass  but  comes  from  a  lineage  of  warrior  women  ?  now  that  is  something  cassandra  can  get  behind  .  “ i’m  only  returning  the  energy  you  give  me  ,  dick  .  ”  smiles  cheekily  .  “  i’m  inclined  to  say  batman  but  he’s  got  a  little  bit  of  an  ego  ,  y’know  ?  especially  if  he  finds  out  we  said  superman  and  then  changed  our  minds  .  ”

“ah right!” he nods approvingly immediately, easily deciding that there would be no objections to that declaration. in fact, it is probably something that everyone would and should agree upon.  “wonder woman’s remarkable. never not impressive.” having known the superhero since when he was still robin, dick thinks he would have more good things to say about her than not. “ha, i think b wouldn’t even bat an eye if we decided it'd be him. man doesn’t know how to take a compliment sometimes.” and then he’s straightening a little, putting on a serious face for his best bruce wayne interpretation: “he would be like ‘hm’ even if we tell him he’s the best superhero.” a grin flashes then; it’s always fun to make fun of the man. 

"no, no. because whatever's in these drinks? fuckin' magic. or something like that. these asgardians are definitely onto something."

“right?” taking another appreciate hum of his drink with a name that he could barely remember or pronounce, he holds it up to eye level as if that would give him a clue on what is exactly in it. “do you think we could replicate one of these back home? oh wait, does asgard have plants--or seasonings--or whatever it is that couldn’t be found on earth?” 

CHRIS EVANS as STEVE ROGERS Captain America: Civil War (2016)

NIGHTWING (2016) #79

        "no. listen. i have a theory, okay?" and if she was the human version of a meme, it'd certainly be the man who looked like he got no sleep, with messy hair, in front of a red string murder board. except, this is about purple. "it all comes back to blondie." taylor swift. she's talking about taylor swift. again. "lavender haze. midnights. speak now! do i need to say more!?" yeah, yeah she really does. "and no one wants to drink blue lemonade. except, like, a 12 year old demi-god."

"i'm starting to have a feeling," he starts, head tilting in a rather curious manner, amusement lacing his tone as his eyes narrow ever so slightly at the other, "that the next thing you're gonna say is we should use the bat-computer to get taylor swift concert tickets." not that he would blame her, really. but that's not the point here, and the way the conversation is flowing already has his shoulders up and down a little, a visible attempt in trying not to laugh. "the 12 year old demi-god has taste then. and please stop the blue lemonade slander. it's fun, it's cool, and it's summer-y!"

          “as fun as trauma bonding sounds, i don’t think you could handle it, grayson.” nor does she really have the want to give away her tragic backstory. that’s for a level 23 friendship. dick is barely in his teens levels. lorna shakes her head, crinkling her nose, the distaste on her face not making a singular movement. “you have the palette of a teenager,” she informs him, bringing her own dark drink to her lips, humming happily. 

“oh, you have no idea.” he laughs, shaking his head a little. trauma very much runs in the family, and he is sure none of them that end up on this particular path of theirs would make it out safe without having a tragic backstory or two. “i can be a pretty good listener, just so you know. feel free to call me up anytime you need a free therapist.” dick offers, lifting a shoulder in an innocent shrug. taking a half suspicious glance at her drink, he has to admit he’s starting to get curious on what sort of evil would it even taste like. “and yours looks like it’s made of poison. i’d rather settle with gummy bears.” 

          “  if  it’s  not  superman  ,  i  will  be  very  disappointed  .  ”  cassandra  comments  with  a  deadpan  expression  .  the  bat  moves  to  plop  down  next  to  her  adoptive  brother  ,  wiping  a  bead  of  sweat  that  trickles  down  the  side  of  her  temple  .  “  you’re  kinda  stuck  with  me  now  but  sure  ,  let’s  go  with  that  .  an  end  of  a  friendship  .  ”

“superman should be out of the question,” dick declares rather firmly, the hint of playfulness still visible in his grin. “he’s like, the standard.” there’s a long line of superheroes that he respects and admires, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to to say the man of steel sits on the top of the list. “now come on, don’t be dramatic,” he teases, fully aware that he was the one who started being dramatic first. “we could always repair our friendship by settling with batman as the final conclusion. bet he’d be pleased too.” he doubts the caped crusader would even bat an eye to this debate, but dick likes to think he knows the man well enough sometimes. “two birds one stone.” 

           "you’ve got a black eye blooming. have you considered concealer and color correction?“ and stephanie brown is a lot of things, seriousness not being one of them. unless it’s a life and death kinda situation. "i was thinking of just staring until you broke down in tears, actually. does this mean you’re buying dinner, then?” steph asks, her shit-eating grin making the appearance it always did around dick.

“ha! if i had two black eyes then i wouldn’t even need a domino mask anymore, right?” must be a trait that runs in the family to downplay injuries, but really, dick has suffered worse. “what does this even have to do with dinner?” the way stephanie’s mind works does astonish him from time to time, not that he’s not fond of it. “and no— i only have enough for a...” he starts to fish out a few dollar bills from his pocket, “for another bubble tea. the one i’m drinking now is pretty great.” its taste just perfect enough to temporarily forget about a black eye.  

favorite comic book character: four artists → rick leonardi