#king is nerd

0. I went by the name King online, but unfortunately you can’t legally make that your name, so—

1. First, I started going by a gender neutral nickname of my deadname irl

2. I was watching Steven Universe, and I liked the name Lion. Coincidentally the irl nickname means lion!

3. I started referring to myself as Lion sometimes. It felt good!

4. I somehow ended up thinking to myself “man, Leonardo from TMNT and Leo from PJO have great names. Wish I could have it. …WAIT—”

5. I named myself Leo, after those two characters. But it didn’t feel quite right as a full name—it felt more like a nickname

6. I was reading Young Justice comics, because I love my boy Conner Kent. And I thought to myself, “what if I could be part of the House of El lmao”

7. I’m not super proud of this, if I’m being honest, but uhhhh. It’s. It’s Lionel. I named myself Lionel.

Brooklynn:

I fear no monsters, for no monsters I see. Because all this time, the monster has been me — Monsters (Nikita Gill)

And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good — Easy of Eden (John Steinbeck)

Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there, I do not sleep — Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep (Mary Elizabeth Frye) [tbh this whole poem]

You are not you anymore. And you don’t know how to fix this. The worst part is…you don’t even know how to try — Trauma Steals Your Voice (Nikita Gill)

I cannot undo what I have done, I can’t un-sing a song that’s sung. And the saddest thing about my regret—I can’t forgive me and you can’t forget — A Betrayal (Lang Leav)

Darius:

Yes, I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world — The Critic as Artist (Oscar Wilde) [technically not a poem but idc]

If I should meet thee after long years, how should I greet thee?—with silence and tears — When We Two Parted (George Gordon, Lord Byron)

Ben:

I don’t feel particularly proud of myself. But when I walk alone in the woods or lie in the meadows, all is well — Letters to Friends, Family, and Editors (Franz Kafka)

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep — Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (Robert Frost)

Kenji:

This is my letter to the world that never wrote to me — this is my letter to the world (Emily Dickinson)

You know how to put yourself back together again too, just as well as they do. Take heart. You have managed to rebuild yourself a thousand times over from every bad day. That is no small thing — Notes on Survival (Nikita Gill)

Have you ever loved a rose, and watched her slowly bloom? … have you ever loved a rose, and bled against her thorns? — The Rose (Lang Leav)

I have a habit of loving people who remind me of fire — Lessons From Therapy (Nikita Gill)

Yaz:

A wounded deer leaps the highest — a wounded deer - leaps highest (Emily Dickinson)

You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering — A Farewell to Arms (Earnest Hemmingway) [again, not a poem, but idc :p]

Look at you comforting others with the words you wish to hear — William Wordsworth

People get so tired of asking you what’s wrong and you’ve run out of nothings to tell them. You’ve tried and they’ve tried, but the words just turn to ashes every time they try to leave your mouth — Trauma Steals Your Voice (Nikita Gill)

Sammy:

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in — The Death of the Hired Man (Robert Frost)

Brooklynn

LOVES LOVES LOVES LOVES DC. Has a preference for Batman related things, but she’ll read pretty much any of them!

Her favorite DC character overall is Cassandra Cain :>

She doesn’t like most Green Arrow things because she isn’t a fan of Oliver’s goatee, but she does like the CW Arrow show!

She started reading SpiderGwen/GhostSpider comics after watching Into the Spiderverse. Gwen Stacy was 100% an awakening for her lol

Huge Birds of Prey fan as well! She wants to be Babs someday :)

Also her favorite Robin is Steph 100%, followed by Damian

Ben

Blue Beetle. Specifically Jaime Reyes. No idea why he’s a Blue Beetle fan, he just gives off those vibes tbh

He also loves Superboy (both, but he has a preference for Kon), the batfam (his favorite is Duke), and the Teen Titans (favorite is Gar)!

Favorite Robin is probably Tim

Yaz

Didn’t really read much comics before Nublar, but would listen to the others rant about them

Post-Nublar, Brooklynn bought her all of the Young Justice comics (and by that I mean Brooklynn made Kenji buy her all of the Young Justice comics)

Yaz is more of a Marvel girl, but she likes DC, too!

She’s specifically a fan of Black Widow and the Flash!

Brooklynn, Ben, and Darius made her read about each of the Robins at one point—her favorite is Jason

Sammy

Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter (in order of favorites)

She likes the thought of a farm kid growing up to become a superhero :))

LOVES Cassie Sandsmark and Donna Troy

Favorite Lantern is Jessica Cruz (AS IT SHOULD BE!!)

Tbh she just generally likes aliens

Had the BIGGEST crush on Kara as a kid (probably still kinda does tbh)

Nia Nal (Dreamer) was a big part of her accepting her transgenderness when she was younger

Kenji

Kenji is a huge Superman fan and nothing will ever change my mind

He had a neglectful dad growing up, of COURSE he’d be a Superman fan! He always dreamed of being adopted by Pa and Ma Kent (the gold standard for fictional parents tbh)

Loves that Clark openly accepts and supports his bisexual sons

Also his first ever real crush was Hobie Brown

Darius

100% a Dick Grayson fan

He also loves SpiderMan!

Has all of the Young Justice comics and collectibles (his favorite is Bart Allen)

Out of nowhere

How much of a fucking nerd I am

Like goddamn