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So, after telling you about this fantastic character, I'm going to describe another important decisive factor.
That is his love life.
Now, before I start talking about this, I would first like to point out a very important fact.
All the statements that I will state below are purely personal opinions that you may or may not share.
Now that I have given you this little warning, we can begin.
It is common knowledge that the women who have been Dick's most famous girlfriends are mainly two: Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl I aka Oracle and Starfire.
Now, I am aware of the fact that the fandom is practically divided in two, fighting with each other to decide which of the two women is better for Grayson.
Do you want to know which of the two of them I like best for Nightwing?
Here's your answer.
Neither of them.
Yep, you read that right.
Kory and Barbara have never liked me as characters and the reason why I can't tell you exactly and precisely. I have always had a particular hate for the two women that has always set me apart from the crowd, and it doesn't matter to me all that much.
Personally speaking, I feel that neither Starfire nor Barbara deserve Dick's love. Barbara, in some comics, has been a total bitch to poor Richard (and sometimes Barbara even disrespects Dick's boundaries, as happens in the early issues of Nightwing and Chuck Dixon's Birds of Prey) and my hatred born with me toward her has only increased.
I feel like their relationship is kind of toxic and unhealthy for both of them.
Whereas as far as Starfire is concerned, and I'll make it clear right away that I never liked her character (as did Barbara's for that matter), my hatred of her skyrocketed beyond the stars when the fateful episode between Dick Grayson and Mirage happened.
That is, where Mirage disguises herself as Kory and she sleeps with Dick, making him think she is Starfire.
If that is not rape I am Santa Claus.
And Starfire's first reaction was to blame Dick for not recognizing the difference between the real Kory and the fake Kory.
So yes.
Kory blamed Dick for being raped.
Inhale.
Exhale.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back, and the least redemption Kory could have, again personally speaking, was thrown into a volcano.
Now, I know that Kory's reaction is completely out of character and that she would never have reacted this way and that she was very poorly written. However, every time I see and hear Starfire's name the first thing I think of is her reaction to it and every time I feel like Kory should be light years away from Dick.
Overreaction, I admit, but I can't help it.
I open a small parenthesis.
I fucking hate how DC keeps sexualizing Dick Grayson as if he is just a fucking five-cent object. If I think of sexual objectification my mind flies straight to Nightwing aka my favorite character in comic book history.
So you can understand how fucking angry I am.
No one is talking or saying anything about it just because the character is male: if it had happened to a female character now DC would have closed its doors by now (I specify that in both cases the thing is wrong and one case is not worse than the other: both are equally serious and just disgusting).
Dick was raped two fucking times and DC in both cases pretended that this never happened, he was sexually assaulted in various other ways multiple times and he was sexually harassed literally more times than I can count.
Thank you DC. I love you too.
Every once in a while a joke about Dick's butt may fit but after a while it really bugs the crap out of me.
So much so that canonically some characters (if I'm not mistaken one of them was Midnighter but I could be wrong) recognized him by his butt.
Inhale.
Exhale.
This is completely disgusting and serious action must be taken because this cannot continue.
And for the love of all that is holy when the hell is DC going to decide between Kory and Barbara for Dick?
Although I don't like either Kory or Barbara, I am aware that they are Dick's main love relationships but DC can't make up its mind between the two of them! The more they stretch the issue the more poor Dick's character will be ruined (indeed, sometimes it has already happened) because of some writers portraying him as a total idiot who can't decide between two women!
Inhale.
Exhale.
Sorry for the outburst but this definitely needed to be discussed.
Back to the main topic.
So basically, I don't like the Dick/Kory and Dick/Babs couples.
Instead, the women I ship with Nightwing are in a whole other category, so to speak: they are so strange that none of you can even imagine. I don't know precisely where they came from, but finally once I thought and pondered about them I couldn't get them out of my head and fell in love with them, and since there are so few stories of these ships, I decided to step up and try to write them myself.
There are 5 main women that I ship with Dick, with other "secondary" ones.
Only the first one that I will write to you is the most "normal", although not canonical, but still.
You are not mentally ready to find out who they are but get ready anyway.
My favorite ship is the DickRae.
Seriously, I love Dick and Raven as a couple with every fiber of my being and they were my favorite first couple ever. I find it a real shame that in the original Teen Titans series -an absolute masterpiece- they once again focused on Dick and Kory as a romantic couple.
If it were up to me I would have bet on Dick and Raven from the first episode of the first season.
At least they made up for it with a wonderful friendship between the two, although I would have much preferred them as a romantic couple but still.
There are so many reasons why I see the two birds as a romantic couple that I could make a list that could go on forever, so I'll just say that they are my favorite couple ever and that I would pay gold to watch an animated series with the two of them romantically involved.
Now the other 4 couples are definitely stranger.
The first of these is the WonderNight!
Or, to put it more simply, Nightwing x Wonder Woman.
Already I am imagining various protests telling me that I am a complete asshole for thinking of this very odd couple when Diana should be with Bruce or Clark or someone else, also stating that Dick Grayson/Diana Prince makes no sense.
I see Wonder Woman better as Bruce's best friend and only as a best friend, no romantic thing between them, while as far as Superman is concerned I only see him well with Lois Lane.
Steve Trevor doesn't exist in any of my universes thank you.
So, although at first glance it wouldn't seem like it, Dick and Diana have some characteristics in common: for example, both are strong heroes who have made the history of DC and comics in general and both are two of the most loyal and honest defenders of justice and that pretty much runs in their DNA.
Diana is a woman who, when she loves, loves with her whole being and that is what Dick needs most: a woman who loves him unconditionally for who he is and, personally, I think Diana is the best.
Yeah: I am a big fan of WonderNight (and probably the first and only but those are details).
I would like to add a small clarification.
In my stories Wonder Woman's civilian identity, which is usually known to the world, remains secret.
After that we have Nightwing/Talia Al Ghul.
And yes, in this case my dear Dick Grayson takes one of his adoptive father's girlfriends.
Talia is a cold person and one of the best assassins in the world but, if there is one person who can make her better and make her life brighter by chasing away some of her shadows that haunt her, it is Dick Grayson himself thanks to his typical personality that can put anyone at ease, criminals included.
With Nightwing by her side Talia will not only be able to soften considerably but also be able to come out of her unhealthy relationship with her father and be a better mother to Damian. At the same time, although it may be difficult for her at first, she will reciprocate her love for Dick just as passionately because she will acknowledge to herself that Richard has changed her and given her the most positive turn in life she could have ever had.
My final two main ships are Nightwing/Hawkgirl (Shayera Hol) and Nightwing/Black Canary. Both are strong and independent but big-hearted women who take care of their loved ones, what Dick needs. Both Shayera and Dinah are the kind of women Dick needs in his life.
Carter Hall and John Stewart can go to hell as far as I'm concerned thank you.
So yes, I very much ship Nightwing with Raven (my favorite ship ever), Wonder Woman, Talia Al Ghul, Black Canary, and Hawkgirl: all five represent the perfect ideal model of a woman who would make Dick Grayson truly happy, completing his life with the last piece of the puzzle he is missing.
True love.
Then there are also other "secondary" ships, which are couples that I like but will definitely write about in smaller numbers, and these women are:Harley Quinn, Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Lady Shiva (odd choice I know), Donna Troy (both romantically but also platonically: either way Donna is always fantastic), Zatanna, Artemis Crock, Black Widow and others.
Yes, there is also a Marvel woman.
Man, the Nightwing/Black Widow duo would kick anybody's ass.
And nothing, that's it.
I'm curious if any of these couples have sparked your particular interest.
See you soon!