#Daring And The Duke

[sarah-maclean-completist]

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[fated-mates]

We’re talking about gaming hells! Is it residual Derek Craven love? Probably. Why does Sarah love a casino so much? Why are we so into ladies being wagered by the idiot men in their lives? What makes these places that are so not sexy in real 2024 life so incredibly hot in a) James Bond movies, b) heist movies, and c) historical romances? We’re getting to the bottom of it—or at least, we’re going to talk about books we love. That’s the Fated Mates promise.

S06.23: Casinos, Gaming Hells, and Clubs in Romance Novels

(Thanks to 1001 Dark Nights and Olivia Dade for sponsoring this week's episode.)

[petiteblasee]

"(...) Como nomear o vazio lancinante que senti com sua ausência? O tempo todo? Todos os dias? (...) Que nome damos àquela solidão, como se metade de mim tivesse partido, para nunca mais retornar?"

*:･ﾟ✧ A Traição do Duque [Bastardos Impiedosos #3] - Sarah MacLean.

[miceenscene]

New book off to a VERY strong start 👀

[dogstarblues]

who CARES if Ewan killed people. so what if he's a lil insane. he's sex worker posi and wildly devoted. what else do you need. 🤨

[mirthmave]

So I was thinking about the whole younger siblings getting taller that older siblings thing that I am a victim of and it got me thinking.

So it’s known that some boys will continue to grow until they reach the age of 21 . Not all of them mind you, but some of them do.

From what I remember, Dick is currently 26, Jason is 22-23, Tim is forever 16-17 and Damian is 14.

Dick being the eldest was able to stay the tallest for a long time. Then Jason came back around 17-18 and suddenly his little brother isn’t so little anymore and Dick suddenly realises that it is possible that the others will get taller than him as well.

Damian is a given as Bruce is 6’2” so Dick knows that he hasn’t got a chance there, especially when Damian starts getting that mid-teen growth spurt. But Tim…

Tim has always been shorter than him by four inches. He’s 5’6” and Dick is 5’10” and the kid is barely growing. There is hope that he will continue to be taller than Tim!

Little does Dick know that Tim is still growing, just slowly.

Something happens that causes Tim and Dick not to see each other for a little while (nothing bad, just busy vigilante stuff) so it comes as a shock to Dick when they can all get together for dinner finally that he’s not seeing the top of Tim’s head.

No, that boy is now looking at him eye to eye.

Only not completely because Tim now has an inch on Dick.

[lunewolf13]

Spilling Tea Part 1:

All the Robins are sitting criss-cross applesauce on a plush carpet, summoned by Dick Grayson.

Dick: Alright everyone, today's bonding activity is truth-dumping. Rules are simple: be honest, it has to be about yourself, no blackmail, and no verbal or physical attacks on anyone here. Any questions?

Jason raises a hand.

Jason, imitating the voice of a ten year old: Can I go to the bathroom?

Dick: You already went. And if I let you go, you'll book it.

Jason: So that's a no?

Dick: That's a no. Now, who wants to go first?

Duke: I borrowed Bruce's cologne for a date and haven't given it back.

Jason: I'm pretty sure we've all done that before.

Steph: I mean, it wasn't for a date but yeah I stole a bottle.

Dick gives his Kind Big Brother smile: Try again.

Duke blatantly ignores the smile: Uh Tim, don't be mad, but I may have torn your new cape this morning. I was suiting up and I got curious, and touched it and tripped and I'm so sorry please don't hack all my electronics.

Tim blinks once. Then twice: My cape? My brand new, reinforced cape?? How hard did you trip???

Duke: Ok "trip" might have been an understatement and I may tried it on and jumped off the T-Rex. I was really curious to see if it'd actually glide like you said it does.

Tim: That still doesn't explain how you tore it.

Duke: Let's move on.

[ladydraculena]

Happy New Year, everyone! 🎉 Wishing you all a fantastic start to 2025 🐙 Base on the draw the sqaud meme I found on Pinterest:

[welcometogrouchland]

Disgustingly messy and crusty sketch dump but I couldn't get my own terrible theory out of my head and ended up making a bunch of sketches about it. Also at the end a bonus dickbats and Damian doodle bc I was reading an issue of their Batman and Robin run (IDs in Alt)

[bookburners]

I think Cassandra periodically goes to each of her siblings and tells them “I know what you did”, every time , with out fail, they hand her some sum of cash, goods, or favors.

Now, she absolutely does not know what they did and isn’t particularly bothered to find out. She could also simply ask for what she wanted but this was more fun and offered more surprises.

[skawdia]

"Well, you look like yourself, but you're somebody else, only it ain't on the surface"

(flora cash - You're Somebody Else)

Vampire-Ascendant-Astarion always shows up to Grand Duke Wyll's parties uninvited. Wyll is not amused that his ex keeps trying to seduce him.

close-up under the cut!

[sarah-maclean-completist]

[malfiora]

Steph: Aw Tim, you were pretty obsessed with Robin as a kid, huh?

Dick: Yeah, Tim was probably my biggest fan, so glad to be a role model 😌

Duke: Actually, since Jason is closer in age, most of Tim's good memories of Robin probably come from Jason

Dick: 🫢

Jason: 🤔🤨😏

Argument ensues. Names are called. Things are thrown.

Tim: *slides Duke a twenty dollar bill*

[alma37]

Ok, but what about Ethan and Grace?!?! (Daring and the Duke, another Sarah Maclean).

seeing so many recs now I'm brave enough to ask you if you could tell me books where the hero is in love/obssesed for a long time with the heroine but for one reason or another he can't be with her 🙈

Don't feel shy! I'm happy to give recommendations (as long as I have something that fits the request, lol). I definitely have some books you should check out for this.

Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath--The hero has had a huge thing for his best friend/cousin's wife for years, but has never acted on it. Then he and the best friend get into an accident that leaves the friend impotent, and the heroine miscarries from the stress of it all, so she totally resents him for years. But theeeeeen the best friend asks him to get her pregnant so that he can have an heir, and like--what's a guy to do???

The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath--GORILLA TWINS!!! A rite of passage for every historical romance reader. The hero has desired his identical twin's wife since before the marriage, and she hates him (he basically took her first kiss because she thought he was his twin). Then the husband-twin dies (by the hand of a gorilla) and tells the hero to pretend to be him so that the heroine (who is pregnant and prone to miscarriages) doesn't lose her baby. So he does, which is truly unhinged, and the book goes on from there. Bath handjobs (swirl and swirl, as you may call it)! Dirty talk! Wild loopholes!

A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare--The hero has known the heroine since they were kids, but they were separated when she was too little to fully remember him. So he's been watching out for her since he came into town and recognized her, but won't let himself be with her because he's ~dangerous.

Rules for Engaging the Earl by Janna MacGregor--The hero and heroine were childhood friends/kinda sweethearts but he went off to war and she married another man and were never able to act on their feelings. They reunite because she's pregnant and it turns out her husband was a bigamist so she wants the hero to marry her "as a friend" and make her baby legitimate. He's very angsty and full of longing and disabled due to the war, so he basically marries her and then runs off (without consummating it, because she's like... having another man's baby imminently, lol) and DOESN'T TALK TO HER FOR A YEAR LMAO.

The Earl I Ruined by Scarlett Peckham--The hero is an uptight earl and the heroine is his best friend's freewheeling, bossy little sister who he's been in love with for like... eight years? Anyway, she gossips about him and basically ruins his life so she offers to fix it by giving him a fake engagement to help repair his reputation. There is much longing, much domming, and the heroine's discovery that she actually super likes being a Very Good Girl.

Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas--The hero and heroine grew up together, and they've always been in love, but his fears about her fragile health and his own self-loathing keep him from making a move. Then she comes back after two years recovering on the continent and is basically like "make a move or I am gone". (He is very stubborn about not making a move, while also putting his mouth all over her at like, any given moment.)

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean--The hero (a roguish American) and the heroine (a scandalous English lady) have been friends for years but due to a lot of reasons, have never been together. They're reunited after a bit of a separation, and it's like.... My guy, time to make this happen.

[casscainmainly]

Duke Thomas and Damian Wayne.

The Boy Wonder #5 // Batman: Rebirth // Robin War // The Boy Wonder #5 // Batman (2011) #45 // Robin War // Detective Comics #1034 // The Cursed Wheel Part 3 // Robin War // Red Robin #14 // Batman & The Signal #1 // Teen Titans (2016) Annual #2 // Robin War

[dogstarblues]

the couple in Daring and the Duke are so. theyre like. i am always running from you. i am always chasing you. i cant be away from you. i have to live without you. i cant live without you. i hate you. i love you. you are my past. you are my future. i am insane without you. i am insane with you. i want you. i am repulsed by you. i have to be gentle with you. i have to be rough with you. every touch is tender. every touch hurts. TAKE FROM ME. WHATEVER YOU WANT, WHATEVER YOU NEED TAKE FROM ME. LEAVE ME BEREFT BECAUSE I AM BEREFT WITHOUT YOU AND I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT YOU FOR SO LONG. JUST ONE TASTE, EVERY TASTE A TORMENT, EVERY TASTE A PRAYER. YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT. YOU ARE A MONSTER.