#at least there are good things under the cut!

[sylphidine]

@i-am-a-fish

From one of my longfics [it's dinner, not lunch, but it's delicious and everyone is happy]:

The vibrant, art-filled walls of SpaHa Soul never failed to send a shiver of happiness down Swatch’s spine. The Friday night after they got their job offer letter, they followed Uncle Julius to a corner glass-topped table, while Indigo pulled out a chair for Aunt Desiree. Catechu chatted with the guitarist setting up for the evening’s set and waved at Artist T., just emerging from the kitchen with plates for the group of diners in the opposite corner.

Uncle Julius had found this place about eight years ago and it had become THE go-to place for Dyer-Paletta family celebrations.   

And tonight they were here to celebrate Indo and Catto’s getting summer internships at the Wythe in Williamsburg, as well as Swatch’s internship.

“Chef’s choice tonight, sir,” Uncle Julius said to Artist T., after getting a hearty backslap from the proprietor. “All three of these fine young people, going out into the world and making their mark!”

“It’s a better world for you all being in it,” agreed Artist T., making a note on his pad and heading back through the swinging doors.

“I like the new eyeglasses, honey,” Aunt Desiree commented to Swatch. “You look good in aviators, and brown is a nice color for you.”

Swatch nodded.”The tint’s helpful for cutting out blue light, and since I expect I’m going to be spending a lot more time in front of screens with the new job, I figured they were worth a splurge.”

On the other side of the table, Indo was listing off all the different areas in the boutique hotel where he and his twin would be working during their ten weeks. “I don’t know how I’m going to keep a straight face when I’m answering phones and directing calls to ‘Le Crocodile’. It’ll probably get easier after a while. At least ‘Bar Blondeau’ sounds more normal. Only thing I’m worried about is getting there on time every day.”

“Better than the commute would have been if we’d gotten the gig at The Ludlow. That commute would have been a real bitch.” Catto caught his mother’s glare and muttered, “Sorry, mom.  It would have been a real bear .”

Uncle Julius laughed and then turned to Swatch. “You’re going to be cutting it awfully fine, between graduation and starting this new job. You’d better start looking at apartments now if you don’t think your landlady will extend your lease past June.”

“I know. Even with a decent salary, I’m either going to have to spend all my time commuting or all my money on a shoebox to live in.” They realized that it sounded like they were complaining, and quickly added with a laugh in their voice, “Or I could ask my favorite aunt to use her real estate agent superpowers and her mad networking skills.”

“That’s the spirit,” Aunt Desiree answered. “We’re not going to leave you out in the cold, even if you have to stay with us for a month or so while you’re getting your feet under you. You’ve got family, don’t forget."

Swatch smiled back at her. “I will never forget that.”

“And don’t forget we’re proud of you. All three of you,” Uncle Julius interjected, waving his hand to include his sons. “Not a bad apple in the bunch.”

“Thanks, Pop,” Indo replied for himself and for his brother. “Especially thanks for being such a good sport about us not working at Ambit Automation.” “Oh, you boys might still end up there if the economy tanks. Luxury disappears, but people always need manufacturing. Look at the Brooklyn Navy Yards. That’s as big a comeback as the Jazz beating the Nuggets.”

“But the boys are using their degrees,” Aunt Desiree pointed out. “Degrees that you and I both approved of, husband mine.”

“Yes, dear.”

At that moment Artist T. and Amber swooped in with platters of fried chicken, stuffed pork chops, coconut rice, spicy yams, and collard greens, enough to feed an army.

Catechu raised his glass. “To family.”

Four glasses clinked against his.

how would one of your OCs react to a HUGE burger and delicious seasoned french fries?

[munsonsmixtapes]

hi! i have a jayvik prompt for your consideration, with jayvik finding it difficult to concentrate in the lab while you are there, and keep making mistakes because of it. can be as spicy or sfw as you like ofc

This is the first fic I've written about Arcane so please be gentle with me!

cw: allusions to smut

You know how difficult it is for Jayce and Viktor to focus when you’re in the lab. You only end up there because you love to hang out with them and maybe you’re trying to get them to admit that they’re interested in you. You’ve been conducting an experiment of your own, to see how long it will take them to finally make their feelings known, but it seems that wearing low-cut tops and short skirts had only just made them drool instead of making a move. 

Viktor at least compliments you while Jayce just gets flustered when you get close. His cheeks turning bright pink as you shamelessly flirt with him as you back him up to the desk. You love making pretty men stutter. He wants you so bad, always staring at your lips when you talk to him. It’s pathetic but he doesn’t care. You actually find it to be adorable.

Viktor is very upfront about his feelings, though, making it very clear that he wants you. He’ll lean on you when he doesn’t feel like using his cane and he loves that you will hold onto him, letting him lean his head on your shoulder. 

And while Jayce does feel a little jealous, seeing you together ultimately just sends him into a bi panic. He loves watching the way your hand slides up and down Viktor’s back as he writes on the chalkboard and the way you’ll help Viktor sit on the desk when he gets tired then stand between his legs as he pulls you into his arms. How can he even be upset when the two of you look so good together? 

Today, though, you’re sitting on Jayce’s desk when he comes into the lab, kicking your legs back and forth as you eat the sandwich he had left there for you this morning. Your face lights up when you see him, finishing your last bite as you motion for him to come closer, holding your arms. 

“Hey, handsome,” you greet as your arms wrap around his shoulders, his wrapping around your waist, his face burying into your neck just like always. This is his favorite moment of every day that he sees you, he thinks, being wrapped up in your touch as you hold him for however long he wants. 

This is going to be a long hug. He’s been struggling with one of his Hextech inventions and just needs your reassurance to be able to fix it. You’re always so encouraging and he feels like he needs that to today. 

Once he reluctantly pulls away, he sits in his chair, having to turn away because he can see up your skirt and he knows that he shouldn’t be looking. He just turns every so slightly, picking up his screwdriver to work on one of the weapons he’s created, trying his hardest to not think about how badly he wants to bury his face between your legs and eat you out until you’re crying his name. 

Viktor can’t focus either having dropped his pencil more times than he can count as he’s been trying to work on a sketch of one of the newer projects. You just look so beautiful and he can’t focus, his eyes staying on your lips as you flirt with Jayce, leaning over ever so slightly, giving him the perfect view of your cleavage that he stares at for a few seconds before snapping out of it. 

It’s getting sad, you think, so you’ve finally got to do something about this whole thing, finally make a move on both of them. You love the longing looks, but this is just getting pathetic at this point. So you turn Jayce to face you and hold his face gently in your hands, pressing your lips to his. He gasps into your mouth but quickly melts into you, pliant under your touch, willing to let you do whatever you want to him. He’s putty in your hands. 

Viktor is becoming concerned with how much he’s enjoying watching the two of you kiss, concerned with the fact that he’s getting hard. He’s always been attracted to the two of you separately, but seeing you together is making him want you even more, desperately wishing he could be part of it.

Your hands slide into his hair and he’s moaning into your mouth as his hands slide up your thighs as your place a foot on each side of his chair. He’s trying to pull you into his lap when you pull away, watching his eyes fill with lust. He lets out a whine as you hop off the desk and you just shake your head at him. 

“There’s no need to be greedy, baby,” you tsk. “Viktor needs a turn.”

Viktor turns around fully and his eyes widen as you lean down over him, kissing him more hungrily than you had kissed Jayce and he’s eating it up, whining as your tongue slides into his mouth, roaming around as you put something in between his shirt and vest. You give it a pat then pull away, smiling down at him, seeing his parted lips as he stares up at you, his eyes filling with lust just like Jayce’s. 

You motion for both of them to come closer with your pointer finger and they’re quick to stand, Viktor moving slower as he has to reach his cane. You’re moving to the door and they’re both following you like lost puppies, desperate for more of whatever you just gave them. 

“Viktor has a key to my apartment where I’ll be waiting for the two of you after you’re done here. I think we all could have some fun together considering the chemistry we all have. If you don’t come, I completely understand, but I’d really like for you too.”

“I’ll be there,” they both say in unison, so quickly that you barely understand them, but your face lights up at their agreement. 

“Perfect!” You respond then press kisses to each of their mouths before fleeing the lab, leaving Jayce and Viktor, neither of them wanting to discuss the fact that this is going to turn their friendship into something vastly different and it will never be the same. Neither of them care, though, looking forward to spending the night with you and each other, counting down the hours until they’re done with their work.

[utilitycaster]

I think the fallacy that Downfall/Divergence lays bare is that again, Brennan is not simply a Capitalism And Power Bad guy (and indeed, it's fundamentally impossible to play D&D as Power Inherently Bad - it simply does not support that thesis and indeed actively works against it as a game system, regardless of how you feel about the nature of power in real life. It is also pretty much impossible to play as Violence and Murder Inherently Bad, and I think many analyses of actual play fail when people try to act like it could be played as such). The consistent message is that exploitation and failure to care for those less powerful, and a refusal to change, is the problem. And I think that Aeor and Marlath ultimately serve a similar purpose within these narratives.

The truth of the matter is that Aeor and Marlath are negatively affected by the greater powers within the context of the Calamity. While Aeor has consistently been described and portrayed as an isolationist, authoritarian, and warmongering city-state during the Age of Arcanum and early Calamity, presumably circumstances were more preferable to them during a time of terrestrial abundance, even if they were not themselves farming. Whether or not Aeor's response to the Calamity was justified is a matter of debate; but it is undeniable that they were genuinely scared of the gods. Similarly, Marlath was an opportunistic bureaucrat even before he sold others out (and was not rewarded), but he was still living under the tyranny of the Strife Emperor himself, serving as a cog in the machine because it was preferable to the alternative. Fear was the motivation for him as well, as it is for many who become part of an authoritarian regime.

The mageocracy of Aeor and Marlath's actions caused others concern; but both had opportunity to change for the better. Both failed. They may have again been acting from fear and trauma; but in doing so showed them as entities who would sell out the weakest in their community for their own benefit. Aeor focused not on medicine nor helping their fellow Exandrians, but on weaponry and persecution. Marlath's skills in inventory could have been a boon to a resource-limited community, but he chose exploitation. Selena could have kept her knowledge to herself and at least, in her last moments, tried to save her city if not her creation. She did not.

Within the context of the narrative, the destruction of Aeor and the cutting out of Marlath's tongue are not, in my opinion, joyful triumphs. I may cheer the latter - it is in many ways a victory, unlike Aeor which can only be framed as tragic, and also, crucially, it's pretend - but this is someone who was given multiple chances! Hell, maybe Fiedra didn't make the right choice - not that Marlath didn't need to be stopped (as much was said on Cooldown) but maybe there was, in this case, a nonviolent option. However, it's hard to condemn Fiedra either; she nearly died in the woods and was saved by this camp, and to see someone she stuck her neck out for and suffer with for over a week not just plan this exploitation, but assume she'd be in it on it, is a hard pill to swallow.

And so too in that way do Aeor and Marlath serve as turning points for the people who doomed them. The Prime Deities immediately decide to remove themselves from Exandria as soon as they can seal away the Betrayers again, taking no joy in what they've done. Fiedra tells Nez that she and her gang will be protectors, at risk to themselves, after a lifetime of being survivors at times at the expense of others. They change where others couldn't.

I think a lot of people like to assign D&D villains concepts and epithets, like Capitalism or Imperialism or Landlord or Religion, because it feels very good to destroy these things, and very bad to realize that to destroy them is to cut out the tongue of someone who may have escaped the same horrors as you and crossed the same wilderness. Most people do wish this change will come without "danger, fear, or risk on their part" and are dismayed to find there is not a bloodless option. The BBEG isn't just an avatar of capitalism: they are a person who keeps choosing it and won't listen to signs and speeches to change their ways. Similarly, the hero is not just the person who stops them; they are the person who realizes that they themselves are not without their own ways to change.

[wherearedagrapes]

The deleted scene from the second movie where Maddie almost lets Sonic off the hook for sneaking out because he brings her (a ridiculous amount of) roses and Tom (who realizes immediately what Sonic’s trying to pull) has to keep Maddie on track also highkey reminds me of Amy and her hopeless romantic side lol like she would definitely swoon over a gesture like that and almost forget she’s mad.

Maddie’s so funny. I really do hope we get to see more of her. (Just realized Maddie and Tom are also wearing pink and blue here lol)

More thoughts on Amy under the cut.

If Amy is indeed on a mission to save the future/world, I can definitely see her having little self-preservation. The world — all the lives counting on her — matter so much more than her own life and desires. And if she’s been alone a decent while, I can see her having some trust issues or wanting to do a lot by herself… Amy (at least the Amy in the games I grew up with) has also always been bullheaded, take-charge, and kinda reckless. In the movie, it seems like she’s been tracking the Metal Sonics and knows way more about what’s going on than the others.

With all that in mind, I can see her taking over and maybe steamrolling “Team Sonic” at first, much to Sonic’s chagrin. He would try to be cool about it despite his wounded ego, but he would feel bossed around and unheard, and I can see them butting heads over this early on. Like I can see Sonic lowkey not following one of Amy’s plans out of spite and to prove his strategy is good if not better than hers and causing a mess. I can see Amy during one of her plans putting way too much of the dangerous responsibilities on her self and Sonic having to save her. I can see Amy struggling to be a team player, but in many ways she’d be similar to Sonic. And it could be a good way for Sonic to learn what it’s like for his friends when he disregards them/runs off into danger without them… How scary it is to be on the other side of that, to watch someone you care about be reckless with their own life or determined to do too much on their own. How frustrating, when all you want to do is help them.

You mentioning that Amy could see attachments as trouble is interesting because I’ve been thinking a lot about… IF Amy is from the future, isn’t she doomed to nonexistence? Depends on the time travel rules the movie chooses to follow ig, but logically, if the gang changes the future, the Amy that is a product of the bad future will disappear, right? If the future is changed/saved, then Amy would have no reason to time travel in the future. And if she never time travels, she never meets the Wachowskis… Wouldn’t it be like they never met?

I doubt the movie would actually end that way, but I can see this complicating things. I can see Amy going into this knowing/accepting from the start that she’s probably going to disappear if she succeeds in saving the future. She’ll change when the future does. She’ll become a different Amy with a different life. It’s not much of a burden until she meets Sonic and his family and starts growing attached to them. Now, she has something to lose. She’s carrying this bombshell around by herself because she doesn’t want anyone to put the mission at risk. Saving the future is too important. But she doesn’t want to leave. She doesn’t want to lose these new connections. She doesn’t want to be forgotten...

Which circles back to those ideas of being too selfless and trying to handle too much by yourself. What Amy wants doesn’t matter, but it’s harder and harder to deny her feelings and the part of her that wants to keep this love and happiness she’s (maybe finally) found on Earth. She needs to trust her friends. She needs to let her friends help her. But that’s easier said than done.

With Amy coming along, I can't stop thinking about the Amy-Sonic/Tom-Maddie parallels.

You know, the pink and blue scheme, Tom having a similar personality to Sonic and Amy possibly having some similarities to Maddie, Amy and Maddie possibly being two big city girls with Amy being from New York and Maddie from San Francisco while Tom and Sonic are both from Green Hills, the setup of Amy plus 3 Wachowski siblings as well as Maddie and Tom, who canonically have siblings too.

They've been foreshadowing this couple since the second movie, fight me!!

(and Tom x Maddie are the parents and couple ever, I love them!)

(Also, please give Maddie more prominence. She's awesome!)

[icouldntthinkofabetternamesook]

my brain made so connections

I'm not sure how pictures work here so this is gonna be formatted goofy but these two polycules/love angles have far to much in common and I need to share

Mel Medarda and Hazel Levesque

beautiful terrifying black women with mommy issues, gold, an association with wealth, prodigious magic powers, artistic pursuits and a distant brother. in a position of power in a system that will always see them as outsiders to some extent. big kindhearted boyfriend. terrible relationship with mother who is in many ways the antagonist of the entire piece and they never get a satisfying conclusion to their relationship(I see Gaea as Hazel's mom in this comparison). deeply and seriously underserved by a narrative that treats getting magic powers as the same thing as getting character development. I once again cannot overstate the shared connection to gold and wealth, especially gold. in many ways responsible for the events of the series but she did it for her mother's love so I can't blame her. Mels love of painting and Hazels love of drawing. A deep, loving, if damaged heart. if they came from anywhere near the same social strata they would be the same character

these two characters are defiantly cross universe variants of each other and their massive similarities kicked off this entire thought process

Viktor and Leo Valdez

scrappy, messy inventors with low self esteem, resurrections, a weird thing going on with a magical entity, and they both die to save the world. in weird sorta love triangle with the above. Leo has that pre arcane Machine herald vibe. they both push people away and are in a self inflicted cycle of loneliness despite being full of love. died for your sins and only got hate and pain in response

Jayce Tales and Frank Zhang

probably the least similar of the polycules. absolute puppies of men, tendencies to fail upwards, get put at the very top of a system of authority of a kinda fascist organization, magic totem of some form, come from some level of legacy in their systems though Frank has far more. most importantly in a weird polycule, love angle with the other two, officially dating the golden girl and has weird thing happening with the resurrected one.

these are both utterly delightful polycules were the boys should go make out so the girl can self actualize

a few more arcane riordan parallels under the cut with more thematic exploration

Caitlyn Kiramman and Reyna Ramirez-Arellano

queer woman of color who got pulled into the facism despite their good intentions

Vi and Piper McClean

a bit of a stretch, but messy haired lesbians in conflict with a lot of the existing order and pressure of family legacy. I kinda have it divided with Piltover=Rome, Zaun=greece. which leads me to another connection. their both very close to the next person on my list

Jinx and Annabeth Chase

now this is definitely a hear me out, but I love my girl geniuses who after a falling out with their family ran into an older male figure who loved them like family but nonetheless was horribly toxic and wound up falling into even through their genuine dedication to their righteous crusade being soured after a falling out with another figure who also acted in a similar capacity to the girl they took in and the story ends with the little girl standing over their corpse they are various levels of responsible for after choose their devotion to another over their toxic semi parental love who spends their last breaths reaffirming their relationship and ultimately winning a more centrist version of their cause after death. I just love when little girls wind up alone, and desperate to prove themselves because the system cares about them as weapons over children to be protected.

Silco and Luke Castellan

was right. bitchin scars. fallen hero figures who care deeply for the people they sent out to protect but ultimately became what they feared most and got corrupted by power. leftist hero's in a centrist narrative. this does not change the immense harm they did specifically to the young girl in their care they have weird semi sexual/romantic subtext with despite ultimately having a familial bond. they also have an antagonist relationship with

Ekko and Percy Jackson

the boy savior, far to much on their shoulders to early, leaders in their community, truly look out for the people, will spit in authorities eye but is also pretty close to some specific people in power, in love with the victim/adopted family of the villain/fallen hero. the one who breaks the cycle and saves the day

I managed to get most of the Arcane characters and the tip of the ice berg for riordan. this obviously has Thalia as Vander in the Luke/Silco, Annabeth/Jinx trio, as well as an association with wolves and dying in a heroic sacrifice to protect a little girl in their charge and ultimately coming back from the dead after being saved against their will. I think Vi might actually be the closest to Jason in this dynamic, especially after making Reyna/Caitlyn, but they don't have that much more in common. serious complexes about being what others need and a lack of internal stability? amnesia if you take vi's old league lore into account? I still prefer Piper I think they have more similar vibes and I'm trying to make the camps and city's line up

this also has Gaea as Ambessa and Calypso as Hexcore Sky. no one really lines up with singed or Sevika and no one lines up with Nico. Sevika works as Clarisse, as in utterly amazing butches

this might all just be similar tropes lining up in similar ways but I kinda like it

[oneofthosecrazycatladies]

What are your thoughts on DEI and how it’s implemented outside of the work environment, (school, every commute, etc)? I’d love to hear your opinion on it.

Well, as a disabled queer woman I might be biased here but I think giving minorities better opportunities is a good thing.

Also, as a historian, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that most of our institutions were built explicitly to discriminate against minorities of all kinds. When the Founders were discussing the constitution in the 1780s, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams, urging him to include women (she famously said “remember the ladies”) and his response to her was basically oh you’re so funny obviously we can’t include women, don’t be ridiculous. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, numerous laws were passed explicitly to exclude free blacks from society. Don’t get me started on the way disabled people were institutionalized well into the 1980s. Or the actual ethnic cleaning of indigenous peoples.

And…I shouldn’t have to say this but apparently I do…there have never been laws (at least in the US) to oppress white men. Like, that has just never been a thing.

So the US claims to be a society built on the idea that all humans are created equal. But if you’re building your institutions to exclude 99% of people, that’s not equality. Which means, if you want the institutions to become more inclusive, you have to take action to encourage that inclusion.

If you own a store and you say okay only people with red hair can come inside my store and you set up cameras and monitors to make sure only people with red hair are coming into your store, then anyone who doesn’t have red hair just won’t even bother trying because what’s the point. But then one day, you decide, you know what, I change my mind, I want to let brunettes and blondes into my store. Except the brunettes and blondes know that you’ve previously only let in redheads so why should they bother coming to you now? So in order to get more blondes and brunettes you have to go out and find blondes and brunettes and say hey I’ll let you into my store now it’s fine.

That’s what DEI is. It’s realizing that the institutions were built to be unfair and trying to make them more fair, but also realizing that the people who have been shut out of these institutions need to be assured that they won’t be shut out anymore.

One problem that can happen when you start to free historically oppressed people is that sometimes people can over-correct and take it too far in the other direction. But the people who have over-corrected with DEI are largely in the minority.

But now, white supremacists, who just fundamentally don’t believe that any kind of diversity is ever a good thing, are trying to over-correct the over-correct and claim that DEI is somehow white oppression.

You asked my thoughts on DEI? Well, long story short, it’s hard for me to not think of it as an overall net positive. To give you a more personal example, I’m legally blind. I am not physically capable of reading a regular print paperback book like sighted people can. Does that make me stupid? No. I have a medical condition beyond my control and all I need is some special equipment and I can read all y’all under the table. I’m able to get that special equipment because of DEI initiatives.

Just because there are a few over-correcting bad apples doesn’t make the entire tree rotten.

“DEI” has become this weird buzzword, but let’s not forget that it’s actually not a word, it’s an acronym. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Diversity. Would you rather eat the same thing for every meal every single day for the rest of your life? Or do you like to switch it up every now and then and eat something different? Yeah? You like a little diversity in your diet?

Equity. Do you like pie? You know when someone makes a pie and they’re cutting it up to serve and everyone else gets a massive slice and you just get a little sliver. That’s not fair right! You should all get equal amounts of pie!

Inclusion. We all like chili don’t we? But chili without beans is just an abomination. You gotta include those beans or else it’s not really chili is it?

That’s my thoughts on DEI.

[phantoms-lair]

Robin Roulette

(While this Snippet is eventually going to slot in the Sanctuary AU (AKA Red Hood takes in Danny and Valerie after they escape the GIW), which is DcxDP, the snippet itself is pure Batman, hence the lack of DCxDP tag)

~

It was widely known among the streets that there had been six Robins. Hard to miss when a person would going missing for various lengths of time and then come back suddenly shorter.

The first was the First. Flippy little thing, but don't let the jokes fool you, he was viscous. There was a certified mean streak under that joyful little face, even if no one outside the goons would believe it.

Second was Happy Robin. Like, he wasn't a pushover by any means, kid fought dirty as sin, but there was so much joy in him that it accidently spread to the Bat! The Happy Robin was good times in Gotham.

Then Joker ruined it for everyone.

This brought about the No Robin era. People did not talk about the No Robin era. People did not think about the No Robin era. As if remembering it too much would bring it back and no one wanted that.

Third Robin was The Kid. Not to say he was younger, had less quips, or fought anywhere near less viscously with that staff of his. But he kind of had the vibe of a little kid in his brothers hand me downs. And if the Bat wasn't as gentle as he'd once been, he was at least miles better than the No Robin era.

The Kid wad been the first to leave with no warning. First had shouting matches with Batman that spanned rooftops, and Happy...rest in peace. But the Kid was just suddenly gone with no explanation. Most held their breath, fearing another No Robin era, but instead Girl Robin came along.

Girl Robin was, to but it bluntly, a treat. She had zero respect for Batman. She would sass him at the drop of a hat, had no fear in telling him what she really thought about him and his attitude. Yeah, she foiled plans with the best of them, kicked their asses, but when she caught you there was always the small hope you'd get to hear some cutting remark thrown at Batman.

No one expected Girl Robin to last long. Not because she wasn't capable, but because Batman would only tolerate the disrespect for so long. There were bets about how long till he'd fire her and a small hope she'd become an independent vigilante afterwards just so they could continue to hear her put Batman in his place.

Then Sionis repeated Joker's little stunt and had the man learned nothing?! Not only had he deprived them of hearing Batman get consistently insulted by a kid half his age, this was how you get a No Robin Era! NO ONE WANTED THAT! It was also quietly wondered if Sionis realized that was why it was harder for him to find henchpeople afterwards.

Thankfully soon after the loss of Girl Robin, came Responsible Robin (also the only time Robin became taller rather than shorter). Responsible Robin had a grimness to him and the general opinion was after Girl Robin Batman had wanted a more serious partner. Some thought he was The Kid after having been put out to pasture to grow up some. But that was mostly because both use staffs and you couldn't say two people were the same because they used the same weapon. That's like saying anyone in Gotham who used a tommygun was Scarface/The Puppeteer.

Responsible Robin also he the quickest switchover. One night he was out, the next night Sword Robin was. Sword Robin was the shortest Robin and also the one who the most seemed like he was waiting for an excuse to snap and kill people. Like Batman was the only thing holding him back. He seemed to have eased up, but they didn't trust like that. Especially not after some saw him cutting Red Robin's line.

(The current rumor was Red Robin had been Responsible Robin. Sword Robin had thought he'd killed him to take his place, but he survived and came back with a new name.)

This was common knowledge, of course. But what the Hoodlums were coming to grips with, in the light of what was overheard snarled between Batman and their Boss, was that their Boss was Batman's son. And if their boss was Batman's son he had to be Robin. But which one?

Sword Robin was out on account of still being active, the wrong skin color, and only coming up to Hood's knees. Girl Robin and Happy Robin were also out on account of being very dead. And with Responsible Robin generally believed to be Red Robin that only left two options, The Kid, and The First. And really, only one of those made sense. The viciousness, the willingness to go head to head with the Bat, those were all hallmarks of the very first Robin.

And really, the more they thought about it the more it made sense. Sure he was less flippy, but the simple act of growing up put paid to many a gymnast's skills. You simply couldn't be as flippy when you're built like a brick shithouse. Maybe if you had a more svelte physique like Nightwing, which might have been a bone of contention.

Hood had often said he'd stolen the name from Joker because Joker had stolen something from him. Something like, say, a little brother. It even explained why Hood hated the thought of more Robins. This was something he'd created for himself to do good in and the Bat was using it as a mantle for child soldiers, even after it had gotten his precious Happy brother killed. (And Girl Robin, may she be sassing Batman still from Heaven.)

The next question, of course, was what to do with that knowledge? Someone suggested being very complimentary of the first Robin, but thankfully was put in his place by the reminder that those memories were likely now very bitter. And the Boss would likely not be happy to even know he'd been overheard admitting Batman was someone he'd once called Dad.

Then Barney pointed out the number of times Batman had been...very violent in his stopping of Hood, and un unsurprised Hood seemed by it. And Grace wondered about the type of training Sword Robin had been put through to make him like That™.

And a consensus was reached. Sure they couldn't take Batman down in a fight. But they could tank his reputation - by reveling how he treated his kids.

Boss said 'No More Dead Robin's', and they were going to make it happen! They'd save his younger siblings or die trying!

[glamorous-egoist]

Whitaker, please he’s just the best.

More under the cut for Ep. 9

Mr. Silent Heart Attack, honestly the only words out of my mouth was asshole, what a fucking dick. My girl Dana?!?! Are you serious? I hope that’s the last we’ve seen of him, but I doubt it. Dana is the best, the end.

Whitaker catching the rat and killing it? You go farm boy! I was dying of laughter because they were all amused by it, also the nurse flirting with him? Give my boy a win! A girl and clean scrubs he is on top of the world. Seriously though, I do like that he cares enough about the kraken and is willing to go out into the field. He’s probably one of my favorites with Mel, just both really well written. I hope next season we get to see that outreach team with McKay!

Speaking of McKay, she had a rough hour. Trying to get a human trafficking girl help she didn’t want, though the pen with the hotline was so smart! Then the UTI that wasn’t a UTI coming back in, I felt for her, especially with the bias mention from Collins. Which is another thing that happens, bias with heavy set people, I really like that this show is addressing that along with the POC struggle.

Also Robby tweaking his back? Ok old man (I love this old man very much, so very much affectionate). It’s either a tweaked back or a urine infection, that man has not known a moment of peace today. Two things 1) I had to go back and listen to what he said to Langdon after he walked in on him reaming Santos out because of how he appeared behind the curtain it was giving “hello there” and 2) trying to distract Collins with the rat, again a glimpse of Dr. Carter (the lawsuit wants to know my location). Also the Robby school of compartmentalizing emotions was in session briefly, sir I know why you have been having issues getting over Adamson’s death…

He was right to ream out Langdon, he’s been riding Santos hard, but also two sides to every story, I mean Santos has been out of control all day. I get it but she also keeps doing things to set people off. It’s just not kosher. Though figuring out what the MDMA patient needed was a great save, but not taking credit and how she spoke to Mohan after was odd. Also I think the drug thing with Langdon is a red herring, I just get this suspicion it’s Abbott I don’t know why… we shall see. Enough about Santos, I don’t want her redeemed, we need a bad guy of sorts.

Collins, I feel for her, I really do this is so rough. Dana and her have such a sweet relationship. Collins cares a lot which I love, just despite everything she’s still going above and beyond for her patients. Speaking of relationships, are we ever going to get what in the ever loving fuck happened between her and Robby, that banter was flirtatious as hell excuse me y’all.

Mel! First off the excitement about getting to pick gravel out of the man? Please my girl was so happy, I love it! Also her and Langdon, he’s a really good mentor to her and I love that, but also I am suspecting he may have a special needs son, because he just knows what to do. I just really really love her character and their friendship. Also not Langdon calling her his least problematic trainee, please you dork. I like the guy and his dog, not going to lie gave me a good laugh.

Speaking of Langdon, mask on or off during surgery, sent me reeling, like get her! That whole debacle in chairs was funny, I know it wasn’t supposed to be, but between poor Earl on the floor and Dana absolutely taking a shot at Philly, just great. The tooth thing freaked me out, but I’m also squeamish about teeth, this show gets too graphic sometimes.

We’re starting to see the first glimpses of issues at Pitt Fest and the cops for her incel shooter. We know it’s hinting towards mass causality for the season finale just from where is the question.

Honorable mentions this week? Javadi and Mateo girl we have all been there, Mateo not knowing how Erik Estrada is and of course Earl with his rom com quip.

I’ll miss episode 10 live, I’m traveling, but I’ll try to catch up Sunday when I get back!

See you next week!

[bearchuckles]

Emmrich and Mors "Rook" Mercar

(Please do not take, save, use for AI training or repost- Thank you! Reblogs are fine ♥ )

Detail pictures and ramblings under the cut.

ooooh my gooooodness this took forever to finish! to be fair I did kinda get stuck in details mode where I obsess over every single little thing. Originally I started this with the intent to do it in the Arcane style (haven't seen the show but I rather like the art.) which is why the painting is so.... clunky? around the faces. I was trying (really hard) to sort of keep that messy sharp look about it but I fell into old habits by the time I reached the clothes and away I went. I actually did nearly all of this on stream (my twitch link is in my pinned post if anyone wants to watch future projects) If I had to pick a favorite part.... oh it's a real toss up between Emmrich's waistcoat, Mors' hand, and the dagger. (The dagger came out so good yall!) Anyhow you can find the fic that it's for on my AO3. (and you can find my AO3 on my pinned post) Least favorite part? uuuh, Emmrich's cummerbund-sash-thing. That thing did not want to cooperate.

[lakesparkles]

I finally finished the first chapter - I'm calling it prologue - of my college AU Thanos Team fanfiction.

For now, I'll post it here under the cut:

Prologue

.

.

.

Gyeong-su is sure he can change Nam-gyu's life

—

(NOTE: the first thing I want to do is apologize about Nam-gyu because he’s an asshole in this chapter)

 The room was still dark and Nam-gyu wasn't sure why he’d woken up. He mumbled softly, trying to go back to sleep and failing... For some reason. His mind was too groggy to think of anything in that situation.

 Only after a few seconds did he realize his cell phone was ringing, the music irritating his hearing and immediately stressing him out.

 "What is it!?" He complained in a slurred voice, as if the device could answer him. At the same time, he slammed his hand against the cabinet next to his bed, where he remembered leaving his cell phone charging. He needed to wait for his eyes to get used to the light so he could read the name on the screen:

 "Mom," was all it said.

 So he ignored it, suddenly more alert. Why would she even...?

 No. He wouldn't even think about it. It was way too early for that.

 When the phone went silent again, Nam-gyu closed his eyes and rolled over in bed, covering his head so he could fall asleep faster. Fuck it, he still had a few hours of sleep left, he wasn't going to lose them because of something like that.

 Or, apparently, he was wrong.

 Not even three minutes had passed when his ears picked up another noise. This time, coming from the bedroom door. Three quick knocks and then:

 "Nam-gyu. Nam-gyu? Can I come in? I'm going in, okay?"

 No sooner said than done, his door was opened completely. Nam-gyu growled, removing the blanket and sitting on the bed:

"What the hell... What time is it?" He asked, still reluctant and barely able to open his eyes due to the sudden light.

 "Uh... 5:15 am?" Gyeong-su asked more than answered, walking towards his bed.

Without saying a word, Nam-gyu laid down for the second time. But of course his friend didn't accept that, pulling his arm and continuing: 

 "No, no way! You agreed to this yesterday!"

 "I didn't-"

 "Of course you did! It was last night, man! There's no way you don't remember, get up!"

 "Today's Sunday!"

 "That's exactly why!"

 "Fuck you!"

That didn't work and, when he realized, Gyeong-su had already pulled him out of bed and placed him standing next to himself. The little shit was now smiling proudly, his hands resting on his waist:

 "I programmed an entire map for our route today. You'll like it, believe me! Did you know there's a forest behind that pharmacy? The one right behind the-"

 Nam-gyu got tired of hearing it, going straight out of the room. At least this time, Gyeong-su got the message and shut up, just following him down the narrow hallway. It was the least he could do, considering he was dragging Nam-gyu for a "morning walk" (he had called it that, not Nam-gyu).

 He walked straight to the bathroom, pausing at the door for just a second. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a movement in front of him: it was almost imperceptible, but he was sure it was Se-mi entering her own room, slamming the door shut. This irritated him, to say the least. Nam-gyu took a step back, getting closer to his friend:

 "Why did this bitch come to live here if she doesn't even have an ounce of manners?"

 "Hey, it's not nice to call-"

 "Shut up. Have you even talked to her? Does she ever leave her room?"

 "I thought you'd think that was a good thing," Gyeong-su shrugged, "so you don't have to look at her face."

 "Clever," Nam-gyu gave a rare compliment, closing the door behind him. As he went to the bathroom and returned to his room to change, he kept thinking about Se-mi.

 He and Gyeong-su had rented the apartment two months ago, which meant that neither of them really got used to it yet. Nam-gyu had known the other for years, but he wouldn't describe him as a close friend. It just so happened that they both needed to share a rent, and even then, they realized that their money wouldn't be enough anyway.

 In order to avoid having to move into a tiny, one-room place, they sacrificed one of the bedrooms in their current apartment and tried their luck. He would never imagine that a woman would offer to split the cost of the bills, but Se-mi was apparently desperate.

 Maybe. Nam-gyu knew very little about her.

 They went to the same university, were close in age, and that was where his knowledge about the woman ended. Se-mi didn't talk much, staying locked in her room during the rare moments she was home. It didn't take a genius to guess that this would never work out. He was surprised she hadn't given up since the beginning of the two weeks she'd been there.

 Yeah.

 Nam-gyu shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't even care that much about the bitch in the first place. She was a total jerk, that's what.

 So he focused on the closet in front of him, choosing a random black T-shirt and pulling it over his head. Once he was dressed, he fixed his hair with his hands and tucked a few strands behind his ears.

 Then he crossed the hallway for good, heading for the kitchen. As if on autopilot, he opened the door of the fridge and picked up a bottle of whiskey. His throat was dry, but before he could unscrew the cap, the bottle was taken from his hands.

 "Hey!" He exclaimed.

 "No, no, no!' Gyeong-su held it up high so he couldn't reach it, even though the other was struggling beside him. He hadn't even noticed him approaching. "You made me promise not to let you drink it for breakfast!"

 "I never said that!"

 "Yes, you did. Nam-gyu, it was last night!"

 "If I don't remember, it's clearly not what I really wanted."

 "You were in a really bad state, man. Cold sweat and everything. You looked me in the eyes and said, 'I can't live like this anymore, Gyeong-su, you need to change my life,' and that's what we're going to start doing from today!" He told everything with dramatic gestures, which indicated that that wasn't really what had truly happened.

 For some reason unknown even to him, Nam-gyu gave up.

"I promise" Gyeong-su ran after him after putting away the whiskey and grabbing a bottle of water in its place. "I will change your life!"

For both their sakes, Nam-gyu kept his opinion to himself.

---

 "Oh wait, man, I forgot my watch!"

 "Can't you just go without it?" As soon as Nam-gyu finished his sentence, Gyeong-su had already run into the apartment once again.

 They hadn't even been out for 30 seconds.

 With a sigh, he leaned against the wall, taking advantage of the free time to light a cigarette and place it between his lips. His vision was a little blurry as he looked through the small window on the other side of the hallway. It was a simple view, just a tree branch moving with the wind. Maybe it was slightly colder outside.

 Whatever. His head hurt, it felt like it was about to explode.

 Had he really talked about all that with Gyeong-su last night?

 He tried his best to clear his memories, but all he remembered was the two of them sitting on the couch. It didn't seem like a serious conversation, his mouth even hurt from laughing so much at that time. Was Se-mi there? Somehow, she was there. Maybe to tell them to shut up. Or... Did she stay longer? Did she talk to both of them? No, it couldn't be. Se-mi had never acted like that before.

 He was probably making a funny face as he tried to remember. When he came back to reality, he realized that someone was staring at him.

 "What is it?" Nam-gyu asked, raising his chin, trying to look intimidating even though he wasn't very successful.

 The boy in front of him straightened his posture as if he’d been startled.

He never saw him there before. He was short and wore a navy blue sweater. If that wasn't enough, he had a kind of pathetic look, as if he was about to faint.

 Nam-gyu just took a drag on his cigarette, pretending to ignore him.

 "Eh..." The other man spoke in a low voice, however, after a few seconds. "Do you know where apartment 75 is?"

 "No," Nam-gyu replied with a small smile.

 "Do you live here? In the building, I mean. It's just that I'm new and I forgot..."

 "Did you forget where your own apartment is? Seriously?"

 "I've never been here in person, this is the first day I've..."

 With each passing second, Nam-gyu found it more amusing, without even trying to hide it. As soon as he pushed himself off the wall, he pointed to the number on the door right next to him: 75.

 "Have you thought about taking a vision test? " He asked the boy, still in a good mood.

 The other didn't share the same feeling, mumbling an apology under his breath and unlocking the apartment to go in. Why had he even apologized to him?

 Weird guy.

 He'd been distracted by that for so long that only then did he notice how Gyeong-su hadn't come back yet. Nam-gyu peeked inside his own dark apartment, part of him barely able to resist the urge to just run away and come back there only at night, when his friend already forgot all that nonsense.

 He regretted not having followed through with the plan as soon as Gyeong-su appeared in his sight, straightening the watch on his wrist and letting out an exclamation:

 "Hey, no, no!" He wasted no time in trying to take the cigarette from Nam-gyu's hand. "That counts too, you made me promise not to let you smoke in the morning as well!"

 Nam-gyu elbowed him lightly, making it clear how he didn't care. So much so that he soon changed the subject:

 "What took you so long? Were you chatting with the bitch?"

 Gyeong-su gave him a reprimanding look as soon as the two began walking down the hallway. With that alone, Nam-gyu knew he’d hit the nail on the head.

 "She’d just woken up," Gyeong-su admitted. "She wanted to know how the TV remote worked, can you believe it?"

 "So she talks to you," Nam-gyu raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised and a little betrayed. Gyeong-su didn't say a word, just sighed. The two reached the top of the stairs at the end of the hallway, Nam-gyu taking the lead to go down two steps at a time. Now that he wasn't facing the other, it was easier to ignore the discomfort and finally ask:

 "I talked to her yesterday too, didn't I?"

 "You really don't remember anything?" Gyeong-su followed closely behind him, dragging his entire arm along the railing.

 "I remember some things," Nam-guy raised his chin, half telling the truth, half lying. "We laughed for a long time."

 "Yeah! Because of you, man!"

 "Oh yeah..?"

 The two finished the two flights of stairs, arriving at the first floor. Gyeong-su was distracted for a few seconds, checking if there was any new mail for their apartment and realizing that the mailbox was empty. Shrugging, he walked back to Nam-gyu's side so they could leave the building. "You told me a lot of things! Like that time a guy at the club almost got you fired because he mistook you for someone else."

 "I told Se-mi that!?" This time, he didn't even think to hide his shock. Gyeong-su found it all very funny. He put his hand in front of his mouth to laugh lightly.

 Wait.

 "You're making it all up! That's it, isn't it?" Nam-gyu started to get suspicious, hating how he felt slightly embarrassed now.

 "Of course not! All of this happened for real, you can ask Se-mi."

 Then Nam-gyu realized it was better to concentrate on his cigarette, walking quickly and straightening his hair once more. The actual best thing would be to stop thinking about it. Either way, he knew he wouldn't be able to remember everything. So who cared?

 He looked around, trying to distract himself. There were only trees, buildings and houses, nothing too impressive. The wind blew hard against the branches. It wasn't necessarily cold, but he was starting to regret not having put on a coat. Maybe he should go back and get one, it wasn't like he was that far from the apartment. And he always felt more comfortable when he wore long coats, in the first place. Not that he has any insecurities about his arms, of course. And he would never feel comfortable having a conversation like that with someone he barely knew, especially with... Her.

 God, he was really bad at that.

 Why couldn't he stop thinking about that bitch?

 He let out a loud groan, making Gyeong-su jump in fright:

 "What the fuck are we doing out here!?" He spoke louder than he should've, letting out all the frustrations he was feeling since he woke up.

 Gyeong-su stared at him at first, with his eyebrows raised and his eyes slightly wide. He received that same look countless times before, and Nam-gyu didn't appreciate it. He knew it was his friend's silent way of saying he was worried about him. As if Nam-gyu were just a lost puppy.

 "I already told you," Gyeong-su began, in that slow and serious tone, speaking as if Nam-gyu was too dumb to understand simple sentences. "You told us some stories and then out of nowhere you complained about how shitty your life is."

 "I didn't do that."

 "Nam-gyu! Same thing again? You did! You spent like two minutes straight just talking about how the lowest point was having to share an apartment with people like us. We were pissed! You belittled my work-"

 "Rightly so. What work?" Nam-gyu rolled his eyes.

 "Hey! And Se-mi too, especially her. You said that she only didn't have a decent life because she was a disgusting prostitute who wasn't even good enough to get clients to rent a small studio apartment."

 "Okay, I believe that part."

 Gyeong-su rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly:

 "Why are you like that with her? Only with her? Did she do something to you?"

 "Yes," no.

 "What?"

Nam-gyu didn't feel like answering, so he didn't.

---

Nam-gyu had no idea what he was expecting. He felt like an idiot once he realized that part of him almost wished Gyeong-su was right. That they would leave the apartment, walk around and something would suddenly change. He woke up with that weird weight on his chest, and that made it hard to concentrate on anything else. His head was also throbbing and he would occasionally sip from the bottle of water that Gyeong-su carried in the side pocket of his backpack. Both of those things, however, could easily be explained by the hangover. He was more used to waking up like that than not, that almost becoming his usual.

 But the weird feeling on his chest? That was rarer. Or at least it used to be. Until he moved to this apartment. However, once again, he was starting to get used to it.

 Shit. He shook his head and looked up. Then at Gyeong-su.

 "Look, look!" His friend skipped ahead of him and pointed down the ravine they were walking on at that moment. "You can see our building from here!'

  "Wow." Nam-gyu said sarcastically.

 Gyeong-su lowered his head, still smiling a little:

 "Can you at least pretend to be having a little fun? I'm feeling a little bad now."

 Nam-gyu opened his mouth, ready to give any answer that would make him shut up again. Why he didn't, was a mystery even to him. For a second, he sighed softly. Maybe it was because of the isolated environment, far from anyone else who could hear him. Maybe it was because, besides Gyeong-su, he had no one else to comment on that matter.

All he knew was that the words that came out of his mouth were:

 "My mother called me this morning."

 Gyeong-su's entire posture changed. He lowered his shoulders, becoming more serious despite grunting an "uhhhh", waving one of his hands in the air.

 As Nam-gyu already said, he and Gyeong-su had never been very close. They barely knew about each other's personal tastes or how they lived before that shared house. All Nam-gyu knew about his new friend was about the stupid games he played live for a bunch of idiots who donated money to him. And all Gyeong-su knew about him, apparently, was about his mother.

 "What the hell, man," He tried to comfort Nam-gyu, placing his free hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it...?"

 "With you? Obviously not!" Then Nam-gyu returned to his normal behavior, rolling his eyes. He was almost offended that the other even considered that possibility.

 To keep the uncomfortable conversation from going on, he started walking again. The entire path in front of him consisted of the same thing: trees. He only knew where to go because of the thin, straight path beneath his feet, probably formed by the amount of people who preferred to take shortcuts there rather than walk through the buildings and convenience stores.

 The sun escaped through the yellow leaves, and now it was less cold, fortunately. He felt slightly more at ease, until Gyeong-su took the lead with quick steps and went back to narrating everything he saw, pointing out every useless detail like a tour guide.

 Nam-gyu raised his eyebrows, pleased that the other ignored the previous subject so easily.

 "I'm just waiting for the moment when you 'change my life'" Nam-gyu let himself laugh a little at the situation.

 "Calm down," The other said with a confidence disproportionate to reality. "You need to be a little more patient."

(NOTE: This chapter was basically nothing, this is why I'm calling it "prologue". It'll only make more sense once there are more chapters, the sole reason for all these scenes was to introduce Nam-gyu's life. And because I think it's funny to note how grumpy and different he is when he's with anybody else other than Thanos)

[cherubcameron]

Igual Que Un Angel

Chapter Four

Synopsis: Sofia is pregnant, and the last thing she needs is for Rafe to find out. It’s her dirty secret, it’s not like he’s barging down her door to speak to her. He looks as if he’s done with her for good. Will outside forces, force Sofia to confront the situation at hand. Or will she be able to keep this secret up? Not like, her belly isn’t growing everyday or anything.

Trigger warning: mentions of throwing up

MASTERLIST

Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Sofia sighed; her legs were killing her. She was glad the swelling in her feet wouldn’t start until four months in. But god, she thought the nausea would have gone away by now. She held herself against the sink at the Pelican Yacht Club. Thankfully, it was for workers only. So no one would see her, nearly dying. She was starting to think this was going to be a recurring thing for her. Always holding the sink for support.

“I love you, but I’m pretty sure you’re trying to kill me.” She whispered to her baby, rubbing her belly. She’d thrown up three times now, she hated this. Hated feeling nauseous all the time. It didn’t help that she was always surrounded by food.

“Sofia! You okay in there!” Shit, it was her manager.

“Ye-yeah.” Shit, her voice sounded wobbly even to her own ears.

Sofia quickly washed her mouth, the room still felt like it was spinning. But she needed this job. She opened the door slowly, smiling up at her boss. He looked concerned, his eyes scanning her face.

“You look a little green. You sure everything’s okay?” He asks, his eyebrows raising. Leaning a bit forward to see her face.

“I’m good, promise. Just a little bit under the weather.” She attempts at a smile, but she knows it doesn’t look right on her face. She feels so weak, she rather be sitting.

“Rick says he heard you throwing up. Not once, not twice. But three times. Plus you don’t look too great. You know, if you’re not feeling well. You’re free to go home.”

Sofia tried to speak but he cuts her off.

“Just go home, my wife was the same way. When she was…” Sofia blinked several times, he smiled at her softly. “I can recognize it now. My wife has gotten pregnant three times.”

Sofia nodded, a smile appearing on her face. Just for a little while, it felt nice to share that weight she was carrying. That she wasn’t as alone as she thought.

“Thank you, Phil.” She couldn’t help but feel her heart warming as she stared at her boss.

“No worries, just don’t make a habit of it. We still need you. Rest as much as you can. I’ll ask my wife for advice for you. Oh and you’re lucky Rick didn’t suspect a thing.”

Sofia stops herself short. “How did you know I don’t want people to know?” She asks, almost shyly.

“Well, you did come to the furthest bathroom from the bar. So it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”

Phil smiles at her, and as Sofia walks away, she nods. Smiling back at him. Happy that she didn’t feel like everything was crashing around her. For once at least.

Rafe hadn’t returned any of Topper’s nor Kelce’s calls. So he was surprised when he saw Ruthie approaching him, near the docks.

“I hate this just as much as you. But Topper says I’m just as scary as you. And I could get through to you.” Ruthie folded her arms against her chest. “Whatever that means.”

Rafe shook his head, tying the anchor rode. “Didn’t realize I needed, not one but two babysitters. Tell them I’m fine. I just need space.” He made sure the anchor rode was tied to the dock securely before finally meeting Ruthie’s eyes.

“Look, we get it. You and Sofia broke up. I know it’s not easy seeing your ex. But—”

He scrunched up his nose, squinting at her. “Not everything is about Sofia. Why does everyone always assume I’m hurt over Sofia? I could care less.” But even as he says it, he can feel the lie come out of his mouth like peanut butter sticking to the roof of his mouth. Difficult and hard to chew down.

Ruthie smirks, raising an eyebrow. “I never understood. One minute, you were saying you two weren’t a thing. That you wouldn’t stoop so low to be with a Pogue. Then Topper tells me, the two of you broke up. I mean, poor girl, I would’ve had whip lash.”

Rafe jaw clenched, he was sure if he kept clenching it, he’ll inevitably break a tooth.

“You just never know how to mind your own business!”

His outburst doesn’t make Ruthie flinch. It just made her smirk more. A little laugh escaping her lips. Rafe clenched his hands into fist. Did no one ever know how to leave him alone?

“If I were you, I would leave.” He says, through his clenched teeth. Ruthie tilts her head, a small fake pout on her lips.

“Or what? You’ll hurt me?”

“Ruthie, I swear to god—”

She rose her arms up in defense. “I’m leaving. I’m leaving. Don’t worry. I’ll just tell Topper and Kelce, you need your space. But you know you can’t ignore them forever.”

Rafe watched her leave, his hands still clenched in fist. Once she’s out of view, he turns towards the water. Puffing out his lips, he didn’t have the heart to tell them, he didn’t want to be their friends anymore. He never knew it would hurt. But it did.

He just didn’t feel like he belonged with them anymore. He didn’t think they’ll resort to getting Ruthie, of all people to try and speak to him. He untied the anchor rode once more. He needed to get back on the water. Try to clear his head a bit more. Clearly, he needed to do some more of that.

So Topper had resorted to going to his sister to get him to talk. Rafe threw his phone on the couch, not wanting to talk anymore about Sofia. Wanting to forget that she even existed. Forget the pain she’d brought into his life. The pain burned, he placed a hand over his heart. Shit, don’t cry, don’t cry. Fuck, stop.

Before he knew it, sobs were erupting out of him. He couldn’t control them no matter how much he tried. He held onto the wall, as he had tried to make his way to his room. Why’d she hurt him? What did he do to her, to make her turn her back on him like that?

He let out another sob, tears sliding down his face. He wanted to punch something. He wanted to forget. But he couldn’t. He loved her. He loves her so much, it burned.

He rubbed his nose, little hiccups escaping his lips. He hated how much he missed her. Hated what she’d done to him. And the worst part was, he didn’t think he’ll ever stop loving her.

There was two ways Sofia managed to reduce him into a boyish like state. When she was sweet, when she was giving him the kind of love he craved. Not realizing how much he truly wanted to just be accepted. Unlike his dad, she never used it to weaponize against. It was real, or at least he thought it was.

And then there was this, where he felt so much emotions. Things he couldn’t handle, that it just lead to anger. And pure melancholy. He didn’t know how long he stood there near the hallway of his house. Sobbing like a child. But once he was done, he fell into a fast sleep.

Sofia wasn’t sure if she regretted telling Lupita. Usually, she could confide in her. As childish as she could be. She was never one to go around spilling others secrets. She knew so much and kept it all hidden. Sofia knew she could trust her to keep her secret.

But she knew, this wasn’t a kind of secret you could keep forever. Eventually, her belly will begin to show more than it already was. She was going to have to eventually tell Rafe. But the idea of it, the thought of how he’d react. It scared her. And the last thing, she wanted was to abort the baby. She wasn’t the kind of person who would dictate how others decided. But for her own choice, she wanted this baby. More than anything in the world.

She covered her hand over her belly, “Mi bebe.” She cooed, as she glanced towards her belly. A small smile crept onto her face. For now, this was her secret. Her baby.

Well, now it was also Phil’s and Lupita’s secret too. But she didn’t want to think of all the logistics of the situation.

She sat back on her bed, she’d been standing as she read the messages Lupita send. She knew her mom was going to have a fit. Then she’ll go on a long lecture about how, this isn’t why she left Mexico for. How disappointed she was going to be. Sofia physically winced at the thought. The last thing she wanted to he was a disappointment to her family.

But the more Sofia did, the more she did just that. And not only that, she wasn’t even married to the father of the baby! Her mom was going to strangle Sofia. Sofia already felt strangled by the traditional views her mother held.

“Just you and me, baby.” She continued to rub her belly. “You and me against the world.”

She shook her head, Lupita just had to live in Georgia.

Two weeks later

She finally hit the three month mark. Her head was in the toilet, her eyes red from crying and throwing up. She was thankful, that her mother nor her father weren’t home. Her siblings were all at school. Leaving Sofia alone.

She grabbed for her phone, clicking Lupitas name. “Please, tell me you know how to cure morning sickness.”

Lupita laughter lilted through the screen. “Yeah, cause I’ve been pregnant before. Why didn’t you google it?”

Sofia slaps her forehead, “Oh wow, why didn’t I think of that.” But she sounds as sarcastic as she feels. Lupita groans on the other line. Sofia could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

“Espera, you’re the one who called someone; who doesn’t know shit about babies. Or pregnancy.” Sofia frowned. Yeah, she should have just called Phil instead. “I’m here for you all the way. But you have to remember. I can’t really help you with advice. I’m also like two years younger than you.”

Sofia felt her stomach begin to churn again. “Hold on.” She placed her head back into the toilet, throwing up more of whatever it was she’d eaten. Which wasn’t much.

“Jesus! Gross! You could have muted yourself!” Lupita says, Lupita laughed. Making Sofia know, she wasn’t being serious.

“Sorry, can’t help that this baby makes me nauseous.” Sofia let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes. She hated this, she’d always hated throwing up. Even as a kid, when she would get really sick. She was always crying how she didn’t want to throw up, as she threw up. It wasn’t something Sofia wanted to relive. Unfortunately, now she was.

“Google it, prima!” Sofia opened her mouth to speak but as she did so, Lupita hung up the phone.

“N-no, no! Lupita!” Sofia hung her head low.

She called the next person, she knew could actually help. No offense to Lupita or anything. She dialed Phil’s number. Her heart rate speeding up as she did so.

“Hey, it’s uh me Sofia. I’m sorry to call you like this but—”

“Hey, no worries. Is there something I can help you with?”

Sofia tried not to look into the toilet bowl. Her eyes glazing up at the ceiling.

“How did your wife deal with morning sickness?”

Phil laughs softly on the other lane, “is that the employee who’s pregnant?” It sounds like his wife and Sofia can’t help but notice that she sounds almost excited.

“I can—”

“Hello! Is this Sofia?” His wife says on the other lane. Sofia is fighting the urge to throw her head back into the toilet bowl.

“Uh yeah, that’s me.”

“What’s wrong, honey?” Her sweet voice lilted through the phone screen. Sofia felt her heart warmed. Finally feeling like she could truly express how she’s been feeling. Plus, Sofia trusted Phil. Therefore, she trusted his wife too.

“I’m so nauseous and it’s been like this for days. It’s never ending.” Sofia says, her hand going over her stomach.

“Morning sickness, yeah. Not for the faint of heart. Just make sure to have ginger with you. Ginger tea. But do it in moderation! If you find it makes you sensitive. Banana is great too. Lots of fluid, so basically water. You should also be resting hun.”

Sofia nodded, she didn’t have much of an appetite. But she rather do anything she could to stop feeling like the world was spinning. And like she was going to throw up every second.

“Thank you so much Mrs. Collin’s.”

“Oh please, call me Jane. If you need anything else. Don’t forget to call. Hold on, let me give you my number.”

Sofia quickly put herself on mute, so she could flush the toilet. Then laid herself against the seat. Finally, feeling less alone, it felt nice to confide in someone who knew what they were talking about. She finally manages to get herself up from the toilet, carefully walking herself to her bed.

[blu3-ja3]

Jillian doesn't know much about this guy, she knows he's one of B grade Flash's villains or he at least has one of their tech. She knows he was hired by someone to go after Bruce, not Batman, Bruce Wayne. She knows this guy has caught them all unaware and is currently holding everyone hostage, including her family. Selina, Dick, and Tim have guns to their heads being held by this guy's goons and Jason's holding an unconscious Damian. Bruce is out of the room with this asshole. Jillian hasn't seen Duke, Steph or Cass for a while, Jillian herself is on her knees with a bunch of other of the gala attendees while these goons wave around automatic rifles and laugh about their paycheck.

Finally the main dude comes back, Bruce is with him... He has something strapped to his chest. It's a bomb, oh gods it's a bomb! Jillian nervously meets Selina's eyes because she can't see Bruce, nor can Dick and Tim. She looks up at the Flash villain as he grabs the mic and begins to talk.

"I need a volunteer! Someone who can run-" Jillian stood up quickly, she flinches as the barrel of a rifle is harshly shoved into her back.

"I'LL DO IT! I'll do it, I'll run," the villain smiles seemingly impressed.

"You can't slow down once you start, if you do-" Jillian cuts him off as she walks over to Tim.

"The bomb will blow up, yeah we know. Flash villain; whatever your name is," Jillian walks up to Tim and sits down. She ignores the offended sound that came from the stage.

"What are you doing?" Dick hisses as Jillian removes her heels

"I'm taking Tim's converse,"

"Do I get a say in you taking my shoes?" Tim asked but Jillian kept talking over him.

"because he has padding in them, they're the closest to my size, and I'm not running in heels," Jillian doesn't look up as she starts untying Tim's shoes, Tim just shrugs and lets her continue.

"No! What are you thinking! You can't run-" Jillian turns to glare at Dick, they have a glare off before Dick relents and drops his head.

"I can run, it's the only thing I can do. It's all I do is run, let me do this, let me do what I'm good at," Jillian whispers as she pulls off Tim's shoes and starts lacing up then onto her feet, they're a little tight but she'll survive... Wrong turn of phrase, she'll deal.

Jillian turns to meet Selina's gaze, who looks like she also wants to argue, to fight and convince Jillian to back down. But if there's one thing they've all learned; it's that all the Wayne's, regardless of blood ties or no, were all as stubborn and bull headed as Bruce himself. Selina doesn't say anything but she gives her a small nod and an encouraging smile.

Jillian meets Bruce's gaze, he's been beat pretty bad but Jillian knows he'll be okay. No what causes the pit anxiety and the slight dread is the look of horror on his face. There's panic in his eyes and she's sure that if he wasn't gagged he would be screaming and yelling, well he is but it's muffled. Jillian steals herself and takes a final deep breath.

While Jillian walks up the stage she reaches down and rips her dress so it's not nearly as long. Thankfully her hair was already tied mostly up in a half-do so she lets it down and ties it all up. Jillian is forever grateful to herself for constantly wearing biker shorts under her dresses, her thighs chafe when she's just standing and walking around. She doesn't want to know what they'd feel like after running for who knows how long. Finally she reaches the stage and holds out a gloved hand.

"Oh-hoho! Someone is determined, I like that!" As the villain yells he straps something to the teens wrist, she yelps in pain as something stabs into her wrist. A small trickle of blood begins lazily rolling down the sides of her wrist.

"Alrighty! When I press this button you don't stop until I get my money! Oh! One last thing," the man smiles slips into something more horrific as he speaks.

"If he goes, so do you! Are you ready? Get set! Go!" The man taps the button and Jillian begins to run.

Jillian is good at this, it's one of the few things she's confident about. She's not graceful or incredibly flexible like Dick or Cass, she's not a great fighter like Jason or Damian. She's not smart like Tim or Barbara or stealthy like Steph. She didn't have the same level of control over her meta abilities like Duke. But Jillian can run, she can push herself and her endurance. She can keep a steady pace and keep it for as long as physically possible. Jillian can run. Jillian can endure.

•°•°•

Jillian's first move was to get the fuck out of the small space that the gala was being held in. Moving quickly towards the door Jillian burst outside to the busy downtown Gotham streets. She kept a steady pace heading west towards the docks of Gotham.

Worse case scenario Jillian can throw herself into Gotham bay before the bomb goes. Minimal damage to the surrounding areas and the people. She holds confidence that someone will get to the bomb strapped to Bruce's chest soon, if all the police car whipping past her was anything to go by.

For now Jillian keeps running, not a sprint but an easy pace. Jillian's no speedster but she's curious about their endurance, she hasn't gotten much of a chance to go pace for pace with one. She's met Bart and while the boy is fast she wonders if he could keep up endurance wise? Jillian has trained for endurance most of her life, she's been in track for almost a decade at this point. Plus she actively partakes in marathons and endurance climbing...Who's she kidding there's very little chance Jillian could keep up with a speedster.

It's been about a good hour of running, Jillian's sweating and tired but she knows she can keep going. She's on 5th Street now, the longest road that stretches across all of Gotham right next to Gotham bay. Jillian's feet left the concrete and asphalt of Gotham's roads and the hollow thuds of Gotham's board walks and dock ring out under her feet.

There's a drone following her, it has been for the last five minutes, Jillian didn't want to assume it was following her but now she had confirmation. The teen figured it was probably Oracle, so she waved to Barbara hoping to reassure her. Yeah Jillian has a bomb strapped to her wrist but she'll be okay... Probably.

Honestly that was the main reason Jillian left the gala. If she fails, if Jillian can't run and everything blows, in the worst case scenario her family has to only watch Bruce. Though he's probably already out of the vest or figured out how to disarm it or something. That's besides the point, Jillian didn't want them to see her go up.

Jillian is a little shocked when another set of foot steps approaches her and Jillian sees Duke dressed in his typical Signal garb. She sees him smile at her and for a moment Jillian falters as her heart leaps and her stride slows. Jillian sees the consistently blink red light slow. Panic and dread rushed through her body as dawning horror spreads across Duke's face.

Jillian turns on a dime and sprints the short distance to get across the docks. She can hear Duke yelling and the screams of Stephanie as well but Jillian has a single minded focus. Get to the water, minimize damages both physical and mental. Maybe she can pray... Jillian's not particularly religious but maybe if she prayed just once she'd live this.

Jillian feels the cold rush of Gotham bays water make contact with her, when suddenly there's a rush of air. One moment she's submerged under water and the next she's standing on the docks again. Jillian is vaguely aware of a rapidly buzzing and blurring object next to her holding her arm with the bomb.

Eventually her brain catches up and Jillian realizes that there's a speedster next to her. Judging by the height Jillian is guessing it's the first Flash and not Impulse or the former Kid Flash. Jillian has a moment to look behind herself and see Duke and Stephanie running towards her both in vigilante garb.

"Sorrythisisgoingtohurt! HopefullyIdon'tbreakyourwristorarm! Don'twanttoexplainthattoBats," there's a rapid buzzing of what sounds like words before her wrist and arm starts shaking rapidly.

Jillian screams at the sudden intense stabbing around her wrist becomes more intense. As suddenly as it starts it stops and Jillian's arm is let go, there's a rush of air and a spray of water as a blur of red rushes out towards the middle of the bay between Metropolis and Gotham.

Jillian doesn't even process that her legs give out from underneath her until she's hitting the ground. Her breathing is labored and her mouth is tacky, she should probably drink some water. A shiver runs its course through Jillian's body as a breeze sweeps over her form.

There's a hand grabbing her wrist, dazed Jillian looks up to see Duke rummaging through his utility belt. He's not wearing his cowl, it's just his domino mask, it kinda looks like a bat itself. Everyone's masks have all changed, now covering more than just his eyes, it's almost like a cowl with how much it covers. Though unlike the cowl Jillian can see the faint glow of Duke's eye easier.

She's always found comfort in Duke's eyes, they're like little suns. When he looks at her Jillian feels like she's at the center of the sun itself, warm and fuzzy. There's a weight of something wrapping around her and Jillian looks up to see Steph removing her black Batgirl cape and draping it around her. Jillian's attention snaps back to Duke as there's a searing pain around her wrist causing her to hiss in pain.

"Sorry," Duke mumbles he glances up at Jillian and her breath catches in her throat. The warmth of light washes over her, it feels like it's gently caressing her soul. She'll never hate the feeling of Duke staring at her.

"Mi amores luz,"

The words fall from Jillian's lips like a prayer, it's barely a whisper. But Jillian knows what she says, she hears the words fall from her lips. She doesn't notice Duke's eyes widening slightly but he doesn't say anything. He can see plain as day the panic that washed over Jillian's face for a moment. It's only a moment but it's enough for Duke to pretend he never heard it.

Jillian's had a rough night, she's tired and exhausted. She's not in her right mind right now. She doesn't mean it. That's what Duke tells himself as he finishes wrapping her wrist. The rest of the night is kind of a blur for Jillian.

The Gotham police helped capture the gala crashers with assistance from Impulse and Flash. When Flash was informed that a civilian had the detonator strapped to their wrist he immediately went looking. Signal and Batgirl helped him look and Signal found the girl at the docs. Flash got the detonator off the civilian and left to help Impulse.

Duke, Steph, and Cass managed to slip out before being captured. They got into gear quickly but not before Jillian had volunteered herself. Oracle was the one to find her and Duke was the closest to the docks. Steph came quickly afterwards but not before Jillian managed to trigger the bomb.

When Jillian was escorted home by GCPD she was smothered by her family. Everyone was careful not to touch bare skin which Jillian was extremely grateful for. She really did need her powers flaring and giving her an identity crisis on top of the exhaustion she was currently feeling.

Jillian was laying in her bed when there was a knock at her door. Getting up and wrapping herself in the fluffy robe Cass gifted her Jillian approached her door. When she opened it she was greeted by a soft glow of light. Again Jillian's breath hitched in her throat at Duke's eyes met hers.

"Hey, can we talk?" Jillian snapped out of her daze and nodded not trusting her voice. She stepped aside opening her door more to allow Duke into her room.

Instantly he walked over to Jillian's desk and sat down in the chair there. Jillian closed her door and giggled quietly as Queenie immediately jumped into Duke's lap demanding attention from him. Sitting on her bed Jillian crossed her legs and watched quietly as Duke whispered to Queenie while petting her.

"Are you okay?" Jillian was a little shocked by Duke's sudden question, he didn't even look up from where he was currently petting Queenie. The large black fluff ball was absolutely loving the attention.

"Uh, yeah I think so?" Jillian was being honest, she's tired, her wrist hurts and her legs burn like they usually do after running for so long. Her knees are a little scraped up from her collapsing and she has a headache from slight dehydration but for the most part she's okay.

"I'm alive-" Jillian's words hitch as she says them. She hadn't really taken the time to dissect everything that happened to her and judging by the look Duke's giving her he knew that.

"You ran to jump into the water. After you slowed down..." Jillian wasn't entirely sure where this was going, in her mind she made the right call. If she was going to blow up then doing so in the water was the best place.

"I did it because it was the best option, less damage," She tilted her head back to stare at the glow in the dark stars above her bed.

"Why did you slow down when you saw me?" Jillian's head dropped quickly to look at Duke, she was immediately met with molten gold staring at her.

"I-" Jillian couldn't think of a good excuse, she didn't intend to slow down when she spotted Duke but she did.

"It almost killed you," Jillian's eyes widened as Duke continued, "I almost killed you,"

"But you didn't, I'm o-" Duke cut her off before Jillian could finish.

"If Flash was even a second later then you would have been pieces in the bay," Duke's words were sharp and angry.

"But he wasn't I'm fine Duke, honestly," Jillian began to stand from where she was sitting but hesitated when Duke stood up suddenly.

"I saw it, I watched you jump into that bay and never come back out," Jillian's movements stopped completely at that.

"Duke-" again Duke cuts Jillian off before she could talk.

"No, you don't get it. I couldn't do anything at that moment, I didn't even know I was seeing an alternate!" Duke raised his voice a bit but softened it again when Queenie let out a soft meow.

"I thought you died, Jill. I was so sure you died and I couldn't do anything to help you," Jillian stood up from where she was sitting on her bed and walked up to Duke.

She wasn't expecting the taller teen to grab her and pull her into a hug. One arm wrapped around her lower back and his other hand cradled her head, pressing it gently into his chest. Jillian could feel her cheeks heating up but decided to risk it and wrapped her arms around his hips.

"I was so scared," Jillian could feel the slight shake of Duke's body and hugged him tighter, silently praying her powers didn't flare up.

"I'm here Duke, I'm right here. Nothing happened, I promise I'm okay," Jillian whispered into his chest and just let Duke hold her.

She wasn't sure how long he held her but eventually he stopped shaking. Slowly Jillian pulled was and looked up, warm honey met her gaze and Jillian heard herself gasp. She felt she was imagining it when Duke's eyes flicked down to Jillian's lips for a moment before meeting hers again.

"Can I kiss you?" Jillian felt like she was going to faint, nodding dumbly. Before she could continue her brain caught up with her body.

"Wait!" Jillian gasped as Duke inched closer, as soon as the word left Jillian's mouth Duke pulled back completely.

"I'm sorry," Jillian could feel tears welling up as she continued speaking, "I don't know if I'll have control, I don't want you to see something horrible or for me to see something you don't want me to see,"

Jillian watched Duke's face morph from fear to concern to something soft. He closed his eyes and for a moment Jillian felt like she was set adrift in the void of Gotham again. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Jillian whispered softly trying to keep her voice steady but failing, this caused Duke to open his eyes.

"It's okay," Duke smiled, Jillian's heart flutters at what Duke said next,

"I can endure the wait."

Cursed Gotham Masterpost

[magiclwritings]

It was getting clearer and clearer to Cesare that Quin was in absolutely no mood for whatever he was trying. And while it hurt, he was right. He couldn't keep pushing himself at him like he knew him. Like they knew each other still. It hurt to have to make that realization finally but it should have been there the moment he saw him. His feelings were going to ruin everything. And even if he didn't stay this time, maybe he'd come back? Cesare wasn't entirely sure that he would and the prospect of waiting now that he'd finally had the truth.

Instead he opted to give Quin a nod. Words weren't working and while he couldn't say that wasn't true, it was. Cesare just didn't have it in him to battle about the integrity of it all. And, truth be told, that pizza smelled really damn good. He'd be damned if they lost out on that at least. Cesare cleared his throat and raised his brows, not bothering to respond to any of it because what would he say? His hand came up and rubbed the back of his neck as he pondered on, trying to swoop in and save. And it must have been at least a minute or two because before he knew it the first alarm was going off on his phone.

"I guess we'll see about a few things then." He told him plainly, just needing to move past it. Quin was clearly on edge and the last thing he needed was him bolting. He silenced the alarm and then opened the oven, switching the pies from one rack to the other and the made sure they both sat nicely before closing the door again. His eyes lingered on the clock just at his eyes level and decided that at least fifteen more would suffice. Now to just not piss him off in that time.

"You said you had some friends at school." He started, moving a short distance from Quin to grab a dish towel and he tossed it over his shoulder as he started to move around the kitchen again. This time he was grabbing a ridiculously large and heavy wooden cutting board and cutter for when it was time to pull them out. "Did you see anything nice?" He had been right. Cesare didn't know this version of Quintus anymore and maybe that was the problem. He was so quick to assume that everything would just fall back in for him as it did for Cesare. And then again, maybe he doesn't like you or had ever and you're just being a giant idiot. "Vacation or school trip?" He really was grasping at straws but anything he brought up seemed to piss Quintus off so maybe just let him talk. Cesare set the tools down and straightened out the board first. He kept stealing glances back at Quintus. Try as he might, he just couldn't shake the need to get him closer. Physcially and mentally but tried and true, this one wasn't going to budge. Perhaps a trail of breadcrumbs then goldilocks.

Cesare moved back towards the fridge and pulled out a green bottled beer. He cracked the cap off on the counter and caught it in his hand. The foam came quicker than he expected and he quickly drug his tongue up the length of the neck before taking the foamy opening and taking a proper deep drink of it. "Fuck." He whispered under his breath, realizing he needed more than he thought.

Quin rolled his eyes at Cesare’s words. He could feel the man studying his side profile, but Quintus couldn’t bring himself to look at him. His words hurt. The fact that Cesare believed Quin had wanted to leave, had willingly left and refused to reach out to them, especially his older brother, for years, hurt because it was so unlike him. There had never been a moment when he didn’t want to be around them. He had been desperate to be involved with them for years, always nipping at their heels and begging for their attention. There wasn’t ever the desire to leave them behind. 

He wondered how everything would have played out if Cesare hadn’t bought his uncle’s lies. How hard would he have fought to find Quin? To bring him home? He turned his head, studying the man’s back as he checked the pizzas in the oven. It was delusional for him to think that. Quin was only Max’s little brother to Cesare. Maybe he would burn the whole world down to get Maximus back, but not Quin. 

It was painful for him to hear about their years-old unfinished plans. Little did Cesare know that Quintus felt the same about that trip they had never gotten to take. He had spent weeks that summer planning everything out, researching places to stop at fun little activities for them to do. “Yeah,” He replied flatly, keeping his emotions out of his tone, “It was a real bummer to be uprooted so aggressively and have the two people closest to me just assume I wanted to go non-contact with them for years.” He scoffed, shaking his head. How could they think so little of him yet continue to claim they wanted him around? If that changed things for Cesare, Quin frowned at the thought. Well, fine. It would change things for him too. “It does change things,” He muttered, “I guess the three of us weren’t as close as we thought we were.” He slowly looked up at Cesare, wincing at his words. My Q. His eyes narrowed dangerously at the mention of his nickname, at being referred to as someone belonging to Cesare. He was too hurt to relish in it. There was too much-lingering pain from their conversation, the nickname, and the general raw pain of being in the same vicinity. He felt the need to run and settle down in his bones, every instinct of his screaming to leave the kitchen and walk away before it got worse between them. He pressed his fingers to the countertop until they turned white and glanced towards the front door. Quin’s bag was upstairs; he didn’t have a car, and if Max returned and Quin wasn’t here, he would lose it. “My feelings aren’t hurt,” He said defensively. All he had to do was get through a piece of pizza, and then he could escape to his room until Max came home and dragged him out. Quin squirmed, feeling Cesare’s closeness, the warmth radiating off his body. He kicked his heel hard into the cabinet, focusing on the sound rather than the man a few inches away. “I wouldn’t look too closely,” He said with a shrug, “None of us are the same.”

[bridgeportbritt]

Willington Palace | Sage, SimDonia

Diana: Good job, Mia! Can you stack this one?

Mia: Syack syack stack!

Diana: Very good. Looks like we're putting your little brother to sleep!

Mia: He sweep?

Diana whispers: Looks like it. We'll have to play very quietly, so we don't wake him.

Mia: Otay, I play quiet, mama.

Maranda: Good evening, Your Majesty. Sorry to interrupt-

Mia: Randa, be quiet! Ger Ger sweeping!

Diana whispers and laughs: It's okay, Mia. Sorry. Is everything okay, Maranda?

Maranda: Yes, Ma'am. I just spoke with Lydia and she just had a message for you.

Diana: Oh, alright. What is it?

Maranda: She wanted you to know that everything with The Grand Duchess of Umbrage is handled and things are back on track with the treatments.

Diana: Really? Well, that's wonderful news. Thanks for letting me know!

Maranda: Of course, Ma'am. Let me know if you need anything else.

Diana: Will do.

I'm just now realizing that the last time we saw Diana, girl was still very much pregnant but, in my game, her little man has been out and doing his little infant thang lol. No royal announcement or nothing! I blame pregnancy brain. So without further ado, here's a little introduction!

Welcome, third in line for the throne and first in line to his parent's and siblings' hearts - HRH Prince Gerhard Spencer Winston De Geloes, Duke of Sage! Otherwise known as Gerhard Junior or Ger Ger by his little sister!

He had a relatively smooth birth with his whole family present. His nursery is right next to his big brother Parker's room. The family couldn't be happier about this addition!

[itspileofgoodthings]

have had a bit of my crash after flying too close to the sun this past week and you know what, it’s very annoying and also very good for me in a stabilizing way.