#city index excel

[kmrealtygroup]

Is Chicago, Illinois Cheap or Expensive? Here’s the Answer.

If you’re mulling over a move to this bustling metropolis and scanning the “real estate for sale in Chicago, Illinois”, you’re likely curious: Is Chicago cheap or expensive?

Housing Costs in Chicago

When it comes to the housing market, the prices are as diverse as the city itself. A general consensus shows moderate costs compared to coastal cities.

Chicago’s Real Estate Market

From luxury condos downtown to single-family houses in the suburbs, Chicago has a range of accommodation styles. Naturally, the cost varies depending on the type and location.

Luxury Living in Chicago

If you opt for the high-end spectrum of “new properties for sale in the Chicagoland area and surrounding suburbs,” prices can reach into the millions.

Middle-of-the-pack Living

For more modest budgets, homes outside the hub can be attractively priced, providing excellent value in terms of space and amenities.

Cost of Living Index

Considering other living costs, Chicago’s index stands at 106.9, slightly above the U.S. average of 100. While some areas could be expensive, others are surprisingly affordable.

Food and Leisure Prices

Dining out in Chicago can be both a bargain and a splurge. Street food is wallet-friendly, whereas fine dining experiences can be quite steep.

Transportation Costs in Chicago

Getting around Chicago with public transit systems is reasonable. Meanwhile, parking and gas prices can significantly increase the commuting costs for car owners.

Verdict: Cheap or Expensive?

As seen, it completely depends on your lifestyle and where you choose to live and dine. By researching and budgeting, it’s possible to find cost-effective solutions.

Find Your Preferred Lifestyle

The housing options align with a wide range of budgets, whether you’re browsing budget-friendly homes or looking for extravagant properties for sale in the Chicagoland area and surrounding suburbs.

In Summary

Ultimately, living in Chicago can be cheap, expensive, or somewhere in between, factoring in your individual budget, lifestyle, and specific choices — particularly in housing.

KM Realty Group LLC — your trusted source for all your real estate needs in Chicago, Illinois!

[guess-my-next-obsession]

Halloween, 2004

pairing: no outbreak!joel miller x fem!reader (Elementary-verse)

rating: F (joel’s a flirt, but no actual smut, a good amount of early y2k nostalgia for my fellow ancient gen-z/millennials)

wc: 1k

series masterlist

October 31st, 2004

“Cutest little hobbit in the whole world.”

You couldn’t help gushing over your newborn daughter as she slept in her swing. You’d just finished carefully slipping on her first halloween costume, one that fit in with Joel’s chosen theme for the year—The Lord of the Rings. You’d decided to go as Arwen, the counterpart to Joel’s Aragorn, and had spent a pretty penny crafting the costumes from scratch. You’d always been a DIY kind of kid growing up, and even though it had been tempting to take the easier route and buy one of the cheap costumes from Party City given your newly hectic life as a mother, it felt a bit sacreligious to turn your back on your old ways.

Sarah had politely declined taking part in the family theme this year, choosing to dress up as one of the Cheetah Girls instead, but took enough pity on her pouting father to agree to dress up as Legolas for one singular picture. A picture that was never to be shown to any of her friends, as per her request.

“Oh my god,” she said, covering her mouth as she descended the staircase in her best elven getup, a white, synthetic lace front half-hazardously thrown over her freshly corn-rowed braids. “Dad’s gonna die over this.”

You laughed and nodded your agreement as you pulled out your new digital camera—one you’d splurged on for the upcoming holiday season—to snap a picture of your two girls. “Ten bucks says he cries a little.”

“Fifteen says he cries a lot,” Sarah countered as she tried her best to hide her face from the camera. “I thought we agreed on one picture.”

“One family picture,” you corrected with a smirk. “Are you sure you don’t wanna come trick-or-treating?”

She gave you a deadpan and pretended to gag, earning an eye roll from you. “God no. Besides, Jessie and I are working at the library’s haunted house. But save me some candy.”

“Luckily for you, Iris doesn’t have teeth yet, so it’s all yours,” you said. “But can’t promise she won’t put up a fight in a couple years.”

“Yeah, well I’ll have her trained by then,” she said, flickering some of her straight blonde hair over her shoulder.

Joel’s truck pulled into the driveway shortly after Iris woke up from her nap, you and Sarah cozied up with her on the sofa as you watched Hocus Pocus on Disney Channel—your pick, not Sarah’s. When Joel stepped through the front door, he was met with the sight of two elves and a tiny hobbit sprawled out on the sectional, a bowl of popcorn in his eldest daughter’s lap and a bag of candy in his wife’s. His grin was glorious.

“Have I died and gone to Middle Earth?” Joel said, shaking his head as he walked over to Sarah, kissing the top of her head before doing the same to you and then finally, his newest baby girl. “You’re gonna make my damn heart explode, baby girl. Look at these hairy little feet.”

He rubbed her socked feet between his thumb and index fingers, chuckling at the fuzz you’d glued on.

“And you,” Joel fixed his attention on his first born, his dimple showing with how hard he was grinning. “You make an excellent Legolas, baby girl.”

“I’m taking this thing off as soon as you guys take that stupid picture,” she said, souring her face. “This wig is itchy and cheetah print is calling my name.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Joel said, rolling his eyes as he scooped Iris out of your arms. “We get it. You’re a cool teenager now, too hip for family costumes.”

“You guys could’ve been Cheetah Girls, too,” she said. “I would’ve been on board, then.”

“I don’t think your dad could pull off cheetah print, babe,” you said, standing up and setting your bag of candy on the coffee table. You didn’t miss Joel’s eyes appreciatively scanning over your costume, a devious glint in his eyes. “Come on, papa. You have a costume to get into.”

Joel shot you a wink before handing Iris over to Sarah, mumbling a promise that the two of you would be right back. A promise that you doubted he’d keep given the look in his eyes.

You hardly made it to the privacy of your bedroom before Joel hand his hands on you, tugging you close to his body as he placed a few greedy kisses to your lips.

“You’re keepin’ that on tonight,” he said, nipping at your chin.

“Long as you keep yours on, too,” you purred, gently scratching at his scalp as you melted into him. “My king.”

Joel groaned, swatting your ass through your dress. “I’m gonna have you kneelin’ for me later, that’s for damn sure.”

You giggled, swatting at his chest as you pulled away to grab his costume from the closet, setting each piece on the bed—wig, included.

“I ain’t wearin’ that,” he chuckled, but all it took was one pout from you to change his mind. “Fuck me, fine. But the second that thing starts to itch, it’s comin’ off.”

Once he’d gotten his costume on and took a good look at himself in the bathroom mirror, he sighed.

“Yeah, you’re definitely gonna be on your knees tonight for makin’ me wear this fuckin’ wig,” he grumbled, though you were too amused to care. “How do I look? Royal?”

“You look good with longer hair,” you mused, playing with the wavy ends of his wig. “You should grow it out one day.”

He scoffed. “Maybe one day when I’m old and my devilishly handsome looks have gone to shit.”

“I don’t know,” you said, biting your lip as you gave him a once over. “I’m pretty sure you’re gonna be devilishly handsome to the day you die, Miller.”

“Good thing my wife’s a ten, then,” he said, leaning in to brush a kiss against your lips. “Wouldn’t want to outshine, ya.”

You tossed your head back and laughed, earning another kiss to the base of your throat. “God, I love you.”

“Love you a thousand times more, darlin’.”

[reallyromealone]

Day sixteen 🎃 curroption

Pantalone x Barbara's brother male reader

Warnings: male reader, nsfw, smut, slight dubious consent, tough sex, blowjobs, facials, bottom male reader

Masterlist

(Name) hummed as he wandered the path, currently on a pilgrimage throughout the countries to give prayer to the gods and learn about the other lands beyond his own, dressed in winter clothes he was thankful he brought //imagine Barbara's outfit but fur lined and more masculine// as be looked through the endless winter before him.

Snezhnaya was not far off from what he was told but he found the cold almost delightful as the snow crunched beneath his shoes.

The young Deacon looked for a church or Cathedral of anything throughout the city when he noticed up high on a hill was a grand cathedral "thank goodness..."

"Excuse me?" A young girl dressed in fur lined clothes asked "who are you?" She asked curiously and (name) smiled warmly "I'm a Deacon of Mondstadt, I'm currently on a pilgrimage" he said with a kindness like no other, an emotional warmth radiating off him and giving a sense of safety.

"Really? That's so cool?" The girl said wide eyed and the two were unaware of Fatui guards taking notice of this and bringing the information of a Mondstadt Deacon in their city to Pantalone.

(Name) was in awe at the country and despite its unforgiving weather the people were kind to him, regarding him warmly as he made his way to the cathedral.

"Pardon me, are you the Deacon I heard of?" A deep elegant voice rang out, catching (name)s attention to the tall man with a false smile "hello! Yes, my (name) is (name)! A pleasure to meet you!" Pantalone noted be couldn't be older than 19, a bright and cheerful nature and radiating innocence and purity.

Pantalone wanted to own this adorable bunny.

"What brings you to our fair country little Deacon?" The spectacled man asked with false curiousity, trying to get information from the pretty boy who beamed and told him so honestly what he was doing "very noble of you, you must make those at home proud" Pantalone comments and (name) shook his head "I don't do this for the praise of others, I do it for the gods... They all deserve prayer and kindness..." He said genuinely and Pantalone was a greedy greedy man.

"Would you like to join me for dinner?"

Pantalone was selfish and greedy as he took in the others form as he watched (name) take off his coat to reveal how wonderful he was on the eyes.

"Thank you very much for inviting me! You have a beautiful home" (name) said genuinely and Pantalone imagined how wonderful he would look perched on his lap or spread in his bed dressed in barely anything or better yet nothing at all.

(Name) stared at him with his full attention, as if he were the the gods the Deacon prayed to.

"I must confess... I didn't ask you to join me to dinner for innocent reasons..." A false remorse making (name) look confused but let him continue "you see I was entranced by your beauty..."

He was entranced by his beauty, his innocence and would make an excellent lover to him.

"I must say... I find you quite handsome" (name) was flushed as he looked away, embarrassed at his confession only for the man to pull him closer "that's very sweet of you to say" Pantalone gently took his chin with his index and thumb "you're so beautiful..." He whispered before taking (name)s lips, pulling him into his lap fully and hands wasting no time touching "w-wait..." (Name) gasps, clinging and already debauched from a kiss "t-tgat was my first..."

"Kiss? Tell me... Have you ever bedded a man before?"

"I... I never..."

Pantalone grinned as he moved so (name) was under him and wasted no time recapturing his lips, determined to break his brain till he could only remember the feeling of his cock in him.

(Name) felt dizzy as be tried to keep up, covering himself when the other removed his shirt "don't cover yourself" Pantalone said pinning his arms above his head with one hand and continued his exploration, biting and sucking anywhere to get those sweet inexperienced moans from the others lips as his hand moved to rub the Deacons clothes cock, groping and playing with it before slipping under to fondle with the hardened cock, hot and leaking with pre-cum.

"Already close to cumming?" Pantalone teased "is my slutty little Deacon close?"

"I-I..."

"I-I" Pantalone mocked as he licked one of his nipples "come on bunny speak up"

"I don't... I-I don't know... Knot..."

"A knot? Where?"

"My stomach.."

"That means your slutty little cock is going to cum..." Pantalone said gripping his cock and jerking it off and watching the Deacon come undone "you ruined your pants..." Pantalone tisked as he stripped the beautiful man fully "such a wonderful body..." He breathed out as he took in the other.

mondstadt didn't deserve him.

"Wanna be a good boy?" Pantalone asked with a condicendingly sweet tone and (name) hazily nodded, unsure what he want but he wanted more...

"Then get on your knees infront of me"

(Name) moved so he was on his knees before the other, looking up at him so innocently "be a good boy and suck my cock nicely, get it ready"

(Name) wasn't fully sure what he was getting it ready for as the banker fished it from his expensive pants and gently smacked (name)s face with it "hop to little bunny" and watched (name) nervously take the cock in his hands, almost in awe at it's size as he pumped it a few times before tentatively putting it in his mouth.

"Good boy..." Pantalone said with a sigh as (name) sucked his cock like he was made to do so, he knew there was an eager slut underneath that Innocence...

(Name) didn't understand why he wanted to be such a good boy to the man whom he just met, never being touched like this before and found it additive.

(Name)s mouth was like a vacuum, the sweetheart giving it his all and Pantalone decided that he was going to put a ring on his pretty little finger, make him stay here forever.

Dress him in pretty clothes and break his pretty brain and form it into a dumb cum slut.

That sounded wonderful.

Pantalone gripped the back of his head as he slowly fucked his mouth with a low groan, feeling the others hands grip his thighs, loving the fact he was fully dressed compared to the Deacon being nude as it should be from now on.

(Name) looked so hazy and almost adoring as he bobbed his head, the taste and feeling addictive and the weight of it on his tongue was wonderful.

(Name) gasped as Pantalone forced his mouth off his cock, mouth open with a gasp as he came on his face, white ropes like a wedding veil and Pantalone felt himself harden again as (name) licked the cum almost hypontized as he did so "god you're such a little slut"

Pantalone could see (name) was almost in a headspace, the eager bunny just wanting to please his owner.

"Come here" Pantalone pat his lap and (name) crawled in it, their cocks touching "if you wish to continue I must tell you something" Pantalone said seriously and (name) nodded slowly "if you wish to have sex with me, you cannot leave my side again, I am a selfish greedy man and I refuse to let such a precious thing like you go"

"Was this not... You know... That?"

Even after sucking cock and getting jerked off the sweetheart still couldn't bring himself to say sex, god he was precious.

"Oh darling we barely begun~" Pantalone said groping his ass cheeks "would... I be able to visit my family...?" (Name) said holding back a moan "I could arrange it..." Pantalone said and (name) bit his lip "would we be... Lovers?"

"That's my intention" Pantalone took one of (name)s hands and kissed his knuckles, watching the Deacon swoon "please... Have uh... sex with me" he whispered the last bit as Pantalone grinned, watching as (name) sealed his fate forever.

(Name) yelped as Pantalone lifted him, cock hanging heavy as he walked through the halls of the grand mansion till they reached the master bedroom and the man placed (name) on the expensive sheets, mentally noting how perfect he was in the pattern.

Pantalone grinned as he grabbed an expensive bottle of oil, pouring it on his hands "this may be uncomfortable" Pantalone said leaning to kiss his thigh before spreading the others legs "oh my, aren't you flexible" Pantalone grinned before his oil covered fingers moved lower to prod at his entrance and gently pushed in, not wanting to hurt his bunny...well at least not like that.

(Name) whined at the foreign intrusion "shhh" Pantalone silenced the other as he began moving his finger and pumping in slowly, (name) head lulled as he let out soft moans and pants, mouth opening wide when the other added another finger and doing a combination of a skissor motion and a hithering motion, stretching and pleasuring his sweet lover.

His lover.

God Pantalone would spoil him to hell.

(Name)s hips spasmed a bit as Pantalone hit his prostate dead on "w-what...?"

"Seems I found your prostate, that's a spot inside you that's going to make you go insane" he smiled before adding a third finger and without warning began aggressively finger fucking the poor man and fingers beating against his prostate.

"Ohh~ I-I can't... To much~" (name) was shaking and crying as his toes curled and looked like a mess but god was he beautiful Pantalone noted silently, already fucked out and he hadn't even put his cock in yet.

God he loved how honest he was with his reactions.

(Name) was so close, he could feel the knot tighten again.

Then Pantalone retracted his fingers, grinning sadistically as (name) looked annoyed and confused "don't worry, the best part his coming"

Pantalone lubed his own cock before rubbing it at (name)s entrance before pushing his cock in "hn!" (Name) cried out as he clung to Pantalone "t-to much... Can't fit..." (Name) cried out and the black haired man kissed him "shhh it will fit don't worry" Pantalone soothed and (name) cried softly as the other bottomed out fully "you're doing so well, do you like my cock?"

"Big..."

Pantalone felt his ego rocket as he began slowly thrusting back and forth, caging (name) in his arms as the poor man clung to anything he could "ah ah!" (Name)s moans bounced with each thrust, the stretch and sensation of the head rubbing against his prostate to much as his eyes crossed a little, moans increasing in volume as Pantalone increased his movements and slowly began pistoning his hips, the sound of skin slapping and beautiful moans filling the room "I-I" (name) tried speaking but got cut off by his own moan as the two shared a sloppy kiss, teeth clashing as he fucked into (name), the Deacon cross eyed and swore he was going to become addicted to this newfound pleasure.

"I-its.. cumming!" (Name) let out a loud slutty moan as he came between them, cum staining both their chests but Pantalone kept going, chasing his own orgasm as (name) felt himself go crazy, overstimulated and body hot as the man pounded relentlessly, hands gripping his hips and no doubt leaving bruises.

"Mine..mine" he mumbled as he reached orgasm, poor (name) cumming again and passing out, completely fucked out.

"All mine..." Pantalone mumbled as he pulled out, watching cum leak from his pretty ass "and you're never leaving..."

[theoutcastrogue]

My thoughts on the best strategies to preserve human knowledge and creation in perpetuity

1) don't put all your eggs in one basket

archives need to be paper and digital, public and private sector, centralised and decentralised, fully legal / by the book and rogue, in vaults and cabinets and servers and torrents

create as many redundancies as you can: make copies, and copies of the copies, and copies of the copies of the copies, ad nauseam; anyone anywhere who can make copies, should

spread the physical hubs (paper stacks or servers) geographically, in as many places as possible; you never know what kind of natural disaster or man-made horror will take out a whole building, city, region, or continent tomorrow

2) entropy is a bitch, think longterm

pick methods that are more likely to last

schedule regular copying: you gotta transfer the stuff to a new medium before the old one falls apart, so have some idea when it's expected to fall apart

3) keep converting to new formats

no format becomes obsolete instantly, there's always a transition period; use transition periods to furiously convert everything

4) indexing and searching is as important as the content itself

self-explanatory

5) eyes on the prize: the end goal is public access

if a random nobody, with no status and no money, can't access it easily, freely, and anonymously, the job is only half-done; you've built the back-end and neglected the front-end; get someone to complete it ASAP, because now it's just sitting pretty and isn't doing anything; or isn't doing enough, in any case

bonus: use. fucking. torrents.

It is truly bonkers that the bittorrent protocol is not being used for archiving. It's an ideal method for digital archiving and it should be standard procedure. If a university has stuff on a hard disk, it can put it on its server, and if it can put it on a server, it can torrent it and seed it 24/7. If the same archive is useful for another university on the other side of the planet, that one can download it and then stay in the swarm, also seeding it. If a library or city council anywhere on earth finds the archive of interest, it can do the same. The more the merrier, every download is a potential redundancy and every seeder is an actual redundancy.

If you got space to store it, you got space to share it. And of course, any private individual can at any time join the swarm. So we get excellent preservation (with multiple redundancies, spread far and wide geographically) AND public access, global and free, which is what preservation is FOR in the first place! It ain't for the heck of it, it ain't only for the eyes of the elite, it's for everyone, that's the purpose, that's the end goal. If that's not your end goal, you're doing it wrong.

[nissho-ku]

shidou doesn't think he's ever been this nervous before. the excitement that thrums through his veins has been set for a while as he planned this exact scenario for months. secretly purchasing plan tickets, reserving only the best fine dining and a hotel stay for them in one of the only other places rin had wanted to go after his spain trip with sae; paris france. they both knew the language, fluent in french to hold their own while they tour for two weeks. it was hard to keep it a secret, it was harder to get rin to take time off for the surprise trip as well without telling him what he had planned. thankfully he had, and the glee expressed from the other as he surprised him with those tickets made shidou happy enough, but that wasn't all that he had for him.

the flight there was nothing short of amusing. seeing his lover so excited for touch down and the whole ride there provided shidou more entertainment than the on-board provided movie the stewards put on for them. shidou made sure their flight got them there at night so they would have the remainder of their vacation to explore as much of the city and some as possible. their first night spent making lazy love in their room, shidou letting his lover express his gratitude before succumbing to sleep.

today however... today was different. shidou woke up that morning giving the birthday boy his first of many gifts, mouth on his pulse, all over his body. marking him with love and possession only the two of them have for one another. “happy birthday rin,” shidou murmurs with so much love he almost ruins his plans right there, but he can't. he worked too hard to set this all up to make it all moot. after having rin in the shower, they make it to breakfast. he let's rin take pictures of the two of them to upload to social media and send to his brother. they visit art galleries, a baking class shidou flopped at but rin excelled at making croissants, and a boat ride along the canals circling the city.

at every opportunity, shidou only stared and smiled at rin, taking in his expressions and relishing that he would want this forever, he will have this forever. he needs to only ask.

dinner reservations were set for when the sun would be near it's lowest before sinking below the skies and the lights from the eiffel tower were ablaze in all its glory. jules verne. they were lucky in getting a private table near the window, they could overlook the park and all the people going about their night while enjoying a fancy dinner and recounting the days events. shidou's back pocket was feeling a bit heavier than usual this night, his stomach too as it twists itself in knots. his nervousness wouldn't stop him though, wouldn't stop him from reaching out and holding rin's left hand, squeezing it gently. “rin,” shidou calls to him, getting his attention.

it's now or never, and the thought of never was something that terrified shidou more than this. rin was everything to him, and of course he wanted to make that known to his boyfriend after nearly fumbling it. shidou stands up, never letting go of rin's hand, prompting him to sit sideway in his seat. he knows the moment he drops to his knees, he just had to get everything out before completely losing his nerves.

“rin... birthdays weren't really something i cared much about to be honest. i didn't really care or celebrate my own, and i never cared much for the reason why others would celebrate why they were born, but ya came into my life and changed it all for me.” shidou grasped rin's hand a little tighter, “i'm happy that you were born on this day, or else i wouldn't've met someone who changed my whole life. i treasure ya a lot, and you deserve to have that expressed to ya every day.”

shidou reaches into his back pocket, a silver band sat between his index and thumb. he doesn't break eye contact, wanting to see the precise moment rin realizes this is really happening. after the fight, the admittance that he was scared of commitment, asking for time to prepare everything to be perfect for him. rin deserved nothing less than perfect, even if shidou himself isn't. the ring is a perfect fit on his hand, because of course shidou measured it six times just to be absolutely sure it would fit snug on his ring finger. “rin, will ya marry me?”

@maxstats / happy birthday rin

[longitudinalwaveme]

You're No Flash (Fictober 2024)

Day 11: “Well, that worked out great.”

“Bruce, I really can’t thank you enough for offering to keep an eye on Central City for me while Iris and I take our Gotham vacation,” Barry said as he ran around his house, throwing things into his suitcase. 

“You’re planning to patrol Gotham during your vacation. It’s only fair that I return the favor,” Bruce replied. 

“Still, I really appreciate you thinking of it. I know that you don’t like to leave Gotham.” Barry disappeared from the room, then reappeared with a huge stack of old comic books, which he placed in his suitcase. A few seconds later, Iris walked out of their shared bedroom, dragging her suitcase behind her.

“Barry, are you still packing? We have to be at the airport in ten minutes!” Barry dashed off, then returned with a jumble of shirts, jackets, pocket protectors, pants, and bow ties, which he dumped haphazardly into the suitcase before zipping it shut. 

“I’m done, I’m done!” he exclaimed. Iris laughed. 

“I’ll never understand how the Fastest Man Alive is always running late,” she said. Barry shrugged sheepishly. 

“Sorry, Iris. I just got distracted talking to Bruce. He was giving me the rundown on how to stop crime in Gotham City.” Iris frowned. 

“Have you given him the rundown on how to fight crime in Central City?” she asked. Bruce was about to say that he was fairly sure he could handle two-bit punks like the Trickster and Captain Boomerang when Barry spoke up. 

“Oh, that’s right! I knew I was forgetting something!” Barry darted off into his study, and then returned with a three-ring notebook. 

“Here it is, Bruce—the Flash’s guide to Central City’s Most Wanted. I compiled it myself,” he said proudly. 

“Thanks, Barry, but I really don’t think that I’ll—”

“Good-bye, Bruce, and good luck! Iris and I have got to run if we want to get to the airport in time,” Barry said. He grabbed his suitcase, scooped up Iris, and suddenly the two of them were gone. Bruce shook his head. He wasn’t sure he would ever entirely get accustomed to working alongside a man who could move faster than the speed of light. 

Bruce’s first instinct was to change into the Batsuit and start his patrol of Central City, but he decided that it would probably be best to read through Barry’s guide to Central City before he did, just in case. He had always had a great amount of respect for Barry’s organization, scientific mind, and dedication to justice, and he had no doubt that reading the notebook would be beneficial for Barry’s insights into the city where he lived, if for nothing else. With that in mind, he sat down in one of the Allens’ easy chairs and started flipping through the notebook. 

As Bruce had expected from a man of Barry’s logical, orderly mindset, the journal was excellently organized. The entries were sorted by both topic and alphabetical order, and Barry had even been thorough enough to include an index at the back of the notebook that would allow Bruce to easily find the information he needed on any major location in Central City, all of the important members of the city’s law enforcement, and all of the biggest criminals and criminal combines in the city.

But, as Bruce had also come to expect from Barry, the notebook was almost painfully earnest. He really believed that all the people who fought were equally dangerous and needed to be taken with equal caution, and he had written the journal accordingly. There was no other reason he could think of for Barry to have included four straight pages of detailed notes, complete with several diagrams and photographs, about a cheap hoodlum like Captain Boomerang.

Still, if Bruce had to choose between someone who was overly cautious in his record-keeping and someone who didn’t even bother to keep notes, he would take the former every single time.

After he finished reading through Barry’s notebook, Bruce got himself a cup of coffee, drank it, and then changed into the Batsuit and got ready for his first patrol in Central City. 

*************************************************************************

After five days and four nights of patrolling, during which Batman had stopped exactly one carjacking and had otherwise seen no crimes other than jaywalking and candy wrapper littering, Bruce was perched on the roof of a crumbling old tailor’s shop when a mirror across the street suddenly seemed to twist and warp. A few seconds later, a man in an orange-and-green costume stepped out of the mirror, iced tea in hand. Batman instantly recognized him from Barry’s notes, police records, and the files in his own Batcomputer. Samuel Joseph Scudder. The Mirror Master. 

Bruce glided down from the rooftop, cape billowing behind him, and landed in front of the criminal—who promptly dropped his drink in apparent shock. 

“Batman? I…I thought you were—that you were—” 

“A myth? A man as superstitious as you are should know that all myths have a grain of truth to them.”   

“Oh, gosh, you’re real. You’re real and you’re here and—please-don’t-eat-me!” The Batman costume had been designed to frighten criminals, but it had been a long time since he had seen a thug this spooked by it, let alone a supervillain. It was nothing to complain about, though. The more frightened Mirror Master was, the less of a threat he would be. 

Bruce heard the familiar whistling sound of a boomerang flying through the air just in time to dodge out of the way. He rolled to the right, landing on his feet just as the boomerang returned to the hand of its thrower—a small, lean man with a mass of brown hair and a look of low cunning on his face. Captain Boomerang. 

“G’day, mate!” he said. He gave a tip of his cap, and Bruce, taking advantage of his obvious overconfidence, retrieved a batarang from his utility belt and threw it at the two-bit crook.

Only for the Captain to actually manage to grab it out of the air before it hit him. Apparently, he wasn’t quite as incompetent as Bruce had initially assumed.

“Gotta say, mate, this boomerang’s a beaut. Perfectly balanced, feather-light—but hard as steel. Unless you made it yourself, you must’ve paid a pretty penny for this. Mind if I give it a whirl?” The batarang came careening back through the air, and, although Bruce was able to dodge out of the way again, the batarang hit the wall behind him with enough force that it actually embedded itself into the brick.

Doing something like that required perfect form, precision, and not a small amount of strength, and Bruce mentally chastised himself for his earlier hubris. Even if your enemy was a two-bit thug who dressed in a boomerang-print stewardess outfit and called themselves “Captain Boomerang”, it was the height of foolishness to assume they weren’t a threat. 

Mirror Master scampered over to the other criminal. 

“Digger, we’ve got to get out of here! Batman’s real, and he’s going to eat us!” Digger laughed. 

“You can walk through mirrors and tangle with the fastest man alive, and you’re afraid of a regular bloke in a bat costume?” 

“How do you know he’s a regular guy? Half the stories from Gotham say he can fly and has super strength and eats people,” the Mirror Master asked.

“Didn’t you see him throw his boomerang, mate? It didn’t move any faster than the ones I throw. If he had super-strength, it would’ve moved too fast for me to even think about catching it,” Captain Boomerang replied. 

Bruce was just about to take advantage of their conversation to disarm Captain Boomerang when a gust of wind suddenly knocked him to the ground. He looked up, and, floating about thirty feet above the ground, was a skinny man with wild black hair, holding a long golden rod. The Weather Wizard. 

“The forecast predicts stormy weather ahead for you, Batman!” he boasted. A few seconds later, a small blonde man—more a boy, really; he couldn’t be more than nineteen years old—in a huge black-and-orange cape and hideous striped clothes jogged up to the Weather Wizard. The Trickster. 

“That’s the Batman? I thought he’d be taller,” he said as he pulled out a yo-yo and began fiddling with it. From Barry’s files, Bruce knew that the Trickster’s gadgets weren’t as harmless as they appeared, but, for the moment at least, he didn’t seem intent on using this particular yo-yo as a weapon. 

In fact, none of the villains seemed particularly interested in fighting. Captain Boomerang had thrown a boomerang, and Weather Wizard had bowled him over, but neither one of them had followed up on their initial attacks. Why? 

“What’s the matter with you guys? Why aren’t you scared of him?” the Mirror Master demanded.

“Come on, Sam. We fight the Flash, who has super-speed. Batman is a normal guy with boomerangs, which basically just makes him Digger in a funny mask. And I’m not scared of Digger,” the Trickster said. Bruce pulled himself back to his feet and started calculating the best angle to use to knock the Weather Wizard’s wand out of his hand. 

“But I heard that—” Mirror Master protested. The Weather Wizard waved his hand dismissively as Bruce pulled out another batarang. 

“What? That he eats people? Even if that’s true, which I seriously doubt, he’s no match for a man who can bend the elements to his will.” Bruce released the batarang—only for it to be frozen in midair by a bright blue beam and fall to the ground. He snapped his head to his left to see a man in a parka, who was wearing a pair of blue goggles and holding a smoking purple gun. Captain Cold. Walking alongside the Captain was a giant of a man, at least six and a half feet tall and probably well over two hundred pounds, in a flameproof suit. Heat Wave. 

“What’s the Batman doin’ in Central City?” Captain Cold asked. He kept his gun trained on Bruce, but he didn’t pull the trigger. 

“Cleaning up the night,” Bruce replied. Captain Cold laughed. 

“You think you can fight all of us?” 

“I’ve faced worse odds before.” Bruce lunged forward and grabbed the Captain’s gun arm. Cold fought back, but he was clearly not a trained fighter, and it didn’t take long at all for Batman to gain control over the gun and disarm the Captain. A few seconds later, Heat Wave grabbed him from behind and pulled him off Captain Cold—-but in spite of his obvious strength, Heat Wave was clumsy and awkward, and Bruce was easily able to free himself from the man’s grip, turn around, and knock his legs out from under him. Bruce then turned his attention back to Captain Cold, and was about to punch him out when a strange melody began to play and he suddenly found himself unable to move a muscle. 

A pale, slender man with long red hair walked forward, playing a silver flute. The Pied Piper. Like the Trickster, he was shockingly young, and he was dressed in a very ragged green polka-dotted tunic. He was also accompanied by a tall, athletic-looking man in a green-and-yellow striped leotard, who was clutching a blue-and-red striped top and wearing an odd-looking mask and a self-serious expression. Roscoe Neyle Dillon, better known as the treacherous Top. 

“Good work, Piper,” Captain Cold said gruffly as he helped Heat Wave back to his feet. The Pied Piper lowered his pipe and gave a slight smile. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly. The Top walked a tight circle around Bruce, looking him up and down, and Bruce felt a strong sense of unease. Something about the way that the criminal was examining him made him feel as though he was being x-rayed. 

“So, this is Gotham City’s infamous vigilante. I must say, I’m a bit disappointed. Given your fearsome reputation, I was expecting something a bit more imposing than a man in a Halloween costume—especially after having fought the Fastest Man Alive. I’m afraid, in terms of menace, that you cannot top that,” he said coolly. 

“Do you guys think the Flash is okay?” Heat Wave asked suddenly. If Bruce had been able to turn his head, he would have stared at him in surprise. If he didn’t know better, he would have said that the criminal sounded concerned about the Flash. 

“Probably. Why?” Captain Cold replied as he picked up his cold gun. 

“Well, if he’s okay, why didn’t he come to stop us?” Heat Wave said. Up in the air, the Trickster frowned. 

“You’re right. He’s never sent in a replacement before.” 

“And we are worrying about this, why, exactly? The Flash not being here can only benefit us,” the Top asked. 

“I ain’t so sure of that. The Flash is faster, sure, but word on the street is that Batman is a whole lot tougher. The Flash don’t go around breakin’ bones, for one thing,” Captain Cold replied. 

“That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time! Batman’s dangerous, and we need to get out of here before we get eaten,” Mirror Master insisted. 

“Scudder, Batman doesn’t eat people.”

“Everyone keeps saying that, but none of you are saying how you know.” 

“ I know he doesn’t eat people ‘cause word from Gotham’s underworld is he doesn’t even kill. He might crack your skull, but he won’t snap your neck—and ain’t nobody ever seen him with a knife or a gun,” Captain Cold replied.

“Fair enough—but if word in Gotham is wrong, and we get eaten, I’m blaming you,” Mirror Master replied. He unholstered a weapon that Barry’s notes had called a “mirror gun”, which could apparently produce a wide variety of effects, from creating mirror duplicates to shooting laser beams, and pointed it at Bruce, but didn’t fire it. 

“Regardless of how brutal he is, he has no superpowers. We can fight the Flash; the Batman should pose no threat to us,” the Top insisted. 

“No powers doesn’t equal no threat. We’re livin’ proof of that,” Captain Cold replied. 

“Perhaps, but given the fact that we were able to totally immobilize him before he was able to incapacitate any of us does not give me reason to suppose that this Batman poses any significant threat to us.” 

“Hey, guys?” the Trickster said. 

“The Top’s got a point, Captain. Sure, his punches really pack a wallop—I learned that the hard way when I took that trip to Gotham last year—but as long as I stay out of his range, he can’t touch me. Not when I have the power of the weather itself on my side,” the Weather Wizard said. Bruce blinked, and realized that the hypnotic effect of the Pied Piper’s music must be wearing off.

“You mean the trip to Gotham that ended with the Batman sending you to prison?” Captain Cold asked.

“Uh, guys?” Trickster repeated. 

“Maybe he got the better of me the first time we fought…but this time, I know what to watch out for. He’ll never be able to defeat me again,” Weather Wizard insisted. 

“GUYS!” Trickster exclaimed. 

“What?” Captain Cold snapped—just as Bruce kicked the flute out of the Pied Piper’s hands. As dangerous as the other Rogues’ weapons might be, eliminating the weapon that could freeze him in place without even needing to be aimed took priority. The flute went flying into the air, and cracked in half upon hitting the ground. 

“That’s what,” Trickster said as Bruce grabbed the Pied Piper by the collar.

As Bruce stared down into the young man’s frightened face, he was very surprised to realize that he was looking into the face of someone he had met before—not on the streets, but at several high society parties. True, he was paler and gaunter than Bruce remembered him being, but after having attended dozens of soirees hosted by Rachel and Osgood Rathaway, there was no doubt in his mind that the criminal he was currently holding a foot or so off the ground was their son, Hartley. How had the scion of one of the wealthiest families in the country ended up with a gang of blue-collar criminals? 

Only years of training prevented Bruce from taking the full force of the impact as the Top suddenly spun into him at super-speed, but the shock of being rammed into by a man-sized spinning top still caused him to drop Hartley to the ground, and he only barely managed to stay standing. Barry’s notes had mentioned that the Top could spin himself at superhuman speed, but he hadn’t mentioned that when he collided with you, it would feel like getting hit by a freight train. If Bruce wasn’t lucky, he would probably end up with a broken rib from the sheer force of that blow. 

“The Flash would have avoided that attack easily,” the Top said haughtily as he tossed the top he had been holding at Bruce. Bruce managed to pull out a batarang and knock the top off its course, but then the Top spun into him again, grabbing him and slamming him into a wall. 

“And you, clearly, cannot stop us from coming out on top.” In response, Bruce drew his right leg up sharply and kneed the Top hard in the throat. The Top cried out in pain and loosened his hold, but before Bruce could land a second hit, the Top dropped him and spun out of range. A few seconds later, a boomerang hurtled at him, and, when Bruce dodged the boomerang, a yo-yo suddenly slammed into his head from above. 

“Gotcha!” Trickster exclaimed. Bruce shook his head to clear it from the impact of the blow—only for him to be knocked off his feet by another violent gust of wind. Bruce was knocked backwards—and right into a dozen Mirror Masters. Bruce jabbed his elbow into the face of the nearest one, and it shattered into glass. He spun around and slammed a fist into another Mirror Master, which also shattered. 

“The Flash could’ve smashed through all my duplicates and found the real me in seconds,” the Mirror Master said. He sounded almost disappointed, which seemed counterintuitive. Given how frightened he had been of Batman earlier, one would have expected him to simply be relieved that Bruce was having trouble finding him—but perhaps his teammates’ insistence that Batman did not, in fact, eat people had given him enough confidence to start…being disappointed that he and his criminal cohorts were winning? No, it still didn’t make sense. 

As he shattered another Mirror Master duplicate, Heat Wave shot a plume of fire through the air in Batman’s direction. Bratman managed to avoid it, but a nearby Mirror Master duplicate wasn’t so lucky, and promptly melted. 

“The Flash would’ve put out my fire before it ever reached that far,” Heat Wave said. 

“And he could’ve done it while avoiding lightning bolts from me,” Weather Wizard added. Two seconds later, a violent wind swept Bruce off of the ground, and, while he was able to roll enough when he fell to avoid any serious injury, it meant that he wasn’t able to avoid the beam from Captain Cold’s gun, which promptly froze him to the ground. 

“And that stops him cold. Come on, boys. Let’s get outta here,” Captain Cold said. 

“We’re leaving him alive?” the Top asked. 

“We leave him alive. He ain’t our enemy, and we don’t need the kind of heat that killin’ a cape would bring down on us.” 

“How is he not our enemy? He attacked us, did he not?” 

“It wasn’t personal. It was business, just like it is with the cops. We don’t kill the cops who arrest us, we don’t kill Kid Flash when he hassles us, and we ain’t gonna kill him either,” Captain Cold said firmly. 

“And it is for that very reason that the entire underworld derides us as jokes. They call us weak; say we don’t have the stomach to kill—and because of you, they’re right,” the Top snapped. Digger laughed obnoxiously. 

“Mate, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you wear green-and-yellow striped tights. They’d be laughing at you no matter what.” Captain Cold turned to glare at him, and, while the Captain was distracted, Bruce slipped a tracing device onto his costume. 

“Digger, shut up. You ain’t helping.” Captain Cold barked. Then he turned back to the Top.

“I don’t care what the underworld thinks about us. I don’t care what anyone thinks about us. What I care about is us stayin’ alive, stayin’ together, and, preferably, not gettin’ caught. We start killin’, and all three of those goals will be threatened.” 

“Only cowards let fear impede their path to greatness.” 

“And idiots who let their ambition blind ‘em to reality end up locked up for life or dead,” Captain Cold shot back. The Mirror Master started walking over to the two squabbling criminals. 

“What do you know of ambition? You’re an illiterate lowlife thug. You were born trailer trash, and you’ll die that way—but that doesn’t mean that you have to drag the rest of us down to your level.” 

“That’s rich, comin’ from a crazy, top-obsessed lunatic.” The two men were clearly on the verge of coming to blows, which made it all the more surprising when the Mirror Master stepped in between them. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Save your arguments for when we’re not in front of the superhero, please. It’s unprofessional, and it makes us look bad.”

“Who put you in charge?” Captain Cold and the Top said in unison. 

“Technically speaking, I’ve always been in charge, seeing as I formed the group and everything. I just don’t care enough to play king of the hill. But since you two have decided to have one of your stupid alpha male competitions, I’m going to have to step in to settle the argument. I don’t want to force the rest of the guys to stand around watching you two argue when we could be doing something productive—like making sure all of our gear is in order for next week’s heist,” Mirror Master replied. 

“And what, pray tell, have you decided?” the Top asked coldly. 

“In this case, I agree with Captain Cold. Batman isn’t the Flash. We don’t have any quarrel with him, so there’s no reason for us to kill him—-and, more importantly, killing would split the group. Pied Piper, Trickster, and Heat Wave don’t have it in them to kill anyone, and you know it. Besides, if we started killing people, being the Mirror Master would lose most of its fun,” the Mirror Master replied. 

“But our reputations—” 

“Will be just fine. We defeated the Batman. If anything will get us respect in the underworld, it’ll be that,” the Mirror Master replied. This seemed to mollify the Top, if only slightly.

“Yes, I suppose that is something,” he conceded. 

“See? There we go. Everybody’s happy. Now, let’s pick up Piper’s new costume from Gambi and get back to our hideout.” 

****************************************************************************

Bruce’s specialized bat-de-icers melted through the ice that had frozen him to the ground after about an hour. As soon as he was free, he followed the tracer he had placed on Captain Cold to a broken-down old warehouse on the docks of the river and hid himself nearby. After his disastrous first battle with the Rogues, it was abundantly clear to Bruce that he would be defeated if he charged into their hideout with all eight of them present. As such, a wiser course of action would be to wait until most of the Rogues had left the hideout, defeat the few who remained, and then lie in wait for the rest to return. 

Fortunately for him, the Weather Wizard—now in civilian clothes—left the warehouse only a few minutes after Batman arrived at the docks. He was wearing a black leather jacket, had his wild black hair styled into some semblance of order with a lot of hair gel, and had put on so much cologne that Bruce could smell it from forty yards away. 

He was met by the likely reason for the cologne—an attractive woman with long red hair—about halfway down the docks.

“Hey there, babe,” the Weather Wizard said. 

“Hello yourself, handsome,” the woman replied. The Weather Wizard showed her his weather wand, which she dutifully oohed and aahed over, boasted about how powerful he was, and completely failed to notice as she slipped her hand into his pocket and stole a credit card and at least a hundred dollars worth of bills out of his wallet. 

“How’d you like to see the city from the sky, honey?” Weather Wizard asked. 

“Oh, I’d love it!” the woman said. The Weather Wizard picked her up, waved his wand, and disappeared with her into the night sky. If there was any money left in his wallet by the time the night was over, Bruce would be very surprised. 

About thirty minutes after the Weather Wizard left on his date, Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, and Heat Wave also left the hideout in civilian clothes. From their conversation, it was easy to tell that they were headed for a seedy local bar—although since Captain Boomerang was clearly already inebriated, he wasn’t entirely sure why they were even bothering to make the trip. Bruce wasn’t complaining, though; the faster the warehouse emptied, the more quickly he would be able to make his move. 

Another hour later, the Top walked out of the warehouse in a tuxedo, complete with a yellow-and-green striped tie and a yellow-and-green striped top hat. Bruce wasn’t sure where he was going dressed up like that, but apparently he had hired a limousine for the occasion, because he climbed into one near the end of the docks, and it then drove away with him inside. 

All but two of the Rogues were gone, and the ones who remained were the two youngest. Bruce would never have a better opportunity to defeat the Rogues than right now. With that in mind, he picked the padlock on the warehouse’s back door and slipped inside the dilapidated building. 

As Bruce made his way through the hideout, he quickly discovered that, while his enemies would often  convert the old abandoned buildings they took over into sophisticated bases with complex security systems and elaborate theming, Barry’s villains hadn’t put similar effort into fixing up the old warehouse. There was a TV shoved into one corner, a card table with four chairs, a very worn easy chair, a portable fridge, and the biggest mess that Bruce had ever seen. Beer cans, cigarette butts, money, Mark Twain novels, dirty magazines, textbooks about quantum physics, books of matches, sheet music, boomerangs, socks, mirrors, and hand puppets were strewn all over the floor, a dartboard with the Flash’s face plastered over it was hanging on one of the walls, and someone had stuck a sticky note to the portable microwave that read “Mick is not allowed to use this anymore”. In fact, the only part of the warehouse’s largest room that didn’t look like the Weather Wizard had sent a tornado through it was its right corner, which contained a clean workbench with a picture of a pretty young blonde woman and neatly organized rack of tools hanging over it, a swivel chair, a perfectly organized bookshelf that contained titles like The Fascinating History of Tops, Gyroscopes, and The Theoretical Principles Behind the Construction of Satellites, and an even larger shelf that contained nothing but hundreds of precisely-labeled, scrupulously-organized tops. Evidently, the Top possessed the hideout mindset Bruce expected from supervillains, even if his teammates did not. 

Bruce considered performing a more thorough sweep of the room to see if he could uncover any of the Rogues’ plans, but decided against it. The place was such a mess that it would likely take hours before he managed to find anything useful. Instead, he started making his way through the warehouse’s four smaller rooms, starting with the one that branched off from the main room’s south wall. This turned out to be the bathroom, which had a grimy shower, a grimy sink, an even more grimy toilet, a very well-polished mirror, a few razors, and mountains of hair and skin products. A quick examination of the last revealed that, with the exception of two bars of soap and one shampoo bottle, the Top, Weather Wizard, and Mirror Master owned all of the beauty products, and that well over 75% of the lotions and shampoos and facial creams belonged solely to Mirror Master. As a member of high society, Bruce had to maintain a reputation as a well-coiffed man, but he didn’t own even a fraction of the hair and skin products Mirror Master apparently did. 

The next room, which branched off of the north wall, had two air mattresses, one which had fire-print pajamas in a pile at the foot of it and the other of which had a faded, worn blue bathrobe and polar bear slippers lying on it, and one actual bed. The actual bed was surrounded by mirrors from every angle. There was even a hand mirror lying on top of the bed. Other than that, the room contained one snow globe with a polar bear inside, a poster of a blazing inferno, a picture of a blonde woman who looked very similar to the one in the photo over the Top’s workbench, and a closet that had been haphazardly shoved into a corner. 

The third room, which branched off the west wall, contained one bed and one mattress on the floor. The mattress on the floor was surrounded by boomerangs, rotting food, unwashed clothes, and empty beer cans. A blue cap was lying on top of the mattress, and an Australian flag was hanging from the wall next to it. The bed, which was placed right next to the opposite wall, clearly in an attempt to keep as far away as possible from the hazardous waste dump that was the mattress and its surrounding area, was right under a rather large window that provided a perfect view of the river. A huge pile of novels—many of which were by Mark Twain—was stacked on the bed, and photo of two young men, one of whom was obviously the Weather Wizard himself and the other of whom, a bespectacled young man in a lab coat, resembled him enough to be his brother, was pinned to the wall next to the window. Strewn around the bed were more novels and several different pieces of paper with phone numbers on them. A set of drawers rested at the foot of the bed, and the clothes inside all clearly belonged to the Weather Wizard. 

The final room, which branched off the east wall of the warehouse’s main room, was currently occupied. Bruce had heard the voices of the two youngest Rogues coming from it the moment he had entered the warehouse, and, given what he had found in the other rooms, it seemed safe to assume it was being used as a bedroom by the two of them and the Top. Bruce pulled out one of his batarangs and kicked the door open, prompting a gasp from the Pied Piper, who was sitting cross-legged on a cot and holding a pipe, and a shriek from the Trickster, who was holding his yo-yo and lying inside what looked like a children’s bouncy castle. He knocked the Trickster’s yo-yo out of his hands with the batarang, then managed to wrestle the pipe out of the Pied Piper’s hands before he could raise it to his lips. Pied Piper’s eyes went wide with fear, but, after a few seconds of initial surprise, the Trickster actually grinned.

“Hi, there!” he exclaimed cheerfully. Batman looked over the two supervillains, and was overwhelmed all over again by how young they looked. Neither one could possibly be much over twenty, and the Pied Piper was painfully thin. How, he wondered, had they ended up in the company of thugs and lowlives?

“The two of you seem very young to be a part of a group like this,” he said. The Trickster laughed. 

“I get that a lot. From judges, mostly. I was sixteen when I made my grand debut,” he said cheerfully. Bruce did the math. According to Barry’s notes, the Trickster had first shown up three years ago. If he had been sixteen then, he was nineteen now. 

“Wait. You’re only nineteen? Then why does Captain Cold think you’re twenty-four?” the Pied Piper asked. 

“Because I told him I was twenty-one when I first teamed up with him,” the Trickster replied. 

“You don’t need to tell me how old you are. I already know. You’re nineteen as well,” Batman said. 

“How could you possibly—”

“Because Hartley Rathaway turned sixteen three years ago,” Bruce replied. The Pied Piper’s mouth fell open. 

“You…you know? How could you possibly know? Even the Flash doesn’t know, and he’s been fighting me for months now!” 

“I make it my business to know these kinds of things.” 

“Besides, ‘Henry Darrow’ is a terrible alias. I don’t know how the other guys keep falling for it,” the Trickster added. The Pied Piper stared at him in shock. 

“You know? How long have you known?” 

“Oh, I figured it out two days after we met, once I realized that the fact that you didn’t know how to dress yourself or how to use the microwave or what a laundry machine was meant that you had to have been rich. And since the Rathaways were the only rich people in the area whose son had recently gone on a very mysterious tour of Europe, it wasn’t hard to narrow down who you probably were,” the Trickster replied. Clearly, he was more intelligent than his choice of clothing and weaponry suggested. 

“And when were you planning on telling me that you knew who I really was?” the Pied Piper asked.

“Whenever it would be the funniest.” The Pied Piper sighed wearily, then turned toward Bruce. 

“All right, so you know my little secret. I am Hartley Rathaway—but what’s that to you?” 

“Your parents are two of the richest people in the country, and, while I’ve met plenty of wealthy criminals in my day, the ones who aren’t the heads of crime families tend to stick to white-collar crime. What are you doing running around with a gang of thugs?” The Pied Piper laughed quietly. 

“My parents and I had a …...difference of opinion. The kind of difference of opinion that caused them to throw me off of the estate with no money to ‘teach me a lesson’,” the Pied Piper replied. For half a second, Bruce was surprised to hear that the Rathaways had kicked their own son out of his home. Then he remembered what Rachel and Osgood Rathaway were like, and suddenly everything made sense. 

“Where did you get the mind-controlling musical instruments?” 

“I made them. Ever since my parents paid fifteen million dollars to “fix” me, I’ve been fascinated with sound. Playing it, recording it, listening to it—and manipulating it. My parents were happy enough to take advantage of my playing, since having a son who could play the piano and the flute as well as I was taught to do was a wonderful way for them to show off, but they always dismissed my interest in manipulating it as “tinkering”, and never paid it much mind. They had no idea that I had started developing sonic technology a year before they shipped me off to a college I didn’t want to attend, or that I had actually made some pretty good progress on it by the time they threw me out,” the Pied Piper replied. 

“And how did you end up in costumed crime?” 

“My parents had made it pretty clear that they weren’t going to let me give any of my fortune away legally, so, after a month or so of selling off my technology in a desperate attempt to keep myself off the streets, I decided that I might as well do it illegally. I cut up somebody’s old shower curtains and made a makeshift costume out of them, then used my musical hypnosis to mind-control some thugs who had decided to rob businesses owned by my parents and took charge of the operations. The Flash just happened to show up before I could distribute any of the money to charity, and I went to jail—but I didn’t stay there. My parents paid someone at city hall under the table to have me released before I could go to trial, since they didn’t want anyone to know that the Pied Piper was a Rathaway, and they hadn’t had time to pay the FBI to give me a new identity yet.. As soon as I was back on the street, I—” 

“He gave away all the money he’d made selling his fancy sonic tech to a bunch of widows and orphans and soup kitchens and almost starved to death! His parents never let him anywhere near the business side of their estate, so he has no money sense,” Trickster interjected. 

“More or less. And, now that I’ve told you why I’m running around in polka-dots, why don’t you tell me why Bruce Wayne is running around in a bat costume?” the Pied Piper said. Bruce tensed. How could he possibly know? 

“Good joke, Piper. Is Veronica Vreeland Batgirl, too?” Trickster asked. 

“No, I’m serious. I didn’t notice at first, but I’ve attended enough boring soirees and business meetings where Bruce Wayne was in attendance to be able to know his voice, even if it is being electronically modulated by a speaker. It’s a pretty good auditory trick, but not good enough to fool my nanomechanical ears,” the Pied Piper replied. 

“Wait…if Bruce Wayne is Batman, that means that Dick Grayson is Robin. I thought Robin’s acrobatics looked kind of familiar on TV,” Trickster said. Bruce grabbed the Trickster and slammed him against the wall.

“What do you know about Dick Grayson?” 

“He’s a carny kid—just like me, only younger. Our paths crossed a few times on the circuit before his folks were killed,” the Trickster replied. Bruce dropped the Trickster back onto the bouncy house. Now that he thought about it, he distinctly remembered Dick enthusing about how he’d always known a talented young high wire walker would make it big. It seemed that that high wire walker had decided to go from walking on a wire to walking on air—and robbing banks. 

“If you tell anyone—” 

“Tell anyone what? It’s not like anyone would believe us if we told them that Gotham’s richest idiot was secretly the world’s greatest ninja detective,” the Trickster said. 

“Especially when the only evidence I have for you being Bruce Wayne is the fact that your voice sounds exactly like his once my hyper-advanced nanomechanical ears filter out the effects of a voice modulator. Almost no one knows I’m Hartley Rathaway, so no one would have any reason to believe I’ve heard Bruce Wayne’s voice enough times to recognize it,” the Pied Piper added. Bruce relaxed fractionally when he realized that they were right. The odds of them convincing anyone else that he was Batman were slim to none—but that didn’t mean that they might not try to take advantage of their knowledge themselves. 

“Do anything to hurt Dick, or Alfred, or anyone else that I care about, and I will make you regret it,” he snapped. 

“I don’t know about James, but I for one am not about to travel all the way to Gotham, the horrible murder capital of the world, just to get the crap kicked out of me for attacking the loved ones of a hero I don’t even care about,”  the Pied Piper said. 

“Besides, going after a hero’s loved ones is cheating. Everyone knows that,” the Trickster added. Bruce was quite sure most of his enemies wouldn’t agree with that sentiment, and wondered what sort of charmed life Barry led to have so many costumed villains who held themselves to a self-imposed set of standards. 

“You know what? We’ve been talking for the past ten minutes, and we never even thought to ask what you’re here for,” the Pied Piper said. 

“I’m here to take you in—but, given how young you two are, I’d be willing to ask the courts to show you leniency if you surrender quietly,” Bruce replied. The Trickster grinned.

“Okay! We surrender!” he said. Bruce immediately went on edge. Usually, when supervillains took him up on that offer, it meant that they had something up their sleeves. Pied Piper was apparently just as surprised as Bruce, judging by the expression on his face. 

“What do you mean, we surrender?” 

“C’mon, Piper, it’ll be a great gag! Can you imagine the look on Flashy-pants’ face when he finds out that a random guy in a Batsuit was able to bring us in faster than he could? It’ll serve him right for going away and leaving us without anyone fun to fight,” the Trickster said.

“And we’ll look like idiots for being defeated by a guy with no powers,” the Pied Piper replied. 

“I wear stripes and blue slippers, and you dress like an evil elf. Everyone thinks we’re idiots anyway, so we might as well have fun with it,” the Trickster said. 

“I don’t care. I am not surrendering without a fight just because you think it’s funny,” the Pied Piper insisted. The Trickster hopped off of his bouncy castle bed and threw an arm around Piper. 

“Well, if that’s what you really want, Piper, that’s fine. I’ll go alone—but before the Batman drags you away, I want you to say good-bye to Mr. Ducky,” the Trickster said. He pulled out a rubber duck from somewhere on his costume and waved it in front of the Pied Piper’s face. 

“James, this is not—” The Trickster squeezed the rubber duck, some gas sprayed out, and the Pied Piper slumped into unconsciousness. 

“Well, that worked out great! Good job, Mr. Ducky!” he said to the rubber duck. Then he turned to Batman. 

“Sorry about him. He’s a nice kid, really, but he doesn’t know when to quit. I didn’t want him to end up with any broken ribs because he tried to fight off a ninja,” the Trickster said apologetically. Bruce, still half-expecting a trick, handcuffed the two criminals together with his Bat-cuffs, summoned the Batmobile he had had flown to Central City shortly before he had arrived there himself, and loaded the two of them into the back seat. 

“Nice car. Did you build it yourself, or did you pay someone to make it?” Bruce ignored him and started the engine. 

“Right. I forgot. You’re the strong, silent type. That’s another reason I like the Flash better than you. He has an actual sense of humor.” As the Batmobile started to drive down the road that would take him to the headquarters of the CCPD, Bruce started to wonder if his villains were harassing Barry about how they wanted to be fighting Batman instead. He couldn’t imagine most of them doing it, and as for the one who actually might—he wouldn't wish the Joker on anyone. 

“Hey, what does this button do?”

Although, Bruce reflected as a parachute shot out from the back of the Batmobile, at least the Joker was predictable. 

******************************************************************************

An hour and a half after dropping the Pied Piper and the Trickster off at the CCPD, Bruce returned to the Rogues’ abandoned warehouse hideout to find the Top sitting in his swivel chair, working on something. The Weather Wizard was leaning on the wall immediately next to the desk, the weather wand clutched in one hand. From the sound of their conversation, the two of them were comparing dates. 

“You have a good night?” 

“The very best. I do so love to make Lisa happy, and nothing makes her happier than roses, fancy dinners, and jewelry,” the Top replied. 

My date was great, too. Thanks for asking,” the Weather Wizard said. The Top looked up at him in apparent confusion. 

“I did not ask. And I do not care about your dates. Half of them are with desperate, lonely women who would date anyone who pays them a compliment, and the other half are with  women who are taking advantage of your belief that you are some sort of Casanova to get money out of you,” the Top said. The Weather Wizard scowled.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Last week, you spent four thousand dollars on a necklace for a woman you’d met thirty minutes before in a bar, just because she was flirting with you and you wanted to impress her. Do you really think you’ll ever see her again?” 

“I got her phone number.” 

“You got what you think is her phone number.” 

“You’re just jealous that I get more dates than you.” 

“I only need one date. Lisa is perfection. And even if I had no date at all, I would still not be jealous of a man too stupid to realize why he has three times as many dates when he has money than he does when he’s broke. Haven’t you ever noticed that women aren’t as interested in you during the weeks when you have to beg Captain Cold or Mirror Master or Heat Wave for cash?” 

“Why do you keep track of the number of dates I have in a week?”

“You boast about them so extensively it’s hard not to,” the Top replied.

“Since we’re on the subject, when are you going to tell Captain Cold that you’re dating his sister?” Weather Wizard asked. 

“Never, if I can help it. We rub each other the wrong way enough without his overprotective older brother instincts making everything worse.” 

“You do realize he’s gonna find out eventually, right?”

“Then I will cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I do not have to put up with him scrutinizing every move I make, and I prefer it that way,” the Top replied. The Weather Wizard smirked. 

“I guess I can’t really blame you. She’s a babe, no two ways about it—especially for someone who’s related to Len,” he said. 

“She got all of the looks in the family. And all of the manners,” the Top said as he sent a top skittering across the desk. When it reached the end of the desk, it ignited into flames for a few seconds before extinguishing itself. 

“Excellent. My flare top is working exactly as intended.” 

“You’d better not let Mick see that, or you’ll never get it away from him,” Weather Wizard commented. 

As the two criminals continued their conversation, Bruce calculated the angle that he would need to throw his batarangs at in order to knock out the Top and knock the wand out of the Weather Wizard’s hands. He had to take out both of them at once, because if not, whichever one remained standing would overwhelm him with the power of their attacks. 

Then Heat Wave came through the front door, lugging an unconscious Captain Boomerang along with him, and Bruce was forced to alter his initial plan. 

“Digger passed out, so I volunteered to take him home early,” Heat Wave explained. The Top shook his head in apparent disgust.

“I don’t know why we bother to keep that lout around,” he muttered—just as Bruce launched into action. One batarang knocked the wand out of the Weather Wizard’s hand, one went flying towards the Top, and Bruce himself hurtled towards Heat Wave and landed his fist on Heat Wave’s jaw. The Weather Wizard squawked in alarm as Heat Wave stumbled backwards and dropped Captain Boomerang. Bruce quickly followed up the initial punch with a roundhouse kick to Heat Wave’s head. Heat Wave slumped to the ground, unconscious, and Bruce was about to turn to the now-disarmed Weather Wizard when the Top slammed into him at full speed and pinned him to the wall. 

“You missed,” the Top said coldly. Bruce struggled to free himself, but it seemed the Top had learned from their earlier fight, because he was now being held in such a way that prevented him from properly leveraging his body to attack. 

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. No one tops the top. Not you, not Captain Cold, not even—” 

Suddenly, a bright red blur zipped into the room and knocked the Top to the floor. 

“The Flash?” Barry asked. There was a big smile on his face. The Top snarled as he got back to his feet.

“So you’re back, are you?” 

“Yes, I’m back—just in time to help Batman take all of you back to prison,” Barry said as he grabbed the weather wand. 

“I’m faster than lightning. Are you?” Barry waved the wand, and a bolt of lightning crashed out of the sky. It didn’t actually hit the Top, but the force of the strike was enough to knock the man backwards into the shelf full of tops, where he hit his head on one of the shelves. About a dozen tops landed on his unconscious body.

The Weather Wizard looked at the two heroes  and raised his hands. 

“I surrender, okay? Just don’t let Batman hit me. That hurts,” he said pathetically. Barry laughed.

‘I think that’s the smartest decision you’ve ever made,” he said. There was a flash of color and a rush of wind, and suddenly, Barry and all four of the criminals were gone. Barry reappeared a few seconds later.

“Thanks for helping me track the Rogues down. I’ve been trying to figure out where they were all hiding out for months,” Barry said. Bruce nodded. 

“No, thank you. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t even want to think about what the Top would have done to me.” 

“No problem. You want me to run you back home to Gotham?” Bruce nodded. Barry swept him off his feet, there was a flash of light, and suddenly Bruce was back where he belonged. 

“I have no idea how you manage this place, Bruce. I was stopping so many muggers and murderers and carjackers that I barely had time to sleep—and that was before the Scarecrow showed up. I could never patrol Gotham full-time.” 

“And I’ll be leaving Central City to you from now on. I can’t even begin to understand the logic your Rogues operate under—and even if I could, your Rogues seem to take it very personally when another hero fills in for you.” 

[strangelockd]

Never Doubt My Love For You

Pairing: Sinister!Strange x Fem!Reader

Synopsis: Its your birthday and you would rather not bother with it but Sinister changes your viewpoint of the day you used to dread.

Word Count: 843

Warnings: Angst, Major Tooth Rotting Birthday Fluff, Fluffy Sinister Showing His Soft Side, Slight Adult Themes

A/N: This is my little birthday fic for myself that I wanted to share with all of you. Its semi proof read. I hope you Enjoy it.

It felt like any other day in the New York City Sanctum except it wasn’t for it was your birthday. You didn’t want Stephen to make a fuss about it, so you opted to not mention it. Looking around the place you grabbed the trinkets on the tables and organized them. Taking the duster and cleaning the place as spotless as possible to push the day out of your mind, it you keep busy the day will be over soon enough. Moving to the chambers you dusted the wooden furniture, taking the time to make sure the bed was properly made and looking presentable. Not that it mattered anyways for you and Sinister were the only occupants in this universe.

Only once your tasks were completed did you notice that you haven’t heard from Sinister, usually he was always within eye shot of you or at most the room next door. Placing the cleaning supplies in the closet you quickly changed into Stephens Columbia University hoodie with black sweatpants. Closing the bedroom doors, you roamed the halls seeking your husband. Looking through every room Sinister was nowhere to be found, it was the oddest thing. Did he go out without me or something? Worry started creeping into your mind as you descended the stairs only to suddenly notice a pleasant smell…chocolate? 

Noticing the smell was coming from the kitchen you walked over and opened the door to the most tender sight. Sinister didn’t leave, he was only baking you a birthday cake. Leaning against the doorframe you kept silent as you watched Sinister carefully apply the icing. Taking in the slight smile on his face as he smoothly spread out the chocolate frosting you couldn’t help but grin yourself. It was only when you gave out a soft sigh did, he even notice you were watching him. He was then attempting to pat some of the flour off his dark robes to little avail.

“Oh, my love. I wasn’t expecting you to see this until I was finished. I wanted to surprise you with a homemade cake.” 

Slowly stepping towards him you smiled, “Ah yes, I can see that. You really didn’t have to do this Stephen”

“Oh, but I wanted to. You know I love doing things for you” he smiled gently while placing a candle in the center of the cake. 

Wrapping your arms around his waist you pulled him in for a kiss. It was gentle at first, but as Sinister felt your lips pressing firmer, he parted his welcoming the sweet taste of your tongue. He locked a hand at the base of your neck pulling you in as close as possible, tilting your head back to gain deeper access to you. Hearing your soft coos made his trousers tighten and his heart skipped a beat. 

Stephen was always an excellent kisser without a doubt but this one felt special and more intimate. He wanted to show you how special you are always but, on your birthday, he always tried to show more so his love for you.

Pulling away with just a hair breath distance he lifted your chin facing him declaring, “Never doubt my love for you my precious dove”

He lifted the cake up to you making a quick gesture with his hand and the candle lit up. You couldn’t help but smile brightly giggling.

“Happy birthday make a wish my kitten,” he purred softly.

Taking a small inhale, you closed your eyes pausing a moment and blew. Sinister removed the candle and reached for the knife when you grabbed his hand and pulled him in once more making his eyes slightly widen.

“Im not quite in the mood for cake just yet,” you cooed.

“Well, what would you like to do then, its your day,” he smiled.

Tracing your finger along the counter you took an index finger and ran in softly through the chocolate icing. Placing it inside your mouth you let out a soft moan as you slowly cleaned off your finger. Stephens eyes glimmered bright as he watched in awe; he knew what you were doing. You little minx. 

“I want you to make love to me”

Stephen wasted no time pulling you in for another kiss. He wanted to be gentle but at this point with the hunger in your voice and desperation in your touch his skin was on fire, screw gentle.Hearing your moans deepen he tiled your head back to gain better access to your mouth. He wanted more and needed more of you always. You could make out the needy groans from the base of his throat making you smirk on the corner of your lips. Stephen always said you had this enchantment on him, he sometimes had a hard time believing you were real. Pulling away to catch your breath Sinister gently scoped you up bridal style resting his forehead upon yours. He slowly carried you to your shared chamber peppering your face and neckline with kisses.

“Who am I to say no to my birthday princess”

Leave a comment if you liked it. Interact! I will love to read all of your comments and opinions. It inspires me to keep writing.

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A special thanks to the followers who requested to read more of my work. Your all very special to me <3

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[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … November 3

1500 – Benvenuto Cellini (d.1571), sculptor, goldsmith, memoirist, and flamboyant pederast, is one of the greatest artists in the history of Western art. He was the last of the great Renaissance artists, for the free exploration and celebration of the sensual (particularly the homoeroticism) that inspired his genius and was a hallmark of Renaissance Florentine culture were soon aborted.

Benvenuto Cellini was born in Florence at the peak of the Italian Renaissance. Apprenticed to a goldsmith, he excelled in that art. In fact, he was so successful that he was called upon to fulfill major commissions throughout Italy and France. Indeed, he traveled so much that until he was forty-five years old, he never lived longer than five years in any one place. The reasons for his sometimes abrupt departures ranged from political upheavals and plague to outbursts of temperament, including murder.

At nineteen, Cellini went to Rome, where over the years he worked for Popes Clement VII and Paul III. In 1536, he traveled to France, where he sculpted decorations for the palace at Fontainebleau. In 1545, Cellini returned to Florence, where he lived the rest of his life.

Florence was notorious in the Renaissance as "Sodom City": in German slang, "Florenzer" meant "sodomite." In the late fifteenth century, one in two Florentine men had come to the attention of the authorities on suspicion of sodomy by the time they were thirty. In 1432, the "Office of the Night" was created to eliminate sodomy, but after seventy years it was disbanded as the task was deemed hopeless. About ninety percent of the cases reported involved boys under the age of eighteen. Sexual activity between men and boys was an integral feature of Florentine culture in the sixteenth century.

Cellini himself was convicted of homosexual sodomy with a boy named Domenico in Florence in 1523 and fined 12 bags of flour. He was prosecuted but absolved of charges of heterosexual sodomy in France. In Florence, Cellini was supported by his appreciative patron Duke Cosimo I de'Medici. Cosimo's first commission was for a large bronze Perseus holding Medusa's severed head. This magnificent nude figure in the Piazza della Signoria is a gay icon for its depiction of a beautiful young man.

Perseus

Cellini's subsequent works, including the marble statues of Ganymede and the Eagle, Narcissus, and Apollo and Hyacinth are particularly appealing to men who love boys. In Ganymede and the Eagle, the young Trojan boy lovingly ruffles the neck feathers of his seducer, while in Apollo and Hyacinth, the mature Apollo ruffles the tousled curls of an expectantly receptive Hyacinth, on his knees at the god's feet.

The homoerotic spirit that nourished Cellini's art was soon to be crushed in Florence. In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent (1545-1563) adopted policies designed to make the Church even more austere than the Protestants. It also embarked on a campaign to crush heresy. It established the Index of Prohibited Books and it proscribed carnality in art. In 1559, Pope Paul IV ordered draperies painted on the nudes in Michelangelo's Last Judgment. The Council's decrees were enthusiastically enforced through the sadistic power of the Inquisition.

In this context, in 1557, when his apprentice Fernando di Giovanni di Montepulciano accused Cellini of having sodomised him many times, the penalty was a hefty fifty golden scudi fine, and four years of prison, remitted to four years of house arrest thanks to the intercession of Duke Cosimo.

During his years of house arrest, Cellini attempted to rehabilitate his reputation. Not only did he devote himself to religious art (including a deeply religious marble crucifix), but he also took minor holy orders and fathered a son in 1560 by his servant Piera, whom he married in 1563.

Most importantly, however, during his period of house arrest, Cellini began his celebrated Vita. In this autobiography, the artist recounts his acquaintanceships with princes and popes and his great achievements as sculptor and goldsmith, while disavowing, with wounded innocence, his reputation as a pederast. He implies that he is a ladies' man, but cannot resist bragging that once he took his apprentice Diego in drag to a party of artists and their whores. The boy was voted the most beautiful prostitute in Florence, which nearly caused a riot when one of the girls groped Diego and discovered the truth of his sex.

Although the Vita attempts to present an appearance of orthodox morality and fails to mention Cellini's gay affairs or his convictions for sodomy, it nevertheless repays interest for its homosexual content. Especially significant in this context is Chapter 71 of Book Two, which may be read as a defense of sodomy, that "noble practice" indulged in by "the greatest emperors and the greatest kings of the world." Cellini says that he lacks the knowledge or means to meddle in the "noble practice," but he nevertheless commends it as "a marvelous matter." Whether these passages can be taken seriously or in jest is a matter of debate; certainly the context in which he was writing—under house arrest for having had sex with a young man—is an important consideration in interpreting the autobiography.

1846 – (Francis Davis) Frank Millet was an American painter, sculptor, and writer who died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.

Francis Davis Millet was born in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. At age sixteen, Millet entered the Massachusetts regiment, first as a drummer boy and then a surgical assistant (helping his father, a surgeon) in the American Civil War. He repeatedly pointed to his experience working for his father as giving him an appreciation for the vivid blood red that he repeatedly used in his early paintings. He graduated from Harvard with a Master of Arts degree. He worked as a reporter and editor for the Boston Courier and then as a correspondent for the Advertiser at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.

Millet had a studio in Rome in the early 1870s, and Venice in the mid-1870s, where he lived with Charles Warren Stoddard, a well-known American travel journalist who, evidence indicates, had an active sexual interest in men. Historian Jonathan Ned Katz presents letters from Millet to Stoddard that suggest they had a romantic and intimate affair while living a bohemian life together.

A well-regarded American Academic Classicist, Millet was close friends with Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Mark Twain, both of whom were present at his 1879 marriage to Elizabeth Merrill in Paris, France; Twain was his best man. He was also well acquainted with the impressionist artist John Singer Sargent, who often used Millet's daughter Kate as a model, as well as the esteemed Huxley family.

Millet became a member of the Society of American Artists in 1880, and in 1885 was elected as a member of the National Academy of Design, New York and as Vice-Chairman of the Fine Arts Committee. He was made a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and sat on the advisory committee of the National Gallery of Art. He was decorations director for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, where he is credited with having invented the first form of spray paint. His career included work with a number of worlds' fairs, including Vienna, Chicago, Paris, and Tokyo, where he made contributions as a juror, administrator, mural painter/decorator, or adviser.

Millet lived with  Archibald Butt, who called him "my artist friend who lives with me", in a large mansion at 2000 G Street NW. They were known for throwing spartan but large parties that were attended by members of Congress, justices of the Supreme Court, and President Taft himself. There is some speculation that Butt and Millet were lovers.

Historian Richard Davenport-Hines wrote in 2012: "The enduring partnership of Butt and Millet was an early case of "Don't ask, don't tell". Washington insiders tried not to focus to closely on the men's relationship, but they recognized their mutual affection, and they were together in death as in life."

On April 10, 1912, Millet boarded the RMS Titanic at Cherbourg, France, bound for New York City. He was traveling with long-time friend Archibald Butt. He was last seen helping women and children into lifeboats. His body was recovered after the sinking by the cable boat Mackay-Bennett and returned to East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where he was buried in Central Cemetery.

In 1913, the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain was erected in Washington, D.C., in memory of Millet and his long-time friend and lover Archibald Butt, with whom he shared a home, and who also died on the Titanic.

1871 – Hanns Heinz Ewers (d.1943) was a German writer famous for his short stories and novels that expanded the parameters of the horror genre. He began his literary career as a poet when he published "A Book of Fables", satirical verses, in 1901. In addition to writing, he was an actor and created a vaudeville theater the same year he made his literary debut. He also founded another acting company that toured Central and Eastern Europe, but he abandoned the theater due to censorship.

It was his stories about the occult and horror that made his name. His first novel "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was published in 1910 and his masterpiece, "Alarune", in 1911. The two novels were part of a trilogy based on the autobiographical character of Frank Braun, who also appears in the 1921 novel "Vampyr".

Ewers was deeply attracted to the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, and the Nietzschean philosophy of the "intellectuals" of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, as well as their nationalism (to say nothing of their mysticism) attracted him to the Nazi Party, though he never joined it. He did not agree with the party's anti-Semitism and this plus his homosexual tendencies soon ended his popularity with the party management.Though he wrote a novel based on the life of Nazi martyr Horst Wessel, allegedly at the bequest of Adolf Hitler, his works were banned by the Nazis in 1934.

A penniless Hanns Heinz Ewers died from tuberculosis on June 12, 1943 in Berlin. He was 72 years old.

1939 – Terrence McNally (d.2020) was an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, an Emmy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

After graduation, McNally moved to Mexico to focus on his writing, completing a one-act play which he submitted to the Actors Studio in New York for production. While the play was turned down by the acting school, the Studio was impressed with the script, and McNally was invited to serve as the Studio's stage manager so that he could gain practical knowledge of theater. In his early years in New York, he was a protégé and lover of the noted playwright Edward Albee.

Although several early comedies such as Next in 1969 and 1975's The Ritz, set in a gay bathhouse, won McNally critical praise, it was not until later in his career that he would become truly successful with works such as his Off-Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and its screen adaptation with stars Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.

In 1990, McNally won an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Miniseries or Special for Andre's Mother, a drama about a woman trying to cope with her son's death from AIDS. A year later, he returned to the stage with another AIDS-related play, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, a study of the irrational fears many people harbor towards homosexuals and people who have AIDS.

With Kiss of the Spider Woman (based on the novel by Manuel Puig) in 1992, McNally returned to the musical stage, collaborating on a script which explores the complex relationship between two men caged together in a Latin American prison.

Another of McNally's other plays is 1994's Love! Valour! Compassion!, with Lane and John Glover, which examines the relationships of eight gay men; it, too, was made into a popular movie.

In 1997, McNally stirred up a storm of controversy with Corpus Christi, a modern day retelling of the story of Jesus' birth, ministry, and death in which both he and his disciples are portrayed as homosexual. In fact, the play was initially canceled because of death threats from extremist religious groups against the board members of the Manhattan Theatre Club which was to produce the play. However, several other playwrights such as Tony Kushner threatened to withdraw their plays if Corpus Christi was not produced, and the board finally relented. When the play opened, the theatre was besieged by almost 2,000 protesters, furious at what they considered blasphemy.

On January 19, 2008, Robert Forsyth, Anglican bishop of South Sydney condemned Corpus Christi for depicting Judas seducing Jesus: "It is deliberately, not innocently, offensive and they're obviously having a laugh about it." The play also showed Jesus administrating a marriage between two male apostles.

In a January 2003 interview, McNally addressed critics who said he had "added" two gay characters to his Broadway adaptation of the film The Full Monty: "If Neil Simon had written the script, they wouldn't have said that. I get it for being gay, for proselytising. It's so annoying, all that bullshit."

McNally was partnered to Thomas Kirdahy following a civil union ceremony in Vermont in 2003, and they subsequently married in Washington, D.C. on April 6, 2010. McNally was one of the first victims of COVID-19 and died from complications on March 24 2020.

1948 – Walter Lee Williams is a former professor of anthropology, history, and gender studies at the University of Southern California. He is one of the pioneers in the field of Queer studies, with a long background in human rights activism. In 2013, after his retirement, he was arrested and imprisoned for five years on the charge of "illicit conduct in foreign places."

As a teenager in Atlanta in the 1960s, Williams was inspired by Martin Luther King to get involved in the civil rights movement. In 1978 he became a gay rights activist, protesting against Anita Bryant’s Save Our Children campaign.

Williams earned an undergraduate degree in History and Anthropology from Georgia State University in 1970, and continued to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned a Master's in History in 1972, and a Ph.D. in History and Anthropology, in 1974. His doctoral thesis was Black American Attitudes Toward Africa: The Missionary Movement, 1877—1900, and would form the basis of his first book.

In 1979, while Williams was an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, he and Gregory Sprague founded the Committee on Lesbian and Gay History, an affiliate of the American Historical Association.

In his fourth book, The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture, in 1986, Williams came out as gay. This book was the first complete study of the berdache, androgynous and gender-variant people among the American Indians. The book won the 1987 Gay Book of the Year Award from the American Library Association, the 1986 Ruth Benedict Award from the Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists, and the Award for Outstanding Scholarship from the American Foundation for Gender and Genital Medicine and Science presented at the 1987 World Congress for Sexology.

He has published ten books and taught American Indian Studies. He has also been recognized for his work with the gay and lesbian community. An ethnographer, Williams has also traveled throughout North America from Alaska to Yucatan to study Native American tribes. His other areas of expertise include cultures of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, based on his years of field research in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines and Polynesia.

In 1994-1995, Williams, with Jim Kepner, oversaw the merger of the International Gay and Lesbian Archives and the ONE, Inc. library holdings to form the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at USC, the largest repository of LGBT materials in the world.

On March 24, 2006, Williams was awarded the Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award from Morehouse College, for his work during the civil rights and peace movements and in support of LGBT rights.

Williams taught anthropology, gender studies and history at the University of Southern California until his retirement in 2011. He lived in Mexico on a retirement visa from 2011 to 2013, where he continued his earlier research among the Mayan Indians.

On April 30, 2013, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Williams in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for sexual exploitation of children, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. Williams was accused of engaging in sexual acts with teenage boys in the Philippines via webcam.

On June 17, 2013, he was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He was arrested in Mexico one day after he was put on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and was extradited to Los Angeles, California. The FBI, with reasonable suspicion, searched Williams's computer, finding unclothed photographs of teenage boys. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to illicit sexual contact with boys aged 14 to 16 in the Philippines and was sentenced to five years in prison.

1952 – David Ho, HIV-AIDS researcher, was born on this date; a Taiwan-born American AIDS researcher famous for pioneering the use of protease inhibitors in treating HIV-infected patients with his team. Ho devised the method of treating HIV with "cocktails". He theorized that combining the powerful protease inhibitor drugs with other HIV medications would provide a more effective way to treat the disease.

Ho is married to artist Susan Kuo, with whom he has three children. Many of us owe our lives to his work.

1959 – Timothy Patrick Murphy (d.1988) was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as "Mickey Trotter" on the popular CBS prime time soap opera Dallas during the 1982-83 season.

Murphy started his acting career as an adolescent in several television commercials and from there he went on to act in the 1978 miniseries Centennial. Other than his role in Dallas, he spent more than a year playing a young con-man on the CBS daytime soap drama Search for Tomorrow, and also had a regular role on the short-lived 1984 ABC prime-time drama Glitter. In addition to this, he appeared in episodes of Hotel, The Love Boat and Hunter.

He appeared in the 1981 film Bushido Blade. One of Murphy's most substantial roles was in the 1984 feature film Sam's Son, the film biography of the life of actor Michael Landon, in which he played the character of Gene Orowitz (the young Landon).

Murphy contracted HIV and died of AIDS on December 6, 1988 in California, aged 29. He once stated that he'd had an affair with the allegedly bisexual actor Brad Davis, who had AIDS and committed assisted suicide in 1991

[vashtijoy]

index of meta posts, part three

possibly this is getting out of hand?

Indexes: [one] [two] [third semester] [akechi's confidant].

out-of-universe meta discussion

On Akechi's bodycount and how to interpret canon. (posted 2023/04/22)

Is Akechi obvious, or is Joker an unreliable narrator? (posted 2023/02/19)

On the "perfect victim" myth, and how Akechi does not consider himself a victim. (posted 2023/02/16)

Akechi's resemblance to Light Yagami is totally superficial and is meant to mislead you. (posted 2022/12/11)

cute things

Akechi uses the full title of the Featherman show, like Futaba. (posted 2023/04/26)

Goro, please carry an umbrella, you're killing me. (posted 2023/04/24)

What would Akechi's love language be? (posted 2023/03/25)

"Honey, I'm home": intimacy chicken with Joker. (updated 2023/03/26)

P5A: Akechi looks like a crow and shoots directly at Joker's head—and Joker laughs. (posted 2023/02/25)

"the fish are beautiful": Joker's impromptu diversion at the aquarium. (posted 2023/01/20)

sad things

NPC cop to drunk NPC: "Akechi-kun, your family is probably worried about you." (posted 2023/03/30)

The toy shop at the end of "Proof of Justice" is in Kichijoji. (posted 2023/03/014/09)

P5A: Akechi looks like a crow and shoots directly at Joker's head—and Joker laughs. (posted 2023/04/26)

Anon comment on Akechi getting dragged into the "found family" trope by the ankles. (posted 2023/02/18)

yes, there is gay subtext in your innocent waifu simulator. (posted 2023/02/07)

little details

[twitter] Akechi's main outfit is his school uniform. (posted 2023/06/23)

How did Morgana see Dome Town? Also, the RL TV studio. (posted 2023/05/30)

Akechi and the evil wristwatch he wears only on his own time. (updated 2023/05/03)

When does Akechi start using Joker's given name? (posted 2023/03/26)

Followup ask: can we pin this down more precisely? (posted 2023/07/22)

@somethingpersonarelated reviews Akechi's outfits [tags are mine]. (posted 2023/04/25)

Akechi's school uniform doubles as his day job uniform. (posted 2023/04/29)

The toy shop at the end of "Proof of Justice" is in Kichijoji. (posted 2023/04/26)

The toy gun, Proof of Justice, was likely conceived to be Akechi's palace treasure. (posted 2023/04/09)

tech stuff

[twitter] Material from the betas. (posted 2024/01/23)

[twitter] Technical requirements for Akechi's third awakening. (posted 2023/09/01)

Character signature colours and Yoshizawa's phone. (posted 2023/08/15)

Akechi's "cute wink" cut-in, and his "evil wink" cut-in, and when they're used. nb this is wrong and needs updating (posted 2023/04/08)

fic excerpts

Goro and his mother: Akechi at six. (posted 2023/11/30)

Goro and his aunt: Akechi at nine. (posted 2023/03/27)

Postcanon HCs and Ren finding Akechi again. (posted 2023/1/15)

Goro and his uncle: Akechi at thirteen. (posted 2023/04/26)

How would I like Akechi's story to continue? (posted 2023/03/21)

Shido confronts Akechi about the Metaverse. (posted 2023/03/04)

12/24: deduce, panic, kill: P5 as a comedy text adventure. (posted 2023/02/03)

other characters

What was the original version of Ryuji and Makoto's Bon Jovi reference? (posted 2024/10/07)

How would Akechi and Mishima get on? (posted 2024/01/18)

Is Joker from the city or the country? (posted 2024/01/17)

Shido's Palace: what do the posters say? (posted 2024/01/14)

Deleted scene: Haru's hangout at Crossroads. JULIAN AND ANGEL WARNING. (posted 2023/12/14)

The Monabus was registered in Tsukiji. (posted 2023/11/20)

Haru: "we'll just take him out again". (updated 2023/10/19)

9/3: the Featherman allude to Haru on TV. (posted 2023/05/13)

How do we know Joker's grey shirt is sleeveless? (posted 2023/04/26)

@nardaviel's excellent guest post about Joker. (posted 2023/03/28)

On forgiveness: Haru's approach to Akechi. needs updating, sigh, that one Mementos line has at least another reply from Makoto. (posted 2023/02/12)

It's Yusuke who steps forward to tell Shadow Shido he was the worst dad. (posted 2023/01/02)

lolarity

P5 initially used "Saki Konishi" (the corresponding character in P4) as a placeholder name for Shiho. (posted 2024/06/07)

Incorrect Persona: "There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus?" (posted 2023/12/25)

Miel et Crepes is (obviously) a pancake café. (updated 2023/05/28)

Would Futaba make Danganronpa jokes to Akechi? (posted 2023/05/15)

Akechi and the Russian takoyaki. (posted 2023/05/04)

Akechi allegedly smells like the sleazy Veteran Pick-Up Artist on Central Street. (posted 2023/04/30)

The other Goro Akechi (and the food blog). (posted 2023/01/22)

Akechi and Joker height truthing. (posted 2023/01/01)

Akechi, stop staring at Joker's bed. (posted 2022/12/27)

word of god references (other people's posts, etc)

from @starfirexuchiha: Some new Akechi trivia: What's in his attaché case? Akechi wears the argyle to copy Naoto. What's his apartment like? What bike does he ride? How is he with spicy food? Why and when does he eat with his right hand? Yes, Akechi awakened to both personas at the same time.

PQ2: rival characters have a greater presence when they're calm, and also Akechi probably painted the mural.

P5A: "for us, we know he's a detective."

P5A: why there is more Akechi.

"Maruki does not have concrete proof that Akechi is dead." (incidentally y'all, I would love a better source for this one.)

"Akechi's confidant is the key to the third semester". [JP]

[marlo-noni]

Back from China

Now that I'm back in Canada after 26 days in China, here's a link to some of my photos (warning: there are over 500).

I usually travel on my own, and I was with my brother and dad this time, which was fun. I acted as their translator and tour guide (since to get anywhere you have to use Baidu, which is only in Chinese). It was interesting seeing China through their eyes, and we got to do things I wouldn't normally do on my own. We also didn't drive each other crazy - there were no fights, just some stressful moments (which happen when I'm alone too - just part of travel).

We were in Beijing, Wutai Shan, and Xi'an.

Wutai was very interesting - we were the only foreigners I saw for the entire 5 days. The weather was kinda treacherous, which I understand is pretty normal for Wutai. It was very beautiful, though. And we got our fill of temples - there are over 200 there. One of the more "off the beaten path" places I've gone to.

Xi'an is lovely. It's "only" 10 million people, and I'm discovering I quite like Chinese cities of this size. Still bustling and highly developed, but not overwhelming. Suzhou and Hangzhou are a similar size, and I also really love those cities. Xi'an has excellent local food - spicy and extremely garlicky. And of course wonderful historical sites. The terra cotta warriors are really amazing, and we timed our visit well because it wasn't super crowded when we went to see them.

Beijing is the 3rd "megacity" I've visited now, the other 2 being Tokyo and Shanghai. The advantage to cities like this is the endless variety of things you can see and do. You can never really see all of it. I intentionally spent longer there on this trip - 15 days in total - for this reason. We saw (this list is non-exhaustive): the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, the Bell and Drum Towers, the hutongs (old traditional alley residences), Fragrant Hill, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Bird's Nest stadium, the Summer Palace, the National Botanical Garden, Ritan Park, and Black Bamboo Park. We also ate an incredible variety of Chinese food - Liu Yuning is right that you can find like every region's food there.

The drawback to megacities, in my mind, is that there are just way too many people for me! It's okay on weekdays, but on weekends and holidays (we were there for the mid-autumn festival long weekend) it's way too crowded no matter where you go. I love a bustling and lively city, but at that scale, it's too much for me.

The drawbacks to Beijing in particular, in my mind, are:

the security is way over the top - even more than any other place in China I've visited. Particularly within a certain radius of Tiananmen, where you get stopped for an ID check literally every block and you have to tell them where you're going. There are also a ton of places you're just not allowed to go that seem stupid to me, like their national sports stadium (near the Bird's Nest in their 2008 Olympic Park), Beijing University, and Tsinghua University (those are by appointment only and the appointments were fully booked even a week in advance).

the air pollution isn't as bad as I saw on TV during the 2008 Olympics, but it's still really bad a lot of the time (the air quality index was often around 150-170).

it's way too spread out. There aren't a lot of skyscrapers compared to Tokyo and Shanghai. It has the largest subway system in the world, but the subway stops are very far apart, so you end up walking a TON to get anywhere. Most people ride bikeshare bikes from the subway station, but we couldn't get the apps working for my brother and dad, despite trying multiple different bikeshare apps - it's a big hurdle for foreigners. If you use Didi (their version of Uber) or take the bus, the traffic is often really really slow.

So, although Beijing has a ton to see, I'm not in a rush to visit it again unless I'm going to meet up with a friend there or as a landing point to visit somewhere else.

As usual, I also did a ton of shopping when I was there, and brought back an extra suitcase (which I also bought) full of stuff with me. I also did some online shopping when I was there. Taobao wouldn't work for me because Alipay wouldn't accept foreign credit cards on it (although you can use Alipay for a ton of other stuff there, including the subway, and I used it quite a bit), so I used Jingdong. It's dangerously convenient! I discovered that Taobao does work in Canada, though, with your Canadian credit card. This could end up being a bad habit!

Haha, I was only gonna write a short post but I got carried away. I need to get ready for work. More perhaps later. Let me know if there's anything in particular you would like to hear about.

[rrrrinmaru]

liveblog of 01 - to begin

first thoughts are that i really like the podcast-esque opening of the prologue with DPSC FM - it's giving wtnv vibes and the va does an excellent job of delivering his lines. i would actually enjoy hearing a full podcast version of the events of this game narrated through a radio station i think...

"traceback ii is about to pass the event horizon and enter the black hole" / "we are stuck in this loop, in this never ending journey" - pensive... is this related to the main storyline or is this foreshadowing about the multiple world theory?

"metaflux index" - it's fascinating that they've developed the technology to sense this metaflux index and identify problem spots in the city where wanderers are more likely to appear. they seem to be able to predict the rough locations where the wanderers will appear and likely can dispatch hunters to these areas on standby, but i wonder if they can narrow it down to the time itself?like "1400, wanderer attack down at the pizzeria", or if it's a shorter warning time, like the metaflux index spikes and it signals a wanderer attack in the next 20 minutes?

deepspace tunnel appearing leading to anomalous geomagnetic storms, which caused the wanderers to appear - i'm assuming the deepspace tunnel is something like a wormhole / space portal. does this mean the wanderers entered our planet through some portal / wormhole tearing a rift in space and time to deposit them directly on our planet (think loki and the first avengers movie when he brought the chitauri over with his spectre)? did someone create this portal or was it like some act of mother nature?

if you listen carefully during the 01 story, when tara is speaking to you, the president in the background says "but we only care about results. the ends justify the means." considering they view the wanderers as invasive aliens (zergs www), the standpoint makes sense, but it is quite funny to hear it be declared so self-righteously. does make me wonder how much you can get away with if you claim it's for the purpose of defeating the wanderers though... severe structural damage ala the avengers?

it seems that the new list of hunter graduates are released ahead of graduation and the leaders (?) of each hunting division / squad / team get to select the rookies they want to join their team - there doesn't seem to be any autonomy on the part of the graduates to indicate which team they want to join.

i do wonder why mc is the first rookie called up to receive the badge: from a gameplay perspective, it makes sense since it would be a chore to have to "sit through" other people before it reaches our turn. i don't think it's based on alphabetical order either since all the players' names are different, and it's likely that any numerical number (e.g. student number 12020) would be in order of name. from a plot perspective, are we like... hunter valedictorian???

tara being into tarot cards is so funny i won't lie. all this technological advancement and the venturing into space to see all the planets and having a wormhole tunnel appear in our planet and having to fight aliens and still bestie believes in fate. i mean so do i but it's still kinda funny wwww she's super cute though. i love her short bob.

interesting how mc uses a gun for the first mission - are they assigned guns only as beginner rookies? it's clear mc can use other weapons from the battle mechanics, so why gun - more importantly, have they invented auto aim in plot yet or does she still have to manually aim at people?

not sure if this is a gameplay thing or intentional plotwise - xavier's wounds were glowing with "metaflux" (suggests that wanderers' attacks use metaflux?) but the moment you touch him to try to wake him up, the glow disappears.

IS XAVIER COLLARED? COLLARED? COLLARED? HOW HAS NO ONE SPOKEN ABOUT THE COLLAR? WHAT THE FUCK? HE HAS A COLLAR?

"it activated its protofield" - are there any repercussions to like... just ignoring the protofield? like you see it manifest in front of you and you know a wanderer's lurking inside and you just decide no thanks and walk away? obviously you cordon off the area so the public can't wander in and stuff, but apart from that are there any... space time repercussions? like the protofield gets bigger the longer it goes ignored, or the wanderer can just dismiss the protofield and come back out to walk the earth?

protocores are crushable??????

erm very bold of xavier to just take my wrist and drag me along but ermmmmmmmm hehe hehe...... let's just say i'm agreeable.

hm i'm a bit confused. luminivores eat light - xavier's evol is light - they eat the light he produces (??) - therefore the warehouse full of luminivores is likely a trap for him. i think xavier mentions that the luminivores will respawn with the light if they don't defeat the luminivores quickly enough, meaning the luminivores consume the light and use it as refuel / to respawn with health. but when mc and xavier resonate, the combined power of the resonated light evol is "so bright" it seems to dissolve all the luminivores? does this mean it's like a speed / intensity thing? shine a bright enough /damaging enough light on the luminivores to hurt them faster than they can devour the light and it's enough to destroy them? maybe part of the hunter gear should include really, really, really high powered industry grade flashlights

protocores seem a lot weaker than i imagined... can they really be destroyed so easily? xavier crushed them in his palm and they were disintegrated by the power of the resonated light evol? regardless, protocores can be broken into protocore fragments - can they be pieced together to form a new protocore?

i do wonder - they can sense metaflux energy levels, and a high enough metaflux energy level typically means that wanderers will be appearing / have appeared in the area. is the reverse true, whereby a metaflux "explosion" (maybe in the research of metaflux energy and somehow the scientists accidentally create an explosion), will it draw wanderers to appear at that location like a beacon?

tara was about to try every method possible to contact mc, both scientific AND mystical? i would give money to see tara conduct a seance in the abandoned warehouse to try to triangulate my location. maybe pull out an ouija board. speak with any lingering spirits to figure out if i'm having a little tete-a-tete with a hot single silver-haired injured man in my area.

do teams like data analysis go into the field as well? that is so funny... imagine joining the hunter academy (?) because you've always been fascinated by metaflux and want to help develop technology / weapons to better sense and identify and hunt wanderers, and you suck it up throughout all the combat fitness and field training because you just want to be Where The Scientists Are and when you finally get assigned to data analysis you find out you still have compulsory field assignments. like i would end it all

mini drones with 360 degree eyes and infrared sensors designed to monitor wanderer activity patrol the sky - oh so we are in the Surveillance Society that all the sci-fi books predicted. got it

if jenna saved tara 14 years ago during the wanderer attack, and assuming jenna was like employed with some kind of law enforcement at the time, putting her at maybe 20-22 (at least), she should be about >= 34 years old? sexy... ok i am seeing the tara/jenna vision...

i wonder if they have flying cars....

fucking funny how rafayel just catches the fish and. lets it flop on the net pathetically for however long he talks, SUFFOCATING, before he plops it in your water container. he was really ready to just chat with you while he let his friend (fish are friends not food) die

HE JUST WALKS OFF OH MY GOD ok lilydally i see what you see in him. the bitch energy is hilarious

mc says she hasn't met zayne for over a decade and only recently met him 6 months ago for a follow-up checkup for her heart, but their families are friends and meet occasionally for meals - did they just stop meeting post wanderer attack? actually, did mc's grandma take mc in before or after the wanderer attack? if mc met zayne when she was 8 (and assuming this was pre-wanderer attack), she's at least 22 years old

not gonna lie if my ex-childhood friend turned out to be my primary care physician i might ask for someone else to be my physician... unless they were the best at their job and irreplaceable (which i assume zayne is?)

damn this office is fancy as hell... what kind of doctor's office has a whole ass couch inside? with a long table? with multiple couch cushions??

i like how low caleb's bar is. what matters is that you're alive. thank you chief.

military flights go INTO the deepspace tunnel?! by military she meant SPACE EXPLORATION? < with hindsight i now know by military, caleb is in the deepspace aviation administration. it's funny how they still call it aviation. the sky is vastly different from space, methinks........

you can find wanderers IN the deepspace tunnel? like are they floating? are they in their own spaceship of some kind? how do their bodies adapt to the change in pressure from space and on earth? if it's revealed wanderers are capable of flying spaceships too that would be so funny.... forget hand to hand combat on solid ground. let's have a laser battle in space in the deepspace portal. we'll see whose nuclear shields hold up better

caleb doesn't like cilantro... i will remember this

[groupfazza]

سمو الشيخ حمدان بن محمد : دبي أول مدينة عربية وإقليمية ضمن نادي العشر الكبار حسب مؤشر GPCI الصادر عن معهد الاستراتيجيات الحضرية – مؤسسة "موري ميموريال" اليابانية وجاءت في المركز الثامن عالمياً … نشكر كل الفرق التي عملت وتعمل من أجل هذا الإنجاز … لكن رسالتي لفريق دبي ومجتمعها واضحة، حبانا الله بوالدٍ وقائدٍ لا يرضى عن الريادة بديلاً ويريد دبي دوماً في المقدمة ومن هنا نطالب بمضاعفة الجهود فلا سقف لطموحاتنا، وبسواعد وفكر أهل دبي وفرق دبي وشركاء دبي قادرون أن نجعل دبي درة مدن العالم ونموذجاً لمدن المستقبل.

H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed : Dubai leads the list of Arab and regional cities and ranks among the top 10 globally in the Global Power City Index (GPCI) 2023, issued by the Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies in Japan. Dubai secures the eighth position globally in this esteemed index. We express our gratitude to all that contributed to this achievement. To all Dubai's team and its community: We are fortunate to have a visionary leader dedicated to excellence. Dubai consistently aims for the top, as our ambitions have no limits. Through the collective efforts of Dubai's community, teams, and partners, we can shape Dubai into the epitome of a global futuristic city.

Monday, 27 November 2023 الاثنين

[allycatcreatethings]

The Acceptance of Adulthood

Chapter 2: New Tales

How has Finn been holding up nowadays? And how are Emmet and the gang have been after all these years? When one plotline ends, new ones begin.

[First - Next - Previous - Chapter Index] [Word Count: 3613]

*~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~*

The morning sun rises to greet most people, and Finn wakes up from his soft bed, yawning from staying up last night, looking exhausted in the mirror. He stretched with his arms over his shoulder, cracking a bit of his spine before standing, and sighed as he saw his bedroom still looking like a bomb had gone off, dirty laundry everywhere on the floor, and his basket packed to the brim. 

"Oh… Okay. Good to know." Finn's words fell out slower; his movement was sluggish, moaning in pain of his tired body. He closed his curtains to the harsh lighting, only letting out a bit of the sunlight as he strolled over to the bookshelf and glanced up at Rex's Figurine in his place. "Need to ask Mom for my turn…" He said, trailing off his thoughts before shaking his head.

"Good Morning, Rex. I hope you had a good rest, unlike me, per usual." Finn said as he shrugged and chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He soon put an open book in front of Rex for privacy like a screen as he stepped gradually to his dresser drawer and changed into new, clean clothes.

Finn chose a plain white shirt and blue sweatpants with small pockets—nothing too wild for the day. He grabbed his orange jacket with one of those strange patterns on older pillowcases, but he didn't care much about his appearance. Finn wasn't planning to go outside today because it often felt like bitter medicine. Finn and his younger sister Bianca had big plans today with the Lego sets. 

After placing the book away for Rex, Finn soon left his room, smiling excitedly before waving and saying goodbye, walking, and closing his bedroom door. "See you later, Rex."

He slowly drifted down the hallway of his house and descended the wooden stairs into the basement without saying anything to his parents as they were away at work for the day.

The Lego world has changed over the years.

The Systar System and Apocalypseburg had come together, although the new name was still in the works. They both went to the conclusion of Syspocalypstar. Finn giggles to himself at that name.

After five years of doing this Lego world and their story, it became much more effortless to cooperate and love the new ideas that bounced around the siblings. The teamwork in maintaining the new city is impressive to watch, and we can have our adventures if and when we want. It was acceptable because Finn often did it with Emmet and his friends, just like in the good old days.

I missed the good old days. "Good Morning," Finn said, sneaking up behind his sister with a tired smile.

Bianca flinched, wiped her head to see her brother, and returned a smug but startled grin. "Ah, Finn! Next time, warn me that you're coming down. I'm finishing making the decorations; look how cute they are!" she said, beaming and proudly holding them up to her brother. 

Her craft-making skill of creating things, not just Lego, has improved significantly over the years. She could make a tiny house out of nothing but glue, cardboard, and paint and still make it beautiful. Her Lego building skills are excellent, too, but Bianca often needed something to go off of before modifying it, like a spaceship or a house. Oh, how Benny would love that.

"Man, I'm still feeling fatigued today and just woke up," Finn mumbled and yawned beside Bianca, preparing some Legos for their play.

Bianca looked concerned as she touched Finn's shoulder, making him freeze in place. "Are you sure that you had-"

"No! Well, maybe…" Finn interrupted, glancing down at the Lego bricks in his hand in shame. Bianca placed her hand over his and gave her brother a reassuring smile. "I'm a bit unsure…"

Bianca seemed skeptical and raised a brow about Finn hiding his emotions again, and she sighed, "Well, I'll prepare the play set on the floor, and you relax, alright? Also, did you eat any breakfast?" 

"Yeah." Finn lied. He wanted to start playing with his sister and ignore what his body told him to do, not wanting to sleep all day. He had been doing that for a few days now and hated it. But the food did sound good. No, he'll be alright.

"Oh… Okay?" Bianca stated, unsure of Finn's answer, yet continued getting things ready. She then brings a part of Queen's Watevra Wa'Nabi castle, and soon Finn gets Emmet out of his home and into his car, bright and early for the day. Then they began their story, Finn smiling as he narrated Emmet's actions and words with ease, and it would be a memorable evening. Finn puts Emmet into his car with a list of things and moves it along the road as something special for his friends, and he wants to get ready for it.

*~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~*

It's been a long time since the colossal event of Armamageddon happened a while back, and Emmet never missed his older home.

Emmet hummed as he got out of his car and inside the Unchained Coffee shop and pulled out a list of drinks with a nervous sigh. Then something said in the back of his head to get donuts for the side for a beautiful surprise for his friends. Today will be a big day. 

"Hello, I got the list all ready to go! Oh, can I also get some donuts too?" Emmet said with his usual classic smile and manner we all know as he passed the paper.

The cashier grabs the list from Emmet's hands and then calculates the price, knowing the special from his frequent visits to the Cafe.

"That would be $128." The gruff cashier stated, giving Emmet a judging glare at the random choices.

"Oh-ho, Awesome, Thanks!" Emmet expressed with a smile as he paid with cash. He walked over to the table, sat in a chair, got headphones out, placed them on his head, and picked a playlist.

The playlist was more into musicals at first, and it featured "Another Believer" by Danny Elfman. Emmet grins while he waits patiently, humming along to the song while he kicks his legs to the beat in his little world.

At least this time, the cashier didn't say much to him out loud. Too judgmental to Emmet's liking.

It had been a long time since Emmet had a vision, but he was thankful his friends and Lucy were safe now. Ever since he touched the Piece of Resistance, images of destiny or the outside world occasionally crowd his mind. They stopped only a few months ago, and Emmet wondered why that was the case. But he enjoyed the break from the call of adventure. He deserves it.

Just as the song finishes, the order is ringed up and clicked Emmet out of his musings. He thanked the cashier again and took the drinks and donuts, saying good morning to everyone who passed him until Emmet got to his car. It had become a routine of his almost every morning, even in his Brickburg days.

He fumbled to get his keys and unlocked his car door. He was positioning the treats on the passenger seat and putting on the seatbelt before patting the seat mattress.

Emmet removed his headphones and let the tunes play out loud, not bothering to play music on his car radio. He gets in the driver's seat and checks to see the mirrors, clicks his seatbelt on, nods as he uses his left turn signal and shoulder check, and drives away to the castle. 

The song on Emmet's playlist switched to "Everything is Awesome (Tween Dream Remix)" by Garfunkel & Oates with Ebam Schletter. It was familiar, and it put a more generous smile on his face. 

Emmet drove past a new place called Raptor Resort, and he looked at it with a mixed expression. After Rex disappeared, there wasn't anyone to watch the Raptors, so Emmet was able to make a place for them to stay. He didn't know why the Raptors didn't disappear but was pleased they did not. At least the Raptors had been spared from becoming nothing.

The familiar song finishes up faster than he would have wanted, but that's what a good memory is like. It's arriving for a bit and then leaving once again. 

The next tune was an interesting choice to keep on his playlist, but it was called "Song of the Night" by Kikuo. It's a cute song, but it was in a language Emmet doesn't know, but he shrugs it off. 

It also fits because the castle is in a never-ending night sky. It works because the music that plays in the background keeps the illusion alive for the habitats of the old Systar Systems, which need readjusting to Syspocalypstar. We let the people get used to the rules of both, with one having so many in place for protection, while the other even has the laws of physics barely nonexistent. 

Sadly, he had to turn off his phone with the song so the magical music didn't get disturbed and ruin the illusion, but at least Emmet waited to let the song finish. After that, he had to go through security, and Emmet greeted him with a smile. He soon parked in the parking spot and turned his car off. 

Getting out of the driver's seat, Emmet took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air. Emmet sighs as he yawns. Odd, I didn't feel sleepy earlier, so why am I feeling it now? Oh well. 

Emmet opened the passenger door and grabbed the treats off the seat, ensuring everyone got something. 

The Rainbow Shake is for Unikitty; Benny got a Galaxy Latte, while MedalBeard got a Sherbet Raspberry Punch.

Batman, Wyldstyle, and Emmet, of course, have their usual coffee, two black and Emmet with a bit of cream with 25 sugars. 

Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi's drink was a surprise because she didn't choose which drink to try next, and Mayhem was the only one who didn't respond to his text, so Emmet got her the usual Caramel Frappe.

Mayhem is probably on her job today but should be here any minute, yet there is no need to rush. Everything was there, including the doughnuts; Emmet thought of them before placing the order. The people working at Coffee Unchained picked the doughnuts randomly because Emmet overlooked specifying which ones to have; oops. They probably gave him the unwanted or needed-to-get-rid-of doughnuts, and he forgot to say how many, as there were about two dozen doughnuts in there.

As he enters the castle walls, he hears the Stars welcome him with their cute little voices and songs. Soon Emmet saw Lucy holding the door to let him inside, saw how many things he was carrying, and offered her support. 

"You know you didn't have to do all that, Silly. Thanks for-" Lucy stops, sees the doughnut box, and sighs. "-Classic Emmet."

"Morning, Lucy!" Emmet chirped as he saw everyone else had started gathering the equipment for arranging the anniversary party. 

"Alright, everyone, let's set up this party for the big day!" Emmet declared, grabbing a clipboard from a table, "There's also the drinks and some donuts available on the table near the entrance if you guys want to have it right away!"  

Emmet has now assisted with the construction of the party, keeping his cheerful smile. MetalBeard had the strength to hold up the heavy pillars (even though they could build them), while Unikitty cheered them on while each was positioned and placed the tables down with their chairs with her magic. 

Wyldstyle helped the DJ with which music to play, and Benny flew around with the decorations, placing them where he landed. Most of the decorations were space-themed, and they had mixed colours. 

The hue was as vibrant as a rainbow, but the contrasting black and yellow stood for the other partner, Batman. Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi was getting ready for the outfits while trying to encourage her husband to wear something unique for their special day.

Emmet gets distracted as he watches the other couple having a small banter and tease, reminding him of Lucy and his relationship. While not officially married yet, Emmet and Lucy are happily together.

Everything went cordially to plan, but then Emmet realized something was wrong and missing. 

"Hey, Guys?" Emmet asks and waves to get the others' attention. "Who was planning to get the party food?"

"It was Unikitty, right?" Benny said, almost finishing up the adornments as he zoomed by Emmet. 

Unikitty looked puzzled as she shook her head, "It wasn't me; I was getting the things for the cute decorations. Maybe Wyldstyle?"

Wyldstyle didn't even glimpse back at the group, exclaiming, "No, I am doing my job right now with the DJ! Emmet, you should have the list, right?"

Emmet nodded back as he grasped his clipboard as went down with each check mark, not saying any words except for a hum. Did he forget somebody? Or Maybe everything won't work out as they hoped. "Oh!" A light bulb went off his head as he rushed to his phone to call them, wishing they would pick up. He walked away to get somewhere quiet as the phone rang.

It took the person only a few seconds before they answered. "Yes? Sweet Mayhem speaking."

"Hey, Mayhem, did you forget about the food? You were supposed to do that but haven't shown up at the right time as intended for the party...." Emmet said, looking sheepish as he stepped down a hallway for privacy. "A-Also, you have a drink here waiting for you and some doughnuts; it even has your name written all over it!"

"Aww… How sweet of you!" Mayhem sounded flattered by the kind gesture before realization came into her tone. "Oh Shoot, I thought that was tomorrow!" She answered as Emmet could hear a facepalm and a tired moan. 

"While I was doing the routine check-up, something came up on my radar earlier this morning, and I had to inspect it. There haven't been any missing reports. But I hope they're alright." Mayhem emitted and explained in summary to have Emmet understand.

Emmet went silent as she said about someone going missing, his breath stifled in worry. He almost left the call and wanted to space out, but Mayhem's voice returned. "Emmet?"

"Huh? Oh, Yeah, Mayhem?" Emmet said, sounding distracted. Plans needed to change again, but he was curious about the inquiry in her tone.

"When you were in the Dryar System with Rex, how did it feel when you were between both realms of the man upstairs and our world?" She asks seriously, hearing clicks on a pin pad. 

Emmet quickly tenses up at the mention of Rex, yet why is she asking the question?

He took a deep breath before answering, "I-It felt like I couldn't move right, like when I fell into that world for the first time. Restrict is probably a suitable word to describe how it felt. I felt helpless."

"I'm so sorry to hear that…" Mayhem apologized, yet her voice trailed off.

Emmet sighed as he continued down the random hallway, looking at the new and older memories hung on castle walls. He started to space out as Mayhem sounded concerned, her words became nothing, as Emmet looked at a picture, and it glanced at him with red, slit eyes as if it was eating him alive in grief. 

No, it couldn't be. Why was the only picture of Rex staring at me, and what was wrong with Rex's eyes?

Rex. The only picture of him left. Emmet was the one to take it before Emmet knew Rex as him from the future or time whatever, but as a friend- a hero. 

[My hero.]

Emmet could've helped him, but he tried, so why is this picture mocking him for his mistake?

[It was actually out of your control; please don't play the blaming game. You are my idol.]

[OUR HERO.]

Emmet’s breathing started to pick up, and he couldn’t move; why couldn’t he move?! The edge of his vision began to blur out, and he somehow got struck by fear of his mistakes…

*~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~*

… h... 

… … ..-hey?"

"Hey!"

Bianca shakes Finn's shoulder to get his attention. "Finn, are you alright? You spaced out!" Bianca holds her hand to keep her brother close, and Finn shakes his head in response.

The older brother then tried to explain, yet no words came out like it was a struggle. He began to stand up, only to fumble back to the ground as his legs were too weak to hold his weight. The sister rushed over, worried sick, as she got Finn to move his body to the couch to lie and sat beside him.

"Had another episode, eh? Jeez, that's like the third one this week…" Bianca checked to see if her brother was alright to ease their panic. "Doesn't seem like you got hurt. Do you need any food or water, Finn?" She asked as Finn nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

Finn's mind felt so fuzzy, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. A few months ago, Finn developed a condition where his body gives up and makes him faint, weakening him. No one could understand why it happened or how it started, but it almost cost him his life when it transpired in the shower, causing him to blackout for three days, only to wake up in the hospital. It was horrifying, but even before that, his body had become more fatigued, and everyday tasks were becoming more burdensome without support. 

His parents thought Finn was getting lazier after he graduated from school and had nothing to do, but things got worse when he couldn't stand upright on certain days and was entirely alright at other times. It became the norm for him to collapse to the ground and need a recovery every time, but Finn despised everything as it was out of his control.

Finn's mind kept returning to the game. He looked at the LEGO playset worriedly, frowned, and groaned in frustration. Great, the story has to wait…

*~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~*

Emmet suddenly felt weak. Mayhem's voice completely disappeared as he lowered to the floor, dropping his phone as the photo of Rex stared at his soul, looking completely distorted now with multiple red, slit eyes with colourful swirls, more becoming 2d Animation than the Lego that Emmet understands. He couldn't move and comprehend why something was paralyzing his body, like a deer freezing in the headlights. 

What's worse, Emmet started to have a vision again and saw a young boy who wasn't like him, hugging Emmet with giant moving walls, seeing his world becoming more miniature and away from him. He tried gripping his hair, but the paralyzing feeling shot through his veins; his face suddenly forced the blank smile, and his body became stiff into a straight position. 

He watched the vision play as the girl asked the other one if they needed food or water, to which the young boy only gave a thumbs up. The girl nodded, telling him to rest as she went upstairs, leaving them both alone. 

It had been such a long time since Emmet had a vision, but something was wrong; it felt way too real to be one. Suddenly, his eyesight adjusts to the harsh lighting in the Man Upstairs realm, and he quickly finds himself in the palms of a giant, unable to move.

It took Emmet a few seconds to process where he was without panicking, but he found himself in a basement again, close to the Dryar system, but on something else the person was lying on, but he was not quite sure. 

The youthful boy looked miserable, and Emmet could assume that he needed assistance. But how to do that when your body is stuck is problematic. Emmet first tried to scream to get the boy's attention, but nothing came out, and he could only hear himself like an internal dialogue. 

How he could get to the realm without falling or fainting was a mystery, but he had to communicate somehow with the giant. At least Emmet knew what hands were from Vitruvius Ghost, with some complicated explanation dumps and needing to ask to repeat the information.  

Then Emmet had another lightbulb and the most random idea, hoping the boy didn't freak out. He attempted to move and put in all his concentration, vibrating a little. The giant didn't feel it, so Emmet kept at it, forcing himself to move until suddenly he could move his arm, which got the giant's attention. Emmet maintained movement until his entire body creaked stiffly, not wanting to lose steam.

Move! Come on, notice me! Emmet mentally screamed, maintain forcing his whole body to move.

Finn briefly snapped out of his blank stare as he felt something and quickly thought it was somehow a bug crawling in his hand, and he almost freaked out as his fingers unfurled to reveal the Lego Figurine, and the feeling stopped when Emmet froze.

What in the world? Emmet? Why are you here? Finn thought with a head tilt before Emmet turned his head toward the giant and gave him a small wave, and Finn paused in fear and confusion; his eyes widened like dinner plates as his brain was slowly processing this. WHAT IN THE???

*~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~*

[inkofamethyst]

Summer Goals 2024

Personal goals while i'm here

get back on track for my 12-book reading goal (starting a nonfiction book last month grinded my progress to a halt, gotta catch up) (prob w SJM)

crochet one (1) item of clothing (preferably in a public park, a la "the most interesting girl in the city" ofc)

learn mosaic crochet so I can finally make a Journey scarf (but the cream and gold one bc mosaic can only use two yarn colors at a time)

keep up with coding! probably just working on my game(s) for fun hehe

hit da club - technically complete 11 may

flirt with ONE man - complete 25 may

export all R code from my undergrad dropbox

clean up my undergrad gdrive

read Nightwing Vol 1: Leaping into the Light (2016(?)) (and also the rest of that run bc the pinterest images have me hooked omg (though apparently it hasn't ended yet which,,,, ugh is annoying))

if not Nightwing then the Hawkeye run which my photo-friend believes is what Nightwing was in response to - complete 24 may

start learning music theory

try regular workouts at home or at the campus gym to gain upper body strength and improve cardiovascular health

cut out/assemble the pattern for that dress i wanna make

go to a classical music concert

open a HYSA!!!

Academic goals

brush up on my chimpanzee knowledge (1-2 articles a week) to prep for the class in the fall

go through the bioinformatics lectures on youtube from the class at this uni which is no longer taught but is apparently excellent (??? hours per week)

set up my coding environment and learn how to do basic bulk transcriptomic/epigenetic analyses

histology!!! (also fill out my lab notebook omg)

learn how to fully use a citation software (should only take a week or so)

Goals for when I visit home

make an indexed pattern binder so i can see every pattern i have up front and stop buying new ones that do the same things as ones I already own

assign many/most of my fabrics to particular projects

finish the black half circle skirt (waistband, bound buttonhole, hem!)

floral sleeveless mock neck top (mock up first?)

finish the trouser mockup

play my uke

play my flute... and earnestly attempt improvisation

binge pjo binge pjo binge pjo binge pjo binge pjo bi

The sewing ones are admittedly a little ambitious, as always, but I think the others are very very very doable, if a little crowded. The most challenging will probably be keeping up with python, working out regularly, music theory, and also finding the confidence to flirt (but who knows? maybe I won't have to force it). I don't anticipate being able to hit them all (I never do!), but it's nice to have options.

I think if I want to hit a lot of them though, I'm going to have to be structured with my day/week. Set up various curricula, timelines, (flexible) deadlines. Plus, some of these goals are very short-term, and should only take a day or week at most. I can totally sketch out what gets done when, and should have enough wiggle room in case things need to shift.

(also i did have 2023 goals i just never published them bc i forgor)

[ask-de-writer]

WIND MEETS THE ROM : Part 14 of 27 :

MLP Fan Fiction

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

WIND MEETS THE ROM

Part 14 of 27

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

Cover art by @wind-the-mama-cat

54212 words

© 2023 by Glen Ten-Eyck

Writing begun 06/01/18

All rights reserved. This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

New to the story? Read from Part 1, here!

///////////////////////

Just then, a pegasus in noble livery landed outside the camp and started to just walk in, announcing in a loud and disapproving voice, “If their Highnesses are done playing about for the day, I have the Kingdom's business. I see that there is some food on that serving table. Bring me a goodly portion of scrambled clover tops and some pie!”

Midnight blocked his way and snarled, “What part of INCOGNITO is unclear to you, BARON FLAPPERJAW?”

Not comprehending who he was facing, he snapped, “My name is Baron Widefield! Get me the Princesses, you peasant! My dinner too!”

Wind turned to Hanar to comment, “This should be fun to watch! Should we stand further back?”

Midnight simply raised her huge wings free of her Rom sashes. In a mild voice she replied, “This peasant, known to you as PRINCESS LUNA, will not get you food of any sort. You will yield to me the Dispatch Cases and remove yourself from this encampment of OUR ROYAL FAMILY and await our pleasure.

“If you desire anything, there are two booths that have opened to sell dinners to ponies setting up for the fair. BUY your food and do not try to claim ANY privilege of rank. That is forbidden at all fairs by Crowns Law.”

While Widefield was trying to grasp the magnitude of his gaffe, Midnight's magic took the Dispatch Cases and turned her back to him. She flipped her tail as if swatting at a fly.

As the chastened pegasus left, Wind snickered, “That's another baron who has assured that his heirs will ascend to a Baronial throne. He certainly won't rise to a County if one comes Vacant.”

Midnight, tucking her wings back into her sashes, and out of sight, grinned now that she could not be seen by Widefield. She snorted, “You have stumbled onto one of our secrets for selecting the best ponies for advancement. We let them be themselves in ways that we can see before they know their true selves to be revealed to us. Of those that show true courtesy, we choose the best administrators.”

She shrugged, “We are sort of stuck with inheritance of titles in family lines. Most learn to be decent sorts by the example of their parents. Of course, there will always be some few who simply will not behave.”

Hanar gave Wind a large slice of the pie. Wind gave her a sideways look.

She bobbed her horn in amusement as she explained, “If you are lucky and like the pie, you get a large portion. If I am lucky, you won't like it and I will get a large portion!”

Wind smiled back as she extended one of her big claws. She carefully, in several passes, cut the thick pie into two equal portions. “If WE are lucky, Hanar, we can share the pie together.”

Hanar settled quietly and nibbled her pie. She had a thoughtful tone as she suggested, “Wind, your home must be a place very different from here. Could you tell me of it?”

Wind downed her tea to wash down the last of her excellent blackberry pie.

“In most ways, it looks a lot like this one. We have mostly small villages rather than cities and towns like you do. Most of our peoples are upright on two legs, like me. We do have several different kinds. I am a mixed breed of cat and otter, myself.

“We do not have ponies there, that I know of, nor your wonderful roads. The whole place is mostly wilderness with villages and a scattering of castles, religious retreats, abbeys, monasteries or the like places.

“Of course, there are also monsters of various sorts.

“The real, fundamental difference is how the world is run. There is Mama Dragon who is called the Watcher of the World. Mostly, she doesn't need to do a whole lot but when she does, things can get really strange. Besides her, there are some supernatural and extremely powerful Spirits. They really mess with us. Most folks of whatever kind, will never have to deal with them. Those that catch their eye can be put into a living hell or wind up with huge rewards, if they manage to accomplish what the Spirits want.”

Hanar nodded before offering, “I think that I like it here. I have been wondering something, though. When you first came to us, you already spoke a clear Equestrian. Who taught you that, or have you adventured on our world some other place?”

Wind considered that carefully. “Hanar, you seem to understand the idea of many worlds or dimensions lying close together, almost like pages in a book. Am I right?”

She smiled and chuckled around her last bite of pie before answering, “Of course. I have been raised in the band of Marchhare all of my life. You really can't be here for too long without learning about that.”

Wind nodded. “There is another Equestria, not far from here, as travel between dimensions goes. It is largely corrupted, having fallen to Discord and it has much trouble with invasions of deadite demons. I learned Equestrian from a couple of ponies from there.”

“I see, Wind. Were they nice ponies. Were there any Rom?”

Wind paused to think. “I don't think that there were any Rom. The ponies that I knew were pretty nice, but strong. Ready to do battle at a moment's notice. Pen and Snow were devoted to each other.

Pen was an Earth pony who had figured out all sorts of weapons. Deadites and other demons were drawn to him like iron to a lodestone. He was tied up with some sort of destiny thing that I don't really understand. Something about a Book.

Snow was a Pegasus with more magic than most unicorns. Most of it, as you would expect, was weather magic but that wasn't all. In some way or another, she was also tied up with their Discord and their Alicorn Murder.”

Wind shook her head admiringly, “Pen had a sort of sister named Penny. She is really something! Her fur is brown and her mane and tail are nearly black. Strong. She does great smith work. I, I don't know, she and I get along. It sounds silly, maybe, because she is way bigger than I am.”

Hanar's head drooped a little as she asked, “Will you come back here, to Marchhare's band, after you are healed and you leave us?”

Wind reached over and stroked Hanar gently. “Of course I will. Along with my arm, I lost the only family that I ever knew when I was seven. Mama Dragon is really wonderful and she cares deeply for me but she isn't the same as a family. You all are.

“Sure, I will adventure and do such good as I can, but I will not forget or abandon either you or Mama Dragon.”

Just then music struck up. Hanar perked up and neighed, “Race you to the dancing green!” Her magic picked up the used plates and mugs! They both set out for the evening dancing but the plates and mugs sailed unerringly to the sudsy water in the wash tub to soak!

Wind admired Hanar's skill at hitting targets that she was not even looking at! They hit the dancing area almost simultaneously.

The dancing had barely begun, with most of the dancers working on their new slides and sways, seeing how they could fit them into assorted traditional dances, when the music slid to a discordant stop!

Both Tia and Midnight were glaring at Baron Widefield in a towering rage! “What is the meaning of this intrusion into our Royal Encampment, Baron?”

Cringing slightly, he held forth several documents. “Your Highnesses have made a grievous error in the important matter of Bittern Woods. You have failed to sign the annexation or the assignment Royal Roads benefices.”

In tones that would have flash frozen a glacier, Tia demanded, “And how, Baron Widefield, do you know that those documents were not signed?”

He drew himself up and replied, “I surely have a right! Those documents bear directly upon my Barony! You need only sign them and I will return the cases to Canterlot!”

Midnight spoke in a deadly soft voice, “Bearing on your barony or not, THOSE CASES WERE SEALED. Their business was dealt with and ready to be announced at the appropriate Royal Court. HOW DID YOU GET THESE DOCUMENTS?”

She lifted her head and called, “Guard Major Hawkwing! Please bring three of your Flight here before Us! Take formal custody of Baron Widefield at this time.”

The Major and three of his unit came, carrying manacles and wingbinding straps. The protesting Baron was quickly and efficiently bound.

Tia nodded slowly before requesting, “Major, We, your Princesses, need you to be a formal witness. You will be examining things that are above your Royal Security Clearance. This is authorized on Our joint authority.

We need your uncontaminated witness statements to the things that you observe. Do you understand?”

“I do, your Highness. What do you wish me to observe?”

“Please examine the Royal Dispatch Cases. Report to Us both what you directly observe. You may be asked to provide further evidence, based on those observations.”

“I see.” He began a careful examination of each of the cases. Looking up, he reported, “You Highnesses, of the nine cases, three show signs of being forcibly unsealed. Those cases are the Royal Intelligence Service case, the Royal Chancery case and the Royal Treasury case.”

Midnight looked askance at the Baron and required of Major Hawkwing, “This is beyond your RIS security clearance but is ordered by Princess Luna. Open the RIS case. In the lid you will find a list of document numbers. From the top down, the numbered documents in the case should be in the order on the list. For now, examine only the document numbers and their order.”

He opened the case after looking closely at the seal. He extracted the list and began to compare it to the documents. Looking up, he reported, “GR-3174 and PR-9077 are at the top of the stack. According to the list, they should be fourth and tenth respectively.”

“Very good, Major. Leaving all as you found it, return the list and close the case. Then please check the Royal Chancery case.”

He repeated his careful examination and opening of the case. “There is no document list in the lid pocket. If the documents are intended to be in sequential numerical order, number seven is missing.”

“Very well done, Major. Now please check the Treasury case.”

After his usual careful scrutiny of the case's exterior and seal he opened it. “Your Highnesses, there are five sections to this case. There are only four document lists. As the sections are labeled, and the remaining lists have matching labels, I would venture that the list for Royal Roads is missing. I noticed that each document in each section is sequential on the last two digits. Based on that, document RR 304-A113 is missing.”

Midnight smiled. “Thank you, Major Hawkwing. We shall shortly have a witness statement drawn up for you to examine. If it is fully accurate and only if it is fully correct, please sign it. If we have made any error, please point it out and we will fix it to your satisfaction.”

He bowed, “What of the missing documents?”

Luna smiled, “You will provide a copy of your witness statement to the Royal Road Police along with the prisoner. They will conduct that search and include their findings and evidence to be sent to the Royal Department of Prosecution for the Baron's public trial.

“None of you need miss the fun of the fair. The RRP have their temporary fairground station already set up. Let them handle it.”

The Major chuckled and told his ponies, “You heard the Princesses. As soon as we have that statement signed, we can be done with this pompous pony! And we have leave to play! We will be on duty so keep an ear out for any calls for service.”

Wind was leaning on Hanar, laughing. “Oh my! He not only broke into Royal business, he had the nerve to call their attention to it! I did not think that ANY pony could be that stupid! How did he manage to actually stand up? I mean, that takes coordinating FOUR legs! Does he have that much brainpower?”

Hanar replied, “I really don't know but I hope that Tia and Midnight can get back to their music soon. I want to dance some more!”

They did return soon. Marchhare was with them and they were all three laughing.

<== PREVIOUS ~ NEXT==>

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