#banschivs

"Are you pregnant? Can we drink? Can you drink? I don't care, I'm drinking."

The city is hungry and feral and waiting for any sign of weakness. It’s not much different from Selina and maybe that’s why she’s dragged herself back in spite of her recent taste for freedom. Gotham is an opposing force in that it is everything brutal about humanity and so inspires avoidance but there’s something delicious about that violence that sucks you right in. Well. Maybe that’s just her.

Because the truth is it’s not just that you want to leave, it’s that you can’t. Not really. Not once you’re in this deep.

Selina’s already pocketed a very lovely bracelet from a woman who won’t notice it’s missing for hours. It sits warmly in a zippered pouch in the waistband of her pants and will definitely not be forgotten. Not when you’re hungry. Not when you’re brutal. People who aren’t either of those things wouldn’t notice the loss because they can afford it. They’re too full of everything else that’s awful.

“I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t say stuff like that.” Selina is hyperaware of her surroundings now. Even with a teasing tone it’s hard not to feel superstitious here. The shadows are sentient in Gotham and the ears that can hear you are not the ears you want attuned to your location. “Shit’s gonna hit the fan any minute now and I’ll throw you to the sharks. It’s only fair. Since you said it.”

“  life  really  caught  up  with  this  one  ...     how  many  bullets  did  you  think  he  needed  to  ingest ,     for  you  to  know  that  he  was  dead  ?  ”     hazel  eyes  make  a  slow  path  downward ,     following  the  red  stained  clothes  and  ended  in  the  crotch  area .     [  now  that  seems  personal  ]     she  thinks  to  herself ,     noting  the  wet  stained  jeans .     lips  pucker  for a  moment  before  her  attention  returns  to  nix .     “  ya’  know  what  ?     no  need  to  answer  that .  ”     it’s  already  pretty  damn  clear  to  her  anyway .

       ‘   i am not very proud of being an human being;   in fact,   i distinctly dislike the species in many ways.   i can readily conceive of beings vastly superior in every respect. . .    ’      it was unwise of him to approach when she was not aware,  silent footsteps closing in on the rain-wet concrete and tar.   but they,  dear nix and mr. tesla  . . .  they had met only once before       and he had no grand fear of mortal weapons at that time.    she had become a stress that he could not place.  not fear,  not anger.  a frustrated mix of feelings that he was not wont to know.    

“You know I was advised not to enter the city; seems my type are becoming a rare breed in these parts.” By type she means the sort of people who don’t have to work that hard to live that well. She knows people - not exactly friends, connected by fortune and social grouping - that haven’t been heard from for weeks. Others haven’t even been that lucky. 

Celia isn’t her usual chipper self either. The rest of her world is fairing not much better than Gotham. Everything other day she considers scooping up Nix and the girls, Arthur too if Nix insists of being in love with him, and hiding them away somewhere safe. 

The words tumble out because, if there is one thing she is more scared of than this god damn city, it’s Phoenix Fleck née Degraves. “Listen, in that vein, I thought I’d offer-- I mean I know the answer but I just wanted you to know it’s an option, that if you needed me too-- even for a little while-- if you wanted the girls out of the city for a bit. An extended holiday, really.” 

                                      44   BELOW   bathed   in    CRIMSON   lighting   as   glitter   adorns  CRUSHED   velvet   seats.   the   music   DEAFENING   as   he   tries  to   CONCENTRATE   ,   the   headache   PALPABLE   as   he   reaches  for   water.  YES   he’s  aware  that   the  music  isn’t   AS   clamorous   as   it   might’ve   been   had   they     been  in    the   ICEBERG   LOUNGE.   in  truth   the  music   is   a  LIGHT   undertone,   though   he’s   SENSITIVE  to   such  things.   ‘             this   guy   is   too   fuckin’  much  ’   tonight   he’s  under   the   GUISE  of   malone,   𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚑𝚎’𝚜   𝙶𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙵𝚄𝙻   𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚗𝚒𝚡  𝚑𝚊𝚜  𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍  𝚝𝚘   𝚐𝚘  𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛   𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝.    ‘   look   at    him  !  ’   nods   to  the  right   as  some   SKEEZY   politician   has  their  hands  all  over  penguin’s  CHOSEN  ANGELS   who   get  to  work  the  club  ,   PUSH   drops   if  needed.   ‘   fuck  ’     HE   NEEDS   to  reign  in   anger,  to  HARNESS   words  for  he’ll   TIP  the  scale,  and   then  blow  BOTH  their  covers.   ‘   i  know,  i  know  ’  realizing  that  he’s   getting  too   emotional,  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝙽𝙸𝚇  𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕   𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢  𝚜𝚊𝚢  𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚕𝚕   𝙿𝚄𝚃  𝙷𝙸𝙼   𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺   𝙸𝙽   𝙿𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙴.   

                                   currently   they’re   looking  for  DROPS,   not  to  actually  CONSUME  but  to  get  a  LAY  of  the  land,   who  does  what  and  WHEN.   the   club   an   HOMAGE   to   corruption  and  EXCESS.   two  things   he   hates.   LEG   bounces   as   JAW   is   clenched.   ‘   those  back  rooms  ’   TURNS  towards  her   as   the  DARK  lighting   lends  shadows  to  their   CONVERSATION   or  PERHAPS  THEY   JUST  BEND  TO  HIS  WILL.  ‘   𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍  𝚖𝚎  𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎   𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠  𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢  𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎  ’    she  instead   brings  something   NEW  to  the  table,   says  something   that  while   DISTANTLY  connected  to  conversation  throws  him.  

                  [ ‘  i  never  learned  to  lose  a  fight.  ’  @banschivs​  ]