iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

-- ruffling feathers wherever they went. Getting into fights. But Raz saw that he was more careful sometimes. Like now, with her. Like he was with Raz too. He suddenly wondered if Joel had to learn that kind of carefulness with his powers too. Strong enough to lift a car, but gentle enough to --

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Raz was quiet while he watched them. Watched Joel trying to mend any cracks he'd created. He recalled the first night they'd met, and Joel's easy charm quickly turning to apologies and nervous explaining. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, he'd said. Joel tended to be loud. Edgy. His teasing --

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-- out for her. That was all. He slid his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, knuckles bumping against his keys in there. It seemed there was a story to Ivette's former crush, but he wasn't about to ask about it. Wasn't his business. He just listened to Joel's playful teasing, watching--

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Raz looked at Ivette when he dismissed Raz's comment. She hadn't even noticed Joel's implicated. Wishing he had just kept his mouth shut, he put a little distance between the two of them. Some of the tension in Raz's jaw seemed to ease a little after Joel spoke. Good; he knew Raz was just looking--

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Raz slowed to walk behind Ivette instead, as to not let her trail behind. As soon as the flirtatious comment came, Raz's jaw shifted—a look of annoyance crossing his features. "Don't take that seriously. He flirts with everyone," he told Ivette in a lower voice, though it was a little clipped.

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📲 — You're welcome. He didn't say more than that. Raz was fully aware of what he'd put on there. And yes, he'd still been awake, unable to sleep from thinking about what Joel might think about it.

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-- himself was aware of Joel's ability to drink excessively. However, seeing it in practice was occasionally still shocking. As were things like Joel casually stepping off a rooftop and landing on his feet like it was nothing. "Jesus, Joel." Raz slid out of his stool, hearing it creak in protest --

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"Look who's talking," Raz muttered, though it was loud enough for both of them to hear him. The look in his eyes turned sour for a moment, his jaw tensing. Raz knew the Aunt Roberta was a strong drink. Made with absinthe, too. So seeing the bartender's look of horror was not a surprise. He --

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Tracklist: 1. Slow Show - The National 2. Skinny Love - Bon Iver 3. Everlong - Foo Fighters 4. I Will Follow You into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie 5. Youth - Daughter 6. Such Great Heights - Iron and Wine 7. Hurt - Johnny Cash 8. Sabor a Mí - Javier Solís

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"Your first CD," he repeated, his tone flat. "You can play it, right?"

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Places a CD in @sarcasmsupreme.bsky.social's hands, eyes finding him briefly, then moving off before they could make contact with his. "There. Happy birthday," he muttered. "It's a playlist. Listen to it at home."

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-- the next bar, he glanced in Ivette's direction, then back at his phone. His jaw shifted a little, uncomfortable with the compliment. "It isn't anything special. You should heighten your standards."

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Raz. @loudandsorry.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

"It's a dive bar. They don't have anything special. The next place might." Raz reached into the front pocket of his ripped up jeans and pulled his phone free. He tapped his thumb to the screen, pulling up the list of bars Joel had given him ahead of time. While he searched for the menu of --

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"He steals my fries, too," Raz commented. He was currently watching the bottle in his hands, thumbing the label absently. He didn't look like he was paying attention, but he clearly was. And the occasional curve of his lip betrayed his amusement.

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Raz. @loudandsorry.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Raz's mouth did that thing again, where his lips twitched—not quite a smile, but almost. He took another pull of his beer, then looked at Ivette again. His expression seemed less tense than it had been earlier.

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Raz. @loudandsorry.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Raz turned his attention onto his beer, bringing it up to his lips and pausing. "You sure? Space Noodles sounded like they set the bar really high." He said it in the same tone he'd been using most of the night. Then he took a sip from the bottle.

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Raz. @loudandsorry.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Raz didn't say anything, but he was listening. It seemed like a rather vague answer. Like it wasn't a big deal. It made Raz curious about something, but he wasn't going to ask it in another person's company.

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Raz. @loudandsorry.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Raz nodded once in Joel's direction. "Right. Tuesday or Thursday nights at The Holler. We play every week."

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Raz was quiet for a long moment while he thought about the answer. He took a slow pull of his beer, then set it on the bar gently before replying. "Alt rock. Indie rock. Post-punk revival. New wave."

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Raz noted the choice of drink, but didn't comment. "I'm not a rockstar. I just play in a band." Her knowing that, of course, meant that Joel had told her about him. He noted that, filed it.

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Joel's sudden exclamation made Raz's lips twitch again; a smile threatening to show. "If you're already being loud, I can't imagine what you'll be like by your third." A second beer was set in front of him, and Raz gently pulled it toward himself.

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-- set the empty bottle down, then signalled the bartender for another.

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Raz shrugged. "I was born in Metropolis. I grew up with Superman being our city symbol. A few months ago, demons came out of the sky and trashed the city. Time travel didn't seem like that large of a leap." He took a final pull from his bottle, tilting his head back to get the last drops. He --

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-- question itself didn't warrant the ask. The bartender returned with a basket of fries and water then. Raz reached for the water and slid it in front of the woman, though didn't touch the fries. Though technically for her, Raz knew perfectly well Joel would help himself.

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The bottle lingered near his mouth, pausing on its descent back to the bar. His eyes shifted to the edge of his vision to look at Ivette. "With Joel being an ali—" he stopped, catching himself, "part extraterrestrial? Why wouldn't I be? It's just who he is." His tone was a little flat, like the --

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Raz's gaze moved to the bottle in his hand. He didn't say anything for several seconds. He started thumbing the corner of the label on the bottle. Then he nodded once, looking up once again. "Okay." He lifted the bottle to his lips, taking another pull.

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Something in Raz's expression seemed to shift. A slight tension appearing in his jaw. "... She knows your family?" He asked after a moment. "As in..."

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"You play chess?" Raz asked Joel, seeming mildly surprised. "Doesn't seem like your thing." Then, to the bartender: "Can we get an order of fries and a water?"

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Raz's mouth twitched. He was very clearly trying to suppress a smile. "It's a language learning app. Their logo slash mascot is a green owl." His eyes shifted to the man behind the counter. "And you're scaring the bartender."

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Raz eyed Joel for a moment. "You don't sound sure about that," he observed. He took another pull of his beer, then set it on the bar. He kept it in his grasp, the condensation rolling down the side and onto his fingers. "My family is from Mexico," he explained. "I speak Spanish, but not --

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-- learned, what Joel tended to do.

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Raz reached for the neck of his beer bottle and closed his fingers around it. "That's about all he said. Your name and that you're a good friend of his." He brought the bottle to his lips, taking a pull. His eyes were on Joel again, noting that he seemed to be taking care of her. It was, Raz had --

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-- though he seemed very slightly less tense than when she'd first come in.

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Raz's eyes shifted between Joel and Ivette for a moment before he spoke. "It doesn't sound like I want to know," he said flatly, particularly to Joel. "I think I'm better off trusting her judgement." His eyes shifted back to Ivette. Raz was still watching her, trying to get the measure of her, --

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Raz noticed Joel had ordered for all of them, but didn't comment on it. "Yeah. Joel told me about you. He said you were a good friend of his." His eyes were still on her, still taking stock. He noted her posture, the way she seemed to shrink into herself. How she wouldn't look him in the eye.

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-- at him. It was then that he noticed the empty seat left between them. A mild look of annoyance crossed his expression, but it was gone so quickly it was as if it had never been there.

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Raz didn't mishear her either. He stared at her for a minute, saying nothing. His expression didn't portray amusement; mostly because he was too taken aback by that being the first thing out of her mouth. Once Raz saw Joel take a seat out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head to look --

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-- taking a moment to look her over. Assessing her. "Hey."

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