#darius spencer

[imanisays]

I did not know Eddie Winslow could blow like this….

Tracie Spencer- Tender Kisses is one of my favorite songs too. My mom used to play it a lot growing. I wish this version was out. 😍😩

[jabberamongthetrees]

Pitchers Reporting

[boricuacherry-blog]

[punkrock-bottom]

Not enough Darius Maynor fanart on this webbed site for my tastes

[midnight-star-world]

#CountryMusic

CMT Crossroads Bret Michaels & Chris Janson/CMT Campfire Sessions

So today I will be bringing you the newest CMT Crossroads Bret Michaels & Chris Janson along with the newest season of CMT Campfire sessions. Here is CMT Crossroads First.

CMT Crossroads Bret Michaels & Chris Janson. This episode took place on Wednesday December 20, 2023 at 9pm EST (Eastern Standard Time) on CMT (Country Music Television). Here is what they played for us on this special.

Set list. Talk dirty to me. Fix a drink. All I need is you. Every rose has its thorns. Buy me a boat. Your mama don't dance. Good vibes. Nothin' but a good time.

Now let's talk about the highlights of this season of CMT Campfire sessions. We will cover a lot of different artists, so let's get started right now.

Chris Young - 1/12/24 at 10pm EST. Set list. Tomorrow. At the end of a bar (With Mitchell Tenpenny). We got history (Mitchell Tenpenny). Looking for you (Chris Destefano, with Chris Young). Aw naw. You. Getting you home (The black dress song). Famous friends.

Riley Green - 1/26/24 10pm EST. Set list. Different 'round here. Damn Country Music (Tim McGraw cover). I wish Grandpas never died. Half of me. Hell of a way to go. There was this girl. Ain't like I can hide it. Ain't my last rodeo.

Dustin Lynch - 2/2/24 10 pm EST. Set list. Love me or leave me alone. Honky tonk heartbreaker. Ridin' roads. Cowboys and angels. Thinking 'bout you (featuring Mackenzie Porter). Killed the cowboy. Chevrolet. Small town boy.

Love songs - 2/9/24 10pm EST. Set list. Riley Green - Good directions. Caitlyn Smith - Georgia on my mind. Dustin Lynch, MacKenzie Porter, & Madeline Edwards - Best part. Sara Evans - Crazy love. Chris Young - When you say nothing at all. Needtobreathe - Stand by me. Tenille Townes - At last. Darius Rucker - Let her cry.

Darius Rucker - 2/23/24 10pm EST. Set list. Have a good time. Don't think I don't think about it. Beers and sunshine. Fires don't start themselves. Never been over. Come back song. If I told you. Alright. Wagon wheel.

Classic Country - 3/1/24 10pm EST. Set list. Dustin Lynch - Chasing that neon rainbow. Priscilla Block - You'll think of me. Riley Green - Where corn don't grow. Brittney Spencer - Cowboy take me away. Darius Rucker - Kiss an angel good morning. Sara Evans - Why not me? Chris Young with Mitchell Tenpenny & Chris Destefano - Here's a quarter (Call someone who cares). Needtobreathe - Midnight rider.

And that's a wrap for both CMT Crossroads & The newest season of CMT Campfire Sessions. And on the MSR (Midnight Star Review), I would give all these shows an overall review of 3 out of 5 stars. I only watch the artists I want to watch, and yes there would have been more episodes to talk about as well. It is always good to have a way to get more music out there. Thanks for taking the time to read this review. See ya all next time.

[pupsmailbox]

NEUTRAL LEANING MASC NAMES ⌇　abner.　 abram.　 adam.　 adrian.　 alex.　 alistair.　 andreas.　 ariel.　 arlen.　 arley.　 arlo.　 ash.　 atlas.　 auden.　 august.　 austin.　 avery.　 bailey.　 baron.　 barrett.　 baylor.　 beauden.　 bee.　 bellamy.　 bennett.　 blair.　 blaise.　 bowen.　 brayden.　 brendan.　 bronson.　 bryce.　 byron.　 caius.　 caleb.　 callahan.　 callan.　 calloway.　 callum.　 camden.　 cameron.　 carlin.　 carson.　 casey.　 cassian.　 chandler.　 chase.　 cody.　 cole.　 connolly.　 corban.　 corwin.　 cyrus.　 dallas.　 damion.　 damon.　 daniel.　 darius.　 davis.　 dawson.　 daylon.　 denver.　 desmond.　 devin.　 doran.　 dorian.　 drew.　 elian.　 elias.　 ellery.　 ellison.　 emery.　 ethan.　 evan.　 ezra.　 fallen.　 farren.　 finley.　 ford.　 foster.　 gabriel.　 gannon.　 garner.　 gavin.　 gentry.　 graham.　 greer.　 griffin.　 guthrie.　 harley.　 harlow.　 hartley.　 hayden.　 henley.　 henry.　 heron.　 hollis.　 hunter.　 ian.　 irving.　 isaiah.　 jace.　 james.　 jameson.　 jared.　 jeremiah.　 joel.　 jonah.　 joran.　 jordan.　 jory.　 josiah.　 jovian.　 jude.　 julian.　 juno.　 justus.　 kalen.　 kamden.　 kay.　 kayden.　 keaton.　 kellan.　 keller.　 kelly.　 kendon.　 kieran.　 kit.　 kylan.　 landry.　 lane.　 lennon.　 leslie.　 levi.　 leyton.　 liam.　 linden.　 lowell.　 luca.　 madden.　 marley.　 marlow.　 marshall.　 martin.　 mason.　 mathias.　 mercer.　 merritt.　 micah.　 miles.　 miller.　 milo.　 morgan.　 morrie.　 morrison.　 nate.　 nevin.　 nick.　 nicky.　 nico.　 nicolas.　 noah.　 noel.　 nolan.　 oren.　 orion.　 owen.　 parker.　 percy.　 perrin.　 peyton.　 pierce.　 porter.　 preston.　 quincy.　 quinn.　 reece.　 reid.　 reign.　 rein.　 remi.　 remington.　 renley.　 riley.　 river.　 robin.　 rollins.　 ronan.　 rory.　 rowan.　 russell.　 ryan.　 rylan.　 sam.　 samuel.　 sawyer.　 saylor.　 seth.　 shiloh.　 soren.　 spencer.　 stellan.　 sterling.　 talon.　 taylor.　 thaddeus.　 thane.　 theo.　 toni.　 tracy.　 tristan.　 tyrus.　 valor.　 warner.　 wells.　 wesley.　 whitten.　 william.　 willis.　 wylie.　

NEUTRAL LEANING FEM NAMES ⌇　abigaël.　 abilene.　 addison.　 adrian.　 ainsley.　 alexis.　 and.　 andrea.　 arden.　 aria.　 ashley.　 aspen.　 aubrey.　 autumn.　 avery.　 avian.　 ayla.　 bailey.　 beryl.　 blair.　 blaire.　 blake.　 briar.　 brooklyn.　 brooks.　 bryce.　 cameron.　 camille.　 casey.　 celeste.　 channing.　 charlie.　 chase.　 collins.　 cordelia.　 courtney.　 daisy.　 dakota.　 dana.　 darby.　 darcy.　 delaney.　 delilah.　 devin.　 dylan.　 eden.　 eisley.　 elia.　 ellerie.　 ellery.　 ellie.　 elliot.　 elliott.　 ellis.　 ellory.　 ember.　 emelin.　 emerson.　 emery.　 evelyn.　 ezra.　 fallon.　 finley.　 fiore.　 florence.　 floris.　 frances.　 greer.　 gwenaël.　 hadley.　 harley.　 harper.　 haven.　 hayden.　 heike.　 hollis.　 hunter.　 ivy.　 jade.　 jamie.　 jocelyn.　 jordan.　 jude.　 juno.　 kelly.　 kelsey.　 kendall.　 kennedy.　 koda.　 kyrie.　 lacey.　 lane.　 leighton.　 lennon.　 lennox.　 lesley.　 leslie.　 lilian.　 lindsay.　 loden.　 logan.　 lou.　 lyric.　 madison.　 mallory.　 marinell.　 marley.　 mckenzie.　 melody.　 mercede.　 meredith.　 mio.　 misha.　 monroe.　 montana.　 morgan.　 nico.　 nova.　 oakley.　 olympia.　 owen.　 page.　 palmer.　 parker.　 pat.　 paulie.　 perri.　 petyon.　 peyton.　 phoenix.　 piper.　 priscilla.　 quinn.　 raven.　 ray.　 reagan.　 reece.　 reese.　 remi.　 remy.　 riley.　 rio.　 river.　 robin.　 rory.　 rosario.　 rowan.　 ryan.　 rylie.　 sacha.　 sage.　 sam.　 sammy.　 santana.　 sasha.　 sawyer.　 saylor.　 severin.　 shannon.　 shelby.　 shiloh.　 skye.　 skylar.　 sloane.　 sol.　 soleil.　 sterling.　 stevie.　 sutton.　 swan.　 swann.　 sydney.　 tatum.　 taylo.　 taylor.　 tracey.　 valentine.　 vanya.　 vivendel.　 vivian.　 vivien.　 wren.　 wynn.　 yael.

[melpomenelamusa]

Melpomene´s whump stories archive

To celebrate the new year, I've decided to share with you some of my favorite whump stories I read this year as a thank you to all the authors who share a little bit of their world with us 💜✨

My plan is to update this list annually and have it function as a sort of personal archive for me, hehe, but you can use it too if you'd like! 😁

Smile for the camera! (by @morning-star-whump ): A boy is kidnapped by a psychopath from the deep web. His parents and his little boyfriend try to find him (Andre Vazquez is the best character).

Shattered (by @oddsconvert): An anti-human-blood-drinking vampire doctor tries to save the life of a human who for years was the bloodbag of a vampire I really hate.

Total $hit$how (by @befuddled-calico-whump): 5 misfits escaping prison for their criminal records are hired by a mysterious organization to stop another mysterious, but more evil, sci-fi organization (Benji, my son).

Darius & Mianu (by @geode-crystal): A traumatized prince and his faithful knight/boyfriend want to live happily ever after, but something always happens.

The Bahkauv (by @deluxewhump): Three friends decide to buy a magical creature to study; but what seemed like nothing more than a monster or an animal may turn out to be a companion.

Overloaded (by @fleur-a-whump): The son of a supervillain wants to join the good guys, but discovers that "heroes" can be just as cruel as villains.

Blood and tears (by @whumpisgoodwhumpislife): A little half-vampire is suffering too much and a human decides to take care of him and protect him (They are both my babies).

Rehabilitation (by @sowhumpshaped): A former kidnapped victim is faced with her former torturer, who is now in a mysterious rehabilitation program that looks more like a torture prison.

The moral conflict is strong in this one.

A taste of your own medicine (by @oddsconvert): Whumper gets kidnapped and torture along with his ex-whumpee by an even evil whumper. Only one person is having fun here.

Humanity Collector (by @rabbit-flaying): A cosmic creature who likes to collect human things decides to add a real human to its collection (A cosmic horror one-shot).

Writemas 2024 (by @tildeathiwillwrite): A woman suffers the mysterious death (or murder?) of her husband.

This is the kind of story I would love to read in a printed book and recommend to my entire family.

Whumpcember 2024 (by @kabie-whump): An evil wizard has turned Santa's reindeer into humans, who now have to live with their new bodies. A series of shorts with very interesting and cute characters that I definitely need to keep reading if I could.

The siphon (by @spencers-secret-whump-account): Like a bloodbag, but instead of blood is magic. Also, it´s lady whump in a fantasy setting and there will be lesbians (I hope).

[sassydefendorflower]

Top ten recs for 2024, go!

Top Ten Fanfic Recs of 2024, you ask?

Here we go:

What Prices Blood Can Pay by najio - FMA Brotherhood

Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang are finally put to trial - Scar has a few thoughts on that. A look at restorative justice and and whether or not blood can be repaid.

2. Recovery by twasbrilligand - FMA Brotherhood

Darius, Heinkel and Edward in the days following Baschool. Because even the Hero of the People can fall.

3. letters to central north by rizahawkaye - FMA Brotherhood

Fuhrer Roy Mustang died - and now it is up to Edward Elric to sort through his letters and see what should be revealed to the public. A look at Royai through the eyes of someone observing.

4. say it like you mean it by lovelyleias - FMA Brotherhood

Riza Hawkeye is anything but a good girlfriend. Especially if you're not Roy Mustang. Outsider POV of a man who loves Riza - and slowly realizes that she doesn't love him.

5. back and forth (push and pull) by sometimesiship - FMA Brotherhood

Alphonse moves to Xing to learn Alkahestry - nobody told him love could be this hard to understand. There is always more to understanding each other than just raw attraction. Especially when you live at the Xingese Royal Court.

6. try a little harder by kathkin - Superstore

Jonah's daemon unsettled - and somehow everyone has something to say on what that says about him. Jonah? Now, he just wishes everything would go back to normal. And Amy would stop looking at him like that.

7. DRY IN THE BAYOU, WET IN THE QUARTER by lamphouse - Criminal Minds

There is something alluring about Ethan, and it's not just the fact that he doesn't judge Spencer while he's at his worst. There is freedom in the safety of nostalgia mixed with the ecstasy of drug fueled sex.

8. The New Recruit by Misuto - FMA Brotherhood

Sometimes life throws you curve balls: for example, a thirteen year old enemy of the state who is supposedly going to be rehabilitated through the State Alchemist's program. And apparently that means Edward Elric is now Roy's problem.

9. You are my mixed roses by Anon - Jet Lag The Game

There is more to friendship than traveling the world together, but somehow it takes Adam a bit to figure out what it is he is feeling.

10. The Worst Place on Earth by RoryMarx - Spring Awakening

Being twenty-one can suck tremendously - especially if you're still paying for mistakes you've made at fourteen. Only Melchior cannot be stuck forever, Moritz's ghost will make sure of that. A Self-Rec because I have rarely enjoyed writing something as much as I enjoyed writing this <3 <3 <3

I hope this satisfies your curiosity :D

[marshmallowpupy]

Who’s got the BEST curl?! 😱

Well… 😏

Spencer, Eric, Darius, and Harold from Extracurricular Activities!

[whumpty-dumpty-doo]

We Are TroubleD – “Try to Forget Him” (Pre-capture)

Written as a part of whumperofworlds' WoW's Birthday Whump Event! 2024

Day 7 and 12 (my chosen prompts are bolded) - Bloodied knuckles / Wounded / "Is that blood?!", Magic exhaustion / Collapsed / "So tired..." / Alternate prompt: Poison

---

Event page | My event participation masterpost | “We Are TroubleD” Masterpost | Previous | Next

---

Content warnings: Alcohol, blood, drinking, emotional whump, heartache from breakups, injuries, jealousy, off-screen homophobia mention, pining after unrequited love, self-loathing, smoking, swearing

---------------------------------------------------

                Tonight was going to be hard. There was no other choice though, Tristan had to do it. Only about a week had passed since his latest boyfriend, Spencer, had broken up with him, and Tristan needed help to move on. When Darius had first suggested the night out at Dorothy’s, Tristan wasn’t too sure… he hadn’t visited the LGBTQ+ nightclub in months, but Darius insisted that getting back out into the scene would be healthy and good for him.

                “It’ll bolster your confidence!” Darius had said. “You need to be reminded that you’re one hot son of a bitch. One stupid boy can’t take that away from you.”

                “And what if no one there wants me?”

                “Then you’ll still have a great night hanging out with me, and that’s worth something, right?”

                Tristan had mulled it over a bit, but Darius was right; he normally had pretty good intuition about these things. What was the worst that could happen? Maybe there was someone new and better out there for him. Either way, he was relieved that Darius committed to go with him. Tristan felt fragile, emotional, and raw, and having his best friend by his side would surely help to ease his aching heart.

                The night of the outing arrived, and Tristan found himself fretting over his outfit in his bedroom mirror. He was sporting a teal Hawaiian shirt with a tasteful tropical leaf pattern on it, chartreuse shorts, and brightly colored socks sticking out of red high-top converse. He wasn’t going to win a “best dressed” competition by any means, but for him it was a lot of effort.

                He had never been a super fashionable guy—that was definitely Darius’ realm— but he hoped that he looked alright for the evening. It was as much peacocking as he could bring himself to do. The outfit hopefully said “Hey, I’m a fun guy! Super chill and laid back, just like someone on a tropical beach vacation! Please talk to me!”.

                The trick was figuring out how risqué he wanted to be. For him, such a decision came in the form of an obscenely scandalous choice of either buttoning up the top button of his shirt or leaving it open to expose some of his chest. He did and undid the thing several times, but simply couldn’t decide on the look. With a sigh, he gave up. It’s not like it’d make much of a difference, anyway.

                Tristan glanced down at his watch and made a noise of discontentment; it was later than he wanted it to be. Hastily he decided on leaving the shirt buttoned, then headed off down the hall toward their bathroom to collect Darius.

                Something small, circular, and black startled him on the floor, and he flinched back in surprise thinking that it was a spider. Quickly he realized that it was nothing more than one of Darius’ many elastic hair ties. Once his heart stopped racing, Tristan bent down and scooped it up. He figured he’d just toss it into the drawer by the bathroom sink, but something stopped him.

                He twirled the little band between his fingers and was reminded of the time that he had come back from class completely exhausted and down in the dumps. Things really hadn’t gone his way that day- he had multiple projects due that week, one of his professors had added onto that heap by giving him yet another tough assignment, and things in his personal life… weren’t great.

                He had flopped down on the living room couch and given up on the world for the night when something small hit and bounced off his shoulder- a hair tie. Across the room was Darius, leaning against the doorframe trying to play it cool and appear innocent.

                “You looked sad.” Darius observed. Tristan vented the situation to him, and Darius patiently listened, but after the fact he shot another hair tie at him. And another. And another. Apparently, he had squirreled away an entire handful.

                At first Tristan was irritated, and he almost snapped at Darius until he saw the playful smirk creeping across his friend’s face. Darius was playing with him, trying to get him to loosen up a bit and blow off steam. Tristan relented… Laughter was pretty good medicine.

                It wasn’t long before they were engaged in a full-on war in their apartment, complete with furniture flipped over to hide behind as shields as they flung elastic hair ties and rubber bands at each other. It was stupid, but it was fun, and it did in fact melt away Tristan’s stress, making it easier for him to later focus and buckle down to get through that hellish week of work.   

                He needed that now- extra strength to get through the night. It sucked to be on your own again. It’s not like he had dated Spencer for long, and he wasn’t really vibing with him much anyway, but it was the thought of being alone that scared Tristan. He wanted that safety. That stress relief. That companionship…

                Tristan slipped the hair tie around his wrist and quietly decided that it was a good luck charm for the night… A simple reminder that it was okay to let loose and have fun, even when things seemed hard. He was glad that Darius took the time to assure him of things like that.

                … Plus, Darius had a million hair ties anyway. He wouldn’t miss this one. Tristan could probably collect a whole sleeve of them if he picked up every one he randomly found around their house.

                The bathroom door was still shut. Really? Darius was still getting ready? They were going to the club, not the Met Gala. Tristan knocked.

                “Almost done!” Darius called.

                “Hurry up!” Tristan barked.

                The door lazily creaked open, revealing Darius messing with his eyeliner in the mirror.

                “Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know. Being beautiful takes time.”

                Tristan cocked his head to the side. Darius was hopeless. “The universe has given you all the time you needed and then some.” he said, and he meant it, especially when Darius turned around with a flattered twinkle in his eye.

                “Awww, thanks!” he chirped. He probably thought that Tristan was just being nice, but really, truly, Tristan thought that Darius Astor was one of the most beautiful boys he had ever laid eyes on.

                Tonight Darius looked like he would fit in at any goth-themed event in town, which really wasn’t too far from his normal MO aside from looking a little more rave-ready. He wore a cropped black tanktop that hugged his chest in all the right ways and showed off where defined abs would be if he exercised more. Fishnet sleeves trailed down his arms and ended at his black-painted nails. Tripp pants made for a striking silhouette that Darius didn’t often flaunt (he tended to be a skinny jeans guy most of the time), especially with all the bits and bobs dangling down. Those pants always cracked Tristan up- they were so over the top with their straps and chains. On the bright side, with all the resulting jingling, Darius would be hard to lose in a crowd.

                Darius really had nailed the look, right down to his accessories- a matching studded belt and bracelet, a spiked choker, a face full of tastefully spooky makeup, and of course his signature platform leather boots.

                As per usual, he was a vision. A gorgeous sight to behold. Every inch of him was flawless.

                Tristan stared. Man, maybe his stiffest competition for the night would be Darius. With looks like that, everyone would fall for him. After all, he certainly had Tristan’s attention.

                … Wait— O-oh… no… No. Not like that.

                No.

                No.

                Not again…

                Tristan tossed his head, physically shaking the thought away as if he hadn’t considered it a million times before. Fuck. No. He shouldn’t think about Darius that way. He shouldn’t.

                Luckily he was interrupted by Darius studying his look.

                “Ooh, tropical? That’s fun.” he said. “I love it, but why so conservative?”

                “Huh?”

                Darius tapped at his sternum, indicating the top button of Tristan’s shirt.

                Tristan shifted. “I wasn’t sure if I should open it or not. What do you think?”

                “Definitely unbutton it. Show off a little!”

                There really wasn’t much to show off, but Tristan didn’t need to be told twice. If Darius thought that was the better style, he’d listen. He undid his top, and the two were off.

                                              ***

                Even before getting inside, Tristan could tell that Dorothy’s was hopping. It was to be expected though, as almost any club on a Saturday night would be bustling. All the same, it really had been a while since Tristan had been there… he had forgotten just how crazy the crowds could be. Thankfully he knew that soon things would settle down as the masses split up either to sit and watch the drag show downstairs, or to head up to the club’s second story to dance. He and Darius hadn’t even gotten to the front door when he heard someone calling their names.

                “Tristan! Darius! Hey!!” he perked up at the sound of the familiar voice. Was that—?            

                A girl about Darius’ age bounded up to them, and the boys recognized her immediately: Cici, one of their closest friends, and Darius’ ex-girlfriend. Her long brilliant red hair popped against her sparkly lavender crop top and y2k-chic denim bellbottoms adorned with a stenciled-on star pattern.              

                “Oh hey!” Darius’ eyes lit up at the sight of her and he reached out and pulled her into a hello hug, then kissed her on the cheek in greeting. It was just a quick little peck, but all the same, Tristan pretended not to notice. Despite the two having broken up from their romantic relationship not too long ago, Darius and Cici were still close. Very close. That was fine… But like… did he have to kiss her?

                Cici didn’t seem to mind. She laughed and gave Darius a gentle shove back in response.

                “Careful,” she warned, though her tone was sarcastic and playful. “If you act like that then people will think we’re still together... Or worse: straight.”

                Darius flashed a cheeky grin, a mischievous look that could get him into trouble just as easily as it could get him out of it.

                “That’s bi-erasure.” he joked, and Cici shook her head fondly. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

                “Same as you, Lover Boy.” Cici replied. “I’m looking for my rebound. You can’t distract me. I’m the pan with a plan.” They both snickered.

                “Me? Looking for a rebound?” Darius scoffed. “Babe, there’s simply no replacing you.”

                Ah. They were flirting. They were broken up, yet they were still flirting with each other…

                Tristan instantly felt like a third wheel. His shoulders sank and he stared at the two of them, though he didn’t mean to watch so intently.

                Cici was a beautiful, loving girl, and he never was surprised that Darius had fallen so hard for her. She had only been a positive influence on him, and Lord did Darius need that when she first came into their lives. By some miracle, she had managed to mostly calm him down from his rebellious streak and really bring him out of his shell in a way that Tristan had never fully been able to. She was a bright light in Darius’ weird—and at the time, morose—world, and undoubtedly she had changed him for the better.

                Their relationship had been solid for ages, but over time cracks began to form. Small issues compounded, and after a while it became clear that they both had aspects of themselves that they wanted to improve upon or explore. Darius still didn’t fully have a handle on some of his self-destructive habits, and Cici began to realize just how much she was attracted to other women.

                There was no falling out or blowup that ended things, the two just decided that it was best to go at it alone for a while as they figured themselves out and grew up a bit. Maybe once they had lived a little more, they would find their way back together, but only time would tell.

                Despite the split being mutual, it wound up being a lot harder on Darius than he anticipated. Cici had been his longest romantic partner to date, lasting a few years. He missed her company in that respect but was thankful to still have her friendship and support. It was a relief that they were still so close, because Tristan figured that things would get super weird and awkward in the friend group if one or both of them suddenly decided to leave. Cici had been the one to bring them together in the first place; it wouldn’t be right to have her or Darius duck out over personal issues.  

                …

                But again, did he have to kiss her?

                Tristan’s ears felt hot, and he finally came to his senses enough to realize that he was still looking at the pair. He snapped back to reality just in time, because Cici turned her attention to him and stepped around Darius to give Tristan a hug as well. She always wanted to make sure that everyone felt welcome and seen.

                As he hugged her back and said his hellos, he prayed that she missed how flustered he was. And like… why? It made no sense for him to be so out of sorts, especially around her, but tonight he felt caught off guard by her presence. He really hoped it would just be him and Darius, but… the more the merrier he supposed…?

                The three of them headed inside, and it wasn’t long before they decided to go upstairs to check out the bar and dance area. Cici came and went, occasionally striking up chats with lonely-looking girls, but she and Darius kept meeting back up and getting lost in conversation. It was bugging Tristan, and he couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was how he felt like he disappeared when the two started talking, as if the wall swallowed him up and he was nothing more than a decoration in the background- ever present, but ultimately ignored. He really didn’t need that tonight.

                Eventually he gave up, resigned to the fact that Darius had been lost to the land of the ex. Whatever, they could catch up if they wanted to. Tristan had nothing against Cici, but he had his own priorities tonight and really didn’t feel like hanging around her. He hoped he wasn’t being rude when he excused himself to go grab a drink from the bar.

                “What would you like?” The bartender asked him.

                “A White Russian.” Tristan said bitterly, and the irony wasn’t lost on him. Frankly he also would have enjoyed Sex on the Beach. 

                Stop it, Tris. Stop it.

                The server slid his drink over. Maybe Tristan was going a little hard right out of the gate, but he didn’t care.

                As he sipped the cocktail, he scoped out the other clubgoers. There were plenty of cute guys around, but no one really struck his fancy or seemed like they were open to talking. To be honest, Tristan didn’t really know if he was, either.

                His vision kept finding its way back over to Cici and Darius, who were standing close together by the stairwell. Cici beamed and played with her hair while Darius busted up laughing at whatever she had just said.

                Tristan had seen them like that a thousand times before. Afterall, they had been together for years. Why, why, why then was it simply eating him alive tonight? It was so much easier to keep his feelings in check when Darius and Cici were dating, but Darius didn’t belong to her anymore.

                He didn’t belong to anybody.

                That was the problem.

                A song started playing from the DJ booth- something with an industrial sound as heavy as the thoughts pounding in Tristan’s mind.

                I don't wanna share this space                 I don't wanna force a smile                 This one girl taps my insecurities                 Don't know if it's real or if I'm spiraling

                Charlie XCX. Great music, great album. Horrible time for that particular song to play. Tristan forced himself to tear away his gaze and took a large swig of his drink. He needed to forget it. All of it. He needed to forget about the relationship that he so desperately wanted. He needed to forget how lonely he was. He really needed to forget—

                “Hey bud, how you doing?”

                Darius. While Tristan was lost in thought, he must have come over. The boy hopped up on the stool beside him, his eyes gleaming with that mischievous sparkle that implied that he had just said something cheeky and maybe a pinch irreverent. He must have sent Cici off with some smart aleck remark or groan-worthy pun. He was alone now, though.

                Tristan couldn’t look at him. “I’m fine.” he replied, not peering up from the glass in his hand.

                “Are you?” God, Darius was good. It was hard to hide anything from him. That was to be expected from your best friend, though, especially when Tristan was so horrible at masking. Darius leaned in a bit, studying him a little more intensely.

                Tristan ran his hand down his face hoping to wipe his expression clear of any sort of outward turmoil, then turned to look at him finally.

                “Yeah, I just…” he wasn’t quite sure where he was going with that sentence, trailing off and ending it with a sigh.

                Darius softened and gave him an understanding look. “Hey, I’m sorry.”

                What was he apologizing for? There was no way he could know that Tristan was thinking about—

                “But screw Spencer. You don’t need him.” 

                Right… Spencer… That was who Tristan was supposed to be upset about tonight. That was who he was supposed to be mourning. That was who he was supposed to want. It was so stupid and fake. So disingenuous…

                He took another sip of his drink, then nodded halfheartedly.

                “You’re right.” Tristan said “I don’t need him. I don’t— I dunno what I need.”

                'Cause I couldn't even be her if I tried                 I'm opposite, I'm on the other side                 I feel all these feelings I can't control                 Oh no, don't know why

                Darius reached out and lightly tapped the back of his knuckle against Tristan’s free hand, sending a tingling spark through him.

                “You can start with a friend.” Darius said, a gentle smile touching his lips.

                Fuck that smile. Fuck that confidence. Fuck that tenderness. It just made Tristan want him more.

                All this sympathy is just a knife                 Why I can't even grit my teeth and lie?                 I feel all these feelings I can't control                 Oh no, don't know

                Tristan was transfixed by Darius’ gaze. Those warm chocolate eyes held him captive, silently telling him that everything was going to be okay… or at least that’s what Tristan wanted to believe.

                “Y-yeah.” Tristan said at last, breaking eye contact. “Thanks.” he chugged the rest of his drink and set the glass down on the counter with a clink.

                “Any time, Tris. I’m here for you.”

                The two sat in silence for a minute or two, Darius peoplewatching and Tristan waiting for some sort of buzz. The song switched to something bouncier and fun, and Tristan noticed Darius nodding along to it absentmindedly.

                Fuck it. He’d shoot his shot.

                “Do you wanna dance?” Tristan asked timidly.

                Darius swiveled back around and regarded him fondly. He wasn’t much one for dancing on his own, but he’d indulge almost any of Tristan’s requests if he asked. He’d do a lot of things for Tristan that he wouldn’t do for anyone else.

                “You coming with me?” he asked.

                “Of course!” Tristan hopped up from his seat and reached out for Darius. His friend took hold of his hands and slid down after him, then they made their way over to the dance floor.

                The crowd’s energy was vivacious and undeniably electric- beautiful people were throwing their arms up in the air and shaking their cares away. It would be impossible to be sad in such company.

                The boys squeezed through the sea of dancers and made their way back to a corner of the room near the video screens. Tristan had intentionally led Darius away from the view of the bar and lounge area, so they’d be relatively hidden and hard to spot.

                Every thump of the bass from the speakers shook Tristan right through his chest, consuming his very being. It didn’t take long at all for him to lose himself in the beat, and his other senses were quickly hijacked as well between the lights spinning dizzyingly overhead, the fog machines, the blinking colors on the ground, the videos on the wall, the disco ball hanging from the ceiling…

                It was overwhelming. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t process anything. He couldn’t feel.

                It was perfect. Maybe he didn’t need that drink after all. Maybe he just needed to be here.

                A blast of the delicately scented fog belched from one of the machines and momentarily swallowed Tristan’s vision. The rest of the club disappeared entirely aside from the flashing colors in the mist. He was alone, but only for a second. Darius emerged, positioned right before him. He grinned as he shimmied back and forth to the music, an expectant look on his face waiting for Tristan to join him.

                Together they jumped, rocked, and hopped from side-to-side to the club classics being spun. During a more trancey song Darius closed his eyes and blissfully brought his head back, clearly enchanted by the rhythm. He was fully relaxed, something he rarely tended to ever be in public spaces. It was a lovely, dreamy scene.

                Another puff of fog hissed from the machine, enveloping the area where the boys were dancing. Once more the rest of the crowd faded away as a song that Tristan recognized came on. He had heard it once before and remembered liking it enough to Shazam it. He tried to recall the title. “Jenny” by… gosh, what was the band… “Studio Killers” or something?  

                Jenny darling, you’re my best friend                 But there’s a few things that you don’t know of                 Why I borrow your lipstick so often                 I’m using your shirt as a pillowcase

                Darius had opened his eyes and was peering at Tristan now, swaying back and forth and bobbing his shoulders up and down to the beat. Did he know the song, too? Their vision connected, and Darius took that as an invitation to move closer. He danced his way up to Tristan with a goofy expression clearly meant to make him laugh, especially when paired with his silly, exaggerated dance moves. It worked, Tristan cracked up during the chorus, entirely missing the words as he twirled in a circle and made his own wacky motions, trying to get Darius to laugh back.

                Jenny, darling, you're my best friend                 I've been doing bad things that you don't know about                 Stealing your stuff now and then                 Nothing you'd miss, but it means the world to me

                During the second verse they were so wrapped up in their lighthearted dance battle that neither was fully aware of just how close they were getting. Before they knew it, they were touching each other. It started with Darius making a very serious expression, grabbing Tristan’s hand and lacing his fingers through his, bringing it up, and staring deeply into his eyes.

                “Dance with me, Lyubimyy.” he purred in a deep, overly dramatic tone. In the blink of an eye Darius’ other hand was on the small of Tristan’s back, and he dipped him backwards like they were entangled in a passionate tango. Tristan yelped in surprise but trusted that Darius wouldn’t drop him. They both were laughing as Darius hauled him back up. The boy was ridiculous.

                Another blast of fog hid the rest of the club from view. It was just the two of them again, or so it seemed. Tristan and Darius. The only two people in the club. The only two people in the entire world.

                Tristan answered Darius’ moves by grabbing his hips and pulling him in close. Darius’ face lit up with a playful glee, and he took the hint, wrapping his arms around the back of Tristan’s neck. They swayed and grinded against each other as the chorus played once again.

                I wanna ruin our friendship                 We should be lovers instead                 I don’t know how to say this                 ‘Cause you’re really my dearest friend

                Tristan heard the words that time, and his eyes went wide. Oh shit. That was why he remembered liking this song. Darius didn’t seem to notice his panic though- his eyes slipped shut and he pressed his forehead against Tristan’s to catch his breath, knowing that he wouldn’t mind.

                Darius was hot and sweaty, but he was right; Tristan didn’t mind. Not one bit.

                Gingerly Tristan raised a hand up and cupped the side of Darius’ face in a gentle action that he could have easily played off as a caring caress to comfort his winded friend. Darius leaned into the touch with a pleasant grin.

                The blonde held his breath. He wanted to kiss him so badly.

                Jenny, take my hand                 'Cause we are more than friends                 I will follow you until the end                 Jenny, take my hand                 I cannot pretend                 Why I never like your new boyfriends                 Oh, your love for them won’t last long

                Darius’ arms had returned to his sides, and Tristan grabbed one of his hands, then brought it up to spin Darius out and away from him. Darius followed the motion, fully into their continued masquerade game.

                Forget those amigos                 Oh, your love for them won't last long

                Darius wound himself back in and spun into Tristan’s embrace.

                Forget those amigos                 Forget those amigos

                The beat picked up again and Tristan let go, then the two fully broke apart and gave each other some space again, jumping and going all out for the end of the song.

                I wanna ruin our friendship                 We should be lovers instead                 I don't know how to say this                 'Cause you're really my dearest friend                 Oh, your love for them won't last long                 We should be lovers instead                 Oh, your love for them won't last long                 'Cause you really are my dearest friend

                The song faded out and blended into Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!”, a welcome break from the higher BPM stuff the DJ had been blasting for the last 10 or 15 minutes. Darius fanned himself with his palms and took a step back, that wonderful blissful look still plastered on his face.

                “Phew! Thanks Tris, that was fun! I think I need a breather, though.” He pulled a water bottle from one of his deep cargo pockets and guzzled it down, then checked his text messages. “Cici’s outside. I’m gonna join her to cool off. You wanna come?”

                Of course she was. Of course he’d be going to see her. Back to reality.

                “You go ahead, I’ll be there in a bit.” Tristan answered. “I’ve just gotta…” he pointed to the bathroom, and Darius nodded in understanding and gave him a friendly pat on the back.

                “Okay man, see you out there.”

                Darius turned and made his way to the stairs and once again Tristan caught himself staring, watching him leave as if he hadn’t seen him walk away a thousand times before.

                You can kiss a hundred boys in bars                 Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling                 You can say it's just the way you are                 Make a new excuse, another stupid reason

                There was a pang in his heart, and he felt like such a damn fool. He hated himself. He really did. He finally broke from his trance and made his way to the bathroom, silently cursing the Midwest Princess’ words as he blinked hard, trying to force back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t keep doing this. Something eventually had to give.

                Good luck, babe (well, good luck), well, good luck, babe                 (well, good luck)                 You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

                                              ***

                Tristan descended the staircase down to the main floor and shuffled outside, figuring that Darius and Cici were most likely on the patio. As he rounded the corner, he spotted them, Darius lounging on one of the railings and Cici seated beside him at a table.

                The two were engaged in a conversation with one of the club’s drag performers, Steeple Towers- a very tall queen decked out in a gorgeous sparkly hot pink number, complete with a comically oversized bow on the back of her dress. Her cotton candy-esque wig was so poofy and enormous that it probably should have had a blinking light on top to warn airplanes to steer clear. 

                For a second, Tristan was too shy to approach. He had met several of the local drag performers before when they were their normal selves. Darius knew some of them from school and had even invited them over for dinner a time or two. They were all very kind, sweet guys and loved trading makeup tips and tricks. But man, when they put on their drag personas it was like they were different people. Fierce, confident, scary… not frightening, just scary in how incredible and otherworldly they were. It blew Tristan away how someone could be so well put together and perfect that they were intimidating.

                How cool it would be to have even a shred of that fun, unapologetically outgoing personality…

                He took a step forward but spotted something that he really didn’t like- between Darius’ fingers was a lit cigarette. With utter disdain, Tristan watched as the smoke curled up toward the sky. Ugh. Darius hadn’t indulged in that vice for quite a while.

                Cici had an equally disapproving look on her face, watching judgmentally as Darius took a long drag of it. She had been the one to spearhead the campaign to make him quit, and all of their friends had joined in the journey to help him along the path.

                Darius saw her staring and grinned innocently with the stupid object between his teeth.

                “I love you!” He tried, but Cici shook her head. He withdrew the cigarette and blew the smoke straight up into the air like a chimney, then snuffed the thing out on the railing without it even being half spent. “Fine, fine. Don’t give me that look…”

                Cici’s face melted into a satisfied expression, but she turned to Steeple and crossed her arms.

                “I told you not to enable him, damnit!” she chided. Steeple threw her hands up as if being accosted by a cop, but she was still playing her saucy character.

                “Arrest me then, officer! I’m only guilty of giving this cutie pie what he wants.”

                It was a funny scene. Tristan should have wanted to join in and play along. He should have wanted to take a seat and chat with them in the nice evening air. He should have been enjoying himself tonight… but he couldn’t get up the nerve to go over.

                He felt that same pang in his heart and tried to figure out why. Was it the pain of seeing Darius hurt himself again by smoking? Or was it once again seeing him with her…?

                ‘I love you!’ Darius had said in that cutesy voice that begged “Don’t be mad at me!”. He said stuff like that all the time to get out of trouble.

                But he had said it to Cici, and once, he did love her.

                … God, was he ever gonna stop?

                Tristan clenched his fists. This wasn’t healthy. He shouldn’t be thinking about Cici like that, like she was “the other woman” or something. Competition. She wasn’t.

                No… he wasn’t.

                There wasn’t a contest. He wasn’t in the running. He never had been in the running. Darius had been hers for years. Tristan had been fine with it then. Why was it now that he was suddenly so…

                So…

                … so fucking jealous?

                With a frustrated noise in the back of his throat he spun on his heel, turning and making his way back inside. He had to get out of there. He didn’t want to hate Cici. He didn’t hate her. He couldn’t. He hated himself. He hated himself and his stupid fucking crush and how he couldn’t ever, ever let it go. Why was it flaring up so badly tonight?! Jesus!!

                As he reentered the building, he heard that “Mr. Brightside��� was playing. Of course it was. Tristan wished that it all would fucking end.

                If Darius could indulge in one of his unhealthy vices, Tristan would, too. He plopped down at the bar and ordered two Skittle shots. At least that was one surefire way to taste the rainbow tonight. He slammed the drinks back and shuddered at the vodka's sting, then took a long deep inhale through his nose and buried his face in his hands, trying to get a grip on himself.

                “Boyfriend trouble, eh?”

                Tristan peeked out and over to where the voice came from, a little way down the bar. A man sat there, a big burly guy jacked to all smithereens with close cropped salt-and-pepper hair and a sort of military look going: a tank top, camo pants, and big heavy combat boots. Man, what did this random older guy care? … But Tristan supposed he could chat with a stranger for a bit anyway. Maybe it’d help him calm down.

                “Something like that.” Tristan said miserably. “He’s not my boyfriend, though, just—” he sighed and lowered his head again, eyeing the menu on the table in search of his next drink selection.

                “Ya wish he was.” The man said knowingly.

                Tristan sat silently, now staring at nothing, but eventually he nodded smally.

                “Hey, it’s rough.” The man said. He had a country drawl that somehow disarmed Tristan. The guy could be spewing pure bullshit, but with an accent like that, it was hard to believe that he would be capable of saying anything unkind. “Some guys ain’t worth the heartache.”

                “I feel like he is.” Tristan picked at the hair tie on his wrist. “It’s stupid, but I’d go to the ends of the Earth for him if he needed me to.” He took a beat, his dewy-eyed expression dissolving back into full on sorrow. “Love is stupid. It’s so fucking stupid and unfair. I hate it.”

                “You should stay away from him.”

                “What?” Tristan couldn’t help but look back up at the guy. That advice felt like it came out of left field.

                “You're only gonna get hurt if ya don’t.” The man said.

                Tristan frowned. “He wouldn’t do that intentionally.”

                “Of course not. But is he tryin' to hurt you now?”

                “… Well, no…”

                “And are ya feelin' hurt anyway?”

                Tristan dropped his gaze.

                “Trust me kid, cut ties now for your own good. It’ll be a lot easier on you that way when he’s not around anymore.”

                ‘When he’s not around anymore’? Geez, that was pessimistic. The drawl didn’t cover up bleak sounding things after all. This dude must have seriously been burned by past relationships to instantly assume that someone would leave, not could. Darius wouldn’t just up and disappear someday… right? Their friendship was solid. Even if things got awkward, they could work it out.

                Perhaps the guy meant something else though… Darius not being around in the future… it hurt to think about, but they were nearing the end of college. Despite both being from the same town, they probably would have to part ways eventually for their careers. That didn’t mean the friendship needed to end, but things weren’t going to be the same once they moved out and were no longer roommates.

                ‘When he’s not around anymore’… Ugh… How would Tristan handle that? It would be a sad goodbye, that’s for sure. He hoped that they’d keep in touch and maybe see each other a few times a year if they were lucky.

                Tristan scrunched up his nose, not wanting to think about it anymore. Hopefully that was a long way off in the future still… No need to dwell on it now. Darius wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. They’d just have to make the most of whatever time they had left together… to live it up while they still could.  

                The man seemed to notice Tristan wrestling with that idea; his face gave it away.

                “Look, you're an innocent, nice fella.” The guy said. “You don’t deserve to be hurt.”

                Tristan lightly chuckled at that. This stranger didn’t know him at all, but it was nice that he still wanted the best for him.

                “Thanks.” Tristan said quietly. He had no intention of cutting Darius out of his life, but hey, free advice was free advice, even if he wasn’t going to follow it. The guy only seemed to mean well.

                The man tipped his head and went back to nursing his beer. Tristan sat quietly and stewed in thought.

                Suddenly there was a commotion from outside: a high-pitched shriek, a loud and angry yell, the sound of a scuffle, then more shouting and screaming. Tristan sat up and craned his neck to get a look, moving to hop off the barstool when Darius stormed through the front door clutching his face with one hand and waving Cici and Steeple off dismissively with the other.

                “Are you fucking insane?!” Steeple shrieked, her heels clicking loudly against the wood floor as she followed him. “You could’ve been killed!”

                “I got your fucking bow back, didn’t I?!” Darius snapped.

                “He was an asshole, Dair! Just some fucking loser! I much rather would have preferred for him to walk off with it than for you to get hurt! How could you be so stupid?!”

                Cici ran over to the counter and frantically asked the bartender for a first aid kit.

                “What’s going on?!” Tristan exclaimed. Cici turned and relief flooded her face when she noticed him.

                “Tris! Oh, thank God! Darius, he… Stupid idiot! There was this guy—”

                “Is that blood?!” Darius had finally gotten close enough for Tristan to see him in the dim light. His roommate blew past on the way to the bathroom, too distracted to see him.

                “Some jerk on the street was harassing us… Darius went after him and there was a fight, and, and—” Cici was tearing up, the fright suddenly catching up to her. “I didn’t know what to do! It all happened so fast, I—”

                Tristan caressed her upper arms and tried to calm her down.

                “Hey, shh, hey, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay, Cici. I’ll go help him.”

                Cici threw her arms around him, and Tristan felt like a complete idiot. All night he had been vilifying her and feeling horribly jealous as if she wasn’t like a sister to him. She loved and trusted him, and now she was vulnerable and scared and chose to come to him for comfort.

                How could he have been so heartless?

                She was trembling. Tristan returned her embrace and gently rubbed her back, lingering in the hug for longer than he originally intended, hoping that she’d feel better. She needed this. Maybe he did, too.

                Cici straightened with a sniffle and handed him the first aid kit that the bartender had slid over.

                “Thanks Tris… You know how he is… I just—”

                She worried. So did he. They had this conversation before as two of the people who knew Darius the best. The guy could be bullheaded and impulsive, rushing into almost anything—even something dangerous—to help someone that he thought needed it. A self-sacrificing dumbass who occasionally leaped before he looked.

                Again, Tristan felt so foolish. He had shared many late nights with Cici where they had deep, heartfelt talks, even without Darius around. She was one of his closest friends, too; that was how he knew exactly what she was feeling and thinking in the moment. Boy did he feel terrible.

                “It has to be you. I can’t go in there.” Cici sobbed. Almost on cue, Darius shut the men’s room door behind him.

                Tristan stood and the world swayed. Fuck, the shots! Not now… not now! What a horrible time for them to kick in! He steadied himself against the barstool and flashed Cici as confident of a smile as he could muster, praying that he looked sober enough that she wouldn’t worry. He focused extra hard on walking straight and hoped that he was nailing it.

                In the bathroom Darius sat on the sink counter looking pissed off and ill-tempered as Steeple patted at his wounds with a wet paper towel. Darius shoved her hand away.

                “Knock it off! I’m fine. You’re gonna get blood on your outfit.” he complained.

                “I don’t give a shit, Darius. Shut up and let me help you.” she pulled the bloody paper towel away and tossed it in the trashcan.

                “I’ve got a first aid kit.” Tristan announced, holding up the supplies. Steeple gave him the same look of relief that Cici had. Darius must have been giving her a rough time.

                “Oh, thank God! I think it looks worse than it actually is, but still, let’s get him cleaned up.” Long manicured nails be damned, the queen dug into the box and ripped open a hand wipe, then reached for Darius’ face again, dabbing at a cut. Darius flinched away.   

                “Fucking stop it! That hurts!”

                Steeple looked exasperated and opened her mouth to snap back at him, but her thought was cut off by a tinkling melodic alarm.

                “Shit!” She reached between her fake bosoms and pulled out a cellphone, then shut off the alarm and checked the time.

                “The show’s about to start. I’ve gotta run… will you be okay?”

                Darius looked terrifying with the streams of red trickling down his face, even more so when he fixed Steeple with a deathly serious stare.

                “Get out there and be fabulous.” It was a threat. An encouraging one, but hostile all the same. “Do it for me.”

                Tristan gave the queen a proper answer. “I’ve got him. Thanks Steeple.”

                “Thank you Tristan.” Steeple turned and punched Darius lightly in the arm. “Don’t. be. stupid! And don’t be mean to this nice boy! He loves you just as much as I do! We’re your friends, you dick!” She rinsed her hands and grabbed her bow.

                Tristan’s throat bobbed. Just as much as Steeple loved him? Oh, no. No. Tristan loved him more. Far, far more.

                “Good luck. He’s still riled up.” Steeple whispered to Tristan, then set off to head backstage.

                Once she was gone, Darius deflated and bent forward, his defensive walls tumbling down. It was just him and Tristan now. He didn’t have to act tough and put up a brave front anymore.

                “Motherfucker…” he groaned. “Fuck, that hurt.”

                Tristan put a comforting hand on Darius’ knee.

                “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

                Darius peered up at Tristan, his face ragged and tired, though he forced a wry smile.

                “You should see the other guy.” He laughed darkly.

                Tristan scoffed, then took a moment to assess Darius’ condition. He was pretty roughed up. Blood trickled down his face and cemented clumps of his flowing black mane to his temple. Gently Tristan swept those out of the way, but the strands flopped back down again.

                “Here,” Tristan said, slipping the hair tie from his wrist. “put your hair up.”

                “My friend the Boy Scout.” Darius teased, taking the elastic and pulling his hair into a ponytail. “Always prepared…”

                “Shut up.” Tristan lifted a towelette, then carefully reached up to go over the cuts on Darius’ face and hands. Judging by the injuries, it seemed like he had been forced to the ground either from being pushed or punched.

                “What happened anyway?” Tristan asked.

                “We were sitting outside talking and some homophobic asshole came by and started slinging slurs.” Darius sucked in a sharp hiss with the sting of the wipe, but didn’t pull away. “He ripped Steeple’s bow off and started running, and I went after him. I don’t know who threw the first punch. It’s kind of a blur…”

                Tristan finished cleaning Darius’ wounds and pulled out a few band-aids. Luckily Steeple had been right: he wasn’t as bad as he looked, head wounds just tended to bleed a lot and look really dramatic.

                Darius watched Tristan studying him when he took a step back.

                “Is it bad?” Darius asked warily.

                Tristan tsked, his voice gentle.

                “I think you’ll live, idiot.”

                ‘Idiot’. He didn’t have to say anything more. The corners of Darius’ mouth pulled up slightly in a tiny, knowing smile. That one word expressed everything that Tristan was feeling regarding the whole situation. Darius knew him well enough to figure that out. ‘Idiot’, meaning something more along the lines of ‘How could you be so reckless? You care too much. You shouldn’t have put yourself in harm’s way, even if it was the noble thing to do for a friend.’

                Tristan was slow with bandaging up Darius’ hands, his movements a little unsteady. Darius took notice, especially when Tristan started swaying.

                “Are you okay?” he asked.

                “Yeah, I just… alcohol…” Tristan admitted. The multiple drinks were finally fully hitting him.

                Darius’ thick dark brows pulled into a frown. “How much more did you have?”

                “Two more shots… I’m fine…”

                “Yeah, okay. Come up here and have a seat with me.”

                The blonde finished dressing the wounds and sloppily tucked the remaining supplies back into the first aid kit. Clumsily he hopped onto the countertop next to Darius.

                “Thanks Tris.” Darius said, a pinch of embarrassment in his otherwise grateful tone.

                Tristan nodded heavily. “I agree with Steeple.” he replied. “Don’t be stupid.”

                Darius chuckled. “I try not to be as a general rule.” but they both knew that wasn’t always the case.

                Without looking at him, Darius leaned over wearily and rested his head on Tristan’s shoulder in an appreciative gesture. He must have been crashing from the adrenaline rush. Tristan tried to keep cool and bite his tongue, but the liquid courage in his system was making him… well, courageous.

                What would he even say in a moment like this? 'I love you, don’t you ever scare me like that again!'? 'Hey, could you stop flirting with your ex? You’re kind of killing me.'? 'Please promise you won’t ever leave me.'?

                Instead, he pressed his lips together and simply rested his head on top of Darius’. The two of them sat there for a moment in silence to recover from the chaos.

                The moment lingered on.

                And on…

                It was weirdly peaceful.

                “You know we can’t stay like this forever…” Darius finally mumbled.

                Tristan didn’t realize that he had closed his eyes until they were open again. Had he just taken a three second nap? His heart beat faster, his half-asleep, alcohol impaired mind trying to figure out what Darius meant. They couldn’t stay like this forever? What was he saying? Darius must be about to dump him as a friend. That was the only explanation. The guy at the bar was right. Tristan was convinced. In the span of a millisecond, Tristan spiraled. It was over. Their entire friendship was over. It had to be.

                “I’m not staying the night in a dirty club bathroom.”

                The flurry of paranoia swirling in Tristan’s brain stopped on a dime and his panic dissolved. Darius was right, this place wasn’t fit for them to stay in at all.

                “Mm…” Tristan nodded in agreement and groggily sat back up.

                “I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve had enough clubbing for tonight. You wanna head home?” Darius asked.

                “Uh huh.” Tristan was woozy. It was a nice buzz, and his heart wasn’t aching as badly, but he was definitely done with the evening. Darius hopped off the counter, then helped him down, supporting him until he could stand better. Tristan collected the first aid kit and they moved toward the bathroom door.

                “You’ve gotta tell Cici you’re ok.” Tristan uttered. “She was really worried about you.”

                Darius' face fell. “Yeah… Well, that’s partially why she left me... Too scrappy. I sure did a great job of proving her point tonight.” His tone was bitter as he reflected on his own actions. Perhaps the breakup hadn’t been as mutual as Tristan initially thought.

                “You still love each other.” Tristan said. It was a statement, not a question.

                “Yeah, as friends.” Darius answered.

                “You mean you’re not trying to get back together?”

                “No. Of course not. What makes you think—”

                “Flirting.” Tristan blurted out. “You’ve been flirting with her all night.”

                Darius looked perplexed. “I’ve been flirting with everyone all night. Even you.”

                What little shred of sanity Tristan had left broke at those words, and temporarily he was speechless. His dumbstruck expression must have read, because Darius gave him a weird look. 

                Tristan wanted to ask a thousand questions- ‘How seriously were you flirting?’, ‘Was it just for fun, or are you actually romantically interested in me?’, ‘Is this a joke to you?’, ‘Are you trying to lead me on?���, ‘Do you know how badly something like that could destroy me?’ but all that came out was one simple word:

                “Why?”

                Darius shrugged.

                “Because I love you, Tris.” he said it so nonchalantly, like it was simply a matter of fact. There was no sense of gravity to the thought. It was light. Airy. Easy.

                Tristan was silent. Dead freaking silent.

                As a friend. Darius didn’t say it, but somehow, Tristan knew that was what he meant. Darius loved him as a friend. Nothing more. Clearly, he was still completely clueless as to how Tristan felt. He had to be. He wouldn’t just speak that sentiment so casually otherwise.

                All the same, Tristan’s insides felt warm.

                “I—”

                ‘I want to be with you.’, ‘I need you to know just how much I care about you.’, ‘I don’t ever want to leave your side.’, ‘I wanna ruin our friendship, we should be lovers instead.’

                … Careful, Tris.

                “I love you, too, Dair.” Not even Tristan knew what level of intensity he was putting behind those words. He would never force something on Darius like that, no matter how badly he wanted it. It felt nice just to voice the thought out loud either way… to officially release it into the universe. 

                They loved each other. It didn’t matter in what capacity. At least now they both knew. 

                Darius beamed and wrapped an arm around Tristan’s shoulders to keep him steady.

                “I’m glad. Now let’s go home.”

---------------------------------------------------

Previous | Next

---

Thank you as always to risahraun for beta-reading! <3

[esperfruit]

Thomas & Friends Human AU reference sheets and bios part 2

Darius Diesel

Age: 25

Height: 180 cm

Born into an infamous crime family as the nephew of the organization’s leader Adrean Diesel also known as Diesel 10. His parents’ plan was to raise him like a normal child until he was old enough to be introduced into the business but their plan was cut short as they were killed in a confrontation with the police when Darius was eight years old. Now in the care of Diesel 10, he was brought into the life of crime at an early age. It turned out Darius had a talent in deceiving others with his charisma, good acting and tricky lies. He was usually used to scam others or lead targets of the organization into traps. His success quickly earned him the nickname “Devious Diesel”.

Even if he is usually focused on trickery, he can also fight and has gotten into many brawls. His coaches for his training in combat are his two bodyguards, the twins Arry and Bert.

Receiving nothing but praise and admiration for his deeds let him become very prideful and arrogant. Meanwhile Diesel got into goth fashion and became interested in technology but only in the “fun” aspects like editing programs, filming and games, fully fascinated by their possibilities and history of revolutionizing entertainment. These were the only things he could spend his free time on as his abrasive, devious attitude and being in a criminal syndicate made it near to impossible for him to find any friends.

Diesel barely respected anyone with Diesel 10 being one of the few and it was more fear than respect as despite being praised and rewarded, Darius was still treated very roughly by his uncle and is fully aware of his cruelty.

When Diesel 10 learned about a powerful, mysterious entity called “Lady” on Sodor, he sent Darius there to gather information. On his first day Diesel wanted to make a good first impression to get on good terms with the people but was foiled by Duck, who humiliated him, that spiraling into a strong enmity between the two. 

Even after his true nature as a devious schemer was revealed, he didn’t give up on his mission. Now he also interacted with others unmasked what got him to face consequences for his actions, something he never did before, starting to wonder if he was doing something wrong.

Because he took too long, Diesel 10 sent Arry and Bert as support and later even arrived himself to find and catch Lady. The culmination of everything resulting from this was that Diesel was so shaken, he could not stay with his uncle and his organization anymore. With no place to stay, Sir Topham Hatt offered him a permanent stay under the condition, Diesel shows effort to redeem himself. It was way easier said than done because Diesel struggled changing his behavior, regulating his emotions and growing out of bad habits but he does show good progress thanks to the kindness and acceptance of Paxton and Mavis, an in-depth talk with Daisy, a deep connection he formed with the like-minded Sonny and his own determination.

Scott “Flying Scotsman” Gresley

Age: 49

Height: 206 cm

Gordon’s older brother and the current heir to the Gresley main family business empire. Polite, accommodating and proud, Scott takes his duties very seriously and always wears a bright smile in front of others. Scott loved all of his siblings and was devastated when he lost all of them but one, Gordon. When they were children, Scott always protected Gordon from Spencer bullying him and after the accident, he looked after his younger sibling even more than before. Knowing that they were the only two members of the main family left and just how dangerous that was, Scott supported Gordon going to Sodor, which would keep him out of the family crossfire while he himself took on the position of the heir.

Scott knew how to look out for himself and built himself a good and stable position with many trustworthy connections. His new position made him realize even more just how fundamentally dysfunctional and toxic the Gresley family was but he tried everything to fix as much as possible with little results. During all of that he also started to wonder if the accident that robbed him of almost all his loved ones may have been not an accident after all…

To make matters worse his relationship with Gordon had been crumbling since the accident and seeing his little brother change so much for the worse, deeply saddened Scott. 

The brothers rarely see each other and when Scott finally got some time to visit Sodor, he put on his most light-hearted demeanor and affectionately teased Gordon by calling him “Little Brother” like he always did. In the end the brothers were able to improve their relationship and Scott is happy that Gordon is surrounded by so many great people. 

To the contrary to Gordon, who always carries a frown but has great company, the ever so jolly and cheerful Scott is very lonely due to his position that keeps him busy and on edge all the time. He tries to get into hobbies to bring light to his situation, one of his hobbies being steam engines. 

The pinnacle of his passion for them was his purchase of the world-famous engine Flying Scotsman. It made world-wide news and people started to call Scott himself Flying Scotsman thanks to the ironic correlation between his name and that of the engine’s. He allows Flying Scotsman to still work for the public but Scotsman is still his private engine. Another glimmer of light was when he met Truro West, who was Great Western, part of a rival family to the Gresleys and ironically the owner of City of Truro. The two were practically meant to be mortal enemies but instead were very fond of each other, so much in fact they even got into a relationship they both kept secret to prevent a scandal.

Spencer Gresley

Age: 42

Height: 206 cm

Second oldest son of the one Gresley branch family closest to the main family and Gordon’s cousin. Under his siblings, he holds the strongest grudge against his older brother Mallard, who became the heir to their business instead of him. Spencer fully embraces the elitist mentality of the Gresleys, thinking it’s his birthright to be better than everyone and to be treated that way. He is vain, cocky, pompous, egocentric and has zero tolerance for any form of opposition, especially the kind that questions his feeling of superiority. He dresses very extravagantly, and wears the so-called “Streamline” hairstyle, where Gresleys put their different-colored highlights to the forefront.

Spencer also is very short-tempered and can fall into fits of rage when being provoked, getting physically violent is nothing new to him. Ironically he loves provoking others by talking down to them, making them and their loved-ones feel worthless or showing off as a form of asserting dominance and for his enjoyment of picking on those he sees as worthless. he has a hidden, deeply sadistic and malicious side only very few people know about as he tries to keep it secret to protect his image. 

In order to increase his influence, he got close to the Duke and Duchess of Boxford and directly works under them, carrying the position with utmost pride and loves to brag about it. Spencer would do anything for power, engaging in shady businesses and cooperating with the worst kind of people to get his way. All of this being kept under the rug using his wealth and status to their fullest.

Convinced everyone below the elite is just an insect, everyone denying it being just as worthless and that you must win using every dirty trick in the book, even if it hurts others, Spencer embodies everything wrong with the Gresleys.

His cruelty knows no limits as he cheered for the death of the main family and being frustrated over the two survivors, loves abusing others to feel stronger and he is fully willing to kill another person with no remorse as he tried with Hiro. His malice especially manifests in the form of his undying and deep-rooted hatred for Gordon. From childhood on Spencer already loved picking on his cousin and causing him pain. He always hated Gordon for being the same age and height as him while in the same position as him but in the main family instead, for surviving the accident, his pompous attitude, stubbornness, charisma and for avoiding the Gresleys.

Spencer swore to himself to destroy Gordon and to take everything away from him.

One idea he had for that was to get into a relationship with one of his closest friends, Henry, and to break him right under Gordon’s nose. While just being a tool to hurt Gordon, Spencer did enjoy dating Henry in his own twisted way. Loving to exploit Henry’s insecurities to control and abuse him physically and emotionally. This only ended when Henry got help from his friends to end it with Spencer, much to the latters dismay, especially with Gordon’s involvement in helping Henry. Still, Spencer gets a kick out of reminding Henry of their past relationship every time they cross paths.

Ryan Gresley

Age: 23

Height: 174 cm

Part of a Gresley branch family and Gordon’s great cousin. He grew up like every Gresley, under strict tutoring and attending a prestige academy. Ryan is rather modest and never liked those fancy, elite institutions and had poor grades on purpose that were just enough for passing the classes. Fully aware of how messed-up his family is, he tries his best to distance himself from them, openly avoiding any involvement with their businesses, following his passion on becoming a star track athlete instead. This leads to him being ostracized and ridiculed by his relatives, even his own parents and siblings.

Ryan is a very friendly, understanding and gentle young man, who just wants to live his life but also a massive pushover, who had almost given in on throwing away his dreams for the Gresley business multiple times but he persevered.

He decided to visit Gordon, another Gresley that wanted to distance himself from the family drama. They never met before so their first encounter was rather awkward and it also was during a stressful time on the island too. In that time Ryan also got into trouble with Thomas, who was in big trouble with Sir Topham Hatt himself. The two made amends and worked together to stop a pirate from stealing a treasure and became friends afterwards.

His kindness and his lack of a backbone makes him fall victim to the more mischievous people on Sodor, Bill, Ben and Diesel especially, Daisy also likes teasing him but it is more in an affectionate manner.

Ryan managed to bond with Gordon over their shared feelings of their family and he started to really admire him. He was especially touched when Gordon openly showed support for Ryan’s dream.

Sonny Evans

Age: 24

Height: 178 cm

An orphan, who was taken in by a smuggling ring. Sonny was trained in combat from childhood alongside other skills needed in that field. He was sent to Sodor for a mission alongside his two superior’s Baz and Bernie, who treated Sonny very poorly during that time. Trained to never question his superiors, he took the mistreatment despite his inner protests. In order to get more information, he was ordered to apply himself to work for Sir Topham Hatt and succeeded. 

Many were suspicious of him as he was gruff, rude, a loner and had something sinister in him according to the people he reluctantly interacted with. However, he started to warm-up to the people, who treated him like a normal person and he liked receiving praise for normal, non-illegal jobs. But when the time of their mission had arrived Sonny was doubtful, fighting with his implanted teaching to always obey.

He was found by Diesel, who still had to figure himself out after he left the organization he was part of. It was Diesel’s words that got through Sonny and gave him the necessary push to finally turn on the smuggling ring. He helped arrest Baz, Bernie and other henchmen, who sneaked on the island over time.

Thanks to Diesel’s help, Sonny’s involvement was completely covered up and he was allowed to stay. Unfortunately, his reputation has been ruined and most do not trust him anymore. He has to prove to everyone he changed and must not allow himself any mishaps. Sonny formed a close bond with Diesel due to their similar backgrounds and the fact that Diesel at the time was the only one who still trusted him. It took some time and help from Diesel but he managed to regain everybody’s acceptance after all.

Sonny still struggles with expressing himself in a socially appropriate way and to form bonds with others but he takes his second chance at life very seriously and always tries his best to improve himself.

Hiro Kawasaki

Age: 62 (at disappearance)

Height: 196 cm

A genius engineer from Japan carrying the title “Master of the Railway”, who visited Sodor many years ago to expand his horizons. He helped develop the island's railway system with his rich ideas, good advice and creativity. One night he went outside to get a clear head and spotted a mysterious figure in gold walking in the woods. The figure was so captivating, he couldn’t help but to follow it and find out what it was. The last thing he could remember was how he was veiled in a golden dust and fell unconscious. When he woke up he was found by a young boy named Thomas, who told him a golden whistle he had with him started to glow and Hiro appeared out of nowhere. 

Hiro soon learned he had disappeared from this world for multiple decades in a form of magical cryosleep and should long be dead by now. He also learned he is a paradox, someone who shouldn’t exist anymore but still does, a spirit from the past trapped in the present with a body given by gold dust. The most notable trait his body gave him was the inability to feel physical touch, including pain. It had its advantages but it made him feel his whole existence to be unnatural and wrong even more.  

Understanding he did not belong in this world anymore, he wished to return his soul to his home to rest. Shortly after Hiro was brought out of the hidden woods, he was introduced to the people of present Sodor. His politeness, calm and mature nature and dignified behavior made him very liked by everyone immediately, everyone but Spencer, who came to visit Sodor.

For reasons unbeknownst to everyone at the time, Spencer wanted to kill Hiro at all cost and almost succeeded if it weren’t for Thomas and the others protecting him, finding out that despite being a spirit, he still had a form of mortality. Hiro does not hold grudges and was ready to forgive Spencer and tried to make up with him regardless of everyone's protests. But they couldn’t become friends due to Spencer’s malice.

As much as he wants to go back home, he knows only on Sodor, where he was turned into a tangible spirit, he can find the solution to his problem. Meanwhile, he wants to accompany Thomas on his quest of unveiling the secret of the Golden Whistle as it can help them both.

Hiro offers assistance wherever he can using his wisdom and unbreakable spirit. He formed very close bonds with the people of Sodor, especially his little hero Thomas and the gentle giant Henry, who Hiro even surpasses in strength despite his age. 

Bill and Ben Bagnall

Age: 12 (Bill is the older twin by 10 minutes)

Height: 140 cm

A pair of twins that arrived on Sodor with their father Boris when they were five years old. Both are very mischievous, love pulling pranks on others or giving snarky remarks that can become quite morbid even. They are such troublemakers that people like Gordon call them “little demons”. They do all of this due to their lack of maturity and simply because they find it funny. They go to the same school as Thomas and Percy, who are their upperclassmen but they barely interact as even these cheeky teens are annoyed by the twins. Bill and Ben love picking on those older and bigger than them but they are ready to form temporary alliances with those if it means they can get an even better laugh out of a good prank through it.

Their habit of actively not listening to any adult that was not their father or Edward had driven many of their teachers mad and they serve as a visual reminder on how Thomas used to be and not to return to that.

The youthful pair may do anything together but their equal hot-headedness leads them to get into argumentative feuds that have to be resolved by BoCo. They often get compared to another pair of twins, that being Donald and Douglas and are told to take them as inspiration on how to be. That leads to Bill and Ben developing a strong resentment towards the Scottish Twins which grows even stronger by the fact that Donald and Douglas seem to be completely unaffected by their pranks and remarks and even outplay the younger twins every time.

The two lacked any form of self-reflection or fear of consequences until one prank they played threatened to get their father fired. They did everything in their power to make things right again, even asking, more begging, others for help. After everything was fixed again and BoCo could keep his job, they apologized to BoCo under tears, who then embraced his sons in a tight hug. 

Boris “BoCo” Bagnall

Age: 52

Height: 189 cm

Boris or “BoCo” moved to Sodor 7 years ago with his twin sons and quickly integrated himself with the community, getting along very well with Edward, frequently working with him. He is sensible, kind and has a good sense of humor. But he is also not afraid of speaking his mind and is very good at shutting people up with witty comebacks, something he had to learn when he had to deal with his mischievous sons. BoCo and Duck were the ones to make sure Edward would be welcomed back with respect when he was released from the hospital after his dangerous but heroic exploit. 

He also has clever ideas especially on how to make Bill and Ben behave for the moment or let them make up after an argument for example giving them tasks they could only solve together. Unfortunately he often has to take the blame for Bill and Ben’s misbehavior as they come to his workplace after school and cause trouble.

BoCo may be frustrated with their antics from time to time especially after the loss of his wife but he truly loves his sons and knows they actually are good boys.

[cspasfan15]

TDA Orlando Predictions

Mini female

Top 20: navy Forrest, Elizabeth pugach, Amaya Rodriguez, Ella venerio, mila simunic, tinsley Wallace, Lainey Hess, Elliana macioce, Harper schwalb, Emma semtak, Reese braga, Marley Evans

Top 10: remi hilson, Antonia demartinis, Mikaela florez, leighton white, Amelia burres, lyric Simmons, Zoe ynguanzo

Top 3: Avery Altobelli, Sylvie win Szyndlar, Aliya yen, sienna dipietro

Mini Male

Top 3: jay ramos-Rivera, Rory Ross, Hudson Matthew’s, Isaiah santos

Junior Female

Top 20: Kendall brown, cydnee Abbott, Reagan Hess, Bianca rebellto, Elsie sandall, lily hackney, Estelle newsom, Leilani lawlor, Sara von rotz, Regan gerena

Top 10: olivia rose toneguzzo, madeleine shen, keringtyn spencer, ruby Arnold,Samantha geller, Berkeley scifres, Isabella zhong, Camila giraldo

Top 3: Helena olaerts, Anita Rodriguez, amabella tarrago, bristyn scifres

Junior male

Top 3: Gabriel gebara, Dylan Custodio, Josh Lundy, neo del corral

Teen Female

Top 20: ava d’ambrosio, miyah lagrant, Bella Rey d’armas, Jaya campagna Terrell, lekha rajkumar, savy luechtefeld, balbina cueva toussaint, joli du quenne, Brooklyn ladia, Stella eberts, Lilly Barajas

Top 10: desa jankes, Leila winker, braylynn grizzaffi, Hudson benayon, Hayley marshall, elie rabin

Top 3: Kylee casares, Bella rose Penrose, gracyn French, Giselle gandarilla

Teen Male

Top 20: Odin Baldwin, Nolan brinker, jack mckenzie, Holden griffin, nick d’ambrosio, Jayden hui, iain Cooke, jack Moore brown, Zolan laird

Top 10: Ryan Newman, Duane Ferguson, Sasha chernous, Anthony labritz, cam Williams, Angelo Durante, Jonathan archer

Top 3: Kylan wright, Blake metcalf, Kaden brown, garret sawyer

Senior female

Top 20: Elyse wingertsahn, Brooklyn law, Isabella bolivar Lopez, Ava Carroll, victoria reith, Gillian Gordon, Ellen grace olansen, sammi Chung

Top 10: preslie rosamond, sienna morris, Catherine Clayton, Savannah manning, Angel dimartino Palladio, Arianna quant, Lexi Blanchard, Ashley choy,

Top 3: Tatiana hagee, Sophie Garcia, dyllan Blackburn, sierra drayton

Senior male

Top 20: Patricio hoyo, Damian caraballo, Jayden lau, tyreke holt, Seth hendley, Anthony dessables, Alejandro Ruiz, Darius Goodson, Keaton Evans, Devon barner

Top 10: chance Phelps, skai llorente, cynsear epting, joshuah Rivera, Mekhi Johnson, Hugo Silva, Kaden Golding, Tristan gerzon, Jesse flaherty

Top 3: Nicholas bustos, Jackson roloff hafenbreadl, Sam Evans

[iceflwers]

𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓷 𝓳𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 !

˚✧ ₊˚ʚ THE BASICS !

— ❥ FULL NAME: Morgan Olive Jennings.

— ❥ NICKNAMES: Morgs, M, Songbird, popstar, Pop Rocks (teasingly, by Brock), Blondie Bitch (by haters), sweetheart, babe, baby (by Quinn only), honey, gorgeous (by Quinn only).

— ❥ DATE OF BIRTH: March 29th, 1998 (Aries).

— ❥ BIRTHPLACE: Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada.

— ❥ CURRENT RESIDENCE: Mostly mobile, permanent residence in Vancouver.

— ❥ SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English, French (not fluently).

— ❥ ORIENTATION: Biromantic, bisexual.

— ❥ GENDER IDENTITY: Genderfluid (she/they pronouns).

— ❥ OCCUPATION: Pop singer-songwriter.

— ❥ FACECLAIM: Reneé Rapp.

˚✧ ₊˚ʚ PERSONALITY !

— ❥ HOGWARTS HOUSE: Gryffindor (brave, chivalrous, daring).

— ❥ MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE: ESFP - The Entertainer (bold, enthusiastic, sensitive).

— ❥ ENNEAGRAM TYPE: Type Eight - The Challenger (self-confident, confrontational, protective).

— ❥ MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good.

— ❥ LOVE LANGUAGES: Words of affirmation for giving, quality time for receiving.

— ❥ SKILLS: Singing, dancing, songwriting, makeup, brewing coffee, playing piano, playing both acoustic and electric guitar, quickly coming up with comebacks.

— ❥ LIKES: Putting on an amazing show, hearing a big stadium crowd singing her lyrics back to them, getting her makeup just the way they like it, spending time with her mom, a well-made margarita, wearing bright and outlandish outfits for their concerts.

— ❥ DISLIKES: Boring people, people bringing up her past relationship failures, people who are rude to public servants, being judged for their choices by the media, snakes, being misgendered, people hating on her boyfriend’s team.

— ❥ FEARS/PHOBIAS: Being abandoned, disappointing the people they care about, death, needles.

˚✧ ₊˚ʚ RELATIONSHIPS !

— ❥ FAMILY: Lorelei Jennings (mother), unknown father, Daisy Ahn (younger sister figure).

— ❥ FRIENDS: Daisy Ahn, Poppy Tsunoda, Jack Hughes, Luke Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Artūrs Šilovs, Thatcher Demko, J.T. Miller, Trevor Zegras.

— ❥ ACQUAINTANCES: Remainder of the Vancouver Canucks roster, Jamie Drysdale, Ethan Edwards, Mat Barzal, William Nylander.

— ❥ ROMANTIC INTERESTS: Madeline Baker (first crush), Eddie White (first boyfriend), Scott Moir (brief fling), Derek Harding (brief fling), Angela Williams (brief fling), Alec Kosminsky (ex-boyfriend), Caroline Gutierrez (ex-girlfriend), Daniel Riva (brief fling), Myla Adler (brief PR relationship), Iris Swayer (ex-girlfriend), Spencer Calloway (ex-boyfriend), Darius Morgan (brief fling), Quinn Hughes (current romantic interest).

˚✧ ₊˚ʚ FUN FACTS !

— ❥ Morgan has been famous since she was sixteen years old, thrust into the spotlight after they were discovered performing in a karaoke club she’d snuck into. Though they’ve always been happy she gets to share their music with the world and connect with people through it, she also often wishes that they hadn’t had to become so well-known so young.

— ❥ Throughout the course of her career, Morgan has won many awards for their music, including many American Music Awards, MTV Awards, and two Grammys, one for Pop Album of the Year and one for Best Pop Solo Performance. Two of her albums, their self-titled debut album and her forth album Diamond Collar, have also gone certified platinum.

— ❥ Out of all the relationships they’ve had throughout the years and her career, Morgan is fairly sure that Iris, a fellow singer who, they dated for almost a year, is the only one she truly loved. They can’t help but be a bit grateful that relationship did end, though, because she never would have gotten together with Quinn otherwise.

— ❥ Morgan can’t actually skate before meeting Quinn. Their mother never really had the time to take her to a rink and teach them, and once she got famous they never really saw the point in learning, but Quinn does teach her after they get together.

— ❥ Morgan has never cared very much what the media says about them, but the one thing she will never tolerate is people saying bad things about their mother or judging her for growing up in a single-parent home. Lorelei Jennings sacrificed a lot to make sure her child had a good life, and suffered a lot with Morgan when they were going through hard times with her career and public perception, and Morgan will never accept anyone attempting to put her down for that.

tagging @lovings4turn, @hiya-itsamber, @theopenlocker, & @yoontwin ! ( also tentatively tagging @wintfleur )

─┈ ♡ copyright © 2024: you do not have permission to copy, translate, or repost my works, nor to use my oc ideas or plots.

[sensitive-trait]

🥳 From left to right - Jade Miller, William and Andrew Spencer, Alice and Charlotte Borden, Simon Park, Priya and Meera Kapoor.

How they met each other: Jade is the daughter of James' coworker and best friend Jackson Miller. Her mom Shayna and brother Darius have also been at several parties and events.

The twins, William and Andrew, are the sons of Owen and Maci, the other heroes of Strangerville.

Simon is Sophie and Michael Kim's son. Sophie works with Kate at the lab, and Michael is in the military with James. Sophie is pregnant with their second.

Priya and Meera are Deepti and Sanjay's daughters. Deepti went to university with Kate, and Sanjay is James's boss. They also have a little brother Arjun.

[pxmun]

Cleo slowly came to her senses; she remembered being at Tidmouth sheds with everyone and hearing Percy arrive then, nothing.

As her vision began to clear, Cleo could see her brothers standing over her.

"I think she's coming too, everyone give her some room." Came the voice of Sir Topham Hatt.

"Darius, what happened"? Cleo asked.

"You got a bit over excited and passed out." Darius said.

"A bit? Bro she was a rocket ship fueled with sugar that failed to launch." Romeo retorted.

"Not now Romes." Darius warned.

"Over excited? About what"? Cleo asked confused.

"I'm afraid it was my fault my dear." Came a voice.

Wendell cautiously puffed up towards the three siblings.

"Wendell." Cleo said shocked.

"Hello young Cleo, sorry to have caused you to pass out. Are you alright"? Wendell asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine but, how are you alive and where have you been"? Cleo asked surprised.

Wendell smiled.

"It's a long story my dear, why don't I tell you all about it during teatime? Guessing on how much time has passed this is Tidmouth if I'm correct"? Wendell asked.

"Yes, this is Tidmouth sheds, it's been here for a very long time." Percy piped in.

The silly engine laughed.

"My goodness, Tidmouth sheds is considered old now?! I remember when Ethan drew up the first draft for this place, poor man didn't know how many engines it should house or how spacious the berths should be." Wendell remembered.

He looked over to Gordon, Flying Scotsman, and Spencer.

"But I can see he made the right choice. By the Arc it's amazing how large the new generation of engines have become"! Wendell said astonished.

Gordon grinned with pride.

"Biggest and best, and we pull the express"! Gordon boasted.

"Except when you fall into a ditch." Snickered James.

"And lose your dome." Continued Henry.

"Or need my help getting up your hill." Added Edward.

Gordon blushed out of embarrassment and being crossed; he wasn't expecting Edward to join in on the teasing.

Wendell held back a chuckle.

"No hard feelings my friend, we all get into our mishaps. Why do you think they call me the silly engine"? Wendell grinned.

By teatime, Patty had arrived with some baked goods and tea for the engine crews and her friends. Patty was amazed to see Wendell in the steel and steam, Romeo invited her to stay so the young baker could hear the silly old engine speak.

"So, Wendell I have to ask, what was life back then for you and Dinah? Tidmouth sheds didn't exist back then, so I'm guessing things were probably pretty wild back then"? Romeo asked.

"In a way it was, but it was more of an organized chaos. Before the realms were separated, Ethan and the other controllers had hardly any say on how the railroads were run. Instead, we were commanded by the overseers, and they were in control of everything. Where the engines were allowed to go, which one would pull which train, when we were allowed breaks and for how long." Wendell answered.

"That sounds horrible! Why didn't you and the other engines use your magic to fight back against these overseers"? Thomas asked.

"Well, back then we didn't have magic." Wendell revealed.

Everyone in the sheds gasped in shock.

"No magic?! Then how in the name of Sodor did we rebel against these overseers or are even sentient for that matter"? Scotsman asked bewildered.

"Sodor does provide its own magic, enough for us to be sentient, but we engines were unable to utilize Sodor's magic in such a way like the overseers could. It wasn't until the magic railroad was built that the engines finally had access to magic." Wendell explained.

Cleo was busy writing down what Wendell said into her notes, meanwhile Romeo had a question to ask.

"So, the magic railroad didn't just appear out of nowhere and with it the engines of Sodor could finally use magic and use it to defend themselves against these overseers. Then, who built the magic railroad and who or what split Sodor off the rest of the world"? Romeo asked.

"The magic railroad was constructed by the king and queen of Sodor of course"! Wendell peeped.

"Huh"? Everyone responded in confusion.

"Well, that is how Dinah refers to them. I forgot what their actual names were, but I do remember our interactions. We would see them around Sodor from time to time and the two seemed to have some influence in curbing the overseers abuse towards the engines for the better. Anyway, one day they approached us with a proposal. They would construct a railway capable of giving engines magic while Dinah and I would be placed as the magic railroad's protectors and use our new found magic to reform the railway to be an inclusive and friendly place for all. As for the realms splitting, things got very heated between the overseers and the island of Sodor, so on that fateful night the overseers attacked the island in an attempt to have full control of it." Wendell told.

Everyone was silent, what they heard was horrifying. How could anyone attack Sodor and its residents? For what reason did these overseers feel the need to take over the entire island when they already had so much control over Sodor already? Meanwhile, Wendell removed his headlamp in the same manner a person would remove a hat at place it over their heart.

"In an attempt to save everyone, the king and queen sacrificed themselves by using every ounce of magic they had to split the realms and separate the enraged overseers from Sodor, thus saving all of us " Wendell said solemnly.

[transfelixfelicis]

TRANS HEADCANONS TRANS HEADCANONS

Hunter Noceda

Emira Blight

Edric Blight

Grunkle Stan

Dipper Pines

Peter Parker (yes, all 3, fuck you)

Miles Morales

Darius Bowman

Benjamin Pincus

Kenji Kon

Spencer Reid